Cenizo Journal Winter 2016 | Page 7

C enizo Not es by Carolyn Brown Zniewski, publisher and Danielle Gallo, editor I t’s January and a new year has begun. I’ve been looking forward to this new beginning. Some years seem to need a reboot more than oth- ers, and it seems to me that last year could really use a new start. There is an old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” I think last year qualified as interest- ing! I am hoping this coming year is a little less “interesting” myself. After the busy schedule of the holidays and the horn-blowing and toasting that accompanies the New Year, we have a chance for some quiet time to rediscover our- selves, gather and renew our energy, pay off a few bills and snuggle up with a friend or two, perhaps knit some slippers. It is a time for getting ready for things to come and tak- ing a peek back at where one has been. Sorting through old photos, cleaning out the junk drawer and packing up out-of-date clothing to send to the second-hand store always helps me put life in perspective. Mending a broken chair rung or replacing a stained, tattered kitchen towel gives satisfac- tion, too. There is nothing quite like icy wind and a winter storm to make you appreciate an afghan, a cat on your lap, a dog at your feet and a favorite novel. Those dishes can wait until morning. It’s time to gather your wits for a new beginning. Mother nature is quiet- ly preparing for the great blooming to come. So can we all. I am so very glad you have included the Cenizo on your reading list. Enjoy! T he harshness of winter is two- fold: first, the short days and bitter winds chase us inside to pace the walls of small adobe houses, so many of us wishing our prede- cessors had engineered better plans for our heating. Then, both more subtle and more poignant, the winter months showcase a harsh reality as every year passes—they pass faster and faster. It just turned spring, we groan. How can it be January already? It seems the months cascade and tumble through the mild and the hot desert days, rushing over each other to land with a flat, grey note squarely in the doldrums of February. In honor of winter, this issue of Cenizo means to showcase new beginnings. We look on ancient Rio Grande history, then ponder the recent startling changes in the Trans- Pecos. Here are stories of pioneers and stories of newcomers. In the season of contemplation, we often look to make big changes in our lives: location, vocation, resolution. Here we showcase migrations big and small, voyagers who left their marks in stone and the hopes of newly- weds (much the same over acentury ago as they are today). I believe the winter houses the biggest holi- days to help us through the cold and dark with reminders of all the things we love the most: family, friends, food. But it’s a long stretch from the New Year to the first apricot blos- som, so enjoy the Cenizo by a drafty mesquite fire and know that another hurried warm year is just around the corner. P.O. Box 2025, Alpine, Texas 79831 www.cenizojournal.com C ENIZO JO URN AL S TA F F EDITOR Danielle Gallo [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] mayamadeapothecary @gmail.com BUSINESS MANAGER Lou Pauls WEB MANAGER Maya Brown Zniewski Thursdays 4 - 6pm • Organic spelt, hard white wheat berries. • Rye and kamut freshly milled in my stone burr mill and baked into delicious breads, pizza crusts, cookies and other goodies. • Stone ground flour milled to order for home bakers. We use no white flour or white sugar in our products us on Facebook 802 E. Brown St. and Cockrell Alpine 432-386-3772 [email protected] ST. JONAH ORTHODOX CHURCH Come, See & Hear the Services of Early Christianity ◊ Fr. Nicholas Roth Sunday 10 am • Wednesday 6:30 pm 405 E. Gallego Avenue • Alpine, TX 79830 432-360-3209 • bigbendorthodox.org Alpine Community Credit Union The only local financial institution in Alpine If you live or work in Alpine, bank with us See the difference at your local credit union Now serving Presidio and Jeff Davis Counties 111 N 2ND STREET • ALPINE • 432.837.5156 high quality garden pottery plants and gardening supplies Published by Cenizo Journal LLC PUBLISHER Carolyn Brown Zniewski Taste and See Bakery ADVERTISING Rani Birchfield [email protected] DESIGN/PRODUCTION Wendy Lynn Wright [email protected] gift shop with unique items from around the world brown dog gardens mon, thurs - sat 9 - 6 sun 10 - 2 closed tues-wed 206 w. murphy st., alpine Cenizo 432.837.0914 First Quarter 2016 7