Cool hotel

We spent our last night in Arizona at a really cool hotel in Phoenix. The weather was nice and warm, so, of course, the girls hit the pool.

I will definitely return to Arizona, because there were some things that we never had time to do and see, such as hiking, visiting some more historical sites, and following in Frank Lloyd Wright's footsteps. Mr Wright spent some time here and one of his followers, Paolo Soleri, is building an experimental town, Arcosanti, which is meant to improve urban conditions and lessen the destructive impact on the earth.

Sedona

On our trip to Arizona, we spent a couple of days in Sedona. Sedona is a small town surrounded by beautiful red rocks.

One of the days, we took a jeep ride in the "outback". The only animals we saw were cows, but our driver taught us a lot about the trees and bushes that the Indians used for food.

There is a large New Age community in Sedona and, apparently, there are many high energy places here to visit. If you are lucky, you can see people spending time chanting in some of these areas.

We also did some walking. And I just kept on looking up and the sky wondering why I am living in Seattle when the sky above my head could look like this most of the time.

I guess I fell in love with the trees and sky in Sedona.

In Seattle all the trees are green, which I really like, but there is another kind of beauty to these trees, don't you think?

Zoe and Irene liked the trees as well.

Montezuma Castle

When visiting Arizona, we stopped to visit the Montezuma Castle cliff dwellings. The name of these cliff dwellings is indeed misleading. This national monument got its name from the discoverers who thought it was connected to the Aztec emperor Montezuma II. And it is not a castle either, but was the living quarters for pre-Columbian Singuan people who built and lived there around 700.

Protected from storms, rain, and animals, these cliff dwelling, which were built into the limestone on a high cliff, have a location to die for.

The area surrounding the dwellings is beautiful with a small river making it an excellent spot for living and farming.

The dwellings contain 20 rooms and housed around 50 people. 

Around 1425 these dwellings were abandoned. Researcher do not know why, but theories include warfare and drought.

2012: It just felt good to write this

I hope all of you had a relaxing holiday with just the right amount of food.

I spent half of the holiday here in Seattle and the other half in Arizona.

In retrospect, we should not have spent so much time in the car. We were all tired and slept in every morning, something that left us running to catch the sun before it disappeared behind the red rocks.

One of Arizona's major attractions is Grand Canyon. Both Christer and I had been there before, but it was time to show Zoe and Irene, and since Zoe has been studying rocks in school we thought it would be a good idea to explore the Grand Canyon area.

The Grand Canyon is an amazing place and the view is spectacular. However, it has changed tremendously since I was there 21 years ago. I strongly recommend avoiding the Visitor's Center and head east or west to have the views to yourselves. Read up on the history and explore on your own.

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long and between 4 and 18 miles (6.4 to 29 km) wide. It feels like it goes on forever.

Even though the sun was nice and warm, there were patches of snow here and there.

After a long day in the car, it was time to head south to Flagstaff to get some sleep.

Tomten/The Tomte

"Midvinternattens köld är hård,
stjärnorna gnistra och glimma.
Alla sova i enslig gård
djupt under midnattstimma.
Månen vandrar sin tysta ban,

snön lyser vit på fur och gran,

snön lyser vit på taken.

Endast tomten är vaken."

utdrag ur Tomten av Viktor Rydberg

"Deep in the grip of the midwinter cold

Stars send a sparkling light.

All are asleep on this lonely farm,

Deep in the winter night.

The pale white moon is wanderer,

And snow lies white on pine and fir.

Snow glows on rooftop shake.

The tomte alone is awake".

excerpt from The Tomte by Viktor Rydberg

GOD JUL!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Wrapping it up

There are a lot of things being wrapped up at the moment. Presents, projects, and 2011 to name a few.

If you are giving away a bottle of wine this holiday season, how about wrapping a hat and a scarf around it?

From World Market

Here are some more decorations for wine bottles:

From World Market

And here are some elves wrapping their arms around candles.

From CB2

To my sister, who is a librarian, I would like to tell her about an alternative Christmas tree that might be to her liking. No wrapping involved here, only stacking:)

From Instagram

This Christmas book tree was originally created in one of the Anthropologie stores.

Last minute Christmas present suggestions

Are you panicking because you still have some Christmas presents to buy? Maybe you do not even know what to buy. You have an auntie who has everything? A teenager who seems indifferent to everything or who wants a lot of expensive gadgets?

Personally, I think books, food, beverages, and experiences are the best presents to give and to receive.

You can make your own basket filled with food items the receiver likes. For instance, if they like cheese, buy unusual or different kinds of cheese. Add dates, nuts, fig spread, or some fruit. If they like lemon-flavored food, how about lemons, lemon-flavored cookies, Limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur), and lemon olive oil. 

From About.com Canada

A book is almost always appreciated. How about a book that bears their name in the title. If you know they will be travelling soon, how about a book about the place that they are going to or a book by a local author from that area. If they like to cook, then a cook book is the answer. Need to cheer someone up, then Ben Elton is the answer.

Do they have a special interest? How about giving away an experience, such as a cooking course, a chocolate making course, a zip lining session, a massage session, or tickets to a theater or other cultural event.

From Microsoft Office Images

What about to the teenager then? Yeah, that is hard. Maybe a funny looking USB drive, a clean t-shirt, or a hoodie. They might enjoy a concert as well.

From IndyGizmo

Good luck!