Coffee Tasting

I am not a big coffee drinker. In fact, 1 cup is my daily limit. I always thought I would be more of a coffee lover if I knew more about it. So I was intrigued by the announcement that our kitchen here at Los Poblanos Inn was having a coffee tasting this morning.

Eric and I sat at a small table and were given a score sheet and a "Tongue Flavor Map", a bookmark shaped piece of paper that had a drawing of a tongue indicating where you might find the tastes of bitter, sour, salty, and sweet. Then we were given two cups containing ground coffee, one light roast and one dark.

 Before the actual tasting began, we were given the following information by our instructors, two brothers who own a coffee plantation in Columbia. They grow and roast their own specialty coffee called "Villa Myriam".

-Specialty coffee grows at higher elevations, is shade grown and hand picked. It is only 10% of the world's coffee.

-Only the Arabica bean is use for specialty coffee.

-Before the coffee can be shipped out of Columbia,  the coffee must be graded as specialty coffee. There are only about 1,000 people world wide who are specialty coffee graders.

-One bad bean can spoil the whole 150 pound burlap bag of coffee beans and would therefor disqualify the batch as specialty coffee.

-The more oily your coffee beans are, the more likely they are to spoil. Dark roasts are used to hide defects.

-NEVER put coffee beans in your refrigerator or freezer. Coffee will absorb flavors of other foods in the fridge, and the humidity will degrade flavor.  Keep the beans in their original bag in a dark place.

-A good coffee is only as good as the brewing method. French Press is the best. The brothers prefer the Aeropress. I am so glad that Eric gave me one last Christmas!

So armed with all this information, we were now ready to smell and taste the light and dark roasted coffee. Our comments: light roast smelled like cocoa, carrots, and fish (!) Dark roast smelled like cigarette butts and petroleum. Infused with hot water, the light roast tasted like molasses and dark roast tasted like chocolate (yummy!).

Our instructor from Columbia

Tasting Paraphernalia

The Smell Test

A Trio of Unique and Talented Artists

We are nearing the end of our stay in Santa Fe and will soon be moving on to Los Poblanos near Albuquerque. I consider myself very fortunate to have been in the company of three amazing artists on this trip.

The first was Katherine Schilke with whom we stayed in her comfortable home and studio on South Saint Francis Street in Santa Fe. Kat rents a room with private bath through Airbnb for those who are interested. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1226541

I met Kat last March when I purchased her hand made one of a kind handbag. Kat has been so successful in selling her bags in all shapes and sizes that she is now reaching across the ocean to Paris, where she hopes to sell her "bohemian" design bag shown in the photo here.

I also was pleased to meet Roseta Santiago. She, Kat, Eric and I spent time together in Kat's garden one night sipping Kat's home made lemoncello. Roseta had just arrived from an art show at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis called "Quest for the West" where her oil painting "Forever Young" was featured. The beautiful figurative painting captures a moment in time where two Native American young girls are playing with dolls.

The third artist I met was Douglas Magnus. Not only does he own the Cerrillos Turquoise mine, but he crafts the blue beautiful colored stones into some of the most exquisite pieces of jewelry that I have seen in the Southwest.

Kat making a Bohemian Bag

Roseta Santiago

The Flea at the Downs

I couldn't wait to get back to the flea market we had visited last winter during our stay in Santa Fe. During the Spring and Summer months, the market moves to the Downs, an old horse racing track on the outskirts of the city.

Eric and I arrived at the market around 9:30 a.m. The first booth we saw was one that sells Native American jewelry. I am always on the look out for pieces of jewelry to add to my collection. My favorite pieces are Petit Point turquoise stone settings that are primarily crafted by the Zuni jewelers.

Sam manages this booth, and she told us the history of her collection. She and her Native American husband, who is now deceased, formed a cooperative of artisans on several reservations. The couple would bring jewelry to the flea markets and turn the money from sales back into the cooperative.

 There is a high prevalence of diabetes among Native Americans. Over the years, Sam has seen many of the artisans lose their eye sight as a result of the disease. Sam said that fewer young people are willing to learn the craft of jewelry making from their elders.

I chose a silver bracelet with coral stones in a beautiful, floral like setting. I am mindful of the fact that perhaps one day, this type of jewelry making will sadly become a lost art.

Conrad Hilton's Dream Becomes Green, Modern, Yet Traditional

After a long, weary day of traveling to NM from PA, we checked into the Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque. The hotel was the first hotel built by Conrad Hilton, a native New Mexican, in the 1930's. It is now a national historic landmark. It was the tallest building in NM, the first to be air conditioned and the first building to have an elevator. It has housed many presidents, famous scientists and movie stars.

Now in the 21st century, the Andaluz is becoming the most sustainable historic hotel in the nation. It is now "green by design" after undergoing a 35 million dollar renovation project. The hotel has an award winning energy management system. Seventy per cent of the electricity used in the hotel is renewable. The live plants in hotel are being watered with captured rain water. Most of the furniture is made of bamboo or rubber wood, both rapidly renewable resources. The carpet, carpet padding, paints, stains and adhesives in our room were chosen to make the room environment as healthy as possible.

As an art lover, I was pleased to learn that even the debris from the renovation project was carefully recycled. For example, the hotel's old cast iron tubs and sinks did not go to a landfill. They were donated to a local college where they were melted down and recast as works of art. We applaud the Andaluz for providing a peaceful, sustainable oasis in the middle of a busy city.

Moving On

Preparing for a move across country can be a daunting experience. For weeks now I have been cleaning out closets and files and files of papers. Thank goodness for the local Goodwill that shreds papers at $6.00 a box.

I have sorted through hundreds of photos that my mother left in envelopes. I still have another 2 large plastic crates of photos to organize and then send them to a company that will put them on a computer disk.

One of the most rewarding tasks was to say goodbye to two of my old plastic dolls from my early childhood. They were in an old suitcase for years and years. Their hair was coming unglued, but their sweet faces were without marks. Their eyelids still open and closed over clear blue eyes.

So I listed them on Ebay and they were sold to a lady named Maria in Brooklyn, New York. She wrote and told me how much she was looking forward to their arrival.

The dolls "before"

 When the "little ladies" as she called them finally reached her home, Maria sent me the following message:
 "Oh Nancy - Your dolls are coming to the best home. One of my most treasured hobbies is revamping old dolls and restoring them to their original beauty. Knowing they are your childhood dolls makes them even more special to me. Remember the story of the Velveteen Rabbit? When a doll is loved it becomes "real".

I was so pleased to get photos from Maria of my dolls that she is now restoring. I know that Nancy Lee and Nannette have found a good home. I will treasure these photos as I move on.

"Creativity and Madness"

Every summer, Santa Fe hosts the "Creativity and Madness" week long seminars that provide continuing education credits for health professionals like myself. The conference organizers invite anyone who is interested in the psychology of artists and the creative process.

The workshop titles sound fascinating to me. Some examples offered at this summer's conference are: Self Images as Thru Disease and Disability: Frida Kahlo, Mexican Artist; The Creativity and Madness of Edward de Vere, the Man Who Wrote Shakespeare; Was Crazy Horse Crazy?; Technology Meets Poetry:  Psychological Reflections on the Creativity of Steve Jobs; Alfred Hitchcock:  Storyteller of Fear and other Expressions; Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton:  Pride and Passion on the Plains:  The Midwestern Regionalist Painters; and Healing the Self Through Self Portraits.

A bonus night out at the Santa Fe Opera is also offered during the week. I'll be waiting for next summer's conference to attend as a resident of Santa Fe!

"It All Starts With A Lump Of Clay"

One of the experiences that Eric and I have put on the "back burner" until we return to New Mexico is making micaceous pottery with Felipe Ortega. Mr. Ortega is an Apache medicine man who uses the coil and scrape method of building beautiful clay pots from the mica rich clay indigenous to the Madera, New Mexico region for 400 years.

Until I learn from Mr. Ortega at his studio, I decided to try working with some clay that will be fired in an outdoor "firing pit" using cow manure for fuel right here in Central PA. Thanks to the invitation of artist friends Vivian and Gabriella, I am looking forward to joining them in firing my clay creation. Vivian gave me my block of clay and said, "work with it".

I used to observe children work with clay when I was a Play Therapist. It wasn't so much the end product that mattered, but how great it felt to have  clay to pinch, pull, stretch and mould.

 I wanted to become inspired, so I put my block of clay for a short time next to a beautiful

sculpture of a different kind - a glass flower by Ona Magaro in my garden. The creative juices are flowing, and I am ready to go to work. Stay tuned.