For The Journey Not just the destination…

Well, I’m back from Phoenix, just in time for the holidays. It was beautiful and warm, and despite my technology problems (broken laptop, mapless GPS, batteryless camera, and uncharged ipod), I had a good time. My only wish is that Thomas could have been there. I kept calling him and describing the views of what I saw, and how alien it all looked.

Saturday, I drove up to Sedona and did some hiking/caching. I walked around the town, but it was very touristy, with mostly teeshirt and souvenir shops. I went the Montezuma Well, which is a very large sink hole filled with water. Indians had houses around it, but it’s just a national monument now. I also hiked and drove through the Oak Creek National Forest. I looked for a couple geocaches there, but I wasn’t successful. You can check out the photos of the trip though.

• Camelback Cache
• Sedona Caching

Overall, it was good trip and I hope to head back out that way sometime with Thomas in tow. I’d actually like to check out the Grand Canyon, but atleast now I can no longer claim that I’ve never been to the Southwest.

I’m in Phoenix through this weekend for work, and unfortunately, I’ve had a ton of computer problems. My laptop keeps giving me harddisk errors, and now my gallery won’t let me upload any photos. It’s been a good trip otherwise.

Phoenix is gorgeous – sunny and warm. The plants are still green and flowering, and today, I took a lunchtime hike in a nearby park. Since I can’t mass-upload the photos I took online, I’ll put a couple of my favorites here. It was a beautiful day.

I’ll post more later. I’m headed up to Sedona tomorrow to sight-see, and I’m sure I’ll take even more photos.

Clover had her first sleepover this weekend. My coworker went out of town, and we watched her shih tzu puppy, Maisy. Maisy is younger than Clover, but a little bit taller. She’s a cutie – she looks thicker, but I think alot of it is just fluff. Her parents keep her hair longer than we keep Clover’s hair, but she’s not really an outdoor pup. And to make her even cuter, she wore little baby diapers because she was in heat. They had a place for her tail to stick through.

* Photos are here

Clover and Maisy got along, but they didn’t really play together. Clover first chased Maisy around with a look on her face that said, “you look like Bailey, but I know you aren’t her”. Then she gave up trying to get her to play and focused on all of Maisy’s toys for the rest of the weekend. Maisy hasn’t been around other dogs, so she just mostly sat and stared at Clover, wondering what this crazy fetch game was.

By the end of the weekend, Clover had taught Maisy to go up and down stairs, and the joys of rawhide sticks. Clover is going to stay with her when we go out of town some weekend.

Ever since Thanksgiving, I have really wanted to find a dining room set. I just really enjoyed being able to use the dining room to eat in. This weekend, I bought a set that I found on Craigslist. It was a good price for 6 chairs – one with arms, a table with three leaves, a buffet, china cabinet and a table pad.

I really wanted something unique – something that didn’t look like all the other sets in the store right now. This one had a very simple design. It’s maple and the china cabinet is small, but this set just stood out to me. It belonged to a couple in the 90s that moved into a retirement home. They bought it in the 60s. The construction and condition is good. The fabric on the chairs looks dingy, but it shouldn’t be too hard to replace it. Now I just need to plan a dinner party. :)

Here are some photos of the set:

There’s a bedroom suite that I saw in a magazine that I really like. I haven’t seen the simple vintage style in any of the modern stores, and true antique beds weren’t made in Queen sizes. The bed I saw in the magazine is from the Martha Stewart Everyday line at Kmart. I’m a little concerned about the quality, because of where it’s sold, but in person, it looks nice. I keep waiting for someone to review her furniture online, but no luck so far. (Yes, there are several negative reviews for her outdoor furniture line, but it is from a few years back,and I’m hoping she’s improved.)

I’ve also been searching for just the right fabric for a new duvet cover for my bedroom. The one we currently have is what I made for Thomas a couple years ago for Christmas, and it’s starting to feel old. I’m ready for a new color and style, and a pale green/blue paisley pattern is what I was looking for.

Jane recommended I look at Repro Depo‘s patterns and sure enough, I found a green/blue pattern I like. However, it’s nothing like I imagined – nothign like my plain, simple, and unflashy style. If you look at this vintage reproduction fabric from a distance, it looks like squares, but up close, it’s people in swimming pools. I’ll use this for one side of the duvet, and the other side will be something much simplier. Then, I can flip it over when I need a calming scene.

I was also surfing ebay and I found a Christmas decoration that my grandmother used to have. It’s a ceramic christmas tree that lights up with little bulbs – they’re not real expensive, but they remind me of the Christmases at Grandpa’s house when we were younger. I think I might get one to add some holiday cheer to the house.