Memories and Friendship

Isn't it just a miracle when the memory department clicks somedays?

The pastry brush.

Finally!

I ran into Smart & Final today for a few things on my way home from work and, lo and behold,

I actually remembered to pick one up. I've looked at a few here and there, but am a bit on the picky

side when it comes to some things.

Another thing we use in this house is a lint roller.

I don't know why, but we do. The same store actually stocks them next to the chocolate

bars at the registers. A store that seems to know what my household needs.

Check this out! This would be a disaster in the making.

It is Amish Friendship Bread starter.

I made so much of this in Alaska it started being a serious precurser to Weight Watchers meetings

in my house. It has to be nearly the best thing since sliced bread.

Some unkind soul brought it to work and I promptly grabbed a bag.

The memory might have worked today, the willpower isn't doing so good.

If ayone in Phoenix (I'm not shipping this .. my sympathies!) wants a starter, let me know.

I should have plenty of it before too long.

For that matter, I might just be dropping off Friendship Bread Muffins on your doorstep to boot!

Tonight we started Monday School here in Phoenix. To try maximize space with a very large Sunday School, 6th through 9th grades have moved to Monday nights instead. It won't be every week, rather 2 hours every other week. I'll be curious to hear from some of the teachers and the people in charge how they thought it went tonight. From a teens point of view, it seemed to go well. The mom driver will have to find something to do for several hours. I did run through WalMart for a while and picked up a few things I needed and then went to the church and gabbed with other moms who were waiting for kids. I'd run for coffee or something, but too much evening coffee on a night before an early work morning just doesn't do much for the state of my eyeballs come morning.

Off to the pillow.
Have a fabulous Tuesday!



Planting season has sprung!

Probably more like the itch has sprung.
I needed some things from Home Depot yesterday and then took a detour through the gardening section with Alyx.
The bug bit. Big time.
Murphy's Law declares that now when I have the time to be playing with gardening, I don't have my own yard to play in.

We did start with a few flowers and will see if I can keep those things alive.

I used any container I could find being as my piles of pots got left behind. Now I have a serious reason to be yard sale hopping. When you're to the point of raiding kitchen cupboards for planting containers ... it's time to hit a thrift store or something.

I also started some peas. Not many, but a few. I have no clue where I'll get them to climb. I do know that I have a houseful that eat them nonstop off the vine. Duke doesn't know how to pick them, but even he loves to eat them!

I really did work on those photo albums yesterday before I started this project. I went through 4 years of scrapbook album pages and post it noted the pages that need completion. I even attempted to buy my favorite journaling pens at Office Max yesterday and they didn't sell them. I figured that counted for trying.

This shelf has been lounging around waiting for a yard sale. It arrived looking less than desirable, the back of it so bad that I would never have let it in the house. The back came off and then I started scrubbing and sanding, quickly deciding that the sanding was a waste of time. Home Depot is right down the street ... thank goodness. Spray paint that is primer and paint together, sticks to anything and covers well was the trick. I did roll some different black on it as well on the large spaces. A poly spray when I was done ... and it came into the house today. At least one can of spray paint and nearly another of poly, half of which were probably inhaled by me, had me winging yesterday. Yuck! Probably should have stayed outside one more day to air out. Today it went in our bedroom that doubles as an office. No more totes in that room! 3 totes went out to the garage ... and the shelf is fulfilling its purpose. Sweet! I do need a few more organization things and somewhere to land a printer or two. Why do we always have 2 printers?!

The scroll things on the top are a bit ridiculous, but I figured if I tried to get rid of them the entire shelf might turn out worthless. My hubby does have some interesting "Anita got loose with the skil saw" stories he could share with you. I do still have all my limbs ... might be a good idea to keep them.

Someday I'd like to back the shelf with white bead board.

Being as I was productive yesterday ... today I am being a total slug. Just might get that book read and take a nap!

Onward down the dirt road ...

These were the only 3 bikes we saw on the miles of dirt.

Brave folks they are!

On to beautiful views of Apache Lake.

It has been a long time since I've seen this lake!

Onward to the Lake Roosevelt Dam ....

and the lake itself.

The Lake Roosevelt Bridge is the longest two-lane, single-span,

steel-arch bridge in North America and was painted blue to

blend in with the water and sky.

It is a beauty ....

as is the lake it spans.

I'm thinking we should take some sailing lessons.

That just looks so peaceful.

Being as returning to Phoenix was not the order of the day ...

Someday I'd like to go back and do some more exploring around the Superstition Mountains. Maybe make that an all day type of thing instead of a drive by. Might be a great place to bring some visitors at the same time. I put it on the agenda for February.
Note to Mom & Dad: If you haven't been here yet ... we're going when you come down here.

I have a great fascination with old white churches. If I was to go inside, it might be sporting some beautiful stained glass and for sure the church pews wouldn't be padded. Perhaps it is a childhood memory thing. Makes me wonder if the ceiling is made of tin squares.

Canyon Lake looked very inviting as well. The temp was in the mid 60's so we didn't feel the need for a serious dip or anything like that. The beauty of water in the middle of the arid desert. Aaaah.

We did feel a need for one of these! Unfortunately, it wasn't very accomodating.

Tortilla Flats. Pretty much a stopping spot for dining, drinks and souvenier shopping.

Probably has some great hiking trails as well. I'm likely to never know. 

That isn't negative thinking, just reality based.

On down the Apache Trail we went. I only yelped once. There are some places that you just need to experience. Photography (at least mine) do it no justice. There is no way to share the enormity of the canyons and cliff walls, just as I could never capture the majesty of Alaska's mountains when driving right next to them.

They mean it when they post signs here. Is this one meant as a heads up kind of thing for the driver coming up the road? I sure hope it isn't meant for the driver once he hits this curve ... 'cuz it's too late by then!

Maybe because this is the Old West, I always imagine some beautiful person in full head dress standing tall and proud on top of those rocks. Perhaps they were watching some unsuspecting wagon trail that was attempting to traverse the landscape below. I sort of like the world I live in today. Air conditioned 4 wheel drive sort of beats the dickens out of a wagon rolling along.

Another sign ... in case a person hadn't noticed that for the last 10 miles or so the road was doing this number. Maybe their eyes were closed and they had no clue. Perhaps it is for the passenger in the car!

Now that would make more sense!

Where, oh where, is that next lake?

A day spent toodling around together.

It has been a while since we took a day and just spent it discovering

(or rediscovering as the case was today) something or some place.

Today we sort of ran away for the day.

We started out at Saguaro Lake where we toured a 3 level houseboat on the lake.

Yes, I could be rocked to sleep every night of my life.

Hmmm. Could give one some serious ideas about that retirement thing.

So many empty slips at the marina indicative of the economy.

We have no problem taking turns off the main road.

You never know where it will lead you.

We found a ranch that is rentable. That doesn't make sense.

The entire place can be reserved, as can individual cabins or rooms.

A bit too pricey for my Motel 6 travel budget, but it sure looked wonderful!

Another turn off a road led us to what I called the Nightmare.

I shuddered looking at these cacti and there were hoards of them!

They're tall as well. These weren't short, rather much taller than I am.

I was just having these horrible visions of being lost in this mess in the dark.

I'm still shuddering.

Being as the sign on the  mountain seemed to say Phoenix is over thata way ...

we took the other fork in the road.

More later.

It is the New Year. Oh. My.

Does that mean that I should join the rest of the world in the Making New Years Resolutions Frenzy?
Should I even bother?

I don't think I will.

So. There.

I will plan on doing a few things this year.
Resolving involves coming to definite or earnest decision about something.
The things I plan on tackling this year don't need to be definite and aren't anything near earnest.
Some may enhance my life in some way or another.
Others include just plain fun.

1. Our home needs more people visiting in it, so (borrowing this one from Gloria today) once a month I am scheduling entertaining. Lunch, dinner, dessert .... something.

2. At least every other month I want to see something new in Arizona. We have lived here a long time, though segmented now, and there are many things I have never seen or done here. Hopefully, the outing will include someone besides my lone self. My hubby and the more of my children the better.

3. Debt Free Living, or at least a few steps closer to it. Maybe I should be resolving because this one doesn't sound like too much fun.

4. Photos. This year they will move from photo boxes into some album or another.

5. Kids' Scrapbooks and photo albums will be caught up this year.

6. I won't do more than one new craft project a week until I at least spend some time on the Photos and Kids' Scrapbooks ... at least a minute or two.

7. Cookbooks abound in this house. I'm not a collector, but there are enough of them here to certainly cook one new meal every week for the next year. I'll try and share it with you and rate it. Our rating system goes something like "Should I make this once a week or once a year?" Being as my preference is for sweet stuff .... you might just see more of that than anything else.

8. Travel. This should also be in the resolution department as this falls in the earnest decision category. I'm not going far away, as in needing a passport or anything like that, but far enough to see bunches of family.

There.
That should do it.
Except for the money thing and the cooking thing, the rest just look like a whole lot of fun.

I think I can handle it.

"I think I'm going to tuck you in .....

to a nursing home!"

It has been a long several weeks of work for these 2 guys, and especially for Jari whose days have been very long.  He usually comes home and heads for bed after a shower and short minutes of hellos.

So for a whopping Friday Nite over here ....
the young husband of mine snoozing in the recliner, tucked under a blanket by his son.
The young man's bride sitting on a heating pad on the reclining couch ... under a blanket ... with a laptop and audio book keeping her company.

This week:

• A few crafting projects got done
• We got to spend Monday visiting with Juha & Annette
• Tia's room still isn't touched and her pink rosette kissing balls still aren't done
• New yummy treat recipes found on Pinterest (recipes that do NOT include any post Christmas dieting)
• The last of the Thanksgiving cream cheese icing covered carrot bars just went down the hatch
• Scheme A got finished
• We celebrated 26 years of wedding bliss this week!
• Christmas decorations went away this morning and the tree went out to the back yard
• The year's expenses are all in Quick Books and except for a final perusal and quick fixes, they are ready for the tax man ... all papers filed or shredded
• The e-mail box got emptied and/or filed into appropriate file folders this evening .. all 400 or so of them
• I have been drinking way too much coffee and not nearly enough water ... I'm thirsty!
• While eating the carrot bars, I realized why I did so much Christmas baking ... I'll be eating it at Easter
• I learned today that rubbing alcohol works to get rid of tree sap on clothing and hands
• My living room looks a whole lot bigger this afternoon
• I wonder what I could do with that tree before it hits a tree collection pile somewhere
• I saw more pallets today on a semi trailer and wondered when I'll be ready to go hunt some down
• Do I really have to go back to work on Tuesday?!
• My goal was to read one book during this Christmas break and I still haven't managed it
• The treadmill was uncovered today ... not sure what that means for me!
• I got to visit a friend in the hospital today
• I may not have read, but I have listened to at least half a dozen audio books since the last day I was at work
• I need one of those pallets to make me a blanket "basket" on wheels ... I do love blankets
• We don't have any plans for New Years ... do we really need any plans?
• Tomorrow morning I get to taxi Alyx to her last day of work at her caregiving job
• We could really use one more car around here
• I took a loooong nap this late afternoon
• Tomorrow morning while I'm driving to the other side of town at 6:30 a.m. ... I may regret today's nap
• Have a safe New Years Eve!