Day: March 18, 2019

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Home At Last, Last Week

My Bolo/Tie o’ the Day combo is one of my fave clever ties. I thought it was quite a fitting choice to wear home from our Tucson/Las Vegas trip– Western theme and all. Sometimes I wear appropriate things. Sometimes, I can choose clothing and neckwear that “match” my situation. Not often, but on occasion. Most of the time it makes me feel oogy and itchy to blend in, or match, or fit in– whatever you wanna call it. It ain’t my true soul.

In this photo, I sit outside the SLC airport, waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to our faithful car at the end of our traipsing to and fro. My minutes-new saddle purse is in the orange bag. (I know, I know. I still owe y’all the purse story post. It’s coming.) I didn’t want to show off the purse in this particular photo, cuz its stunningness would have taken attention away from Tie. Tie deserves to shine in its own spotlight.

I’m quite proud of my magenta suitcase. It is designed to be extra lightweight, and I got it soon after my surgery so it would be a little easier for me to maneuver and heft through airports. Of course, on our first couple of post-surgery trips, Suzanne lugged everything for me anyway– so I guess it was nice of me to provide her a lighter suitcase in which to haul my stuff. I’m so thoughtful.

Although we have at least four concerts to attend in the next few months, they are in Utah. We don’t have any travel on our schedule for the near future. And I’m ok with that. I can drive down to visit Mom more often. And I’ve got stuff to do here. I do not consider myself a “real” homemaker (although I guess I am), but I am a homebody. Suzanne is too.

Suzanne sits in one of two spots in the house when she’s home. She sits in either the loveseat or in front of her Ultimate SewingBox. She’s pretty much a statue. She sits motionless, except for her hands. They never stop crocheting, sewing, piecing quilts together, etc. Her body sits still the entire evening, but she accomplishes oodles of craftiness with her paws. She creates constantly. She has a ton to show for her not moving.

I, on the other hand, flit and flutter around the house constantly. I call it “birding.” I “bird” around. I never light. I don’t know if I accomplish anything or not, but I haven’t yet heard Suzanne tell me– or tell anyone else– I’m a useless waste o’ space.

I really have nothing to show for all my Tasmanian-Devil-around-the-house movements. It is true that the ties are hung snuggly in their closets, and the bow ties are safely tucked into their card catalog drawers– a dozen per drawer. At the end of the day, the neckwear is always clean, fed, and put to bed. I guess that counts as doing something. And it is also true that I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 notebooks/journals full of poems and stories I’ve conjured up over the years. That should count as something. Also, I keep Skitter pottied. I guess that’s something that shows. Or it’s something that doesn’t show, if you wanna look at it that way.


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A Science-y Place In Oracle, AZ

[Let me first say that I am thrilled that y’all enjoy my “Mom posts.” Yesterday’s post photo of her shows one of those priceless moments that remind me what a great life I’ve had, just because Mom is my mom. If you missed the post, go back and check it out. You’ll be glad you did. And now… on to this morning’s post.]

Bow Tie o’ the Day is a clue that it was Mardi Gras the day I selfied these photos. I was being a tourist in Tucson at the time– two weeks ago. While Suzanne was working her pencils to the nub, I and my red rental truck covered as much sight-seeing ground as possible. And although I get a kick out of checking out the natural landscape wherever I go, the Tucson-area sight that I grooved on the most was a man-made structure called Biosphere 2.

Bioshpere 2 is a 3.14-acre, sealed, glass habitat designed to replicate and study different earth climates (including an ocean), and to sustain human life– for the purpose of testing the viability of creating a self-sustaining research/living station on other planets.

It was constructed in the late 80’s, and the first experiment began in the early 90’s. Eight people– biologists, scientists, engineers, and one doctor– lived in complete isolation in Biosphere 2 for two years. (No tv, no cell phones, folks.) While there, they spent their time doing environmental research and maintaining the complex’s intricate and complicated infrastructure. The mission wasn’t a complete success, and oxygen had to be pumped into the building a few times throughout the two-year experiment. There was also a problem with consistently growing enough food for the residents. My guilty-fave fact about the project is that by the time the experiment was over, none of the participants were speaking to each other. And they would not speak to each other for years. Not surprising.

There was a second “mission” test, with another group of residents, which lasted a few months. It was more successful. They were able to produce enough food for themselves, and no outside oxygen needed to be pumped in.

The University of Arizona now owns the building, which is open for tourists. The earth climates, from rainforest to desert, still exist and thrive. When you walk through each one and into the next, you can feel the temperature and humidity gradually change. Environmental research continues within the glass pyramid. Other buildings now dot the property, and are used for scientific research by the University of Arizona– as well as for conferences and classrooms.

You can see from one of my photos that I also learned a surprising bit of fake news: The Savanna has a basement. 🤣 😁 I wonder if it’s full of boxes and bins filled with storage that wouldn’t fit in its closets or garage.