A Creation From My Kitchen

 I love to make risotto.  I actually enjoy the constant stirring needed to do it right.  And, I certainly love the creamy texture of the finished product.  I make all kinds but I recently was reminded of a tasty saffron risotto that I had in London last August so I decided to give it a try.  I had some saffron in the cupboard but I didn't have any shallots.  I did have a nice, fat leek so I used that instead.  I tossed in a a tablespoon of lemon juice and the zest from that same lemon.  It was every bit as good as the risotto I had in London and maybe even a little bit better.  

Here's a photo of the London version.  I think mine even looks better with that little sprinkle of parsley on top.  Don't get me wrong, this one was very good.  I just think that little bit of accomplishment in making it myself gave mine an extra zing.  

The Camelback Road Underpass

 

Back in 2007, the city completed a project to put a pedestrian underpass under Camelback Road between two busy shopping and business areas near 24th street.  On one side of the street is Biltmore Fashion Park, a shopping and dining center and on the other side of the street is The Esplanade, an office and entertainment complex.  There were at least 3 fatalities along that area caused by pedestrians trying to cross busy Camelback Road where there was no traffic light or crosswalk. 

The city decided to put this underpass in place to help relieve the urge to try to cross the street in a dangerous spot.  The underpass has a pretty tiled floor and is lit at night so that it's not a dark tunnel.  It gets a lot use from shoppers and diners between the two centers.

I took these two photos, one in the daytime and one at night.  You can see more photos from the architect's site.   

The Shelf Was Bare

 

When I visited the Desert Botanical Garden last week, I stopped at the quiet little corner that I like so much to see how things were arranged on the shelf.  I surprised to find nothing arranged on the shelf.  The last time I posted a photo from this spot, there were lots of watering pails and plants.  

All of the watering pails were lined up on the ground behind one of the pillars. 

I'll make sure that I check on this spot again to see if a new arrangement appears on the shelf.  I enjoy the way it looks when it's filled with pails and plants.

Greeting Visitors

 

These two sculptures that I've featured today sit on either side of the main entrance to The Phoenician Resort so they greet all the resort guests as they enter.

This one is called "Rising at the Spring" and it's another wonderful Allan Houser sculpture.

This one is also an Allan Houser sculpture and it is called "Kiowa Song".  

There is a long driveway that leads up to the entrance to the resort and there are more sculptures scattered along the grounds on the way to the entrance.  The Phoenician features a lot of Houser's sculptures.

Mountainside Setting

 

When I stopped at the Phoenician Resort to look at Christmas decorations three weeks ago, I also photographed some of the resort views.  This view looks up at Camelback Mountain from the main entrance.

If I stand on the other side of that big fountain, I see that there is a statue standing on top of the terraced garden.

Its a wonderful Allan Houser sculpture.  The Phoenician Resort has many Allan Houser sculptures scattered all over the property.  

Red Roses

 A large bouquet of red roses that I photographed a little over a week ago in the lobby of the Global Ambassador Hotel.  They added a touch of color to the lobby setting.

This pretty rose was in the table arrangement at my friends David and Riley's house on Christmas Eve.  

There is something about a red rose that just can't be ignored.  

Colorful Leaves

 

I was standing at the entrance to my complex waiting for an Uber to arrive when I noticed the pretty leaves on some of the plants in the decorative planters.  I believe these are geranium leaves.

More geranium leaves with a few blooms popping in.

I think these are cyclamen plants.  They have some pretty fancy leaves too.  

Sometimes the leaves are just as pretty as the flowers.

Early Morning Observations

 

I observed more than the sunrise and the Desert Pulse art exhibit when I was at the garden last Wednesday.  The cute little Gamble's Quail were out and about and scampering around as they often do.  In fact, the quail and a few mourning doves were the only birds I saw on that morning.  I wonder where the rest of the birds were.

There were also a few blooms to admire.  I'm not sure what the name of these daily-like flowers are but they were sharing a pot with some aloe plants.

I found these pretty blooms growing a spot where I frequently find flowers strange to the garden.  According to the AI search feature, this is a Cape Plumbago.

These cheerful desert marigolds were blooming in several spots.  

They are such happy looking flowers. 

Framerate: Desert Pulse

 

Being at the Desert Botanical Garden so early and on such an overcast day, gave me the opportunity to enjoy the latest art exhibit going on at the garden.  It's called "Framerate: Desert Pulse" and it is a multi-sensory art exhibit using images scanned using LiDar technology to capture 3D images.  It was put together by ScanLAB Projects, an artistic and scientific team pioneering the artistry of 3D imaging. Cameras were set in place for long periods of time to capture growth and activities.  Many of the cameras were set up at the garden.  In fact, I saw at least one of them and wondered what it was all about.   There were digital screens set up in several places in the garden showing short 3 to 6 minute segments of the images.

The longest segment of images was in the exhibit hall where there were 14 large screens around the hall all showing different view points of the subject being scanned.  

The videos in the exhibit hall cycle through a 24 minute loop.  I thought when I entered that I'd watch a few minutes and then leave and come back another time.

That didn't happen.  I stayed through the entire loop and I'm sure I'll go back again.  It was mesmerizing.  

My photos here only show some of the desert blooms scenes.  There were construction sites, farming land and rain and water flows also.  It was all enhanced by original music for each different scene.  

I loved it!

Sunrise Magic

 

I went to the Desert Botanical Garden again on Wednesday morning, this time for the "member's hour" at 7:00.  As you can see, it was pretty dark when I arrived but it gave me an opportunity to photograph those pretty Chihuly sculptures at the entrance one more time.  (As if I need an excuse.)

On my way up to the hilltop view spot, I passed some more of the holiday decorations.  

At the top of the hill there is a good viewing spot to watch the sunrise. It isn't perfect because of all those electrical wires but at least they are barely visible in this zoomed shot.  

Without the zoom, you can see those power lines better.  You can also see that we only got a sliver of brilliant sunlight on this morning.  It was so heavily overcast that we never did get to see the fiery ball. The early morning visit was worth it none the less. It was like having the garden all to myself.  I enjoyed it so much, I stayed for two and half hours.  

Theme Day: Photo of the Year

 

My photo of the year was a tough choice this year. As I scanned my 2025 posts, I found so many photos that I loved.  I narrowed it down to two photos.  

This one is a portrait of Alexis, one of the three dogs that belong to my friends David and Riley. I posted it in July.  It was sheer luck that Alexis posed so perfectly and long enough for me to grab this shot.  

This second one I took at the Phoenix Art Museum.  I posted it last May. I had just recently taken that class on iPhone photography and I was practicing the use of the "portrait" mode. There was a colorful painting on the wall a few feet behind this Buddha statue and the portrait mode blurred that painting into a perfect backdrop.  

There are still a few of us City Daily Photo bloggers out there.  If you would like to check out their Photos of the Year, click here.

Happy New Year to All!!

Sunset on 2025

 

Today the sun will set on 2025 and tomorrow we are off to a new year and new adventures.  It seems like only yesterday that we slipped from 1999 to 2000 and here it is 26 years later.  I enjoyed my adventures in 2025 and I'm hoping 2026 will be just as good.  Enjoy your New Year's Eve celebrations!

Holidays at the Garden

 

I made a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden yesterday.  I knew I hadn't been there in a while but I was surprised when I checked the time stamp on my photos that I hadn't been there since mid-September. That's way too long.  No wonder my legs felt a little stiff climbing the high trail.  

Here is their holiday tree at the entrance.  

One of the many holiday decorations scattered around the park.

They had these pretty wreaths in different locations around the park.  This on was on the wall of the gift shop.

It wasn't too busy when I arrived around10:30 but it was crazy busy when I left about two hours later.  It's that time of year!  

Winter Blooms

 In the midst of winter when most of our deciduous trees are losing their leaves, the cassia trees are starting to bloom.

These pretty yellow blooms with just a hint of orange in them are a welcome sight.

Holiday Tableau

 

When I was getting out all the Christmas decorations for the season, I came across some of last year's Christmas cards.  You might remember the little Christmas tree pop-up card my sister sent me.  I posted photos of it here.  I also found the Santa card that a friend sent me.  I thought they might look cute together so I set up a little tableau using a white towel as a back drop.  

I think it looks kind of cute.

Since the back drop was all set up, I decided to photograph two of my favorite Christmas decorations.  

First is my little glass Christmas tree.  I bought this tree in 1998 when I was working in Chicago.  It served as my holiday decorations for my home away from home.

I also photographed my little, sleek Santa.  I bought him on my 2013 trip to London in the village of Amersham.  He is currently standing guard in the window at my front door.

I love the little things that bring back fond memories.  

Fall Colors are Showing

 

While all the holiday festivities have been going on, I started to notice that some of our trees were starting to show their fall colors.  Last Sunday, I stopped at a big corporate center to take a few photos.

These trees have quite a bit of brownish-red in them.  I bet if I had seem them one week before, they would have been totally yellow. 

I'll be keeping my eyes out for more around town.

Christmas Eve Dinner

 

I enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at my friends David and Riley's new house.  They had the place decorated beautifully. I loved the silver tree.

It was a fun evening with lots of stories of past Christmas celebrations and other memorable events.  When friends get together, laughter is in abundance.

We even had Christmas crackers!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Of all the Christmas trees I've seen this season, this was my favorite of them all.  I found it at one of my favorite grocery stores, A J's Find Foods.  I think someone from their floral shop put it together and they did a fine job.

I hope everyone who sees this post is having a wonderful Christmas Day. 

Happy Holidays to all!

There Are Christmas Trees Everywhere

 

We see all kinds of Christmas trees at this time of year.  Here are a few I've observed.  

This one is sitting on the lawn in front of St. Francis Xavier Church in Phoenix.  It appears to be formed on a cone-shaped frame and I'm not sure what that light at the top does.  

I found this tree in the book store at the Heard Museum.  It was full of handmade ornaments and surrounded at the base by some very colorful stuffed animals.

I saw this tree glowing inside a restaurant that left its doors wide open.  It was a kind of warm and welcoming scene.