Easter Bonnets - April 7, 2017

In your Easter bonnet
with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.
~ Irving Berlin ~

The tradition of wearing Easter hats or bonnets appears to have origins in the Christian custom of Easter being the time for new clothes after the fasting of Lent, and the Church-going notion of wearing your "Sunday Best", meaning that at Easter your best had to be "better than best" to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. There are also roots in the more secular and pagan notion of Spring being the time of fertility, new life and rebirth. A time when wreaths of flowers and leaves were worn in the hair to celebrate the cycle of life and the seasons.

The custom of wearing hats at Easter is also inextricably tied to the American tradition of The Easter Parade, which emerged in the 1870s after the end of the Civil War. People were stepping out with positivity in their lives, and would stream out of the churches following the Easter service dressed up to the nines in their best hats. The first Easter Parade was the Fifth Avenue Parade in New York in 1870, which doesn't appear to have been an organised affair but organically came into being when the beautiful people came out of St. Patrick's Cathedral and surrounding churches and walked down 5th Avenue. Each successive year it gained in popularity reaching a peak in the 1940's where it's estimated a million people attended, but as it grew, lost some of its religious significance and became more about a show of prosperity and frivolity.

Ann Miller, Easter Bonnet 1947
Is that a REAL bunny?!

Connie, our benefic, or in this case, bunefic hostess, for the day with her sidekick and partner, Pam, organized our day of treats and delights. About 3 weeks prior to the event, this dynamic duo delivered bonnets to each of the ladies to decorate for the event. Our instructions were "HAVE FUN  and we'll see who has the most creative and decorative bonnet of all.  Let your imagination run wild!"

We were sad that Vicky was not able to attend but we saved a hat for her return!

With Mimosas served on the patio, the first order of business was oohing and aahing over the bonnets! Each lady voted for her favorite. It was close but Connie proclaimed Daryl's hat the winner and took home a lovely pot of tulips!

LtoR - Susie, Kathy and Judy
Lots of feathers here!

LtoR - Daryl and Connie
Which way did that peacock go?

LtoR - Judy and Christy
Ladies in blue!

LtoR - Carole and Ruth
Elegant bonnets

LtoR - Connie and Kelly
Lovely spring bonnets

LtoR - Christy, Pam and Debbie
Easter baskets, no bonnets! Debbie's has real candy!

While Connie busied herself in the kitchen Pam led us in a game called "What is the Bunny Thinking?" Some of us believe the bunny is either off his meds or has had a break with reality! Game so hard! Debbie, who apparently has Easter in her veins, had the most correct answers for this game!

Debbie is excited about winning the game!

Luncheon is served...

LtoR - Carole, Judy, Pam, Connie, Debbie (seated), Ruth,
Cathy, Kelly, Christy, and Susie

LtoR - Daryl, Judy, Pam, Connie, Debbie (seated), ruth,
Cathy, Kelly, Christy and Susie

Following a delicious luncheon, we headed outdoors for an Easter Egg hunt! It's been years for all of us! Serious competition for the most eggs and, of course, to find the golden one!

Cathy points out an Easter Egg to Carole

LtoR - Carole, Kelly and Susie
Look up...in the tree!

LtoR - Daryl, Cathy and Carole

When we returned to the house, we discovered Debbie was in her element and found the golden egg for the prize of a beautiful pot of tulips. Winner again!

After the Easter Egg Hunt, Pam told us a very "bunny" story. It was left, then right, then left, left and right. It was hard to keep up with the directions, but Judy was in the right place at the right time and ended up with the prize!

Judy is the winner!

Lots of bubble blowing to end a perfect day!

Debbie proves she is a child at heart. Look at those bubbles!

Kelly eyes Debbie's bubble-blowing technique....

I'll show you Missy!

Ace of Escape! March 3, 2017

Our adventure for the day was a stint at Ace of Escape, 236 S Scott Ave 2nd Floor | Tucson, AZ. The site is a former funeral home which adds to the mystery. Thankfully, the game is timed so, no matter what the outcome, we could escape our room! There were 10 ladies of the vine who were able to participate with Daryl as hostess for the day!

Below was our mystery to solve:

A famed illusionist has murdered his beautiful assistant. Your team of investigators return to the crime scene, but find yourselves locked in and under a hypnotic trance. You must sift through the evidence distinguishing between reality and illusion to determine the cause, date and location of the mysterious murder within 65 minutes. This room is best for groups of 4 and more. Great for team-building and requires groups to work together quickly with effective communication. Lol, and then there's the Women Who Wine!

 As we depart form the Madera Clubhouse we are all grins and giggles. Little did we know!

LtoR - Judy, Christy, Pam, Cathy, Debbie, Vicky, Connie, Carole and Kelly

LtoR - Judy, Christy, Pam, Cathy, Debbie, Connie, Vicky, Daryl and Carole

This is what we envisioned going in....

and...

and...

Instead our adventure looked something more like this...

After 65 minutes, numerous hints including the game supervisor coming into the room multiple times, calling us on the radio multiple times and probably figuring she should have stayed home that day, we figured out that the murder weapon was the golf club but not the date nor location! And we all thought golf was the ultimate exercise in humility! Well, we all initialed the Wall of Shame but admitted we had fun. We did discover Vicky is the most competitive of all!

First, they blindfolded all of us and then split us into TWO rooms. The rooms were dark and lit only by blacklight. We couldn't find the flashlight but thankfully Daryl thought to keep her cellphone.

This author was super glad she wore a white bra under her blouse. Carole was thoughtful enough to wear a white bra too! The black light certainly highlights white material!

Good grief this was HARD!
Not only was the room dark and lit only by blacklight,
Daryl and Carole's white bras were so distracting!

Thank goodness they let us out at last!

LtoR - Connie, Kelly, Debbie, Christy, Cathy, Daryl, Carole
Pam, Vicky and Judy

Afterwards, we departed the parking lot but not without a minor incident. Here's to "It could have been worse"!

After our experience at Ace of Escape...thankfully it is timed for release and not based on actual puzzle solving ability, we trekked to Hotel Congress where they had a patio table ready for our luncheon respite. Our waiter needed a bit of education regarding wine but we got what we wanted at the price we expected, lol! This author has never had a waiter announce a glass of wine by price so this was a first!

LtoR - Vicky, Carole, Debbie, Judy, Cathy, Kelly, Connie, Pam and Christy

Daryl - Thank you all for the laughter!

Guessing we need more of this!

Want a little extra puzzle solving? Click on Bright Side. To see the solution click on each puzzle graphic.

Mall Scavenger Hunt - February 3, 2017

Godfrey: Do you mind telling me just what a scavenger hunt is?

Irene: Well, a scavenger hunt is exactly like a treasure hunt, except in a treasure hunt you try to find something you want, and in a scavenger hunt you try to find something that nobody wants.

~ William Powell and Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey ~

On Friday, February 3, 2017, 9 Women Who Wine joined Christy for a Scavenger Hunt at the Tucson Mall. Teams were chosen randomly. While Christy shopped until she nearly dropped, the 3 teams were given instructions, a deadline and a list of items to find. Such a list! On top of that, there were riddles to solve with points given for each correct answer and 2 more for a picture of the store with at least one team member.

There were 36 items to find, including collecting items such as a french fry, an ice cream sample spoon, napkin with a store name (thank you Starbucks!) and red, purple or white candy.

At the end of the hunt, we all know that the kiddie Helicopter ride costs $.75, a slice of Stromboli pizza is $5.29, the Lost & Found is on the 2nd floor next to JCPenney, Dillard's bathroom on the lower floor has 5 stalls, and it costs $5.00 to rent a Racer Smart Carte for children. Our teams also were told not to take pictures of store signs and security guards. The new whole world of mall security. Good thing phones have that reverse thing so you can take a picture backwards.  

LtoR - Connie, Judy and Cathy
Team Chardonnay

LtoR - Debbie, Judy and Vicky
Team Merlot

LtoR - Kelly, Daryl and Susie
Team Zinfandel

A sample of the items we had to find:

Picture of a person with a neck tattoo. This guy was terrific!

Selfie with security guard...Apparently not from the front!
Susie is having a good time, Daryl is concentrating like heck and
Kelly looks like an evil elf!

Mannequin with Purple or Red Dress

The Most "Blingy" shoes - Wow!

Shopper with dyed red or purple hair - nailed it!

Thank goodness Christy warned us to wear comfy shoes for this event!

Afterwards we convened at The Cheesecake Factory for lunch and libations. Carole and her Mom, Delores, were able to join us for lunch.

We completed our scoring with Team Merlot (Debbie, Judy and Vicky) winning top score, Team Chardonnay (Connie, Judy and Cathy) won second and Team Zinfandel (Kelly, Daryl and Susie) placed last but not least.

Our fabulous organizer Christy!

LtoR - Vicky, Susie, Daryl, Kelly Connie and Pam
Cathy, Delores (hidden), Carole, Connie, Debbie and Judy

Frida Kahlo Botanical Gardens Exhibit - January 6, 2016

I tried to drown my sorrows,
but the bastards learned how to swim,
and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.
~ Frida Kahlo ~

Frida, That good feeling? That's called wine!

On Friday, January 6, 2017, 10 Women Who Wine journeyed to the Tucson Botanical Gardens to enjoy the New York Botanical Garden’s blockbuster exhibit: Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life. The exhibit examines Kahlo’s work, life and influence through the lens of the plants and nature that surrounded her.  Tucson Botanical Gardens was selected as the only institution to receive this extraordinary exhibition designed by one of the world’s premier botanical gardens, the New York Botanical Garden.

Our host for this event, Ruth, arranged for us to join a docent-led tour of the exhibit and gardens, followed by lunch at Cafe Botanica and a visit to Butterfly Magic.

Casa Azul

Frida and Diego lived in this house 1929-1954

The centerpiece of Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life is the recreation of the gardens that Frida Kahlo maintained in her home in Mexico City: La Casa Azul.  Great care was taken to present the plants, colors and forms that were such an important source of inspiration to Kahlo.  Included in the installation is the Meso-American-inspired pyramid that Diego Rivera built in the central courtyard of Casa Azul.  This replica is used to showcase a diverse collection of cacti and succulents native to the deserts of Mexico and the Southwestern United States.

Replica of the Pyramid in the Casa Azul Courtyard
I'm thinking of one myself...will the ALC approve?

Browsing the gardens was followed by lunch at the Café Botanica. Can you say delicious?! Unfortunately no wine but, still, absolutely delicious food!

LtoR Debbie, Pam, Kelly, Judy, Vicky
Carole, Cathy, Daryl, Connie and Susie

Lunch was followed by a stint in the Butterfly Magic Gardens. So delightful!

Perfectly lovely. Photo credit to Judy.

LtoR - Judy, Vicky and Ruth

LtoR - Vicky with her back to us, Kelly butterfly gazing, Pam, Judy and Carole

Loved how each of us had to be checked for butterfly hitchhikers on our way out!

Colorful blue frog in the Butterfly Magic exhibit. Photo credit to eagle eye Cathy.

After our trek to the Tucson Botanical Gardens, we reconvened at the Oasis Lounge for libations and laughter.

Words of Wisdom from Frieda...

Twenty Frida Fun Facts

1. She lied about her birth date.
2. She groomed her brows with special tools.
3. Her dad was of German Protestant descent.
4. Her right leg was skinnier than her left. She hid this by wearing long skirts.
5. She was in a terrible, life-altering car accident that left her bedridden for months.
6. The artist gave away her self-portraits as gifts.
7. Kahlo was surrounded by mirrors all her life.
8. She first approached her would-be husband Diego Rivera, asking him what he thought of her art.
9. Kahlo and Rivera were active communists.
10. Kahlo's relationship with Rivera was kind of scandalous.
11. Kahlo had affairs with both men and women.
12. Rivera cheated on Kahlo with her younger sister Cristina.
13. Kahlo's husband was apparently not the best looking dude.
14. Kahlo was never able to have kids.
15. Though her story is tragic, there are people who believe Kahlo exaggerated her physical agonies and medical conditions.
16. Kahlo had her leg amputated after contracting gangrene. Pretty hard to exaggerate gangrene but maybe she contracted it for sympathy. Just sayin'.
17. When she died, no autopsy was ever conducted.
18. Kahlo had only one major solo exhibition in the United States during her lifetime.
19. Kahlo is on the 500 Peso bill.
20. She is the first Hispanic woman to be featured on a US postal stamp.