Sure is nice out here!

By Iowa standards, 95-98 degrees would be a scorcher but it isn't bad out here. Those temps are above normal, though, but it is supposed to "cool off" into the upper 80's so that will be good. Nothing but shorts, flip flops and tank tops. You never wonder how to dress. :-)

I took Sharon and Arne to the airport this morning for their 8:45 flight to Fort Lauderdale. We are staying at their dump (as you can tell from the first three photos) while they are off to the ocean visiting good friends for two weeks. Mark and I shall enjoy this little job of housesitting at Terravita while they are gone. :-)

Sharon and Arne's grandson Taylor stayed with them for three days so we enjoyed taking him hiking and playing with Sox over at Megan's. Taylor also enjoyed their new pool. No one is actually supposed to get in the pool for about 2 weeks while it cures, but Taylor and Sox both managed to skip that rule for a minute or two........the water is still extremely cold from filling so they weren't in there for long!!

The weather back in Iowa sounded good for a couple of days but now it sounds back to normal: dreary, cold, damp. I am not missing it yet.............

Back in the desert

Mark and I arrived at Megan and Andy's at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. We had spent the night in Tucumcary, NM and left their at 6:15 a.m. so about a 9 hour trip. Not bad! We opened the car door to sunshine and 89 degrees. What can I say? :-)

Drew has grown so much in just 3 weeks! What a cuddler and a chunk. He is adorable, but I have already explained that particular thing to everyone. :-)

Their new pool is really nice and the backyard landscaping is gorgeous. Drew and I will enjoy that area when he gets a bit older.

Well, have to go take Sox on a walk in this sunshine......

Good-bye gravel road

After almost 56 years of never having lived anywhere else but this gravel road, it shall seem quite different to not traverse it on a daily basis. Yes, I was gone for stretches during college, but that was about the extent of it! I was born and raised on this road and raised my own children here. I have run many a mile on this gravel road and took many walks down its path. So, it will definitely be a big change for me, but one I am ready to do. Things I look forward to come next week: hugging and holding my new grandson, running on nice pavement anytime of the year and not just when the weather cooperates. It almost always "cooperates" where I am going. I look forward to taking mountain hikes with my daughter and sister and golfing with Mark in the winter. I relish the thought of caring for Drew while his parents are off at work. Many things to look forward to! Things I will miss terribly......Mark when he is home farming, Matt in Omaha, and my friends and neighbors. But, they are all only a plane ticket away so that problem can be resolved in a 2+ hour flight. Chapter 2 of our lives starts in about 39 hours...............whew, I better finish packing!
Email me!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it..........@#$%@#$&$

Nothing new to report but have some snapshots of major drifting on the farm. Also pictures of our neighbor who walked 1/4 of mile in blinding snow to borrow 10 gallons of gas for his generator. His return trip with 80 pounds of gas couldn't have been fun, but he made it safely!! Mark is heating the water for showers tonight. He is so nice, or perhaps I am so rank??? Whatever, it shall feel grand.

The rear view mirror

My dear friend Jan and I were talking on the phone last night discussing this latest round of horrendous weather and loss of electricity. She had me laughing when she stated "your best memory of Iowa will be getting to look at it through your car's rear view mirror next week." I hate to say it, but going on 4 days this week without electricity and a raging blizzard now in progress, she has a very good point. That may be my best memory! Thanks for making me smile, Jan!

We have "lots" of snowdrifts, the size I haven't seen since Matt and Megan were young children. Utility companies have pulled all crews off of rural areas so we don't look for any line repairs for a few days. No human being should be outside in this so I am glad the companies sent their guys home.

I wrote to my son-in-law Andy begging him to send me some new pics of Drew, as I was going through "withdrewal" and he graciously obliged. The posted pictures today are views from our home and Drew. Keep warm and safe everyone.

An "opinion" question!!

So tell me....where would YOU rather be? First photo or second? You all know my opinion on that one and it was solidified this morning when we lost our electricity. Energy company says to expect a possible 2-3 days before repairs are made to the lines. Something about "being swamped". I believe it. Worst storm we have had in a decade, or so the weather man told me. We do have a small generator that runs my internet connection and the furnace. Two essentials. Hopefully your weather is better than mine.......

The case of the purloined photos......

Since there is nothing but bleak snowy landscapes to take pictures of down on the farm, I hopped over to Megan and Andy's website and stole these from their online album. The first two pictures show their backyard before any professional landscaping was done and the BB court was still there. The other photos show the recently finished product. Drew is going to love that section of grass.....I can see many games of catch on this turf in the little guy's future. I have a feeling their pooch Sox will rather like that grass, also. The pool is all that remains to be finished. They cannot do that until the new gate to their yard is in place so neighborhood children cannot get to the pool. Eventually they will put a fence up around the pool so granny nanny doesn't accidently stumble into the abyss. Actually, there are lots of laws and regulations regarding private pools and that is a "good thing" in Arizona.

As for Iowa, a rather big winter storm is on the horizon for today and Sunday. Our home is right on the line of how bad it could be......worst case scenerio would be ice first and high winds to whip our electrical lines and the consequences that would bring. :-( I am not looking forward to the next two days. On a brighter note, we get to see Matt next week-end in Omaha and the following Friday (March 9) we leave for Los Alamos, NM to visit nephew Erik and daughters Kadin and Gracie for two days, followed by our return trip to Phoenix to see Drew and house sit for Sharon and Arne. Mark will fly home at the end of the month to begin preparing for the planting season and I will remain in AZ to read to my grandson and perhaps do a few other things........
Email me!

I gotta get back to the desert........

Andy sent me these today and it has me longing to hold my grandson. Of course, this god-forsaken weather in Iowa is another thing pushing me back towards the southwest. I have been in the house since Tuesday. I am starting to go stir crazy. I even asked Mark to take me to a movie and the last theatre movie I saw was Casablanca. Actually it was Titanic, which is about as old. Mark didn't think he cared to go to a movie, though. He told me to get outside and shovel snow. His tenderness and love were shining through with that particular statement. :-) I will "shovel" something, but it won't be snow....enjoy the pics of Drew! Email me!

Home a day early

We left Milton's yesterday morning instead of today. The forecast sounded a bit foreboding and we decided to try to beat the winter storm. We were successful. The southern Iowa schools are all closed today and that is right where we would have been driving had we waited a day. Mark went to pick up a month's worth of mail. It will take a couple of hours to sort out. Oh well, just look at my pictures and you will see I have nothing better to do and won't be going anywhere today! It is almost 80 degrees colder here than our weather just a few short days ago. Toto, we're not in Arizona anymore........

In my few remaining weeks in Iowa I hope to finish going through closets and weeding out unnecessary items and clothing. Way too many clothes. Wish I had the money I have spent over the years on clothes to spend on my grandson's college fund. A much more worthy cause!

We also plan to make a week-end in Omaha before we go. I am not certain how often I will be seeing Matt in the future so every time is special when I do. I will hound him to death about flying out to AZ sometime to see me and especially his new nephew!!

Well, our pipes are making very strange noises in Mark's absence so I best go check it out! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

A beautiful day again....surprise!

It was another gorgeous day in Phoenix. We have spent all day at the Thiel's and are now babysitting as Megan and Andy enjoy a dining out evening. Drew is sleeping so I can't even spoil him while they are gone!!! He is due to be fed in 15 minutes but I am betting that his mamma gets home before I even get to do that. :-) Oh well, her feedings are a bit more nutritious than the powedered stuff I feed him.......

Tomorrow is our last day here. We leave Friday morning for Tucumcary, NM which is our first pit stop on the drive home. From there we head to Mark's brother Milton who lives in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. We plan to stay with him from Saturday through Monday and leave Tuesday morning for the farm. I should be so excited about getting home but I am anything but that!! It has to do with several things: Drew, cold weather, Drew and Drew. It will only be about a month until I get to hold him again, but he could change a lot by then. :-) One thing I do look forward to is seeing Matt. We plan to go to Omaha one week-end while we are home and we always enjoy time spent with him.

Pictures are from today.......

Drew on a Monday