Phoenix Farmer's Market

I ventured down to the Phoenix Farmer's Market today to see what kinds of local veggies I could find. I got some baby eggplant that I will saute today. I also got some tamales from The Tamale Store (recommended by my friend Ames) and some Coconut White tea for brewing. I bought some cous cous salad to go, as I brought along my dog, Dudley, and he was not into sitting still. Note to self: don't bring cute and energetic dachsund with you when you want to shop. He attracts all sorts of people, but mainly lots of nice old ladies :)

More Journal Pages from Workshop

These are all journal pages from my Goddess and Poet Journaling class by Suzi Blu - still working on the lettering. I wrote the poems, but I don't like my handwriting... I've got to work on that.

Finished Art from Workshop Sketch

Online Art Class

Here is my first attempt at drawing a face for my online art class (Suzi Blu - The Goddess and the Poet Journaling Class). The first lesson was fun, but I think I need a lot of practice! I won't even show you my guy that I did - he kind of looks like he is wearing lipstick...

Week Whatever!

OK - I have been doing things but have been so bad about posting them. I am getting back on track now that graduation is over, etc. I went to a restaurant with my son on Sunday - yes he wanted to have lunch with me! We went to a place on Scottsdale Road and Camelback called Stax. It was a trendy small slider joint and we had a sampling of their burgers (salmon, angus beef, turkey and Jack's pick: wild boar) with their sweet potato fries. It was very tasty and the servers were very friendly.

Week 34 - Sunrise Trail Hike

Hiked up a new trail in North Scottsdale by 136th Street and Shea area - See my Arcadia Living blog for more photos and description.

JAlexanders

Tried out JAlexander Restaurant on Wednesday with Liz, Ames, Kelley and Carol. It is a new restaurant in the Borgata. The restaurant was very similar to Houstons (almost a direct copy) - but I prefer Houstons. I had the grilled vegetable platter with couscous. It was pretty good. Carol had the grilled chicken finger salad - that looked better!

Week 33 - Luke Airforce Base

I went to an open house at the base the night before Luke Airforce Base's big Air Show Desert Thunder. These are not my photos - but I did get to see the incredible "Wall of Fire" and a MIG flying and doing a pirotechnique show. (My camera batteries were dead :( )

I have lived in the Phoenix area for more than 30 years and had never been out to the base. It is the only F-16 training facility in the world and they have trained more than 55,000 pilots there. It was fun to see all the planes and I just couldn't get over how fast the jets fly. It is so impressive to see them fly in person.

Week 32 - Heirloom Restaurant

I recently ate at Chef Michael DeMeara's (from the Citadel) new restaurant up in DC Ranch called Heirloom. It is promoted as using all locally grown produce and organic meats. Well I guess there is nothing that is growing now, because they didn't have any produce on the menu. I had the tomato basil soup (which was very tasty) and the lobster (three bites on a plate) and we split a couple of deserts - a mango tapioca creme brulee concoction and the custard-filled home made donuts. I know they promote it as being able to sample several different courses (all of which were some sort of meat) - I am still thinking their small sampling is just a way to get people to spend more money. We had a reservation and still had to wait for about 15-20 minutes, but they offered wine while we waited. At least it made me think that the enconomy is not quite so bad when the restaurants are starting to be full again.

Week 31 - Ski Lessons

Not a great picture since it was taken with a throw away camera - but my friend Margaret Ann and I got free lessons from an old pro at Vail last week. His name was Bob Martin and he was a professional ski racing instructor for 20 years. He now volunteers his time at Vail as one of those information folks on the slopes. We must have looked like we needed help, because he took us all over the mountain for about three hours. It was a glorious day and we got in about 13 runs - perfect for the last day of the trip.

Week 30 - ASU Art Exhibit

Went to the Herberger College of Fine Art at ASU (where my son Jack attends school) to see their most recent exhibit. They had a reception for this artist - Kurt Weiser- who did all these wonderful painted ceremic pieces. They were mostly global shapes with nature and people mixed - I think the exhibit was called Eden Revisted. He was originally from Michigan, so of course I liked it! Went to House of Tricks after and had the salmon (again) - it was great.

Week 29 - Out Dancing

Went to some old Phoenix jazz clubs last Friday - Chez Nous and Chars - no pictures, but we had fun. It seemed just like I was in Chicago!

Week 28 - Writing Seminar - Diana Gabaldon

My friend Vicki B and I attended a writing seminar featuring Diana Gabaldon (Outlander, Firefly in Amber) today. We rode there in style in Vicki's new Corvette.

Gabaldon was very witty and inspirational. She talked about her writing process and gave us some pointers on researching for historical fiction writing. She recommended looking for random things and to not be afraid to stray off your path when doing research. "Turn over a rock and see what crawls out."

She is coming out with a new book this fall-- the seventh in the Outlander series. I believe she said the title will be An Echo of the Bone. She also said Outlander has been optioned out for a movie. She graciously agreed to let me have my picture taken with her. Horrible photo of me, but she is very lovely.

Week 27 - The Mission Restaurant

Went to eat at The Mission restaurant in Scottsdale on Brown Ave. It was a very happening spot on Saturday night. We had homemade quacamole, mahi mahi tacos and some spicy chicken dish (Pollo de Braso or something like that). I liked the Sangria the best! The food has a trendy mexican/spanish influence with lots of speciality drinks and tequilas. It also has a nice cozy patio in front with a fire place. I highly recommend The Mission!

Week 26- Chihuly Exhibit at Desert Botanical Gardens

Here are some pictures I took when I went to the Arizona Desert Botanical Gardens Chihuly art exhibit last night. The glass sculptures were really unique and beautiful. I will put a whole series of these on my flicker photo page if you want to see more.

Week 26 - Scottsdale Farmers Market

I rode my bike over to the Scottsdale Farmers Market this weekend. It was small, but had some very interesting specialty food items. It was really easy taking the bikes along the canal, so I think I will do this more often. I snapped a picture of this cool old mission across the street. It is next to the restaurant, The Mission, which is owned by my friend's son, so that will be one of my next new things, trying it out. It looked very cozy and fun.