Happy Anniversary!

Jeremiah and I have officially been together for six years.

Holy crap, that's a long time.

We had an anniversary weekend, which is fun. Always extend holidays and celebrations to allow for maximum good times and good eats.

On Saturday, we started up the fun by walking to the neighbor's house down the road and begging for permission to take pictures of his cactus. It only flowers once a year and the blooms last only for a day or so. I had a lot of fun taking pictures, but there were a ton of bees.

Like, a whole bee colony.

I had to go to a happy place while I took the pictures. I tried to not think about what might have happened if I got stung. I'm sure that there would be an allergic reaction.

 So I just took a deep breath and then I did not take any more breaths after that. Okay, so maybe I did breathe after that, but I tried my best to remember everything I read in The Secret Life of Bees. So I respected the bees. I wasn't making any sudden movements.

 I think the bees had their own things going on, anyway.

After the near-death experience, we drove to Goodwill to return a shirt and Salvation Army to buy books for ONE QUARTER EACH. Seriously. I got five books.

At this point, I mentioned to Jeremiah that a friend had suggested we go to this park and he agreed that it sounded worth checking out. In all honesty, it did not matter what he thought, but it always helps when one comes along willingly. It's like with my students. You need to make them think they have a choice.

Kidding, Jeremiah.

All of the roses at the park were in bloom - it was gorgeous. The second that we got out of the car, the smell of roses and orange blossoms hit us. Very fragrant.

The historic part of the park focuses on these old buildings at the ranch. Something like 13 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. 

 Mostly I just took pictures. I did not really look around the buildings much. Most of the people were focusing their attentions on the buildings and plus there were a lot of kids running around. The human kind, not the goat kind. So I stayed near the roses.

 They smelled fabulous.

 At one point I heard "Cocka-doodle-doo" or whatever it is that chickens make and I got cold & sweaty. Freaking HATE chickens. They are the scariest bird, am I right?

 The peacock was a bit full of himself, sitting on the picnic table and making the weird peacock noises. Since I am incapable of making or typing chicken noises for you, I won't even attempt the peacock noise.

On our way out, I snagged a picture of the cool arch over the road entering the park.

We then went to Smashburger, where we treated ourselves to sandwiches, milkshakes, rosemary & garlic seasoned fries, and a split order of fried pickles. We aren't really fried food type people, so this was a bit of a test on our digestive systems. One of our systems held up, the other one failed later in the evening. Too much information. I know.

Ooh, we also hung a chandy in my studio! I picked it out a few weeks ago and yesterday it went up. It looks fantastic and the second I take my camera upstairs I'll get some pictures posted.

What did everyone else do this weekend?

P.S. I am starting to watermark some of my pictures. Lately I have had people image searching certain pictures on the blog. I'm cool with the looking, but not the taking. I'm possessive. I don't share with others very well.

p.p.s. I just found my old pictures of us throughout our couple-dom. Not you and I. Jeremiah and I.

Here goes:

Once we had been dating long enough, I made Jeremiah get rid of these jeans. Not all jeans are created equal, and these poor jeans were...no words. I have no words.

Kayaking.

We ate here. One year later, we ate at the same place and I was sick for two days. It's like this picture was a premonition of what was to come.  I am not sure if it was related to the food or not, but I will never go back.

First of all, I might be bossy about my camera. Secondly, this guy won't win any photography awards. That's one of my favorite coats, just fyi.

Tahoe.

This was the next year, after I had eaten pizza of death. I had spent two days in the bathroom. The frown might be because I am facing the sun, or it might be because I am wondering where the nearest bathroom is. Jeremiah looks good, though. This is after I started dressing him.

Jeremiah took me up north in CA so I would not miss Michigan's fall season. We picked pumpkins.

Jeremiah looks like a naughty little boy. I can't believe he made me put that damn hat on.

I'm posting this one because I think Jeremiah looks GOOD. My ensemble was a last minute scramble after he announced a surprise trip to Tahoe. Leaving Phoenix I had not packed for the snow, JEREMIAH. That's not even my coat. That is my hat, though. Ear infections, remember?

Hug My Flower With Your Eyes

Oh, Kimya Dawson. Your music is so true.

The title of the post, if you aren't aware, is from her song Tree Hugger. Love that song.

Enter the two story saguaro cactus that tipped over during a storm. And died.  You can read more about it here and how we got rid of it here and here. Seriously, it was a sad day. So we saved the arm. We put it in a pot with the three-eared bunny (another cactus that was small at that time but is now so big it needs to be moved). Now, a year and a half later, the cactus is blooming. Dead, but blooming. Boy, they sure hold water well, right?

I just thought it was a nice little bit of pretty in an otherwise stark desert landscape.

And because it is a flower. On a cactus. I found it fitting to tell you this:

And the rattlesnake said,
"I wish I had hands
so I could hug you like a man."
And then the cactus said,
"Don't you understand,
My skin is covered with sharp spikes
That'll stab you like a thousand knives.
A hug would be nice,
But hug my flower with your eyes."
 -Kimya Dawson, Tree Hugger


And because you are reading this online instead of physically being here, hugging the flower with your eyes is your only option. Hug away, friend. Hug away.


p.s. I'm actually away at tech camp in Tucson this week. It's full of campy fun. Oh, wait. No. It's fun, but not campy. More details when I get a second to breathe. And the instructor quits giving me dirty looks. Yikes.

Seriously, What is This?

If you know what this is, you win a hundred AZ points. They aren't really worth anything. It's like an AZ driver's license or the speed limit signs. Just for show.

But seriously, what the flip type of shrub is this?
It is blooming like crazy and I love it and it smells like hay (which is weird - totally sweet smell, not at all floral). You can see that it is slightly powdery greenish/blue in color.
So please, help a sister out. If you can identify it, please do. De-lurk and tell me, just this once.


p.s. This week I worked on teaching my third graders how to tie their shoes. And we are learning our phone numbers and addresses. And lastly, we learned the hokey-pokey. You know, left & right, body parts, etc. That's really all I want to say about this week at school.

Les Fleurs

I took some more pictures yesterday of my beautiful tree...Which of course, Jeremiah pointed out as soon as he got home - the flowers fall off, too. So I still don't think he digs it. Those flowers? They fall into the pool, which I thought looked all romantic, but not so much when you've been assigned yard-duty and pool-duty (he got pool duty because I didn't want to do it) permanently. As in, forever. Plus, see the pretty flower? Guess what likes to nibble on them? Slugs. Guess where the slugs fall? In the pool. Don't worry, dear friends & family, I am uber helpful in pointing out all the slugs on the pool floor as I float around on my floaty. "Ooh, there's one! There's another. Get that one!" That's what I say while I follow him around as he vacuums. That is how helpful I am.
For the above picture I used my fancy macro feature on my camera. Jeremiah told me to try it, which started a loud discussion on the finer points of shooting pictures using the macro feature. Our neighbors love us, for sure. Between my teacher voice (you go right on ahead and teach eight-year olds for even just one day and then we'll talk - loudly) and Jeremiah's drum playing (which has left him nearly deaf) any basic conversation is already loud. Outdoor voices. All the time. And then when I get all huffy (it's not just a bike, people) it is even worse. It's like we're Italian. Except we're not. We're deaf Pollacks (By the way, I know that many consider the word Pollack to be derogatory. As a smart, sometimes funny Polish girl, I can use the word. If you aren't Polish, you can't. I won't make fun of your heritage if you don't make fun of mine. Okay?) There's hand-gesturing, too. Just to get you in the moment.
So the tree is really in full bloom now.


That's all.

The Flower Says "I Wish I Was a Tree".

There's this tree at our house. Poolside. The only real tree in our backyard. Jeremiah hated it because the leaves recently started shedding and falling into our pool. Bleh. Pain in the bootay. Then, look what happened after the leaves fell:
Seriously one of the most beautiful trees I've seen. Gorgeous blossoms. All. Over. I don't know what kind of tree I have, but I'm so excited to have it! The hummingbirds are, too. Itty-bitty cuties flying all over my yard!
Close-up of my flowers...
...which brings me back to Kimya Dawson's song, "Tree Hugger":

And the flower
Would be its offering
Of love to the desert.
And the desert,
So dry and lonely,
That the creatures all
Appreciate the effort.

Rather fitting lyrics, no? 'Cause I live in the desert and it's all dry and ugly. And I truly appreciate the offering. Of love. From my tree.

Side dish:
I also have this shrub thing, which flowers in the fall - purple - and I need some advice on pruning. Or whatever. Boyfriend will be doing it, since I've been banned from gardening.
There's also this:
Is it dead? Is it living? I think that's part of the fun. The brown makes it look like it is dying, yet it continues to flourish. I appreciate its effort.

Flowers

Just an update on our house, post-Scout:
I'm sitting here typing this and even as I type I still think I see Scout out of the corner of my eye...lingering on the stairs, readying herself to hop on the table to eat, or even trotting over to see what's up. I miss her every day. Would she want me to be sad? No, she usually sat with me in bed when I was upset or sick, but she was such a stinker she would definitely want attention and not to be forgotten. For now she is on the mantel and we are going to be doing some things in honor of her in the yard. A nice tree or shrub, perhaps. By the way, the picture slide show isn't working on Firefox but works if played on Internet Explorer or Safari.

My spirits were uplifted when Jeremiah came home last week and surprised me with some orange lilies. I read someone's comment online on a blog about how each month they get flowers from their husband. Not an expensive bouquet, just something small and simple. Another chickie commented that she and her husband surprise each other each month - he picks up a bouquet of flowers from someplace (like Trader Joe's, which has cute & inexpensive flowers) and she picks up a unique beer for him to try. Interesting. So we may be starting this, I'll let you know. Anyways, here are my flowers. The mantel/fireplace isn't finished yet, so ignore the temporary random candle and blue painter's tape.

I put them in a glass milk jug. I like the simpleness of it and I don't often see actual vases that I like. Here's a close-up:

They have been long- lasting and the buds are now almost all opened. Great way to add a bit of color to the room.