Desert Oasis and Valentine's Day

Well, it's my last day here in Tucson. The gem shows are winding down and so am I! While it is so exciting to see everything and meet up with everyone, it is also hard for me to be away from home for any length of time. Yes, I am quite the homebody, it's true.

Oh, Ouch!

On my drive home yesterday this cactus caught my eye. I think it is the same variety that my brother, as a kid, once fell in at a friend's house. If memory serves, Jack (our friend) had to use pliers to pull out the thorns (are they called that on cacti?) that had impaled my brother's leg. Oh, ouch that must have been painful. I just remember not wanting to watch the procedure.

There's a Moon Out Tonight

It's true, I was feeling stuffed after a steak, ribs and chicken cooked-over-an-open-mesquite-fire dinner with friends, including Jay King of Mine Finds fame and two of his lapidary associates from China. As full as I was on the drive home, I just had to stop to capture the mysterious full moon over the desert. It was so beautiful as it peeked in and out of the wispy clouds.