Copper Domes

 

I love the architecture of this Greek Orthodox Church in Scottsdale.  

The copper domes and "ruffled" trim make it stand apart from other modern churches.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm looking at the Oregon wine country landscapes.

Homes from Historic Neighborhoods

 

I enjoy wandering around the many historic neighborhoods in the Phoenix area and seeing homes that have been so lovingly maintained.  The one above is from the Alvarado neighborhood.

Also from the Alvarado neighborhood is this large house with Tudor styling.  Those hedges around the yard are also interesting.  I like the way they look like waves.  

This last one is from the Fairview Place historic neighborhood.  The word "charming" comes to mind when I look at this one.  It has a storybook look to it.

All That Glass

 

All that gorgeous Chihuly glass is now gone from the Desert Botanical Garden.  When it's cool enough to walk there again, it will seem bare without these beautiful installations.

Luckily, I took plenty of photos while the exhibition was up so I can be reminded of all the beauty from time to time.  

I Made it to Oregon

 

If I sit on the right side of the plane, I can get a good view of Mt. Hood just as the the plane approaches the Portland airpot.  Luckily, it was clear and I got a good shot out the window. 

I encountered this strange thing at the Portland airport.  It wasn't ready for use yet but, it looks like it will be telephone booth-like places to sit and work or make calls.  It has plugs for phones and internet.  What an interesting business concept with a cute name.

After a very nice lunch, we finally arrived in McMinnville where we are staying.  I love the look of this city, it's so Americana.  We are staying in a rental called the Farm House and it really is a real farm house. It looks great but judging from how long it took to upload these photos, the internet might be a little slow. We'll see how that goes.

Flying North

 

I'm leaving early this morning and flying northward to Portland Oregon.  And, after a short drive I'll be in the Willamette Valley, Oregon's renowned wine country.  

I'm looking forward to views like the one to left for several days.  I was hoping it would also be a break from the heat but it sounds like a bit of a heat wave is headed for Oregon too.  

It will be a busy week, so I may not have time to post from the road.  Just in case I can't get to the blog, I've posted ahead so I won't miss any days.  

Mister Fog

 

Last Sunday we had some very cloudy weather with rain in many parts of the valley.  It brought the temperatures down from the 110's on Saturday to the low 80's on Sunday morning.  But the clouds also brought higher humidity.  

Businesses use misters during the summer months to try to cool public spaces down a bit but, when there is humidity in the air the misters make it look like it's foggy.  

I stopped at Biltmore Fashion Park shopping center where it was looking very foggy on Sunday around noon.  

Celebrating the Southwest

 

Remember my post about trying a new Mexican Restaurant that I posted on July 15th?  This mural was on the building next door to the restaurant but it was positioned so that it could be viewed from the restaurant through the big windows on the  south side of the building.  The signature on this one reads "Moises".  If you look closely you will see that green in the center is a car with a rather colorful driver with his hair (?) blowing in the wind.  It's a very southwestern mural.    

FLW Home

 

There is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home not far from me but every time I've passed it, there has been a gate across this drive blocking the view.  The last time I drove by, the gate was opened so I finally got the shot.  I love the outside of this home.  I wish I could see the inside.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm looking at the architecture of the Getty Museum.  

What to Photograph Next

I had an appointment with the eye doctor one day last week and I didn't realize they were going to dilate my eyes on this visit.  So there I was sitting in the darkened room and waiting for 15 minutes while my pupils reacted to the eye drops.  Needless to say, I was bored.  That's when I got out the trusty iPhone and took a picture of the interesting gadget with all the dials and number that the doctor uses to measure the strength of my eyesight.  

Just to put it in context, I decided to take a photo of the exam room across the hall.  

I hate wasting time sitting around doing nothing so I did what I always do, took some photos.  

Looking Forward to Butterflies

 

I'm looking forward to the time when the desert summer heat starts to cool down and I can once again spend some time outdoors.  I'm missing my walks at the Desert Botanical Garden where I might see the occasional monarch butterfly enjoying the blooms.

The garden calls these white ones "cloudless sulphur" butterflies but I think most people call them cabbage whites.

The white peacocks are always a pleasure to see.

My personal favorite is the malachite butterfly.  I love their shade of green.

At least I have an archive of photos from the garden that I can enjoy during this time when it's simply too hot to walk there.

Time to Trim the Palms

 

The palm trees at the building next door to me were looking a bit shaggy lately and sure enough, the tree trimming people arrived last week to clean them up.

It's always entertaining to watch these guys swing from tree to tree.

The team on the ground pick up all the fallen fronds and debris and feed them through the giant shredder.

The trees look so bare when they are all done but it won't take them long to fill out again.  

Fine Dining Day 2

 

Today's post is about my dining experience last Saturday.  I went with my good friends David and Riley to Vincent's for a special dinner the chef had prepared in celebration of Bastille Day.  I've featured photos from Vincent's before here and here.  We were seated in a dining room that I had never been in before with huge windows looking out toward Camelback Road.

I started with the Frisee Salad with bacon and grain mustard dressing.  Very tasty!

My main course was Steak au Poivre which was delicious.  

My dessert was the Tart au Citron with strawberry sorbet.  It was fun to have two fine meals in a row.  It was like being on vacation without all the airport hassles.  

A Fine Dining Weekend

 

I had two fine dining experiences this last weekend.  On Friday evening I had dinner with my friends Glenda and Julie at a Scottsdale restaurant I've been wanting to try called Sel.  It's a small restaurant that has been called one of the best restaurants in Old Town Scottsdale.  

It might have been a small place but it had a mighty menu with a variety of gourmet choices.  

Here are my choices.  I started with the spring garlic and potato vichyssoise.  I would go back just for this.  It was fabulous.

My entree was the grilled New York strip steak with pink peppercorn au poivre, caramelized wild mushrooms and truffle fries.  Delicious.  I'm glad I tried this place.  I'm sure I will return.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about my Saturday night dinner.

The Rabbit and the Rooster

 

I've been searching the internet to try to find some information about this mural that I saw on north 7th Street in Phoenix.  I wasn't able to find a thing. With that bright pink background, you can't miss it.  It's a very unusual scene with the rabbit  riding on the back of the rooster.  The rabbit is holding a glass of something and on the glass is a "K" and a heart.  I thought that might be a clue to the mural but searching K heart and KO didn't give me any results.  So, it will have to remain a mystery.  At least it's an appealing mystery.  

UPDATE: One of my readers found an old article that sheds some light on this mural.  It looks like it originally had a black background and it was supposed to be for a restaurant/cocktail lounge that was scheduled to open January 17, 2020.  You can see the link here.  I'm not sure the bar is still there  I'll have to do some checking.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

All is Quiet at the Resort

 

Since I was at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel & Resort Wednesday evening, I couldn't resist a photo of the front of the building all lit up with lights.  Since this is considered "off-season" here in the desert, the place was pretty quiet.  In fact, there were only a handful of people enjoying the inside bar while we were there.

I snapped this photo looking across the hotel lobby.  When I visit here in the winter months, there is no way to get this photo without lots of people it it.  As you can see, it was pretty quiet while we were there.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm continuing my look at The Wallace Collection in London.

Blue Palm Tree

 

Have you ever seen a blue palm tree?

Actually, there was a blue light shining on this tree and the sky was filling up with clouds so I thought it might make an interesting photo.

After that delicious dinner I wrote about yesterday, we decided to stop at the Arizona Biltmore for a nightcap.  We stepped outside to their new outdoor bar (I wrote about it here) but we decided it was still too warm to be outside.  We went to the inside bar instead.  As we were leaving, I stepped outside to snap a photo of the outdoor bar all lit up in blue.  That palm tree was just a bonus.

Impromptu Dinner

 

One day last week, I watched a local restaurant review program on TV that reviewed a Mexican Restaurant called Otro Cafe.  The people reviewing the place made it sound so good, I decided I needed to give it a try.  Yesterday afternoon I asked my friend Glenda if she wanted to join me so off we went.  The restaurant was pleasant inside with both tables and booths.  We were seated in one of those booths you see in the photo above.  

The reviewers raved about the enchiladas so I knew that was what I needed to try.  I got two chicken enchiladas, one with red sauce and the other with mole.  Both were incredibly delicious.  I was genuinely impressed.  The service was good and the food was exceptional.  Even the guacamole you see at the top of the photo was delicious.  This is a place I'll return to.  

Weekend iPhone Photos

 

I had my iPhone camera at ready last weekend and took a few shots to share.  

Above, I was hoping for a spectacular sunset but that orange glow was all that appeared.

To the right is a tree that spoke to me.  I'm not sure what it was about that tree but I felt compelled to take its picture.

I had lunch at a restaurant near me that has a very nice patio for dining but, since it was 113 degrees outside, no one was using it.  However, you can see those misters working overtime to try to cool the area down a bit.  It wasn't enough to attract any diners.

This last one was a car in front of me at a traffic light.  The "Problem No Problem" wheel cover caught my eye.  I guess if your jeep gets upside down, that would be a problem.  

Ugly Bugs

 

I suppose the word "ugly" is a little presumptuous of me.  I'm sure these creatures must be beautiful to someone.  They are quite scary to me.  Fortunately, these three were encased in glass and not about to do me any harm.  They were part of a display at the Desert Botanical Garden's butterfly pavilion back in the spring.

I wouldn't want to run into any of these insects crawling around anywhere near me.