Home Again

I've actually been back in Minnesota now for a while but have been too busy to write anything.

There's always a flurry of activity getting groceries, remembering where things are and settling in.  

Since the cat tent had a hole chewed through the corner (either by Gracie or some rodent), it was time to replace it.  However, it seems they don't make them any more.  So we went to plan B.  We found a nice dog cat kennel at Menards and set it up.  Then I secured some plastic shelving with cable ties to provide a variety of heights to enjoy.  Finally a confinement where I don't worry about them escaping.  Added bonus:  another place to plant vines!

The next project was to redo the cat cage that they access from the window.  Once that was done and up on cement blocks I washed it out good and it was ready to go.

And then it was time to get busy with the garden! 

This has been where the bulk of  my time has gone since my return.  I wanted to amend the soil and create a small berm so the first thing was to get some good black dirt.  We did this by purchasing ten 40 lb bags of top soil from the local nursery.  Left Brain helped me by picking them up in the golf cart and placing the bags around the yard for me to apply.

Then I put down 15 bags of bark mulch to protect the new plants I'd purchased and spruce up the appearance.  I can't go into any kind of garden center without bringing back a few plants to plant.  I was thrilled to find some dwarf goats beard and an astaboides tabularis.

dwarf goats beard

my new baby astaboides tabularis

This is what a full grown one looks like.  I had it in my garden in Wisconsin.

Much of the garden art and trellises needed a fresh coat of paint so out came my drop cloth and spray paint.  Things sure dried faster in Arizona.  The air is very humid here and alive with mosquitoes.

After those were in place I decided I wanted to add some rocks to the main area of the garden for visual interest. So the next morning it was off to my favorite spot for rocks 25 miles away. They have a huge pile of small boulders that you collect and put into a plastic tub as a sort of measurement.   I love being able to pick out my favorites as well as crawling around the rock pile. Then you pick them all up a second time to put into the car.

It's not much, but makes it a little more interesting.

On the way home I stopped at another garden center and found a couple of new hostas and several other plants that called out to me.  One was the Komodo Dragon, a hosta that has the potential to get huge.  I couldn't find the Empress Wu that I wanted. Then I realized there was yet another garden center nearby so I headed over there as well.

My last stop was at Lowe's on the way home to pick up 15 concrete patio pavers to make a path to the new kennel and one through the archway into our yard.  I had to move many of the rocks ...again...to create space for them in the back of the van. Okay, these are getting heavy now.

I grabbed McDonalds on the way home so I could be done with lunch and get right to work in the yard.  I unloaded the rocks first.  You get to handle these puppies multiple times before you're done.  I arranged them into groups according to size and started creating my "rock garden" area.  I incorporated the new plants into this space and rearranged the bark mulch over them.

That was fun, but now it was time to sink the patio blocks into the ground.  This is not so much fun as there are tree roots everywhere and to accomplish this I needed a serrated knife, shovel, trowel and pruners.  At least I didn't need the ax this time.

Finally all of them were in place and I had two extra to put inside the kennel as Gracie likes to roll on concrete.  It's all about the cats happiness.

By now I'm running out of steam.  I'd been on the go since 9:00 am and it's now about 3:00 pm.  My Fit-bit happily buzzed to let me know I'd reached my 10,000 steps a while back.  But there was still a couple things to do.

I had to water in the new plants and clean up the pavers, gather all the trash and put the sod I'd dug out in the back of the golf cart to be taken to the compost area.  I wasn't having fun any more, now it's become work, but I can't stand to leave the yard a mess.  The house yes...but not the garden.

Finally I was ready to peel off the filthy jeans and shirt and take a shower to scrub off the dirt.  In Wisconsin I would just done this on my back steps as we lived out in the boonies.  Here a little more decorum is required. As we sat down to watch the news I let Left Brain know there was no supper tonight, I was too tired to eat.  Maybe if I kept doing this every day I'd lose the weight I'd like to shed.

Long Live the Queen

Heading home - day two

Gracie was raring to go early this morning.  At least I think it was early. My fitbit said it was 5:30, the clock alarm said 6:30 and the microwave said 7:30.  Who to believe?  My stay at the LaQuinta in Tucumcari was nice.  Everything was very clean and up to date. The lamp had portals for USB cords and an extra plug.  When you travel with a cpap it's always harrowing to dig around under the bed to find the outlet.  I really don't want to look under there.  Oh...the beds had wooden sides down to the floor so no cats were able to hide, another plus.

Upon exiting there was a gas station, which was my first stop. Then a block away as I was to turn to follow my route there was a McDonald's.  So breakfast was taken care of as both my tank and the cars were gassed up....on so many levels.

The drive started out smooth and was pleasant.  The cats didn't make so much as a peep. I breezed through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma and before I knew it I was in Kansas.

I had been grumbling earlier about all the road work signs that dropped the speed limit from 75 to 65 when there weren't any workers there...I got over that later in the trip.

My first potty stop was too early for lunch so I just grabbed three chocolate chip cookies at Subway. I thought about getting a sandwich for later but didn't.  It's always good to heed those intuitions.  More later.

As lunch time rolled around I found another Subway, this is my lucky day!  I entered and there was only one lady ahead of me but there were several sandwiches in production.  Very slow production.  I started my order and the young kid said the other man would take care of my toppings and then he disappeared into the back.

I watched my toasted sandwich cooling off and realized the other lady hadn't gotten her order yet either.  They were working on a take out order that had been called in.  This guy was working off a printed list of sandwiches with ingredients and was clearly struggling to get it right.  I waited for a bit and when the lady coming in to get the order corrected him on one of the sandwiches and he started over I asked if it was going to be a long wait.  He shook his head yes.  I told him I couldn't wait that long as I had cats in the car and another five hours of driving ahead of me and put my chips back.  It would have been so simple if the other guy would have finished the orders for people standing there first and gotten us on our way.  It would have also been helpful if he'd have been there to read the list to the guy placing the toppings on the sandwiches.  Not efficient at all.

It's not like I'm going to starve.  I could live off my body fat for months. But it was frustrating to have an unneeded delay.  Oh well, I did get to use the restroom.  So back on the road.

When I needed to stop for gas I grabbed a bag of potato chips and ate some of them.  Topped that off with one of the bananas traveling with me that were getting a bit old looking.

Things went pretty smooth until I reached Topeka when the 70 mph came down to 10 mph as we all merged into a single lane on 70.  But I live in Carriage Manor where the speed limit is 10 mph so no big deal. I made note not to grumble any more about having to slow to 65 during work zones with no people.

I finally got to my La Quinta in Missouri, just north of Kansas City.  Drove 620 miles today in 10 hours.  A long day and I'm tired.  And being exhausted is a good thing or I'd probably be looking for a different motel.

The first thing I noticed was the smell.  Like the kind of scent used to cover up smokers since all LaQuinta are non-smoking rooms.  It's also the smell I associate with spraying for cockroaches.  I'm hoping it's the smoke smell, but the cats are busy checking every corner and I hope they don't find anything.

The ladies at the counter were very heavily made up with eye shadow from the 60's.  Maybe they rent rooms by the hour here?  There is no pool and no breakfast due to Covid-19. Not sure I'd have stayed for that anyway. 

There's lots of stains and spots on the bedspread but the sheets look clean.  The chair by the desk I wouldn't sit on if you paid me.  It looks like something picked up at the "Boutique".  For non-Carriage Manor residents I'll explain.  The "Boutique" is what we call the area outside of the dumpster in our resort where things are placed that might have some value to others.  I'm pretty sure this chair would have been refused and chucked into the dumpster at some point.  There's no fridge, coffee maker or microwave like at the last one.  Hell, there's not even a soap dish for after you open the little bar of soap.  I haven't done a Yelp review in a long time,but I'll be doing one on this place.

But it's only for a night and tomorrow I head straight up 35 for seven hours to get home.   

Long Live the Queen

Heading North - the first day

I had this grand plan to make the departure go smoothly.  First on the schedule was to put the calming collars on the cats.  This was not easy as they were suspicious.  I'm not sure what tipped them off.  Maybe the furniture piled in the Arizona room.  Or maybe it was bikes in the middle of the room.  Anyway...the cat wrestling began early.  Whew.  Now that that was over it was time to go visit Sandy and take a look at her newest paint color and say goodbye.  By the time I finished packing the car they would be totally mellow.  Sure...right.  They are slippery little buggers but I managed to find them and carry them to the car.

The pop up cat carrier is missing the pad that was in the bottom, so the puppy pads were sliding all over the place.  It was only about 15 minutes of listening to them serenade me with the songs of their ancestors when it reached a new fever pitch.  First pit stop to remove the pad that got peed on.  Onward.

I barely turned the corner on the Bush Hwy when they started in with a panicky sounding (and very loud) duet.  Pit stop # 2.  They huddled to the back of the carrier in horror as I stuck my head in the crate to see what the problem was.  It was literally under my nose.  I did remember to pack a roll of paper towels (thank G-d) and removed the offending fecal matter.  I also remembered they travel better with a blanket over the carrier to block out the sounds and light. Onward.

After a bit all was quiet.  I proceeded through the mountains with all the hills and curves that keep the speed limit at 45 mph.  It is beautiful scenery but my mission was to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible for the sake of the kitties.  There's not a lot of places to stop along this route so I pulled over near Payson for the first gas station I found.  I had to pee so bad I was dancing as I started up the pump.  I decided to turn it off and use the restroom first and then finish pumping.  No such luck.  Bathrooms were not open.  I asked and learned that the Circle K down the road had bathrooms.  If I'd known that I would have given them my business instead.

So, gas pumped, legs crossed and cats quiet I continued down the road to the Circle K.  Oh sweet relief, I'm almost there.  The ladies room was blocked off.  Two men were in there with drills and said it would "be a while".  NOOOOOOO!  Thankfully a man was just exiting the mens room and I asked if there was anyone in there.  There wasn't, so I asked him to please watch the door.  I ran in and took care of business.  Onward.

Not too much further I saw a McDonalds.  Not the most convenient to get to, but breakfast was needed so I joined the drive in line.  Onward.

Continued on for quite a while and again the need to stop became urgent.  Must be all this soda and water I'm drinking.  I wanted to be sure I did not need to stop anywhere near the Navajo Nation as they have a serious Covid-19 situation.  So I took care of business again.

After a long stretch of time I finally got to I-40 and could kick it up to 75 mph.  Now we're making some better time.  I noticed when crossing the border into New Mexico that the overhead signs stated that wearing masks was mandatory in New Mexico. When lunch time came I chose McDonalds again because it was there and I also need to find a quick source of food when traveling with my furry travel companions. 

They are taking precautions very serious here.  A man stands at the door to open it for you as he monitors if there are too many people going in.  Thankfully the bathrooms were open.  This is no longer something to take for granted.  It was marked clearly where to stand when ordering and there were Plexiglas shields protecting the workers, who all wore masks and gloves.  You couldn't fill your own drink, so had to go over there for someone to do it for you.  All the inside seating was blocked off.  So, there was no dine in, but you could at least use the facilities.

I finally arrived at my motel in Tucumcari after 578 miles and nine hours of driving.  Tomorrow's stretch will be ten hours, but I'll be able to hit the road earlier since it's just leaving a motel and not the house.  I like this motel location since it's right at the juncture where I leave 40 and get on 57. 

The only thing that didn't go as planned was using their pool.  I brought my suit along thinking it would be nice to stretch out by swimming before I went to bed.  Pool is closed until whenever.  Oh well.  I did find CNN Live on the TV, something we don't usually get so I'm watching Chris Cuomo and his interviews.  It's fun to see how he bickers with his brother.

I have no idea what what time it actually is, but that's not really important anyway.  I'll go to bed and read in a bit as it's getting darker and when I wake up we'll hit the road again.

Long Live the Queen

One Project Done

The house painting is complete!   

It was fun watching the transformation.  Now I have the gray house with white trim that I've dreamed about!  The gray color is called "chance of rain", I thought that was a fun color for Arizona.

The white trim is called "bakery box white".  I love the names of these colors.

They even painted the box that contains the water shut off.  Now that all the painting is done I can put back some of the art and next year add to the cactus garden.

The pavers will be extended further back soon to create parking for the motorcycle. This way both the motorcycle and golf cart can be parked over here.

I had purchased the bench on the left earlier that has storage space in it, so I was able to get rid of one small storage shed as it all fits into the larger one.  Next project is to create new steps for the back door.  The orange metal art needs to go back on the side now.  It really pops next to the gray.

This is my favorite part - the red door.  It really looks nice with the gray house.  The color is called "firecracker red".

They painted my trellis red to match the door.  Now I have a red hibiscus and trellis in the front and a red door at the back of the deck.

It's a been a fun project.  Now the driveway looks a little shabby.  Hmmm....maybe next year.

Long Live the Queen

Cat Habits

When we go to bed at night we know that about half an hour later we will hear the yowling of the cats as they sing the song of their ancestors.

This is the time of night they like to haul things around the house...and they are very vocal when doing so.

George's thing is to drag the dish towel around, usually depositing it in the shower.  We don't know why.  Maybe he thinks he's a golden retriever?

Gracie always brings her toy mouse and deposits in the bedroom where I step on it in the morning. It's a really ratty thing and the stuffings are coming out, but it is her favorite.

The strange thing is that after Left Brain left for Minnesota they stopped doing this.  Apparently this was something they did for him.  

Long Live the Queen

Painting the House

Since with Covid-19 I can't go out and "paint the town", and I've completed my inside painting projects, so I decided to go bigger.

I received a quote for having the house painted and when he asked when I wanted to have it done I was kidding with him and said "how about tomorrow?".  He surprised me back by telling me he had a cancellation and if I could get a permit right away they could do that.

I looked at paint colors, called Left Brain to confirm he was okay with my choices and then went to the office to get the permit.  Grasping the form in my hot sweaty hands I drove over to my friend who is on the committee that approves such things and got it approved on the spot.  Called back the painter to tell him the permit was in the window and it was game on!

Then I started a feverish clearing of everything from the deck and around the yard.  The stuff on the deck had to be removed before leaving in June anyway, so I'm just ahead of the game there.  The neighbor helped me push Left Brain's motorcycle over to the neighbor's house.  My golf cart went to another neighbor's.

Since Left Brain is gone I am able to pile stuff up in his area and Gracie took it upon herself to recreate a scene from the Princess and the Pea.

I emptied out the sheds and moved them away from the house and got everything ready.  But when I tried to go to sleep that night I was too excited and kept thinking of things I'd forgotten.

So at 1:00 am I got out of bed and went outside to take care of that stuff and pulled out the bobby pins I'd put in that night to experiment with curling my hair.  I was laughing so hard when I saw it - it was ALIVE!  I've never had such big curls. I wasn't sure I could get through the door with this head full of hair!

I watched TV until about 3:30 and went back to bed for a couple of hours when George woke me up at 6:00 which is his routine.

I went out and put the car on the street and arranged a bunch of stuff in the big pull out drawers under the deck.  They arrived about 7am to do the power washing part of the process.

After that dried a bit they returned to cover everything in preparation for the priming.  It's like being in a cocoon, there's no window I can see out of at all.  This is taking staying in your house to a whole new level!  After priming the house they will do two coats of paint.

I had hoped to get a photo of the house before they started but they were too darn fast for me!  So, this is what I have to show for now.

West side - the back of the house

north side of house with my cactus garden.  One got kicked up and needed to be replanted...which is pretty darn easy.

East side - front of the house

south side of house and front

It's an adventure for sure and I'm so glad they could do it while I'm here to see the transformation.  When they get to doing the painting I imagined we'd all be over at Sandy's to watch the show.  However, they did it so fast it was almost over in one day.

First it was primed and looked so weird to be all white.

I caught this shot as he started and we watched the stripes on the trailer just disappear.  This was all done by one man alone who was very talented with the sprayer.  I'm guessing this will be over quite quickly.

Being basically trapped in my house I have no idea what's going on.  I texted Sandy earlier today to ask what was happening.  I was hearing voices, not that that's unusual...but these were in Spanish.

Later on in the day I got a text from Paul asking if I changed my mind on the door color, but that the shade of purple was nice.  I almost ripped the tape off the door to run outside but then remembered...this was Paul I was dealing with.

Sandy & Paul are doing their house next and now Chris wants an estimate as well.  Wanda had just had her house sided and started a wave of home improvements on Nash Street.  So, it's all her fault.

Long Live the Queen

New decorating

I'm having fun decorating my little nest during this stay at home order.  

I'd purchased this sign at Target a while back and now I had time to install it.  I use this little area as an appliance barn and some food storage.  Now it has it's only little pantry sign and Left Brain had installed the glass doorknob earlier.

Bit by bit I find I'm transforming my house based on my favorite childhood memories.  These were largely from my Grandmother's house and my aunt and uncles farm house.

The corner hutch has the glass house my friend Beth Rose made for me for my 60th birthday.  I had Left Brain drill holes so I could run the cord up to the top.  Now it's totally safe from being damaged and provides a lovely light.  Alexa is tucked up there as well since she's voice operated anyway.

The area by the hutch is primarily old trucks and cars. 

My cousin has agreed to return my framed photo of an old red truck I'd given to her earlier and I can hardly wait to place it on the one wall I have to do so.  It fits in with my theme as well as a memory of our trip to Alaska where I photographed it.  My Dad had a red pickup truck like that in his Texaco gas station also.

I purchased these chair covers online and love how they transform the room.  I ordered a set in yellow but they were more gold in color but I still liked them.

I made this table cover to hide all the junk stored on the shelves and it matches the chair covers nicely.  The cats enjoy having another place to hide and explore.  It's all about keeping the cats entertained.

Long Live the Queen

Color my world...turquoise

I needed a break from puzzles and sewing, so I decided to finish up another project.

I had purchased the paint and materials in advance, just never had the time to do the project.  I've got the time now, so there were no excuses.  And trust me, I can find an excuse for just about anything.

Here's what the hutch looked like before.

I wanted to add a pop of color to the kitchen area and I think this really delivered.

My only casualty was one drawer that no longer will pull out, but I'm betting Left Brain can fix that next season.

I washed all my trucks and cars and arranged them into the hutch display area.

It was fun, but I found I have muscles that haven't been used for a while and am sore.  I am so out of shape!  We just opened the ballroom for walking from 6am to 11am so now I have no more excuse for not walking.  Dang.

Long Live the Queen

Pillow covers

I had a bunch of these quilt squares and no idea what to do with them.  Just a few of my several UFOs.  For non-quilters that stands for Unfinished Objects.

I did a couple of smaller pillow covers first and then added to the other blocks to cover the larger pillows on the deck.

I had four blocks left over so made this little quilt.  It could be a lap quilt or maybe a table topper.  Or I might give it away as a baby quilt...who knows. For now it's a decoration on my deck.

I was getting really frustrated with the Singer sewing machine I'd bought earlier.  So I cleaned it up and packaged everything and sold it to my neighbor.

Out came my trust old Elna.  It was like having an old friend come back to visit.  

Long Live the Queen of Quilts

The King has a new throne

Left Brain really wanted a recliner for outdoors, but we are not allowed to have indoor furniture on the deck in our resort.

So, he went shopping online and found this outdoor patio recliner on Wayfair.

Doesn't he look happy?

Of course, a white cushion and Left Brain are a deadly combination so I wanted to make a cover for the cushion.

One trip to Good Will and I walked out with a king sized bedspread for $15.  This made a nice cover for the chair.  One of my favorite things is to create a new pattern.

Long Live the Queen

Kitty Puzzle

This was a much smaller one for me, 0nly 750 pieces but it was so cute I just had to have it.

Long Live the Queen

More tote bags

Once I got my supply of Pellon replenished I started making some larger tote bags.  I had four of them all cut out and ready to go.  When I started the first one I realized I had cut them the wrong sizes so the first one came out a bit wonky, but I still like it.

I wasn't about to waste this great cowboy fabric; so, I had to add to the sides of the largest bag in order to make it work. 

I kind of like the way the addition made a decorative side. Sometimes the best things are those unplanned.

It's a nice large size and Left Brain is using the cat bags (coming up next) for his trip north, but didn't seem to want to use the cowboys...I don't know why.

I had to rip out the cat panels and add to the sides to make it work, lot of hassle, but at least I was able to finish them.  I'd had these panels for a long time and wanted to do something special with them. The trio of cats look like George in the middle and Gracie on the right.  The bag on the left could be George in drag.

Unfortunately the words ended up underneath the bags, but at least the cats are visible.

Long Live the Queen