Fees, books, etc.: participants may buy sample tamales @ about $6 a doz. Want to know whether or not a Mexican restaurant is any good? Order their homemade tamales. A good tamale is the gold standard. And shouldn't your kitchen meet the same exacting criterion? Consuelo Hester thinks so. She takes participants from husk through to that ecstatic moment when the lid of the steamer is lifted. Hands- on learning, just the way Consuelo learned at age 8. Aprons suggested.

Explore the new cooking techniques sweeping through restaurant kitchens around the world. Hydrocelluloids, sous vide, molecular gastronomy. Chef Rob Connoley tames what you thought extreme. Many of the techniques that you've seen on Food Network will be brought to your home kitchen in approachable language, while Rob reveals the movement's history and traditions. Co-owner and chef of the Cafe at the Kumquat, Rob has gained renown as one of Silver City's most venturesome, ingenious cooks. What he did for chocolate in a prior WILL course, he will do for the cutting edge techniques of the Angry Young Chefs of the 21st century.

Meet and learn about one of Silver City's best-known visual artists in her own residence/studio. Cece Stanford lives and works in an unusual space and she invites us in to her abode, which was originally built as the Glen Lumber Company around 1950. See this artist's art collection in her home, as well as better understand the artistic process Cece uses to create her unique works. Cece's career in theater as a costumer and her apprenticeship to James Hubbell, artist and designer of hand-built environments in Southern California, inspire much of her art. Add a fertile imagination, good DNA and a lifelong desire to be a studio artist, and the result is an exceptional Silver City artist whose work graces many public and private settings. Shidoni Galleries in Santa Fe and The Blue Dome Gallery in Silver City represent her.

Learn how to improve the look of your photos, whether using a digital or film camera. This course is ideally suited for persons who don't want to spend a lot of time learning photographic mumbo-jumbo to get pleasing images. John Catsis will show you the six basic guides to good composition. He will explain depth of field and how the range of sharpness can be easily controlled, even with a point-and-shoot camera. John taught film and digital photography at Oklahoma State University for 11 years and beginning digital photography for the Chandler, AZ, Parks and Recreation Department for 5 years. Some of his images hang at the Chandler city offices and at the Silver City/Grant County Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.

This class is a two-part backstage look at the making of a musical in Silver City - from sets to costumes to staging. In spring 2009 WNMU Expressive Arts Theater and the Theater Group of New Mexico will present "Fiddler on the Roof." Students will have an inside look at the process, see a rehearsal, and visit with the actors. The first session will be a review of theater, a hands-on exploration of the stage, and a look at a rehearsal. The second session will be a viewing of the musical followed by a talkback session with the actors, director, and other stage personnel. Ann Marie Elder has an M.FA in Theater with emphasis in directing and sound design. An Associate Professor of Theater, she has been at WNMU for six years. Fees, Books, etc.: ticket to Fiddler on the Roof (March 4).

As we age, our risk of heart problems increases. This course is an American Heart Association class designed specifically for those not in the medical field. It will enable participants to recognize the signs of heart attack and stroke and to perform CPR when necessary. Participants will practice on mannequins. This requires kneeling on the floor. Facilitator Campbell asks participants to review the book before attending class. She has been a CPR instructor for 18 years. Fees, books, etc.: $10 fee for book and certificate. Pick up book from the Education Office in the Billy Casper Wellness Center before February 6.

One of the simple pleasures of life is a good cup of coffee. If you are one of those people who believe caffeine makes existence possible, you will enjoy this class. Coffee roaster and artist, philosopher and barista, Louis Baum will take you on a whirlwind worldwide tour of the best of the beans. He explains methods, etiquette, lore, and history of this magical concoction.

Don't take a cruise! Don't sign up for lock-step bus tours! Karen Murphy and Tim O'Donnell will give you the resources and information needed to travel to and experience Alaska the way this wonderful state was meant to be visited. Travel by ferries, airplanes, and an RV, and take occasional day trips that you can arrange on the spot. Travel the Inside Passage by ferry, staying in motels and B&Bs; stay in an RV in campgrounds on the Kenai Peninsula and Denali National Park; ride the shuttle bus 93 miles to the Kantishna turnaround to view Mt. McKinley. Karen and Tim will help you know when and where to make reservations and the time frames needed for a successful trip. Karen retired from Texas A&M University as well as Western New Mexico University. She has lived in Turkey, Cyprus, and Australia, and has traveled around the world. She is on WILL's Curriculum Committee. Tim retired from both the U.S. Army and Texas A&M University. His world travels include Japan, Korea, Viet Nam, Australia, and Europe. He belongs to Grant County Search and Rescue and hikes with the Native Plant Society. Karen and Tim edit the Beacon, the newsletter of the Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society.

Start with copper and brass sheets, cut them into strips, then pound, pierce and sear them. Add a found object or two, throw in some beads; fold into this mix some wire, rivets or screws; then let it dangle from a cord and you've cooked up a necklace that is uniquely yours. Facilitator Karen Rossman has been designing jewelry and art for more years than she can remember and is dedicated to nurturing the creativity gene in everyone. Fees, books, etc.: $7.50 material fee, any special object for pendant, and a snack.

In this "hands-on" course, participants will have the rare opportunity to see, touch and experience pottery from the people of prehistoric Mimbres, Salado and Upland Mogollon cultures who lived and interacted in southwest New Mexico. Pottery from the acclaimed Eisele Collection at the WNMU Museum will be shared together with brief overviews of the cultures of the groups producing the works and explanations of the works' significance and function. Facilitator Cynthia Ann Bettison, WNMU Museum Director, has a Ph.D. in anthropology with specializations in archaeology of the Southwest and of arid environments. She has a special interest in the archaeology of west central and southwest New Mexico.

Bless Me, Ultima, the novel that all of Silver City will be reading in April, can be interpreted as a coming-of-age story (bildungsroman, to you English majors). Rodolfo Anaya is now in his 70s. The New Mexico he described was of rural life in the 1940s. WILL is assembling a panel of persons who grew up in rural southwestern New Mexico, to reminisce about their childhoods in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Some of the questions that they will consider come directly from Anaya's account. WILL participants will be asked to contribute how their own beginnings resembled and differed from those of people in New Mexico.

Bonnie Buckley Maldonado, a retired WNMU professor, an active poet and an essayist about her Montana ranch childhood, will engage class participants to understand what Rodolfo Anaya's novel says about our human condition. The Public Library is leading all of Silver City to read Bless Me, Ultima during April. It is the story of a boy who must choose between adventurers and farmers, between the wisdom of Ultima and the harsh demands of society. Maldonado brings two strong advantages to her course: a deep love of the novel and a commitment to eliciting class members' personal responses to this enduring literary work.

Come learn how to permanently fuse photographic images into the glaze of tiles. Although the process is almost 150 years old, John Morton does it with modern, computer-aided modifications that enable him to make images in true color. History and techniques will be covered, and John will show a number of tiles that he has created. John's movie illustrating the steps and results of the process will supplement the instruction. John is a retired WNMU professor of chemistry. He has had a long-standing interest in nineteenth century photographic processes.

In 1953 blacklisted writers, director and producer made Salt of the Earth, using actors primarily from the Mining District and filming at Bear Mountain Lodge. The movie tells the story of the Empire Zinc strike, a bitter struggle that had scorched the District and Silver City during the early 50s. This course will explore what the film said about American culture and local society. Becky Shumway, the facilitator, grew up near Hollywood knowing several Screen Actors Guild members, which nurtured her interest in film history. Becky will fill in the background about Salt, its ties to the labor movement, and the fears and prejudices of the day. Bayard and Santa Rita historian Terry Humble will describe the local historic context. Dr. Gilbert Arizaga will examine the movie's effect on the community. Juana Sierra of Hanover will recall her support of the strike and what it was like to march with the miners' wives.

Imagine living by the Mimbres River in the 11th Century with only the sound of water in the background, no cars no phones. Then time travel ahead to the adobe structures of 19th Century frontier America, all in one morning. The Grant County Archeological Society and the Silver City Museum have joined to preserve and explain a treasured wedge of the Mimbres River valley. Marilyn Markel, the manager of the site, will introduce us to the Mattocks Ruin archaeological site and explain the conclusions university archaeologists have reached based on their discoveries. Marilyn will also explain the importance and interest of the doctor's two-story adobe residence and the ranch house. There will be only a modest amount of walking, but the drive extends beyond San Lorenzo. Wear comfortable shoes, sun screen.

At the desert's edge in Silver City and around, residential ponds represent life for birds and mammals (including the two-legged ones). Alex Muñoz, a master pond builder, introduces the class to an outstanding southwestern pond, explains how everyone can build a pond, discusses liners and pumps and filters, and answers questions about fish and water plants. Alex is the coordinator for an informal group of Silver City pond enthusiasts and has taught inexperienced amateurs how to build successful water features. We will meet at a pond site.

How do we get a compost heap started in the desert Southwest? How do we keep it going? Why is composting such a good thing? Get expert answers from one of Silver City's outstanding gardeners. Anaia Song knows that recycling our food scraps and other organic wastes are good for our gardens. Anaia is a leader of the HiDOGs (High Desert Organic Gardeners). We'll meet at her compost heap.

Ever wonder why downtown Silver City is called historic? What happened on this corner or in the Big Ditch? Elizabeth Warren arrived in Silver City in 1882 and soon made a name for herself as a mover and shaker. Discover late nineteenth century Silver City through a Chautauqua-style walk with Mrs. Warren! Wearing the antique dress, hat and shoes will be Doc Campbell, holder of a doctorate in history and researcher at Silver City Museum. Fees, books, etc.: Brown-bag lunch, water, sun protection, sturdy walking shoes.

Participants will hike along Walnut Creek, starting at the end of FS road 858 (off Bear Mountain Road), to where the creek enters private property - about 7 miles round trip. With little elevation change, the hike is not strenuous, except for the distance. However, the group returns the way it goes in, so no one has to walk the entire distance. The hike will trace an old road part of the way, on a trail partly, in the streambed sometimes, and across country where it loses the trail. This route follows the Silver City water pipeline from Alan Spring; the line was built in the early 20th century, so the hike has historic content. There will be a lot of rocks and desert and riparian vegetation to examine. But mostly it is a walk through a beautiful canyon. Don Pyle, hike master, is a retired engineer, an accomplished musician and a former facilitator for the historical Jesus course as well as a frequent WILL class member. Bring water, a sack lunch, binoculars, and field guides (if desired). Wear comfortable shoes.

During his life Aldo Leopold was America's most influential conservationist, who in 1921 proposed creation of the Gila Wilderness, the first such area in the U.S. The U.S. Forest Service officially designated the wilderness in 1924. 2009 marks the centennial of Leopold's legacy in the Southwest. Join us for a daylong hike along Sapillo Creek, tributary to the Gila River within the Gila Wilderness. The hike will have moderate difficulty. Learn the environmental history of the Gila, Leopold's conservation ethic and the legacy of wildness that he represents. Hike leaders include author, fisherman, and NM State Game Commissioner M.H. "Dutch" Salmon and other special guests. The hike master is Allyson Siwik, director of the Gila Conservation Coalition, uniting three conservation groups dedicated to protection of the Gila River and of the wilderness characteristics of the Gila and Aldo Leopold Wilderness Areas. Siwik, instrumental in organizing workshops and events for the Gila River Festival, has facilitated three WILL field trips. Bring water, a sack lunch, binoculars, and field guides (if desired). Wear comfortable shoes.

On this moderate hike in the Burro Mountains, participants will identify - and sample - some edible plants that were used by early peoples. Hike master Donna Stevens, of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, will point out some of our tastier plant species and offer clues to their identification. Donna is co-author of Common Southwestern Native Plants. She currently works on two conservation issues: off-road vehicle damage in the Gila National Forest and a threatened diversion of the Gila River. She led sold-out hikes of the Burros a season or two ago and received glowing recommendations.

Participants will ascend Black Peak, go across the saddle to Signal Peak, have lunch, and hike down to Signal Peak Road to the cars parked at the Black Peak trailhead. Hike master Tim O'Donnell considers this favorite a strenuous hike, requiring about 3 hours. He claims, however, that he is a slow hiker so most WILLites can keep up with him. Details: Bring water, a sack lunch, binoculars, and field guides (if desired). Wear comfortable shoes.

Creative expression is a natural part of life. Come find your inner artist in a fun and creative environment. Join Ardene Rickman on a trip of self-discovery through a variety of artistic expressions. Art is a spiritual transaction. This is not a course for professional artists. Participants will be asked to write on their own for 15 minutes each morning. The group will decide on an art project to express their creativity. The course will be based on Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way. Ardene Rickman taught the class this past spring and fall for WILL and has taken a similar discussion course based upon this book.

In weaving cultures the loom is sometimes considered a sort of family member such as a favorite cousin. This class will start with understanding four harness looms. Then it will be on to choosing yarn and a draft (design), keeping a weaving journal, winding a warp, warping loom, weaving techniques, and finishing. Each student will weave a color gamp for his or her first project. Facilitator Carry Wilcox is a fiber artist who began as a small girl weaving with strips of paper. $50 for book and yarn (cotton or wool).

Four outstanding Mexican films, by two eminent directors - Emilio Fernandez and Luis Bunuel - from the 1940s and 1950s, will be shown. The prize-winning films, with their compellingly realistic photography, capture ordinary lives through wide-ranging themes: stark gang life, revolution within the family, and extreme piety. The films have English subtitles. Armando Maya, the facilitator, is a retired professor of zoology from Eastern Illinois University. He lived in Mexico for a number of years and travels there frequently to augment his vast collection of movies. He particularly enjoys watching films in Mexico City's grand theaters.

This beginning course will introduce the basics of watercolor painting, focusing on technique and play as participants complete a painting. Drawing skills are not required. WILL members will discover - like those in the popular course during the fall - that they have a creative eye. "Watercolor is easier than you think," says Facilitator Rita Sherwood. Rita has a degree in art (drawing and painting major with a minor in art history) from Wayne State University. She taught drawing and painting in night school and in courses for Ford factory and office workers. Fees, books, etc.: $20 for brushes, watercolor paint and paper.

Can a peony take your breath away? Can a geranium delight you? Of course they can. Watercolorist Rita Sherwood, who has taught beginning watercolor painting to dozens of WILLites, urges the participants in this course to "learn to control the unexpected in flower painting. Having fun and painting loose are the objectives." Participants need a modicum of understanding of watercolor to tackle flowers. Sign up for beginning watercolor and then this course to make a good one-two combination. The flowers won't stand a chance. Fees, books, etc.: Paper is 25 cents a sheet. Bring watercolor paints and 4 brushes: 1" flat, 1/2" flat, small round, larger round.

Pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry;
Fill, oh, fill the pirate glass,
And to make us more than merry,
Let the pirate bumper pass.
Way, way before Johnny Depp or even Wallace Beary, long before AAAARRRG entered Webster's, Gilbert & Sullivan wrote a pirate classic. Now, without jangling a single nerve, you lovers of G&S can sing and NOT have to perform. Each week this class will work through and sing several songs from Pirates of Penzance. Ability to read music is not required. Learn parts by listening and rehearsing. This will be loose and fun. Bring your voice and your sense of adventure as everyone becomes a pirate or fair damsel.
Facilitator Jeannie Miller has performed in numerous G&S and other light opera productions, both in the chorus and as a soloist. She taught a similar course in the Phoenix area and has directed stage and radio plays.

Learn to play Irish music in a small group or "session." Emphasis will be on techniques and resources for learning standard Irish session tunes by ear. Through discussion, demonstration, and group playing, participants will gain knowledge of session etiquette, regional Irish music styles, ornamentation, and tune structures. Participants should be able to play an instrument of their choice at an "advanced beginner" or above level. Facilitator Eileen Sullivan graduated from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music with years of violin and fiddle teaching experience. She has been playing fiddle and traditional dance music for over a decade, and has performed with the dance bands Wren, Baliwick and Caledonia.

These five sessions of beginning French conversation will have a strong accent on oral expression, vocabulary, and useful phrases. This course is almost completely dedicated to speaking and listening, with some in-class skit activities. This class if for beginners or French students who wish to brush up. A workshop booklet is provided. Learning a new language is one of the most stimulating exercises for the brain. Judy Brown Lawson lived in France for more than 40 years. She has taught language studies since 1994.

This workshop is for the trained and for the inexperienced, to dance in a way natural to ones own body. The warm-up will focus on alignment, body isolations, and breath. Guidance will be given to explore movement in both playful and relaxed states. Facilitator, Zoe Wolfe, has taught dance improvisation at WNMU and Aldo Leopold High School. She also leads classes in belly dance and movement meditation. Bring yoga mat and blanket if possible. Fees, books, etc.: $2.50-a-meeting for studio.

A dancer and a teacher of dance for decades, Judith Lawrence incorporates into this course basic dance movements as well as exercises to enhance strength, balance, grace and flexibility. Music is used to motivate and to suggest movements and positions in space. No prior dance experience is necessary. Just have a desire to experience the joy of moving with grace to beautiful music. Judith was trained in ballet, modern dance and jazz. As a young woman, she performed with a Rhode Island dance company. Now that her performance days are over, she stays fit and flexible with dance, yoga, and outdoor activities. Fees, books, etc.: $2.50-a-meeting for studio.

Diana Edwards, a cultural anthropologist, will explain the Native American contribution to North American settlement and survival. Beginning with the American Indian roots of democracy, Edwards then takes up take up the rise and fall of American cities -before Europeans arrived. Diana will conclude with a discussion of the web of life. Throughout she will develop the thesis that European survival and eventual dominance were dependent on the Indians' knowledge of places and people that was shared with the newcomers. Diana, who is today a mental health counselor, developed and taught courses about Indigenous Americans at the University of North Florida. She has had a lifelong interest in and appreciation of indigenous cultures and abilities.

Tracing the rise and fall of the Mayas of Mesoamerica, Ted Presler will cover the pre-Mayan culture of the Olmecs and the various Mayan periods before European arrival. (Maya land included the modern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Yucatan as well as parts of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.) He will discuss art, architecture, social structure and calendar systems, using films, slides and lectures. A discussion of the Gibson film will be included if time permits. Ted was an executive of a Malaysian rubber and tea company. He earned multiple degrees from Colgate, Fordham and Pima Community College in Tucson. He has worked on archaeology projects in Arizona, Belize and Ecuador. Ted has traveled extensively in Maya country.

This weekly book discussion group reads a wide variety of topics and writing styles. The first selection will be Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is an uplifting novel that relates how the Isle of Guernsey responded to Nazi occupation. "Traditional without seeming stale and romantic without being naive" (San Francisco Chronicle), this nostalgic portrayal of an era pays homage to book lovers. With its humor and optimism, Guernsey "affirms the power of books to nourish people during hard times" (Washington Post). Ardene Rickman, the coordinator, has been part of the book club since its beginning. She is a founding member of WILL.

Even if you think you've read all of Tony Hillerman, you might find in-depth discussions of structure, characters, place and cultural elements a way to make old friends seem fresh. Learn methods that you can apply in deciphering all novels. After an introductory session, you'll be asked to read one Hillerman mystery a week. Tom Hester has long enjoyed Hillerman's work. As a grad student in American studies at Penn, he was a teaching assistant for a mystery course, but a Hillerman book wasn't on the menu. He did once spend an afternoon chatting with Hillerman.

This course provides both beginners and more advanced students opportunities to read, write, and share the ancient poetic form of haiku. (Typically, haiku are elegantly terse poems of three or fewer lines with a total of 17 or fewer syllables.) Students will explore, as individuals and in small groups, the creation and publication of their work. Those who want a deeper approach will be led to compile a booklet from their haiku journal. Parts of some classes will be held outside. Facilitator Bill Blakemore taught a prior WILL haiku course in spring 2008. He has led numerous haiku workshops, and several publications have featured his haiku.

Though best known for The Red Badge of Courage, Crane (1871-1900) also traveled in the American West and Mexico as a reporter-at-large for various newspapers. The class will read four dispatches from Crane's travels through Texas and Mexico, as well as two short stories inspired by his observations and experiences there. Facilitator Jim Kelly earned a university degree in English and American literature and went on to a lead a distinguished career with wide experience in all sorts of writing, including newspaper correspondence of a type similar to Crane's. Jim particularly likes to explore the lesser-known works of well-known authors.

Pull back the curtain and dim the lights. The lutes have found their tune, and joy brushes the audience like a breeze. Shakespeare's most delightful comedies are about to begin. The class starts with the rollicking Taming of the Shrew and then watches the madcap Much Ado About Nothing and the tender Twelfth Night. It bids farewell with a Shakespeare masterpiece, As You Like It. A pot pourri of videos of all these comedies will be shown in class. Frost McGahey has facilitated prior Shakespeare courses for WILL and has produced Shakespeare programs locally. She is now working on a novel, Shakespeare and the Hunchback King.

Between 1915 and the 1960s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service exterminated Mexican gray wolves from the wild. In 1998 the same agency reintroduced the Mexican wolf to the Gila and Apache National Forests from a captive population, but imposed a robust "control" program so that the Mexican wolf remains North America's most imperiled mammal. Michael Robinson introduces course participants to the Mexican wolf, first in the classroom and then in the wild. Session One will feature a slide show. Participants will receive photocopies of articles. (If they wish, participants can also purchase Michael's book at the WNMU Bookstore.) The next session will be a discussion based on the readings. The last session will be a two-day field trip and camp-out to occupied wolf habitat in the Gila National Forest. At this time class members will look for evidence of wolves, their potential prey animals, and habitat. They will study livestock grazing conditions that might influence whether the wolves come into conflict with the livestock industry, subjecting them to governmental shooting or trapping. Michael is a Conservation Advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity and author of Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West (University Press of Colorado, 2005).

John Lawson describes what he learned in a lifetime devoted to medical research on end-stage heart disease. Topics include: What is end-stage heart disease? What is coronary and non-coronary heart disease? The pros and cons of various treatments such as drugs vs. surgery. What should be the role of patients, doctors, nurses and researchers? How does research and development (R&D) work? What setting is best? Academic, hospital, government, multinationals corporations or start-ups in medical R&D. John began working as a graduate student at the University of Utah Department of Surgery. He left the university as an assistant research professor of surgery. He took a series of research positions in private industry and was staff physiologist in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at San Francisco's Pacific Medical Center. He has designed and conducted clinical trials in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. He has published more than 75 papers, protocols, articles and book chapters on medical research, cardiac physiology and bioengineering.

Make your hiking safer and more enjoyable. Learn an expert's tips and techniques. Dennis Jennings will show you things you can do to reduce problems on the trail and enhance the special moments. Jennings explains what we need to be, to know, to do, and to bring so that we are well prepared for the unexpected when hiking. Increase your enjoyment of hiking the outdoors. Dennis Jennings was a firefighter and EMT for 23 years in California. He serves as a Reserve Sheriff's Deputy and has been on the Grant County Search and Rescue Team for three years. His hiking and backpacking territories include New Mexico, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Alaska.

Have you wondered why it isn't raining or, if it is, where does the water go so quickly? Think about the wildly varying slopes, elevations, drainages and vegetation of the landscapes surrounding us and consider the nature of our rains. Do the landforms have any significance for our everyday life? Join Rebecca Summer for an overview of the erratic landforms and water flow in Grant County, especially in the two main basins, the Gila and Mimbres River basins. Class will include lecture and discussion. Rebecca Summer studied systems geomorphology at universities in Arizona, Texas and Colorado, where she wrote a dissertation on raindrop splash erosion of mountain soils. She has done research for the US Geological Survey, the Agricultural Research Service and the Environmental Protection Agency and has worked for private firms that conduct water research.

This course will be divided into four sessions. The first session will be a brief history of astronomy and of the astronomical techniques that have provided the data telling us what we know about our universe. The second session will focus on our solar system, its history and location in our galaxy. The third session will explore our galaxy, its evolution and future. And the last session will examine the makeup of the rest of the universe, its beginning and eventual end. Sometime after course end, facilitator Gary Emerson will host a night at his new Tyrone observatory for two to four people at a time to see how modern astronomy is done. Most of Gary's 40-year career was spent in astronomy and space science. For the past 30 years he has operated his own observatories. He has published data and images in many professional journals.

This class is for beginners plus those with bird watching experience who want to sharpen their knowledge. The three in-class sessions will feature photos of birds and a fourth session will offer viewing of live birds along San Vicente Creek. WILL participants should be agile enough to follow a riparian path. David Beatty, the facilitator, belongs to the board of directors of the local Audubon Society and is the coordinator of the bird-sighting email report. He has participated in and led numerous birding field trips and bird counts in southwestern New Mexico. David is an adjunct professor in the social work program at WNMU.

Improve the energy flow and harmony of your house and your environment. Join Paula Geisler as she introduces this ancient art. Feng Shui practitioners assert that geomantic forces associated with 9 directions form an imaginary octagon around an individual and his or her home - past, present and future - connecting each of us with the vastly more powerful energies of the cosmos. Properly trained, we may manipulate the energies/ forces/powers associated with the directions to create and maintain a harmonious space. Paula Geisler was born to be a psychologist of space and a curator of art, serving as an invisible presence behind art that is seen. Paula has taught art appreciation, life drawing, and other art courses at WMNU, while directing the university art gallery during part of that tenure. Paula brings to her classes traditional learning heavily enriched by an awareness of how the land lays and how the surroundings feel. Now retired, she is producing videos in which she tries to convey the wisdom of the compass.

This class is an introduction to parapsychology, taking into account such topics as healing, reincarnation, dreams, clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, mediumship, life after death, out-of-body experiences, and extra-terrestrials. The class will look at which persons have parapsychological abilities and how they can use them to make their lives better. Facilitator Rex Franklin has been investigating parapsychology for more than 20 years. As an ordained minister he became interested parapsychology as it related to much in the scriptures, Rex studied under a parapsychology teacher for 3 years and then taught advanced classes himself at a community college for 12 years. He hopes that this class "expands our places of enjoyment in other fields of study and experience" and "has fun while learning new things about ourselves and others."

How can you make one kitchen mess into 3 to 4 nutritious, low-cost meals (especially designed for one or two persons)? How can you prepare a 'master mix' (similar to Bisquick) from which you can make biscuits, breads, pancakes, and muffins? How can you cut corners in the kitchen and slash your food budget? How can you make your own non-toxic, inexpensive cleaning products from stuff already in your pantry? The bringer of all these terrific hints, techniques and money-savers is Judy O'Loughlin, Grant County native and Extension Dietician. Judy received her master's degree from NMSU and has taught a wide variety of home economics courses, including diabetic and heart-healthy cooking.

Are you new to Silver City or uncertain about how to use retirement's freedom? Come to discuss and explore. What are your talents - those used in prior work and those largely left undeveloped? Through readings, discussions, writing, and exercises, participants will look to the past and to the future for ways they can make life meaningful and enjoyable. The group members will uncover preset notions of what they think they should be doing; secret ambitions; how good members are - or are not - at enjoying life; what makes later life depression-proof; and how each person wants to participate now in family, community, and the larger world. The course will explore the impact of retirement on marriages and families. Mary E. Hotvedt, facilitator, is a cultural anthropologist and a marriage and family therapist and supervisor. She currently serves on WILL's board, volunteers with the Zambian Children's Fund and develops her writing skills.

Are you experiencing the dreaded bric-a-brac build-up? Does your coffee table belong in a doctor's office because it's covered with three-year-old National Geographics? Help is here. Explore the major sources of clutter and how to deal with them. Develop and to put into action a plan to eliminate unwanted clutter. Design and adopt practices that will allow you to be clutter-free for the rest of your life. Facilitator Sunny Yates is a former lawyer and law professor currently consulting with business and nonprofit management about how persons can become more effective. She has authored more than 30 articles on effectiveness, coaching, and management of time, projects, and clutter. She co-created the audio tape Being Effective: Fulfilling Your Dreams. She has led workshops for thousands across the U.S.

The course will present a history of this fascinating card game and it will lay out the basic rules. Game variations will be discussed. "Hands on" playing will be an important part of the course. Participants will become familiar with different strategies of gin. Skills of observation, deduction, and memory should be improved. Spike Flanders, the guide into this wilderness of gin rummy, says, "We should have a fine time." Spike has played since his youth. Today, he consistently ranks in the top 50 players in the country and still occasionally plays in sanctioned tournaments.

You, too, can become the master of the Mouse, the writer of letters that leave recipients whispering in awe, the designer of stunning documents. You have the program on your PC. Now is the time to learn to become more proficient at creating professional-looking letters and documents with Word. This hands-on course will give you the opportunity to construct documents with formatting and charting that would make Bill Gates proud. Facilitator Sean Souders has taught adults basic computer skills for many years and has taught a prior WILL course. He understands how to teach people who are just learning to use computers. He has degrees and certificates in computers and in network technology.