Technology Woes with Kathryn Grody and Mandy Patinkin...

 I can so relate to Kathryn and Mandy on their You Tube Channel.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/arts/television/mandy-patinkin-kathryn-grody-videos.html

Do Not Abandon What Patriots Fought For

Insurrectionists breaking into the U.S. Capitol January 6, 2021

 

Trump rallies his supporters in an attempted coup d'état January 6, 2021

 Historian Heather Cox Richardson reminds us of what it took to establish our Republic. Would we have seditionists and their would-be monarch take what so many patriots fought and died for? The truth must be told about what Donald Trump and his lackeys are doing to destroy our democratic form of government. I support the truth finding of the January 6th Congressional Select Committee. Now is not the time for "sunshine patriots."

December 19, 2021 

Heather Cox Richardson

Dec 20

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

These were the first lines in a pamphlet called The American Crisis that appeared in Philadelphia on December 19, 1776, at a time when the fortunes of the American patriots seemed at an all-time low. Just five months before, the members of the Second Continental Congress had adopted the Declaration of Independence, explaining to the world that “the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled…do…solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.” 

The nation’s founders went on to explain why it was necessary for them “​​to dissolve the political bands” which had connected them to the British crown. 

They explained that their vision of human government was different from that of Great Britain. In contrast to the tradition of hereditary monarchy under which the American colonies had been organized, the representatives of the united states on the North American continent believed in a government organized according to the principles of natural law. 

Such a government rested on the “self-evident” concept “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Governments were created to protect those rights and, rather than deserving loyalty because of tradition, religion, or heritage, they were legitimate only if those they governed consented to them. And the American colonists no longer consented to be governed by the British monarchy.  

This new vision of human government was an exciting thing to declare in the heat of a Philadelphia summer after a year of skirmishing between the colonial army and British regulars, but by December 1776, enthusiasm for this daring new experiment was ebbing. Shortly after colonials had cheered news of independence in July as local leaders read copies of the Continental Congress’s declaration in meetinghouses and taverns in cities and small towns throughout the colonies, the British moved on General George Washington and the troops in New York City. 

By September, the British had forced Washington and his soldiers to retreat from the city, and after a series of punishing skirmishes across Manhattan Island, by November the Redcoats had pushed the Americans into New Jersey. They chased the colonials all the way across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. 

By mid-December, it looked bleak for the Continental Army and the revolutionary government it backed. The 5000 soldiers with Washington who were still able to fight were demoralized from their repeated losses and retreats, and since the Continental Congress had kept enlistments short so they would not risk a standing army, many of the men would be free to leave the army at the end of the year, further weakening it.

As the British troops had taken over New York City and the Continental soldiers had retreated, many of the newly minted Americans outside the army were also having doubts about the whole enterprise of creating a new, independent nation based on the idea that all men were created equal. Then, things got worse: as the American soldiers crossed into Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress abandoned Philadelphia on December 12 out of fear of a British invasion, regrouping in Baltimore (which they complained was dirty and expensive). 

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”

The author of The American Crisis was Thomas Paine, whose January 1776 pamphlet Common Sense had solidified the colonists’ irritation at the king’s ministers into a rejection of monarchy itself, a rejection not just of King George III, but of all kings. In early 1776, Paine had told the fledgling Americans, many of whom still prayed for a return to the comfortable neglect they had enjoyed from the British government before 1763, that the colonies must form their own independent government.

Now, he urged them to see the experiment through. He explained that he had been with the troops as they retreated across New Jersey and, describing the march for his readers, told them “that both officers and men, though greatly harassed and fatigued, frequently without rest, covering, or provision, the inevitable consequences of a long retreat, bore it with a manly and martial spirit. All their wishes centred in one, which was, that the country would turn out and help them to drive the enemy back.”

For that was the crux of it. Paine had no doubt that patriots would create a new nation, eventually, because the cause of human self-determination was just. But how long it took to establish that new nation would depend on how much effort people put into success. “I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state: up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake,” Paine wrote. “Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it.”

In mid-December, British commander General William Howe had sent most of his soldiers back to New York to spend the winter, leaving garrisons across the river in New Jersey to guard against Washington advancing. 

On Christmas night, having heard that the garrison at Trenton was made up of Hessian auxiliaries who were exhausted and unprepared for an attack, Washington crossed back over the icy Delaware River with 2400 soldiers in a winter storm. They marched nine miles to attack the garrison, the underdressed soldiers suffering from the cold and freezing rain. Reaching Trenton, they surprised the outnumbered Hessians, who fought briefly in the streets before they surrendered. 

The victory at Trenton restored the colonials’ confidence in their cause. Soldiers reenlisted, and in early January, they surprised the British at Princeton, New Jersey, driving them back. The British abandoned their posts in central New Jersey, and by March, the Continental Congress moved back to Philadelphia. Historians credit the Battles of Trenton and Princeton with saving the Revolutionary cause.

There is no hard proof that Washington had officers read The American Crisis to his troops when it came out six days before the march to Trenton, as some writers have said, but there is little doubt they heard it one way or another. So, too, did those wavering loyalists.

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Paine wrote in that fraught moment, “yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”

—

Notes:

https://allthingsliberty.com/2016/01/a-brief-publication-history-of-the-times-that-try-mens-souls/

https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/buildings/section4

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Finally, the 12th Month of 2021: That's a Wrap

Ron and I visiting my daughter and son-in-law in Tucson, August, 2021

This year had it's various "ups" and "downs" and I am ready to bid 2021 "goodbye" even though the passing of each year means I am on the downward path toward my expiration date.  I have bad memories of:

 Covid-19 and it's variants - from Delta to Omicron, a violent insurrection at our Capitol  January 6th, another mass killing this week at a school in Michigan, the exoneration of Kyle Rittenhouse for playing "Soldier of Fortune" killing Americans on the streets of Kenosha, the Senate acquittal of an ex-President who promoted the destruction of our democracy, the burning up of our planet's forests in drought-ridden wildfires, massive disinformation and conspiracy theories exploding to divide Americans and turn public health into a political "smack-down," and now a Supreme effort to overturn a woman's control over her own body...

 

On the other hand, we saw a Black man and a Jew elected to the U.S. Senate in RED State Georgia, we saw the final end of a 20 year $2.3 trillion war in Afghanistan, the federal government finally recognized Juneteenth as a Holiday to mark the end of slavery in the United States, several effective vaccines were rolled out for the general public to prevent Covid-19 infection and death, the US rejoined the Paris Agreement to again be part of the global climate solution, we saw the conviction of three Georgia white men who tracked down and killed an unarmed Black man who dared to run on their neighborhood street...

Of the many milestones this year, we witnessed the passing of many loved friends like my 83 year old neighbor Maria "Eddy" Vigil, our dear California friend Page Milliken, and my old high school boyfriend Bll Bagley.  May they rest in peace.                                                          

 

Ron and I were able to travel throughout the year to be with friends and family in California, Arizona, and Tennessee. We remodeled our kitchen, dining room, and a guest bedroom - making it an art studio for my painting. 

 

 

Since April, I started on a journey of healthy living and have lost 20 pounds so far. Our children are doing very well as they slip into middle age.  The grand children are healthy and happy with our oldest now a freshman at the University of Minnesota.

 

Last Christmas, Ron and I "escaped" to Mexico where we spent a week on the beach of Cabo San Lucas in Baja California del Sur.  It was truly a wonderful retreat from the horrible events of 2020. 

Christmas Eve (2020) on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas

 

 

This year, we will stay at home and enjoy a New Mexico winter and family holiday gatherings. In only 30 more days, we will all be thrust into a brand new year.  For me, I pledge to live each day with loving kindness and good intention. 

 

My sister sent me a table top fountain for my 71st birthday

Scoop: Santa's reindeers are fueling up, courtesy of my landscaping, for their midnight ride.

 

                  Happy New Year 2022!

 

Encaustic Painting Workshop

                                                                  Cans of colored hot wax on a hot plate

 This month, I attended a workshop at the New Mexico Art League on Encaustic Collage and Mixed Media led by Carolyn Berry.  It was an intensive 3 day workshop with a broad overview of encaustic painting and collage techniques and "hands on" experience that produced five finished pieces and a sample board for me.  I had first experienced encaustic painting in April, 2012 at the Encaustic Art Institute in Cerillos, NM.  This was my first finished encaustic painting from that workshop:

 

You can see some beautiful works of art on the Encaustic Art Institute's Blog here.  

Carolyn Berry, our instructor, provided us with the necessary instruction and supplies to learn a broad range of encaustic painting techniques,

                         Carolyn Berry applying shellac to be heated with a torch for a "spidering" effect

 Here the instructor demonstrates the use of fire (butane torch) to create interesting "spidering' effects on an encaustic painitng:

 

 

Encaustic painting requires a lot of sophisticated and unique equipment.  The technique requires a fairly large work space, sufficient ventilation, adequate electrical voltage and outlets, and an expensive supply of the medium of beeswax and damar resin, inks, hot plates, heat guns, brushes and specialized medium boards, collage materials and much more.  I go to the workshops to do encaustic because I don't have such equipment and supplies or space at my home.  Carolyn Berry provided a supply of everything we needed.  Here are some of the supplies she provided:

 

 

 

 Encaustic is a 3,000 year old technique of using hot wax tinted with pure pigment color to paint. 

Here are some of the student works created in the workshop:

                                                         Works by Rachel Ballentine

                                                         Works by Rachel Ballentine
 

Encaustic painting lends itself well to mixed media collage and three dimensional art. Here are some other examples of student work created in this workshop:

I created a sample board to try different techniques and media:

Then I created five pieces using collage of clip art, printed napkins, and my own photographs and poetry:

 

 

FC Tucson Sends Team to USL 1 Soccer Championship Playoffs For First Time in Club History

 FC Tucson is a soccer team I follow.  It is in the US Soccer League minor league (USL 1), but don't tell my 9 year old grand-daughter, Melody, because there is nothing "minor league" about her love and admiration for her Aunt Amanda's team in Tucson, Arizona.  Melody is a soccer player and avid fan of both NM United and FC Tucson.

 

    Maxi Schenfeld with Melody

 She traveled to Tucson Saturday - 7 hours one way - with her mom, dad and sister to watch the Quarterfinals for the USL 1 Championship. FC Tucson hosted the Richmond Kickers at the Kino North Stadium.  A hard fought game of defense finally broke in favor of the home team when Deri Corfe scored in the 87th minute.  Tucson will now go to the semi-finals in Omaha, Nebraska Saturday, November 13th for the Semi-finals.  Tucson will face #1 seed Union Omaha who they are 1-4 for the season.

                                                  

Melody on the pitch with Aunt Amanda after the game.

There was good hometown crowd rallying for FC Tucson at the final 2021 home game against Richmond,

Melody waves her team picture with joy for their win.

Deri Corfe, who made the only goal of the game, is one of Melody's favs.

Melody, his #1 fan,  gives a hug of appreciation to Charlie Dennis.

It's Fall in New Mexico - My Favorite Season

Perea Nature Trail, San Ysidro, NM

It's that magical time of year again in the Land of Enchantment.  The days are shorter and cooler.  The winds blow leaves into crunchy piles against each building and rock.  The colors are amazing.  The skies are clear and blue.  

Here is what my morning walk looks like in my neighborhood in the foothills of Albuquerque:

 

                                                             Blue Grama Grass gone to seed

This Japanese Lantern tree with it's bright red leaves is quite the show stopper.

 

I'm doing a Plein Air Painting workshop every Sunday this month.  Here is a  plein air painting destination in Placitas, NM:

And my painting:

Here are two more plein air paintings I did this month:

The sun rises later in the day and Halloween is neigh.

The view in my neighborhood of the sun rising over the Sandia Mountains 

My home in the foothills of Albuquerque

It's a great time to get the grand kids hiking

 

And for "leaf-peeping" in the mountains  above Santa Fe:

 

"Leaf-peeping" in the Manzano Mountains at Fourth of July Canyon to see the Bigtooth Maple, one of the few red fall foliage in New Mexico, is always a very crowded affair:

 

If you are in New Mexico in the fall, there are some very scenic drives you might take.

The Rio Grande bosque in the Fall from New Mexico Tourism and Travel website

 

The grand daughters all dressed up for Halloween....

 

 ...and that's a wrap for October.

 

Sunset, October 31, 2021