A Fish's Beach Wishes

Raw

2010-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Moody, soupy, gorgeous monsoon sunsets!

Uff Da

2010-07-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Tear apart, tear apart, pack, pack, pack, put everything back in exquisitely perfect order, have appraisal, termite inspection, home inspection, and buyer hubby seeing house for the first time.

All the inspections went really well.

Tear apart, tear apart, organize everything you've torn apart into some semblence of a garage sale tomorrow.

They moved up the closing date by two & 1/2 weeks! Yeah, of course we can do it. Right. And we will.

I forget that we've kind of done this before. Actually a few times. It's a killer at the time, and we'll shake our heads down the road and say "I can't believe we did that!" But we'll do it.

I can't wait to get back to regular blogging and checking out everyone's posts!!! But it will be from the ROAD!!! :)

Deep Thoughts For Those Who Take Things Way Too Seriously

2010-07-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

- A day without sunshine is like...night.

- He who laughs last thinks slowest.

- On the other hand, you have different fingers

- I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.

- The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

- 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot

.- 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

- Remember, half the people you know are below average

.- Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

- A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

- If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

- OK, . . . . so what's the speed of dark?

- Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

- Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

- How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

- What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

- Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

- Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.

- Just remember - if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

- Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

- Life isn't like a box of chocolates; it's more like a jar of jalapeno's. What you do today, might burn your bum tomorrow.

- How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

2010-07-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Recently, we made another trip to Phoenix to see my mother.

I won't go in to what led up to the trip, but a miscommunication brought out some pretty ugly stuff.

I've shared before that my mother has always known how to express herself in a most angry way.

After driving up there for four hours, I discovered that she had left me a venemous message on my cell phone.

It was funny though, when I listened to that message, I could only feel sad for her because she was so confused.

We talked it through, she apologized, and we laughed about how wicked she was.

Yeah, it was hot in Phoenix! That last temp was registering the temperature in the Walmart parking lot!

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-07-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

On another note, I was fascinated with the variety and beauty of some of the shirts I saw people wearing at the 4th of July gathering at our park.

There were demonstrations of these beautiful beasties "working."

Wouldn't be a 4th of July celebration without "B Troop" from Fort Huachuca!

This is always a popular stand around here!

Have a wonderful weekend!

All God's Creatures Sunday

2010-07-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

We were on a quest early this morning to find the Mexican border and 16,000 American flags being put up along that border in a little town called Palominas. There aren't too many roads off of the main (LOL) highway that run down to the border.

Smith Rd. is unpaved, with only a few houses. If you let your mind go there, it can be unnerving, thinking about the proximity to the border and the people smugglers, and drug smugglers that could be encountered in this area. But being daylight, we kept on the teeth-jarring, tractor paved road.

Dead End. Could there have been another road that goes to the border?

Disappointing. Imagine seeing 16,000 American flags on the Fourth of July!!! How cool would that have been? Luckily, so as not to have been a total waste of time, we came across these guys along that same road.

After returning home & doing some research, we found out that while we were on the right road, there is a small right turn that will take us to the flags. We'll head back there tomorrow morning for loads of pictures. But for this afternoon, we're headed to the Veteran's Memorial Park to see the jets fly over, and to hear our awesome Governor, Jan Brewer, speak.
Have a wonderful 4th! Be safe!

Yippee!

2010-07-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Excuse me. Sorry to interupt, but I have an announcement to make...

We have sold the house, the big house! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
It will close on August 23rd, which happens to be my daughter's birthday!
I need to take a trip to Phoenix to see if I can figure out some assisted living for my mom, still not settled, and then get back here for some serious packing, donating, and throwing away!
We're so excited, and feel so very blessed with this good fortune.
Thank you Lord!
That's all, you may resume your business!

Terrible Picture

2010-07-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. The lighting was ALL wrong to get a good shot of this, but it cracked me up & I wanted you to see it.

This is how my dogs spend their day. Every day.

Sweet Shasta has always slept under the bed. It's like her den. For a while, we had the bed lowered when Hubby had his hip replaced. But then it was just too sad that she couldn't get under there. Up the bed went again.

Willy, on the other hand, has always enjoyed the lifestyle of the spoiled & rotten! I can't tell you how deep his sense of entitlement runs. But it's deep!

Auto Contrast

2010-06-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

I love auto contrast! I do. It improves my photos emensely with just a mouse click.

We were sitting out on the back deck last night watching the clouds try to wring out a few drops. The clouds were interesting, strange.

And with a little auto contrast:

All God's Creatures Sunday

2010-06-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Dog days of summer? Bunny days of summer. Ahhhh...

Chillin', coolin' the belly...but always on guard!

I hope you find a nice cool spot to relax today!

Mediterranean Vegetarian Sandwiches

2010-06-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Hubby is always gathering recipes from everywhere. Not just gathering, but actually making the recipes. He's good like that. Surprisingly, he finds lots of good ones from the newspaper!

Sometimes the recipes that Hubby has for eggplant makes me wonder if I like eggplant. Sometimes I adore eggplant. This was one of those times that I fell in LOVE with eggplant! In fact, we're having it for lunch again today. We used the Japanese eggplant because we think the skin is more tender on them. We added arugula on ours as well, since we have a giant container of it.

Mediterranean Vegetarian Sandwiches

2 thin sandwich rounds

6 slices eggplant, 1/4 in thick

Olive oil cooking spray

2 Tbs red pepper flavored hummus

2 Tbs feta cheese

Place eggplant onto baking sheet. Spray eggplant with cooking spray.

Heat the broiler. Broil the eggplant 4 inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until the eggplant is browned, turning the eggplant over halfway through broiling.

Split each sandwich round in two. Spread half the hummus on each bottom layer. Divide eggplant and cheese between sandwiches.

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-06-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme, Water/Lakes/Streams, is brought to us by Nicole. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to seeing lots of water!

Any water at this point would be a very welcome sight! I know many of you are experiencing a lot more water than you want right now. But I don't think there is any water around here, not until the monsoons really get going. It's dry. It's like those old western movies where someone is crawling across the desert, seeing a mirage, dragging themselves full of hope towards that illusion, only to get there and scoop up a mouthful of dust...

So I had to go back into my archives to find photos from monsoon seasons in past years.

Along the trail in Ramsey Canyon.

To check out more water in a much grander scale, go to FMTSO!
Ahhhhh.....Have a refreshing weekend!

Monsoon-ish

2010-06-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first real monsoon weather of the season.

We watched it move in from the southeast.

I'm not sure if any of the moisture actually hit the ground.
Did I hear a rumble? Or was I wishing it?

A Little Different Father’s Day

2010-06-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

I’m sure you started off as a good Dad
Although you didn’t have a good example of one to follow.

I’m sure you loved us in your heart everyday
And that it was just the alcohol that got in the way.

I’m sure we must have celebrated a Father’s day or two
But I sure can’t remember a one.

I must have made you paper gifts in school
That you carried in your mind and heart.

Funny how it took so many years to go back to the beginning
And see you for the fragile human that we all are.

My own inadequacies show up in my memories of you
And my understanding has come full circle.

So on this day of love and respect for the fathers in our lives
I say, you did what you could do. I forgive you.

Happy Father’s Day.

Thursday's Thoughts

2010-06-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

One of my struggles these days is figuring out the assisted living arrangement for my mother. She is in an independent living environment right now. In this same compound is an assisted living side.

She’s ready. Her day to day living is getting more difficult for her as her body weakens and her breathing is harder. She has wonderful doctors up there. One of the doctors helped me explain that it’s time to move to assisted living. I so appreciate that. Although we had spoken about it numerous times, it was as if she thought I was pushing her to the end of life. She’s had a couple of mild falls that left her cut and bruised, but it tells me that it’s time for her to have more help. She’s more inclined to make that move after those falls. It’s hard now because she doesn’t feel good and is unsteady.

There are limited funds that may take her through, but may not. I’ve been looking in to programs that might help kick in should she run out of money. For some reason, these decisions get left up to me. But I don’t want the sole responsibility of this particular decision.

I have 4 brothers. My oldest brother talks to my mom frequently but lives out of state. Two other brothers talk to her infrequently (also out of state). The other brother has been out of the picture for many years.

Well, today I laid it out in an email to my brothers. I need help with this. I don’t want to make the decision alone. How about some help researching some programs? We all need to think about the actual move. It is so obvious that she needs the extra help that assisted living will provide. But because it involves what’s left of her money, I think we should all be involved. And truth be told, I can’t imagine that they would not think this is a good move for her. We’ll see. I don’t ask for help very often. In fact when I moved her up there to independent living, I pretty much did most of the packing myself. I asked my brother if he could help me unpack at the other end, but he had plans already, but did come a couple of weeks later to hang pictures.

So, I feel good about asking. I didn’t have to, they probably would have been fine had I just gone ahead and got her moved. But what happens if the money is gone, what would she do then, and I hadn’t asked them? So this is good. Maybe I’ll sleep tonight.

Let the Cloud Games Begin

2010-06-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

All God's Creatures Sunday

2010-06-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

I love having the water dish outside my window, to watch who comes to drink. Mostly birds and bunnies, but there have been times when the dish is dry just the next morning. Maybe javalina, or deer, or coyotes. Remember the morning I saw a bobcat out there?

Well, today it was a pair of roadrunners.

They know this is a bird haven around here, and they come looking for little birds to eat. Well, little birds and lizards.

On another note, remember the geranium on my front porch?

Well, it hasn't been looking too good. While investigating, I discovered that the irrigation tubing had come out of it, and was laying on the ground. Rats! So I had my face down inside the plant, trying to wind the tube inside the branches so it wouldn't come out again. All of a sudden, a bird flew in my face out of the plant! Scared us both! A mamma quail, sitting on her eggs! Friday morning I checked on her from inside the window. Yes, still sitting.

Another check Friday afternoon...

Wishing you a blessed day!

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-06-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme, Public Art, was chosen by Barry & Linda. This should be a fun one! If for some crazy reason you have never checked out Barry's blog, you must. You'll go back again and again!

So, my little town does not have much in the way of public art. I'm not sure why. I'm thinking that there are probably all kinds of things on the fort, but the main gate is being redone, so I chose to not go on base. But here are a couple of things I found around town, and, I have to say, I really like them!

This first one is almost completed. It's a water tower that sits alongside the animal shelter. I love the colors!

The second one is on the side of a big building. I quite fancy this one as well. :)

To see more shootouts, please click here!
Have a great weekend!

A Lucky Shot!

2010-06-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

These two played around the feeder for a few minutes before they settled down enough for one split second shot!

Wishing you a wonder-full day!

Life at this House

2010-06-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

is pretty good if you're a bunny.

A place to run, and jump, and play.

Or just lounge around in the shade on a hot afternoon.

A St. David Retreat

2010-06-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

One morning, not too long ago, I got up in the morning, ready to crawl out of my skin. Anxious, overwhelmed, and knowing I just couldn't sit in the house for one more day. Yeah, these feelings have been going on for a while. I think that's why I cut way back on posting. I felt boring.

I walked in to Hubby's office and said, "Let's get out of here. Let's just go. Let's get in the motorhome and go to St. David for a couple of days."

Don't I sound really fun and spontaneous??? Well, I'm not. I'm a planner. I have to think about things, evidently. Hubby is the spontaneous one. We balance each other. When he wants to do something really wild or crazy, I'm the one that brings reality into the picture. But this time, he had to think about it. For about 10 minutes.

I ask you, who could be all uptight here?

This goose swam around all the time with the mamma duck and the babies. She must be a wanna be mamma!
A very cool thing that we discovered was in the mornings, the trees would be full of so many birds that we don't generally see at home, even though home is only about 35 miles away. Hubby got some great shots! The photos were taken through a window & screen, so they're not as sharp as we'd like.
Vermilion Flycatcher

A Goldfinch admiring herself in the mirror. Cracked me up, she went back there over and over.

A beautiful Cardinal

Yes, we came home feeling refreshed and ready to keep on.

HEAT ADVISORY!

2010-06-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

TEMPERATURES... HOT DAYTIME TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 100 TO 109 DEGREES BELOW 5000 FEET CAN BE EXPECTED THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND AGAIN MONDAY AFTERNOON.*

IMPACTS... A SUDDEN ONSET OF EXCESSIVELY HOT TEMPERATURES CAN BE STRESSFUL TO ANIMALS AND HUMANS... MAKING IT HARD FOR THE BODY TO ACCLIMATE AND REMAIN HYDRATED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF UNUSUALLY HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. HEAT ILLNESS IS POSSIBLE... PARTICULARLY IN THOSE WHO ARE ELDERLY... IN POOR HEALTH OR ARE OUTDOORS FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY OUT OF THE SUN... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS. DO NOT LEAVE ANYONE OR PETS UNATTENDED IN A VEHICLE.

You've heard the joke about Arizona heat...but it's a dry heat.
It may be dry, but it's still hot. In about a month, this heat will produce monsoon storms. We're looking forward to that.

Did I tell you that I saw the first snake in the front yard a week or so ago? No, probably not. I haven't posted much lately, have I? Anyway, he was probably a gopher snake, (looks like a rattler, but with a skinny head & no rattle) and was about 2 feet long. He did stop long enough for me to take photos of him, but I won't freak you out with them. :) Unless you'd really like to see them!

So with the heat, we'll have to be extra careful to keep the doors closed. I'm sure they would love the coolness inside the house!

Before....and After

2010-06-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

B E F O R E...

and A F T E R...

This is my latest crazy little idea. Why be stuck with just one color on your hat? I have a couple of different hats, but because of their color I can't (or won't) wear them with everything. My answer, just change the hat band! I'm thinking about making a gob of different colors and styles, and maybe selling them at campsites when we're on the road for a little extra change. Not the hats, just the hatbands. What do you think?

I'm in the middle of my Aldara treatment for precancer on my face. Yeah, I'm a real joy to look at right now. Hehehe. But it sure beats anyone cutting in to my face! Way too many sunburns growing up are taking their toll now. Sunscreen people! Or hats!

Ol' Blue Eyes

2010-05-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

My newest visitor!

You Will LOVE This, I Promise!

2010-05-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

First Day Out!

2010-05-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering the last few days...what makes the circumstances just right for the baby bird to leave the nest for the first time. We've had so much wind lately, I was worried about that baby.

No wind at all today. :)

Posing Outside my Kitchen Window

2010-05-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

Beep! Beep!

Cactus Wren Update

2010-05-11T16:10:00.001-07:00

I don't know how many babies are in there, but these two parents are busy all day long. The bugs are getting bigger too, so they must be getting along fine in there. I did find one a couple of weeks ago on the ground, much too young to survive that fall. :(

There are 3 baby sparrows hanging out in the front yard too. They're so cute. They'll flutter their little wings for Pop to feed them, then, as if they wore themselves out, just plop right down where they are and nap. :)

Not a Prescribed Burn

2010-05-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

They don't know what started this fire, but brought in big tanker planes to drop retardant. That was Saturday. Wind was forcasted for today, and although they thought the fire was out, there was concern that there might be unseen hot spots that would flare. Fortunately, that didn't happen. But, man, I am tired of this wind!
The trip to Phoenix went fairly well. Got some things done up there, but still no plan in place for help for my mother. She is still stubborn enough to say no. She wants to talk to her doctor first to see if he has any other ideas. Like he's going to have an idea about how to help her other than having someone help her. You can lead a horse to water, right? One good thing was, when I walked in to her apartment, she had grown some cheeks! She's gained 20 lbs in the last couple of months!

The extra cheeks might be the three prednisone she's on everyday, but she looks much better!

Prescribed Burn

2010-05-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

It's a very smoky day around here. Always scary to see this, or worse yet, to smell it, before you find out it was planned. I try not to think about what gets caught in these burns, and like to imagine that everything is able to get out of it's path. I know they have to do it. During the summer monsoons, every day brings thunder and lightening, sometimes sparking a fire in these mountains.

We had a great day yesterday at a client's house. There was probably 20 people there to sample his daughter's and her friend's cooking. We started with appetizers like curried chicken and sun-dried tomato pesto bruchetta, to salads, to BBQ ribs, teriyaki chicken, baked ziti, and red wine. Let me tell you, these girls can COOK!!! They're in the process of writing a cookbook full of incredibly delectable food that is actually good for you! They are selling food at three different farmer's markets every week in southern California, and planning on selling their sauces online soon. If you live in that area, or will be visiting, check out their website, Damn! That's good! for specific locations. I bought numerous sauces yesterday and can't wait to try them here at home. Anyway, we had a great time with a bunch of wonderfully fun people.

I'm off on another visit to my mother's tomorrow for a week. I'm not looking forward to the drive, but it's time to start putting things in place to get her some help with everyday situations. Luckily, the place she lives in has amenities that will do just that for a price.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Gusts

2010-05-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

These tender little snapdragons were standing straight, until a day full of 50 mph winds. Now they're permanantly bent, but still beautiful.

I guess that's true of everything. If you're looking for beauty, you don't even see the flaw.

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-04-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme is Sports, brought to us by Barry, who is, at this moment, having a luxuriously relaxing time on a weekend getaway!

The town where we live now has several huge sports fields, with the gigantic lights all around, but we've never seen anyone on those fields. Weird. But then maybe there are all kinds of things happening there at night when we are tucked in at home.

My real hometown, where I was born is San Francisco. So I thought I'd share our very favorite sport of all from there...

Sometimes when we'd walk in the gate, employees would hand out signs for us to hold up during the game. This particular game we played against those evil Dodgers!

Eventually, Hubby had to take all of these pins off his hat because it just got too heavy to wear!

We used to go to a lot of games. I loved that my kids enjoyed it almost as much as we did. What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon as a family!
Here's a couple of our favorite pins:

Sometimes we'd stand in line with the kids to get autographs of the players. You were never quite sure who would be signing until the very last minute. This is one of my prize possessions, a sweatshirt signed by J.T. Snow!!!

Just this year, we've switched from cable to satellite, so we'll finally get to see some games on TV!!!

"He hits it high! He hits it deep! He hits it Outta Here!"

For more Friday Shootouts, please visit here!

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-04-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

Trees. I love them. What would we do without them? I hope we never have to find out. This is the theme this week for FSO, brought to us by GingerV!

I think I'll take you up to Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains, that our town sits up against. The short drive takes us past various mesquite trees that have been trimmed up to create a canopy. This particular variety of mesquite is just beautiful.

This next photo is pretty typical of the area. They're trees, but don't really give me that tree feeling.

But once you get up in the canyon, it is FULL OF TREES! Ash, sycamore, cottonwoods! It's where I go to refill myself.

Follow me on over here, to see some awesome tree photos!

Hummingbirds Don't Like Snow

2010-04-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

It gets in their way when they fly. I noticed some whizzed right through it, but when the flakes got really big, and the snow came down harder, they would stop and start, stop, and start. I brushed all the snow off the feeder so they wouldn't have to put their beaks through that.

It was beautiful waking up to all of the snow falling, you know how I love that, but I'm worried about all of my new flowers and new leaves on the trees.

Oh, trees! I forgot! Today is Friday! My town shootout....trees! Gotta go!

Uff Da

2010-04-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

It's sunny, rainy, snowy, and Cold. Confused. Mixed Up. Crazy.

And the little house fell out of escrow today. And I'm feeling all of those things. Really, since the issue of the peeling paint on the roof tile came up, every day has had an underlying weight of worry, dread, expectancy, and anxiousness. Although, it was supposed to close in less than a week, I may feel a slight tinge of relief right now.

We're still talking to the manufacturers of the tile, and we'll either get those tiles replaced, or a whole new roof, even though the problem is strictly cosmetic. But today was the deadline for the buyer's inspections, and we don't have a letter from the company stating that in our hands yet. He wants us to promise him a whole new roof and to put that in writing.

So, we say, next?!!

Oh!

2010-04-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

How I would LOVE to learn to paint this!
My roses are popping, and that means you'll see a LOT of them here for as long as we are still in this house. Not even any lookers here. Pretty disappointing, but we stay hopeful. As we move away from tax day, and closer to summer, we think there will be more people out looking.

Look at God's bouquet in the back yard!

Yes, we are enjoying them! I'd share if you lived closer!

2010-04-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you have to just stop, to figure out which way to go.

And if we're going too fast, we miss the beauty of today.

The penstemen are coming up wild, in larger and more frequent quantities every spring.

Have a beautiful day!

Just Squawking Here

2010-04-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

If you love someone, you don't try to make them feel bad. You don't threaten them. You don't set them up so you can make them feel bad again. C, you are a mean man. I'd tell you to your face if I could.

This is not someone that was mean to me personally, but personally enough.

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-04-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme, chosen by Kerry, is "Things that make me smile." What a great, uplifting theme! To see what everyone is smiling about, go here!

I think the reasoning is obvious here. He doesn't have to do much to make me smile; he's just adorable, and will do almost anything to get my attention. I love those top feathers (we call them eyebrows), when they shoot up, give them such a comical look.
We took a trip to Tucson yesterday; a shopping day to Costco & Trader Joes. I was delighted to see that the desert is starting to green up!

This definitely makes me smile. Winters are very drab here, and not only do things look dormant, they look dead. Months of it is hard, like what I would imagine not having sun for months out of the year would be like.
Then we started seeing this:

Large stretches of wildflowers all along the highway.

I could almost break out in song!
I wish you all a week full of things that make you smile!

Chin Up, Move On

2010-04-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

My wisteria is happy this year. It has exploded with blooms that just smell Divine! We're wondering, now, why we planted it so far from the back deck. True, it gets better sun where it is, and we wanted it to grow along the wall. We do still get a whiff of its wonderful fragrance when the breeze comes from that direction, but it is usually blowing the other way. The neighbors are very happy.

We're thinking that the escrow on the little house is going to fall out today. There is some fading of the roof tiles, and even with three written inspections stating that there is no compromise to the tiles themselves, the buyer wants a new roof. I'm not going to pay for a new roof when there is nothing wrong with the old one. I'm frustrated by this, but I can't let it get me down. If it's going to fall out, so be it. Move on. I don't want to waste any more time with it off the market. He has a week to decide if he wants it or not...

When Elephants Retire

2010-04-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

Such a very sweet story!

Hooded Oriole

2010-04-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Some interesting facts from Whatbird.com

General
Hooded Oriole: Medium-sized, showy oriole with bright orange-yellow head and nape, and black back, face, throat, and upper breast. Bill is slightly decurved. Black wings have two white bars. Tail is black. Female has olive-gray upperparts and yellow-green underparts. Juvenile is similar to female; male may show black on throat.

Range and Habitat
Hooded Oriole: Breeds from central California, Nevada, central Arizona, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas southward. A few spend winters in southern California and southern Texas. Found in deciduous and riparian woodlands and human habitations, often near ranches or towns.

Breeding and Nesting
Hooded Oriole: Three to five white, pale yellow, or pale blue eggs with brown and purple spots are laid in a nest made of leaves and moss, lined with moss, grass, wool, hair, and feathers, and attached to the underside of a leaf or tree branch. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding
Hooded Oriole: Diet consists mostly of fruits, nectar, and insects. Forages in shrubs and trees; uses its pointed bill to pierce flower bases to obtain nectar from agaves, aloes, hibiscus, lilies, and other tubular flowers.

Readily Eats
Suet, Jelly, Orange Halves, Raisins

Vocalization
Hooded Oriole: Song is a series of whistles, chatters, and warbles. Call is an ascending, whistled "wheeat."

Similar Species
Hooded Oriole: Altamira Oriole is larger and has orange shoulders. Bullock's Oriole has white wing patches and black eye-line. Baltimore Oriole has a black head; female is smaller and has shorter tail.

On one site I read that their nest is like a pouch that hangs from the branches of trees. But what was so fascinating for me was that they will puncture the leaves of the trees to push nesting material through; like sewing their nests to the leaves!

A Good Year for Pinecones

2010-04-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

With all the rain this spring, our pine trees are loaded! I wouldn't want to be a little critter under this tree when they start to drop!

I'm beginning to think that this guy is staying the season.

The light in this one is all wrong, but I finally got a shot of the male & female together.

Ahh, spring...

This will be the first mow today in the south 40. Yes, things are greening up nicely. I'll be feeding all of the 25 rose bushes today too. Time to slather on the sunscreen! Yes, after a trip to the dermatologist this week, I've another precancer spot on my face. Way too many sunburns as a kid. Luckily, there's creme that will get rid of these spots, albeit ugly to look at during treatment, over a couple of month time span. To think I used to try to get a sunburn in high school, just to get a little color.

I am one of those very fair skinned people that don't tan easily. It was hard to see all of my friends in high school all brown, so at the time I figured red was better than white. What a knucklehead!

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-04-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme, Country Roads, is brought to us by Gordon. I'm excited to see everyone's photos. Country roads speak to me of restful, unhurried meandering. I like that. Since this has been such a busy week. I had to pull photos from my archive for this.
Getting off the main roads, you often see homes with acreage large enough to have old wagons sitting around.

Driving the back roads into the mountain take you past this beautiful waterfall in the desert.

Here's a country road that takes you to a slag pit, dirt that was taken out of the Lavendar Mine. Once a year this area is opened up to the public so that they can go digging for turquoise.

This area, on the other side of the mountain from us, is perfect winery country. I do love the big, open skies here.

This is another thing you might find on our country roads.

For more photos from around the world, please check out Friday My Town Shootout!

You Guessed It!!!

2010-04-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

It IS a tarantula hole! It's pretty early to be seeing the holes open up. Normally, it's the monsoons (July & August) that bring them out. I can only guess that the increased rain that we've had this spring confused her into thinking it was July.

I didn't post a picture of her though, because I haven't seen her. And because last year when I posted a tarantula that was walking across my driveway, it was too freaky for people. I mean, they kind of creep me out too, but since living here, I've had to move several big females that had come into the house, and one from next door. Yeah, brave me, right? I must have been having some kind of out of body experience while doing it. My body was doing the carrying, but my mind was somewhere else, I'm sure. I have seen some really beautifully colored tarantulas though, like the one at my neighbor's house.

As far as the hummers, it is migration time again, when they go through here to their northern summer homes. The photo is pretty dark, but it was dusk and it's the best lighting I could manage.

She's Baaaaack!

2010-04-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Don't be scared. I'm not posting a picture of what lives in here! Any guesses?

Whilst doing a perimeter check on the south 40 fences, I came across this hole that measures almost 2" across. Because it's so large, I know it belongs to a female. As we work our way through spring, the south 40 will probably have many of these holes. The monsoon rains will flush them out, and she'll do a walk about until she can get back in. We usually don't see too much of each other. Thankfully.

Can you see the teeny little white flowers to the right of the hole? My yard is covered with them right now. The smallest flower I've ever seen in my life.

Blessings

2010-04-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

Friday My Town Shootout

2010-04-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

This week's theme is Bokeh, suggested by T, at Picture This. Check it out! I admit, I had to look the word up. Had no idea what it was. I think I have accidently produced bokeh photos, without really knowing what I was doing.

Okay, not great, but the backround is blurry, right? :)
I like this one; does it count?

Here's one. What do you think?

But, for me, this one is my favorite...

Not only did I learn something new this week, but I am so very excited to see what everyone has posted on this subject here!

Staged

2010-04-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Our realtor came over a couple of days ago to help us "stage" our house. I swear, she is like no other realtor I've ever dealt with. We thought she was going to come over and walk through the rooms to tell us what to do. No. She charged down the hallway, starting in the back of the house, and proceeded to jump right in, moving furniture, taking pictures down, moving things around. She's a dynamo!

About 4 hours later, the house was done. And I have to say, I really like the changes she made! Now every room is easily identifiable. My dining room before, didn't look like a dining room. So we pulled the patio table in there, draped a tablecloth over it, placed dishes & wine glasses, and voila! Dining room. If a piece didn't say "dining" it was out of there. Same with the master bedroom.

I will show you one funny thing she did. My bathrooms evidently needed some punch. She brought over black towels, and since I didn't have any ribbon or raffia, she used ties to set them off, and then draped washcloths over the window valences.

My bathrooms are pretty unforgettable now.

While I've been packing up personal photos and things, I've run across some things that I just love. Small little items that make me smile.

These are just little things that my family have given to each other over the years. I haven't really looked at them in a long time, but I know that when they get unpacked again, sometime in the future, I'll smile all over again.

The Oriole

2010-03-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

Aren't they beautiful?

Odds & Ends

2010-03-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

The trip to Mom's was good. Face time with her and daughter, Shannon, was wonderful. It was raining lightly on the way up there, and on the way home, I was delighted to find that wildflowers had popped up all along the stretch between Phoenix and Tucson!

These were the only two shots that weren't too blurry. At 75mph I kept my eyes on the road and tried to guess where to point the camera and just kept clicking. Finally I just decided to put the camera down and enjoy the view.

On another note, remember this little fellow that kept hanging around the birdhouse while the cactus wrens were moving in?

The day after I got home from Phoenix, I noticed that he was up to something! Looking around, all nervous like...

and then...

He pulled their nest out! While he committed the crime, all of the other sparrows were diving to catch the nesting material for their own nests. The cactus wrens came back a while later and discovered what had happened. I could almost see the confusion and upset in their faces. They started to rebuild immediately. The little sparrow with the big courage is still hanging around all day long, chirping, talking, calling. I'm not sure who is going to end up in there.
This morning I found that the cactus wren had walked into my house and made her way into the kitchen. I mentioned before that they are not nervous birds, and she quite calmly inspected the sink, table, chairs, my birds, and managed to poop on my couch. After a few minutes, she flitted her way back outside and I shut the door.

OH! One of the houses is in escrow!!! A 30 DAY ESCROW!

Friday Photo Shootout

2010-03-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

Bridges, in B&W, is the theme this week, suggested by Elaine Dale at A Scattering.
The only bridges we have in our town are the ones that go over the San Pedro River, that flows through the riparian area. It is a favorite place to bird watch or hike (in the winter when the snakes are hibernating).

This next bridge is in Tucson. I always enjoy looking at it. Makes me smile.

This last one is also in Tucson, in the downtown area. It is built to look like a diamondback rattlesnake. A little creepy, but it's cool.

For more Friday Photo Shootout pics, or to join up, please go here. You'll find some truly phenominal photos!

Have a wonderful weekend!

See You Thursday

2010-03-22T18:20:00.001-07:00

Off to another doctor appointment for the momster in Phoenix. Have a wonderful week!

All God's Creatures Sunday

2010-03-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

I spent some time outside yesterday brushing Shasta. She is shedding like crazy right now. She looks kind of like the buffalo, or musk ox, with their clumps of hair hanging off them.

Okay, maybe not that bad, but close. I pulled handfuls of hair, fur, out of the brush and dropped it on the other side of the concrete wall into the south 40. I knew, watching the birds busy themselves with nest making, that the fur would go to good use.

The cactus wrens, I see, have picked up their share as well. It's kind of hard to see, but there is a small opening in all of that nesting material that opens up to a soft, spacious, warm apartment inside.

Scattered

2010-03-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those days, weeks, months where you're just scattered? So many things to be done, in so many different directions? Of course you have. We all have. That's where I've been the last couple of months. Scattered.

It seems like there is so much to do, but very little I can do about it. Life in limbo. Life on hold. Hurry up and wait. I'm not unhappy. But I can't seem to settle in to doing one particular thing. I'll start somthing, then within 10 minutes, get up to move on to something else. I'm unsettled.

I think it means I need to sit down and listen. Something is working its way up through the quagmire of my head. It's like the sludge of, of I don't know what?

Okay, it's like I'm all dressed up and nowhere to go. All of the preparations for selling two houses that goes on everyday, and no phone calls from realtors. That's it. I'm so busy looking forward that I'm missing today. I can't make a mess anywhere, and let's face it, getting creative makes a mess.

I'll try making a mess, I mean, getting creative out in the building on wheels maybe. Nobody sees inside there but us. It's a pretty small space, but I've got to do something or I'll clean the house to death!

We Are Hobbling!

2010-03-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, it may not look like we did much, but we filled the whole back end of the Tundra with yard debris!
Before:

After:

I cannot believe how much we took off of the cypress-ey bush! The red tips, too, were out of control! The oval in the middle of the yard,

Has been cleaned up! So has the plant in front of the window in the garage! I didn't pull these plants out because in another couple months, they will be beautiful. I know. What counts is now, but we can't get the new plants right now. They are not available.

We bought 2 purple lantana today and planted them in the circle. Believe me, in another month, this will look great! We went to three different places to find ground cover, or anything that would spice this yard up. We just don't get deliveries here until spring has officially sprung (ask the mesquite trees). So for now, at least it looks cared for and when the mesquites give their approval, this will be a wonderland!
Thank you so much for your input and advice! You're the best!

Look What Rolled in on the Wind Today

2010-03-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Yup, *!%@!* Tumbleweed. I wouldn't wish this on anybody!

Spring is Bustin' Out All Over

2010-03-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is the first year the Cactus Wrens have taken up residency in the deluxe apartment hanging on the deck. they've been busy for the last couple of days, with big beakfuls of nesting material. These birds are not nervous birds at all, so it should be fairly easy to take photos of them.

Last year the apartment sat vacant for the first time ever. This little sparrow was not happy that the Wrens got in there first. Every time they would fly off for more nest stuffing, he would land on the birdhouse. Awww.

One really nice day yesterday, and the peach tree popped!

For all of you sitting in the snow, it's coming!

Zero Curb Appeal

2010-03-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

We've been pretty discouraged in the process of selling the house. There have been a few lookers, one couple even came back a second time. But we've had a dry spell. True, the tractors and big piles of dirt didn't help, but it was all up and down the street, not just our house.

I started thinking that perhaps potential buyers were getting addresses from their realtors and driving by houses to decide which ones they want to look at. Keep in mind that winter in the high desert is dead. Everything, well, most everything looks dead. It'll be another month or two before we're in flowering full swing. What's a person to do?

I went out to the front of the house to assess my curb appeal. ZERO! The bushes have grown so large that you can't even see the front of the house!

The planting area in front also looks dead. It'll be a couple more months before the plants show any real life and are in bloom.

I know the yard, too, looks dead, but with the monsoons, this will all look like a lush lawn that has to be mowed at least once a week. But for now, dead.

So instead of being discouraged, I told Hubby we need to get out there and feel like we're making some progress, even if it's just us working. Trim back the bushes, put in some more flowers in the big pots in front, find some flowering shrubs that will look good right now for the planting area.

Inside, we have cleaned out, boxed up, it looks pretty good. Thank goodness the backyard was landscaped by the previous owners and stays in pretty good shape.

Any suggestions or ideas you may have for my curb appeal, speak up! You're not going to hurt my feelings, really. :)

FRIDAY SHOOTOUT

2010-03-12T12:15:00.000-08:00

This week, Wrought Iron, by JarieLyn. There is wrought iron everywhere in Arizona. So much, in fact, that I almost don't see it anymore.

Gates & fences are usually wrought iron.

Mailbox stands.

There is a lot more of this than I like to see. Some feel the need for this due to illegals coming through, but it's pretty common to see this in the older, not so great part of town.

Although, this security door is a wonderful thing in the evening during the summer. When the air cools and creates a nice breeze in in the house.

Here are two favorites from around my house.

To check out more Friday Photo Shootouts, go here! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Seriously Disgruntled

2010-03-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Verizon. How many of you have Verizon as your cell phone carrier? I have always had a problem with Verizon when it came to receiving messages days after they were left. That's one of the big reasons we switched to Sprint.

A few years went by, we started going out in the building on wheels and needed mobile internet. Verizon seemed to have the best coverage, although, personally, I was not only happy with Sprint, but we were no longer under contract with them.

Hubby wanted to switch back to Verizon. Okay, back under a new contract. Went out on the road in the building on wheels, signed up for mobile internet through our cell phone for a month. Came home, called to have that feature stopped. Cool.

Amost a year later, we called to have it turned on again and they said, It's already on. What???

Granted, it was partially our fault for not inspecting our Verizon bill as closely as we should have, but we had called to have that function turned off. Long story, short, they would only credit back 3 months of charges, even though they could see that we had not used the mobile broadband service. Fuming, but live & learn, right?

I'm looking at the bill today, after having used the mobile broadband again last month on the trip to my Mom's house, and instead of a $70 something bill, it's $198. Hubby got on the phone with them and received a $40 credit, because they charged us for time we didn't actually use the service. We were being charged for 2 months, and we used it for a week. Uh huh. So Hubby was happy.

I took the bill back. But what about these two $29.99 charges for, what, data usage unlimited-email. What's that?

So I got on the phone with them. God bless this girl. She was so patient with me. It took her four times of explaining before I understood that these two charges (two months) were for email through my cell phone. I have never had email through my cell phone. I didn't even know what it was, how could I have ordered it??? She took the charges off.

Just sayin' here, check your bill. Don't be afraid to keep asking until you understand what you've been charged for.

Stinky Tuesday

2010-03-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

Huh. What shall I complain about today? :) Really, I'm not a complainer, although you'd never know it the last few days! I'm probably the most positive person you'll ever meet. In your life! I'm not sure where this is coming from!

Well, we woke up this morning and for some reason the dogs were stinky. Now, please understand, my dogs are very rarely smelly. We give them baths usually twice a year. And they are not happy about it, even at only twice a year. People comment on how soft and beautiful their coats are, and that they DON'T SMELL. I practically shove friends and love ones against the wall to make them promise me they would tell me if my house smelled like stinky dogs. Either these people are really scared of me, or my dogs don't smell.

So what happened this morning? I'm walking in to my office, hesitating in the doorway, detecting a faint odour de unusual. I immediately think, oh, is that me??? Embarrassing. But no. After a brief whiff of myself, and thinking, not me, I turn on my computer, sit down with a steaming cup of coffee, and there it is again. I turn, and there is dear Willy Wilson, tail wagging, so happy to bring in the new morning with me. "Hey Buddy!" sniff, sniff. (Usually it's him sniffing me, but on this particular morning, it's me sniffing him). "Where have you been? You stink!" Head cocked momentarily, I receive a big kiss from Wilson. "You stink WeeWee, but you're a really sweet boy!"

Upon further discernment, I discover that Shasta is smelling less than her lovely self as well.

Keep in mind that the temperature is only reaching 60* here in the heat of the day. How can I take them outside and run a cold hose over those poor little doggie bodies? The bathtub? No, I've tried that before. It worked well when Willy was a wee pup, but he freaks out at a harsh word! And he's too big to try to keep in a bathtub! We need to find a self serve doggie wash.

We used to go to one when we lived in Santa Cruz, CA, Shampoochez. Loved that place! Lots of people did and the price kept going up and up. It was totally worth it. And it was today as well at Hap-e-dog, to a point. That point being I didn't have to bathe them in my tub. There was only one tub, so the other dog had to wait in a cage. Well, Wilson was indignant!
The water never got quite warm enough, although I understand the possibility of a lawsuit for coffee that is hot (McDonalds), I mean, water that is too hot for dogs. But the hair dryer was cold as well. Hello people! Wet dog = cold here!
Long story, short, I have the most wonderful smelling pooches this evening in the whole world! :)

Jeans

2010-03-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about jeans for a moment here, shall we? I'm looking for a great pair of jeans. I've been looking for a great pair of jeans for a very long time. Years, in fact.

Isn't it amazing how many different styles of jeans are out there? Tapered, boot cut, straight leg, flannel lined, low rise (show your butt crack), mid rise, stone washed, faded, slim, relaxed fit, the big baggy (crotch down to your knees), torn up jeans, knee missing jeans, butt lift jeans, tummy control jeans, etc., etc., etc. All I'm asking people, is a pair that really fit, that don't cost $345,197.99!

I will say, these days it's fairly easy to find a pair of long pants. I have long legs. Growing up, it was like I was always waiting for high tide! Not a good look in junior high & high school. And for a while, I did try the low rise jean because I thought Hubby would like it. And he did. But I happen to think that my underwear is a private matter, so that was the end of that.

I have a friend that is in the garment industry. She told me once that every year clothing makers come up with new shapes and sizes according to how body sizes and shapes change. I guess that makes sense. In this country, body shapes have definitely gotten rounder. Thus, when I find a pair of jeans that fit in length, and leg size, the waist and hip is huge!

I did find a website called Jeans for your body type. There is an option for under $20, $20-$280, above $280. Really? Oh I am a cheap, naive girl.

I see that some brands are advertising old school sizing, fits at the waist. I'm not a happy shopper. Just not really in to it. But I almost ran to the mall in hopes of finding that one elusive pair. No. Not in my size.

So the hunt continues. Anybody out there happy with their jeans???

Rain & Snow

2010-03-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a rainy day, pretty much all day. It was fairly warm outside too, which means quite a bit of the snow on the mountain melted, and the waterfall started to run! I couldn't get a good photo of it from my yard, but through my binoculars, it was spectacular.

As temperatures dropped during the night the snow, once again, fell on the mountain.

And we woke up to a beautiful sunrise.

All God's Creatures Sunday

2010-03-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, I changed my mind about not posting a photo. This was me 13 1/2 years ago, starting to laugh uncontrollably during my wedding vows. Uh huh. I'm just special that way.

This is a picture of my hand. A younger picture of my hands. They were nice hands, soft, smooth, yet tough enough to pull weeds and scoop rock hard ice cream. These hands have never been afraid of hard work.

There was a time I made sure my nails were always polished, and my hands moiturized. I was a blackjack dealer in Tahoe in my 20s. My hands were out there everyday. Okay, I dropped the whole deck of cards in my tray of money once. The pit boss came over with a crap table stick and started stirring the cards around like we were cooking. LOL! That was a great memory!

Really, I'm not worried about my looks. I am who I am, and I'm okay with that, as long as nobody screams and I don't scare little children. But I am kind of fascinated with the changes that are happening year by year. When I look at my hands I can see my brothers hands too. What does that say about them? Weird.

I looked around for a drawing that I made of my hand back in the 80's. I had just found the book Drawing from the Right Side of your Brain. It's all about drawing using spacial areas, rather than trying to copy the picture. You turn the picture you are trying to copy upside down so you only see spaces, not the actual picture. When I was done, it was MY hand. That was cool.

I don't spend a lot of time focusing on me. Maybe that's why I'm shocked everytime I look down at my hands and see this:

Saturday's Turkey = Me

2010-03-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

So, I'm sitting here in front of my computer thinking about what to post today. Staring out the window, sun streaming in, warming me, rabbits meandering around the yard. I smile. I turn back to my computer, and to my horror (!) I can't see the screen. All I see is my reflection in the monitor. Because of the way the sun is laughingly shining in the window, all it highlights is my neck!

WHAT THE HELL? WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY NECK??? Oh yes, this is very special lighting that emphysises every loose piece of skin, every wrinkle, every wattle on my skinny little neck. Yes friends, it's horrifying. I turn my head from side to side, keeping a close eye on what happens to the skin on that neck. I stretch my head back, thinking that it will all smooth out. No. That's not what happens. The skin just stretches into long lines of wrinkles. I guess I could try wearing one of those cute little neck scarves, but I would always be imagining that people around me are whispering to each other, knowingly, about what was underneath the scarf. Or, even worse, the skin is so loose, what if I tied the skin up in the knot??? Ouch!

Now, truth be told, I knew I was getting a turkey neck, and I wasn't happy about it. I just try to not notice it. The only attention it gets is a bit of moisturizer one or two times a day. But now that it's been spotlighted for me by some cruel enlightenment of mother nature through my window, I believe I'll close the curtain.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for: "Who the hell's hand is that?!?" No. There will be no photos. :)

Rememberances

2010-03-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

I have thought, and thought, about what to post for Friday My Town Shootout this week. I came up with numerous things, but had no photos to go along with them. What to do?
Then, this afternoon, I received this. To me, it fit perfectly. It is full of rememberances, but, hopefully, it's not to late to turn around.
I certainly hope that no one is offended by this. The truth of this grabbed me. And if nothing else, it is great music!

Look What We've Done (with Intro)

Hubby on Facebook!

2010-03-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

Hubby has his very own Facebook Fan Page! Just go to your Facebook account and search sean conrad. He is having an absolute blast with it. I may have told you before that he was a disc jockey and program director for 22 radio stations all over the U.S. for 30 years. This was back in the day when jocks were stars, and oh the stories he has to tell, and the people he's met!

Since he started his page, many of the people that worked for him and with him have climbed on board to share some great stories. I hope you'll check him out.

He is also a guest blogger here today. It's an article on Gene Chenault, who was one of the founders of Boss Radio!

Yea Hubby!!!

Aren't We All Ready for Spring?

2010-03-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Was it just me, or was there a change in the morning light today? Stronger, brighter, just a bit of warmth in the air. I swear I could feel it.

I certainly have nothing to whine about with the weather, considering it's much warmer here than many places. However, it is going to rain yet again this weekend. It's hard to complain since we've been in a drought for ever!

Looking around the yard, I'm noticing little signs of renewal. My Daylily was dead, people. As in a door nail. But look who's decided to give it another go!

The crocus are stretching their leaves, waking from their long slumber.

The roses have decided to spring back to life, sending out brand new leaves.

The Gerbera Daisy stood up to lay aside its coat of frozen leaves to declare spring's arrival.

And my favorite of all, the wild violets are touching my heart these days with their colorful pronouncement!

Message of the day: Don't give up. Don't quit. Tomorrow brings new life.

Lost Conduit

2010-03-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the men continued to dig along the perimeter of our property. We finally went outside to talk to the men. They had lost the conduit underground, and had to go looking for it.

"How much longer do you think this will go on?"

"We should be done today, and he'll fill it in tomorrow."

"Nah, I can get it filled in today." And he did. Aahhhhhh.

We're all much happier today! :)

I should be happy....

2010-03-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

I guess I should be happy with this little scene out my window today. I should be happy that these men have jobs. I should be happy that the electrical grid will be updated in the neighborhood. I should be happy knowing that it's not just my yard that is ripped up.

But am I happy? Not so much. No. This has been going on for about a month now. Thankfully, not in my yard every day. But the droning of that machinery is about to make me crazy! How do these people do it, day in and day out? And I have to tell ya, the bunnies don't like it either! Enough whining, I'm outta here!

Part Two

2010-02-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

Just a wee bit more about Palm Creek. When we first arrived, we felt like we were in a bustling city, bustling like San Francisco. It was a little overwhelming for us. We're more in to the "great outdoors" kind of RVing.

But Palm Creek is a destination point, a winter home for almost 2,000 motorhomes with one or two people living in them. 4,000 people, it is a small city! Probably one third of this population is here from Canada, and believe me, there were Canadian flags flying high with the Olympics going on!

There were nice little touches like this metal sculpture throughout the resort. Because it gets so hot during the summer, there are very few year round residents. Canadians, I hear, can only be out of Canada for 6 months out of the year, and with the heat coming up in spring, the place is pretty empty by April 15th.

By the third day, we had assimilated in to the fold, and had met some really wonderful people. Yes, I can see why people go back year after year, having made friends with others that you have so much in common with. Maybe eventually we'll end up in a place like this, but for now, we still hear the call of the wild, the call to keep moving and to fill up on the wonders of the road.

Casa Grande

2010-02-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

Dr. appointment went well with my Mom. She gained 2 pounds. She thought she had put on at least 7 or 8. What her doc explained to us, was that for someone with her level of breathing difficulty, she would need to take in 3000 calories a day just to maintain her weight. A couple more desserts?

Yesterday we arrived in Casa Grande, on our way home along Hwy 10, to visit our neighbors that are staying in an RV resort (Palm Creek) for 3 months. This place is huge. It can hold close to 2000 motorhomes, has 2 pools, 5 dog parks, a golf course, beautiful grounds, classes for woodworking, jewelry making, all kinds of things. It's like a big city in here. I'll take more pictures today, just to show you around a little.

Monday

2010-02-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

Back up in Phoenix for a couple of days. Another Dr. appointment for Mom. Hopefully, the news will be much better than last time. Prednisone is an amazing drug. For her, it creates an appetite that equals four men. Big men. With huge appetites. We’re talking 3 desserts! She did mention on the phone yesterday that she wants to talk to me about something, but didn’t want to lay it on me while traveling.
We’re staying in the building on wheels, on the edge of a huge wash that looks east. It’s overcast with a few sprinkles. I heard coyotes yipping in that big wash last night, along with many train horns. I love the sound of those horns, just not in the middle of the night.

Walking the dogs around the RV compound, there are RVs from all over the U.S.; Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington DC, Oregon. One of the things that I love about RVing, is the friendliness of the people that choose this lifestyle. Passing people and dogs, there’s always a good morning, information shared, and tips about the area.
Wilson does not travel well. He wants to like it. He wags that big ol’ tail at the loading of items in the MH, but shakes and worries the whole time we’re moving. Shasta, on the other hand, loves to go. After a while of helping to navigate, she’ll not only lay down, but sleep and dream. However, once at our destination, she won’t eat for at least a day, and the possibility of pooping is questionable for a couple of days. They are such complex little creatures, aren’t they?
Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Now, this is funny!

2010-02-20T07:13:00.000-08:00

I hope your smile lasts all day!

FRIDAY SHOOTOUT

2010-02-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

This week is all about our Town Plaza, suggested by Redlan.

My town was incorporated in 1956. It's a military town, and up until about 15 years ago, it was pretty small. The population today is only 40,000. But even during the six years we've lived here, we've seen the town spread out, new houses popping up like mushrooms, and "traffic" come to our streets and highways. The town is nestled up against the Huachuca mountains (thunder mountain).

We don't really have a town plaza, per se, but most any large gathering will happen here, in the park.

Fairly often we have small carnivals come to town and this area is filled with colorful spinning rides, popcorn, and cotton candy. Every summer this area holds Art in the Park, a large gathering of artisans selling their arts and crafts.

The big indoor swimming pool is actively used all year round. Even during the summer, it has to be inside because of the lightening storms of the monsoon season.

When the weather warms a bit, the park will be full of families, having picnics, birthday parties with bounce houses, and sounds of people laughing. It looks pretty dead and dry right now, but it "lushes" up very nicely during the summer. And no matter which way you look, is a wonderful view of the mountains.

That's all I've got for my town plaza! Please visit here for more Town Plazas around the world.
Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Remember this guy?

2010-02-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

It has taken me all this time to figure out what kind of bird he is.

Verdin

The Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps) is a species of penduline tit. It is the only species in the genus Auriparus, and the only species in the family to be found in the New World.
The Verdin is a very small bird. At 4.5 inches in length, it rivals the Bushtit as one of the smallest passerines in North America. It is gray overall, and adults have a bright yellow head and rufous "shoulder patch" (the lesser coverts). Unlike the tits, it has a sharply pointed bill.
Verdins are insectivorous, continuously foraging among the desert trees and scrubs. They are usually solitary except when they pair up to construct their conspicuous nests. Verdins occasionally try to obtain tidbits of dried sugar water from hummingbird feeders.
Verdins are permanent residents of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, ranging from southeastern California to Texas, throughout Baja California and into central Mexico, north of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

Yes, I feel better having figured it out. :)

All this week I've had another visitor to the watering dish in the front yard.

The Robin is ubiquitous in California, but I think this is the first one I've seen this far south in AZ. Seeing him makes me think that spring is right around the corner.
And this is day 3 for my orchid. I'll stop posting about it after this, but I just love this!

We had a second visit by a potential buyer yesterday. We keep cleaning the house, raking out the gravel, and gathering the dogs with us in the motorhome while they look. This is the part of selling a house that I dislike the most. The hurry up and wait. But we have to keep looking forward to the time when we're just travelin' around in the building on wheels, with all of this part behind us.

Only the Beginning

2010-02-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, day one of my orchid opening. Six years ago, Hubby came home with this for my birthday. I've never owned an orchid before this one. I'm no better at taking care of it today than I was six years ago. It's still in its crunched up little pot, roots sticking out all over the place, but it continues to burst forth in blossom for me, still.

What does that say? In spite of "not so great circumstances" we all still have the opportunity to bloom? I don't know. Now that I read that last sentence, it's pretty cliche. And lame. Must I read something into everything?

My mind these days is a convaluted mess, full of worry, over-thinking, and indecision. I'm questioning my motives and my choices; way too much going on. I'm eating all the time. I'm not hungry. Not in the normal "need to fuel my body" sense. I know something else is going on. Stuffing feelings? Maybe, but it doesn't feel like that's it. Trying to feed something that is lacking? Maybe, but that, too, doesn't feel quite right. I have a sense of it, but can't quite put my finger on it. Anxiety. There it is. Not just about myself, but everyone in my life, and the situations we all find ourselve in.

I guess that when I was young, I thought that everything would work out perfectly, everyone would be happy, settled, leading the kind of life that we thought of as "happy" back in the 50's & 60's. Well, okay, not in the 60's. Ha! I lived those. Do you get what I mean though? Sometimes I feel so naive.

My life is good. Really. But I do feels some responsibility in how others in my life are proceeding with theirs. Am I eating to stay afloat, above the worries and concerns of those I love? Or do I eat to not feel the angst of hunger for what I want for them, as well as for myself?

I have no answers. What I do know is that God keeps showing me that circumstances are never perfect. But they don't have to be. Life blooms anyway, maybe not in the way that we pictured, but they do bloom.

Back Home

2010-02-07T09:12:00.001-08:00

It's good to be back in my own bed. I went up to the Phoenix area to visit my mother and to go with her to her doctor's appointment. I knew she had been having trouble eating, and breathing was extra hard (she has COPD), and that she had been really tired. When she answered my knock on her door, I was shocked. She was a hunched over, walking bone.

Why didn't I go up there a week earlier! Her doctor's appointment was troubling, and she was squeezed in to see the head doctor two days later, the one that only sees critical patients. The first doc had given her a shot to open up her lungs, and put her on prednisone. By the time she went to see the top doc, she was feeling better. He was in and out of there in no time. Whew!

I made her eat 3 times a day, and she seemed to eat better when she didn't have to figure out what to eat. She lives in a place that has a dining room and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But you have to go down there to eat, or to bring the food back to your apartment. Her breathing was so bad that it was too much effort to go eat.

We made a big pot of chicken soup together, ate some, and froze some. She's doing much better, thankfully. She spent the week telling me stories of her life, something she did not often do before. It was probably the best time we've shared in a very long time, just sitting, talking, and being together.

I'll probably spend the next few days trying to get caught up with work and catching up on all of my bloggy friends posts! Oh, and I have a whole lot of doggie belly rubbing to catch up on as well. Have a wonderful day!

Friday Photo Shootout

2010-02-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

This weeks theme, circles, is brought to us by Kerry, in Corvallis, Oregon.

Imagine my delight this morning when I walked out the back door and found frost circles on the hot tub cover! Can you see them?

We see these circles every day when we grab the racket and hit balls for Willy. No, he does not bring them back. He is really just a Golden, not a Retreiver. He likes when the bucket fills up with water, when the ball hits the ground it sprays water all over him. He likes that.

The ubiquitous wild west wagon wheel...

Pathways through gravel yards...

Hubby's grandmother crocheted this table runner full of circles probably 75 years ago.

These circles smell exactly like roses!

Then there are these circles (they smell too)

To see more Circles from this weeks shootout, click here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Gull

2010-02-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Walking, listening to the waves pound the sand, alone. Gulls calling, watching, while sailing by. Water crashing all of the wrongs, all of the failed good intentions in my head. Its cold and I feel the brisk, moist air brush my face and hair as it works its way inland. The pelicans skim across the water, oblivious to anything but their hunger. It seems an easy existence, and yet, hunger, in any form, can be torture.

I sit on the berm, close to the waterline, and look out at the fog bank on the horizon. I think about each one of them, my people, their pain is palpable, each in their own way. They are lost, caught in the rip tide, struggling to swim towards land. I am helpless, lost, too. I tuck my knees to my chest, wrap my arms around them. I hold tight, trying to keep the scream from escaping.

As the wind picks up, the seabirds come to shore, flock together, heads tucked into the wind; as it should be. I turn my head in the other direction and notice a gull walking towards me. I lay my head on my knees and watch him. He walks, hesitantly, to within a couple of feet of me, turns to face the sea, and settles himself into the sand. His head cocks as he eyes me, top to bottom. I feel a surge of wonder, of forgiveness. A smile swells in my heart and rises to my lips. We both close our eyes.

What do you think?

2010-02-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

There is an article in the newpaper about an amateur film maker looking for actors or anyone else interested in helping out with his project. The title of the film will be 13 Bullets, and is the story of a bunch of kids partying in the woods. One of those kids brings a gun to the party.

Really, that's all I read of the article. The plot can go any number of ways and probably will. You're thinking about how you would run with it right now, aren't you? Me too.

I'm also sitting here wondering what the difference is these days in how the younger generation thinks about guns. Guns have been around forever. We have a constitutional right to own guns. We own guns. But as a kid, I was always scared to death of them.

These days it's very hip & cool for a kid to have a gun, and usually the outcome of that is not good. My kids have told me about being at parties where it seemed like a normal occurrence to see a gun laying around. How frightening is that? Kids love to find a party, and they don't always know whose party it is, right? It’s scary. Having worked at the Juvenile Division of the County Attorney’s office, I know that kids can find them pretty easily, if they want them.

But like I said, guns have been around forever. Remember A Christmas Story and the Red Rider rifle? Is it Hollywood that has changed the way kids think of guns, that would make a kid want to carry a gun to have other kids look up to him/her? Is it the breakdown of the American family? What do you think?

Tuesday Walk Thru

2010-02-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

Today we have a realtor walk through. We had a very small one just before Christmas. Only a handful of realtors showed up. Too close to Christmas, people out of town. So we are hoping for a much better showing today.

Our realtor suggested making cookies (me, not her) to entice them through here. Isn't that funny? I'm sure there are so many houses to look at on one of these once a month, Tuesday tours, but I thought it was funny that they would choose to see this house because we had cookies. No matter, I made them, and they are delicious!

I especially like the Coconut Cheese Drops. They have parmesan cheese in them! And they are addictive! My neighbor made fun of me for baking cookies for the realtors saying, "A cookie is not going to sell your house!" (She is not happy that we're moving on.) Then she popped over and I gave her a little baggie of them to take home. She finished them all and I had to give her more so she had at least a couple for her hubby.

I may tell the realtors whoever sells the house gets the recipe!

Weather

2010-01-30T06:08:00.000-08:00

We seem to be done with inclement weather for a the next several days. I understand that the midwest to the east is getting pummelled with weather; ice, snow, loss of power, downed trees.

I'm praying that you're all safe and warm.

FRIDAY SHOOTOUT

2010-01-28T05:54:00.000-08:00

Look Up, Look Down

Looking up at the construction site that we are shooting a video chronicle of for a client.

Looking up, I saw this sign. World famous? Really?

Looking up yesterday:

Looking down:

Looking at the sun coming up:

Looking at the sun going down.

Have a wonderful weekend!
To see other members ups and downs, or to add yours, go here!

Fear

2010-01-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

I looked the word fear up in the dictionary today. Here's what I found.

fear
n.
1. A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
2. A state or condition marked by this feeling: living in fear.
3. A feeling of disquiet or apprehension: a fear of looking foolish.
4. Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.
5. A reason for dread or apprehension: Being alone is my greatest fear.

When you really think about it, there are many different kinds of fear, and we've probably all experienced them at one time or another.

I'm thinking back on some that I have experienced. I have experienced the agitation caused by the imminence of danger (real or imagined.) Haven't we all?

Holy cow, I have absolutely experienced the fear of looking foolish, mostly when I was younger; I do so many goofy things. Luckily, as I grow older I am much more accepting of myself, and so, don't worry too much about it.

How about a fear of failure? For some, it holds them back. For others, it forces them forward.

Fear for the wellbeing of someone else. That's a toughie because you usually don't have any control over it.

There's healthy fear; something that keeps you from hurting yourself, or putting yourself in a bad situation.

There is also a "fun" fear (for lack of a better word). Scary movies or books.

Talk to me. About fear. What was your most fearful moment, and what did you do?

Hubby's Photo

2010-01-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

We were picture taking fools yesterday. I swear as the day moved along, and the sun moved in and out of clouds, we were crazily snapping away.

In the early afternoon, the sun started shining on the mountains that we see out the back of our house, the Dragoons. They're probably 40 miles away, but I've mentioned before that you can see for miles around here.

Anyway, he took the camera out to the pool deck to take more pictures of the snow on those far away mountains, and while trying to get focused and calm, he heard the familiar buzz next to his head.

He turned ever so slightly, and snapped.

Room with a View

2010-01-23T07:05:00.000-08:00

Oh, yes. Good morning!

I love the view from my office. Especially this morning.
The view from Hubby's office isn't bad either.

And the view from the kitchen sink, where I have to wash dishes over, and over, and over again. Somehow, it's not so bad when I get to dream away, looking at this.

See the black area in the middle of the mountain? That's the waterfall. It's probably frozen now, but should start running when it warms up a bit.

Sounds in Your Town - FSO

2010-01-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

This weeks theme is brought to us by NanU. What a creative theme this is. I loved the idea of being led around, blindfolded, to take photos of what we heard. The weather was totally unconducive to being out there doing that however.

I did manage some from inside the house though. This first one I would know blindfolded, for sure.

We have garbage pick up twice a week here in AZ. I'm not sure why, unless it's the heat. Nobody wants old garbage roasting in the can, right? I also wonder about the sound of the truck, the squealing of the brakes. Do they make them to sound like that, so that people like me who may, on occasion, forget to put the can out, will hear it coming, and run to get it out to the curb in time?
The weather has been unusual the last few days. Unusual for AZ, that is. It has rained steadily for a couple of days now, nonstop. So I've been listening to rain pelting my office window.

And because of the storms going through, we've had bigtime wind. It's been howling for days!

That's it from me this week, wrapped in the warmth and comfort of my little abode.
For more creative photos on this great theme, go to http://mytownmrlinky.blogspot.com/! (My linky is not working today :( )

Rainbows

2010-01-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

If there's moisture in the air here, we're gonna get a rainbow. That's in front of the mountain that you can't see right now.

The rainbow has been around all morning long, just moving north as the sun gets higher in the sky. It always crosses my mind that a rainbow is a gift from God. It's like, "I know it's been rainy and drab. Here, this is for you."

With all of the drizzle and strong, gusty winds today, this little guy has been in and out of that gardenia bush.

And look who I spotted in the boxwood; a bird I've never seen before.

Any port in the storm, right? He likes the Hummingbird feeder too.

I know the last picture is hard to see, but I wanted to show you his backside. I think it's some kind of finch. Anyone know?

Although to the right of our house it is fairly clear with sun, the left of our house is just that much closer to the mountain, and has been drizzly & cloudy all day. Weird. The weather is calling for 80 mph winds tonight. I hope all of my little friends hang on tight!

The Wind

2010-01-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

The wind can be relentless here in the fall and spring. I've written before about being on the periphery of storm systems that blow through to the north of us, creating some pretty crazy wind.

Laying in bed in the middle of the night, listening to the wind howl outside, I often think about the indians that surely roamed this territory. Although I think they probably looked for sheltered areas to camp, I doubt that they escaped much of the elements.

Imagine your teepee being whipped around, and pelted with a downpour of lashing rain. Cracks of thunder that feel like they could split you in two. I never really gave much thought to what that must have been like, until we moved here. I may have to do some research about that. It seems pretty fascinating to me now.

Good Morning

2010-01-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

This time of year, sunrise happens about 7:10 a.m. here. Arizona does not observe daylight savings time. This is weird to me to have it dark so late, but I like not having to concern myself with falling forward or back. However, it does still mess with making phone calls to people in other states. Let's see, what time is it there??? During the summer months, it will start getting light around 4:00 a.m.

I don't think I've ever been as aware of the location of sunrises and sunsets as I have been here. You can see almost to forever in any direction, so the changes of the sun are very apparent here. I remember a realtor telling us when we first came here, "In the summer, the sun will set here." Then he halfway turned around and said, "In the winter, the sun will set there." It mattered then because we were having a house built, and the heat of the afternoon sun could keep you inside if the deck didn't face in the right direction.

Anyhoo, it's Monday morning. I saw a beautiful sunrise, and now it's back to work for me. I hope your day is a beautiful one!

Sunday Morning

2010-01-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

Ah, Sunday morning. I love Sunday mornings. Saturdays are made for cleaning house, running errands, being busy. But Sunday mornings, for me, are a time to relax, listen to classical music, dream a bit, and think of creative things I'd like to do.

While checking in to some of my favorite blogs this morning, I found this. Kim is a very talented, creative, and funny woman. I guess you have to have a great sense of humor with 4 kids (under 5?).

What I loved about her painting is the shading, the highlights, the whimsey of it. Check out her website! Right up my alley. Man! How I'd love to be able to do that!

So that's what I'm dreaming about this morning. So often I'll try something, and because it's not great to begin with, I figure I can't do it. I'm tired of giving up so easily. So without actually making a "resolution" for the new year, I'm going to try the concept of "practicing!" Reading about things, the how to of them.

What is it that you would like to learn to do better?

FRIDAY SHOOTOUT

2010-01-14T16:40:00.000-08:00

This weeks theme was suggested by Scriptor Senex at Rambles from my Chair. I was so excited to see that the theme is Birds because I am a bird nut! I love them. Even the ones that other people usually don't care for, I LOVE!

I notice them. Subconciously, I'm on the lookout for them, all the time.

This Cooper's Hawk is a fairly frequent visitor because I feed the little yard birds. These birds will take flying dives into bushes, looking for smaller birds to eat.

This one's for you Scriptor:

Another frequent visitor is the Roadrunner. Yes, they do run across roads (cracks me up), and only fly when they absolutely have to. They will jump up into bushes to get a little bird lunch.

Hubby bought me these concrete ducks one year for Christmas, knowing I would love them around the water dish in the front yard.

Gambel's Quail. I'm not sure where they go in the winter. But during the summer, we are FAT with them!

Yes, pun intended.

The largest family of baby quail I've seen meander through my front yard numbered 17!

These ubiquitous Turkey Vultures during the summer, are nowhere to be found in the winter.

During the winter, these pigeons are huddled together around the electrical boxes on poles. I often wondered if those lines are warm from the electricity running through them.

The Anna's Hummingbird are the only ones left this time of year.
This next one,

the blue bird on the right, I had never seen him before, or since. The photo is blurry, but that's about the best view I had of him too.
My town is full of the biggest, most healthy looking crows I've ever seen.

They like to hang out on the main drag of town (probably because of the fast food places) talking, and watching traffic go by. Every once in a while they will catch a thermal in the sky, and there could be 15 or 20 of them circling. I never get tired of watching them.
I had to add this one. He just showed up this morning. A Red Bellied Woodpecker.

I could go on and on, and on, but I won't. Please fly on over to the Friday My Town Shootout site, and check out everyone's contribution for this week!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Just another day

2010-01-14T14:48:00.001-08:00

I don't think I've ever shown you a picture of the geranium that sits at my front door outside.

The previous owners left it here five years ago. It's hooked up to irrigation. That's probably why they left it. he he.

What is so amazing about it, is that it blooms all year round. During the winter, it does not put out as many, but will still keep poppin' them out.

I've started several new plants with leaves that have come off while taking spent blooms off. I swear, even the new plants are tough! Must have been a really good strain or something.

Yes, I'm rambling. I'm bored, although I have more than enough to do. I'm anxious, even though there's nothing more I can do to move the house along. I'm having a hard time sitting still, even though I need to focus on my work.

Take a deep breath, turn it over, let it go.

Overcast Wednesday

2010-01-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

A somewhat overcast day here in southeast Arizona. These days we have a high of about 60*, and a low down to freezing. I know there will be some eye rolling here, but I'm cold! I guess when you live in a warmer area, the cold seems to be harder to take.

Fifteen hundred feet higher, you can see there is still snow on the top of the mountain. It's hard to tell how much is up there when the sun is shining; it glistens and creates shadows. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

I'm starting to notice the birds landing on the concrete block wall and readjusting nesting material in their beaks. Do you think they are fluffing the winter nest? Or could they actually be thinking of spring already?

I also notice more rabbits in my front yard these days. Really, it looks like a dead zone out there. No new sprouts for them to munch, and the nightime freezes have burned the low lying plants. I've started cutting up apples that may have passed their prime, and putting them out by the water dish in front. The birds and the bunnies take turns nibbling. By morning, even the cores are gone, found by who knows who?

Speaking of the yard looking like a dead zone, perspective buyers probably look at the yard now and think of how much work it would be to make something out of it. So I made a brochure that I will have available from now on, sitting on the kitchen counter, showing what the yard will become again in spring.

One Down

2010-01-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

One garage sale down, probably two or three more to go... As you can see, Wilson is exhausted. His morning siesta was so rudely interupted! All morning long. Let's face it, someone had to keep track of the goings on around here. He didn't realize that Shasta had it ALL under control!

We didn't even open the garage door until after 7 a.m. today, when it started to get light. So different from this summer when people just showed up at 5:30, with no signs out. I was grateful for the extra time.

I've mentioned before that we are only about 15 miles from the Mexican border. By the number of people who stop, that do not speak english, or very little, I wonder if they come across in the wee morning hours on Saturdays to scour the ubiquitous yard/garage sales happening in our town. And so many of them with little kids. I'm a little embarassed, at one point, I had to count from 1 to 15 in Spanish to explain how much one woman owed me. I couldn't just grab that one $15 word out of the air. LOL!

We did fairly well today, although not as well as we did during the summer sale. We had some things that I felt the need to get the amount that I was asking. I would tell people that amount, they would ask if I'd take less (like half!), I'd say no, they'd nod, and leave. Finally my neighbor, that was here helping us, commented to me that, depending on what my goal was for having the garage sale, perhaps what they were offering was not such a bad deal. Oh...you're right! My goal is to get rid of this STUFF! I guess that's perhaps why we didn't do as well this time. :)

There was one little woman, probably 65, maybe not even five feet tall or so, that wanted an item ( I can't even remember what it was at this point), for less than half of what I was asking. I said, "No, I really need to get the $5. "No, $2." "I'm sorry, I really need to get $5 for that." Then she tilted her head, smiled, squinted her eyes, and said, "Please?" Oh good Lord. What to do. I fought my weakness, and said, "I'm really sorry, the price is $5." OMG!!! She did it again!!! Head tilt, smile, eye squint, "Pleease."

"Of course you can have it for $2!!!" Actually, I felt really good about it. It was only later that I started wondering how many times she had blinked those big brown eyes at all of the places she had stopped. I had to laugh.

A Breathtaking Moment

2010-01-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

An upside down ocean of fire...

Yesterday's post held photos from the sunrise. This is what came around in the evening. Sitting at my desk, typing away, and a chance glance out the window. How often do we forget to look, to pay attention.

Thursday Morning

2010-01-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

What a crazy last few weeks it's been. Having my son here, which was wonderful, getting the house back in order after the holidays, cleaning out closets & drawers, deciding what to keep & what to put in the garage sale on Saturday, and having people come to look at the house in the middle of it with NO advance warning whatsoever! Yikes!

So the garage is loaded with piles that need to be laid out in some kind of order, and here's the part I'm really not looking forward to...the pricing. What a chore! But my neighbor offered to come over and help me late tomorrow. We may have to make a party of sorts out of it, just to get through it. Maybe some wine and appetizers? After the pricing? Nah, it'll be much more fun during, don't you think?

By the time we go to bed at night, we're exhausted.

Hubby says: It'll be worth it, you'll see.

Me: hesitantly nodding.

Hubby: Remember, just like when we moved from Santa Cruz?

Me: eye rolling, fingers in ears, humming to myself. Somehow that does not make me feel better.

Anyway, I sincerely hope that this is the last time we make a move like this. And it will be worth it when we drive off in the building on wheels.

But for now, I miss having the time to blog, to check in with my buddies, see how you're all doing.

I hope you enjoy the photos. They were not touched at all. Yes, it was a beautiful morning.

Cleaning Out the Stuff

2010-01-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

Because we have the house up for sale, I've started going through cabinets, drawers, little tucked away places, imagining that I will be getting rid of stuff, and I will because I have to! I have hoarded magazines that I really liked. I'm talking, stacked vertically, about 2 ft. worth. Garage sale fodder, I say today. Someone will like them as much as I did.

But, here's the coolest thing about scaling back and having to go through each & every thing, and cubbyhole in my house. I am one of those people that have, what I consider, for me, brilliant insights about my own life; light bulb moments. It's only taken me 57 years to get to this point. LOL! But all along the way, whatever I was feeling, ended up on a little scrap of paper, tucked away for the light of day, sometime in the future. Not just "my" thoughts, but fantastic phrases, quotes, and feelings of others.

A couple of years ago, I purchased a notebook; a cheap, pretty, very shabby notebook, knowing that sometime in the future I would find a fulfilling use for it. I did today. I pulled it out, and because it is divided into three sections, started filling it up with these lightbulb moments of my own, other peoples bits of wisdom, and an important blank section for whom's purpose, I have yet to determine.

I gotta tell you, I am feeling absolutely sated by this tonight. Mostly because I also ran across a notebook that I had in the door pocket of my car for years. For several of those years, it was the hardest, most emotional, and extremely trying time for me and my family. I spewed every angry word, ugly thought, and tear streaked proclamation into that notebook. Nobody knew about that but me. It was my safe place to let go of all of the craziness I felt going on around me. It was a comfort for me.

At some point, I decided that it was not healthy for me to hang on to those writings. Time goes on, right? I reread each one of my entries and tore the page from the notebook, threw them away. And, truth be told, I felt good about it at the time.

Holding that notebook in my hands today, I feel the emotions in it still. I'm sorry that I tossed away those tidbits of my life. I'll never be able to go back and capture my words, my feelings from those days that, along with the good times, make up my life.