Birthday Greetings
We walked into our AZ house yesterday to find birthday greetings all over the place, thanks to my niece Maggie and her mother — my sister — Jen. Turning 79 isn’t quite as much fun as turning 7 or 9. Still, a birthday is a birthday. I had ordered Bill a black leather jacket to replace the one he left hanging over the chair at a restaurant several years ago. He has missed it ever since. I had it sent to Maggie’s house and asked her to bring it over so that Bill had a gift waiting for him. Bless her heart, she had wrapped the gift, and had even gotten him a big chocolate cupcake with a candle. We went out for dinner at our favorite AZ restaurant. All in all, he had more of a celebration than he expected.

Fly Away
We flew Southwest Airlines from Denver to Phoenix without much trouble. You might recall that Southwest was the airline that was canceling flights by the scores a week or so ago. We held our breath, but got on the plane with only a 30 minute delay. I know I’m getting crabby, but I swear the planes get smaller every time I fly. I literally couldn’t even pull my small carryon bag down the narrow aisle. A few weeks ago, when Heather and Joseph were visiting, a man sitting across the aisle from 12-year-old Joseph OD’d, and fell into the aisle next to Joseph. I swear, this aisle was so narrow that had that happened on this flight, the man would have had no room to fall into the aisle. He would have landed on someone’s lap across the way. Oy vey.

We Auto Be Ready to Roll
Most of yesterday was spent getting the Hyundai street legal. You might recall we left the car here in May when we flew home for the summer and fall. The plates expired in July, and unfortunately, an emissions test was required. We were unable, of course, to get that done since we were 700 miles away in Denver. I kept getting different answers from the DMV in Colorado. The first thing we did yesterday morning was drive to Discount Tire to fill up our deflated tires. We then went to have our emissions tested at an AZ site. The car passed with flying colors. Still driving on expired plates, we went to the nearest private motor vehicle place. In AZ, small businesses that have been approved by the AZ Department of Motor Vehicles may do certain specific car-related things. We walked into one of these places near our house, ignoring the sign that stated appointments were necessary. Fortunately, the place was empty, and the woman behind the desk was super nice. She didn’t know if she was allowed to issue temporary tags, but got on the telephone to see if it was possible. For 30 bucks, the answer was yes. I’m happy to say we are now street legal, and can calmly pursue getting our registration renewed.

Feet
This morning, I am meeting with yet another podiatrist to see about having bunion surgery. The last doctor told me my foot was bad enough that it would require surgery that would keep my on crutches for two months. I decided a second opinion was in order. If, in fact, this podiatrist agrees, at least I will be in my little ranch house that has no steps.