Hurricane Harvey in Arizona?

 Rain on the horizon... YAY!!  Somehow I seem to have lost a day, then magically gained it back.  The entire week I've been one day ahead, or at least I thought I was.  I suppose I could blame Labor Day, but I counted that one.  Luckily it returned when I took the garbage out and it didn't get picked up.  Oh ... it's only Thursday.  

Did I relate the garbage story?  I called to be sure they would pick up.  They said yes.  Nope .. no one showed.  I called again, to be promised Friday .. nope .. Monday .. nope .. Tuesday ...... you get the picture.  Not a happy camper, especially since I told the Chance household about how great they were.  They didn't pick up THEIR garbage for so many days that Dan cancelled them.  

It became a BIG challenge, and you know how I LOVE those!  I was on the phone for over an hour until I got the supervisor of the supervisor's supervisor.  I'm not kidding.  You need to get to the top, who was residing in Missouri, can you believe it?

Nice lady ... we laughed a lot, but I stuck to my guns ... told her I would hate to have to go all the way to Missouri just to get my garbage picked up.  Some supervisor HERE wasn't getting the message, or was ignoring it.  Guess what ... the garbage was picked up THAT day AND I got a $78 credit ... so they really CAN provide service when the boss gets on their butt.  We'll see what happens today, which is their next pickup day.

Cooper didn't care one bit about the garbage as we hit the road for some new smells.  It's not like we get much walking done in the first few times out.  Tall grass frustrates him since I'm not about to let him get too close.  Snakes and tigers run amuck, not to mention other creepy crawlies.

Once back in the house, Cooper got a new what?   A NEW BALL!!!  Google won't upload the entire video, but you get the idea.  He will play like this for over an hour before plopping on the couch to sleep the rest of the morning.

The game camera has been picking up the antics of the nighttime critters.  They all smell the area before drinking to see who was there before them.  This guy even found a nugget of something under the cactus.  The pair with the unusual black markings on their backs have returned.  Nice to see this is still their territory.

Temperatures have been in the mid 90's with rain forecast several days in a row.  It's never a good idea to go adventuring in the desert when remnants of Hurricane Harvey (I think that's his name) are coming through.  Cell service is spotty is many areas and Cooper wouldn't be a happy camper if I got marooned somewhere due to a flash flood.

SO ... I'm resigned to working on the remaining quilt tops I brought along to get quilted.  Things are going much better, as I'm able to figure stuff out.  This time I'm making copious notes so on my next return I won't get so frustrated trying to make the machine do what I want it to do.  It's like driving a car and not remembering when to engage the gear shift or the brake while the CHECK ENGINE light is tapping you on the shoulder.

Yes I could take lessons, if I had an extra $900, could find a puppy sitter and wanted to spend a few days in Utah.

This one is finally complete (with a new pattern) and Cooper approved.  I also found out not every pattern works the same, nor does it fit the space you've designated like you want it to.  It's kind of like driving that caterpillar blindfolded.

Rain for the next five days it says.  Gee I don't think I have enough fabric to last THAT long.  I may just have to drive to the local fabric store.  Cooper is calling .... it's breakfast time!!