Phoenix Daily Photo

 

My close friend David is the Development Director for Habitat for Humanity here in Arizona and Friday night was their annual fund-raising dinner held at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.  I snapped the above photo as we gathered at our table before the tasty dinner and entertainment began.

David has been the development director for the past four years and I've always donated things for the silent auction.  This time is was that framed photo of a castle in Italy along with some smaller art works I had around the house.

The theme of this annual event is Blue Prints and Blue Jeans and guests are encouraged to wear blue jeans or other denim attire.  I always love seeing how people dress up those every day blue jeans.

It was a great evening mixed with good friends in a party atmosphere while supporting an incredibly good cause.

 

I forgot that I had these photos that my friends Julie and Dave sent me back in mid-February.  They were returning from a trip to Venice and had to change planes in London.  Dave got an unusually clear view of London as the plane was making its approach to land. In this shot you can clearly see Tower Bridge and all those interesting and tall buildings in the "the city".  You can also see London Bridge train station in the lower left and The Shard tower pointing to the sky.

In this shot you can see The Shard all the way to the right and in the center you can see St. Paul's Cathedral and its beautiful dome.

 

When I was at the Heard Museum last Saturday, I took another look at the exhibit called Kay WalkingStick/Hudson River School.  I wrote about it on January 24th.  WalkingStick is a Cherokee artist who paints natural scenes combined with abstract and Native American symbols and she paints canvases that compliment each other like the two above.  The paintings above are called "Late Summer on the Ramapo".  

This one is called "July Low Water".  It has such a summer look to it like what you would see standing on the edge of a pond or stream.

This one is called "Aquidneck Cliffs" and is her painting of the cliffs on Aquidneck Island.  

I'm glad I took another look at this exhibit.  Along with the beauty of the paintings, I learned about places in the east that I had not heard of before.

 

I spotted this sticker pasted to a light pole in a parking lot and the eagle caught my eye.  That is the symbol or trademark for the U. S. Postal Service.  Normally, it would say U.S. Mail.  Why it says "Moist" is a mystery to me.

I tried doing several searches online to find a reason for the sticker but got no useful results.  One explanation said something about stickers being made for water bottles and laptops and another just said it was a parody. But why?  Obviously it cost someone to create the thing so my question remains, why and what purpose does it serve? 

Maybe it's a joke that I just don't get.

 

I have a few more photos from the party I wrote about yesterday.  Here we have guests beginning to arrive and gathering around the food table in their spring floral finest.

More guests gathering in the living room to prepare for some entertainment.

 

My close friends David and Riley had a party this last Sunday to celebrate the vernal equinox,  The party was in the form of an afternoon tea with traditional tea fare and as the invitation put it, "a plethora of liquid refreshments". Guests were encouraged to wear florals for spring which complimented all the flowers scattered around the house.

One bouquet featured pretty yellow roses.

Another bouquet was filled with a variety of pretty blooms.

A vase of sunflowers were surrounded by copies of the invitation that was sent to the guests.

It turned out to be a wonderful event with lots of people in attendance all dressed in their spring attire.  

I haven't enjoyed myself that much at a party since the last party David and Riley hosted.  They are the ultimate party hosts!

More photos tomorrow.

 

It's that time of year when the palo verde trees are blooming like crazy and covering the everything in a blanket of yellow.  They are a sign of spring and a warning of the hot summer to come.  It actually feels like the hot summer has arrived with record temperatures above the 100 degree mark this last week.  

I took this photo at a restaurant called Ocotillo.  I knew they had an entrance that was lined with palo verde trees so I stopped there to catch a photo.  You can't see this entrance from the street so I had no idea just how yellow it would be.  I was surprised by the intensity of the color.  

 

I was at the Heard Museum yesterday for another "Artful Mornings" event and since I was there, I stopped in the gift shop to see what new things might be on display.  But before I even started looking, I was drawn to this window.  I found the view of the cactus outside the window and that red wall to frame it irresistible. There is something about a red wall that catches my eye every time.

There were a lot of new things in the shop but I think this might have been my favorite.  I always like Roxanne Swentzell's work but this little duo was just so sweet.  It's too expensive for me to buy but I can photograph it for free.

At the Artful Mornings event, a curator talked about a new show that will open in April and I can't wait to see it.  The concept for the show is so unique.  I'll tell you about it when I see the show.

 

I was at my friend Glenda's house Thursday evening and we were sitting in her back garden enjoying the warmth after a very hot day.  We topped out at 106 degrees according to the radio.  Simply crazy weather. When her garden lights came on, I couldn't resist a photo of that lovely setting.

 

Here is another very old photograph that brings back pleasant memories.  This photo was taken in the summer of 1985 on my very first trip to Europe.  The first stop was London and while walking along the streets near my hotel which was close to Hyde Park, I caught sight of a blacksmith at work. What a surprise that was seeing someone shoeing horses in the middle of a very big city.  I remember the hotel was called Royal Eagle and it was on Craven Road but I don't know this exact location. It could be Bathurst Mews judging from a few photos I found on a Google search.

Today this would be gentrified and full of expensive flats.

 I thought this old photo was a perfect candidate for some artistic expression.  A little photo editing magic and it looks like an artist's sketch.

 

This photo sums up a unique experience perfectly.  It was taken in 1986 in Vancouver Canada.  Here's the story behind this image.  In the summer of 1986 I and a few others attended a national conference in Seattle Washington.  None of us had ever been to a world expo and the 1986 World Expo was taking place in Vancouver.  We decided to add a visit there after the conference.  We asked a local travel agent to find us tickets and accommodations.  Because the event was so popular, the agent was having trouble finding a hotel but finally found cabins available on two decommissioned ships that had been put into use to accommodate the needs of tourists.  What we didn't know was that the ships had been decommissioned some 20 to 30 years ago.  The doorway above leads to our cabin which was about the size of my current walk-in closet.  It had two bunkbeds and the person in the top bunk could not sit up without bumping the ceiling.  We were only there for two nights so we just made it work and it gave us something to laugh about to this day.  

I remember taking this photo of the broken deck chairs thinking that it summed up our "cruise ship" experience perfectly.  

The colors had started fading on this photo before I got it scanned for preservation. 

 

I'm sharing three more photos from that "Favorites" file in my Photos app on my Mac.  In the photo above, I captured a bee already laden with pollen sitting on top of an echinacea bloom.  This photo dates back to 2010.

This is a photo of a blanket flower standing tall with a background of purple flowers.  This one was taken at the Desert Botanical Garden back in 2013.

This last one was also taken in 2013 this time in Newport Beach California.  When I visit California, I'm always on the lookout for a perfect bird of paradise bloom.  They can be found almost everywhere in southern California and I simply love their exotic look.  I caught this one with the sun shining on it but the background heavily shaded giving it an almost black background.

 

My chiropractor's office got in the St. Patrick's Day mood with lots of green items placed around the waiting area.  Here's hoping you enjoy the day with or without a glass of green beer.

And if you get a chance, kiss an Irishman (or lady) as suggested by these throw pillows I saw in a shop window.  

 

I discovered a new mural on the back side of the Park Central complex.  It's full of color and features lots of happy faces.

The first time I spotted it, the artist, Liliana Mora was still working on it even though it looked nearly done.

I went back yesterday to have a second look.  The mural was commissioned by the Valley of the Sun United Way who have their offices in that building. It's a lovely way to celebrate the work they do.

Taking part in Monday Murals.

 

I love the symmetry of a nice cloistered walkway so whenever I see one, I try to take photographs that will emphasized those repeating patterns.  The Brophy College Preparatory School has a very nice cloistered walkway.  I stopped there recently to get a few photos.

One photo taken from the outside and another photo taken in the shade of the covered walkway.  

Of course, there are other elements that add to the ambiance of the school.  A nice fountain near the walkway adds the sound of bubbling water.

All those beautiful features are enhanced by an equally lovely bell tower on the top of the building.  This Spanish Colonial Revival styled building has been a landmark on Central Avenue in Phoenix since 1928.  

 

I saw this Gazania bloom in the front garden of a home when I was on a walk and I couldn't resist a photo.  Such a bright and happy looking flower.  It's welcoming the spring even if the temperatures here are more summer-like than spring-like. This has been an extremely warm winter with temperatures in the 90's these last two days.

 

While I was in Scottsdale last weekend, I stopped in at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.  The museum was in the midst of an exhibit change so there were only two exhibits on view.  This one is called Pathfinding by artist Evan Roth. It had two components, a slow moving video of sky images and a series of quilts inspired by the sky.  The video was slow paced visions of clouds passing across the sun.  It was quiet and relaxing.

The second piece was a series of quilts all designed with inspirations from sky scenes.  

I only took photos of two of the quilts but they were all interesting to see.  

Art comes at us in many, many ways.

 

I was at the Scottsdale Civic Center last weekend where I spotted two trees that were blooming at the moment.  This pink one I believe is called Rosy Trumpet tree.

For this one with the white blooms I used Google to identify it as an Amelanchier.  Google indentification can be hit or miss so if any of you plant experts know better, please let me know.

 

My good friends Julie and Dave hosted a patron's event at their house late Monday afternoon. The event was to announce the new Phoenix Symphony Music Director.  In the top photo we see Peter Kjome, the Symphony CEO and to the left is Paolo Bortolameolli, the new music director. He is a Chilean-Italian conductor who has performed all over the world and will start leading the Phoenix Symphony for the 2026-27 season.

After about 3 minutes of great music, the skies opened up and the rain started pummeling everyone on the patio.  We made a very speedy retreat getting the musicians out of the rain followed by the trays of food that had been placed out for all to enjoy.