She flew the Coop!

You might think this post has something to do with my last post about eggs. But you would be wrong. This has nothing to do about chickens really. But . . . let me explain:

We are back in Phoenix after a quick trip to Utah for a family wedding. We brought Lindsey, Rob, and their daughter Sadie back to Phoenix with us. They will be staying for Christmas and New Years. That is the good news. The bad news is that Sadie isn't home with her familiar couch, high chair, and crib. We have a portable small crib that she has used before. But this visit things are a little bit different. She does not like the crib! She cried the whole night after our road trip home. She sobbed, wailed, screamed, and just plain threw a HUGE FIT! But everyone made it throught the ordeal and everything seemed fine the next morning. Then when bedtime came again last night - she flew the coop!

Yes she had been put into bed and wasn't all that happy about it. But they did their evening ritual and left her in the crib crying. Pretty soon Sadie was walking out the bedroom door! Talk about surprising! Now she realized she could get out of the crib and was no longer a "prisoner" in a cage. Somehow they managed to get her to sleep and sort of stay in the crib.

Then today at naptime the battle started again. But Lindsey was strong and used the "Super Nanny" bedtime technique and it worked like a charm. She lovingly put Sadie to bed and left the room closing the door. It wasn't but a second or two later that Sadie came running out of the room. She picked up Sadie and told her "It's bedtime." She took her back into the room and put her in the crib. Another few seconds and out she came. This time, as per the "technique", she just put her back into bed and said nothing at all. She continued getting out of bed but each time she was slower about coming out. Then one time she just got out of crib and knocked on the door. Lindsey didn't answer but when Sadie came out she put her back in bed. Then she just stayed there. And she has been sleeping peacefully ever since.

It sounds to me like Lindsey has that Bedtime Technique mastered. We'll just have to see how things go tonight. We'll see if she flies the coop or just roosts for the night.

EGGS

When I went to exercises today I didn't know it would be my lucky day. But it was. Here's the story.

The aerobics instructor has chickens. They started laying eggs a few months ago. Now that they are getting about 11 eggs a day she has started bringing them in on Fridays. Then anyone at the aerobics class who wants the eggs can put their name in the hat and she draws out 2 names. Each person gets 6 eggs. Today my name was picked. So I came home with 6 really fresh "free range" chicken eggs. The best part is they are beautiful! They are all shades of brown and tan with some greens thrown in to boot. When we cook them I'll have to let you all know how they taste. But for now - I'm holding on to the EGGS . They are just too pretty!

FROSTY!

This morning it was FROSTY! When I checked the temperature inside the house it was 64 degrees. So I turned on the heater for a few minutes to take the chill out of the air. Then I checked the outside temperature and it registered at a FROSTY 38 degrees. That's cold in this neck of the woods.

When I saw the temperature I was tempted to stay inside and not go to my regular aerobics class. But I did go. I put on one layer of clothing to exercise in. Then I put on another layer of clothing to help keep me warm in the car and walking from my car to the gym. Then just to be safe I put on my warmer than the usual jacket. And still with all of that the cold came through. I thought I was being wimpy until I noticed while backing out of the driveway that our grass was covered with frost. Our roof was covered with frost. As I made my way to exercises I noticed that every roof and lawn was covered with frost.

So for a Phoenician, I am not wimpy. I am just a little FROSTY today. That's all.

I Just Couldn't Do It

I must admit failure. I just couldn't do it. I tried. I really did try. I only lasted a day and a half. I even left my floors in the middle of cleaning them - then I couldn't put it off any longer. The computer and keyboard just, well, pulled me over and invited me to get this posted and off my mind. Then I would be able to concentrate on the tasks at hand.

Have you ever had a dream where you go to school without your clothes on? If so, I'm sure Dr. Phil would see some dark deep meaning behind it.

Well here in Phoenix it happened. Not the dream - in real life. Yes, yesterday morning I got an early phone call from Doug at work. "Help, I came to work without my pants! I need you to bring me some."

WHAT!!?? you might ask. But sure enough - he was at work with no pants. Don't let your hearts fret too much. He rode his bike to work in his styling biking shorts. So he was fully covered. But you just can't be taken too seriously as an engineer with a button-down collared shirt with church socks and work shoes while wearing a pair of padded cycling shorts.

I am laughing now as I type this out. Sorry Doug! Like I said, I tried to avoid posting about it - but I just couldn't do it.

Scratchy Tags

I can't stand it. Sometimes the tags in my clothes drive me crazy! Doug thinks I've got a Princess and the Pea saga going on. But heck - if they scratch the back of my neck - THEY'RE GONE!! I always give the tag a chance at being nice. But the tags in the shirt I got on vacation only lasted about 30 seconds.

Can't someone please make tags that don't scratch my neck?!

Mighty Colorado

I went on a wonderful 5 day backpacking hike into the Grand Canyon. One night we camped on the banks of the Colorado River! WOW! What a neat experience. Here is a short video to give you a taste of what it was like.

The Trip

With a chunk of vacation days left to use up before the end of the year - we are planning on taking a trip. The trip is taking us from AZ, to NV, then CA, a short stay in UT, winding it up back in AZ. Details will be reported at a later date. But we are excited. We are leaving tomorrow.

I'm sure we will enjoy the trip - but we saved the best for last. We will be in UT to see our kids and SADIE. So once again I am posting a video to get her pumped up for another visit from her AZ grandparents.

Bike Bash

Dad rides his bike to work a lot. He leaves in the morning when it is dark and sometimes he doesn't ride home until dark. But no worries - he has a bike head light and tail light. But yesterday things DID NOT go well. As he was at 39th and Dunlap he attempted to get onto a sidewalk and the edge caught his wheel and down he went. He was OK but the head light did not fare so well. It was in pieces. So he called for a rescue vehicle to pick him up. That was me!

This morning though, he was determined to ride his bike in to work again. So with a little engineer ingenuity he attached his brand new birthday present - flashlight - to his handlebars. He remembered, "helmet on for safety". He even wore his specialty biking shorts with padded rear end for his rear end (these were a birthday gift from 2 or 3 years ago that he never used) and off he went. I hope tonight he doesn't experience another Bike Bash!

Someone's Birthday

October 15th is a day of celebration in our house. The celebration was rather muted this year - but celebrate we did. Doug was center stage today. I made him this nice breakfast but he didn't eat it in bed - he is going to work too early these days for that. He opened one gift before work this morning. It was the Kevan's gift. He loved it and was thinking about it all day long.

I decided that instead of cooking dinner we would go out to dinner (I haven't yet caught up and done grocery shopping since my Great Grand Canyon Adventure - post to follow). But we decided to wait for Scott to get off work and then go to dinner. So by the time we ate dinner - at Black Angus - I was starved! The food was good. Doug got a special that included Lobster, Shrimp, and Steak. Here is the advertised special on the flier.

Most of his time at home in the evening was spent talking on the phone with family members who called to wish him a "happy birthday".

Anyway, we were almost in bed for the night before I remembered to get out his gift. He got 3 new shirts and a new flashlight. We have a lot of old worn down and failing flashlights but not too many that actually work to our satisfaction. So that was needed. I hope it is a good one that lasts for a long time.

Because of our later dinner we didn't even have room for cake or pie. Hopefully that doesn't throw Doug off his birthday groove. It's always fun to celebrate someone's birthday - especially when it is your own!

5'5" Is Not Tall Enough

Dad is always on the look out for a good activity for his Young Men. He has found that geocaching is something they usually enjoy. But he likes to ensure success. So he usually goes to the geochache spots first and makes sure he can find them. Then when the boys do the activity he can help them to find the right spot. Anyway, there are a couple on the church property. Another one is one very near the church in a park across the street. So he set out to check them out. The ones on the church property he found. Then the one across the street in the park turned out to be a toughie. He went no less that 5 times before he was successful. He went 3 times alone. Then he took me - with Billie in tow - one time - thinking my eyes might help him. But they didn't. After reading more about the stash and getting a few more tips he discovered that his 5'5" is not tall enough to get the cache. So he finally he took the big guns. He took Scott and his 6' friend Werner. And finally he was successful! Scott's contribution to the find is the photo record of the event. Here are a couple of pictures of the successful trip.

Note the tree is made of metal. It is really quite impressive.

In the world of geocaching you need to keep your "finds" secret. You don't want people who do not geocache to see the stash and possibly wreck it. So they refer to "those people" as muggles. And as you are about your geocaching activities you are supposed to keep the muggles oblivious to what you are doing by being secretive. This helps explain something Scott says in this video.

Oomm pah Oomm pah Oomm pah pah.

Friday we went out to dinner. We decided to find a restaurant in downtown Glendale to try out. We cruised around until we found Haus Murphy's German Restaurant. That was it! Germans celebrating Octoberfest and us eating at a German Restaurant - it was perfect!

We saw some of the staff in the traditional costume. Yes, some of the guys were wearing their Lederhosen. We figured they did this to encourage generous tipping.

The menu was bursting with German delicacies. Schnitzels galore. Do you know what a Schnitzel is? From the menu we read: "It is not a Hot Dog! It is a lean, tenderized Pork Loin, lightly breaded with our secret house blend of spices, sauteed to a golden brown." There were also a variety of Bratens. Some spaetzles - noodle or dumpling dish. A German Potato Pasta called Gnocchi was listed. And don't forget the myriad selections of wursts - bratwurst, knackwurst, wollwurst, and weisswurst. Then finally the strudels.

All this PLUS a real Oomm pah Oomm pah Oomm pah pah Band. We could hear some music in the back. Pretty soon we could tell it wasn't just a recording being played to add to the atmosphere. The two musicians wandered out in their Lederhosen and started playing near our table. (Also note the knee socks.) There was an accordian player and a guy playing a tuba - not the marching band variety. They played a rousing arrangement of "Roll out the barrel". It seemed to last forever. Just as we were tiring of that song they broke out into another one in their repertoire. But the music was nice and certainly did add to the atmosphere. (We used our cellphone to take pictures so the quality isn't very good.)

We each ordered something different so we could share. Dad ordered Jaeger Schnitzel. I ordered Medallions of Beef Tenderloin. All meals started with Cream of Onion Soup. We were a little hesitant about that but as it turns out the soup was delicious! Then the meal came and we dug in. Dad's dish was very thinly sliced or pounded pork breaded and fried. He also had some sliced fried potatoes and some white cabbage concoction. Mine had 5 thickly sliced pieced of beef. Each piece of meat was about the size of a large egg. It was served with some very delicious fluffly mashed cheesy potatoes and a red cabbage side dish that tasted a little like spiced apples. We both tried each dish. But mine won the delicious contest - hands down.

Mein Essen war köstlich! Auf Wiedersehen.

BILLIE BOOP

Billie is visiting again. She misses her mom. I don't know how to read her signals and so I'm not sure she is eating enough. I would describe her as a little finicky. Isn't that usually how a cat is described? We enjoy a daily walk or two (if Billie is lucky).

There are a couple of videos of her - tearing things up and just acting like "Billie Boop".

Peepers

Geepers Creepers - where'd ya get those Peepers? Do you really want to know? OK. Here goes.


I have truly moved into "old age-hood" (is that a real word?). I have been managing by using just plain old reading glasses - until today, that is. It had been several years between eye appointments and I finally decided that I should go in and have my eyes checked again. So the eye doctor was tickled pink that I should not only need a stronger prescription for reading but that I had also lost some distance vision that he could also correct. The condition means I now have "progressive" lenses. So - "I can see clearly now" the blur is gone! (Sorry, I keep breaking out into song.) And even with insurance - we had to dig deep to pay for these babies.


Yes I can see much better now. People no longer look fuzzy AND my arms won't have to stretch as far as they have been. So how do you like my glasses? What I didn't realize was that while I am wearing them I am a walking billboard for the Ellen Tracy brand. The name is plastered on the earpieces of my glasses. Sheesh! I couldn't see that when I was trying the frames on - because I couldn't try frames on while wearing my reading glasses! Oh well. Who is Ellen Tracy anyway? Does anyone know?


But as for my Peepers - they're doing fine now.

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Giant Target on His Back

Great! Now Dad has a giant target on his back. Here's the story.

Since moving further west Doug has been experimenting different ways of getting to work and back. He has tried driving our car, riding his bike, and taking the bus. The car seems to be the most convenient - but that ties up a car all day and with Scott home we sometimes need two here at home. He wants to ride the bike for the exercise - but it has been stinking hot since we moved out here in May. The bus is pretty good - he can do some reading on the bus AND his work gives him a pass to use the bus so the cost/savings ratio is great!

Anyway, last week he took the bus. On the trip home there was an "incident". He catches the bus on 19th Avenue and takes it south to Glendale Avenue. Then he transfers to the bus heading west on Glendale Avenue and gets off at 83rd Avenue. The problem with the Glendale Avenue bus is that it passes by a charter high school. Lots of times the charter high schools are loaded with kids who have been removed from their home schools because of "problem behavior". We try not to judge but this incident sort of validates the comment.

So the bus stops and the students getting out of school load onto the bus. Doug is sitting there, minding his own business, when he can see a kid with an exacto knife scraping and scratching on something. I'm sure he's creating a cheerful, positive, and encouraging message for his fellow bus riders to enjoy reading. NOT!! So Doug jumps into action. He says, "Hey." Waits - no response. He says again, "Hey." Then one more time, "Hey!" The kid finally looks up and Doug says, "I'm going to turn you in if you don't stop messing up the bus." There was probably a tension filled stare down - which Doug won. The kid stopped and that was the end of that.

But I have noticed that since that day Doug can find many reasons NOT to ride the bus. He thinks he might have a

giant target on his back.

That being the case - he's glad the weather is getting milder and the bike is a good option. He's pedaling into work today.

BLUE/Scorpions

Thanks for all the input on the BLUE and PINK issue. It turns out that BLUE was the top vote getter but by only 1 vote. And we learned that part of the BLUE scenario was suggested by the PINK side. So had that been known - maybe PINK would have gotten a little boost. Either way it was fun and I think BLUE and PINK are good sports for participating. Hopefully they enjoyed it.

On to the scorpion topic. Yesterday we found 2 - yes 2 - scorpions in the house. One wasn't moving (read DEAD) and the other was moving (read alive and well). Doug took care of both of them. The dead one was pretty easy. The alive one took off pretty fast when he realized the shoe was coming down on him. Lucky for me I got a picture first. In the picture you can see a rectangular white tile. Use that for size reference. The white tile is 2 3/4" long. The scorpion then - by my calculations was at about 2" long. It certainly was a juicy mess when the shoe met the scorpion.

The flurry of scorpion activity necessitated a scorpion hunting party. We didn't find any more in the house. But outside we found about 10 or so. I was holding the black light - Scott held the putty knife and was the executioner. We had about 5 sure kills and 3 misses. So we'll probably head out again tonight to finish the job.

PINK or BLUE

I need some help. I had a little "Pink and Blue" contest going for Evan and Shanna. I sent them some items that were pink and blue in color and told them they each needed to create an ensemble. Then they should take a picture and send it to me so I could determine the winner of the contest - the word "prize" got them very interested in participating. The pictures were sent to me and I am having a hard time determining who the winner is. So if you would like to vote for your favorite - do it now. Just comment either PINK or BLUE. Thanks.

Sadie - For her eyes only

We are driving up north to see the kids. We are looking forward to getting out of town for a nice vacation. We'll see everyone but Isaac. We want Sadie to remember us when she sees us so we posted these videos for her eyes only.

Sour Taste in Our Mouths

I have a post. I almost posted it. But I was advised that perhaps it would be better not to post it. I have taken this advise and may share the story via email to selected individuals. Those I choose to share it with will receive an email with the same title as above.

Elder Selin - coming at you from Columbia, MD

Isaac sent a couple of pictures. So I am posting them here for all to enjoy.

Honey Do

Having moved into a new house has meant a lot of work and a long list of things that need to be done. We just keep plugging along. Yesterday Doug got to check another thing off his "honey do" list. Number 10 is now checked off and I am very happy. Doug designed, painted, assembled, and attached a broom holder to the wall in the laundry room. YES!! It is great! Thanks Doug! I won't even mention anything on the "honey do" list for a while. No, I'll give you a break. It may not be a very long break - but enjoy it while it lasts!

Defying Summer Heat

I hate to harp on the heat here in Phoenix - BUT IT IS HOT!!

But going out to the front and seeing our plants putting out pretty flowers every day makes it seem a little bit like spring. It is amazing that these hardy plants can produce beautiful flowers through nights that get no cooler than 90 and through the furnace-like days with the temps upwards of 114. I am thankful for our plants.

Painters Pox?

Any of you who have talked to me lately know that I spend most of my time painting lately. I have been breathing paint fumes. I have had errant paint splatters fall into my eyes. I have even had some land in my mouth or on my teeth. Usually clean up does the trick. But this morning I awoke with these mysterious markings on my skin. What do you think it is? Painters Pox? Probably. I hope it isn't contagious.

High Heat Alerts

We have real heat here! Yes for almost 2 straight weeks we have had high heat alerts - which mean it is above 110. That is hot. But just so you know - the City of Phoenix Pools closed for the season yesterday. So just when it is getting hot - don't count on finding a pool opened to give you any relief. I guess that's not their job. Oh well, I guess I better get to know which one of my neighbors have a pool and become real good friends with them. Maybe they'll invite us over to swim.

I better go now - my sweat is dripping onto the keyboard.

Hummingbird Wars

Another post to my blog. What a week! I have been a busy beaver getting my assignments prepared and completed. First Doug and I had to talk in church today. So getting my talk researched, prepared, and edited took quite a bit of time. Second I was told last week in Primary that I had sharing time this week. Sheesh! I haven't even had my calling long enough to see another class presentation in this ward. So I don't know what they like, what they have or haven't done, etc. But after giving it a lot of thought this week I came up with a good concept about how to talk about pioneers in Primary. So I got that one done too.

The talks went pretty good. I'm not that good - but it is always good to be done. I thought Sharing Time went really well if I do say so myself.

We had a visitor who came to church with us today - Mom. Yes, she drove all the way over here to support us and hear us give our talks. It was good having her here even though she basically had to fend for herself - couldn't sit by her or come to the other meetings with her. But it is always good to visit with her.

I also fed the missionaries on Wednesday. We had the best breakfast spread ever! We had scrambled eggs with cheese, english muffins, pancakes, syrup, strawberries and whipping cream for the pancakes if they wanted, hash browns, a bowl of mixed fruit, orange juice, bacon, and sausage. It was so good. They were smiling from ear to ear by the time they left. It was a hit. Thanks mom, for the idea.

I also spent a fair amount of time trying to do some more painting. I have two rooms ready to roll - the ceilings and walls are primed and ready for the final paint. Hopefully I'll have some more time this week to put into that task.

There was an event that served as an escape from all of the above activities. Hummingbird Wars. I got two small hummingbird feeders that stick in the ground and put them just outside my kitchen window. The window is nice but the view of the block wall is a little less than exciting. So the addition of these colorful feeders is great. It took a few days before we saw any hummingbirds. But soon enough they found the feeders and have returned for regular feedings. There seems to be some hummingbird gangs because a couple of birds are in competition with one another. They want exclusive feeding rights at my feeders and will stand for no other bird to enjoy the same. So one bird might be mindlessly feeding when out of nowhere another hummingbird comes charging toward him. The feeding bird makes a quick move to avoid collision. Then the other one darts toward the feeder but before it can get even the tiniest of tastes, the original bird flies in and buillies him over. They dart in and out, over the fence and back, above the feeder and below the feeder - all in their hummingbird turf wars.

As I was watching one of these exchanges - I decided it was much like I imagine a Quiddich game might play out. You know Quiddich from the Harry Potter books? Yes, that game. Everyone in search of the same thing. Darting up and down, in and out, death spirals, charges right at a person then the last second move to get out of the way. That's what the birds were doing. It was pretty funny. All this wasted energy and if they would cooperate both of them could get a drink at the same time - there are two feeders. I guess they weren't taught by their mom's to share. But either way, the spectacle brought a smile to my lips and gave me a needed break. I was enjoying the Hummingbird Wars.

Wicked - It's OK. It's OK. It's OK.

Wicked Was Wonderful! Hey great allitteration on my part. Yes, Saturday night we went to the Gammage Theater and saw the Musical "Wicked". I thought I would like it. I had heard some of the music and really liked that. I also thought I knew a little about the storyline. But most of my impressions about that were pretty much wrong. It is a sort of pre-quel to the Wizard of Oz. I won't say more - but it was really good. And we all know that "no one mourns the wicked", but by the end of the performance - I sort of did. I give it two thumbs up!

As a side note our programs had a small insert in notifying us that Elfaba's mother would be played by the understudy. In the program it had an article called: "Understanding the Understudy." It explained that while using an understudy "might mean we get to witness one of the most exciting things about live theatre: something going wrong." For us the understudy did fine during her maybe 2 minute appearance. But the main star had a boo boo. The "Popular" song was just finishing and Glinda was all wound up and excited and waving her wand in the air. Suddenly it flew from her hand and past the bedroom set-up on stage and landed back in the darkness somewhere. Then we hear Glinda saying "It's OK. It's OK. It's OK." Over and over again until she busted out laughing. Then Elfaba with not an ounce of joy in her character couldn't hold it in any longer and she burst out laughing too. After an uncomfortable pause in the action, Glinda stomped over and got her magic wand and then they took a deep breath, got back into character, and proceeded with the performance. It was quite funny to see that happen.

P.S. We weren't cheap, cheap, cheap on this folks. We had great seats (our tickets were in the 3 figures range because our friends who snagged the tickets like the good seats). We were in row 8, I think. It was a wonderful view to a wonderful performance.

Yes, we can!

A quick post to let you know that the Diamondbacks can win. To take a line from our President, "Yes, we can!" We went to the ballgame against the Padres on Tuesday night. We managed to win 4-3. Dad, my Mom, Margaret Baker, and myself went to the game. APS was generous enough to give Doug 4 great tickets. We were down along the 1st base line just a few rows up in the lower section. We almost got a foul ball - it hit into the section just above us and then bounced down to our section but in front of us. We got some good glimpses of the Bobcat. We also so Lora Lancaster on the huge screen twice. The camera zoomed in on them and came to rest on their baby girl. Then later during the "Kiss Cam" blitz they showed Lora and her husband and they gave each other a kiss for us all to see. We had a pizza, a burrito, and last but not least a chocolate vanilla swirl of frozen yogurt. A great time was had by all.

Wildlife Rescue Queen

Once again I am busy saving the wildlife from certain demise. The story:

I was outside washing out the paint brush and roller. I heard something and looked up to see a quail on top of our fence by the side gate. I thought to myself, "That's weird. Usually quail just stay on the ground and run - only flying if necessary." But maybe this bird heard the water running and was really thirsty? Whatever. So I kept watching the bird. It seemed annoyed by something. Then it flitted down into the back yard. Then I saw the problem. One teeny tiny baby quail was in the back yard. It had probably run into the yard under the gate and the mom was trying to get it back in the front. The baby quickly joined it's mother and they slowly walked toward the gate but then the mom couldn't/wouldn't go under and then just flew up and over the fence. On the other side it encouraged it's baby by making mother quail sounds. The baby wasn't going under that gate though. So I lept into action. I decided that I could help encourage the little bird to join mommy on the outside of the yard. My approach did get the baby going. It ran and ran and ran. It tried to get by me and into the expanse of our back yard. But I was quick and kept one step ahead of this "waskawy" quail. Soon the bird darted under the gate. I came out to make sure things were OK with these two fine feathered specimens. But by the time I got around to the front neither of them was anywhere to be found. So I will take that as a success and one more gold star on my "kindness to animals" chart. And I'm thinking that I could start a business called - Carrie Selin: Wildlife Rescue Queen. How does that sound?

Hair's to you Shayla

Shayla has been here for a little over a week now. Things are going well. She certainly has an uncanny internal clock. She knows her schedule to the minutest details. When she thinks it is time for a meal or snack or whatever, she comes over to me and makes eye contact. She just stares at me. Sometimes that means she needs to go out and "do her business". But usually she is waiting for some food item. Once in a while she is a little early. If that is the case I just say with kindness in my voice, "It's too early Shayla", or, "It's not time yet, in a little while". Amazingly she responds by going back to her lazing around and waits until it is time.

One case in point was very interesting. At 6:30 in the evening she gets an evening snack: one large milk bone and then 20 softened pellets with yogurt on top. I wasn't paying attention so I just put the softened pellets and yogurt into her bowl and plopped the yogurt on top and put it down for her. She happily gobbled it down. She finished as I was putting away the yogurt and cleaning up. She approached me and got in front of me and did the eye to eye stare. I talked to her and asked if she enjoyed her snack and was just going on about my business. But she didn't break eye contact. She was desperate to get the forgotten milk bone. So as she persisted in looking at me and staying in front of me my mind began to churn and I remembered the omitted milk bone. Wow! When I put that down she was so relieved! She would have had a major meltdown if I hadn't remembered it.

Now pay attention kids - that means Scott, Evan, Lindsey, and Isaac (I'll send this to him separately). Do you feel deprived because we never had a dog when you were growing up? Do you think you need counseling because of the lost opportunities to romp in a grassy field with "Bowser" running happily beside you? Is it hard to make friends and lasting relationships because of this glaring gap in your childhood? Well look close at the picture below - and then give me a break about the dog-less childhood you had. This is just a few days collection of fur on the tiles. The carpet is loaded with her fur. If only it was longer then I could card it and spin it and weave a blanket with it.

Prague to Paris = Vacation Time

It's been a while since my last blog entry. No one seems to mind though. Nobody asking me to please put up a new post. No frantic calls wondering if I am alive and well. So I don't know if anyone really cares about my blog. But alas I will put up a new post even if it is just for me to read.

We have a visitor. She loves to see us. This is her first stay at our new house. She has spent 3 previous vacations here with us. I don't have to pay for her meals - she brings her own. She doesn't leave a ring around the bathtub or anything like that. But I am finding her blonde hair - EVERYWHERE! She really sheds! Yes, you guessed it. Shayla has come to stay with us again. Her "parents" are on a river cruise in Europe and will be gone for 2 weeks. I guess for Shayla Prague to Paris = Vacation Time.

She has settled in nicely. Actually we borrowed a gate to put on the stairs so she doesn't leave a generous supply of unwanted fur down there. I mean it takes weeks just to get the carpets vacuumed up after she goes home. Then jsut when you think you have all the fur cleaned up there are stragglers that hang on as long as they can. She comes with a detailed schedule and menu. The instructions start at 5:30 am. Shayla usually wakes me up at about 5 am. She has her sleeping pad in our room and she saunters over at 5 and puts her chin on the bed bumping it just enough for me to feel it and then she just stares at me. Seeing a big dog at eye level just staring at me isn't conducive to getting any more sleep.

We start out with breakfast and then a "frisky" walk. She takes care of business. Like I said her "business" done on the walks is usually a one or two bagger job. But I go prepared for a triple bagger just in case. Then we come home for a delicious bowl of measured and flavored water. Later on there are snacks, more flavored water, lunch, flavored water again, snack, dinner, dog bone and snack, then a flat chewy thing to clean her teeth, then one more walk and it is bedtime. Oh, let's not forget her allergy and hormone pills hidden in yogurt on top of her meals too. She is very well trained and really a nice dog. She never barks at or chases anything. She doesn't make any noise except for a little whistle noise that she will do if she needs to go outside and you aren't paying attention to her. She also snores sometimes which Doug can't ignore and so he occasionally loses some sleep. She also gets frisky a couple of times a day and wants us to play with her toys with her and chase her around.

Anyway Shayla is taking up a lot of our time these days. Hopefully she is enjoying her vacation with us. I think that she is getting the short end of the vacation stick. Prague to Paris sounds much more enjoyable - but then maybe they've tried taking her and she gets sea sick? But either way for Shayla: Prague to Paris = Vacation Time.

One adventure I did not like

We finally have a garage. It is a two car garage that is housing only one car. Actually our truck calls it home. We need to get a storage shed out back before the white car can move in. We like having a garage.

But there are some garage rules.
1. Make sure you know your car is all the way in before shutting the garage door.
2. Make sure you don't pull too far into the garage making it impossible to get into the house.
3. The stuff in the garage can't be put anywhere. It must be placed back where it was so that the car can get back inside again.

These rules were the basic ones we were following pretty carefully. But those rules don't ensure a safe and orderly garage experience. Let me explain.

I was leaving on Wednesday morning for tennis. I grabbed my water bottles, my tennis racquet, my hat, my purse and was out the door. I pushed the garage door opener button on the wall of the garage and the door opened. I placed my "stuff" into the back seat of the truck and then got in myself. I started the truck, put it into reverse and slowly and carefully began to back out of the garage. I was attentively watching out my rear-view mirror and everything was going OK until I heard and felt a "THUMP". "WHAT IS GOING ON?"

I began to look around and realized that the garage door had closed onto the bed of the truck. WHAT?? I hadn't pushed the button to close the garage -AND- the garage has a sensor that prevents it from closing if anything is in the way, but. Wait a minute here! I put the truck in park and got out. Sure enough the door was down and resting on the bed of the truck. Something wasn't right here.

I quickly surveyed the situation and figured it out. As I had closed the back door of the truck after putting my tennis things in, I had also inadvertently closed the Emergency Release Pull Rope in the door. So as I eased out of the garage it tightened and then pulled enough to release the door from the opening mechanism and it just coasted down onto the truck. I didn't even see the rope when I closed the door. I didn't even think about it.

A quick call to Doug and he had me push the door up, which I did. And then back out, which I did. Then close the door, which I did. He was coming home to see if he could get it figured out and get it engaged into the opening mechanism, which he did. He also shortened the red pull cord so that I won't have a repeat performance.

I have since then added one more rule to the safe and orderly garage experience:
WHEN CLOSING THE VEHICLE DOOR - DO NOT CATCH THE PULL CORD INSIDE.

I am an adventurous person but that, my friends, is

one adventure I did not like.

Want to Come Swimming?

It is hot here. Phoenix summers are for swimming. So our tenants decided it was time for a swim this Sunday. They called in the morning and invited us to come swimming with them. Doug was the only one who accepted the invitation. He got back home just before our church and told me it wasn't too much fun. They actually only got to wade - no swimming involved. I'm glad I didn't wiggle into my swim suit for that.

What really happened? The hot water tank and heater stopped fulfilling it's purpose in life. It leaked and gushed and well, it died. We didn't think it should die at such a young age. But when we looked at it's birth year we discovered that it was 19 years old. I guess that is old in water heater years.

Doug went to the store and picked out a new hot water heater for our tenants. They are happy now. But they won't be inviting us to swim again any time soon (knock on wood!).

Tuberculosis

When I hear the word tuberculosis I get nervous. I know it is a disease I do not want to get. It seems we are hearing more and more about tuberculosis. We hear about people who are quarantined because of a case of drug resistant tuberculosis. Sometimes those people don't abide by the rules they are given and then they are forced into a quarantine that is enforced by an official entity.

Two cases:

One was of an engaged couple. The man had a case of extensively drug-resistant TB. He was supposed to be under house quarantine. But he wanted to have a nice honeymoon after he got married. So he went to Europe and then Canada anyway - staying just ahead of the people who were chasing him. They were trying to detain him in order to try to avoid exposing the unsuspecting public. All airports and border agents were notified about the couple and were instructed to detain them when they were spotted. Despite the publicity they were able to take several flights and some other modes of transportation which possibly exposed lots of innocent people to his disease. The officials were trying to detain the couple to minimize the danger to others. Well, somehow they even managed to drive across the border from Canada to New York. The U.S. Homeland Security was involved in investigating the incident. Anyway, they were eventually located when they came back into the USA. He will be in treatment for at least 2 years and will possibly need to have surgery to remove the diseased tissue in his body.

The other case I'm aware of is a citizen from Russia. He was a 27 year old man with a case of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis - virtually untreatable. He was also under the care of some doctors. They had given him some very detailed instructions about what he must do. Some of those things were to take the medication as prescribed, wear a mask while out in public, and I'm sure there were lots of other conditions he was given to comply with. Well he decided that he didn't really want to wear a mask in public. So he went out without it - more than once. He basically decided "to heck with them" I want to live how I want to live. So for the safety of the public he was put into jail - not for a crime but for the protection of the community. He was jailed in Phoenix by Sheriff Joe. He was put in solitary confinement and they used a ventilation system that ensured no germs would escape. He stayed in there for a while until the ACLU got involved and insisted on more humane conditions for the man. Eventually he agreed to return to his home country. I think that he had the affected lung surgically removed. And now I don't know what has happened to him.

These are just 2 reasons that I am nervous about tuberculosis.

This is the hook to the story.

Last week we were shopping for blinds and shades for our windows. We were at a home improvement store asking questions and getting some bids. They guy was helping Doug and I was wandering around looking at the displays. When I came back to the desk the guy was talking and then he coughed. No big deal, right? Right! Not until he uttered his next sentence. He said, "This tuberculosis is terrible. It just keeps hanging on forever."

WHAT!!!??? Both of us turned to look at each other with eyebrows raised. We immediately stood up and made some distance between us and the sales person. We wanted to bolt but after spending a good amount of time to discuss what we wanted we also needed to get our quote. We beat it out of there as soon as we could.

Needless to say, neither of us wanted to go back in there. It sounded like this guy was the manager of the department. So if we wanted to order from them - we would be sitting face-to-face with the guy again. Mostly for that reason, we went to another home improvement store and ordered the things we needed.

So let me tell you this - if you want to get rid of us in a quick way - just cough a little and mention that little "T" word - TUBERCULOSIS. We'll split - and quick.

Brink of Disaster

Wow! I just made 6 cents doing the laundry. That's up by a sizeable margin from last week. I expect even more next week. I guess the economy has been saved "from the brink of disaster"!

Publications in Progress

I have been spending my time in putting together some publications that I think you will be interested in. I am documenting my most recent travels. There will be 3 publications. I am finished with 2 of them. But I have run into a glitch. Our printer has given up the ghost. She has done some good work over the years. But I think she has printed her last page. I have one of the publications all printed. The second one was almost complete when the printer stopped printing. I was low on ink so I purchased new ink (a pricey venture). The new ink has not resolved the problem. I think I have some blockages but everything I have tried to fix that problem has failed. So I need to figure out how I am going to print up those last 2 pages.

Hopefully we can get the problem resolved one way or another this weekend. I am putting together the third "comic book" that will need to be printed out.

Now you know to expect more of my work. Don't hold your breath. Be assured that as soon as the publication problems can be resolved we will be printing and sending your copies.

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

It is true the people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. But it is equally true that you shouldn't throw stones at glass, period.

Let me explain. On Saturday morning I was sitting in the family room minding my own business. The TV was on and I think I was folding laundry - an endless chore. When suddenly I heard and saw something simultaneously. I heard something crack on one of our south facing windows. What I saw was just a blip really - but I did see something come from over the fence to hit the window. Doug rushed in and asked what happened. It was clear something came over the fence and hit the window so he rushed outside to check things out. I inspected the window closely and luckly the glass hadn't broken. Doug later discovered a "chip" where the object had hit the window. Minimal damage.

As a way of describing the layout: Our wall is about 7 or 8 feet tall on that side of the house. It is only about 6 feet or 8 feet from the side of the house. Then outside that fence is a large empty but landscaped lot that serves as a buffer to the neighborhood. Right on the other side of that lot is a gate unit that controls who gets into the neighborhood. There are only 4 ways to enter our neighborhood. You have to have an authorized clicker to open the gate (they cost $45 each and even though we have paid for 2 we haven't received ours yet). You need to know a secret code to punch in to a phone-type number pad and if you are correct you have a very polite male voice say to you, "Access granted. Please enter" and the gate opens. You can buy a key to a pedestrian gate and walk through. The last way is to know someone in the neighborhood who can let you in remotely through some telephone feature.

Anyway, back to the story. When Doug rushed outside he didn't see anyone by our house. He ran to the gate and saw a lady and teenage girl standing there by their car. Doug asked if they were trying to get in. They said they were trying to get in and asked if so-and-so lived in our house. Doug said no. He told them we lived there. He asked if they had thrown a rock at our house and that it hit our window and almost broke it. They said - "no". He asked if they saw anyone throw a rock at our house. They said - "no". I think their noses grew a couple of inches on those 2 answers. Why do I think that? If they didn't do it there is no way that they couldn't have seen who did it. They were parked right there. Were they blind? No because someone drove their car to the gate. So if they didn't see anyone do it, it must have been them. Then as Doug put things together - when he ran around to the gate he remembered seeing the younger girl out in the landscaped area standing somewhat close to our fence. *Note: the landscaped area is covered with good throwing rocks.

My theory is that they were using the last known phone number to contact the people who used to live in our house. The phone number didn't work so they resorted to their only option. Did I mention the "throwing rocks at your friend's house so you can get their attention and then they'll let you in" method? Well, sure enough, they got our attention. Did they get into the neighborhood. NO WAY!!


So anyway, they did it. The girl had a pretty good arm. She got it over the fence and it hit the house. I just think it was dumb luck that it hit a window. They must have really wanted to talk to the old home owners. That is kind of weird because from what I understand they have been gone for at least 6 months. Oh well - no harm done.

Lesson to learn? Not only: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones - but it is equally true that you shouldn't thrown stones and glass, period.

Critters

There was a scorpion in the house before it was officially ours. I had come alone to measure windows. So I bravely stood back and threw a phone book at it. After a few failed attempts I hit the bullseye. That smashed it. I had hoped it didn't have any more family or friends in the house. And until today I was pretty confident that it had just accidentally wandered in during the months the house sat vacant. But Doug set up a desk with a computer downstairs so he can have a quiet work station. And while he was down there today he spotted and killed another scorpion. So now I'm a little paranoid about it. And on top of that a medium-sized fast-moving spider came running at me just after Doug's episode with the scorpion. I feel like I'm outside sharing my living space with the critters who really live there.





Am I getting any sympathy out there from anyone? I could use a little.

Saturday in Sedona

Mom and I drove to Sedona yesterday. Her grandson (my nephew) Lance was getting married there. Not wanting to drive alone she asked me to go up with her. It was a beautiful but windy day. The trip up took less time than planned so she easily met up with the wedding party by 4:45. I went on my merry way to see some of the world famous Sedona landscape. I headed for Crescent Moon Ranch - aka. Red River Crossing. This is where the tourists flock to. You get a very good look at Cathedral Rock with the reflection in the waters of Oak Creek. Many gifted photographers want to take a picture from here. I plunked 8 whole dollars down in order to park my car at this facility. Yipes! That hurt a little bit. But I needed something interesting to do. I got the wonderful views I had read about. Here is a sampling.






Sedona capitalizes on psychic energy, cosmic balance, feng shui, ying yang, etc. So an area near this Red Rock Crossing had a "vortex" - a place of peace and reflection a place to get inner calm - a place where peace and balance abound. I went to this place and I'm not sure I felt this invisible energy but I guess many people can. And as an outward expression of this cosmic energy people stack rocks - make cairns. Lots of people do this. Hundreds of people do it. Maybe thousands? I couldn't count them. They were all over the ground, some were made of large rocks, some with little rocks. Some were tall stacks others short. Some were on tree stumps, some by the trunks, some up in the branches. Some were in the rockbed, some were in the sand, some almost in the water. I took a couple pictures there. Luckily my batteries gave up because I might have taken too many pictures of these rocks stacks. As it is - I have displayed a couple.

This is the tallest stack of rocks I saw. Pretty impressive!

And yes - I found a spot where everything seemed at peace and in balance and I made my own rock stack. I left it there as a testament to the . . . - well I did it because everyone else did.

MY STACK - VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE!!

I found a nice SITE with more information and pictures about this area.

As the sun began to set the rock formations looked so beautiful! I had a good time. Sedona is very unique and beautiful place. My Saturday in Sedona was wonderful! I'm glad I went.

P.S. for Shanna and Evan - I think I found some good yucca wood. And now if anyone else ever asks me for some yucca wood I know exactly where to get it.