Happy New Year

Where did 2018 go?  When I was 15 years old, it seemed as if I would never see my 16th birthday–I wanted that driver’s license!!  Now, at 63 years old, the years just go by in a blur–and I’m not liking it! But as Nat would often say, “it’s better than the alternative!”

The Cowboy and I wish all our family, friends and readers a healthy, prosperous, and happy New Year!

In 2018 I traveled–San Diego, the Outer Banks, Arkansas, Florida–all by plane.  We enjoyed some ATVing with friends Larry and Geri–the Wild Horse Range in Wyoming.  We traveled to Spokane to visit our friend Mary and to motorhome shop. We lost our family patriarch in 2018. In between all that we worked on the Arizona place.  That’s a very abbreviated 2018 in review.

Dang it’s been chilly in Arizona this winter–Sunday morning it was 24 degrees!!  It’s been a few degrees warmer in Congress, AZ but not by much.  The sun shines but with a brisk breeze it doesn’t take Emmi and I long to walk around the neighborhood!  The Cowboy started in a new direction a couple days ago working toward getting the main house wired so we can have heat over there.  He wired our entire Montana home and then had it inspected by the state electrical inspector–all was good.  He’s smart–that Cowboy!  In the evening of New Year’s Day, the Cowboy now has heat in the main house.

Taken a few days ago when we had sunshine.

New Year’s Eve I decided to try sanding the beam we unearthed when deciding to eliminate the wall which gives us the much larger living/dining area.  Someone had painted both ends of the beam an ugly brown color. The middle section of the beam was covered with some kind of wall board so was still natural wood underneath–just rough.  That sanding was hard work! I stood on scaffolding which made it a touch easier but it was still hard, dusty work!  One side and the bottom of the beam is sanded–only one more side to go.

Ms. Emmi isn’t feeling so well again–same symptoms she had back in August when she had the intestinal bacterial infection.  We haven’t found a veterinarian we like in this area.  Friends use a vet who comes to Willcox once a week–on Fridays–New Year’s Eve I left a message to see if we could be worked in this Friday.  Our other option is the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson–this center is strictly an emergency clinic.  No appointments–first come, first serve but they triage so your spot in line can be bumped for a pet with a more emergent need.  When I called the center New Year’s Eve they told me the wait time was five to six hours!! This center is absolutely fabulous–we were referred there when our other little schnauzer, Jazz, was so ill–we were so impressed with the care she received and the reasonable pricing.  We will use the emergency clinic as a last resort.

While we wait to see a vet, I’ve started treating Emmi on my own–fasting her for 12 hours then feeding her small, amounts of white chicken and white rice mixed with plain yogurt.  She wasn’t so thrilled with her first feeding of the chicken and rice but now she eats it well and she is better–no diarrhea.  And her people are much relieved!

New Year’s Eve we attended a small, close to home party at the home of people we met through friends Brian and Diane (they drilled our well.)  Lyndon and Lisa (nurse practitioner at the Willcox clinic) moved here in August.  They have a pool table, ping pong table and multiple games.  We all contributed food and it was a very enjoyable evening–didn’t know I was married to a pool shark!  We bowed out about 10pm to come home and check on Emmi.And this is Brian–that’s his son Ty in the background.

New Year’s Day in Montana–nope–Arizona!  We woke on this first day of 2019 to snow once again and it’s not over yet.  What you see in the photos was gone in just a few hours but we could see 4-6 inches tonight and tomorrow.

The Cowboy got the heat going in the main house this afternoon and I spent the day taking down the holiday decorations.  The outside light removal will have to wait until a warmer day.

Happy New Year!