Making small art

 

The gallery where I show my spirit dolls is having an exhibit of small art no more than 80 square inches. That has spurred me to make some small textile collages to wrap around 8x10-inch stretched canvases.

Here are the first two, which I still have to stretch  over the frames.

I pulled out my painted silks and sheers, glitz and glimmer, beads and embroidery threads.

I ordered a package of MistyFuse to fuse the sheers over one another.

I did some big stitches with two strands of embroidery floss and sewed on a lot of gold beads.

I love to leave long gold thread tails that shimmer in the light. I've been doing that on my quilts for well over 20 years.

I have mixed feelings about the "face" on this piece. I think of it as Monsoon Man, blowing wind and rain across the desert during our summer monsoon season. But I'm not sure how viewers will see it.

And speaking of the monsoon, our skies have been filled with big clouds promising rain, but not much has fallen in my neighborhood. This is the view from my street yesterday morning.

Have a colorful day

It's cool again!

Yessiree, there was celebrating last night! My new HVAC system was installed yesterday and I can finally relax in comfort in my own home for the first time in almost two weeks!

It was a big production, with a crane pulling up to the house at 7 a.m. to lift out the old compressor and deliver the new one. They had to get it over a rock wall with no gate, which is why they needed a crane.

Then a crew swung into action and got everything hooked up and tested while I sat outside in the shade because it was 95 degrees inside. By 1:30 it was pumping blissfully cool air into the house and by 5 it was cooled down to 77 degrees.

The night before I stayed with Beth and got lots of love in the morning from her dog, Sunshine, on the right, and a friend's dog, Lexi.

And before that I stayed with a friend across town for a few days. Here he is "orchestrating" the monsoon sunset. (Actually, he was taking a picture.) We didn't get rain in that part of town, but we had plenty of dramatic clouds. When the monsoon rain finally comes it will cool things off outside.

Have a colorful day

Happy Summer Solstice and Monsoon!

Summer Solstice!

About 5:30 this morning, 

west (above) and east (below).

In Tucson, the summer solstice means it's monsoon season! We celebrate rain here in the desert like people up north celebrate the longest day of sunlight on June 21. 

We get excited when there's a buildup of clouds in June because it means that rain for a hot, thirsty desert is on the way! Our monsoon officially runs from June 15-September 30, but obviously the weather doesn't follow that exactly.

This is my third summer here, but I haven't experienced a "normal" monsoon yet. The first summer we hardly had any rain, so it was called a "non-soon." The second summer we had record high rainfall -- about 12 inches versus the average six, with a lot of flooding and leaking roofs. This year they're predicting a wetter than usual monsoon, and the rain has already started.

The monsoon begins when prevailing winds switch from the west to the southeast and bring moisture in from the Gulf of California and Gulf of Mexico, which brings rain and some very strong winds. Most of our summer days begin clear and warm, then giant clouds develop in the afternoon and tower over the mountains.

 

The clouds dump huge quantities of rain in a short time in a concentrated area, and these cloudbursts create strong winds, lightning and flash flooding. Our dry river beds become raging torrents, and sometimes water carries away vehicles when they try to drive on flooded roads. 

The temps can drop 10-20 degrees during the rain, in my experience, from in the 90s and 100s down to the 70s and 80s. Even the upper 80s can feel blessedly refreshing after a high of 110.

The welcome rains also bring a second wildflower season in the Sonoran Desert. 

Wildflowers from last summer's monsoon.

In addition, the rain brings out bugs and other creatures, like this tyrannosaurus rex eating a traffic light at the corner of Grant and Tanque Verde last night! Actually, this guy is there year round in front of a McDonald's. I took the picture on my way home from watching the new "Jurassic Park."

And speaking of hot weather, here's an update on my air conditioning situation: It's a stifling 94 degrees in the house, slightly lower in the bedroom where I have a portable cooler, and I have three more days before the new system will be installed and life will get back to normal. I spent the weekend at a friend's house but didn't want to wear out my welcome so I'm home again. Maybe I'll tap another friend tonight.

Have a colorful day

"What a Wonderful World"

 

As we enter monsoon season (official start date is June 15), my eyes are on the sky while praying for rain to cool off the desert. We've had a few sprinkles at my place so far.

My eyes are also on the calendar, counting down the days until my air conditioning will be restored. I've gotten through six days without AC in temps of over 100 degrees. I have six more to go.

Here is last night's sunset, with monsoon clouds gathering.

Sometimes I stay here at night; other times I stay with friends. During the days I spend a lot of time sipping iced tea in restaurants, reading at Barnes & Noble, and walking the aisles of stores with blessed AC. It's gotten up to 110!

The other day I slept over at Beth's. In the morning we walked and saw this wonderful plaque on the side of a home with the words to "What a Wonderful World."

"I see trees of green

red roses too.

I see them bloom

for me and you.

And I think to myself

what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue

and clouds of white.

The bright blessed day

the dark sacred night.

And I think to myself

what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow

so pretty in the sky

are also on the faces

of people going by.

I see friends shaking hands

saying, 'How do you do?'

They're really saying

'I love you.'

I hear babies cry

I watch them grow.

They'll learn much more

than I'll never know.

And I think to myself

what a wonderful world.

Yes I think to myself

what a wonderful world."

Speaking of the monsoon, I'm celebrating with a 15% off everything Monsoon Sale in my Etsy shop:  www.sherrielovescolor.etsy.com

Have a colorful day

It's 109 outside and 93 inside!!!

My worst fears have come true -- my air conditioning went out during our hottest season!!! Arrgggghh!!!!!

It went out over the weekend so I stayed with a friend because it was over 90 in the house and rising. After striking out several times, I was able to get an AC technician out this afternoon to see if it could be fixed. It can't. It's old and dead. And I can't get the new one in for 11 more days -- all of which will be over 100.

So I did what a girl's gotta do. I went to the gelato shop. And I hung out for three hours in a nice cool restaurant with a good book. I'm waiting now in front of my fan for the AC guy to bring over a portable room unit that will at least make the bedroom bearable, but I plan to take up friends' offers to stay with them part of the time for the next 11 days.

And I'll wait with the rest of Tucson to see if our summer monsoon brings cooling rains anytime soon. The monsoon's official start date is June 15, and there's been a daily buildup of clouds promising rain. So far we've only had a few sprinkles, a rainbow and virga (rain that hangs down from the clouds but evaporates before it reaches the ground).

On the bright side, I found a great breakfast restaurant called Snooze where I had a pancake flight! (Like a beer flight or wine flight sampler, but better.) I chose sweet potato, blueberry Danish, and chocolate chip pancakes for my flight. And look at the French toast selection!!!

Have a cool day

Getting back to entertaining

After two years here, I finally held a little dinner party last night. I pulled out all of the colorful Talavera pottery that I've been collecting since Tucson became my home and planned a menu full of color. Fun! The big platter held a composed salad with grilled chicken, colorful veggies, olives and cheese over a bed of mixed greens. I made a honey mustard marinade for the chicken and for the dressing.

Colorful mini peppers stuffed with garden veggie cheese were the appetizers.

Fruit kebabs are my go-to item for parties 

because they're so cheerful.

 

The pasta pesto salad was a hit. I simply mixed Costco pesto with some light mayo and tossed it with bowtie pasta, roasted red, orange and yellow pepper strips, spinach, marinated artichoke hearts and parmesan. Delicious! (It's also very good made with tortellini.) The pasta salad and fruit kebabs are on sunflower pottery that I found in Hood River, OR, at a local pottery studio. I love them!

It was all topped off with a Key lime meringue pie, which I polished off after everyone left. I think I left it in the oven a little too long because it got too brown. Gee, I'll have to make another one to improve on the technique!

 

The incentive for the party was so that my old friend Nancy, who just moved here from Gig Harbor, could get to know my new Tucson friends. Here's Nancy at the door to her new home and looking out over her back yard view. Can you believe we're in the desert with all those trees?

And to make this post sewing related, here's a top that I made 15-20 years ago and just rediscovered. It was too big for me back then but I loved the fabric, so I stashed it with my other batik fabric in case I ever wanted to cut it up for a quilt. Luckily I didn't, because now it fits me.

Have a colorful day