SAN ISIDRO CHURCH & CEMETERY

          Photos by C. Whitney-Ward

I rarely drive this far out on Agua Fria, but one day I did and saw this lovely church. It seemed to beckon and I wandered through the tiny cemetery reading names and dates and thinking about the fabric of each life.

The church was built in 1835.  It seems that church going in the early 1800's was an all-day affair. The main Cathedral was miles away and by the time families hitched their horses to the wagon, drove to town, attended mass, and returned home, eight hours or so  would have been consumed. And you'd have to forgo going to church entirely if it was your turn on Sundays  to water from the acequia. And some families could only "afford" going to church once a month. So,  building one closer to home  seemed just the thing to do.

But where to build? Jose Jacinto Gallegos, a Village resident, offered some of his prized farm land. While folks watched,  Gallegos tossed his hat into the air and  the church  was built exactly where it landed.  Everyone took part in the construction. Adobe bricks were fashioned from the ruins of an old pueblo. The walls were plastered by the women of the Village, and each of the corbels for the roof vigas  was crafted by individual families - making them charmingly irregular. The church was named and dedicated to San Isidro, ploughman  and patron saint of farmers and protector of crops.

The ancient markers in the cemetery resonate with the names of those early residents of Agua Fria Village.

                                        

A butterfly & a teddy bear

SAN ISIDRO CHURCH

3552 Agua Fria

505.471.0710

THE EXTRAORDINARY DOORS OF SANTA FE

“I feel very adventurous.

There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them.”

                                                                                                            Elizabeth Taylor, Actor

Photos by C.Whitney-Ward

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”

                                                        

Flora Whittmore

"Every wall is a door."

                                                                                                        Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Ten men waiting for me at the door? Send one of them home, I'm tired."

                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                Mae West

The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door —

Only this, and nothing more."

Edgar Allan Poe

"An open door invites callers."

                

                            Turkish Proverb

"A small key opens big doors."

                                                                                       Persian Proverb

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DYNAMIC SANTA FE SISTERS - CHAR & SHERRY

                         Photos by C. Whitney-Ward  

Char (top photo) and sister Sherry grew up in a small northern Colorado town and

began their careers in fashion at an early age - stitching doll clothes on their mom's Singer sewing machine. Over the years they've successfully collaborated on design projects and now they are at it again, sharing Char's beautiful white adobe studio space in downtown Santa Fe.

For the past 30 years, Char occupied a store front on Old Santa Fe Trail across from La Fonda Hotel. Her signature clothing designs quite literally defined Santa Fe style. When she closed her store a few months ago, I wondered where all the beautiful clothing had gone.

When I received an invitation to Char's White Studio/Pop Up Store opening on March 25th, I didn't have to wonder any more. "I went down the rabbit hole and came up on McKenzie Street," laughs Char.

 The two-story space is beautiful, filled with architectural detail, sunlight and Char's wonderful clothing and Sherry's handsome "work" bags.

And something new - wonderful  vintage sofas and chairs upholstered in vibrant patchwork fabrics.

     CHAR AT THE WHITE STUDIO

206 McKenzie Street

 in the large white villa at the corner of Griffin (off Grant Street)

505.988.5969

By appointment