sunday winter edition

Mysterious particles on my camera lens.

In the wee early hours this morning I woke up to hear it raining. It lulled me back to sleep.

Later, I was awakened by a very loud chilling sound, which I assumed was a coyote. I heard the same noise the other day too, not quite a howl, not quite a bark, so I'm just not sure what it is. Anyway, I decided this time, I would just get up and greet the morning.

I pulled on my coat and grabbed the camera and ran outside. When I turned the camera on, I saw the two pictures from above and that is when I knew that Leah had beaten me to take pictures of the snowy morning. Always the early riser in the family, she was awake before the sun came up. I'm glad she got those early morning photos while it was still falling from the sky. It had stopped snowing by the time I got up and was already starting to melt.

This is what I saw when I drug my lazy tired self out of bed.

The saguaros had a little clump of snow on the top of each arm.

The tall palm trees look a little out of place with the snowy roof in the foreground.
The little cactus had a cap of snow on the top of it.
And here is the "favorite photo spot" all full of winter.
Oh hello. Looks like someone has come out to play!

Snow writing. Snow?!

What do you do with the largest, most industrial ski gloves you can find in the old mitten box and some very wet snow?

You make a snowman of course!

And when you live in Arizona and you have a pool... what does any fun loving snowman want to do? Be daring and try a front flip off the diving board of course!

With a little help from his friend.
As the dark clouds were lifting...
The mountains were appearing. We commented, while we were eating lunch and looking out the window at the snowy mountains, that it really didn't seem unusual to see snow on mountains because that is how we were used to seeing the mountains out our windows in Colorado. To most people around here, it is probably a very rare sight. To us, it just seems natural. Winter like. The way mountains are suppose to look in February. It brought a smile to our face.
So much happy in fact, that Leah updated our Today is a Good Day stand that has been on our kitchen counter for the last few years. Sometimes, it doesn't take much effort to find something to write on it.
Today was one of those day's.

And now, I'm going to grab my coat and my warm gloves and maybe even a scarf... and go out and join Leah for a nice wintery walk.

A good day indeed.

kaleidoscope thursday

It is thursday and that means it's time to kaleidoscope.

Here it is. Any guesses?

Here is the before. I didn't have to go very far for this one. This pretty little vintage plate sits on my bathroom counter and collects earrings and other jewelry as I take it off at night. About once a month, I empty it and put them all back in a cabinet and drawer that I keep it all "organized" in.
This system right here seems to be the easiest. Right at my fingertips and very convenient.

Today I am wearing one of my stand-bye's. The little silverish discs with squares stamped in them. I bought them a long time ago, along with another very similar pair, in a tiny little shop in Ridgway, Colorado called Lupita's Bizzare Bazaar. I always loved saying that. Bizzare Bazzar. And Lupita is really Lupita and she's a fun lady. The earrings were on sale, $7.00 each. They have lasted a long time and continue to be a favorite.

If you ever drive through Ridgway, I think the bazzar shop is still there. Stop in and say hi to Lupita. I think I will next time I'm in that area.

I think my dish needs a little more color.

That was a lot of I thinks.

signs of life

Getting two big freezes here this winter, with temperatures dropping to 19 the second time, put a real chill on our "not very freeze tolerant yard". We have found out that some of the plants and trees that were put into this yard are more comfortable in an area that doesn't sometimes dip down into the teens.

So, even with our attempt to cover some things the second time it froze (we were in Texas the first time), we have quite a lot of things that look like this poor orchid tree. We are hoping that there will be sign of life soon.

Like this little sign of hope. A little yellow lantana flower back there against the brick wall. It managed to hide from the bitter frost and is now peeking its little sunny self out and stretching towards the warmth of the sun. Ahh... kinda like what I want to do.
And this purple beauty. It's blooming with all its might right now. Although, we just learned that the seed pods should not be ingested unless you want to see all kinds of pretty flowers dancing in your yard that aren't really there at all. And you just might be the one dancing. So, I think we will stay away from those. Not that I regularly ingest any of the seeds or pods from any of the plants around here.
And look. Another little lantana, this one purple, peeking out from under the curled up edges of even the cactus that curled its leaves. The succulent cacti didn't fair too well.
Oh my. The lambs ears really got nipped, but there is new growth coming up. Yay.
This hardy plant is putting on some buds. It should be blossoming again soon. That will help to perk things up around here.
The little peach tree got it's blossoms and leaves a bit nipped. But, this one we covered and it looks like new leaves are bursting through.
And then there is this giant prickly pear. Tolerant to the cold... but we have a mystery to solve. It looks like there is another sign of a different sort of life. Something is feasting on the the side of it.
See the chew marks? Well, whatever IT is (please don't let me find out) chewed its way right through and brought half the cactus tumbling down. There was a big section of it laying to the side one morning. We can see actual teeth marks so we know it didn't just fall over. I've heard that the javelina like to eat these, but this cactus is actually up a couple of levels in a planter area. The javelina don't ever get in that area of the yard and whatever it is only feasted at night, otherwise I'm sure that I would have seen it. Oh boy, another night creature lurking in the dark corners of my fear.
So, the Reptile Wrangler carried the pieces ( you know, they are pretty darn heavy) to our potting area the former owners left us and stuck it in this big trough. We are hoping that it will root itself so that we can re-plant it somewhere else.
So, not only are we seeing signs of life with new growth coming back from the frozen plants, we are seeing signs of other desert life that we just may not have seen before. Hey, it's is us you know. The people that have had every creature in our yard or house, within the first year living here, that most people have not seen in the lifetime that they have lived here.

Is it time that I purchase the laser pistol that the woman who owned the house before us suggested I buy? Is it time for me to strap on that holster and get me some boots?

Gosh I hope not.

two hundred for two hundred

Guess what? Today is my 200th post on this little blog! Two hundred interesting tid-bits of information, such as... places we visit, touching family moments, holiday decorating tips, fantastic recipes and up-to-the-minute- life threatening encounters with wild animals. Gosh, no wonder you are a faithful reader!

So, today, in honor of my blog and the fact that I have given you 200 pieces of interesting things to read and even more lovely photos to view, I give you this:

A really great old book featuring 200 poems for boys and girls. Well, what else would you rather see on this 200th post than a book of 200 poems?

It is quite old and has had many hands flip its pages over the years. I love old books for that reason. I like to imagine all the hands that have touched the pages over all these years. Who else read this book? Did a mother read out loud to her children while they tried to turn the pages faster then she could read? The binding is completely worn out with the front and back cover no longer even attached. The edges of the pages are brittle and worn, just the way I like it. The illustrations are very cute. All silhouettes. Love them.
It was first copy written in 1930. And I wonder who Walter Burrows was?
The list of poets whose work is featured is quite long. There are many recognizable names like William Shakespear, A.A. Milne and Emily Dickinson. A real who's who of poetry.
It is the silhouettes that I really like. Simple illustrations that bring a bit of nostalgia to your day.

Speaking of nostalgia. I ran across this little ditty...

Have you ever heard of a ditty? My dad used that phrase a lot with us kids. "Sing me a ditty", or "play me a little ditty on the piano" or when there were guests at our house, "come on girls, do a little ditty for our company". We would then line up and sing a little song err...ditty. And whether we recited poems for our company or not, I can't recall, but I remember this Purple Cow ditty quite well. I think it was probably recited the most from the back seat of the 'ole buick while on a road trip with the family. And I can remember thinking it was sooo funny.

I can also remember wondering if a purple cow really was purple and wondering...just what would the milk taste like...from a purple cow.

So, that is your ditty for today. It is a catchy little poem and I bet you will have a hard time getting it out of your head. Go ahead, sing me a little ditty.

Just don't make it about a little skunk.

kaleidoscope thursday on friday

I didn't get my thursday kaleidoscope picture posted yesterday....so here it is today.

after:

before:
It was an easy one to figure out but I thought it looked pretty nifty.

the girl who loves basketball

About thirteen years ago this little girl picked up a basketball and ran wildly out on to the court.

And she has been playing ever since.

In those early days of Pee Wee Basketball she always had a huge smile on her face while she would dribble, pass and try to shoot towards the hoop. And her coaches noticed. They would say, “I love coaching Rachel, she always has so much fun.” Through Pee Wee, Rec Ball, AAU, Middle School and finally High School ball, she always knew how to put the F.U.N. in basketball. Those early days, when she would manage to toss it up and make a basket, she would throw up her arms and smile and laugh while heading back down the court. Oh, and then there was something called a “three” that she learned how to do quite well. She started popping those here and there and decided, “hey, that’s pretty fun!”

Playing a sport for that many years, of course, took a lot of the obvious things. Determination, dedication, desire, practice and more practice. We all know that kids learn to work together as a team, have some big triumphs and some major disappointments when playing a sport. They learn how to balance their schoolwork while keeping up with practices, games and missed classes because of away games. She worked hard because she wanted to play. She made the JV team her freshmen year and was determined to have a great season. She did. And then, being faced with one of her biggest challenges, she took a family move to a new school in a new state, in the middle of her junior year, with determination and dedication. The dedication to what she knew how to do and determination that she could do it brought her success. She made the team in her new school, mid season, and…smiled. And she played with one more thing that she perfected a long time ago. Heart. The girl knows how to put her heart into everything. And it is contagious.

They were a team that at the beginning of the season didn’t look real strong. They were written off as “being in a growth year” and weren’t expected to do very well. But, when you have all the things I said before; determination, dedication, desire and a girl with a big heart and a big smile on your side, well... good things can happen. They played as a team and before each game would chant… “together”. They pulled through and earned the Regional Championship title, which gave them a spot in the State playoffs. Hoorah!

Last night they played the first game in the playoffs. They played with a lot of heart. Our girl played through some disappointment, as she has played the last two weeks with a dislocated bone in her wrist. She played hard and yep, last night, even managed to squeak in a couple of those threes that she loves. She still had a smile on her face, although I think this mom saw it crack a bit in the final minutes, when I could see in her eyes, the realization that this would be her last time on a high school court. Their run ended there, but they played as a team, surprising many people who didn’t think this team would accomplish much, but they did. And they did it…together.

We are very proud of our daughter. We have sat on many bleachers, in many gyms, over the course of all these years. And it was with a feeling of sadness that we walked away from the gym last night after that last and final buzzer.

But we did it with our hearts big and a smile on our face.

be mine

I made this in 1979 for my boyfriend.

It's pretty big, like 24 inches at its widest. My Dad helped me cut out the piece of wood into the big heart shape and then I cut out all those little words and images from magazines. I organized each piece into some sort of order and carefully glued each one individually on to the board. I really don't remember how long it took me to do it, but I'm sure it was quite a few tedious hours. I do remember that I would get them all positioned and when I would come back to it the next night, some of them would have been blown around or knocked off. So I would have to start over again, placing them just right. Once each piece was glued down I coated it with several layers of varnish.

For thirty-two Valentine Day's it has hung on a wall in 5 different houses. My boyfriend passed it on to my husband. And every year I pull it out and hang it up. It's a Valentine that has never changed. Even though we have. Same two people, just older. He was my boyfriend then. I think I am still his girlfriend now.

Happy Valentine's Day to my husband.

Happy Valentine's Day to my three kids.

And Happy Valentine's Day to everyone else. Did anyone wonder why my boyfriend from 1979 would have given his Valentine to my husband? Ha. Same guy.

Have a heart-full day!