dooley's Blog at GardenStew.com

Picnics

dooley — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:46:05 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:46 pm (GMT 0)

Yesterday, we went down to Lake Pleasant for a picnic with Wannabe and my next younger sister, Maxine. But, it turned out that Maxine couldn't come because her husband, Ed wasn't feeling well. There was Wannabe, dr and myself, Dan and Laurel and Avery, and two of Maxine's daughters, Sharon and Laura and their families and later Maxine's son Eddie and his wife. So there were about 20 people there for most of the time. dr and I went down early because the picnic ramada's are on a first come basis and you need to get there early or there aren't any left. There are quite a few ramada's with only one picnic table but we wanted a larger one with four tables. We found one but it wasn't right on the lake. There was a path down to the lake but I didn't go down to the lake. The path was quite a bit steeper and rockier than I wanted to do. Wannabe didn't want to go down either. But, the kids ran up and down the path and weren't even puffing and out of breath. I told one of them she wasn't doing it right. She is twelve. She came running up the path. I told her, "Rachel, you didn't do that right." She asked me why. I told her she should be all out of breath and puffing after running up that path. She just grinned at me. Her mom says she's planning on running a triathlon this summer. I suppose at twelve I could run like that, too. Some of the kids went swimming but I thought it was a bit cold for it. I didn't even take my long sleeve shirt off. Most of the people were wearing shorts and t-shirts. But, I am usually cold. I am not a winter person at all. It was a bit windy and we had to anchor things with rocks. The kids thought that was great fun and brought more rocks than ten picnics could use. We talked, the kids swam and played and some people took pictures. I had the camera but didn't take many pictures. I took my binoculars but there weren't too many birds to watch. The kids had fun using them to watch the boats. So, all in all we had a good day. We left and come home about 4 pm. It takes a good hour to get up the hill from there. I was tired and we just had a sandwich for supper. I did take a couple of pictures but not great ones for sure. I was hurrying because talking was a priority yesterday. dooley

a sailboat

kids headed down to the lake

a cactus on the hillside

and packing up after the picnic.

Saturdays

dooley — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:53:30 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:53 am (GMT 0)

Saturdays here begin much earlier than the other days of the week. I normally get up around 8 am since I work evenings and get home around 9:30 I tend to stay up later and sleep later. With daylight coming earlier now, I do wake up earlier some days.
But, Fridays and Saturdays start at 6:00 am. The buzz of the alarm clock wakes us those days. Fridays are our yard sale days and Saturdays we work. I work at the library from 8 to 3:30 and dr goes to sell at the flea market.
So, this morning I woke up to the buzz of the alarm clock. I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. After I dressed I went into the kitchen and put the tea kettle on to boil water for tea. I dragged out the bread, cheese and meat for our sandwiches. I pack one insulated bag for me and one for dr. Sandwich, chips(100 calorie paks) a tangerine and bottles of water. Today instead of cooking oatmeal or scrambled eggs dr said we would stop at McDonald's on the way to work. So, I had time to check on the Stew before we left. I took my tea along. I usually take hot tea but today I had iced tea in a travel cup. We stopped at ate and dr delivered me to the library. He went on to the flea market.
It wasn't a busy day at the library. I helped check in the morning drop box and did our holds list and shelved books. Then, I took our missing book list and went out into the stacks to look for books that have been missing for more than 3 months. These are books that the computer says are checked in but no one can find them. The list had about 50 to 60 books on it. I found ten of them today. I found more on the adult side than I found on the kids side. Kids take books off the shelf, look at the cover and the pictures and stick them back on the shelf anywhere that is handy, never back where they belong. So missing books are harder to find in the kids side of the library. After lunch, I did the afternoon holds list and helped with the afternoon drop box and shelved books. I started on the trace list. These are books that haven't been gone long enough to be on the missing list but we still can't find them. I only had the front page started when it was time to go home but I did find 3 of the items.
dr came to pick me up. He said it was really windy out today and it was still windy because I had trouble getting the truck door to stay open long enough for me to get in. Of course, there wasn't much room for me to get in. dr seems to have brought more home than he took and he still made money. He bought a lot of tools and fishing tackle and tackle boxes from a man who was next to him. The man didn't want to take the stuff home with him. Now, that stack is in the dining room waiting to be sorted and boxed up for him to take back next week.
About the first thing I did when I got home was say hello to Chance and chase a cat out of the wood shed for her. She's not allowed out in that part of the yard.
I made an apple/raisin coffee cake to take for breakfast in the morning. We are going on a picnic to Lake Pleasant. That's down the hill toward Phoenix. I posted some pictures from there earlier this year. Wannabe is staying in Phoenix with my sister but with me working we only have Sunday's to visit with them. We went into Phoenix last week but this week everyone is going to a picnic at Lake Pleasant. We're all chipping in for Kentucky Fried Chicken and then bringing something for potluck. There will be Wannabe, my sister Maxine and her husband Ed and two of her daughters and their families and dr and I and Dan and Laurel and maybe Laurel's kids. Dan didn't think the kids were going to come but today he said Avery was coming and maybe Tim if he didn't go to his father's house.
Now, on Thursday I called the park to see about the covered ramadas. They can't be reserved but are on a first come basis. I asked the man how early you had to be there to get a ramada. He said if we were there by 10 we should be okay. So, I called the sisters in Phoenix. Well, it turns out that they didn't think that anybody could get there that early. They have kids? So, us who live farther away will get up early again and drive down to the lake and camp out at a ramada with picnic tables until someone decides it's time for a picnic. I have to turn my cell phone on so they can call to find out where we found a ramada.
So, after making the coffee cake to take along for our breakfast, I made two large pitches of extra strong tea that I can put in an insulated jug with ice for tomorrow. I made a huge bowl of potato salad to pack in ice for lunch. I packed up paper plates, two sizes and plastic eating utensils. I found two pairs of binoculars for bird watching or whatever else we see that we want to watch. I packed the camera. dr packed a metal folding table and a small kids size picnic table and several lawn type chairs, folding variety. I forgot, I wanted to pack some table cloths. I will go and do that in a few minutes. Then, after all this I made supper which consisted of soup from a box that we bought at Trader Joe's. It sets on the pantry shelf until you are ready to heat and serve it. This one was roasted red pepper and tomato. We had a sub sandwich with it. Chance had chicken with her dog food but she would have liked to have shared ours. I still have a few dishes to wash up but that's for later. Now, I have to go do a few other things before it's time for bed. I guess this had better be all for today. Have a nice evening. dooley

New plants

dooley — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:16:35 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:16 pm (GMT 0)

Last night a librarian gave me some begonias and some red verbena that she had used for a teen program and a bag of potting soil. So, today I repotted my kalenchoe. I put the verbena in a pot and sat them on the table in the front yard. I put some of the begonia's in the swan and some in the pig and some in a flowered pot. I tried to take pictures but the time of day was wrong and I either got too much sun or too much shade. Dan would have adjusted his camera to fix it but I'm just a point and shoot photographer. What I get is what I get. I tried to get the purple iris and another little purple plant but didn't get those either. I'll try those again in the morning. I see some different iris are going to bloom. They belonged to Dan and I dug them up when he moved and put them in one of my flower beds. This is the first they will bloom and I think they have too much shade because some aren't blooming at all. I will tell him if he wants them that he needs to come and dig them. I told him he could come and divide mine after they bloom, too.
I watered all the plants this morning. The rose bushes have buds now but they also have aphids so tomorrow I will have to spray they with some soapy water. I sprayed my kalenchoe at the beginning of the week. It looked like the bugs had died so I sprayed them with warm water this morning and wiped off the leaves. I now have two pots of kalenchoe instead of two plants in one pot. They were getting so big they really needed their own pots. It's still too cool to move them outside for the summer. I pulled some weeds and grass this morning. I watered the apple trees. They are two years old so I may not need to pick off the flowers this year, that is if they get flowers. The flowers looked a little brownish and I sprayed them with some soapy water, too. They had little bitty flying bugs of some kind. They weren't there this morning so I'm hoping the buds will go ahead and flower. I haven't had an apple tree in my yard before now. I always went to one of those pick your own places. Arizona doesn't have any close to us though. You would have to go where it's not so hot.
We fixed a place in the fence where Chance could get her head through. She was looking for cats. dr bought a humane trap last week so as soon as we find a place that will take them we can trap some of those feral cats. So many places charge you and we can't afford to take too many cats if we have to pay for each one. I can understand it because they have to have food but these cats are fending for themselves and digging in my flowers and need to be moved. I will try that no kill shelter but last time I called they were full.
I made spinach/mushroom quiche for lunch/supper today. Now it is time to get ready for work. Oh, the pictures. Let's see if I can do those here. dooley

The swan. Hopefully those begonia's will grow and fill the space.

A mug of tea

dooley — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:26:05 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 4:26 am (GMT 0)

I started my day at 6 am with a mug of hot tea.
Irish Breakfast was the choice this morning. I generally start the day with a mug of tea. It doesn't always start as early as 6 am though. Usually just on Friday and Saturday. I work in the evening and on Saturday. 13hours on the weekdays and 7 hours on Saturday. dr usually goes to the flea market while I work on Saturday. He sets up and sells things we pick up at yard or estate sales on Fridays. We are lucky in that we usually have yard sales year around. A lot of them are on Friday and Saturday. Some are on Saturday and we usually miss those. There was a long list of them in the paper for tomorrow.
Today, we went to one estate sale and 5 yard sales. The estate sale people have a large following so if you want to at least see the "good" stuff you have to get there before they open and wait in line. Today, the sale was in a place called Yavapai Hills. There is a good reason the word hills is there. That driveway was almost a 45 degree angle. I hate driveways like that and would not buy a house with such a steep drive. But, with the hills and mountains around here there are many of them. There was a set of steps leading up which I used as my knee simply doesn't like steep grades or ramps. It doesn't like stairs either but these were shallow ones so doable. We bought quite a lot. Had to make two trips back to the car.
We stopped for gas at the station on the reservation and then went to breakfast. We went to another sale in the high country. I made two mis-turns so it took a bit longer to get there. We didn't buy much. It was too picked over as we were late getting there. We backtracked to Prescott Valley and went to one and there was another one just across the street and one down the block. All three were bummers and we didn't buy anything. We stopped for a cold drink and continued on back toward home. We saw a sign for one and stopped and bought a few things. I got a small trunk that is really cute. The covering is torn but I think I can recover it or glue it. I need to put in a new lining. I'm not sure what I will do with it. Maybe dr can sell it after it's refurbished. I bought a metal mushroom which is a trivet but I stuck it outside with my gnomes.
The last sale was out in the countryside. I looked it up on my map and plotted how to get to it. We passed by a road and there was a sale sign and I told dr we would go to that one on the way back. I should have read the sign. We found the sale the way I plotted it on the map but we couldn't get to it. The road came to a deadend. No sign was posted either. So, we had to backtrack to the road with the sale sign and follow the signs around until we were just on the other side of the barricade where we had just been minutes before. There was a large ditch that didn't have a culvert so the road couldn't cross it. Oh, well! We didn't buy much but two fishing nets on poles. We came back to Mayer and stopped at the post office and then at the library to see Dan. We got home about l pm.
I went and watered the bushes, trees and flowers. Chance did not help. Whenever I get out the hose she disappears. She doesn't like water at all. That's how we discovered it was raining yesterday. Chance came in through the doggie door like something was chasing her. She was a little soggy in such a short time out in it.
After finishing my watering, I got a glass of cold tea and took my book and sat at the table outside and finished it. The hummingbirds were flitting around and buzzing my head. I couldn't figure out why as the feeders weren't empty. I finally figured it out. I was wearing a bright red flowered hat.
I made a chunky apple coffeecake to take to work tomorrow and while it was cooking made supper. Now, the dishes are done and I'm sitting here with a mug of tea. When it's finished I think my day will be finished, also. It's another early day tomorrow. I have a couple of projects that need done at work. The city is building us a new library, four times as large as where we are now. We currently occupy the third floor of the civic center. The library director wants me to count the number of shelves we have for each section, fiction, non-fiction, large print, etc. That shouldn't take long as I can count the first section in each row and multiply by the number of sections in the row. They are all the same in each row. Then, I have to eyeball the books author and title and make sure they are in alphabetical order. This will take some time. We do this about once a month as things sure don't stay in the order we put them in for long. The children's room is much worse though. They are always re doing their shelves. Anyway, I work tomorrow and have another day off. Wannabe is arriving in Phoenix but I probably won't get down there until Friday or maybe next Sunday. It's really to far to go down during the week and make it back in time to go to work. Have a good night. My tea mug is empty. dooley

Another Ho-hum day off!

dooley — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:20:36 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:20 am (GMT 0)

Such an exciting day off we had. We put our water bottles in the car and went up the hill to breakfast. It was mostly sunny but very windy. We went to a breakfast buffet which isn't as good as it used to be. We got a late start and most places are crowded by the time we got around to going any where. After breakfast, I wanted to stop at WalMart and get a ink cartridge for my Canon printer and buy some tea bags for iced tea. I bought some shampoo that was on sale too. We wanted to look at flowers but for some reason they have them outside this year instead of in the garden dept. The garden dept. is filled with patio furniture. It was much too windy to look at anything outside. We went back to Prescott Valley and decided to stop at the swap meet. That was a mistake, the wind kept blowing my hat off. I wondered why dr didn't have a problem with his hat. He said, "Staples." Right! I forgot the staples.
We didn't stay there long. We stopped at the grocery store where he filled the water bottles. I went in and looked around but didn't actually buy much. I looked at cut flowers but didn't see anything I wanted to bring home. We went to Ace Hardware and looked in their garden department. I only saw a columbine that I liked and it's really too early to plant much anyway.
Back home! I checked in on the forum sites. Not much going on. I went outside and used the big magnet on the driveway area. The man who owned this house about 10 years ago worked on cars, bicycles, lawnmowers, etc. Whenever he took off a part or a screw or whatever he must have thrown it over his shoulder. Every spring or after a hard rain we have to demagnetize the driveway or we get a flat tire. Today I found an assortment of bolts, washers and a few nails. I also found a quarter which I put in my change bank. I found a spear head, too. This was once upon a time Indian territory. I have found several arrowheads when digging garden and flower beds. I went and did my exercises, then checked out the forums again. dr grilled steak on his outdoor grill and I made the rest of the supper. We had strawberry shortcake for supper. I make biscuit shortcakes with Bisquick. dr doesn't care for the cake type shortcake. He says it's too sweet. Now, it is approaching bedtime. Ho-hum! The wind has finally decided to quit blowing or at least it doesn't sound like a hurricane out there and I could probably keep my hat on if I went outside.
Oh, I checked the apricot trees. The flower petals have mostly blown off and I discovered that freeze didn't kill all the little apricots so we may have some if it doesn't get cold again and the birds leave a few. Have a good night everyone. If it is not windy tomorrow I may be able to get something else done outside. But windy or not I will have to work at the library 6 to 9 tomorrow night. dooley

Yard work?

dooley — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:51:27 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:51 pm (GMT 0)

We started the day early today and went to have our truck serviced, had breakfast and went to the travel agency to see if they ever managed to get our car rental reservation made. They were closed for Easter. One would think it wouldn't take two weeks to make a simple car reservation. Oh, well! Monday I will call them for the fifth time and then if it doesn't get done I will tell them forget it and do it online.
After the travel agency we backtracked and stopped at two grocery stores, filled our water bottles and headed home. We passed a yard sale sign, turned around and went back. We bought a few things and then headed home again. We passed another yard sale sign and detoured yet again. After stopping there we went to the post office and made it home about noon.
I told dr I was going to take my diet soda and a piece of the deli chicken and sit in the yard for a bit. He came too and brought an extra bit of chicken for Chance. After eating, I decided I would rake up the little yard where the table sits and straighten it up a bit. I pulled out the dead leaves in the spider wort and decided it needed watered. So, I hooked up the hose on the newly fixed faucet and watered them. Then I dragged the hose down to the lower yard and watered the apple trees. I trimmed the Russian Sage back to where new growth is coming out. I cut back the Carolina Jasmine to where new growth is coming out. I think my honeysuckle is past saving. It doesn't have any new growth but I trimmed it back and watered it hoping maybe some might come but I doubt it.
I went around to the front of the house and remembered that I had put some plants in the exercise room last fall and that's the last I did anything with them. So, I hauled them out and trimmed them back some and watered them. Since it isn't supposed to go below 40 for the next 10 days I will leave them out and see how they do. Five of them are geraniums that I bought two years ago and there is a lavender and two lemon verbana. I'm hoping they will all put on new growth. I found a tub of ironite while I was looking in the garden shed so I put ironite on all the rose bushes and trees in the front and watered them good. I watered the pansies and daffodils and tulips. I think that is enough yard work for today. I think on Sunday I will feed the apple trees.
When I finished the yard work, I spent about 40 minutes in the exercise room. I am supposed to do that three times a week with a full day between each day. I only managed two days this week so will have to try harder next week. Now, it's rest time. We are having a sub sandwich for supper. We bought it at the deli today. Tomorrow we are having ham what with it being Easter. There will only be dr and myself. I guess we could have asked someone to share it but Dan and Laurel are both feeling under the weather with the same crud that everyone else has been having. When I was growing up we always had ham and potato salad for Easter. The potato salad was to use up the Easter eggs because no one in the family would eat cold boiled eggs by themselves. They still had to have them so everyone could color eggs but would only eat them if she put them in potato salad or egg salad for sandwiches.
I'll put boiled eggs in my potato salad but I don't think I will color them first. I wish my grandchildren lived closer so I could color eggs and do more things with them.
I need to go take a shower. I'm thinking maybe I will cut my hair. It is entirely too long and it's been bugging me. Have a nice evening. dooley

We have tickets!

dooley — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:37:38 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:37 am (GMT 0)

We have tickets! Train tickets! We decided with the price of gas rising daily that instead of driving to Glenda's in May we would take the train. We have in our hands now round trip tickets from here to Dallas and a rental car arranged. The price of the tickets plus the rental car is much cheaper than gas and motel rooms we would need if we drove. We only have to drive to the train which is south of Phoenix a bit. Ak Chin Casino has a shuttle to the station and they have secure parking if you rent a room. If you don't rent a room, it's $5.00 per day. But, we will be needing a room when we get back as the train gets in at 1:30 am and there is no way I'm driving back up that hill at 1:30 am with little or no sleep. The train gets into Dallas at 3:20 pm so we should get to Glenda's long before dark. That's if the train is on time. We learned in our many travels not to expect that the train will arrive anywhere on time. It's always late the minute it leaves the station.
Anyway we can have a relaxing trip to and from and maybe even arrive home rested. With a room at the casino I don't expect we will arrive home with any money. Everyone knows that the chances of winning anything are rare and none. Pulling the handle of a slot machine and expecting to win isn't very realistic in my book. Sometimes I put in change and once in awhile I'll win but the most I've ever won is $25.00 so I'll just keep my money in my pocket if I don't have any loose nickels or quarters.
I expect we will leave most of our money in Texas anyway, but we will have fun. This is our first vacation since we've been married that we haven't visited family members, parents, kids, etc. Sometimes a sister but not even that very often. I'm looking forward to it and will start making my lists very soon. How can you go anywhere without a list? I have always made lists for everything. When my youngest son went off to college he asked me if I would make a list for his friend Jeff. He said Jeff's mom didn't make lists and Jeff was afraid he'd forget something. The list will be added to and crossed out many times before May arrives. dr says we each get one suitcase and a carry on bag. He has to be able to carry everything because my knees will not always cooperate with stairs, etc.
Heather has her plans made, too, so come party with us. dooley

There's gonna be a party!

dooley — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:39:46 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:39 pm (GMT 0)

It will be the end of May, not sure of the exact date yet. It will be at Glenda's house. So far, there will be Glenda, Jubabe, Heather, Shanna, Cheyenne, dr and dooley. Anyone else wanna come? It's going to be a great time. Oh, Trey and Logan will be there, too. dooley

Phoenix, two weeks in a row!

dooley — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:18:11 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 4:18 am (GMT 0)

Yuck! We went to Phoenix two Sunday's in a row. Last week we went for my sister's anniversary luncheon. This week we went to visit some friends for lunch. dr wanted to stop at Cabela's sportings goods store to look at fishing stuff and gun parts. Our friends live way south off I-10. So, we called an arranged to meet them at Trader Joe's which was about halfway between here and there. We left here about 7:30 am and got down to Phoenix about 8:30 and started looking for a place to get some breakfast. Evidently, people in Phoenix don't eat breakfast. First, I had to get off the freeways. We went down on I-17 and got off on to the 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) and off that onto 75th Ave. We finally gave up and went on down to Glendale Avenue which is where Cabela's is located. Right next door to Cabela's was a Cracker Barrel restaurant and general store. So, we just had a light breakfast because we were meeting our friends for lunch in a couple of hours. We walked around and around Cabela's and didn't find what we wanted. It is much more expensive than we had thought it would be. dr decided he would mail order what he wanted from a catalog he has. He did buy a couple pair of jeans that were on sale. We backtracked to Trader Joe's. We bought a few things. It's a mostly organic/health food store. It started as a chain in California and has spread east. Anyway, we met our friends there. We ate at Fudrucker's which is a hamburger/sandwich place. We stayed over an hour talking but it was noisy. We left and wished they had an outside bench to sit and chat some more. We finally followed our friends back to their place and stayed until after 4 pm. We left because I wanted to get back up the hill before it got dark. It took us about two hours. Traffic was heavy and in some places very slow. For the most part the drivers were driving carefully but there was the usual amount cutting in and out and generally making it difficult for the rest of us, especially coming up that steep, curvy section of the mountain. We stopped at Subway when we finally got off of the interstate highway and got a sandwich for supper. I think after a cup of tea we will have an early night of it. I love visiting with our friends and with my sister last week but interstate/freeway driving is not my favorite thing to do. They are always constructing some part of it and there are always rude, obnoxious drivers that cut in and out and have no respect for the other drivers on the road. AND, most of them are young women in their late 20's or early 30's, not teenagers or guys. Have a good night. dooley

Surprise or no surprise!

dooley — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:54:10 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:54 pm (GMT 0)

Sunday, we went to Phoenix to see my sister. Her daughter e-mailed me last week and said Maxine & Ed were having their 40th anniversary this week and they were having a luncheon for them on Sunday about 11 am. So, I e-mailed her that since we had been planning on going down for the last two weeks and hadn't made it we would come down. So, we got there at about two minutes to eleven. There were no other cars there. I rang the doorbell and no one answered. I rang it again and we had just about decided that we were supposed to go to her daughter's house. Then, Maxine answered the door, still in her gown and robe. She asked, "What are you doing here?" I told her, "We were invited." She looked so confused and wondered how she had invited us and forgot about it. Then, her granddaughter showed up with a gift bag in hand and said, "Happy Anniversary, Grandma!" Maxine sighed and said, "I'd better go get dressed. I imagine the rest of the family is on the way." Her phone rang and it was another daughter saying, "We're on our way." Maxine said that her husband had a bad night so she was just reading and trying not to wake him. He came up the hall, saw the people and told her she had better go get dresses. The day turned out well. They enjoyed themselves but she wasn't prepared for guests and wished they had given her a bit of notice so she could have at least cleaned off the table before they descended and piled it high with food bags and disposable dishes.
They had all chipped in and bought her a swing for the yard with the awning over it and little glass tables attached to the arms. The guys spent the afternoon assembling it and only had four bolts left over. She said it didn't break when they took turns sitting on it so maybe they were just extras. It's been my experience to have not enough bolts, not too many. We took her a comforter for their bed as she had told me a few weeks ago that they needed a new one but she hadn't found one she felt they could buy at the time. Ed is disabled and they live on a budget.
So, my question is, would you like a surprise party or would you like to know ahead of time? Her daughter said, "But, when I talked to you last night you were feeling okay." But, sometimes Ed has a bad night when he was fine during the day.
I myself would not like a surprise party. I would like to be prepared, especially if people were coming to my house. I sometimes leave dishes in the sink and my table is always piled with things. Somedays I wonder that we have a place to eat. It's definitely not a place for everything and everything in it's place at my house. dooley

Arizona weather?

dooley — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:07:45 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:07 am (GMT 0)

Mention Arizona and people think of hot and desert. It's true we have hot weather in the summer, sometimes too hot, like 110-115 degs. But, that's at a low altitude, down in the valley. There's some hot over by the Colorado River/Mohave Desert and there's some hot down by Yuma. Arizona also has mountains up to the 12,000 ft San Francisco's north of Flagstaff. Flagstaff is about 7,500 ft in altitude. We are about 4,200 ft. in altitude and Prescott and Prescott Valley are about 5,000 to 5,700 depending on where you are at any given time.
The altitude is what makes our weather so changeable from here to there. Last year we, here in Mayer, had about 5 inches of rain, total for the whole year. In December, we did have a nice amount of rain and we loved it but it was still warm and it was rain here and it was rain up the hill. I say up the hill when I speak of Prescott Valley. That is where we shop and where I work at the library and where dr goes to the flea market.
We had rain a couple of weeks ago that was two or three inches which is good. It made things a little muddy and since the weather was about 10 degs cooler it stayed wet for longer. If you dug with your toe you could still find wet ground.
The forecast for this week was rain for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Then, they took the rain out of the forecast for Thursday and Monday.
Then, they took the rain out for Friday. Then, they put rain back in the forecast for Thursday and took it out for Friday. Then, they took it out for Saturday and it was for Thursday, Sunday and Monday.
It was gray and cloudy Thursday and it started to rain about one o'clock. It was a nice steady rain and we acquired a few puddles. But, up the hill it was rain and rain mixed with some snow in the morning and rain in the afternoon. When we went up to the library around 5 pm it was raining but not too much. When we came out at nine pm, it wasn't doing much of anything, but the temperature had gone down to about 30 and the streets and ground was frost covered and icy. I drove home very carefully. We had rain here and there coming home but we made it okay.
Friday is my day off so we went up the hill for breakfast and went to two estate sales. There was SNOW on the ground. Now, mind you the snow level was probably 4,500 ft level because as soon as we reached the highway we could see it on the tops of the mountains (hills) close to us. They had maybe one to three inches up the hill, again depending which altitude level you were at. It was gray and cloudy but no rain or snow and the streets were clean and dry.
Tomorrow, it is supposed to be mostly cloudy and rain in the evening and on into Sunday. That is here in Mayer. Up the hill it will be rain and rain mixed with snow. I'm hoping it doesn't start until we are home after 4 pm. Then, they've put the rain back in the forecast for Monday and taken it out for Tuesday and put it back for Wednesday. Of course, it all depends on where you are at any given time. We drive in and out of it in the twenty miles we go up the hill. It will be snow up there and rain or rain mixed with snow here. In the valley, I think they have snow, maybe once every twenty or thirty years. When my sister lived in Flagstaff and had their truck they loaded it with snow everytime they went to see relatives in Phoenix and emptied it in their yard. Kids came from miles just to look at it and if they were invited to play in it they were joyous.
Now, Flagstaff, at 7,500 ft has snow from November through March or April and one time we drove through six inches of it in June. But, for the last four or five years there wasn't enough snow to open Snowbowl for skiing. That's up in the San Francisco mountains north of Flagstaff.
I'm waiting for spring and summer. Spring will arrive sometime the end of February and we could have frost into April if we have enough moisture to generate frost. We didn't have frost last fall until December because it was too dry. We're all hoping for a wet spring but the paper today said drier than normal through April. So, come on rain, rain mixed with snow or just plain snow. We'd like to see that creek running bank to bank and flooding the road.

dooley

Traffic Stop

dooley — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:14:45 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:14 pm (GMT 0)

No, I didn't get stopped. Some drug enforcement agents were investigating a case and ask the Prescott Police Dept. for help. They pulled over a car and the driver was acting strange so they got him out of the car. As they started to pat him down, he slugged one of the officers in the face and took off running into a vacant field. He turned and started shooting at the officers. The officers started shooting back. An alert citizen called 911 to report the shooting. We were at York to get the truck serviced and had just turned onto Hwy 69 when we had to pull over because about a dozen squad cars came up the hill, sirens blaring, lights flashing. We went about a half a block and again had to pull over for squad cars. We couldn't figure what happened to get so many squad cars involved. Traffic was snarled for the rest of the evening. We couldn't find out what happened as they weren't giving out any news. It was yesterday morning that we found out that the officer who didn't get punched in the face was hit in the chest by the suspect. Fortunately he was wearing a bulletproof vest and was just knocked down and bruised. The suspect was wounded in the arm and was tackled and brought down. Officers and suspect were transported to the hospital. All are going to be okay. Suspect was charged with attempted homicide, assault, and multiple drug charges. Two women and a man who remained in the car were taken to jail. It didn't say what their charges were going to be. Thank goodness the officer had on his vest. The officer who was slugged was treated for minor injuries. A policeman never knows what to expect when he does a traffic stop these days. These officers were expecting problems because drug enforcement had ask them to make the stop. It's fortunate it was along the highway not too crowded with buildings and occurred in the vacant lot instead of a residential neighborhood. The suspect was from the valley. It didn't say if drugs were found in the car. Even with all the traffic snarl which we had to go through to get to work we made it on time. Good thing we had decided to go the other way first. We missed the worst of it. There was no good way to go around the mess. Often here there is only one way to get somewhere without going miles out of your way. It's because of mountains and washes and no good way to build roads through them.

dooley

Family History

dooley — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:23:52 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:23 pm (GMT 0)

I have been writing a family history from my point of view for my nephew. It isn't all factual because my memory isn't clear on everything that happened 60 years ago so I add a little and make it into a story. But, it's all based on fact as I remember it.
My youngest sister was born about six weeks before I graduated from high school. My older brother was already married and had a daughter about two months old when Ellen was born. Wannabe was also working and going to school. There were six children in the family and she made seven. We girls were pleased because now the girls outnumbered the boys. It wasn't a big thing at this stage in life but if it had happened when we were younger we would have used it to our advantage. Anyway, Ellen knew nothing about our younger life. We were more or less settles in Wisconsin when she was born. I had finished high school in one school though we had moved house several times. As the older children left home finances became such that my parents were able to build their own house and the moving stopped for many years.
Ellen knew I write things so she asked me and Wannabe for information for Brennan. Brennan was born after my parents died and never knew them. Her two older boys were very young and don't remember much from those years.
So, I have been writing a family history of our younger years and also some stories of events that occurred during these years.
Someone started a thread about first, second or third generation gardeners. My family came from country people who always farmed. They didn't own their own farms but mostly rented land and grew what was needed to survive. I remember from very early always having a garden. My grandparents always had a garden.
From when I was four years old we helped in the garden. I remember carrying water from the washing machine and rinse tubs to the garden. I remember hoeing down the middle of the rows at age five. I helped dig potatoes and pick peas and beans. We never lived anywhere that we did not grow something unless we happened to be in an apartment in town. I can only remember living in town twice before I left home. I've always had a garden or at least a few things growing here and there in pots. Now, I'm getting a little discouraged by age, drought, grasshoppers and injuries. But, I guess since I have a few seeds sent to me by kind Stewers I will try again this year and see what happens. It will be all in containers as I cannot dig a garden anymore. Using containers is easier too and will use less water, I think. Flowers and such can be watered with gray water here but not edibles. I'm hoping we will get a little more rain before the dry period arrives. The high country has gotten a bit of snow and it all runs downhill so that helps. Our creek is still running water from snow melt so maybe our water table will come up some. It won't end the drought but it will help. I will try to post some family history stories here from time to time. As I said, they are strictly from my point of view and they are stories based on fact. Some poke fun at myself and some turned out to be more serious.
Have a good day. dooley

The Case of the Missing Gloves

dooley — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:16:08 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:16 pm (GMT 0)

When we had our large white truck there was a pocket in the door for things. I always kept my gloves in the pocket. I had winter gloves and work gloves for when we went to haul wood. I had brown winter gloves and black winter gloves. When we traded the white truck for the smaller red truck we cleaned out all the various storage spaces. Somewhere along the line one of each pair of winter gloves disappeared. I kept the ones we found and hoped we would find the other two. How far could the go after all? We looked in all the usual places and in places where they weren't likely to be, but we looked anyway. When it got cold we went and bought a new pair of black leather ones for driving. Now, we looked in the exercise room thinking they fell out of the box of stuff but they were not in there. They have been missing since the end of September. I went into the exercise room to water plants stored in there and for various other things during the time they were missing. This morning I went into the exercise room looking for a pair of loppers that I had put away. That's another story. But, there right in front of me so I couldn't miss it was the one brown glove. I know it hadn't been there all this time. So, I brought it inside thinking I would now have two pair of gloves again. Do you think I could find the one that I already had? Nope! Searched high and low, no brown glove, no black glove. Finally, I quit looking and went to do something else and when I turned around, right in plain sight was a bear holding the brown and black glove. How can things be nowhere to be found and then right in plain sight so any three year old could find it.?
Now, another story in the same vein. Monday, I went out to clear up the branches I'd cut off the rose bushes and the apricot trees and the lilac bushes. I looked for my leather gloves. We have several pair especially for outside work like what I was going to do. I couldn't find any of them. So, I had a pair of yellow cotton work gloves and they were light enough that I received some pokes and scratches from the rose thorns. But, we filled three bags with the things. I came inside, hung my hat on the hat rack and there on the shelf under the hat rack was a pair of leather gloves with my initials on them. I put the hat on before I went outside, so where were the gloves then. I went into the laundry room to hang up my coat. There on the shelf at eye level when I turned to come back inside was another pair of leather gloves. Did I miss those, too? What is it with the gloves around this house? All I can say is it must be Chance because I did have my eyes examined in December.

Charlie

A Sunny Day

dooley — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:04:22 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:04 am (GMT 0)

It was cool here today but it was sunny and bright so I thought I would go outside and do a few things. Last fall I trimmed back the bushes and the roses because between the drought and the grasshoppers they were looking pretty sad. Then, because it was so dry it didn't really frost here until after we had rain in December and the first week of this year so the leaves hung on all of the trees. It looks like they might be on the ground now so I needed to get them bagged up, too. Well, I did get the trimmings from the roses and the apricot trees bagged up and put out for the trash man. I didn't get the leaves raked up. That will be for another day. I did find some grape hyacinth coming up through the ground and a couple of daffodils
peeping through the leaves. It's too early for the daffodils although one year the bloomed through the snow. I'm hoping for no snow this year. It's been cold but not cold enough for snow this year. It was supposed to be 60 today but I'm quite sure it didn't make it. The next three days will be cooler. I probably won't get those leaves raked up until Friday at the earliest.
Everything looks a little gray and scroungy now. It needs a warm spell to spruce things up a bit. I was reading in the gardening section of the paper on Saturday that it's time to prune trees and spray them with a dormant oil. I'm not sure what a dormant oil is but guess I will find out when I go to buy some. I hope the apple trees survived the grasshopper attacks last year. I had to spray them. I know the butterfly bush is kaput. If it's not drought, it's the grasshoppers. Everyone had them, even my sister down in Phoenix was complaining about them. Well, it's time to go off to play library lady for another day. Have a good evening.

dooley

Holidays are over?

dooley — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:47:18 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:47 pm (GMT 0)

I think the holidays are over for another year. Thursday morning I went out are took down the garland with the bright red bows because the weather forecast predicted rain. I didn't want them to get all wet and straggly. I took down the wreaths and the bells and all the Christmasy stuff outside. I left the baskets of pinecones because they are wintery and look okay. When we went down to my sister's on Sunday she gave me a birthday present that dr is going to put by the front door. It's a Celtic knot and says, "Ceal Mile Failte" with little lines over the e and the i and the a. She said it says, well, I forgot. Something about a million welcomes. Her husband made it. When dr gets it up, I will take a picture of it.
We had a lot of work to do on Wednesday night at work. Tons of it actually. I think no one brought a book back in all of December and then brought every thing back on Monday. But, we went in 1 1/2 hours early to make up for not working on Monday. The library closed at six on Monday and we usually start at 6 so we went early on Wednesday and Thursday so we wouldn't lose time. Anyway, we had two very good volunteers that came in at 5:30 and with Gloria and I, we got everything put away by 8:30. Are we good? YES!!
Thursday night it was dead in the water. Very few people came in at all. We were there early and had one of the volunteers back and we had everything done by 6:30. After I put in my bit at the reference desk, I went and checked shelves and put things in order. I am up to L'Amour. I will get the rest of it done on Saturday, I hope. I won't have to watch the desk and neither will Gloria.
Today, being a day off, we slept late. After I made breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen I tackled removing Christmas from inside. I gathered everything in one place, brought my tubs inside and begin putting things in their proper tubs. We marked the tubs last year as we put it away. I took down the little bear tree and put it away but didn't put all of the little bears away. I put a little log house on one end of the shelf and set all the little bears along the shelf. I'm thinking tomorrow I might move the house to the middle of the shelf and put the bears around it. It won't look so lopsided. I removed all the glass ornaments from the tree. They have their own tub. Then the special ornaments and birds and ones that never made it to the tree this year. Last, the tins and mugs and dishes and wreath materials and all the odds and ends. Now everything is back in storage. dr took the tree apart and put it back in it's box. So, Christmas is back in the storage and the house is to rights again. No, the house isn't to rights again. I will do that on Sunday, after we go to breakfast with Dan, Laurel and family. Laurel's mom's birthday is Jan.9th. Mine was Jan. 2nd. So they are going to treat us to breakfast for our birthdays. They kindly invited dr to come along. I just hope it isn't raining too hard or "Yikes!" snowing when it's time to go. It is supposed to start sometime. But, they keep moving the start date. It's sometime Saturday or Saturday evening. I guess it will be whenever California is finished with it. They tend to keep most of it so they can have mudslides and floods. That's why we are so dry over here. That sounds like a good excuse anyway. So, Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy it to the fullest because before you know it Christmas will be looming around the corner and you won't be ready.

dooley

The Saga of the Jigsaw Puzzle

dooley — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:16:53 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:16 am (GMT 0)

I wrote under a New Year’s Eve thread that I usually worked a jigsaw puzzle on New Year’s Eve. So, I thought, why not? I told dr going up to work on Saturday that I should stop on the way home and buy one as I didn’t think we had any sitting around any more.
Coming down the hill on Saturday, I told dr that we forgot to stop and buy a jigsaw puzzle.
We went to Phoenix on Sunday. Now, there are a lot of stores in Phoenix. We went to my sister’s house. We sat and talked with her a couple of hours and we went to lunch with her and her husband. We went back to her house. I am reasonably sure that her bedroom closet has at least a dozen jigsaw puzzles sitting on the shelf. She is a bigger jigsaw puzzle person than I am.
So, about halfway home I told dr that we forgot to stop and buy a puzzle. Then, I said,”I bet Maxine had a lot of puzzles on her closet shelf.”
After a bit I said, “I forgot to ask her if she would loan me one.”
We stopped at the variety store in Cordes Lakes on the way home. The owner of this variety store used to live in Black Canyon City and he had a variety store there, too. He always had puzzles and at a reasonable price. I know this store is a little smaller. Cordes Lakes is a little smaller so it figures the variety store would be smaller, too. They did have jigsaw puzzles. Not big ones, but five hundred piece puzzles would be okay if you didn’t have one at all, but not at five dollars.
We stopped at the dollar store coming home. They only had children’s little puzzles. They are no fun at all. Children
can work them in five minutes. We didn’t buy one.
I told dr we could go to the thrift shop this morning. They always have puzzles. I know they do, but when we got there they were closed. Now, why would they be closed on New Year’s Eve. It’s run by volunteers for charity so maybe no one wanted to volunteer on New year’s Eve.
We stopped at the hardware store but you know hardware stores don’t sell jigsaw puzzles. dr said he would ask them but I told him he didn’t have to do that because they wouldn’t have one.
We started home and I was going up a small hill and what did I spy? A yard sale sign by the side of the road. I said to dr, “There’s a yard sale, do you want to stop?” Do pigs fly?
We turned around and went back. Alas, no jigsaw puzzles. Aren’t yard sales required by law to have at least one jigsaw puzzle? We looked everywhere. A man came out of the trailer. He was a little grungy looking and had an earring through his nose. He asked if we found anything we wanted. dr told him,”Actually, we were looking for a jigsaw puzzle.”
The man said, “I have a jigsaw puzzle. It’s in the house.” He turned and went into the trailer. He came out carrying a can. It turned out to be a Coca Cola advertisement puzzle. It has a boy with a bottle of coke and a sandwich. There is a fishing pole and a can of worms sitting by him and of course, a little dog looking up at his sandwich with wishful eyes. You can’t really see the eyes but you know how dogs look at sandwiches.
We bought the jigsaw puzzle.
He said that he used to sorta collect Coke things. He had it hanging on the wall but he got tired of it so he put it back in the can.
After dinner tonight, I tipped it out of the can and then I was really puzzled. He had the pieces taped together with this clear medical tape. I spent a good hour carefully undoing the tape. The pieces are a bit sticky from the tape. When dr came, I told him the pieces were all taped together. He said, “Of course, he said he had it hanging on the wall.”
So, I put it together, after I had taken it apart. It took about an hour. The pieces are a bit big and it’s not a five hundred piece puzzle but it was cheap and it’s a Coke advertisement. But the man lied. He said all the pieces were there and there is one piece missing.
Anyway, I have my jigsaw puzzle all finished and there is still several hours left to the evening. Now, what do I do with the rest of it. Maybe, I should take it apart and start over. Or, I could sit and tape all the pieces together with clear tape and hang it on the wall.
Maybe I will start collecting jigsaw puzzles and storing them on my closet shelf so I won’t have this same problem next year.
Have a Happy New Year everyone.

dooley

Back to work!

dooley — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 21:59:52 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 2:59 am (GMT 0)

Wow! I had three days off. They sure went faster than my work days. I wonder what I did with them.
On Sunday, we went up to Prescott and had lunch with Dan and Laurel. That was an if when we got up because on Saturday Laurel wasn't feeling well. Dan called on Sunday morning and said she was feeling better and thought it might have been the eggnog she finished up on Saturday morning. We went to the Celtic Crossing Irish Pub. We had wanted to go to the Wildflower Bread Store but it was just too crowded and too noisy. The pub was nearly empty when we arrived but was filling up fast when we left. We thought about going to do some shopping but didn't want to put up with the crowds. They were rude and pushy and grumpy. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things and came home. I made spaghetti for supper. We listened to Christmas music and wrapped the few presents we had left. We took all the ones for Dan and Laurel and her two kids up to lunch and gave them to them for under their tree. The kids went to California with their father so it was only Dan and Laurel at their house, too. It gave them a chance to spend some time together without kids and moms around.
Monday, a day which we traditionally go shopping, we got up and went up to breakfast. We stopped at the mall but didn't see anything great. I started to buy a book but didn't. I just wasn't in a shopping mode I guess. We again stopped at a grocery to buy milk which we forgot on Sunday. It's a good thing we didn't want to buy much because there were no carts and people were squabbling over carts that people were pushing to their cars. I thought two people were going to have a fight over one. We quickly got our milk and a bottle of eggnog and left. We were home early and put on some Christmas music and didn't do a lot of anything.
Well, the cheesecake saga! I had never made a cheesecake. I had never tried to make a cheesecake. The boys make great cheesecake so why should I make one. BUT, see, there is always a BUT. There was cream cheese and sour cream and stuff left from making cookies so I thought I could make a cheesecake for dessert on Christmas. I couldn't find the recipe that Dan gave me awhile ago so I got out a cookbook and found a recipe that didn't sound too hard and followed it exactly. I should have known when it said that I didn't really need a springform pan that I should have looked for a different recipe. Not that it would have mattered because I don't have a springform pan. I gave it to Dan because I would never be using it and he needed one. It didn't look too bad when it came out of the oven. But it said leave it cool some more (other than the hour in the oven with the temp shut down). So, I let it cool and then attempted to tip it out. I covered it with the plate and tipped it over and it sort of collapsed into this gooey mess all over the plate. It was more like cheese pudding than cheese cake. It tasted okay, sort of. dr says maybe it was the altitude and I should have adjusted the oven temp. But, Dan makes good cheesecake at this altitude. I know that it is the last cheesecake that I will attempt. I think I will keep to cookies and muffins and coffeecakes. Bread is pretty easy, too.
I made chocolate fudge pudding from a box for dessert and put Cool Whip on the top.
Now, dishes are done and the evening is closing down to bedtime.
We had a good day though the wind was blowing something fierce. I didn't go out. There was a fire and it seemed like a good thing to set by it and read and do puzzles in my puzzle book.
Our youngest son called and we talked about the new gadgets his boys received and the ones they wanted but didn't receive. He was on call but hadn't had to go out. He's taking time off this week to spend with the boys because Wendy has to work. He's going to go shopping for a new car. The boys (5 and 9 yrs old) told him they needed a new car because the automatic door locks squeal when they lock and it's too noisy. Trust kids to decide something like that for a reason for a new car. I told him to be careful taking the boys car shopping or he'd end up with a Hummer or a tank. He just laughed at that. I hope he isn't thinking along that line.
Anyway, tomorrow is back to work and with the library being closed for three days, it will be a very busy rest of the week.
Ground breaking for the new library is January ll, 2008 and it will take a little over a year to build. They are looking at a move-in date of April, 2009. We got a special invitation from the city for it. I wonder what day Jan. 11th is on. Probably it will be on my day off. If so, I think I will skip it, special invitation or no. Have a good evening! dooley

Three Days Off

dooley — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:10:55 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 5:10 am (GMT 0)

Wow! I have three days off in a row this week and three days off in a row next week. Next week I only work Wed, Thurs and Saturday. Then, I work the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. Then back to my normal Mon thru Thurs and Saturday. I only work 20 hrs per week but some days it seems more. The supervisor told me yesterday that starting after the first of the year we would have an evening volunteer Monday thru Thursday and on Saturday, too. We already have three volunteers on Saturday so that will make it much better.
This morning was so slow. I got out my lost book list and looked for lost books all morning. The lost book list has books that have been missing more than a year. They've already been through two missing lists so you usually don't find any of the lost ones, but it is a step you need to take before you delete records and order new ones. Joanne was looking for the trace books which is the first list and I had the missing list a couple of weeks ago. Those books we didn't find will go on the next lost list. Usually they only do lost lists once a year.
But, about 12:30 the people started pouring in the doors. It was all we could do to keep things checked in and put on the shelves. The video's and DVD's were the most popular things checked in and out and people were upset there wasn't a better selection but everyone seemed to have the same idea. Since we won't be open again until Wednesday they needed enough to last them for the three days. People check out ten or 12 or more at a time. How can they set in front of a tv and watch movies for a couple of hours times 10 or 12? We don't have tv or cable or even a vcr or dvd player. It just isn't worth the money. If parents turned off the tv and the kids had to play or read they would be much better off. Well, not if they have those video games they can set and play by the hours.You'd have to throw those away, too.
I'll get down off my podium now.
So, what have I done since I got home. I made supper. I wrapped some presents. I talked with Brian's niece and her mother. I don't think I have talked with Shelley's mother since she divorced Shelley's father.(Brian's brother) Shelley was all excited. Her baby was born on the 13th so he's almost 10 days old now. I can't think when my kids were that old.The youngest turned 40 this year. Yikes!
I was telling her that when our oldest was but a few weeks old he was napping. We forgot and left him sleeping and went to the store. In the middle of an aisle I yelled, "The baby." We left the cart and ran all the way home. We were about four blocks away. Of course, he was still sleeping but we were so scared he'd be crying. We never did that again. Shelley couldn't believe it either and she was laughing and promising not to do it.
Shelley is the one I am going to make a Winnie the Pooh quilt for. I promised it would be finished before summer. She said he would use it no matter when I finish it. I can just see her trying to use it in 90 deg. weather in the summer.
When this Christmas stuff is finished I will get started on it. Just think, no more cookies to make, no more stollen or breads to make. I will have LOTS of time. LOL
Until gardening season rolls around, so I guess I'd better get started on it as soon as January rolls around. That's just around the corner. Our checkout period is for three weeks at the library. It was really strange to be telling people their books are due in January. I means that's a whole new year and we aren't done with the old one yet. I think I might keep the old one a bit longer so I can get my projects finished. I can't start a new year with so many things not done, can I?
I guess I'd better go and get started. I can begin with the supper dishes. Have a great tomorrow. dooley

Busy Day!

dooley — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:08:41 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 5:08 am (GMT 0)

So, I got up at 6:30 and checked in here at the Stew. We went out to the truck and it was snowing. It was sticking on the ground a bit and we worried that it would get worse as we went up the hill. But, when we got to the highway it had turned to rain and a couple miles up the road the rain stopped and by the time we got up to the library the roads were dry. Everyone was amazed that we had some snow here and they didn't. The official altitude for Mayer is 4,418 ft and the official altitude for Prescott Valley is 5,102 ft. It should have snowed there first but I think the system was moving from the south and we were on the northern edge.
I was early because we left because we were worried about the weather and we worried needlessly it seems.
The book drop was there so I helped the ass't director unload it and check it in even though I wasn't on the schedule for today. Then, I helped set up stuff for the party. We had a good time and there were lots of good things to eat.
When the library opened at 10 am I left with dr. He had gone shopping while I was at the party. We went looking for a wagon or a cart that he can put the log splitter on for easy moving. Yep, he found a log splitter a couple of weeks ago. After we looked about every where and couldn't find exactly what he needed at a reasonable price we stopped at Costco and there was just what he needed. He only needs to put a piece of plywood on it for a bottom that will be stable enough to hold it and it was under $50.00 which was about half what everyone else wanted. We did buy some Christmas things, too. After deciding that we would look and buy things together instead of buying things neither of us wanted we got most of it done. We are meeting Dan and Laurel for lunch on Sunday and can look around some more or do it on Monday as shopping on Christmas has been a tradition for years and years. The only time we didn't shop on Christmas eve was the year we got Chance. We went on the 23rd because it was supposed to storm on the 24th. If we had gone on the 24th we would have missed the people set up outside of K-Mart with the box of cold, shivering puppies.
We were going to have something to eat at Costco but it was such a busy mess that we decided to go elsewhere. We ended up stopping at Denny's for a hamburger and then coming on home.
It was cold in the house. Though it isn't raining or snowing there is a strong wind blowing down from the North Pole I think. dr started a fire and I started making stollens. I made four of them. Of course, it was cold so they took their time raising. While they were sitting there, I started the oven and made shortbread cookies. We didn't have time to make them on Sunday while the kids were here. I was telling dr that Gloria doesn't make cookies. She's only 22 and has three kids. She said she only knows how to make oatmeal cookies. I've been taking cookies to work each day and telling her to take the leftovers home. She says they don't last long, but of course there aren't many to take home. So, we decided to make a box just for her to take to the kids. There are mostly bar cookies left so after we finished eating our clam chowder, I mixed up a batch of brownies and put them in the oven and shaped the stollen and set it to raising a second time. I washed up all my mess of dirty baking things and put the stollen in the oven. I had to do it in two batches so chose the two that had raised the most and than the other two. Now, they are both done. It's 9 pm and I should go to bed but first I have to find a box for Gloria's cookies and then I have to frost one stollen to take to work in the morning. Then, dr set out some gifts that need to be wrapped, but I think I will do those tomorrow night because we don't need them until Sunday.
While we were in Costco, I picked up two baby outfits. One is for Brian's niece. She had a baby boy on Dec. 13th. The other is for our honorary son who lives in Alabama.
He spent more time at our house while he was growing up than he did at his home. He even went on vacations with us. He was the same age as our youngest. He has a little boy who is two and they just had a new baby on the 19th. So, I picked up a cute outfit for him, too.
I think I have a mug of decaf tea waiting for me. I don't keep it on the computer desk since I drowned my mouse last month. Have a good night. dooley