Engagement Picture

If you haven't already heard, Steph and Reynard are getting married June 3 in Bloomongton, Indiana. Heaps of good wishes for a really amazing couple!

Tammy on QVC national television

Did you catch It? She did great and she looked dynamite in that red dress! Had to wait all the way thru the show as she was last on the docket. She was on just under 8 minutes of air time. Sales were good and now hoping she did well enough in sales to be invited back.
I was streaming it on my iPad thru the QVC app and Will had his computer going on the channel so we had it covered. Actually never really watched this before for any length of time and it is quite the sales venue!! Fun to hear about the behind the scenes activity from Tammy. She was pretty critical of herself but you know she really did well!

My baby is blooming again!

Monday at 9am
Monday evening at 10pm!!

6am on Tuesday! 3 more buds coming in the next day or so.  This blossom will be drooping by sunset. Trichocerius cactus.  Makes my day, for sure. There must be a life lesson here in this fleeting beauty.

Tammy is on TV!

Tammy will be on the QVC , the shopping channel. It's April 27 at 8pm. (Now that might be Eastern time, I will have to find out)

  She just went to Philadelphia for QVC training this week and she "passed!" 

  So tell all your friends to watch and get ready to order some Aquareveal products!!

 

New home

Will especially, worked hard this week putting new items together, moving stuff and helping Tammy get her house in shape. I helped too, but he did the heavy stuff. 

That's her new address on the left with cars in driveway.


And we walked Lia to school in the morning. Her school is less than a block away. Pretty nice.

We are back in Tucson now. . .where it is nice and warm.

Looking like spring

Except for this morning's downpour, it is spring in New Jersey. I love this "Weeping Cherry Tree" across the street. 
I don't Know what this is but I like it, too.

This mornings rain was epic. Just at the time Lia went to school. Really a down pour with flooded streets. Now the sun is shining. Go figure. What am I hearing about big snow in MN!!

A week in Palasades Park

Always treated to Korean dinner. The whole gang out for Korean Bar-b-que. 
First out for breakfast!
Then we all got to work. We're here to help get Tammy and girls settled into new digs! Lia such a help putting new kitchen chairs together. 
Then helping her sister "do her nails."

Here's that amazing Korean Bar-b-que. 

Driving in dust storm

Every year we hear about blowing dust between Tucson and Phoenix but never actually experienced it until today.  Really amazing around Casa Grand where the old abandoned agricultural areas really blow! Major accident where both lanes of I10 were shut down. We were stopped dead for a half hour.  And then slow going for about 40 miles. Could have been worse, I guess. But we made it.

  Drove up to Phoenix to check into hotel so we are here for our 6am flight to Newark to see Tammy and the girls!!

 Drove over to see Jeff and Theresa Ellington and thier new Scottsdale home. Very nice. Lovely, spacious Arizona living. 

 

Carved Porcelain

Tried my hand at carving porcelain. First learned how in China but haven't tried it here until now. I did the carving on bone dry clay before it was fired. Used a Celedon glaze that settles into the carving and highlights the design.


I painted a few pieces also.

Steph in Singapore for Symposium

Brag time.  . .Again. Stephanie just returned from taking her class of 18 students to Shanghai and Hong Kong over IU's Spring Break and turned around a week later and went to Singapore to attend a Symposium. She not only attended this 3 day event but was one of 3 people who actually put it together. She was delighted at the turnout and engagement of this group of artists, curators, scholars that came together for dialog and planning concerning Urban Screens and public spaces. They were hosted at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. She was particularly impressed with artist Krzysztof Wodiczko, on her left, front row in photo. He is a Polish artist known for large scale slide and video projections on architectural facades and monuments. 

Madera Canyon and Trogan

When we left Brown Canyon we didn't go home. Instead we went across the valley to Madera Canyon and checked into the Santa Rita Lodge for two nights of hiking and birding. We visit this canyon a lot on day outtings but really nice to stay overnight to really enjoy all that is here. 

A favorite bird here is Painted Redstart. Mostly impossible to get a photo of because she is such a little mover! I was pretty proud of this quick shot as she landed on our patio.
Acorn Woodpeckers are abundant.
But this guy is the prize!! People come here from all over the country to see the Elegant Trogan. He is not particularly skittish once you find him and this one posed for us for at least 10 minutes. He seemed as curious of us as we were of him.  We finally decided he was showing off.
he's 12 inches long with 16 inch wing span. His mate is duller, mostly grey but equally beautiful. Did not see her, perhaps she has not arrived as yet.

Brown Canyon Outting

11 of us friends from St Andrews did a hike up Brown Canyon on Buenos Aires National Refuge. Is a protected canyon so needed a guide. Bobakivary mountain is still considered a sacred mountain by Native Americans. We didn't get that far but is a distinctive landmark that can be seen for miles.

Had our lunch under this impressive arch.

Saw Golden Eagles and nest way up on cliff. Good binocular views.