Wanderings Around Town

 

Barnes & Noble recently opened a new book store not far from where I live.  I stopped in last weekend looking for a book.  There are two floors of books piled up inside this store but they didn't have the one I was looking for.  Go figure!

I met friends two weeks ago at this new bar on Central Avenue.  It's called Horse and Hyde which in my brain kept coming out as Horse and Hound. I must have been thinking about the movie "Notting Hill".  This photo pretty much covers the entire place.  We were seated at an indoor/outdoor counter at the front of the place.  It must get very loud in there when a band is playing.

I love these light fixtures inside Blanco Tacos restaurant at Biltmore Fashion Park.  It's not far from me so I sometimes stop there for lunch.

Just a little further down the street is an In-N-Out burger place.  That's another place I might stop for lunch during the week.  This place is so busy it usually takes 30 minutes to get through the very long drive-thru line.  

Just a few place I've visited in the past week or two. 

More Garden Lights

 

Here are a few more lights from the Desert Botancial Garden's light show.  To the left is a couple of yucca plants with a sort of pinkish glow from a light across the trail.

Some colorful lights shining on those very tall cardon cacti. 

This tangle of lights hangs just under the cover over the entrance to the garden.  

You can see a bit of that tangle of lights in the background of this photo of the Chihuly sculptures that are permanently on display at the entrance to the garden.

Weekend Roundup

 

I was in downtown Phoenix Saturday evening to attend a symphony performance and this group of demonstrators were marching in front of symphony hall when we arrived.  They were part of a hospitality workers strike from the Hyatt Hotel across the street.  

Earlier in the day, I spotted another lovely hibiscus blooming on the complex grounds.  I can never resist a hibiscus photo.

Speaking of which, I had dinner at a friend's house Sunday evening and she has a beautiful multi-colored hibiscus plant in her garden.  It is one hybrid plant that produces three different color blooms, red, yellow and pink.

This yellow one was the first to catch my eye.

On the other side of the plant I found a pink one.  Such pretty blooms!

A Variety of Wildflowrs

 

Those pretty purple and white flowers that I posted yesterday weren't the only wildflowers blooming at the Desert Botanical Garden.  There was a nice patch of Mexican Hat coneflowers to admire.

Some Baja Fairy Dusters were scattered about.

The Indian Blanket flowers were making an appearance.

And there were plenty of chocolate daisies pushing their way above all the other flowers.  There was certainly an explosion of color along the wildflower trail Thursday evening.  Seeing all those wildflowers will make up for the fact that I missed the prime cactus blooms.  My timing was off when it came to catching them this year.

Wildflowers

 

When I went to the Desert Botanical Garden on Thursday evening, I arrived at 5:30 and walked around the garden before having some dinner at the restaurant.  That way, I got to see the wildflower garden during the golden hour before I went for the after-dark stroll to see the lights.  In between, I got to enjoy a delicious meal.

The Wildflower Garden was overflowing with these pretty flowers.  I believe they are Doubtful Knight's Spur but there was no sign to confirm that.

The occasional coneflower was popping up among the purple, white and pink to add a splash of yellow in the background.

Garden of Lights

 

  

I went to the Desert Botanical Garden Thursday evening to see the light show they have going on at the moment.  There were all kinds of neon-like lights making the garden glow with color.

In addition to the light displays, they had colored spot lights lighting up some of the cacti and trees.

There were lots of little "fairy" lights scattered along the trails.

Even some of the potted plants were given some lights around them to make them glow.  Although, this one looks like the dirt around the cactus is on fire.

It was fun exhibit and a good excuse to take an evening walk.

Desert Rose

 

Around this time last year, I posted photos of the desert rose plant that resides at the Heard Museum.  I mentioned in my post that my friend had a desert rose that she got around 2023 and that her's had not yet bloomed. 

The plant to the left is that same plant from the Heard Museum.

It's still producing lots of blooms.

Sometime last year, the Heard Museum acquired a second desert rose plant.  That one has no leaves on it but it does have some pretty blooms.  

My friend Glenda was with me when I took these photos and she said she felt a bit jealous of these two plants.  Hers still hasn't produced a bloom.  I told her to keep the faith.  It will one day.

New American Doll

 

Continuing with more photos from the Phoenix Art Museum's exhibit of Cara Romero's photographs, this section was called "New American Doll".  Although the descriptions didn't mention it, I immediately thought of the American Girl dolls that have been so popular for the past 20 years or so.

Romero created box like structures to highlight photos of young women in various native regalia.  This one is a photo of Naomi and is themed California Culture.

This one is a photo of Julia surrounded by nature's bounty.  I loved how she created these elaborate borders around each box setting.

I was quite mesmerized by this last photo.  It's a photo of Nikki in the traditional birthing position.  What I found so appealing about the photo is how the shape of the body perfectly reflects the pattern on the rug she is standing on.  This photo was put together brilliantly.  

Living Light

 

While I was at the Phoenix Art Museum last Friday, I stopped in the contemporary art gallery to see a new exhibit of photographs created by a Native American artist, Cara Romero.  She combines traditional stories from her tribal experiences with messages about injustices, humanity and vitality.  Her work celebrates the beauty and resilience of the Native People. The photo above is obviously a play on The Beatles Abbey Road album cover. The name of this photo is "17 Mile Road".

This photo is another obvious take on the famous Annie Leibovitz photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.  She calls it "Two Virgins". 

The exhibit was broken into several themed sections.  The section above dealt with female empowerment.

Another section was about how Native Americans are fitting into the future.  The photo above depicts coyote woman as an astronaut.  Just aroud the corner from the photo, I found the actual coyote woman standing guard.

She created a lot of messages and social observations in these photos.  I'll show you a few more tomorrow.

Creativity in Fashion

 

This was by far my favorite costume from the exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum.  Not because I would have ever worn it but because it is just so wildly creative.

This design was created by a Native American artist who goes by the name of "Son of Picasso". He began his career as a painter but expanded in 2018 to found a fashion label called "Products of My Environment" which is centered around the ethos "Made on Native Land By Native Hands." He repurposes garments into something entirely new.

This was a recent purchase by the Phoenix Art Museum's fashion collection.

There were also less radical selections from the collection on display like these lovely vintage gowns.  The one in front by Christian Dior from 1957.

This pretty gown is by Escada and was from the 1999 collection.  This one is timeless.  

I can't leave this exhibit without showing you these wild and crazy shoes.  I didn't catch the designer's name but wow, how about those big bows and golden toes!  I do love a nice pair of shoes but there was never a time that I would have coveted this pair.  

Two Museums and an Opera

 

It was a busy weekend.  On Friday I saw that the Phoenix Art Museum got a mention in the New York Times about a spring exhibit called "Color Wear: Kaleidoscope of Fashion." It was curated to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Phoenix Art Museum's Fashion collection.  I'll have a few photos to share in the coming days.  On my way to see the exhibit, I passed this sort of Calder-like mobile sculpture.  I discovered it was created by Tuan Andrew Nguyen from metal scraps from unexploded artillery and bomb shells salvaged in Viet Nam. If you look closely, you will see my reflection in one of those discs.

Fashion exhibit was also worth seeing and as I said above, I'll have a few more photos from it to share in the future.  For today I'm just featuring this Salvatore Ferragamo shoe-print silk scarf,  It features images of some of Ferragamo's shoe designs over the years. 

On Saturday morning I was at the Heard Museum for another Artful Mornings lecture and Saturday evening I attended the opera with a group of five other friends.  We saw "La Cenerentola" which translates to "Cinderella" in English.  The story was not quite the same with a nasty step-father instead of a step-mother and no fairy godmother.  The opera is very amusing prompting lots of audience laughter. 

On Sunday, I rested up! Phew!

    

Colorful Flags

 

I was at the Heard Museum yesterday for one of the Artful Mornings lectures and I was surprised to see all these colorful flags flying above the courtyard.  I'm not sure why they were there and silly me, I forgot to ask someone.  Regardless, they made a pretty addition to the museum's courtyard area.

Yellow Tulip and More

 

A single yellow tulip was on the table at a place I had lunch recently.  

At another place I found a very large white rose adorning the table.

At yet another place, there was a single colorful, blushing yellow rose. 

I'm seeing a trend in restaurants decorating the tables with single flowers and I like it.

Colorful Ceramics

 

At a recent trip to the nursery, I encountered these beautiful ceramic pots. I was tempted to purchase one even if my luck with plants is notoriously bad.  

One of these would look good in many a garden.