Markets and Festivals

-
Now that we are pretty much settled in the Temp House we've got some extra time on the weekends to go exploring.  I've got a 45 minute commute into work every day so I spend my time listening to the radio.  There is a really good morning show on MixFm.  The station promotes upcoming festivals and events going on in the area.   Thanks to MixFM I learned about the biannual Artisans Market that the Tucson Museum of Art hosts.  Today after church Tom and I went and checked it out.  We didn't buy anything but we did pick up a lot of business cards and got some ideas for the house.  And last weekend we had family visiting from Seattle and we went and checked out the annual Pecan Festival hosted by the Green Valley Pecan Store in Sahuarita.  In Europe there are a lot of markets and festivals so it's nice to find some local events we can make part of our annual tradition here in southern Arizona.   One event I learned about earlier this year is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  We've got family in Albuquerque so I hope to make it out for this festival in the next couple years.    If you've got any recommendations on good festivals in the United States please leave a comment with information.

My sister-in-law Nancy was down visiting a couple weekends ago.  It was deer season and so while the boys were out hunting, she and I drove over to Sonoita and visited some of the local wineries.   We went to Kief-Joshua Vineyards and Sonoita Vineyards.  The boys were ready to come get us if we indulged too much.  I joked with Tom after I got home that I'd have to go try out all the different wineries so that I know the best ones to take visiting family and friends to.  The lengths to which I'll go to be a good host (smile)!   

As for a house update, Tom and I have selected our contractor for the house and we had a meeting with him and the architect on Monday.  We are making some final changes to the building plans and then we'll be getting them submitted for building permits before the end of the year.  Next step after that will be looking for financing.

We'll be heading up to Phoenix on Thanksgiving to link up with the Dalrymple clan.  Definitely looking forward to seeing everyone.   I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!

"Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!  Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.  Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."  Psalm 100

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Letter I Never Wrote

-
Image
A draft of this blog post has been sitting in my unpublished queue for many years now. You'll see that the book I start the post with is one I read in 2020. This post is about the death of my mother's oldest sister, my Aunt Almeda.   I noticed that death, grief, and illness were themes in some of my reading in 2023. I read John Gunther's Death Be Not Proud, Laurel Braitman's What Looks Like Bravery , Elizabeth Alexander's The Light of the World , Terry Tempest Williams' Refuge , Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking , and Suleika Jaouad's Between Two Kingdoms .   Recently I've found a lot of creative inspiration from Suleika Jaouad. There is a documentary on Netflix right now called American Symphony and she recently did a nearly 2-hour-long interview with Rich Roll for his podcast . I would strongly recommend both, as well as her book.  I got the feeling that now might be the time to complete this post. So, here it is.   *** The last book I r
Read more

Walking in History...Visiting Normandy during the D-Day Anniversary

-
Image
This is probably a blog I should do in two posts but I'm going to try and do it in one.  I'll try to minimize my words and let the photos tell the story. Over World War II's D-Day anniversary, Tom and I traveled to Normandy on a 3-day USO tour.  It was a whirlwind, jam-packed trip that maximized every moment of what were 13 to 14 hour-long days.  I had been looking forward to the trip for months and believe that visiting that historic site during the anniversary is a trip of a lifetime.   In two-and-a-half days we visited three of the D-Day invasion beaches (Gold, Omaha and Utah); visited the American and the German cemeteries; visited Point du Hoc and Saint-Mere-Eglise; went to the Airborne Museum (although we didn't stay long because of the crowds) and the Museum of the Battle of Normandy (which is a VERY good museum); we saw the Longues-sur-Mer Gun Battery and concluded the visit at Pegasus Bridge.  If you've ever seen the movie "The Longest Day" it
Read more

The Joys of Nature Journaling

-
Image
Last month I went to a daylong Introduction to Nature Journaling workshop led by Roseann Beggy Hanson of Exploring Overland and hosted at the Amerind Museum . I knew nothing about nature journaling ahead of the class. It just sounded like something that might complement my own personal journaling and the House Journal I've been keeping since we moved into the new house in February 2023.  In my House Journal I record seasonal observations from Dalrymple Ranch, as my girlfriend Sydney calls our place. Since I walk the pups 2-3 times a day, I notice when a type of wildlfower first appears or when a particular cactus blooms. I also try to note when we have snow or a big rain storm. And while I don't do it as regularly, I do record some wildlife observations too. Thanks to keeping my journal last year I learned that there is an order in which our cacti tend to bloom. Hedgehogs bloom before the prickly pear. Cholla bloom after the prickly pear have started and then barrel cactus
Read more