Friday, February 4, 2022

It is cold here in Arizona, but is supposed to warm up over the next few days. We have had the heat on! The place here is actually pretty nice. Still bare bones but better than the one in Hawaii which had a weird layout and felt like it needed a lot of updates. It is Mike and my 18 month anniversary today and I made a reservation at a recommended restaurant tonight. We aren't going out on Valentines night as we hate contending with everybody for reservations. There are grills here by the pool so we will probably have a steak and a nice bottle of wine. Maybe I will get a candle for the table.

We had a great hike with Justice yesterday and another one planned today. He is such a trooper and he slept great last night. I didn't as I had this weird feeling of dread. I suspect it is based on the timeline of my daughter's last days. 17 years ago today was the day I took her to the hospital for a bowel blockage which ultimately required surgery a few days later. After that surgery we found out that she was terminally ill. Somehow I still relive those days to some extent every year.

I started looking at places to have a post-wedding party at and making a list of who to invite. I should get my act together on losing some of the extra 20 pounds I have. As mentioned previously I am not eating enough to gain, but also not cutting back enough to lose. Going out to eat nightly does not help!

Have a safe and healthy Friday!

Liz isn't kidding about Arizona being cold the past few days! It was quite chilly (mid 30s) yesterday morning when I stepped off the shuttle at the fairgrounds. It was then that I was no longer disappointed to be judging inside the building! It never really got warm yesterday, IMO.

Liz, glad you found some nice hiking! Please be careful with Justice as the weather warms. The snakes will start to emerge in the next few weeks and they are hungry and mean. You must be aware that rattlesnakes do not necessarily rattle prior to striking - especially if they are stumbled upon. Keep him on lead and on the trail, if he is snake naive.

I had a good time judging. Lots of nice pups from which to choose. My top picks were a Norwich, a miniature Bull Terrier, a Border Terrier and an Airedale. Turns out my Ace is the sire of the Airedale, so it's not surprising I found him pleasing! LOL!

Weight has remained under the red line even with airline travel and less than stellar eating yesterday.

This is my last day with a passel of pups. Tomorrow 2 leave. Sunday 3 more will go. Then it will be time to get Charley acclimated to household life.

I could have used another hour or two under the covers this morning. I didn't much want to get up for school.

The sun is out, the sky is blue and it promises to be a lovely day, if not somewhat cool.

Relocation disarray is setting in. Lots of new arriving boxes being stacked as is, half of my stuff packed and ready. Arranging for delivery of furniture and appliances a week from today. Warm and muggy here today, with a breeze picking up. We had to cut our walk short on the beach because we were being sandblasted ! It even bothered Sadie. Sadie lunched with me outdoors, in a sheltered area. The crustless quiche was so worth the calories ! Sadie had perfect manners, and it brought me back to therapy dog days, with kids, older people and the wait staff wanting to visit for pets and wags.

Greetings all

Day five and progress being made. I saw the large panel which will be the shower wall go in. All one big slab of fake quartz. Color is a little darker than I remembered but still good so I may have to adjust the paint.

I sneaked out to get an aniversary gift for DH. A gift card to the hardware store. Kind of counter intuitive as I don't want him to buy more tools but its what he loves.

Hey Peps, what was the breeding on your #3 border terrier? Just curious. Glad you did not have to suffer heat.

And yeah Liz, be so careful about the snakes. Years ago I was there at Carefree Cactus nursery.. We wanted to walk out into the unimproved land next door to look at those giant cactus - name I cant spell. They said we could but we had to take this snake stick weapon with us. I declined to go. I would not know what to do to the snake with a stick.

News alert: cheesecake is a slider food. Like duh I had to learn that.

Yay DianeO, stuff arriving!! Its fun to set up a new home. Enjoy.

I am looking forward to seeing the Olympic opening ceremony since the last one in China was so creative. Scaled back is ok.

Have a great day all.

Diane S

Bred by Peter Holson in New Mexico.

Thankfully, my stomach stopped gurgling, so no surprised looks from students. But now, all I care about is Friday, Friday, Friday. A weekend with no definitive plans, after 3 highly scheduled ones. Yes!!!

Stay warm everyone, and not sandblasted, avoid snakes (always a good plan) and watch out for sneaky, slider cheesecake!

Back to the land of warm and sunny! I ran lots of errands this morning while the cleaning people were here. One was to the car wash. The guy took one look at it in its sorry state and said, we can do a wash and wax, 45 minutes. I had 3 hours to kill, so what the heck, a treat for my poor abused, hard driven car. Looks all spiffy now. Also went to the pharmacy, Sephora, Costco, and to get a poke bowl for lunch.

I happened to look at the southern CA golden rescue site and saw a very cute goldendoodle puppy named Fozzie on there. I have a list of dog names in my phone a mile long and Fozzie has always been at the top (waka, waka! I grew up on the Muppets). Felt like a sign. I had a very helpful exchange with Peps about him and went ahead and filled out the form. They can get hundred of applications for a dog, so the chances are low. Neither Peps nor I am high on designer mutts, but this one has a very cute face. If nothing else, maybe it means I'm ready for a dog (though I still need to move!).

That's all that's rattling around in my brain. Hope everyone is well!

Fozzie - I love it! Fingers crossed that either this Fozzie or another one come to your arms.