Rant No. 16 - I. Hate. Glitter.

I have a glitter issue. I. HATE. GLITTER. I can't help it, it annoys the living daylights out of me. It is everywhere and I mean everywhere. Especially this time of year. It is on everything and I mean everything. I can hardly go down the holiday decor aisles because there is glitter everywhere and much like some cacti that I don't particularly like it jumps out and gets me. And we all know once the glitter gets you, there is no getting rid of it anytime soon. I tolerated glitter when my kids were young and bringing home crafts from school. I do in fact still have some of those crafts and I cringe everytime I have to go near them. I am thankful that I had boys and not girls, because the glitter thing doesn't seem to ever go away with girls. Not EVER.
Look at this poor guy, he is all dazzled out in glitter. A glitter turkey? ReaLLy?? SerioUsLy?? Not necessary. 

Slapping glitter on everything does not make it better or prettier, or more desirable. I run the other way when I see glitter on things. That brings me to my new dilemma when I check out at say Target or wherever, there is glitter all over the conveyor from prior customers and I get the weird look when I start cleaning before placing my items on the checkout stand. What is with that? Really? Am I suppose to have glitter all over my stuff because the rest of the world is in some glitter trap? I think not, because, I. HATE. GLITTER. (end of rant)

Chihuly 2013

When I saw that the Desert Botanical Gardens were going to be having another Chihuly exhibit, we renewed our long lapsed membership. We haven't been to the gardens in probably 3 years, not sure why. Nothing really sparked my interest until now. I love looking at the glass work and how they fit the pieces to blend so well with the natural landscaping. Pat and I went on a Sunday morning, which also happened to be the day they were holding their chiles and chocolate festival, so it was a doubly good day. Mary and Kevin were in town the weekend before Thanksgiving and it rained/drizzled on and off the entire weekend. We did manage to walk around the exhibit for a short time at night and enjoyed seeing the glasswork in a different light. The exhibit is here until May 18, 2014, so I am sure I will get in a few more visits before it moves on. Now for your viewing pleasure:

 

 Just had to throw in this blooming cactus cause it was so pretty.

 If you look hard you can see our reflection in the glass ball.

I thought I was at "the bean".

 Boat full of glass

This is what I mean about blending in to the environment, some of these "sticks" are cacti and some are black and green reeds of glass installed for the exhibit.

  This is the sun.

 

 Don't we all look like we are loving our walk in the cold rainy weather? This is when we arrived before the rain started.

Rain or shine I love this exhibit and can't wait to go back and work on my photography.

Dia de los Muertos 2013 - Part II

As luck would have it the Desert Botanical Gardens was holding their festival the first weekend of November, so I got to go to a second Day of the Dead Fest. Much to my surprise most of the entertainment was the same as in Phoenix, however, they had an altar display in a huge tent. We managed to snag a table in the shade, which was a good thing, because again the temperatures went into the 80s.

Here is a collage of the fun

 Next come some altars

 

 

 A very lovely mural

The Aztec dancers performing for the crowd.

Finally a sneak peek of what is to come at the Gardens. The Chihuly exhibit opens on the 10th and they were very busy with the installation. More to come!

Till next time,