On The Prettier Side Of Things .....

Everything in the desert isn't scary or poisonous.  There's lots of beauty here too, although I have to admit, the scary outweighs the pretty by at least 75%.  You just have to be around at the exact minute to see pretty.

This is one of the little cactus gardens I'm babysitting for the Chance family while they are enjoying cooler weather at a higher altitude.  Over the last few days, one of those little white buds produced this long bloom.  I couldn't wait for the flower to open up.

Finally, it bloomed in the dark of night.  Weird, right??  It's the most amazingly beautiful flower I think I've ever seen.  

Just look at this gorgeous representation of Mother nature.  I can't take any credit other than I probably overwatered it.  Miss Patty is the Greenhouse Queen of beautiful orchids and flowers.

The sad part is it's only open for one day and yesterday was it.  This morning it's all shriveled up and dying on the vine.  It's funny they only last 24 hours while those darn spiders roam all year round!!

I had a big long list of things to do in town, since I was sequestered inside during the awning construction.  I had in mind to get Roman Shades for the family room, so I stopped in at Lowes first.  So much for shades.  Cheap mini blinds already installed are much easier to swallow than the pricey $258 per shade ... and I need FOUR!!  I was so shocked, I completely forgot to look for an outside solar light for the garage.

Then it was off to check out fabric for a new quilt.  I'll talk about that later.  In the meantime, I was starving just as I happened to drive by Carls Junior.  I'm really not one for fast food, but their Western Bacon Cheeseburger is pretty darn tasty.  Their jingle range in my ears and the car just drove itself in their driveway.

There's nothing about this sandwich I don't like.  Terrible picture, but there's three huge slices of perfectly cooked bacon, two crispy deep fried onion rings and cheddar cheese over a piece of hamburger bigger than the bun, which is BIG!  All of that smothered in plenty of barbecue sauce just hit the spot.  

Next stop ... Cathey's Sew N Vac where I purchased my embroidery machine last year.  LOVE it!!!  At any rate, some of the gals sew on very old Singer machines and required needle threaders.  Since I was going to have my Dyson vacuum cleaner looked at, I volunteered to pick some up.  

You are familiar with those Dyson battery operated wonderful vacuums for the motorhome?  I have one and I LOVE it ... but alas, it only lasted about four years before becoming testy and not wanting to run continuously.  Although parts are no longer available, the guy said he might be able to fix that problem.  Anything else and it costs more to repair than it's original $300 price.  YIKES!!

EXCEPT ... he can't work on it if the battery is not charged up ... and of course it's attached to the motorhome.  He did a complete cleanup job, saying that just might help.  No charge!!  If not, I may have to try doing surgery myself.  What have I got to lose?

Since I was already in the pink from the gorgeous morning bloom, I easily spotted this pink Baskin Robbins trailer parked at my street turnoff.  I've been looking for gut wagons (what we call them in my neck of the woods ... Food Trucks nowadays) but had not been able to locate any.  

Again, my Jeep just turned in as fast as it could as I frantically hit the brakes.  The perfect ending to a  no-spider day!!!

Although she didn't have very many flavors ... bubblegum, cherry-strawberry and something else for kids, I chose pecan praline.  MY OH MY!!  Have you tasted Baskin Robbins lately?  SO much better than the cheap low calorie stuff I've been buying.  This huge waffle cone with TWO scoops was a measly $4.00.  I pretty much inhaled it, mostly because it was 104 in my car and it was melting fast!!

One last rain storm stopped by about 8:00, causing Jessie to try and crawl between me and the couch. I ran outside to watch the gutters work.  Yeah, not too much excitement on that day with no spiders crawling around!  They worked perfectly.  It's the little things in life!!