Careful Cleaning

 

Every now and then when I go to the Desert Botanical Garden, I catch the cleaning crew (all volunteers) polishing up the Desert Wildflower Towers.  They do it ever so gently so they don't break any of the glass 'leaves'.  

These are the Chihuly sculptures that the garden bought back when they had the very first Chihuly exhibit at the garden.  The three tall towers are one of the very first things visitors see when they enter the garden. You wouldn't believe how many people I hear say "are those real plants" when the first set eyes on them.  

Suddenly It's the Holidays!

 

It seems like holiday decorations have suddenly appeared over the weekend.  Maybe I just haven't paid much attention but over this last weekend, I saw decorations in every direction.

These festive balls were decking the halls of my local Macy's store.

On a drive to a friend's house, I spotted this wonderland of lights.  The Holiday season is in full swing now.  Time to get my decorations out!

Frida and the Black Cat

 

Here are two more murals from that alley full of murals that I recently found.  The first one of course, is a tribute to Frida Kahlo by Daniel Cesar.  The one on the right is a strange black cat that looks as if it is about to pounce on something.  That one is signed by Joe Gonzalez.  The colors on these two complement each other.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

City Views

 

When I do some shopping at Scottsdale Fashion Square, I usually park in the south parking garage and walk across the third-level bridge into Nordstrom's.  As I cross the bridge, I can't help but pause to take in the view east toward the Scottsdale Waterfront condos and the shops down on street level.  

When I visit the Heard Museum, I enjoy seeing the Phoenix Towers condo building on the other side of the wall.  I find that pink, Art Deco style building very appealing.

When I visit the Phoenix Art Museum, I find myself attracted to the Viad Building across the street from the museum.  This building was originally built for the Dial Corporation as their headquarters.  The architects designed it to look like a bar of Dial soap.  The Dial Corporation moved to Scottsdale several years ago and now the building houses a bank and many law offices.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I was inspired by a PBS documentary.  

The Art of Anime and Manga

 

While we were at the Phoenix Art Museum last Sunday, we decided to take a look at the latest exhibit called "Mr.: Can You Hear the Song of This Town".  It is the work of Japanese artist known as Mr.  

The exhibit is described as "exploring the vivid, chaotic and manga-inspired world of one of today's most popular artists."  

I knew the term "anime" but I had not heard of "manga" before so I looked it up.  It means comics or graphic novels originating in Japan.  

I liked the exhibit more than I thought I would.  It's so colorful and so busy.  

Delicious Food & Great Friends

 

Thanksgiving turned out to be a day of delicious food and great friends.  There were several plates of things to munch on while we waited for the main course.

It was nice enough to dine on the patio.  We had turkey and ham, stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy and several salads.  There was soup and sweet potatoes and green beans too!  It was all so very delicious.

And then there were the desserts.  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and the bourbon, chocolate and pecan pie that I made.  There was also cheesecake, apple tarts and chocolates.  There was certainly plenty to eat.  Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for our blessings and we were certainly blessed with great food and great friends and family.  

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers and anyone else who celebrate this day!  There will be a lot of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy consumed today and a tiny bit of it will be consumed by me.  I hope all of you are enjoying the day wherever you are.  

The Art Outside of the Museum

 

There are quite a few art pieces located outside the Phoenix Art Museum that can be viewed before going inside.  One is the tiled wall by the artist Jun Kaneko.  It's called "Color Box".  Kaneko is the same artist that was featured a few years ago at the Desert Botanical Garden.

The afternoon sun was lighting up "Vortex" by Alexander Liberman.  This one opens the door to all kinds of photo opportunities.  

And, of course this guy is still relegated to the front steps of the Museum.  He used to move around inside the museum but you might remember when I discovered he had been exiled back in 2018.  

A Movie at the Art Museum

 

On Sunday afternoon, I went to the Phoenix Art Museum to see a filmed production of the play "Straight Line Crazy" starring Ralph Fiennes.  Every year, the museum has showings of different National Theatre productions that are filmed by National Theatre Live.

The play was written by David Hare and it tells the story of Robert Moses who spent 40 years creating roads, parks and beaches in and around New York City.  However, he was a bit of a tyrant which makes for an interesting character for Fiennes to play.  The play was fascinating and actors were brilliant.  I had never heard of Robert Moses before but the next time I'm in New York and riding on one of the expressways, I'll certainly think of him.

National Theatre Live makes it possible to see wonderful London theatre productions without leaving home.  

Superman!

 

There is a narrow lane or alley in central Phoenix that is simply full of murals by various artists.  That's where I found this mural of Superman who appears to be rescuing a lady from some type of explosion.  Is that Lois Lane he's carrying away?  The signature down in the corner was very difficult to read but I'm fairly certain that is the work of Danny Dyster of Dyster Art.  

Taking part in Monday Murals. 

Washboard Clouds in the Sky

 

The sky on Friday was full of these rows of clouds making the sky look like an old fashioned washboard.  It lasted all day long.  Sometimes they bunched up and other times they spread out a little.  They made interesting patterns all day long.

Here is a shot my friend Dave texted to me.  He took it from his office window.

The clouds even persisted into the night when I went to the Desert Botanical Garden for a music in the garden concert.  I took the above shot with the iPhone of the mountain all lit up to form a background for the concert.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm looking at street art in London.

Watching the Birds

 

I have some more bird-spotting photos today starting with this rather shaggy looking cardinal.  He must have been in the process of shedding some feathers.  He is looking a bit tattered. 

Here is one of those peach-faced lovebirds that have made the desert their home.  You can tell I snapped this one in the spring because that saguaro cactus is full of fruit.  

Here us a house finch perched on some cactus fruit.  This one has a brilliant, blushing face and chest.  

Here we have a group of starlings gathered high up on the branches of a century plant. 

The world would be a bit duller without these feathered beauties to entertain us.

White Gates

 

This is a historic home called White Gates designed by architect Al Beadle.  Beadle, who won an award for this home, was a well known architect in the Phoenix area.  His mid-century modern designs can be found in a variety of locations around town.  I featured some apartments he designed back in August here. 

The unfortunate thing is that this house has been sitting vacant for many years now.  I understand that the current owner would sell it if he could find someone willing to do the restoration work.  It sits on prime real estate in a neighborhood with multi-million dollar homes.  It has come very close to being demolished several times before.  There is a history and more photos on this site.  

Pretty Pink Blooms

 

I took these photos a few weeks ago when the Desert Rose plants were still on view and blooming at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I noticed when I was there last weekend that they had all been removed for winter storage.

The desert rose plants do not tolerate colder temperatures so the garden protects them during the winter months.  During the winter months, temperatures can fall below freezing at night and these plants would not survive that.  So, around this time of year they move them into the greenhouse where they can stay warm all winter.  I'll look forward to seeing them rolled out next spring.

Odds and Ends

 

All kinds of things catch my eye and since I'm carrying around a camera on my iPhone, I snap a lot of photos.  Many of them get deleted but some hang around ready to be used in some way. Here is a few from the last three weeks.  Above is a row of green chairs sitting outside a restaurant.  

I spotted these new bike racks in a pedestrian area near the art museum.  It's designed to use the abbreviation for Phoenix, PHX to form the rack.

While I was admiring the bike rack, I turned to see the late afternoon sun making shadows on the side of the art museum.  

I also saw a display of one of the self-driving cars that are now being tested on the streets of Phoenix.  The company is called Waymo and they are starting to take passengers on test drives.  There will be a driver on board during this test period.

These last two shots are just for fun.  I recently bought a pair of shoes at Nordstroms but they didn't have my size in stock so they mailed a pair to me.  When I opened the package, I found two shoes in different patterns.  Needless to say, I returned them and finally got the ones I wanted.

I snapped this last shot so I could text it to a friend.  In 1991, I traveled to Paris with a friend and while we were there, we took a train to the site of the Paris Disneyland that was under construction at that time. The theme park was going to be called Euro Disney back then.  I bought this sweatshirt as a souvenir and I still wear it today.  It's over 40 years old and still looking like new.

Busy Weekend

This last weekend was a busy one for me.  Besides stopping at the Heard Museum on Friday afternoon, I attended a Greek Dinner Friday night.  My friend Julie invited me to join her for a special dinner at the Greek Orthodox Church in Scottsdale.  

(I posted photos of this church back in July.)

There was great food and a fun performance of Greek dancing.  It was an enjoyable event.

Saturday night I went to the Scottsdale Center for the Arts to see Alan Cumming's one man show.  I was joined by my friends David and Riley and we all thoroughly enjoyed the show.  Alan Cumming is such a talented performer.  

It feels like the season is picking up with all kinds of events happening these days.  

Climbing Mountains

 

This mural is on the side of the Creighton Academy, an elementary school on McDowell Road.  

I zoomed in on the sign posts to catch the positive messages there.  It looks like if you are headed on the trail in that direction you are going the right way.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Unexpected Entertainment

 

I went to the Heard Museum Friday afternoon for lunch and to take a peek at a new show they've recently opened.  I was surprised to see these Native American Dancers entertaining guests in the courtyard.

As part of their Veteran's Day celebration at the Heard, they had a number of performances and demonstrations.  I just happened to arrive in time to see this group of dancers.  There were also a few artists selling selections of paintings, pottery and jewelry.  I ended up staying a lot longer than I had planned.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I love the historic parts of Tucson.

The Latest Art Exhibit

 

While I was at the Shemer Art Center last weekend, I also checked out the latest exhibit.  The theme for this one is "Earth Elements" and as usual, there were many beautiful art pieces to enjoy.  

The one above is an acrylic painting by Ellen Nemetz.  I thought it was a photograph when I first looked at it.

To the right is another painting by Karl Lairtus.  It really captures the look of canyon walls here in the southwest.  

This last piece is a mixed media sculpture by Barry Oleksak.  I can just picture a flickering light glowing from inside this beautiful piece.  

There are 41 artists represented in this latest show.  Once again I'm impressed by the talent that is all around us.