Happy Thanksgiving !

Corona de Tucson

November 24, 2024

The ending to a very nice day...

Someone had a celebration at the oasis and it wasn't me !  Joe celebrated his 78th birthday on November 2nd. We decided on a trip to the city...I just like the way that sounds...for brunch.  Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress was our choice.  There is a huge parking garage across the street which makes it an easy destination for a yummy meal.  Joe had blueberry pancakes, eggs over easy, crispy bacon, and wheat toast.  I had my favorite...eggs Benedict with a yummy hollandaise sauce, crispy bacon, mixed greens with toasted almonds topped with the yummiest vinaigrette.  

Afterwards, we walked to the library. I have always loved "the city" even though I have no desire to live in one.  My first memories of "the city" were yearly visits with my mom and my brother to Atlanta to ride the "pink pig" at Macy's during Christmas Holidays.  San Diego comes to mind as my favorite city to visit and I love the history right here in Tucson. Tucson's first library built in 1938 is now the Children's Museum of Tucson. In 1990, the new Joel Valdez Main Library was finalized and opened to the public.

Sonora (the title of the red sculpture) was created by David Black and dedicated to the library's plaza in 1991.  Sonora stands 25 ft high and 43 ft wide.  While it may look like a giant abstract insect, it is filled with symbolism. Although I have a hard time seeing the symbolism from the photo I took.  I read the ring in the center represents Native American baskets and kivas, the columns are made to signify Mexican palm trees, and the pyramids stand for the Tucson Mountains.  

My first stop at any library is always the Children's Room.  The 9,000 square foot room is divided into three sections...Early Literacy, Early Elementary and Tweens…where children can enjoy this colorful area filled with books, a digital touch table, a pretend play complete with a wooden kitchen and "food", a puppet theater, and a Lego wall. 

The library has lots of natural light, quiet places to sit and read, places to gather with friends and a cup of coffee, local artists exhibits, and more.  

View from the second floor...

Our walk to and from the library was several city blocks.

The old...

and the new.

Joe was happy to get his eyelid stitches out. He has a protective contact lens and gets antibiotic ointment in his eye twice a day.  Vision is on the blurry side and we hope that improves.

I took a zoom photo...one teeny, tiny blue bar was on the center outside upper lid and the other on the bottom lid. 

Last Friday, we perused the Tucson Museum of Art Artisans Market, Old Town Market, and walked more blocks in the Presidio Historic District. The Artisan Market is an outside event held twice a year (spring and fall). This year's market seemed much bigger with beautiful jewelry, paintings, metal works, pottery, etc.  

We stopped to look at this gorgeous sterling silver jewelry and met the artist and his wife from Mexico.  The stones used are mostly from Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.  He is quite talented and every piece I looked at had a history. 

Every time we go, I look at these stained glass pieces for the backyard.  Janna, I think your talented husband could make these for your backyard...they are so pretty with the light shining thru. 

The pot wasn't for sale...

Old Town Market shops were open as well.

Romero House TMA School Ceramics Studio...

And a few photos from our walk in the Presidio Historic District...

The Cheyney House built in 1905.  Mr Cheney was a mining chemist and one of the early postmasters of Tucson. 

The Hereford (Hair-fud) House built in 1902 after Frank Hereford who was 41 years old when he married in 1901. In his younger days, he was a Cochise County Sheriff.

The Franklin House built in 1898.  Selim Franklin was an attorney and built this home for his bride, Henrietta Herring, who designed their home. Selim specialized in mining and cattle cases and land grant issues. He was instrumental in proposing and accepting the federal land grant to build the university in Tucson.  Since Franklin held the only college degree on the board of regents, he was made the first professor of agriculture.   

The Steinfeld Mansion built is 1900 was originally built as The Owl's Club by 13 bachelors and is the first California Mission Style on Main Street.  These unmarried men each furnished a room and hired a cook and proceeded to enjoy life...their galas, masked balls, and celebrations were the talk of the town. In 1908, Albert Steinfeld and his wife bought the property.  Albert opened a department store in 1914 and it remained one of the largest department stores in Tucson until it closed in 1984. He was also involved in banking, mining, and real estate and was one of the most prominent men in Tucson for several decades.   

Back at the oasis, we had a wonderful rainy Sunday.  It was so nice and we sure do need the rain.  

We have added more color to the backyard...

      

a large pot of daisies...

large and small pots of yellow pansies...

and my favorite...lots and lots of violas. 

I didn't capture many feathered friends the past few weeks...

and not all the birds we see have feathers.

We relocated a Walking Stick Insect that had taken up residence in one of my pots.

The best news of the month is we have a new puppy.  Our home seemed a little on the empty side and Joe and I figured out very quickly we are puppy people.  We picked up Lucy from the airport on Wed. November 13.  

This is Lucy's adoption photo from Crockett Doodles based in Greenville, SC.  She is a Cockapoo and was born on Aug. 20. Her mom is a 20 pound Cockeer Spaniel and her dad is a 9 pound mini Poodle. There were three pups in her litter...all girls...and Lucy was the last one to be adopted.

 She flew all the way across the country (with a stop over in Dallas) with her very own Flight Nanny.  Lucy was 11 weeks old when we adopted her from Crockett Doodles.  Love is such a wonderful thing.  I am pretty sure Lucy already feels right at home and we love this little bundle of fur, energy, and joy. 

Lucy's first visit to meet Dr. Huang at Animal Care Center of Green Valley. She weighed in at 6.2 pounds, had her second vaccination, and lots of hugs and kisses from Dr. Huang and the staff.  She has a rabies shot and one more vaccination in December before we can take her out in public. 

Lucy has lots of love to share...

She likes to play...

likes to chew (and everything goes in her mouth)...

Joe and I have never had a puppy this young and never experienced teething...yikes!

really likes her naps...

loves to help...

and we love to cuddle !

Joe and I are looking forward to Thanksgiving with Jamie, Andra, and Ozzie.  We sure have lots to be thankful for.  And its with lots of love and good wishes we send a Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends near and far. 

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS!

A Little History, Deer Valley Loop, and Some Merry and Bright

November 28, 2021

Corona de Tucson 

It has been a fun week.  It all started with a walk in downtown Tucson.  Main Street and the side streets that criss-cross are full of history.  The city of Tucson was founded as a military fort by the Spanish with the construction of Presidio San Agustin del Tucson in 1775. 

The adobe walls for the Presidio were completed in 1783.

At that time it was included in the state of Sonora, Mexico.  It wasn't until 1853 that the United States acquired the region that is present day Southern Arizona from Mexico.  The Spanish name of the city, Tucson [tuk'son] , is derived from the O'odham meaning "at the base of the black hill" (a reference to a basalt covered hill know today as Sentinel Peak or "A" Mountain). Anyway, when I read the phonetic pronunciation of Tucson, I laughed out loud as Joe and I have forever (just to be funny) called Tucson...Tukson.  

I love meandering through these side streets.  

The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block serve as the "steward" of five properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Included in the list is the Corbett House built in 1907 home.

The neighborhood referred to as "Snob Hollow" was home to many wealthy residents.  The Corbett's home served as a center of social activities and "opulent" parties.

 
Every fall and spring, the Tucson Museum of Art hosts an Artisans Market.  Over 100 artisans are featured in the outdoor street market in the beautiful, historic Presidio Neighborhood.  We spent so much time perusing the streets that I still didn't get to go in the museum.   We saw unique and beautiful pieces of art and a wide variety of mediums including textiles, pottery, paintings, glass, wood, copper and metal. 

    

Deer Valley Loop is in Saguaro National Park East.  The trail begins at the WildHorse Trailhead.  

This trail is located off Speedway Boulevard as is the Douglas Spring Trail/Garwood Trail I posted back at the end of October.  Deer Valley Loop is a combination of multiple trails that are all interconnected in this area of the park.  

The park instructions and map along with a few other sites I googled made it easy to navigate ourselves on the hike without getting lost.  

We traversed several washes.  That meant lots of this...

Going down!

 

...and lots of this.

Going up!  It was a great workout!

A saguaro family...

Christmas Cactus fruit...in some places it lined the trail. It was quite showy and just in time! 

It was a quiet Thanksgiving at our home.  The hike and picnic we had planned was a no go as the winds were gusting at 25+ mph.  So that brings us to merry and bright.  

We have never put up a Christmas tree in November so let 2021 go down in the books as the year one of us couldn't wait a minute longer !  Thanksgiving Day was spent decorating the tree, watching the National Dog Show, napping and eating turkey sandwiches.

I couldn't wait any longer for party mix either.  Just look at the mound of yummy goodness.  I haven't made party mix in years...the whole time we lived in the MH we were without ! I have yet to figure out why, as much as Joe and I love this concoction of cereal, pecans and pretzels, we don't have it more.  I guess it wouldn't be a special Christmas treat !     

That about wraps up another week at the oasis.  Sally continues her watch dog responsibilities.  She takes her job very seriously. 

One morning when I opened the door for the pups to go out, I was greeted with the sweet smell of rain from the night before.

Jack continues to demonstrate that if we play hard we can take a nap.

Joe cut mattes.  It's not as easy as it looks !

Dover still follows me everywhere and waits patiently.  

And the wind continues to spread seeds.

So until next time, 

HAPPY TRAILS !