Vail, AZ
5 Sept, 2022
So much time has passed!
One problem with on-line art challenges is that they are very time and energy consuming - I think I overdid it this spring by doing 3 and trying to video and IG about them all. So - what followed was a long period of extreme laziness. To be fair, I had to deal with a higher number of household challenges as well.
Anyway, here's a whirlwind update on my summer!
Sketchbook Revival
I love this annual intense workshop as a way to energize my sketchbook practice. 30 videos from other artists demonstrating lots of techniques, ideas, and projects in a very compressed 2 week timeframe really forces me to let go and dive into new things.
Here are just a couple of my sketchbook pages from that workshop (I filled an entire sketchbook in that 2 weeks!). I like these because I so rarely do collage.
Followed by a quick visit Sedona - a lovely place to visit!!
I met up with a friend from Portland OR who was in Sedona with other friends at a time-share vacation place. So fun to visit with friends after so much pandemic isolation - it's been hard to meet people in my new home town!
Time to make progress on Home Projects!!
This spring my priority was to find a landscape service to handle the summer weeds! When I got home from my month-long trip to the PNW last year, the weeds were thigh high - and, at 70 yrs old, getting rid of those weeds just about did me in! This project took awhile as everyone is pretty booked up with all the construction happening in Tucson.
While I was at it, I hired an arborist to trim up my previously butchered mesquites and get rid of all the mistletoe (the HOA was complaining about the mistletoe). The guys did a great job and only left one little patch of mistletoe because of an active bird nest (thanks for sparing the birds, guys!).
Plus, Phoebe got a rug to play on! Phoebe is still young enough at 6 to get 'the zoomies'. She has had to limit this activity to the outdoors because she gets no traction at all on my tile floors. So, this year I got her a rug of her very own. Perfect for running around and destroying her 'stuffies'.
Then the house AC went out!
I wasn't particularly surprised since I had the original unit and it was almost 25 years old! Even though I knew it was going to be expensive to replace, I was astonished at the cost!! But, I was very pleased with the company who did the work and I'm already seeing the benefits in my monthly electric bill. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I got an emergency service/fix to keep me cool until a new unit could be installed (also VERY quickly - I had thought with all the news about 'supply chain issues' that replacement might be a problem). In Southern Arizona, in the hottest month of the year, service providers take air conditioning problems very seriously - and I'm glad for that.
Then, I got Covid!
Fortunately, I am vaxxed and boosted - so, I didn't get very sick. I did however, get some of the really weird, uncommon symptoms - like extremely itchy hives all over my body. No pictures because, trust me, once you see those, you can't unsee them.
I did sneak in a weekend away in the mountains, and a couple day trips
When the heat gets really extreme, It's time to go camping in the mountains! Show Low is higher and cooler and just lovely.
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| Fools Hollow Lake and Campground - a lovely place to cool off and relax |
And, on a day hike in Madera Canyon, near my home, my first ever Coatamundi!!
Whewww! Another post will have to finish off my summer . . .
