More Copper Clad Buildings

I mentioned in a post last week that I found another new building going up in downtown Phoenix that is part of Arizona State University.  It's another building with copper siding and another building with an interesting architectural design.  I haven't yet seen what part of the school will be housed in this building but, I do know that it is located very close to some of the other medical studies buildings.

The new building is going up next door to another building with similar copper siding.  There is always something new going on in downtown Phoenix now that ASU has substantial presence in the city.

A Covey of Quail

There is a spot near the patio cafe at the Desert Botanical Garden where I like to sit for a while.  It's a quiet spot.  Not many people know how to get there so I'm usually on my own and can enjoy the nature around me without any distractions.

The tables and chairs in that quiet spot sit under a big cascalote tree which happens to bloom during the winter months.  So in addition to the solitude, there is a sweet scent in the air produced by these wonderful yellow blooms.

When I was there last week, I had to share the spot with a covey of quail who were very busy eating the blooms that had fallen from the tree.  So the blooms not only smell good, they must taste good too.  They tasted so good, that the quail didn't seem to mind sharing the spot with me.

Holiday Decorations

Holiday decorations started going up even before Thanksgiving last week.  The Desert Botanical Garden waited until the Friday following Thanksgiving to put up their tree.  I went for a walk there last Friday and caught the tree decorators in action.  It's going to be a very pretty tree when they get it done.

Thanksgiving Picnics in the Park

My friends and I weren't the only ones dining al fresco on Thanksgiving day.  I took a drive through Papago Park around 11:00 AM and found it to be a very busy place.  In fact, almost every picnic ramada was full of people.  My favorite spot by the lagoon was so busy, there was someone directing traffic to different parking spots.

That is one very large family.  How would you like to cook for that group?

In that top photo, you might be able to see lots of people up in the hole-in-the-rock behind the gathering.  I zoomed in to grab a photo of the large group of people who were doing a little rock climbing before they had their Thanksgiving feast.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm making a new architectural discovery.  

An Arizona Thanksgiving

Last year my friend David hosted Thanksgiving dinner and this year one of our friends who attended that dinner hosted this year's dinner.   We started the evening in their gorgeous yard by the pool.

And visited for a bit while we munched on delicious hors d'oeuvres.  

Then we sat down to a lovely dinner with all the standard trimmings on the patio next to a roaring fire in the fireplace.  The food was delicious and the conversation lively and dining outdoors was an extra treat.  

Just a Little Bungalow

I was driving around downtown Phoenix last weekend and saw this cute and very well maintained little bungalow.  I'm betting it dates back to the 1920's or 1930's.  I also spotted some more new Arizona State University buildings.  I'll show you those sometime next week.

A Day for Eating

Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States so there is going to a lot of cooking and eating going on all over the country.  A great many kitchens will look similar to this with something on every burner and a full oven too!  I took this photo at my friend David's house last year on Thanksgiving while the preparations were going on.

If you are celebrating with a big meal today, ENJOY!  Happy Thanksgiving.

RED Wheels!

I saw an amazing flash of brilliant red as I passed a used car lot and had to circle back to see exactly what it was.  I have never seen red wheels before.  Wow, do they ever stand out!

Here's the whole car.  Amazing!

Dancing in the Streets

I found something new at the Farmer's Market last Saturday, a dance floor.  Over in one corner, a DJ was playing music and had put down a flat dance floor and people seemed to be completely enjoying it.

If I hadn't been carrying fresh bread and vegetables, I might have joined them.  It looked like so much fun.  

Trip to the Farmers Market

I made a trip to the downtown Farmer's Market on Saturday and even though I was there a little late, I found plenty to admire.  Like this wonderful selection of chilis.

Or these great looking cherry tomatoes.

There were some nice looking apples for sale.

And, I even spotted this cheerful fellow in the strangest hat I'd ever seen.  When I asked if I could take his picture, he happily obliged but his friends disappeared around the corner.  I don't think they wanted to be in the shot with him.

Passing the Time

When I went to the Phoenix Art Museum weekend before last, I decided to have lunch at the museum's restaurant.  I was standing waiting to be seated when a couple of things caught my eye.  First, all the colorful bottles of drinks in the refrigerated case that sits by the lunch counter.  I liked how the lights inside the case lit all those colorful drinks.

Second was this lovely table in the waiting area.  Something about the simplicity of it appealed to me.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Take a peek inside the beautiful Tate Britain Museum.

Mercado Craftsmanship

Two of my favorite things to look at when I visit the annual Mercado de las Artes at the Heard Museum are the ceramics and the carpet weavings.  Above are some of the beautiful pieces of ceramics by Arte Ventosa.  This was one of the first vendors I visited and when I passed by on my way out, that round plate in the center was gone.  It went home with some lucky shopper.

The ceramics kiosk also had this interesting display of the stages of this artistic pottery.  Looking at it you can see how the finished piece started out.

The craftsman who creates the carpet weavings is Porfirio Gutierrez. This one to the left is my favorite one of his pieces.

This one was pretty nice too!

Mercado People & Crafts

At the Heard Museum's Mercado de las Artes, this lady was demonstrating her talent for weaving.

Some of her beautiful textiles were hanging nearby. 

Another artist had this beautifully crafted vase for sale.  What a perfect face on that wolf!

And this young lady was enjoying her lunch and her colorful new headband and flower.

One more post about crafts tomorrow.

Mariachis!

The third event I attended last Saturday was the annual Heard Museum's Mercado de las Artes.  The event features artists from the southwest and Mexico displaying and selling their artistic creations.  It also features music and food.  This large Mariachi group entertained us for quite a while.

They played lively songs and sang along on many of them.

They even posed for photos after their set was done.  They were certainly a cheerful bunch and were beautifully costumed with wonderfully large sombreros.

Tomorrow I'll show you some of the arts and crafts on display.

Unexpected Cactus Blooms

One thing I didn't expect to see at the Desert Botanical Garden last Saturday was a cactus blooming.  That usually waits until February.  However, I spotted not only one but four blooms as I was leaving the garden.

These cacti were putting on a show for all the Chili & Chocolate guests and they were attracting several bees to their sweet centers too.

Chilies & Chocolate

After the very informative brunch I told you about yesterday, I stayed on at the Desert Botanical Garden a little longer to check out the annual Chilies and Chocolate event.  These freshly roasted green chillies were beckoning me over with their delicious aroma wafting through the air.

There were also plenty of dried chilies available and some of them in the form a long chili ristras like this one.

My only criticism of the event this year was that there was not enough chocolate available.  In years past, there have been several different vendors selling all kinds of chocolate treats.  This year I saw only one but, it was a pretty spectacular one.  I came home with the above box.

Those are some pretty gorgeous chocolates, wouldn't you say?  I haven't tasted one yet but if they taste as amazing as they look, I'll be looking for more very soon.  They do ship their chocolates so I'm providing a link just in case this photo has tempted you.

Behind the Scenes Tour

My good friend Julie is a patron of the Desert Botanical Garden and she invited me to attend a special brunch and behind the scenes tour of the garden with her on Saturday morning.  One of the stops was in the Herbarium where they have stored dried samples of thousands of plants native to the southwest and other arid climate areas.

We got to meet Wendy Hodgson, Senior Research Botanist who has worked at the garden for over 40 years.  She's holding a sample of a plant she discovered years ago and has since been named after her.  The tour was a fantastic source of information about a place I visit so very often.  We even got to see the new research facility that is under construction and we learned how mapping experts map not only the plants in the garden but, all the facilities, lights and underground utilities that service the garden.  It was a fascinating morning adventure.

Sunrise Special

I had a very busy day yesterday attending three different events and I took lots of photos to share with you but, when I downloaded the photos, I saw this one that I had totally forgotten about.  I took it a week ago, early one morning.  I suddenly saw a golden glow flooding my house so I grabbed my camera to find the source.  We were having a spectacular sunrise and I manage to capture the tail end of it.  There were lots of crisscrossing of clouds in the sky.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Some performance art is on the agenda.

More from the Exhibit

Everyone seemed to like the paintings I posted from the Kehinde Wiley exhibit last week so I thought I post just a few more.  This artist's work impressed me so much.  I will go back the museum soon and wander around to look at them again.

This one was one of the ones from his international tour.  The person in the painting is someone he met in Israel.

These last two are two more of the stained glass series.  They are spectacular.

Wiley is obviously a very talented and visionary artist.

To Brighten the Day

I thought I'd post something cheery today and what's more cheery than yellow daisies. 

Maybe some pretty little pansies as an extra bonus.