BISBEE .... Cool Town

 It was a long night.  In spite of the allergy shot, Mr. Cooper is still afflicted with itchiness.  Poor baby ... he kept me up all night long.  That means I'm a little bleary eyed this morning, so excuse me if I oh hey, did you see that train? .... wander.

I spent the first few minutes admiring the flying capabilities of these tiny little guys.  Man they are FAST! Sometimes there are as many as ten fighting for foot space at the dinner table.  It's pretty fun to watch.  If they get chased away, they hang out in the nearby tree chirping like crazy, then try again when the bully is gone.  

As I watched, I heard some weird noises.  I'm always hyper alert for critters, trains, people or anything else that goes bump in the night.  This was one of those weird noises.  Apparently I was right at the very edge of the rain cloud.  It rained on half the sideway, but not the other half as I waited for the Chance family to pick me up.

And away we went, to arrive in the cool town of Bisbee about 90 minutes later.  Obviously the old west has always fascinated me.  I think I lived there in another life.  Here's my question.  Who was brave enough to take their donkey with little water and food, and walk across the desert to the mountains.  Did you just walk around looking at the ground for some sign that said GOLD HERE?

How did they know where to dig?  They were gone for weeks.  What did they eat?  How did they survive? Where did they get water?  This place Bisbee has grown up in a really steep canyon, as are many old mining towns.  

I guess they hit the Mother Lode here, because Bisbee's Mule Mountains became one of the richest mineral sites in the world.  They extracted millions in gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc.  This was a BOOM town back in the day.

In 1877, members of an Army Search Party from Fort Bowie went looking for renegade Apaches.   Jack Dunn, civilian tracker, found what he thought was gold and silver and staked the first claim.  The rush was on and Mule Gulch was formed, later becoming Bisbee.

We weren't looking for gold ... we were looking for good food!!  Parking is of course a problem on these tiny narrow streets.  Dan had already checked out the menus and picked The Table for our afternoon feast. It was a nice Art Deco building which happens to be for sale, or so I was told by the M'aitre D.

The inside is rather disjointed, but interesting to check out.  They walked us right to a table.

Here's the menu.  I think there was other stuff on the back, but we came for the BURGERS.  Yessirree ... just take a quick look at the tiny numbers at the end of the description.  That's the price.  How gauche of me to complain about Habit Burgers $14.00 offering.  

I of course picked the West Texas Millionaire.  I mean if you're gonna splurge, you might as well splurge BIG!!

It's okay ... it came with sweet potatoes fries.  So here we are sitting around looking at this weird crazy building.  You really can't tell what it used to be.  Art Deco ran from about 1919 to 1939, but the inside doesn't seem to match the outside.  I'll ask that question later.

So here it is folks ... I paid $21 to have my hamburger bun branded with a W M for Western Millionaire with a steer head that I'm sure is supposed to be the T for TEXAS.  I have to admit, it was cooked absolutely perfectly and was one of the best burgers I've had ... but you have to like green chilis.  I would definitely eat here again.

As I said, the inside is rather weird.  The right side is a hallway with a big square mirrored section parked smack dad in the middle of the room.  I think that is supposed to "hide" the elevator inside.  Be careful or you will walk right into it thinking you are going down a hallway.  

I finally asked the kid seating people in the restaurant.  What WAS this building.  Oh ... it was a mercantile store he said.  With little clothing shops upstairs around the edge.  You know, a mercantile ... they sold cars.

I said ohhhh well a mercantile is NOT a car dealership.  It's a department store.  He was shocked.  I think I ruined his day.

There was a tiny bookstore there, so we walk through to see if there were any new train books for Mr. Chance.  I'm pretty sure he owns every one in existence at this point, but we looked anyway.  This is an example of what we found.  There's lots of quirky stuff here.

I was looking for the old west cowboy part of town ... like this.  I wanted to try and find the same general area and take a "today" picture.  

You have to give it up to Bisbee residents who named this Grassy Park.  It's original I guess. Finally, we are on our way up the hill to find the Pop-Up Art Gallery.  I spotted this on an obscure website and said WHY NOT.  It took a couple of turn arounds since their roads are so screwy.  Dan turned left up a one way VERY narrow road.  THIS IS IT ... keep going!!  

When I say narrow, I mean you could reach out and touch the buildings and railings.  Good grief ... it was barely wide enough for one car and really steep.  There were a couple of times we didn't really know which way to go, but eventually ended up on Brewery Street, which is one way going DOWN the hill.  

I didn't realize until I got back hone that we had FOUND Brewery Gulch.  We were IN it.  It probably looked very similar back in the day, because there were people who very much resembled old raggedy miners sitting outside the bars along the entire street.  WAIT ... THERE IT IS!!

Dan hung a quick left and parked the car.  Ummm you're going to be my body guard, right?  No kidding, this definitely looked like the dicey part of town.  I wasn't going to let that stop me though, I headed right on up the stairs.  THAT will be tomorrow's post since I came out alive.  If you haven't seen the Pop Up Art Gallery, you definitely should go check it out.  It's ARTSY and "different" I guess ... rather unique in a mining town.

The story continues tomorrow .........

Oh Boy ... More FRIENDS .....

 It's a lovely 85 degrees outside at my house this morning.  Wooeeeee it's rather warm.  I had one outside job to get done yesterday morning, and that was mow the lawn.  I was finished by 6:00 am.  I'm sure the neighbors appreciated that, but no way was I going to tackle that job when it was 100 degrees out.

Here's the nice plumbing job for the sprinkler water.  He even stabilized the pipes that used to move every time the water came on.  It's pretty much a mess when it comes to the wiring, but they all still work, so I can't complain.  One of these mornings when it cools down, I'll get to work on it.  

My plan at this point is to open up every one of the valves, remove the diaphragm and turn the water on.  We'll see if it flushes it out.  I really don't care so much about the yard cactus, but I do want to be able to provide water for the critters.

Speaking of critters.  Oh look ... more "friends".  This guy didn't make it however.  No telling when he jumped in this bucket ... which at one time had water in it ... but apparently he couldn't jump back out.  He's completely mummified ... you know, like the mummies of Egypt?  That's a good indication of the weather around here.

My next project ... I kept wondering why the roof crew didn't just ring the doorbell instead of walking around to the back yard and banging on the window.  Come to find out, the doorbell didn't work any more.    It took me two days to find the second half of it inside the house, plugged in to the wall.

Obviously I don't know how these things operate, but I was going to find out.  I grabbed a screwdriver and went to work.  Who knew there was a battery inside?  I mean really ... it's worked for seven years.  What battery lasts THAT long?  

I dug in my junk drawer to find another one, and VOILA!!  The doorbell works.  I would try it out to be sure, but Cooper goes bananas when it rings.  Even when it's on television, he runs around the house barking.  What a good watch pup!

And THEN IT HAPPENED.  You knew it would!  I was fixing Cooper's breakfast when I reached in to the sink to remove this strainer ... without really looking.  I was THAT close when something told me to stop. I was maybe an inch from getting stung.  

These small ones are bad ... he's maybe two inches long when his tail is straight.  Just to see what would happen ... I grabbed the wasp spray and sprayed him pretty good.  Nothing ... it didn't phase him in the least.  Thank goodness for a stainless steel sink because he couldn't climb the sides.  

Where the heck do they come from???  Was he on the counter or did he fall from the ceiling?  Now I'm nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.  I look everywhere when I enter a room.  On the floor, on the ceiling, on the counters, everywhere ... not just for me, but for Cooper also.  Once I calmed down, I smashed him into a million pieces.  These are friends I can do without.

Trying to get my mind off that bugger, I took a picture of the ceiling.  It's not real bad, but you can definitely tell something was amiss there.  Maybe I can just sand it down and touch up the paint.

By 9:00 I was ready to conquer the quilting machine.  This is something I've never done before ... a new challenge.  These are going to be two quilted pillow shams to go with that last quilt.  I literally just winged it.

In spite of a little glitch where I had to delete everything and start all over in the middle of one, I was actually able to get them quilted.  Now to figure out how to make the back.  

I have the next quilt loaded on the machine, but it won't be done today.  I'm off with the Chance family to Bisbee Arizona ... land of gold miners, cowboys and Sheriff's, and hopefully NO scorpions.

ALL HAIL WALMART!!!

Oooohweeeee!!  It was a heat stroke inducing 107 yesterday, which hopefully means more monsoon rains are in the forecast.  It's the heat that causes the air movement that brings rain.  At least I sure HOPE that's true!  I've never taken so many showers in one day before, and I'm quickly running out of clothes, so laundry is almost a daily chore.

That's why at 7:00 in the morning, I was walking in the door to Walmart.  I only needed bird seed, but since I was there, I thought I might as well get some groceries.  I'm not a Walmart shopper at all, but this store is HUGE and mostly clean and tidy.  

Here's what I found ... 18 eggs for $2.78 ($5.00 Safeway), bag of frozen veggies $.98,  Reese's peanut butter chips $2.57 ($5.00 Safeway) ... and the list goes on.  I like Safeway's quality a little better, but for these prices, it's definitely worth the drive.  I'll be doing a lot of shopping there from now on!

Too bad these guys can't shop there.  They are looking a little thin around the edges.  These two young guys have been hanging out together this summer.  

I can now tell who has been at the water station without even looking at the camera.  The water level tells the tale.  This morning it was down quite a bit.  Prego Mom stopped by at about 3:00 in the morning.  Just look at those ears!!

Speaking of water ... here's the sprinkler story.  The plumber removed the gas pipe water line and showed me the inside was almost completely closed up with rust.  That brought about the problem.  Apparently chunks of rust have broken off and gone into the sprinkler valves, because they STILL do not work ... after all that repair work!  I'm laughing, because what else can I do!

SO ... Nancy now gets to completely disassemble all four valves and try to clean them out.  When I turned them on, at least I did hear water going INTO the valves, but it's plugging them up too much to work.  I'm praying for rain (don't tell anyone) to keep the back yard greenery green.  I can do that now since my roof doesn't leak!!!  But first ... I have to go find parts with which to make repairs.  I doubt I can just clean them out, but I will try.

Just a reminder ... cactus can reach out and touch you any time it feels like it, even in your back yard.

Once the groceries were put away and I was caught up with all things brain game playing, I started on the next quilt.  It surprises me just how far off the colors are with my phone camera, but maybe the owner of this one will recognize it.  

This is the Mom quilt that I finished sewing and am now going to quilt.  I did the three previous ones for practice before attempting this one.  It's a queen size, so about the biggest I can do on my frame.  I prayed from start to finish.  Please don't let the machine break ... please don't let the thread break ... please let the pattern fit perfectly ... please don't run out of thread ... please let the batting be long enough ... you name it and I was praying for it!!

My prayers were answered and I did a happy dance around the living room.  I had no problems whatsoever and it quilted out perfectly.  That's a big PHEW!!!  Now to get it trimmed up and binding sewn on.  I hope she likes it!!  It has the Cooper seal of approval!!

Since it took a whopping five hours to do that quilt, I was pretty tired of standing on my feet.  Awhile back I had written down one of those internet "dump" recipes and thought I might try it out.  Dump everything in a bowl (chicken, soup mix, veggies, spices), stir it up, then cut up and mix in Pillsbury biscuits.  

Surely this CAN'T be good.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  Yikes ... that sounds like a fire alarm in the making!!  Okay, I'll do it!!  Wasn't I surprised that it came out pretty darn tasty.  Not healthy by any means, but chicken pot pie in a baking dish.  Of course I'll have to replace Cooper's chicken that I stole to make it.  Yup ... I'll make it again.

The forecast is for 95 degrees and evening rain for the next five days.  Maybe it will get cool enough I can tackle those sprinkler valves, after I haul water down to the water station for the "kids".  

I'll post ceiling water pictures tomorrow.  My main problem is I don't want to paint the entire ceiling because it's too big ... and it's the original paint!!  So matching may be a problem.

There you have it ... another day in the Arizona desert!

IT IS DONE!!!

 It was 100 degrees last night at 8:30 as I sat on the couch admiring pictures of my new roof!!!  IT'S DONE!!!!!  What a relief not to worry about rain damage or mold.  Now I just have to figure out how to fix the ceiling paint where the leak was.  Easy peasy with Home Depot's paint department.

You really can't get a good view of the roof with so many bushes and trees around the house, not to mention the cactus.  I got nicked by ONE little spear in the knee, and it bled for 20 minutes.  I think I could use those needles on my quilting machine.   Later they swell up and become ugly, but that's another story.

Here's what the shingles looked like.  Not in great shape and most on the north side were torn.  In fact, the second in command said "yeah, it's really bad up there".  I mean really, who goes up on their house and checks the shingles?  Probably all of you, right?

Here's a shot between the trees.  No, the color doesn't match the house.  I actually came here this time with money to have the house painted gray-ish top to bottom.  That was my original plan until the first monsoon came in.  I had drip drip drip nightmares.

Isn't she pretty???  Although I can't get a picture of it, they rebuilt the dormer window thing that was causing the leak and double papered it.  Hopefully that won't be a problem any more.  The good news is NO sheeting had to be replaced.  It was all in good shape.  I'm pretty sure this roof will outlive me.  

They spent at least two hours cleaning up.  They had this magnet roller thing that they ran all over the ground and the back lawn to pick up all the nails.  It's way too hot to see if they got it all, so I'll keep my eyes open.  All in all a GREAT crew who worked their butts off in that heat without complaint.  I'm VERY happy with the results in spite of now being broke.  

While all that was going on OUTSIDE, the Plumber was working inside.  Talk about a jack of all trades ... and easy to look at ... he showed off his skills remodeling my kitchen.  I don't use the garbage disposal ... I've mentioned that before ... but the one here would completely rust up when I was gone.  When I ran it upon my return this time, big chunks of rust came up into the sink.  That's not good .....

Having one is a good selling point ... and I couldn't pass on the price.  Just for talking sake, I asked if they replaced sinks.  Someone before me had set something in both sides that actually melted the sink.  When he said $800 for a stainless steel sink, new faucet AND garbage disposal, I said HECK YEAH!!  

It turned out a little more difficult because he actually had to cut out the hole a bit, but he did a great job.  Not only that, but he rearranged the plumbing under the sink to code, the way it should have been all along, and now I have more room for JUNK!!  It's a win win!!

Isn't it PURDY??  I can't believe it was so inexpensive.  Probably not the premier product, but I don't care.

While all of that was going on ... between banging on the roof and sawing in the kitchen, I tried to concentrate on quilting, and of course entertaining Cooper.  Guess what's under the couch?

I whipped out three quilts in no time ... small ones, just to be sure I remembered how to do it.  I didn't ... I had to check and recheck the instructions.  I've discovered I can remember all the manual stuff after four months, but the computer stuff ... it's complicated.  I probably use 1/8 of the capability of this machine. 

I finished this Alaska quilt last night and I have number four loaded on the machine for today.  Here's praying it all goes well since it is for a customer.

What about the sprinkler water repair you ask?  Ummm yeah, that's another story.  I'll relate that one tomorrow because today I'm basking in my new roof and my fabulous sink!!!

A Comedy Of Errors

What can you do but laugh!!  One problem after another has beset this house and I'm pleased to say it wasn't my fault.  If it was, I would feel even worse!!  First up ... termites.

SO ... these are not termites.  These are carpenter ants that have set up housekeeping by the water tank.  No surprise ... there's water there.  They may get in your house, but they won't EAT your house.  It seems the entire state of Arizona is a huge honeycomb for ants.

Here's a couple up close, though they didn't follow my instructions to smile for the camera.  There's one carrying those leaf pieces.

 

Here's the official picture taken by Arizona Pest Control.  Those that were flying around the yard?  Those were indeed termites, but THOSE are not a real threat around here.  Rarely do you have to contact a pest control company for them.

Here's one of the carpenter ants eating one of the flying somethings.  Sorry he's blurry ... he just would NOT stand still for a photo.

These ... THESE are the problem around here.  They are subterranean termites that will definitely snack on your house if they get the chance.  They are blind ... and they make little mud tunnels up from the ground going up your foundation.  They have even been known to make those same little tunnels inside the house going down the wall.  Nasty little critters.

I got out my Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass and checked both the exterior and the interior.  I see no little trails anywhere.  So for the moment ... I can relax about the termite action.  Should I see anything like that, I will call a pest control company to come drill holes and deposit poison.  Not that your house will fall down on your head, or that you will fall through the floor (said BobsEyes) but they can cause some damage.

There you go ... termites 101.  I'm sure there's lots more to learn about them, but the less I know the better I feel.

As for the quilting machine ... THAT was a comedy of errors.  I was not amused, but I laughed because I didn't want to scream HE'S AN IDIOT!!  

Here's the story ... My machine ended up at the repair shop where it was repaired.  Then it was driven BACK to the main store where the Manager would pick it up and deliver it to me.  When he arrived, the USB port to the computer had been smashed, apparently by the DRIVER because it was fine when it left the repair shop.

Another day goes by and that gets fixed with a replacement part.  It still doesn't work.  Finally the SECOND repairman shows up with a big box of parts.  The DRIVER had also smashed the encoder at the bottom of the machine.  That's a pretty pricey part that I don't have to pay for.  In fact, all of this was no cost to me.  With both of those things fixed, I was ready to roll.

BUT WAIT ... I can only see half of the screen.  I can't see or reach the part of the touch screen that I need in order to tell it what to do.  I called two shops, but they were all too busy.  I called the manufacturer HandiQuilter and luckily reached a very patient lady.

It took us 45 minutes on the phone to finally get the entire screen to show up.  It's a Windows based computer.  Nancy should not work on that stuff when she is frustrated.  Thankfully the nice lady didn't hang up on me.  At long last, I was back in business and surrounded by 85 pieces of paper describing what to do ... I just had to figure out which one was going to work.

At long last, I finished TWO quilts before my legs gave out, four hours later.  I literally have to relearn the entire machine ... but I'm getting there.  It's a challenge.

The roof is coming along nicely.  They will return to do the garage today, at the same time the plumber is going to fix my sprinkler plumbing.  Slowly but surely ... with lots of patience ... this too shall pass.

WE HAVE ROOF .....

Well partial roof.  Things are heating up this week in Tucson, so hopefully we will be "sans" rain for a day or two.  I made a quick trip down to the water station to fetch the camera.  This stood out like a sore thumb.  Those ants have gathered up these tiny leaves, apparently to feed their kids.  Truthfully, this gives me the creeps!  I did some research on my termites and ants ... I'll post that tomorrow.

I took a quick walk to find several big cactus plants like this one.  They grow so huge that the big winds knock them over.  Sometimes if there is enough rain, they will root where every piece hits the ground.  This guy was out of luck.

THIS ... it's amazing.  There are lots of these barrel cactus on the property, and all are starting to bloom.

The colors are just beyond belief.  Here we are in the middle of green and brown, yet these are orange like the sunset.

I got back to the house just in time to meet these guys.  Wow ... I had no idea just how much work went into replacing a roof.  There were six guys to start, ripping the old roof off in sections.  Then they went to scraping and hammering, following by nailing.  I would say maybe half of the old is gone and only a quarter of the new installed.

I've never heard so much racket.  Sadly, the only scenic outlook is down the hill, so there are no pictures.    He said the shingles were toast, but I knew that.

Just a snippet video so you too can experience the wonderful sound of roofing.  Good grief!!  I gave up on the TV and spent most of the afternoon cutting out another quilt.  What dust there might have been hanging from the ceiling and the ceiling fans inside, is now deposited on the floor.  I sneezed all afternoon as they pounded away.

Cooper did his usual Watch Pup impression, going crazy every time he saw one of the guys go by one of the four windows.  You can imagine the din.  I didn't stop him because truly, he IS a good watch dog and I don't want to stop that activity.

This is as good as I could get.  I got the lighter shade of gray so it would reflect the sun better during the summer.  He said they will do the other side of the building today, which I can see if I crawl up the hill.  I doubt they will finish today however.  They still have the entire garage and half the house to roof.  Maybe I can find a pair of ear plugs.

Did the quilting machine repair guy show up?  That would be a no.  At least he called to say he would be by this morning.  I told him what it was doing and he said he would bring his entire supply of parts ... just to be sure he had the "fix".  It's okay, I probably couldn't concentrate with the noise anyway.

As for the termites and/or ants ... I have both, but neither of those are a problem.  I'll explain in tomorrow's exciting blog ... Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Termites In Arizona!!

Good Luck, Bad Luck

Oooohhhhhh it was COOL last morning.  I can't believe it ... we got all the way down to 75 degrees.  I sat outside and absorbed all the crisp morning air I could.  Lucky for me, my camera was not waterlogged after all that rain.  

What I saw next however, was beyond weird.  There were bugs flying in the air in a big swarm.  When I looked down, the ants were out in force.  Some of these have wings, but the majority are just big 1/4" long ants.  What the heck?  The water trough was full of them.  I swiped three big chunks out before I thought to get my camera.  Maybe this was a big hatching?

I came back with a gallon of water to flood the trough and most of them were gone.  I guess this was the result of all that rainwater yesterday?  Now I'm wondering what OTHER creatures will show up.  I've only seen Mr. Toad once.  Too bad ... he would have had a feast here!!

That's when I found this on the critter cam card.  There are several babies, but watch it to the very end.  That is a brand spanking new tiny baby following after Mom.  That's the first time I've had one so very young.  My good luck continues.

Well at least for an hour it did.  My repaired quilting machine showed up at 8:30 and my luck went south.  No kidding ... the delivery guy from Tucson mashed the computer frame into the machine, breaking the USB cable that controls the whole thing.  The Manager who delivered it to me drove all the way back to his office to pick up the control board from his showroom floor model.  What a nice guy!  There's more ......

Good luck ... the shot seems to be working for Cooper.  He still chews a bit, but not like he did.  I'm so happy he's feeling better, even if it did cost me a fortune.   I just keep shaking my head at the crazy prices of absolutely everything after the last two year's fiasco.  

Good luck ... I drove all the way deep in the heart to REI Sports Equipment to find something cooler to wear.  Sort of bad luck .. amazingly I found a decent pair of well made shorts for a whopping $69.00.  I'm embarrassed to say I actually bought them.  Three years ago I bought a pair for $35.00. 

Add to that the shirt ... just a T-shirt ... I'm not even going to tell you how much it was.  Less than the shorts, but not by much.  I mean seriously, who can afford this stuff??  How are those stores staying in business?  At least these are really good quality that will last several years.

I would have checked out Penneys and Macys, but the stores around here don't open until 11:00.  I didn't want to hang around for an hour.

Good luck, or so I thought ... the Manager came back at 5:00 to fix my quilting machine.

Bad luck ... it still wouldn't run.  He finally narrowed it down to an encoder on the frame, whatever that is.  He called his best repair guy and asked him to stop by my house today with new parts.  It took a little convincing, but hopefully sometime today I MIGHT have it running again.  

What about the roof?  I've no idea.  I've given up.  I guess they will show up when they show up.  I'm trying to remain optimistic.  My backup plan ..... I'm thinking I will offer all my RV friends free parking with electric and water, and two cases of beer each, to help install my roof.  I may even break down and FLY you here.  

I'm keeping my fingers crossed I see some handsome hunks arriving this morning for my viewing pleasure ..... and a new roof!!  

The Jello Always Jiggles

 Well well well .... you're not going to believe it ... it's a lovely 75 degrees at 4:30 in the Arizona morning. Although it looked like rain, the clouds went away and the hot sun came back out.  Did I say the roofers would be here this morning?  I was wrong.

I got an email that said they thought it was going to rain most of the day, so they were scheduling for Tuesday.  WHAT??  I called, only to be told they didn't want to take the roof off and have it rain overnight.  At this rate the roof will NEVER get done because it rains most every evening.  My timing could not be worse.  I asked Mr. Chance to do a rain dance for my roof.

So I got out my can of paint in the beautiful cloud free sky and painted this post.  I have to give it up to Home Depot ... the paint matches perfectly.  By the time I had gone around the post once, it was completely dry it was so hot out, so I added a second coat.  One more job down.

While outside trying to figure out why my Rat Light was on during the daylight hours, I spotted a big truck and trailer pull into the cup-de-sac.   I casually sauntered out to see if by any miracle that was my roofing material.  IT WAS!!!!  Well at least I'm now confident they will show up at SOME point!

I was relieved as Prince Charming drove off over the hill.  At least I'm going to get a new roof, even if it takes a month or two.

Next up ... THIS Prince Charming puppy has a Vet appointment.  I mean really, I've been bleeding money for the last two months.  This is me trying to get a pill down his throat.  It's for arthritis from all that ball playing.  It doesn't matter what you try to hide it in, even his favorite treat, he can spit that thing out like a champ while consuming the treat.

It seems he may be allergic to the wool carpets in this house.  Those were all going to be replaced until the roof raised its ugly head.  So off we went to see if there was something we could do about it.  The very nice lady Vet here (actually about one mile down the road from my house) checked his teeth and said they looked fine ... no problems, no lingering stitches ... and his ears were clean as could be.  

It's obviously allergies that cause him to chew and lick on his feet every waking moment.  That has to be miserable.  It's also weird to note that she said MANY dogs here are allergic to mesquite trees.  I declined the allergy panel and opted for another shot like my California Vet used.  Like human allergy shots, you can get them every 30 days if need be.  It's been two months since his last one.

I'm so happy to report he's not so miserable any more.  No itching ... no chewing ... Mom is SO relieved and I'm sure he is too!

And then ... AND THEN ... the jello jiggled once again.  I got a phone call from the roofer.  No kidding ... they are now putting the roof off until Wednesday.  I didn't understand.  He explained that it would take an entire day just to get the old roof off and hauled away.  That would leave it completely exposed until the NEXT day when they could start work.  I reluctantly said okay.

Suddenly I heard the crack of lightning and the roll of thunder.  THIS is why they didn't want to rip the roof off.  Okay, I finally get it.  It's not the rain during the day they care about ... it's the rain that comes in at 6:00 pm that is the problem.  THIS is monsoon!!

I'm calling for a meeting with my Rain Dancer this morning.  He was supposed to do a NO RAIN dance, not a RAIN dance!!!  I mean really ... this went on for several hours.  Who says it doesn't rain in the desert?

Mother Nature is just teaching me to have more patience I guess.  And wouldn't you know, I put the game camera out before this hit.  I'm hoping it's not waterlogged this morning.

Maybe ... just maybe ... those coyotes that are serenading me right now will stop by for a drink, though I think after last night's rain, they probably have lots of puddles to drink from.

My quilt machine that was supposed to be delivered?  That's another story ... for tomorrow.  For now, I'm seriously enjoying the COOL.