A quick walk-through on a hot Sunday with the air filled with allergens

Armed with my phone camera I went to St. Phillip’s Plaza on Sunday. I should have taken an anti-histamine first. Within minutes my eyes were watering. My nose running. I left in less than an hour with a few images from the market and the Plaza.

Two women were selling interesting merchandise. The one, on the left, had a machine to personalize cups on the spot. Ah Ha! I had just purchased the same kind of cup from my own online store with an image of wild horses. It took a lot longer than a few minutes to get it.

The other woman, on the right, was selling soaps that were really fragrant. As a former soap maker, I’ve been consistently disappointed with the handmade soaps for sale here in Tucson. The soaps were usually okay, but the fragrances were weak. Aris’s soaps, however, were strongly scented. I didn’t buy one at the time, but I plan to go back this coming Sunday and get a bar of her Cedar and Sage which I can’t stop thinking about.

A big jolt of color to match the heat

Okay. Here are some colorful images from the Plaza starting with bougainvillea that thinks summer has arrived. And, sadly, given the weather forecasts, the bougainvillea may be correct.

Oops. I forgot about the potter who told me he had majored in chemistry to understand how chemicals reacted to make colors on his cups and dishes. And in another booth were charming painted hats just in time for the heat wave we are having now.

This is an oversight I am now correcting. There is actually a statue of St. Phillip in this market. Here it is. He was one of the original 12 Apostles and is the patron saint of hatters, bakers and pastry chefs!

As I made my way back to my car I saw these painted chairs which I don’t remember seeing before. I love the festive look!

Finally, here is your monthly serving of my fantasy cake images. You get two this time. One for St. Patrick’s Day complete with elves and a rainbow and 4-leaf clovers plus one for the Iditerod dog sled race that is currently underway in Alaska. Because of the lack of snow in places like Montana and Colorado this winter, some of the qualifier races were not held, but the Big Kahuna of dog sled races goes on. It snowed in Alaska this year.