Pool, 113 Degree Day, That's Why...

 

Moonlight, Midnight & Plants

 It's very hot during the day around here in AZ.  Not much going on while the sun is out.   I am, by nature a night person so it's going out in the moonlight at midnight to do outdoor things is fine by me.  The house and the night is so quiet and peaceful.  I have a few plants that needed to be repotted.  

Boy, this plant is so overgrown.

I repotted a total of seven plants and now they can thrive.

Moon is always by my side at this time of night.  He loves having his photo taken and it's so natural for him to come and sit while I'm photographing the plants.

P.S.  work on my blue door continues,  photos to follow.

Guitar love

Probably ten years ago is when I first bought this guitar.  Yep, ten years!   I purchased it from a friend who plays very well.  I asked if she would give me lessons and she agreed, however for some reason I really don't recall, after one lesson I didn't go back.  I think we had schedule problems.  Then several years ago, another friend was visiting and he plays so we got the guitars out and he restrung and gave me a quick few tips.  Fast forward to now.... another friend asked for one of the guitars.  See I originally purchase one and borrowed a second one for my nephew.  Again, neither one of us have ever learned.  Back to present time...

I decided to have this guitar tuned and fixed.   Apparently, the low desert humidity is not good for guitars.  I got it back a few weeks ago.  I need to muster, is that word?  the confidence to learn.  I really would like to learn.

A quick snack

Made these...yummie!  We've been craving s'mores.  However, it's so hot no time for a fire pit and last camping trip in the forest, no open fires allowed!  A friend posted this recipe and I tried it out!  I had all the ingredients leftover from our camping trip.   The recipe is easy.  One tip is to keep a close eye when you have them under the broiler!  They brown quick.

Here's the recipe....  It's from the website kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com

S'mores Cookie Cups

With these S'mores Cookie Cups, you can enjoy the flavor of s'mores any time! Buttery graham cracker cups filled with toasted marshmallow and topped with Hershey's Chocolate Bar, everyone will be asking for s'more!

Course Dessert 

Cuisine American 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Servings 24 cookie cups

Author Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely crush graham cracker crumbs (about 7 whole graham crackers)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 12 marshmallows (regular size, not mini marshmallows)
• 2 full size Hershey's Chocolate Bars, unwrapped and divided into 24 pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and melted butter.
3. Grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop the graham cracker crust mixture into the 24 cups. Gently press the crumbs into the bottom of each cup and up the sides to form little cups.
4. Bake the mini graham cracker crusts at 350F for 4 minutes until golden brown.
5. Cut each marshmallow in half to make 24 round marshmallows. Place one marshmallow in each graham cracker cup, cut side of the marshmallow facing down.
6. Set the oven to broil. Place the pan of s'mores in the oven under the broiler and broil for 1-2 minutes, just until the marshmallows are soft and beginning to look toasted. Note: the marshmallows can burn fast, so watch them very closely.
7. Top each marshmallow with one piece of the Hershey's Chocolate Bar. Allow the s'mores to cool for 15 minutes, then use a butter knife to lift them from the pan.

St. Patrick's Day!

It's also voting day!

Angel wings

Like I said, anytime I see angel wings I have to stop!  Love the vibrant red orange color!

Fashion Square Mall, Scottsdale, AZ

Art from a child's eye.

Balance

 A year ago, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.  Yeah, it's that beautiful.  

Calm the mind

Art Journals

I had signed up for an art journal online class a month or so ago.  Yesterday I finally sat down and began the class.  I loved it!  I was reminded why I love mix medial art and art journals.  It's a way to use up all those cool pieces of paper and different paint mediums.  I didn't want to use a "journal book" so I dug through my vintage ledgers and found the perfect one.  Not a lot of pages and no writing in it.  I think who ever found it before me ripped out the ledger pages that were used.  I can't blame them since the handwriting was probably awesome.  

In my class she recommends painting the pages with white gesso to give all the paints and papers a good base to adhere to.  I didn't have any gesso so I made some.  

Painting gesso on the pages.

In the class she used various papers and images to glue on to the pages after the gesso layer.  I didn't have any gel medium either! I'm not a fan of mod podge, which I could of use. So on her next video she used oil pastels and pencils.  Here's my page and once I get some gel medium I'll add images.  Once process she used was taking tracing paper and tracing a sketch of the image and gluing it to the page to use as the basis of the painting.  Real cool method.   I have an idea to use a photo of my mom and her friends when she was young  with the tracing paper.  Another idea she gave was to use a color pallet you don't use too often.  I'm drawn to blues so I may challenge myself to oranges and pinks.

This is the pages so far.  I can't wait to add my images and papers!

Welcome to 2018!

Saying goodbye to 2017 is hard since it brought so much to my life.

January began in Lucca, Italy!  Visited Rome and Pisa, too.  The Woman's March, which gave me hope.

February we learned Maximus had cancer and needed surgery.  It also sent us to Nebraska for the farm sale!  On the way to Nebraska with my friend, Alice we got my grand niece Anaya to travel with us.  Also got to  my first Nebraska men's basketball game!

March got back from Nebraska with a UHaul full of treasures.  Tom celebrated 30 years on his job. Traveled to Las Vegas with a good friend.

April, Gabi turned 21, wow.  Spend all my time planning my next trips.

May was the longest road trip, 7000 miles!  Started out with Jason, my brother from Arizona to Nebraska...my sister, Melinda from Nebraska to Lincoln, Omaha, Kansas City, St Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Richmond, Detroit, Omaha, Yankton, SD, Lincoln, North Platte, dropped off my sister and headed home.  Tom joined my thought the trip.  May also gave me the greatest gift, we met my nephew, Antwein for the first time in 25 years!  What joy that was for my soul.  Also a visit with my good for my soul friend, Cathy was the best.  Can't forget Joni time, sister time with all my sisters and my Mom and Dad time!  Blue boy was a big part of our trip...antique shops all along the way.  

June we drove my camper home!  I'm in love!

July both sad and exciting.  I had to say bye to my Maximus!  I have tears just thinking about him.  I miss him daily.  July also brought a trip of a lifetime...river rafting trip down the Colorado River at the Grand Canyon with good friends!

August was the lunar eclipse in Idaho!  Frida exhibit at the Heard Museum.

September we got a visit from my nephew Zachariah!  Another highlight...U2 Joshua Tour concert!!!

October sent us to Nebraska to spend precious time with my father-in-law, Irvin Arens before he passed at the age of 91.   Visited with so much family.  Highlight time with my nephew Tommy.  Then there was time with Patrick, Nate, Amelia, Dana, Brenda and meeting her son, Clay!  Just to name a few.

November was a quiet and reflecting time.  I really needed the down time.

December brought birthday fun and my love for the holidays and fun projects.

I need to take some time here soon to write down my thoughts about this past year and the life changing events.  I would have to say the Colorado River trip was the most impactful experience.  I took so much away from that experience.  FAITH OVER FEAR was so true and you CAN do anything!  The loss of my dog Maximus turned out to be harder than I thought.  I am blessed.

Bring on 2018!

Camper Christmas Love!

Me & my 1960's vintage camper!  I love love love my camper.  We dressed her up for the holidays!  

I'm using this photo as the inspiration and the base of my Christmas card this year.

New Project!

I decided it was time to make some changes in our hall bathroom.  I painted the oak cabinet a nice white and added cabinet hardware.  Not liking the countertop but not interested in tearing it out.

I did some research and found a DIY on how to use a concrete product to use on the existing countertop!  It's called Henry FeatherFinish.  I also didn't want it to be the grey concrete color so I added a charcoal cement tint.  Love it!

Bought both products at Lowe's.

Mixed up a batch to test it out.  I wasn't sure if I used enough water.  Seemed too thick but I followed the directions on the box exactly.  I really love the color!  I used a putty knife to spread it out on a practice board.  I'm used to using a wet cement that levels itself out.  This is more like frosting a sheet cake.  I was happy with the look and texture.  So let's do it.

I started the project today.  Mixed up the cement according to the directions, but I found I needed to use more water than recommended on the box.  The DIY said to mix it to pancake batter consistency.    I added the colorant to the water and then added the cement powder.   Mixed it and then let it set for a few minutes.  It does thicken up more which I was not expecting.  The first batch covered the counter but not enough for the sink.  

Here's a closer look at the texture.  It's not as easy as it seems.  Getting it smooth as possible but not too worried since it's the first coat.  I can sand it after it sets.  I'm gonna let it be for 24 hours and then add a second coat.

 This is the finished first coat.   I didn't remove the faucet all the way and just raised it enough to work around it.  Once it's set tomorrow I'll lightly sand the whole surface to smooth out any imperfections. Then on to a second coat.  Let it set for 24 hours, sand, seal the whole countertop and sink.   I'm not liking the faucet finish...may need to paint it.  Overall I do like the look of the countertop and sink.  I'll keep you posted!

Lemons to lemonade

This past couple of months I've been in an electronic whirlwind.  My laptop of eight years decided to crash!  Yes I said crash...the hard drive crashed.  I got an error code and tried all kinds of fixes I found on Youtube and Google searches.  Nothing worked.  I had to accept my laptop was dead and all the data, files, photos, music, videos,software, etc was all lost.  I know your next question is ... don't you back up your shit...yes I do, but I work on so many project daily and I'm backing up all the time and I still was not current on my back ups.  I honestly don't know what all I may have lost.  I used an old version of Photoshop which on any new computer the new software will be expensive.  I'm so heartbroken over all of this.  

After a few days I had to get real about how I was in the middle of some projects and I needed to get a computer/laptop.  After a days of contemplating PC vs. Mac.   I have a iPhone and iPad so it only seem the logical step.  Oh by the way, my iPhone is also broke and when that happened I decided to move to a Galaxy cellphone since it would be easier to move files/photos.  But since my phone and computer needed to be replaced it was a good time to go all Mac.  I bought a iMac Pro laptop and also moved on to a Mac desktop and I tell ya it's all good...real good.  The saying when you get lemons and I mean rotten lemons...you make lemonade and you make sweet lemonade!

So far I'm on quite a learning curve but it's fun and exciting.  Biggest challenge is getting photo editing software and print software.  Little at a time.  

In the meantime, a friend has offered to tackle my hard drive and see if any data can be retrieved.   Fingers-crossed 

Take 10

Last month I went to the Mesa Arts Center to see Cheech Marin's Chicano Art Collection Exhibit.  I wished I could of been able to take a few photos so I could remember all the pieces I loved.  I would agree with Cheech Marin's love of Richardo Ruiz artwork.  It's awesome and look him up and check it out yourself.   Walking through an art museum is so inspiring and motivates me to continue my art journey.

Courtesy Cheech Marin Collection

 Take 10 draws from the renowned collection of entertainer and arts advocate Cheech Marin, who has amassed one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive private collections of Chicano art. Take 10 consists of 42 works in oil, acrylic, watercolor and glass by 33 of the most significant Chicano artists. Chicano art is characterized by rich colors and bold, intense imagery that embody and embrace U.S. Latino traditions.

Curatorial Spotlight: Ricardo Ruiz  Part of the Take 10 exhibition, this bonus feature highlights the curious paintings of Texas artist Ricardo Ruiz from Cheech Marin’s    collection.  Ruiz’s work is characterized by its rich imagery and vivid storytelling that often explores themes of family, cycles of life and   death and Mexican-American folklore. Left Image: Ricardo Ruiz, El Mas Loco, 2013, Oil on canvas, 72 x 48 inches. Collection of Cheech Marin.

Sun day, pool day

It's always sunny and warm, today was not different but today I spent it in the pool.  The mermaid enjoyed the warmth and sunshine, too!  Tomorrow I'm spending most of my day in the studio.

Monday thoughts....

A series of events have taken place this past week or so that have made me take a moment.

First, a good friend’s mother passed away a week ago.  I knew she was ill but when I got the news it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Lottie was extremely talented and creative.  She was a true authentic artist.  She love Mexico and everything about Mexican art and culture.  She was a fabulous furniture designer/builder.   I once traveled with her to Mexico. San Miguel de Allende and many small pueblos near Patzcuaro, Mexico.  We saw the pyramids, we walked the huge Mexico City Zoeculo  and visited Frida Kahlo’s Azul house.  We fell in love with San Miguel’s architecture, and met many artisans, woodcarvers, metal workers, mask painters and furniture makers.  She gave me so much inspiration.  I hadn’t seen her for few years but I’m always reminded of her whenever I look at a small framed Frida Kahlo postage stamp she gave to me.  May she rest in peace.

Second, three friends had car accidents this past week.  Thank sweet baby Jesus all suffered either no injury or minor injuries but still they had injuries.  Two cars totaled and one van undergoing a month long repair.  All the accidents are the true sense of shit happens that sets a whole lot of things in motion after being stopped in your tracks.

Third, my printers decided to go on an electronic glitch adventure.  My large photo printer decided to get stuck on “Error B200”.  As I researched “Error B200” I came to realize my five or six year love affair with my Pixma Pro i9000 was over.  The Canon support person gave me some bad news about “Error B200” – something to do with  electrical mambo jumbo bullshit and kindly emailed me a local authorized Canon repair shop.  But he added,  the cost to have it repaired might be close to the cost of buying a new printer because of the nature of “Error B200”.  A number of YouTube videos addressing how to deal with “Error B200” on a Canon printer suggested best way to solve “Error B200” was to use a heavy sledge hammer!  But wait!!!   I just bought ink!!!!   I can’t even get the stupid ink cartridges out of the damn printer!  Which leads me to telling you about my other very simple basic 3 in 1 wireless printer/copier/scanner machine.  It wouldn’t print ---it decide to only give me blank sheets of paper.  It would copy, it would scan but no document or email printing.  I figure I should buy ink for it since it only had black ink.  Well holy moley, the damn machine prints now.  Back in business, ah nope… the Epson XP200 will not print on cardstock, ever!  Not that kind of printer!

I did buy a new printer…and the love affair continues… Pixma Pro 100 this time around.  It’s wireless, it’s huge, it’s heavy, it’s awesome!  

But really, having printer problems is not a life changing event.  Life is a constant movement forward with us moving right along with it.  Challenging and reminding myself the power of now, this exact moment....in love and grace.

Buddha

I don't know much about the study or following of the spiritual teachings of Buddha, but I had to stop and give an offering.  If you look close you'll see coins, rocks, beads, stones, hearts, a ball, a beer cap and a dollar bill.  I love his big smile and great spirit.  I might have to visit this Buddha statue more often.... plus the view from where he sits is awesome!

The Three Universal Truths

Nothing is lost in the universe - we consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything. 

Everything changes - everything is constantly changing.

Law of cause and effect - we receive exactly what we earn, whether it is good or bad.

World traveler???

Why not?

  What are your top 3 destinations?

Bike riding

I bought a bike, a hybrid urban bike.  I’m in love love love!  I find it so easy to get on my bike every morning and go for a ride.  My first week it was easy to ride 4 miles which totally surprised me.  The following week I was riding 5-6 miles and today I rode 8 miles!!!   I conveniently live on a really nice bike route going all directions so depending on the direction of the wind determins which direction I ride.  Overall it’s a cool way to get some exercise.  Earlier this year I was walking my local park and found it such a challenge to get 2 miles of walking done.  Plus it’s always sunny and I’m not a fan of direct sunlight on me.  I find riding my bike so much fun and the sunshine doesn’t seem to be so bad cuz I’m moving and there's always a breeze.     Do you ride a bike and do you love it?

I'm losing and finding things all the time

I have this thing about losing stuff all the time....but I also have this thing about finding them.  Well there are three things so far I've not ever found, one heart shaped necklace (Valentine's Day gift), a pair of the coolest blue tinted prescription sunglasses and another necklace...a diamond one...(anniversary gift) but I am open to them coming back to me.  

The other day I was going through my collection of postcards.  In this pile of postcards I found my Best Buy gift cards I got as a  gift a long time ago.  I thought I might of given them to someone, re-gifting is common in my world.  And something even more funny was I put the two cards in my journal and headed out to shop.  When I went to get the cards they weren't in my journal!  Found one at the bottom of my purse but the other one I had no idea where it could be.  Can you believe it I lost one of the cards, so no shopping.  Two days later I thought I might as well check out my car and see if it might of fallen out of my purse.  Low and behold it was under the seat!  Oh yeah I just remember another thing I've lost and have yet to find....my best Bose earphones!!!  I love them earphones, which were also a birthday gift.  Geez, I'm noticing a pattern here...gifts=lost stuff.  Honestly though, I have found so many things that were once lost....honestly I lose things all the time all kinds of things all the time, so the odds of it being found are pretty good and I could tell you some stories about lost and found, haha.

I headed to Best Buy and decided on a Kindle.  I've had several types of Kindles in the past but have passed them on to other reading friends.  I have the original basic Kindle in order to keep my account open for ebook benefits.  I've used my iPad to read using the Kindle app.  What I didn't like about using the iPad is it's heavy and not comfortable to hold and read.  I ended up buying the Kindle paperwhite and I'm loving it!!!!  It's small and easy to read. 

I do love having real books and I have three on my bedside I'm reading right now.  Crazy isn't it??