Happy March

Wow! Was it really a year ago that we officially went into "stay home" mode?

I am celebrating, and commemorating a year of lock down with a show of new work at our very own community run bookstore in Alamosa.    

New work, all of March at the Narrow Gauge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have not yet been into the Narrow Gauge Bookstore, at the corner of State and Main - grab your mask and treat yourself.  GO! enjoy!

Back in February 2018 when the Narrow Gauge was closing after 40 years in the valley, the loss seemed insurmountable but not to a group of folks who had the vision for a community run store to sell new and used books.   Julie Mordecai, one of the original visionaries said, " Bookstores can be a place where people can gather and learn and write and buy books and create community. I don't want to lose the anchor in downtown Almosa. But we're going to need help and volunteers."  
That was just the beginning.

This gem of a store is now a showplace in the valley where they beautifully curate new and used books, a great assortment of local goods, foods, and cards, -  but they also highlight authors and artists of the San Luis Valley. Read more about the Narrow Gauge at: https://www.narrowgaugebooks.com/

                                                                                                  

WOW! News from the Outback

A word from Alamosa - a small backwater in southern Colorado.
This week, as in other parts of Colorado, almost everything has closed: no Recreation center for painting classes or walks on the track - no Pickle Ball - What?
This is a place of small businesses and a (very good) small town attitude about what it means to take care of your neighbor.
In case anyone wondered, or even had time to think about it . . .
Yes- my show at Adams State University IS canceled.
At first we thought we would HANG it and wait things out but the school is now closed indefinitely to on campus activities.
Yes, well. . .  I'd be lying to say this is not a disappointment but - we all have bigger fish to fry and there are people making much bigger sacrifices.
As to the show - this may not be the LAST word but for the moment let us think about taking care of each other, being kind when people are nervous, afraid, or acting out of fear.
Here in Alamosa, we have no reported cases of Coronavirus - but it's no time to pat ourselves on the back -  it's time to call our neighbors; do they have enough toilet paper, or more importantly - food?  Maybe they just need a word of encouragement.
It snowed last night.  March can be a rough month for cold weather here and certainly our folks living homeless or in shelters will suffer.  Pray for them, and the good people in the community who are on the front lines worldwide.
And be a hero -
if you can, stay home and mind the hearth.