Fun at the County Fair

I haven't been to a county fair in about 15 years and never with my kids, so when the Pima County Fair rolled into town, we decided it was high time to get ourselves to it! It's funny, nothing has changed much. It's all the same greasy but good food, same games that are a complete rip off no-one ever wins, and same crazy, vomit inducing rides that I stopped being able to ride waaaay back when I was still a 'kid.' We stuck to the roller coaster type rides, the ferris wheel and a few others. Of course the 13 year old was begging me to go on 'The Zipper.' I had to explain that if I rode the Zipper, I would probably puke in his lap midway through the ride, so he changed him mind about that one. Really the only thing that has changed is the way they accept ride 'tickets.' There are no longer tickets...it's a card loaded up with how ever many ride tickets you purchase, and the ride operators have an electronic reader/scanner that deducts the amount of tickets needed for that particular ride from the card. Pretty easy, but I quickly lost track of how many ticket we had used or were left on the card. Anyway, we had a great time and may go back again before the fair rolls out of town on it's way to a strip of vacant land somewhere near you!

 

Ya gotta have the ice cream with the sprinkles!

Merry Christmas!

Just in the St. Nick of time......A post to wish all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Joyous and Prosperous New Year!!!!

I love to see traditions from around the country and around the world, so  I thought I'd show you all a tradition of mine that stems from living in Tucson.  Every year around late September, the Agave plants in the desert send up large spikes that signal the end of the plants life.  An agave can live 20 years or longer before sending up it's final bloom, sometimes up to 25' high.  It is a true swan song, as the agave dies after such a beautiful output, and will only bloom just the once.

A beautiful example of an agave newly in bloom.

 The agave stalk will eventually dry out in our arid climate, turning from a beautiful bright green to a woody, brown and extremely durable 'branch.' By late October they are usually ready to harvest. 

Here is a great example of a fresh bloom
and a dried one side by side.

A completely dry stalk.

Once dry, the agave stalks lend themselves to many ornamental uses.  One such use is as a Christmas tree!  So without further ado, here is MY Agave Stalk Christmas Tree!

 

Merry Christmas!!

Tripping the Light Fantastic

I Love Christmas lights!!!  There is nothing more beautiful than driving around at night and seeing dark space punctuated by beautiful, glowing masses of colorful lights!  I firmly believe they *should* be left up all year long.  To that end, here is my contribution to the nightime winter skies.....

I will probably add more as the season marches on.  These pictures don't do it justice....the color is so much more vibrant in person, and I have since added a disco ball!!  Yes, that's right, a disco ball.  Complete with a spinning motor which turns the mirrored orb and catches all the light and bounces it back in to the evening.  It's gorgeous!

Enjoy the twinkle of this season and as always, I appreciate your visit!
xoxo,