Summer Morning Sky

Summer Orange

The brightest color in our neighborhood and in our yard right now, is orange.  Barrel cactus and bird of paradise are gracing us with their bright blooms.

Brunch with Tatiana

We had a very interesting conversation over brunch with Tatiana today.  Tatiana recently graduated from University High School with plans to go to ASU, then on to medical school.  Tatiana's family emigrated from Cameroon many years ago and much of her extended family still lives there.  She visits with her parents every year. 

Last August, after a visit to Cameroon, Tatiana told us of an idea she had for a project... developing a national health identification system for Cameroon.  She wanted to talk about it further today.  Very few countries have such an ID system.  The United States doesn't have such a system.  I came home and did a bit of research for her, finding one study by the World Bank, with information on the national ID systems of Estonia, India, Botswana, Korea, and Thailand.  http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/595741519657604541/DigitalIdentification-HealthcareReportFinal.pdf 

I found additional resources at:

http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/JC2640_nationalhealthidentifiers_en.pdf. - re scaling up national health ID systems

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/indias-ambitious-national-identification-program - re India’s ID program

https://catalyst.nejm.org/time-unique-patient-identifiers-us/ - reasons to develop ID system, with US as subject

https://e-estonia.com/solutions/e-identity/id-card/ - Estonia’s system

Its not often we have such conversations with 18 year olds!  Tatiana is special!   

To San Antonio and Back

On Tuesday morning, we flew to San Antonio for a few days.  We had a wonderful visit with Lynne.  We talked and talked, enjoyed several meals together, and took care of a few things on her “to do list.”  We flew back to Arizona on Thursday night.  We came home to summertime in Tucson, hot but with a bit of moisture in the air.  We are wishing for rain.

Emerson is 8!

Today is Emerson’s 8th birthday!  We went to Phoenix in the afternoon, with a birthday box and cake for Emerson.  We had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and went home for carrot birthday cake.  It was a treat to see Emerson and Colby on Emerson’s birthday!  Claire’s family has moved to Phoenix, so we expect to see more of them.  Makes me smile!

Rain's Reward

On Friday night, we had .09" of rain... not much!  It was still enough moisture to produce loads of flowers on a little pincushion cactus near our front door. 

Week of Meals Out

We have had a week of wonderful meals out, not because the food was so good, but because of the people we ate with and the conversations we had.  On Tuesday, we met Mebeylyn at First Watch.  Meybelyn is one of our Boys & Girls Club "kids."  Meybelyn is DACA and after a year of college and a change in the White House, she felt it was best to get training for something she can do anywhere.  She completed a technical medical program and is now working full time at Tucson Medical Center.  She got married in March and is planning a wedding reception in November.  Our conversation on Tuesday ranged from wedding reception invitations, to new apartment decorating, to 401K investments.  We are so proud of Meybelyn!  We love her husband, Daniel, and are so happy for both of them. 

On Wednesday, we had lunch with Mary at First Watch in Phoenix.  Papa had an appointment at Mayo Clinic, so we drove up early to meet Mary.  She is spending time at her home in Phoenix and at her second home in Prescott, where the summer temperatures are much cooler. 

We had lunch at The Dutch on Thursday with Yadi.  She is the daughter of a neighbor cowboy from our ranch days, so we've known Yadi several years.  She completed six weeks of summer school at UA on Friday.  We were thrilled at the personal growth she has experienced over the summer.  Yadi is more confident, she's doing well in school and will begin her first semester with 15 credits.  She enjoyed living on campus this summer, making new friends, and making her own decisions.  She was awarded two four year scholarships and will live on campus this fall.  We are so proud of Yadi!

On Friday, we had dinner with Karla, Meybelyn's younger sister.  Karla is DACA and made the decision to go to a technical medical program also.  She is currently working at Retina Specialists and loves her job, working with patients.  She is staying fit by going to a boxing gym, where she takes classes twice a week and works out on her own three times/week.  She's helping Meybelyn with wedding reception planning and enjoying being "an only child" at home awhile longer.  She's the youngest of three.  We had gelato with Karla too.  She is always smiling!  A happy, smart girl!

Today, we had brunch with Penny, Brian, and Mikala, at Beyond Bread.  Penny is the District Conservationist at the NRCS office in Willcox (USDA).  We got to know her while we were on the ranch and have stayed in touch.  Brian is the Farm Manager of FICO's pecan grove in San Simon.  Their son, Tyler, will be going to ASU in the fall.  Mikala will be a sophomore in high school.  Penny and Brian are busy, and they travel with their kids.  They were in NYC this summer, and talked about trips to South Africa and more.  We hadn't seen them in a couple of years, so we loved catching up a bit!

We've had a terrific week with lots of meals out!  
  

Pink Morning Sky

I get up early to go for my morning walks.  The sun lit up the clouds this morning, before it came over the mountain.  Beautiful!

First Barrel Cactus Blooms

The first barrel cactus blooms of this summer season, in our back yard. 

Home

We love to travel and we love our home.  No matter where we go, coming home to our things is always nice.  "Our things" have been collected over the past 37+ years and include everything from photos to sharks teeth to sea shells, rocks, wooden bowls, a 3' Italian vase, horse shoes, our family hand prints, Dale's saddles, Dan's painting of Buck Knob, textiles from Ecuador and Mexico, furniture from all over the place, antique Baktiari rugs, and so much more!  Home!

Bluff, Valley of the Gods, Goosenecks, and Monument Valley

Bluff was intriguing to us, with its big stone walls on either side of the narrow river valley, and no obvious commerce going on with the San Juan River.  We walked down to the river before breakfast.  The river was running, and seemed ripe for rafting and fishing.  We ate breakfast at Two Rock Cafe and asked the waitress about the river.  She said people in Bluff (300 population) were "of two faces," some wanted to commercialize the river and others didn't, some wanted to modernize and others didn't, so the town was doing nothing with its infrastructure and most big decisions.  Fortunately, some people in Bluff have modernized and built new hotel space that is quite nice.

After breakfast of yogurt and local peach compote with Navajo Fry Bread, we left Bluff and stopped at Sand Island Petroglyph Panel, with over 100 yards of ancient Anasazi drawings, dating back 800-2500 years.  The rock was etched with geometric patterns and shapes, human figures, several types of animals and numerous Kokopellis.

We drove along a 17 mile dirt road through Valley of the Gods, with its buttes and towers of rocks, passing only a couple of cars along the way.  We stopped every 1/4 mile or less to take photos.  It was beautiful!

Just a few miles further, we stopped at Goosenecks State Park, where the San Juan River has carved a canyon of several tight turns.  We saw people floating on the river on rafts, 1000' below.  It looked a lazy way to spend the day.

We drove through Mexican Hat and then on to Monument Valley, one of the most iconic and most photographed places on earth, for good reason!  Stunningly beautiful!