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| Sedona in the rain |
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| We ate lunch at a fancy resprt overlooking the red rock formations. Too bad it was so hazy |
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| On to Flagstaff. Couldn't see Oak Canyon as it was snowing so hard. Then there was freezing rain on top of the snow so we didn't leave to go have dinner as the roads were so treacherous. That very morning, I ran in shorts in Scottsdale. Things change fast especially at 7500 feet |
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| Soon after we landed in Phoenix, we ate outside in a Mexican restaurant in Tempe. Food was..meh but to be surrounded by fountains and bougainvillea and colorful birds made up for it |
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| I made Steve stop at the first stand of flowering ocotillo. I haven't seen it in bloom before. Usually it looks like dead brown thorny spikes. Lots of ocotillo. Some lady even have me eat the blossoms. Sweet tasting and a favorite of hummingbirds |
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| Strawberry hedgehog cactus |
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| our bed |
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| 3 teenage javelinas came regularly to the patio for hand outs. Presumably related to hippos; not pigs |
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| some wood carvings for sale |
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| Steve's cousin and her husband made the trip to our place in the wilderness. We hadn't seen them in almost 39 years. She was the daughter of Steve's favorite aunt. The aunt did a lot for Steve when he was younger |
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| the flag irises seemed to recover from the heavy frosts of the past week Croci (crocuses?)look damaged though |
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| What are the chances of a boy who loves to read and look at screens and has 2 parents with glasses escape this fate himself? Nil but at least glasses are much cuter than in my day. I had these incredibly ugly wingtips with cameos in the corners |
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| Did I need a rose purse (and I now have nails to match it) when I have a perfectly functioning leather Costco purse? |
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decorating the dog head I have hanging in our bedroom
We were able to sit comfortably well past dark on our porch drinking wine (more than my one glass per week allotment..this is why I will have to extend my big plan beyond the 6 months I had promised myself). Cloud to cloud lightning flashed every few minutes in the distance but never seemed to come any closer; peepers were singing their love songs in the nearby wetlands. A beautiful night. At about 11, a cold wind suddenly blew in from the west. The day of warmth (74 degrees) was over.
My bike isn't ready yet though it was a bit windy to enjoy a ride. This weekend will be cooler and non-stop rain. I ran a bit in the cold drizzle this morning. But then on to warm Arizona (though it will be below freezing once we go up to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon in the mornings).
So the ACA is safe for now, thanks to the Freedom Caucus (whose name is a perfect antonym of its purpose). Steve and my health insurance would not be affected much but Naomi and Maya would lose theirs along that of many non-thinking Orange One's supporters. Next crisis: removal of most environmental controls. Back to polluted water and skies.
In the 60s, I stayed with a penpal who lived in a southern suburb of Pittsburgh. It was there I learned I had an accent. Midwesterners especially have shortened short 'o's . Conveniently both her and her boyfriend's name (now husband) contained a short o so they would have me say their name over and over laughing. And 2 of my good buddies from the Pittsburgh area (Soulmate and RastaMan) have real names with the same short 'o'. On that trip, I decided I didn't have much in common with a homecoming queen to be who already had a boyfriend at 13. We are now Facebook friends after I was reminded of her going through her former town on the GAP which I will repeat this August. The steel mills were still going strong in Homewood. Lights needed to be on in the middle of the day. On the trail, is an acid waterfall from all the unregulated coal mining south of there. By the time I finished college and was visiting Soulmate in Pittsburgh, the steel mills were shut down and the city was sandblasting off the thick layers of black soot that covered most of the buildings.
At the nail salon, they always have Fox News on. All of the salon workers are immigrants and seem oblivious to the anti-immigrant rhetoric. When my worker uncovered one of my big toenails, she gasped at the purple quadrant. What's that? she demanded. I pulled out the cancer card and said how Taxol destroyed my nails. They had turned black and some of them fell off. My fingernails had brown ridges on them (Mees' lines) and were threatening to fall off too. I guess this made my toes susceptible to toenail fungus which has gone away except for the corner of that one toe. I must have bruised it too (when I was running marathons, bruised toes were common). But I can't believe this was the first case of toenail fungus she came across. She also remarked about how abnormally long my calves were as the towel barely covered them. The workers talk amongst themselves in Vietnamese probably making fun of my big feet. But at least they are now pretty as I will be wearing sandals.
I watched some TV this week aside from seeing Michigan lose their lead in the last 30 seconds. Two guilty pleasures: Big Little Lies and This is Us.
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| It was Tessa's 5th birthday the other day. I gave her a choice of a flamingo, swan in a tutu or a unicorn head. She chose the unicorn |
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| Allie couldn't wait to try out her new bathing suit |
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| usually at this time of year I have blooms all over the place. Due to winterlasting longer, all I have are frozen flag irises |
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| A hand carved angel to add to my collection. Need to use magic marker on faded eyes |
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Bizarre classroom assignment for Daniel, Grade 1. What is gold worth to a kid?
Winter continues with lows in the teens. Coupled with a stiff north wind, yesterday's run was especially unpleasant but at least the dirt roads are now suitable to run on. On the one day it
was above freezing and not windy, I went for a bike ride. It felt good but 3.5 miles from home, suddenly it was hard to maintain my pace. A flat! I usually warn Steve to keep his phone close while I'm out on the bike but no, he was dead to the world on the elliptical. No way of contacting him. I was so mad and sad that he does not have my back. I called Shanna who was actually closer as the crow flies (though on a very bumpy, hilly rutted road). No answer. I assumed she was out exercising too without her phone. So it took more than an hour to walk home (at a 4.2 mph pace, the speedometer still worked). I was so mad. He was just finishing up when I returned. Yeah maybe he should of had his phone downstairs, though reception is poor, but he didn't think I would have a flat.
The ground was wet which means grit and tiny glass pieces stick to the tires making flats
more likely. I was going to take the bike in anyway this week. They found all sorts of things wrong with it though I haven't had any problems. Aside from the tire being badly worn (Cannondale puts really cheap tires on its bikes, I had replaced the rear one which gets more wear after a year now I needed to replace the front), my chain is stretched out of shape and would have fallen off or broke soon and something expensive called a cassette needed to replaced too. Ugh! But I want the bike to be in good shape for my 2 big rides coming up. It's been less than 3 years since I got the bike but it has more than 5000 miles on it. Mechanics travel with us for the first ride but for the second, a broken chain pretty much would be a disaster though we will have a support vehicle. Bike shops will be far and few between; Pittsburgh, Cumberland MD, and DC.
Years ago, I set out between the coast and Julian CA, a round trip of 120 miles, less
than I have gone in relatively flat Michigan but I was travelling in the mountains in California going up 7200 feet. No cell phones in those days. And this area was relatively deserted so pay phones were few also. I got a flat on the way back about 3 miles from a national monument. Less than a minute into me pushing the bike to the possible phone, a couple in a pick-up truck rescued me and dropped me off at a bike store, who did not charge me as they were impressed by my solo adventure. The other day, I am sure my neighbors passed me by but no help was offered.
So I was in a funk: unreliable husband, uncaring neighbors, fat that didn't seem to go
away, bike shop that may be fleecing me, being left out from a certain event, on and on...all the makings of a pity party but fortunately this has passed though listening to the news concerning the shenanigans of the Evil One is disheartening but not surprising.
I finally have crossed the mythical line between overweight and normal weight. I was
close last week but then, despite being good, I actually gained weight. Finally that reversed though progress is slow the closer I come to the finish line. Also with my 3 months of stretching, I noticed that I no longer have pain when trying to extend my right arm (the irradiated arm) behind my head.
In less than a week, I will be in sunny and warm Arizona.
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| Allie's school photo |
