Saturday Meanderings

Happy Saturday to you and I hope you are enjoying a nice quiet weekend morning. Who knew it is National Grilled Cheese Day and of course, the start of Passover. It’s time for us to review all the good things that happened this week. So grab your favorite beverage and let’s get started.

One of My Favorite Artists

Romona Younquist is one of my favorite artists. Last weekend, I attend an open house at Bonner David Gallery in Scottsdale and meet Romona for the first time. What an absolute delight to see her gorgeous paintings and I can say I was a bit giddy about meeting her! Here is some information about this talented artist (from her website).

“You can almost walk into her world. Her canvas is a portal to a place so peaceful and serene, you won’t be in a hurry to leave.”

Her studio is tucked away in the lush Red Hills of Dundee Oregon, overlooking flourishing vineyards and breathtaking landscapes. Much of her inspiration comes from her surroundings-be it a weathered farmhouse, an ancient alder standing alone in resplendent autumn hues, or a muted meadow that pulls one’s thoughts to a conscious digression.

Self taught with nature as her classroom and the great masters her teachers, she knew at age four that painting would be her calling. Today you’ll find her paintings as far away as Germany, London and downtown Manhattan. Her works have been published in the premier art magazines including Southwest Art, American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, Art of The West.

Years ago, one of the assignments from my art teacher, was to paint something from your favorite artist. Here is my Romona Youngquist version. It’s time to go back and revisit this as it lacks the vibrancy and depth of her paintings.

Annual Team Taylor 5K

This charitable family fun run brings our community together to support those impacted by SIDS. Many essential programs and services at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, including the Safe Sleep Program, rely on donations from individuals and organizations like Team Taylor Family Fun Run.

This is the 3rd year we participate in this with our dear friends and neighbors, Mitch and Tevia. If you live locally, not only do you get to walk (or run) through the beautiful Arcadia neighborhood, but you also increase awareness of SIDS.

Experimenting with Sourdough Discard

Each time I feed my sourdough, I am supposed to throw away a portion of it. Seems a bit wasteful to me so I am experimenting with some sourdough discard recipes. So far, I made a banana nut bread (no photos unfortunately) and pizza dough…well lots of pizza dough.

I try to minimize the carb load by putting a large salad on top of the pizza~at least that makes me feel better!

This is a King Arthur recipe and you can find it here. One recipe makes 2 pizza doughs.

Future Art Project

In 2023, we lost one of our large trees due to the extreme summer heat. One dear friend, Rick Rowley, is a well-known artist with specialties in wood carving, bronze sculptures and paintings. When we had the tree removed, we left a section for Rick to carve.

Scaffolding is up and we hope to see this stump transformed into something magical by Rick next week. More to come!

The Girls are Laying

We are enjoying an abundance of fresh eggs every day. The weather is perfect for egg laying~not too hot yet with 14 hours of daylight.

Even though we have 4 laying boxes with fresh hay, they seem to want to be in the same place, at the same time~as uncomfortable as it looks.

My buddy, Finn loves to accompany me for chicken duties because he often gets a fresh egg for his work.

He is on the naughty list this week. Finn, yet again, chewed up a pair of my glasses. This time a prescription one with blue light lenses. Sigh.

Everything is Coming Up Roses!

My rose garden this year is off the charts. I am literally cutting bouquets of flowers every day. It’s amazing what good fertilizer and water will do! I wish these were scratch and sniff photos, as I only plant fragrant roses. Heavenly.

From the Internet

Check out this charming this 220 square foot studio apartment in London. Personally, I’m a bit claustrophobic but realize that small spaces are common in expensive cities. This article has so many great ideas, whether it be for a smaller living space or guest quarters.

The designer, Sean Symington, is using every bit of space for attractive storage and functionality. To see more about this pretty space, here is the article from the Glam Pad.

Makes me want to re-do our guest cottage!

Falling Back in Love with Your Home

There have been a few times where I have been inspired to fall back in love with our home. After my father passed away here, my heart and home felt so sad. It’s important to pause and find cost-free ways to be deliberate about turning those times around. Loving your home is an important path to happiness.

Here is a great post by Jacquelyn from Lark & Linen sharing 4 things you can do to fall back in love with your home. By simply shopping your home or moving a few pieces around, you can breathe new life into your spaces.

Mary Must Haves

With the warmer weather approaching, it’s a great time to entertain and make fun cocktails or mocktails. These pretty coupe glasses are now on sale at CB2 (Crate and Barrel). A set of 4 is $23.00 (amazing!). I use these frequently and just this week, made this pretty cocktail called Pardon My French.

Refreshing ingredients include 1/2 oz. lavender simple syrup, 3/4 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 oz. vodka, 1/2 oz. vanilla extract and an egg white. Shake vigorously with ice. Top with a sprig of lavender~ it’s not only pretty but tasty.

Favorite Tee shirts on Sale

I have good luck with tee shirts from Banana Republic Factory. They are so soft and you cannot beat the price. I just ordered 4 of these sleeveless tee shirts at $8.00 a piece (what?). Plus I am able to apply a $2.00 discount from points obtained from previous purchases.

What I like about these t-shirts is the color selection and they provide some room around my waist. The short sleeve tee shirts I ordered last year I wear all the time and a few of them are starting to bag a little around the neckline. But at this price, I really can’t complain as I do wear them ALOT.

The sleeveless ones will be perfect for layering under a shirt, sweater or jacket. Even if they only last one season, 4 tee shirts for $30.00 is an incredible bargain.

Self-Tanner or Body Makeup

Personally, I have a huge aversion to the smell of self-tanners. Even the ones that claim they do not smell, my nose picks up that yucky scent. Being rather fair, and not a sun worshipper, I do need a bit of color during the transition to summer.

I recently purchased this body coverage perfector from Westmore Beauty and I love it. It evens out the tones in your skin, is easy to apply, especially with the fluffy brush. There are several skin tone colors to choose from and this product goes a long way. as you apply it like moisturizer.

I highly recommend this brush too. After you exfoliate, apply the body perfector. Wait 10 minutes and then use the brush to even everything out.

Well, that’s a wrap. The only other thing of interest is that I turned 69 this week. Not sure how that happened?!? It was a perfect, quiet and relaxing day and I am still enjoying the beautiful flowers and birthday greetings from my friends and family. Have a terrific weekend and remember to stay safe out there!