Plain and simple.....it is hot.

5AM and the temp is 94.... but it is Friday! Not really sure what I will be doing today but you know I will not be leaving the house.... at least I hope not. We are in a heat and dust advisory. The winds were fair yesterday and felt like the heat that escapes an open hot oven door as soon as you stepped outside. The weekend forecast is for 110+ temps..... well it is summer in Arizona and Monsoon too. The morning light is just starting and the sky is full of clouds. Clouds like this trap the heat in. Not even the birds are awake yet...or just too warm to chatter. This is such a nice time of day...all is so quiet. I am amazed that so many people will go for a hike in this weather.... so many rescues needed.
I may pull out the Christmas fabric ….plans to make a few Christmas Origami Stars. Seems nuts to be thinking about Christmas when it is this hot! Choosing and cutting the fabric will get it all started and keep the day simple.

I think today might be another Charlie Chan movie day.... iced coffee and feet up. Love these old movies. Gentle way to pass the day. Before it all gets started however, the Shark will swim around the place and the Swiffer will join in... swishing and fluffing will be necessary also. At the moment my coffee awaits me.
 Always a pleasure to read your comments and emails.Thank you for your kind and caring words and for your friendship.

A star for the 4th

Finished in time for a July 4th celebration! It does not show but the white is white on white fabric that has stars printed on it and the blue reminds of the night sky. I chose the red/white print because it looks like a bandana. I am not fond of fireworks and happily will not have them in our neighborhood. I may hear them form one of 3 stadiums that are not very far away but living in a senior community, it will be quiet. If you are out and about, please be careful and if you have a fur-baby be sure to keep them safe and cuddle them. I will find a nice movie to watch and make some popcorn.

The Pond Garden seems to be drying. I guess as long as I do not have a leak anywhere in the garden then I will just assume that it was from the planting and watering without proper draining. This week I will rake the rocks back and add some decorative items. The birds are loving the fountain and the bunny is still dropping by to trim my plant! 

Sleep was not a friend last night and so my morning has been very slow to start and I expect it to be a lazy day. It may be a movie day all day. Speaking of movies.... I collected 20 more from the bookcase bringing my to go pile to 100. I found a few that I will always keep... good memories. Denny really loved his movies. This one is special.

This case was a special collectors edition.

Filled with all sorts of goodies.

Five discs~~~~directors cut

Holographic Harrison Ford in a magnetic case that is double sided

A folder with 8 director cards explaining the movies scenes

the police car to play with!

This was special to Denny and so to me also. Back to the book shelf.

Time for a second cup of coffee and a bite to eat. Nice having you visit today. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship.

Update~~~~ EvaP is status quo. Glenda is doing better.

Movies and floss

Tuesday was a hot day .. a reminder of what is yet to arrive. Today is starting at 75 and going to the triple digits. Monsoon begins the 15th so we know the winds, Haboobs and rains will begin. The AC kept me comfortable while in the house. The one errand I ran to the Hyundai dealership...a wasted hour... was all I did. Part is on order and waiting to return. I decided to do some "cleaning out" of a closet shelf. I found some letters and cards from when I first moved here! All had lovely notes in them, so of course I reread them and some brought smiles and a few even tears. By the time I finished I was feeling overwhelmed. That task is now complete. Next will be to go through the many movies and CDs that Denny had. I have my favorites so those I will keep.

 This shelf has a double row of movies, some are sets like the Bruce Lee box set.

These two shelves ae CDs.. about  200+

These shelves have DVDs.... the top shelf is double row and as you can see, some are sets. The bottom shelf are Disney DVDs... and other movies...Denny was a movie buff. Does anyone still watch movies and listen to CDs besides me?
Still have much to do about closet/garage/storage organizing. My goal is to completely empty one of the large garage storage units. I need to get to Lowes to add to my wall rack in the garage. Later today I plan to get at the floss... remember the boxes of floss?

This is what the inside of those colorful boxes looks like. All the floss is in numerical order, in individual floss bags, on a large ring and kept by category number... for example: all the 100s, the 500s and so forth are together. Always able to find what I need. Since I am not doing any (at this time) cross stich, I will be de-stashing all these, all 5 boxes. A good sit by the TV  in the cool of the house and pick what I want to keep. Unlike sorting the letters/cards this should go quickly... no nostalgia here. I have a few months to get organized.
That is about it... I am taking a mental health day.....
Glad you stopped by. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship. 

Is the week over yet?

Where to begin...guess that would be on Monday when the monsoon storm hit...

a crazy evening with winds around 45 mph and rain pouring down at times sideways and thunder. A garden disaster for sure. Have I mentioned that I do not like these storms? It seemed to go on forever. The high winds and poring rain ripped the gazebo tarp in half and debris flew everywhere.

Tuesday  I lost cable and internet and it was not storm related. After I could not re-set and Cox could not, an appointment for Wednesday morning was set. In the meantime, I tried to figure what went wrong. I was watching a movie, then went out to speak with the landscapers and then ….that was it! One of the guys cut the cable line with the hedge trimmer....Finally after 26 hours of watching DVDs

(starting from left to right) from my collection: Sherlock Holmes to Poirot then onto Perry Mason, the cable guy got it all patched up. What I discovered was that the DVD player and VCR in the bedroom are not working. So one of these days I will try to figure it out. This was Denny's expertise certainly not mine.
Then Wednesday late evening another thunder rain and lightening added to the mix! Oh and the winds causing a few things to toss around the garden. At least I had TV to keep me occupied.
Let's get to Thursday and the visit to the doctor...okay we can just go by this and only to say I will return in 10 days. There are 2 other doctor visits before then...not how I like to keep busy. I have tried to clean the garden a little because there was more damage  to the garden during Wednesday nights storm...

One of 2 Fountain Grass plants that stood almost 5 feet was just so wind damaged it was into the pond and the other one by the back door also damaged

I managed to cut them down yesterday morning; with the humidity high, I was beat. Now if we have a few days without rain, the clippings will dry and I can bag them for trash. The garden and pond are a mess but current circumstances will not let me clean up.
I  did manage to tat a few ornament covers but did not take pictures yet.
Yesterday I discovered a problem in the freezer.... an ice bag broke and the contents dripped into the ice maker. So, it is not safe to use the ice and I am back to using an ice tray. Do you have any idea how much ice I use in a day...it may be a good idea to buy bagged ice right now.  I think when The Brother Alan arrives...I did mention he is coming with Lisa in September didn't I? we may be looking for a new refrigerator. Does it sound like I am living in a disaster? I feel like it for sure. So, as soon as this week is over I may raise a glass of wine or two in celebration ...until the next monsoon storm arrives. So now you know what has been happening in my corner of the desert. I think a cup of tea is in order as it is a bit too early for that wine....and back to watching tennis.
Glad you stopped by and thank you for the kind words and concern for my blogging absence.Thank you for your friendship.
Update: the mother Eva P is so delighted with the mail she had been receiving! She is sharing it with her visitors telling them all about the cards and notes. Thank you!

Out of commision today

The day began okay...just a little sinus issue. Glenda and I went to see Murder on the Orient Express. It was okay....will not say it will be my favorite version. Came home and decided settle with a cup of tea. I felt chilly even though the temp inside was the same as it has been. Finally just before it was getting evening I decided to string the lights on the lamppost in the courtyard. I had done one earlier in the day. I had the lights in my hands, head down as I walked out the door. Why...well they were a bit tangled. As I got to the end of my porch, head still down, I found myself walking into a coyote. There he was ... were looked at one another, I say a quiet hello and he began to walk away. After a few paces he stopped and I said goodbye and off he went. This is not the first encounter  have had with the desert dogs. Each time the experience is just as exciting. Never a dull moment for me.

Drum roll * * * * *...the first tomato picked. Now don't expect me to share because it is only 1-1/2 inches and it will be delicious with a mini cucumber (pickling size) and some sliced celery. A couple more are beginning to turn light orange! Still waiting for signs of a bean or two on the plants that are growing nicely.
I added a bit of Christmas décor to my growing palm tree in the backyard.....

these are about 6- 8 inch or so big. A bit of something in the back too.
I think this will be the extent of my 2017 decorations...some out front, the sparsely decorated tree and the village with a few wreaths here and there.
I would love to continue this chat but it is difficult to type and concentrate with tissues in the left hand held to the sometimes stuffy, occasionally drippy nose and the occasional coughing does not type well. I think it will be pjs and rest for the day. I do need a cup of tea.
Today was going to be market day but it can wait. More Post Office too but that will definitely wait. If you are looking for me today, I will be the one curled up in pjs and robe and the tea pot full. 

Gumbi in the garden

I went to a movie. What? You do not see the big deal? Well, I have not been to a movie since sometime during the 1990s...yes, you read that correctly. I can not even remember what I saw or what theater. The other day an email from Glenda asked if I wanted to go to see Victoria and Abdul. Initially I said no. Then I thought it sounded familiar so when I checked yes indeed I would go. I love Dame Judi Dench and all that she does. So off we went to the Harkins theater and after following Glenda through getting the ticket and then popcorn we sat to watch a very good movie. Through the years Denny went to the movies but not me. He really enjoyed the action movies. Another first to my list.
I decided to sort through more of my stuff...little by little I am tossing out this and that. I have some patterns to donate to one of the needlework groups but lots are just copies run off on the computer form various sites...you know the free offers. Next will be the magazines that are collected but not looked at again. We all buy them with the intention of stitching this and that but then we don't. I would rather pass them along.
Today might be work in the garden. There is another sprinkler head that probably needs to be replaced and I would like to add a few drip lines to some plants.  We shall see. There is a new cactus in the garden. It has been here now for a week or so

It is Opuntia Gumbi.  It gets the gumbi name because it feels rubbery...hopefully this will root. It is a cutting that was given to me. If in the ground they grow quite large so in the pot it will live.
Then there is the Swaddled Baby doll that needs last finishing and Alice and well, you see where this is going.
I have been awake since 2 AM and this morning could not fall back to sleep or felt lazy enough to just stay in bed. So, possibly my list will have some cross offs by days end. I may even get the walnut biscotti made. I am very good at making lists. Today's list keeps getting longer so maybe an early start will get things done. Thank you for visiting with me and for your kind words. Most of al thank you for your friendship.

A slow start to my day

It is expected to be a hot day again, around 109 so indoors is the place to be. Shortly I will get out to water a few of the potted plants and that will be it. I have a few Denny's Angels getting finished today. Yesterday was the Day of the Bees

this was just a few of them. At one point you could not see the bottom of the feeder! It was so bad that the hummers could not feed. The bees managed to drink a full cup of nectar in a couple of hours. I read on line that you should remove the feeder for a few days and they will forget where to return(?) The feeder is down. Someone also suggested to rub Vaseline on the feeder....not heard that one before. I have had feeders in our yard for 13 years and never before had this issue. This morning a few are hovering around the area then flying off. It is not like there are no nectar producing bushes in the yard.
Thank you for wishing The Brother Alan a happy birthday and the nice comments on the picture I added to the sidebar. Did I mention he will be here on September 19th? I must share this...I had read sometime ago that using auto window wash for the outside of the house windows will do the job. Well, the other day I did...I washed 3 windows and it was super easy and quick. I do need to get a new squeegee though. I have the 2 sliders and the kitchen window left to do. This has been another of my firsts...that's right Denny did the windows.  Slowly the first of this and that will be gone. Oh no, I just looked up and the hummer is at the window looking for the feeder! I will not break down and put it up...no no no. There is another feeder across the yard and out front.

The Origami Cranes have moved into another window and the Black Crow followed as did the Ballerinas. All part of moving things around.

changes (plural noun) the act or instance of making or becoming different

Some changes are necessary in life, some are just good. Yesterday I decided to move and rearrange the DVDs and CDs that we I have. Denny was an avid movie fan and together we have many movies and lots of music. However, some of these I do not watch or listen to so it makes sense to me to keep what I do like together making it easier to find them. This is not to say that I will not watch or listen to what on the shelves, just not my favorites. I have not yet attempted to even use the Home Theater  set up. Instead, I am perfectly content with the TV set up. Still trying to learn how to get more than 4 radio stations! Well, that about covers what I have been up to and now to finish my coffee and after a few household chores I will tat angels. Thank you for the kind words and thank you for your friendship. Did I mention The Brother Alan will be here on September 19th?!