Top Chef is doing a nation-wide sweep and breezed into the Phoenix Downtown Market a few Saturdays ago. (Get out and support your local farmers markets!!)
There were thousands of people at the downtown market shopping and waiting to participate in the culinary event, hosted by Top Chef contestants Richard Blais and Betty Fraser.
The duo presented cooking demonstrations featuring local ingredients from the farmer's market. We got to see our fave from last season--Richard. Cooking with liquid nitrogen and a blow torch--who could ask for more?
It was fun hearing the scoop about how the show runs. Plus, they made a delicious food for us!
Now, this is my kind of bookstore--one with cats in residence. Nikko, the really big kitty.
Harriet the little 12 year old kitty. So nice! Check out 
The fun just never ends in this magazine! The front inside cover had a fold-y thing and the back inside cover has a thematic music CD--this month it's Good News. I got a kick out of hearing all the selections.
We need to let them dry out before we let them 
Pineapple tops make the most lovely golden and somewhat 
Stay tuned to see the results!
At the risk of sounding like Marlon Perkins of Wild Kingdom (a 70's show)I had to do one more post of stuff I've been seeing in our back yard. Half the time I see the creatures when I'm in the shower--our house has a large window in the the shower that over looks the back yard. (Thankfully it is at head level--lest the neighbors have some interesting visuals ;) I usually have to grab a towel and run to get my camera. These are some of the creatures we've seen lately.
This is a female red-tail hawk. I was trying to photograph her for months but I never seem to have my camera when she was here. I hadn't seen her in months. Once she was here with a male and he was HUGE. When she is in the yard, no other creatures are stirring or they would be lunch~
This made me laugh. I looked up and there was this little guy hanging out. The lizard that was sitting outside on the window sill of the shower. He's really small so I got our cat Emma (she loves lizards) in the next shot. You could see her gray paw and see how small the lizard is. Lots of baby lizards this time of year. We hope they stay out of the house--the kitties play way to rough with them.
There are two pretty large lizards that tool around in the yard but I haven't been to photograph them...yet...stay tuned.
This guy was on the patio. It's a Palo Verde Beetle. (Yeech!) They are humongous--about the size of a Buick! To show scale, I carefully placed the dollar bill by the beetle (using grill tongs for fear the beetle might accidentally jump on me). Gary said he should have taken a picture of me doing that since I looked bit ridiculous using the grill tongs. But obviously--he didn't volunteer to put it by the beetle! We only see one of these beetles about one time per year and then it's gone.
When I got to the window Gary was looking out--I couldn't believe it but there was a coyote walking along the top of our six-foot fence! It was a surreal sight. Then it jumped off the fence and into our yard. Once I came to my senses, I went running for the camera. As long as we've lived here we've never seen a coyote in the yard. 
The coyote started walking towards the grassy area and once up there, it started jumping around--pouncing on something. Then I saw quails madly swooping down from the tree basically dive-bombing the coyote around the head. I realized there must be chicks in the grass. (you can barely see the coyote in the grass--that wily coyote...)
When I opened the back door, the coyote jumped up and over the fence in a single bound. I understand all about survival of the fittest and all but I was relieved I didn't see the coyote get the quail chicks. There have been six little chicks and their parents tooling about our yard for a few weeks... Here are the parents back at their posts after all the commotion.
The dad quail.
The lecture will take place at 1104 S Wabash Ave, 5th floor, room 502 at 6:30 pm. Columbia College Chicago Center for Book & Paper Arts--1104 South Wabash Ave, 2nd floorChicago, IL 60605 
Etsy.com has revolutionized online selling for artists by making it affordable, easy and fun to sell handmade items online to a worldwide audience. In just a few short years Etsy has grown to include over 60,000 storefronts and its creators do a lot to make the site artist-friendly, encouraging artists to share information in online forums and collaborate locally.
The Etsy Artists Market offered a rare chance to talk with artists and see their work in person. Shoppers saw an eclectic selection of jewelry, ceramics, cigar box purses, smocked and sewn handbags, puppets, sock zombies, handspun yarn, clothing and handmade journals. The artists freely shared advice about how to start selling and buying on Etsy.com and hopefully more Arizona artists will soon have their own Etsy stores.
One Paper Studio customer drove all the way down from Flagstaff to see the Etsy Artists Market and we’ve received enthusiastic feedback from the customers who visited. They’ve requested that we host another Etsy Artists Market, perhaps in the fall. Till then, visit the Arizona Crafty Burritos website for links to their online stores and information about local shows and events. 