Red, White, and Blue

Red for pain, sorrow, and sacrifice.

White for hope.

Blue for respect and integrity. Reverence.

The world in which we live alternates between impossibly beautiful and impossibly terrible. We rejoice in and give thanks for the beauty. We mourn the terrible. Neither can extinguish the other so long as this world, in its present state, exists. Yet still we try, and it's the trying that makes the difference. To trade one moment of pain for one of joy. To shadow one terrible time with the memory of one beautiful time. To persevere. 

Taking moments to acknowledge the good and be glad for it have always been crucial towards safekeeping that good. That's why I find so much overlap between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. So this Independence Day, let's remember history but let's also be glad for what we have today that is good. 

The Fourth . . . or the Fifth

A happy Fourth of July yesterday for everyone?

As usual, I dressed in my red, white, and blue and flags and such and wandered around. This time I found some parrots and this little green guy, who loved my necklaces. 

Thought for the day: the time is now. And I don't mean that as in YOLO or go for the extreme or any of that. I mean that your current actions, in this moment, affect who you are and affect the world around you. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, the way that you go about what you're doing does matter and does make a difference and does have repercussions, for positive or negative. Let's try and remember that. 

Happy Fourth of July

Land that raised me. 

Land that loved me.

Land that I am here to love.

The United States of America, today is our day to honor you our home.


I have no pictures from this weekend because I haven't really been taking many, but I have been busy with Fourth of July celebrations as usual.

Friday I baked an apple pie (using Martha Stewart's recipe). Saturday I was able to spend a little bit of time hanging out at the park enjoying the shade and the grass and the trees. Sunday I spent in Prescott, visiting the art fair at the Square and a new chocolatier in the area (review coming on Friday). And yesterday, Monday, brought me to Flagstaff and their fireworks celebration, which is always a welcomingly cool weather experience in the middle of summer. I draped myself in stars and stripes and red, white, and blue.

Today is for quiet. The chicken is on the grill (a whole chicken cooked on top of a beer can). The watermelon is cut. I've already watched Sara Romey's coverage of Disneyland's Fourth of July fireworks from Sunday night and might watch it again later tonight.

Today is for contemplation. This year my theme has been to enjoy what we have in our daily lives because of where we live. I enjoy great beauty and I enjoy great possibilities.

Happy Independence Day to the U.S.A.

Fourth of July Weekend

What was so nice this year was the way in which Fourth of July was not just one day but rather a whole weekend. And since I keep collecting flag shirts, I had just enough to wear one on each of the three days. This year I was able to just spend time in a couple of places around the area. 

Saturday was for Out of Africa, which I had been hoping to visit one of these days when the weather seemed a little cooler. It was the perfect day for it: there was some cloud coverage to keep the temperature down and there was even a light misting of sprinkles a couple of times. The animals looked like they were enjoying the weather, too. 

Tiger Splash had two tigers (I think Journey and Gabriel), one white and one orange. I think I had only seen the show with one tiger; two of them is another dynamic. They have to put in an extra effort to keep an eye on both of them and engage both of them at the right moments. One of the highlights was seeing them both in the water watching the toy above them, seeing who would get to have it. 

Oh, yes, and here is Chalet; she often does Tiger Splash on busy days because she does such great jumps into the water to get the toys. On Saturday she was enjoying a nice nap instead. 

The 3:00 show had the hyenas, though they don't go in with them anymore. As the keeper said to one of the hyenas while he was petting him, "We have a great relationship . . . through the fence." Still a great opportunity to see the hyenas and learn about them--they're one of my favorite animals at the park.

Then, of course, there was Cypress, the grizzly bear. She was right next to the fence, so I had to get a picture with her. Then as soon as I walked away, so did she. 

Sunday was a Flagstaff day. Lunch at Criollo, which uses a lot of fresh and local ingredients and products. Afternoon at the Arboretum. Perfect weather, in the seventies with both clouds and sun and just a bit of breeze. Flagstaff is beautiful in summer. And the Arboretum always makes me want to grow more plants, herbs and teas and flowers. Their butterfly exhibit is open now and while it's smaller than the one at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, there are also less people, so you still get a chance to see lots of beautiful butterflies up close. 

I'd been thinking of Tempe Town Lake for the Fourth on Monday; as the day got closer, I thought it would have to be Prescott instead. But instead we ended up back in Flagstaff for the event at the Continental Country Club area. While the fireworks certainly aren't as numerous as those in Tempe, Flagstaff was all the same a very nice experience. Arriving in late afternoon, the weather was beautiful for sitting out on the lawn (the golf course, actually); we sat right by the water. The food vendors available were good (I probably spend most of my time walking back and forth to get lemonade, tacos, more lemonade, funnel cake, watermelon, ice cream, and churros). As it gets darker, more people start arriving, but still the crowds are nothing like Tempe; you actually have a little breathing space here. 

We were playing ring toss with glow sticks and trying out our 3D fireworks glasses while we waited for the actual fireworks to start. If you haven't tried those glasses yet, they're quite an experience. Very psychedelic. Every light gets reflections all around it so that even the street looks like a light show. The glow lights look amazing--we were giving ourselves headaches by trying to play ring toss with the glasses on. The fireworks look pretty cool with them, too; since this show was a little more bare, it was a good one to try one the glasses on. You still see the firework itself normal; it just has reflections of light and color framing it. I watched about half the time with the glasses and half without, on and off. 

In case you were wondering. Saturday's outfit: Guess shirt (from last year) and Charming Charlie necklace (also from last year). Sunday's outfit: Ross shirt (from last year) and Banana Republic skirt. Monday's outfit: shirt from the new clothing store on the first level of Bashford Courts in Prescott, leggings from Clothes Hound in Prescott (several months ago), and flag necklace from Michael's or Hobby Lobby (I think Michael's). 

July Fourth

I'm sitting out in Tempe right now, and the Fourth of July is good. It's something like a picnic day--but with an entire community and with more events and entertainment. It's about celebration in unity, isn't it?

Spread out your blanket (preferably a red, white, and blue one) and relax, wearing as much red, white, and blue as possible. Bring water and get drinks and food, listen to music, chat with your group. Sweat under the late afternoon sun. 

And then when the sun sets, let the air cool a bit and take a moment to ponder. Ponder your home and how it came to be your home, and ponder your country and how it came to be and how it is. 

And when you watch those fireworks spread across the sky, celebrate and be joyous. Today is the Fourth of July, Independence Day, and we're all excited together. 

Be the Fourth of July

It seems that each year, I keep going more and more crazy over the Fourth of July--and I think everyone else should, too. I've been so happy that nearly every clothing store I've been by lately has at least had a Fourth of July display and many have had specifically patriotic clothing (flag shirts, for instance). So I'd like to just take a quick moment today and list some of the ways that I bring red, white, and blue in; tomorrow I'll do some sort of more general Fourth of July post.

1) I like the flag shirts best, but if you can't get one or don't want one, at least try and wear two to three colors. I actually bought two flag shirts because I decided that the first one I got was too thick of a material (I'll be around Phoenix on the Fourth); the second one is a much lighter material, though they're both tank tops with vertical flags on them. The easiest way, of course, to wear flag colors if you're not wearing a flag shirt is to wear denim shorts with a white or red shirt--maybe add an accessory in the color you're still missing.

2) Nail polish is great. I don't do my fingernails anymore, but I like to make my toenails into a flag design. I alternate the small toes in red and white and paint the big toes in blue with white stars. I've been using Revlon's 680 Revlon Red, L'Oreal's 220 I Will, Sally Hansen's 901 Royal Rage, and the Sally Hansen i Nail Art Pen in 360 Pearly White.

3) Don't forget the makeup, either. Blue eyeshadow and red lips aren't something I would wear together any other day, but they're perfect for July Fourth.

4) Temporary tattoos--I've never had Fourth of July tattoos before, but I came across some in Hobby Lobby that looked good, so why not? There are flags and stars and eagles and butterflies with the flag; they're kind of an alternate to face-painting, I guess.

5) Jewelry is good, too. Depending on where you're going to be, you maybe don't want to wear your nicer jewelry. If you were going to be at home, you might wear pearls and coral and blue beads, but I'd leave those at home if you'll be at a park. This is where fashion jewelry or the cheap kind they sell specifically for the holiday can come in nicely. I have my necklace with all the little triangular flags from Charming Charlie that I'll be wearing (actually, I've been wearing it for the past three days already . . . )

6) Do you use hairbands? Throw on a red, white, or blue one--or try and mix up the colors. Michaels had some good ones for sale, too, if you want something that combines all the colors.

7) Enthusiasm tops it all off. I want us all to be excited, wherever we are and however we're celebrating. Choose your own traditions, but let's make this a big day, a triumphant day, and a thankful day. We, through our attitudes and our collective memory in honoring this day, we are the Fourth of July.

American Favorites

I've done lists before; this year, let's go on a journey. I'm going to take you on a trip through the America of my mind. Where we'll begin and end I don't really know, and what we meet along the way will be an adventure.

California. The place everyone wants to visit, some to live in. That's where I started, in the heart of it all. The Hollywood sign was just something that sat on the mountain that I saw all the time. Griffith Observatory, the Natural History Museum, the Arboretum, the Huntington Library, the beach--they were all there within my grasp. Oh, yes, and Disneyland. Disneyland was born into my blood.

From California the great to Alaska the magnificent, where I played in the snow and a treehouse built high up. Where my family went fishing and I threw my pole into the water because I was too young to quite understand how fishing worked. Where everything was different, where I laughed because it couldn't be bedtime yet because the sun was still out.

More California--where I spent afternoons watching I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show--but also my first trip to Arizona. It was new. It was hot and devoid of the cities I was used to--but it had new things. Exciting things. I saw the Grand Canyon. I visited chickens. I watched the stars and traced the horizon across the mountains. And then the summer trips here stopped and we came here to live. After living in an apartment, we had a yard again. Open space to play in. I read Little House on the Prairie and watched the show, too.

The Red Rocks of Sedona are beautiful and the historic downtown Prescott a lovely place for a cool afternoon. The Painted Desert spoke always to me, from when I first heard its name in fourth grade. When we finally made the drive years later, I fell in love with the soft land, layers of colorful dirt forming hills that no picture can capture. Google Image the Painted Desert and you will not see it: it is too beautiful to exist in a photograph.

I discovered Get Smart and I Dream of Jeannie, listened to Blondfire and Flyleaf, and whiled away the evenings with Once Upon a Time. I vacationed in New Mexico and breathed in the cooler, still warm air. Drifted across the wide lands of colorful earth and soft plants, visiting museums and old homes, places where people had lived who loved this land. Acoma lived up to its name of Sky City, built up high to look out upon the most gorgeous land. I always want to go back to Santa Fe because it feels familiar and home-like.

I tasted, as well. American chocolate has a bad reputation, but that is changing. Amano makes some of the best I've ever tasted--their Montanya bar may be my favorite ever. Everything is atmospheric, artistic, pure, and beautiful. I found Valerie Confections and felt fancy with Rose Petal Petits Fours. I ate at House of Tricks by ASU again and again, and then I finally went to Pizzeria Bianco and then went two more times.

I thought more and more of The Wizard of Oz, and I imprinted my own meaning on the green light in The Great Gatsby. I looked at New York and Texas and everywhere else from afar, places that I might enjoy visiting--but that I did not need to visit. There is much to see and do--but not all of that is far away. So much already I have found to delight in. My America is different from your America, colored by the years of our individual lives. But together, our separate experiences and joys comes together and create our America. Let's live it richly, shall we?

Independence Week

You see, I think it's silly that you can go to stores, year-round, and buy all sorts of products with the British flag*--but products with the American flag are fewer and tend to pop up only around the one or two national holidays. Even then, you usually have to be devoted to find anything more than cheap flags and flag bunting, maybe some napkins and cupcake papers. Why? Why? Why?

Let's be patriotic, I say. I wear my U.S. flag scarf on the national holidays. I even wore it in at least 110 degree weather last year for the Tempe Town Lake fireworks; that's devotion, I tell you. This year, I quickly snatched a flag pillow from World Market, and the Fourth of July display tempted me to walk into Charming Charlie for the first time and buy a flag necklace. I did my toenails flag-style: alternating red and white on the small toes and blue with white stars on the big toes. I wore my flag necklace already today, and got excited when I found out that my church is doing a Fourth of July Sunday next week. Bring on the Independence Day spirit, I say.

Fourth of July should be all week. Let's make this our week. Let's decorate ourselves in red, white, and blue. Let's rejoice in the open hillsides--or glittering cityscapes--that we call home. Let's recall our favorite characters out of history. Let's think of how many states we've visited and which we love best. Let's read our favorite American authors, watch our favorite American shows, listen to our favorite American bands. Let's remember what is good about our country and set aside this or that little worry about whatever.

Let's lead up to the fireworks on Friday night. Let's let each day focus on one of the many aspects of this country that there are to love. Let's celebrate.

*Don't get me wrong, I love some British-ness as much as the next person. I have my morning and afternoon and sometimes evening tea every day and greatly love a good British TV show and would be slightly concerned to visit the Great Island because I think I might very much like it.

In Celebration

Forgive me if I do go overboard, but in celebration of the Fourth of July (Independence Day, that is), I'd like to go over a few memories from the past year. Let's start with images from last year:

Then there came the stormy monsoon season.

Along with a friendly visit to Fort Verde; this is one of the upstairs bedrooms.

Must not forget Sedona and its Red Rocks.

With Thanksgiving came a multitude of my favorite, turkeys. 

December brought cold and an evening trip to Prescott to walk around the Square and admire the lights on the Courthouse. 

February saw clear skies and a sprinkling of sunshine.

Spring Break took me to the enchanting Mission Inn in Riverside, CA.

We must not exclude a picture from Disneyland (California Adventure, actually). You're cool if you know where this picture was taken.

Visiting dinosaurs in the Discovery area of the Natural History Museum.

Saying goodbye to the outside of the main library at ASU.

While I'm at it, here's graduation.

That's enough of pictures of me. Here's a tiger at Out of Africa heading back to its habitat.

And here's a baby turkey.

Here it is a little older, in what I call the dinosaur stage (with chickens it's the alien stage).

And here's a different bird swimming in the ocean. 

Sunset Crater, up in Flagstaff. 

 Now let's finish with a branch reaching away from the obsidian and basalt encrusted earth toward the sky.

I promise, I'm done now. Happy Fourth.