Gift of Love

This is a child's tea set made by Juanita and her daughter Adalita from the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico. It was given to me Christmas 1945 by Juanita's niece Pasqualita Pena who was one of the two young women who came to our house at Los Alamos to help my mother with her two small children. Pasqualita adopted us and invited us on several occasions to visit with her family. I wish I remembered dancing with the other children and sitting on Pasqualita's father's lap pulling his long braids. I only know this because of my mother's many memories shared with me as long as she was alive. She was a story teller and a lover of people. I expect it was because of Mom that we were invited and became close to the family. 

All of this is on my mind because I recently got a call from the Atomic Heritage Foundation with questions about my time in Los Alamos (I don't remember much as we moved back to Berkeley when I was three, but I do still have a deep love of the desert.) I've sent family photos to the Foundation and will soon send more including the photos of this pottery set. I posted the rest on Chaikins of Bellingham.

Tonight I'm going to the unveiling of the 2017 Skagit Tulip Festival poster and the featured artist who happens to be Trish Harding, my amazing teacher and friend. A bunch of us painters are going together. Arvin is hanging out with Helena at her place while I'm gone.