I’m grateful to have a three-day weekend about now. Slept in this morninig nearly until 9am, which is super late for me and a welcome reprieve. I also took a nap yesterday afternoon. At this rate I may end up feeling human before the weekend’s up.
We drove the car to the dealership after all, since G finally pinpointed the problem wasn’t with the brakes. The driver-side brake light was wonky. The bulb itself had developed a short, which wasn’t covered under warranty. But I was out the door, for a dealersip repair, for thirty bucks and some change. I think the grand total was $30.59 or something like that – and they also did a pending-recall software update and gave me a car wash. Any time you drive away from a dealership repair and only pay thirty bucks, it’s a win.
We did test-drive a 2023 hybrid Sportage while there. I was rolling around the showroom while waiting and — naturally — a salesman approached. He assured me they could get me into a 2023 for the same payment as I’m making now. I told him if he could do that, I’d buy. (And I would have.) I knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance, and there wasn’t. But I did like the new wheels, and if/when we can do so, we’ll probably revisit an upgrade.
A couple of weeks ago my younger son visited from Colorado. We all went out to eat and he ended up footing the bill for ALL of us – including his four, G and me, our daughters, and the girls’ families. (G and I took care of the tip, since that’s all the son would let us do.)
Pictured is my youngest son’s youngest daughter. She’s a smart (if quiet) little thing, four years old, and she managed – by herself – to down an entire pizza!! I haven’t got a clue where she puts it. Did I mention she is tiny???
I think the piece she’s holding in the picture was her third, or maybe fourth.
Her mama is Hispanic but she got the her hair color from our side of the family. Same goes for my youngest grandson. His last name is Candelaria and he’s got sandy-blond hair.
Isn’t dark hair supposed to be a dominant trait?
For the record, my kids’ dad was dark-haired, too. His hair was brown, almost black. But all my kids ended up with hair about the same shade of light brown/dark blond with reddish tones as mine, which most of our grandkids also inherited. Only my oldest son got my eye color, though. The rest got their dad’s hazel-green eyes, which are gorgeous.
This little one’s older sister has her mommy’s beautiful dark hair; one grandson ended up with brown hair, and one grandson has hair that’s fire-engine red. Our oldest granddaughter is mixed-race with black, so her hair is dark brown and curly. The other however-many got my hair color, or close to it. Go figure.
As I posted over on FB, when I was out driving today I spied smoke billowing, so decided to drive over and look.
The smouldering heaps used to be hundreds, if not thousands, of bales of cotton. (EDIT: G says according to the news it was hay, not cotton.) They were under tents, as you can see in the background above and below. I believe I counted at least five or six of the tents that had gone up in flames and were still burning, and probably more I didn’t count. A lone truck drove through and sprayed adjacent tents with water to keep them from igniting.
I hope they managed to keep more from catching fire. This part of the state is a tinderbox. If the fire jumps into the surrounding grassland it could become a widespread disaster in a hurry. There’s a subdivision almost directly across the road from the fire, and a lot of dry grass and brush all around for the any spreading embers to get going. It’s highly unlikely this fire would spread to where G and I live – it would need to cross the Interstate and burn another ten miles or so, and I don’t foresee that happening. It could still destroy homes nearby, and homes in Toltec and Eloy, both of which are close and downwind.
There are farms all around us, so all it would take is a careless human or a lightning strike and it could be us. There’s rain in the forecast. Let’s hope it finally arrives.
My excursion today was originally a recreational-shopping jaunt. Retail therapy did go down, eventually. I checked out the new Home Goods store at the local mall. Bought a pound of walnuts and a couple of other small items for cheaper than the grocery store. I saw a set of cute dish towels that were sooooo tempting. The ones at the house were tatty and I was down to only one mismatched pair. (Don’t know how dish towels disappear. I had at least a dozen, in good shape, when we moved here. I haven’t seen them since.)
Next…
The Ross next door netted me a set of dish towels I liked better, for less than half the price of the ones at Home Goods. I’m picky – don’t care for terry-cloth. Gimme waffle-weave cotton, preferably in a subdued print. Not only did I find my waffle-weave preference, but the ones I bought are far heavier than the more expensive versions at Home Goods.
The picture shows the waffle weave and a bad rendition of the color, but not how heavy the fabric is. For all-cotton, it’s got some heft to it.
I also picked up a set of bed pillows, because the ones at home were a lost cause. Washing and drying them merely emphasized how far gone they were. The new ones are poly fill, which means they won’t last long. On the other hand, they cost very little, so it won’t break my heart to replace them when they go flat. I’m a snob for down alternative or actual feather/down pillows, but couldn’t find any in my budget today.
Such excitement, to go shopping, I know… But it was the first time in forever I’d actually rolled into a store at my leisure. It was a rare treat. And I definitely fell in love with some of the goodies I saw at Home Goods. Like Ah-nold, I’ll be baahck.
Yeah, yeah. The dish towels don’t look like anything great. Ironing dish towels to make them look nice and crisp? That’s a no from me, Simon.
Rounding things off, a few snaps from last weekend, and one from this week. The light hasn’t been ideal lately so our opportunities have been limited.
This is a newer irrigation rig, but I loved how much the fire-engine red and crisp white pop against an otherwise fairly muted background. I should probably have used Photoshop to erase the telephone pole and equipment in the background. Eh, next time.
The photo below is no great shakes artistically, but it did get a clear shot of the limbs of a palo verde tree. Palo verde is Spanish for green wood — and in this picture, you can see how the tree earns its name.
We stumbled across the tiny community of Valley Farms. Didn’t have the foggiest idea there was such a place in Arizona. Had never even heard of it before.
This sign, and the old plow sitting on top of it, were begging for the sepia treatment. Truth be told, the color version didn’t have much more color than the sepia version, other than the blue sky!
This owl weathervane was sitting atop a fence post at an abandoned property. Tempting as it was, I figured it would be unwise to bring him home with us.
The shot of the deconstructed truck, below, was taken yesterday. I snapped it on our way back from getting Stormtrooper fixed. Sitting at the edge of a vacant lot, it’s seen better days. I still liked its character.
Most of the photos in this batch – including the raggedy patchwork-quilt building up top – were taken in and around Valley Farms, Arizona. The old truck is from San Tan Valley. The fire was about halfway between Casa Grande and Eloy, Arizona; and the photo of my granddaughter was at a restaurant in Mesa. The red-and-white irrigation rig is near the Eloy airport.
Thanks for sharing your life. I enjoyed the photos and the descriptions.
Thanks, Terri. Just got back from buying a new tire – managed to kill one while driving one mile to the post office this morning, lol. I’m glad for three days off, just so I could deal with the stuff that’s happened this week!!