A Trip to Cave Creek

Today we went to Cave Creek, a small artsy tourist town north of Phoenix.   We went to a lot of little shops and art galleries, all of which had beautiful things for sale.   My favorite stop was Roxie's, a boutique gift shop that supports animal rescues.    I think Roxie's might be an international group, but I'm not sure.  

The outside of the shop was bright and colorful.  Inside were purses, jewelry, and animal items of every description.  I found a couple of cute treasures here and supported a great cause, too.

We had lunch at the upscale Tonto Bar & Grill at Rancho Manana.   Their web page has inside pictures, but here are two from the entrance.

Lunch was delicious.  Instead of a traditional sandwich, Kent had two appetizers:  Grilled Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho soup and Tortilla-Crusted Crab Cakes.   I tasted his soup, and it was great.   I'm not usually fond of cold soup, but this was very tasty.    I had Mexican White Shrimp Tacos, which came with white corn tortillas and an avocada cream dip.   The ample quantity of shrimp were excellent--cooked in a lightly spicey ancho chili sauce with peppers and onions.    Excellent!

It was too hot for us to eat outside today, although there were a couple of people doing it.   The patio overlooks the golf course.  I'd like to come back in the fall and try it out.

I also visited Cosmopolitan Bead Shop, which is such a funny name for a village store.  But the beads were beautiful and the variety was awesome.  I bought two unique beads, one of which they made themselves.   I'm just learning to bead so kept my purchases small--to match my current skill level.   But I'm gaining on it so a return trip is a must.

Our last stop was at Frontier Town, a collection of shops that have a little bit of everything.   I supported the goats that I love by buying something at Udder Delight, the goat milk skin care store.  Next I found a great belt and a cool yellow top at Glory Bees.  After that I knew it was time to go home.   Too many tempting treasures in Cave Creek!     

Bearizona -- A Wild, Wild Place

  Yesterday we went to Bearizona, a wildlife park that you drive through.    It's the best wildlife park/zoo I've ever visited.     Bearizona is located outside of Williams, in northern Arizona.   I had seen a brochure about it a few months ago, and I've been wanting to visit ever since.  

   They have bears, mountain goats, buffalo, Dall sheep, and my favorite---wolves!!!   

 They have two kinds, Alaskan Tundra wolves (pictured below) and Artic wolves. 

      In Yellowstone a few years ago we saw Grey wolves, but only at a distance using scopes.   Of course it was great to see them in Lamar Valley, but I really wanted to see them up close.   At Bearizona I was able to do that because the white one, pictured first,  came right up to the car!   He was beautiful.   

     I was so occupied staring at him that I didn't try to take his picture.  He licked the Prius (lucky car), and circled around it to check it out.    We had to move slowly on because he and the other ones were getting a little too interested in the car.    They tell you to move on if the animals start to approach the car, but I just had to watch them up close for a little bit.       

 

     The bears were great, too.   I've never seen so many, active ones.   In the zoos they usually sit quiet, waiting for food.   But they were playful and energetic here.   It was cool and lightly raining, which may have helped energize them. 

     A few moments after this picture was taken, the one by the tree moved to a different tree and climbed it.  That was amazing to watch.   I knew they could climb, but I had never seen one do it.  Now I wonder how many times a bear might have been up in a tree while we were hiking unaware beneath it. 

     

They easily blended into the rocks and hid behind trees, too.

 

      In  Fort Bearizona, the area where small and baby animals are kept, there were suppose to be bear cubs on display.   At first we thought they had been moved.  The enclosure was empty.   Then we looked up and saw that all of them (at least 5) were high in the tall pines.

      We also saw porcupines, raccoons, beavers, Lynx, bobcats, fox, and many, many other animals in the Fort section.   This prickly little guy was enjoying his breakfast.

       Bearizona has only been opened since 2010, and they are still working on it.   I can't wait to go back again.

     



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.