We learn all about kokopelli

In our ever-widening search for appropriate art for the southwest clubhouse, we've been confronted regularly by a curious image. A humpbacked flutist. You see it in people's yards, garages, on switchplates, truck bodies, everywhere. Galleries stock them beside their sunshines, cacti, rugs and pots. Old business to them, it was new to us.

Friday we went to Tubac, Arizona, home to a community of artists, just north of the Mexico border. They were having and art festival so it was just the place to ask. We found a Native American artist (see bottom photo) who sounded quite knowledgeable about the little image of the humpbacked flute player. He said they were Kokopelli and then, not impolitely but with some resignation, handed us something to read -- he's apparently been quizzed by tourists before. Here's essentially what we learned, taken from an internet search:

Kokopelli is a prehistoric deity depicted hundreds of times in rock art, some of it over a thousand years old, located in numerous sites in southwestern United States deserts and mountains. Often depicted as a humpbacked flute player, this mythic being has survived in recognizable form from Anasazi times to the present. There is something appealing about Kokopelli which fascinates all kinds of people, even in our modern technological age.

The Anasazi or "Ancient Ones" were primarily farmers, growing corn, beans, and squash in the Four Corners area on the Colorado Plateau. Both the Basketmaker Period (dating at least from about 200 B.C.) and the Pueblo Period (dating from about 700 A.D.) include the humpbacked flute player among their deities or supernaturals.

Long-distance trade networks and migrations from Mexico apparently helped spread cultural and religious elements, so that by 1500 A.D. fluteplayer images were also included in the Hohokam, Mogollon, and Fremont cultures, in petroglyphs (rock carving), pictographs (rock painting), kiva murals, ceramics and baskets. Today, Kokopelli is one of the Hopi kachinas, and is in many traditional stories and songs of Native Americans of the desert southwest.

In Kokopelli, Flute Player Images in Rock Art, Dennis Slifer and James Duffield mention "...widely held beliefs that Kokopelli was a fertility symbol, roving minstrel or trader, rain priest, hunting magician, trickster, and seducer of maidens..."

"In Pueblo myths, Kokopelli carries in his hump seeds, babies, and blankets to offer to maidens that he seduces. In upper Rio Grande pueblos, he wandered between villages with bags of songs on his back. As a fertility symbol, he was welcome during corn-planting season and was sought after by barren wives, although avoided by shy maidens."


There you have it, folks. Kokopelli. Authentic to the Southwest. We haven't purchased anything yet. Got my eye on an arc-welded handmade kokopelli mobile made from reused auto and wash machine parts that would be perfect for planting next to the prickly pear in the front yard, but haven't pulled the trigger. Shiny now, it should eventually rust down to a fine copper patina. Under $100. Got to run it by the board first.

Our Kokopelli mentor, above right, was very helpful, but probably more interested in the novel he was reading than educating innocents from the North. The other photo depicts a live performance by a native American flutist. The music was hauntingly beautiful and set a tone for the afternoon. Meanwhile, Kathleen and Hoover admire a $4000 woodcarving of a southwest landscape -- perfect for the big clubhouse wall.

Solveig submits ideas for artwork

Sister Sosie writes from Sunol, CA. She is working under a severe handicap, recently having rolled her bike while birdwatching and smashing her wrist and thereby losing the use of her typing thumb and other digits. She is also said to be taking a variety of painkilling drugs and may or may not be mixing them with alcohol, we don't know. Nonetheless, she has courageously submitted her response to our questionnaire, which sought public input in our choice of wall decoration. Please ignore any typos and abreviations in her message. She's doing the best she can. And remember, it is not too late to submit your own thoughts. We need them.

here are my well-considered comments (all the long night)

Forget the market themes. Stop shopping. You must have Original Art based on the Spirit of the House.

In the front room, you need a 4 ft by 6 ft oil painting of Virg's golf swing. It tells the guest everything. If you don't have asnapshot to give the artist, I have one I took some yrs ago in No Dak.

In the tv room, a 4 ft square painting of Steve talking with his crooked fingers, li ke in the Big Thunder and Leno pic, cut out Leno and add tennis racket in background. Title in lower right is "Loquacious Lawyer" (or "Effusive Attorney")

In a room that faces east or west, a 2 ft by 6ft oil painting of Stan with arms straddling window sill of 2 ft by 6 ft window and looking off to setting/rising sun in favored landscape. Title: Visionary.

To represent what makes a house function as a home and the true decoration and only necessary decoration of the house, a ceramic-tile portrait of the Board of Directors in the kitchen. For starters, picture that snapshot painted on 8 inch square tiles, 5 tiles across and 3 tiles high. You can take artistic license with the color of their sweaters.

Would everybody just take it easy?

Let's see. This week we've learned that Sosie tumbled off her bike while birdwatching and put an arm out of service; Ron lost the use of his foot for a few months. Tonight our Jennifer was hit by a car while she rode shotgun in her ambulance in St. Paul. Marcy says Jennifer is okay. She was buckled in when an elderly couple blew a stop light and hit the side of the ambulance. Her vehicle is mounted on a heavy truck body, so the couple got the worst of it. Jennifer now complains of a sore neck and she'll be on crutches for a while. The accident was a block from the home base so the scene was flooded with paramedics. We're waiting for a call from Jennifer to see how serious this is, just in case Marcy soft pedaled the story so Mom and Stan wouldn't worry down here in AZ.

Please. Would everybody just take it easy for a while?

A good place for breakfast, lunch

This unassuming storefront in the Catalina Plaza marks a home cooking restaurant with tons of personality and a menu to match. (The retired guy wearing the Stetson and running shoes while relaxing on the park bench isn't part of the decor, but he could be.)

Claire's Cafe? You betcha!
Many national restaurant chains shamelessly boast of being a neighborhood or family restaurant with home cooking, but here in Catalina they've got the real thing. It's called Claire's Cafe. Big menu, warm personality, reasonable prices. You can see the cooks making things from scratch through the front window, the servers have names like Andy and Fawn and Birdy, and then there's Claire, herself, (below, in blue apron) visiting with customers and carrying on like she owns the place.

She does, actually, along with her husband, Steve Johnson. He's Swedish and last night they watched "Fargo" again so they were reminded of exactly what Minnesotans talk like. The couple have seen a lot of Minnesotans since they opened in 1986, which is also about the same year Saddlebrooke started taking down payments from snowbirds wanting a warm place in the Arizona sun.

Catalina is the small town just outside of the Saddlebrooke entrance where the Ace Hardware man can be found, along with Darlin's Flowers, Sunset Interiors and myriad other services and shops that might be useful to "active adults."

On our second trip to the cafe, we asked to see the boss.
Stan: Hi, are you Claire? We just love your restaurant.
Claire: Thank you. I love it too. Where are you from?
Stan: We're from Minnesota. We just bought a place in Saddlebrooke.
Claire: You look too young to be retired.
Stan: I REALLY love this restaurant.

The restaurant opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m. "Have you ever been open for dinner?" we asked. "Oh, yes," the former executive chef shrugs with a sigh, "But we weren't able to have lives . . ." Right away you get the idea that Claire is a hands-on kind of manager not given to a lot of delegation. The walls are covered with objects of art and that's Claire's work too. It's an art gallery. There is so much detail on the walls you think about keeping all that clean, but the white glove test came up with nary a smudge, so somebody's keeping the place scrubbed.

The breakfast menu has all the variety you'd expect. The pancakes are light and fluffy; the bacon crisp, eggs and omelets to order. Stan had oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar, could have had it with apples and raisins. There's English muffins, home fries, hash browns, whatever. Kathleen (left with server) had a yummy Belgian waffle.

For lunch you can have brown rice with veggies; there's plenty on the menu for a vegetarian, or for a finicky eater. They use no beef tallow, only canola and olive oil. Stan enjoyed the Catalina Special, a toasted turkey sandwich with swiss cheese, a bit of bacon and a big slab of avacado. Then there's the burger routine, soups and salads, as well as the daily specials posted on a scribble board.

When you do come to Claire's Cafe, don't just stand around and wait to be seated like some bashful Norwegian. Just go ahead and find a comfortable spot and act like you've been out to eat before. Soon you'll have your favorite booth and your favorite items, and you'll be ordering like a local without your bifocals.

Uff da.

18 holes with the Saddlebrooke Ranger

Photo by Kathleen Rolfsrud
Senior Saddlebrooke golf ranger Leno Masolini took a break from his strenuous duties as golf cop to escort Stan around the Catalina and Saddlebrooke courses today. The pair were joined by a man named John and together worked skillfully through the day's challenges. The weather was perfect, no wind, and Leno knew the course well and may have used his knowledge to cut a stroke or two off Stan's usual score. After 18 holes in Leno's cart, Stan came away with the following:

1. Stan probably pulled the trigger too soon in an earlier post stating that the fairways would be a lusher hue by the time Steve and Virg get here on Feb. 17. That was a bit optimistic, Leno says, the green will be here in March. Stan was thrown off by some chemical treatment that gave off a greenish hue.

2. Leno quoted his wife, Carolyn, who advises him that he should take a normal full swing when you're in the bunker. That information, coupled with Leno's own tip that you should keep your head absolutely still when standing in the sand, may have contributed to a magnificent out by Stan on No. 21.

3. Leno was stunned to learn that Stan's game is no where near as bad as Steve says it is. Stan's skills are way beyond Steve's detailed descriptions of Stan's futility on the golf course, Leno said.

First dinner on the new table

Photo by Kathleen Rolfsrud
What better way to finish a hard day on the course than with a T-bone steak with your best friend? Stan and Kathleen got steaks to order from the back grill -- perfect. The table stayed level throughout the entire experience. Here's to many more happy meals on the new table. 

Please take this quiz

We are seeking some southwestern artwork for some of the terra cotta, teal and Claire de Lune color schemes in the house. As we go from showroom to showroom, shop to shop, it all blends together. Please take this quiz to guide us. Some of the choices below may seem absurd, but make them anyway. Then add your comments at the end and email it to tucsonrolfsrud@wbhsi.com.

The more participation, the better. This includes family members and any others who happen to see this page. The more the merrier. Here's the quiz, we're going to Claire's Cafe for lunch.

Which do you prefer:
Landscapes or sunsets?
Mountains or suguaro cactus?
Dried skulls or lariats?
Parrots or butterflies?
Bullfighters or cowboys?
Rock formations or desert flowers?
Geckos or rattlers?
Roadrunners or quails?
Tapestries or metal work?
Fruits or vegetables?
Boots or saddles?
Golf holes or waterfalls?
Sombreroes or sleeping Mexicans?
Incas or Aztecs?
Barrel cactus or prickly pear?
Adobe mudhouses or shimmering skylines?
Horses or javelina?
Blues and pinks or terra cotta and teal?

Of the categories above, choose your top three.

Thank you for your help.

We get delivery. . .

It was 9 a.m. Mountain Time.

Kathleen had left to get a newspaper, Stan was squeezing paste onto a toothbrush and Hoover was signaling hurry up, hurry up, it is time to go out, when the doorbell rang.

The fellas hauled the stuff in, Stan checked for dings, signed the paper and they were on their way. Kathleen returned in time for coffee and a newspaper on the new kitchen table.

We're thinking Virg and Steve did a good job picking this stuff out. It's a bit heavy in the leg, which is
good for that southwest clubhouse feel.

Not sure what we'll do with the temporary IKEA tables. Might spray 'em Copper Mountain and locate them such that Steve can rest his beer while watching Boston Legal.

We're waiting for the kitchen table. . .

The wood table (featured in a previous post) is due to arrive tomorrow morning. The delivery company computer has been talking to our answering machine so we aren't sure of anything right now.
Today we finished touching up the Claire de Lune kitchen, totally wiping out the Alexandria Cardinal red and black and white. Last night we extended the dustboard to meet up with the mirror in the kitchen. We're particularly proud of the pattern match we got in the seams of the the dustboard. (see photo) Too bad Herman (see previous post) isn't here to see what we did with his fabric.

Stan is Kathleen's hero today because she checked and YES, Stan painted behind the refrigerator. Kathleen just can't stand to have an unfinished area behind a mirror or appliance, so either Stan has to quickly cover and lie about it or just take the time to do it all in the first place.

We'll finish bragging about our window wall work tomorrow night after the delivery comes and the sun goes down. Too hard to shoot windows with the Arizona sun streaming through. These pictures will have to serve as your sneak preview.


Incidentally, the grass is turning green on the fairways so when Virgil and Steve get back here on Feb. 17 there should be a whole new look. Up until now, only the greens and tees have been verdant.



A final note: Adhering to the conservative mantra held by younger brothers, we carefully saved the used masking tape and reused the good sides, getting double value from the product.