Happy September! The lazy days of August are behind us and now we wait for the temperature to change. We are still up in the mountains and there is a shift in the light, the smell of the air and the temperature is cooler now in the mornings and evenings. Welcome to September’s Saturday Meanderings where we chat about all good things this week.

Mark Your Calendars

As few weeks ago, I mentioned that my dear friend, neighbor and author, Barbara Hinske is having one of her books made into a Hallmark movie. It is airing on September 8th and she needs all our support for this to be a success. This movie will shed necessary light on those with sight impairments. Please read her request below and let’s be friends helping friends.

My novel Guiding Emily has been adapted for the screen by Hallmark. It will air Sept 8, 9ET/8 CT (6:00 p.m. in Phoenix)on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. I was present for filming again and this will be a terrific movie. They stuck with the book this time. Hallmark has stepped out of their usual romance box for this movie. The principal cast and crew are set to work on a series based on the books. The movie has to do well enough or trend on twitter for Hallmark to pull this trigger on this. Needless to say, this is the Holy Grail for an author. 

The actor’s strike has prevented both Sarah Drew (Emily) and Eric McCormack (voice of Garth) from promoting the movie and I’m doing everything I can to get eyeballs on it. 

So–please tune every set in your house (heck–on your street!) to watch on Sept 8. If you’re on social media, please spread the word. Sample text is below and graphics are attached. Word of mouth is so powerful, too. I get emails every week from newly-blind adults telling me the book has given them hope and from people losing their sight telling me it’s made them less afraid. The movie will exponentially expand the reach of this message. 

Thank you for anything you can do to help!

How to Post on Social Media

Here’s that text: 

I’ll be watching! Will you? Guiding Emily, a tale of love, loss, and courage, premieres 9/8/23 on @hallmarkmovie #visuallyimpaired #guidedogs #guidedogsfortheblind #guidedogpuppy #servicedogpuppy #servicedogintraining #hallmarkmovie #guidingemily #hallmarkmoviesmysteries

Mark your calendars! Guiding Emily, based on Barbara Hinske’s book, premieres 9/8/23 on @hallmarkmovie @sarahdrew #visuallyimpaired #guidedogs #guidedogsfortheblind #guidedogpuppy #servicedogpuppy #servicedogintraining #hallmarkmovie #guidingemily #hallmarkmoviesmysteries

Celebrate guide dogs! Meet Emily and Garth in the Guiding Emily movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Friday, September 8th @hallmarkmovie @sarahdrew #guidedogs #guidedogsfortheblind #guidedogpuppy #servicedogpuppy #servicedogintraining #guidingemily #hallmarkmoviesmysteries

Liking/retweeting my tweets during the movie would help, too.

Growing Luffa or Loofah

This week I did travel back to Phoenix for a few days. Mostly to pick up mail and packages, check on the house and property and spend some time with both my daughters. My garden is typically fallow this time of year but the luffa seeds I planted in the spring have taken off!

What is Luffa?

I certainly didn’t know this until my friend and chiropractor, Diane, shared some luffa seeds. Many people think all shower sponges come from the ocean, but most commercially-produced sponges are actually dried fruit. The luffa plant is a climbing vine that produces cucumber-like gourds. Per Epic Gardening, as the gourds mature, their inner layer transforms into a fibrous network that’s mostly made of cellulose. This network turns into the loofah we are all familiar with.

Although Luffa is the correct spelling of the genus, ‘loofah’ is a widely accepted common name. Look how this vine is growing down the entire south side of the garden on the picket fence.

Large yellow flowers are now in bloom. When this plant didn’t do much the first few months, I was worried that it wouldn’t produce. But now with multiple flowers I am very hopeful.

With the help of the local bees, pollination will occur and then fruit will grow. While still green, the luffa gourds are edible. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Their taste resembles cucumbers, zucchini and winter squash. However, I hope to dry them to use as loofahs. Keeping my fingers crossed and will share pictures!

Bargain at Walmart

I’m not a huge fan of Walmart but occasionally I find something worthwhile. You are probably familiar with Ree Drummond, the creator of the wildly popular blog, The Pioneer Woman. Ree has several of her products with Walmart and I am a fan of her colorful and cheerful patterns.

While looking for bed linens at Walmart in Prescott, Arizona with my daughter, Julianna, I spot The Pioneer Woman’s sheets and pillowcases….on SALE. Not just on sale, but for pennies.

The 300 thread count cotton percale pillowcases come in a cute drawstring bag (same fabric as the cases) in sweet patterns. For $2.00 (yes, can you believe it?), you can get two standard/queen or king size pillowcases. You can’t buy the fabric for that price!

In addition, they have matching sheet sets (flat, fitted and a set of pillowcases) in a cute sack for queen beds at $11.00 (!) and king size sheet set for $13.00. Full size is $9.00. I bought the pink ones above.

If you are like me, you don’t refresh your linens very often and what an affordable way to do so. Right now all my purchases are all in the wash but I hope to take a picture of them on a bed. The fabrics with their ruffles and trim are SO cute!

Cannot get to a Walmart? You can also order them online. Just click the bold links under the photos. It appears they are selling fast online and your local store may have more options. I have a pretty fine blue striped set (Wildflower) that I found in the store but not online. However, the Wildflower pillowcases are still available online.

Depending on the size you need, different styles are available. Walmart is obviously significantly discounting these items to move in winter merchandise so get them while you can!

Did you See the Super Blue Moon?

On Wednesday, a super blue moon was (and still is) illuminating the night time skies. We will not see another moon like this until 2037! Not only was the moon spectacular, but near by is Saturn, which is at its closest (and brightest) point to Earth.

Fortunately we had clear skies in the mountains. The moon was SO bright it was almost hard to look at it. In the above photo, my husband has his laser pointing directly to Saturn. With an old telescope we could actually see the shape of the planet. Yes, and I did howl at this beautiful moon!

With some help from my husband and the internet, I am able to capture this photo on my iPhone. Do you see the Man in the Moon?

From the Internet

I am always inspired by decor that is out of the ordinary. Even though it may be over the top or something I do not like, it’s nice to see something different!

Architectural Digest takes you on a tour of LoveShackFancy Founder Rebecca Hessel Cohen’s Parisian-Inspired NYC Townhouse. It is over the top. You can see it here.

Utah Tart Cherries and a Delicious Recipe

I love Montmorency cherries and we just planted our first tree here in Pinetop. Did you know that Utah is the second largest producer of these tart cherries? Jen from Tatertots and Jello shares her experience visiting a cherry farm, and a Montmorency tart cherry and almond galette recipe. It looks divine! You can see it here.

Next week I will share more information about the Fall Styling Workshop and why you will want to attend. Also, you will see the reveal of my newly wallpaper master water closet!

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend! Hopefully many people realize this holiday was established to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. Be safe out there.

After 26 days of straight inferno temperatures, the Valley of the Sun finally got some rain. We are out of town but according to friends, the storm came in like a tornado. Many homes lost power and there is lots of debris due to high winds. But a change in the weather is a welcomed break. We are up in the mountains where the weather is cooler in the mornings and the days are nice, albeit warmer than usual. No air-conditioning up here but I’ll take high 80s over 116 degrees any day. Welcome to Saturday Meanderings where we chat about all good things this week. Let’s get started!

Deck is complete!

As you may recall last summer we embarked on replacing the front deck to the cabin. Long story short, the licensed contractor did the worst job and the entire deck had to be removed and replaced by another contractor. Finally, the deck is complete, and it looks fabulous. So happy this project is behind us and now we can concentrate on it being a positive and good thing.

Cabin Life

We are so blessed to have a place to escape the hot Phoenix summers. However, ever since we’ve owned the cabin, I confess we have not used it as much as possible. Now that the children are off on the their own, it’s easier to come up here for longer periods of time. One of the reasons I love it here is that it is SO quiet. You can actually hear silence. It’s amazing how noisy our world has become with sirens, airplanes, traffic, etc. There are far less cell and radio towers and you can actually feel the difference. Do you think the world is becoming louder? What do you do to “turn off” all the noise?

Deadheading Geraniums

My large potted geraniums are in dire need of deadheading. Since I haven’t been here since mid-June, they are filled with sad looking blooms. If you have geraniums, you must read this post by my friend, Rachel. In her Best Tips to Keep Geraniums Blooming from Spring to Fall, there is everything you need to know about growing and maintaining geraniums. It took me 3 days to deadhead all of mine this trip and each and every bloom and dried leaf I removed, I thought of Rachel! Now they look healthy and happy.

Let’s Support Barbara

My dear friend and neighbor, Barbara Hinske recently left a law practice to become a full-time novelist. Her novel Guiding Emily was conceived during a tour of The Foundation for Blind Children, an amazing facility located here in Phoenix. She now has 4 books in the Guiding Emily series and Hallmark is airing her first book, Guiding Emily on September 8th. If the Nielsen ratings are high enough, then Hallmark will more than likely make this into a series.

Please mark your calendars and tune into the movie on September 8 (I’ll try and send a reminder). Why is this important? If you haven’t read Guiding Emily, I strongly suggest you do. These novels shed light on blindness and its debilitating impact on one’s life. You will fall in love with Garth, her seeing eye dog and get his perspective too. Here is the description from Hallmark:

Emily’s life changes after losing her eyesight, while a guide dog struggles with training. Through a series of missed encounters both overcome their obstacles and find each other. Stars Sarah Drew, Antonio Cupo, Eric McCormack.

Let’s support Barbara in getting her Guiding Emily books into a worthwhile television series!

Speaking of Books..

Andrea from Design Morsels, asks this question in her recent blog post, what are the 5 Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time.

After some thought, here are a few of mine.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White. Several years ago, I acquired this book from a stranger sitting next to me on a plane ride. He finished reading it and gave it to me. Not only did I love the book but his generous gesture is something I will always remember and appreciate, even 35 years later!

All the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon. This book series is now an award-winning 6 seasons series on STARZ.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. One summer we read this 3 book series to our children and I loved them as much as they did. I believe there are now 5 in the series. But if you have children or grandchildren between the ages of 8 and 11, these are fabulous summer books for them to read.

I’ll keep pondering this as there are many books I love but it’s reading them again for the first time that gives me pause. What would be your answer to this question?

Recipe I want to make

Salads seem to be a mainstay during the summer and here is one I will definitely make this weekend. As per the description on Ambitious Kitchen’s website, doesn’t this sound delicious?

Gorgeous peach brussels sprouts salad with sweet & salty nuts and a creamy tahini poppy seed dressing. This vegetarian brussels sprouts peach salad is filled with a wonderful mix of textures and flavors. Enjoy it for the perfect summer lunch or side dish on its own or with your favorite protein!

See the recipe here.

How to Freeze Fresh Herbs

With the summer bounty comes a wide array of fresh herbs. Of course, there are dried herbs but nothing can replace the flavor of fresh basil, rosemary, thyme and chives to name a few. Whether in a recipe, salad or cocktail, fresh herbs have the highest concentration of flavor.

Here is a great blog post from Ambitious Kitchen on How to Freeze Fresh Herbs using either olive oil or water. I am definitely doing this!

Feeling Blah?

With this oppressive weather here and around the country, it may contribute to feeling blah. I noticed earlier in the week I was feeling a bit listless and aimless. It’s called languishing. A state of languishing can leave you with a neutral or flat mindset, one where you have few strong emotions. Instead of feeling sadness, joy, anger, or enthusiasm, you simply remain in a state of “meh.”

We all get moments like this in our lives, but what can be done to help get rid of the blahs? According to Psych Central, here are 5 tips to overcoming the blahs.

1. Practice mindfulness. Tuning into what your body and mind are experiencing through mindfulness brings you back to the present moment and helps cultivate gratitude and connection. I love the Calm app which has several ways to practice mindfulness, in addition to improving sleep and focus, reducing stress or anxiety, and sharing self-improvement exercises. You can also try it for free.
2. Feel your Feelings. Try and pin point the source of feeling in a funk.
3. Get Outside. Easier said than done when it is SO hot and the awful daily ozone reports don’t help. Maybe watching a National Geographic show or listening to outdoor sounds, like crashing waves, might help. For me a trip to the mountains and a change of scenery elevates the mood. Try an early morning walk when the temperatures are more acceptable.
4. Reach out for support. This week I was telling my friend, Christine that I was feeling blah. Come to find out she was too! Christine is a great friend who would be the first one there to help get you out of the doldrums. So reach out. You are likely to find others are feeling the same way and together you can turn languishing into laughter.
5. Engage with your Community. Volunteer to help others either through time or treasure.

What do you do to turn your feelings of blah into more joyful moments? Please share any valuable tips.

Christmas in July

If you missed my blog post on Tuesday, I am happy to share Christmas in July inspiration with 16 other bloggers. Not ready for Christmas yet? Bookmark it for later. There is a lot of good holiday tips you don’t want to miss!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! As I write this, we have dark, moody skies with the wind blowing through the pine trees. Hoping for a nice rain storm as we need it here in Arizona. I’ll be doing a bit more bike riding and pulling out the paints this weekend! Always seeking moments of joy…

It’s hard to believe it is the middle of May. The temperatures are suppose to start rising here this weekend, but hopefully we will be on our way up to our mountain home. We haven’t been there in months so I am hoping the squirrels and mice have not moved in. It’s time for another Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good things this week.

Pretty Coffee Cups

I love a pretty coffee cup and when we were in Boise last week, Big City Coffee served up my 20 ounce latte in this adorable cup. Of course, I checked out the manufacturer and was surprised to see this cup is from The Pioneer Woman, a line you can find at Walmart. You can find these 26 oz. latte cups in a set of 4 here.

By the way, if you are ever in Boise, check out Big City Coffee. Great breakfasts, huge pastries (see scone above), family run and a lively atmosphere.

Garden Fit

My friend, Cindy, recommended this PBS show to me this week (thank you, Cindy!). I have only watched one episode and really enjoy it. GardenFit is all about how to take care of your body while taking care of your garden. It is inspiring to see beautiful gardens AND get great tips on health and exercise.

The episode I watched is about an energetic 95 year old and her gorgeous garden in New Jersey. You can see it here.

Zucchini and Summer Squash

We use zucchini and spaghetti squash often as a pasta substitute. Granted, nothing can take the place of delicious, freshly made pasta. But with lots of zucchini coming out of the garden now, we feel a bit better about eating our veggies in lieu of carbs.

My favorite way to eat zucchini is lightly tossed in butter or olive oil, quickly sauté and seasoned with salt, pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Do you own a spiralizer? Spiral cutting zucchini is another way we use it with sauce and meatballs or adding a protein such as grilled salmon or chicken. A few weeks ago I shared a lemon pasta recipe that works well with zucchini too. If you missed that post, see it here.

Ordering Clothes on the Internet

Do you order clothes online? I’m a bit hesitant to do so due to a bad experience with an order through PayPal.

The key is to order from a reputable clothing company. But what if you find something you like from a new company? So I took the leap and order 3 summer dresses that are rather inexpensive from Coacia.com. Here is their Coacia High Neck Sleeveless Blue Flower White Midi Dress.

It is loose fitting and note that this midi dress comes to my ankles (I am 5’4″). For our hot summers, this is a perfect dress, especially at $43.99. Unlike most companies, I did not get several emails updating me on the order status. But this dress arrives in a reasonable amount of time. I haven’t laundered it yet but I did receive lots of compliments when I wore it out to dinner this week.

Son Doong Cave

Every year my daughter volunteers at the Phoenix Film Festival. A Crack in the Mountain is a feature length documentary which tells the story of the world’s largest cave, Son Doong (pronounced “soon dong”). My daughter met with the filmmakers during the festival.

The cave was first found in 1990 by a local farmer in Vietnam. It wasn’t explored until 2009 when a British exploration team rigged ropes and descended down. Many people describe Son Doong as a “lost world”. It has it’s own lake, jungle and even a unique weather system. It has only been open to the public since 2013 and I believe only 1000 visitors are allowed each year.

I never knew this cave even existed. The photos are breathtaking and I just had to share them with you. My daughter is now making plans to do a 6 day adventure hike to Vietnam to experience it next year.

The documentary, hopefully will be coming soon so all can view it. To see the trailer, click here.

Wedding Attire

Weddings are such happy events and if you are going to any this year, here is a great post from Cindy Hattersley about Wedding Attire for Women over 50. Whether it is a beach, garden or evening wedding, Cindy has some great tips and suggestions. You can see it here.

Well, that’s a wrap. We are up in the mountains for a few days. It’s been months since we’ve been here so lots of tidying up to do. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for joining me today!

The summers in Phoenix are so hot. Unlike most areas of the country, it is comparable to our version of winter. We stay inside where there is air-conditioning 24/7. Any outside activity takes place early in the morning or late in the evening. The streets are free of traffic as many people leave town for cooler temperatures.

I actually like the summers here. My theory is that the intense heat kills all the germs brought in during our tourist season. It is easier to get restaurant reservations and the rhythm of life slows down.

Summer is also the time I can catch up on movies, new television series and of course, light-hearted reading. Nothing like cozying up to entertainment when it is triple digits outside. So if you have any great recommendations, please share. To see a previous summer reading list, click here.

I must admit, I do love movies that have fabulous settings and positive story lines. Since the world is filled with such turmoil right now, I cannot stomach movies that have vulgar language, gross stereotypes or extreme violence.

It is my personal need to surround myself with beauty, hope and kindness. I need more Nancy Meyers movies! If you haven’t seen her movies, they are a must (i.e. The Holiday, It’s Complicated, Baby Boom, Something’s Gotta Give, Father of the Bride, The Intern). It may be a summer of watching these over again.

I also love a good mystery or movie with terrific acting. KNIVES OUT (Prime Video) is wonderful “whodunnit” with all the unusual cast of characters. You can’t go wrong with Daniel Craig, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans and Jamie Lee Curtis!

We just watched THE GOOD LIAR with Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen which was excellent. Anything with Helen Mirren is generally fabulous so next on my list is Catherine the Great , Woman in Gold, The Queen, The Leisure Seeker and the television series, Prime Suspect.

Since the Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies, we just watched JUDY, the story of Judy Garland. It is an amazing performance by Renée Zellweger and I wouldn’t be surprised if she is nominated for an Academy Award. However, Judy Garland’s life was a bit doomed from the beginning, but her talent was truly one of a kind.

Based on the best-selling novel by Garth Stein, THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN is a heartfelt tale narrated by a witty and philosophical dog named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner).  It has a solid cast of characters ~~Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, Kathy Baker and Gary Cole. Ratings weren’t great but I found it enjoyable.

Since it is not my nature to sit for long periods of time, I prefer to latch onto a good television series. New ones include:

THE STRANGER , a British television series (on Netflix) with 8 episodes released this year. It’s quite the mystery.

And Netflix’s DEAD TO ME, which just released Season 2. Lisa Cardellini is a walking disaster but oh so lovable.

Here is a list of Television series I would recommend.

BROADCHURCH – Netflix 2013-2017. British crime drama series. So disappointed this was cancelled.

CALL THE MIDWIFE-PBS, BBC One, Netflix. Midwifery and family life in 1950s in East London. Just released Season 9

SHETLAND- Prime Video, BBC One, 2013-2018 Murder mystery set in Scotland.

FATHER BROWN-Prime Video, BBC One. In its 8th season. Mystery set in the Cotswolds.

THE GOOD WIFE-Hulu, 2009-2016. Scandals and corruption with Julianna Margulies

THE ROOKIE-ABC, a 40 year old becomes a rookie on the LAPD. Two seasons so far and hoping they do a third.

So what are you watching? If you send in your suggestions/recommendations, I will compile a list to share.

Happy Tuesday! I hope to make some more apple related recipes this week as I have a refrigerator filled with ones from our tree.

When we renovated our home, we changed the upstairs floor plan and added square footage to accommodate a more modern master bedroom layout. The master suite now includes an office, sitting room, bedroom, bath and closet.

The sitting room was part of the original master bedroom. It has a sweet, small fireplace angled in one corner. The room is rather small, and the windows face east and south. Again, not the best light for painting but during the day it is bright and happy. To see before and after of this fireplace, click here.

I took the liberty of using this space and making it my art room. Quite honestly, it was necessary because my painting supplies were all over the house. I was like a roaming artist, trying to find the best light, a flat surface and some place where the cats would not walk through my paints.

The art resting on the fireplace mantel is a Steven Hofberger painting. During our restoration, we had the unpleasant surprise of having to replace 55 windows. The original rope and pulley windows with blurry original glass had to go. I loved those windows and the thought of them going to the dump was disturbing.

Thankfully, Steven was using old windows as his canvas and took all 55 of them. As a thank you gift to us, he gave us this painting on the window that actually came from this very room. It still has the original hardware too.

When I refreshed my son’s bedroom, I took his large desk setup and moved it to the sitting room. The base is made from 2 Ikea cabinets and the top is a generous countertop that is 26″ wide x 90″ long. Using plastic and paper table cloths, the surface of the desk and adjacent space is safe from paint spills. To see my son’s bedroom re-do, click here.

In order to protect the hardwood floor, I covered it with Ram Board. This heavy duty Kraft paper is leftover from the multiple commercials and photo shoots we have had at our home. The film crew doesn’t want it and I always offer to take it off their hands. To see a previous post on filming commercials, click here.

There is a large day bed in the room and I am debating whether to remove it or not. It is a nice place to land after several hours of focused work, especially with the television nearby.

The sitting room tends to be that room that harbors items that have no official home. My friend, Susan, found this lovely prayer bench for me. It is on my list of projects to complete as I want to make a new kneeling cushion and find a quiet space for it. Currently, it is a place to set some of my paintings.

Right now, I am going through all my artwork. I have kept nearly all of them since I started four years ago and it’s time to thin out the herd. Many I will paint over, especially those during my kindergarten stage. A few people are asking that I consider selling some, which I am contemplating.

The configuration of this room isn’t ideal yet. The wall paint color is 20 years old too. But it is low on my list of projects. Ultimately, I’d love to take everything out and really contemplate how I want this room to function as a viable art studio. Also, I did a live Instagram story on this room yesterday if you would like to see it firsthand.

Do you have a space in your home for your hobbies and interests? If you have an art space, please share your tips and techniques on design and style. I love learning from all of you and appreciate your comments and feedback.

Have a wonderful Wednesday. We are enjoying the most glorious weather here~~mid 60s in the morning and low 90s during the day. A far cry from our typical sweltering hot June weather. Praying it stays this way for a while.