Who doesn’t love Natalie the Explorer’s shining smile and glorious posts about Toronto? Moreover, she has lots of love for everyone and their challenges. She just posted on my Photographing Public Art Challenge, sharing her murals for all to see. I wish I could do that and write one post a week that had something for everyone. I can’t. I look forward to this one because I can reach out to many challenges that I just missed.
First – Arizona Weather!
Brought to you by Hammad’s Weekend Skies
On the way home from our Anniversary lunch in Cottonwood, AZ, I snapped these pictures as we drove into and out of the monsoon.
This was the first hard rain we experienced and had we stayed home, we would not have experienced it. It happened about thirty miles from us in Dewey-Humbolt, AZ. The monsoons pinpoint and pour.
Word of the Year – Curate
“Curate” might not have been the wisest word I could have chosen for this year, but it is a challenge. Here’s what I’ve learned so far about curating.
- A curator’s work is never done. No resting on your laurels if you have them. My laurels are fairly large, so I do a lot of resting on them, and not as much time curating as I should be doing to satisfy the voracious appetite of my WOTY.
- It’s incremental. Vince curated my objects d’art on the patio yesterday A TINY BIT, and moved Miss Froggy to a table. She’s much happier being the center of attention. She wants to talk about her book, so that’s the next heading when I get off my WOTY laurels.
- Curating is always learning. I came home from my trip yesterday and tackled Lightroom Classic. All the keywords I saved on my new photos disappeared when I opened the files in Bridge. So clearly, I have more work to do learning Lightroom.
- Curating means cleaning and throwing away. Have you ever seen a dirty museum? I hope not. Out with the old in with the new – or at least move things around. In the case of the refrigerator throwing out is preferable. The same is true with the morning coffee you thought you would finish as soon as you did something else. If there’s a ring, it’s evaporated. Time to quit drinking coffee for the day. The same is true of a finger covering most of a photo. It’s okay to throw it away.
- I had a few more thoughts yesterday, but someone curated my mind and threw them away.
Musical Entertainment
Each week all summer the Courthouse Square hosts two nights of Concerts in the Park. Some of them are fabulous and some are just a little less than that. Vince and Cindy and I enjoyed this week’s concert. There will be a Blue Grass Festival tonight at 7:00 and tomorrow at 3:00. Here’s a snippet of the the June 23rd concert.
READING THIS WEEK
I have thoroughly enjoyed Trent and Yvette’s Bleak House Challenge this month. I’ve worn Trent out, I think just when they thought the month was ended. You still have five days to make your comments. If you haven’t read the book and you are a voracious reader, no sweat. If you’re like me, you might finish before the deadline with chapter one – which would be a good start. I hope they do another challenge like this next year. I will definitely start earlier and participate more.
This Week’s Challenges
Keeping up with Story Chat, WQW, and PPAC keeps me hopping. But as I meet more and more people, I want to participate in more challenges. This is all the time I’ve had left this week.
#Thursday Doors
I chose to separate two of the doors challenges – one from LAPC, which I did the other day because I’d already contributed to Dan’s for the week. Here are some Cottonwood Doors from our anniversary date.
CBWC – Doors
So many doors this week to choose from. This little courtyard looked dreamy as you looked inside through the contrasting black door.
Thursday Trios
Cee’s Flower of the Day
Featured Challenges
- CBWC Doors and Drawers
- FOTD
- HAMMAD’S WEEKEND SKIES
- NATALIE’S WEEKEND COFFEE SHARE
- #THURSDAY DOORS Dan has really been busy with his new book launch. If you missed it, he has all the posts on his blog. I’ve read several, but here’s one of them.
- THURSDAY TRIOS
Ongoing on Always Write
- July Story Chat, “Not a Proper Job” by another new (to us) author, Philip Cumberland AKA Fenlandphil’s Blog goes live July 5th
- WQW #23 (Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays) – “Summer Colors/Summer Solstice” The only rule is to have at least one quote in your post about the topic. Remember a song can be a quote, too. Then just post a story, poem, or pictures that tie into and respond to your quote or quotes. The last day to post links is Tuesday at 12:00 noon Phoenix time.
- PPAC #52 Jumbled Jars and Other Junk – Anniversary Issue
If only we were having coffee together!
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
60 responses to “Coffee Share Curation of Combining Challenges”
Hi Marsha – I actually considered ‘curate’ for my WOTY – it has so many facets to it. I still might end up choosing it down the track. Loved seeing all your photos for the challenges – such an interesting variety.
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Next year, Leanne. It is so multi-faceted. I’d love it if you ever wanted to write a guest post about it or want to write one and I would link it to one of my end of the month WOTY posts. You are one of the people that got me started doing WOTY because of your word a couple of years ago. I was in a bad place because of all the problems we were having with our house and I’ve always felt bad that I coudn’t get myself in a rejoicing mood to write a post that fit your word. But the idea of having a word that set the mood for your whole year appealed to me. 🙂
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I’ve said it before Marsha, I don’t know how you get everything done that you do and suspect you,
A) don’t sleep,
B) secretly have a staff of curators who do the grunt work,
C) you are actually twins (maybe triplets) who split the work or,
D) Some combination of all of the above.
Whatever ‘IT’ is – it is wonderful. . .
Sorry for being so late this week. I had – distractions.
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A. I don’t sleep, B. I need a staff of curators, C. I need a twin, and D. I miss a lot and make a fair amount of mistakes I have to go back and correct. Thanks for your kind words always, Gary. 🙂
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Hi Marsha, you always have so much to show us and I love visiting with you! Curate is such a great word for the year and you are doing well at showing us how things work in your mind 🙂 Thanks for sharing and for all you do in the blogging world.
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Thank you, Deb. Sometimes, I think I am riding a roller coaster and no one is at the controls. 🙂
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I always love these updates from you Marsha…those challenges are all so fun and I always enjoy the photos. Hope you’re having a great week. getting ready to work on my #WQW post
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You are so awesome, Kirstin. I just finished mine. My blogger friend Janet from This That and the Other Thing just left. We had a wonderful day and a half visiting and taking pictures. So I was late getting out my post but I had lots of fun comparing blogging notes.
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Those sky photos are amazing and the music was for tapping!
Thanks for mentioning the bleak house challenge and so glad you were part of it this year –
Have a great day
☀️🌸
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Thanks, Yvette. Have a great rest of your week. 🙂
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So far so good
Thanks Marsha
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One thing about Arizona, some of the most beautiful skies and sunsets. ❤
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Yes, they are stunning!
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I really like your slider Marsha. Your flowers are simply gorgeous 😀
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Thanks, Cee. I had at least one compliment on how much my photography has improved. I credit you with so much of the improvement.
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Great selection of challenge responses, thoughts about curating and colourful photos, especially the flowers! And you really made me smile with your comment that ‘someone curated my mind and threw them away’ 😂😂
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Happy Sunday. Thanks for reading, Sarah! Glad I made you smile, that was my goal. Wish it wasn’t true, though! I think it is because I take medicine to rid my body of estrogen due to having had breast cancer. I have another two or three years on it, and I hope I have a brain left at the end! It reminds me of when I was first going into menopause and I couldn’t think of a common word as I was talking to my OBGYN nurse. She immediately said, “Oh my gosh, you need estrogen!” Have a great week.
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Great post! Diverse skies, lovely trios, especially the soup dolls!
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Thanks Aletta. For me, it’s so much easier to find trios in stores than in nature. Trios are such a pleasing way of arranging items on display.
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That’s true! Lately I’m battling to find trios🙄
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Go shopping! The other thing that Carol and Cee do is to stage their trios in a still life.
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I’ll have to get creative 😉
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Me too! 🙂
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Wowza, that’s serious Rain!! I always enjoy your photos–the one that looks like a courtyard is especially lovely.
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The courtyard was breathtaking, really. It was like coming onto a secret garden almost – so unexpected. Thanks for the comment, Staarlz.
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That’s what I was thinking too–“a secret garden”!! You’re most welcome 🙂
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Great minds!
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Indeed so 🙂
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🤗🤗🤗
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Fabulous weather! And I love your sliding doors. Most of all I smiled at your curating tips. Have a great week, hon!
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Jo, you would have love the weather from the view I had – in the car. Not so great if you were out hiking. That’s when we get flash floods that kill people. We had a bit more rain last evening, and the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the smell of we dirt – mmm. You have a great week, too, Jo. See you soon. 🙂
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I meant that the weather photos were great, really. Not disregarding the harm it can do.
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LOL, I know what you meant. I was just making silly conversation. You know me! 🙂
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I’d hate anyone to be washed away in a flood 😟💕
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Well me too, actually. 🙂
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What a great selection of trios you have this week, Marsha. I love the Campbell Soup dolls.
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Thanks, Carol. I thought they were so cute together sitting in the store window. 🙂
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Great pictures, Marsha. We have a local graffiti artist that has produced some fantastic works of street art. I will post some of his work in a week or so.
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I’ll look forward to them. Be sure to link them to my one of my PPAC post on Fridays. That way I’m sure to see it, and others will as well. 🙂
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Fantastic post, Marsh 👏 Love those amazing skies 😃
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Thanks, Jez. They are amazing here. I was just telling Wolly, we must get more pollution than he does to get such colorful skies.
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Oh, those Arizona skies!!!!
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Aren’t they amazing, Judy? I love them. Lots of pollution – probably caused by the fires in Flagstaff.
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Thanks for the virtual coffee!
Loved the Catarina of doors and that “most interesting building in town” was beautiful!
Appreciate the bleak house section here too! So cool to put the invite out there like that – because even if not this month – some working folks are about to have time off in the summer and they might just add Blesk House to their list because of the mention!
And it really is like “savoring” the experience right now because it is mostly behind us and the last few days allows us to move on with a feeling of success
☀️📚
Thanks for being part of it !
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I’m so glad I discovered your challenge, and was not too late to participate. I feel much more cultured because of it. I have loved your reading suggesting always, Yvette. They are a challenge, but I learn so much.
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The weather shots are great. That’s a seriously ominous looking sky. Love the frog.
Great doors. I love the reflections in the glass, and I’m glad you mixed us in with Cee’s the slider is pretty cool for that.
I hope you have a great rest of the weekend!
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Thanks, Dan for the lovely comment. Have a relaxing weekend after your busy week. 🙂 See you soon. 🙂
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I’m impressed at how many challenges you were able to cover in a single (and great) post! We’ve had a little monsoon action down here in Tucson but nothing more than a sprinkling here at my place. I keep hoping. The garden needs it.
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That picture was taken 30 miles from our home, we just got a sprinkling, too, but it cooled us down, which is always a blessing. Terri Webster Schrandt is coming to visit July 5-7. We are meeting up with Janet of Sustainabilitea on the 7th in the Phoenix area. Would you be interested in joining us for lunch?
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I wish I could, but I have to work that day, and it’s my husband’s birthday. I hope you have a wonderful meetup!
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We will think about you, Janet. Happy birthday to your hubby. Hope you have a wonderful week. Don’t work too hard! 🙂
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Thank you!!
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🙂
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wow Marsha this was a huge post and so comprehensive. Natalie’s great challenges are awesome it seems and I can’t keep up with all of you. You’re amazing. Your pics continue to get better and better. I mean they’ve always been good but they are really fab. the colors are great and the door look so inviting. Nicely done! That purple is so vivid!
💖
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Thanks for the kind words, Cindy. Cee Neuner has taught me a lot about using Adobe products to process my photos. I spend a lot more time on them than I used to when I first started blogging – or maybe spend time differently. After ten years of interacting with photography blogger all over the world, I have learned a lot. I still have so much to learn, though.
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You’re so welcome and it’s funny, I am loving taking pics now, even though I’m lousy at it. lol. but it’s faster than finding them on sites for my blog. Cee is awesome and you are too! Impressive my friend!! 💖👏👏👏
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Thanks, my friend. 🙂
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💖😻😻
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Marsha, Thank you for your weekend coffee share. Great job meeting several blog and photography challenges in one post! I love your photos, especially the doors and flowers. I hope the rain gave adequate water and no flood.
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No flood that I know of here. It sure helps cool down the temperatures. Thanks for the kind words. Thanks again for hosting Coffee Share. 🙂
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