A Musical Biography: Las Cantigas de Santa Maria 2025

In this 13^th year of my production, for public radio, I present the narrative and play list to “Las Cantigas de Santa Maria: A Musical Biography of 13^th Century Monarch, King Alfonso X”

I dedicate this program to my mentor, the late David W. Bauguess and to all music teachers who instill the love of music in their students.

I invite you to listen to this program on December 24, from 2:00 to 4 p.m. in the Central Time Zone. The public radio station that has sponsored Las Cantigas in this 13^th year is High Plains Public Radio. Please tune in on hppr.org under holiday programming (not to be confused with HPPR connect, the talk show portion of their dual programming).

Hello. I’m Debra Bolton. Welcome to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (The Holy Canticles of St. Mary), Songs and poems in praise of the Virgin Mary – and the poetic/musical biography of Alfonso, “the wise”, The King of Castile-Leon, now Spain, and who lived from 1221 to 1284. I’m happy you’ve joined me today.

Today, my research comes from the authors Deirdre Jackson, Dr. Jessica Knauss, and Emilio Villalba with Sara Marina, and Maestro Jordi Savall.

I like to begin this musical journey with The Learned King declaring himself Mary’s Troubadour who will take her teachings to his Kingdom and beyond. We hear the prologue where The Learned King states, “I am here to spread your good word to my people, and in doing that, I pray for my place in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This is Pavel Zarukin 1:18

Followed by the spoken declaration that Alfonso the Wise states that from henceforth, he will be Mary’s troubadour. :18 and CSM #4 by Ricardo Alves Pereira with the Prologue CSM B 3:47

That was Ricardo Alves Pereira with an instrumental version of the CSM Prologue B and King Alfonso X announcement that he serves as the Virgin Mary’s troubadour, henceforth, from Emsemble Obsidienne with Emmanuel Bonnardot. the Learned King’s spoken declaration that he is Mary’s greatest public relations ad man, so to speak. Alfonso pledges to use every means to extol Mary’s virtues, especially where her miracles are concerned.

In writing about the Enigma of the Cantigas de Santa Maria or the CSM, Emilio Villalba, says, “The curious thing about this marvellous musical monument from the 13th century is that it still holds many secrets and enigmas that make this work even more valuable.” He adds, “There is no doubt that Alfonso was one of the first kings to sign a musical book, making this work a unique codex.

The CSM collection consists of poems put to music. The king also engaged 2D and 3D artists to depict visually what the songs portrayed. The catalog consists of more than 420 poems set to music beginning with what is called a “cantiga de loor” song of love, that is “courtly love” and every 10th song is a song of love while the others focus on scenarios related to sins and crimes with their accompanying stories of Mary’s miracles from which Alfonso X hopes to promote morality in his kingdoms of Castile and Leon, which later become what we know as Spain.

Let’s turn to the works of This Breton band called Bleizi Ruz, meaning red wolves in the Breton language. This interpretation demonstrates that the Cantigas de Santa Maria continues to be of interest to musicians and scholars world wide. Here Blizi Ruz collaborates with Spanish Ensemble, La Musigaña.

Cantigas de Santa Maria: 4:04

CSM 1 – Des oge mais quer’ eu trobar. Hana Blaziková, Barbora Kabátková, Margit Übellacker & Martin Novák 5:44

That was Hana Blaziková, Barbora Kabátková, Margit Übellacker & Martin Novák performing CSM 1, The Seven Joys. We began the set with Blizi Ruz and La Musigaña with an instrumental of CSM 1.

You can find this transcript, along with photos, and links in my blog, Peopleandcultures.blog. Look for “Cantigas de Santa Maria 2025”

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X and his devotion to the Virgin Mary. In this, we come to understand the miracles of the Virgin Mary as seen through the eyes and ears of Alfonso X, who ruled what is now Spain during the 13^th Century.

Each year, when I prepare this production, I like to read different scholarly interpretations of the CSM. King Alfonso X remains an enigma. Instead of having his musicians and scholars do the work, he worked alongside them offering his own poetry and musical notations to the songs praising the miracles of the Virgin Mary. Musician and musicologist, Emilio Villalba posits that four copies of the vast works were made so that the King could have them at each of his palaces. During great illness, the King held the rather weighty volumes on his chest as a sort of balm for healing.

We’ll dive into works of other Alfonsine scholars later in this program. Let’s continue with an Arabic tribute to the Virgin Mary. Remember, King Alfonso X was a pluralist, and he ruled his kingdom, rather effectively, with Muslims, Jewish, and Christians side by side. We’ll hear two version of a la quarte estampie royal. A Royal dance, specifically of Medieval times:

La quarte estampie royal – Ensemble Alcatraz 2:33

La quarte Estampie Royal – Jordi Savall 4:47

We just heard Jordi Saval and his Hesperion XXI (21) from an album called Estampies & Danses Royales on the Alia Vox label.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X. I’m Debra Bolton. We now pause for this station break: 2:00

Welcome back to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of 13^th Century monarch, King Alfonso X, who ruled what is now Spain from 1251 to 1284. I’m your host, Debra Bolton. A friend from Spain shares a few articles he’s found on King Alfonso. One such article, Work and Workers in Alfonso X’s CSM by Deirdre Jackson, sheds light on ways men and women coped with work challenges from work accidents to crop failure. Some scholars posit that Alfonso the Wise made a conscious effort to preserve ways of life in his kingdom, while committing himself to creating a cultural time capsule in the dominant language of the time: Galician-Portuguese, the embryonic Castilian of today. We’ll hear two pieces of the CSM that speak to work life, with the added twist of Mary intervening to ease a tragedy.

CSM 213 tells the story of A man named don Tomé from Elvas who made his living carrying things to market on his beasts. Tome worked with the thought that his wife was faithful to him, but he was mistaken.

One day authorities found her stabbed to death. When Tome returned to Elvas, they tried to arrest him, but he fled to the border.

He settled in Badajoz, and decided to go to Terena on pilgrimage hoping the Virgin would protect him from arrest, since the charge was unjust. He prayed to the Virgin to have mercy on him and to defend him.

On his return to Badajoz, he encountered his enemies, but the Virgin prevented them from seeing him. Still hoping to find him, they went to Terena. On a riverbank, they saw the devil in the man’s guise.

Once the devil’s trick was revealed, the authorities understood that Tome was innocent, and they begged his pardon.

Here we have Tomoko Sugawara, performing CSM 213 on the Konghou, a plucked concert harp instrument of ancient China.

CSM 213 Tomoko Sugawara 3:49

CSM 267 Aquel Trovar 4:44

That was Aquel Trovar performing CSM 267, A rich merchant from Portugal vowed someday to go on pilgrimage to Rocamadour.

The merchant loaded his ship and sailed up the Atlantic coast toward Flanders. The ship was struck by a storm and the merchant was thrown into the sea. As he sank into the waves, he asked the Virgin to save him. The Virgin calmed the sea and carried the merchant to dry land.

The ancient city of Rocamadour, with a current population of 604 people, includes buildings that appear to have been carved in the clifftop. Considered a religious city in the Occitania region of southern France, Rocamadour borders Spain and features the body of St. Amadour and the sculpture of the Black Virgin. This village figures into the CSM frequently.

Let’s hear CSM #8, the Minstrel of Rocamadour, named, Pedro de Sigrar, who sang and played his fiddle in front of a statue of the Virgin. He prayed that she’d give him a candle, and she caused one to rest on his fiddle. A monk, the shrine treasurer, snatched it back, and accused the minstrel of sorcery. The candle returned to the fiddle and the people, seeing this, did not allow the monk to take it away from the minstrel again. The monk acknowledged the miracle, repented, and asked the minstrel’s pardon. This is the Waverly Consort with the late Michael Jaffee, leading.

CSM 8: A virgen Santa Maria Pt. 1 0:19

CSM 8: Song 3:38

Waverly Consort: eBay Australia (source)

That was the Waverly Consort from their album: Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, one of my first encounters with the CSM, and it continues to delight.

You’re listening to a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X of what is now Spain. I’m your host Debra Bolton. Thank you for listening. Coming up in the second hour of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, we’ll look at some contemporary interpretations of the CSM, including electric guitars replacing instruments of the 13^th Century.

In this vast collections of the CSM, we learn that of the 420 songs, every 10^th song is a Cantiga de Loor, a song of courtly love. Let’s continue with Maestro Eduardo Paniagua, a musicologist and multi-instrumentalist specializing in period instruments of the time including viola de rueda, a.k.a. the hurdy gurdy, the oud (precursor to the guitar), the organetto (a portable organ), and varying horns and recorders. You can see some of these instruments on my blog: peopleandcultures.blog. We’ll hear CSM 80 and CSM 130, songs of courtly love, performed by Eduardo Paniagua.

CSM 80 2:54

CSM 130 3:02

Maestro Eduardo Paniagua: Architect and Musician: Melomano Digital – “The Cantigas are kind of like a chest of gold coins!”

We just heard Eduardo Paniagua with CSM 80 and 130, songs of courtly love.

As we approach the top of the hour, I hope you join us for the second hour to further our exploration of the history, the music, the King’s goals for this vast collection, and much more.

Let’s listen to Frederic Hand performing, what he calls, a CSM fantasy followed by CSM 139, the boy who offered bread to the Christ Child. You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X. I”m your host, Debra Bolton.

HR 1 Segment 2 total timing: 29:27

HR 2 Segment 1

Welcome to the second and final hour of this holiday special Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary and musical biography of Alfonso X, the King of Castile-Leon, now Spain. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

Alfonso X ruled from 1252 to 1284. To put the world into perspective at the time, the English language continued to change from its Germanic-rooted Olde English of the Beowulf poet (circa 9^th or 10^th century) after the Norman invasion of 1066. In the next century, we hear the English of Geoffrey Chaucer of Canterbury Tales fame and the Gawain Poet. Europeans now use Arabic numerals in favor of Roman Numerals. In the Mongol Empire, Mongke, officially, marks the worship of his grandfather, Genghis Khan while Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity flourish. The Inca Empire of Peru is thriving. England begins the process of segregation of Jewish peoples, and other countries begin to follow suit. Poland became a place of refuge for exiled and homeless Jewish Peoples, but it later became host to many Jewish death camps under the Hitler regime. The Mexica people, also known as Aztecs, are building their great capital city Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco, what is now Mexico City. King Alfonso X’s bid to be King of the Holy Roman Empire but fails as Pope Alexander IV (4^th) denies Alfonso’s rights to the throne in favor of Count Rudolf, bringing prominence to the Habsburg family. Count Rudolf was considered mediocre by many, as Alfonso was too ambitious and certainly too bright for that particular Pope of the time.

From the 13^th to the 21^st Century, the Cantigas de Santa Maria continue to influence new and exciting interpretations. Let’s begin this second hour looking at an electric influence of one of the most recognizable of the CSM, , and since it has an even number, 100, we know that it’s a song of love. Here we have Gabriel Fox with his contemporary interpretation of CSM 100.

Gabriel Fox, CSM 100 2:37

Takashi Tsunoda, CSM Medley 6:26

Album Cover: Apple Music (No copyright infringement intended)

That was Takashi Tsunoda performing on the Oud Harp, an instrument that he helped to build. Tsunoda also plays the gourd banjo in that piece. Tsunoda is listed under classical, jazz, and world music genres.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m Debra Bolton, your host. By the bye, you can read the transcript along with photos of the instruments and the musical playlist on my blog, peopleandcultures.blog. Also, you can comment or communicate with me through the blog, too.

Let’s continue with our exploration of the CSM. Often, the performers will list their song or instrumental by the first few lines of the poem. Thanks to the Oxford Cantigas de Santa Maria database, I can find the CSM number by using the lines from the poem. Let’s hear Enea Sorini’s interpretation of CSM 48, the stream that was diverted for the monks of Montserrat.

CSM 48 3:46

CSM 77-119 by Forfaitz 5:12

That was the Ensemble Forfaitz with CSM 77-119. I can find little to no information about Ensemble Forfaitz other than they play with Ensemble Unicorn. I’ve noticed that many interpreters of the CSM tend to bundle CSM 77-119 into a medley. Rather than my telling you what each of the stories entail, this is where you can find each of the 420 poems: the Oxford Cantigas de Santa Maria database. I continue to be fascinated by the stories in each of the poems.

King Alfonso ruled Castile-Leon in the Iberian Peninsula. If you think about it, Muslim rule began in 711 and lasted until 1492, the year of the Inquisition, when Muslims and Jewish people were victims displacement by Christian rule some 200 years after King Alfonso X’s rule. Alfonso the Wise ruled alongside his Muslim counterparts.

Let’s listen to the music of al-Andalus, the name of Muslim rule of the region. This is Eduardo Paniagua, an architect, musicologist, and multi-instrumentalist dedicated to reviving the music of the Iberian Peninsula in the Medieval era. Here he plays with Ensemble El Arabi. This is called Cordoba Lozana

El Arabi with Eduardo Paniagua Cordoba Lozana 5:52

That was El Arabi with Eduardo Paniagua. You’re listening the a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m your host, Debra Bolton. Let’s take this break from your public radio station, and then we will return with the second part of this hour.

Music bed: Istampitta: La Manfredina (Italia Medieval) Jordi Savall 2:00

(Hour 2: Segment 2)

Welcome back to the final segment of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m your host, Debra Bolton Thank you for listening and for supporting your public radio station.

Scholars and Alfonsine devotees continue to celebrate the Learned King’s birthday on November 23 of each year, this being the 804th year since his birth in 1221.

Let’s discuss, for a moment, the language of King Alfonso X.

In a past interview with Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J. K. Knauss, she noted that the great legacy of El Sabio is that he lived up to his name, “the wise” because he was obsessed with writing everything down. Whether it was mathematics, astronomy, the virtue of playing board games and other leisurely activities to balance hard works, laws to govern his subjects, and teaching morality, he not only wrote continually, but he chose not to write in Latin, the language of Kingdoms of the day. What made his legacy so strong is that he wrote in Galician-Portuguese, the embryonic Castilian, the present-day Spanish, though, like all language, changes continually as it incorporates varying native language of the Americas and other places colonized by Spain . The Learned King is considered the “Father of Castilian.” Was he that much of a visionary? It would seem so since Spanish only trails Chinese as the most common language worldwide, flanked by English, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, and Lahnda, aka, “Western Punjabi” according to The World Economic Forum and Encyclopedia Britannica online.

Let’s begin this segment with Maestro Jordi Savall, the music scholar, historian, and viola de gambist extraordinaire! I’ve had the great honor of attending three of his performances in Kansas City. Nearing 90, Savall still gathers musicians from around the globe to see his vision of bringing to the fore music through the centuries from composers, obscure and famous.

Here, we have Savall’s arrangement of CSM 248-353.

Ductia (CSM 248-353) ( 3:43) Jordi Savall

Je vivroie liement (I’ve been living)– Ensemble Gilles Binchois 3:06

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of King Alfonso X, I’m Debra Bolton. That was Ensemble Gilles Binchois with Je vivroie Liement, I’’ve been living! Preceded by Jordi Savall with his arrangement of CSM 248-353.

Let’s hear Hana Blažíková performing CSM 383, The Pilgram woman saved from drowning, saved by the Virgin to whom the woman prayed.

CSM 383 – Hana Blažíková O fondo do mar tan 5:07

Alfonso X El Sabio – Narciso Yepes 4:58

That was the great Narciso Yepes, born in Lorca Spain in 1927 and died in Murcia, Spain in 1997. Yepes brought to prominence, the 10-String Classical guitar known for its range and timbre. Yepes performed his arrangement of a CSM medley in 1989.

Well, our time together is waning. Thank you for listening to this special programming, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria with your host, Debra Bolton. Be sure to check out my blog, peopleandcultures.blog for this narrative and song selections. You can also see pictures of the medieval instruments featured on this show. Speaking of instruments, let’s hear the Viola de Rueda, which translates to a violin of the wheel. I’m speaking of the hurdy gurdy also called Zamphona. I read that it takes five years to build one hurdy gurdy. On my blog, peopleandcultures.blog I show the anatomy of the hurdy gurdy, a most fascinating instrument still played today. Let’s listen to Eduardo Paniagua and his Fuego de San Marcial.

Fuego de San Marcial Eduardo Paniagua 2:38

That was Musica Antigua led by Maestro Paniagua.

Thank you for listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m your host Debra Bolton. Thank you for supporting your public radio station.

To take us to the top of the hour, Waverly Consorts CSM medley Instrumental from Waverly Consort’s Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (6:43)

Instruments of the time:

Shawm – 12^th c conical bored double reed instrument of Middle Eastern origin, a precursor of the oboe. Like the oboe, it is conically bored; but its bore, bell, and finger holes are wider, and it has a wooden disk (called a pirouette, on European shawms) that supports the lips

Recorder – Yes. That woodwind instrument that many of us learned in grade school. We hear this in the CSM, usually, on a wider variety of wood recorders.

Organetto – a small portable organ, often championed by Soprano, Esther Lamandier

Oud – Literally, wood in Arabic, short-necked, pear-shaped with 11 – 13 strings grouped in 5, 6, or 7 courses. A few of the oud players that stand oud are Driss El Maloumi, a group called 3MA and Haik Egitim Merkezi Yalova, both Maloumi and Yalova perform with Jordi Savall’s Hesperion groups. The Oud is considered the most important instrument in Middle Eastern Music.

Qanun (a.k.a., kanun, ganoun, kanoon) an Arabic stringed instrument, introduced to Europe in the 12^th Century. It’s played on the lap with picks that surround both index fingers, and the player can change the pitch of the strings with brass levers.

Hakan Güngör plays Kanun on the right, with Jordi Savall playing his vièle

Hurdy Gurdy, a.k.a. Viola de Rueda, and the Zanfona. Here we hear this instrument in Musica Antigua.

Vielle – the Medieval fiddle with five strings and six tied frets.

See image above

Rebec – A three-string “fiddle” often held between the legs as it’s played.

Viola de Gamba – (a.k.a., Viol or gamba), a six-stringed instrument, said to be a precursor of the four-stringed cello. The Gamba, usually, is much larger and has frets, like a guitar.

Gaita – Galician bag pipe, also common in Portugal.

Duduk – Double reed Armenian flute, featuring those mournful, lamenting tones. Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian, pictured below, plays with Jordi Savall’s Hesperion group.

I wrote this part for narrative, but did not include in radio program.

For perspective of the time, King Henry III ruled England about the same time Alfonso X ruled Castile-Leon, the greater part of what is now known as Spain. While El Sabio ruled his lands with Christians, Muslims, and Jewish peoples living and studying side-by-side with some appreciation and great tolerance, it would not be until 208 years later that Isabella and Ferdinand would expel all non-Christians and the time Christopher Columbus would set sail for Asia but landed in the Americas, which changed extensively the lives that he touched. Before that, well-civilized Indigenous tribes had not yet had contact with European colonizers. The surnames that most people connect with Latin American countries were the surnames of their Spanish conquerors. During and after the inquisition, many non-Christians, Jewish and Muslim people, added the suffixes of –ez, -es, or –os, meaning “son of,” to their surnames. For example, the Muslim man, Alvar, became Alvarez. The Jewish man, Martin became Martinez. Consistent with most surnames, there remained a connection to the family trade or place of origins. The Herrera were Sehphardic Jewish iron-smiths of Galicia. Those hailing from Galicia, or Galego, were the Galegos. In the present day, an extra “L” was added to make it “Gallegos” with the double-L being pronounced as “ya.”

Let’s explore the music of the Iberian Peninsula during Alfonso’s time with music of the Jewish and Muslim peoples. First, we turn to the music of Jewish People of the region known as the Sephardim, who populated Spain, North Africa, Turkey, differing from the Ashkenazi Jewish of Eastern Europe. King Alfonso welcomed Christians, Jewish, and Muslims musician into his Court. He respected Muslims, the keepers of classical knowledge and for their sophisticated, cultured and their technological advances. They were poets, artists, artisans, mathematicians, merchants, and ship builders. the Jewish were known as astronomers, writers, economists, scholars, and architects. You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of 13^th Century monarch, Alfonso the Wise. Be sure to check out my blog, peopleandcultures.blog for a transcript of this presentation and pictures of the many instruments played in these musical pieces.

King Alfonso employed artists to create two and three-dimensional works of art to correspond to the poems and songs, which would have made the Learned King an early pioneer in multi-media. Now, here we are putting it all in digital form! Scholars say the works of art, the songs and the poems were Alfonso’s way of teaching morality to the subjects of his kingdom on many levels. While those in his court were, themselves, learned and well-educated people, there were many in his kingdom who, perhaps, could not read or write. Hence the need for the lessons in more than written forms.

As we think of the language of Galician-Portuguese morphing into Castilian, and many now call the language “Spanish” coming from Spain, originally. During the expulsion of Jewish and Muslims in 1492, we can see some of the suffixes that may be telling of their origins. Christian suffixes were –ez, -es, and –os. When colonizing other lands, ironsmiths were quite important. Think of the many people you know with the surname of “Smith.” Hierro means iron in Castilian. The surname Hernandez denotes the Christian ironsmiths, and the surname Herrera were the Sephardic Jewish ironsmiths, and the Gallegos hailed from Galicia. We don’t think that the double-l was pronounced with the “y” sound at the time. In case you’re wondering about Galician-Portuguese, the language that is now known as Castilian, here’s a short phonics lesson, “Cs” and “Zs” were pronounced with a “TH” sound or a lisp. Most of those pronunciations hold true today in the Iberian Peninsula. When Castilian came to the Americas beginning in1492, the thousands of Indigenous languages were erased, in most cases, as each of those countries were colonized by Columbus and those who followed him from Spain, a European Country. Spain made it to what is now New Mexico about 25 years before the Plymouth rock landing. Spain continued south and the English settlers moved west, illustrating why we speak English in the United States and much of Canada.

Thanks to the authors who continue to educate me. My references come from the writings of Dr. J.K. Knauss. In addition, I refer to the research of Maestro Jordi Savall, and Maestro Eduardo Paniagua. , John Esten Keller, Robert I. Burn, Editor of “The Emperor of Culture” and from Oxford Univesity’s CSM database.

Thank you for reading my blog. Be sure to listen to this radio program on High Plains Public Radio, December 24, at 2:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. (hppr.org)

Distinguished Alumni!

On the 50th anniversary of my graduation from Montrose High School, I was selected as a “Distinguished Alumni!” I remember that my sister, Eileen, had nominated me two times, but that was about 5-7 years ago. It was so great. I set out to write my speech to the 2025 graduating class and their families. I strove to make the points that everything one learns in high school, in deed, all our school days, can be applied to our adult lives. I hope I made the points.

May 18, 2025

Members of the Montrose County School District Board, President Fishering, Montrose Education Foundation, Inc. Members, Superintendent, Dr. Stephensen, Principal Voehringer, and Montrose High School Graduates, I am honored to stand before you today as the recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Award.

First, I want to acknowledge that we stand on the original lands of my Father’s People, the Ute. Please remember this truth.

Graduates: You reached another great milestone in your lives. Have you asked yourselves: “Where will I be in 50 years? What will I be doing?” Well, as a graduate in 1975, 50 years ago, I didn’t ask myself that question either! I never dreamed that I’d be standing before you these 50 years later. My sense of determination, learned from my parents, is what brings me here. I don’t know if you still do this, but we had to talk to the guidance counselor regarding our futures. In my exit interview, the first words out of my guidance counselor’s mouth were, “I guess you’ll want to go work at the candy factory, because I don’t think college is for you.” He didn’t really know me! I was a 3.75 gpa student, but luckily, I had great teachers in my school days who saw me in a different light. Everything we learn in elementary, middle, and high school prepares us for our futures. Those years prepared me for who I am today!

My middle school English teacher, Mrs. Bowers, recognized my gift for language and encouraged me to stay the course. I wrote my master’s thesis, The Origins and Traditions of Foods in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, because Mrs. Heavers did a great job of helping us fall in love with literature. I wish Bowers, Heavers, and Seivers, my English teachers, knew that I was an English teacher for 12 years at a community college.

I love math, because of Mr. Saults, my 9^th grade math teacher, taught with humility and a little humor. I wish he knew that he laid the ground for me to love numbers and use those numbers in my quantitative research!

Je parle français parce que j’ai pris deux ans avec Mademoiselle Halverson, et que je continue à utiliser cette langue dans mon travail aujourd’hui avec des refugies du Viet Nam, d’Haiti, du Senegal, et de la Cote d’Ivoire.

French class was great! We produced Neige Blanche et le sept nan! I was cast as one of the dwarves! (chante: hi ho, le temps c’est q’il fait beau…)

I continue to sit in the front row at any program, lecture, or event, because Mrs. Sievers, my 11^th grade English teacher, suggested it.

I retired from Kansas State University after 20 years, and now I have the honor of teaching geography at Haskell Indian Nations University. How did all this happen?

I stand before you, with years of education behind me, and working in academics as a professor and researcher because David Walter Bauguess, my high school choral teacher, told me I was destined to do great things. He used to call me “Dr. Debby.” He loaned me his master’s thesis so that I could digest concepts of academic writing. He made it a point to honor each of my graduations with thoughtful reminders for me to believe in myself. My brother Danny, a wonderful musician himself, and I were founding members of The Bel Canto Singers, under the direction of Mr. Bauguess. He encouraged all of us to do great things. Sadly, we lost Mr. Bauguess on December 27, 2023. David Bauguess would laugh at my bringing all of our music programs from 1971 to 1975 with me today. The Bel Canto Singers performed its last of 1975 on May 20, shortly before graduation! We even performed at our baccalaureate (sing a few lines of The Road Not Taken). I have our record album here, too! When the Japanese wrestlers came to MHS to compete against our wrestlers, Mr. Bauguess taught us the Japanese National Anthem (Sing: Ki me ga a yo oh wah…).

The lovely backdrop of my speech, indeed, my home: The San Juan Mountain Range

My parents were my strongest teachers. My now 95-Year-old Mother Tina encouraged my imagination. She never told me that my two imaginary friends, Deddie and Knocky, were not real, and she even set the dinner table with a place for them. She also modeled hard work, and we learned from that. My Dad, Frank, modeled voracious reading and study. He read National Geographic Magazine from cover to cover. Sadly, Dad passed in 2007, may he rest in power. Dad didn’t know that I was awarded National Geographic Explorer Scholarships in 2017 and 2018, joining other explorers like Jaques Cousteau, Sir Edmund Hilary, and Alexander Graham Bell. And Dad had passed by the time I received my Ph.D. in Geography.

Later today, I have the honor of attending Olathe High School Graduation, where my Grandson Dellon Nusz graduates at 12:30. Graduating today from MHS are my niece, Alexis Hernandez and nephew, Hayden Hensley. So, I am honored to have many of my family members here today. Each of whom continue to be great inspirations to me.

Graduates, my greatest message to you today is. Always know who you are. Study your ancestry. Know how things work, whether it’s machines, political arenas, the mechanics of language, or about finances. Know why numbers are important. They tell us the truth. Practice gratitude every day. Honor your parents, your leaders, your teachers, your family, your siblings, and yourselves! Use your voice to stand up for yourselves and others. Be interested in everyone you meet, and finally: Know everything about something, and know something about everything. Congratulations on your hard work to graduate high school. I pray that your futures are bright. Go Redhawks!

July 2025

My graduating class hosted its 50th class reunion. It was great to connect with high school mates, and to see where we are 50 years later. Of the beautiful friends with whom to connect were my best friends Roy W. and Lynnae C. My brother Danny and I were in the same friend groups. Here we are.

Thank you for reading my blog.

King Alfonso X, 13th Century Learned Monarch

In this 12^th year of my production, for public radio, I present the narrative and play list to “Las Cantigas de Santa Maria: A Musical Biography of 13^th Century Monarch, King Alfonso X”

I dedicate this program to David W. Bauguess, my high school music teacher and my continual mentor. We lost Davis last year, December 27 27, 2023. May David rest in power.

I invite you to listen to this program on December 24, at 2:00 in the Central Time Zone. The public radio station that has sponsored Las Cantigas in this 12^th year is High Plains Public Radio. Please tune in on hppr.org under holiday programming (not to be confused with hppr connect, the talk show portion of their dual programming).

We begin this musical journey with The Learned King declaring himself Mary’s Troubadour who will take her teachings to his Kingdom and beyond. First, we hear the prologue where The Learned King states, “I am here to spread your good word to my people, and in doing that, I pray for my place in the Kingdom of Heaven.” This is Ensemble Unicorn, from Vienna. CSM 60 Cut #1 2:16

That was Ensemble Unicorn, Vienna with CSM #60, the prologue in which El Sabio declares himself Mary’s troubadour whereby he is her greatest public relations person, so to speak. Alfonso pledges to use every means to extol Mary’s virtues, especially where her miracles are concerned.

The Cantigas de Santa Maria is a collection of poems put to music. The catalog consists of more than 420 poems set to music beginning with what is called a “cantiga de loor” song of love, that is “courtly love” and every 10th song is a song of love while the others focus on scenarios related to sins and crimes with their accompanying stories of Mary’s miracles from which Alfonso X hopes to promote morality in his kingdoms of Castile and Leon, which later become what we know as Spain.

Let’s turn to the works of Jota Martinez, a multi-instrumentalist and singer. I first encountered Martinez’s music when he worked with Eduardo Paniagua in an album of Cantigas de Santa Maria performed on the Viola de Rueda, also know as the Zanfona, but you may know it as the hurdy-gurdy. Here Martinez performs with his group, Ensemble Alfonsi, dedicated to reviving the music of King Alfonso X’s court, much like the goal of Maestro Paniagua. We now hear CSM#1 Des Oge Mais Quer-eu Trobar performed by Ensemble Alfonsi led by Jota Martinez. (7:02)

That was Ensemble Alfonsi led by Jota Martinez, who tells us that he began the task of documenting and reconstructing the musical instruments represented in the “Alfonsian” works. Martinez continues with, “After 15 years, we assembled the only collection of Medieval instruments represented in the Cantigas de Santa Maria into the, “Alphonsian Musical Insrumentarium.” That link can be found under the tab, Instrumentarium at http://www.jotamartinez.com/instrumentarium.html You can find this transcript, along with photos, and links in my blog, Peopleandcultures.blog.

You’re listening to Las Canatigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X and his devotion to the Virgin Mary. In this, we come to understand the miracles of the Virgin Mary as seen through the eyes and ears of Alfonso X, who ruled what is now Spain during the 13^th Century.

I spoke with Dr. J. K. Knauss, a leading Alfonsine scholar. Dr. Knauss lives in Spain and continues her research to uncover more of the mysteries left to us from the reign of King Alfonso X, these 803 years later. My dive into The Learned King comes from Knauss’ books, Law and Order in Medieval Spain, Violence in Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, and Our Lady’s Troubadour, and from her historical fiction such as Seven Noble Knights. I asked J. K. Knauss how she discovered King Alfonso X.

(Play her answer here), then play:

CSM#166 Como Poden performed by Hesperus (3:37).

Follow with: CSM#159 Non Sofre Santa Maria – Esther Lamandier

That was Esther Lamandier, French soprano and multi-instrumentalist known for her unique voice along with the instruments she plays: harp, organetto, a portable organ, and the vielle, the medieval fiddle, the ancestor of the present-day violin. You can see pictures of the varying instruments of this music, and you can read the transcript of my words here today.

Before that, we heard Hesperus, led by the late Scott Reiss and Tina Chancey, who continues to play concerts in the Washington, D.C. area. Their music blends Medieval, Appalachian, and world music. One of my favorite albums is aptly called, “Crossing Over.” that was CSM #166, Como Poden per sas culpas: A Lame Man Healed at Salas.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X. I’m Debra Bolton. We now pause for this station break:

Time: 26:20

Break: 2:00 music bed

(Hour 1: Segment 2)

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the story of 13^th century monarch, Alfonso X and his devotion to St. Mary. I’m your host and producer of this special, and my name is Debra Bolton

King Alfonso ruled his Kingdom of Castile-Leon, now Spain, from 1252 until his death. Scholars and Alfonsine devotees continue to celebrate the Learned King’s birthday on November 23 of each year, this being the 803rd year since his birth in 1221.

Let’s discuss, for a moment, the language of King Alfonso X.

In a past interview with Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J. K. Knauss, she noted that the great legacy of El Sabio is that he lived up to his name, “the wise” because he was obsessed with writing everything down. Whether it was mathematics, astronomy, the virtue of playing board games and other leisurely activities to balance hard works, laws to govern his subjects, and teaching morality, he not only wrote continually, but he chose not to write in Latin, the language of Kingdoms of the day. What made his legacy so strong is that he wrote in Galician-Portuguese, the embryonic Castilian, the present-day Spanish. The Learned King is considered the “Father of Castilian.” Was he that much of a visionary? It would seem so since Spanish only trails Chinese as the most common language worldwide, flanked by English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and Lahnda, aka, “Western Punjabi” according to The World Economic Forum.

Let’s continue with music performed by Musica Antigua, under the direction of Maestro Eduardo Paniagua, architect, musician, and musicologist. This album features the hurdy-gurdy, also known as the Viola de Rueda, hence the rosined wheel that rubs on the strings to make that pulsating drone sound sometimes called the “barking dog.” We will hear two pieces that highlight that unique sound of the hurdy-gurdy, and instrumental CSM#61 (2:55) and CSM # 327 (4:49), Las Piernas (Cuts 3 and 4)

That was CSM #s 61 and #327, The story or miracle tells about a priest who made underpants from cloththat sat on the alter in church dedicated to the Virgin outside the town of Odemira. The priest admired the cloth and coveted it. He stole it and took it to his house. He had a pair of underpants fashioned from it. While lying down, his heels began to press into his thighs. The pain was excruciating, and, confessing his sin, he called on the Virgin.

He repented and had a large linen cloth placed on the altar.

He was taken to the church and everyone prayed for him to the Virgin. She cured him and they praised her name. So the mircle goes.

You’re listening to this holiday special, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King, Alfonso X. I’m Debra Bolton

To get a feel for the language of the time, I turned to Alfonsine biographer, Dr. J. K. Knauss. Here she recites the poem that is CSM#207, the statue that thanks a merciful knight who goes to the church to seek forgiveness for a man who has murdered his own son. Here is Dr. Knauss reciting in the language of the time, which may be partially recognizable to those who speak Castilian. That will be followed by the Martin Best Ensemble performing CSM#207

Play her reading here followed by The Martin Best Ensemble’s “Se ome fezer de grado” CSM#207

Followed by Los Tropas de Extremadura, music before the time of Muslim ejection from Castile-Leon. Poems and songs performed by Eduardo Paniagua (5:07) (Inserted photo is of Dr. J. K. Knauss).

That was Los Tropas de Extremadura, music before the time of Muslim ejection from Castile-Leon. Poems and songs performed by Eduardo Paniagua. Before we heard the Martin Best Ensemble’s interpretation of CSM#207 preceded by Dr. Knauss’ recitation of the poem in Galician-Portuguese. We’re coming to the top of the hour. Be sure to stay tuned for the second of this two-hour presentation of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria with your host, Debra Bolton. Let’s turn to this fantasia on Cantigas de Santa Maria based on CSM# 11, the Drowned Sacristan, who was brought back to life through the Virgin’s miracle. That will be followed by a traditional Galician tune. These are performed by Ensemble Alcatraz from their CD Cantigas de Amigo, songs for a friend. This will take us to the top of the hour. Please join us for hour two of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, I’m Debra Bolton. Thank you for listening.

We just heard Ensemble Alcatraz with a Traditional Galician Tune preceded by a Fantasia on CSM#11. We pause now for a station break. I’m your host Debra Bolton thanking you for supporting your public radio station.

Music bed: 2:00

HR 2 Segment 1

Alfonso X ruled from 1252 to 1284. To put the world into perspective at the time, the English language continued to change from its Germanic-rooted Olde English of the Beowulf poet (circa 9^th or 10^th century) after the Norman invasion of 1066. In the next century, we hear the English of Geoffrey Chaucer of Canterbury Tales fame and the Gawain Poet. Europeans now use Arabic numerals in favor of Roman Numerals. In the Mongol Empire, Mongke, officially, marks the worship of his grandfather, Genghis Khan while Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity flourish. The Inca Empire of Peru is thriving. England begins the process of segregation of Jewish peoples, and other countries begin to follow suit. However, Poland became a place of refuge for exiled and homeless Jewish Peoples. The Mexica people, also known as Aztecs, are building their great capital city Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco, what is now Mexico City. King Alfonso X’s bid to be King of the Holy Roman Empire but fails as Pope Alexander IV (4^th) denies Alfonso’s rights to the throne in favor of Count Rudolf, bringing prominence to the Habsburg family. Count Rudolf was considered mediocre by many, as Alfonso was too ambitious and certainly too bright for that particular Pope of the time.

Earlier, I’d mentioned that every tenth song of the Cantigas de Santa Maria, is a song of courtly love to reflect Alfonso’s devotion to the Virgin Mary. Here we now listen to Jordi Savall’s interpretation of CSM#400, with the assistance of Maestro Savall’s Hesperion XX (20) and La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Pero cantigas de Loor.

Play CSM#400 Pero cantigas de loor (3:49).

Los Judios Y La Mordedura de un Perro. Los Destierros (3:28).

We just heard a piece from the Album, Spain of the King, his troubadours and armies with a tune called, if google translate is correct, The Jews and the dog that bites the exiles. It seems that King Alfonso, though he practiced pluralism, Jewish, Muslim, and Christians co-existing, he also practiced some segregation in certain parts of his Kingdoms, too, according to John Esten Keller, Alfonsine biographer. We began with CSM#400, a cantiga de loor, song of love.

You’re listening to this musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso the Wise. Thank you for supporting this public radio station. I’m Debra Bolton.

When I spoke to Alfonsine scholar Dr. J.K. Knauss, who lives in Spain and focuses on writing books, non-fiction and historical fiction, she told me that the higher the number in the CSM collection of more than 420 poems, the more local the miracle is happening. In CSM#321, a girl who lived in Cordoba suffered from a disease of the throat called, scrofula. Her illness lingered for three years, and her mother paid lots of money for the cure. A man advised the woman to take her daughter to the king for healing. The king denied that he could cure the girl. He told the mother to take the girl to the statue of the Virgin dressed in a purple robe. They should wash the statue with water after mass and let the girl drink the liquid from the alter chalice for five days in a row, the number of letters in the name Maria. The mother did as instructed and the little girl was healed.

Now we hear CSM#321 performed by Synfonye (8:07)

Ensemble Alfonsi – CSM#339 Milagro en el Mar de Alicante (4:05) The Fish that Plugged the Hole in the Ship.

We just heard Ensemble Alfonsi with CSM #339, the Fish that Plugged the hole in the Ship. Before that, CSM #321, performed by Synfonye.

If you would like to read this transcript or see pictures of the instruments used in these songs and tunes, please check out my blog, peopleandcultures.blog. The instruments are quite lovely, and I think you will enjoy seeing them.

In case you’re wondering about Galician-Portuguese, the language that is now known as Castilian, here’s a short phonics lesson, “Cs” and “Zs” were pronounced with a “TH” sound or a lisp. Most of those pronunciations hold true today in the Iberian Peninsula. When Castilian came to the Americas beginning in1492, the thousands of Indigenous languages were erased, in most cases, as each of those countries were colonized by Columbus and those who followed him from Spain, a European Country. Spain made it to what is now New Mexico about 25 years before the Plymouth rock landing. Spain continued south and the English settlers moved west, illustrating why we speak English in the United States and much of Canada.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Spain’s King Alfonso X and his praise to the Virgin Mary. I’m your host, Debra Bolton. Thank you for joining me today. Let’s pause now for a station break. In the next segment, we will enjoy more of the songs, poems, and tunes of the 13^th Century as interpreted here in the 21^st Century.

END OF SEGMENT ONE

Music bed for 2-minute break:

(Pictured above: Bowed Psaltry)

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of King Alfonso X, El Sabio, the wise. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

Let’s begin this segment with Maestro Jordi Savall, the music scholar, historian, and viola de gambist extraordinaire! I’ve had the great honor of attending three of his performances in Kansas City. Well into his 80s, Savall still gathers musicians from around the globe to see his vision of bringing to the fore music through the centuries from composers, obscure and famous. Here, we have his arrangement of and CSM tune. Ducia ( 2:05) Followed by a Galician tune, Santiago de Murcia (Murthia). (1:35) and

Instrumental interlude from Waverly Consort’s Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (6:43) (Pictured below, with the late Michael Jaffe)

We just heard a rousing instrumental from the Waverly Consort from their CD Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. They’ve performed the songs in English, and hopefully we have time to listen to the prologue as our final piece today. Before that, we heard two Galician tunes, Santiago de Murcia, CSM 123, by Jordi Savall and from the Folias Gallegas Grant Herreid and Piffaro.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of King Alfonso X, El Sabio, the wise. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

King Alfonso welcomed Christians, Jewish, and Muslims musician into his Court. He respected Muslims, the keepers of classical knowledge and for their sophisticated, cultured and their technological advances. They were poets, artists, artisans, mathematicians, merchants, and ship builders. the Jewish were known as astronomers, writers, economists, scholars, and architects.

Now, we hear Music of the Sephardim of the time with two pieces performed by Voice of the Turtle followed by a series of short pieces of music of 13^th century Muslims performed by Camerata Mediterranea.

Voice of the Turtle: Toto bueno tengo (2:53) and Yo Hanino, tu hanina (3:50).

Camerata Mediterranea: Cuts 11, 15, 17, and 18.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of 13^th Century monarch, Alfonso the Wise. Be sure to check out my blog, peopleandcultures.blog for a transcript of this presentation and pictures of the many instruments played in these musical pieces.

Thanks to the authors who continue to educate me. My references come from the writings of Dr. J.K. Knauss. In addition, I refer to the writing of Professor Joseph F. O’Callahan, Mr. Andrew Casson, Maestro Jordi Savall, Maestro Eduardo Paniagua, John Esten Keller, Robert I. Burn, Editor of “The Emperor of Culture” and from Oxford Univesity’s CSM database.

Knauss describes the importance of the Cantigas de Santa Maria saying, “The most appropriate single adjective for the corpus of cultural work produced under Alfonso X is ‘encyclopedic.’” He wrote books of history, astronomy/astrology, law, poetry, board games, and music. Even his written leisure activities continue to survive the vagaries of time, bearing the King’s name as patron or author.”

Now we take you to the beginning as I end this musical biography of Alfonso the Wise with this English version of the prologue where the Learned King declares himself Mary’s troubadour. We hear this performed by the Waverly Consort. Thank you for listening.

Prologue 1: (2:35)

Prologue 2 (2:35)

Instruments of the time:

Recorder – Yes. That woodwind instrument that many of us learned in grade school. We hear this in the CSM, usually, on a wider variety of wood recorders.

Organetto – a small portable organ, which you heard performed by Esther Lamandier

Hurdy Gurdy, a.k.a. Viola de Rueda, and the Zanfona. Here we hear this instrument in Musica Antigua.

Vielle – the Medieval fiddle with five strings and six tied frets.

Rebec – A three-string “fiddle” often held between the legs as it’s played.

Viola de Gamba – (a.k.a., Viol or gamba), a six-stringed instrument, said to be a precursor of the four-stringed cello. The Gamba, usually, is much larger and has frets, like a guitar.

Gaita – Galician bag pipe, also common in Portugal.

Duduk – Double reed Armenian flute, featuring those mournful, lamenting tones.

You’re listening to a musical journey of 13^th Century Spain’s King Alfonso the X and his devotion to the Virgin Mary, on this public radio station. I’m your host, Debra Bolton, and I appreciate that you’re here with me today. You can see this transcript and photos of the instruments if you go to my blog: https://wordpress.com/post/peopleandcultures.blog/2898 

The language of the time, Galician-Portuguese, finds scholars today who argue that Galician and Portuguese are dialects of the same language. It tends to remind one more of Portuguese than of Castilian, the root language of modern-day Spanish. Portugal situated directly south of Galicia, the home of the (K)Celts and the Sephardim of the Iberian Peninsula. Stay with us…

Quarta Espanpie by Ferdinando de Martino Ensemble Comtessa Carmina Gemina: 2:43

End of Hour 2, Segment 1

2:00 minute break.

We continue with Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the musical biography of Medieval King of Castile-Leon, Alfonso X, the wise and learned. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

For more perspective of the time, King Henry III ruled England about the same time Alfonso X ruled Castile-Leon, the greater part of what is now known as Spain. While El Sabio ruled his lands with Christians, Muslims, and Jewish peoples living and studying side-by-side with some appreciation and great tolerance, it would not be until 208 years later that Isabella and Ferdinand would expel all non-Christians and the time Christopher Columbus would set sail for Asia but landed in the Americas, which changed extensively the lives that he touched. Before that, well-civilized Indigenous tribes had not yet had contact with European colonizers. The surnames that most people connect with Latin American countries were the surnames of their Spanish conquerors. During and after the inquisition, many non-Christians, Jewish and Muslim people, added the suffixes of –ez, -es, or –os, meaning “son of,” to their surnames. For example, the Muslim man, Alvar, became Alvarez. The Jewish man, Martin became Martinez. Consistent with most surnames, there remained a connection to the family trade or place of origins. The Herrera were Sehphardic Jewish iron-smiths of Galicia. Those hailing from Galicia, or Galego, were the Galegos. In the present day, an extra “L” was added to make it “Gallegos” with the double-L being pronounced as “ya.”

Santa Maria by Irfan 4:45

CSM #156 by Rocio de Trutos 2:37

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria on this public radio station. I’m your host, Debra Bolton, and I appreciate that you’re here with me today.

We just heard two pieces, Santa Maria by Irfan, a Bulgarian group focused on electro-acoustic music from a variety of genres and musical centuries. Also, we heard Soprano Rocio de Trutos known best for her Bach Cantatas. You’ve been listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary and the musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X of Spain in music, poetry, and art. I’m the producer and your host, Debra Bolton.

El Sabio, King Alfonso the X ascended the throne of Castile-Leon, now Spain, in 1252 and immediately devoted himself to the creation of new laws, the Siete Partidas (seven parts) and the Fuero Real (Royal Municipal Code), both of which continue to be in effect here in the 21^st Century.

Scholars posit that the CSM continue to be a testament by which the king wished to be remembered after his death. That means that we, also, are part of the intended audience. Knauss continues that the learned king, likely, did not fathom this kind of dissemination, now in this digital age. She says, “With these technologies, it grants scholars who study the CSM a place in his highly exclusive circle of apprentices.”

I began exploring the history of the CSM, because I found the tunes, songs, poems, and art pieces so wonderfully tuneful and passionate with their multimedia approaches. I hope you’ve found this music and its stories interesting. For more information, please visit my blog: https://wordpress.com/post/peopleandcultures.blog/2898

And, if you’d like to hear the show, encourage your local public radio station to run it, and it can be found at the Public Radio Exchange, PRX.

Rosas das Rosas – The New York Consort for Poetry and Music 3:24

CSM #383 Jordi Savall and Hesperion XX 8:14

Rose of Rose CSM Waverly Consort 3:27

Thank you for listening to Cantigas de Santa Maria, I’m Debra Bolton.

A Life Cut Too Short

My lovely daughter, Riki L. Warner, would have been 42 years old today. We’re coming up on eight years of her passing. We continue to wonder what would have been had her medical care team met her needs and better served this young mother who left behind three beautiful children and a loving husband. I suppose we never should ponder such questions.

The top image features my necklace with Riki’s picture. The compass rose, given to me by Lynn, not only represents my occupation and passions as a geographer, but I love that it sits next to Riki as she was my north, my south, my east, my west, my working week, and my Sunday rest, so the W.H. Auden poem goes. The Zuni turquoise inlay ring represents the drum, so important in our (Native) ceremonies and prayers.

The past two weeks have been those of family gatherings and celebrations. On September, I had the honor of officiating my nephew’s wedding in Southwest Colorado, and then this past weekend, I officiated my grandson, Shawn to his bride Gracie. Shawn is Riki and Jonathan’s middle child. His empathy for others shines as his super strength. My sister, Eileen, joined in the celebration which took place in Southwest Missouri. Yes! We had a busy week.

I will have to write about the first wedding later, but my focus for this is to highlight Riki’s son, Shawn. This would have been a major event for Riki to see her son married. Shawn and Gray have known each other since middle school. Similar to Riki and Jonathan who met in 6th grade and had been married 12 years when she passed from a heart condition that doctors did not take seriously, because, “She’s very young and may grow out of it.” Who says that. We found out later that she should have had a defibrillating pacemaker. I now share some lovely pictures of the wedding. Here’s Riki with Shawn as a sweet child.

Jonathan sat next to this picture for the ceremony. I thought it such a great tribute to Shawn’s mommy. Shawn’s brother, Korbin, my eldest grand child was the best man, and gave a lovely speech to his brother and new sister-in-law at the reception.

Everyone felt Riki’s presence at the wedding. Her children made her proud on this beautiful day. Sammy and her friend Darrell distributed the bags of bird seeds on the chairs for the recessional. That was fun, and my sister Claudia made the bird seed bags.

Maybe it’s not everyday that a grandma gets to officiate her grandson’s wedding. My son, Stevie, took his nephews to his special barber for their wedding haircuts the day preceding the wedding. My sister gave me tremendous emotional support and great suggestions. Riki’s “Village” was there to celebrate Shawn and remember their dear friend, Riki. I am so grateful to those young families.

Stevie and Dianna entertained Eileen and me, after the reception, with hilarious talk and Stevie’s rendition of Tony Montana from Scarface! Who knew this bittersweet celebration could be joyous and sad at the same time? We make the best of our situations everyday while we greatly miss our Riki.

This time last year, one of Riki’s school friends wrote to me on messenger. Joey told me that he thought about her in so many different situations. The greatest gift Joey gave to me was to say, “Thank you for bringing Riki into this world.” Such a kind and beautiful thing to say to a grieving parent. Riki, we miss you everyday.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Travels with Eileen

My featured image is one taken on the patio next to my building on campus, which is two years old. The dear dragonfly landed on wet concrete, lost his life, but left a lovely image that one can enjoy when sitting on the table next to it. The dragonfly lives on…

This long read functions as my trip diary. My summer began on May 13, 2023. The graduate school has its ceremony on the second Friday in May, so the next day, I headed to Colorado, to celebrate Mother’s Day. On Monday the 15th, my sister, Eileen, and I boarded the California Zephyr to head to San Francisco. I love riding the train, which I do quite often. It was my sister’s first time on the Amtrak. The train departed at 4:10 pm, and away we went. Before we embarked, I mixed a cocktail for us to have a toast to our journey. We settled for paper cups since I had no access to proper glasses.

Some of the beauty seen along the way includes the magnificent Colorado River, fabulous geological structures, and brilliant colors. I care not for the rafters on the Colorado that insist on showing the Zephyr passengers their breasts and butts! None too impressive.

We had lovely meals on the train, as per usual. The meals come with the roomette, which is for two passengers. One of my favorite things about train travel includes permission to self to sit and enjoy the ride. I usually bring a book for the return ride, but my sis and I talked the whole way, both directions. I love meal times, too! There are four to each dining table, and when one’s party is two, one gets to meet two other people to be dining partners. This was my 10th train trip on the Amtrak system in the U.S., and I still think that the most friendly people ride the train. At least those remains my experiences in the dining cars and in the observation cars.

We arrived in Emeryville 24 hours from embarking in Grand Junction, CO. Passengers heading to San Francisco must take a bus across the Bay Bridge to get to the City. We lodged into our hotel by 6:00 p.m., cleaned up, and went hunting for our first dinner in SF. Not far from our hotel, at the entrance to China Town, we found a lovely Asian bistro, called, NOMA. Great staff, and great food. Here’s a glimpse:

We turned in early for a big day on our first, full day. I like to travel with a bit of food, just in case, so we made coffee in the room, and we ate energy bites that I made for the trip. One little “bite” has oatmeal, raisins, cinnamon, honey, and almond butter. Mix all the ingredients and form into spheres about the size of a golf ball. They taste delicious, and just one makes a great breakfast with a hot beverage. That gave us energy for a long morning until lunch.

Our hotel was not too far from Pier 1 on the Embarcadero, so we went the opposite direction on Bush to head toward The Golden Gate Bridge on the opposite side. We walked by retail spaces, auto repair and sale garages, beautiful homes, and tourist attractions. We walked past the homes on Nob Hill and the area surrounding Lombard street. We checked on the prices of those homes for sale. Even the most “simple” homes were priced at 9 million! We marveled at the gardens (a.ka. “yards”) in front of the homes with fruit trees, wild growing rosemary and fennel, and tropical plants. Once we gazed at the Golden Gate Bridge, we began to descend the many stairs toward the Palace of Fine Arts.

Travels with my sis, Eileen, proved to be a most marvelous time, because she is curious and interested in her environments of flora and fauna. We loved the beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition. From there, we could see most of the peninsula that is San Francisco. All this walking, and a little bit of foraging on the edible flora, we became hungry, so we headed to Fisherman’s Wharf.

One of my favorite things about the Wharf is the Maritime Museum of once active sea-going vessels, such as the Balclutha, which was closed for “safety concerns.” Years back, I attended several Sea Shanty Sing-alongs, but those were not happening this time either! Of course, we enjoyed the sea lions at Pier 39, too. On to the food…

Fisherman’s Wharf’s fame lies in its many food and local memorabilia. We found one of my favorite open-air fish market/dining places that serves clam chowder in a sourdough boule hollowed out to make a bowl for the chowder. Delicious! Then we wandered over to Ghiardelli Square to chocolate. Most of it was closed for remodeling, so we just saw the small retail store selling the famous chocolates. The walk prepared us for the Hotel Buena Vista for Irish coffee and a most friendly bartender!

After the coffees, we headed to Columbus Ave to visit City Lights Bookstore, as I do on every visit to SF. As per usual, City Lights Bookstore was a haven for readers, and the second floor dedicates itself to the Beats and their literary progeny. We found some books, some by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the father of City Lights. Sadly, the clerk that waited on us was one of the most sour individuals I’ve ever met! I wondered why he was so rude and dismissive. What is a person like this doing in this haven for literature? I thought maybe he was having a rough day, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Nope! We returned two days later only to find the rude guy waiting on us again. He was pleasant to look at, but he, apparently, has a black heart! On to purchase dinner…

After City Lights and a picture-taking opportunity of Vesuvios (Featured in Mike Myers, So I married an axe murderer) we found Molinari deli with the most beautiful assortment of Italian cured meats, locally made mozzarellas, in-house made bread, and many delights.

We procured a lovely supper of meats, cheeses, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, bread, and wine to enjoy on our hotel’s roof top. Oops! I failed to mention that we stayed at the Orchard Hotel near the entrance of China Town. It has a lovely roof top with tables, chairs, and views of San Francisco! We took our lovely dinner to the rooftop where we enjoyed a chilly evening with great food and wine.

We had leftovers, which we enjoyed at the train station in Emeryville while we awaited our east bound Zephyr on Saturday morning. We retired to bed after a day’s walk of 12 miles, great food, and breath-taking sights. On to Thursday’s adventures…

Early to rise, and after a small breakfast of my energy bites (1 cup oats, 1/2 cup honey, 3/4 cup raisins, 1 cup almond butter, all mixed and formed into a golf ball sized sphere!) and coffee before heading to the Embarcadero, Pier 31, to board the vessel that took us to Alcatraz.

My main interest in visiting Alcatraz was to honor the “Indian” occupation in the 1970s. We were protesting the generations of erasure pursued by congress. We are still here! From Alcatraz, one can only imagine the gorgeous vistas from this place of imprisonment for crimes ranging from theft of fewer than $100 to murder, all in the same place. Yes. People should be held accountable, but some who have done worse are still walking free.

Back to Pier 31 by noon, we were ready for finding food! Luckily, The Ferry Building is near Pier 1, and though it was a bit of a walk, it was worth it! The Ferry Building, now the Ferry Building Marketplace, was built in 1898. While it had some decades of decay, it stands in a state of continual renewal and reimagining. It hosts vendors in an enclosed “farmers’ market” style of booths ranging from caviar to fungi, and all foods in between. For two foodies, it was hard to settle on one cultural food choice, so we combined different taste profiles. For some reason, I didn’t get pictures of our meal, only our desserts: cheesecake with caviar and Aztec chocolate with marshmallow! Yum!

After lunches, desserts, and drinks at the Ferry Building, we headed out for more walking. We ascended the steps to Coit Tower, walked around in surrounding neighborhoods and headed back to the hotel after we took pictures with the Transamerica Building.

Since Eileen’s husband is a rabid Denver Nuggets fan, we had to find a place to watch one of the playoff games, and we found an Irish Pub with the game. We ate corned beef and cabbage with a nice Guiness while we watched the game. The Nuggets went on to become world champs!

After 9 miles of walking, we retired to sleep eager for our final, full day in San Francisco.

Friday, being our final day, we opted for public transportation since the cable and street cars are moving museums. First we went to the Castro District. Sadly, the theater was dark that week. We walked around, and had a snack.

Then we rode the street car back to a point to catch the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf, for some memorabilia. After much walking and site seeing, we headed to Columbus Ave. for our final big meal at the Mona Lisa, known for their Sicilian Caviar, which is garlic baked in butter and olive oil. I can just imagine how we reeked!

We returned to our hotel, packed our suit cases to prepare for our return trip, and fell into restless slumbers for an early morning departure on a bus from SF and across the bay to Emeryville to board the California Zephyr east bound.

When we arrived in Emeryville, we learned that the train would be six hours late. That’s okay. I love the train! Since we were in for a long wait, we savored a nice breakfast of leftovers from Molinari and Boudin Sourdough, and I made bloody marys with tomato juice from the snack stand. It was a great feast! Is this a travel or a food blog?

We boarded the Zephyr and recounted the great stories of our adventure. Eileen is the best of travel companions. We compliment eachother’s travel styles. She does research on prospective experiences, and I fly by the seat of my pants! Here are some of our final sites.

Thank you for coming along on our trip!

Reflections in the Heat of Day

I find it difficult not to reflect on the pain in the world, at present. How do we center ourselves in the face of such hurt? Well, here I go again touting the benefits of mindful thinking and about my outlook on life. These are some common question that I ask myself. Am I practicing gratitude? Am I practicing stewardship of the land, water, language, and preserving other parts of the natural world? I do realize that when we navigate in environments of poverty, exclusions, marginalizations, and living in the fringes, it becomes a great challenge to have gratitude for much of anything. But, what if we looked inside for what is going well for us? Are we able to stop for a minute and think about for what we can be grateful?

I know. Digging through your mind in the midst of conflict, deep emotions, and sadness may be the worst time to gather positive reflections. I do know that it works, however. My practice, which now is a habit, has been part of my life these past four months. Yes. I am facing some great life challenges, and I can tell you that focusing on gratitude and daily affirmations works! Challenges become navigable.

I find that nature offers the best self-care, meditative, and gratitude-giving opportunities. My sweet cousin, Bianka, a war veteran who now spends much of her time bike racing on BMX tracks with her twin brother, also a military veteran, who builds racing bikes, like his father did, now works to perfect her photography skills. That’s her hummingbird picture. It gave me time to stop to appreicate the delicate body, the exquisite little feet, the striations on the neck, and the moment in time when Bianka got this perfect photo of the little bird hovering near the sugar water feeder. When we take that time to appreciate the perfect details of the natural world, we begin to offer gratitude for what some may think of as mundane, but it helps us to be thankful for what we may think of as insignificant details of the world. Also, when we take time to offer thanks for the small things, it helps us to slow down from busy lives and be in a moment with ourselves. Try it.

Consider camping as an outdoor activity where you get to interact with the natural world. Camping is one of my favorite pasttimes. It’s a time when I just allow myself to do nothing but breathe in the clean air, listen to the birds and other flying, loping, crawling, or jumping lives of the natural world.

My dear friend, Kelly, recently, acquired a flock of chickens to raise in his and his lovely wife’s backyard. Kelly told me about raising chickens, “It is therapeutic for me and I have peace when I am around them! I know they are just chickens to most people and is not a big deal, but I almost can’t put into words the joy these animals bring to me! I want many more, and one day, I will have chickens galore will be our theme!” I cannot imagine a flock of chickens being in more gentle hands!

Kelly went on to say, “I think the older you get the more you see the benefit of working to live and not living to work! We are in a world that is so disconnected from the natural things around us that we forget the incredible inner peace found in nature! We have lost the fact that nature is our kin and we have neglected that relationship.” Those are words that we Indigenous People live by, and those words coming from my dear friend Kelly mean the world to me.

I will end with a few of my daily affirmations that come from those around me who inspire me to improve:

I am curious to know something about everything and everything about something
I am thankful for…
I am courageous
I am living a great life
I am interested in everyone I meet (from my Dad)
I am valuable
I have wonderful friends who enrich my life
I learn great lessons from my loved ones
Today, I will learn something new

There are more, but I leave you with this great picture of a friendly kiss from Heidi, a dog who belongs to a business associate of my son.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Extraordinary Times

The hounds of winter (Sting) linger where I live. The north winds blow the warmth from a seemingly sunny day, and the chill cuts to the bone. Relief from the grind of work comes from gathering with friends, family around the table enjoying a slow meal featuring a nice glass of wine.

Since the holidays of winter my joy continues to be hosting family and friends. While conversations and food go hand-in-hand, I find the loving preparation of a meal to be an intense form of love, because I want it just right! Here, I offer some highlights from varying meals along the way, with pictures of food and company.

2021 proved to be a wonderful year for riding the train. In November, we boarded the California Zephr to Salt Lake City. We stopped in Grand Junction Colorado after passing through 31 tunnels in the Rocky Mountain from Denver. My 92 year old mother and her 84 year old husband boarded in Grand Junction. My mother had not ridden the Amtrak until this point. We had roomettes, so the meals were included, and the Amtrak works hard at assuring a great dining experience. Dinners come with a glass of wine, white linen table cloths, and the tables always feature a red rose in a silver vase. I love riding the train. It appears to be the one time that I allow myself to sit and do nothing but watch the world go by. Here, I share some lovely highlights from the trip. We arrived in SLC at midnight and departed for home a few days later at 3:00 a.m.

Early in January, we set out on the train to head to our friends in West New York. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief travels from Los Angeles to Maryland in its entirety. We boarded in Kansas City, MO, and it took us to Chicago for a five-hour layover, which afords the travelers some time for sightseeing in Chicago. Though, its Union Station provides some great history and a lovely environment. The lounges provide quiet or busy areas to relax with snacks and beverages.

I’ve read train reviews by a younger set of riders who appear to be in a hurry and are grumpy about less than perfect accomodations. Like a slow meal that one savors, I find train travel to be a time to savor. Why be in a hurry? I find it a great time to sit back, enjoy the passing scenery, eat lovely meals, and get in some reading or napping. Try it sometime. The life in a cozy roomette is like a gentle hug.

Back to the layover in Chicago. With the lake affect chills, we found it difficult to roam the city, so we made our way to a close restaurant to have a little bite to eat.

Sorry. I can’t seem to make the pictures smaller.

As we made our way to see our friends, we waited until 9:00 p.m. to board the next leg of the trip. We arrived in Erie, PA at 7:00 a.m., and we traveled 45 minutes to the cottage on the frozen lake. How wonderfully delightful that was. After a nice breakfast, we set out snowshowing on the lake frozen so deeply that it serves as a winter paradise of ice fishing.

We enjoyed a delightful time with our friends, with whom we’ve traveled to Alaska, the Gulf Coast, to Puerta Vallerta, and on many camping trips together. I love these friends.

Well, I could go on and on, but I will leave you with a lovely picture of happy hour at 20 degrees Farenheit. Thank you for reading my blog.

Reflecting and Looking Forward

When we think of a year that’s passed, it can be a good time to reflect on the past and to look forward in a new year. We can think about the good things that happened and contemplate any of the negative happenings. Of course, it does not serve us well to focus on our misfortunes, mistakes, losses, and other events that made a negative impact. However, it could serve well to give each of those challenges their due. I want to spend this space for reflecting on the year past and looking forward to year unfolding before us. Every year, I learn something new, and I give myself grace when I come up short. I will share some things I’ve learned and ask you to reflect on your life as well.

Reflecting on events of the past takes a Mindfulness approach. In the process, be a neutral observer. Think about what gave such an event a positive or negative impact. Notice how the event or interaction elicited emotions. How was that emotion navigated, or what was the response? The point in this reflection is to remind ourselves to be 1) a neutral observer to each experience, 2) Be patient with yourself: allow each experience to emerge at its own pace, 3) Have a “beginner’s mind” by experiencing the memory as if for the first time, 4) Trust and believe in your intuition and your ability to see things in a new way, 5) Take it as it comes without the need to win or avoid losing. At this points, just be; 6) Accept and see things as they are in the present moment; 7) Let go and detach from your usuall feelings and thoughts. Perhaps this is a way for us to slow down for a moment to recharge our senses.

Enjoying a hot cup of tea on a crispy morning in front of the outdoor fire place

I’ve written about the “art of hygge.” Hygge is that danish word (Hoo-gah) that denotes comfort at the point of being cozy. Think of a hug! We get to decide on the characteristics of that hug. When the danish speak of hygge, they outline all the situations in which one can practice that coziness: our living spaces, our work spaces, and in outdoor spaces. I have designed my “living room” as a hygge corner.

Another way of practicing that sense of being hugged, is looking to the outdoors for rest and relaxation. Viewing nature as if for the first time can be exhilirating! Perhaps asking oneself, “Which season do I like best? Why?” I like to notice what birds are active in which season? For example, I’m seeing more juncos during the winter than in the summer. We see snow geese in the winter but not summer! Those are changes that are only noticed when one looks up or notices changes in nature. It such a thing is new to you, try it sometime. As another example, in the photo, one could ask, “Why is the sunset so red?” The answer: Dust and smoke in the atmosphere from fires and wind (in many cases).

In a busy world where we are measured by how much we do, how much money we earn, and how we stand out as individuals (an individualistic society). I wonder if we would have less illness if we emulated that of a collective society (group oriented) and took the time to sit and talk, build relationships, and take more collective actions when it comes to governance. The concept of hygge supports that very thing, as does the Mediterranean way of conviviality. So what if we took three hours to consume our meals conversing around the table? Our lives would slow down, and we would take more time for ourselves and our loved one. I love the concept of “hygge with others,” which focuses on our relationships. While we have fewer opportunities to gether during this pandemic, and we’ve had to find new and different ways to connect with people, such as with on line platforms. When I think of “hygge” with others, I tend to think of gathering around meals. Sometimes it may be connecting through interest groups. Sometimes we attend a movie group, which meets online after participants watch the movie on their own. That is one way of connecting during a pandemic time. The meet up consists of questions by the facilitator. We found common themes through which we connected. A few years back, in a town where we spend nearly thirty years, we used to attend what we called, “Second Friday Cinema” at our local library. We picked nine movies for each of the months we met from September through May. We watched the movie together enjoying snack that each of us offered on a table. Unfortunately, that has gone away per safety measures. I miss those time, so I will share some photos of former gatherings and ways of enjoying our environments.

Setting a goal of practicing holistic well-being does take some discipline. For example, I made a pledge to myself to keep my house organized and free of clutter. That takes a lot of work! It seems that we get so involved in making a living, being a good employee, and meeting institutional goals that we forget to take care of ourselves. Now, all this sounds like I’m an expert at such things, I do teach about holistic well-being, but that means that I practice such things, and “practice makes perfect” as the saying goes. That’s the best we can do, and our best needs to be enough for us. That does not mean that we’ve reached a pinnacle. It’s just means that we keep trying. I saw a quote on practice the other day. The gist of it was that someone had asked the great cellist, Pablo Casals about his daily practicing at the age of 90 years. “After a stellar career and now at the age of 90, why do you practice the cello for the minimum of six hours per day?” Casals answered, “Because I think I am seeing progress.” Humans are not perfect. We work toward perfects, but perhaps too much, I wonder? I want to be the best for the world not the best in the world!

Thank you for reading.

Reflections on Native Boarding Schools

My featured image shows fall colors at my house.

As one who identifies as Indigenous, the latest findings of Indigenous children’s marked and unmarked graves on the grounds of Native Boarding Schools across Canada and the United States abhors me, which can feed into generational wounds. Lately, I have been invited to offer lectures on the topic. Here I share with you some of my reflections as presented to church groups. Remember, I only speak with my Indigenous relatives. I do not speak for all Indigenous Peoples.

Residential Boarding Schools: We must acknowledge what happened
to the First People of these Lands
at the hands of Colonial Settlers

To all my Relations…

Following in the ways of loving one another, as any faith journey tells us to do, gives us a framework for our way of life. Our works of truth and reconciliation must mirror that. Like baptism, we must face the truths of our past, even when they give us discomfort. When we learn some painful truths, we must reflect on those truths rather than deny, wallow in guilt or point fingers. The painful actions of history belong to all of us… together. Again, the painful actions of history belong to all of us. I say that as one who is Indigenous to these lands to which I acknowledge: My homeland is the Uncompahgre Valley, Western Colorado, from where colonial settlers displaced my father’s people (Ute). My Mother’s people experienced the same atrocities in their homeland of what is now, New Mexico. In Kansas, I live and work on the ancestral territory of many Indigenous Nations, including the Kaw, the Osage, and the Pawnee. Kansas is currently home to the Prairie Band Potawatomi, the Kickapoo, the Iowa of Kansas and Nebraska, and the Sac and Fox Nations.

I am grateful to these Nations. I ask you to Please remember these truths

Today, we take this opportunity, no matter who we are, and no matter from whom we descend, to face the pain of the past, to confess it, and above all, to learn from it and not repeat it. To tell the truth in love, as our Creator teaches, gives us pause to learn love’s excellent way of life and way of being.

What are the ways in which we can behave in actionable ways to follow the path of love rather than hate, rather than ignoring inhumanities, rather than justifying slavery and other exclusions and turning away from the practice of human hierarchies? We must recognize and acknowledge the wounds of Indigenous Peoples promulgated by governments, churches, and other institutions that join in the cause of separation and erasure. Then we must remove the barriers to access for all historically excluded identities. Only love, honor, and respect can dwell in the Creator’s presence, and we must join our hearts and hands to rebuild our communities of faith.

Let us move away from mere performance to authentic and measurable actions toward an equitable society where we honor and love one another as the Creator loves us.

In reflection, what makes me hopeful today are the Indigenous youth who are learning the spiritual teachings and the folkways of our ancestors. We promote generational healing through prayer and acknowledgement that we only survive in the light and love of our Creator and through the support of one another. When this society begins to acknowledge the truths that segregation, torture, abuse, and separation of Indigenous children is, by design, meant to erase a people not love them, the healing will begin.

Please note that of the 367 Native boarding schools in the U.S. 73 remain open, and 15 continue to board Indigenous children taken from their parents. Here in Kansas, we must acknowledge the following boarding schools and the atrocities fraught upon Native children: Haskell Indian Training School (now Haskell University), Great Nemaha Indian School, Kaw Manual Labor School, Kickapoo Labor School, Osage Manual Labor School, Potawatomi Labor School, and the Shawnee Mission boarding school. The goals of these schools promised to “take the Indian out of the boy or girl.” Graduation was never a goal, however survival remained a wish for the children. Again, The children who were able to leave these schools did not graduate! They survived!

We cannot heal in the places that make us sick. We can only heal, if the society complicit in Indigenous extermination can move away from greed and the concepts of superiority in order to teach a people that they are, indeed, inferior. I am hopeful because I am here today, with each of you, lamenting the wrongs of the past by governments and other institutions who do not follow the teachings of the Creator to “Love one another.” I ask you, How is genocide of a people, Love? How are exclusionary laws and policies, Love? How is justifying slavery, love?

Rev. Linda Nicholls and Rev. Mark Macdonald note that:

“The wrenching legacy of residential schools is felt not only by those who survived. It lingers in the pain of families whose children died while at school. It lingers in the agony of not knowing why they died or where they are buried. It lingers in the inadequate record-keeping that does not tell the cause of death. It lingers in the neglect to even record the names of almost one-third of those who died. For a parent the death of a child is an unimaginable pain.”

I ask you to empathize with the parents. Can you imagine such a thing to happen to you and your family?

Self Care…in the Kitchen

My featured image comes from the lovely and great bush of peonies in my front yard. I love how the stamen of the flower form in the shape of a ragged heart nested among the petals.

You may be thinking that “self-care” does not happen in the kitchen. I know a few people who do not feel a sense of healing Zen in the kitchen. I do. I love the act of creativity, and I like being creative, even in the kitchen. I have written about happy [food] accidents, and so I share a few more.

While not a kitchen discovery, I have long enjoyed interactive food preparation, too. Still observing a “Covid Bubble,” in terms of those with whom we interact closely, we enjoyed a small group of friends who came to dinner this past weekend. The menu consisted of my sourdough (used for many loaves of bread), for pizzas, and their toppings. I did cut up some veggies, and our friends brought a variety of toppings, too.

After a short lesson on rolling out the dough, we each prepared our “crusts.” Once they were rolled out, we threw them on a hot grill to set the dough, which helps guard against shrinkage. Grilling the pizza dough also gives it an added smoked flavor. Grilling only takes about one minute on each side. Then the dough is ready for its toppings.

As a foundation, I made tomato-based sauce and offered my homemade pesto, which makes for great pizza sauce. Also, I had baked garlic swimming in olive oil as another spread for the

Here is a great shot of Dale and me standing by pizzas waiting for oven space. And another of the beautiful ladies creating their own pizzas. Photo credit SLA.

Actually, anyone can make an instant pizza party. You can get ready-made pizza crusts, or pita and Naan breads in the store serve as pizza crusts quite nicely. Actually, making pizza dough from scratch can be whipped up in your mixer. Use 2 pounds (0.907kg) and 20 ounces (566.99g) liquid. I like to use half water and half beer), 3 tablespoons (42.52g) yeast, 2 teaspoons salt, and 3 tablespoons of oil). Mix well, and knead on a floured surface. Let rise, and roll out into pizza crusts. I like to “set” the rolled out dough on the grill. You can do the same on a griddle. It just sets the dough so that it does not shrink after you add the toppings.

Make a red sauce similar to a spaghetti sauce with tomatoes, garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Use salt and pepper to taste, and throw in some basil. The sauces are easy to acquire, and you can make up your own. Remember, gather friends and be creative.

Breakfast

We love breakfast, and we try to make it special. I like to experiment with different types of foods to go with our chosen hot beverage of coffee or tea. I like “Dalgona” whipped coffee, or we have espresso topped with whipped foam sweetened with a little coconut sugar, which gives it a rich flavor, like brown sugar. When I lived in a community rich with African refugees, I loved shopping in their “sundries” store. When I shopped there, Sarai (the lovely woman who worked with the store owner, Adam), would treat me to their tea. She used “Keteapa” from the Kenyan Tea Packers, a rich black tea. Sarai brewed the tea with honey, cinnamon stick, cloves, fennel seeds, and cardamom seeds. Once it brewed, she added cream or half and half. Delicious! The other day, I had baked sourdough bread, and I wanted to have a healthy breakfast that included the bread. I came up with the idea of one cup of peanut butter, plus a half cup local honey, and two tablespoons of a mixture called “trilogy.” Actually, you can prepare “trilogy” yourself. Take even amounts of flax seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. I like to put this mix in my bread making for added fiber.

So, I mixed the trilogy into the cup of peanut butter and half cup of honey. I spread the mixture on toasted sourdough bread. We fell in love with it instantly. It saves well, and goes well with a nice cup of “Sarai’s tea!”

I am always interested in favorite meals for people. Often, our favorite meals consist of those that provide ease of preparation with maximum flavor profiles. Often, we base those favorite meals on regional and cultural preferences. I have my favorite “grandma” meals, which certainly demonstrates our Indigenous culture and mountain regional influences with frybread, cooked beans with steamed/dried sweet corn, and mutton (I use lamb, however). I do have many favorite meals, and this one can be as simple or as complicated as one wishes.

Steak Salad

Actually, when I do not have beef steak, I like to use grilled salmon or a grilled piece of chicken. The point, for someone who eats animal protein, is to have your protein with a nice, green salad. I like my salads with a great variety of greens and other veggies. Occasionally, I like to add grapes, raisins, or cranberries. With a great crop of dandelions in my yard, greens from the yard even adds a nice flavor profile. Some find dandelion greens to be bitter, but with all the other flavors in the salad, any sort of bitterness disappears. Before I toss the salad with a balsamic dressing with a hint of creamy dressing, which I think helps to emulsify the oils and acids of the vinaigrette. After I toss the salad, I add a final bit of dry roasted sunflower seeds or some nuts.

While I put the final touches on the salad, my protein is in the final stages on the grill. On the two pictures, you see the dandelion greens prominent on the left side and the finished product on the right side. I do not treat my lawn with chemicals, so my greens provide a nutritious crunch to my salads. Make sure you know whether or not your greens are safe for consumption. Prepare your protein to taste. Usually, I like my beef a little more rare that pictured.

That’s all I have today. Thank you for reading. I hope you have peace and comfort where ever you are.

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