Shocking Randoms!

1. Living in Tucson is a SHOCKING experience!  It is definitely DRY here...my hands feel like I'm wearing lizard skin gloves, and no amount of lotion seems to help!  But that isn't the shocking part.  Every time I touch a light switch, control button on an appliance or even another person, I get SHOCKED!  It's like slow torture, and It's getting old, I can tell you!  And it doesn't happen to anyone else in my family for some reason!  If I develop a tick and start blinking and jumping uncontrollably, you will all know why! :-)

2. Helping our grandson with his math homework has been another form of torture.  Math isn't my strong suit anyway, but even my husband who flew fighter jets has his moments.  We know Common Core has been implemented for various nefarious reasons, but I couldn't understand why, if we're "dumbing down" everything, that the math is more complicated than it used to be!  Ahhhh....now I understand!  We are not alone in our pain!

3. I don't care what ANYBODY says, I love Dancing With the Stars.  Our daughter used to be a ballet dancer, and she is about to start flamenco lessons.

Yvonne as the Sugar Plum Fairy with the Tidewater Ballet, Norfolk, Va.

Our world revolved around the ballet for many years.  We miss it.

She was a beautiful, regal dancer....and about to go to the  Hartford Ballet to train when she decided she had to give up dancing.  It was a difficult, painful decision.

She and I watch the show faithfully and text back and forth...did you see that!?  Yes, it is too sexy sometimes.  As a Christian, I understand why new contestant Candace Cameron Bure (sister of Kirk Cameron and D.J. in Full House as a child) who is a strong Christian, is having some trouble with some of the sexier dances.  BUT, I love dance, and I can't help it!  My favorite dances are the Latin dances.  I wish I could take flamenco with my daughter, but hey, I'd last all of five minutes and I'd be done! :-)  Anyway, to my "shock" (keeping with the theme)--in the contestant list was Danica McKellar!  Getting back to math, when the year started we bought three math books written by this excellent mathematician who appeals to kids on their level, so we could help our grandson more.  The books have definitely helped in many ways.  You may remember Danica from The Wonder Years where she played Winnie. 

4. Shocking Pink!

Gorgeous jewels of the desert!

 5.  And finally there is always the shocking light show of lightning during the monsoons....just around the corner for us! (Not my photo)

All very shocking, indeed!

Join us for Random 5 Fridays by clicking on the LINK!~  Nancy at A Rural Journal is hostess!

Oh So Random

Here are this week's Random 5's.  Nancy of A Rural Journal has a great meme called Random 5 Fridays...click on the Link to see more, and why don't you join us...it's fun! Also joining in with Today's Flowers, thanking the hosts of this beautiful meme as well, and hoping you will click on their link and visit them and enjoy some flowers to perk up your spirits after this long and dreary winter!

1.  Last Friday, March 14th was Pi Day at Richardson Elementary School! I made this chocolate cream pie, but they also had several others in various flavors, to celebrate!

2. Mad Max on his scooter.

3.More beautiful spring flowers....

 

these last two shots are from the bougainvillea in my yard...

4.  Saturday the 15th we went to see Son of God.  Wonderful movie!

   ............and driving down Cortaro Road we passed this wonderful Marana mural.

5. I see the moon and the moon sees me....This full moon rising at 6:50 on Sunday night was the Crow Moon. I regret I can't get better moon shots, but, I'm definitely doing better with this new camera than I was before!

So, this So Random post commemorates a couple of days in our Tucson life.  Hope your days are filled with many good things as well!  And if you want to see my latest quilting creation, drop in at my quilting blog piece-fulness!

The Beauty Around Us

The sun was shining and we were driving leisurely through Saguaro National Forest Picture Rocks.  The idea had been to explore the petroglyphs but for some reason we missed the sign.  It didn't matter.  An adventure for another day.  The drive was peaceful and very beautiful on this spring afternoon....

Notice the wispyness of the clouds.  I don't know if they were part of the reason, but later that night we had high winds.  After the perfect calm day, the wind howled and my plastic flower pots danced around the back yard, all night and into the next day and night.

Another view of the clouds.

Not so long ago a drive though a forest would have meant large leafy trees and mountain streams.  Life is so different for us here, but different can be good.  The desert never ceases to fascinate me.  It's all good, east and west. This is home now, and every day we can explore our new world can be an adventure.

InSPIREd Sunday...at long last again!

I have been so remiss in posting on one of my favorite newer memes, hosted by Elizardbreath Speaks.  It's InSPIREd Sunday.  Click on the link to enjoy other beautiful churches.  And join in!

I did not get the name of this church, located on the western side or northern Tucson, but I believe it was a Lutheran church.  I promise to do better next time!

Saturday Fun!

On one of the most gorgeous days yet, we headed out about twelve miles northwest of us to the town center of Marana for their Founder's Day.

A view of the Catalinas on Saturday.

I knew there would be a cotton exhibit because cotton is grown extensively in Marana, and has been an Arizona staple for a LONG time.  This cotton was grown on a farm that has been owned by the same Chinese immigrant family for 75 years!

Here are some foods that were eaten on the Anza Expedition in 1775.  Juan Bautista de Anza led a group of settlers from southern AZ (then part of Mexico) to Alta, California, now San Francisco, a trip of over 1600 miles. Alliances were forged with Indians along the route.  It was an historic journey, marked with deaths and births.  Descendants of the travelers still live in the San Francisco area today.

I don't know the name of the band, but they provided the Founder's Day celebration with some awesome classic rock music!

My two sweet guys!

"Dancing" to the tunes.:-)

There was farm machinery on exhibit.

I had to take a shot of the pink tractor! :-)

The Greyhound Rescue booth.

A happy face.

Some handmade rugs and blankets for sale.

We had a lovely afternoon in Marana!  And as we left we decided to drive toward the Saguaro National Forest Painted Rocks site south of there.  We passed this mountain on our way.  Pictures of our drive through the Forest on another post....till then....

Randomly Random 5

The last time I tried to post a Random 5 I couldn't hook up.  Maybe I'll have luck this go-around.  I'll wait till later Friday to connect.  Hope you will go by Nancy's awesome meme and check it out!  Click on the link HERE.

1. On Valentine's Day I had lunch with my two best fellas.  El Molinita's is our favorite Mexican place.

 2.  Grandaddy teaches Grandson some of the finer points of chess.

 3. While doing research on our Grandson's family I discovered that one of his Dad's ancestors was a third cousin of Abraham Lincoln!  Our Grandson was thrilled!

 4.  This is the only evidence I was able to get of the freezing conditions we encountered on our trip back from Mississippi earlier this month.  That is a solid cylinder of ice that had just been removed from a bucket of what USED to be water with a sponge mop in it!

5.  And here in Tucson, spring has arrived...

The African Daisies are always some of the first flowers to appear.

Bouganvillia abound in yards everywhere.