Message In A Bottle

October 2012 - Item#49
Some ideas always sound good and look good on paper. However, when it comes to implementation of that idea, it often becomes problematic. And that is the case with my  Message In A Bottle task.

My plan was to send a message in a bottle off the coast of Cape Cod when I visited my brother and sister in October. However, I went on a whale watch adventure out of Gloucester, Massachusetts.  Although I was already thinking about the consequences of launching a bottle into the ocean, this event changed my position...

During the whale watch trip we saw humpback and fin whales.  In addition  we saw a rare Northern Right Whale of which there are only 400 in the world! They are sometimes found in New England waters in the fall. According to the captain this was an unbelievably rare sighting. They had to stay at least 500ft from the whale and could not stay viewing it for long, so we only saw the back cresting the water two or thee times. The crew was very excited, the passengers not so much! In addition the crew had stated how important it was not to throw anything overboard (of course not!) This got me thinking, that although it seems very romantic to send a message in a bottle whether it's a poem, some philosophical tid bit (or whatever I was going to write or draw as the message), it is simply polluting the ocean!  As a result, I decided to scrap this task in favor of the environment.

2012 Presidential Election

October 4, 2012 - Item#9 
In July I stopped off at the Prescott Democratic Headquarters to drop off a volunteer form. (see previous post).  After I returned from my trip to CA and AZ in late August, I did drop by the headquarters to volunteer.  Phone calls appeared to be the only task needed.  So, I sat down with  my list of 50+ phone numbers and proceeded to call.  The goal was to enlist additional volunteers to make phone calls, something I was not proud to do since I hate those phone calls!!!

My time slot was from 3PM - 5PM.  It wasn't long before I realized that this task was futile!  Either no one answered the phone - working or screening calls - or I got an elderly person who was unable to volunteer.   I think I talked to 4 persons!  It was pretty frustrating and appeared to be a waste of my time.  I thought I would try it the next week to give it the "old college try", but they moved the phone bank center to Prescott Valley which became an 18 mile one way trip.  Well, I told them that was it!

Later in September my neighbor Linda told me about an opportunity to be in a You Tube video for the presidential election.  So the two of us went to downtown Prescott and joined the "Middle Class Blues" crowd and walking scenes.  You can see me (2) times in the walking crew and then at the end of the video.  It was fun making it.  Much better than the phones!  Although the 2012 Presidential election task did not turn out as I had expected I did something and consider it completed...  Oh yes, and I will vote!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGGf5i_NyzY

Errrrrrrrrrr...Knitting!!!!

I hope the old saying "third times a charm" holds true in this case. 

Knitting isn't hard.  What is hard, is keeping track of the where you are and how many yarn loops are on the needle.  How can I add and drop without even realizing it?!?!  OK, so I am on the second attempt at this scarf. 

In the first attempt, it was way too wide and I was going to run out of yarn.  Not to mention I added and dropped a few yarn loops here and there.  Of course, I did not use a pattern. I mean how difficult could it be?  Knit, knit, knit... So I ripped it all apart and started over.  

Well I did it again, only this time it was a missed yarn loop.  It wasn't until I got further along that I noticed it!  I am sure there is a manual way to fix it, but the mohair in the yarn makes it difficult to work with.  So, I put it aside out of frustration for now.  I expect I will rip some rows and start again... Third times a charm, right???

hanging yarn loop...

In the meantime, I started another  one color one yarn scarf - KISS - keep it simple Susan!!!!

GNO Prescott - A Success!!!

Ellen, Susan, Laurie, Annelies, Modesta, Connie, Darlene, Linda & the 10 passenger  stretch limo!

September 2012 - Item#22 & #24
I hosted GNO (Girls Night Out) at my house in Prescott, Saturday 15, 2012.  We had a great turn out with only one member unable to make the event!  Although I had planned some Friday night activities, it made more sense for most to make it up on Saturday instead.  Some of the hubbys made the trip to Prescott and the couples stayed at Laurie & Mike's house!  Thanks - Laurie & Mike!

I contracted with Prescott Transit Authority for 3 hours of limo time providing them with a map of the places I wanted us to visit.

H - My house  B - Drive around the courthouse square   C - Prescott Resort and Conference Center at Bucky's Casino  D - Lynx Lake Overlook  (Not marked) Watson Lake Overlook    E - The Dells residential area    F - Prescott Airport   G - The Barndest Things (2nd hand store)

Everyone was at my house before 11AM on Saturday.  So, while waiting for the arrival of the limo (1:30 PMish) we played a game, had a light brunch and bottle of champagne.  

The limo arrived around 1:20PM and it didn't take us long to get loaded into the limo.  Unfortunately,there was not as much room as I thought there would be especially with the food and drink cooler! Thank goodness I got the 10 passenger limo for the eight of us. Eventually we moved the champagne cooler into the front with the driver and it gave us more room to spread our feet!

Inside the 10 passenger limo...

Prescott Resort & Conference Center with a spectacular view!

Lynx Lake

Lynx Lake with Bruce our driver

Watson lake

The Dells

We arrived back home a little before 4PM.  In all of the chaos exiting the limo, I left my phone behind.  Thanks to Linda and Dan for going into town to retrieve the phone!  We continued to drink champagne,  laughed and talked.  I soon began to prep for dinner - BBQ pork ribs, corn on the cob and tossed salad.  After waiting for the sun to lower in the sky, we had a great dinner outside.

After dinner we enjoyed the pound cake that Linda made!  Ymmm... And I passed out the quiz based on the fun facts of Arizona and Prescott I provided during the limo ride!  Ellen won 1st with 9 out of ten correct answers!  Then Darlene in 2nd with 7 1/2 correct answers and finally Annelies in 3rd with 7 correct answers.  Good job to all!

After a little clean up (thank you Modesta) we sat outside and admired the milky way and other stars!  It was a new moon so the sky was very dark.  We had to get out the blankets for the desert rats, but it did make for a cozy setting...  THANKS FOR TO EVERYONE FOR A GREAT EVENT!

Paperweight Anyone?

August 2012 - Item#6

After purchasing a 1/2 priced glass blowing class via  Groupon, Walter, Melinda and I met Cindy at Antonius Studio on Saturday, August 18.  The studio had a special "artisit" look that some might not find appealing.  I thought it was interesting! Some glass art, a hanging baby doll, an armored soldier, a broken glass pile and other "junk" strewn about the yard or hanging from trees.

It was hot when we entered the studio.  The owner,Tim, and  his assistant  Jordan, were working on a prototype for a large glass installation for the October Studio Art Tour in Prescott.  Kind of looked similar to the Chihuly installation pieces.  As a result of their working, we got about a 15 minute late start on the class which had us rushing at the end of the class. But it did give us a chance to watch them use the ovens and look at some of the work in the studio.  This studio did look intimidating...

We were told we could make two pieces of glass; paperweight or flower.  Cindy expressed her desire to blow a glass xmas ornament and they were fine with that. Jordan demonstrated the flower making technique and then Walter started us off.  We got a fair amount of assistance on each project; some more than others.  It did seem like one could get burned very easily so the assistance was probably warranted.

After they demonstrated a paperweight, Melinda took the chair.  Only one person could work at time, but it wasn't boring watching someone else work.  It really was a matter of safety.  Hot glass and tools must make a nasty burn!

After two hours we were done and our works of art were in a kiln to slowly cool.  I picked up the pieces on Monday and took them down to the Valley the ext weekend.  All in all our pieces turned out pretty good....

Although there as some similarities between glass working and ceramics, glass it too hot for me!!!

Bisbee, Arizona - Art District

August 2012 - Item#54
Since I cut my Ramsey Canyon trip short, I went over to Bisbee for the day instead of staying overnight and boy am I glad!  The streets were virtually empty!


Bisbee, is very much a hillside town (mining) and has many charming and colorful buildings.  Many are galleries and restaurants; perfect for tourism.   According to one of the shop owners,  two weeks in August are always very slow and I happened to be there during that time.  Boy, my southern AZ trip was not panning out as I had expected!

Copper City Inn - where I had planned to stay...

I visited several galleries and art supply stores.  It was in Bliss-Bee that I got a nice history of the art community.  Unlike many art communities, Bisbee has a high turn over of artists or "unreliable" artists, making it difficult for galleries  to keep stocked.  It must be the remote location or artists seeking a short term retreat...

Bisbee is over 5hrs driving from Prescott, but I might go back again during a week with a special event.  I might pair it with a tour of the surrounding wineries....

Ramsey Canyon Inn - a Bit of a Bust!

August 2012 - Item#55 

Southern AZ

I knew I was leaving the good weather for a hotter and drier one when I left southern California for southern Arizona.  After a one night stop in Yuma, AZ – HOT! HOT!! HOT!!! – I drove the next day to Sierra Vista, AZ via beautiful Sonoita, AZ.

Ramsey Canyon Inn B&B

I was booked at the Ramsey Canyon Inn B&B.  It is at the end of the road next to the Nature Conservancy Ramsey Canyon Preserve; the nation’s humming bird capital. I arrived at 3PM and was informed that I was the only guest that night.  But where were all of the humming birds???  Although no humming birds were in sight, we did get a late afternoon thunderstorm which pleased me.

My first impression of Ramsey Canyon Inn was not a great one.  The host greeted me at the dark door.  She showed me my room and quickly asked if I wanted an upgraded room.  I checked it out with her, although a larger room, it was not as visually appealing and I returned to my original room.

Typical of outside & inside,
some TLC is needed!

After unpacking, I returned to the common areas only to find Shirlene (the host) busy doing her past two year taxes.  Papers were strewn everywhere making for a messy dining table, a bad first impression of the common areas.  Why not do the taxes in her house which was next door?  She explained that the Inn is for sale and a young couple is trying to get financing to buy it; her taxes must be in order!  At 72 she was tired of the B&B chores and wanted to retire to Hawaii with her son, daughter and grandson.  Actually, the B&B did need some TLC.  New owners will be a good thing…

The current family has owned the Inn since 1960 and as a result of a bumper fruit crop one year, Shirlene’s mother started the tradition of afternoon pie at the Inn. The guests have come to expect it.  I am sure a warm piece of pie and many humming birds flitting about is a great combination.  Unfortunately, I only got to enjoy the pie.  Were are the humming birds???

To sum up the B&B, I just feel like their heart is no longer in the business and it shows.  It is in a great location with a babbling brook running through the property and it is steps from the Ramsey Canyon Preserve Visitors Center. Reality - it's For Sale!  (note sign in photo below)

The next day I donned my new binoculars and joined the 9AM Ramsey Canyon Preserve hike.  It was a small group; a couple from Colorado, a woman from Newport Beach, CA and a mother from North Carolina visiting her daughter who just moved to Sierra Vista, AZ from NC.  Her husband is in the military and is currently stationed at the local army base, Ft. Hauchuca.  Finally, the volunteer docent; a retired teacher from Wisconsin.   He says he will never go back!

The hike was very s-l-o-w paced, but very informative.  We saw a few deer including a doe and her new fawn.  The fawn still had it's spots.  According to Tom our docent in the orange shirt, because of the dry springs the fawns are not born in spring but instead in the summer when the monsoon rains give way to grassy hillsides.  

Ramsey Canyon has a colorful history and was donated to the Nature Conservancy in 1974 by the owner James Blodsoe, a retired doctor.  

  

We stopped at a 260 year old sycamore tree (the University of Arizona recently cored and aged the tree) and was told this was the dance hall for those who lived in the canyon others who left the valley to beat the heat in the 1800's.  Below are pictures of one of last standing cabins.  The Nature Conservancy has removed most of the buildings to return the canyon to it's "native" state. I just might paint this cabin...

On our hike we saw a "man made" pond where the endangered species "Chiricahua Leopard Frog" breed. We actually talked with two young female scientists from the University of Seattle that were out counting tad poles. I think they were Master's students.

In summary, it was a lovely hike and we met several birding groups along the trail; most in search of the 15 different species of humming birds that migrate to Arizona from South America.  Again we saw very few humming birds.  So why not???  Apparently there was a fire last summer in an adjacent canyon.  Some theorize that the humming birds have lost their markers to Ramsey Canyon.  Perhaps the humming birding will never be the same...  I am sorry that I did not visit years earlier when the little 'hummers", as the birders call them, were in abundant supply!  Check out these 55 facts about huming birds. 

After much thought I decided to cut my stay at Ramsey Canyon Inn short by one night and completely cancelled my over night in Bisbee, AZ.  Since there were no humming birds, it was just as hot as home and I had time to visit Bisbee during the day, I saved myself some money and headed home early...  But not until after one of the best things about Ramsey Canyon Inn B&B, the breakfast.  Oh, and two birding women arrived the night before I left.  They are in this picture...

Not sure I will ever get back to Ramsey Canyon, just wish I would have seen the many humming birds this canyon is famous for!!!  Oh well, that's life!