Christmas decorations are up!

I just finished putting up the Christmas decorations, so now I can enjoy them the entire month of December and well into the new year! Outside, I stuck red and gold Christmas ornaments on the tips of my yucca plants -- an idea I see around town here where it's sunny and we don't have to worry about snow. I hung a fresh wreath on the front door, but I still have to gussy it up with some red berries and a big red bow.

Inside, I have battery-operated candles everywhere -- coffee table, dining room table, end tables, mantle, bedside table, guest room, bathroom, kitchen counter. Combined with the Christmas tree lights and white icicle lights that I leave up year-round in the living room, I have quite the cozy atmosphere going on. And if the electricity goes out, I sure won't be in the dark.

The gnome bottle toppers that I made adorn my Kahlua and balsamic vinegar bottles.

I have a skinny pencil tree in the corner because there's no good spot for a full tree.

My daughter said to open this present on Dec. 1 so that I can use it all month. Tomorrow I'll do the reveal!

My stocking was knit by an aunt and is about as old as I am.

Last night I kicked back in my comfy arm chair and watched one of my favorite holiday shows, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." You don't have to be a kid to like that one!

I hope you all are off to a joyful, colorful start of the holiday season!

Have a colorful day

Thankful

It's Thanksgiving morning and I'm finishing my coffee before heading out to hike with a friend in Catalina State Park. Later I'll join her and her husband for Thanksgiving dinner. It's a beautiful day -- sunny, 54 degrees and going up to 63. 

I'm feeling very grateful that I live in this beautiful Sonoran Desert and have made so many wonderful new friends and am still in touch with old friends across the country. Here's a photo from Beth's Friendsgiving meal last week:

 

I'm thankful for this beauty that surrounds me.

I'm thankful for my family, even though they all live far away and I won't see them today. Here's a photo my son just sent of his fall squash harvest:

This is my chocolate pecan Kahlua pie that I took to Beth's Friendsgiving. I've been making it for more than 30 years!

Have a colorful day!

Stitching and hiking

I was itching to do something with fabric last week but didn't have any quilts in the works. So I went to Youtube and searched for fabric Christmas projects and came up with a bunch of videos for these folded star ornaments. They're quick and fun, but each one uses almost a fat quarter's worth of fabric! I've made a half dozen so far. I think I'll hang a few on doorknobs and give the rest as gifts.

Then I made two new spirit dolls to take up to the gallery because I just sold two. The first one is called "JOY!" because it makes me feel joyful to look at it.

The green one is called "Forest," and it reminds me of sunlight glinting through a dark forest canopy.

I'm linking up to off-wall-friday.html in case you want to see what other fabric artists have been up to this past week.

But mostly I've been hiking or just walking around the neighborhood because the weather has been absolutely gorgeous! We've been having sunshine and highs in the 70s and 60s. It's getting nice and chilly at night -- good for snuggling up on the couch in the evening in front of a sappy Hallmark holiday movie -- but so far it's stayed above freezing.

These photos are from this week's hike in Sabino Canyon, where little kids were swimming in the creek.

My geraniums like this weather as much as I do! After struggling to survive the summer heat, they're loving the temperate fall weather.

Have a colorful day

Two years with the Shady Ladies

This month has been two years since I met Beth and Barb on a full moon Meetup.com hike and we formed the Shady Ladies! (Because we have to wear big hats to shade ourselves when we hike.) It's the Southwest version of my Gig Harbor Feet and Forks.

Yesterday we celebrated our anniversary by going to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, and the day before we hiked in Tucson. The picture above is at the botanical garden, with our Shady Lady hats. (We each have a wardrobe of hats.)

These gorgeous, glowing sculptures met us at the entrance to the gardens. And we posed in front of a wall of colorful botanical tiles. The garden is full of art as well as desert plants.

A butterfly landed on me at the butterfly pavilion and didn't want to get off!

I wish I had enough of a green thumb to maintain big potted plants like these:

We spent two hours wandering around the gardens, through cactus forests like this one as well as herb gardens and other areas. There was also a Chocolate and Chili Festival going on, so we got to sample some tasty items.

Here are some photos from our hike the day before in Pima Canyon. It was quite the social route, with lots of people stopping and talking to us.

We turned back before it got too hard!

We definitely try to have fun!

Last night's sunset was spectacular, again.

Have a colorful day

Fall color, Tucson style

Fall colors in Tucson aren't the traditional oranges and golds of changing leaves. Our fall colors are those of brilliant flowers, impossibly blue skies and greenery lush from the summer monsoon rains. 

Yesterday I took in the colors of Tohono Chul Park with a leisurely stroll on a perfect balmy fall day with temperatures around 70 and the slightest breeze. I also got in a little Christmas shopping in the gift shop.

A soaring bougainvillea shows off its brilliant red against a deep blue morning sky while a lemon glows among glossy green leaves.

The palm oasis is one of my favorite spots in the park.

The more traditional desert plants, like the giant saguaro and the stalk of a yucca bloom, look great against the blue sky.

While I love the sun, the shady spots in Tohono Chul are also appealing. That's a metal quail above and wind chimes below. The park is studded with art.

Last but not least, here's my daughter's Halloween photo shoot of her four bunnies, my grand bunnies! Three of them were born in her closet after she rescued their mom from under a car.

Have a colorful day