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Old Town Scottsdale For History, Art, And Cuisine
March 7, 2017
— 3 Comments
Old Town Scottsdale
Old Town Scottsdale
The small section of town known as Old Town Scottsdale includes a park, a history museum, and a performing arts center. The retail establishments are known for western art and Mexican imports. Native American jewelry and pottery can be purchased, as well as contemporary cowboy and cowgirl fashion. There is a popular farmers’ market on Saturday morning, and many bars and restaurants are scattered throughout the area. Many of the businesses have been in the same location for decades. It is a tourist destination for winter visitors, especially baseball fans who come for Spring Training.
I visited recently for a photo shoot capture some architectural and botanical images, and brunch. I stopped at the centrally located information booth run by Downtown Ambassadors to ask a few questions. I inquired about the Mexican food dining options within walking distance. Susan Sentner and her sidekick Joyce were on duty greeting visitors. They were a wealth of knowledge as well as welcoming, warm, and witty. They helped me locate the perfect brunch for me at the Mission, and furnished me with a list of all the public art in Old Town. I had fun swapping stories with these friendly ladies. They greatly enhanced my knowledge of Old Town as well as my enjoyment of it. After my delightful meal I had run out of time to photograph all the public art pieces. I have saved the list and map for a future project when I return for my next visit.
Joy and Susan
There are volunteer ambassadors to greet and guide visitors at information carts located at both Main St & Brown Avenue and at 5th Avenue and Stetson, seven days a week, from October through May. They are proud of their city and have valuable insights to share with guests. If you go to Old Town make sure you take advantage of their free services to make the most of your visit. They know everything.
Susan Sentner, Ambassador
The Scotts
The Mission
The Mission Brunch
Blacksmith
Blacksmith
Old Town Scottsdale
Old Town Scottsdale
#WeekendCoffeeShare Tempe Edition
March 4, 2017
— 9 Comments
high noon
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
If we were having coffee today I would invite you to sit by the pool at my fabulous air bnb accommodation in lovely Tempe, AZ. I am visiting the home of the Sun Devils because I love this town, even though the ASU/UofA traditional rivalry demands that I not. I have no wildcat loyalty, except during basketball season. I am glad to show you around this history filled place to share the reasons I find it so fascinating. I think you will agree that Tempe is worth a visit. We will stop at Tempe Farmers Market for our take out coffee and then take off for the Desert Botanical Garden for a special festive day.
I came up this weekend to attend a big opening party at the Desert Botanical Garden for a new butterfly pavilion. I am dressed in my Tucson Botanical Garden Frida shirt so I can be easily identified as a Tucsonan. I plan to spend the greater part of the day at the gardens, which are extensive and have good wifi throughout the space. I have a reservation to eat brunch at the restaurant inside the garden. This will be the kind of solo travel day that really makes me happy. I can stay as long as I want, which is always much longer than any other person wants to stay at a botanical garden.
Scottsdale Artists
Scottsdale Artists
Scottsdale Artists
Scottsdale Artists
Scottsdale Artists
Thanks for going to the party at the Desert Botanical Gardens with me today. I was particularly delighted that a group of artists were painting all over the garden. They all had different styes and personalities. It added a wonderful dimension to the already great day. I enjoyed every moment of the time. I took a real camera as well as two iPods, and used them all. I am very pleased with the volume of photos, as well as the quality. I plan to use some for fiction and poetry inspiration in the future. I hope you also had a good time seeing all the wildflowers and cacti in bloom. The desert is a flamboyant place, especially in the springtime.
Let’s take a break in the shade and enjoy some lunch at Gertrude’s Restaurant, inside the garden. I want to hear what is happening in your life. What is happening with your writing these days. Do you have new projects? How is the seasonal change where you live (if you are not at the equator)? I enjoy keeping up with the coffee crowd. If you, gentle reader, want to take part in this digital coffee drinking party each weekend, check in with Nerd In the Brain. Please feel free to read, comment, or submit your own coffee share post here. The group is diverse, worldly, and sophisticated.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
#WeekendCoffeeShare, Spring Farming
February 25, 2017
— 8 Comments
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden
If we were having coffee I would invite you to once again sit by the wood stove, which has been cranked up for a couple of days. This short cold snap may be the last time we need to burn wood this year. The quick warm up has caused all the trees to go into blossom mode. My peach tree is in bloom, and the apricot and grapefruit are budding up. Since I still had a large crop of ruby-red grapefruit on the tree I needed to act quickly to get them picked. It stresses the tree and the fruit will start to lose weight if I leave it much longer. I picked about 100 pounds, and took them to the farmers market. I am a member of a coop sponsored by our food bank that allows us to drop off our produce to be sold at the coop table.
It is great because small growers who do not produce enough to want to rent their own table use the coop to sell their fruits, herbs, and vegetables. I joined last year when I had too many grapefruit at the end of the season, and think it is a wonderful service to the community. I take extra herbs and citrus that turn out to be more than we can use. Others are doing it to increase income from home gardening. I came back to the market at the perfect time!! Tomorrow there will be a party at a brewery downtown hosted by the Arizona Small Scale Farmers Alliance, a ranger and farmer meet up. This will be a very fun event for me. I plan to attend and find out what is happening in local farmer land. I have also made my plans for wildflower safari to Tempe and Scottsdale in the beginning of March. One of my Air bnb hosts up there has a miniature farm with free range chickens and organic gardens. Guests are invited and encouraged to eat the produce and eggs. That will be interesting to see as well as taste. I want to see what farmers do in Scottsdale.
My trip to Maricopa County will include the opening of a new butterfly pavilion at the Desert Botanical Gardens for which they are having a party. It will be wildflower as well as citrus bloom season up there, so the sights and scents will be very exciting. On Sunday I will visit the Museum of the Musical Instrument, where I will see the exhibits at leisure the attend a classical matinée concert by the Phoenix Symphony. There are special exhibits about 20th century guitar art, and another about Woodie Guthrie. I could easily spend an entire day there. I am enthusiastically looking forward to my weekend away, not very far from home. I plan to purposely take some botanical/architectural images to use later as prompts for poetry or fiction. There will be plenty of subject matter from which to choose. I am still writing fiction once a week to Sue Vincent’s photo prompts, which gave me the idea to capture a few of my own for future use. April is poetry month and I always use an image with each of the 30 poems, so might as well prepare.
If we were having coffee I would be seriously pushing the grapefruit juice, and sending a few fruits home with you when you go. I want to hear about your week and writing projects. I know many of you are still in winter, and are probably getting tired of it. My early spring farming issues might not inspire much sympathy if you are still snowed in. Think of it this way. Soon you will be able to enjoy the blaze of color and flash of Phoenician spring without leaving home. I will bring it to you on coffee share. I only wish I could transmit the amazing aroma of citrus in bloom. It is sweet and uplifting beyond measure. Thank you for visiting this week. Take some spring vibes home with you.
If you want to join other writers and digital beverage drinkers visit Nerd In The Brain to hook up with stories from around the globe each weekend. Feel free to read, comment, enjoy, or submit a post of your own here.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
#WeekendCoffeeShare Moving The Feast
February 11, 2017
— 9 Comments
Barrio Bread
Barrio Bread
The movable feast known as weekend coffee share is itself on the move. Our gracious hostess Diana has arranged to hand off the coffee party action to Nerd in the Brain next weekend. We will still be a band of writers bonding over digital beverages and stories on the weekend. I am sure the move will not disrupt anyone. Thank you Diana, for finding us a new address to continue the party. If we were having coffee today I would invite you to taste some of the bread I just brought home from Barrio Bread. It is still warm, made from local grains, and crusty like crazy fire . I just had a smoked mozzarella sandwich, grilled, with all the trimmings. I can whip one up for you while you relax and tell me how you have been and what you have planned. We are very proud of this bakery, and would love for you to try our local organic, totally groovy food products. Our city is a UNESCO culinary heritage city because of our deep agricultural traditions and knowledge. I love to show it off to tourists.
It is warm here, and the peach tree is budding out. The grapefruit is still very full of fruit, although I am juicing like crazy. I hope you will help yourself to a big glass of ruby red grapefruit juice, with or without whipped vodka, as you tell me about your writing this week. Mine is rolling along, with the weekly photo prompt working for me very well. This week I wrote a short poem, still on the depressing side, a thinly veiled reference to current politics. The prompt picture was a fire, which gave lots of leeway. I wrote about pants and vanities on fire, since I feel this is our current backdrop for news in the real world. I plan to continue the once a week fiction with Sue Vincent’s prompts because it is inspirational to read all the other takes on the same picture. I do want to write more fiction someday. This is a good warm up for that day. I like taking a break from just the facts.
I am enjoying my correspondence challenge #InCoWriMo more than I imagined I would. I have gotten mail from several people I do not know, and a couple I know in on-line relationships. It is a blast to both send and receive the snail mail. Most of my pen pals have great penmanship and sealing wax, etc. I admire it, but that is not what I have to offer. My correspondence has enclosures and a little bit of art. My biggest advantage is all the cards and specialty paper I have collected around the world. I have started to enclose extra postcards so my pen pals can send them forward, and I get rid of twice as much collected choice paper. I also send a temporary tattoo and my biz card. Today I mailed some hollyhock seeds to Kentucky to a perfect stranger…Perfect!!
#InCoWriMo
I send or hand deliver more than one letter a day. I may get carried away with this and just keep mailing letters until all my paper is gone. It is so much fun, and I do have the supplies. I am meeting people and getting such a thrill out of checking my mailbox every day. I guess it is like riding a bike because I used to be a big letter writer, but not for many years. If anyone in coffee share wants to receive mail from me in February please send me your snail mail address on this secure form. I promise I have no reason to share it with anyone and will only use it to send you handwritten notes and surprise gifts from my exotic stash.
If we were having coffee today, I would recommend the grapefruit juice and invite you to stick around to go with us later to the local beer garden and metal arts village where there will be yoga with a DJ followed by live music, fire performers, stilts, acrobats on silk, and lots of hipsters. We will rock the full snow moon in our summer clothing. It is free and all in the hood. Stay and soak up Tucson before you go back home. For those of you who want to read, write, or post this week visit Diana here. See you next week at Nerd on the Brain. Cheers!
#WeekendCoffeeShare
Take The Compassionate Meal Challenge
December 27, 2016
— 1 Comment
I am excited about this excellent promotion to share compassionate meals. The idea of going vegan has spread like wildfire for many good reasons. I agree with all the reasons, including the animal cruelty problem, but I still eat some dairy and eggs. Many folks are trying it for weight loss and finding it to be effective for that purpose. Once they embark on a meatless diet they feel lighter and usually are cured of a few chronic healthy issues.
I personally know how very unpopular it is to tell other people what to eat. Nobody wants to hear someone else control their diet unless they have paid a nutritionalist to do so. It is my opinion that the best way to convert the meat eaters to my way of thinking is to introduce them to foods that are delicious and easy to prepare. If they like the way it tastes they will be motivated to make it and eat it frequently. If it does not suit their tastebuds it will be difficult to stay on any prescribed eating regime. I never try to change anyone’s food choices, but do work on expanding them. I relate because when I became a vegetarian at the age of 19 my own diet was “American teen” minus the meat. I ate fries, potato chips, Dr Pepper, biscuits, bread, hush puppies, and a few vegetables. I did like spinach, but my palette was very immature and limited. It was a nutritional nightmare, but I learned to prepare a wider variety of dishes, and my horizons expanded. I think we can all benefit from learning to make healthy foods, and try new ones available on the market. I like ethnic restaurants a lot for this purpose. If I find something good I knock it off at home.
I like this challenge out of all the bazillion challenges being thrown down at the end of the year because it is about sharing. The sharing is intended to convert, but it starts as sharing. When I invite friends out to eat I choose places with good vegetarian food that I really like, for obvious reasons. This often results in new discoveries for my dining companions whether they order a vegetarian meal or not. They see what I order and how much bang one gets for a buck compared to a meat based cuisine.
I plan to participate in this challenge often because I will also learn from the other participants. If you have any resolutions or aspirations to lean into a more vegan style of eating this is an excellent way to find out how to do it. It is probably easier and tastier than you might imagine. You can follow the action on twitter at CompassionateMeals or search using the hashtag #compassionatemeal to find out what others are eating and sharing. Like #MeatlessMonday, it will have an endless treat of good ideas and recipes, no doubt. Get behind this delicious campaign, gentle readers.
spring rolls to share
#WeekendCoffeeShare, Yuletide Edition
December 24, 2016
— 8 Comments
Inn of Gingerbread
Arizona Inn Dining Room
If we were having coffee today I would invite you to quench your thirst with some fresh grapefruit juice. Our ruby-red grapefruit tree is yielding fruit that we will harvest from now until March. It is bright red in the spirit of Christmas, and delightfully tart. Citrus season is generous, bright and cheerful. We have a calamondin tree which bears heavily all winter too. It is a very tart lime flavored small fruit. I am going to town by scenting the air with mandarin and lime oils in the gingerbread house diffuser. I am serving a selection hot teas and coffee for your drinking pleasure. I am even on a citrus jag with tea, loving the roiboos lemon cloud flavor. It does make me feel like I am on a cloud for a few minutes when I drink it. Help yourself to your favorite beverage, and you can feel free to add a splash of alcohol if you are arriving at happy hour in your time zone.
Here in Tucson it is 7:45 am and 46 degrees F. It will be warm and sunny all day, so soak up some rays and the beauty of the desert before you leave. We are going to the Arizona Inn, very close to home, for our Christmas Eve lunch. Our 1:30 reservation for the main dining room is the perfect plan for this couple. I am vegetarian and Bob is not. At home he has to keep kosher, which means no meat in the house. When he dines out he likes to have super excellent carnivore cuts. The Arizona Inn has fabulous selections for me, and outstanding dishes for him. He might eat a duck today, and that is fine with me. We are going there for the elegance, the service, and the superb cuisine. They will prepare and serve our dinner in a highly sophisticated style we just can’t replicate at home in our condo. We have no chef at home, and more importantly, no dishwashers. They never disappoint. They go over the top so we don’t have to make such an effort. I look forward to this traditional lazy holiday.
They will have a glorious flower arrangement in the center of the room, and a fire in the adobe fireplace. The Inn has all the trimmings for a fancy over the top holiday experience. All we have to do is Uber on over and enjoy the day. We take Uber when we want to cocktail, and we do plan to cocktail this afternoon. The car service adds an element of luxury our daily lives do not normally include, and that is fun too. Our driver will deliver us to the front door of the Inn, where the doormen (plural) will welcome us. We will take our traditional photos next to the decorated tree in the library before taking our table in the dining room. For me it is the best no fuss no muss way to celebrate this holiday weekend.
I have plenty of time this morning to hear about your holiday (or not) plans. What kind of celebration will happen where you live? Drop in on Diana to share your comments or a post of your own. Diana keeps the party going from New Orleans, but this is a world wide event. Share coffee with some very cool writers from all over the world. Cheers, all!
Inn of Gingerbread
El Tiradito, Tucson’s Sinner Shrine
December 12, 2016
— 1 Comment
We had a houseguest over the weekend who was starting a long car journey to Michigan. I took her on a miniature guided tour of Tucson Saturday afternoon. We stopped at the venerable Arizona Inn, near home, to visit the Christmas tree, the croquet court, and the elegance that is the Inn. Next stop was the U of A Poetry Center. My guest was delighted at the chance to read for about 45 minutes in our fabulous environment dedicated strictly to poetry. She found some great poets, and so did I. From there we travelled to my favorite, often overlooked, art in the city, some forged metal window guards by Tom Bredlow , a Tucson blacksmith of great skill and artistry, that depict the desert animals. Bredlow is now a total recluse who continued a legacy of Raul Vasquez. Tom even purchased some of his tools when Raul passed away. He continued to hammer out super fine metal art that graces the city. These window guards are in the Barrio Viejo de Tucson, looking right at home.
forged metal by Tom Bredlow
forged metal by Tom Bredlow
forged metal by Tom Bredlow
Our final destination on the tour was El Tiradito. I had given her a couple of milagros carved from jet to make offering/wishes along her route. The tradition of wishing on this spot is deeply rooted in the history of Tucson. This popular shrine is in use since the 1870s. It stands on what was once part of El Camino Real, or royal road to Mexico City. Padre Kino himself was once walking on this exact location, giving it a connection to the Spanish conquest in the 1600’s. The legend surrounding the shrine is a story of a doomed love triangle and murdered lover who could not be buried in the Catholic cemetery due to his sinful final state. The murdered man was supposedly buried under the stoop of his lover’s house, where she built a shrine. Juan Oliveras is the only sinner to have his own place on the National Historical Register.
El Tiradito
El Tiradito
El Tiradito
Today is Virgin of Guadalupe Day, 12 December, the day Mexico celebrates the day of its patron saint. Before the Spanish conquest Mexico had a female deity protecting it. Tonantzin was on the job since prehistory as an Aztec goddess. Her history and tradition is preColombian. She is, and has been, the local female deity for centuries. Our friend went to Mesilla, New Mexico on her first stopover after leaving us. The nearby village of Tortugas is the site of one of the oldest Virgin of Guadalupe celebrations in this country. She is being fully initiated by our local Enchantment before heading north into the snow. Her mystical as well as her physical journey is now blessed by both Tonantzin and Juan Oliveras. Nice benediction.
Winter in Arizona
November 7, 2016
— 2 Comments
margarita
Enchiladas
Our state is attractive to tourists because we have sunny warm weather. We call them snowbirds because they come down from some wintry place to stay in our area while it is miserably cold up north. Some own second homes, and others are driving RV’s on the annual pilgrimage. They provide much-needed economic boosts to the places they visit, and then head north in the spring. Arizona depends on their spending to support not just hotels, but service industries and retail stores as well. The tourist represents a segment of the economy we can grow. What we have to offer is in competition with all other destinations for traveler’s attention. Here are some features I believe make a vacation in Arizona in winter great:
- Classy resorts from the past such as El Tovar at the Grand Canyon or the Arizona Inn in Tucson
- Natural wonders, state and national parks with extensive outdoor recreation opportunities
- Preserved history in towns like Tumacacori, Tubac, Jerome, Tucson, and Phoenix. Both history museums and living exhibits teach the history of Arizona
- The best Mexican food in the world. Some people might dispute this, but I can assure you that our Mexican restaurants bring it.
- Tucson Gem Show in February is the most extravagant shopping opportunity on earth.
This year when snowflakes begin to fall on your front yard, book your flight and come on down to Tucson for outdoor adventure and some awesome tamales. We welcome you to our part of the world.
These Photos Will Take You Inside The Symbiosis Gathering, Burning Man’s Even-Cooler Cousin — Real Stories – UPROXX
November 4, 2016
— 2 Comments
Daniel Zetterstrom Go ahead, call it the younger relative of Burning Man. Make your “dirty raver” jokes and tease the body-painted revelers. Snark away. That’s all well and good, but here’s the rub: The Symbiosis Gathering‘s attendees call it “adult-Disneyland” for a reason. Are you sure you’re not interested in an amusement park filled with…
Livin’ La Vida Local
October 31, 2016
Day of the Dead in Tucson
Localoop
My city is the best place to live, or to be dead. Tucson celebrates Dia de los Muertos in a very big way. I love the festive, colorful death party that is our own home-grown version of the Mexican All Souls Day. My own parents are in the cemetery not very far from downtown, so I am sure they will take part again this year. My hound dog now joins her grandparents in the festivities. She is scattered at the pet cemetery across town, but space and time are no longer an issue for her, and she loves to party. They will be in the ghostly part of the procession.
My friends joke with me about my extreme localism. My business jurisdiction (where I spend my money) is as tight as I can make it. I am a true believer in supporting the small business efforts of my neighborhood establishments. I love to discover local providers of all kinds. This week I discovered two new ways to fulfill my dream of finding and frequenting local enterprises. At TenWest I met Aaron Gopp, creator of a new app, Localoop. He is enthusiastic about his new service, locating businesses that meet a strict locally owned and operated criteria for people like me. It was a lucky break that he stopped to chat at our table. His directory was created for my very picky and specific needs. It will also help businesses discover and reach potential clients in the area. I have downloaded it and already have found a couple of places near home of which I was unaware. As he develops this I look forward to the guidance it will provide to consumers as well as to businesses. My neighborhood could use some economic development.
While I was out biking around town with my homies I stopped at the Local First Arizona booth. Aaron credits this group with helping him and giving him good guidelines to follow for defining what is local. This non-profit foundation exists to support local small business. It has membership and benefits, like a chamber of commerce. They have created a system of locating local food sources called Good Food Finder AZ.com This page lists local providers, restaurants, farms, markets, and aggregators. There is even information about local food assistance programs. This is a major service to society. Both the food finding and the local looping will make me very happy, and upgrade the economy around me. Do you like to shop local, gentle reader? What are your best ways to discover new places in your area?
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