Use What You Have

Coastal Georgia uses shells in their walls and here at Rosie’s Café in the middle of nowhere in Arizona they use rocks. I think I like the variety of colors when using rocks vs shells.

Wow

Not the best light to take photos – I would have loved to have been here during sunset or sunrise but it was still breathtaking even in the dull mid day lighting.

Yes Snow

When you think of desert you think of HOT – not snow. But it is perfectly normal…. Carla and her husband had to have a photo to prove to a few back home in Brazil that snow is possible in the desert.

Flying Eagle

The Skywalk location was name by the Hualapai Indians as Home of the Eagle because of the flying eagle rock shape. Can you see the shape of it that Carla is imitating?

Grand Canyon Skywalk

A “Boo Hiss” to the Hualapai Indian tribe for not allowing cameras out on the skywalk and a “yeah” to David Jin for designing and building it. It was really neat walking on air with my paper shoe booties but it was very disappointing not being able to take pictures. They did have photographers out there but the cheapest photo you could buy was 30 dollars. Rip Off. I gave my camera to Scott our guide to take a picture from afar. I’m the one waving with the pink scarf.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Year of the Tiger to all my Chinese friends. Bellagio decorates for every Chinese New Year. I often think of all of my ZUFE students and I still practice with my chopsticks and meager Chinese language skills.

A Bouquet of Canoes

This sculpture is in front of the new Aria Hotel in Las Vegas. Canoes don’t come to my mind when I am in Las Vegas because the slots, lights and shows seem so far removed from nature. I really liked the shapes and colors and it definitely gave me pause.

Vegas....

My sister Barb isn’t one of those “Whales” they talk about in Vegas – she classifies herself as a “Fat Guppy”. Whatever she is, she gets “comps” from the MGM/Mirage group. Her latest “comps” were a suite and meals from NY NY Casino along with limo rides to and from the airport. I (supplied with a “Barb Comp-ed Plane ticket”) went along for ride. Our windows were about 5 rows down on the right corner of the Empire Tower. Instead of giving my money to the NY NY slots on Thursday I decided to give my money to one of the local tour companies, Big Horn Tours. I took the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Skywalk Hummer tour. It was a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to be grouped with a nice couple from Brazil. Photos are here….

Once in a Blue Moon

A "Blue Moon" on New Years Eve - I am hoping that it is a good sign of a great year to come for all of us. I am guessing there will be lots of changes but they will end up being good after some personal adjustments which is always a little stressful.

After eating our fill of oysters at the neighborhood oyster roast, Zac and I walked down to the beach to take a picture of the "blue moon" It was a great way to end 2009. Happy New Year Everyone

Back-Ordered for 10 Years

For a long time I have asked Zac to use his welding skills and make me an unusual coat rack for my Christmas present. Now many years later I have finally gotten my Christmas wish. His sculptures always seem to amuse me with their unexpected components. The coat rack is no exception. The top section is curved, symmetrical, and finely finished. The base is sort of an eggshaped, unsmoothed block of cement. I love it.

Favorite Rides

Penny’s favorite ride was the Jungle Cruise. I usually like Thunder Mountain the best but not this time. Penny made the Indy Speedway ride so entertaining with her driving skills I couldn’t stop laughing as I drove and videotaped behind her. Even though the top speed was 7.5 mph she still managed to over-steer the car and continually run into the steering guide.

Penny's First Trip to DisneyWorld

We left for Orlando after school on Tuesday and spent the night in a hotel so we could spend the whole day (12 hours) at the park. Lines were not too long because it was the Wednesday right before most schools got out for the holidays. We only used the fast pass twice and never waited more than 10 minutes in any line. This was Penny’s first trip to a big amusement park so we took lots of pictures. We did all the traditional things like eat a frozen banana, get our picture taken with a character, and survive 15 minutes worth of the mind numbing “It’s a Small Word After-all” song and ride. If you need a reminder of that song (sort of like picking a scab) go here

Finished Project

It was worth the mess. It looks so much better than my dated and peeling off wallpaper that was in there before.

Extra Seating...

When Penny and I got home from Disney World I was surprised to find a toilet and bathroom sink in my dinning room. It did eventually get put back when Zac finished my bathroom “beadboard” project but it sure was disconcerting to see a toilet in my dining room for those 4-5 days.

Christmas 09

Good Christmas vacation, I had a full house for 3 weeks with both Zac and Penny visiting. Penny’s Christmas present was a trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Zac present to me was working on a lot of home projects I had been storing up. “The Hood” traditional Christmas dinner at my house went smoothly with somewhere between 18-20 people showing up. I was having too fun visiting to count. Sadly, we were missing the Wilson family (visiting SC) and Zac’s Nicole (sick cat)

Zac says the beard is good for winter because it is likc velcro in that it holds up his scarf when it is cold.