Author: montanaclarks

Saturday evening Emmi was acting strange and by Sunday morning we knew something was not right.  Sunday she would not eat nor drink. She would not go for a walk and she would not play with her toys–she only slept.  Veterinarian care is non-existent in our area on weekends.  Monday morning early we were headed to Tucson with one sick little dog.

In 2007 our miniature schnauzer Jazz became very ill.  We were in Tucson and saw a veterinarian, the wife of one of our fellow cowboy action shooters.  Deborah could not figure out what was wrong with Jazz as she became more and more ill.  Deborah finally referred us to Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson.  VSCOT is a 24 hour a day emergency treatment facility.  There are all kinds of specialists and surgeons on staff–it’s an amazing place. The care we received for Jazz was simply outstanding.  While they couldn’t save her life, they treated Jazz with such love and care that we didn’t hesitate to take Emmi to VSCOT.

This chart is how VSCOT’s triages the pets who come through their doors.  When we were there with Jazz in 2007 we waited at times for hours.  We walked in Monday morning and there was not another person/pet waiting.  We were probably a Priority 3 or 4 type patient.  If a Priority 1 patient/pet had appeared at their doors, we would have had to wait–and we understand.  Monday we were so lucky–they took Emmi back almost immediately and then we joined her in a treatment room to wait for the veterinarian.  She had a fever in spite of still being on antibiotics for the diarrhea–we saw a vet on Friday, January 4.  After examining her and quizzing us the vet had two recommendations–a complete blood panel and possible ultrasound dependent on the lab work.  The technician brings in a cost estimate, asks for your signature and a deposit.  We left Emmi in their capable hands.

We headed off to Home Depot and Costco.  When we were loading the groceries into the truck at Costco the phone rang.  They were ready to discuss Emmi’s results with us.  Emmi was one sick little dog.  One of her liver enzymes was close to 900 and high normal range is 125.  Her other two liver enzymes were also elevated.  The ultrasound of her liver was abnormal.  They wanted to admit Emmi to give her IV fluids and possibly antibiotics if her fever did not go down.  So with tears in our eyes we left Emmi to spend the night.

On the way home I Googled the antibiotic Emmi had been prescribed for the diarrhea–metronidazole.  Adverse reactions listed on many websites mirrored Emmi’s symptoms, particularly the liver failure.  We called VSCOT and spoke with the veterinarian and he wasn’t in agreement with us.  That’s OK.

Monday night was not a restful night for either of us but Emmi did well.  Tuesday morning the vet called and said her fever was gone, she was perky, eating and drinking.  We could come get her late afternoon.

She was so glad to see us as we were Emmi!  The vet’s final diagnosis was hepatitis–infectious or brought on by a toxin.  It could be cancer caused but he ruled that out based on the ultrasound.  The Cowboy and I firmly believe it was brought on by a toxin–the antibiotic.   At home Emmi took a short walk with me, played with her toys, ate and drank.  She slept well–I didn’t, I was up every 2 hours checking on her.  Today we took two long walks, played–she is still not crazy about her dog food–she would rather have the chicken and rice I cooked for her so we are discussing that little issue. 🙂  We dodged a bullet and our sweet little Emmi is on the mend.

We purchased all kinds of meat at Costco yesterday and today I packaged it using a vacuum sealer.  After lunch I helped the Cowboy with some major demolition work in the rooms which will eventually be our outdoor covered patio.  While in Tucson on Monday we made a big purchase–all the new windows for the west side of the house.  It’s so exciting to see it taking shape!

Several people have told us citrus trees do not grow well in this area yet our friends Louanne and Dan have seen a lemon tree loaded with fruit across the golf course from their home.  While I Home Depot we spotted citrus trees and decided to give it a try–one lemon and one lime–we will see what happens.

 Sunset Wednesday afternoon and snow on the Chiricahua Mountains.  

 

Friday dawned super foggy, pea soup foggy.  It was yoga day and I wasn’t going to let the fog keep me from going. By lunch time the fog was all gone and we were enjoying warmer temps and bright sunshine–perfect tumbleweed digging weather!

The Cowboy hung some insulation and removed that electrical panel from the hallway on Friday.  In the evening we were invited to a dinner party at Linda’s.  Janice joined us as well as Deb and Mark–we had met Deb when we first purchased this property but Mark is newly retired and can now spend winters in Arizona.  Linda can cook–the Mexican food was delicious as was Deb’s salad.  It was just a delightful evening to say the least!

Sunshine again on Saturday.  Deb, Mark and Linda play pickle ball and invited us to come watch on Saturday which we did–the Cowboy is thinking he might like to try playing.  Sunsites has a great library and used book store.  We visited both picking up a stack of used books and having the librarian order a couple other books from area libraries.

Saturday was Home Depot delivery day.  After the guy unloaded the pallets with his forklift the Cowboy and I had to move all those supplies inside.  Uh-duh!  Drywall is heavy stuff!  We had enjoyed a late breakfast and didn’t eat lunch until 3pm after all that hard work.  Pizza was on the meun.  I had some Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day dough in the refrigerator and had chunks of it rising for the crust.  I am always searching for a better pizza sauce recipe and thanks to Judy over at Patchwork Times  I have found a new favorite.  The pizza was delicious in spite of my almost dumping the entire works into the bottom of my oven.

Saturday evening right at sunset Emmi and I took a walk–we were rewarded with some beautiful skies.

The Cowboy managed to find more demolition work on Sunday while I went to church.  It’s a mostly cloudy, cool day. Steaks on the grill for lunch–finally we eat beef!

Setting sun touches the mountain tops over our odd looking house.  Once we have the whole thing stuccoed it will look more like a southwest house instead of something with the top painted white! 🙂

 

That little strip of early morning sunshine was the last of the sun we were to see on Thursday–46 degrees and rain–again.

Yoga resumed Tuesday morning after our instructor’s holiday break–it was a fabulous class.  Our friend Janice went with me for the first time and I think she enjoyed it?? 🙂

The Cowboy used his new toy––to strip some stubborn, sticky linoleum floor tiles.  Hard, heavy work!  He wants to move the refrigerator to its permanent home so he can finish removing all the drywall in the kitchen.  He’s been busy in the electrical department the last couple days.  Before we joined the two houses the electrical panel was on the outside of the main house.  The Cowboy has re-wired most everything and used the new panel which is now on the outside of the hallway that joins the two houses.  The water pump was wired into that old panel and the Cowboy has been digging and pulling wires the last two days in order to wire the water pump and RV hookups into the panel where the main meter is located on a pole.

 Old electrical panel, soon to be gone.

 That pole and panel is where the pump breaker will be located.And he was successful in avoiding all water lines!

Wednesday morning I dug tumbleweeds–some days I am discouraged thinking I will never get rid of all those tumbleweeds and other days I think I’m making progress–which I am!  I only dig about one hour then rake all the tumbleweeds into piles.  The tumbleweeds can grow to be massive.  The weed breaks off at the ground in strong winds and rolls across the landscape spreading seeds.  At any obstacle the tumbleweeds pile up–such as around the mesquite trees, along fence lines and against houses.

Our tumbleweeds are ground level and most are dead–just still attached to their roots.  Our caretaker, Milton, mowed the tumbleweeds and sprayed them–so that’s what I’m digging, the dead, ground level weeds.

Wednesday afternoon I was ambitious enough to stain the beam I’ve been sanding and I also stained the two support beams–they look fabulous–just what I wanted!–photos to come.

Today was bathe the dog day, and I also gave her a haircut.  It’s been so chilly we’ve let Emmi’s fur grow shaggy and she looked like a little ragamuffin!  It took me almost two hours and when finished I was covered in dog hair–she wiggles a lot!  I’ve had lots of friends say they never want another dog which requires grooming–that would be absolutely wonderful–except–schnauzers don’t shed.  I’ve had one dachshund, and two airedales in my adult life–all three shed horribly.  After having the two schnauzers I am sold on the non-shedding factor–but that’s just me!

Tonight the Cowboy cooked–we went to the local bar, TJ’s for dinner and it was actually quite good.  Thursday is taco night–I had tacos and the Cowboy had nachos.

Mom Katie’s barn helpers–Brooks and Millie.

 

 

 

 

 

After all the holiday excitement January always seems routine to me.  By the time January 1 rolls around I am ready for people to go back to work, kids to go back to school and for life to return to normal–routine.  And for us to stop eating so much junk!  My Cowboy is addicted to Chex Mix made from Chex cereals.  He likes his made with just cereal–don’t be adding pretzels or nuts to his Chex Mix.  I only make the mix during the holidays and we went through way too many batches!  Today marks one week that the Cowboy has not eaten any beef–for him that might just be a record! 🙂  I did have a beef taco in Willcox on Thursday but that’s the only beef I’ve eaten this week too.

Saturday I finished sanding the beam in the main house and cleaned up the mess–sanding brown paint makes for lots and lots of dust.  I wear a TB mask–at least that’s what we always called this mask in the operating room.  It’s a mask which needs to be fitted although I think Home Depot sells only one size.  The masks are N95 made by 3M.  The mask has two elastic straps, one goes over the top of your head, the other around the base of your ears.  It fits VERY tight and if the room is warm as were some of our operating rooms, the mask is claustrophobic.  But it works and is necessary when caring for some patients such as those with TB.  It also works when sanding if you can stand to wear the things!

The Cowboy has been bouncing around–wiring, hanging insulation on the living room ceiling, plumbing–he’s my jack of all trades!  Sunday was “make a list” day and he spent time doing just that while I was at church.  We are gearing up to make an order large enough for Home Depot to deliver.  Home Depot of course charges to come here from Sierra Vista with a semi and forklift–the Cowboy likes to load everything he possibly can onto that truck!

I recently became a member of the Facebook group, Cochise County and Its Wonders.  The snow and rain we’ve had lately have made for some stunning photography.  This photo was taken by Jennifer Eastman Damato and when I asked questions about the location of this canyon, she kindly sent me GPS coordinates.  Water in the desert is an amazing thing to see!

In the wee hours of Sunday morning it began to rain and rained until late morning–a lot of rain.  After the rain we skirted the puddles and walked Emmi but spent most of our time inside, relaxing.  I finished a nativity scene worked in wool for my sister–it’s good to have it finished–I’ve only been working on it for over a year I think! 🙂

Lots of steam rising from the power plant–not much wind that day but it was chilly.

Sunday night at some point in my sleepless time, I looked out the window and saw stars–exciting, maybe it meant we would have sun on Monday.  Well–not exactly.Pea soup!

Off to Sierra Vista we go. The fog was incredibly thick–I don’t like to drive in dense fog and neither does the Cowboy–thankfully there is not a lot of traffic out here and we stayed alert.  By the time we got to our turn-off to Tombstone–Gleeson Road–the sun was shining and the views were incredible–the fog was hanging over the mountains and over both Tombstone and Sierra Vista.

First stop of course was Home Depot and by the time we walked out of there two hours later we were both in a daze.  It’s the luck of the draw as to which person waits on you at the Pro Desk.  We didn’t get very lucky today–we will just leave it at that! 😦  For lunch we found some fast food which unfortunately included beef as in burgers to go and made a quick stop at Fry’s–the grocery store.  It was a relief to finally reach our quiet home in the desert.

 

 

It was snowing hard when we woke on Wednesday morning and before the snow stopped we had about 2 inches.  And it was dang cold at 24 degrees!  Emmi and I didn’t take a morning walk–highly unusual for us–we waited until late afternoon when it had finally stopped snowing.

The Cowboy re-routed a bedroom door yesterday and I sanded the other side of that beam–almost finished.  I made chicken marsala for lunch and it was delicious.  I’m trying new “disguise chicken” recipes–in the New Year we are trying to eat a little more healthy and that means less beef.  The Cowboy liked the chicken marsala.

Thursday dawned cold and extremely foggy.  So cold my hairdresser texted me to say their water into the salon was frozen–could we reschedule.  We waited a couple hours and it must have warmed enough as they had water flowing when we made it to Willcox.  Houses in most of Arizona are not built for extreme cold–and continued extreme cold as we are having now.  In the restaurant where we had lunch we overheard two couples discussing one couple’s frozen water pipes–they are hauling water into the house to flush toilets, etc.  Luckily my handy husband covered our pressure tank and placed a light bulb under the tarp covering the tank.  Most people living in Arizona and using wells have their pressure tanks sitting out in the open–it’s just not supposed to be this cold in sunny Arizona!

It was so foggy we could not see our neighbors who live one quarter mile away.  And it was an icy fog making for gorgeous foliage and trees.

By the time we finished having lunch in Willcox the fog had burned away and it was a balmy 34 degrees!  On the way home we spotted this amazing bunch of sandhill cranes–

  Emmi was patiently (yea, right) waiting for us when we came home.  She is much better and I did add pumpkin to her rice and chicken–it helped!  We were able to see the traveling veterinarian in Willcox Friday morning–he has a practice in Glendale but travels to Safford, AZ on Thursday then to Willcox on Friday.  Emmi does have another bacterial intestinal infection which the vet thought might be caused by (and this is icky) impacted anal glands.  Those icky things were addressed and we went home with antibiotics and expensive dog food.

The Cowboy has finished wiring the living/dining room of the main house–that’s a big step and we now have lights that work–not pretty lights but we have light! We are having guests over for happy hour tonight–we were experiencing cabin fever!

We had a very enjoyable evening with Linda and Janice–it’s fun to hear about other’s adventures.  Linda has hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon twice, the last time when she was 71 years old.  Janice and Linda have been so many places–a very interesting evening!

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!

 

 

Our early morning Wednesday caused an early to bed evening and we slept very well Wednesday night.  Thursday dawned clear and blustery.  It was back to the tumbleweed patch for me and the Cowboy started plumbing.  We are building a half bath in the corner of the hallway connecting the two houses–just a toilet and pedestal sink.  

Emmi and I took a couple walks, I ironed some shirts for the Cowboy and managed several loads of laundry–just routine stuff but it still needs to be done.  Late this afternoon the Cowboy’s cousin Pete stopped by–he owns a place not far from us.  He too is dealing with tumbleweeds on a larger scale!

Friday morning had us thinking we had been transported in our sleep back to Montana!!  Twenty nine degrees and SNOW!! The rest of the day was very chilly and blustery but the snow made for gorgeous photos!

 Looking east toward the Chiricahua Mountains.  That’s our little Home Depot Christmas tree from last year, my rosemary plant which really grew this year and the ornamental grasses I planted which didn’t do so well but are still alive.Looking west toward the Dragoon Mountains.  A couple of our little eldarica pine trees which also grew over the summer.

Friday was a busy day–I cooked and cooked some more–we have to stop eating soon!!  Our summer caretaker Milton and his wife Lucy came for dinner.  Jennifer, their daughter who is in town having some dental work also came.  It was a very enjoyable evening. We had roast beef cooked in the pressure cooker, garlic mashed potatoes and brown sugar pecan carrots.  I also made a Pioneer Woman chocolate pie.  I’ve never been a pie crust maker. Over the last few years I’ve been thinking it was time I learned to make a crust and have tried on occasion.  Our friend Louanne puts me to shame in the pie crust baking category and I’m determined to learn! My first attempt was last Saturday for the pumpkin pie–it was OK.  The crust yesterday wasn’t exactly pretty but it was very flaky and tasted great!! But there is a problem with the practice of baking pie crusts–you end up eating them!!

It’s almost time to take down the decorations–I hate to see them go–makes our little house very festive!

I’ve been a bum today–the weather has been frightful–a good day for staying inside!

The Cowboy is in demolition mode again–it’s cold over in the main house, really cold, making work not so pleasant.  He decided to start running electrical wires so he can install some heat–wise move I would say! 🙂 So, the walls and ceiling of a closet had to go.

My sweet great nieces–Elizabeth and Leah–and Charlotte (the dog, aka the horse!)

 

The Cowboy and I certainly enjoyed Christmas and sincerely hope our readers also had a great Christmas!  We wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, too!

We had plans to head to Wickenburg on Monday.  Sunday morning I decided we were leaving about 11am and the Cowboy agreed.  He was a bit gimpy with the flare up of an old ankle injury so I drove the entire way.  I scurried around all Sunday morning finishing my cooking and packing.  We left just before 11am and if not for a slow down just on the other side of Tucson, we would have made North Ranch in four and a half hours.  Traffic through Phoenix was heavy but moving rapidly–very rapidly and I just made it a point to keep up! 🙂

Geri had made dinner and Tom and Sandy joined us.  Delicious meal with great friends.  Later in the evening Jim and Ellie stopped by for a visit too.  We stayed in Larry and Geri’s guest house–aka their RV.  Christmas Eve was a beautiful day–sunny and bout 72 degrees.  I cooked a little preparing my dish for the Christmas Day lunch, took a long walk with Geri and Emmi and just enjoyed the day.  Larry and the Cowboy solved the world’s problems.  We also paid Pat and Mike a visit as well as Jim and Ellie–it was a great day!

We have good friends from Montana who purchased a home in Wickenburg–we were married in their Montana home–good friends.  They arrived last week to enjoy some warm weather for a while and we went to their house to celebrate Christmas Eve.  Jill is a great cook and that beef tenderloin was to die for!  It was fun to see them as well as their adult children.  The house is taking shape, they shipped a bunch of furniture from Montana to Wickenburg and it looks great!

 Their view of Vulture Peak

 Jill and Fritz Cooper Jill’s tastefully decorated table.

Fritz getting ready to carve. A wonderful evening spent with good friends.

Christmas Day dawned not so warm but still better than the chilly weather in Montana. North Ranch sponsors a turkey dinner in the Activities Center–they provide the turkey and gravy.  Various people host tables–Geri and Larry were our hosts at our table of ten.  The table folks bring side dishes and desserts.  There was no shortage of food and after eating we visited for a while then waddled home.  Several of the ladies met at Larry and Geri’s and we took a walk around the park–that helped.

It was early to bed for us–we had a very early morning on the day after Christmas.  Geri was flying to Rapid City this morning to babysit the granddaughter for a week–Larry was taking her to catch the shuttle to the Mesa airport and they were leaving at 3:30am!!!  We volunteered to take Geri instead–we were going that way after all.  After dropping Geri at the shuttle location in Surprise we headed out of Phoenix–at that time of morning, traffic was light and we sailed through.  Same with Tucson after stopping at a Walmart for a grocery run.

We are home, unpacked and relaxing after an awesome Christmas holiday.  Emmi and I braved the wind and cool temperatures for a couple walks and I made a pot of taco soup.  Again, we hope you enjoyed your Christmas holiday as much as we did!

Stormy clouds and chilly temps.

 

 

 

Several weeks ago on Craigslist I spotted a dining room table I thought would work in our small guest house.  We currently are using one of those pub style tables and it only seats four people. We talked about it and both agreed we wouldn’t buy any furniture until we had more of the main house finished–no room to store any more furniture. That decision didn’t keep either of us from searching Craigslist.  Wednesday morning I found THE table and chairs and when I showed the photos to the Cowboy he said, “let’s hook up the horse trailer and go get it.  So much for the decision not to buy furniture!  Thursday afternoon we headed to Tucson and bought the table and chairs.  It’s handmade of rosewood with exquisite workmanship and gorgeous wood.  There are six chairs, two of which are arm chairs.  When the main house is finished this table will look gorgeous in our dining room.  One of the reasons it appealed to us so much is that it is 36 inches wide–most tables are 42 inches wide.  We have a small space for a table in the tiny guest house–this one fit the bill.

Friday the Cowboy spent the day installing a motion detector light and some hallway lighting.  He was busy, busy all day long.  I spent most of the day cooking–pies and pizza crust–we had pizza for lunch.  Emmi and I spotted the deer herd during our early morning walk–

Saturday was a beautiful day in Arizona. Not only was the weather outstanding but we also got to spend several hours with our friends Jim and Linda who live year round in Tombstone.  We met Jim and Linda probably in about 2004? while we were participating in cowboy action shooting.  Jim was a shooter, Linda held down their fort. They were full time RVers when we first met but several years ago they settled in Tombstone.  They are just the easiest people to be around, so kind and giving.

Linda arrived with homemade chocolate sauce but that’s not all she brought–she had Jim bring into the house this big, heavy blue box.  When I opened the house warming gift I was amazed–I’m thinking it is the one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received!! Linda has exquisite taste and her gift to me shows that taste.  There were two bowls in the box from the Nambe’ Forte collection.  The bowls are made from concrete (yes, concrete) with the traditional Nambe’ silver rim.  Thank you so much Linda and Jim, I LOVE them!!

We had such a delightful meal and afternoon of gabbing, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Linda and Jim.  It wasn’t long after they left that it was time for us to go eat again.  Tonight the VFW was serving prime rib–reservations were required and when we inquired about going, we were told they were sold out.  Well, those new friends (thanks Linda and Norma Sue!) we’ve made in this special community worked magic and we were able to attend tonight.  The food was delicious and the company so much fun!  AND–I won the 50/50 drawing–$65!–it was meant to be that we attend!

 Sunrise Saturday morning.

And Linda’s Christmas card–a true southwest themed one.

Life is very good!  Merry Christmas!!

 

 

You gotta love technology!  While digging tumbleweeds Monday morning I had the phone in my back pocket and was thrilled to receive a video chat from the Germany folks–Laci and Lora with John in the background adding a comment or two on occasion.  Lora, the excited beyond reason for Christmas great granddaughter took the phone and gave me a tour of their house at 4 year old speed.  I was getting dizzy things were whizzing by at such speed–Mimi, here’s the tree, here’s Gemma (the dog), this is our house, this is my tea party.  I love technology!  And I love that we can ship items to them via USPS One Rate boxes–same price as if they were in the US.

They had received a box of cookies and little gifts for Lora.  I also included something special for Laci.  When Laci joined the USAF straight out of high school she sent her much loved Grandpa Nat a cap embroidered with US Air Force.  Nat treasured that cap and when we were cleaning his house after his death I found that cap hanging where he always hung it.  I washed it and sent the cap to Laci–she was very glad/sad to receive it.

Last night’s freak, quick storm brought us a beautiful day on Tuesday.  As I was driving to Elfrida for yoga this morning I marveled at the scenery surrounding us.  Mountains as far as the eye can see, rocks and dirt with a pink hue, blue skies, green alfalfa fields, stark pecan trees with no leaves–yes, we like our little corner of Arizona. Except for those dang tumbleweeds! 😉

Here comes the storm, the wind roared about 9pm and brought a brief rain shower.

The storm clouds were hanging over all the mountain ranges.

It was visitor day–Linda came out (we really need to exchange phone numbers!) to give me the details for Wednesday’s trip.  Then our neighbors to the south dropped by–Charlisa only comes at Christmas time bringing her friend Margaret and this time her son.

The Cowboy after reading the blog on Sunday told me we were far from being finished with the demolition–one can hope, can’t we???   He was in demolition mode again today but also fitted another post under the supportive beam between dining and living rooms.  After yoga, lunch and visitors I started working on our growing trees–the man at the nursery told us to put “chicken wire” around the base of the trees so the varmints would not destroy the trunks.  We also put large woven wire cages around the trees to deter the deer and jackrabbits.  Well, the trees have outgrown the chicken wire.  I removed the chicken wire and placed it around the outside of the large woven wire cages–we aren’t taking any chances on nibbling varmints!  The trees look great!  Two trees finished–six more to go.

The beam is supported–the main house had a living room on the southeast corner and three small what we think were bedrooms along the entire western side of the house.  We are incorporating the southwest corner bedroom into our living/dining room and it will have west facing windows looking toward the Dragoons.  We will knock out the west outside wall of the other two bedrooms giving us a covered west facing patio.  The kitchen windows will look out over that patio and toward the Dragoons.  The Cowboy installed the last support post today–we’ve gone from this:

To this:

 The beam was original and has been painted an ugly brown color on both ends–my goal is to strip the brown paint, sand the beam and leave it exposed.

Emmi is standing in the original living room and the brick wall in the living room is to her right out of the photo.  That one window will be replaced with three larger windows. Just beyond the trash can on the right hand side of the photo there will be a sliding door going out to the covered patio.  It’s taking shape, we are beginning to see our vision!

I went to lunch today with a great group of ladies–Linda organized the lunch group and also wanted me to meet Marsha, a quilter and retired nurse–think we had anything to talk about??  Off to Willcox we all went, nine of us from all walks of life–an archaeologist, an architect, a nurse, a social worker, a lady originally from Germany, etc.  We made a quick stop at the grocery store before returning to Sunsites.

Our weather was just amazing today–almost 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky–we can handle that kind of weather!