Arizona Flower Fairies

It is that time of the year here in Arizona, when we hit in the neighborhood of 115 degrees or higher during the day. Which creates a real hardship on our “Flower Fairies”. 

In Arizona we can pretty much garden year round...except July, August, and most of September, then it gets a bit rough for any thing to grow, except weeds. During the rest of the year our flower fairies reside in among the flower and vegetable gardens.

In the winter while the rest of the country is freezing cold and up to their knees in snow...Arizona has beautiful gardens and the flower fairies are doing their happy dance.

 

Are you wondering where the Arizona Flower Fairies go to in the Summer...
 they hide out at the mall or the movies where they can use someone else Air Conditioning to keep cool, just like everyone else!

End of Summer Vacation

Much to my surprise Summer Vacation is over in Arizona. The grand kids will be going back to school on Monday. We have spent the last week doing all the fun things I had planned the beginning of summer break...but some how ran out of time.

We took a road trip all the way in to Mesa to go to the Arizona Museum for Youth to see their Monster Exhibit.

I dug out all the arts and craft projects that I was saving for an "I don't have anything to do" moment...

And finished them all...

They are off for another school year...which isn't nearly as fun as Granny's house.

Feeling HOT HOT HOT!

I am a fifth generation Arizonan. While I did spend my early years living in other states, as an Air Force brat, Arizona has always been home. I love it here, I don't understand why someone would move to the "Valley" and be so surprised that in the middle of July it's 120 degrees. We live in a desert for crying out loud! So the Arizona summer got pages in the "Summer Book". The birds (see "Fancy Colorful Birds" blog) got their tribute on these pages also.

Working Title..."Summer Book"

I have taken a trip every summer for the last nine years ...big trips, sometimes more than one. The kind you really diet, scrimp, save, bring sack lunches to work, look up on the Internet all the wonderful things you are going to do, find it all on a map, kind of trip. When I come home I scrapbook them all. In fact trips are of my favorite things to scrapbook (next to my grand kids). Places like Scotland, Ireland, Shetland, England, San Francisco, New York, San Diego and last summer I even dipped my toe in Paris (which means it was a really quick trip). This summer there wasn't a trip. None, Zilch, Nada, Zip. Despite the fact British Airways taunted me with their fabulous "low" fares. This summer I had to use my imagination to run away from home.

Now I told you that story, to tell you this story...

I was helping my grandson open a toy he had gotten for his Birthday. I started complaining about the over packaging. Thick sheets of plastic acrylic, book board weight backing. There I was holding the pieces in my hand, getting ready to toss them in the recycle when the creativity began. I measure and cut until I had 2 pieces of acrylic and 2 pieces of backing the same size. They sat on my work bench for about a week waiting for me to get inspired.

While shredding the junk mail I came across some envelopes with large velum windows that were the same size as the acrylic and the backing. A design for making a book was coming together. The book would be my summer get away. I didn't design the pages in any kind of order. I only set two boundaries for myself. I had to use supplies I already had and the pages had to be about the summer of 2008.

As of today, this book still doesn't have an official title.

To be continued...