It’s Sunday and a beautiful mid-summer day in Flagstaff. So, please indulge a bit of rambling by yours truly. I started the day with breakfast with friends at a classic Flagstaff spot – Brandy’s Restaurant at the foot of Cedar Hill in central Flagstaff. The sheer number of variations on Eggs Benedict offered at Brandy’s is impossible to find elsewhere in the world. (I had Eggs Pierre.) This rarely pulls me away from my standard home breakfast, but today the friends pulled me out of the house.
Then we stopped by a clients’ home on the Flagstaff Native Plant Society’s home garden tour. What a transformation since I sold the home to them seven years ago! The sky burst open with a monsoon shower as we were admiring the garden and we were able to see a demonstration of improved drainage that was all part of the landscaping work.
On we went to visit other homes at a 500-600 foot elevation difference, northeast of Flagstaff. Meanwhile, the sun broke though the storm clouds and blue sky with tall white clouds surrounded the mountain views that drew me to Arizona so many years ago. New gardens: There are so many wonderful native plants! One (namely me) just needs to learn to pick the good plants from the intrusive weeds. Actually, I was encouraged by this tour that my own little plat of Flagstaff land may be filled with more good stuff than I feared.
Back home enjoying the perfect temperatures, clean air, and late afternoon light breeze that is typical of Flagstaff in August, I take stock of the weekend. Yesterday, I attended the annual planning board retreat of the Flagstaff Branch of the American Association of University Women at the rambling Santa Fe style home of our generous Branch president. A great year is planned – keep watching this space for announcements of events open to the public that are sponsored by Flagstaff’s AAUW.
Of note is that today is the 87th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women - after a long and hard struggle - the right to vote. My mother could remember as a child that her mother could not vote, and then suddenly could. It was a day of celebration and pride when her father and mother went to the polls together to cast their ballots. AAUW members were a key part of the fight for women's suffrage then, and AAUW members know that equity is still an issue today. Women's Equality Day is a time to remember that our votes remain a vital tool for shaping the policy issues that affect women, and men, every day. If you are have not registered to vote since your last move, register now – it is indeed a precious right.
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