Hike, eat, sew

I've been doing a lot of hiking lately now that the weather is cooler. These two photos are from the Sweetwater Preserve, an area flush with saguaros in the Tucson Mountains west of the city.

After that hike, my friend and I ate at Teresa's Mosaic Cafe, an iconic Mexican restaurant nearby.

Every table has a different mosaic ...

... and the color continues with festive Mexican paper cutouts, called papel picado, hanging from the ceiling.

In sewing news, I finally made a casserole carrier from a pattern I bought years ago using fabric I bought when I visited Tucson in February 2020 on my house hunting trip.

And I made three more spirit dolls commissioned by a friend to give as gifts. She sent me descriptions of the three friends and I used that info to choose the fabric.

Now I'm waiting for a painter to show up to repair the mess left by the previous handyman who had glowing reviews that were probably all fakes written by his friends. If you can't trust the reviews and the handymen recommended by your friends are all too busy, what do you do? I found the disastrous one on Angi.com, which I'll never use again. My ex-husband used to do all of our repairs, but now it takes me months to find anyone to help.

Have a colorful day

Nancy's Squash Squad quilt

My friend Nancy just finished a wool appliqué project that I think is really fun, so I asked if I could put it on the blog. It's from a Sue Spargo pattern called Squash Squad. Sue also has books out giving instructions for the embroidery stitching that you see here.

You can't appreciate the detail in the overall photo, so here are some details that show Nancy's amazing variety of stitching and all the colorful threads.

Click on each photo for a larger view.

What a great quilt for fall!

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Home front and hiking

I finally did the "big" home improvement project I've been meaning to do ever since I moved here a year and a half ago. I hung a curtain across my closet opening to screen it from people who could see it when they came into the house. I used an old white cotton shower curtain and found these cool cactus shower hooks on Amazon!

I don't know why there wasn't a door on the opening, because it's visible from the entry hall and when you walk into the kitchen. It's bothered me since I moved in but I'm slow to jump into projects. I'm very pleased with the outcome and it hardly took any time or money at all.

In news from outside the house, this little bird was taking an enthusiastic bath in my courtyard fountain yesterday. And the monsoon rains have made my plants look like they're on steroids!

In hiking news, my friend and I explored a new to us state park yesterday: Oracle State Park, about 30 miles north of me. It was beautiful and peaceful. We only saw two other hikers even though the weather was sunny and in the 70s.

The vegetation was different than that in Tucson because it's a higher elevation and gets more rain. It's considered an oak-grasslands transition zone and only has one saguaro in the entire 4,000-acre park.

It's a wildlife refuge and has a picturesque old adobe wildlife blind (above).

It was originally a vast ranch owned by the Kannally family, who lived in a four-level Mediterranean Revival Style house that they build in 1929-1932 for $30,000. You can wander through the house on a self-guided tour. The flowers above are in the courtyard.

I was drawn to the turquoise shutters against the white-washed adobe and red tile roof. Inside was this cozy reading area next to a big fireplace.

The husband, Lee, turned to oil painting as therapy for the damage he suffered from gas poisoning during World War I. He painted on his knees with the paintings flat on the floor to minimize the tics resulting from nerve damage. The house is full of his vibrant, colorful paintings, which include a lot of crazy cowboys like the one above. The portrait is his wife, Lucile, who encouraged him to display his paintings at home.

In 1976, Lucile bequeathed remaining land and buildings to the Defenders of Wildlife. In 1985, the Defenders of Wildlife transferred the property to the Arizona Parklands Foundation for a state park, wildlife refuge and environmental education center. It's a real gem!

Afterward we had lunch at the Oracle Patio Cafe, which has a delectable baking case in the attached shop. I bought one of these almond bear claws for today's breakfast. For lunch, Barb and I shared a Thai chicken salad and veggie quiche, then she had a piece of chocolate torte and I had a really big slice of delicious tart cherry almond pie. Perfect way to end our excursion!

Have a colorful day

Hiking weather is back!

It's hiking weather, finally, in southern Arizona after a long hot summer. Just as those of you up north are pulling on sweaters and pouring hot chocolate, we desert dwellers are putting on sun hats and sunscreen as we hit the trails, golf courses and restaurant patios.

The record high summer rains left the desert greener and lusher than anyone here can remember. Old timers say to soak it up because it might be a once-in-a-lifetime event, seeing this much green on the mountains.

Now that the highs have "cooled" down into the 80s, it's time to hit the trails again. I still only go early in the mornings, when it's in the 60s, but I met a guy on the trail yesterday who said he hikes all summer starting at 4:30 a.m.! Maybe I'll eventually get there. He's lived here more than 40 years, so he has a little head start.

This beautiful weather has made me a happy hiker! Here I am this morning on the Birding Loop at Catalina State Park. I went out by myself for a quick hike to get the day started.

A lot of the summer grasses and other greenery are starting to turn golden now that it's fall. Here are a few examples from this morning's hike. Those are the Santa Catalina Mountains, by the way.

I love these two saguaros. They remind me of someone who walks the straight and narrow path (on the left) and that other person who just has to be different (on the right).

I also hiked in Catalina yesterday, on the Canyon Loop. There were some clouds floating around the mountains, but it was mostly blue sky and short-sleeve temps.

We came across some local firefighters practicing rescue techniques.

They set up this contraption at the top of a steep hill to rescue a dummy named Dominic. 

I took this picture from the picnic area where I relaxed while waiting for my friend to show up. I was so excited to get back on the trails, and this view of sunny trees through the darker  trunks made me think of the coming months unfolding.

In other news here in the Wild West, a bull got loose and wandered into a Tucson neighborhood. Police corralled him until his owner could take him back to the ranch. Never a dull moment!

Have a colorful day

Wrapping up Madison

 

My friend Susan drove up from Rockford, IL, to spend a day in Madison with me. We hadn't seen each other in a few years, but we picked up with our conversation as if we had never stopped. We went to Blue Bar Quilts and then had a delicious meal at Amber Indian Cuisine.

I love the fabrics at Blue Bar, and I always come away with good stuff, like this selection of fat quarters:

I love this house pattern by Persimon Dreams.

There was a nice selection of shot cottons. I knew that a shot cotton was woven with different colors in the warp and weft, but I didn't know why it was called "shot." Susan googled it and found out that it's because the technique gives you a "shot" of different colors.

I also loved this orange sewing machine, which reminds me of a Creamsicle.

I got in a few more hikes with my son and Rachel, including this one through native prairie and woods at Pheasant Branch Conservancy. It was overcast, but the rain held off.

This milkweed pod was covered with clusters of orange beetles:

And there was more orange at the pumpkin patch, where it was cold and windy so we got hot cider and warm cider donuts.

On my last day, Keith and I drove out to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail for a final hike, but a storm moved in just as we got there, so instead we went to Barnes & Noble and had coffee and read magazines in the cafe. It was that kind of morning.

I also got in a lot of puppy snuggles every day.

I did a little embroidery at night in my Airbnb, but mostly I was pretty tired and went to bed early. It was a good tired!

I had an evening flight back, with the sunset lighting up the desert as we approached Phoenix. From there it was a short hop to Tucson and back to my old routine.

Have a colorful day