Heating Up

It is the end of September and our high temperatures the last 4 days have been 105, 106, 106 and 107! Summer just doesn't want to let go. The forecast is for an even hotter day today before it is suppose to begin to cool down. It is even warmer than usual in Jackson, WY where today would normally be our last day working at the Lodge. The highs have been in the upper 70's there where the high 50's and low 60's are the norm at this time of the year. I'm sure that the animals are all confused - and the plants and trees too.

We were suppose to have our landscaper here yesterday to begin the work on our backyard. He ran into a problem getting the sand delivered in order to begin laying the pavers and the grass, so he plans to try again this morning. Josie is off work today and tomorrow, so she will get an opportunity to watch the progress. I hope we didn't make a mistake choosing this guy to do the work. Sometimes, you think you are getting a great deal on something and it turns out to be a more expensive solution than if you went with a higher quote. We'll find out.

There are so many projects that we have lined up but need some cooler weather to begin. I'm really getting tired of being holed-up in the house when there are so many things to be done outside. I'm sure that the day will come soon when I wish the weather would just warm up a bit. You know how it goes - we are never satisfied when it comes to the weather...

Car Repair

I took the Jeep into the dealership yesterday to have the "check engine" light problem fixed. Four hours and $230 later I left the dealership. It was an emissions control valve that was bad and it was a $200 part. Of course, the days of the $50 part are long gone. That brings me to another point. I heard that cereal prices, along with all other food prices, are going through the roof. For no apparent reason. You can't find cereal in the stores anymore for less than $4 per box, and that buys you about 4 or 5 bowls of cereal. It's cereal this week, next week it will be something else that has prices going through the roof. As Josie says, everything keeps going up except our income. Oh. well.

We have the landscaper scheduled today to begin the work on our backyard improvements. We have the pavers and the artificial grass from Lake Pleasant that we want to use, and he will utilize those for as far as they will go. I will most likely have to buy a few more pavers and maybe another roll of grass, but for the most part, the materials are there. It will be a nice change to our backyard. We also wanted to put a pergola out back but they are so expensive we will probably wait on that for now. The back yard will certainly be ready for use this winter.

My doctor's appointment went well yesterday. The doctor cleared me for resuming all physical activity again. There have been no problems with the recovery for which I am thankful. I will have to go back in about two weeks to have a scan performed to make sure all is well with the device he planted near my abdomen. Then, it will be once a year for the scan to make sure all is performing well. I sure hope the visits to the doctor and, especially to the hospital, are done for now...

More Like It

The two games that really mattered to me yesterday were both strong wins - the Cardinals and the Seahawks. Even though the Seahawks have two losses, they are on a collision course with the Cardinals for the playoffs. Right now, it looks like they are the two teams to contend for the NFC Championship. It was sure nice to see the Seahawks play a great defensive game and show signs of getting the offense going. The Cardinals had a walk in the park against the 49'ers. I hope I'm right on those two teams.

I have to take the Jeep into the shop this morning to get the "check engine" light checked. It came on Friday and I had to wait until today to get it checked. The fact that the light stays on is suppose to be good. It is a serious problem when it flashes, so I guess we will be OK. Famous last words.

I also have a doctor's appointment this afternoon which is the first check-up since my surgery. Everything seems to be going well, so I don't see any problem with that.

I took a picture of the lunar eclipse last night and, here it is for what it is worth. You really need the right camera equipment for these shots, but you get the idea:

That about wraps it up for today...

Big Game Day

Yesterday was the big game with Ohio State, the number one team in the country. Austin's team had already played the number two team, Michigan State, the first game of the season. I don't know of too many teams, especially MAC Conference teams, that have played the #1 and #2 teams in the country so early in the year. They did not embarrass themselves in either game, and Austin played very well in both. Unfortunately, huge penalties and the fact that their kicker had a flat day didn't help the score. Ohio State won the game, 38-12. WMU had one touchdown called back for penalties and another long pass called back that would have resulted in a touchdown. Throw in two missed field goals and the missed extra points following their two touchdowns that counted, and they played a pretty good game. Now they can go on to play conference games.

That pretty much ate up the day as I watched the entire game. I did some other stuff around the house and throw in some cross stitch and that was my day. Josie came home from work at 5:30 and we went to get some dinner at Applebee's before calling it a day.

There have been ZERO sightings of "live" scorpions since we had the house treated. Our fingers are crossed...

Visit Planned

All of the arrangements are made now for Justin and Kristine to visit us in October. They will arrive on Saturday, October 10, and return to Seattle on October 17. We will begin planning some fun things to do while they are here and it should be a nice visit. Justin will be heading out to his Air Force training by the end of the year and it will probably be the last time we will see him for awhile. It will be a nice experience for him.

The scorpions are about gone as far as we can see. There were no more new ones spotted yesterday although we are sure there are more hidden in various places around the house. We are planning to get shelving for our garage to get all of the boxes and other items off the floor. One of the dead scorpions was discovered in the garage which is a place where we haven't seen them before. We hope to get all the garage stuff put away before the next treatment for the scorpions takes place in about two weeks.

Today is the big game on TV between Western Michigan University and #1 Ohio State at Columbus. Patty and Mark are attending the game in Columbus as Mark has an opportunity to accompany a business prospect to the game. They will fly to Columbus today and return tomorrow. Good luck to Austin and his team! Watch for #23 on the special teams for WMU. It sure would be nice to see a major upset in the game.

Josie will be at work today so I will copy the game for her to see later. We are hoping for a close, exciting game...

Treatment Working

We have clear evidence that the scorpion treatment is working. It looks like the beginning of a scorpion graveyard outside. Below are a couple shots of the first casualties:

There were two more on our back patio that were babies. As you can see from the second shot, the "catchmaster" is getting more than just scorpions. The boxes that are placed around the house are all capturing more insects and bugs. We haven't checked the boxes yet this morning, but I bet that we have more activity. We both slept better last night.

Our grandson, Justin, has enlisted in the Air Force since he graduated from high school this year. We are working to put together a visit with Justin where we will have him spend a week with us in October before he has to leave for training. We are also trying to include Kristine in that visit so that they both can spend some quality time together. That will be the first extended visit by family and that is the main reason we bought the house. We look forward to that visit and more to come as we get close to the holiday season...

New Tree and Scorpion Relief

The Moon Valley Nursery folks came at 6:15 AM yesterday morning - 1/2 hour early - to plant our new tree. They definitely knew what they were doing and within a half hour had the tree planted, staked and ready to go. Here is a shot of our new, Majestic Ash tree next to our patio:

Hopefully, it will grow quickly and provide the shade and blocking characteristics we are looking for.

At 11:30 AM, the exterminator showed up and did a very thorough job of treating our entire property for scorpions. He sprayed inside and out, placed "catch-box" traps around the yard and sprayed the entire perimeter of the house foundation and block wall surrounding the house. It already has shown to be productive as this morning we spotted this scorpion, on his last legs, dying outside our front door on the entryway:

That should be the last - and number 9 - of the scorpions on our property. He will return in two weeks and perform a second treatment to make sure everything is covered. We are already resting easier.

Finally, our landscaper came by and gave us our quote for the work to be done in our back yard. We will purchase all of the materials ourselves and he will perform all the labor to complete the job. It is going to be expensive to do what we want to do, but nowhere near the ungodly quote we received at the home we almost bought in Peoria. That was a $24K quote, and we will be at a fraction of the cost when it's all done. We will be able to utilize all of the pavers and artificial grass from Lake Pleasant, so we have a head start on the materials. We are anxious to get the ball rolling on those improvements, so stay tuned for progress reports...

Number 8 and Hopefully the Last

As I was sitting at my desk this morning working on my computer, Josie came into my den and immediately walked over a scorpion. It is the first one to be spotted in the den, and the eighth one overall. Most of them have been spotted within the last week. Fortunately, the exterminator is scheduled this morning between 10 AM and noon. It is mind boggling to us how we are suddenly being infested with these creatures. Let's hope it ends today.

Also scheduled today is the planting of our new tree by Moon Valley Nursery. That is suppose to take place at 6:45 AM this morning. We hope to see some rapid growth from this tree over the next couple years - if the scorpions don't chase us away in the meantime. The exterminator should take care of that problem and we will be set to enjoy the home the way we expected.

I have not heard back from Verizon regarding our reception. I spoke with representative number 4 yesterday who promised to get back to me before his shift ended. I never heard from him and he joins a growing list of broken promises from Verizon. It turns out that I located a corner of the window on the northwest side of the room where I can get 4G reception. I haven't decided yet how I'm going to handle Verizon when I do talk to them - eventually. I will cross that bridge when I get to it...

Number 7

Our seventh scorpion was spotted and killed yesterday morning. Josie opened her cabinet door below her sink in the bathroom and there it was sitting next to her makeup bag. We are so paranoid now about scorpions that it is difficult to even go into our closet. The exterminator will be out tomorrow, and it is none too soon. Actually, the initial schedule they had us on meant that we wouldn't have had a treatment until early next week. I suggested that they squeeze us in somehow as we have had many scorpions the last few days. They accommodated our request. The strange thing about the sightings is that all of the inside sightings have been in the same part of the house - the northwest corner of the home - our bedroom area. Josie is ready to sell the house and move on.

I'm still doing battle with Verizon over our poor 4G coverage in this area. Our phones are receiving a strong 4G, but the hotspot only gets a weak 3G signal. They have been working the issue for two weeks now with no resolution. There have been three commitments by them to get back to me with a resolution, and on all three occasions they have neglected to call. I will try one last time today and if there is no resolution, I will go to the nearest AT&T store and/or Sprint store to see what they offer. Our contract with Verizon is up, so we are free to do what we wish with them.

It seems that our local meteorologists missed the forecast yesterday and today - so far. We were expecting heavy (2+ inches) rainfall yesterday and today, and so far, we have only had a few drops. The ground hasn't even been wet the last two days. If it weren't that we need the rain it wouldn't matter, but we can sure use a heavy dose. Maybe today is the day...

Hurry Exterminator

Josie was outside hosing off the patio and the pool decking yesterday morning. As she was cleaning off the pool decking, two scorpions - at opposite ends of the pool - came up onto the deck and she eliminated them. It assures us that they are hanging out in the stones that are on the ground and they were getting away from the water. That makes a total of six scorpions we have killed since moving into our home. We are anxious now to get the exterminator out as soon as possible and that treatment will be scheduled soon, after I hear from them today. The surprising thing to us is that the previous tenant that lived here the last year indicated that they saw only two scorpions the entire year. They must have thought that a monthly average was requested on the Sellers' Disclosure statement. I will have an update on the treatment schedule tomorrow.

It was another tough loss for the Seahawks last night as they dropped a 27-17, hard fought game against the Green Bay Packers. The Packers got even for the loss in NFC Championship game last year. I'm still not worried about the Seahawks. They are having trouble getting in sync, but, as they did last year, will turn on the burners about mid-season and become unstoppable the rest of the way. That is why we have a 16 game schedule. Two games aren't going to ruin their season and they haven't even played a home game yet.

The Cardinals played a super game yesterday to go 2-0 for the season. Just as last year, they jumped out of the gate and look like they are already in mid season form. Of course, they won against a very weak Bears team  It's a long season and if they can stay healthy, should be at or near the top at the end of the season.

Go Seahawks!!!

Exterminator Scheduled

I reviewed the Angie's List exterminators and selected one that had high marks, was reasonable in cost and specialized in scorpion extermination. They will be contacting us tomorrow to schedule a time this week. They actually perform two treatments for scorpions, two weeks apart. We are so scorpion conscious now that we are always looking out wherever we go in the house. It will be nice to eventually eliminate the fear of seeing another one.

Western Michigan University had a great day yesterday as Austin's team rolled over Murray State, 52-20. They played on all cylinders and the game wasn't even as close as the score indicated. Next week, they play Ohio State who stumbled against Northern Illinois yesterday and barely beat them 20-13. As the top team in the country, they almost got knocked off by a fellow MAC Conference team. Hopefully, WMU can give them another scare, or perhaps beat them in a major upset. We hope so.

Just when we think the summer heat is leaving us, we get another stretch of 100+ degree days. It was 106 here yesterday, and is going to be hot again today. As we approach October, we are really anxious to see the weather cool down. There are several outside projects we want to tackle but need the cooler weather to get started. One of those is our garage where it has been too hot to do anything. The summers just don't seem to want to let go around here...

Scorpion Invasion

I killed our fourth scorpion yesterday afternoon. We have been totally shocked that this location - away from the foothills and away from the desert - has so many scorpions. Only the first one was big, and that one was the only one we saw outside. The other three have been relatively small and discovered inside. One was in the bathroom on the floor which Josie discovered and eliminated, another was on the bathroom counter just walking along and the fourth one, yesterday, was just resting on the wall in the hallway near the molding. There has to be a nest or other location somewhere inside that is producing these scorpions.

We sprayed the entire house with Home Defense about a month after we moved into the house which eliminated all of the other bugs that we saw. That stuff works great - for everything other than scorpions. Josie was doing a search last night about scorpions to learn as much as possible about where they come from, what they eat, what are their habits, what to do if stung by one, etc. I guess I will do another search today on which exterminator to have come out and get rid of these pests once and for all. Angie's List has several good deals for scorpion exterminators, so I will review those this morning. We are really on the alert now looking for more and are becoming shy about picking up anything from the floor. We are especially fearful now about our shoes and folded clothing in the closet in our bedroom.

I am still working with Verizon to resolve our poor wireless reception issue. They have tentatively indicated that we might need another antenna to boost the signal. If that turns out to be the case, they will install the antenna at their expense or we will say goodbye to Verizon. I refuse to purchase any new equipment to solve a problem which is theirs. We are paying for 4G reception and only receiving 3G service. That won't fly in my book, so maybe the next research project will be to discover the strongest wireless signal in the area and switch to that company...

Window Coverings

There is a glass block window in our master bath over the tub that is on the west side of the house. During the hottest days this summer, the heat coming through that glass block window was extreme as the sun went down late in the day. We only have a total of 4 windows on the west side (including the glass block window) of the house, so we are looking at solar screens to solve the problem. The question becomes - buy them from a company that installs them or make them myself. Yesterday, we went to Home Depot to try to get a handle on costs for making our own. Screens aren't that difficult to make so I think I will do the job myself and save lots of money. When I will start that project remains to be seen.

Josie is looking at inside window solutions, so we also made a trip to the JC Penney Home Store who is having a huge sale on shades and window coverings. In addition to the screens, we would need a shade for that glass block window. Josie is looking to build her own valences for the windows so she was getting some ideas on costs for those materials. We already have wood blinds throughout the house, so I don't think we need anything for those.

All I can say is that - while we were on the road, we had none of these problems and didn't have to worry about spending money for these types of situations. There are some advantages to that lifestyle that become very evident when you go back to the old lifestyle of home ownership...

More Secure

The locksmith we hired to re-key all our door locks was on time yesterday morning. It took him less than an hour to change the locks, reprogram our garage remotes, install a padlock on our gate and give us new keys for the whole house. Now, we feel more secure knowing that if there any keys out there from previous tenants, it doesn't matter. We were lucky that there were no incidents between the time we moved into our home until now.

We also went to Moon Valley Nursery to finalize our tree purchase. Josie was OK with the Majestic Ash and we will have it planted next Wednesday. The only concern we had about the tree was whether or not it would grow too large for the area where we are planting it. We were assured by the nursery "expert" that the tree will be fine for the area where it will be planted. One thing That Josie and I both agreed on was that Moon Valley has raised their prices over the years to where they are almost greedy. We have purchased lots of plants and trees from them over the years and this was an expensive experience. In addition to raising their tree prices, they have raised the delivery cost and warranty costs, plus they charge $30 for staking the tree. A $400 tree now costs $600 with the extra costs.

The afternoon was taken up with a trip to Costco to buy water and a few other items. Now, we need to tighten the belt and conserve for the rest of this week so we will have enough money for the rest of the month. Maybe one of the lottery tickets we bought last night will remove any concerns about where money is coming from...

Moving Forward

Since we moved into our home, there has been one critical activity that we have overlooked - changing the locks on all our doors. We obviously knew that we had to get that done, but the actual event was overlooked as a result of everything else going on. Anyway, I spent a good portion of the morning yesterday researching locksmiths and ended up with a deal from Angie's List that looks pretty good. We will have all the locks (8) on our doors re-keyed, our two garage remote openers reprogrammed, get a padlock for our gate and get 4 new keys - for the nice sum of $109. That seems like a great deal to me. We will find out this morning between 9 and 11 AM when they are scheduled to come and do the work.

I also researched fast growing shade trees to solve a problem we have next to our patio where we had a couple bushes removed by the landscaper when he was here the other day to remove our dead queen palms. I ended up deciding on a Majestic Ash from Moon Valley Nurseries. I went to their nearby location to look at trees and this one stood out as a best buy. I put a deposit on one pending Josie's approval of the choice which we will verify today. The big problem with most fast growing trees in AZ is that they are messy, are deciduous or have invasive root problems. There are only a few that don't have one or all of those drawbacks.

Other than taking care of the locks and the tree, today looks like a fairly open day for us. Josie has the day off, so maybe we can do something else that doesn't involve spending money...

More Progress

When I called to make a follow up appointment with my doctor yesterday, I was able to actually speak to him. The office assistant happened to be on the phone with him when I called, so she patched me through directly to him. He indicated that it would fine to remove the dressings around the incisions - except for the strips that protect the stitches - and to begin normal showering activity. I was happy to take my first full shower since before the surgery. I have my follow up appointment scheduled for September 28.

We also had the landscaper out yesterday to remove the dead Queen Palm trees that we lost during the hot period between the previous tenants leaving and our move-in when the water was shut off. It wasn't that long a period - maybe one long week. I talked to him about getting a quote to us for laying the pavers and the artificial grass we brought with us from Lake Pleasant. We aren't sure yet how far we want to go with that improvement to the yard, so we will have to wait for his quote. We don't want to spend a lot of money buying more materials when we only plan to live here for a few years. Right now, our yard looks pretty good with the dead palms removed.

I have been dealing with some issues with Verizon over our reception here at the house. We should be getting strong, 4G signals where we are located, but we are only getting weak, 3G signals. They are investigating the cause, and I expect to hear something back from them today. They have been investigating this problem since the middle of last week. As long as the solution doesn't include buying any new equipment, I'll be happy. They have a way of forcing upgrades to equipment on folks to fix problems that are a result of their network shortcomings. Once again, maybe it's time to think about switching to another provider...

Split Results

The main attraction yesterday was the beginning of the 2015 football season. The Seahawks played in St Louis where they always have a close game and yesterday was no different. They came roaring back in the fourth quarter from an 11 point deficit to take the lead - 31-24 - with less than a minute to play. The game was won before the Seahawks' defender fell down on pass coverage and allowed a last minute score by St Louis. St Louis eventually won in OT 34-31. The Seahawks weren't sharp, but I like the way they came back - they will be fine this year. It doesn't get any easier as they travel to Green Bay next week to play the Packers who have a payback for the Seahawks who beat them in the NFC Championship game last year on a miraculous comeback.

The afternoon was much better as the Cardinals looked terrific in their win over the Saints - 31-19. If they can stay healthy, they will have a great year. It will be exciting at the end of the season to watch the Cardinals and Seahawks, who should be at the top of the NFC rankings.

My recovery is going well and I am still feeling great after my surgery. I am following the rules and not doing much in the way of activity, although we did go to Fry's in the afternoon for some groceries. I'll stay the course and eventually all will be back to normal again...

Recovering

There wasn't much that I could do yesterday but rest. The recovery will take some time as I cannot lift anything over 5 pounds for the next four weeks and my physical activity has to belimited for the next week or so. That means no treadmill, no swimming pool, no hiking or biking and certainly no physical activity around the house that requires heavy exertion. I do have lots of things I can do on the computer and in the den to get organized, so this will be a great opportunity to get that done. I'm feeling good, so I don't want to take any chances.

The fact that the temperatures are beginning to cool is a good sign. I will at least be able to sit outside during the day and enjoy some fresh air. It was 108 here yesterday and I'm hoping that it will not go that high again for the rest of the year. The forecast for the next week shows most days with highs in the 90's with the exception of today which will be around 102.

I wasn't able to get Austin's football game on TV in our area but it turns out to be blessing. They lost (43-17) to a team (Georgia Southern) that they should have beaten and it makes for a tough start to the season at 0-2. A bowl game this year will be a real stretch. As Patty says, it probably improves the chances of their spending Christmas in AZ if there is no bowl game to travel to. There is always a bright side.

I guess I can get started on my tough day of relaxing. There will be many more ahead...

Successful Surgery

I arrived in plenty of time yesterday (5:30 AM) for my scheduled surgery at 7:20 AM. They did the usual "poking" and briefing before the surgery. Surgery lasted for about 2.5 hours and, of course, I didn't remember anything. It's always good to wake up in any room following surgery when you consider the alternatives. That was the first sign that all went well. I spent about an hour in recovery before they hustled me off to an Intensive Care room that was really nice, and private too. I felt bad that Josie had to miss so much work while waiting through the surgery and waiting for me to get to my room and get settled at about 1:30 PM.

The surgery was a lot more serious than any of us suspected. It is called an Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair. I thought it was in some obscure vein in my abdomen, not the Aorta. That explains the close watch in Intensive Care and the strict follow up rules I need to follow for the next several weeks. I don't know how I am going to limit any lifting to 5 pounds for the next 4 weeks. Josie took a couple shots of my arms to show how "connected" I was:

First the right arm:

And the left arm:

I had 4 IV's for various reasons, including anesthesia, medications and in case I needed a transfusion during surgery. Nice thought. In addition to those, I had the usual heart rate, oxygen and blood pressure monitoring equipment.

I had no pain - and still don't - and I am able to move around freely with very little discomfort. The doctor did an amazing job and he is the same doctor that removed my gall bladder. He is pretty familiar with my body about now.

I am glad it is over and the next few weeks will be taken slow and easy. I also have to stay away from our pool for the next 10 days or so. I just hope that this ends the trips to the hospital for awhile...

Off to Hospital

Yesterday was not a very significant day as far as activities go. Josie got her hair done and I just watched some TV, did some cross stitch and just thought about preparing for today.

I am about to leave for the hospital as I need to be there by 5:45 for check-in. The surgery is scheduled for 7:20 so I expect to be pretty much out of it for most of the day. Assuming all goes well, I will be back to give a summary of my wonderful experience at the hospital on Saturday sometime. Hopefully, this will end the surgeries and I can bid farewell to the doctors and nurses.

Until Saturday...

Visit to Town Dump

It sounds like we paid a visit to a place where trash would be deposited and nothing but junk was there. It was pretty close. Josie has been wanting to re-visit this place in Carefree where lots of rustic - and rusty - furniture, pottery, outdoor figures and other junk, is available for sale. We made the trip to Carefree yesterday to check out the place to see if there might be something that would be interesting for us to have at our house. This is the sign of the Town Dump:

It really is "one of the world's most unusual stores".

Here are a couple shots of the "stuff" they have on sale:

That is only a small portion of the goods available for sale, but gives you an idea of the kind of place it is. It is actually fun to see these items that will most likely be there forever although, I guess, there are some folks that may be looking for these types of items for their own properties.

We returned home after stopping for a Blizzard at the local DQ in town.

I also had my pre-registration appointment at the hospital in the morning. Everything is now a "go" for tomorrow, and I have to say that I am not looking forward to the experience. I will not be in a room for the night but instead will spend the day and night in the Intensive Care Unit before being discharged on Saturday morning - if all is well. That is really scary, as I guess I didn't realize how serious this surgery was, and how important it is to keep a close watch during the first 24 hours following the surgery. The surgery is scheduled for 7:20 AM on Friday and is a two hour procedure. I will be glad when it's all over...

Surgery Prep

Our attention is shifting to my scheduled surgery for this Friday AM. That's when I go back to the Banner Hospital for the repair on the aneurysm that was discovered during the MRI process for my gall bladder. It isn't suppose to be "major" surgery, but let's face it, all surgery is a bit scary. This particular surgery is a relatively new procedure that carries some risk. The doctor will go into the aneurysm through two incisions in the groin area and place a sleeve over the vein which is designed to shrink the vein back to its normal size and eliminate the aneurysm. I hope it works. It will require a once a year follow up check on the sleeve to make sure it is doing its job. At this point, I don't know what is involved in that follow up part.

I have an appointment this morning at the hospital to complete all the pre-registration paperwork. That should finalize all the preparation as far as the hospital is concerned. I anticipate staying just the one night, Friday, and returning home on Saturday morning. I hope it goes according to plan.

There are some changes to our landscaping that we are going to make over the next several weeks. For starters, there are two queen palm trees that need to be removed as they died during the period over the early summer when the power was shut off and the water was shut off. The heat was too much for those trees to survive without water for so long. Anyway, we are leaning toward a more "desert" look and will remove most of the plants that require water and replace them with desert plants. Hopefully, it will result in additional water savings. Our landscaper will be here on Monday to discuss the initial changes and we'll go from there...

Good Movie

Most of the early part of yesterday was spent investigating some window treatment options. Josie has been looking at different ways to add some interest to our windows besides the wood blinds that already exist. We went to Home Depot and looked at some shades and other valence options and have a pretty good idea now of what the costs are and which options we should pursue. That will be another day.

We wanted to take advantage of the final day of the Labor Day holiday weekend but didn't want to go very far or spend a lot of money. We settled on going to a movie. Josie had a couple free movie tickets that she received from her company for her birthday, so we chose to use them yesterday. There are a few good movies out now, and one of the appealing ones was a movie starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte called A Walk in the Woods. We wanted to see something that would be entertaining and this certainly qualified. If you are interested in hiking and/or the outdoors, this is one you need to see. These two older men take on the 1800+ miles Appalachian Trail and it is a very humorous story of their trek. It's worth going to see.

I guess we can say that summer is "unofficially" over now. Even though the weather doesn't show it yet, the end is in sight. It appears that we will continue to have days in the low 100's, but I believe the days of 110+ are over. I hope so. We can probably get on now with planning some outdoor activities that will allow us to finally include our backyard. So far, it has been too hot to do anything but enjoy the pool. That's not all bad. There are some changes we would like to make to our backyard and the time is getting closer for us to be able to start those projects...

Coconino County Fair

It was a full day yesterday as we decided to drive to Flagstaff and go to the Coconino County Fair. It was located at the Ft Tuthill County Park which is 4 miles south of town. It was a good thing. We arrived at the exit off I-17 at 11 AM and there was a line of cars as far as you could see - on the south exit of the freeway. Most of the people were coming from Flagstaff and our northbound exit was almost normal, traffic wise. It still took us a good half hour to get to the parking lot and get in line for the tickets:

The tickets were only $5 each for Seniors, so it started out as a pretty good deal.

It was a good size Fair and there were lots of activities and fun things to do as you would expect:

Here are some of the neat things that were going on. Starting with some entertainment:

and some fun water activities:

We went through the pavilions where there were all the things you might expect to see at a Fair. Even some things that were unusual, like a gem and minerals pavilion where you buy an agate stone and have it cut open to see if you were lucky to get a nice design. This is one that we watched get cut in half which had a pretty good design inside:

Of course, there were farm products on display with all the ribbons that were won and the stitching pavilion where, in addition to many quilts, there was this cross stitch design that won Best of Show:

It was very nice and deserved to win the top prize, but, as biased as I am, mine would have been better. It was ironic that the winning piece was an Indian theme, like almost all of mine.

We went through the animal pavilions and came to the horse arena where a competition was being held. We watched the contestants prepare their horses and go through all the moves that the judges evaluated and watched as the winner was announced and the trophy was awarded:

In between all of this we were gauged for lunch to the tune of $22.50 for a burger, hot dog, one order of fries and two drinks. Robbery!

We left the Fair at around 3:30 and made it home by just after 5:30. It was a great day at the Fair (except for a brief shower) and it was a nice drive to boot.

It looks like today will be spent close to home as Josie has her eyes on doing some decorating in the house. That will include a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot, so I hope we don't break the bank...

Holiday Choices

I did a search of all Arizona activities and events that are being held this holiday weekend. There are a bunch! The question is, how far do we want to travel and how much do we want to spend. One thing I was able to eliminate, fortunately, was staying overnight anyplace since all of the activities we are interested in have totally booked hotels nearby. That's what happens when you wait until the last minute to go someplace.

We have narrowed our choices to a couple of fun events - The Coconino County Fair in Flagstaff or the Faire on the Square in Prescott (Arts and Crafts show at the Courthouse Plaza). They both seem like fun activities but we will probably go to the Fair in Flagstaff. Maybe, we will end up going to both on different days this weekend. The main thing for us is how the weather will be since both are outdoor activities. Stay tuned to find out how it all shakes out.

What ever we do this weekend, Josie has been suffering with her painful leg and we will have go slowly where there is a lot of walking involved. We wish we are able to find a solution for her problem as it makes her work-days almost unbearable. It seems that medications are only partially effective and we haven't found the right combination of medications to do the job. It appears to be a combination of nerve damage and arthritis. Eventually, we hope to find the right combination to relieve her agony.

With two days left of the holiday weekend, we hope everybody gets out and enjoys the final days of summer...

Great Effort

The football season opened with a great effort by Austin's team - WMU - against Michigan State. Michigan State is ranked 5th in the country and for awhile, it looked like they would mop up the field with WMU. However, Austin's team came roaring back in the second half and, except for a couple dropped passes, could have made the outcome a lot more interesting. The final - 37-24 - was a great effort by WMU, and this final shot from the TV could have been WMU celebrating a huge upset:

Their next couple of games will be against easier opponents before they face Ohio State in another tough test. It should be another very good year for Austin's team and we hope that another bowl game is at the other end.

Next up is the start of the pro season which will be Thursday night with the Steelers playing the Patriots. Every time I hear the Patriots mentioned I get a bad taste - not only from their lucky win in the Super Bowl over the Seahawks, but for the joke surrounding the entire episode with Tom Brady. The football Gods are surely watching over that team.

We are enjoying some cooler weather these days as the temperatures are around 100 degrees. I'm sure there will be one last burst of hot weather where we will see 110 again, but at least we are getting some short term relief. The benefit of all that is that our electric usage will go down and that is always a welcome advantage. We do expect our electric bill to be lower this month anyway as we were without the use of our A/C for almost an entire week.

It's the holiday weekend but we don't have any firm plans in place at this time. We are talking about a short trip somewhere, but right now it is business as usual...

Dermatologist Results

My appointment with the Dermatologist yesterday was short and sweet. He didn't take much time to determine that my "blotches" on my arm and hands were what is called Granuloma Annulare. Basically, there is nothing I can do about these reddish lesions and he scheduled a follow up appointment in December just to make sure that there is no further indication of any problem. They don't itch, and they are not painful, but just noticeable. That was good news.

Josie and I went to the new Pottery Place in Surprise following my appointment and walked around their new location which is very impressive. If anybody needs any kind of pottery or Mexican goods, that's the place to go. We had been going there for years when they were at their old location - still on Grand Ave in Surprise, but about a block away - and we have purchased some planters and containers from them for our home in Sun City Grand. Maybe some day we will get some for our home in Glendale.

We then went to a store in Goodyear - Cal Ranch Stores - just to see what they had in the way of western goods. It is a complete ranch store and anybody that has a ranch knows about it, I'm sure. There isn't anything you can't buy for a ranch there, except for maybe the animals. Interesting place.

We connected with George and Cheryl on the phone at the end of the day to catch up on their two month trip to Oregon to visit David and Paige and family. They had a good trip and we will be getting together sometime following my surgery on September 11. We had just moved into our house when they left for their trip, so they haven't been to our house yet.

All in all, we had a busy day and we will get back to normal today with Josie working the next two days...

Discovery Drive

One of the advantages to living in the area we do is the convenience to everything. An example is the convenience to the White Tank Mountains and the Regional Park where we plan to do some hiking once the weather cools down a bit. For some reason, I thought that Northern Ave - the next road up from us - was the road that ended at the entrance to the White Tanks. Josie and I took a drive out Northern yesterday afternoon to check it out. It turns out that Northern is not the connecting road, but Olive Ave is. That is the next road north of Northern so it isn't that far off. It took us only about 10-15 minutes to drive to the park entrance which is really convenient. Josie took these shots of the park as we arrived:

We didn't go very far into the park on this trip but we sure look forward to some good hiking when the weather cools. I have a map of all the hiking trails within the park so we expect to get some good opportunities when the time comes.

I have an appointment with a dermatologist today to have a couple mysterious "blotches" checked that appeared on my hands and arms recently. I don't know if they are a result of the recent gall bladder activity or some other effect of the sun, but I hope to find out today. Josie also needs to have a couple spots checked on her body, so I hope this experience today is a good one and she can follow up with an appointment of her own.

Believe it or not, the temperatures barely broke 100 the last two days. Is it possible that the oven door is opening a bit?...

Ready for Football

The anxiety is building for the 2015-16 football season. Of course, the main interest for us is how Western Michigan University does, especially Austin. They are expected to do well again this year and they have a tougher schedule, beginning with Michigan State this Friday and Ohio State in a few weeks. For sure, we will be watching the game on Friday night that starts at 7 PM EST, 4 PM local time, and I will be wearing my WMU hat:

The pro season will really be interesting this year. The Seahawks will again threaten for the Championship and the Arizona Cardinals are also expected to be near, or at, the top this year. I am ready for both teams to excel, and I have the supporting hats to wear whenever they play:

 I will root for the Cardinals as long as they don't play the Seahawks. Go Seahawks!!

Part of our DirecTV package that we got when we signed for the service at our new home was the Sunday Ticket package that was free for the first year. That enables us to watch any and all Sunday pro football games on TV. I'm looking forward to watching all the Seahawks games and the Cardinals games that are telecast.

Enough football. Josie has the next two days off so we will probably get some things done around the house along with maybe taking a drive to some as yet unknown location. We'll see how it goes...

Stormy Days Ahead

As everybody already knows, this is the Monsoon season in Arizona - along with the extreme heat. For the most part, the TV Meteorologists can come close to predicting the activity, but they can never be precise in the forecast. For sure, they can't predict how serious the storms will be or the exact locations. They pop up anywhere, usually in the late afternoon. We had one serious storm "graze" us last night and it produced some serious damage just east of us in Phoenix. We had some minor wind damage, but there are areas not too far from us that have fallen trees and more serious damage. The forecast is for storms on every day this week and we have to just wait and see where they occur. I will be glad when this monsoon season ends and, more importantly, when the hot weather goes away. We have about one more month to go.

I picked up another propane tank yesterday to insure that we don't run out of propane while grilling. That happened two days ago when we only had the one small tank that we used while we traveled. It was extra weight to have a spare in the fifth wheel, so we only travelled with the one small tank. Hopefully, the monsoon will cooperate and we can enjoy more grilling without running out of fuel and not getting blown away.

It looks like a normal week otherwise. There are no special plans for the Labor Day weekend - yet - so we'll just take it one day at a time...