of remembering

On December 11th we celebrated the life of a cherished friend, Ron Olander.

I spent the 36 hours leading up to the memorial singularly focused on preparing photos (with lots of computer help from my left-hand man). My photos only chronicle the last two years of Ron's life however, Ron lived life stuffed full of all the important stuff so it wasn't difficult to fill multiple frames with storytelling pictures of the wonderful man he was.

Ron had Chippewa blood, a fact that endeared him to me- knowing the land I played on as a little girl was Chippewa territory. His native countenance was made even more intriguing as he sun-weathered skin aged. He didn't have to put on his Native regalia to look like a "real Indian" but when he did, people would undoubtedly approach him asking to take a picture with him. Ron loved being able to give "Jesus' love" to anyone who crossed his path and he always took time with any stranger who approached to make them feel special

As a part of Ron's memorial I edited the photo below, printed out 4X6 copies, cut and matted the photos with frames I had purchased for use in Mexico. People who attended the memorial took home a photo of Ron to be able to remember him by.



Two months have quickly passed since Ron left this life but it still feels as if his bear-hug personality should be a part of our gatherings. His absence left a echoing hole here but oh the drumming and dancing and hugging and loving they must be doing in heaven.

what to do...

when you find your cup over flowith with grapefruit....

Dehydrate!

treasure hunt

I went searching for something interesting to photograph yesterday.
Here's what I came up with...

broccoli boast

I'm feeling pretty pleased with my broccoli :)

red balloon

I don't know much about hot air ballooning,
but it occursto me that landing a large inflatable object in the
Senora Desert
brings an added element of risk.

just a swingin'

Over the long weekend Jay put the seating on my swing.
Now to sand and finish and cushion.
Can't wait to sit and read a book on the finished product while admiring this amazing view.

echos of laughter

Large Ranch

A Texan is in a Wisconsin bar and is telling a dairy farmer how large his ranch in Texas is. He tells the farmer his ranch is so large that if he gets into his pick-up truck and drives all day, he would not reach the other border of his ranch.

The Wisconsin dairy farmer thinks for a minute and then responds," I used to have a truck like that."

golden circles

As I sat in the front row at an Erev Shabbat service my eyes were draw to the bouquet of golden roses and the pleasing pattern of concentric circles they created all bunched together.

friendly injins

Speaking of Native Americans. Here is a photo I took recently of one of my beautiful Yavapai friends in her white buckskin regailia. Siera is a Harvard Law School graduate and until this past year was a family court judge for the Yavapai-Apache Nation. Now she is teaching at Arizona Law University.

book report #1

One of my ideas for the new year is to keep track of what I'm reading on my blog. My current book, Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne, I borrowed from a friend. The narrative is 319 pages and I'm only on 97. Because it has a history textbook quality with lots of names and dates that are slippery to my gray matter it has been more like an assignment rather than the reward that most books I read tend to be. However, there is just enough story flavor that I have been able to push myself and actually enjoy a different genera.

The beginning pages have covered the years in our nation's history where the Europeans were advancing west into Comanche (Texas) land. The story line is repetitive; the whites indiscriminately slaughtering large numbers of natives (both friend and foe) in an effort to settle the land and the natives savagely retaliating against the small white settlements, brutally torturing both those they kill and those they capture.

In my Midwest days I may not have forced myself through this book but relocating in Arizona and rubbing elbows with so many that have native blood pumping through their veins has highlighted for me the importance of my understanding this tragic part of our nations past.

don't look back

This photo taken at Ron Olander's memorial celebration

10 Reasons

Click here to view this photo book larger

I made this Shutterfly book back in September but had to wait until after Hanukkah to share it here. I had fun with the new more flexible template.

drumming in the new year

We spent our Sabbath morning up on Fish Creek, a "high place" and the "Eastern Gate" for the valley, drumming, worshiping, praying and making proclamations over the land. In previous years this event has occurred on January first but schedule conflicts made it necessary to postpone. What remained the same was the cold winter winds blowing to chill our bones and the wind of the Ruach blowing to warm our hearts.

hanging out with friends

I did Lily's laundry this week. All her favorite friends ended up on the clothes lines due to their love-holes. They looked so cute hanging there I had to take their picture before them came down.

you can get with this...

or you can get with that...


Before the piggy accident I was inspired to dig the pint of clearance paint from it's hiding place and try it on for size. I have never cared for the yellow paint that was both inside and outside of our house. Although I have successfully covered the majority of the indoor yellow I've been hesitant to tackle the job of painting a two story house. After considering the situation for a time I realized that part of my dislike was the dark brown trim with the pale yellow siding. It occurred to me that it would be easier to change the trim color and perhaps that would help me feel better about the yellow house and garage. I'm still not sure this is the color we will stick with but I can say I like the change and am feeling motivated, after my piggies are ready to climb a ladder, to tackle the rest of the trim.

this little piggy

Last night, in the dark of the night, the piggy who had no roast beef had a toe-on collision with the metal leg of a piece of exercise equipment. * The piggy, being the weaker of the two, broke. Of course, there isn't much one can do about a broken piggy other than tape it to a close friend, numb it with some ice, and give it a staycation.


* Use caution around exercise equipment. It can be dangerous to your health.

line dance

Some interesting design elements from our November trip to San Diego.

of new beginnings

This morning, the first workday of the new year, we harvested the first fruit from our little orange tree. We shared it three ways. The skin was still pretty tough so we'll give the two remaining oranges more time to grow but the inside was sweet and juicy. Yum.