It has been too long since I checked in here. After a few days in San Francisco bonding with our new granddaughter, we headed south to the desert to spend time with Steve’s brothers and their wives — Mike and Ann live in Twentynine Palms and David and Kristin live in Florida and flew out to join us for a few days.

The virus and sinus infection that I had when we left home finally left me, but it took a toll on my energy level. Keeping up with the daytime activities, meant that I was exhausted by evening and so blogging went by the wayside.

It felt so good to be in the warm, dry desert and wear a t-shirt and sandals. I soaked up some vitamin D and got a bit of color, but no sunburn. I love the big open sky and the long visitas of the desert.

My Florida SIL, is a retired art professor from University of Southern Florida. She is an authority on folk and public art and has written several  books and discovered a number of interesting outsider artists. She always has a list of things to look for and visit when she arrives. She did not disappoint us. The area around Twentynine Palms is a treasure trove of art installations — funky and surreal.

The High Desert Test Sites is an organization with the following mission:

High Desert Test Sites generates physical and conceptual spaces for art exploring the intersections between contemporary art and life at large. Scattered along a stretch of intimate yet diverse desert communities that include Joshua Tree, Pioneertown, Wonder Valley, Yucca Valley, and 29 Palms, our sites provide a place for both fleeting and long-term experimental projects.