Radically Retired

Category: Photography

  • 2016 – The Year of the Monkey

    2016 – The Year of the Monkey

    Once we completed our 2016 exploration of places in Arizona we hadn’t seen on previous visits, we headed to Nevada, picked up my cousin, Carrie, at the airport, and proceeded for the nest week, to tour her around the Las Vegas area.

    Carrie had never been there before, so the fact that her visit coincided with the Chinese New Year made the trip for her all the more fun – and definitely extremely colourful!

    Can you find all of the monkeys?
    Carrie was in awe
    We put on many miles just checking out the decorations
    Yep – This is us 😂

    Outside of China, I’d bet that Las Vegas is the next best place for Chinese New Year decor.

  • Murals at Home

    Murals at Home

    Sticking with my Monday Murals theme, I decided to feature a few from where we live.

    This mural was completed in panels by the community. The artist who created it, made it a paint by number, so that anyone who wanted to, could paint a part of it.

    That artist/designer won a $1,000 award for her idea and for including community involvement.

    Each hand is holding something that defines our community, and the tiger lilies scattered throughout the painting are our provincial flower.

    The sunset in the background gives a shoutout to our province’s motto “The Land of Living Skies” (our sunrises and sunsets are nothing short of spectacular).

  • Practice

    Practice

    This spring, instead of transporting so many things back and forth every six months, I chose to leave all of my art supplies in Texas.

    I recently decided that I want some practice on brush stroke and acrylic paint techniques before I head back, but didn’t want to spend a lot of money for 6 weeks of practice.

    Enter: Dollarama. I purchased all of the supplies in my feature photo for $16.59 CDN ($12 USD) and this is all that I need.

    The paints and brushes aren’t near the quality of the ones waiting for me in TX, but they’ll suffice for the time being.

    For now, I’ll practice on a sketch pad and poster board.

    When we get back to TX, I’ll continue with folk art (my fave) on my “free” canvas … Palm husks that drop from the trees during big winds.

    These were my earliest attempts in 2021

    My current goal is to learn Norwegian rosemaling so I can paint those designs on the palm husks too. I’m not Norwegian, but hubs is.

    Making a bit of progress, but still a very long way to go
  • 2016 – A Day in the Movies

    2016 – A Day in the Movies

    Old Tucson is the set location of many western movies and TV shows, both recent and vintage.

    We spent an entire day here, and found it to be better presented and much more interactive than Tombstone.

    Streets of the old west
    Featured in many movies
    We loved this TV show
    Hubs stepped back in time
    Petroglyphs
    Nice spot for a rest
    Water features were soothing
    The Stage was getting ready to pull out
    All actors were engaging and informative
    This gunfight was very realistic
    I rounded a corner and was met by this fella
    You can take the boy off the farm …
    Can you do the can-can?
    The stunt guys were fabulous!
    Missouri’s most wanted
    The plank sidewalks added to the realistic feel
    Many of the buildings were 3-d vs false fronts
    This guy was one of my fave actors

    If you’re visiting the area, and you’re a fan of western movies and TV shows, I’d highly recommend setting aside a day to see Old Tucson. You won’t be disappointed.

  • Everyday Life

    Everyday Life

    This mural, also in the Cathedral Area of our Capital City, possibly speaks to times long ago (when folks still dried their laundry on a clothes line).

    There were some distracting elements in the original photo, which I removed by cropping and by using the clean up tool in the native photos app on my phone.

    Despite removing some of the bottom designs, I think the cleanup tool did an ok job.

    Original
  • Tex Mex with a Twist

    Tex Mex with a Twist

    We have a restaurant here that has a diverse menu featuring the chef’s take on offerings of many locales. Each dish is a bit different than what one would expect, so it’s always a pleasant surprise.

    This taco salad was the menu item I tried last week. It was a treat in both presentation and flavour!

    I’m preparing my palate for our upcoming winter in Deep South Texas.

  • 2016 – A Cacti Forest

    2016 – A Cacti Forest

    The Saguaro National Park just out of Tucson is an incredible place to see.

    During our visit, we learned that it can take a Saguaro Cactus up to 100 years to grow the “arms” that we’ve come to recognize from old western movies. Those arms are needed to store extra water for the cactus, which can reach heights of 50 feet and weigh 6 or more tons.

    One truly has to experience it to get the full and awe-inspiring effect of a forest of these giant old fellas, extending as far as the eye can see.

  • Artsy and Fun

    Artsy and Fun

    The Cathedral Area in our province’s capital city is an artsy-fartsy district that a person could spend an entire day exploring.

    From little clothing boutiques to sidewalk cafes, to a variety of bookstores, and to art installations on the walls of both businesses and homes, the Cathedral Area holds an “old meets new” sort of charm.

    In a previous post, I featured a photo of a mural that I was disappointed in because I was too close, so cut off the end of it.

    I returned last week and used the 0.5 lens on my camera and voila!

  • Birdseed for Folks

    Birdseed for Folks

    This container of Nut and Seed Brittle weighs in at 0.645 Kg (1.4 lbs) and costs $10.99 CDN ($7.91 USD)

    Besides being a great source of fibre and nutrients, this treat is healthy in another way … the clamshell packaging is almost impossible to break into! I know I could put it in another container, but I decided to reseal it in this one every time.

    The brittle, although quite sweet, is so full of a big variety of seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, flax) and nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios), and coconut, that it’s surprisingly easy to bite into and chew, and one piece always tastes like more.

    Best to leave it locked down like Fort Knox.

  • 2016 – Archaic Openings

    2016 – Archaic Openings

    After a full day at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, we spent the next day touring Mission San Xavier del Bac, AKA “The White Dove of the Desert”, just 10 miles south of downtown Tucson.

    On this visit, I was preoccupied with photographing doors, windows, gates, and arches … any and all openings at both the mission school and this historic church, completed in 1797.