RHS Meet and Greet in Alamogordo, NM

July 13, 2013

The day for our Meet and Greet finally arrived. We were hopeful of a good turnout because we advertised our event in the community calendar in the Alamogordo Daily News and Carla was interviewed on KRSY regarding the event as well as information about the New Mexico Roadrunner Chapter by Nadia Sikes.

Doug came with Carla to take photos of the event and upon arrival at the White Sands Mall, Carla got busy setting up the tables and decorating. The tables are covered in tablecloths she made. On one end is a tiered stand containing cupcakes frosted in red and purple with the number "15" on a toothpick stuck in each cupcake continuing the 15th birthday celebration of the Red Hat Society. On the other end is a mirror with various hats around it so women can try on and experience the "magic of the hat". There are also feather boas, beads, balloons and gloves scattered about to complete the decorating.

It was a lovely gathering and we signed up seven new members. It was a truly fun event and several of the girls enjoyed dining in the Mall as time permitted. It is going to be grand getting fully acquainted with all of our new members. Each new member received a Kazoo and a Red Hat button. We all played Happy Birthday to Penny on our Kazoos.

Birthday girl Penny Pirrung and chapter Vice Queen

Carla aka Queen Ladybird setting up for the event

Penny, Carla and Margie

All set to Meet and Greet the public

Carla welcoming new member Gloria Vaughn. She came wearing the colors ready for action!

We have one rule, "Red on the head and purple on the shoulders" unless your are under age 50.

Carla explaining about the Red Hat Society to incoming member Donna Clark

Celebrating Red Hat Society's 15th birthday

Continual Meeting and Greeting

L to R: Dorothy Smith receiving the Flying Purple People Eater Award for outstanding service, Carla and Lu

Carla telling Joann Padilla all about the Red Hat Society. She joined.

L to R: Penny, Darla, Margie, Dorothy, Lu and Carla

The information exchange with Ann Smith

Ann Smith signing up

Another very interested lady. She took all the information and will sign up on line.

 Cyprina Madrid is our newest member!

One lady did not make it to the Meet and Greet, but I saw her later in the evening and she signed up so it was a great success.

Thanks to Doug for the great photos.

This is all I have to say for now.

Odds and Ends

Friday, July 5, 2013

Just a report to keep you up-do-date on the ongoing happenings at the Kerr household. Doug decided to fulfill my request for updating the fireplace screen. It was a worn brass color and I decided it needed some pizzazz added to it. Doug went through all the process of scrubbing it with Comet. Then used steel wool to get the pitted areas smoothed out. Once it was rinsed and dried, he spray painted it a bright orange.

This is the before photo

This truly brings out the color of the brick and brightens the room

Thanks Doug, for a fabulous job. I'm a happy woman, grateful for your intense labor in achieving this great result.

An update on books I've read since I last reported: Actually, I'll start with one I'm currently reading that I highly recommend although I'm only half way through the book. It is "The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America" written by Douglas Brinkley. Mr. Brinkley gives one a wonderful insight into the workings of TR's thought process, his feelings and emotions and his absolute love for this great country of ours. I'm calling him "TR" because he hated to be called "Teddy" and although he is deceased, I must respect this great man's wishes. There are many monuments, forests, animal sanctuaries including the bird population that we would not have that would have led to the extinction of many creatures,  were it not for TR's deep love of the of the great outdoors and the critters that populate it. Be aware, it is a thick book so be prepared to settle in for the long haul. You won't be sorry.

Just finished reading "My Beloved World" by Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice from Brooklyn. When you read this book, you can't help but fall in love with this woman. She is well grounded in her thought process and possesses unsurpassed empathy with fellow humans and the human condition as it relates to our current lifetimes. I am convinced that she and I could become good friends should the occasion arise for us to meet.  She comes from people filled with love and sorrow, laughter and happiness, broken and then healed relationships all happening as one could imagine within the confines of family. She was born with unusually high intelligence and childhood diabetes. It was this combination that caused her to grow up more quickly than other children because her survival depended on her taking charge of this disease. I predict that you will grow to like Sonia Sotomayor when you read this book. I highly recommend it to you.

A really fun book to read is "Nora 102 1/2: A Lesson on Aging Well" by June Shaw. This book is written by Nora's daughter June and is about a family with longevity in their genes. Nora was caregiver to her mother, Marie, until she passed at age 99. When Nora turned 100, she began counting the halves saying it was important to recognize age in this manner. Nora got a new lease on life after Marie died, started walking everywhere, joined Weight Watchers, took line dancing lessons, etc. I believe her secret to such a long life was due to her ability to keep moving and her recognition of the necessity of this motion to keep her alive and vivacious. She used her age wherever necessary to sometimes do outrageous things that will make you laugh out loud. We can all receive life lessons from this outstanding woman. You will be glad you read this book.

There are probably 15 or more books that I have read lately, but these are my top choices, well written and about real people, entertaining and educational as well.

Thanks to Doug for the photos of the fire place screen.

This is all I have to say for now.

July 4, 2013 in Alamogordo, New Mexico

July 4, 2013

The day started out at 8:00 a.m. when volunteers from the Cancer Resource Center and members of Relay for Life Sassy Survivors Team gathered to build a float in Linda Laws' driveway here in Alamogordo, New Mexico. A truck pulling a flatbed trailer was generously donated for the occasion by Mike and Jennifer.

The pictures taken by Doug Kerr will explain the whole process as well as those he took at the parade itself.

Dr. Laws and wife, Linda overseeing the operation

The group building the birthday cake guided by Mike

Installation of the birthday candles. L to R: Jennifer, Alex, Mike and Carla

Icing the cake

Carla opening step stool so Jennifer can climb down from the trailer

Andrew inside the cake

Cancer Resource Center banner

The crew attaching other banners advertising Relay for Life supporters. L to R: Linda, Sue, Carla and Mike

Dr. Laws giving his medical once over of the cake

 

Mike creating a stand for our American flag

Sue and Mike hooking up float to truck

In the parade line-up patiently waiting for it to begin

Parade formation on-going

Michael helping his son, Andrew, into the cake

Young woman with her mythical looking Gypsy Vanner horse

Andrew adding to the festivity with his bubble wand

Still patiently waiting for the parade start R to L: Nicole, Carla, Linda and Jennifer

Mike, telling other drivers that the birthday cake is celebrating 100 years of American Cancer Society Research

And we're off

Miss Teen Alamogordo and Miss Teen Otero County

Miss New Mexico and Miss Alamogordo

Even a little white pony had his own float

Jeep drill during parade

The drill completed with each having a wheel atop the next jeeps wheel

Miss New Mexico (Look out Miss America contestants. Not only is she beautiful, but has the brains and talent to match.) from Alamogordo and Miss Alamogordo

Carla, CRC Volunteer and Sassy Survivor Relay for Life team member

Watching the parade

More parade watchers

Andrew wanding everyone with bubbles

Delton Baker made a cool place to watch the parade in his truck bed

Carla passing out Cancer Resource Center brochures

More parade attendees-everyone looks so patriotic in their red, white and blue

Announcing each parade entry as they pass the judges stand

The Judges' Stand

We did it and it was a hot day, but we are so proud of our birthday cake!

Thanks to everyone who participated from the Cancer Resource Center. We had such a fun time making this happen with Linda Laws' imagination and the mechanical abilities of Mike and the Baker family.

Thanks to Doug for photos of the whole process.

This is all I have to say for now.

The Jade Bracelet

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Actually, this all began on June 21, 2013 when I opened the Alamogordo Daily News and removed a weekly insert titled "Vamonos-weekly arts and entertainment." On the front cover was eight portraits of interestingly named actors involved in "The Jade Bracelet". Not only were they an odd looking cast of characters, but their names were quite creative as well. After reading a synopsis of this play, I determined that we (my husband, Doug, and I) should definitely go see it.

When I called to make reservations, I got none other but the playwright, Blake Martin, on the other end of the phone. During our conversation, we made arrangements for tickets to be picked up at the door and I to mail a check for same. The play takes place in Ruidoso, New Mexico's Old Mill, the oldest building in Ruidoso. This building reeks with history going back to 1868 and having gone through numerous owners.  The current owner is Delana Clements and she struggles to keep the Old Mill open and available for various styles of entertainment.

The Jade Bracelet is a murder mystery concert. Upon arriving, we find chairs fairly close to the stage. It is later explained that the chairs are borrowed from a local church when an event is planned. A boy about age nine is walking down the aisle with a big tub containing different types of water guns and we are each invited to pick one. Another couple arrives and sits in our row who live in Ruidoso in the summer time and return to Granbury, Texas, their home for the remainder of the year.

For the first hour we are thoroughly entertained by Mama Hottie and the Sterilizers, three talented musicians playing various instruments. Mama Hottie (Deanna Martin) sings and plays bass guitar, bongos and a Djembe, a goblet shaped hand-played drum from West Africa. Mama Hottie also plays the role of Aurora Borealis in the play. Tim McCasland plays banjo and the Dobro, an acoustic guitar with a conical resonator resulting in a larger, richer sound. His role in the play is that of Ol' Two Legg Johnsons. Blake Martin plays lead guitar and sings. Not only is he the playwright, but his role is as Leff Hook Smiff.

The play opens with The Jade Bracelet being set up to be auctioned and several actors and members of the audience  receive numbered tickets for later. The rest of the cast includes Ken Duke as Billy the Dostoevsky who is a gambler who wants to auction the priceless JADE BRACELET to cover his gambling debts and he unwittingly becomes the victim; Taylor Appel as Effie Cook, a beatnik poet who thinks she can disappear at will. She seems to have a thing for Billy, or is it for the JADE BRACELET?; Mike Buckley as Gordon Gutman is a U.S. spy who has...lets just say...he's been in the field too long. He has two followers, aliens from a UFO, well played by Beth DeFoor and Vicki Buckley; Noa Martin as Anna Vladimir appears to be visiting the U.S. from Russia in search of state spoons among other things; Spade Holmes P. I. is played by Phillip Appel who was hired by the victim to be his strong arm. The play is directed by Laurel Appel.

At one point in the play when Spade Holmes P. I. is trying to solve the crime, he asks, "Who in this room has a gun?" The audience immediately holds up their water guns as does Ol' Two Legg Johnsons.

This was an unusual venue as you will see by the pictures to follow and this murder mystery concert was creative, innovative and just plain fun for the audience as well as the actors. Congratulations to Blake Martin, Playwright extraordinaire, and the fabulous cast!

The room is long and narrow with the stage at one end

Our hostess and Old Mill owner, Delana Clements

Noa Martin  (Anna Vladimir)  walking toward the stage

Billy the Dostoevsky (red shirt) and, far right,  Spade Holmes P. I. discuss auctioning the JADE BRACELET

Playwright Blake Martin (Leff Hook Smiff)

Director Laurel Appel

Tim McCasland (Ol' Two Legg Johnsons) playing some fine music on his Dobro

Deanna Martin  (Aurora Borealis/Mama Hottie) giving out with a fine beat on her Djembe

Taylor Appel  (Effie Cook) in black

An eerie shot of the aliens, Beth DeFoor and Vicki Buckley

Mike Buckley (Gordon Gutman), a slightly confused U.S. spy with his alien followers

Mama Hottie and the Sterilizers with victim, Billy the Dostoevsky

If you ever have an opportunity to see this play or to visit the Old Mill in Ruidoso, I highly recommend you do so.

Thanks, Doug, for your photography work under trying circumstances.

This is all I have to say for now.