Getting an Early Start

Our trees don't start to turn to fall colors until December so I thought this one was getting a head start.  However, I guess December is just a few days away so this one is not unreasonably early.  Last year I didn't find very many that turned red in color.  Most just turned yellow and brown.  Maybe this is a sign that there will be little more color in the trees that shed their leaves this year.  I hope so.

Giving Thanks

I had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday eating, visiting with friends and eating some more.  I saw this in the yard of a home not far from me and it made me laugh.  I had to stop and get a photo.  It's a humorous message for this Thanksgiving holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving here in the U. S. of A. and pretty much everyone will be enjoying a special dinner with friends and family.  I'm going to my friend David's house for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings.  The photo above is at my house with the table set for a dinner a while ago.  I chose the photo because I've had many, many Thanksgiving dinners on this china.  You see, it was my grandmother's china so it has a long history in my family.  We had many dinners at her house and on holidays she always set the table with this china.  And here it is, still being used at my house.

House on Fire....

....no, it's just the sun reflecting off the glass.

I happened to be standing in the right place to catch a shot of the sun reflecting off of a house on the hillside in the distance.  I zoomed in and snapped the shot and when I downloaded it, I thought it looked like that house was on fire.  Fortunately for everyone, it wasn't.

Chef's Tour

Chef Christopher Gross led me and my friends on a behind the scenes tour so we could see his newly remodeled kitchen.  This looks like a beautiful place for him and his staff to create some culinary magic.

We also got to see the newly remodeled wine cellar.  This is the table for private wine tastings with about 4 more rows of wine bins on either side.

I also admired the wonderful vintage ceiling in one of the private dining rooms.

The Wrigley Mansion is such a wonderful place to visit, dine and enjoy the views.  It's a true asset to the city of Phoenix.

Grand Entrance to a Grand Place

Friday evening I joined some friends for drinks and conversation at the famous Wrigley Mansion.  I've posted photos from the mansion before here and here.

On this visit we were in for a special 'behind the scenes' treat.  I'll fill you in tomorrow.

The View From Up High

This is a good spot to get a wide view over the city.  The Camelback Corridor high-rises are to the left and in the distance you can see the high-rises in downtown phoenix.

In the other direction I had a perfect view of Camelback Mountain.  The glow of the setting sun was emphasizing the red in the mountain.  Tomorrow I'll show you where I was.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting a historic observatory.

Heart Melters

When I was out shopping last weekend, I ran into these two heart melters stationed outside of a store.  They were calmly waiting for their owner inside the shop but they spared a moment for some breezy tail wagging and a few pats on the head.  And then it was back to keeping and eye on the door for their person to return.

The Tree

I found this great piece of art on a wall while I was out cruising around one weekend recently.    Someone has used bits and pieces of tile and other things to create a prickly pear cactus and next to it the trunk of a tree.  The leaves from a real tree on the other side of the wall add the necessary greenery to create the full image.  Very clever.

It Was a Wet Day

It rained all day yesterday leaving the city wet in every direction.  The dark clouds rolled in Tuesday and they put on a wet and chilly show all day on Wednesday.  As many of you know, I do enjoy it when it rains here because we see so few rainy days.  However, I will make one complaint.  Driving in the rain here can be treacherous.  There are so many drivers who don't know how to drive on wet streets.

Surrounded by Art

I drove on a street in my area that I had never explored before and I found this house with a lot of art in the yard.  I'm not sure if the large urn in the top photo is actually art but, it looked nice in its location.  The statue to the left was facing the front of the house so I could only photograph it from the side.  It certainly has a striking Asian influence to it.

On a wall near the garage, I saw these three abstract figures.  Seeing all this art outside the house made me wonder what pretty things might be found inside.

Time for a New Roof

I've seen lots of houses getting new roofs put on lately but this one especially caught my eye.  That is quite a lot of tile piled up on that roof.  I'm sure it's going to look very nice when they get done.  Tile roofs are very popular here in the southwest.

Fry Bread Mural

I found this mural on the side of a cafe called The Fry Bread House on 7th Avenue in Phoenix.  That purple background caught my eye immediately.  It's a desert scene with a "fry-bread taco" taking wing out the hands of the silly looking rabbit.

I had to photograph it from a narrow passageway between two buildings so I took photos from front to back and then back to front to try to capture it all.  The artist signed it "Thunder" but after some heavy digging, I've come up with a name of Thunder Iron David Calvillo.

I haven't tried the fry bread.  I should stop in one day and give it a try.

This post is linked to Monday Murals.

Painting With Shoes

A week or so ago, I went to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and while I was there viewing exhibits, I came across this case with these shoes inside.  Next to the case was a little video showing an artist and a helper painting panels for the exhibit with these shoes.....on the artist's feet.  She would dip her toe in the paint, brace herself on her helper and then kick her foot out to splatter the canvas.  I'm not kidding....that's the way the paintings below were painted.

I've seen many interesting ways to create art but, that had to be the most unique I've ever seen.  I won't be trying this one at home.  I have too much respect for my shoes!

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm paying a little tribute to poor, "wet" Venice.

Speaking of Balls of Fire

It seems fire has been a theme at events this last week.  Monday it was the Canal Convergence event in Scottsdale and Thursday night it was at the Phoenix Suns Game I attended.  You might remember that I have a good friend who has been a season ticket holder for (gasp) 50 years and occasionally she invites me to go to a game with her.  And, given her longevity, she has fabulous seats.  For the past several years they've been starting each game with this spectacular fire display as the team is introduced to the crowd.  I suppose with a name like "the Suns", it's appropriate.

Great Balls of Fire

Last Monday night I went to Scottsdale to see the exhibits for this year's annual Canal Convergence celebration.  It's a week long celebration along the Scottsdale waterfront full of art and music and fun exhibits.  (In case you don't remember, the Scottsdale "waterfront" is an area along the a canal.)  My favorite thing is the fire, water and music event called water serpent.

The streams of fire are choreographed to the music played and yes, they did play Great Balls of Fire for one of the songs.

My other favorite thing was this laser light show projected on to the giant pylons on the Paolo Soleri bridge.

If you are curious about the bridge, I posted another photo of it several years ago.

Christmas Shopping in the Museum Store

As you might guess with the Legends of Speed exhibit on at the Phoenix Art Museum, the museum store was decked out in all things race related.

They had all kinds of things to buy from posters to books to shirts and a big selection of toys.  This cute little car would be perfect for some young ones.

I have to admit, even I was tempted by these cute little toy cars.  How many of these do you suppose will end up under Christmas trees this year?

Legends of Speed

The new exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum is called "Legends of Speed".  They have assembled 22 race cars many of which have won some of the world's most iconic races.

This Bugatti was driven by a woman, Mariette Helene Delangle who came to be known as Helle Nice.  She was a model and actress living in Paris.  She developed a love a speed and entered her first race, an all-female race which she won.  She set a new record in a Bugatti Type 35C and in 1930 she purchased the Bugatti 35B which she drove 24 hours in the Le Mans race.

This car was stationed at the entrance to the exhibit.  It is a Lotus 79 from 1978.  It was driven by Mario Andretti.

This one is the oldest one I saw.  It was located in the museum lobby.  It's a 1911 Franklin and it was driven in a grueling race between Los Angeles and Phoenix.  That race was organized to promote the reliability of new automobiles and to advocate for better roads.  Ralph Hamlin won the race in 1912.  This car is the only one in the show displayed in its original condition.

Racy Posters

Two vintage posters featuring some old style race cars.  I found these posters at the Phoenix Art Museum.  Tomorrow I'll show you why they are there.

Phoenix

This is another mural in the area of town known as the barrio.  This one is a collaboration between many of the cities muralists.  Credit is given to Colton Brock, Lalo Cato, Angel Diaz, Pablo Luna and J B Snyder.  It's a little abstract slice of Phoenix.

Linked to Monday Murals. 

Almost Perfect

Near downtown Scottsdale, I saw this home turned into an office and I admired the look of the front of the place.  However, I did have the urge to move that green planter on the right just a bit further to the right to even it up with the other one.  I like the front of this place in spite of the slight symmetrical flaw.

I have a new post on Sharon Sojourn's today.  I'm driving through Salt River Canyon.

Late Night Observation

Last Sunday evening I went to see the Broadway musical "Anastacia" and I loved it.  It was beautifully staged and the music was wonderful.  After the play, my friend and I were starving so we stopped in at AZ88 to get something to eat.  AZ88 is that artsy Scottsdale restaurant/bar that I love going to.

Sunday nights are kind of slow at most restaurants so the place was pretty quiet.  I noticed the reflection of all those bottles on the bar in the glass-top table and I wondered if I could catch that scene with my cell phone.  So I tried it and got it on the first try.  Cell phone cameras just keep getting better and better.

The Replacements

Yesterday I mentioned how many of the homes in the Biltmore Estates have been torn down and replaced by new and very large mansions.  This is an example of what I meant.

This one I like because at least it looks old.  Of course I also like almost anything in a Tudor style.

This one is extra large but it's too stark looking for my taste.  I feel like it looks more like an office building than a home.

Still Going Strong

When I first moved to Arizona, I used to drive around the Biltmore Estates to look at all the big houses there.  They were mostly all what you would call ranch style homes that tended to be sort of low slung in their shape.  Today, I live right next door to the Biltmore Estates and I take walks through there quite often.  I would say the the vast majority of those older homes dating back to the 50's, 60's and 70's have all been torn down and rebuilt into huge mansions.  However, there are a few that remain and I'm always pleased to see them.  The one above is an example.

This is another one that has been there a very long time.  Both of these have been well maintained and they still have that mid-century charm.

Interesting Clouds

I snapped this scene from the top of a parking garage when I spotted those clouds hanging over the mountains.  I thought it looked like the clouds were trying to mimic the mountains.  I love a good cloud formation.  Maybe that's because it's so rare to see clouds here.

Owl Encounter

I almost forgot about these two lovely creatures.  They were guests at the "Strange Garden" event last week at the Desert Botanical Garden.

Up top is a great horned owl and to the left is a barn owl.  Such totally different facial features between these to handsome birds.