More monsoon magic

 

We had another monsoon dump yesterday that put a rainbow over my house and magic light in the sky. I got another inch in my rain gauge.

Meanwhile, on the east side there were three flash flood rescues within half an hour. Fortunately no one was injured except maybe the cars. 

On my neighborhood walk this morning I saw the remnants of the storm in new ponds and big puddles. I always think of reflections in water as magical.

This Mexican bird of paradise is reflected in what's normally a gravel walkway.

The barrel cacti love a good rain.

I think the pink flower is oleander. It added more color to my walk. And more rain is forecast for later today!

Have a colorful day

Holiday bazaar?

Here comes another fabric bowl. I can't stop sewing! I have so much fabric and it's too hot to be outside and working with my favorite colors keeps my spirits up while waiting for it to cool off so I can hike.

I'm sewing so much that I think I should have a holiday bazaar and sell some of it. But I wonder if enough people would come or if I'd be sitting here alone eating Christmas cookies. (I can think of worse fates.) And should I do one day or two? And right after Thanksgiving or the first weekend in December? Any suggestions?

When I lived in Illinois and Washington, I took part in a lot of group holiday bazaars with other artists, but I haven't found a group here. So I'm thinking of having one by myself -- lord knows I have enough stuff to sell! I would deck the house for the holidays and serve home made Christmas cookies and beg my friends to come and to bring their friends. 

My favorite item to make is the zipper pouch with a clear vinyl front so you can see what's inside.

I've made two with my chocolate fabric. I could put Hershey Kisses in each of them!

I have a stack of microwave bowl cozies, but I don't enjoy making them as much. A lot of gift stores here carry them for about $8 to $12 each.

Travel tissue cases are a breeze to whip out, so I could sell them for just a few bucks. I keep them in my purse, backpack and car.

 I found two wool needle holders that I made as samples when I taught how to make them in Gig Harbor. Might as well sell them.

I also found a pile of lined gift bags that I made a few years ago and sold. (Thank you again to all of you blog readers who bought some!)

And snow people ornaments!

So much fabric. I could sew the rest of my life and not run out.

Well, back to the bowl.

To see what some other fabric artists have been doing, visit Nina-Marie at:  /

Have a colorful day

September

 

It might still be in the 100s here, but that's a cider donut with my coffee! And nothing says fall like a cider donut, which my friend brought back for me from Apple Annie's orchard.

September is also the last month of the Southwest monsoon season, and we've been having some breathtaking sunsets! We've also had quite a bit of rain, which is good for the desert. I took these photos from my front courtyard -- best sunset view I've had of all the places I've lived.

I'm looking forward to cooler days so I can start hiking again without having to be on the trail at dawn (which I have not been doing). That should happen by October.

Meanwhile, my kids up north are having a more seasonal end to summer. My daughter has picked the last of her raspberries and my son and his wife did their annual trip to Lake Michigan, where it was cool enough for a fire. No fires here in the desert, except for the sky!

Have a colorful day

Monsoon and a mountain escape

We've had some wild monsoon storms the last few days in Arizona. We desperately needed the rain, but not the damaging winds, which toppled big trees in downtown Tucson last week. Here's the view of rain falling over the Tucson Mountains from my front courtyard. The last few nights we've all been waking up to thunder, lightning and steady rain.

 

But the monsoon really hit the Grand Canyon (five hours north of me) hard over the weekend, with a raging flash flood tearing through some of the most popular hiking areas, ripping out bridges and buildings. Dozens of hikers had to be evacuated by helicopter, about 15 are still missing, and there have been two confirmed deaths so far. The water pipeline that supplies the tourist hotels and restaurants on the South Rim was destroyed, so those people also had to leave. It's not known how long they will be closed.

 

Meanwhile, it was over 100 degrees all last week in Tucson, so four of us went up to Mt. Lemmon to hike where it's about 20 degrees cooler at almost 9,000 feet.

It's a whole different world! So green and cool with massive evergreens instead of the desert's giant saguaros. This is a Douglas fir below. I couldn't get the whole tree in one picture.

Little berries and mountain wildflowers added spots of color to the green. The red berries are on a mountain ash and the white ones are snow berries (if my iPhone is correct).

Delicate yellow columbine was plentiful, as were the daisy-like fleabane flowers.

The orange one is a blanket flower, in the sunflower family.

This tiny white flower with delicate purple lines is a Richardson's geranium. The yellow one is a golden columbine.

This stump was also a work of art! Hikers have decorated it with sticks, pinecones, moss, rocks, and even a penny deep inside the hollow area. I wonder if any little forest creatures seek shelter there.

It was a very short hike, but the elevation made it a little tiring so we were glad to get to the Iron Door for cold drinks and lunch. Then the short hike back to the car was all downhill!

Have a colorful day