morning sun

Cinco de Mayo.

It took me a very long time (I dare not admit just how long) for me to remember when that is.

My palette was raised on meat and potatoes.

It has slowly become a fan of spice that is more than salt and pepper,

but Mexican food restaurants may never be at the top of my dining choices.

Our little garden is doing much better after I fed it several weeks ago. 

Apparently it wants more than just the nutrient rich fertilizer ...

it wants continued feeding.

The state of the peppers is a bit dismal, but I finally see a few potentials!

We may just have at least one bowl of salsa ready in time for Cinco de Mayo.

The bright side of having only a few mouths to feed these days.

a boy after my own heart

Nothing quite like a Wendy's Frosty on a warm day.

out on an explore

Last weekend we took a drive out on an explore. Down some roads we had visited long ago and others we had never seen. 

It has been years since we have been to Seven Springs. At one point, I asked Jari "we came all the way out here for a picnic?!" It was the best crawdad catching spot for the kids way back when. The air was chilly and absolutely delightful. Chilly enough that the heater was on with the windows open to enjoy the cool refreshing air.

No service area on the cell phones but Garmin had us covered. Hit the dirt roads and I'd rather have a destination in mind than turning around in circles or driving for hours to end at a dead end.

The drive was absolutely beautiful! Desert nature at it's finest. A meeting with no more than a dozen vehicles on our drive that went from smooth road to ones that weren't anywhere close to smooth. Ones that rivaled the back way up to Kamp Kipa. Roads that we can cross off the bucket list.

Where do these piles of rock come from in the middle of nowhere? All of a sudden the landscape changes ... just a wee bit.

And in the middle of nowhere lies this big round boulder. Like it was dropped from the sky and ended up right here.

More rocks that are precariously balanced. Just hanging out there forever. How on earth did they get there?

My pictures don't do justice to hillsides that were covered in yellow. Evidence of recent rain with new growth everywhere.

Stunning.

Then landscape changes to one that includes cacti of many varieties. The beginning of our day trip didn't include much in the way of the prickly greens.

Up and down mountains on a dirt road that seemed to go forever as we crossed the same dry river repeatedly. Soaking up the beauty of the desert while visiting with my best pal ever ... at between 5 and 7 mph.

I've been thinking I need a new camera body as mine has probably been dropped and I'm frustrated with the photo quality I'm getting out of it. But ... it was fun to get out and try taking a few shots of the world around us.

This day trip ended with world famous pie at Rock Springs Cafe. The next one I have in mind will end with pie as well ... famous apple next time around!

paisley anna

We welcome another beautiful granddaughter into our hearts and lives.

Paisley Anna joined this world last Monday and we can't wait to meet her!

Love you little one.

wooly trees

Do you ever have a thought of doing something and then it just takes off in sort of a different direction with almost the same end result?

I had a serious yen to make feather trees. I watched YouTube videos galore and decided that maybe I could do something similar but without feathers. I happened across this site and fell in love. Seriously in love. I attempted to purchase one kit and then was going to make all kinds of trees. They were sold out. And then .... they were changing the kit and upping the price. I still would have purchased one but they weren't available yet and I had a yen!

So, I came up with my own measurements after watching their tutorial only about 100 times or so. I picked up felted wool kind stuff from JoAnn Fabrics and started playing. The wool cutting wasn't a big deal. The wire? Now, that is an entirely different story. The gentleman at the shop estimated the gauge of wire that was used. I tried it and didn't like the way it bent. I went with a thinner gauge wire and doubled them. 

I started doing these by hand. Twisting two pieces together. And then my brain clicked. I have a son-in-law who makes coils for those smokeless tobacco things. The same concept worked here. Hold the ends with some needle nose device, stick the other ends into the drill and wham! Desired result is accomplished.

 I'm pulling photos off my phone and they're rather sporadic at best. I made these wires ... LOTS of them .. and placed them in individual ziploc bags which were labeled. That was first. If you try this ... make sure you keep sizes separated to make the project easier.

After all the wires were done, I moved on to twirling cut felt onto each of them. If you happen to live in Phoenix, this makes great summertime activity when it's too hot to do anything but sit on your tush in the recliner. Glue and twirl ... lots of that action.

Glue, twirl, glue, clothespin to dry for a few minutes and on to the next hundred or so!

As I went through each size, and they were appropriately not tacky, I placed each in a bag. A little bookkeeper still lurks in my soul somewhere.

When each of the individual branches was done, it was time to attach them to the dowel with floral tape and make it look like a tree! This was the first one I did. My goal was to make about half a dozen of them. Well ... I started twirling and then I twirled some more and pretty soon I was out of control. Completely.

So worth it!

Special thanks to the people at Sarafina Fiber Art. If I am ever fortunate to make it to Maryland ... I'm stopping by!

one thing at a time

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

- Vincent Van Gogh

I have the cutest little journal this year. Well, the journal may not be so cute but I think the doodles and colors are cute. I like the idea of celebrating accomplishments each week ... celebrating little ones. The power of the little checked off box.

I thought when I started it that I could easily accomplish the goals I had set. They were completely realistic in my opinion. What was I thinking?!

Here I am ... on week three ... and the page for this week is missing some of its possible color. I'll share little bits of the journal later, but one goal I have for this year is organization. That means cleaning out stuff. That means cleaning out stuff before other duties interfere with the cleaning. I thought I could fill box upon box and haul it off to a donation spot. One needs to be home to do that and is especially helpful if one feels good. Seriously helps. So far this year has not been conducive to that. It's bound to get better I'm sure.

Alyx was over the other day and I unloaded things on her. Several things left the house that I no longer need. My flour canister was among those things. I don't buy flour in 25 pound bags anymore. I rarely make bread and, if I do, it is one loaf of something. So I downsized to something that I think will hold 10 pounds. The big bad bread bowl that I haven't needed or used for years?  Not sure I'm ready for that to leave so it might be on a goal list for 2019. We shall see.

At least one thing left the house this week!

And I hauled in at least 5 things to replace it. Go. Figure.

file drawer desk

Not only have we done our share of traveling. I spent months upon months working on craft stuff again this year for our Desert Bloom Market. The Market falls on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and is such a fun time!

I picked up these pieces off of a online garage sale type site more than a year ago. They took up space in the garage until this fall when they finally came together. Two sets became night stands of which I don't have photos. This one tho' was kind of fun.

After finally figuring out what I wanted to do with them, they needed some dismantling. The file label metal things on the front had to come off. I hunted high and low for an idea of how I could keep them but had no success. Off they came after hubby helped me figure out how that was going to happen.

Fill that dumpster!

Notice there are different colors and combinations. Not cool.

I probably have some photos hidden somewhere deep in the inner workings of my computer or phone, but who knows where. A desk it became!

Two sections of the drawers were sanded and then spray painted with chalk paint. I do love that stuff. 

But first they needed somewhere to live. I recycled a table top and made it into a box where I could just slide in the file sections. To make sure they would stay there I attached a piece of wood to the back of each with some good old liquid nail. It shouldn't move. Ever.

The drawer fronts were a challenge as well. The screw holes for the new drawer pulls didn't match with the old ones. In fact, they were way out there off somewhere. Pieces of thin board (actually purchased in a package from Hobby Lobby) were sprayed black and covered those holes.

The base and legs of the table are made from 2x2s and painted black again. Honestly, after doing the side pieces I decided that the back didn't really need the cross pieces. I'll try it again sometime, but wow!

What a great feeling to get a pile of stuff out of the house and turn it into something that I wouldn't mind keeping for myself!

I'll dig through the archives and see what else I can find to share with you! In the meantime, happy crafting/building/refurbishing .... whatever it is you like to do. Enjoy!