April Fool's Day!

I think April Fool's Day is the perfect day to finally post about last Christmas, don't you?
Of course!

Once again, I had The Best Christmas Ever. All our kids were home, and everyone enjoyed being together, and we did lots of fun things, and I never cooked, because the kids did it all!

I started by posting a photo on Instagram each day, a photo of something that was helping to set the mood for the holiday. I enjoyed the positive feedback I got, and I hope I can get others to do it with me next time!

The fun really started when Bethany and Poppy and Kathryn all arrived on the same day! Here we are stopping to see the miniature horses at the Quicksilver Ranch.

Then we played at the park for a while,

And we admired some of Solvangs's wares including this giant gingerbread house:

It was cold at the beach, but that didn't stop us from having fun!

The PCPA was performing The Wizard of Oz, and Poppy sat in the front row, where flying monkeys and Winkies menaced her, and she looked like she was part of the action at times.

There was some hiking,

And some more beach play.

There were pigs dressed as reindeer!

There was fun with fire,

and with trains,

and with cookies.

Of course, presents on Christmas morning were especially fun!

But the best part may have been Poppy's horse riding lesson with the gifted Isabella and Lucy.

Followed closely by a fun day of mini golf and arcade!

Okay, so maybe I'll post Easter pics for the 4th of July!

Gotta wear real shoes

After I'd lived in California for several years, I was packing to visit Flagstaff, AZ, my hometown, and I realized I didn't have any appropriate shoes. I had sandals, canvas shoes, gym shoes, shoes with decorative cut-outs or woven leather, and dressy shoes, but no sturdy, waterproof, dirt-resistant shoes for wearing in snow or on dirt walkways.

I came ready with some dirt-worthy walking shoes this time, and I put them to good use. Of course we made the obligatory trip to Red Mountain, and we enjoyed sharing with newbies. What a magical place this eroded cinder cone is, with weird hoodoos and cinder  hills! Funny thing is, with just adults making the hike, it didn't take as long as usual!

We didn't do more than stroll along the rim of the Grand Canyon the day we went there, but we enjoyed the beautiful view as part of our lunch date with Mom. What a decadent day, driving to the Canyon to eat lunch (Navajo tacos - yum!) in the El Tovar Lodge: the original craftsman-style, Fred Harvey railroad stop right on the rim of the canyon.

Mmmm, a Navajo taco is Indian fry bread topped with chili and taco fixings.

Here's Ralph, taking pictures of us during our hike at the top of Oak Creek Canyon. I love the rocks!

Here's another hike, on the Sandy's Canyon Trail, where we saw pines and aspens, sandstone and basalt, wildflowers, and even a cute little horned toad!

We also hiked on the Kachina Trail, on the San Francisco Peaks. That's 11000' altitude.

There were also hikes taken around our cabin in the woods, but I opted for relaxation on the deck, instead!

Here's Pamela, who blew out her Italian hiking boots on our first day. She made the rest of our hikes wearing her Teva sandals. So much for real shoes!

Pamela tied the semi-detached soles to the tops of her boots to make the hike out of Red Mountain.

I won again!

I follow a number of blogs. Most are sewing/quilting blogs, but there are others I follow because they are charming. One delightful blog is polkadotponie, where Jone Hallmark creates lovely little things in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and also shares her love for family and friends, and life in general. Go ahead, go on over there and look around, then come back. I'll wait for you...

 Did you see those colorful, hand painted eggs Jone made? Did you see that she offered to make one for a lucky reader?

She made the rubber stamp for the card!

That's me! I'm the lucky one!

There's so much tiny detail on this little cutie!

Right now it's nestled into the pussy willow branches by my front door. 

After Easter, it will live in this little wooden bowl on my desk, accompanied by two wooden darning eggs, and next to a bowl full of buttons. Both bowls are places where I leave my glasses, and this little bit of brightness will be frequently admired and appreciated.

P.S. Yes, I made pysanky eggs again this year; Cris joined me one evening while our husbands watched basketball, and yesterday John and his girlfriend played along. I wish I'd remembered to take pictures of us at work! Here's a pic of this year's additions in the basket with all the rest.

Pysanky style eggs; ours are free form!