Paying it forward - craftapalooza

"......Here's the Pay It Forward Idea: I will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. You may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. (so, you must have a blog to participate.) I can't wait to see who I will be giving to. To join, just cut and paste this on your blog and comment away. So get posting......."

Sunday lunch

Another new place: Morning Glory Cafe

It begins here.

The restaurant

The tables had butcher paper on top.

The eggs. I saw the chickens that made them.

They use vegetables and eggs produced by the farm on site. It really is an oasis in the desert, and we had cool weather to go with it.

Where in the world was I?

Can you guess where this is? Look closely at the image.

Turning Points

I read this some years back, when I was about to lose a parent. I'm reading it again as I have become an orphan. Yes, and adult orphan. My friend says that term applies to children only, but I know she is mistaken. Victoria Secunda, the author, agrees with me. The title is self explanatory. It's a painful journey.

Home and Garden

In Boston

In Mexico

In Spain

Black Friday

I read all about who was having a sale .. blah, blah, blah. I watched that cute Target commercial about the 2 day sale. The little ones needed new sheets, so, because I happened to be awake at 5:30 am, JJ and I got ready and joined, what turned out to be, a massive movement towards the mall and its adjoining stores. Who knew Black Friday was so popular. At Target, things were so congested, that I ran over some woman's foot. I did say "excuse me", but she chose to move only about 2 inches. Not enough clearance for my cart. We walked out with 2 sets of flannel sheets ands a few things not on the list: we needed a basketball and a coffee maker too. And if you're going to buy them, best do it while there's a sale going on and you are right in the store as it is happening.

Having accomplished all this by 7 am , I was left with a non scheduled day. But wait, it is officially the Holiday Season and my tree is no where in sight. Quick, JJ, you must help me get all that Christmas stuff down from the attic.

Ah, I verified that my choice of location for the 2007 tree was acceptable to my co-decision maker, and I proceeded to bring it to life. Tomorrow I will finish this task. We need more lights.

I shop sales throughout the year and have most of the gifts I will bestow on those I hold dear in my heart. The floor is my workstation. It's an ongoing process.

My workstation

The tree.

I can live without music, but today I was treated to Holiday music from some radio station home to Beth and Bill.

Happy Holidays.

The Pilgrims are coming

Washed and at room temperature.

Stuffed and covered with moistly buttered cheese cloth.

Fresh out of the oven

The only part I don't do.

Voila! The gravy came in really handy. Generously basting the bird every 30 minutes didn't make it as moist as I wanted. I'm loyal to my turkey mentor. She has a classic recipe that I like. The cheese cloth does it for me. Have you checked out her new and improved website?

No Music Day

The British have a thing called "No Music Day" . Check it out. I can dig it.

Can you hear the creek?

There's a running creek in there. Can you hear it?

Space and voice are powerful

Be a leader one minute and a follower the next. In the cycle of song there are turns. All you have to have is courage to make your voice heard when the song is raised.

Things country

A true blue country home smack in the middle of the desert. And people live there too. It's a rustic oasis for all those piano lovers.

I exhale, you inhale - you exhale, I inhale

We're all connected.

Statue - ASU Art Museum

C'mon, we gotta go!!

I chuckle and feel validated when I see how life with children is portrayed with humor. Humor is an absolute necessity for a quasi-perfectionist like me. It goes like this indeed:

click pic to enlarge

Life in Mozambique

A South African, Axel Schmitz took these pictures on a holiday in Mozambique. Check out the BBC in pictures

Beach near Beira.

Girls getting water, Chimoio.

Low tide at Vilankulo Bay.

Selling to passing buses, north of Beira.

Hung out to dry after dying.

Sunday Lunch

We eat out on Sundays. It is a tradition in our family. We have favorite restaurants that we visit regularly, but it has been fun exploring the Tempe Marketplace. Yesterday we visited Lucille's BBQ. It was so fun to be in this whimsical restaurant, sipping strawberry iced tea from these jars. A first for me. The food was savory too.

Brian Lamb

C-SPAN president and CEO Brian Lamb wins the Presidential Medal of Honor. Here's what George W. Bush had to say -

"An informed citizenry has been the strength of America since the days of the New England town hall. C-SPAN has revived the town-hall spirit for a modern, continental nation. For his enormous achievement and his personal modesty, for his high standards, and his contribution to our democracy, America is grateful to Mr. Brian Lamb".

Count me among his admirers!! C-SPAN has kept me company many a times.

Hope

by Helen Papworth

What does the picture represent?

Hope for Africa and many, many more personal experiences in and about Mozambique.
I love water colors. Its soft, nonrigid quality is how I prefer to view life.

Our brokenness

It is not easy words we say, nor is it the gifts we give that make us friends. Friendship invites us to share not only bread broken, but our brokenness. Friendship invites us to share not only wine poured into glasses, but our lives poured out.... We remember Jesus best when we are faithful to our lives and when we share in faithful friendship. This is our memorial to him, the memorial to which he calls us in each Eucharist.

- Paula Ripple

Called to Be Friends

Flow like the water

I love the water... Love to be in it... Love to hear it... Love to see it. I feel like the water today. I'm flowing.

Where in the world are the Vieiras?

My Mozambican family. And just like most Mozambicans who left in the late 70s, they have found a way to maintain their African roots. The Internet has lessened the sense of loss felt by those of us who unwillingly left.

Cheers, primos!

A mother's arms

Is the safest place to be. Mothers, do well by your children.

Watch out, you might get hit by a meteor

It reminds me of the movie "Lilo and Stitch" where the aliens describe the earth as a planet that faces extinction whenever it is hit my a meteor. This National Geographic story tells describes what happened in Peru when a thing fell out of the sky.

The Story of Lucy and more

Drag your kids to a science fair at the School of Earth and Space Exploration and you might learn about Lucy the hominid. If you believe in the theory of evolution this fits right in. I watched the college student give a short lecture about the differences in the skeleton of a chimp, a woman, and a replica of Lucy's. She definitely looked more like a human. We played with moon sand and panned for gems.

The fair

Gems

Moon sand

Lucy