Amazing

how one phone call....no, make that 3 phone calls....can put one in a foul mood.

AGAIN I am washing my hands of the entire mess.

Tucumcori Mission and Tubac Artist colony

This is the interior of the mission at Tucumcori. It has not and will not be restored. The holes in the walls are damage from people looking for Jesuit treasure!
Another beautiful Arizona morning

Pottery at the artist's colony of Tubac. Nothing was open. People in Arizona don't seem to get going too early!

Gotta love how Blogger uploads stuff! Not!

San Xavier del Bac - White Dove of the Desert

The Mission San Xavier del Bac was founded in 1692. The present church was built under the direction of the Franciscians. It was begun in 1783 and completed in 1787. The interior has been restored under the direction of the guy who restored the Sistine Chapel. (That's some accurate reporting on my part, huh!)

The Main altar

Grilled Orange Rosemary Chicken

New Recipe. We had it for dinner tonight. It ROCKED! It's from "Lose Weight the Smart Low Carb Way" book I got at the friends of the library sale.

It says it's equally good cold in a salad. I'll find out if that's true for lunch tomorrow. I served it with fresh green beans, a salad and leftover sticky rice.

Grilled Orange Rosemary Chicken - 307 calories, 5 g carbs

• 1 large orange
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T fresh minced rosemary or 1.5 tea dried
• 1 tea salt
• 1/2 tea red pepper flakes
• 3 1/2# skinless chicken parts (I used 1.5 pounds of tenders)(they were on sale)

Grate the orange peel into a large shallow dish. Squeeze the juice into the dish. Stir in the oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper flakes. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hour or up to 3 days.

Grill until the juices run clear.

EASY!! I think it could be baked pretty easily, too!

This is the first installment of trying to add something new to the repertoire!

Tucson 3

SCAREY ROAD!!! Driving through Grant's Pass in Tucson. The image DOES NOT do it justice!

The Desert was in bloom!

I love the Saguaro! The landscape is soooo different from Iowa. I love it!

Yeah, I could live here in the winter

Tucson 2

Ho'Okum petroglyophs

Saguaro Park West in the Sonoran Desert

This could be my favorite Image from the Trip

DeGrazia's Studio in the Sun

There is a 100 year retrospective of DeGrazia's work showing currently. These are some of his stations of the cross. Amazing!

Purple prickley pear cacti

The Chapel DeGrazia built on the property. LOVE the Arizona sky!

Our home while in Arizona. Sigh....nice :-)

New Mexico to Tucson

The only thing we did in Truth or Consequences, NM:

We stopped in Tombstone, AZ and saw the shoot-out at the OK Corral

We visited Saguaro National Park East in Tucson. We thought we might hike a little since we'd been in the truck for so long.

However......

We decided against it. That's a little too much nature for us!

Albuquerque

The 400 year old church in Old Town

A courtyard with Chili Ristras

Church detail

Albuquerque Overpass at Sunset

I love map cards!

I collect all kinds of postcards. I've already mentioned my love of postcrossing. I got this AWESOME Oregon card via private swap today. LOVE IT!!

I'm Back!

The test is over (for now). I did not pass. (Sounds so much better than failed right?) I got 109. I needed 113. I'm going to concentrate on other things for a while then start studying again and reapply to take the test.

The other things - well the main other thing - is adoption. Kurt and I have decided to adopt an infant domestically. We've started the homestudy process and are working on the "Dear Birthmother/ Birth Parents letter" and our profile book.

It's like the plague house around here. Three out of four of us are sick. Only the dog and christy have escaped. Nick has Flu A - I'm getting over sinus infection - Kurt has something in between. I've washed in hot water, I've covered everything in Lysol and bleach wipes, and we've drained many a bottle of juice and of cold stuff. It stinks!

Gay Marriage Upheld in Iowa!!

It's a great day to be an Iowan!