Moments in AZ

Being in Arizona one sees many photo spots, some of which turn out well and others not so well. Here is a distance shot of mountains around Sedona where we toured last weekend.

And yesterday my husband took a holiday for our trip to Apache Junction and the run up the Apache Trail to Tortilla Flat for lunch. We were packed into the rental car--five of us and a car seat--but managed to have a wonderful time. Here is a lovely vista with different coloured mountains. The overhead clouds cause the black mountains down below so that the scene is continually changing as the clouds scud across the blue. Canyon Lake beckons in the foreground.

At Goldfield we stopped and enjoyed the western town, complete with train ride, saloon and lots of vintage buildings. The engineer sported a grey foot-long beard and a ponytail of the same length. He had lots of information but his droning voice meant my attention drifted away and I played with Chelsea, took pictures and made up my own story of the view. I like this finger-pointing saguaro dominating the street here.

With the sun behind me the saguaros look completely different. It takes about 70 years for a second branch to start to form on one of these giants. Some of those which have many arms are about 350 years old.

My husband posed for me pointing up to the 'lady in red' beckoning from the second floor window. Now what was she meaning exactly????

This is the same picture, backed up a bit, and grandpa has Chelsea with him.

On the way to Sedona we stopped and toured the lovely but cold site of Montezuma's Castle. Here Ron and Chelsea are caught in front of a huge tree. I'll bet this site is especially pretty when it's not so cold and there is greenery all around.

On the way to Goldfield I snapped this:

A couple of nights ago we took Chelsea to the Rainforest Cafe which was a real treat for all of us. Entering the restaurant we met trees and branches overhead which were covered with birds and fishes. As we waited to be shown to our table we stood underneath a fish tank which formed an arch. The fish were of all colours and quite large. It was exciting. When we sat down at our table we were right beside these elephants which periodically would roar and move. The first time they did this, the lights went dim, flickered, rain sounds rose and the elephants roared. I quick laughed and encouraged Chelsea to laugh, telling her these were not real. She made the jump and by the time the same thing happened a few more times was hardly paying much attention. Quite a lot of fun, though.

This is Montezuma's Castle, mentioned above. Can you believe people lived here?

Arizona is famous for its sunrises and sunsets. Here is one I caught, looking out over our patio.

We went to a marvelous zoo with the family and here a zoo volunteer is helping Chelsea feed the giraffe.

I loved this majestic tiger on the move. Often you only see them lying in the sun but this boy was charging about his enclosure. Wonderful.

And here is an Arizona sunset.

We love this state for its arid beauty, its cool shade, its mountain grandness and its lack of humidity. And this time we had lots of company: sister, daughter's family, sister-in-law and her husband. The last week we're here we'll be connecting with other friends and I'll be checking out some bead stores. Yummy! Beadergirl rises again in Phoenix.

Bits and Pieces

Today I'm staring at this blank page and wondering what to write. It's time to write, I want to write but I'm caught in that loop of everything I think about seeming too dull. Does everyone feel that their life is just a little north of boring sometimes? Well, I'll try anyhow.

Here I am sitting at my laptop across from my husband who is on a company update call while sitting at his laptop. We are definitely in the tech world. We are lucky enough to have most of the month here in Arizona where the temperature hovers around 70 during the day. Pretty nice. Back home the temp is way below freezing and boots and mitts are required. I sit here in shirt sleeves and capri pants.

We went to the Phoenix zoo on Wednesday and saw lots of things but the most fun was watching granddaughter, Chelsea, almost two, as she discovered this new world. She lasted quite a while but towards the end of the 2 1/2 hours she got a bit cranky. We rushed the monkeys, the rhinos and the elephants and headed home for lunch. I enjoyed the walking, the absolutely perfect cool weather, and snapping my camera trying for that perfect shot.

Saturday we took the two-hour drive to Sedona, one of the most thrilling places to see in the world. It is stunning. Pictures will be coming when I can get them uploaded. Some technical difficulties here, unfortunately.

We've had lots of company here, Ron's sister and brother-in-law, my sister, and of course our daughter's family is here, too. It makes sitting by the fire pit at night, or going to the laid on events (name that tune, marshmallow things by the fire, and others) a lot more fun than when it's just the two of us. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Hilton Head SC again

On our recent trip to Hilton Head (we've been many times before) we met up with teaching friends who were there as well. Here they are below:

Oops, no! This is an alligator ( and its baby--look hard) reflected in the stream on our walk through Sea Pines Forest Preserve WITH our friends. Here Dace is trying to fit into a hollow tree for my camera.

Notice the turtles in this boggy swamp. They are some of my favorite things on this nature walk.

I got ahead of the group and made them pose for this shot. It was early December but still some greenery in South Carolina.

So special to have friends to share this relaxing and enjoyable vacation island with. Also for me it was terrific to share it with two seafood lovers as we all went to the Crazy Crab at Harbour Point and I had clam soup--delicious--and crab cakes--pretty good.

We'll go back to Barony Beach again, for sure!

Trekking With My Guy

This morning I'm sitting here in Hilton Head, across from my working husband, two laptops whirring, keys clicking, and wondering what to write. Sounds familiar--that blank page/screen syndrome. Funny that, as I'm never wondering what to say. Words just jump into my head and out of my mouth at the least provocation. I love people and I love to talk with them. Guess I'll just pretend I'm talking, then, instead of writing.
I visited a bead store here yesterday and bought nothing. I'm spoiled by my Fire Mountain supplier, that's for sure, and I spent 2 hours a couple of days ago looking up stuff on their website. I feel an order coming on! Anyhow the shop here was small but cute, had lovely beads but very high prices--about 5 times what I pay usually. I might as well be buying them in Canada where the stores are beginning to pop up but their selection is not nearly so good and their prices high as well.
Yesterday when I was at aquafit I learned about a neat store here called Home Goods. Later in the day I took a tour. I bought Christmas stockings for the grandchildren to use at our house and some great Christmas towels for me! With all the shopping I've done so far precious few things have been for me so this was a treat. The store is a little like HomeSense at home but the quality was awesome and the store just packed with goodies. Yum.
We've had some great meals here and Tuesday tried out the Crazy Crab (one of my parents' favs years ago) with some teacher friends who are here as well. I had a yummy clam chowder and crab cakes, good but not as great as the ones I had in Cape May last summer. The search goes on. My husband who is not so much into seafood had fish and chips which he loved. We were all happy.
Yesterday was overcast and rainy so no beach walk but every other day we've been out enjoying the lowtide expanse of beach here at our resort, Marriott's Barony Beach Club. We keep talking about biking but the days seem to fly by with lots to do and we haven't made it yet. Today we're invited to friends' for a walk on the beach and supper at their unit in Sea Pines. Should be fun.
It is amazing to me how many things we find to do here on this island where we've been coming for over 17 years. The available things change all the time but the point is there are always new things to try and some of the old things to revisit. And the ocean is always there.
What a great break this has been for both of us after our busy fall with the Anne of Green Gables show and our usual busy lives. Even though we are both working--well me trying to, Ron actually doing his work--our free time is so relaxing that the week has been a bright spot in our fall. Way to work November blahs out!
And yet.
When we leave for home on Saturday I'll be happy to go and happy to get back to our palace in Ontario. Life IS good.

Keeping up in Hilton Head

We're tripping this week and I thought I'd tell about it, giving both highlights and lowlights:
1. We spent 8 hours in Dallas/Fort Worth airport waiting for a connecting flight.
2. We're still speaking to each other.
3. We had an Italian dinner which was lovely but served by the waiter Nazi, as in the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. We left stuffed and laughing so all is well.
4. I went to aquafit this morning and had a good time, felt very self-satisfied getting exercise with all the good eating we're doing. Met a nice woman--we were the youngest two, I think--and look forward to Wednesday morning.
5. Shopping on Saturday and Sunday--good deals the day after Black Friday.
6. Koret of California is closing at the end of December so now there are none of my favorite stores left here in Hilton Head. :-(
7. Internet access is awesome here--I even got online with my laptop and don't have to use my husband's. :-)
8. Meeting some teacher friends tomorrow for lunch. :-)
9. Christmas shopping for our family here is great and great fun.
10. Went to a margarita/salsa meet and greet and talked to some nice folks from Texas. He worked at a bank and told an amusing story of having to get the safety deposit vault open one day.
11. My husband gets up very early and does much of his office work before I'm even awake--I need a lot more sleep than he does. By mid afternoon he is ready to roam and we do, wherever, whenever and however. Fun.

Anne of Green Gables, Never Change

Last night our director, my sister, handed each of us a lovely note thanking us for our participation in Anne of Green Gables, our show which will have its final performance on Saturday night. She used prints of the lovely wall mural in our theatre hall, done by Elly LeGallais, reprinted above.

We now have three shows left and my feelings are ambivalent: on the one hand I long to get my life back, but on the other, I don't want to leave the people and the camaraderie of the show. Guess that means this has been a good experience.

The last show I was in was in 1991 when my family performed Pirates of Penzance, donating the considerable proceeds to various charities, the Ronald McDonald House in London, one of them. My amazing mother produced that show, managing to keep all of her many offspring on task, and working with director, Joy Lowrie from Toronto. We had a great time, produced a memorable show, and bonded yet again as a family. My eleven-year-old niece and I danced together in one routine and managed to turn that closeness into a lifelong meeting of hearts and minds.

Oh, there were bumps in the weeks leading up to performance. There always are, but the end product was well worth it. And the same can be said of AGG (as we now call Anne of Green Gables). That rush of adrenalin on stage and the smiles of the audience make it all worthwhile.

A great bonus to both my husband and me is reconnecting with a 'bright light' student from our teaching days. Here is a picture of us together in costume. Thanks, Vicky!

Boys and Balls

Here is Grandpa playing with his grandson and the first ball we bought him.



Gotta love it!

Mrs. Pye's Diary

Ok, the Yarn Harlot just made me feel a lot better. After a frustrating night of memory lapses at rehearsal I have been pretty low this morning. After all these years I still suffer from two things: a desire,wish, yen, NEED for perfection, and the aftereffects of health issues 16 years ago which make memory work mostly impossible for me. (A tough go for a singer!)
I realized as I sat and mentally kicked myself for ever taking this role--What was I thinking???--that if everyone else just did their lines perfectly I would most likely be fine. Not too comforting. In houses across the county they are probably thinking the same thing! Oh, to have that photographic memory thing going on. But it is dead.
So, rather than sit and cry, I tried yet again to come up with a strategy. Here it is: Drink a lot and avoid the problem. Ha ha. Not really. I tried the writing it out thing. Good. Then my wonderful partner ran scenes with me over and over, just the two of us till I was comfortable. Better, because I got to sit with no book and just my fidgety brain to figure it all out. Going with no book is so scary, make that SOOOO SCARY. So I think from here on in I just have to do it a million times with no book, no slips of paper, no nuthin. (Oops, slipped into the play vernacular. Maybe that's good?)
After we got that first major scene nailed, I came in here, sat down to my blog and looked for one to cheer me up. Ah, the yarn harlot. She is hysterical, actually in both senses of the word for the blog I read: funny and losing it. Her house problems made my day. Have you ever noticed that whenever you have a problem, discovering someone else with a worse one makes you feel so much better? Not sure what that says about my character but there it is.
After this harangue, you, too, probably need a chuckle. Click here for the yarn harlot's take on life. And BTW, if you are so inclined, say a prayer for Mrs. Pye. (me)

The Silver Lining

Today I am beginning to surface again after two horrible days with the flu. I still didn't want to chance giving my germs to my fellow Anne of Green Gables cast members so I sent my husband along without me and settled down to watch some tv via our new PVR box from our cable company. Yet again we have investigated and figured out another piece of new technology.
With the PVR I have learned to record single tv shows I want to watch, all shows of a certain title on whatever channels and movies.
Ah, yes, the movies. Today I watched Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning, and felt quite happy slowly letting the movie sink into my consciousness to feed me its message. The movie is about three people who were in a little-known Nazi concentration camp in France which was used as a collection point for people who were being sent to the more famous camps whose names we all know today. Two of the people were children and the third a kindly man who strove to make their lives a little happier in light of the grand tragedy they all were suffering.
I particularly liked the take in that movie that it was from maybe forty years later when they all meet at the farm of the girl, played by Susan Sarandon.
A poignant part in the film occurs when the older man tells the girl's husband why he was sent to a psychiatric hospital. The man is awestruck and cannot speak. His attitude changes immediately.
Finding a way to have this movie turn out well must have been quite a trial for the playwright but he/she did it. My suggestion is to settle in for a relaxing hour and a half and prepare to be awestruck yourself.
Oh! Another reason I really enjoyed this movie is the fact that it flies in the face of those naysayers who deny that the holocaust ever really happened. And, by the way, there is a silver lining at the end of the movie.

Bits and Pieces

Who knew that watching a wee boy play rolling ball with his grandpa would be so spell binding?

Of course we're not sure who is teaching whom but not to worry. Lots of fun for all involved.

People keep telling me they read my blog and are wanting me to post more often. Today I would like to ask for some comments and/or feedback from those people so that I know I'm not just writing in a vacuum. Even disagree with me. It's okay. Then I'll know someone is listening.

This has been a great Thanksgiving weekend for Canucks in Southern Ontario. Yesterday was sunny and sweet, just perfect for entertaining our grandson for his first Thanksgiving. Today has been relaxed and laid back. I spent some time getting familiar with our Rogers HD package, specifically in recording movies/shows for future playback. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow I'm ready to get back into eating carefully again although I didn't do too badly with the holiday. We even threw out the remains of a purchased pumpkin pie. If it's not great I'm not willing to waste the calories on it.

We talked to Beth and Chelsea and got quite a lot of information from Beth but not so much from Chelsea, although Beth says she now has about thirty words. I can hardly wait till she starts to answer me when I talk to her on the phone. Have you ever tried to talk non-stop to a toddler who is not replying? Oh, occasionally she grunts and then I grunt back to her, hoping that means something to the sweet little thing. Sure am glad they have a trip planned here in December.

Speaking of trips, we cancelled our holiday in Paris, France as we are just too busy and would have missed 4, yes four, rehearsals for Anne of Green Gables. Neither of us wanted to do that so we rescheduled our flights and hotel for stuff on this side of the ocean. Whew! Now I just have to get all my stuff memorized for our practice this Tuesday when we start the run-throughs. I'm anxious to see if I can actually do this as I haven't for years. Fun, fun.

Time to play with our Rogers thingey again. Maybe we'll get some other wonderful thing to download (upload?) and refresh our technical memory once more. Gotta love it!

I Can Turn on a Dime

My friend and I had planned to walk this morning at 7:30 until I remembered my hair appointment. We thought we'd go afterwards. I checked and my appointment was at 9:00 a.m. so our 7:30 walk was back on. I got up at 6:30 to pouring rain. My friend called and we changed to 11:00 a.m. if the rain stopped.
My sister called and asked if I could taxi her son to school at 11:40. Yes, I could as I would be back by then.
Next I was supposed to drop off my husband at our son's house on my way out of town but my hairdresser called and rescheduled for 2:00 p.m. this afternoon as the power is off there and has been since 5:00 a.m. this morning. The hydro people have no idea when it will be back on. So my husband has taken the car to our son's for his meeting and I have the morning to write and a hair appointment this afternoon. Crazy!

I am an organized person and love structure in my life. Amazingly, though, I can toss all my plans away in an instant if I see the need. Last weekend my husband and I threw out our plans to go to France next week and used the airmiles and hotel accommodations on this side of the pond in the next three or four months. We are happy to do this as we needed to be at all the rehearsals for Anne of Green Gables and would have missed four run-throughs. The thought totally freaked me, with my difficulty memorizing anything. So. We talked it over and changed our minds.

If my son calls and wants me to take a trip to London with him during the day almost always I change my day and grab the opportunity. If my husband wants to take a tour downtown for something and asks me to go, I work it out. I love to go places and talk to people, especially to those I love.

So, yes, I can turn on a dime. Carpe diem!

Home Suite Home

Yesterday my spouse and I trekked around our condo area to get some pictures for his new newsletter. Since I had the pics I thought I'd post them on my blog. Below is our place (the first unit with the two pink hydrangeas blooming. I finally learned if I wanted fertilizer on the plants I had to put it on. Since then my flowers have pleased me.

Here is a shot of our 'common area' but it is much more than common; in fact, it is pretty picturesque in all seasons.

Even on this cloudy day the gazebo's attractive design demands notice.

Some of the gardens are very nicely done. We even were finalists in our city's "City Beautiful" contest this year.

I love the path through the centre of the common area, so cute and beguiling you just have to follow it. We always finish our walk up this path to our home.

In December we'll mark our second anniversary since we moved here. The time has flown and so have the stray uncomfortable feelings of not being 'home'. We are totally ensconced in our condo, body and mind.

Mani, Pedi, they both cure!

Today I was feeling a little tired and a lot worn down. Too much Toronto trekking yesterday and then up at the crack to sit for Ben, the latest love of his grandfather's and my life. Ben's mother came home early freeing us for the rest of our day. My husband had errands to run. I added one thing to his list. Drop me at the Model Nails spa.

I must admit the place is plain with no real ambiance. But the people are pleasant and eager to please and I have visited them 3 or 4 times this summer. Mary does a great job of my toes but the massage chair I sit in was just calling to me today. They took me immediately and I picked my polish colour and settled in for a treatment.

Forty-five minutes later I floated out with my toes beautifully painted and my whole being a lot less stressed.

This was the first time I went for the flower and I quite liked it!

Tried a couple of different shots but none were that great. Oh well, the toes were fun.

Last time I went I got a French manicure for the first time, also a lot of fun. In true Beader Girl fashion I was wearing one of my watches for this shot.

Time for dessert--homemade elderberry pie (real from-scratch pie crust)--and our guests arriving very soon.

Evita Rocks With Dena and Stephen

My husband and I took the hour and a bit trip to Huron Country Playhouse last Saturday expecting a pleasant afternoon and a revival of the spectacular movie, Evita, we had seen years ago. For me that movie was so amazing because of the introduction of the everyman character with all his singing comments on the political tapestry against which Eva Peron rose. Her story is incredible enough--a poor girl who claws her way to becoming the wife of the ruler of Argentina--but the movie meshed past and present, love of Eva, hate of her and all she represented, as well as incredible music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Of course we expected excellence of these giants and were not disappointed.

Just before the lights went down and the show began I commented to my husband that the actor playing Che, the narrator, would have an impossible job because Antonio Banderas owned that role in the movie. Indeed, it was my first notice of him. Well, the show started with Stephen Patteron stepping out as Che. I totally forgot Banderas, not because Patterson is so good-looking but because he lunged into the role, khakis and all, his powerful voice stunning in its take charge, I'm-a-person-to-be-reckoned-with sound. I turned to my husband and smiled. We were in for a treat.

The dancing was alive, pulsating with emotion, precise in movements and altogether enthralling. And the choreography on a relatively small stage, with a limited set, compared to movie takes, was inspired. I never saw a dance or dancer whose movement bored me. Rather my eyes just wouldn't open wide enough.

And now I must tell you of Dena Chiarcossi, whose debut in this starring role was without a doubt amazing. I know, we use that word all the time, but she amazed all who saw the show. Her athleticism added a dash of strength to the character and her profile was reminiscent of the famous Barbra Streisand. Her voice. A strong sound in the lower registers and then a tinkling winking glory as she went higher and higher. I loved her as Evita. Of course Madonna did the role in the movie but Madonna never sang like this girl, and never could, with any amount of coaching. Madonna was believable and strong as Evita. Dena was Evita. I predict we will hear much more of this young lady.

I cannot urge you to get tickets as we saw the second-to-last performance and there are no more. Pity.

Four and One at the Zoo

On Sunday last my husband and I accompanied our son's family to the Twin Valley Zoo east of Brantford. Of course I didn't write about it immediately so have forgotten just what these sleepy animals are, although I do remember they reminded me of the javelinas we saw in Arizona.

This bobcat was calm and beautiful. The tail is very short; hence, the name, I figured out.

Lots of deer ambled behind their fence. Of course there are many deer running free in Ontario, so this is not such a rare sight.

Daddy black bear sat patiently under the scrutiny of Ben, his parents and his grandparents.

The reindeer were quite interesting. This one has a lovely rack of antlers.

And this baby's antlers have just started to grow. I think his glare is because we had no food for him and he had run right over when he saw us.

At first I thought these were llamas, but of course they are alpacas. They have such a pert, perfect pose.

Alice the camel had only one hump here and, may I say, she was pretty ugly.

You might think this is just a kitty but beware as bobcats can be ferocious.

These two mountain lions drowsed in the afternoon sun.

The sound of the zebra was a revelation for all of us and I can't even describe it. Donkeys have their distinct heehaw and the zebra's sound is every bit as weird.

This mountain goat gave us his best side!

The last thing we did was enter the goat enclosure, at our peril. Immediately one of them untied my shoelace, and this one is pretty interested in Benjamin's clothing. We all had quite a time getting out of there with all we had taken in.
Wee Ben didn't know what to make of the goats!

There is no greater time than spending an afternoon with our kids and grandkids. Four and One? Four adults and one little boy out for his first trip to the zoo.

Open My Eyes

Last night my husband and I decided to take in the Open House of Oxford County VON's almost open Sakura House, a hospice for terminally ill people. Below is the sketch from the Sakura House website but it is a pale imitation of the real thing.We had to park on the highway, there were so many visitors coming to take a peek but we are quite able to hike a few hundred feet. For those who are not, parking onsite was available. From the moment I stepped through the massive front door into the front hall, I knew this home had been stellar. A wealthy business owner whose property was part of the huge Toyota buyout for their new plant a few years ago called this his family home. The website says it is something like ten thousand square feet. Not many homes measure that!
To the left of the main hall is a stunning library with carved wooden ceiling and rich mahogany coloured shelves. I've no doubt they are mahogany or some other real wood. No MDF here! The tour continued with the main house built on the open concept and left like that for the hospice. A new two-pronged wing with about 8 suites sits to the left of the main building and is joined to it as though it were always there.
The rooms are not like hospital rooms. Each has its entrance off the hall but also a private entrance to the yard beyond. At the back of the house the view is of the stunning sunken garden with sitting space and lots of green space for idle contemplation. We were entranced. The single hospital bed in each room has a grained wood headboard and footboard and is made up with a colourful bedspread. A comfortable chair, television, lovely wooden wardrobe complete the room. The bathroom is modern, subtly coloured with an easy access shower which ambulatory or wheelchair patients could easily use.
Everywhere I looked I saw a gorgeous view, both inside and out, reminding me of the Sun Yat Sen garden in Vancouver which we visited many years ago. Some have the front sweeping circular drive and surrounding plantings. Others have the north where a very healthy field of corn looked like it had been groomed to best advantage just for the Open House. Still others have the lovely back gardens. Everyone has peace just outside the window.
I have friends who have been way more involved in the project than I and now their selfless giving has more meaning for me. What a wonderful place for terminally ill people to spend their last days.
For those who wonder as I did about the name Sakura House it comes from the Japanese word for cherry blossom which symbolizes "an annual spring celebration of the shifting seasons. [It] evokes the bittersweet undercurrent of past seasons and the fleeting nature of human existence." Pretty fitting for a hospice, I think, and also because it has come about because of the generosity of the Toyota company--a Japanese word and a Japanese company.

I am totally in awe of the achievement that so many people have worked so hard to bring about. Thinking about it I've decided that the word sakura should mean selfless love.