good-times-rollin: September 2022

Thursday, September 22, 2022

The Last Week of Summer...

Corona de Tucson

September 22, 2022

Sunday morning walk

Can't believe summer is officially over. Where did it go? I know I keep saying it, but time sure has a way of flying by.

Pearl, our 2013 JK Wrangler, turned over 100,000 driving miles. She has been an awesome ride and given us so many adventures and so much fun.

So Monday, we took her in for a check-up. All was good except she needed new rotors and brake pads. Joe had suspected that would be the case and wasn't surprised.

The folks at BRAKEmax are very professional, thorough, friendly, and reasonable. They don't just do brakes...they do complete tire and auto service.

Our only other outing for the week (We don't count grocery shopping as an outing!) was a beautiful hike at Madera Canyon. We stopped by to pick Randy up and the three of us had a delightful time hiking the Upper Proctor Trail. It's a trail we never get tired of. It was especially nice on Wednesday morning as it had rained the night before.

To the south the skies were still overcast.

But looking north, we could see blue.

I enjoyed everything...the rushing water,

the colorful flowers still wet from the night before,

the views,

the trees,

the hundreds of butterflies,

These little butterflies were blue with their wings open.

the grasses,

the red-headed caterpillars,

and the best hiking buddies who never complained a single time about my stopping to take pictures...alot !

The rest of the week was quiet around the oasis.

Mrs. Flicker stopped by for a visit...it's always a treat to see her.

She was enjoying herself at the feeder until a huge chunk of seeds fell to the ground. It frightened her and she quickly flew away.

We enjoyed some pretty sunrises on our walks.

And yesterday morning we watched the sunrise from home since we were hiking later.

It rained three afternoons this week. Yesterday we were even under a flash flood warning.

Each day we saw a rainbow.

And this morning, just like that it was fall.

I'll close with a few more photos from the week. Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS !

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Friends, Lunches and Tiny Things

Corona de Tucson

September 17, 2022

Sunday we had a series of storms blow through. It was wonderful ! Some showers were very heavy with lots of wind and at other times it was a good steady rain fall. Either way, we are all in for the rainy days...such a special desert treat !

It's been a really nice week. Jeff and Fran reached out that they would be passing thru Tucson on their way home (to San Diego) from Ohio on Wednesday. Jeff specifically asked about meeting at the restaurant I had blogged about and I knew right off which one he meant...El Charro.

They had no problems maneuvering Rufus in downtown Tucson and finding a parking spot across the street from El Charro. It is always great catching up with them. Lunch was yummy as always and before we knew it, they were on their way...westward bound.

Randy and Joe had plans Thursday morning. When they were done and Randy dropped Joe off at home, they asked if I wanted to go to Manuels for lunch. That's a no brainer ! Randy lives in Sahuarita and Manuels is in Sahuarita. If you get a hankering for Mexican when you are in Sahuarita, Manuels is a great choice.

That brings me to Friday. We had errands in town and one of our stops was at Mildred and Dildred...the best toy shop in town ! Edith turns 2 years old in a couple of weeks.

And Felix who learned to ride his bike on 2 wheels early this summer is an "o-fish-al" first grader. Both are growing up way too fast !

After doing a little googling, I discovered that a very unique museum was just down the street and around the corner from Mildred and Dildred.

The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures houses a collection of over 500 antique and contemporary dollhouses and room boxes. Also, throughout the year there are special exhibitions that highlight the breadth and diversity of the art of miniatures.

The museum styles itself as a mini time machine where visitors set off on a self-guided tour beginning in the rotundra that travels through different lands and times...some real and some imagined. It's really kind of magical from the start.

The adventure begins in the History Gallery, followed by the Contemporary Gallery, and ends in the Enchanted Gallery. I only took a kazillion photos and it was difficult to pick ones that show how beautiful the displays are along with the information and stories about each one.

The automated three story house or hotel built by Emile Wick dated 1885 is at the top of the list for favorite in the History Gallery. It represents Switzerland in the early 1800's. Mechanical figures are animated by a key-wound and weight-driven mechanism. Inside the cabinet is a music cylinder that chimes two different tunes.

In its day, there were 30 different movements including dancers pirouette to the waltz while servants performed chores.

My other favorite in this collection is Farrow's Department Store.

Farrow's was a miniature accessories company. The miniature store was made by the employees of the company and displays all of their products. Amazing !

Entering the Contemporary Gallery, the micro miniature sculptures are the first thing you see.

We read it twice to make sure we got it...the sculptures are directly on the tips of No.2 pencils. The artist, Salivate Fidai creates these micro-miniatures using his index finger as an easel and a X-Acto knife as a chisel. He states, "The technology is very simple; I take a pencil and remove the extra."