Wednesday Night Camp Fire Story

Story Night Opening Prayer

by Kicking Bear

O Great Mystery

We offer sacred tsola in thanks for this time together.

We give you thanks for the gift life, that we may walk in a way that honors the ancestors.

We give thanks for our respected elder Usdi Inoli and for the wisdom she will share this night.

 We ask that you guide her tongue and heart as she
shares her wisdom with us.

We ask that you open our minds, hearts, and spirits
to receive these words that they may help keep us
in balance and harmony.

We give thanks for all the gifts you have given us
may we walk with honor and love.

T

The Bow of Life

 by Barbrie777

Osiyo, dtohitsu syvnoyi (hello how is everyone)
I do not have enough hours in the day to say thanks for all the many blessings.

WADO Gvlvquodi saquu for the osda opening prayer.
We are going to take a trip back in time. Is everyone comfortable? I will not keep you too long.

I feel all you now, every hair on my body is standing up, my goosebumps have goosebumps.

I live in the North Valley of Albuquerque by the Rio Grande. Alameda is the name of the village.

When the highway was made into 4 lanes, cultural resources were done.

Turns out proof of circa 800AD right here. Where my house sits was the edge of a marketplace of sorts.

SO fitting that many spirits visit here.

I wish to take you back to a beautiful September morning, the year is l994, the day Sep 26.

Alameda Elementary School is right up the street and I did Art In the Schools for 7 years there.

When the wind blows, we continue to find endless pottery shards.

Many are from cooking pot, the black with mica pieces, some white (the oldest) and reds and browns.

This September morning was especially beautiful and I started up my old Dodge pickup to gather locust limbs the children to make dreamcatchers. They grow about 4 feet high and the lower 2 feet have no leaves, so they are perfect. As I asked permission to harvest them, the lights on the water intensified and a most beautiful presence came around me.

As I gathered just the right limbs, words began coming into my mind, into my SOUL.

Not, to set the record straight, I do not “hear voices”. Rather communication outside of my own mind.

Many of you know what I mean, recognizing your thoughts from thoughts coming to you?

As I finished, I gifted tobacco for the gifts I was given and returned home, these words going thru my entire being.
I was not allowed to record the words until they were etched into my mind, into my SOUL.

I wish to share these words with you. It appears to be a poem and it appears to be incomplete at this time. It is titled:

THE BOW OF LIFE

And, when the winds of war
Blow No More
And, when the bow of war
Shoots no more

Yes, it will live flat, quiet and still
On the river bank, on the canyon floor
From whence it came to war no more

And there is more
Sparrows will fly high
And Sister Spider
Will come forth once more

She will weave her web
Raise her young on that Bow of War

Life is the Bow

You are the Arrow

Signed:

THE ANCIENT ONES

Brie, we so enjoyed your original story and poem!  Brie is a talented artists whose work is not only sold on Etsy, but at many places around New Mexico and even at the Smithsonian! 

Here is sample of one of her Spirit People.

To see more of Brie’s work, please go to

www.barbrie777.etsy.com

Apple Dapple Cake From Brie, One Of Our Fab Five

APPLE DAPPLE CAKE RECIPE
Offered To Us By Our Gusdi, Brie

  

This recipe is an heirloom handed down from
Stacie Lawson Clay, Brie’s Mother

 

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 olive oil or Crisco oil
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecans
3 cups fresh apples peeled
1 cup pineapple, fresh or canned drained
1 cup coconut
1 cup golden raisins

 

Preheat oven to 350, then set on 325.

 

 Blend all ingredients together and pour into a large bundt cake pan with a layer of waxed paper on the bottom.  (I use the 2 part metal pan with the central removable tube bottom).

 

Bake 1 hour. It is a moist cake, but assure it has cooked completely by testing with a long toothpick. My Mom always used a washed corn broom twig.

 

Let cool 1/2 hour.

 

Optional topping: 3 tablespoons soft butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp. light cream, 1/2 cup coconut, 1/4 cup chopped nuts. Heat all together till sugar in dissolved and drizzle over top of cake.

 

Brie

 

Brie is now known on our thread as one of the Fab Five.  She has two very special stores on Etsy.  In her first store, she sells her wonderful Spirit People….(Editor’s note: please don’t call them dolls.  Brie prefers “people”.)  Not only does she sell her “people” on Etsy, she also sells them through the gift shop at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.  That is just how special they are!

 

In her second store, she sells high quality supplies for creating your own treasures.  Here are examples of items from her two locations and the links for locating them.  

 

Go to www.briesboutique.etsy.com to see more of this collection.

 

 

And just in time for our Spring Wasoli Dance event!  Brie gifted the Fab Five with a necklace made from one of these

sweet wasoli that had been given a vinegar bath to create an awesome patina.  You can see these and other items

at www.briesboutique.etsy.com

 

Enjoy the cake and shopping at either or both of Brie’s locations!

 

Photos From Brie

Our gusdi, Brie of barbrie777 just sent this picture of the poster for this years Gathering Of Nations.  Just how many hours of bead, feather, and leather work do you suppose were invested in the gorgeous regalia of those represented in this collage?

Brie also included a photo of her flowering plum tree in this e-mail.   This is a super fantastic shot!

Brie’s Bee’s Tree

Brie owns two shops on Etsy.  www.barbrie777.etsy.com  and  www.briesboutique.etsy.com

Brie says, “I have been creating since the mid 1980’s beginning with Native American inspired dolls of wood which I produced for the Smithsonian Gift Shops in the 1990’s. My line of jewelry, Earth & Antiquities followed that.  Having recently retired, I can pursue my love for creating. I have collected a LOT of stuff and it is time to DESTASH and find new homes for these wonderful materials. Living in New Mexico, I am fortunate to find some wonderful stones, Turquoise being my first love.”

Sample of Turquoise for sale at www.briesboutique.etsy.com  Click the link for other items.

One of Brie’s People from www.barbrie777.etsy.com  To see more of her “People”, just click the link.

I hope several of us have the opportunity to meet in person while I am in New Mexico in April to attend the Gathering of Nations. 

Wado for sharing the photos!