Long Weekend

I can hardly believe it myself, but I am actually sewing the quilt blocks for the Soft Roses quilt. I guess I just had to wait until I got that particular wild hair, right? This is the one where you sew layers of fabric on top of each other, about a quarter inch from the edge, so that when it's done, and washed, the edges will fray, softening the edges.

I saw one made years ago and loved it. When I saw the fabrics bundled up I thought they were beautiful. I still like them, but if I were ever to make another, I would pick my own colors and patterns. It will be fine, I'm sure. Hopefully, I won't get bored with it, and put it away again!

We've been to a couple of matinees over the last several days. The first movie we saw was "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". It was almost like claymation, but the animals, and everything else, was handmade. All of the foxes were made with real fox hair, one hair at a time. Who is that patient??? Certainly not me. Anyway, it was a cute film.

The second movie we saw today was "Blind Sided", the true story of Michael Oher, a player on the Baltimore Ravens football team. We loved it! We especially enjoyed seeing the pictures of his "real" family at the end. The acting was excellent, by the way.

I hope you've all been enjoying the weekend!

Thanksgiving Day

So many things to be thankful for, not just today, but everyday. I'm thankful to God for taking my worries when I hand them over. I'm thankful for my three kids who are no longer kids. I'm thankful that they are all safe and healthy. I'm thankful for a husband that loves me, even when I'm not so loveable. I'm thankful for my family and friends who are accepting, and even though we rarely stay in touch, we still know we're family.

I wish my kitchen was going to be FAT with family today, loud with jokes and laughter, football games on the TV, and loaded with way too much food. Hopefully next year we'll all be able to make that happen.

Love to you all. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

What's the Story?

Anybody know the story about this house that is down the street from the church in the rocks that I posted yesterday? I would love to know who owns it and the story behind the building of it!

Sedona, AZ

Sedona is incredibly beautiful. Even a raw image is spectacular. Driving along the Verde River, you can see Sedona, miles away, off in the distance. As you get close, there are red sandstone formations that glow with red and orange in the rising or setting sun.

Timing can be everything, right? To be on the sunnyside of the mountain helps. We should have gotten there much earlier, and with more time to explore. As it was, the dogs were alone in the motorhome, so we ran through town, raced from one end to the other, and decided that we would be back to spend more time. There was also some major road construction going on while we were there.

Sedona is said to be a very spiritual place, and there are "new age" spiritual healing businesses throughout the town. But really, who wouldn't be in awe, be inspired, connect with our spirituality in a place like this?
In the middle of town are all sorts of touristy shops, expensive eateries, and an information center that was jammed with people trying to figure out the best places to take photos, or the best jeep tour in town. Along the shops on the sidewalks were awesome metal statues.


A church built in to the rock.

The view behind the church:
Yes, we'll go back when we have more time.

All God's Creatures Sunday

Mmmm, so nice and warm here in the sun...maybe I'll rest here a little while...just close my eyes for a moment...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

SIMPLICITY

If you haven't checked out "Soaring Through the World in Pictures" that Heather started, you should. Photos from people around the world on weekly themes, by professionals and amateurs alike. It's fun, and gets you thinking about all sorts of subjects. Check it out; join us!

This week's theme is Simplicity. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what that means to me personally, or in my photographs. Believe me, I came up with all sorts of photos that, to me, portrayed simplicity. Then I started THINKING....always an uh oh.

I thought of this one:


Yeah, looks simple, right? But then I start thinking about what made that silt so deceiving; cracked and dry on the surface, but muck less than a centimeter underneath. The grass looks like simplicity, but it started a whole conversation with myself about the origins of the earth, and what it takes to make a simple seed grow somewhere, and photosynthesis, and chlorophyll, and all of a sudden it didn't seem so simple. At all.

Anyway, I love the idea of simple, and living simply. But just like trying to find a "simple" photograph, it's not so easy to live that way.

Friday My Town Shootout

This weeks theme, My Town's Premier Attaction, is brought to you by Kent . This is truly a great theme. All towns are known for something. Should be fascinating!!

Let's see. My towns Premier Attraction. Well, there's the fort.

I've mentioned Fort Huachuca in a couple of posts before. This is where intelligence training happens for all branches of the military. The fort employs 13,000 civilians, and is really the only reason why this town exists. This is a military town, and we're very proud of all of the people who serve to protect our freedoms.

Another "attraction" of my town is this:

Sierra Vista, Arizona, was the first city to have a McDonald's drive-through. It first opened its window on January 24, 1975, to be able to quickly feed many of the soldiers coming from Fort Huachuca, a military base located adjacent to the city. (from Wickipedia)

Then, of course, we are the Hummingbird capital of the United States! We're on a migratory path for these little creatures that can travel thousands of miles every year.

Have a wonderful weekend!