A unique Haunted House at Mountainair Elementary

Best report of the Haunted House is from Dennis Fulfer:

Mountainair Elementary School Haunted House was SO MUCH FUN this evening. I'm hearing great reviews. CHECK OUT SUNDAY NIGHT'S HAUNTED HOUSE! (7pm-9pm, admission $2) ramped up for the older folks. Friday's haunted house was MASSIVELY toned down, so it's not the actual haunted house planned for Sunday. It's geared towards the kids...squirmy stuff...scary LOOKING things, but nothing that goes BOO or is so scary that it upsets them too much. 

This is not your average "haunted house."  It follows the form of a legend loosely based on history ...  from pre-Conquest on (I really wished I had enough time to make a conquistador costume!)... Conquistadores, friars, cowboys, kachina warriors, skin walkers. 

Nov 5-Dec 2: The Little Picture Show

... a group show at Cibola Arts in Mountainair NM, art in miniature: opening reception, 2-4 pm, Nov 5

click image for larger version

More about miniatures

• What is miniature art?
• Art in miniature
• A short history of miniatures
• Insights into the contemporary resurgence of miniatures
• German vending machines to sell miniature art (Reuters)
• Miniature art, Wikipedia

Everybody Eats: Green Tomatoes & Community Garden Harvest

This #Mountainair garden's surplus of green tomatoes leads to thoughts of green tomato offerings at the annual Christmas Art/Crafts Fair, thus eliciting a call for good green tomato recipes. I found several sources. Can you add to the collection?  

• Green tomato canning recipes
• More green tomato canning recipes from Cooks.com
• Green tomato recipes at Tip Nut includes two recipes for green tomato salsa that sell well, also green tomato chutney and ersatz mince meat
• Venerable All Recipes also offers a good selection of green tomato recipes ~ I can't decide whether sweet green ketchup sounds intriguing or weird

Sadly, I missed out on beets, peppers, broccoli, carrots and such.... but there's always a leftover tomato plant to hang (unfortunate images of hanging orphans comes to mind) and, of course, zucchini. Isn't there a song, "Zucchini Evermore" or something similar? If not, there should be. Or instead of "thanks for all the fish," in this galaxy we could start saying, "thanks for all the zucchini." Bring trowels not towels...

Blogzibit: Dia de los Muertos artwork

 A few examples blogged in years past, from traditional to contemporary:

        

Tomé Gallery, Dia de los Muertos

Opening a week + of posts with Dia de los Muertos graphics with an announcement for Tomé Gallery's 3rd annual ofrendas / show celebrating the occasion. This year, Mountainair artist Celeste Simon will be among the exhibitors ~ all the excuse I need and then some to remind local artists and readers about area galleries about and add the event postcard to my Dia de los Muertos collection.

More Dia de los Muertos art and images

PSA: USDA Forest Service to Create Jobs in FY 2010

shared by Arlene T. Perea, Recreation Tech., Mountainair Ranger District, P.O. Box 69, Mountainair, NM 87036. (O) 505-847-2990; (F) 505-847-2238

NEWS RELEASE: USDA FOREST SERVICE Press Office, 201 14th St., SW, Washington, D.C., 20024. Voice (202) 205-1134; Web:  http://www.fs.fed.us 

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USDA Forest Service Builds on Recovery Act Investments to Create More Jobs in FY 2011: Forest restoration efforts continue to put Americans to work in communities around the country  

WASHINGTON, October 19, 2010 - USDA Forest Service Officials announced today that the agency will build on job creation efforts through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments during the upcoming fiscal year by continuing to emphasize job creation and new partnerships with the private sector to create sustainable, green jobs.
"The Forest Service has been making investments in communities around the country and creating great new jobs in rural America," said Tom Tidwell, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.  "By focusing on new jobs and private sector partnerships, the Forest Service will continue to build a forest restoration economy to achieve Secretary Vilsack's and the Forest Service's forest and rangeland restoration goals."

Recovery Act funds expire at the end of fiscal year 2010, but Tidwell explained that the Forest Service will retain its "Recovery Act focus" as part of its regular program of work in FY2011.  This will be accomplished using unobligated balances from FY 2010, along with FY 2011 appropriations, allowing the Forest Service to continue to restore forest resources while meeting the needs of rural economies.  To meet these goals, the Forest Service will take the following steps:  

• Unobligated fiscal year 2010 funding will carry over to fiscal year 2011. Regional Foresters and Station Directors will prioritize their programs of work and look for opportunities that will result in job creation and retention while still ensuring program objectives, goals and outcomes are met. 
• Focus will remain on implementing the highest priority projects and acres. Recognizing that jobs are a priority of the nation right now, the Forest Service will accept reduced number of acres treated or resource accomplishments if Regional Foresters and Station Directors can show that shifting or reprioritizing work will result in a greater number of jobs created while maintaining significant benefit to forest health and restoration.  

   

The Forest Service will use its Job Corps, Youth Conservation Corps and Public Lands Corps programs as training opportunities, and develop partnerships to facilitate the placement of graduates from these programs, according to Tidwell, including new, non-traditional partners within the agency's programs to better reach underserved communities in urban areas with high unemployment rates.

Tidwell said that the agency sees the greatest potential for job creation and retention in Integrated Resources Restoration, Construction and Maintenance, Hazardous Fuels, and Recreation accounts. For example, within Hazardous Fuels, emphasizing mechanical treatments in place of prescribed burning could result in increased job creation. Emphasizing Stewardship Contracting as a tool to implement restoration will also create private sector infrastructure investment and jobs through long-term 10-year contracts.  The agency will measure success using agency ARRA methodologies to estimate job creation and retention, and report these findings at the end of fiscal year 2011.
The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to State and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.

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  USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C.  20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202-720-6382 (TDD). To receive official Forest Service information by e-mail, please subscribe by visiting http://www.fs.fed.us/news/subscription/

O is for October

... opening with national, closing with local, October in Mountainair. 

I've got a bunch of November stuff to blog, but still have October stuff in mailbox and drafts folders to tend to. Let me get October out of the way before wading into November. First step, adding them to the Mountainair Community Calendar (also available at many locations online) with information available + links and contact information, is done. That's ongoing. Tediously so, but events are covered if don't get to blogging them promptly. An excellent reminder not to procrastinate.

October includes the last half of National Hispanic Heritage Month; Breast Cancer Awareness Month; Domestic Violence Awareness Month; National Book Month; 10.10.10, One Day on Earth; 10/15 National Blog Action Day (see clean water petition in sidebar) + more October dates. I'm not listing monthly meetings: enough already. They're on the calendar anyway.

Local includes/included (most cases, no follow-up available) a Stuff Sale at Methodist Church; Annual Dog Walk; MHS Homecoming; Gran Quivira Star Party; Cibola Arts Fall Fiesta (month long group show, predictably focusing on Fall themes); Mosiac Mural Project Workshops (Thursdays, Salinas Visitors Center); community garden Garden Party and Harvest Days; Writers Group meeting; Salinas Pueblo Missions presents Historic Mystery Theater or Re-enactment on as yet unannounced hence unknown topic or historical character; MES Halloween Carnival, rescheduled Grand Opening of Divine Treasures; Stonehouse Gallery hosts group yard sale this weekend.

Needless to say, national and local, bridging October and November: Halloween, Samhain and Day of the Dead. 


O is for October. N is for November. Reverse them and what do they spell? NO! That does not mean no November (how could I do that anyway?) just not today.

Mountainair Writers Group

Dixie Boyle and Ben Steinlage are starting a Mountainair Writers Group.  The first meeting is Wednesday October 20 at Ancient Cities from 6-7 pm, at which time a schedule for future meetings will be set.

So far, local interest ranges from published authors to everyday writers and those who would like to start writing. Join them this coming Wednesday.

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Ed Note: here's hoping this presages strong Mountainair participation in NaNoWriMo come next month

Blog Action Day is TODAY

Today, more than 5000 bloggers from 130 countries are coming together for a single day of blogging about a single topic: water. New Mexico understands how important this topic is. We appreciate the focus on it ~ locally and globally  Dear Readers, do you blog too? Click here to register your blog today. First, if you don't want to focus on any specific aspect of the water crisis, simply write about Blog Action Day 2010 itself, telling your readers how thousands of bloggers around the world are coming together to write about a single important topic. You can also embed our video or action widget to educate your readers. For those of you who want to dig deeper into the often shocking, disheartening, yet hopeful issues around water, the Blog Action crew has outlined a list of possible post ideas. You can also view a real-time stream of all the blog posts being published across the web right now on the new Blog Action Day homepage. Will add your voice? Click here to register your blog right now.

October: Fall Hurrahs

... in Mountainair include Fall Fiesta, October (all month) group show, Cibola Arts

                  Purple Mountains, oil by Dianne Doan

    Fall Path #3, oil by Addie Draper             

and the Mountainair Community Garden celebrated with an "open house" day ~ a garden party.

A history in pictures from tilling 'til...

NPR 24/7 Music Channel Online

The All Songs 24/7 Music Channel Hear a non-stop mix of every song ever played on the ten years of All Songs Considered. Enjoy old favorites, brand-new tracks and exclusive live concert recordings from the archive. Tune in any time, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Listen Now » Listen On The NPR Music iPhone App » More Music Streams »

Exhibit: The Thread of Memory: Spain and the United States"

Opening Oct 17, late but still appropriate for National Hispanic Culture Month

The exhibit, "The Thread of Memory: Spain and the United States" (El Hilo de la Memoria) will make its US debut opening at the New Mexico Museum of History in Santa Fe on October 17, 2010, (with a preview event the night before). It will run through January 9, 2011, before it heads down to the El Paso Museum of History on January 22. 

Events in Santa Fe on opening day are from 1:30  p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Dr. Luis Laorden Jimenez of Madrid, Spain, will open the accompanying lecture series with "Setting the Context of El Hilo de la Memoria: Cartography of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro," co-sponsored by El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association. For more information. 

Nuestras Raíces, Los Lunas Museum, Oct9-Nov6

perfect local event for National Hispanic Heritage Month ... from Nancy Brown-Martinez via the NM Culture Net

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 Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts

Presents: Nuestras Raíces: Our Roots – Free Event

Photographs of the Unique Architecture of New Mexico

1973-2010

Bob Christensen, Photographer

Photographic Presentation and Discussion

Saturday, October 9, 2010

1:00-2:30 PM

Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts

251 Main Street

Los Lunas, New Mexico 87031

Musical Performance by

Bill Bailey and the Country Classics

2:30-4:30 PM

Exhibition Dates: October 9, 2010 through November 6, 2010

Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Sponsored in part by:

New Mexico Humanities Council

Smithsonian Institution

New Harmonies

Valencia County Historical Society

Village of Los Lunas