1-31-15

Martin: My favorite style of door knocker.

Me: It's raining here by me.
Phoenix, AZ

It's snowing there by him. 

Steamboat Springs, CO

I've been enjoying the rain in Phoenix these past two days. However, all the people who have flown into the Valley for the Phoenix Open & Super Bowl aren't so thrilled. I know it's put a damper on many of the week's parties, expos, concerts and outdoor activities.

Bob's been flying to some cold & snowy spots. Steamboat Springs, CO yesterday & Hartford, Connecticut today. A high of 17 degrees. Brrrrrr.

1-30-15

Martin: Small town of Atajate, southern Spain.

Me: Lake Dog!

Harley was so comfortable paddle boarding yesterday. It's really fun to take her when she jumps right on & takes her place on the board for a ride around the lake. :-)

Love that dog!

PS: This version of my photo was edited by Lisa (iPhone camera instructor). I like it a LOT - especially how she included some of my life jacket, made the photo square & blurred the pic except for Harley. I'm learning how to use the editing apps & having fun. Need more practice though!

1-29-15

Martin: Cadiz. Like the way this shot shows the wind break effect on the waves.

Me: My nieces Abbie & Kim went paddle boarding today!

Harley & I joined them!

Kim is Matt's wife. Matt is Abbie's brother. Abbie & Kim are sisters-in-law. Matt is my nephew. Kim & Matt live in Denver. Matt & Kim have a dog. Matt's favorite color is…. :-) Haha. Anyway, Kim flew out for 3 days while Matt stayed in CO for work.

We rented Stand Up Paddle boards (SUP) at Tempe Town Lake & barely beat the rain!

The water was calm & we had a great time!

Thanks to Bob who was our professional photographer from shore!

1-28-15

Martin: Window display in the city of Cadiz.

Me: Harley gave me a good book to read. Not sure what she's hinting at? ;-)

Thank you, Harley! I will read it front to back and strive to be that person.

Xoxo to my baby!

1-27-15

Martin: Walked from Spain across the border to the island of Gibraltar that also involves walking across the Gibraltar airport runway.

Me: Playing around with camera apps & filters.

1-26-15

Me: James & Bob worked hard today!

They installed an outdoor serving shelf. It's the leftover granite from our kitchen island that we had cut into a rectangle with finished edges. I am so happy with how it turned out! Thank you, James & Bob!

Thank you, Pat for sending me these cute Valentine's bags & hot pad. Bob's mom made these from fabric we found when they were visiting earlier this month. They are cute!

And thanks, Wendy for giving me Paperwhite bulbs for Christmas. We planted them 2 weeks ago and they just started blooming. They are fragrant & TINY white flowers (I used macro feature on my Camera Plus app). Pretty flowers make my day!

1-25-15

Martin: Daniel in the creek leading out of the Roman Sulphur baths of Hedonia. Situated near the coastal town of Manilva, on the road down from Casares. The baths are now run down but have been in use for at least two thousand years when the Romans set up permanent structures to use the sulphur rich spring waters, and wow, does the place stink of hydrogen sulphide. Julius Caesar even made use of the baths when he was governor of Southern Spain. It was mid-afternoon on a Thursday when we turned up and we had the place to ourselves. We were thinking of a nice hot spa when told of our trip to the baths. The water might as well have contained ice cubes floating along down stream. It was freezing but even a short dip left your skin feeling somehow different. Ruth's silver chain and ring changed colour almost instantly from contacting the water but at least it was only a surface effect.   

Me: Harley took Bob and I to "Dog Day" at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden. Can you tell Harley is happy? All smiles for her as there were dogs everywhere & unlimited treats offered to her from local dog vendors. It was a beautiful afternoon to walk around the gardens and practice shots with my new camera apps and editing tools.

 Desert Agave.

Friendship Rose.
#lovemyfriends :-)

1-24-15

Me: "Starting to see the light of day."

It seems I've been so busy (since Thanksgiving really) and even busier in the new year. But after last week I feel like things are settling down & we're starting to see the light of day. I guess we'll always be on the go but I do like a balance and aim to have some down time too. Here's to us all seeing the light of day (even Harley)!

1-23-15

Me: Pork chops with apples & cinnamon. Mmmmm. I've been using our crock pot more & tried out a recipe for 6 pork chops covered with apples & sprinkled with cinnamon & brown sugar. It turned out well & was able to use for supper when Monte, Emily, Janna, Andrew, the kids, & Mom were over last night.

1-22-15

Martin: Storm front that rolled in one morning over Casares but no rain eventuated. Wind farms everywhere in Spain and more going up all the time. You can just make out the Rock of Gibraltar through the gloom.

Me: Looks like Bob and I are moving! My sister, Carol just sold our house to Monte & Emily right underneath our feet. WOW! :-/

Hahaha. :-)

So, this photo is a joke (hopefully that's obvious since we wouldn't sell our home - especially after 3 years of renovation)! But this photo WAS a set up for a prank by Monte & Emily to play on their friends & family back in Iowa. Everyone who knows my brother understands that he hates leaving the Iowa farm and doesn't like flying. The farmers at coffee time were joking with Monte that Emily's gonna cash their farm checks and buy an AZ house while they are visiting their daughter Janna & family. Carol posted this pic on FACEBOOK yesterday & it went viral in our hometown. Some locals believed it - congratulating them online, some of their kids called to make sure it wasn't true & others were quite confident that this would NEVER happen. Some stranger commented on FB "That dude looks UNEASY!" hahaha.  Carol said this photo posted on her Facebook page just might hurt her business because of Monte's "look". :-)

It was a fun afternoon with everyone (12 of us) gathered at our house for pizza & homemade lemon bars (lemons from our tree). Mmmm.

1-21-15

Martin: Inside the tapas bar - 'Nonina'

Me: My mom is back! We are hoping to have her in Arizona for a few months (a good break from Iowa's winter). Mom will be splitting her time between our home, Carol's & Joan's. Great to have her here & looking well at 87 years young. Last night Bob made us a little fire which wasn't really necessary (it's not that cold here) but it sure felt cozy while sitting in the backyard.

1-20-15

Me: After our 7.3 mile hike it was lunch time. We drove the 7 mile paved road to Massai Point at 6,800 ft. Here we marveled at the view, soaked in the sun & ate our lunch. Kata & Robyn had the best snacks & shared with the rest of us Thanks! :-)

After lunch we headed out for another trek. This time a 3.5 mile loop on Echo Trail.

Bob amongst the "Islands in the Sky".

Standing up rocks everywhere.

Green Lichen speckled the spires.

Narrow passageways.

Reeeeaally narrow!

Kata & Robyn in the Grottos. This was a really cool area.

Except for the falling rocks. Watch out!

Me & my two adventurous nieces, Abbie & April.

So glad they and the rest of the group made the trip to Chiricahua!

Great adventure!

1-19-15

Me: …Bob's fall yesterday was a beautifuly landed jump. And April's acting was award winning. ;-)

We had such a fun group hiking Chiricahua on Sunday!

Bob, Kata, Robyn, Carol, Mike, Abbie, April & me.

We started at 8:30am on the Rhyolite Trail to the Sarah Deming Trail to the Heart of Rocks Trail. (7.5 miles round trip).

Carol admiring the Hoodoos (standing up rocks that look like people).

First glimpse of Balanced Rock.

How much more erosion before that giant boulder falls?! :-/

This was a great place to take photos & play with my new fish eye lens.

Abbie & Mike & Balanced Rock.

What a beautiful day we had to explore this area which was discovered in the early 1900's by a Swedish couple. It was made a National Park in 1924 and today there are many wonderful trails to enjoy. Chiricahua has 12,000 acres of protected land.

The rock here is called Rhyolite. Years & years of wind & water has eroded the Rhyolite into amazing rock formations...

like this duck.

Camel's Head.

 Thor's Hammer.

Kissing Rocks and more.

Before we left the Heart of Rocks trail, Kata fed the duck an apple. ;-)

He was hungry.

Our group got back to the visitor center and drove to Massai Point to have lunch and do an afternoon hike in the park. I will post those pics tomorrow. That's a LOT of Chiricahua pics…but it was a reeeaaaally cool place!