Meanwhile In Chilly Arizona .....

 Happy New Year!!!  I celebrated by having my first sundae of the year for breakfast.  Forget those black eyed peas, THIS is what makes for good luck ... ice cream!  It just happens to be homemade maple, a taste of Canada (I'm hoping this will help open the borders, eh?) smothered in caramel sauce, although you can't see it very well.  Yes, I still have half a can of whipped cream left!!!

 I knew I would be eating Tums later, so while I still felt okay, I cooked up some chicken for Cooper.  Thanks to Miss Patty, I discovered the $1.99 a pound chicken at Safeway in their meat counter, instead of the $6.99 Foster Farms stuff.  What a savings!!

 New Year's Day I made a quick trip to town.  You know I'll do anything to improve my cooking skills.  I've been eyeing these gadgets for some time, trying to decide if I wanted to actually try one.  With sale upon sale and another 20% off for good luck, I finally took a chance.  Boy am I glad I did!!

 If all this thing does is reheat my pizza to perfection like this, it's worth every penny.  So this thing can go from dehydrator to 500 degree screaming hot grill in eight minutes.  It takes my oven 30 minutes to get to 350.  It roasts, bakes, grills, dehydrates and air frys.  The air fryer selection reheated this pizza to a crispy tasty piece of magnificence.  You can bake cakes and casseroles in a fraction of the time.

 That meant ANOTHER trip to the store to buy things I can cook in it ... like sweet potato fries and salmon.  I'll let you know how it goes.

In other great news, the humidifier has worked like a charm.  So far I have only been hit twice by those long blue lines of electricity when reaching for a light switch.  I was seriously beginning to think my house had a bad short in the wiring.  Now if I can only find a hygrometer to tell me the levels of moisture, I'll be in like Flynn.

With not much else on my calendar at the moment, I finished up this quilt for the puppies.  It's made with mostly scraps, although I did have to buy backing.  Too bad the quilt stores don't have after Christmas sales like the department stores.  They have in fact RAISED their prices.

 For all my Canadian friends that couldn't make it down south to Arizona this year, you aren't missing much.  The days have been in the 60's, but it's freezing most every night.  Occasionally we get a 70 degree day, but it's been rare, like my good cooking days.  

I have been exploring mountain bike paths on my phone and hope to check them out this trip.  Maybe I should practice a little first around my neighborhood.  I have read the most important tool to take with you is a comb.  A comb???  Yes ... to comb all those cactus spines out of your legs.  Maybe I should find an asphalt trail instead.

Anyway, here is a video of those crazy rabbits.  I thought they slept all night in the bushes.  Boy was I wrong!!  They are out ALL NIGHT LONG, like a teenager with their first car!!  It's interesting they always leave before the coyotes arrive.   As soon as the troop passes through, they are back at the water station.  Being a bunny must be a thirsty business!!

I'm off to find filters for my heater/ac unit.  I could order them online, but I'd rather support a local business.  Besides, it gets me out of the house.