Tip of the Day....

Here's my tip for the day:  Do not fall down in New York City. Our Mother's Day dinner. was completely spoiled because I tripped over a raised sidewalk edge, which had been pushed up by a tree root, as the family was walking to the restaurant for our special family dinner.   It took me 15 minutes to get up off the pavement, and I was bleeding from a head gash.  One of those cold, unfeeling New Yorkers came out of his house with a bottle of cold water, iodine, and a gauze bandage. He got the bleeding slowed on the head gash while Sarah got their new electric car and drove us to the Emergency Room. Let's just say, it was not pretty, and I scared the whole family.  Cedric took a proactive stance.  He went home and put a selection of band aids on his stuffed animals to show me my band aid choices.  

I was actually very lucky. My hard head hit the pavement first, then my hands, and my right knee.  When I finally sat up, I was bleeding (gash on my forehead), and the knuckle on my longest finger (yes, the 'fuck you finger') was sticking up and the finger was at a 45 degree angle.  I also did a number on my glasses. My left lens went skidding along the pavement; I was so MAD!  

Now I have been traveling for almost 15 years. I have never, ever, ever forgotten my extra pair of glasses. For some crazy reason I took my extra glasses out of my backpack when I returned to Sun City in August, and I forgot to repack them. In all that traveling, I've never even opened the extra glasses case. Now I'm inconveniencing my daughter to pick up my new lens ($475), and FedEx it to me in Greenville, NC, our first stop this summer.

Thanks to those titanium glasses nothing was broken. I have a skinned nose not a broken one, and black eyes instead of broken orbital bones.   I have seven stitches right above my eyebrow, and I have a sprained left wrist.  Worst of all, I dislocated the knuckle joint on my right hand, but at least I didn't break it. 

I never wanna see a dislocated bone ever again. Forget those TV shows and movies that depict the hero having some body part dislocated, popped back in, and he jumps up and runs right back out to fight.  Pure fiction.  So not happening. My hand looks like the top of a blueberry muffin with the swelling, the discoloration, and the bruising. 

 Feel sorry for Drake not me. He's reliving our days when I had back surgeries.  He has had to bathe me, and dress me as well as do 1003 other things for the past two weeks. I'm having trouble. picking anything up. Fortunately my sprained wrist isn't terrible. And I can take the brace off to eat with my left hand. I relearning how to write using my left hand, and its given me empathy for Cedric who is just learning how to write.  I'm getting better doing stuff with my left hand; maybe I'll be ambidextrous when this is all said and done. And believe me I am ready for it to be done, done, done.  Drake was ready for this to be over 13 days ago.

Other than the stupid fall and spending seven hours of Mother's Day in the emergency room, our trip to New York was wonderful. [Actually, the silver lining was we got Sarah Lynn all to ourselves at the hospital.  I enjoyed that even under a morphine haze.]  We saw ten one act ballets spread over four nights,  We to the Metropolitan Art Museum, my favorite place, as well as we ate dinner in the dining room one night. We also ate soft shell crabs at my favorite Italian restaurant in the Financial District. We went to a museum I've never been to called the New Museum. Of course I have pictures of all of it.

Here's one day post accident:

Fortunately, my right hand is now totally out of the ace bandage, and mostly out of the splint.  I'm only wearing the brace on my left hand a few hours a day.  My right hand is less functional than I'd like, but I'm getting better.  What would have been best would be not to have fallen.

 

Cowgirl Up!

Every year Wickenberg, Arizona, home of the Western Desert Museum (Smithsonian Affiliate Museum), prepares and displays a juried exhibition of Western women artists.  The title of these exhibitions is "Cowgirl Up".  We've been at least twice, if not three times over the years to the exhibition.  It's about an hour's drive from the house, so it's a nice little day trip which we usually take with some friends.  

Women artists, no matter their location, are woefully underrepresented in galleries and museums.  That's what makes this exhibition so special.  It's a chance to see new artists.  As always, the pictures are the proof.  My favorite is a bronze called "Distant Thunder".  It's a 3/4th life sized bronze which is beautifully cast.  It shows emotion as well as movement.  It depicts a native women who has been out gathering with her young child.  She's running to beat the storm - thus the name of the piece.

Another one of my faves uses found objects paired with ceramics:

Drake's favorite was also a bronze by Rebecca Tobey.  I also really liked this one.

This is called "Holding up the Sky".

Here's the best in show mixed media piece which is an interpretation of a totem.

It's called "High Country Totem" by Rosetta.

The two dimensional on paper best in show was this one:  

It's "Jicarilla Apache" by Stephanie Campos.

This is the kind of exhibition where I wish I had an extra 15K in my pocket. There were more than a dozen pieces I would happily display in my home. Here are my favorite paintings, both by the same artist - Linda Glover Gooch.  Her clouds were amazing as well as her understanding of the Arizona landscape.

"Out Wickenberg Way"

"Song of Sunset"

Now, that you've seen all our our favorites, check out the rest of the pictures:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3ryYnxVS6W737nLbA

FYI - the 'red dots' are the pieces that have sold.

Lent: Drake's Favorite Season

 Easter is on its way.  For those of us who observe Lent, that season is coming to an end.  (FYI:  Lent is the 40 days prior to Easter Sunday.)  Since Lent/Easter is my least favorite part of the Christian calendar, and no, you do not want to know the reason why, I pretty much ignored the season and tolerated the hymns, scriptures, etc. for a long time.  I just didn't 'get it'. 

As a kid, Lent was the time you didn't want to eat dinner at your Catholic friend's.  Most likely, there wouldn't be any meat - heretical in meat hearty Oklahoma - and you couldn't count on mac and cheese being served.  There were always too many vegetables on a Catholic household dinner table during Lent.

Several years later as a mature adult, I studied more about what the observation of Lent really meant.  I found my attitude toward it changing.  For me the 40 days of Lent became less about 'giving something up' and more about self reflection.  Ironically, the first time got serious about observing Lent, I gave something up:  Cigarettes.  By the time I finally decided to turn this addiction over to God, I was so secretive about my dirty little habit many people I knew casually were surprised I even smoked.  I started smoking when I was 19.  I quit many times.  I even quit for three years (pregnancy, nursing), and I WENT BACK to smoking.  I tried tapering off.  I tried nicotine gum.  I tried willpower.  There's no such thing as one or two cigarettes for me; it's always been all or nothing.  It took the 40 days of Lent in 2000 for me to totally stop.  And, yes, I still want to smoke, but each day I choose not to.  I felt I had 40 days of support, and that support ultimately let me turn my back on the dreadful habit which was killing me.

Often, I find myself using Lent to 'gear myself up' to do something I dread.  The big one in this category which comes to mind was nursing a dying friend.  Another distasteful task one year was to offer forgiveness to someone who didn't deserve it.  That statement is why I spent Lent getting my head in the right mental space and losing the judgment, so I could offer true forgiveness.  

Another Lenten observation was also about 'giving up something'.  Guess what I gave up for 40 days?  Profanity.  Now, anyone who really knows me knows how profane my language can be.  Nowadays, it's nothing like it was before I gave up profanity for Lent.  During that particular Lenten observation, I discovered using profanity was less about temperament and more about habit.  I quickly realized it was a habit I neither needed nor wanted.  Originally, I used profanity as a way of notifying the male half of the world that I wasn't a sweet 'girl' who could be ignored.  Nice 'girls' didn't use profanity.  Women did.  In the last 50 years, profanity has become habitual language used by almost everyone.  I've never liked being everyone, so losing profane language as a habit became my new normal.

One year my Lenten task was not about 'giving up something'; it was about 'giving something'.  That Lent was the start of my weekly letter writing.  Initially, I wrote to a few people - an elderly person who was tremendously important to me while I was a teen, and a young person who needed adult encouragement, and answering a friend who was writing me.  Three letters have morphed into ten to twelve letters each week.  What started over Lent one year has become a weekly commitment.  My experience has been people are so starved for personal mail, no one wants me to stop writing even when the original reason for the letters has resolved.  Unfortunately, my letter writing has affected my blog writing time.

My discovery over the last 20+ years is Lenten observation is really about personal reflection.  I think of it as taking stock of who I am and where I am in the spiritual journey of life.  Some years it results in a direct 40 day action plan.  Other years it can be as simple as a daily reflection or prayer.  

This year I decided on doing something novel:  I decided to do a specific nice thing for Drake every day of Lent.  Aren't I always nice to him?  The knee jerk answer was 'yes'; the reality I've discovered over 30 plus days is I can be kinder and more thoughtful.  He has loved the attention, and I've learned even a 50+ year marriage can be rejuvenated with a bit of daily mindfulness.  I will say Drake has asked for a continuation of Lenten attention.  That's another thing I've learned from observing Lent:  Once called to do something, it's awfully hard to just suddenly stop.

Happy Easter.     

Texas Rangers Remade for 2023

This blog entry is for all of my Texas Ranger fans who are also readers.  Last season was an absolute MISERY, but according to my resident baseball expert: 

RANGERS’ EXPECTATIONS ARE RISING FAST

Spring training won and lost records don’t historically correlate with regular season results for a number of well-known reasons.  Some teams are so called  “set clubs” with most roster spots and roles already known by March 1.  These teams mainly focus on getting their players tuned up and minimizing injury risk.  Often their established guys work on improvements and adjustments, but are relieved for at least half the game action by youngsters destined for the minor leagues.  This scenario mostly applies to the Rangers this year.  

All the new Rangers’ high profile starting pitching signed during the off-season has been sparingly used in Cactus League games due to their injury history.  Thus, the Rangers have lost several games when their minor league level pitchers coughed up leads in the late innings.  This should not concern us as the regular season pitching role patterns will be very different from these meaningless exhibitions games.

The “everyday” position players have shown much to be encouraged about in the Spring Training games.  Offensive production has been good by the guys destined for the starting lineup.  This includes the rookie Josh Jung whose grasp of the third base position has been widely expected but delayed by injury for over a year.  The eye test for Jung suggests a breakout year for him in 2023 and big star status for years to come.

The only position player questions to make the Ranger's roster are bench / utility roles in both the outfield and infield.  The Rangers have lots of quality competitors for these spots, so disappointing assignments to AAA, or perhaps a trade or two, should be expected just before the season begins.  The challenge here is to capture as much of this talent as possible in AAA for depth in case of injury on the active 26-man roster.

The bullpen composition presents an interesting challenge.  The Rangers now have unusual starting pitcher depth resulting from General Manager, Chris Young's off-season moves.  There are several starters from last year and young MLB-ready guys who have been pushed aside by the new acquisitions (e.g. Dunning, Otto, Howard, Ragans).  This valuable depth will be needed during the season due to inevitable injuries in the starting pitching rotation.  Expect a mix of AAA and active roster bullpen assignments to store these assets to open the season.  The bullpen will be crowded with these multi-inning “just in case” starters as well as the more traditional one inning flame-throwing specialists.

It does seem to be the case this year that the Rangers have a surplus of talent overflowing the 26-man active roster.  Two years of good free agent signings, judicial trades, and continual “organic” young talent development are ready to pay off.  Having lots of difficult roster cut decisions are a clear measure of talent depth which, at least on paper, should translate into a much more competitive team this year. 

Of course, actual win/loss results also depend on intangibles like team chemistry injuries, and even luck.  A fast early start could be a big benefit to a team coming off a miserable season. My opinion is thanks to a confluence of talent, there should be a much more entertaining product on the field this year.  Enjoy.

Christmas Adventures in NYC

There's nothing like a Christmas in New York.  I had a wonderful time.  Of course, it's hard to have a bad time when the main attraction is a four year old and his six month old sister.  A big trip highlight was the family trip to Lincoln Center to see "The Nutcracker".  It was Cedric's first ballet, and I was amused that he found Act I to be too long with too little dancing - my exact take on the Nutcracker.  He was all attention during the second act which is all dancing.  It makes me think we might take him to a matinee of one act ballets this coming Spring.  He's loved ballet dancing for a couple of years.  (Thanks, YouTube.)  Ballet is a family interest, so we were all glad his indoctrination went well.  This was his first visit to a theater, and it also impressed him.  

We were staying in Manhattan this time in the Financial District (the most southern third of the island).  I love staying in a hotel, and this one was first class.  Plus, location in New York City means, "What is your subway access?"  This hotel was just one block from a major hub (Fulton) from which you can catch the A, C, 2, 3, 4, & 5.  You can go anywhere in NYC from those subway lines.  

Number one on my New York hit list this time was The Whitney.  This is a museum of American art founded by Gertrude Whitney, an American socialite with the money of the Vanderbilts and a thirst to buy American art.  Initially, the museum resided in her mansion, but recently, a brand new building at the foot of the Hi Line Park was constructed.  The major exhibition we were interested in was about Edward Hopper, arguably one of the most famous artists of the second half of the 20th century.  Here's my favorite picture from the exhibition

Sunday Morning - 1930

Edward Hopper, and his wife Jo, lived in the same apartment overlooking Washington Park from 1930 until his death in 1967, and her death in 1968.   He was the preeminent realist painter of the second half of the 20th century.  His wife, also a talented painter, married Hopper in 1924.  They had a tempestuous relationship.  He was shy and introverted while relying on her.  She managed him and his artwork at the cost of her talent.  Hopper's paintings are all about New York.  He didn't paint the famous buildings.  He painted ordinary streets; people in ordinary apartments going about the business of living.  He claimed his paintings were the startings of stories, or where the imagination of the viewer begins.  

To see more pictures, click on the link:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/2xroeN4btdBLgPCk8

New York City missed the snow from the storm that shut down Southwest Airlines, but we certainly got the bitter cold.  On our trips across the city, we were tramping around in weather which felt like -5 degrees with 25 mph winds.  Even I'm cold at those temps.  Brrrr.  I thought my ears were going to fall off while waiting for the bus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  As always, the Met had several outstanding exhibitions.  One of my favorite New York traditions is the fantastic tree decorated with Baroque angels and nativity scenes.  It's about 50' tall.

After admiring the tree, we headed for our first exhibition.  It is the comparison of Cubism and Trompe 'l Oeil.  The school of Cubism was founded by Braque and Picasso.  They called it a different type of perspective.  Trompe 'l Oeil is a painting style called 'fool the eye'.  Items painted two dimensionally on canvas fool the viewer into thinking the items are three dimensional.  The exhibition compared and contrasted the two differing styles of painting.  There were some superb paintings.  Here's my favorite of each style:

Trompe 'l Oeil painting

Georges Braque - "Violin and Palette" - 1909

If you would like to see more of these paintings with explanations, click on the following link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/og94Ehd4gPv2QJZP9

The second exhibition at the Met was Japanese Kimonos.  There were examples spanning several hundred years.  Of course, I'm always interested in anything to do with textiles or embroidery.  I kept seeing one stunning piece of clothing after another with wonderful embroidery.  Here's one of my favorites:

More kimonos anyone?  Click on the link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/A96PqGjT2b75TbJs6

The surprising Met exhibition was about Mayan divinities.  Most of the pieces were between 700 and 1000 AD, and the sophistication of the art was unexpected.  I've been interested in the Mayan people since I was 24, and we took a 'shore excursion' during our first cruise to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum on the Yucatan peninsula.  Back in the early 70's there was little or no security around these priceless ruins.  You could climb the pyramid; you could pick up pieces of it lying around on the ground, and no one batted an eye.  Thank heaven for the jungles which sealed away most of the buildings and kept them from being pillaged further after the Spanish destruction.  The Spaniards (encouraged by the Catholic priests accompanying them) routinely destroyed every Mayan book they could find.  The Mayans were a lost people for hundreds of years.  Even today, there are 'digs' occurring in Mayan cities covered by the jungle.  Here's my favorite piece from the exhibition:

 

If you want to check out the other pictures of the Mayans, click on the link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5QDRMBZyMyaBKxBd7

And if you haven't seen enough pictures, there was a major exhibition of the Tudors (Henry VIII and Elizabeth I) in the European wing of the museum.  In addition to Henry's personal armor, there were tapestries, rugs, various doodads, and most importantly, the actual 'famous' paintings of the two monarchs.  There were other people represented in oil, but these two monarchs had so much historical impact, it's not surprising the majority of the exhibition would be about them.  Here's my favorite painting from the exhibition, and if you haven't see enough pictures.....well, you know the drill.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/86ZYk6JZmD39rPVq6

Other than the frigid weather, the only flies in the ointment of Christmas were both kids were sick (colds), and their health caused the family to cancel several pre-planned activities.  Cedric was at his best on Christmas morning as only a four year old can be.  He was max excited with all the presents and his Santa gift which was a 'dress up station' that Sarah MADE.  As part of that gift, there were headbands with unicorn horns which we all wore as we opened gifts.  

To round out the trip, we got caught in the great Southwest Airlines meltdown.  Fortunately, we weren't trapped at the airport, but we did have to stay an extra three days in NYC.  We finally got a non-stop flight to Phoenix, but it was 3 hours late leaving, so we drug into Sun City at 3:15am (that's 5:15am body time!!!) with both of us sick.  We assumed it was the children's cold, but instead it was COVID.  So now Drake and I have joined the ranks of Americans who have had the disease.  We got lucky.  While it took us a month to completely recover, neither of us have long-term COVID.  We did infect three members of our family, but they are all OK too.  Hmmmm.  I may have to reconsider my initial claim that it was a 'great' trip....

    

   

A Real Tale of Christmas

I got an SOS phone call from a close friend who works for CPS (Children Protective Services) yesterday.  She told me that in her personal case load there are numerous children who not only do not have toys, but don't even have clothes.  Lack of clothing is a very real need I often saw.  At the at-risk high school where I taught, I've bought many a warm coat. 

Let me share a personal story with you.  When I was teaching at-risk teens, it quickly became apparent that the only 'Christmas' a significant percentage of my students would experience would be whatever I could provide inside my classroom and at my school.  I was extremely fortunate to have an entire congregation of United Methodists who supported me to the hilt.  Whenever they discovered any way they could make the lives of my students better, they always stepped up to the plate.  They didn't just donate school supplies, but time, money and food.  

That's why to this day I actively support charitable activities that involve food and/or children.  Now, the food banks tend to rake in the donations from Thanksgiving to the New Year.  The Salvation Army runs 'Angel Trees' in most large shopping areas across the country.  Churches prepare food, clothes, and toys for needy families at this time of the year.  All those charitable activities don't begin to cover the need. 

When I decide to support something monetarily, I'm very diligent about checking out EXACTLY where my donation winds up.  I'm not interested in advertising, or administrative costs which dilute the amount of my donation.   I'm not interested in sending money overseas when there's so much need here at home.  Therefore, I'm personally vouching for my friend, Kathy Conklin, who earned a social services degree long after she was an adult because she wanted to make a difference.  She's working as a social worker in a tough environment, with lots of children.  She knows which of her children's Christmas will be bleak.

If you are like Drake and I, we seek out worthy causes for charitable giving at this time of the year.  If you want to help Kathy provide a Christmas for children, buy an Amazon gift card electronically and send it to her email address:  katmom31@yahoo.com.  She'll do the shopping.  There's no amount too small (or too large).   

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time, you know I don't ask my readers for money casually, or for causes I can't personally ascertain to be worthwhile.   Let your conscience be your guide.

Merry Christmas.   

2022 Thanksgiving Cruise - Mexican Riviera

 Drake and I decided upon a Thanksgiving cruise of the Mexican Riviera (the Pacific coast of Mexico) mainly because I did not want to be depressed over the holiday.  I knew not spending the holiday in New York would be depressing to me.  Best of all, we didn't have to get on an airplane.  Getting on an airplane at Thanksgiving is a "just shoot me now" experience.  Our week long cruise left out of San Diego which is a six hour drive from Sun City.  

We arrived at the exact time of our ship boarding.  All went very smoothly.  I trotted off to the Spa even before the ship left the dock for a pre-booked massage.  It was just what I needed to work out the kinks of the drive.  Now, spa time on a cruise ship is great.  Unfortunately, it's very expensive.  I also learned, via my Sun City therapist, people who provide spa services on a cruise ship are expected to 'push product'.  The ship sells its own line of creams and potions, and after a session, you are encouraged (but not browbeaten) to buy some.  Plus, booking ANOTHER session gives points to the person providing the service. They have a quota they must meet.  Fail a pre-determined number of times to meet your quota, and you are fired.  All of these expectations are carefully explained to the person being hired, but none of this is ever explained to a cruise guest.

Normally, I wouldn't go on the cruise we booked simply because there were too many days at sea.  (3 out of 7).  However, the price was more than right, and we hadn't been to two out of the three ports.  The three ports we visited were Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta.  There are always surprises on every cruise I've ever taken.   On this cruise it was was the time changes.  San Diego:  Pacific time (one hour change from AZ).  Mazatlán:  Mountain Time (one hour time change).  Puerto Vallarta:  Central Time (one hour time change).  Then, the time changes reversed as we sailed north from Puerto Vallarta.  I have a strongly fixed circadian cycle, and I always struggle with time change.  [One of the best things about Arizona is the clock NEVER changes.]

Another somewhat unpleasant surprise was the brevity of the breakfast and lunch time windows.  I hate getting up early, and breakfast was a bit too early for me most days especially considering the time changes, but I struggled up each day.  Because of the time changes, my stomach wasn't really sure when it was supposed to eat.  The dining room was supposed to be 'open dining', but it really wasn't.  You needed a reservation for dinner each night. 

Mostly, we wound up eating about 8pm.  The reason why?  The multitude of families from infants to doddering grannies all cruising on Thanksgiving week.  It wasn't uncommon to see several tables seating 10 to 20 people even at 8pm.  The kitchen still presented food piping hot of the highest quality to every table no matter the size.  Drake and I both marveled how toddlers were managing to hold it together to eat at that hour.  My expectation was a chorus of unhappy babies and toddlers.  Instead of crying children (of which there were none), we heard Mr. Lobster Fork.

My expectation was guests on a cruise ship would at least have some semblance of manners.  That was before we got a load of Mr. Lobster Fork.  One evening we sat down and were having a lovely dinner when a man seated about 15 feet away from us started harassing the wait staff in a loud angry voice.  His first volley at the top of his lungs was:  "I WANT MY DINNER, AND I WANT IT NOW!!!"   I guess he thought he was eating at Denny's.  The family with two elementary school aged children sitting at the next table were mortified.  Of the many cruises I've taken, I've never seen anyone behave so badly in the dining room.  

Oh, but he wasn't finished.  When he and his partner got served, he immediately began yelling for a LOBSTER FORK.  His tirade demanding a lobster fork (more yelling on his part) went on for about 10 minutes as he was presented a variety of forks, none of which was to his liking.  Here's the irony:  You don't use a lobster fork when you are only having the tail of the lobster - the only kind of lobster served in the dining room.  The purpose of a lobster fork is to be able to pull lobster meat out of small places on a whole lobster.  This rude and brutish man didn't know what a lobster fork is used for, but he certainly wanted one anyway and at the top of his lungs.  

As is often so true of the rude, they choose to vent their ire on the lowest level of service people.  In this case, it was the waiters and their assistants.  He never asked to see the dining room supervisor.  He just wanted to throw his weight around.  I guess he thought SOMEONE would be impressed with his temper tantrum.  From that night on, we were on the lookout for "Mr. Lobster Fork".  We didn't want to be seated away from him; we just wanted to greet him with his nickname.  😁  

We were careful to pick a cabin that faced the 'land' initially, so we could stand on our balcony and watch the ports come into view.  The Cabo port entry was the most dramatic.

Yes, that's a giant hole in the rocks in the Cabo harbor

  It always seems to be the case on the day the cruise ship uses a 'tender', the sea doesn't cooperate.  In the Cabo port, a tender port, there were three foot swells.  Doesn't sound like much, but it was a bit nerve wracking to move from the ship to the tender when it was going up and down three feet.  You had to time your move to the tender.  Old people and young children slowed down the process considerably.  By sheer chance we booked a shore excursion through the ship, so we got priority to use the tenders.  

The only reason I booked the shore excursion was to see the cathedral at the small town of San Jose del Cabo about 20 miles north of Cabo San Lucas, and to see a glass blowing exhibition.  Ever since I saw glass blowing at the Tacoma Glass Museum, I've been hooked.  The Cabo glass blowing operation was small compared to the Tacoma Glass furnace, but it was still fascinating.  The Mexican artist deftly took a glob of glass from the furnace and quickly blew a small souvenir turtle as we watched.  We were also interested to learn they collect all kinds of glass from all the bars and restaurants - think beer bottles and whiskey bottles and glass food containers.  There were piles and piles of this type of glass outside the building.  The glass blowers recycle all of it into new drinking glasses, bowls, vases, as well as souvenirs. 

Glass blowers furnace

  

First blow with turtle still attached to pipe 

Finished product

The attached store where you can buy everything glass is full of every variety glass.  More importantly, it was filled with artistic glass embedded into tiles on the floor as well as a complete wall of decorative glass.  

I love taking pictures, and one of the highlights of the shore excursion was the stop for picture taking of the Cabo coast.  I think I got some good ones.

We took the bus to San Jose de Cabo, a small town about 20 miles from Cabo San Lucas.  Unfortunately, instead of taking the highway to the town, we wound our way through all the hotels and condos.  The guide acted like this was what we had come to see.  Basically, it was a big time waster, so we really didn't get to spend as much time in the town as we could have.  The cathedral was very basic like most of the Mexican cathedrals.  My total purchase here was a magnet.

San Jose del Cabo cathedral

One of the things we like about the Holland America cruise line is they hire classical musicians to entertain on the 'Lincoln Center Stage'.  This time it was a quartet consisting of a piano, a violin, a viola, and a cello.  They played various classical pieces for an hour just at cocktail time.  I really like being dressed for dinner, having a drink in a comfy chair, and listening to classical music.  

Speaking of being dressed for dinner....  Usually there are two dress up days on a seven day cruise.  I always fret about what to wear.  My all velvet full length dress and jacket for winter evening ballets in New York was unsuitable.  Most of my other dress up stuff is really casual wear adapted to wear in the summer to NYC matinee ballets.  To solve the problem, I went to one of my favorite thrift stores to check out what they had.  I was delighted to find a full length sea blue sheath covered by a full length 'duster' in a jungle print.  Perfect for a cruise.  For the second night, I wore the blue sheath and covered it with a black swimsuit coverup I converted to an evening jacket.  Here's a picture on deck with the wind blowing the duster behind me.  The irony is I got a lot of unsolicited compliments on the $12 outfit.  Sorry about the shoes (totally wrong), but we all know my damn feet.

Jan, age 72, Thanksgiving Cruise, 2022

Our second port, Mazatlán, was my favorite.  It is a town famous for its sports fishing.  We didn't sports fish.  We saw this town on foot wandering from plaza to plaza.  In the closest plaza to the ship, we found Mayan dancers entertaining the tourists.

Next, we went on a campaign to find Mexican fire opals.  One jewelry store owner sent me to another store when I described what I was looking for.  We found the perfect pendant.  From there, we went to see the Mazatlán cathedral plaza.  This beauty of this cathedral was completely unexpected.

  

 Standing in front of the cathedral, we were offered another selection of jewelry from a street vendor.  Personally, I like street vendors.  There's no telling in Mexico what you may be offered.  This was the jewelry vendor's lucky day.  I found another modest piece which Drake promptly bought.  My favorite vendor of the trip was this guy.  I also found a few art deco buildings.  On our way to the market, I found a fabric store!  Drake went on to buy t-shirts while I used my rusty, rudimentary Spanish to buy six yards of material at $2 a yard.  

Then, it was on to Puerto Vallarta.  Puerto Vallarta sits on a horse shoe shaped ocean harbor that is very deep.  The mountainous jungle comes right down to the beach. This sleepy town was discovered in 1964 when the "Night of the Iguana" was made at this location.  Several of the Americans involved in the production loved the town and bought homes.  Forty years ago, six of us rented a villa to celebrate the recovery from cancer by one friend.  We had a wonderful time.  That weekend, we went to the plaza and were entertained by the battle of the Mariachi bands.  We spent time on the beach watching five foot waves roll in.  It was a great week.  

I was really anticipating the return to this town.  Well, it is a town no more.  It's a bustling city looking pretty much like a medium sized American city.  I sent this picture to one of the friends from the villa trip 40 years ago, and he commented, "That looks like Corpus Christi."  There are numerous high rise condominiums being built, and the town I loved is no longer in evidence.  Here's what we saw as we pulled into port.

There's a supersized Sam's Club next to the Walmart.  Between the cruise dock and the Walmart is a four lane highway moving at 50 mph every time I checked.  Additionally, PV was the only place with noticeable air pollution.  I was so depressed by the sight, I didn't even get off the boat except to see the tent vendors on the dock.  

Finally, photographers are a big part of every cruise, so Drake and I had a portrait made on one of the dress up nights.  The black bands on my wrists are pressure point sea sick remedies, and this is the swimsuit coverup I remade.  You can tell we really had a good time.

As usual, if you haven't seen enough pictures, click on the link.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DnMHEs6ZoUY6vsvD7