Another Themed Dinner

 

Do you remember last September when I posted about a group of friends who got together to taste different versions of mole (the Mexican sauce made with chilies and chocolate)?  Well, that same group got together again last Saturday for a Mediterranean dinner this time.  I made a Greek Salad above.  I've made Greek salads before but I've always crumbled the feta cheese into the salad.  I read a recipe that said the Greek way of doing it was to top the salad with the block of feta and then when serving it break off pieces for the salad.  So that's what I did!  It was yummy along with the kabobs and rice and hummus and veggies.  Someone even made delicious spanakopita triangles.  

Here's a picture of some of the Mediterranean "eaters" at the party.  As always, it was a fun group of people having lively conversation and lots of laughs.  

Looking at the Murals

 

This is another set of murals along that mural filled alley I found in Phoenix.  This one sort of startled me because I thought that was a man standing there staring at the prickly pear cactus.

Upon closer inspection, it's just made to look like someone standing there which is rather clever.  I couldn't find a legible signature on these murals but it appears the one with the cactus and the standing man is "For Harmony".

Taking part in Monday Murals. 

Desert Garden Scenes

 

I wanted to take a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden this weekend but the garden is closed this weekend for a special event.  So, I just looked through my photo archives and pulled out a few from my walk in January.  

The garden is hosting the Devour Culinary Classic this weekend.  I've gone to that before and enjoyed it but the tickets are frightfully expensive these days so I passed on the opportunity this time.  I'd rather spend the money on travel so that's exactly what I did. I bought tickets to go to Santa Fe New Mexico in May.

This is a Crested Wortleberry Cactus.

Here is a little corner at the garden with a splash of color for these winter months.  That bougainvillea really pops out next to the barrel cacti and the lemon tree behind it.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I found a hidden oasis.

Walking in the Water

 

The last time I was at the Desert Botanical Garden, I spotted these two quail walking along the edge of the reflecting pool in the contemplation garden.  The one on the right appears to have spotted me pointing my camera in his direction. 

He must have told his friend who glanced my way and then the two of them jumped down from the edge and ran for cover.  "Really fellows, I'm perfectly harmless".  

Peeking in Windows

 

On a recent Sunday walk in old town Scottsdale, I found myself looking into windows of shops and businesses that were closed at the time.  This one appears to be a tea room but I didn't see a name for it anywhere.  However, that artwork on the back wall was rather eye-catching.

This place appeared to be a design and decorating business of some kind.  I snapped this one because I could see myself taking the photo in that mirror on the back wall.

What really caught my eye in this business was this unusual portrait of the the Fab Four.  Each one of the squares is unique but you can still pick out John, Paul, Ringo and George. 

The Visitor

 

This is Pepper.  He lives next door to my friend Glenda but he comes over to Glenda's house almost every day for a visit.  In fact, he comes over so often that Glenda has a few toys around the house for him to play with.

When I was there last week, I think he was daring me to take his toy away.  

He's such a cutie!

Dinner With Friends

 

A group of friends have started to have occasional, casual dinners together.  Last Sunday night we met at a friend's house I hadn't been to before.  We dined on the patio where we had this fabulous view of her back garden.  Isn't it lovely?  

You can't beat an evening with good friends and good food.  

Beautiful Music

 

Last Saturday evening, I attended a performance of the Phoenix Symphony.  They were doing the music of John Williams which is always a crowd pleaser.  This group was performing in the Symphony Hall lobby and entertaining people as they arrived.  

My friend Dave took this photo at the end of the concert.  As you can see, it took a lot of people to bring the music to life.  You might also notice the musician dressed like Princess Leia.  Many guests and a few of the musicians dressed as characters from the movies Williams composed the music for.

ARIZONA

 

A new mural in east Phoenix features scenes from the desert southwest.  This one is by "Mac" or Mackenzie Schneider, the niece of a friend of mine.  She is a very talented artist.  This is beautiful.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

Perfect Shadow

 

When I was leaving the Phoenix Art Museum last weekend, I spotted this perfect shadow on a wall outside the museum.  I couldn't resist a snap. It looks like winter to me.  And then the very next day, a cold front moves in and we were back to unusually cold winter temperatures once again.  This wintery shadow must have been an omen.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I've visiting an old mission.  

Gallery With a View

 

The gallery at the Phoenix Art Museum where all the fashion & costume exhibits take place has a lovely window seat looking down into the ground floor, contemporary art gallery.  You can see that "charred-wood" piece that I've featured a few times before hanging down there.  The last time I featured it was just a month ago. You can see it here.   You can also see some of the Geoffrey Beene dresses on display reflected in the glass.  The polka-dot pillows are very Geoffrey Beene.  

Imaginative Fashions

 

I stopped at the Phoenix Art Museum last weekend to see the latest fashion exhibit.  This one is called "The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene".  What a great designer.

I loved almost everything in this show.  I could have worn many of these beautiful dresses back in the day.  I especially loved that green dress with all the dots on it.

That little grey dress with the white bib trimmed with rickrack reminded me of something my mother made for me many, many years ago. 

Remember rickrack?  

Geoffrey Beene's designs were all about comfort, movement and modern sensibility.  He tended premiere his line of clothing in ballet or dance studios and used dancers as models.  

I love that party dress to the right.  I would have loved to wear that.  

This was a great show full of beautiful and appealing clothes.  No wonder he was a popular designer.  

Robins! Lots and Lots of Robins

 

A couple of years ago I mentioned that I had spotted some robins here at my complex and that they were a bit rare in the Phoenix area.  Apparently, they are not as rare as I thought.  Over the weekend I saw hundreds of them all clustered together in the midtown area of Phoenix.  

They were flying from tree to tree and making a lot of noise singing to each other.

It was an amazing sight to see and hear.  I wonder what brought this group to Arizona.  

A Sure Sign

 

Seeing the Goodyear blimp floating in the sky is a sure sign that something big is going on around town.  I photographed it when I was walking around the Desert Botanical Garden.  It was way off in the distance but I zoomed in to get a photo.  I'm pretty sure it was floating over the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament at the time.  In fact, I saw it on TV at a friend's house.  She had the golf event on TV. 

My friend Julie texted this photo of the blimp as it passed by the "praying monk" rock formation on Camelback Mountain.  This was on Sunday afternoon and  the blimp was headed to west valley to float over the Super Bowl.  

The blimp got plenty of exercise over this last weekend.  

Full Moon

 

As promised, I returned to the garden late Friday afternoon and got to see the full moon floating above the garden against the twilight blue sky.  The moon was created by UK artist Luke Jerram and like the real thing, it has traveled around the world many times.  You can see photos from some of the places it has visited here. 

In this shot, I captured the moon rising above the setting sun.

Once it got dark, the moon was a stunning sight.  The display location allowed the visitors to walk all around it and even under it.  

It was looking pretty spectacular floating over one of the garden mountains.  

Today is the last day to see it at the garden so I'm glad I got to see it while it was here.  I'm even glad I got to see the "zipper" mishap. 😃

The Moon's Zipper!

 

Last Friday I went to the Desert Botanical Garden to see an exhibit that will only be there for one week called Museum of the Moon.  I had seen some photos on Instagram from the UK where it had been on display and I wanted to see where the garden would display this huge orb.

Unfortunately, the wind had taken a toll on this display and they were struggling to get it under control the entire time I was there.  No worries though, I had already planned to go back in the evening to see it after dark.  I spoke to a garden employee about the trouble they were having and she said that the moon's zipper  had broken causing it to collapse.  She said it was a simple repair but the unusually heavy winds that day were giving the technicians a lot of trouble and they were struggling to get it under control.  

I bet you didn't know the moon had a zipper!  

Tomorrow I'll show you the photos I took in the evening when the moon was once again perfectly round and floating in the sky.  

Flowers Are Always Welcome

 

I took a little stroll around the local nursery and these beautiful stargazer lilies caught my eye.  They are perfect to brighten up this winter Sunday in the desert southwest.

They really are a dazzling gift from Mother Nature!

Major Disappointment

 

Last Sunday evening I attended the Broadway touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, a performance I was eagerly looking forward to.  I'm a huge fan of everything the duo of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice have created and I hadn't seen this particular musical in many years.  I was excited to experience its power and passion once again.  What a major disappointment it turned out to be.  

In many cases I've enjoyed revivals of plays.  Seeing a familiar play in a different context is sometimes very stimulating.  In this particular instance it was a bit of disaster. Let me summarize what I think went wrong.  We'll start with the singing.  I wouldn't actually call it singing, it was more like screaming.  The power of Tim Rice's lyrics does not require the singer to scream them at the audience.  The screaming combined with ear-piercing level of volume made it impossible to make out the words to any of the beautiful songs from the play.  

My next complaint was the choreography.  From the moment the play started, the cast was jerking and twisting their bodies as if they were in serious pain or possibly possessed by demons.  Their movements did not convey a message of loving admiration for the play's namesake.  It conveyed fear and terror instead.  

Moving on the the costumes composed mostly of workout clothes that you might see at a dance rehearsal. I could have adjusted to that type of costume if it hadn't been for the Nike trainers.  My imagination could have adapted to the tattered joggers but the trainers emblazoned with the Nike swoosh was a little too much. 

There is a lot more I could add to this but This post is already a lot longer than I had planned.  I will say that at first I worried that my dislike of this production was related to my advanced age however, I've read way too many like-minded reviews many written by students agreeing with everything I've just said and more.  This was just a bad revival.  The producers need to go back to the drawing board.

Coming Soon to the Valley of the Sun

 

Yes, the Super Bowl is coming to the Phoenix area this weekend in case you hadn't heard.  However, this sign I found on a corner in Scottsdale is as close as I'm going to get.  Apparently there are all kinds of events taking place in downtown Phoenix on Saturday and the big game is happening in Glendale on Sunday.  

To add to all the chaos, the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament is also taking place this weekend.  Hotel rooms are at a premium and mostly full, restaurant reservations are non-existent, rental cars are impossible to find and the airport is expecting record numbers of passengers.  Even the Scottsdale airport that caters to private jets is scrambling for room.  It's going to be a good weekend to stick close to home.

Transportation

 

Here are a few modes of transportation that caught my eye over the last week.  This first one is a strange looking motorcycle.  It looks very much like a very scary insect ready to sting if I get too close.

One of the many driverless cars that are now transporting passengers around town.  I haven't tried it yet but I'm thinking about it.  

Here's an older VW 'bug' that has been lovingly restored.  What a beautiful paint job and I love the white-walled tires.  Such a variety of ways to get around in the city.  

Join Me on My Walk

 

Come along with me on my walk from last Sunday.

First stop was at the golf course where I spotted a great egret by the water.

Some colorful glass baubles set along a driveway.

A pretty red rose on a bush full of blooms.

Michelangelo's David tucked away on someone's lawn.  I hadn't seen him in the neighborhood before.

A driveway lined with those flowering pear trees.  That makes a very pretty entrance.  Thanks for coming along with me on my walk.

Look at What is Blooming

 

Those flowering pear trees are doing their annual flower show.  They always show up in February but this year I actually saw some blooms popping out that last week of January.  

I took a long walk Sunday afternoon and I'm afraid I got a little trigger happy taking photos of these beauties.  

The bees are just as happy to see these blooms as I am.

The sad thing is that they don't last very long.  By the end of February, most of the blooms will be gone.  So I along with the bees have to enjoy them while we can.