Monday, September 30, 2013

This Weekend - A Ride in the Desert

Hello, my sweet friends!
I hope this Monday morning finds you well and happy,
and ready to take on a brand new week.
I'm on cup-of-coffee-#2 as I type, and Lucky is running around like a maniac. Man, he's such a morning person dog. I'm slow moving this morning, coming off of a fun and busy weekend, though I'm not really complaining! Just sayin. 
 
Saturday was filled with running here and there, and then attending a party for our niece Bethann who just completed her State Board exam and is officially a Registered Nurse {{{proud}}}. We celebrated with the family Saturday evening and stayed up late, which made Sunday morning feel like the kind of day you just wanted to laze around.
 
But Doug had set his sights on taking a drive to check the trail camera he had set up, so I threw a picnic lunch together, slathered on the sunscreen and bug repellant, grabbed my camera and we hit the road.
 
 
We drove through Globe and headed up past Roosevelt Lake {for my locals who may wonder where these photos were taken}. The weather was beautiful, although still a bit on the warm side - a perfect day for being out on the quad.
 

Being in this part of the state is just so awesome. It's so wide-open and vast that it makes us temporarily forget about the hustle and bustle of the city we live in. And photos will never do it justice - like the one shown above. Doug had taken the quad off the back of his truck and I snapped this photo of the mountain range behind him. It is huge and expansive, though hard to tell by looking here.

 
We parked near a corral that's used by cattle ranchers, and I still find myself looking for items for Rinda's summertime photography scavenger hunt even though it's over until next year. {Item #13 - a fence}
 
 
Look closely and you can see our road in the photo above - definitely taking the road less traveled!

 
When Doug came home from a recent hunting trip, he told me about a heart-shaped rock he'd found that was too big to bring home. We rode the quad for a while then parked and hiked up to this spot so he could show me the rock. Two things: 1) I loved the rock; and 2) It makes me a little nervous to see these places where Doug hikes by himself. They are remote and treacherous, but oh so beautiful. It's no wonder he looks forward to his time outside.
 

And the next thing you know, it's Monday morning in the city and time to work our way through another week. It's going to be a busy one - lots going on at work and stuff around the house too. How fortunate am I to have so many positive things that beg for my attention. I am definitely living the life here, friends.

Living the life.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Just a Quote for Friday

 
"Some days there won't be a song in your heart.
Sing anyway."
 
~ Emory Austin

Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Start of a Pencil Cactus

me: "Knock-knock"
you: "Who's there?"
me: "Pencil"
you: "Pencil who?"
me: "Pencil fall down if you don't wear a belt."
 
My Grandma Bessie had such a green thumb. She was forever "taking starts" off of plants, rooting them and planting them in containers and getting them to grow like crazy. I remember her having coffee cans tucked here and there in her flower beds filled with Wondering Jew and also pencil cactus.
 
 
The place where Carrie and I go for pedicures has great big potted plants all along the front sidewalk and they are overflowing with pencil cactus. I think of my grandma every time we go there, and each time I mention that I'd like to find a pencil cactus plant to grow on my own. I check my local nurseries from time to time, but have yet to find one to purchase.
 
 
Well, about a month ago we were there and in a spur-of-the-moment decision I decided to take a few little pieces of the pencil cactus to see if I could start my own. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this on my blog - I hope it won't sound like I was stealing something. I promise that the huge, gigantic pencil cactus was in no way harmed by my slight pruning. {I've tried to justified this in my mind and I'm still not 100% convinced that this was the "right thing to do"...}


But at any rate! I am happy to report that my little starts have taken root and are happily growing along side the ice plant in my turtle planter. I have visions of this growing into a huge cactus that will eventually need to be transplanted to another container. I know Grandma Bessie would have made it happen! Maybe she'll send me some good gardening vibes from heaven - assuming that she approves of how these starts came to be mine.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Pizza Stories


I'm going to guess that I was about 10 years old when my parents took us on a road trip from California up to Oregon to visit some friends. It was during that trip that we went to a bowling alley, and I had the best pizza of my entire life. I'm sure I'd had pizza before, but never any that had Canadian bacon on it, and I remember the cheese being extra thick and stretchy. Oh my gosh, it was so delicious - delicious enough that I still remember it to this day - 40ish years later! In fact, it's the only thing I remember about that road trip...other than being car sick but that doesn't belong in this story. :o]


When I was a little older, a big treat for us kids was to go to a near-by town (Los Banos, California) to have pizza at a place called "Me & Ed's." Oh, we thought that was the best pizza! And it was a tradition to pop a quarter in the jukebox and play Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" - every. time.

A few years ago I had an opportunity to have a slice of "Me & Ed's" pizza and it was every bit as good as I remembered, minus "Song Sung Blue."


Today our favorite local pizzeria is "Classic Italian" {For my locals: they're in the process of relocating to the SW corner of Guadalupe & McClintock this fall}, and I do throw together a homemade pie now and then - I like it meatless with some fresh basil from my garden.
 
So I'm curious - do you have a pizza story?
What's the best pizza you've ever had?

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Team Teal Tuesday ~ The Walk

There aren't many mornings that I sit here and wonder what to write, but this morning the words just aren't flowing. I've wanted the Tuesday's leading up to my mom's farewell anniversary to be a bit entertaining, while at the same time honoring her in a way that would make her proud. Ah, life...and if this is my biggest challenge today, I am fortunate beyond words.
This past Sunday, Carrie and I participated in the annual National Ovarian Cancer Run/Walk to Break the Silence of ovarian cancer. Last year we walked in honor of my mom, this year we walked in her memory.
 
 
Last year as we walked this path, my mom was in the final stages of her battle with ovarian cancer. I remember there being lots of tears on that walk, lots of hand holding and anticipation about what was to come. Last year I was in the depths of dealing with losing my mom, and Carrie was losing her grandma.
 

This year I boasted that I wasn't emotional - there would be no tears like last year. But this year, as we approach the anniversary of my mom's passing, things seem disjointed. I don't know how else to describe it. It's not every day that your mind is tasked with processing the one-year anniversary of losing someone so dear to you. I suppose that's my excuse for feeling a bit out of sorts lately.

Anyway! On the morning of the walk, Carrie arrived at my house a little late, and that was ok because I felt like I was moving in slow motion myself. Carrie had received some sad news about a friend of a friend, and after hearing her tale I had the good cry that I had boasted about not having the night before.

 
When we arrived at the park we thought it was odd that there was no one else around. We wondered if we'd mistakenly shown up on the wrong day - we weren't that late. As it turned out, the start/finish line had been moved to a new location this year, and in order to get to it {from where we had parked} we had to walk on the designated path that the rest of the participants would eventually be walking on. Essentially, we walked the second half of the course before anyone else. And by the time we got to the starting point, the sign had already been changed to read "finish" (see top photo) and we were 11 minutes behind.
 
 
I'd like to say that we were in good spirits and made the most of it, but the truth is that we were both in a bit of a funk that morning. And lately Carrie has been on a kick of not wanting her photo taken. {Mom's, do you hate that as much as me?} Last year we had a bunch of usable photos after the race, this year I have nothing. {Except a shot that's good of me, but Carrie has her tongue stuck all the way out. Really?!?! I'm going to use it in my Project Life, but will do her a favor and not post it on my blog. You're welcome, Carrie.} Anyway, I thought we were long past the "fake smile" stage in photography, but apparently it still shows up from time to time...
 

You can see some people walking on the other side of the lake in the photo below, and we eventually did catch up to them. And by the time we made it around the course to our starting point, there was our car so we made the decision to hop in it and head for home. We had technically walked the entire course, but I felt bad for not participating in the "people" part of the walk - the opening ceremony and officially crossing the finish line.


Even though this year's walk wasn't the same as last year's, we still made an effort and we still took time that morning to honor my mom. We did walk hand in hand, and we talked about how much we miss her, and some of the crazy {and kind of funny} things that happened around the time of her passing. Sometimes it takes writing a blog post to put things in perspective.

Would my mom be pleased that we went
to the park and {kind of} participated?
Yes.
 
Would she be disappointed that
we didn't fully participate?
Probably not.
 
Would she have walked the entire course five times
in a row had she been with us on Sunday?
Without a doubt, yes.

Thanks for understanding, Mom. There's always next year...

Monday, September 23, 2013

First Autumn Weekend Recap!

Good day, blog friends.
Welcome to Monday morning at PaperTurtle
and another exciting weekend recap.
This weekend was filled with all kinds of things, and mostly things that I didn't photograph. Like Friday-night-date-night with Doug and our side-kick Carrie, Saturday's yoga class and hair appointment for me, shopping for a new computer for Doug, and a whole bunch of laundry.



Perhaps the best thing about this weekend is that fall has officially arrived - not just in terms of the date on the calendar, but as evidenced by our cooler temps this weekend. ~sigh~ Such a relief after months of scorching temps! And that lovely autumn breeze we enjoyed yesterday? Bliss, I tell you. Pure bliss.


The plants in our backyard seem to be enjoying the change of the season, and you can almost hear them breathing a sigh of relief as well.
 
 
Saturday evening Carrie and I attended a DIY party hosted by our crafty friend, Janae. She had everything set up for decorating dishtowels, clothespins, and wooden spoons, plus another table set up for creating hair ties and arm bands. We each paid a little fee to help with the cost of materials, and then enjoyed each others company, some crafty fun, and maybe a cocktail or two.
 
 
 
Yesterday morning Carrie and I participated in the National Ovarian Cancer awareness walk sponsored by NOCC. I'll have more about that tomorrow, but here's a photo of the park where the walk was held:

 
One of my co-workers lost her father last week, and our office sent her a bouquet of flowers as an expression of sympathy. It was a great idea for her desk, but not so great that they were left behind as she had to travel out of state to attend funeral services. She asked me to take the bouquet home and enjoy them, which I did. Kind of. I mean, it was (is) a gorgeous bouquet, but blue and yellow was my mom's favorite color combination so I was reminded of her with every sight of this bouquet - not to mention the fact that my work-friend is away for the purpose of saying her final goodbyes to her dad. Bittersweet bouquet, for sure.
 
 
And then, you know, if I get too sad there's always this boy to help set things straight:


So, a weekend filled some melancholy moments, a lovely autumn breeze, flowers and laundry - probably not all of my favorite things, but not too shabby in the big scheme of things.

Here's wishing you a week filled with laughter and blessings.
I'm off to make it so.

PS: Thanks so much for the lovely comments left on my Photography Scavenger Hunt Wrap-up this weekend. What a fun project that was to participate in! The last time I looked there were 61 link-up's on Rinda's blog - a huge success this year, I'd say. Congratulations to my friend, Rinda, for a great summer scavenger hunt, and to all who participated.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt Wrap-up

 1 blog friend Rinda
3 months of summer
21 items to find and photograph
 
1 - an open air market
2 - theater for performing arts
3 - city hall, capitol, or civic building
4 - an airplane 

5 - a sunset
6 - someone or something taking a nap
7 - a sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny
8 - a tower

 9 - a photo with something out of place
10 - a bench that is outside
11 - an animal in a zoo, aquarium, or nature preserve
12 - a cloud in the shape of something
 
13 - a fence
14 - a stained glass object or mosaic
15 - a fire truck or police car
16 - a windmill 

17 - a candle
18 - local pub/bar
19 - a fisherman
20 - a dinosaur
 
21 - a photo of myself with an artistic tool
 
 
And that's a wrap, folks!
 
A big thanks to Rinda for sponsoring the third annual Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. I'm happy to say that I found and photographed all 21 items on the list this year - and it was so much fun! One of the best parts about this scavenger hunt is seeing the different takes on each prompt from blog friends all around the world. Rinda is hosting a scavenger hunt link-up over on her blog today. You can visit her blog and see photos from other participants by clicking here. I'm off to do just that...

Friday, September 20, 2013

Just a Quote for Friday


"If you got beef for someone,
let go it.
And if you got love for someone,
you better show it."
 
~ Michael Franti lyrics, "Do it for the Love"

Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Final Four ~ Scavenger Hunt Photos

Even though I'm super glad that summer is coming to an end {buh-bye heat!}, I am a little sad that Rinda's Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt is almost over too. Today I'm sharing the final four items I haven't blogged yet, and then this Saturday - at the official end of the scavenger hunt - I plan to do a full recap/summary of all 21 items.

Item #3 - City Hall, Capitol, or other similar civic building
My city's City Hall building, built just a few years ago so it's all modern and shiny and new. {For the record, I prefer old and historic - but I suppose this will be someday...}

#8 - A tower
No super cool castle towers or cathedrals on my piece of the planet, but we do have these palm-tree-shaped cell phone towers in our parts. This one is on the back side of a strip mall. It really blends in, don't you think?

#10 - A bench that is outside
A handsome hubby on the bench wasn't part of the prompt, but I added him anyway.

#11 - An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
This is one that I hadn't expected to capture. It's too hot during the summer for me to venture over to our local zoo, so I figured I'd have to search for one of the alternate items to fill this prompt. But then I went to Bass Pro Shop with Doug so he could get a few camping supplies and there, in the middle of the store, was this huge aquarium filled with bass fish. The lighting is poor, and there's a glare on the glass, but it was pretty cool to have these three fish lined up and posing for my photo. {Thanks, guys!}
* * *
And that's it! I'm so happy that I found all 21 items this year! Last year I fell short by a couple, but life had other junk planned for me and I was a bit distracted. Rinda's Photography Scavenger Hunt ends on September 21st, and I'll be participating in one final link-up with her on that day.

I'm already kind of looking forward to next summer
just to see what's on the new scavenger hunt list!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Simply a Moment ~ TV Dining


It’s not often that I pull out frozen food for dinner – and it’s even less often that we eat dinner in front of the TV – but this night is special. It's the opening game of the National Football League and Doug is anxious to see it from the start.

Into the oven go some frozen boneless chicken wings and fries. I decide to balance it out by adding some fresh carrots with bleu cheese sprinkles on top. “I’ll have a salad myself,” I think, “with some diced chicken.”

Dinner is served on an old cafeteria tray that my mother gave me a few years ago – an old discarded piece that is a handy addition to the randomness of my kitchen. It allows for one trip from kitchen-to-living-room, and is placed on our coffee table where we dine by the light of a football game.

I'm reminded of my Grandma Bessie and how I always ate meals on a TV tray at her house. Come to think of it, I don’t know if I ever ate a meal at her kitchen table, and that was one of the things I loved about eating at Grandma’s house. She had some rickety metal TV trays that had been around for always, and she’d set them with a place setting and we’d enjoy our meals in her living room.

But I digress. Our Thursday Night Football dinner is served and enjoyed as the teams face off for the first game of the season. Doug is happy because it’s football season again, and I’m happy because dinner was a simple fix. Plus, I have my grandma on my mind now, and all is right in my world.
This post is brought to you in conjunction with
Alexa's monthly feature, "Simply a Moment."
You can read Alexa's story, as well as others
by visiting her blog.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Salvation Mountain ~ Love is Everywhere

A couple of months ago Carrie and I talked about
going to Sedona for a weekend in September.
And then we changed our minds to Prescott.
And then we changed our minds to Salvation Mountain.
And added the beach.
 

When Carrie first started talking about going to Salvation Mountain I was all for it. I loved the look of the bright colors on the structure and the juxtapose feeling of the art work - a little here, a little there. The structure is a representation of artist Leonard Knight's passion: Bible scriptures and paint.

The mountain is constructed of bales of hay covered in local adobe mud, and then painted to represent the Sea of Galilee at the base, a red heart in the middle, and a cross on the top. It's funky cool and it was an adventure to get there.


This artwork is located in Niland, California, and to get there from Phoenix we headed toward Blythe and "turned left" {Carrie's words}. It's located in the lower Southern California desert, and the drive was really beautiful. At times we felt like we were driving on another planet! These sand dunes were so majestic, and it was worth the crazy road we were on - lots of up and down dips. Carrie was driving and she still got a little carsick. {You can see a short video I posted to Instagram here.}


There were date farms along the way, and orchards of fruit trees...

And there was this road:


It seemed like we were on this road for quite a while, but maybe it wasn't that bad now that I think about it. I was glad that Carrie had suggested we go "old school" and printed out directions from Google maps because we got a little turned around and somehow the paper directions worked better than our map app. {Or I'm just old school and can handle paper better than technology? Maybe.}
 
Salvation Mountain isn't really on the way to anything {that I know of} - you have to go there on purpose. It was fun to have the adventure of finding this place, and we were both pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our destination.


The photo above shows Carrie following the "yellow brick road." Said yellow brick road is in need of a bit of repair, I'm afraid. The next photo is of me at the top. See those crumbing steps on the yellow path? I sat on my rear end and scooted back down some steps, fearing they'd give way under my feet and I'd go sliding down.



 
The running theme is "God is Love" and "Love is Everywhere." There were also trucks and trailers scattered about the property that had been painted as well. A lot of hours in all this art, and I hope he did the majority of his work during the winter. Wow - it was HOT there in the middle of the desert at high noon. I may have made a comment about it being hot as h... and I was scolded by Carrie.
 

There was a section off to the side dedicated as an alter with all kinds of interesting things in there. If we had known this was there I would have totally brought a strawberry to leave! {Note to Carrie: remind me to bring strawberries on future road trips.}
 

When I look at the photos of us from that day, I remember how hot we were.

 
You can learn more about Salvation Mountain by visiting their website.
{Credit: I took some of the information for this blog post from their site.}
 
 
Really cool, right?
It was a lot of driving for us, but we really enjoyed every bit of the journey that day.
Salvation Mountain is a place you have to go to on purpose, and we thought it was worth the trek.
PS: Carrie and I were the only ones there and it was really nice to just take our time and get some fun photos without other tourists in the mix. As we were preparing to leave, three other cars pulled up. Perfect timing! :o)
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