TracyDove.com

“We all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun”.

The photo at the top of the double rainbow, I snagged off of the internet. I can image that being in that scene. So, BEAUTIFUL. Our world is everchanging, sometimes I lose sight of that. The second photo is from a trip to the mall with my daughter. We rarely go to malls, but we had a destination and then ditched out of there as quickly as we could. And because I don’t go to malls, but once in a LONG while, everything was new to me. It felt like I was stepping into the future. I could not believe what all goes on in those places these days. The weirdest thing was that it seemed like a ghost town. A lot of places are out of business and those left all have huge sale prices and clearances. It really looked like a village of yard sales in a building. AND…this was at one of the upper scale places! The people running the little booths full of tourist items and miscellaneous crap were aggressive, to say the least! It was entertaining looking at things with childlike wonder, but from my “grown self” point of view, it was irritating. A man working one of the booths that sold remote control airplanes and helicopters, was demonstrating a little helicopter and it flew over my head as I walked by. Then, I recaptured the child within.

I’m so accustomed to looking to nature for inspiration that I forgot how to see the beauty of the urban nature. There are SO MANY SHINY THINGS to see!!!! The rainforest tipi with the giant sun windchime welcomed us as we arrived. I had to take a picture as we bid farewell to our moment at the mall. Who knows how long it will be there. Much like nature, urban life is everchanging. These are interesting times we are living in.

Watch out for little flying helicopters and orbs and Shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun…..

A late night stop at the Red Planet Diner, in Sedona, on highway 89A proved to be quite a trip for my daughter and I. Having dental work done that afternoon, it seemed like a good idea to pass up the Raw Bliss Cafe (next door). We figured that there would be smooth, less crunchy food at the Red Planet. They have an “earthling/alien” theme…..clever. The food is not great, but, whatever~ it was late. We both had mini anxiety attacks there~ we think it was due to basking in red light and NO MUSIC. Mindless chatter is one reason why we were in Sedona to begin with.

The entire day seemed to be full of unfortunate, but not terrible, incidences and making crummy decisions at every turn! Quite comical, actually. The drive home was truly wonderful. Thinking there had been a change of “luck”, I awoke the next morning to PINK EYE! I have never had this before, but I am most sure it had started before our afternoon trip. I thought it was a funny connection, though…..the RED planet to PINK eye. Such a typical drama me! HA!

A week of resting and constantly sanitizing everything that I touched put an end to the whole ordeal. Whew!!

That is the story behind the photos. Now you know.

I will probably return to the Red Planet Diner in the future. It is “out of this world”~full of humorous things~. And one of the only things open past 8 p. m. with avocado, roasted veggie sandwiches and mashed potatoes. (I really only ate the avocado out of the sandwich~ maybe we should have gone to the raw cafe instead!) Like, I said…”crummy decisions at every turn”!

“Why didn’t I think of this”???!!! That is what I thought when I discovered this magical, knitted, tree sweater at the Farm at South Mountain last week.
There was a variety of “tree sweaters” on other trees, but this one was so cool with pockets, plastic bags, note paper and a pen to write whatever you want and leave in the pocket. I think it is a “wishing tree”….but, I just made that up, I really don’t know the story behind this. (I suppose that I could have asked). It seems that the reasoning behind things are better when left to our own imaginations. We can create any reality that we want.  ~ (where was I going with that?!?! Ha!) ….anyway…….
Maya’s Farm is also at the Farm at South Mountain. You can buy organic food that is fresh off the farm. I usually buy from them at the Downtown Farmer’s Market. It was a much better experience buying directly on the farm, as much as I love the farmer’s market. The day was PERFECT and it was in the 70 degree range. We had lunch under the bare pecan trees and walked the property. It is so calming there.

Now, back to the tree sweaters…I am amazed that in all my years under the influence of the 60’s and 70’s (okay, maybe the 80’s and 90’s, too!) that I never once thought to put clothes on my trees. I just think that this is a really trippy thing! And I like it!!
I finally am free from a chronic, 2 week long headache and am feeling creative and alive. Maybe I will learn to knit ~ or better yet, I’ll just visit the “wishing tree” more often. That was what I wished for. Now I believe!

The architecture is organic and is simply amazing, all the way down to the chicken coop! The chickens and other birds at the camp, below, are all happy and content. How couldn’t they be? Their beautiful home is nestled amongst the orchard and everything is blooming and so ALIVE and natural.
Such a glorious break from the big city. ~ It was the best two days spent in a place where architecture meets ecology. I LOVE that it is a pedestrian community. We took walks, of course. And I took a nice hike with a friend on the morning of my birthday~ perfect way to begin another year, celebrating life~
Peace,Love and Art,
Tracy

We had a renaissance wedding in the family.

Our niece got married in a wedding celebration that took place over three days. It was in a nearby mountain park and many of the friends and relatives camped out. We attended the ceremony and reception and left shortly after sunset. However, I understand there was an evening drum circle and other festivities that went into the night. All followed by a breakfast Sunday morning. It was magical and we were blessed with overcast skies on a warm day. We all hiked up a small mountain to an ampitheater for the ceremony and then we hiked out and into the park for the celebration. It was so great to see family members that we haven’t seen in awhile and make some new friends. It was absolutely lovely.