What have we been up to?

We have been busy....enjoying one another's company and getting around. Alan and Lisa have their places to go and things to do. Thursday was one of those days. We did have the contractor come to measure the front porch area so it will be refinished to a flagstone finish. We began to chat and he is from Rhode Island, grew up in the same area as Dennis and of course frequented the same haunts as we did. What are the odds of that. The work will be done the first week in October.
Yesterday it was off to Carefree for lunch and shopping.

Meet Beulah. Oh my how Denny hated the "skull people" and he always said when I die you can have one in the house.....so here she now lives sitting in her chair and holding an empty pot. Alan and Lisa also found a cactus that we will plant today. Yesterday when I moved one pot in the garden I found

yes, a Praying Mantas and he is still in the same pot this morning. I wonder if I can convince him to move into another pot as I did have plans for this one.  In our yard the critters always have preference.  For now I will not bother him.
When Alan arrived he mentioned he wanted me to make some fresh baked bread. Okay I said, my recipe takes 18 hours to proof...he was not impressed and on Friday this arrived

and last evening we made a delicious bread and as you can see only a little is left. Today we make a French loaf. Tonight Alan will make a shrimp recipe and we will enjoy dipping the bread in the sauce. Plans for today...I am not really sure. We do have some planting to do. I just go along and enjoy the ride and the company.
Right now it is coffee time.......so, I will say how nice it is to chat with you and thank you for your kind words and most of all your friendship.

Happy Anniversary to my dearest friends Lu and Stan back in Rhode Island.....

The Enchanted Pumpkin Garden

                                                   

On Wednesday Mr H and I visited a favorite seasonal place....

This year they set up wonderful scenes and this guy forgot to close the door!

Just too funny....the faces are exceptional on these pumpkins. We then stopped by the saloon

There are characters all over the front porch and hard to see they are also inside at the bar. This poor fella got sick on whatever brew they gave him

The talent the staff displayed is fun. We got to talk with the 2 carvers who worked on some of the pumpkins...

Such talent....they scrap away instead of actually carving into the pumpkin, keeping the wall in tack. With the heat they also kept spraying with water to prevent drying while carving. As we walked around we found...

A boxing match...look at the face! There was also the mad scientist...

he has many strange green brews. Probably that is what they serve at the saloon! How about this guy...sleeping

it was a little warm in the afternoon sun but he managed to find some shade. Of course his friend decided to sit under the misters...

not a bad way to get some relief. Not sure what he was building. We also took advantage of the misters and found a place or two to sit. On of my favorite characters was this burlap gal

She was standing among pots of flowers and holding a baby. I would love to have her in my yard!

A lovely day to walk among the pumpkins. As we left the garden to go and have lunch, we found a fisherman

I would have loved to sit and put my feet in the pond....but of course that might scare away the fish so off to lunch we went. Glad you came to stroll in the garden and hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for your friendship and kind words. Have a wonderful day.

Festive Friday in Carefree AZ

Mr H and I did go to the art and crafts festival but it really was not much. Onward we moved to the next town of Carefree where we were delighted to watch and listen to the Native Spirit Dancers and the hoop dancing of Brian Hammill.

Brian is of the Ho-chunk Nation and lives here in Arizona. His accomplishments are many and his storytelling wonderful. He has held Hoop Dancing Championships many times.

The trio performed and everyone listened. They were gracious to all who approached them. We continued through the festival and all the booths of lovely art and native jewelery. On our return drive through the town of Cave Creek, we stopped in Rare Earth Gallery...

The atmosphere was so calming and beautiful. The staff very helpful. The gems, well, they were magnificent. Expert lighting and displays made it a wonderful experience. Although many were quite pricey, there were some affordable gems. All in all we had a wonderful day. As Mr H will sometimes say, "we are getting old and need a nap"... as soon as we arrived home, it was just sit and relax. This meant no stitching for the rest of the day. Earlier I had been out to a meeting so very little was done then. Off to work later but I did manage to get a few more xx's on Pink Lady and plan to sit with Red Riding Hood now. Glad you stopped by and hope you enjoyed the pictures. Thank you for the kind words and most of all your friendship....have a wonderful day.