Finally, after several days of overcast and rainy weather, we have a cloudless Arizona sky. While we were walking the dogs this morning, I took this photo of the neighbor’s flagpole with the third quarter moon above.
The forecast is for continued sunshine and cooler temperatures with highs typically mid-sixties and lows in the low forties. You can see from the flag that the winds are light and variable. Click on the image to enlarge.
We happened to be in old downtown today and ate lunch across the street from this quaint saloon, the La Cabaña. There are several old saloons and cafés in Town and we have decided to sample some of the food in the area. We were doing just that today, having BBQ sandwiches at the “Nearly Famous” Hog Trough Café. Click on the image to enlarge.
I let my husband take me to the old downtown district this afternoon. I got to browse through many of the quaint little shops in that part of town (the touristy part). He then took me to lunch at where they serve what we think is the best Mexican food in town. We were sort of like local tourists. It was a good afternoon.
I took this image of the old locomotive, caboose and train station as we started back home. Click on the image to enlarge.
At the recommendation of the contractor who built our house, we had him install skylight sun tubes in the laundry room and our little bathroom. Previous customers raved over the skylights, so we had no inhibitions about having them installed. We still don’t regret it.
After over two and a half years of occupation of the house, we just noticed a phenomenon yesterday where the little bathroom skylight seemed to produce much less light than the laundry room. I thought something might be covering up the bathroom skylight, so I got the extension ladder and climbed up to look.
AHA! The shadow of the air conditioning and heating unit was cast across the bathroom skylight dome and not the laundry room. I don’t know how we missed noticing this until just now, but Damsel was cleaning the floors and asked why it was so dim in the little bathroom.
Weird. Click on the image of the skylight domes and the shadow to enlarge.
We officially retired from the aerospace mill four years ago. We traveled some after the big day, often coming to Arizona to see the sights and to build Damsel’s Dream Home. The banner above contains a slideshow of some of the photos Damsel took while on the road and also two astronomical events; the Great Annular Solar Eclipse of May 20, 2012 taken from Page, Arizona and the June 5, 2012 transit of Venus across the solar disc. Click on the banner and images to advance the show.
Damsel and I spent today doing some of the many chores that we have neglected for the past two months. I had a notion to trim the lemon tree by the RV drive, but the wheelbarrow had a flat; I knew about the flat tire, but only remembered it when I needed the wheelbarrow to haul the trimmings to the trash bin. I had a patch kit for the inner tube so I would be able to repair the flat.
But first, Damsel wanted to drain and refill the spa, so I hooked up the hose to the drain spout and got that going. I then attacked the flat tire issue. Lacking tire shop tools, I improvised with a wrench handle to get the tire and tube off the rim. I took the tube and inflated it a bit, immersed it in a tub of water and found the leak. I patched it up and reassembled the wheel. I was so tired after fixing the flat that I abandoned tree trimming for another day.
Damsel finished draining the spa and mopped it out. I then hooked up the hose for her to refill the tub. By the time the spa was filled, I rolled up the hose and started the spa heater. This weekend, we are planning to take a couple of dips now that second spring has arrived. We look forward to that.
The image above is from August 2012. Click on the image to enlarge.
Yesterday, my Mom, Kate, passed from the Earth to her heavenly repose. She was 93½ years old. Ironically, she departed on what would have been my Dad’s and her first husband’s 99th birthday. Damsel and I will miss her charming smile and vibrant personality. Click on the image to enlarge.