All the way to Albuquerque

The fact that the Angel Glamp Retreat was held at the Enchanted Trails RV Park in

Top L to R: Sunrise bracelet, Tessellation Lariat
Bottom: Crystal Fidget pendent

Albuquerque was quirky enough to tempt me, and when my friend, Teri, said she was going, I packed my bags and jumped on a plane. I was also attracted to this retreat because of the instructors. While bead embroidery isn’t difficult, it takes a special vision to design these pieces and a lot of patience to complete the work. Having taken a class previously from Kinga Nichols, I knew that we’d get to make something that was unusual and reflective of her artistic insight; I wasn’t disappointed with the Sunrise and Sunset Shores bracelets (I chose Sunrise). Nikia Angel, our other instructor, has been one of my inspirations for quite a while and I was delighted to finally get to spend some time with this creative lady. She gave us a choice of constructing either her Crystal Fidget or the Tessellation Lariat. Of course, I chose both and they are both wonderful! She introduced us to her Sparkly Wheel component and invited us to use it in our own designs. A lovely bonus came from Judith Bertoglio-Giffin; she volunteered to teach a group of us bead crochet. That was exciting to learn, too! These three ladies are exceptionally generous with their talents, helping beaders take what they learned and incorporate it into their own designs. This retreat was fun and I’m glad that I made the journey to Albuquerque! And although I’d been here twice before for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, I’d never really taken the time to explore the old section of the city, nor had I realized that one of my cousins lives in the area. Besides the hot air balloons, the city has a rich cultural history, extensive petroglyphs from the Ancestral Pueblo peoples, and an interesting geologic landscape.

Singing in Singapore

Orchids

One of the most delightful places I’ve been is Singapore. Easy to get around in, pleasant people and a common language are all characteristics to recommend this destination. But that’s not what enamored me most. The variety of cultures is the highlight of this city.

Modern Singapore dates from the establishment of a British port in the 1800s to support trade with India and China, as well as launch business enterprise in Southeast Asia. And one of the early businesses in Singapore was the Raffles Hotel, which is still in operation. Although the opulence of the hotel has faded somewhat, the

Of patron saints, Miss Potter, and lawn mowers

My favorite of all critters is the rabbit/hare. This love came about because a very good friend of mine told

"Wild" rabbit tending the grass

me wonderful tales about what good pets rabbits made, how they were easy to take care of, sweet, cuddly and so on. My first rabbit, Drucilla, was every bit as promised: cuddly, easy to take care of, sweet, and a bit more ~ stubborn, hungry for electric cords, and very good at hiding when I was ready to leave the house. Maggie was also wonderful and she didn’t eat cords, just woodwork and body parts when she was really irritated. Pepper had none of the bad habits of Maggie or Drucilla; she just had nothing to do with me and loved DM. I didn’t care; I loved them all no matter what! Along with this love of real rabbits came my collection of rabbit/hare statuary, dishes, paintings, stuffed critters, and basically anything that looks like the real animal.

I knew that Beatrix Potter hailed from the Lake District of England, so I was determined to make the pilgrimage to her Hill Top Farm. However, in doing research for this trip, I found that

St Melangell Center

there was another place I needed to visit. Saint Melangell is the patron saint of hares, rabbits, other small animals and the environment. At the end of a long, winding, one-lane road in Wales is Pennant Melangell, one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been. Around the area are fields with grazing sheep, daffodils, and hedges. Although I hadn’t planned it, we visited the shrine the week before Easter. There was no special service at St. Melangell so the church was open to any and all visitors. It remains open throughout the year so that pilgrims can come and go as they please. Because St. Melangell is

St. Melangell Church

the patron saint of hares, no hares are ever hunted in this area. The church was built in the 12^th century and is surrounded by Yew trees with a cemetery in front of the church. Not surprisingly, the information on the headstones is in Welsh. Just down the hill is the St. Melangell Centre in a house not much younger than the church. It was a real treat to wander the grounds, see the carvings, and visit the shrine.

And of course, we did visit Hill Top Farm. One would think that such a famous place would be very easy to find, as would the

Hawkshead village

museum associated with Beatrix Potter. Think again. We spent several hours in frustrated search for either the farm or the museum hoping that if we found one the people there would be able to direct us to the other. Fortunately, this was the case. The Beatrix Potter Gallery is in the building that once housed her husband’s law offices in the small town of Hawkshead. This is a beautiful little village situated on a hillside surrounded by open fields with sheep, lambs, and even a pony or two. The gallery has two floors (very small rooms) devoted to information about her writing, her family and her life. Not five miles away is Hill Top Farm. This was Miss Potter’s place of refuge from her

Hill Top Farm house

parents and city life. As she became wealthy from her writing, she was able to buy up more and more farms saving them from becoming fallow. During World War I she campaigned for keeping horses on these farms so that land could continue to be worked efficiently. In World War II, she successfully petitioned Winston Churchill to remove the factories that were built specifically for the war since they would be abandoned and would ruin the land for farming. She was very specific in her will, leaving Hill Top Farm and the surrounding lands to the National Trust. At the farm there are still rabbits that are fed regularly and are fenced off not from the garden but from the tourists.

Hill Top Farm Rabbits

And speaking of environmentally friendly places, Inverness Castle uses rabbits to trim the grass on the slope below the castle. As we looked out of the window of our hotel, we thought we were seeing rabbits. Quickly, we went down Ness Walk, crossed the bridge and came up to the slope beneath the castle. The rabbits hop in and out of the daffodils, chase each other and hide in their warrens. They are not disturbed by the traffic, tourists, or evidently anything else. Most appear to be

"Wild' rabbit at Inverness Castle

wild, but there is a black rabbit that looks suspiciously like a domestic bunny that has escaped into this ‘wilderness’. That rabbit doesn’t know how lucky it is!







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