How I spent My Summer Vacation...

My husband and I spent several days over the July 4th weekend at one of our favorite spots in Arizona, Kohl's Ranch. See my Summer Getaway page for photos of Kohl's Ranch and our outings.

We had such a wonderful time getting away from the heat and being back in a place that holds many happy memories.  From sitting on our patio enjoying cool evening temps and great wine to treking around the Kohl's Ranch property to some fantastic scenery at the Mogollon Rim and Woods Canyon Lake to enjoying time spent with my son Jimmy and also some fun shopping.  It was great.

The most amazing and somewhat humbling experience was spotting the bald eagle at Woods Canyon Lake.  The most surprising experience was finding a really decent Thai Restaurant in Payson.  The funniest experience was locking the club on my car after leaving the key to remove it back at the lodge, then having to hike from across the highway to the lodge to retrieve it.  The best food experience was the Rainbow Trout at the lodge.  Simply to die for!!  The best shopping find, my new amethyst ring.  Oh, and the Tim Holtz stuff I found at the scrapbook store in Payson.

The entire trip was absolutely fantastic and left us wanting to visit again soon.

Lots Of Paper Dolls

I am in love with Character Contructions paper doll stamps.  The idea of creating paper dolls for my grand daughters, great nieces and even for myself inspires me to play.

I had several sets already but when I took stock of what I had, I realized that I didn't have the necessary components to turn them all into dolls.  Okay, okay, this is an obvious ploy, but it is one that I have successfully used over time to talk myself into a stamp purchasing frenzy. 

I purchased directly from Character Constructions.  Look at how cute they packaged my purchase.  The catalog of mermaid images in the upper left corner are the newest sets and are something to wish for down the road.

Voici, à l'intérieur du paquet

 

Aren't these cool?

I can't wait to play with them.

Walking On The Creative Side

Lately, I have been in a creative mood which is resulting in more pages in my Art Journal.  Take a peek.

Next up, paper dolls for the grand daughters and great nieces.

Glittering Baubles

Yesterday was our 18th wedding anniversary.  My husband treated me to Z Tejas for lunch and jewelry for the afternoon. 

As I grabbed the camera and jewelry to catch the early morning light, my husband informed me that he is just another step closer to getting pipes for his bike.  Of course he is. 

The price of indulgence.

Rebirth

This year, I had several "rebirths" in my garden.  This year's freebies are sunflowers, alysum, snapdragons, and stock.  Talk about getting your money's worth. 

Once again, I was compelled to snap photos of the sunflowers.  It truly amazes me to see a mandala in nature such as the one inside this sunflower.  I find myself staring and tracing the pattern.

Click to enlarge the picture below.  You can see hundreds of tiny flowers opening.

From my perspective, I can understand how mandala's were used as religious symbols throughout civilzation. 

Trekking Around Up North

Last week, my husband and I were in Payson, visiting my son, enjoying cooler temps and beautiful scenery.  While driving to Pine for lunch, we passed the entrance to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  We heard that the State was closing this Park due to lack of funds, so when we passed by and saw that the park appeared to be open, we decided that after lunch, we would drive in and spend a couple of hours.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is situated in a small canyon, surrounded by steep forrested walls.  At first glance, you will notice that you are in a small valley in the middle of a Pine forrest.  There is a beautiful building, green grass, picnic areas and parking lots.  The canyon opens to the South and offers a wonderful view beyond. 

In the following shots, you can see how errosion as shaped the walls leading to the bridge.

So where is the bridge? Hit the trails and you will eventually find what is believed to be the worlds largest natural travertine bridge.  These shots are directly under the bridge.
 

Further up stream, there is a waterfall that I would have loved to hike down into, not to mention hiking down to where I could get under the bridge, but sadly I did not have the proper foot attire on this trip.  So instead, I contented myself with taking pictures from up top. 

In addition to learning the hard way that I need throw my hiking shoes into the car for those "just in case" moments, I also learned the hard way that I need to make sure my camera battery is fully charged or bring along a spare.  Unfortunately, the battery was drained after I snapped these photos and I lost the opportunity to get some spectacular views of the bridge. 



Thankfully, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is funded to remain open until July 2011.  We are planning another trip soon and you can be sure that I will bring the right gear so I can hike down this trail and get those amazing shots of this gorgeous place.

Happiness is...

More pictures from the garden.  As we are about to get another round of winter storms this weekend, I snapped these pics in the last of the afternoon sun today.

Afterwards I sat in the glider and soaked up the sun, hung with the dogs and read in my book.

A wonderful way to end a week of work.