Artful glass at Gallery In the Sun

When my Michigan visitors were here I took them to DeGrazia Gallery In the Sun, which I consider a jewel in our desert. There I found another jewel -- etched glass artist Madeline Gallego Thorpe.

 

Gallery In the Sun features rotating guest artists, and Madeline was one of them. I fell in love with her delicate goblets that she etched with her interpretations of our Southwest petroglyphs found on ancient rocks.

I bought these two, etched with flowing dancing figures, musical notes, spirals that she said keep the good spirits in, stars, jewelry.

I've been using them exclusively for my iced tea and water, and they make me happy just looking at them. If I drank wine, which I don't, I think the colors would be glorious.

This is the inside of the visiting artists' gallery, which Madeline shared with painter Don Carter. (Their show ends today.)

Don's vibrant acrylic, oil and watercolors bring to life the energy of our beautiful desert and its wildlife. Don wasn't there, but his wife said he's 91 and still paints four hours a day. His website is: www.doncarterfineart.com. (Madeline doesn't have a website, but her email is madelinegallegothorpe@gmail.com.)

Here's the original artist -- Ted DeGrazia, who built his compound in the Santa Catalina Mountain foothills in Tucson from materials from the land -- dirt for adobe bricks, rocks, yucca and ocotillo stalks, cholla and saguaro skeletons ...

The compound includes his home, above, a small chapel, a large gallery of his work and the Little Gallery for visiting artists.

I think the views from the windows are like paintings.

The 10-acre site is lush, despite being in the desert, and every time I go I notice something I overlooked before. Definitely visit it if you're ever in Tucson!

Have a colorful day

Michigan visitors seek sun, sustenance!

I just had a wonderful time with my Ann Arbor, MI, relatives, who came to Tucson seeking sun and good food. I showed them both, starting with lunch on the patio of Charro Vida after I picked them up at the airport. Charro Vida features healthy versions of Southwest cooking, including native grains and plants.

We did a lot of sight-seeing and hiking, always focusing on the sun. Stuart, above, relaxed in one of the very comfortable reclined wooden chairs scattered around Tohono Chul Park. Below, she's dwarfed by a giant saguaro at Catalina State Park.

This is me under the same saguaro!

The brothers also enjoyed the sun. The weather was crisp for Tucson, with highs only in the 50s and 60s, but that was perfect for hiking.

A lowering sun cast a golden glow over the desert at Catalina State Park.

Here we all are at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which is mostly outdoors. (My tie-dye shirt is by my friend Judy in Flagstaff, and the sunglasses are by a Tucson artist. I love to support other artists.)

That's Mexico beyond those mountains.

Happy Trails!

Now onto the food.

Stuart and I each got giant slices of chocolate cake to go from Bottega Michelangelo after a delicious Italian meal that left us stuffed and happy. We made that cake last about four days, diving into it first thing in the morning and last thing at night!

I also took them to Guadalahara's for the festive atmosphere. They fix salsa and guacamole at your table, making it as spicy or mild as you desire.

For a healthier meal, we had lunch at Dr. Andrew Weil's True Food Kitchen. (He lives in the Tucson area.) We had three different kinds of pizza on impossibly thin and delicious crusts. 

At the Desert Museum there was a beautiful goblet of prickly pear lemonade, refreshing to sip and to look at. Cheers!

 

Have a colorful day

Grandma's chair and skies

My daughter thrifted this glider last year and it's been my favorite chair ever since, but when I got to Spokane last week she said she was going to sell it! I begged her to ask the buyer if we could keep it just for my visit and she agreed, so I happily spent hours a day rocking in front of their big window while sipping coffee. It was cold outside, which is why I spent so much time in the chair.

I watched the snow fall and I waved to walkers as they passed by.

I held Juniper in it, but only for short periods because she always wants to be on the go. She's on the verge of walking and gets so excited when she stands unassisted. She also loves to dance while holding onto something and waving the other hand in the air.

Charlie, on the other hand, snuggled in for as long as I would sit there.

 

The sunset from their living room was spectacular behind the bare winter branches.

Also spectacular were the views of Salt Lake City from my plane window, above and below.

And as we flew into Tucson to land, there was a full moon over the desert welcoming me home.

Have a colorful day

Juniper's 1st birthday bash!

I'm in Spokane for Juniper's 1st birthday, and her parents threw her a fun birthday bash. She's VERY social and really enjoyed all the activity and attention and was calm throughout. Here she is with one of her birthday dolls.

 

Pink bunnies topped the cupcakes, and Julia hung colorful paper chains all around the living room and dining room.

She even hung up her newborn and latest pajamas to compare sizes.

Juniper loves books and gravitates toward them over other toys. She halted the party so she could look at this new book while we all looked at her!

She got her own little cottage, but the cats think it's theirs. I managed to get in the house on all fours but could hardly get out. 

Here she is learning to be gentle with their three bunnies, who have their own heated porch at their new house.

And here she is with me on my first morning here with us both still in our PJs. I spend hours every morning sipping coffee while looking out the window at the snow in the cactus slippers that they gave me for Christmas. I have to leave in three more days and I'm already sad thinking about it.

Have a colorful day