Simply Belle

The Anasazi (ancient people), whose culture thrived around 1100 AD, produced elegant pottery with interesting designs mostly in black and white. I learned that the descendants of the anasazi continues the pottery tradition up until now. In Rock Art Ranch, they have quite a bit of selection of Anasazi pottery. These are just a few of them:

One and only known square pot (left) that they know about

This a a cradleboard for a papoose, a term for Native American baby. They strapped the baby on the back of the mother or leaned the baby against the tree to keep the baby under control.

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The word, “petrify” literally means, “turn to stone.” Petrified wood, then, is wood that has turned into stone.

How is it formed? The process of petrification, which can take million of years, starts with three ingredients: wood, water, and mud. When a tree falls, it gets covered with dirt, and after an event such as flood, sediment covers the tree. As the tree rots, the soft spot between the trunk rings rot away and water fills the void and bring in various kinds of mineral deposits, also known as “permineralization.” If you look closely, you can see the rings and pores preserved from the original tree.

We had a chance to visit a Rock Store in Holbrook, Arizona, and saw tons of polished petrified wood that was made into coffee table. Prices range from $1,000 and up. To give you an idea of what the finished products look like, please visit this site.

I took these pictures of petrified wood, by the way, at the Rock Art Ranch.

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Recently, I have had the opportunity to see many interesting ruins of the Navajo Indians, thanks to a visit from SIL and BIL.

Hogan is a Navajo Indian dwelling that is roughly circular, constructed of rocks and branches, and sealed with mud or sod. The one that we saw in the Rock Art Ranch looked like it had just been recently restored. When I went inside the shelter, it was actually cooler by about 12 degrees. Having been outside in the blistering desert for a while, it was a refreshing treat for us. I noticed that there was a circular opening in the middle of the roof, but there weren’t any windows. I was wondering why the hole was there. Well, according to Mr. Brantley Baird, the owner of the ranch, on winter nights, when it was extremely cold, they would make fire directly below the hole to keep them warm, while allowing the smoke to escape through the opening. And then, when it got warm enough, they would quickly patch the hole up to preserve the heat until morning. That is how the Navajo Indians survived the harsh winters in AZ. Yes, it can get cold in AZ, down to zero even. Also, the smoke hole served as a source of light during the day.

Typical Hogan.

I like how they laid the rocks on the walls. I have seen many modern houses nowadays with similar walls, which could very well be attributed to the Navajo Indians

This is how the inside of the Hogan looks like - nothing much. But, it is refreshingly comfortable inside. If only there were windows to allow the air to come in and out…I wouldn’t mind staying there for a while, enjoying the view of the open fields.

Close up of the interior of the roof. Notice the opening in the middle that serves as a source of light and a vent for the fire.

Steam room where they took their baths. Water was taken from the nearby stream.

This is where they heated the rocks to be carried to the steam room.

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One interesting tour we took most recently when my in-laws were here, was at Rock Art Ranch. I already showed some breathtaking pictures of the Rock Canyon River in my previous post.

As we walked through the canyon, we saw petroglyphs up and down the river. A petroglyph is an image carved or etched into rock by the ancient people known as the Anasazi. Petroglyph is among the earliest form of art or early system of writing, which dates back as far as 9,500 years ago. That is quite a while ago, before Christ even! Amazing!

Petroglyph comes from the Greek word petros meaning stone and glyphein meaning to carve.

Nobody knows for sure what these symbols meant. Look closely, what do you think the pictures depict or symbolize? Your guess is a good as anybody else’s.

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Learn the art of seeing, which of course is another form of being, it is the most wonderful resource in the world. You become an independent being in your own right.

Then, standing on that site, look about you so that you see what has charm. What is the reason you want to build there? Find out. Then build your house so that you may still look from where you stood upon all that charmed you and lose nothing of what you saw before the house was built but see more. Frank Lloyd Wright

Today, we had a tour of Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ. (Taliesin, pronounced TALLY EHSSEN, literally means “shining brow” in Welsh, the nationality of Wright’s ancestors. Taliesin West was conceived by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and his apprentices as a “desert camp” where they intended to live permanently during winter to evade the harsh Wisconsin weather. Frank was originally from Wisconsin and came to Arizona in 1937.

He introduced beauty, health, tranquility, and harmony into the built environment. His goal was to integrate the structures with the “Nature” of the desert, its soul, and its physical features.

He called his work “organic,” showing that all parts should relate to the whole- that architecture must be appropriate to the time, place, and man.

He also introduced the concept of “compress and release”. I noticed that the door entrances are only 5′9″ in height, with narrow hallways. If you are six feet tall, you have to “compress” and duck your head. My BIL who is six feet tall wasn’t too happy about watching his head every time he approached the door. My husband said that it reminded him of some houses in Catanduanes. Anyway, the idea is to make the visitor feel uncomfortable and encourage them to move out of the hallway and proceed to a larger room, hence, the “release.” Catch the drift?

I was really impressed of his architectural style because of its natural beauty. His idea of “organic structure” fascinated me. You could see the raw beauty of the rocks, and its natural colors. The house is like an extension of the environment. It is rugged, irregular, and super strong. It is simply beautiful! Mr. Wright hated the idea of being in a square box like you see in most houses, so you don’t see any internal walls in his rooms.

During the tour, I learned that Frank Lloyd Wright owned a lot of stuff but was never rich. In fact, he always resorted to borrowing money from his friends. For him, luxury came first while necessity was secondary. Do any of you agree with his thinking?

Let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

office

living room

cabaret

theater

bedroom..notice how tiny the beds are and with a wall in between???

claustrophobic door entrance

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I am extremely busy these days because my SIL and BIL are here for a week and when I get some time off work, I make every opportunity to come with them for an adventure in places I have never been before in AZ. Too bad, we are short-handed at work this week so I just don’t have the luxury of the time to go with them as much as I want to.

For now, let me show you some beautiful sceneries that I took of Rock Canyon River.

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Arne, a good friend of ours, invited us over to his house for a crayfish feast. A few days ago, he had just shared with us a bucketful of crayfish, and honestly, I was getting a little sick of it. We still have leftover in the refrigerator that hasn’t been touched for days, which I am about to toss in the garbage. Nevertheless, I was curious how this expert cooked his crayfish. Ours was a little bland and could use more seasoning or something. So, we gladly accepted the invitation.

Oh my, I have never tasted crayfish that good! He flavored it with some kind of seasoning that I have yet to find out. I can always go back to his place to ask the recipe since I live within walking distance from his house. Every bite tasted good - from head to tail. Nothing wasted! Astoundingly, I saw him sucking the heads. Hmmm, he must have filipino genes in him. Soon, I was savoring the heads, too. Others were too gross to follow suit. They mainly gorged on the tails and claws. Hmmm, poor guys, they didn’t know what they were missing.

Arne is the King of Eating Crayfish, I must say. Boy, he could eat crayfish. He ate 30 of them. Look at how he lined up the shells on his plate. Isn’t it fascinating? I have never seen anyone so meticulous. He said, it is an old habit of his that he got accustomed to.

We surely enjoyed the evening with Arne, his wife and another couple. Joyce, Arne’s wife, sent the leftover home to my daughters. How nice! Daughter A loved it! Thanks Arne and Joyce for the lovely evening.

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I was really touched from the comments I received from my fellow bloggers: Noemi, Annamanila, and momoftwo and inspired me to post this next entry of my humble beginnings.

Before I write my post, let me show you their comments first on the article I wrote in my blog entitled “Our Association’s Projects.”

Noemi: that’s a very noble project. We are also setting up a scholarship fund in memory of my son. Hopefully it will be launched soon. UP tuition fee for college has increased tremendously so we hope to help deserving college students.

Annamanila: Mabuhay ka Belle for giving a slice of yourself through this outreach project. That is giving back to the larger community and society hindi ba?

When I retire I also plan to have this outreach project .. details na lang later. But it has something to do with senior citizens and IT.

momoftwo: Belle, this is really a good project. I really admire your generosity. You inspire me to do something similar. Maybe in the future.

Warning: This is a long post

I came from a very poor family in a small barrio of Bagumbayan. My father held a menial job on a wage that exempted us from paying taxes( I was not too sure on this), raised a family to be counted in poverty statistics. When I reached grade three, my father decided to retire from an auditor job he had held for so many years. My younger brother was in grade 1 at that time. I did not know if my father had given much thoughts on his decision of retiring early but I thought it was a lousy move. How would we survive on a meager retirement salary? How would my father afford to send his younger children (my brother and I)through college? I was not sure if those same questions had crossed my parents’ mind or if they had resorted to bahala na attitude (come what may attitude), as usual. As my father had repeatedly said, “ang tawo nabubuhay sa pasilikad sikad” (people somehow survive through endless kicking.)

It was an extremely hard road for us without a steady income for many years. My family had to endure so many hardships just to put food on the table. This may seem astonishing to you, but I learned at an early age the art of “supnit”, I learned to fish in the swamp using agahid (fish net), I learned to plant young rice plant in the muddy fields (such a back breaking job!), plant and harvest camote, make tiniklad (nipa shingles), harvest rice in the wee hours of the morning, , and so on and so forth. Consider yourself lucky if you were spared such arduous life . Just the thought of it brings me tears. It would surely break my heart if my daughters were to endure such difficulties.

While other kids were enjoying the tricycle ride to school, I would wake up early in the morning to give me an early start for a three-kilometer walk to school. The only good thing about this that I just realize now is it has kept me in shape and I was free of any ounces of fat in my body. You see, not even fully aware of walking benefits, my exercise regime has started back then. Imagine walking twice a day in a scorching and humid environment. There were times when I arrived school late or just in the nick of time when the flagpole ceremony was about to start. I didn’t care how I smelled, nor looked. I did not seem to drive my classmates away either..hehehe…dai man ning nag sabi ning isog isog diyan sa ako (no one had dared ask me to keep a distance because I stank).

For our lunch, my brother and I would split up a small fried galunggong (fish) and a generous serving of rice. You think you were the only one who had been through a rigorous life? I was not exempted from it either. You know how much effort was put into coming up with the money to buy that little galunggong (fried fish)?

Allow me to show you. While my brother and I were working on our assignments at night under a flickering lamp light, part of our time was directed making “sinilapid” (rope), 60 yards to be exact, and had to be finished that same night so we could get our allowance of a pathetic one peso the following day, to be split between my brother and me. It was a choice on whether we should spend the money on transportation or for food. Of course, it would be logical to reserve it for food so we had nourishment to get through the rigors of the academics at school.

Now, If you were on our shoes, would you have done the same?

On our way home, if we had managed to save some change, we would stop at the last corner store in Bato and would buy bukayo (grated coconut sweets) for 25 cents. I could feel that my body was hinting for some food to get ready for that long and blistering walk home. But the problem was, part of the time, there wasn’t any change left. Every penny was spent on our food or was used to buy some needed school supplies. I had no choice but to endure the hard walk home, sometimes alone, since some of my friends and cousins took the easy way home—riding on a tricycle.

More often, we arrived home insanely hungry! After I sat my belongings on the table, I would zoom right to the kitchen and look for something to eat. Most of the time, there wasn’t any food but steamed rice. Frustrated and famished, I would resort to “dulay” for some refreshing glass of cold water, followed by another glass….gluk gluk. Sometimes, I would turn to my mother begging for food, with my longing eyes. Out of pity, she would quickly get ready for dinner that was usually made up of rice and an unknown dish. Often, without a choice, I would settle for rice and sugar or bagoong (shrimp paste), enough to help me sustain the night preparing for my assignments, and simultaneously working on “sinilapid”. Hehehe..up until now, it may strike you with wonder, but I am still on this kind of diet, though with few modifications, and with plenty of vegetables.

This routine had lasted through fourth year in high school. I was surprised I was even considered to be in the honor roll. The faculty members had to deliberate on whom, between my friend and me, were best suited for the Valedictorian. Huh? Was I that good? I was even criticized by one of my teachers for not seriously showing competitiveness or rivalry. Why should I? I knew that I excelled well in the field of mathematics and sciences but due to my lack of learning foundation at home, I didn’t do as well in language and history as you can see in my writing, but then how in the heck I made it to the top? Sheer luck perhaps?

I took the highly coveted UP entrance examination in Diliman in Manila. It was an overwhelming experience for a probinsiyana girl (promdi, or province girl) like me. I was going against the elite, urban, rich, and privileged kids. Some of them, perhaps, were daughters and sons of you. I did my best and applied the knowledge I gained from my 4 years in high school in Bato RDHS. A few months later, I recieved a letter that I passed the UP entrance examination and I was offered a full ride scholarship, including a monthly allowance, mainly because I came from a poor family and possessed a few good brain cells. I was elated! I was in tears! I was thankful to God for choosing me and one other student from Virac. Only the two of us from Catanduanes qualified that year. Must be sheer luck again and of course, lots of help from up above.

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I want the whole world to know that I am a proud member of Pinoy Mom’s Network. Congratulations to the people behind the transformation of PMN into an e-zine (online magazine) namely, Connie V, Noemi D, Annamanila, Sexydine, Feistymomma, & pinayexpat. Kudos to you all!

And my very first article for Food and Cooking is now posted here. Go take a look. I proudly showed it to my husband and he said, “you are now an author, honey.” It feels good to be part of the very first pinoy mom’s network.

Fathers may be the head of the house, but mothers are the neck that pivots and controls the head. (I made that up)

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This morning, my husband got a call from our friend, Arne. He asked him if he wanted freshly caught crayfish. Without hesitation, my husband said, “yes, I am on my way, I will be there in 10 minutes.” Of course, he didn’t arrive until half an hour later because he waited for me and my daughter.

Crayfish are very popular in Sweden and in Southern US. Arne is originally from Sweden and he makes crayfish traps and sells it online. Around this time of year, he goes up on the lake in the Mogollon Rim to catch these little creatures. He usually stays overnight to get the most in as crayfish are nocturnal.

My whole family loves crayfish. We consider it a gourmet delight. We like to dip it on katsup. So, when our friend, Arne, was kind enough to offer his catch with us, we were so thrilled. The last time we ate crayfish was a year ago and we are so looking forward for the opportunity to feast on it again. He told my husband to get as many as he wanted. He took 120 of them. Quite a bit!

The moment we got home, we wasted no time boiling the water while the crayfish or crawdads were still alive. My husband added a fair amount of rock salt into the water. He waited until the water reached to a rolling boil and lowered down the strainer filled with crayfish. He waited again until it started boiling and timed it for seven minutes to cook completely. Then he let it sit in the cooking water for a while until it cooled off.

While it was cooling off, I took a piece, took another piece, and another piece. Pretty soon, I had a huge pile of crayfish shells on my plate. It tasted so good! I also gorged on the yellow butter inside the head. Yummy! What a treat!

You may visit Arne’s site here.

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