Can't believe Saturday has come round again so quickly! I don't know about you but I always struggle with what to cook for dinner on a Saturday night As our weekends are usually laid back catching-up-as-a-family type affairs, it has to be something that doesn't take much effort and which involves minimal time in the kitchen (and more time for sitting outside/swimming/catching a local festival etc). I saw Ree Drummond make this easy Mexican Chicken Soup on an episode of Pioneer Woman on the Food Network channel recently, and as all the ingredients are just chucked in the slow cooker and left for 5 hours, I thought I would give it a go for tonight's supper. I'll give you the verdict next week! My slow cooker is turning out to be the best thing I have bought since we moved to Arizona. The perfect way to cook dinner without heating up the whole house and only one pot to wash up! (not that I do washing up you understand ... that's Mr B's job :D)
Our very own 'Bear Grylls' returned from his trip to Catalina Island last night and so today I have mostly been washing the smelly, wet contents of a duffel bag and emptying half a beach load of shingle from water shoes. He had a great time - kayaking, snorkeling, hiking - including a night hike (there was no choice evidently, lol), making Smores round a campfire and even managing to survive 5 days with no phone or wifi! Apparently though he wasn't that enamored with dissecting a squid or having to get the lens out of it's eyeball ... **bleugh!** Normal service has now been resumed though and he is currently ensconced in his room on his Playstation with headphones glued to his ears **sigh** Oh well, it was good while it lasted!
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| Views from Catalina |
Whilst he was away, Mr B and I decided we would make the most of the opportunity and ventured down to Tucson for a couple of days R&R.
We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Marana, which was nestled into the side of Dove Mountain, and a very lovely spot. Everywhere was so beautiful with lots of palo verde trees, flowering shrubs and cacti still in bloom (although this turned out to be somewhat of an annoyance by the end of the trip as we both left with streaming eyes, runny noses and constant sneezing fits!). The weather was kind to us with temps in the low 80s, if a bit windy (hence the allergies!), which made it perfect for lounging about outside (with a packet of Claritin and a box of tissues) and a spot of sightseeing without being too hot.
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| Breakfast with a view! |
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| Didn't think much of the Kids Club though ... |
We visited Tucson itself ... not a lot to see there to be honest ... the only thing I saw that looked interesting was the old Cathedral.
Wondered why it was decorated with a large purple bow ... probably left over from Easter I thought as I bowled in through the door. Oh. Turns out it was a funeral ... **exits quickly whilst trying to stop flip flops from flip flopping ...**
We also took a ride out to the San Xavier Del Bac Mission about 20 minutes outside Tucson.
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| Gorgeous against the bright blue sky! |
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| ding dong ... |
It had some beautiful original carvings and artwork ...
But not sure what the dudes in frilly dresses were all about ...?!
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| Freaky if you ask me ...! |
Outside in the garden we spotted a couple of ground squirrels. They are the cutest things you ever did see! They are like mini meerkats and just stand like statues enjoying the sunshine.
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| so cute ...! |
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| this one was enjoying a quick snack ... |
Back at the hotel we really enjoyed spending the evenings taking a little light refreshment outside around the fire pits ...
After dark it got quite chilly, and just as we thought we might have to go inside, we were handed a snuggly blanket each ... yay!
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| Hiawatha & Pocahontas! |
It really was lovely sitting under the stars (the clear dark skies of Tucson are perfect for stargazing!) watching the flickering flames of the fire with a nightcap in hand. What better way to spend a couple of days to ourselves!
Anyway, back to reality ... I better go and fold all that laundry and check on the soup.
Hope you are all managing to get some R&R in this weekend and hope to see you back here next week - same time, same place, same Bat Channel!
TTFN
Bev x
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