of rocks and ropes

They blew in late Friday night and filled our home and lives with flurry of energy and excitement for the next 20 hours as we packed as much fun, food, and festivities as the clock allowed. The main event was our hike/rock repelling adventure on the Hieroglyphic Trail in Gold Canyon.



First we hiked the main trail to the hieroglyphics where we stopped and munched our lunch of power bars and homemade beef jerky, then forged our way over huge boulders in the dry steam bed until we reached the climbing rock. Earlier in the month Jay and I had scouted out a good rock formation for doing some rope and harness tricks over the edge.


Five of us climbed the big rock while Kerry stayed at the bottom as our designated photographer/prayer. Although our cliff would never qualify for as much as a footnote in rock climbing guides it provided enough of a thrill to satisfy my need for death-defying adventure.

nice trip

When I was in elementary school we had a saying that kids would repeat while trying to trip their fellow classmates...

"Have a nice trip.
See you next fall"

That saying came back to me during my in-laws recent visit.

They arrived late on a Monday evening. Shortly after breakfast on Tuesday morning our house was a-swarm with emergency personnel after my mother-in-law tripped over an open suitcase and ended up on the floor with a very painful broken arm.



Although that little trip changed our plans for their visit we still enjoyed our time together and eventually ventured as far as the Great Wall Restaurant in Gold Canyon for some delicious Chinese food.

Photo credits all go to Jay....I was too busy praying to pick up the camera.

We were please to get the report, after they returned home, that the doctors set the arm in a cast rather than doing surgery.

three amigos

It would have been much easier to ask them to relocate in front of a less busy wall but I shot 'um where they stood and then spent a good part of the morning painting in a less distracting background. The three amigos posed for this photo displaying the hats they received as Hanukkah gifts along with the poncho David brought for Jay when he went to Mexico during High School.

twins

I've read articles about dog/cat owners that resembled their pet....but got a chuckle the other day when my father-in-law pointed out that my chicken and I shared the same coloring.

spacial

My living room furniture is in transition.


Last week we started putting down wood flooring. We had some leftover from the bedroom and our friends had similar planks stored in their barn but between this and that we still came up short of the amount needed to complete the project.

While we scour the valley for a good deal on a matching flooring I arranged the couch and chair according to the space left after the bookshelf and entertainment center landed during the work session. After living with this new arrangement for a couple of days I realized I really like the cozy corner the couch and chair make together. Up until now they have resided on opposite sides of the fire place.

Along with the flooring change we also hung the large mirror, formerly located in the bedroom, above the fireplace. The lack of natural light in the living room makes the mirror the perfect choice for the cave-like space. After the mirror was attached, although the reflected light was perfect for that space, I was disappointed that I hadn't realized the size of the mirror was larger than I wanted and didn't leave room for adding a frame. Later, while getting photos ready for the memorial, I remembered a fancy frame (technically pieces of a frame) that Jay had brought home from somewhere. I had him glue the pieces together and used the frame for the memorial project. Now I'm eyeballing that frame and the mirror and hoping they can get together someday. In the meantime, the frame looks nice just propped in front of the fireplace.

puddles in the desert

Jay gets photo credit for this last shot

Certainly not as poetic as "Streams in the desert" but after two solid days of rain, mud and puddles were left behind. Messy, but all that wet provided some untypical Arizona photo opportunities.

double blessing

During dance practice in our worship room on Monday afternoon a double rainbow appeared framing the mountain. The colors were vivid and seemed to splash off the ground where they touched the horizon. Three times the promise reminders appeared, disappeared and reappeared.

Photo credit for first 2 photos: Jay

birds of a feather

only two

"There are only two kinds of pie I like" was the oft repeated phrase my dad would tell guests before desert was served, "hot and cold".

In honor of my father's birthdays (December 8th according to his mother and December 9th, the date listed on his birth certificate) I ate hot (pear) pie yesterday and cold pie today.

Happy Birthday Dad. I sure miss sharing pie and jokes with you. <3

behind the cloud

Burr....it felt like winter this morning.
Cold enough that my fingers wanted gloves,
my ears demanded to be covered
and my nose felt left out in the cold.

Sure enough,
when the clouds that had shrouded the mountain all morning
finally moved
they left behind
a topping of fresh white snow.

green

Driveby photo of windmills on the way to California.
They always look rather alien-ish.

garden fresh

Although it's only a small amount I've been tickled to be able to make salad out of our garden.

sunkissed

The 3 oranges on my little waist-high orange tree outside my kitchen window are starting to show their true color. Yeah Orange!

light on dark

I was visiting with a friend at the date farm on Thanksgiving when I glanced out the sliding glass door and bolted out of the room trailing my apologies. I grabbed my camera and dashed out the door to catch the sun lighting up the palms with a rich blue-gray stormy colored sky as the backdrop.

can you hear me now?

Baby Noa was fascinated with Madeline's long ears.

the answer

my happy day

My happy day started with a morning walk down the railroad tracks, then some second hand shop explorations, a quick trip to Sprouts to pick up picnic food, followed by a palm tree-lined drive to Seaport Village.


It had been 26 years since I've been in the San Diego area (now I'm making myself feel old) but when I spotted Seaport Village on the tourist map I remembered another day long ago when I had spent a delightful Sunday afternoon enjoying the sun and sea of this cute little park surprising tucked in right near downtown San Diego.

Jay and I picnicked on crackers, cheese, and turkey pot roast while watching the boats sail under the Coronado bridge, then set off to quickly explore the little shopping village before the parking meter ran out signaling our departure for home.


I has happy from the top of my sun-bleached hair to the bottom of my grass enveloped toes.


Seaport Village has a little something for everyone and this day even included an "artist" who was balancing stones and collecting tips from the admiring passerby.


The quaint shops in the village include a kite shop (where Jay headed first), a wind chime stop (where the shop keeper had to keep shooing out the pigeons who wandered in the door and then panicked and made a ruckus trying to escape), a gourmet cupcake shop (sorry Julie, I didn't get a pic), a sock store that Besty would have loved with socks for every interest....

and a wonderful hammock store where I once again got to try out the amazingly comfortable Air Chair that I someday hope to own (that's an imaginary book in my hands)...


and plenty of opportunities for Kodak moments.

Front to back...this was my happy day.

hidden treasure

Not long after our arrival at Oasis of Hope I spotted a small wooden sign with a long name, The Frozen Yogurt Place Restaurant, peculiarly stuck in the middle of the island dividing the traffic outside the hospital window. The little sign was so obscure and oddly placed it took several tries directing Jay's attention to the exact spot before he spied the sign. Similar to how things worked with my mother, it doesn't take more than a slight nudge to get Jay moving in the direction of frozen deserts. The fact that we arrived at lunchtime and Ron and Lura would soon be receiving trays from the hospital cafeteria made our exploratory trip down the street in the direction the sign pointed seem like the right thing to do.

Mexico is full of surprises and contradictions and Tijuana was no different. We walked about two blocks down a narrow side street stepping over broken glass, passing a large building several stories high containing a variety of businesses then side stepping a car wash set up in the gravel at the edge of the road with a hose and bucket then finally arrived at this small oasis of green tucked away like a hidden treasure. At the entrance was a small shop with bright Mexican clothing leading into a lush little courtyard with plants and fountains and a cute little Yorkie.


After admiring the garden we entered through the first of several doors and found ourselves in a small health food store. Most of the products were in Spanish but we looked though the shelves with curiosity, stopping to admire a display that looked a lot like local honey. When Jay asked the young girl who greeted us from behind the counter she confirmed in English that it was honey, then gave Jay a sample taste of a sweet, thick, dark goo that looked a lot like molasses. Although we didn't purchase any honey we did return later to buy some vegetable salt that we discovered in the salt shaker at the restaurant.

The restaurant was also a delightful surprise with a rounded bank of windows over looking a steep cliff with a green jungle of plants at the bottom. When seated we actually sat level with the top of the trees. Outside the windows were several Humming bird feeders that attracted more Humming birds than I have ever witnessed in one place.


At The Frozen Yogurt Place Restaurant we shared a cheese quesadilla...

(My November black and white photo)

...and a bowl of raspberry, peach, and pina colada frozen yogurt with walnuts on top and chocolate sauce on the side. But of course, for this part of the story the picture says it best.

orange you glad I didn't say banana

On our search to find pancakes in San Diego Monday morning Jay and I happened upon this wonderful orange alley. It was obviously a color Kodak moment.


The Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana has wonderful mirrored window, perfect for reflective photos.