Gray Skies
Yesterday morning, when I got up, Jen and Winston were already sitting out in the living room. Winston had gone out and done his morning duties, had been fed, and had received his morning bone treat (the treat which he, by the way, tries to convince whomever didn’t feed him that morning that he hasn’t yet received). Jen informed me that it was raining outside, not just a drizzle, but fairly substantial rainfall. Winston gave me the side eye when he realized that I wasn’t falling for the treat trick. I’m only mentioning the rainfall because it’s so rare around these parts. It has begun to get warmer — in the 80s earlier this week — and the cool temperatures were a treat yesterday. I will admit, however, that I am not a fan of overcast skies. For that reason, I was happy to see that the clouds had cleared away by early afternoon and the sun was out. I know my peeps in Colorado are experiencing snow, so my heartfelt sorrow goes out to them. Come visit!

Yardwork
As anyone who knows Bill understands, the man can’t hold still. He basically has two speeds: full-speed and falling asleep in the chair. Since arriving here in AZ, he has removed three separate cactus plants. I’m not talking tiny plants, but rather, very old, very large cacti. Prickly pear cactus. They are a pain to deal with because they have invisible but very pokey thorns that get all over your clothes and into your hands. You can’t see them so you can’t remove them. Cactus plants retain water, and as such, they are extraordinarily heavy, so taking them out isn’t for the faint of heart. Still, see above: the man needs to stay busy. If we had hired someone to remove the cactus plants, it would have been $500 or more. The man earns his keep.

Workmen
And speaking of earning his keep, Jen’s son-in-law, Mark, came by yesterday morning and installed our new thermostat. The touch screen on the old one no longer responded to our touch. At one point a few days ago, I was poking it very hard and screaming at it, so it seemed that perhaps it was time for a replacement. We purchased a Honeywell that is wifi compatible, so we can operate it from anywhere. We have the same one at our Denver home. It comes in handy if we have the temperature set low and there is a cold front heading towards Denver. We can raise the temp from here so that the pipes don’t freeze. All of this depends, of course, on whether the technology doesn’t kick our ass. We were very thankful for Mark’s handyman skills. He agreed to being paid in food!

Birdhouse
Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day at Jen’s grandkids’ school. Eleven-year-old Austin chose to simply go with his straight-from-bed head. Lilly went much fancier…..

Ciao!