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mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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#WeekendCoffeeShare Cannabis And Lavender

June 17, 2017 — 11 Comments

Red Rock Lavender Farm

Red Rock Lavender Farm

If we were having coffee this weekend I would offer you a large helping of iced tea. The heat is scorching with no end in sight. The heat draws the moisture up from the south to create our monsoon season, but so far there is a tragic lack of moisture. We are baking in the desert. Stay in the air conditioned comfort and drink loads of tea to stay hydrated during your visit. I will send you off on your trip home with fresh watermelon juice, which I find is the most cooling beverage in the world. Relax and tell me about your week. Did your writing go well? How about life?

If we were guzzling iced tea together I would tell you how much fun I am having at my new job. I am now licensed as a dispensary agent by the state of Arizona. I work at a medical marijuana grow harvesting and trimming weed. I only work 12 hours a week in that capacity, but I am developing new ways to serve the patients. I want to create a cannabis catering department as well as an excursion department. I am new at this business, but have lots of experience in the travel industry. I believe the patients are a perfect group of people to put on a party bus for short trips.

The best part of my job is getting to know all my new colleagues. They know a lot about cannabis, but I have miles to go before I will understand all the various new concentrates being made, and the various strains being cultivated.  I learn every time I go to work for my four hour shifts.  It is surprising to me how much finesse is required to trim buds.  Each variety has different qualities and must be handled differently.  It takes focus, but we can still chat and listen to music as we work.  The people with whom I work are very good natured (as you might expect).  I plan to feature short educational segments on  Wednesdays, #WeedWednesdays, featuring our expert grower.  There is endless information as well as interest in this subject.

Cannabis

Cannabis

Big Farma

Big Farma

 

If we were on our third glass of iced tea by now I would tell you about our plan to escape to the White Mountains of Arizona next weekend.  We are going to a lavender festival near the town of Snowflake.  Just saying the word Snowflake is pretty exciting when it is 115 outside.  We will drive up on Friday and stay in Show Low, AZ.  On Saturday we will attend the Lavender Festival at Red Rock Farms.  This event promises to be the exact opposite of burning up in the heat.  We will romp through the fields of lavender on a pick your own adventure, then attend cooking demos and wine tastings at the farm.  I can’t wait!!!! Saturday night we will check in to an historical bed and breakfast downtown Snowflake, which I will also like a lot. We have to drive home on Sunday, but we can linger in the mountains on the way back. We need to make the most of our “cool down” because the following week will be a furnace down here.

Thanks for joining me today.  Use sunscreen on the way to your vehicle.  You would not believe how quickly you can be burned to a crisp. Please visit our hostess Emily at Nerd in the Brain for more coffee shares.  This movable feast takes place every weekend.  Join us to read, comment, or submit your own digital beverage post.

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#WeekendCoffeeShare The Heat Is On

May 20, 2017 — 6 Comments

vintage cookbook and tickets

vintage cookbook and tickets

If we were having coffee in Tucson today I would invite you to take a dip in the pool because it will reach 100 degrees this afternoon. I am drinking coffee in the early morning as we prepare to spend the day in Phoenix. I know it sounds counter intuitive to go down to the valley of the sun when the heat is cranking up. Here is my logic. This weekend will be a slow one at the Heard Museum, where there is a special exhibit of the paintings of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The universities have graduated the student population, and the snow birds have gone back to the north woods, so this is SLOW season in all of Arizona. It will reach 100 for the next 5 days in a row, which will just be a warm up (pun intended). We get good deals on hotels and other things in the summer. Natives handle the heat by going inside to air conditioned comfort in the middle of the day. Our reservation for the Rivera/Kahlo show is at 1 pm, which gives us time to see the rest of the museum.  We have not been there for many years.  The permanent collection has some amazing Native American art, including Barry Goldwater’s kachina collection.  I am a real museum nut, and Bob does not mind spending lots of time checking out every detail of an exhibit.  After you finish your coffee you can ride along in the red Mustang for the trip if you like. It should be a fun day.  I plan to have crepes for brunch up in Tempe.

If we were having coffee today I would tell you a funny story about clearing clutter, about which I write frequently, and actually accomplish with less alacrity.  I managed to take a large box of books to the used book store last week.  Although they only purchased one book, I left the entire box for non profit organizations that pick them up there.  I felt proud because I even managed to ditch some of my beloved, and never used, cookbooks. Yesterday in a Facebook group of people who used to live in the boonies in petroleum camps in Eastern Venezuela folks started saying they would pay to have a certain cookbook copied.  I happen to have a copy, much used, and very special to me.  The pride in ditching the old books has been replaced by pride in keeping the right one, San Tome Gourmet.  San Tome was the name of our petroleum camp in Estate Anzoategui.  It does contain some killer recipes.  I have preserved history and culinary authenticity in my cookbook hoarding practice, so it is now very cool.

vintage Venezuelan cookbook
vintage Venezuelan cookbook
vintage cookbook

Tell me how your week and your writing has been.  I have skipped too many days posting here this week, but did manage a couple of poems.  Maybe next week I will be more productive and creative.  I am calling on my summer muse to show up and inspire.  She always shows up sooner or later…she is a little late.  I hope your muses are serving you well and keeping your creative juicers flowing.  Thanks for visiting this week.  For those of you who want to keep up with bloggers around the world each weekend, check Nerd In The Brain for party invitations.  Read, comment, or write your own digital beverage post.  All are welcome.

#WeekendCoffeeShare

#WeekendCoffeeShare

Trading Places at The Sonoran Glass School

November 21, 2014 — 2 Comments

Last week I attended a very special event at The Sonoran Glass School in Tucson.  The auction and live art in the making was designed as a fundraiser for the non-profit school.  By inviting artists and others to design a piece of glass art to be executed by the students and faculty of the school they added an extra layer of creativity to the pieces.  Lupin Murillo, a local broadcaster, designed a high heeled shoe with fancy trimmings.  The fun really heats up when they auction the piece off before it is finished.  The shoe was well received and fetched a nice price in the auction.  The next live creation was done by a well-known photographer in Tucson, Bill Lesch.  I had an excellent seat to see the forming of Bill’s globe.  It was blown and shaped by the glass artists, with manipulations and creative decisions made by Bill.  The collaboration had 4 people involved full-time in the making of the piece.  Non-stop action and careful choreography was a real thrill to watch.  I was sitting so close that I had to remove a layer of my outfit because I was right in the hot seat near the fire.  It was exciting and unlike any event I have attended in the past.  I will go again if they hold it next year.  The food was catered by Blu, and was out of this world good. The items for auction were diverse examples of the breadth of glass art.  I enjoyed seeing all of the work and meeting some of the artists.  I am now interested in joining and taking some classes.  The school is a great asset to our community.  Our next flaming glass art event will be the Flame Off at the Fox Theater, the high point of Gem Show.  If you have not seen a live glass event, I urge you to try one.

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