NEW CAMERA, NEW ORCHID

No more to say than that! (Well, maybe a little more!) Have a look at these shots made with my new Canon EOS Rebel XTi. I am still learning how to use the camera, but making strides every day. I am wondering if a macro lens will help me get the focus and crisp detail I want out of this camera? I am not yet satisfied with the quality, even though I think they are pretty good first efforts.

I purchased this orchid from Trader Joe’s. It is a miniature phalaenopsis and I fell in love with it. You certainly can’t beat the prices for orchids at Trader Joe’s. Can you believe this orchid was under ten dollars!

Orchids are amazingly beautiful flowers and this phalaenopsis really loves to pose for me! If you want to see more photos of orchids there are a quite few orchid groups on Flickr. You can also view all of my orchid photos here. Some were taken at botanical gardens which are a photographer’s wonderland. But here is my new lovely lady, in all her orchid glory!

And, finally, this one from last night showing the newest bloom as it is opening:

Just as an FYI, I am watering her with bottled water!

Content and photos copyright 2008 by Janet Towbin.

DON’T DRINK THE WATER!!!

We are drinking only bottled water in Paradise Valley!

 

On Wednesday evening we were notified not to drink or use tap water for any kind of food preparation (which includes washing dishes) until further notice. They say it is o.k. to shower as long as the water doesn’t get in our mouths (!!!), and do laundry. Sorry, but isn’t it true that solvents can enter the blood stream through the skin? And what about my eyes?

It seems as though Arizona American Water found traces of trichloroethylene in our water supply on Wednesday. (I want to know if the water was safe on Monday or Tuesday or any other day before they found the traces of TCE?) TCE is a solvent used to clean machinery and is a known carcinogen if ingested. Who is responsible for this contamination? How did a toxic solvent get into our water supply??? Even after they tell us the water is safe, I will still be wary of drinking it.

This event is making me have flashbacks of the movie Erin Brockovich. (As an aside, I loved Julia Roberts in that movie.) However, the contamination of our water in Paradise Valley and Scottsdale is a chilling reminder of how fragile our resources are and how easy it is to contaminate them! Thank God there is bottled water available for us to use in the meantime.

Content and photos copyright 2008 by Janet Towbin.

Update:  The water restriction was rescinded on Saturday evening.  I am still drinking  bottled water even though I completely flushed the pipes in our house of all the “possibly contaminated water”.  Call me crazy, but I still feel insecure about the water here.

MORE PHOTOS FROM PARADISE

We have plumbago in our garden. It is in an area overgrown with rosemary and lantana beneath an old eucalyptus tree.

A view of Camelback Mountain at sunset. The light is stunningly golden. We cleared out all the overgrown plantings that were hiding (and killing) the cacti. Oddly enough , these were water-loving plants that had been mixed in with the cactus. That didn’t seem right to me.

An oval shaped stone with an amazing shadow from a near-by succulent. It looks like a cartoon character to me.

A rope tied around a tree limb; the rope was left by the previous homeowners as a gift. The tree is a Chinese elm and we will be cutting it down soon. I hate to do it, but the tree makes a HUGE mess in the pool. It has to go!

A velvety prickly pear cactus. This cactus is a favorite of mine. I love going to the Desert Botanical Garden to see all the different varieties of cactus. It is a wonderful place.

These are ocotillo cacti which are also at The Desert Botanical Garden. We have an ocatillo cactus in our yard but I think it might be dead. We will know for sure in the spring–that is when it is supposed to sprout leaves.

All photos and content copyright 2008 by Janet Towbin

MY GAL SUBU

I wanted to share the news and excitement about Subu.com and the wonderful blog Subu writes. ( http://suburose.wordpress.com/) Every Monday she posts a crafty giveaway that has been getting a lot of national attention and over a hundred (!) entrants to win. Last week a gorgeous necklace was featured; this week, an adorable wristlet. All the items are handmade by very talented crafters.

Not only does Subu write a terrific blog with posts about crafts, celebs (like Zac Effron!!) and wedding plans, but she also finds time to create some amazing handmade books which you can see here. My favorites are the earth-friendly recycled notebooks that can be customized with your very own colors and stamps. Inside the books are recycled papers with all different kinds of images on them. They are really cool! She recently completed an order for 250 of these great little books! Can you imagine! Here they are all ready to be shipped.

I also love her new folded travel notebooks with side pockets and room for a pencil. They are so new she hasn’t posted them on her Etsy site yet, but I bet she will soon. Actually, you can see some photos of them on her Flickr page.

She is a member of the Pittsburgh Craft Mafia and has been very involved in the Pittsburgh craft scene. Where does she get the energy, you might ask? I don’t know for sure, but maybe from her father. Definitely not me.

The photo above is of some of the buttons and doo-dads she keeps in a glass container to adorn those recycled books. Wouldn’t you know, the buttons are recycled, too. They are part of a collection she inherited from her grandmother (the original Subu) and great aunt. Some of them have also been rescued from old garments about to be thrown away.

Please check out Subu (aka Emily). She is a never-ending inspiration to me. Did I mention she is my daughter?

Content and photos copyright 2007 by Janet Towbin.