Neighborhood changes

My parents helped do a little landscaping when they were here, and it's been so nice enjoying the new plants around! One of them is this tiny cactus my mother insisted on buying. Surprisingly, it bloomed this past week! Look how CUTE it is :)

 

Did the colors catch your eye?  Especially the background one?  Yeeeeeppppp, that's my neighbor's freshly painted house.  The same color as yours right?  It's that subtle, Mexican pink. 

You guys will never get confused which house is mine again. 

But I utterly love it! I'm hoping this means my house will get to be some color like this:

First Aid Kit

This lovely duo from Sweden has been showing up a lot on KXCI lately.  Conveniently I bought their album a few weeks ago, so it's been awesome hearing songs I know on the radio! 

If you live in Tucson, 91.3 is the way to go...on occasion there are some shows that aren't your style (like for me, zydeco on Sunday nights are not my thing), but there are some shows that will always be a treat!  Such as Celtic music at 8 am on Saturday morning.  Yes, sadly I am up at that time. 

First Aid Kit has been touring lots, with people often remarking they sound like they just came out of Nashville.  A song like the one below shows you why.  The name of it is "Emmylou", referring to Emmylou Harris. The chorus goes as follows:
I’ll be your Emmylou and I’ll be your June
And you’ll be my Gram and my Johnny too.
No, I’m not asking much of you
Just sing little darling, sing with me.

I must say it definitely hits on some longings for me personally, to have music and singing be a part of daily life with someone (if you didn't know Gram and Johnny are the beloved of the women mentioned).  For now, I'm just enjoying this song, and as I tell God what I want, go ahead...talk to him about what you want too! :)

A backyard visit

Yesterday, around 8 am, Darcy starts barking in the backyard.  And not just small "what's that?" barks, but foreboding, LOUD barks (sorry neighbors, I know it's early!). 

I step outside to see Darcy staring at the back wall with her hair puffed up along her neck, back, and tail - WHAT IS GOING ON???

I stare intently at the back wall and see this:

(please be mindful of the copyright!)

WHOA!

It was about a foot tall sitting on the back wall, waiting for breakfast by a tree full of tiny birds.  

After some research, I think he was either what's pictured above, a Sharp-skinned hawk, or a Cooper's hawk.  Interesting, I read a post a while ago from a blog I follow where the author had the same dilemma.  His was a Cooper's hawk, but the one on my wall was definitely more grey with a copper tint to him...a Sharp-skinned I believe - any bird experts out there want to weigh in?

I wanted to snag a picture but with all of Darcy's noise, following by me trying to bring her in the house, the bird flew off.  

Crazy, right?  I never thought I'd see such a large bird in my backyard, or that it would cause such a reaction out of the dog!

5 people play 1 guitar = great cover

The band Walk off the Earth has been enjoying their viral YouTube fame as of late, and I think it's well worth it.  Hats off to Emily for showing me this video in Tombstone, because I showed my kids this week and they were all downloading it within the first 15 seconds of the video :)  It is a cover, with the original making the Top Ten on iTunes at the moment (which doesn't usually equal good music, but in this case I'd make an exception).  

Everybody usually has a favorite in the band, and in my case, it's the guy in the middle. I love how  high he can sing and how he sounds so dang pissed - who's yours??

the smell of creosote

I love the rain, so when I wake up to realize that it rained during the night, and all we're left with is the lingering smell of creosote, I'm so disappointed to have missed out!

I'm sitting outside (about to go in because it's starting to rain on my computer), but the clouds over the mountains look majestic this morning in the lovely degrees of 47.  Feels like Maine!

Happy Valentines Day!

At sparkroot

There's a new coffee shop in town (always a YEAH!) that I would probably spend more time in if it wasn't downtown...boo paying for parking.  But it's a pretty trendy looking place, and I really like some of their decorating elements they use- like salvaged wood from a barn and the cool Edison lightbulbs. I had a wonderful time there with Jesus journaling and reading Psalm 67.

Forewarning: they're purists, which means no syrups or flavors.  They have sweeteners of all varieties and some tasty (though expensive) food.

With the rents

My parents and I went hiking with Darcy (who my mother now considers her first grandchild) out near where my mom's grandma used to live. It was absolutely perfect out!

Everyday life

Here are a few snippets from life this past week...and I got a new grey dress, which made it fun being a girl today :)

Erin, Julie, and adorable Everest

a teacher's favorite thing to find on her desk

 One of my former students at work with a gorgeous sunset

 the sunset from Summit before my star party

my parents are visiting! it's been very fun, and they've been EXTREMELY helpful fixing up thing that I never have the energy to do