55 years. Our Wedding Anniversary

We just spent the day together, making it special.  Went out to the Desert Museum , walked the paths, enjoyed the cool morning exhibits. Once we felt like we had gotten our exercise we headed downtown to the Congress Hotel and the "Cup Cafe" for breakfast. Best in town!

  

Will brought home flowers 

Friend Irene surprised us with this pair of crystal lovebirds

Phone calls, video calls from the kids, flowers delivered from the gang made it a great celebration. We feel so Blessed, it's been a great adventure.

Will is at it again!

More stained glass silly birds!

He is learning how to "slump" glass and made a beautiful serving plate. .  

He's persuing the idea and intends to try to use my kiln to slump the glass. Glass kilns heat differently but there are ways to use ceramic kilns for glass. 

My stuff from a recent kiln load.

Tree trimming show

We have this big old native Mesquite tree in our front yard that was getting so overgrown, had lots of dead wood in it--it just needed cleaning up really bad.  We hired a professional to come in and do the job and it turned out to be great live entertainment!! They came with 4 guys, multiple loud saws, a wood chipper to clean up and they set to work. Two guys up in the tree, was quite the production!  Done in no time.

They certainly knew what they were doing.  That is what our lives have become--gotta find entertainment where u can!!

And just down the street Halloween decorations going up in front yards. This one is always great every year. Is lit at night also.

Gaslight Music Night

Just a fun evening. We went to Oro Valley to the Gaslight Music Theater. It's a venue for live music and we picked a good show. The "Tributaries" is a local Tucson band. They do "tribute music," the music of popular past groups. Tonight they did a show of 60's and 70's rock music in a military USO type show called "Good Morning Vietnam.". They were joined by the Manhattan Dolls, three female singers. Best of all was Mindy Ronstadt, the lead singer for the Tributaries. She is the neice of Tucson's own Linda Ronstadt--and she was amazing!!

It was obvious that there were several old hippies in the audience, lots of songs where Will and I could sing along. . .

The next Tribute coming up is "Eagles" hits.

Out in RV again

Just a three day getaway with friends John and April to Patagonia State Park in southeast Arizona--one of our most favorite places to go. A little hiking, a little birding, a lot of eating and enjoying our friend's company!  Great time in a great setting.

Stephanie wins prestigious Fellowship

 I just have brag a bit about our daughter.  Stephanie is one of 8 scholars that was awarded a prestigious Fellowship.  I don't know how many were in the pool of eligible candidates but it is not only Bloomington but across the whole of Indiana University.  She is on Sabbatical this next year and the monetary award connected with this helps make that possible.  She will be involved in a number of endeavors to further her career which in the end will benefit Indiana University.

IUPAH Fellowship Announces 2022 Recipients

Eight Indiana University faculty members have been awarded the inaugural IU Presidential Arts and Humanities Fellowship in 2022. The program aims to accelerate and amplify the work of outstanding IU faculty poised to become national and international leaders in their fields.

 

Eight Indiana University faculty members have been awarded the inaugural IU Presidential Arts and Humanities Fellowship in 2022. The program aims to accelerate and amplify the work of outstanding IU faculty poised to become national and international leaders in their fields.

The first cohort of fellows includes Heather Akou, Edward Curtis, Stephanie DeBoer, Robert Horvath, Lasana Kazembe, Rowland Ricketts, Sergio Ospina Romero and Uranchimeg Tsultem. Their research and artistic activities range from fashion to media studies.

“Congratulations to the inaugural Presidential Arts and Humanities fellows who exemplify the top researchers and artists in their fields,” IU President Pamela Whitten said. “We are proud that they represent Indiana University’s stellar arts and humanities community and we are committed to supporting their collaboration and scholarship.”

Each recipient will receive $50,000 in funding to support their research or creative project, participate in professional development and collaborate with other faculty. With this funding, fellows are expected to make significant scholarly and creative advancements in their field, collaborate with each other to improve their work and be recognized as leaders in the arts and humanities by the university.

"The Presidential Arts and Humanities Fellows Program is dedicated to supporting people as much as projects," said Ed Dallis-Comentale, associate vice provost of arts and humanities at IU Bloomington. "The combination of funding and professional development support, in the form of grant writing, publicity, networking and other essential areas, advances the whole scholar and boosts his or her entire career. Everyone in this group is primed to advance their career in significant ways, and we are eager to help move that process forward."

The 2022 IU Presidential Arts and Humanities Fellows are:

• Stephanie DeBoer, associate professor of cinema and media studies in The Media School. Her interests include global media studies, screen cultures and media infrastructures. DeBoer's research, creative activities and teaching address the co-constitution of place, space and location as they are produced within transnational, regional and urban screen media cultures. Her project work will focus on a manuscript that explores the dynamics of urban screens in Hong Kong and Shanghai and expand on collaborative projects with support from the fellowship.

We are very pleased with the mix of scholars and interests that defines our first fellows cohort," said Jason Kelly, director of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute. "The group consists of scholars from both of IU’s main campuses, from all three ranks, and it represents an equal mix of artists and humanists. That said, while the group is diverse in both background and experience, they share many common interests, and they are all pursuing similar or overlapping goals – professionally, intellectually and creatively."

The IU Presidential Arts and Humanities program provides funding in support of research and creative activity through a variety of mechanisms, including a Fellows Program as well as travel and production grants. The IU Research website outlines each of the categories of funding as well as eligibility and application requirements. All grant categories are currently open for applications.

 

Home on Labor Day

Aahh, I know I am nearly home when we see the Saguaro cactus forests. They don't show up until you get just north of Phoenix.  Looks hot out there, and it is. Coming home to 100+ degree temps. Actually was hot all the way from Grand Canyon--whole Southwest is suffering. But this too shall pass--beautiful drive the length of Arizona.

Vermillion Cliffs and over the Colorado River at Marble Canyon

At Navajo Bridge

South through Flagstaff, spent Sunday night at a Verde Valley RV park, up early and last 200 miles to home  by noon. 

Back to life in Tucson

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Well, maybe THIS is the most photogenic spot. . .well it's a tie. It never disappoints, that's for sure. The North Rim of Grand Canyon has always been a favorite for us. Maybe because it is relatively hard to get to, it's amenities are smaller, less busy, 1000 feet higher than Southern Rim and seems more "remote."

Sunset shows off the various colors.

A bit of the Colorado River can be seen through the hole in this Arch. We are quite a bit farther away from the river so sightings on this side are rare.

And then the Lodge here. . .

It's pretty neat. A 1927 structure that was built after the first Lodge burned down. It is designed so your first look down into the Canyon happens once you enter the Lodge! We had made reservations so had a lovely dinner in the dining room surrounded by huge windows with a view to die for. Good thing Will thought to call ahead as dinner reservations are regularly booked up--especially this holiday weekend

We drove the scenic 40 mile rim road, stopped at ALL the overlooks, and hiked a few very short trails. It usually cooler temp at North Rim because we are 8000 ft+ but not this weekend!! It's not as hot as Tucson, but we are grousing just the same!

We are actually camped at Jacobs Lake, a National Forest campground at the junction of hiway 89A where you have to drive in 45 miles or so to actually get to NP.

Found a Bison herd on the road to the North Rim.

Bryce Canyon National Monument

This is the most photogenic place ever. The red rock of the canyon and it's fairy-like formations are always changing as the sun moves and weather changes. This was an ancient sea gazillions of years ago and has eroded and weathered into these "hoo-doos" which continue to crack and and change with rains and constant freezing and thawing. The rim trail/road is 18 miles long so plenty of chances to peer down into it's depths. And hiking down to the floor is great, but not for the faint of heart. We did it and we're pretty proud of ourselves for actually getting back up out of there. I took a horseback ride down and back which was a good way to see it, too.