The Phoenician

The Phoenician is a luxury resort at the base of Camelback Mountain. We recently went to have appetizers in the Thirsty Camel Lounge and to enjoy the view from the patio.
Christmas decorations were sparkling all around the resort. It was a fun evening!

"The Prayer" featuring Andrea Bocelli and Katherine McPhee

David Foster is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, songwriter and arranger. He wrote the lyrics to "The Prayer" which is such a beautiful song and performed so well by Andrea Bocelli and Katherine McPhee.
Enjoy......

Autumn

Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter when the arrival of night is earlier while the arrival of day is later. The temperature cools down and the leaves change color before they drop.

In the valley here, fall is not too noticeable except for some cooler weather. I miss the colors of the leaves changing. A neighbor brought me some oak leaves from her home in Pinetop, Arizona.....
a beautiful red color!

Tempe Healing Fields

The town of Tempe honors the nearly 3000 victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. It is a very moving display of patriotism and unity. Each flag has the name of a victim attached to it and videos are played on a stage area. We went to this event yesterday evening. It was quite something to see!

Favorite Canadian Foods

Butter Tarts

A butter tart is a small pastry tart that consists of butter, sugar, syrup, pecans or raisins and egg filled into a flaky pastry and baked. It is highly regarded and tremendously popular in Canada - delicious!

Sausage Rolls

A sausage roll is a savory pastry. Flaky pastry is filled with a sausage filling and can be served as an appetizer, lunch, brunch or anytime!

Nanaimo Bars

The Nanaimo bar is a dessert of Canadian origin. It requires no baking and is named after the west coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. It has a crumb base topped with a layer of custard and then covered with melted chocolate.

Back Bacon Sandwich                                                                                                     

Back bacon or peameal bacon is very popular in Canada. Back bacon is a cut of

unsmoked bacon sliced to include both the pork loin from the back and a bit of pork

  belly in the same cut......makes the best lunch on a bun!                                              

The Drip Room (on the go)

Well, you all know the saying "now I've seen everything"? This applies to what I saw yesterday.....
Parked on the side of the road yesterday was the Drip Room mobile truck.
You can get IV Vitamin drips, energy drips, immunity drips, cleanse drips, detox drips, and party drips (if you have overindulged).
Apparently IV Vitamin Drips deliver vitamins, minerals and amino acids directly to the body for maximum absorption.
I think I will stick to my One-a-Day vitamin!

Cave Creek Balloon Festival

 

Last evening, we went to a house party in Cave Creek. The house is situated across the street from the driving range of the Rancho Manana Golf Course where the Cave Creek Balloon Festival is held.
As the sun began to set, the massive balloons started to inflate and glow. It was a beautiful sight.
Sitting on the patio eating appetizers and sipping wine, we watched the balloons and listened to the Eagles tribute band South of Winslow.....what a wonderful evening!

The Canada Goose

The Canada goose is a large wild goose species. The birds migrate to southern North America for the winter and usually fly back to Canada in the spring. Some of them have decided to stay with us year-round.
Today we had to stop at the "duck crossing" to allow a rather large family to cross the street from one lake to another.

Scottsdale Culinary Festival

The Scottsdale Culinary Festival weekend is great fun! You can taste many foods from many restaurants. It is set on 25 acres of parkland with three stages for music as well.
There is the Southwest Festival of Beers and a Wine Garden as well. Cooking demonstrations and wine seminars are held free of charge also......makes for a tasty and fun outing!

Great Egret

The great egret is also known as the common egret, large egret or great white heron. It has all white plumage and stands up to 3 feet tall. It has a slow flight with its neck retracted.
They feed in shallow water mainly on fish, frogs and some insects. As I walk around the lake by my home, I see these birds all the time.
Today, however, I was amazed to see one on my front lawn.....it came walking along from my neighbors yard. I wonder why it was not by the lake?

Spring Training

Let's play ball.....it's that time of year again!
I went to Salt River Fields to see some of the Diamondbacks practice this morning. Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is on 140 acres of scenic landscape. Both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies have their spring training facilities here. There are 12 practice fields, training facilities and offices for each team.
How fun it was to see the batters practicing in the batting cages, the catchers practicing with ball machines and the pitchers throwing!

Butterfly Wonderland

In the desert, not far from my home, is this wonderful exhibition. It begins with a short film, "Flight of the Butterflies" in a 3D theater where you learn about the migration and life of a Monarch butterfly.

Then you can see the emergence of butterflies from live chrysalis before you enter the Butterfly Pavilion. More than 3,000 butterflies from around the world flutter among the tropical plants and flowers. They will land on you and you also have to be careful that you do not step on any.

What an experience.... so beautiful!

Louise Penny Novels

Louise Penny is a Canadian author who writes mystery novels. She is the winner of five Agatha Awards as well as numerous other awards for her work. These novels are set in the province of Quebec and the main character is Chief Armand Gamache.

I became hooked on these novels and have now read all 11 of them. Not only are the mysteries captivating but she always describes the food that is eaten throughout the stories....always makes me hungry!

It is a good idea to read her novels in the order they were written but it is not necessary. From the first to the most recent are..

STILL LIFE
A FATAL GRACE
THE CRUELEST MONTH
A RULE AGAINST MURDER
THE BRUTAL TELLING
BURY YOUR DEAD
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
THE BEATIFUL MYSTERY
HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
THE LONG WAY HOME
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

Have a good read this winter!

Javelina

Many people think javelina are a type of wild pig but they are actually members of the peccary family, a group of hoofed mammals originating from South America. Javelina are common in southern Arizona. They use washes and areas with dense vegetation as travel corridors. They are most active at night.
Today we went for a drive north of Cave Creek and saw a "Javelina Crossing" sign.
One day a few summers ago, because I live near a large wash and golf course area, we saw two javelina cruising down our street digging up lawns and eating vegetation.....how crazy!