Contemplate - Honoring The Fallen

A couple of weeks ago, the City of Phoenix held it's annual memorial to employees killed in the line of duty. Fortunately, no employee died this year.


           

In the United States last year, 126 law enforcement personnel and 82 firefighters (39 of those volunteers) died in the line of duty. Each one knew that the possibility of death was part of the job description and each made the conscious choice to pursue their calling. They don't do it for the money - they do it because they love serving the public.  That's you and me.


           

Take a minute or two today to remember these hometown heroes and say"thank you" the next time you meet one.



cindy

The Best of 2012

I'm sitting here on New Year's Eve about to begin the festivities with close friends.  2013 is coming very fast, so I have barely enough time to think back on 2012.  Here's the quick and dirty "best of"

My Craft Room!  In 2012, I went from Dreaming of a Craft Room to Craft Room Musings, DIY Fabric Storage, and ultimately, the Craft Room Reveal.  I love my craft room, even if it is a mess right now.  2013 will bring more sewing and crafting, God and time willing.


Etsy and the creations in it!  Pretty Pretty Cindy opened in 2012, with all of my various creative projects.  I love having a place to share my projects/creations without needing to find a family member or friend to give it to.  One of my favorite items was this Catherine Wheel Afghan.  It will always remind me of Kawaii where it was made.  I made a few rag quilts (I really need to get back to that):  Raggedy Rag Baby Boy Quilt, Chocolate Pistachio Quilt and Pinkie Rag Quilt.  Then there was the dress making frenzy:  the Watermelon Dress, Upcycled Gauze Dress, Upcycled Denim Skirt and Black Slip Dress.

I also started to share my Arizona with you:  javelinas, other Arizona critters, the Arizona Biltmore, Arizona's Centennial, Sedona and roses, clouds, the State Fair and Verde Canyon Railroad.

See you in 2013.

cindy

Wreath Recycling in Phoenix

Recently seen in Phoenix City Hall - lots of junk:

The Public Works Department put together a great display of wreaths made from recycled materials.  The wreath above is made from magazine or book pages cut in the shape of leaves and glued to a cardboard round form.  This one is the most interesting:

It's a wire wreath form that goes through each of these plastic water bottles.  The bottles are filled with little bits of colored paper or items and then the caps are corked with recycled corks.  Isn't that clever?

When I first saw this one, I thought it was recycled bows and ribbons.  I still think that would be a great way to recycle, especially after Christmas.  But it's not ribbons and bows.

These are aluminum cans cut into strips and curled.  See the Diet Coke, Coke and Seven Up cans?  I was so impressed with the creativity expressed in these displays, but what was more important was that it opened up lots of ideas about reusing items we normally think of as trash.

Full Disclosure Here - I am watching "Hoarders Buried Alive" while I'm writing this, so I don't want to suggest that anyone collect trash in an effort to find some use for it in the future.

This was the prettiest wreath I saw and is a great way to recycle after Christmas.  They used white tissue paper dipped in a little blue paint, blue cardstock cut into stars and balled up aluminum foil for the star centers.  Around the edges are cut up plastic water bottles.

Again, I wouldn't suggest that anyone pile up stuff just to find a way to reuse it (I'm still watching "Hoarders"), but we could keep so much out of a landfill with just a little effort and creativity.  Isn't this what bloggers are good at anyway?

cindy

Clouds

The approach of Fall in the desert part of Arizona is not much like the rest of the country.  This is approaching our best time of year with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 70-80s.  You won't see a cloud in the sky until the early spring rains in February.  Fall begins when monsoon season ends.  When I first heard the term "monsoon" used to describe a season in Arizona, I pictured torrential rivers carrying away houses.  I guess there are some big rains, but to me monsoon season reminds me of the most beautiful clouds and sunsets.

These are all taken near sunset.  The clouds in the east are reflecting the sun setting in the west.

You just can't take your eyes off of them, which is why some of these pictures were taken from the car. Now that monsoon season is over, we won't see these beautiful towering thunderheads for another year.  Not to rub it in, but we will see clear blue skies all winter :)

And some awesome sunsets.

cindy

The Jewel of the Desert

Last week I attended a legal conference on water law.  The conference was fairly mundane, my third consecutive year of attending this conference.  The one thing I look forward to every year is that the conference is at the Arizona Biltmore, the Jewel of the Desert.

If you have never visited or seen pictures of this world famous five star resort, it is an architectural dream.  It opened in 1929, seven months before the Stock Market crash that began the Great Depression.  It's unmatched character is the heavy influence of Frank Lloyd Wright both then and now.  It is timeless.

The entire structure is made from pre-cast concrete block, made on site and known as "Biltmore Block."  The strong geometric lines were designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright.  (Not many people know that Wright had a school of architecture - Taliesin West - in what is now Scottsdale.  He was not a stranger to the desert.)  Everything in the hotel follows these lines, from the mission furniture to the light fixtures down to the carpet.  It's like a step back in time.

Movie stars and politicians could be seen at the Biltmore pool; Marilyn Monroe called it her favorite pool.  My claim to fame is that my niece and nephew have each worked poolside at the Biltmore, my niece fetching towels and my nephew regulating kids going down the slide :-)

Every President since Herbert Hoover (in office when the Biltmore opened) has stayed at the Arizona Biltmore (with the exception of the current President).  There is a cool hallway off the lobby that has a picture of each President at the Biltmore, usually on the golf course.

So many people think Phoenix is a recent oasis that popped out the desert, but it truly does have a history.  A living testament to that history is the Arizona Biltmore.  If you visit Phoenix, or just live in the area and have never seen it, its a jewel in the desert you cannot miss.

A disclaimer - I did NOT receive any compensation, consideration or even recognition from the Arizona Biltmore for writing this post.  (I did use historical pictures from its website, but the current pictures are mine.)  I love history, this is Arizona history, and the opinions expressed here are my own.

cindy

Pumping Up the Party

A couple of months ago I went to an awesome vendor show - Cool Off in Style.  (We got in because it was at our church hall and the event coordinator invited us).  The party was all about how to step up your party - wedding receptions, corporate events, birthday parties, bar or bat mitzvahs or family reunions.  Even if you don't live in Arizona, these types of vendors are probably available in your area and would add a huge kick to your party!

This awesome party was hosted by Pour Masters Bartending Service and wow, do they know how to throw a party.  They sponsor this event every year in June - just when it's really getting hot in Arizona!  It's a great break for what otherwise is a long hot summer.

Matt Carr at Creative Occasions took a large church hall (very similar to a hotel ballroom) and turned it into a chic nightclub vibe.  The lighting, the couches, the whole theme was amazing.

Time for some fun!  We were immediately drawn to a cool (literally) ice sculpture of a dinosaur.  Now these aren't your boring swans or fish - no, this was ice sculpture with a purpose!

Check this out - the waitress pours a drink down the dinosaur's tail and you catch it as it comes out of his mouth!  Now if that won't kick up your next party, nothing will!  This critter was courtesy of Mark Armitage at Armitageice.


We moved on next to a floor-to-ceiling screen with people standing in front of it.  They looked like they were painting directly onto the screen, but actually, they were virtually writing or drawing on images of themselves.

This one is called Pixalpaint and this would be a huge hit at a wedding reception.  If you look close at the picture above you can see that the writing comes from little "spray" paint cans.  Again, these are virtual paint cans, but they trigger the color of the pixels.  It really gives you the feel of graffiti.  Imagine doing that on images of the happy couple!  When it's all done, Pixal Paint prints the finished product for you as a photo image.

From this we moved on to another popular booth - the pictures on green screen!  You know, the one where you stand in front of a green screen with props and poses and it is superimposed on the background of your choice.  We took a picture home that night to the kids and told them we traveled to New York!  This was all courtesy of Green Screen AZ.  

Our personal photo favorite was the old fashioned photo booth from Arizona Photobooth.  For those of you too young to remember, you go into a small photo booth with as many people as you can cram in there (or in our case, with our sweetie) and take 4 to 5 pictures that come out in black & white.  The neat thing is that at the end of the night, the person who rented the photo booth gets a CD with all of the pictures.  This is an obvious choice for a wedding reception or bar mitzvah.

There were so many other vendors with things we never thought of, like caricatures, tattoos (henna), even people you can hire to reinforce your party theme.

 Perhaps the most unique service for your next special occasion was from Dave at Live Event Artist of Arizona.  This service brings an artist to your event and he paints a gorgeous oil painting of your event while it is happening!  I thought this must be the best "souvenir" for the party host who wants to capture the special day and remember it forever.

I wish I could go to one of these parties every week - it was so fun!  If you live in Arizona and are planning an event, I guarantee these services would add a unique touch.  DJs are nice and dessert tables are good, but just imagine how much your guests will remember your special event if they have something special to see or do.  Even if you don't live in the Phoenix area, you should look for fun and different goods and services to kick up the party!

cindy

I did not receive any compensation or other consideration from any of these vendors.  I just really liked each one and wanted to share them with you.

Happy Birthday Arizona!

While everyone in the rest of the country has been celebrating Valentine's Day today, here in Arizona we are starting a centennial birthday celebration that will last all year.  Today, February 14, 2012, is the 100th birthday of the State of Arizona.  Arizona was the 48th state to enter the Union and the last in the continental U.S.

It took 56 years for Arizona to gain statehood and couldn't even get the Union to recognize it until the Confederate States of America named it as a territory exactly 50 years before statehood.  Arizona has always been a wild and rugged place.  Here are some fun facts you definitely don't know about Arizona:

• Arizona is built on the "Five Cs":  copper, cotton, citrus, cattle & climate
• The saguaro cactus grows exclusively in the Sonoran desert, which is in Arizona and parts of Mexico

• The hottest day recorded in Arizona was on June 29, 1994 in Lake Havasu City - 128 degrees.  Strangely enough, even though I didn't live in Arizona at that time, I was there.
• Arizona has more golf courses than Scotland
• The first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor grew up, practiced law, was a judge and legislator in Arizona before being appointed to the Supreme Court
• The town of Show Low was named during a card game when two men agreed the one who could draw the lowest card could stay and the other would go.  C.E. Cooley turned up the Deuce of Clubs and said "show low it is".
• The London Bridge was purchased and moved to Lake Havasu City on the Colorado River

Arizona has plenty of natural resources (especially copper, silver and gold) and gorgeous places to visit.  Everyone knows about the Grand Canyon, but some other great places include:

Monument Valley

Bisbee

Tombstone

Arizona is a different place and not always in a good way, but different is also unique.  It's not like anyplace you will ever visit, which is why we would love to have you come visit.  Happy birthday Arizona!

cindy

The Critters I See

When we moved to Arizona, the only critter I was concerned about was a rattle snake.  That was 16 years ago.  We live in a suburban area a bit removed from the immediate Phoenix metropolitan area, so we do tend to see more wildlife.  To date, the only rattlesnake I have seen was about 1/2 mile from my home at my church.  I watched a fireman pick it up by the neck and hold it up.  It was 6 feet long.  Since then, the only Diamondbacks I have seen are at the baseball game or in a tank.

I didn’t imagine then what other critters I would frequently see.  Here is the one I see most frequently:

This is a bark scorpion which we find in our home on a semi-regular basis.  They are venomous, and when they sting it hurts – a lot.  It can also make your extremity swell or feel warm and tingly.  I have never been stung, but my daughter was about a year ago and it was a very long night for my husband and I.  We also find these on occasion.  It’s a black widow spider:

Another critter we see every so often are javalinas.  These are pretty unique to Arizona, and they look like wild pigs.  Funny thing is, they aren’t related to pigs at all.  I don’t have my own picture because they tend to herd around at night.  This picture was taken about 3 miles from my home, but he’s pretty typical.  I think they have a schedule of when our trash is picked up because they routinely turn it over the night before pickup.

We do see coyotes sometimes, but mostly we hear them – every night.  Sometimes they make the sound of a woman or child screaming and packs of them love to call out to each other.  It is really something eerie to hear them barking and wailing.

Finally, the most interesting animal we see at least a couple times of year is this one:

NO, NOT THAT ONE, THIS ONE:

This is a bobcat.  The one we see likes to come up from the wash on the side of our house and wander around in our front yard.  A couple weeks ago I parked my car in the driveway in front of our house.  As I walked to my car and came around the corner to get in, I encountered my furry friend about 3 feet away.  They are beautiful animals, and when you see them you immediately think of a big housecat – think 40 pound kitty.  Luckily, they don’t usually want to see us any more than we want to see them (except the time one stood next to our house and looked in the window).    

While many people would think it’s scary to live out here in the desert, I’ve learned to enjoy the unique critters we see just like I love the unique plants and scenery.  How many people can say they see this sight 2 blocks from their home?

cindy

Winter Solstice

That pink glow is a snowstorm about 70 miles away.

I'm so blest.  I get to see this view every day on my way home.  Today I just had to stop near the Pima reservation to snap these.

I know this isn't a traditional winter scene, but I wouldn't trade this for all the snow in the world.  (Plus, we can drive up to that pink area for snow if we want some).

cindy

Just a Little Day Trip

For those who have not seen the variety of beauty in Arizona, it can be breathtaking.  Sedona is one of those breathtaking places.  It's nearly impossible to take a bad picture in Sedona.

During Fall Break, my husband took the kids up north to Camp Verde, Sedona and Flagstaff.  They did a little hiking in Sedona.

In addition to the flora and fauna, they met this little guy

Yep, that's a tarantula.  Better than a rattlesnake, I say.  

The contrast between Sedona and Flagstaff is amazing even if they are only about 30 miles apart.  Sedona is red, Flagstaff is green (white in the winter).

The best part of it all - these places are all an easy day trip from Phoenix.

cindy