Stonewall Farm Open House

 Some of the Arab farms in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area are having open houses over the weekend. We went to Stonewall Farm. They are a breeding farm. Last year we went to a training facility. It was fun to see so many beautiful horses and we learned a lot about them too. This first group are brood mares, getting ready to foal. This is pretty much just a collection of horse pics, so if you don't like horses, you might as well stop now.

Random Pics from Fiesta Bowl Parade 2012

I brought my camera to the Fiesta Bowl Parade today and realized the batteries were dead :(. I just took a very few photos with my phone. These horses are Gypsy Varner horses. I had never heard of them before my neice told me about them. She loves them. It was fun to see some of them in the parade. They were developed to pull the gypsy wagons.

 We had some friends join us to watch the parade. Here is Grace and her Dad Tupou.

 A giant bag of chips.

 A few more Gypsy Varner horses.

 Grace was so sweet with our dogs. Dobbie was in the dog stroller. Here she is visiting with him.

Two dogs snug in the stroller.

Birthday Fun 2012!

When you're going to party, you might as well do it right! Back in November, I got a deal on a 3 hour limo rental at a silent auction. I had always thought it would be fun to ride in a limo as I never had before. And what better way to celebrate your birthday then to take some friends on a limo ride with you to dinner! As it got closer, I kept thinking, "it's just a car". But it really was fun and worth it. Here is our group getting ready to head out for the evening. Dave and his 7 dates.

 The limo holds 8 and we crammed in 8. It was cozy, but still fun. You can see the little bar area on the side there. My friend, Jo, had given me individual bottles of sparkling cider to enjoy on our ride, so I enjoyed cider from the crystal glass. Some of the others took a more "rustic" approach.

 We had to do the obligatory hands out the moon roof!

 Enjoying the sunset on the ride to Betty's Nosh in Glendale for dinner.

 The cute couple, Dave and Cynthia.

 We had a nice square table for 8 at the restaurant. It was nice for visiting and being able to talk to everyone. We were lucky we got it as they seemed to  have lost my reservation.

 Cecelia and Lezlee.

Me and Lynnora, 2 Birthday girls. Our birthdays are a day apart (and a few years).

 Our restaurant. My reaction to the card Penny gave me.

We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert.

 Some of our food at Betty's Nosh. They have a mushroom bar for appetizers! It was really yummy. You can order different toppings in different kinds of mushrooms.

 Birthday Flowers from Geoff and Lynnora! It was a great, great Birthday Celebration.

Art Opening

I apologize that I can't seem to get some of these photos oriented correctly. I went to my friend, Bob's opening last Friday. He does some really imaginative and interesting things. These pieces are photos, that have been printed on fabric. The floral pieces are several layers of fabric. Thre are tears  and rips. They are really quite cool looking, how they turn out.

The portrait pieces are done with embroirdery in gold thread also. They add a different dimension, texture and meaning to the pieces. I really loved them. I only took photos of a few. There were about 20 to 25 pieces.

Enjoy, sideways and all.

Gratitude for a new Cause

I haven't said anything about this because it hasn't been my news to share. My sister was recently diagnosed with CML, a type of leukemia. It has been rather scary and sobering. She finally saw an oncologist yesterday. She was told that while the treatment is very expensive, there is a pill that she can take that will stop the abnormal production of her white cells. She will have to stay on this pill the rest of her life. They are 200$ each. One a day. 6000$ a month.
For now, she is employed and has health insurance. We are hopeful that she will be able to get most of the costs covered. She works in a little rural postoffice and so we are nervous about what may happen when her office is closed and she is likely to lose her job. But for now it feels like the most amazing gift to be told there is a pill you can take that will take care of your cancer, have a nice life. It is amazing to me that someone worked on this and invented this incredible thing. I feel a need to support that kind of research out of gratitude for work that they have done and continue to do. If you are interested, here is a link to their website. http://www.lls.org/
Happy Holidays!