Whoa, Funnel Cloud! At 7,000 Feet?

 

We had an energetic thunderstorm this afternoon (August 19). When I walked out on my back porch to admire it, here’s what I saw:

I’d guess it was about half a mile to the north-north-west of us.

And then it got closer:

Mind you, here in Sandia Park (NM) we’re at almost 7,000 feet elevation. I didn’t think we got tornadoes … so what the heck is it?

A neighbor who is meteorologically sophisticated told me it was a downspout. According to the National Weather service, it was a funnel cloud. By definition, a funnel cloud isn’t a tornado unless it touches down and wreaks some havoc on the surface. I watched this one for 20 minutes or so and never saw it touch down.

This phenomenon was unusual enough to make our local news:

• Residents see funnel clouds near Sandia Park, Cedar Crest

I didn’t realize that "tornadoes can and do occur at high elevations" - this summer, one was spotted at almost 12,000' in Colorado.

But they are rare - either because so few people live above 5,000' that the tornadoes that do occur aren’t seen and reported, or (according to MSNBC), because mountains like ours break up the large-scale weather systems that give rise most tornadoes ...

What a long, strange summer this has been!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

Peace, Quiet & Permaculture: New Mexico Ranchette for Sale

 

Yes, we’ve listed our East Mountain “ranchito” for sale. And I know this will be somebody’s dream home, just like it was ours!

This is a custom 3 or 4 bedroom (2 masters, one up, one down), 3 bath, 2,520 sq ft Pueblo-style home on a 5-acre horse property … passive solar … part fenced pasture, part wooded with pinon and cedar.

We added 700 square feet to the existing home, including a ground level guest suite (or second master bedroom) …

and a home office/4thBR with floor-to-ceiling bookcases & captain's bed … Sliding French doors open to the back patio and deck.

The home is heated with in-floor radiant heat and a massive kiva fireplace with heat returns.

Thanks to the kiva, the open floor plan, and the passive solar orientation, our propane guy told us we had the lowest propane usage in the whole neighborhood.

We installed Saltillo tile throughout the downstairs, which looks great with the tongue & groove ceilings and Southwestern wood detailing.

Kitchen has granite counters and a fabulous 29-cubic-foot French door Samsung refrigerator that I’m crying to leave behind …

The garage is an oversized 2-car with custom storage cabinetry & a workshop.

The outbuildings (2 barns and 2 coops) have electricity, and there are 4 freeze-resistant pumps for irrigation (reduces your fire insurance, too). And the entire perimeter is “Invisible Fenced” for dogs.

Beautiful views of the Sandia Mountains and the Sedillo valley …

We’re asking $349,900 for our dream ranchito … you can see the Keller Williams listing with more pictures here http://bit.ly/McXiBH …. and take a virtual tour here http://www.pfretour.com/7921 !

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

Yard Sale 2-18-12! And You’re Invited!

We are hosting a one-day-only, everything-must-go, whole-house yard sale at 14 Digby Lane, Edgewood, New Mexico, this Saturday, February 18, from 10 AM to 4 PM.

And you're invited! Bring friends! ;) The current weather report says Saturday will be the prettiest sunny day of the week, and we believe it, ahahahaha.

This is a "whole house" yard sale, including items for every room. Here's just some of the stuff we've got for sale … click the linked items to see a full description on Craigslist Albuquerque:

· Oval dining room Table & 6 Windsor-back chairs Table $150, Chairs $40 each, or $300 for the whole set!

· 2 Kitchen Bar Stools Ready to paint or stain. $25 each or $40 for both.

· Upholstered Chairs

· Glider Rocker (needs repair) $30

· Full-size Futon couch

· Media Center & Cabinets Low media stand table $75, two cabinets $30 each, or $125 for all three

· Contemporary home office Desk, Chairs & File Credenza $100

· Dishes & Kitchen gear

· Men's & women's Jeans & Clothing

· Kids' stuff (clothes, toys, books, games & DVDs)

· Color TVs (not HD)

· Assorted Hand Tools,

· Universal Gym

· Large wooden Dog House

We hope you can stop by on Saturday to say "hello" ... and please feel free to forward this link to everyone you think might be interested!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

Gotcha, Wiley Coyote!

Living in the near-wild as we do, backed up to the Sandia National Forest, we hear and sometimes see a lot of wildlife. Specifically, a lot of coyotes.

Our goal is to avoid conflict with these coyotes, and to protect our dogs. The foundation of our plan is to “know thy enemy”. So last week we  purchased and installed a wildlife surveillance camera.

Here’s our first capture:

That’s right, it’s the infamous Wild Weimaraner. *sigh*

We’ve got lots more photos like this one of our dog … and several of our cars … and of us changing the storage card, etc.

It wasn’t until last night that we got this one:

Yep, that’s a coyote!

At the bottom of the frame you'll see that he cruised by last night about 11:30 pm - the camera automatically records the date, time, temperature and even the moon phase of each photo. (We love this camera: it’s a Primos TruthCam 46.)

But because the nighttime shots are infrared, the detail isn't great. I've edited the photo to brighten & sharpen it, but I still can't tell what he's got in his mouth - and not sure I want to know anyway - it looks like a femur!

Stay tuned for more as we catch them!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

New from ABQ Library: Borrow a Kill A Watt!

Y’all know what an *enthusiastic* supporter I am of our local Albuquerque / Bernalillo County Library system. If you ever want to see something government is doing right (with the help of volunteers of course), look to your local library!

The newest service from our ABC library system is … drumroll … if you have a library card, you can borrow a Kill-a-Watt home electricity monitor!

Plug the Kill-a-Watt into the wall, then plug your appliances or electronic equipment into the Kill-a-Watt. It will give you a read-out showing how much electricity your item uses, and an estimate of how much it’s costing you to run it.

Hats off to PNM, too, who donated these devices to the library system.

Not a resident of New Mexico? Chances are your local library offers Kill-a-Watt borrowing too. Call ‘em, and check one out!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM

Derby Duck! My Favorite Roast Duck Recipe, That Is

 

Well, we didn't have a Kentucky Derby party this year, but we did have a Derby duck.

Not exactly traditional, nary a mint julep in sight, but festive all the same!

When we find duck at a nice price - in Albuquerque usually at TaLin Market - we love this recipe for "Roast Duck with Honey-Chili Glaze". It's delicious, easy to follow, uses ingredients I almost always have on hand, and seems foolproof.

I originally got the recipe as a magazine clipping from my mom, so I have no idea who wrote it, or even what magazine printed it. My little clipping is now creased and stained, and I just know I'll lose it eventually. And of course I've made some minor modifications over the years ... so I thought I'd share it here. That way I can always find it, and there's also a chance someone will recognize it - I'd like to give full credit!

Roast Duck with Honey-Chili Glaze

One 4-lb duck

Rub Ingredients:
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 T. fresh, minced)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Glaze Ingredients:
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup dark rum

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Place a V-shaped roasting rack - I like the 13x10" Norpro rack shown at left - in a roasting pan with sides at least 2" deep.

Wash and drain duck, removing neck and giblets for another use.

In a small bowl, combine rub ingredients. Rub duck with the mixture, inside and out. Cover wing tips with foil to prevent burning. Put duck, breast side up, in rack and roast for 20 minutes.

Dial back the oven to 350 degrees F and roast 45 minutes more.

Remove duck from oven (leave oven on), remove foil from wing tips, and let duck rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Pour off hot duck fat.

In a small bowl combine glaze ingredients. Baste duck with glaze mixture, then return bird to oven. Roast 15 minutes more, brushing with glaze every 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, let rest 5 minutes before carving.

* * * * *

The recipe's author is obviously a health-conscious saint, tossing out all that rendered duck fat. Not me! I keep it in the fridge for future roast potatoes or hash browns, because potatoes sizzled in duck fat are sublime. In fact, I usually roast some quartered Yukon golds along with this duck, tucked around the edges of the roasting pan. Bliss!

Also: you can make a faaabulous stock from the duck carcass and neck. I freeze the stock for my next batch of gumbo.

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM

Foster Dog Graduation Day

 

Today’s the big day for our one-year-old foster dog Mork: he’s ready for adoption!

What a sweetheart he is. And he’s made great progress during his stay with us.

When he first arrived, he couldn’t even climb stairs. Now he races up and down the yard for the sheer joy of running, and he can jump two feet up onto the back deck.

He gets along with all our dogs, and even the cats. With his happy personality, I think he’ll fit right in with any pet household.

So, this morning he has an appointment with the groomer to make him all sleek & shiny. Then it’s show time!

We don’t know yet whether he’ll be at Animal Humane’s “Main Campus” (615 Virginia St SE, 505-255-5523) or their new Adoption Center (9132 Montgomery Blvd NE, 505-323-PETS).

Either way, the foster coordinator is sure he’ll be adopted right away, he’s that cute.

If you’re looking for him, remember, his shelter name is actually “Angelo”. We’ve just been calling him Mork.

Animal Humane of Albuquerque is located at 615 Virginia Street SE, and their main phone number is 255-5523. Their Adoptions Department is open 7 days a week from 10:00am-6:00pm (but closed for the lunch hour from 12:00pm-1:00pm). Their website ishttp://animalhumanenm.org .

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM

Snow Day at Sedillo Hill 03/15/10

 

We’re always amused when Albuquerque TV reporters set up their cameras on Sedillo Hill – our highway exit – to report on snow storms. They’re always kitted out for an Everest ascent!

But of course we do get considerably more snow than down in Albuquerque. Here are the results of last night’s snowfall …

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
(Sedillo Hill), NM

Meet Mork! Our New Foster Puppy

This week we received a new foster from Animal Humane of Albuquerque, a rescued one-year-old, 8-pound male dog that they think is probably a Maltese-Yorkshire cross.

His shelter name is Angelo, but we’re calling him Mork. Doesn’t he look like a “Mork”?

Mork is a brave little guy: he was only a little alarmed by our resident household of four 70 – 140 pound dogs, and is intrigued by our 5 cats (4 of whom are also bigger than he is).

He loves sitting in the sun on the front porch, and for inscrutable reasons of his own hates inkjet printers, barking at each document as it prints out. It’s the only time he barks, I’m happy to say he’s not a yappy dog at all.

He’s recovering nicely from his little operation two days ago, and working hard on the finer points of house-training. Our coordinator at AHA believes he’ll be ready for adoption in about two weeks!

Animal Humane of Albuquerque is located at 615 Virginia Street SE, and their main phone number is 255-5523.

Their Adoptions Department is open 7 days a week from 10:00am-6:00pm (but closed for the lunch hour from 12:00pm-1:00pm). Their website is http://animalhumanenm.org .

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM

Quarreling with Qwest Over the “Digital Divide” in New Mexico

 

Our local TV news station, KOB-TV, reported last night that $10 million in federal stimulus money will be used to bring broadband Internet service to rural residents of the Penasco Valley in southeastern New Mexico, a service area of approximately 4,700 square miles.

While I’m happy for – and envious of – my fellow rural New Mexicans who’ll finally get high-speed Internet, I bitterly resent that we American taxpayers are footing this bill on behalf of Qwest, the telecommunications giant which holds a virtual monopoly over most of the state of New Mexico.

Ten years ago Qwest was awarded this monopoly, and in return agreed to spend $788M to upgrade New Mexico’s rural telecommunication infrastructure, including high-speed Internet access.

A decade later, Qwest has failed to honor this commitment, with more than $200M in upgrades unperformed, amounting to more than 25% of their contractual obligation. And outside of the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Qwest has simply not provided high-speed Internet access.

“As a state, New Mexico sadly falls towards the bottom of the list” of Internet availability in the US, says Senator Tom Udall. [full text here]

The arithmetic seems simple: Qwest owes us 20 times the amount of this $10M federal stimulus grant. Were Qwest to honor its contract, at this rate broadband Internet could be provided to over 94,000 square miles of rural New Mexico (remember, the entire state is only 121,593 square miles). Then these ten million US tax dollars could be spent on other equally urgent projects in New Mexico.

I live in the East Mountains, a semi-rural area only 20 miles east of Albuquerque, our largest city. But I cannot obtain high-speed Internet from Qwest. All Qwest offers us is dial-up. As Comcast does not offer us cable service, either, I pay almost four times the national average to access the Internet.

Of course, even if we could get Qwest’s Internet service, I’m not sure we’d want it at the service level Qwest provides New Mexicans. In state, Qwest is notorious for outages like last December’s multi-day, multi-county lapse, for example. This failure, the third in three months, was traced to one of Qwest’s DSL DS3 circuits, known as a “big pipe”. DS3 big pipe failures like these “almost never happen in other Qwest states,” according to Jane Hill, president of CyberMesa, a Santa Fe telecom reseller who depends on Qwest’s big pipes for her livelihood. “The lack of Qwest investment in home phone lines and major circuits is taking its toll on the New Mexico economy and on future investment in the State.” [full text here]

Of course there are those who argue that Americans who choose to live in rural areas simply don’t deserve high-speed Internet service, as does the author of the Errors of Enchantment blog. Perhaps he’s right; and perhaps we don’t deserve electricity, either. Maybe we should all move to Albuquerque, leaving the crude oil, natural gas, cattle, goats, apples, pecans and chile peppers to tend and harvest themselves.

“Deployment of broadband supports job creation and rural economic development," says US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, “opening new opportunities not only for homes and businesses, but for community institutions such as health facilities, libraries, public buildings and community centers." [full text here]

So you’d think in a state that just posted the highest unemployment rate increase in the nation, access to high-speed Internet would be a top priority for our elected officials. Not so. In our last legislative session, two pro-Qwest / anti-consumer bills were introduced and only narrowly defeated; quoting NM Public Regulation Commissioner Jason Marks,

“SB 37 [sponsored by Sen. Carlos Cisneros] was a fast-track to complete deregulation of Qwest prices, service quality, and in-state investments; and HB 107 [sponsored by Rep. Roberto Gonzales] was a cleverly disguised, unjustified rate increase for Qwest, Windstream, and the rural monopoly telephone companies.” [full text here]

Qwest’s decade of performance in New Mexico under regulatory constraint has been abysmal; can you imagine how bad it would get if it were completely deregulated, as Senator Cisneros proposed?

While Qwest continues to seek rate increases - both openly acknowledged rate increases and hidden price hikes, as in the case of HB 107 - it has failed to provide service to rural New Mexicans, and at the same time reduced its costs by reducing service quality, refusing to expand service areas and laying off employees.

Rather than rubber-stamping the price hikes and deregulation demands issued by Qwest’s lobbyists, it's time for our legislature and Public Regulatory Commission to hold Qwest's feet to the fire. Obviously Qwest must be forced to deliver the $200 million dollars’ worth of telecommunications upgrades it contracted to provide over a decade ago. 

How else can the rural citizens of New Mexico ever hope to bridge the "digital divide"?

Info Update for Sandia Stitch ‘n Time

 

Our Sandia Stitch ‘n Time needlework group – not just for knitters, but also crochet-ers and cross-stitchers and needleworkers of all sorts - meets on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at the East Mountain Library, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Upcoming meetings are scheduled for March 13 and March 27.

I’ve moved our schedule updates and postings from my old website to my new Facebook business page, www.Facebook.com/kNotesforKnitters .

You don’t have to be a member of Facebook to see this page! But if you are a Facebook user, click the “Fan” button and you’ll get meeting updates automatically.

Map of East Mountain Library location in Tijeras, NM:

For more information about other programs at the East Mountain Library (1 Old Tijeras Rd, Tijeras, NM 87059) in Tijeras, including hours and directions, call (505) 281-8508 or 311; TTY users call Relay NM or 711; or visit the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library website atwww.cabq.gov/library.

Hope to see you there,

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM

3 Kitties Find New Homes!

I was thrilled to hear that 3 of our 5 foster kitties were adopted at this past weekend’s Animal Humane Adopt-a-thon!

Chubby, Gumdrop and Twinkle Toes have found their forever homes, yay! Thanks so much to the generous people who’ve given them a loving home & secure future.

That means only Buck (male, Animal Humane ID #7198) and Frieda (female, Animal Humane ID #7203) are still waiting for adoption.

Oddly, if I’d been able to pick any of our foster kitties to keep, it would have been these two: Buck for best personality & most playful, and Frieda for her sweet temper & extraordinary good looks.

I think I can understand why Buck might not have been someone’s first choice. He’s a wonderful kitty, but he hates being confined in those display cages.

When we visited him during the Adopt-a-thon, he was yowling and reaching through the bars to snag passers-by. I can see how might have scared off potential new families!

Seriously, once he’s out of the cage he calms down immediately, and returns to his normal fun self. I swear!

But I can’t imagine how Frieda got overlooked! She is the real beauty queen of the bunch, with those wonderful tufted ears & cheeks that make her look like a miniature bobcat.

How could anyone resist this face??

So if you want to make Buck and/or Frieda part of your furry family, please hurry down to rescue them. (We can provide all the baby pictures & video you’d ever want!)

Animal Humane of Albuquerque is located at 615 Virginia Street SE, and their main phone number is 255-5523.

Their Adoptions Department is open 7 days a week from 10:00am-6:00pm (but closed for the lunch hour from 12:00pm-1:00pm). Their website is http://animalhumanenm.org .

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Sandia Park, NM

2 Foster Kittens Ready for Adoption!

I’m so happy to say that the five kittens we’ve been fostering for Animal Humane of Albuquerque are thriving. All five are healthy, happy, and fully litter-box trained. They’ve been with us 6 weeks, so we assume they’re around 8 weeks old now.

They’ve spent their time socializing with our friends and neighbors, our 4 adult cats, and our 4 really big dogs, so they’re completely comfortable with humans and animals, both.

And two of them have reached their 2-pound weight goal, which means they are ready now to find their “forever homes”!

The two ready to go are “Chubby” and “Buck”. Please note, we didn’t name these kittens – they were given their names on intake at Animal Humane back in April. (Do Chubby a favor, please, and pick a better name for her!)

This is Chubby, a gray and white female with pretty blue-green eyes.

From the beginning, Chubby was the largest and healthiest kitten of our mixed litter of fosters. She has a friendly, outgoing personality, a nice mix of playful and cuddly.

 

And here’s Buck, a.k.a. Buckaroo: a marmalade tom whose eyes have stayed blue! Oops, you can’t tell that from this photo.

Nor can you tell from this picture what a swashbuckling adventurer Buck is! Fearless and bold, Buck was the first to swat a dog’s nose, and the first to bravely venture into the Land of Upstairs. If you’re looking for a mouser, I think Buck’s your boy!

Buck’s favorite toy is this wicker basket. That’s Twinkletoes in the back.

The week we were asked to foster these kittens, Animal Humane took in more than 100 homeless kittens, all abandoned at approximately the same age. That means that many of them are now ready for adoption, too.

You can see more kitties at Animal Humane’s next Adopt-a-Thon, 10:00am Saturday, June 13th thru 4:00pm Sunday, June 14th, at Central and Carlisle in the Nob Hill area of Albuquerque.

Meanwhile, last week Animal Humane asked if we could keep these sweet kittehs here at our house a while longer while they find homes for the dozen or more in their care right now … which of course we were (secretly) happy to do.

So if you’d like to adopt Chubby or Buck, just drop me a line and I’ll take them in to Animal Humane for you to meet!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Sandia Park, NM

P.S. You can find out more about animal fostering, and see the kittens’ baby pictures, in my previous blog post. Links in my blog sidebar will take you to video of us bottle-feeding them when they were tiny. It’s amazing how much they’ve grown since then!

Can You Freeze Guacamole?

There was some discussion on the Albuquerque City-Data forum recently as to whether one can successfully freeze guacamole.

After repeated experiments, my opinion is no, you can’t freeze guacamole – but you can freeze mashed avocado pulp, then gussy it up into guacamole at serving time.

Is frozen pulp as good as fresh? No, of course not. Is it better than nothing? Yes!

I used to do this all the time in Belize, where avocados ripen all at once in August & September. For two delirious months we’d be up to our elbows in buttery, ripe avocados … then we’d have to do without for the rest of the year. Wah!

So I would gather up all the ripe avocados I couldn’t eat then and there without exploding, and in a single marathon session I’d peel, pit and mash them with lashings of freshly squeezed lime juice, about a teaspoonful per avocado (count the pits). Here in the States, lemon juice works too.

(Despite what Diana Kennedy, the maven of Mexican cooking, says about this, I like the flavor of lime juice in my guacamole.)

Without adding anything more to the pulp, not even salt, I’d measure it into vacuum seal freezer bags, one to two cups per bag, and freeze it.

I strongly recommend the “suck ‘n seal” packaging method for this project. But whatever freezer bag you use, you want to remove as much air as possible. Oxidation is avocado’s enemy, turning exposed pulp an unattractive brown. The citric acid in the lime or lemon juice also helps preserve the color.

Depending on your freezer temperature and the bags you use, avocado pulp will keep nicely anywhere from two to six months in the freezer.

When it’s time to make the guacamole, first thaw the sealed bag of pulp overnight in the fridge. If you’re in a hurry, you can submerge your freezer bag in a bowl of warm water; but I don’t recommend defrosting it in the microwave. (I tried that once, and it got ugly.)

Once thawed, you’ll notice your avocado pulp may be a bit watery. Just punch a little hole in the freezer bag and drain off any excess liquid.

Then de-bag the pulp and mix in whatever fresh fixings you like – chopped tomatoes and Serrano chiles, minced onion, cilantro, etc. Salt to taste, maybe add a pinch of sugar, and serve.

Voila! Guacamole on demand.

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Have you seen my “Second Story”?
Vintage Knitting & Fiber Arts Patterns

New Zealand Knitwear Designer to visit our knitting group!

How amazing is this?

Lynette Harvey, New Zealand knitwear designer and creator of LynAdell Creative Knitwear designs will address a special meeting of our Sandia Stitch ‘n Time needlework group at the East Mountain Library in Tijeras, on Wednesday, May 6, starting at 2:00 PM.

Ms. Harvey’s subject will be “Knit to Fit: Shaping Knitted Garments”.

“The topic of shaping hand knit garments is dear to my heart,” Harvey told me, “what with all of our different shapes, and the ‘one size fits all’ attitude of manufacturers!”

Harvey’s design career has included periods as a head designer for a New Zealand magazine, writing and designing garments for publication, as lead designer for top fashion houses, and 14 years designing for her own successful retail outlet.

After winning a major award for a hand-crafted garment in the 1980s, she decided to focus solely on hand knitted designs.

Her unique knitted designs highlight her devotion to the total design of a garment, from selecting the wool, hand-making buttons, subtle shaping and bias curves to complement the figure.

Our special presentation is open to the public, free of charge. All interested knitters are invited to attend, and refreshments will be served!

~ * ~

Our Sandia Stitch ‘n Time needlework group – not just for knitters, but also crochet-ers and cross-stitchers and needleworkers of all sorts - meets on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at the East Mountain Library, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Upcoming meetings are scheduled for May 9 and May 23. You can always find our latest schedule info on my website, LocalGringos.com, under the heading “kNitting kNews”.

Map of East Mountain Library location in Tijeras, NM:

For more information about other programs at the East Mountain Library (1 Old Tijeras Rd, Tijeras, NM 87059) in Tijeras, including hours and directions, call (505) 281-8508 or 311; TTY users call Relay NM or 711; or visit the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library website at www.cabq.gov/library.

Hope to see you there,

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Have you seen my “Second Story”?
Vintage Knitting & Fiber Arts Patterns

We’re foster parents! For 5 Abandoned Kitties

Monday morning we got the call we’d been hoping for from Animal Humane of Albuquerque: they have an onslaught of abandoned kittens, and they have a litter that needs fostering!

Two weeks ago we applied to be “foster parents” for Animal Humane. We said we could take kittens, puppies or adult dogs.

(We figured that with our current pet population, we’d better not try to take nursing mothers of either species – too stressful for all involved.)

We have 4 cats and 4 dogs of our own (all but one are rescues). On 5 acres, in a smallish house, that’s plenty. We simply can’t permanently adopt any more. But, we realized, we can foster animals that need help.

How Animal Fostering Works

When Animal Humane receives animals too young, too small or too sick for immediate adoption, they send them to live with volunteer foster families like ours.

We give them the special care & feeding they need, and socialize them. They can get used to people, being picked up, petted, and fed -- and to being around other cats, and dogs, especially large dogs. Our smallest dog is a Weimeraner, to give you an idea.

Then, when they are old enough, large enough, and healthy enough, we return them to Animal Humane for permanent adoption. Strong and healthy, they have a much better chance of finding what AH calls their “forever home”.

Animal Humane provides us all the supplies we need to take care of the kitties. When we left the AH “campus”, we had two heavy sacks full of kitten formula, feeding bottles, stage-two weaning food, canned wet food, dry kibble, cat toys, a cat carrier and even a fleecy hammock to hang in our pet crate.

About the Kittens

These guys are tiny! There are five of them, from different litters. They do not yet know how to lap from a bowl, or to eat solid food, so we are bottle-feeding them every 2 hours.

On May 12, we’ll take them in to Animal Humane’s clinic for a check-up and vaccinations. Animal Humane provides all their medical care free of charge.

They’ll stay with us for an estimated four weeks, until May 25. By then, we hope we can fatten them up to 2 pounds, and they’ll be old enough for adoption. At that point, we’ll take them back, with their chances for survival greatly improved.

Other Ways to Help

As my veterinarian in Belize used to tell me, over and over like a mantra, “You can’t save them all.”

It’s not always possible to permanently adopt an animal, I know.

And I know that not everyone has the time that fostering animals requires. I’m lucky to be able to work at home, so I can provide the round-the-clock care & supervision that these little guys need.

But there are many other ways to help your local animal shelter. Our Animal Humane shelter has a list of ways you can help them, for example. Your local shelter probably has a similar list.

Here are some suggestions:

• Cash donations are always welcome, of course. AH spends an average of $21.64 per animal, per day caring for their rescued animals.
• If you can’t care for animals in your home, you can volunteer your time to help out at the shelter.
• You can donate items from your shelter’s wish list. This might include cat litter, blankets, pet toys and so forth.
• Many shelters like Animal Humane operate thrift stores to support their good work, so you can donate gently used goods and clothing to those for resale.

We are so grateful to the people of Albuquerque who support the efforts of Animal Humane. Their donations made it possible for us to foster these kitties.

Thanks to all of you who support animal rescue!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Sandia Park, NM

P.S. If you’d like to take a peep at the kittens in real time, we’ve set up a Kitten Cam for streaming video, on-air live usually from 8 am to 6 pm or so, Mountain Daylight time!

Currently we’re trying to extend our feeding times from every 2 hours to 2-1/2 hours or so; feeding times are posted on the video site and on Twitter. (Follow me on Twitter for the latest updates.)

I won a bag of AlbuqCookies!

I can’t believe I actually won a contest drawing – I almost never do! – but I did, I won a bag of AlbuqCookies, yay!

And you can, too: just enter the monthly drawing on the AlbuqCookies website. Quick, go enter right now, because the cookies are wonderful!

Here’s the pic. Isn’t the bag design great?

Okay, so, somehow half the cookies got eaten before I got the camera out, but I’m sure you can just imagine how the bag looked when it was full.

I discovered this great local product back in February, at the Fiery Foods Fiesta in Albuquerque.

As I noted at the time, AlbuqCookies were one of my three favorite foods at the Fiesta!

The flavor I sampled at the Fiesta was Leah Rosie’s Chocolate Pepper Chile. Mmm, crisp spicy chocolate.

In the mail, I’ve just received my prize bag of Chocolate Pinon Biscotti – also delicious, but not spicy. Better for breakfast, I suppose!

Other AlbuqCookie flavors include Green Chile Pecan Sandia Cookies, Lavender Lemon Biscotti, Toffee Almond Biscotti, and Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cherry/Cranberry Biscotti.

In Albuquerque, AlbuqCookies can be found at La Montanita Co-op, Kellers Farmers Market, and Model Pharmacy. And AlbuqCookie owner Steve Hoffman tells me that within the next couple of weeks, Triangle Grocery in Cedar Crest will start carrying them, too!

I can’t wait.

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Sandia Park, NM

Folk Art Flea Market: Frugal Art Finds in Santa Fe

The Folk Art Flea Market: “Global Treasures, Bargain Prices”

Not to be confused with Santa Fe’s prestigious International Folk Art Market, the upcoming Folk Art Flea Market is also sponsored by the Museum of International Folk Art, but the operant word for this festival is “flea”.

The Folk Art Flea Market offers donated folk toys, dolls, apparel, jewelry, ceramics and masks at comparatively bargain prices. Sales support the Museum’s ongoing exhibitions and educational programs. 

We love the International Folk Art Festival, and attend every July. We love that the money directly benefits the artisans who participate. But we couldn’t help but notice that prices have climbed higher every year.

Not to say the art isn’t worth it. It is. There’s a crucial difference between expensive and over-priced. But for those of us on an art budget, it’s nice to know that even folk art can be recycled.

The second annual Folk Art Flea Market will be held Saturday, April 4, starting at 10 am at the Museum of International Folk Art.

And hey, if you’re tired of your carved & painted Oaxacan animals, for example, the Museum can help you find a good new home for them. The Friends of Folk Art are seeking donations of gently used or like-new folk art.  Donations will be accepted Sunday, March 29 to Thursday, April 2, from 10 am to 4 pm in the Museum Auditorium. 

Free Museum Admission for Rail Runner Riders

And here’s another frugal tip: Through the end of March 2009, Rail Runner riders can get free admission to select museums.

When you ride the Rail Runner up to Santa Fe, hold onto your ticket. With it, you can get same-day free admission to The Museum of International Folk Art, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Palace of the Governors Museum in Santa Fe.

Riding the other way? In Albuquerque, your Rail Runner ticket is good at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Even better, you can purchase discounted tickets to ride from the New Mexico Rail Runner website.