Scavenger Hunt Photo Catch-up

Last weekend I had the lovely opportunity to meet my blog friend, Rinda. We've been friends through our blogs for almost two years, and if you are a regular reader on my blog, you probably know about the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt I'm participating in. Well, Rinda is responsible for that scavenger hunt challenge. How fun and fitting that I would find some great sources for photos on her list while I was with her. :o) I'll put the ones I found with Rinda in this post, as well as a couple of extras for good measure.

♥

 #1 - A picture of your entire team (or a self-portrait, if you're playing alone). So, it's a small photo of us, and I am participating in Rinda's scavenger hunt by myself, but I couldn't resist including her (and my girl C) in the photo. This was taken at an awesome shop called "Half to Have It" in Half Moon Bay, California. Loved it!!! Loved being there with Carrie and Rinda!!!

2. A museum - Not a super fun photo, but proof that I was there and got the shot for item #2.

#3 - A camp fire (or fire in a fireplace) - Ok...this might be pushing the envelope just a bit, but I live in Arizona where it's one thousand degrees outside. No campfires or fire-in-the-fireplace happening around here for a while so I had to improvise. :o} {In case you can't tell, there's a candle lit in there...}

#9 - A festival or fair - Driving back from Rinda's to my mom's house last weekend Carrie spotted a fair in the distance. I hurried to get my camera (thank goodness she was driving!) and got this blurred shot. I'm using it for item #9 just the same.

#11 - A forest - Rinda took us to this beautiful location called "The Enchanted Forest" in Moss Beach, California. It was an amazing spot and I wished we'd had more time to linger there. ~sigh~

#12 - A unicycle - Every time I see this picture I get a little giddy. Rinda had taken Carrie and I to see the Enchanted Forest and as we got out of the car I spotted this man carrying a unicycle across the parking lot. I could hardly believe my eyes! I called out to Rinda, "Oh my gosh, Rinda! Look!!!! A unicycle!!!" He must have thought I was a bit crazy when I approached him and asked if we could photograph him on his unicycle for this scavenger hunt, but he was very gracious about it. And how funny that he is here from Cambridge, England visiting at just the right time. { Sorry, UK friends! ;o) }

I have only three items left on the list of 21 things to find and photograph.

This has been such a fun summer project, I think I'll be sad to see it end.

Thanks, Rinda, for the inspiration!

{and I'm so happy that we found a unicycle together!}

:o)

Celebrating National Yard Sale Day

We had a yard sale yesterday.

Turns out, it was "National Yard Sale Day."

Who knew?

One of the first "customers" of the day mentioned that it was "National Yard Sale Day" and it was the first we'd ever heard of it. A few other people mentioned it throughout the morning, and also said that there were hardly any other yard sales to go to.

Uh...maybe because it's the middle of August in Arizona and even though there was a heavy cloud coverage yesterday morning it was still stinking hot. And humid to boot. But I digress...

Douglas...getting ready to call it quits. {...and Janae's baby car seat that has been in three yard sales now and had yet to be sold. I finally sold it to a woman who practically got it for free. Ugh!}

So, a lot of my readers aren't in the USA and maybe you don't have yard {or garage} sales where you live. Our house is in a neighborhood close to a busy street, so we put the sign out and the traffic comes. You have to make sure you're good and ready when the sign goes up. Doug went to put the sign out and people were pulling up at the house before he was even back home.

 {The above photo also doubles as my entry #5 for
Rinda's Photography Scavenger Hunt.
"A hand lettered sign selling something or giving directions"}

The reason I am smiling is because Doug said we could be done with the sale and pack it up. I am not a big fan of holding a yard sale. It's a lot of work, and well...dealing with some of the people is kind of a pain in the neck. {Although, come to think of it, we did get a chance to visit with a lot of nice people as well.}

And the best part is the little bit of extra $$$ we have in our hands now.

We didn't get rich by any means,

but I feel rich beyond anything.

♥

A party in my mailbox {scavenger hunt photo...}

#7 - A decorated mailbox

When I read item #7 on Rinda's list for the Photography Scavenger Hunt I had visions of finding a sweet little mailbox in a rural area, painted and decked out with a beautiful backdrop of a country setting. Well...since I live in the city that wasn't going to happen any time soon, so I had to improvise.  ;o)

And an extra view:

The mailboxes in our neighborhood are placed here and there, and the photo above shows the one that's just around the corner from our house. Sweet little mailbox #3 - you won't be our mailbox for much longer...but that's ok. ♥

PS: Still no word on our housing situation, but we will be moving within the next couple of weeks. Game on!!!

Saturday's Scavenger Hunt Photo Bit

Happy Saturday morning, blog friends!

♥

So far, I have ten of the 21 items on Rinda's Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. My Saturday morning submission is a little bit somber, but warrants some nice reflection...

#8 - My country's flag

This is the Arizona State Capitol building with the US flag in the middle, Arizona state flag to the right, and MIA/POW flag on the left.

I took this photo last weekend during my downtown Phoenix excursion and by the time I got to the capitol the morning was really heating up. I sat on the lawn across the street waiting {wishing} for a nice breeze to come through and unfurl these flags. I finally had to settle for a little breeze that took them from hanging-straight-down to showing-just-a-little-bit.

#13 - A cemetery of historical significance or with an interesting story

This photo was taken through the fence of the Pioneer Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Phoenix. What a hot and dry and desolate place, but I suppose back in 1846 there weren't many options so there you have it. Here's another photo, listing all of the different events that could have led to being laid to rest here:

Haha...and this one that made me giggle {softly because this was a serious place...}

Hm...too bad...Doug and I have been looking for a new camp site...

Enough of that...let's get serious again...

 #20 - A handmade roadside memorial or shrine

And I do mean serious. In May 2006, one of Carrie's best friends was killed by a drunk driver on a Sunday just after 12 o'clock noon. Sean's life was taken at the age of 17, less than a mile from our house. There were tons of flowers, candles, and crosses for the longest time, but all that remains is a bunch of silk flowers taped around this light pole. I know this photo wouldn't win any photography contest, but when I read "roadside memorial" on Rinda's list I knew it had to be this one.

I kind of hate to end on that note, but that's life in the big city. I'll remember Sean's goofy personality and if you'd known him you'd be smiling right now too.

Blessings to each of you this weekend and always.

♥

PS: Don't drink and drive.

Graffiti Art - Scavenger Hunt Photo

#15 - Graffiti art

The next thing I've checked off my list for Rinda's

summer photography scavenger hunt is "graffiti art."

* * * * * * *

I ventured into downtown Phoenix all by myself last weekend, parked my car and took a walk. These are photos I took within a two-block radius. It's probably not the best part of town to be alone in, but there really was no one around on a Saturday morning so I felt alright.

{Note to Carrie: Please do not go here alone. Ever. Thank you.}

♥ 

 The mural above is a parody of our local government.
Controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpiao
and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.

Pretty amazing stuff, right? The majority of the graffiti in these photos is painted with the consent of the building owners. Though it's in a seedy part of town, the artwork is really something to see!

*****

Do you have graffiti art in your town?
How about graffiti that's not welcome?

{We have our share of that too!}

Arizona Castle - Scavenger Hunt Photo

Tovrea Castle

Phoenix, Arizona

USA

#14 - A castle

So, I went and got myself involved in Rinda's summer photography scavenger hunt, and I have been obsessing about taking pictures of this local landmark as part of the challenge.

The photo above is the one I'll use for the challenge,

but here are a few more for your viewing pleasure:

Rinda's list for the scavenger hunt included "a castle," and the only one I know of around these parts is Tovrea Castle that sits up on a hill overlooking the city of Phoenix. Oh sure, it doesn't look like your average mid-evil-castle-with-lush-landscapes-and-moss-growing-on-its-sides. And its only saving grace for me was the romantic story behind it. But then I found out that my version of this castle's history {that I'd always heard to be true} was quite different from the real one.

My version: Once upon a time there was an Italian rancher who loved Arizona and longed for his love to join him in the desert. In order to entice her to move from Italy, he promised he'd build her a beautiful castle, high on a hill, and it would be shaped like a wedding cake. { ♥ } So, the fair lady traveled from afar to join him, only to find that what he had built and where he had built it wasn't exactly what she had in mind. So, she returned to Italy and left Senor Tovrea alone in his cake house.

You can read the real story here, though I promise it's not as fun as mine.

;o)

I thought it was cool that I could see Camelback Mountain from where I was standing. It's rare to have a view of the entire mountain from city level. {See how it's shaped like a camel's back? The camel's head is to the left, blocked by shrubbery.}

Photographing this castle was a bit tricky because it's closed to the public and there was no parking lot for me to safely land in. I had to pull off the road and walk a little ways in order to peer over the fence and take a few pictures.

 And, Mom, if you're fretting over this, wait till you see my graffiti shoot.

Happy weekend, everyone!

♥

Photography Scavenger Hunt - Part One

Good day, cyber-friends. It's going to be a busy weekend here in TurtleLand, but before I get going I thought I'd post a few photos. I'm participating in Rinda's Summertime Photograph and Snapshot Scavenger Hunt and these are the photos I have so far:

#10 - A wooden bridge

If you look closely, you can see a large tree root under this little foot
bridge in the front yard of a house in my neighborhood. What
a clever way to cover up a large crack in the sidewalk.

#16 - A building made of metal or glass

We were in downtown Phoenix last night for a baseball game and this

building caught my eye. I should have taken note of what it was, but for now

it's just my submission for item #16 on this scavenger hunt. ;o)

#17 - Rain

Good ol' Arizona summer rain. The sun was shining, but there were pockets

of rain that I drove through on my way home from work that day.

#21 - A rooster

You might expect my kitchen to be covered in turtle fair, but instead

I have roosters. Seventeen of them to be exact - kind of an

accidental collection if you will.

♥



This is the first time I've participated in a scavenger hunt of sorts. It's a lot of fun so far, and definitely will require some thinking outside the box. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve...stay tuned...

And have a blast this weekend!

xo