Cozy food for book club.

From left: Meegan, Beth, Sandy, Judy and Barb, with me behind the camera.

It's been rainy, grey and cold the last couple of days, perfect weather for the hearty soup that two people made for book club last night. Beth made a velvety broccoli cheese soup and Barb made a lightened up version of Marry Me White Bean Soup.

Hearty winter soups call for carbs for soaking up the broth, so Sandy made blue corn muffins, Beth made a cottage cheese dill loaf, and Barb brought a crusty sourdough loaf that I forget to get a picture of.

Adding to the coziness was Judy's cheesy stuffed chicken.

Meegan added a touch of cool crispness with her cucumber chickpea salad before I brought out my decadent Texas Sheet Cake! The buttermilk and cocoa powder make this a luxurious cake that I only allow myself to bake once or twice a year. This time it was to celebrate the December birthdays in book club (including mine) because we didn't meet last month. Those are toasted chopped pecans in the icing, which is poured over the cake while the cake and icing are still hot.

Oh, the book was "Secret of Secrets" by Dan Brown.

Have a delicious day

Eight hikes down!

Today was Hike # 8 in my 70th birthday challenge to complete at least 70 hikes in the next year. Barb and I did the Linda Vista Loop, which is only about half a mile from my house but seems like worlds away once you're deep into the saguaros on the flank of Pusch Ridge.

Facing west, you can see the town of Oro Valley spread out between Pusch Ridge (in the Catalina Mountains) and the Tucson Mountains on the horizon.

But as soon as you turn east and start hiking up the mountain, civilization disappears.

In the foreground, above, is the remnant of a dead saguaro cactus. Above it on the horizon is a healthy saguaro, and to the left is an ocotillo with red blooms on its tips.

That's prickly pear in this foreground (above), with the ridge rising up into a beautiful blue sky. It was sunny and 58 with a slight breeze, perfect for hiking in shorts and a t-shirt.

The higher elevations are closed to hikers from Jan. 1-April 30 because the bighorn sheep have their babies then. You can see in the photo below how high the ridge goes.

This many-armed saguaro is from a hike a few days ago on the Canyon del Oro to 50-Year Trail loop. Can you see Barb poking out from behind it? It's plump and bright green from our recent rain.

We had some heavy rain around New Year's Eve, so the saguaros are looking happy. Their accordion-like structure allows them to swell with water that carries them through the dry season. Their spines actually provide shade for the plants as well as protection from some animals. And they sure keep humans at a distance!

This saguaro riddled with holes on the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve is a cactus hotel! The holes were drilled by woodpeckers, who lay their eggs in the cavities. After the woodpeckers abandon their nests, other cavity nesting birds move in, like elf owls, cactus wrens, starlings, purple martins and kestrels. They also become homes to spiders, snakes, mice and other desert creatures. 

Last week was the first time I hiked at Vistoso. So many trails to explore here! I'm glad Barb is on this 70-hike journey with me because we encourage each other to hike farther, higher and more often and to explore different trails.

Have a colorful day

Ending the year with hiking and stitching

I have five desert hikes and 17 miles under my belt since my birthday this month. Sixty-five more treks to go! This is how I feel, victory stance:

I also just finished three new spirit dolls to take up to the gallery:

Tomorrow I'll be making turkey and cheese sliders with sweet Hawaiian rolls to take to a New Year's Eve party, but I'll be home and in bed hours before midnight.

Happy New Year!

Documenting my hikes

I'm documenting my 70 hikes for turning 70 years old in a little journal, keeping track of the dates, trails, mileage and who I hiked with. Barb has been on all three of my hikes. (She also just turned 70.)

So far each hike has been longer than the previous one. We want to work up to much longer and harder hikes over the coming year.

On today's hike in Catalina Park, we tried something new. We started on the Sutherland Trail, an old standby for us, but veered off onto an unmarked trail called Dripping Springs. A lot of hikers had told us about this trail, and we decided that now is the time to start branching out and find it.

It was a beautiful hike, sunny and peaceful with a combination of wide open views, saguaros towering against the blue sky, and leafy cooler spots by the water.

We got in a good workout, and now my muscles are pleasantly fatigued.

Juniper update: Here she is with her curly bed head hair peering into the stocking I made for her last Christmas. She'll be two next month!

Have a colorful day

Hikes and cookies

I got in the second of my 70 hikes yesterday. Only 68 to go before next December! How do you like Barb's new pink sunglasses?

This time we hiked the Alamo Canyon Loop in Catalina State Park, which we've only done once before. It has quite a variety of scenery, from this lush grassy area down by the wash ...

... to saguaros and a dry rocky canyon.

It's a good thing I'm hiking, because I'm also baking and eating a LOT of Christmas cookies!

This is a new to me recipe from the New York Times for peppermint shard cookies that looks nice but I wasn't crazy about the taste.

The classic peanut butter blossoms. Can't go wrong here!

Mocha chocolate chip cookies with espresso powder that I've been making for about 20 years. They'll keep you awake if you eat too many at bedtime. I know this for a fact.

My favorite this year is a coconut macaroon dipped in melted chocolate and then in crushed peppermint. I also made some with nuts for a friend who doesn't like peppermint.

Cherry almond fudge, another staple for me.

Little Juniper also got her first taste of making Christmas cookies with her mom. I wish I could have been there!

Have a colorful day

70 hikes for 70 years

I turned 70 yesterday, and to mark this new decade I'm challenging myself to go on 70 hikes within the next year! I started yesterday with a hike on my favorite trail, Canyon Loop in Catalina State Park, where the giant ancient saguaros tower over me.

For the occasion I wore my "Hike More Worry Less" t-shirt.

I invited Barb to go on the inaugural hike, and here we are at the start yesterday morning. Barb and I met on a moonrise meetup.com hike the year I moved to Tucson and we've been hiking together ever since. Our other hiking buddy, Beth, is gone for the holidays.

 

Here I am, above, with Barb earlier this month on Canyon Loop in my "Life Is Better In the Desert" shirt.

Halfway through the loop is this bench where we always rest. We met a woman and her son there yesterday who were celebrating the mom's 85th birthday -- same day as mine. I aspire to be as spry as she is when I'm 85!

Here's another favorite spot on Canyon Loop -- the petroglyph rock by an inviting stream.

Every day I'm thankful to finally be living in the desert sun after moving all over the country! This is home.

And of course there will be food in this post. After our hike, we met up with some other friends for lunch and because it was my birthday we got a free plate of doughnut holes on a cream cheese base with Nutella and berries to share!

Have a colorful day