An ordinary life lived in my own way.
Flowers are just starting to bloom around here. The other day I started seeing spots of color in the beige desert landscape so yesterday I took a walk with camera in hand. I found all these along the side of a busy road (though a little less busy these days).
This post is for all those stuck inside or stuck in winter. I hope you enjoy.
I have no idea of plant names so I will call them by color!
So I had this great idea to go over to Sabino Canyon on the first day of spring and look for flowers in bloom. When I woke up it was raining. So I thought, I’ll just go this afternoon. And then afternoon came and what I really wanted to do was sit on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watch a movie.
But I did take some pictures around my backyard earlier in the day when the weather was still looking iffy. And there is a very good chance I’ll have time in the next week to go on the hunt in the wild for spring blooms.
Last week was Rodeo Break here in Tucson and that meant an opportunity to get away for a long weekend. This year we headed to the beach in California. We stayed at a Navy RV park and spent the first day at Dog Beach and our last day at Seal Beach. In between we went to Knott’s Berry Farm. I’ll share those photos next week. But for today, hello Pacific Ocean!
My word for 2019 was Creative Courage and I have to say I think I did pretty well. I stepped out of my comfort zone numerous times and in various areas. Some of the things I did include:
And now it is time to think about new goals and challenges. I am having a tough time figuring out my word for 2020. Once I figure it out I’ll let you know!
Boxing Day is the 26th of December but not really a holiday here in the U.S. More of a Canada and England thing but I like to celebrate it anyway. We eat something British-y and have Christmas Crackers and pretend it really is a holiday.
This year we had a very yummy shepherd’s pie which I put together in the morning so I could take a nice hike in the late afternoon. Yes, more Sabino Canyon photos but I explored some places I hadn’t been to in awhile and looked for interesting angles.
Happy Hanukkah
Merry Christmas
Or simply the start of winter which means the days are getting longer again…
I have been in my current home nine years now and still don’t have a set Christmas decorating plan down. Maybe I am destined to change things up every year. Overall I am pretty happy with the way things turned out this year. Except for the dining room light. I have already decided to go look at the clearance stuff after Christmas and see if I get any ideas. Here are a few of my new favorite spots this year.
One last photo. I found this sweater in the grocery store of all places!
You may have heard about a movement to change Black Friday to Green Friday. To change the focus from consumerism to getting out in nature. Here in the desert southwest it was more of a Gray Friday. Rain, wind and dropping temperatures made me want to stay indoors. I boiled up the turkey frame re-filling the house with that Thanksgiving turkey smell. After I got three containers of soup base into the freezer I noticed the weather was clearing up so after lunch my son and I went to Sabino Canyon and fulfilled our Green Friday hiking goal.
After more rain early Saturday morning the sun was shining again by the afternoon. We went to the Reid Park Arts and Crafts festival for a little Christmas shopping. After we were done we took time to stop and smell the roses. They were a bit battered but still fragrant and beautiful.
*Top photo is an orange on my tree, close to being ripe. Maybe we’ll have fresh orange juice for Christmas morning!
Yup, still in the 90’s here but that is not keeping me from pretending it feels like autumn. Last week I escaped up the mountain and found some cool air!
This week we headed to Willcox, AZ to do the corn maze and pick pumpkins and apples. The sun was pretty warm but the air felt cool and there was a breeze making it feel quite lovely in the shade.
Tracey at Home 