Gary Hardt Memorial Rodeo Payson 2013

Last Saturday, Penny, my niece and I, went up to Payson for a rodeo. My niece is a country girl and misses some of her country activities. I hadn't been to a rodeo in a long time. It was evident why we get so many patients transferred from rodeo accidents. It's not a gentle activity.

We got to see the tail end of a draft horse show. Above is a draft horse "running" the barrels. It's like piloting a semi as opposed to a race care, as the announcer said. If you notice, the little boy's legs, barely reach past the saddle blanket.

 There were lots of interestingly dressed folks. I am not sure if there was something about period dressing.

 This guy was on the rodeo committee.

Selling raffle tickets.

 I think Penny coveted this lady's pink cowboy hat and this little girl's socks and boots.

 These girls were from the American Cowgirl federation for the preservation of the american western way of life. They did some really fun drill riding.

 I loved the announcers Appaloosa.

Rodeo royalty.

 Ok, so I have a lot of photos. You don't have to look at them all, but I took so many fun photos, I had trouble editing it down to what I did! So we had bare back broncs first. Can you say whiplash and cervical collar?

 For some reason, I love the look of all the cowboys getting the guys ready to come out of the chute.

 Rodeo clown.

More cute cowboys.We had steer wrestling. There were quite a few misses.

 This guy has the steer by the horns.

 These two had quite a long wrestling match.

 Clysdale team pulling rodeo royalty from around the country.

This the outgoing State Rodeo queen.

 Already off, saddle bronc riding.

 Horse and rider both went down.

 

 

 There was a couple of roping events.

 This horse did a good job of keeping the rope tight, that was his job.

 There was a kids event, called mutton busting. They all lasted less then 10 seconds.

Team roping. And barrel racing. This gal was the winner of the barrel racing.

The end of all the sheep riding.

Bull riding. The most dangerous sport of all. We had a guy come out in a wheelchair with his broken pelvis to say how glad he was to be there. Sheesh.

Somebody call an ambulance. Actually he was ok.

We are going to the Prescott rodeo in July!

 

Songbird Afghan, Finished!

I finished the songbird afghan in just about 2-3 weeks. I am not quite sure why it went so fast, but I enjoyed seeing all the different birds. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. Above is after the blocks were connected but before the border was added. Below is after the border. Isn't it fun? I may enter it in the state fair in the Fall.

Hopi Dance

I attend church with a couple where the husband is Navajo and the wife is Hopi. The wife, has invited me to attend some of the Hopi dances in her home village of Moenkopi a few times. I don't think I realized how lucky I was until more recently. Of the 12 Hopi villages, 10 of them close all their dances to outsiders. And even the villages that allow visitors have many strict rules of behavior for visitors. No photography, no sketching, no recording. The dances are expressions of their religious and cultural beliefs and are sacred to them.

This was a velvet shirt dance. The main kachina dancers all had velvet shirts and were dressed very similiarly to the kachina above. There were lots of tall feathers on the top of the head and around the back of the head. There were roughly 30 of them all dressed very much alike and with the same head, different jewel toned shirts. In addition, there were intermittent visits by several other singular kachinas. Some came to give support to the group, whose dance and song were a prayer for rain, fertility and good crops. Each of the visiting kachinas had different and interesting masks. Some had yucca whips to chastise those that they thought needed chastising.

In addition there were about 8 clowns. These clowns did not wear the head pieces that the kachinas wore. They did not wear shirts, but their entire bodies were painted with a yellow substance and then they had black markings on their face. Clowns I have seen previously were black and white striped painted. The clowns job is to act out, in amusing ways, all the bad behaviors they see in the village as a funny, but visual reprimand. They were pretend smoking a giant joint, drinking, eating in a greedy way. Later in the day, the kachinas will come and punish them for their bad behaviour by piling them up and pouring water on them.

There were also some boys dressed as "girls". They also had the kachina heads. They were "bad girls" who chased men by themselves and simulated sex acts. Then they give the men fruit. Apparently it is quite embarrasing and shameful for them to be caught and they run from them. A Hopi mom, spouse or girl friend can take their arm and protect them from these "girls". The girls are supposed to represent fertility, but it is considered used in a wasteful way instead of fertility being bestowed on  their crops.

Some of this I knew. Some of it I got from asking questions after we left the dance. It has made me want to find out more.

The kachinas and the clowns give out gifts of food all during the dances. Lots of food. One of the folks told us that the women have to cook for a week before a dance to provide all the food. It is a mark of honor to be given a gift by a kachina. It is meant that you are considered virtuous or good. The first time I went, my friend had arranged for me to recieve a gift from one. I felt very touched and honored.

I so wish I could have take photos. It was really interesting to watch. The dances take place in a dirt "plaza" of the village. According to my friend, where you sit is prescribed. Her family always sits in this certain area. We also found out after the fact, that it is considered disrepecful to have an umbrella up or a hat on when the kachinas come out. They are praying for good weather for the crops and it is considered bad luck or like you are asking somthing contrary to the weather provided if you do that. Unfortunately, we wore hats while we were attending. I felt bad later to find out it was disrespectful.  I am looking forward to learning more and attending again in the future.

Modern Phoenix Home Tour 2013

This was the first time I went on the Modern Phoenix Home Tour. It celebrates the midcentury modern architecture in the valley. My camera batteries went dead before the end, but I got some photos up till then. Unfortunately, my favorite houses were the last two, and no photos of them.

This is the Lutheran Church designed by Haver that we started off in.

This house dates from the 40's and is in the Encanto neighborhood. It's for sale for about a half million. It has tons of built in cupboards and cabinets. Why don't we have those anymore?

This was a whole group of apt complexes.

Penny hated this one. His "wet room" shower made her think of the nazi gas chambers. She was right.

This was the one new build on the tour. I liked it lot. Very nice.

I loved the natural light that came in above and below this bathroom mirror.

Original kitchen. This is the home of one of the band members of "Jimmy Eats World".

Loved the windows.

Pantry and bar area with window to office area to make it seem less closed in.

Pool in the front yard.

Lots of wood and lots of built in's.

Original bathroom tile. My favorite home tour is still the AIA tour. But they don't seem to be having one this year.

Quick Grand Canyon Trip

Bell rock in Sedona.

My niece, Keegan and I took a short, quick, trip to the Grand Canyon last week. I had a van tour that I had gotten through a silent auction. We had a nice day. Above is the canyon of the little Colorado River as it nears the Grand Canyon.

Keegan

Keegan and I.

Buffalo Wing bush, or something like that.

Keegan caught this photo of this lizard.

Some beautiful Native American Art at the Hopi House.

 San Francisco peaks on our way home.