Flying Saucers

The "Flying Saucer" is one of my favorite cacti.   It's a type of Argentine Giant.   We also have the white flowering variety, which I have blogged about in the past. 

The latin name is Echinopsis, and they are native to South America.   The blooms only last a day, but they are spectacular.    

Coyotes Along the Walking Trail

While I was walking this morning, I saw three coyotes along one of the walking trails at Sun City Grand.   When I saw the first one, I stopped and he did, too.   He was about 15 feet away.

  He was beautiful!  

He had walked up to the concrete and stopped.   Standing still, I talked quietly to him so I wouldn't scare him.   After a second or two he crossed the sidewalk and began walking in the wash area.  I didn't move except to pivot to watch him.

To my surprise, a second coyote walked up.  He had been following the first one, but I hadn't seen him.  He continued across the path without stopping.  He's the one pictured above.

I stood there wishing I had my camera--then remembered my I Phone has a camera.   By the time I fished it out of my pocket and got it working, they were getting pretty far away.  

What you can't see is that there is a third coyote that entered the wash from the left side.   The three joined up and continued on their way.

I wish the video was better--I need more practice with the camera phone.  

But it was great to see them this morning.

Palo Verde Beetle

     This scary monster was in my courtyard this morning.   Not this particular one, but one exactly like him.   Except mine was bigger.  Much bigger.
       The photo was found in the article about Palo Verde Beetles on Wikipedia.   I am much too smart to stand close to a huge bug just to get its picture. 
       Apparently the beetles love to eat Palo Verde trees.  We have a Palo Verde in our front yard, but I'm convinced my Palo Verde Beetle eats anything that gets in his way.   After all, he was in my courtyard, not under the tree.  
       What happened was this:   I had walked out of the courtyard early this morning to get the newspaper.  When I started back into the courtyard, he was guarding the entrance and wouldn't let me come back in.   Apparently he had been hiding under some leaves near one of the pots, then stepped out into the open.   That meant I had walked right past him on the way out of the courtyard!!!
       He was at least 5 inches long (they can grow even bigger according to Wikipedia) and about two inches across.   He had huge pincher thingies, too.   
       Arizona has its own version of "stand your ground", but I'm no fool.  I ran to the back porch.
       When I told Kent what was lurking outside, he said it was a Palo Verde Beetle.   At that time I only knew it was a huge bug.  One I had never seen before.   He told me that our neighbor said she had seen a Palo Verde Beetle in her yard the other day, and this was probably the same one.   A quick Google search confirmed the ID.   
       I sure hope this beetle moves on to another neighborhood and stays there.   I don't want to see him again. 
      

Steampunk Boxes

     Steampunk caught my attention a while ago, and I've been trying my hand at making Steampunk jewelry boxes and jewelry.   If you're not familiar with Steampunk, it's a mix of   Jules Verne, Victorian sci-fi, dirigibles, and lady airship captains.    All fun things, right?
      I'm gradually working my way into Steampunk.   These first two pieces are part travel, part Steampunk.   The necklace that I recently made, which I'll show another day, is totally Steampunk.  
      I found my first box at Marco's, my favorite paper arts store in Dayton.     Originally it was a plain "suitcase", and I added the compass, Bon Voyage tag, side stitches, and fiber.   It is a very tame Steampunk, and could be considered a straight a travel piece.   But I like it a lot and use it to carry my jewelry when I travel. 

       It was the last tan one that the store had, and they have since told me they can't get any more.   I've looked on the internet without success (so far), but I intend to keep looking. 

       My second attempt was much more Steampunk.  I started with a box I bought at Hobby Lobby.   I added the fiber, metal findings, and the paper stamps.   One tag says "Thoughts" while another says "Dream".    Good things to remember to do.

      I haven't decided what I'll place inside this box.   It's about the size of a deck of cards, but I'm not a card player.   But I'm sure something will look good there.  In the meantime, it was fun to make.

  

Structuring Retirement

I’m working now, but as the site address suggests, I’m a retiree-wannabe.   I had hoped to make the leap last year, but it didn’t happen.   This year I’m hoping it will.  

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with all that free time I’ll have.   (Those of you who have already retired can quit laughing now.)   My friends who are already retired tell me they are busier than ever---many don’t know how they ever found time to work.   And while most of them are doing what they wanted to do, a few have just fallen into things.  So I want to make sure I end up doing what I really want to do.

To that end I’ve been making a list of all the things I want to do or am interested in checking out.  A type of bucket list.  I know I won’t have time to do everything, and I want to make sure I end up doing what is really important to me.   This way, if something comes up that isn’t on my list, it will be easier to say ‘no’.   In the past I’ve ended up working on projects or committees that involved things that didn’t really interest me.    But for one reason or another I agreed to take on the project when I was asked.   This time around I want to have a plan, a structure, for my time.

At the top of my list is writing.   I have an unfinished novel and another one in the idea stage.  Not to mention this blog, and another blog idea that I’m considering.   Getting the novel completely written is priority numero uno, even if it never gets published.  I’ll probably continue writing a blog, too, either this one or something different.

I’d also like to return to taking Spanish lessons.  I had to quit last year when things got totally crazy and out of control at work.    I want to keep mentally sharp, and studying a language will help with that.  Plus I love Mexico and would like to take trips there more often.

I know I have to schedule in some exercise time.  If not, I’ll start to write or read and never break a sweat all day.   Except for walking and splashing about in the pool, exercising isn’t something I enjoy.   There’s no excuse not to do it.  Sun City Grand has two activity centers with classes in aerobics, dance, yoga, and lots more.  So another goal is to find a physical activity I like, sign up, and show up. 

My need for structure was never more clear than yesterday, when I had an afternoon “free”.    I had thought about going to a new bead shop, my latest hobby interest, or attending a beading session here at Sun City Grand.   I looked at the info for two bead stores that give lessons, and I stopped in briefly at the beading group.  But I never took a class or strung a bead all day.  

I cleaned the casita.    On my “free” afternoon!     It needed it, but cleaning wasn’t my plan when I started the day.    The problem, of course, was that I didn’t have a plan for the day.    

Writer Aimee Bender found she needed structure in order to write consistently.   She wrote about it in her article “A Contract of One’s Own”, published in this month’s O, the Oprah Magazine.  Years ago she started writing in a closet for two hours, and has continued the two hour routine long after leaving that closet.  “If left to my own devices,” she writes, “a blank page and a free day and that meadow, little will get done and I’ll feel awful about it.  But put me in a box for two set hours and say go?  It is one of the most steadying elements of my life.”   

That’s the way I feel about my retirement time.   I’ll need a plan, a structure, so that the things that are important to me get done.  I’m working on the list now.   Then I plan to prioritize it and figure out how many things I can fit into a day or a week.

  If anyone else has approached retirement this way, I’d like to hear how it’s working out.    

Paper!

A new exhibit on paper just opened at the Phoenix Art Museum.   Since I love paper, it was an exhibit I had to see.    I use paper to scrapbook, make cards, and write.   These artists showed that there is a whole lot more to paper than that.

One of the first exhibits is a giant, white ceramic paper wad.  It’s a great intro piece.   It was also appropriate for me since I managed to mangle the paper-folding invitation that the museum sent to members.  As you can see from the pix, the flyer was colorful and fun.   The directions told how to fold it into something that your fingers were supposed to be able to slip inside.  It sounded cute.   

The Museum’s webpage shows two of the articles on display, including a pop art paper dress.    There were lots of other paper dresses and t-shirts, too.   They also had a paper-making kit on display and other paper items that looked like they were from the ‘60’s.   

Their handout shows a sampling of some of the other types of art featured in “Paper!”    In addition to the exhibits in the Steele Gallery, there were items featured all throughout the museum.

My favorite exhibit, however, was the photographs of W.Eugene Smith.   He was a photojournalist for Life magazine, and a few of his most moving articles are on display.    Two of them involve a country doctor in Colorado and a mid-wife nurse in South Carolina.    The exhibit will end June 17, so I was lucky to have gotten to see it.

We had lunch in their cafe’.  I had a great Sonoran Chicken Salad while Kent had their tuna salad sandwich.  Both were yummy!   

They had a book sale, too.   Can’t pass up books, of course, so we came home with a few.   

Then we rode the light rail back home.  Even though it takes about as long to drive to the nearest light rail station as it would to drive downtown, we like to support light rail.   One of these days (soon, please!) it will be extended to Surprise.    Can’t wait.

A Common Thread

Today’s blog entry is a tribute to my mother, LaVaun Sloneker.  Today would have been her 97^th birthday.   She was born in Hamilton, Ohio, on May 27, 1915.  This picture was taken of us at Christmas, 2010, at her assisted living center, The Inn at Renaissance Village, in Ohio.  

Mother was an excellent seamstress when she was younger.   Her love of sewing inspired me to write an article that was published in 1997 in the “Profiles from the Past” section of Over the Back Fence, a regional Ohio magazine.   They titled it "A Common Thread".   Mother loved it, but she always wanted me to write about what a great card player she was.   I never was able to do that, but here is part of the Profile article:

“While waiting for Mother in her doctor’s office, I perused the pages of a sewing magazine.  Its glossy pictures revived memories of Mother sitting at her sewing machine, making dresses for me and doll clothes for my Barbie.  I remembered the creative world that she and I shared when she was a young mother and I was a child.  It was a magical time when she wove sewing lessons into the lessons of life:  measure twice and do your best. 

When we both grew older, that era faded.  My world expanded with decisions to make and responsibilities to bear as her world slowed down.  With fewer choices and less options, she didn’t have the opportunity to participate in my world; and I had not yet arrived in hers.  Looking at the magazine, I hoped it might bridge the distance between us—so I ordered a subscription immediately. 

When the first copy arrived, I tucked it into my purse and drove to visit my mother.  I handed her the copy and watched her smile at the photographs of curly-haired little girls.  “When you were three, I made you a dress just like this one, except it was blue,” she said proudly.  By looking at the photos and chatting about the styles, we rekindled a common interest.

The next issue arrived, and I couldn’t wait to share it with her.  Together, we studied its pages and circled the patterns that promised to reduce hips and elongate torsos.  One day we hurried to the fabric store where we found bolts of colorful calicos, tweeds and knits.  We walked up and down the rows, feeling the fabric between our fingers and debating the virtues of virgin wools and cotton blends.

At the row of velvets, she told me about seeing “Gone With the Wind” when she was a young paper mill worker.  It was her first movie and she recalled her favorite part:  the scene where Tara’s green velvet drapes were made into a dress for Scarlet.  ...”

  Until earlier this spring, Mother had been doing very well.  Her mobility was super.   Pushing her walker, she would zip up and down the halls at The Inn.   But her memory was failing, as was her hearing and eyesight.   Still, we joked that she could remember the important things: me, her family, and that she wanted to win a million dollars.   I told her that the fact that she couldn’t remember what she had for lunch (or if she even ate lunch) wasn’t important anyway.   She would reluctantly agree.  What did upset her was that she was no longer able to remember how to play cards.  She LOVED to play any type of card game.   Her memory for what cards had already been played rivaled any card shark in Vegas, too.  

When she was young she had always been feisty and independent.   She went to work in a dime store before she was legally old enough by lying about her real birthdate.    Later she got a better job at Champion Paper Company.   During World War II, she temporarily left Champion to work in a propeller factory in Cincinnati because it paid better.  When she and the other women were fired so the men returning from the war could be rehired, she returned to Champion.    This was lucky for me:   Her new job was to give vitamins to the men working in the mill, and that is how she met my dad.          

Unfortunately she caught the flu a few months ago, and it weakened her in body and spirit.   She had gradually been losing the ability to care for herself.   Now she was totally dependent on others, which she hated.   Mother always said she had lived a long and happy life.  She was ready, she said, for the next phase.    She went there on May 17, 2012.   

I’m sure she’s reunited now with my dad, my sister, and all of her other relatives and friends.   I just hope she can find a card game going and a sewing machine there, too.