A Day Out With Cath

I have a sister-in-law who lives 500 miles north of me in northern Alberta.  It seems lately that the only time we get together is when we both happen to be down here in Arizona at the same time.  Such was the case this week.  When we realized we were both down here we decided to have a day out together.

So, after I got lost trying to find her place in Sun City, Catherine and I headed straight for Arrowhead Mall in Glendale.  We weren't more than ten steps inside Dillards when we found our first purchases - shoes...comfortable sandals for me and dressy heels for Cath.  I had the salesgirl pack up my old ones and I put my new ones on and wore them for the rest of the day.

Me and Cath holding Cath's new shoes.

Then, still in Dillards, we tried on dresses, shirts and pants and we each came away with several new items of clothig.  The salespeople there were very accommodating and didn't seem to mind taking pictures of the crazy Canadians.

The not-so-fun part, of course, was having to pay for our purchases.

I had the pleasure of introducing Cath to the joys of the See's Chocolate Store.  It's such fun to go there and make up our own box of chocolates from the dozens of different delicious treats available.  And of course, the free samples made our choices easier.  We each filled a half-pound box to take with us.

It wasn't all fun and chocolate though.  As we drove away from the Mall we noticed that the van was making an awful noise.  We finally (half a block away) realized that we had a flat rear tire.  So I turned in at the nearest turn-off which was a Honda dealership on Bell Rd., just 20 minutes before they were closing.  We were taken right in and the service man replaced the broken valve, told us there was no charge for it, and wished us a pleasant day.  We were totally impressed with the service we got, and our van wasn't even a Honda.

I brought Cath back to my place where we showed Lloyd our purchases, told him our tale of the flat tire,  and enjoyed a cool drink on the back deck.

And Catherine took a picture of me and Lloyd before we drove her back to her place.

It was a fun and tiring day.  Maybe we'll get together when we're back home in Alberta.

Words and Pictures

Today I was thinking about the diary Lloyd was given for Christmas one year when he was 10 or 11.  He wrote his daily thoughts for about a week and then every day for a month there's just one word on each page:

Hockey

Hockey

Hockey

Hockey

Hockey

and then...

H

O

C

K

E

Y

...you get the idea.

I think our vacation here in Arizona can be summed up in a few words per day:

Eat

Cruise around in the 1992 Buick Roadmaster

Eat

Swim

Take Pictures

Eat

Watch a movie

Sleep

There are a few variables being thrown in occasionally, like golf for Lloyd for the next three days, but that's basically how our R&R is playing out.  Nice!  We're really going to enjoy retirement when Lloyd finally gets there.

Here's a few miscellaneous pictures of the past few days.

One of at least a dozen limes on our tree

Close up of the blossom of the bottle-brush tree

The beautiful new bottle brush tree in our front yard

The deserted nest Mickey and I watched the birds build in March

A freezer full of ice cream.  Apparently when Amy and Curtis were here a couple weeks ago there was a sale on Ben & Jerry's ice cream, so they stocked up.  Thanks guys! My favorite was the peach cobbler.

Lloyd climbed up on the roof to replace the screen that had blown off, again.

While up on the roof, Lloyd took pictures of the back yard.

and the side yard

And that's it so far. 

Taming the Alaskan Hummingbird

I've been lucky enough to spot, and try to take pictures of, some of the hummingbirds that are so abundant down here in Arizona.  I keep hoping I'll get lucky and get a really good picture of one.  It  would be easier if we had a hummingbird feeder in the yard, but I'd hate for the little creatures to become used to being fed here and then to be sad when we're away for such long stretches at a time.

In the meantime, my friend Mickey sent me this amazing video of people hand-feeding some wild Alaskan Hummingbirds far away from Arizona, up in Alaska.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Taming the Alaskan Hummingbird  http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=EUEZkwJulBY

Count Quincey's Cacti!!

In contrast to my last post about the lush greenery of home in Alberta, this post is about sun bleached cacti...we won't pay any attention to the absolutely gorgeous blossoming bushes that are all over the place here - stunning oranges, reds, fuscias, yellows.  Arizona in June is a rainbow!

Anyway, whenever SIL Quincey comes to town he goes to town with the landscaping.  We never know what to expect when our visit down here comes after he and Sara have been and gone.  This time was no exception.  Our yard is becoming it's own desert botanical garden.  Just look---

I don't know if this stick tree is officially  cactus or not but it is definitely a desert plant.  Did you know that a plant can't be classified as a cactus unless it produces flowers.  I did not know that.

Stick Tree - these are really beautiful when they open up and turn green.`

 Again, I don't know if a Joshua tree is a cactus but we'll pretend it is.  We have two of these interesting looking plants in the back yard.  That's a saguaro behind it.

Joshua Tree

This is one of our three saguaros.  Those are blossoms growing around the top of the cactus.  I hope they open up while we're still here.

Saguaro with blossoms

 This is an Argentine Giant.  I'm told it'll spread to six feet in diameter and produce bright red flowers.

Argentine Giant

 I have no idea what this one is called - couldn't find it in my cactus book.  It looks kind of like a Christmas tree with round knobs all over it.

Who Knows???  He's in our front yard.

 This poor little prickly pear is on it's last legs I think.  Looks like it gets too much water.

Prickly Pear

 The two-armed bandit in our front yard - saguaro with blossoms around the top and in the 'v' of the arms.

Second saguaro

 This toothpick cactus has tripled in size since we planted it two years ago.  It's needles are nearly three inches long, and sharp!

Toothpick Cactus

One of many types of barrel cactus - we have three of these beauties

Barrel Cactus

 Another no-name - it's a new one Quincey planted in January

Quincey's cactus

 This one looks like a type of prickly pear - much healthier than the one shown previously.

Prickly pear with bunny ears, or Mickey Mouse ears

Mouse or Bunny???

 I don't know what this new one is called either, but it looks like a Daddy, Mommy and Baby cactus family.

Cactus family

 I think this one might be a form of pipe organ cactus or a senita.  Don't quote me on that though.

Pipe Organ?

 And this is a close up of the blossom about to open on the pipe organ. 

And this is the front yard where a lot of the cacti live.  More in the back.

So, did you count the cactus?  I think there are 17, but I could be off by two or three.  They are very interesting plants, maybe because they seem exotic to us northerners.  I love to see them blossom.

Holiday - First Step

Yesterday (Thursday) Lloyd and I drove to Lethbridge for the first leg of our trip to Arizona.   It’s been raining almost non-stop down in southern Alberta for most of the three weeks between our visits to our home there.  This is what we found:

Big mushrooms growing around the base the stump where  my solar lighthouse sits.

After

Before

Grass almost long enough to cut for hay.

So we got right to work and mowed, raked, swept and bagged grass cuttings.  After three labor-intensive hours, this is what we ended up with, besides aching backs, shoulders and knees.

A nicely cut, sweet smelling, yard of thick luxurious grass...and two tired bodies.

And my neighbours lilacs leaning over our fence.  Lovely.

Two weeks from now, on our way back from AZ,  we’ll have to repeat the exercise.  Unless someone near and dear to us gets to it before we do.

We're Off!

Lloyd and I are heading out to Arizona today for two weeks of much needed R&R.  This is where Lloyd can relax best, far away from the stresses of work, connected only by his ever-present Blackberry and the computer for keeping in touch on-line.

I'm expecting it to be hot down there but with the pool and air conditioning I expect we'll manage very well.  We have no plans for road trips or exploring, except around the Surprise area, so it'll be a very laid back vacation for us.  We'll hang out in and around the pool and I'll keep my camera handy in my ongoing quest for a good picture of the hummingbirds that flit around the yard.

Looking forward to a very pleasant two weeks.





You Won't See These Ads Today!

My friend Mickey sent me an email today with the following real ads...ads that wouldn't be allowed to be published today for reasons that will become obvious as you read them.  Some are funny - some are just sad.  Imagine promoting beer as being good for breast-feeding mothers and nursing babies!  Read and laugh...or weep!  We've come a long way, baby.

                                                                                                                            
So, what do you think?

P.S.  I've disabled the word verification aspect of making comments. 

Pat