Playing Hooky...

My alarm sounded yesterday at 5 am...

Yes, I played hooky and I actually got up an hour earlier than I normally do. Excited and happy I might add, so it wasn't really that hard to jump out of bed. Rich and I have been having bit of opposing days off the last few weeks, and it's been quite a while since we've been out on the road together...so, when we both decided it would be fun to play hooky, and Rich came up with a plan, you can believe it was met with a ton of excitement from both of us.

We went to Bedrock Village! Can you believe that this gem is just a little distance down the road from us?

And would you just look at that prehistoric Airstream!

Ok, really...Bedrock Village is just a mere hop skip and a jump from a much larger attraction in this neck of the woods. The Grand Canyon. You see...Rich has never been to the Grand Canyon. And, I must admit that it's been a long while since I've been to the Canyon myself (and I've only been 4 times in my entire long life as it is) So, we gassed up the scooter, put on some tunes and sang our way down the road.

Did you know that the Grand Canyon is only 2.5 hours away from us? Well...it is...and with Rich's National Parks Pass, we're planning on going for more visits. Hopefully some time soon we'll be hiking and camping in the Canyon as well.

We were both sooo excited to go to the canyon, I started to think I must have turned into an adult at some point. I mean, exactly when did going to a "natural" wonder...somewhere to hike and walk around and just enjoy the person you're with and the scenery...a place to quietly inhale and renew your connection with the world become just as exciting as going to Disneyland did when I was a child?

Probably when the natural wonder in question became like Disneyland...

Now, don't get me wrong, there is still a part of me that is all about going to amusement parks and the cheap thrills you get from going on rides and seeing live cartoon characters parading around pretending to be real...but apparently at some point I've turned into a bit of an adult because it's just as exciting to think of going out and hiking as an adult as it was to go see Mickey Mouse as a child. I've also been a bit spoiled...

I have totally forgotten about what it's like to go to a major attraction and how crowded it is with people. Usually when we're out and about in our part of Arizona, there aren't huge crowds...and to get reintroduced to this aspect, I found myself immediately being shoved off to the side of a path into a hand railing as someone had to push their way past me to get to the California Condor that was sitting on a rock (now I can see why there are the signs all over telling us to be careful around the edge of the canyon that depicts someone falling into the Canyon...it's not because of the fear of loosing your balance, it's the fear that an overzealous tourist will push their way past you and poof...see you later Grand Canyon and we hope you brought a parachute...)

The Condor was very cool...Apparently this Condor is part of the reintroduction of these rather large fluffy birds back into the Canyon area...Rich and I thought they were vultures at first, but they were very large...and usually they have balding pink heads but we couldn't see it because this guy was content enjoying the view in front of him instead of looking at the large crowd behind him (not unlike the large elk that was grazing on the side of the road that caused frantic tourists to stop their cars in the middle of the one lane road into the canyon so they could snap their pictures) Who knows? Perhaps the Condor was a tourist?

We decided to try our luck closer to the lodges thinking the crowds would be a little thinner this early in the morning, and we were right. We did actually meet a lot of lovely other people during our tour of the Canyon...people who were quick with a laugh no matter what language they were using to communicate.

We decided to try our hand at hiking a little bit down Bright Angel Trail to get some unobstructed pictures of the canyon. We didn't get too far because of the squirrel.

Did you know that the leading injuries to people at the Canyon is Rock Squirrel bites?

I was terrified...

I stopped dead in my tracks hardly daring to breathe...

There was this teeny tiny fluffy squirrel on the trail that was looking at me with those liquid brown eyes, coming closer and closer every time I talked to it...It looked so young, but clearly it was looking for a snack. Not me squirrel...I saw the signs "Keep the Wildlife Wild" no snacks from me...I don't care how many times you bite me!

Actually, we decided to turn back because a storm was rapidly approaching and we wanted to get some other pictures before all the clouds rolled in...The last time I was there, the entire canyon filled with clouds and you couldn't see a thing...of course, there was also snow on the ground.

We decided it would be fun to drive the East highway of the Canyon for some other views, and stopped at an Indian ruin. It struck me as odd that the ruin was so far away from the amazing views of the canyon...then again, it could have been due to water in the area instead right? I mean, one could just walk to the edge of the Canyon if one wanted to.

We also stopped at Moran Point...which we quickly renamed Moron Point after almost being backed into no less that 4 times by a guy in a BMW who refused to look behind him. Rich handled it well, just trying to keep out of his way while I sat in the passengers seat and said things like "aaaaah!!!" and "eeeee!" while clutching my stomach...it was like a bad episode of The Wheel of Fortune. Luckily we have a small car and there was no one behind us...Rich didn't even honk, and I was about ready to get out of the car and give this man a few driving pointers, but we decided maybe we weren't meant to see this particular view and drove onto the next instead.

This one was more crowded with people jabbing and scurrying down the rocks, which prompted Rich to lean over to me at one point and say, "Are we the only Americans here?" which made me laugh because I just heard a little girl say the exact thing to her mom...The storm was really rolling in by this point...so we decided to head home.

We made it back in time to have a lovely lunch and rode over to watch the new Batman movie (strangely enough this is our very first movie date in a theater together) it was an amazing, movie but very intense, and I found myself needing to take a lot of time to really calm down afterwards.

This was a wonderful surprise day off in the middle of the week, made even more special because I got to spend time with Rich...see his reaction to viewing the Canyon for the very first time...and thank you for your well wishes, but what's with all the winks and nudges? I mean, sure there was hand holding, smiles and a lot of giggles...but there usually is when we're together. Most of the groping that happened was from tourists and the only times Rich grabbed me in passionate embraces was to keep me from being nudged over the edge and into the canyon. But, even after all of that, you can believe we'll be going back more and we made the promise to bring at least one of the digital Elphs to that we can have someone take our pictures together...we just didn't feel safe handing over the SLR's...

Shhhhhhh...

Rich and I are off today...

Together...

Alone...

Totally playing hooky...

It's been a while.

I will be back tomorrow with pictures.

Have an amazing day...

The Shoe Report...

For some reason, I had been looking forward to shoe shopping (we've all seen my closet, so this is no surprise is it?) when we were down in The Valley this weekend. Specifically shopping for heels. I didn't actually buy any of the kind of heels that I thought I would...

I'm thinking that I was having a bit of a heel quest in my head after watching the Sex in the City movie. And, while I admit that I love heels (and found much to my surprise when I dropped weight after the divorce, that not only could I wear heels, but suddenly I didn't walk like a man in drag would, like I had always thought I did...well, heels have a special place in my heart) unfortunately, heels aren't that practical for my lifestyle...seeing as I'm on my feet quite a bit during the day, shoes that are a bit comfortable are a must, and I don't go out enough to warrant lot of fancy heels.

So it was with extreme delight that I found a sweet pair of Keds with a modern cow print on them...and they're Mary Jane style...at the Macy's shoe sale (for well under $20) and as I eagerly put them on yesterday before work, I felt a little like it was my first day of school, instead of all the kids that went back to school yesterday...well, I suppose they felt like it was there first day of school as well, since it actually was the first day of school for them...but new shoes? Well...you know what I mean.

I found not one but, two pairs of Campers at Last Chance. I about fell over on that one...I love Camper shoes, and wasn't even aware that Nordstrom had started selling Campers, and I was very excited when I ran across these beauties.

They are both leather with embroidery and have just the slightest hintof a heel...and to make things even better? The pink ones are Camper Twins (which means they have a design that goes from one shoe to the other) and they have a sweet ankle strap as well! I am very excited about the styles and colors because I think they'll actually match a lot of the clothes I already have...so, there's that.

Plus? I spent under $30 each on these beauties...which, is quite the deal if you follow the extreme pricing on Camper shoes at all (not that I do, but every once in a while I'll go drool over at Zappos)

So, the shoe shopping was good, as you can see, even if it didn't include all the heels I was envisioning...three new pairs isn't all that bad...although it makes me want to go clean out the ones I have and pass on pairs that I'm not currently wearing...not that I'm sitting here wearing all my shoes at one time...you know what I mean...

Girls Weekend Out...Recap...

Picture style!

Ok, well...not so much picture style, but I did actually remember to take a few more (and better) pictures than last time.

With Pictures!

(better? Yes, I think so...)

We rolled out of the mountains up here at about 7:30...dropped Niko off with grandparents, and made a beeline for a little breakfast place called Blondies, so we could fortify for the shopping. After having a lovely breakfast, we really got on the road and didn't stop until we hit the Nordstrom parking garage...

Urban Outfitters was our first stop...not much to see there. Tried on a couple of things (cute fabric) looked bad...noticed someone staring at the horrible bumps on my legs...she would look away every time I looked towards her...but, I figured it out.

LeSigh...

It was kind of like that all weekend though...stupid mosquitoes!

Left with a cute pair of panties that have a lovely vintage kitten design on them, I'm thinking it's the 3 Little Kittens? Who knows...they are too cute though...I must figure out a way to display these things so I don't ruin the cute by wearing them...


Decided to pop into Nordstrom for a quick potty break and realized the exact reason I was feeling a little more heavy (and bloated thankyouverymuch...it's not like the mosquito bites were enough of a bummer...) We quickly found some Chai tea with soy for a bit of a kick and headed over towards Tiffany's to look at their charms. Ms. Dina and I were thinking perhaps that we would commemorate our trips with yearly charms for our bracelets...

Tiffany charms are very expensive.


Went to Sephora instead and sniffed every perfume until Dina and I both decided that the heavier Prada scent was the one for me. Yay...a new scent! Much better (was actually worried that we may not find anything to buy this trip...yeah. right.) Continued to run around like maniacs stuffing everything we could into those black Sephora buckets...and then weeded out and re stuffed again, walking around with our fair share of new girlie accoutrement's for our faces. Dina scored all the samples this time though...apparently they have some sort of system for remembering us? (hahahaha!)

Skipped into Anthropologie...found some cuties to try on. But only for me...Dina sat on the overstuffed chairs in the dressing area and commented on what I was trying on. Heaven love the girl too...because she kept finding things to hand me...now, they were all size 8's mind you, but she kept prefacing each one with, "they don't look that small..." They of course, were...but I love shopping with someone who thinks I'm that small. Coveted briefly the size 8 Marimeko dress...it was about $39, and the only one in the store...and would have cost double that to buy the fabric and make it myself. Drat. Left with an oversized gold sweater for the fall instead...

It's about this time we discover it's time for our afternoon snack at Sprinkles. Run over there hoping to meet up with Flutter (she had a hard week though and wasn't able to make it, so definitely soon) and find that they have the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes I was after...Choose 4 cupcake flavors for a snack and hightail it over to the Hotel Indigo to check in. The Hotel Indigo down there is quite lovely...Very modern looking with the most amazing art all around...pictures, plants and rocks...but any place that has Aveda in the rooms for guests to use is spectacular in my book.

After getting up to the room, we have a knock at the door...the concierge heard us talking about our girlie weekend, and came up to give us a thick coupon book with all sorts of goodies inside! We were so excited we decided to celebrate by eating our cupcakes...

Red Velvet
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Limited Edition Cherry
Coconut

I was most excited about the peanut butter chocolate chip, and Dina was most excited about the cherry...She liked the peanut butter chocolate chip the best and I liked the cherry...which surprised me because I didn't even want that one...go figure...it was the tart/sweet. The cupcakes were good, but not the best either of us have ever had, I found them a tad heavy myself and had a hard time eating my halves...it was lovely to go to the little shoppe though.

We ran back to the mall to sandwich some other shopping before dinner, and were sucked in to the Benefit Cosmetics Counter by 2 enthusiastic Benefit employees who offered to give us a 5 minute fresher upper for our faces. Well, they did their magic which resulted in us purchasing a couple of more things from them that we didn't know about before. I'm telling you...I should have bought everything he used on my face, I looked that good...and I am sitting on my hands today so I don't go to the website...but it's like fighting a loosing battle.

He used an eyebrow kit on me, that made my eyebrows pop and look amazing (which is wonderful because I've been wanting to do something different with my eyebrows, weirdly enough...and he didn't even know that!) along with Moon Beam, for that dewy look...an eye brightener pencil, a bronzer for my cheeks and a powder that evens the skin tone. Well, I only bought the first two and I know I am going to have to get the rest...

We both looked just wonderful after that, and agreed that it was just what we needed as we felt totally refreshed and renewed! (it still didn't make us like the clothes we tried on, but hey...) I never find myself getting talked into sitting in a little chair and letting someone do anything to my face...but I highly recommend you doing it...and soon. Next time you see someone offering something at a Benefits counter jump right in. They are talented and they love to show you how to use their products. I'm sure it results in higher sales, but really...I love knowing how to use something well, especially if it makes me look better! Dina has been a Benefits cosmetic user for years (and I am quickly becoming a huge fan myself) and she's one of the prettiest people I know with an incredible knack for putting on her best face...I'm sure she could give a list of her favorites. I will try to do that this week as well...


We got a few more stops in before it was decided we needed to go to Malee's Thai Bistro on Main...for our dinner (mostly because I was staring to feel dizzy and kind of strange) We were totally smart this time because last time we ordered an appetizer, soup and 2 entrees...this time we ordered an appetizer, soup and 1 entree...Which was still too much food.

Sigh.

Waddle.

Next time? Appetizer and soup OR 1 entree and soup.

We were so stuffed, we walked around peering into the art galleries that are all over Main (I admit I was looking for any that carried photos...thinking of Rich's art) trying to walk it off and feel better, but when it only gets down to 100 at night, it's hard to do without feeling both sweaty and stuffed.

We decided to skip Kazmirz this time and go back to the hotel to dip our feet into the pool.

The pool has lights in it that change the color of the water...it is very cool.

After that we about staggered up to the room and promptly fell asleep. It's funny, but this trip was a little different from last years trip. We're in such different places in our lives this time...and we only had one night down in The Valley...but, it just felt different. Not in a bad way, just calmer and more relaxed.

We hardly slept in the next morning, which was unfortunate it being Sunday (and I was tired due to the cute girls next door with found an opportunity to slam their door every 5 minutes from 10 - 3 am) which meant that most of the stores we wanted to visit open quite a bit later...We went down to Last Chance, the Nordstrom outlet, and braved that mob scene (I can only stand to be there for 1 hour before I get a headache and start weeping) I was super happy we did brave it though, because that's one of the only places I bought clothes...well, and 2 pairs of Camper shoes for very cheap...which made me quite happy indeed (I'll give a full shoe report later, don't you worry) and then ran over to the Cheesecake Factory to meet Velvet Brick...one of our bloggy friends for lunch and a chat...

May I take a moment to point out here that not only are my eyes closed in this picture, but that top makes me look pregnant (which I'm not, and the top is only a Medium...could you imagine the large?!?!) and you can see a lot of my spots as well...

ugh!

We ran over to Macy's at the Biltmore (you know, since we were there?) and I picked up a little Lucky Brand hoodie with a Lucky Cat on it that I was coveting, because it made me swoon, and it reminded me of Rich as well...the price was hefty, but they marked it down for me because it was going on sale the next day and they gave me more money off while I was standing at the register...I actually saved 50%...Whoopie!!

We headed back to the big mall to check out a few more things before I crumpled into a shopped out heap onto the floor and whined to go home...

Ok, it wasn't that bad, but I'm finding that I just don't have the stamina for this intense shopping anymore...we both agreed it may be better in the future if we plan to stay 2 nights instead of just one like we did our first trip. It's too hard to try to stuff everything into that short of time without ending up a little loopy at the end. All in all, it was a lovely trip...not too many clothes for me (something seemed to be lacking in the clothes department for me...either everything was black and white or very over sized and kind of apron/smock/maternity looking...it was odd) I did invest in more make-up this time...along with finding a few pairs of shoes...but, I managed to stick to the money I'd budgeted which makes me feel wonderful!

It was a welcome change of scenery and get away...full of great company, lots of giggles and even a bit of relaxation...Hotter than last year (for sure) yet, fun nonetheless...

Thank you Dina!

Girls Weekend Out...

Bags Packed - check
Car Washed - check
New Coconut Air Freshener opened and installed in car - check
Money Saved For Frivolous Shopping and Food - check
Plan of Action Discussed for our weekend (and discussed again) - check

Now, all I'm waiting for is today to be over, and tomorrow to come rushing in...and then Dina and I are officially off and running...and both of us need this vacation getaway, in the worst of ways.

Last night after a lovely bar-b-q hosted by Rich at the Airstream, where I spent most of the night swatting mosquitoes away...I awoke to bites. Tons of bites...I was wearing a dress and had thought far enough ahead to bring a light jacket, which I put on early in the evening...I had no idea I was being bit on the legs quite that bad...and understand me when I say that I got bit bad that I just counted 32 bites on my right leg alone.

32.

Luckily they don't all itch, but you can imagine with my lovely pale Irish skin how I look. Like I have a horrible disease, that's what. Even my mother gasped when she saw me this morning. So, I am a little bummed about going on the trip and having to walk around with these legs (I am seriously considering putting on fake tan so I don't look so bad. That way people can concentrate on the weird orange color rather than the horror that I may have some weird disease) and I am crossing my fingers that none of the mosquitoes had West Nile Virus. From now on, it's going to be Off city for me when I go to the Airstream...apparently I am just too yummy of a temptation...and you would have thought I'd learned my lesson last after last years bites...or because of the fact that this has happened to me often in my life here on the planet.

sigh.

It's making me sick to my stomach to talk about it anymore.

I am going to try to think about how much fun we're going to have instead. We are planning on paying a visit to Sprinkles...and after looking at the menu, which changes daily, I decided that we may have to visit both days...and Dina suggested buying a snack pack for the boys...um, the ride home. We'll also be visiting several of the places we did last year, as we are creatures of habit, and we enjoy doing things over and over.

We'll also be meeting up with these delightful two women...and I can hardly wait! I am taking the Cannon Elph because it's so much more compact, and the battery is charged and waiting...I will come back with pictures...

Just none containing my legs...

Oh...And Did I Mention The Pesto...

Welcome to another installment of the cooking blog, as I just can't seem to get away from the good home made around here...I've decided to just give in. Luckily, I am leaving in less than two days for another adventure (that would be the day after tomorrow to you and me) so there may be no food pictures for a while...you'd better stock up. I figure there there will be no cooking on this adventure...only eating. Lots and lots of good eating. Until Dina and I make our great escape, there are a several odds and ends to wrap up here in town...as well as a lot of fun things to do between now and then...one being a bar-b-q at the Airstream tonight. Well, I have been bragging about my cilantro pesto now for quite a while to Megan, as one of her specialties happens to be very good Southwest cooking, and I keep thinking this pesto would compliment her dishes amazingly well...Pesto is so easy and quick to make...and this happens to be the best recipe I've ever tried for cilantro pesto (it's the cinnamon you know, which makes for a very surprising flavor)


1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, tightly packed
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I use a soy blend)
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (I use pine nuts)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Process cilantro, garlic, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and seasonings in a food processor or blender until finely chopped and blended. While blender or processor is running, slowly add oil until blended and absorbed.


I love this recipe on rice, pasta, vegetables and sandwiches or burgers. Try it...you won't be disappointed...and please let me know if you do!

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

I swear this is not turning into a cooking blog...I just happen to be turning into a person who blogs and who cooks. It's the Farmer's Market and the new diet combination that's doing it to me...So the other night I made up potato, leek and squash tacos with soy cheese, cabbage and home made guacamole. They were divine, light and filling...they may have even been low fat, but I was past counting at this point. And since I find it near impossible to cook for just one person, I have enough to have the entire meal over again...Which I will find time to do before I jaunt off on my Weekend Abroad with Dina...

What are you eating this summer??

Summertime Reading...

I am voraciously reading my way through the summer...which now explains why I haven't been sewing my heart out, eh? (that and I couldn't possibly use another skirt...well, unless I find that perfect fabric...)

Among all the books I've been devouring, my mother also found and gave me a wonderful vintage Cosmo magazine...coming direct to you from October 1957. It is the special law issue...with such highlights as "When to Sue" and "Model Prisons"...the one thing I notice that's lacking is any kind of wild girl sex tips or how to catch/keep a/your man. Not to mention the Cosmo Quiz...there's no Cosmo Quiz?!?! Then again, there's hardly a Cosmo Quiz now...a group of us used to go over to Dina's once a month to all take the Cosmo Quiz, and they've just cut it down to about four questions now anyway...

I love that the cover is a hand painted picture instead of a photograph (that's Kim Novak by the way...apparently she's Sinatra's Pal in "Pal Joey") and the advertisements in the magazine are priceless. The whole back cover is full of Pulp Fiction Books you can get for free just by sending in the coupon! (that's $16.90 worth of books folks...in modern prices adjusted for inflation and collectible value, I figured that would be about $107.98) There's an ad for Martini & Rossi Imported Sweet Vermouth (and I didn't even know they made that...but I highly recommend their Austi Spumanti) There's also various body slimmers (one even being called "the magic button" hee hee) push up bras, chin straps and wrinkle fixers...you can also buy Colored Burlap, because apparently it's Gone Modern (free samples on request) There's even an ad for Columbia...but instead of them sending you free CD's to join their club...it's free records instead!!

My favorite ad is the one for the RelaxAsizor...not only did I read about it in Vogue (apparently) but I can reduce my hips, waist, and tummy...with No Diet! I just lie back, read my magazine and let it do its work. Not to be outdone by Mr. Stauffer's "magic couch" of course!

Funny as well are the amount of advertisements for baby things and one slant board to give you "the body you had when you were 21!" So, I think they're target market has changed somewhat within the last few years, wouldn't you say? I mean, sometimes when I look at more recent issues of Cosmo...I actually feel a little "old" to be reading...

But, it's still a fun and sassy magazine indeed...no matter what the era is.

And, there is this tiny part of me that really wants to send the coupons in the ads in to the addresses posted...just to see if I could get more of a part of the past back...This would probably explain why I love to hunt to find all things vintage, eh? A constant love affair with a part of life that I didn't have the chance to see...Thank goodness for old magazines!

Buckets Of Pesto...

Having absolutely no plans whatsoever going into two entire days off is a lovely thing...it really opens you up for all sorts of surprises!

Saturday found me up and about early to yogurt with my favorite instructor...helping me set the pace for the rest of the time I had to myself. I had juice at the health food store with a friend, and then off to the Farmer's Market...making plans for dinner and a movie later that night...(that would be Mexican and Handcock...both good!)

While I happened to be at the Farmer's Market innocently looking at some peas, the lady who was running the stall for some reason thought it would be a good idea to tell me they happened to have tons of basil, and did I like to make pesto? I asked her how much it was, because fresh basil can be a little pricey...she turned to a cooler and proceeded to fill up a grocery sack and let me have it all for $4...

I quickly added make pesto to my weekend plans.

I ran to CostCo to gas up cheap (well, a little cheaper that is) and to grab some pine nuts and vacuum sealed food containers (I needed some anyway to store all the fresh food I like to keep chopped and made in the fridge and freezer so that it's easy for me to make my salads and other meals...I've been eating mighty fresh and good food this summer. The storage containers I got are hard plastic and the one's I've been using are quite old and oily...) Since I was planning on making up some big batches of pesto...I figured I needed more room than my Cuisinart small chopper...

I grabbed my step stool and peered into the storage space above the hallway until I spied a big big box. A few years ago, I decided all I needed to be a totally complete person was to have a Cuisinart food processor. You see...I had always wanted one. My mother in law at the time thought it would be a great holiday present and gave me one...she used hers all the time, and gave me a tiny Cuisinart chopper (which kind of permanently smells of garlic) an extra 11 cup bowl, and a Cuisinart Cook Book...Wellll, with one thing and another happening and the subsequent dissolution of my marriage and clearing out the kitchen, the unused and then unpacked Cuisinart food processor went into that storage space.

I lugged it out, blew the dust off the box and convinced myself that it hadn't been that long that I had it and hadn't used it, so I didn't need to feel all that bad...There was a receipt taped to the outside of the box. 2004...oh, well...time certainly flies doesn't it? Ahem...I opened up the box and carefully removed all the goodies inside including the Video on how to use this thing.

Sigh.

I didn't really want to sit and watch a video explaining a kitchen gadget, so I did a quick flip through the booklet and hoped that was enough prep for just pulsing (I'm sure the shredding and whatnot is a lot more complicated...) promised to try not to chop off any extremities with all the crazy sharp blades and went to work. It took me longer to figure out how to get the thing apart than anything else...there are no instructions on how to do that in the huge booklet, if you can believe it...but I figured it out, proceeded to wash and then dry each piece, and added all the goodies into to the mix. Now...the food processor is so easy to use, I almost feel embarrassed to have waited this long to use it. I have a feeling I will be using it even more often at that.

When all was said and done, I made 3 separate containers of basil pesto...2 to freeze and 1 to use this week on something lovely (and this was after dropping off several stalks of pesto to my mother) I also happened to stop by the grocery on the way home from CostCo today and picked up 2 bunches of cilantro to make cilantro pesto. I have an amazing recipe that I have been bragging to Megan about, and I am thinking it is high time I bust it out and share it this Thursday after yogurt (since I usually go over there) That way I can bribe her to show me how to make the amazing salsa she always has on hand...

And, you can believe that the Cuisinart is here ready and waiting...

A Most Lovely Giveaway...

You absolutely have to check out this giveaway...The patterns, fabrics and bags? I dare you to choose a favorite...I have been wanting to try a quilted bag for so long now, and I am feeling more inspired once again...

The End...

Of yet another week...

sigh.

Is time somehow going faster or is it just me?

I have nothing on the palette this weekend...no downsizing or decluttering or cleaning...now, these may be things that need to happen this weekend, but we'll see.

I am planning on hopping over to the Airstream tonight to visit with my favorite Rich, who has been so busy that most of our recent communication has been via phone, so a face to face visit is very welcome...It will happen sometime after he deals with some photo clients (which means I do have time to work out the gym if I want to seeing as I slept in and whatnot this morning.) I am also planning on cruising to the gym for yogurt Saturday morning, as my very favorite teacher is going to be there that day, and somehow it helps to set the tone for the whole weekend. Maybe make another appearance at the Farmer's Market as well? Who knows...

I know I'll be keeping my eyes on the skies at sunset...we have been having the most beautifully colored sunsets lately...often turning our world pink and purple...it's breathtaking.

What are your plans this weekend?

With all of the lovely rain that we've had this season comes fun new lawn art...

Heck, along with all of the lovely rain that we've had this season comes fun new lawn. Period. I'm in Arizona, I don't spend a lot of time trying to keep my lawn alive, so it is always a plus when it grows at all...and usually it's super healthy only during the spring and fall...but, it's been mightily green lately...

Which means the fairies like to come out and dance at night...

Especially under the full moon...

And make fairy rings among the mushrooms...

And I can imagine that the rather large mushroom right across from the fairy ring would be perfect for the band...

I find myself peeking out through the curtains to see if I can catch a tiny foot or a bit of a wing...trying to spy them dancing in the moonlight, hoping that they will invite me to come dance and play with them some wild summer night...

A Case of Identity Theft...

A good friend and customer came into Snap Snap to sell me mass quantities of clothes last week...this happens a few times a year and has been happening for many years now. We know all about each other's families, and lives...and all the goings on in between...In fact, we're always planning on visiting each other in our off hours (sometimes it even happens) She mentioned casually that she is taking a rather large and amazing trip soon. I told her while I was very excited for her, I was also wildly jealous. She threw it out there that I could come, free place to stay etc. etc...I laughed it off.

Well, except for the small part of me that whispered...we could do that you know.

There's nothing standing in my way...the small problem of finding someone to watch Snap Snap aside, money, etc. etc. Oh, and the teeny fact that I've overlooked renewing my passport. Or more likely, as I dug out the dust covered paperwork that I've moved to no less than 4 places in my house since I filled it out...I've failed miserably at renewing my passport.

I decided since I've heard the turn around for passports is now about 2 weeks, I certainly have time to run around like a maniac on Monday and get this taken care of (finally). Looking over the paperwork I noticed I signed it on the eve of when it expired in 2006. Ahem...I was at Snap Snap, so I snagged my White Out and took care of that problem, and I am happy to say that all the other information is the same...I packaged it up in an envelope I found with the fee written in check form (which I realized is now more than what was printed on this vintage passport renewal form I possessed, according to the website...LeSigh...so, now I have no idea if I will even get said passport) took it to the Post Office, and even paid extra to have the entire thing tracked. All the while, I'm thinking to myself "boy am I excited to get a new passport photo, because in my previous passport I was about 60+ pounds heavier..."

That is, until I got the picture back from the photographer.

Damn.

How could it possibly be that I look tired, confused and heavily chinned? I mean, technically I had not even been traveling in a foreign country before I went to get this photo taken (because this is just sometimes how you look when you're in a place where you can't communicate well, or have no idea where your hotel could have gotten to...) I've just sat on a stool and tried to smile and be my charming self, totally confident that any picture was better than the previous picture. Boy am I wrong. Could it be that fact that in every passport photo they use a flash, all while setting you against a white backdrop? This immediate use of artificial light washes out any kind of contrast on your face...except now my make-up and hair looks like it was done by the Junior High version of myself. Why is it that we can't just submit a picture of ourselves that we happen to like, maybe one we've taken while we were somewhere exotic? I mean, as long as you're not wearing sunglasses and you can see your facial details, who cares? That would be so much better than hoards of The Dawn of the Living Dead zombies that are vacationing from America...

It has to be a government conspiracy to keep the people who's job it is to stamp the passports active and interested...I know it can't be fun to sit in a cramped little Plexiglas box on a tiny stool all day and ask people, who are on vacation (while you are not) why they're visiting your home town/country and then stamp some random page with whatever fancy stamp is legal...unless you get to see the most horrible and comical pictures of that person ever taken...and then used as a very legal form of identification that they then have to wave about if they're to get anything done at all on their vacations.

Well, someones stolen my identification then...

I can't possibly have that many chins or look that fat or apply my make-up quite that badly...

The Caulk Master...

This weekend, among many other fantastically exciting things In The Life of a Sort of Single Gal (only because Rich was working the. whole. flipping. weekend. Otherwise you can bet we'd have been up to no good together...plus, I know you're all just dying to know what sort of single girls do these days...I also know you're thinking it's mostly all Sex and the City around here. ha.) things such as going to the Farmer's Market then out to brunch for some Mexican Crack (what's Mexican Crack, you ask? That would be the best blue cheese dressing this side of the border...I know, it's strange, Mexico is probably not usually known for its blue cheese...but Casa Sanchez has the best hands down) napping, reading, napping...running errands with a friend, napping...and then came the bathroom face lift.

Or maybe that should be the bathroom butt-lift.

What?

That's usually what's going on in the bathroom isn't it? More butt-type things. Ok, you have a point, I do actually get ready in the morning to go out and face the day and put my face on using the mirrors in there...but, you know what I mean.

I love my bathroom. It's dead center in the middle of the house, and there's only one of them...in a 1925 craftsman style house, what do you expect? Upon moving into Foolsewoode lo those many years ago, we noticed that the original battleship gray linoleum (holy cow. I am doing some major drooling on the selection of vintage linoleum they have...) was coming up in several places. This could have been due to the large holes in both the pipe of the sink in the bathroom and the pipe in the toilet...every time you flushed, clean water poured out onto the floor. Ditto with running the water in the sink (clean water=no good for flooring) We had not overlooked this when buying the home...it's just something that needed to be replaced before we could use the bathroom (note to self: Plumbing is very expensive. No major life altering decisions like "should I replace the non working trap in the original vintage wall sink, even though it's quaint to use a plug on a chain instead...and then watch as the plumber rips the sink out and realizes that he can't repair the trap or put the original sink back in the wall...and then you have to get some HUGE ugly new sink put in that you overpay for, and rips up your beautiful wall tile and then have to replace with a vintage pedestal sink in the near future, only not the tile because you don't know how and now you live with that, because you've just moved into a new house and no one but your ex husband [whom you happened to be married to at the time] showed up to help you and you were so tired you didn't know what kind of decisions you were making only you wanted to just use a sink at some point?" yeah...)

Um.

Oh.

So, we (and I use that term lightly because it was my project that my ex had to come in and help with because I couldn't do it...which means it was 2 days of full contact stripping of linoleum off the floor with a furniture scraper strapped to his foot to get to the original wood) removed the linoleum and then when I got feeling back in my extremities, I managed to design a stencil modeled after William Morris' Blackberry pattern and hand paint it over the edges of the floor, and then put about 10 coats of non-gloss all over the floor. (you should have heard the fight my ex put up about that one...he wanted super extra glossy, but as we didn't play basketball in the bathroom, I thought something not as slippery would be better, plus I want to be able to walk around my house without worrying if I have non-marking soles on my shoes...sigh) I also have a cute vintage cupboard that hangs above the toilet...and the original tub that is backed or rather, sided with glass bricks...

But the caulk around the tub was icky. Icky caulk is not something that one wants to look at when they're in the bath trying to relax. There's no amount of bubbles that will hide something like that. And the caulk? It's been like that for some time. Saturday dawned and I had an industrial razor blade in my hand stripping off the old caulk (and yes, even when I was talking to Rich on the phone, our only mode of communication this weekend. Did I mention he was working all. flipping. weekend? I used the word caulk so much that I know he was worried that I now have a form of Tourettes that will leave me yelling the world caulk into polite company for no reason...that and I have a naughty teenager living inside of me) getting out my bleach pen to douse all the ickiness and scrub and clean so I could let the entire caulkless tub dry for 24 hours before I applied spanking new caulk (heh) White to be exact.

It looks damned good, if I may say so myself. I am a caulk master (too far? sorry) But, the problem is now solved, and my bathtime is much more relaxing. Only now all the necessary bath crap that litters up the sides of the tub looks too messy...

Le Sigh.

I also noticed that my oak toilet seat is needing to be replaced, because oak toilet seats tend to get a bit funky around the edges after a while...Let me tell you something about my toilet. It is from 1925 and totally original to the house...which means it flushes a crazy amount of water when it's time to do things like that (I should put a jar of sand in the tank right?) but that's not the worst of it. The worst thing is it's shaped funny. It's an odd shape for new toilet seats and the holes for the screws that hold the seats on were drilled not quite even...so it's cockeyed as well. Which means that the toilet seat that was on there was always a little slidy aroundy when you sat on it, and no amount of tightening those fantastic plastic screws that came with the toilet seat helped secure it in the least. One wrong move while sitting down and wheee! You either ended up hitting your head on the sink or hitting your head on the towel rack (why else do you think I hung those cute pin-up vintage towels on it? Padding...and yes, their little skirts lift up and they have applique panties on...swoon)

I thought I'd outsmart the toilet seat thing though and spring for the "seat that fits long toilets" or some such nonsense...and you can believe that the oval toilet seat is certainly more expensive than it's smaller counterpart.

Well.

It certainly fit on the toilet, but look at how much it hangs off there in the front. Good grief. This also means that there's a lot of porcelain hanging around the front when you sit on it...but, you'll be happy to know it's totally sturdy and doesn't slide around anymore, which was worth every extra penny I paid for the oval toilet seat...I think anyway, we'll see as time goes on.

And look at all that sense of accomplishment I have now! The caulk master and home owner extraordinaire...

Lord my life is sad when Rich is working. all. flipping. weekend.

All Organic...

After dancing on Friday night with the gals...

Well, OK...not so much dancing as putting the feet up and relaxing with both Ms. Dina and Megan under the summer night sky and lit candles all about, I was off to visit the sandman. I had lovely fantasies of waking up for early morning yoga, but decided to sleep through instead (which I almost did, but I usually get a lovely wake up call from my sweetie around that time, which is the perfect way to wake up in the morning) After that, I was up and at 'em...

You see, Megan and I had an early morning date.

A date to go to the farmer's market up here...

The farmer's market used to be right downtown one street over from Snap Snap, but some funeral home and a law office that wasn't open on that street, complained about the parking problem when they closed half of the street from 6 - noonish...on Saturdays. I'm not sure what the Funeral home's problem was (I mean, I wouldn't think that their clients necessarily needed the parking anymore, since where they're going they're probably not driving so much as floating around with wings and strumming stringed instruments...and the parking for the rest of the alive people? Well...they seems to have been issued these nifty little signs they get to put up wherever they want whenever they have services...and I don't see anyone else being able to complain that they're taking up the parking spaces, on regular business days even...) Or the Law Office (seeing as they have a huge parking lot which they kindly block off during the weekend, restricting usage...and did I mention they weren't open anyway?) But whatever...this then has forced the farmer's market to relocate. Well, sadly the downtown lost this wonderful attraction to the parking lot of Yavapai College instead. Which means that I haven't really gotten out there as much as I used to...

Of course, after be-bopping around with both Megan and her wonderful husband Matthew this Saturday morning, I decided that I absolutely have to remedy this. And since I started this new diet anyway, I am eating so many more fresh vegetables and fruits than I used to...

While we were walking around checking out all the offerings of the local (and sometimes not so local) vendors, I noticed a little girl standing close to me at the tomato stand. She was staring off into the distance with one of her hands in a huge pile of brightly colored cherry tomatoes...she was gently caressing them with a small satisfied smile on her face, letting them fall through her fingers with a very dreamy look in her eyes as she was doing so...the tomatoes were pert and warm...freshly picked and about as aromatic as a tomato can be. I realized with an amazing amount of clarity right in that moment how important it is for children, and possibly all sizes of humans, to have this connection with things grown from the Earth...I've often found that for me, both the smell and texture that soil has when you turn it over or run your hands through it, or the individual and often subtle scent that each living growing plant gives off when you brush against them are very therapeutic to the human condition...being able to dig into soil and tend to plants is usually a very relaxing past time. Farmer's Markets may actually be as close to growing your own food as a lot of people get nowadays (I mean, being in AZ and not having a huge flat clear lot...plus a lot of pine trees here at Foolsewoode, I don't have a vegetable garden anymore...My ex and I used to have a huge garden years ago) I, in fact grew up with my mother and father growing huge gardens in California...maybe because they were hippies...but maybe because it was so easy to grow things in California...I just remember they were both very very good at growing things.

Plus? I am a total tomato junkie. As I've gotten older I've found that pesticides seem to be freely sprayed on everything, making it so that I can't eat all tomatoes...only organic or hydroponic...the rest just tear my stomach up. My mother tells the story of me at a young age (3 perhaps) when she would let me play outside in the huge backyard...when it was time to find me, she usually only had to look in one place...the middle of the tomato garden, stuffing cherry tomatoes into my mouth as fast as I could with the seeds and juice dripping down my chin and neck and covering the front of my striped overalls. To me, there are not many things much closer to heaven then a fresh ripe tomato picked off the vine, still warm from the sun's rays (well...to be fair, I think the ocean's nice too...and so is spending time at the Airstream) I watched the little girl at the tomato booth out of the corner of my eye for just a few moments before I caved into her subtle suggestion...and decided to run my hands through the box of colorful red, yellow, orange and purple cherry tomatoes as well and pick out enough to fill a small container for myself to take home. I immediately turned to Megan after buying the tomatoes and said,

"You do realize that we're going to be lucky if we make it to the car with these..."

I also bought scallions, leeks (which I also dearly love), purple roasting onions, orange and yellow carrots, basil, sweet corn, and a head of garlic that is so aromatic, juicy, and fresh that it surprised me a little bit when I cut into it. I almost bought some Zucchini blossoms as well because I've been wanting to try them...maybe stuffed? I'm not too sure, I will have to look up some recipes before next weekend. Since the rest of Saturday was spent napping, reading and watching movies...there was no more going out of the house and I treated myself to an amazing dinner...

Potato and onion Pierogies with olive oil, leeks, garlic...fresh tomatoes and scallions topped with a bit of a soy Italian shredded cheese mix...It was divine. Truly gourmet and one of the tastiest meals I've had in quite some time, the flavors perfectly complimented each other...

I'm off to make a salad now that includes the raw sweet corn and almost everything else that I can think of, including the organic mustard greens and zucchini that have been hanging around the refrigerator here as well...

I am very lucky...

I am truly spoiled.