The Best Part of Wakin' Up!

What can I say! It's hard to stay in bed in a place like this! We were both up at dawn because we were afraid we'd miss the beautiful views of the early morning beach and the sunrise. In fact, we were up pre-dawn on the veranda gazing at the stars and listening to the waves.

We decided to head out early for our morning walk down Medina and take some photos along the way.

After admiring the boats, we cut back towards El Centro along the malecon on the Caribe side. It's nice to see it still intact -- no storm damage this year!

Walking along the malecon, Craig commented on the blight. I tend to see the flora and simple artwork instead.

After strolling down Media Luna beach in a quest for seaglass, we cut back in through the market to buy orange juice and some fresh fruit. Just look at the colors of Mexico in that mercado!

And more beautiful Caribe colors along the walk back to the condo.

Sweet rolls from the back of the truck that sits at the end of Hidalgo nightly -- papaya and orange juice from the market.

A breakfast table with a view!

Truly priceless!

Heaven, I'm in Heaven!

Forget the hour sitting on the tarmac in Phoenix while the pilot looked at photos of the weather in the Gulf. Forget the extra hour getting through immigration and customs in Cancun because it was a Saturday. We arrived just in time to view the sunset from heaven. As Craig said, this is what a vacation should always be!

Saby was a little bummed to see us leaving with out packed bags, but she had a scheduled play date with Michael and another doggy friend, so she'll be fine.


The weather in Cancun looked a little dark upon arrival, but once we were out on that water headed for Isla, our hassles with the long travel day just floated away.

We arrived at our room just in time to take in the glorious sunset from on high.

As the sun sank below the horizon, people below frolicked on Playa Norte. These women appeared to be having a very Zen experience.

Looking down the beach away from the sunset -- more incredible views in the fading light.

Honey, I could LIVE here! This is the life!

You know what they say. Red sky at night, sailor's delight! Tomorrow should be wonderful!

Stay tuned! : )

Isla Bound!

By the sea, By the beautiful sea, You and me, Oh! how happy we'll be.

This song keeps running through my head! I haven't been able to shut it down all week. Anyway, by this evening, we should be up on a veranda overlooking the sea, and I'm sure we'll be mucho happy! : ) Woo hooooooo!

A Few Friday Thoughts

As always, I'm going to be running around today like the proverbial chicken with head cut off. Library, bank, pedicure salon, Walmart for last minute sundries, Costco for backpack, etc.... All the best laid plans to get this stuff done in advance went out the window!

Craig, who was going to pack Tuesday night (ha ha), will have to start on that when he gets home from work.

And Michael's headed to a golf tournament up in North Scottsdale to spend the day. But he's well-versed on caretaking his sister and the house, so I don't have to worry about that. I'm starting to feel like we've passed the torch to our son. I turned my back, and when I turned back around the next time, he was all grown up and smarter about life than I am! It's a very nice feeling, but a little weird. Now he tells me that I need to drink more water, take the Emergency C vitamin packs, and eat breakfast to jump start my metabolism. And a lot of it falls on deaf ears. I'm getting even with him for all the times I harped at him and it went in one ear and out the other. It's my turn to frustrate him! Ha!

Last night, I was heating up a plate in the microwave of wonderful pasta with basil/tomato sauce left over from my Italian birthday meal. I even had the leftover Italian bread to soak up that garlicky red sauce. But, as Michael pointed out, I forgot to use a potholder to grab that plate from the microwave. It was hot, I jerked, and then I spent 45 minutes cleaning up the chunks of broken pottery and red sauce/noodles from the tile floor. I'll be cleaning the sauce out of the grout forever! When Michael came from the back of the house to see what the crash and string of expletives were all about, I did have to tell him to get some shoes on before he waded into the mess. So that made me feel better. : )

In some ways, the parent/son roles have even been reversed. He's the one who showers us with his job perks, supplying us with great shoes, free golf for Craig, and even talking about a possible Thanksgiving weekend trip to Palm Springs brought to us courtesy of his VIP Hilton Honors status. Like most parents, I thought the day would never come! Our ship has come in! And he's even giving us a ride to the airport Saturday morning! All that and a bag of chips!

Last but not least, when I was out walking Saby this morning, I saw a workman lying on the sidewalk sporting the Isla man bikini look. Shirt pulled up over bulging stomach. Then I saw another squatting down by his truck sporting the All-American male plumber look. Three inches of butt crack hanging out the back. HA!

Aren't you glad I'm leaving you with that visual?

I'm off to run errands! One more sleep! Life is good!

I Think We May Have a Problem!

Actually, I think I may have a problem. I admit to needing a twelve step program to tear me away from making these domino pendants. I keep finding more vintage photos and postcards, coming up with new ideas, running back to the craft stores for new supplies -- it's insanity! I've become one of the Women of Michael's and JoAnn. A craft-bot. You know it's bad when I was actually thinking about buying myself a power drill for my birthday! Definitely a sad state of affairs.


Craig is thanking God that craft supplies can't be hauled to Isla. And I can't buy that stuff there! So my time by the sea can serve as a rehab! We'll see if it works.


Here's a sampling of the latest pendants from the factory. I'm still learning and trying to perfect.

They say it's my birthday!

It's my birthday! Well, almost! Tomorrow's my birthday, but I may not post then. Michael got home yesterday. He's here to babysit Saby while we're on vacation. He arrived bearing some new lightweight Ecco birthday sandals for me. They'll be perfect for my Isla trip!

I always think of my cousin Jon on my birthday. He was born on my fourth birthday and died before my 53rd. Since he exited life at the age of 48, it always reminds me to be grateful for every day and year!

I get my big birthday present on Saturday morning! : )

I like this version of the song!

Treasures from the Sea

I spent yesterday working around the house again. I finally finished that seashell/printer's tray project and got it hung on the wall. And I found a special place in the collection for the little girl who grew to love the beach and seashells. She passed her love of shelling to me on our trips to South Padre back in the 80's. We'd roam the beaches before dawn getting our pick of shells as they rolled in on the waves. Sun, lots of fun, and seashells.

We'll be on that plane next Saturday morning to another beach destination. More sand, sun, and treasures from the sea! : )

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

I'm detecting a trend in the neighborhood this Halloween. I do see some houses with the traditional witch/pumpkin theme, but the pirates and ghouls rule the day. Aargh aargh aargh.













Some poor witch who was chased out of the neighborhood by pirates got her hat hooked up on an ocotillo.

Ruby Love

I've been a little uninspired lately in the blogging department. Actually, I just don't have many ideas. I should just say I've been busy with life and not spending as much time on the computer. Yesterday, I picked up a Cat Stevens CD at the library. I'd forgotten how much I like his music! This song is one of my favorites.

While I was out and about today, I did snap a photo of a nice little fountain with my camera phone. Here's the question of the day -- why did the egret cross the road? I had to sit and wait on a large white egret today as it sauntered across a busy road in front of my car. As usual, I didn't get a photo, but I wonder why that silly egret didn't just fly across the road! : )

Time to Whip It

into shape!

Actually, way past time! The train left the station without me! As always, I made promises to myself about what I would accomplish before my upcoming Isla trip. And I haven't kept my resolutions. I was going to lose my excess weight and learn more Spanish in the lead up to our Isla trip. HA! Let's revise those ideas. How about changing the plan to getting healthier and learning a few more Spanish words when I'm down there! There -- that makes me feel all better.

The morning weather's been outstanding around here, so Monday morning after Saby's walk, I rode my bike over to the regional park across the road. They have three manmade humps over there, so I rode my 7-speed cruiser to the top of all three -- my little hill workout on the bike. (You have to see the hills to realize that's a joke!) But at least it was better than just riding in the flats. Kids are on break from school right now, so I noticed lots of parents and grandparents letting their little ones fish. I wish I'd had my camera because it was cute. And on the small hump I call Jackrabbit Hill, I once again spotted the lone jackrabbit racing away with those huge ears.

I love exercising outdoors because it gives me time to think and clear my head. I was thinking about this past year and a half yesterday morning while I was on the bike. It was the year and a half from hell, but it seems to be over now. So much happened in that space of time. Craig's mother got sick and eventually died, my aunt had the same health problems as his mother and died on Memorial Day, my mother had breast cancer, my sister-in-law had a double mastectomy, Craig was job hunting for that year and a half, I returned to the workforce for the first time in 30 years, I dealt with my own health problems, etc.... The list goes on. It was over a year and a half of stress and frugality. So I feel like our upcoming trip to Isla will be a much-needed time to throw off all that baggage! Stress just seems to melt away as the ferry approaches that dock.

This weekend, we caught up with our friends who are moving here from Washington State. They were here for a weekend trip, so we met for dinner once again. It's so wonderful to get to reconnect with a couple we've had so much fun with over the years. We also have close friends from the same group who moved here before us who live fifteen minutes away. They couldn't make it Friday night, but I meet her for coffee every few weeks along with another good friend I met through her. We're meeting for lunch this morning. I'm really fortunate that some of the old crowd are ending up in the same area.

And speaking of whip it -- the pedicure! An acquaintance from the gym had told me she goes to Walmart for pedicures because it's cheaper and she doesn't have to deal with all the add-on's. It seems to be a racket around here. $5 extra to remove callouses, $10 extra for sea salt rub, etc... Well, I got this chubby little Asian girl with a constant maniacal grin on her face. She didn't speak English and evidently wanted to prove how strong she was. The leg foot massage bordered on downright painful. And then she started beating on the sides of my legs and feet at the end. I thought to myself -- I'm going to have bruises. Sure enough -- I've got some black and blue spots. My son loves to mimic me saying this, but I bruise easy! And guess what! They charged $5 extra for callous removal.

In addition to the sadistic smiling little gal, the shop was a cubbyhole by the main Walmart doors with an explosion of tacky fall bows and dusty floral arrangements. But I had the view of the Walmart customers as they flowed in and out of the front doors, so that distracted me from the beating. HA! I guess I'll filter back to a regular nail spa the next time I need a pedicure!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

I was really busy last week getting the house ready for an appraiser to come through, so on Friday after he left, I decided I needed to treat myself to some fun! I made a trip to the big antique mall here in Chandler -- Market Square. They were having their annual sale throughout the booths.

When I got there, it was jam-packed! They have a hot dog place inside the mall and there was a long line of people ordering lunch. And a long line at the front checkout. As I wandered through the crowded aisles, I noticed lots of older couples browsing. Eavesdropping, I overheard phrases like -- Oh, I remember my mother had a set of dishes just like these. I never think of myself as being older, but I realize that when I go antiquing, it always triggers the same type of memories.


My Grandma Bowman had an old Singer sewing machine just like this (in the cabinet) at the top of the stairs in her finished attic. The top drawer had her old button collection, and I used to spend hours playing with them. Now I have those buttons in a jar at my house.

My grandparents also had one of these gliders on the front porch. I think it was a pale green color. If I had a place for this, I would have taken it home!

Grandma also had a canister set like this (minus the fancy painted decals) in her kitchen. She baked enough to actually use them (whereas I hide my flour and sugar in the cupboards).

This gypsy fortune teller doll triggered a whole different set of memories. At certain times of year in our little town growing up in southeast Kansas, traveling gypsies would show up in their cars and make camp at a place we called the Little Park. They were there for long enough when I was in first grade for one of the children to attend school. We called the little boy something that sounded like Cochise. Everything bad that happened in town (petty thievery) was blamed on the gypsies if they happened to be there. I don't know what their purpose was in coming to town, but they often showed up around the time of the county fair. One year during the fair, my mother had all of her bras stolen off the clothesline. LOL My father actually reported it to the police and the answer was -- probably the gypsies. Actually, probably the town pervert? Where did the gypsies come from and why were they there? I have no clue. But I've always been intrigued by the subject!

These old wooden seats brought back lots of memories of sitting in the school auditorium for music class, assemblies, watching special events on television, etc... At least I wasn't sitting in class, but those chairs were so hard!

Now this is a funny memory! Our first Christmas together, I was still in college. It was final week, I was stressed to the max, and a little bummed because we had no Christmas tree in our little apartment. Craig went to the local tree lot and found a poor little dried up Christmas tree. He did the shopping for decorations because I was busy writing final papers and came home with all blue ornaments. Boxes of blue Christmas bulbs just like these! I wasn't particularly fond of blue, but it was a nice gesture.

This item didn't really trigger any memories other than dead armadillos by the side of the road, but it's the first time I've ever seen an armadillo shell in an antique mall! What the heck!

After browsing the antique mall for over an hour, I happened upon a full set of those dominos I've been using to make charms. So the trip certainly wasn't wasted. In an effort to pamper myself a little more, I had a Dairy Queen ice cream for lunch and a pedicure on the way home. Now that pedicure's another post! Ha!

By the way, that beast I call my laptop died again today, so I am on borrowed time here. The problem is that it goes into sleep mode and I can't even do a cold shutdown on it. Tonight I removed the battery to shut it down, and then restarted it. Ugh. As I said, only a matter of time.

More Dabbling with Dominos

I've been plugging away trying to figure out what I'm doing with the domino pendants. These are my favorites from the production line! My next project is to get a bunch of my old vintage postcards and photos scanned into the computer and edited and sized properly so I can use them on the pendants.

Fall Colors

I stepped out the back door this morning and the yard was ablaze with fall colors! LOL!





Seriously, I know now why I have such a hard time down here remembering what month it is! My brain is programmed for four seasons after having lived elsewhere until I was 53! We're having a cold wave this week with highs in the lo-80's, so I guess that's a reminder that the season has switched. That and the dropping temps in the pool.


Oh well, maybe we can take a drive this weekend and see some yellows and oranges!

Dang It!

I think I caught Sue's computer woes. Actually, it's the same problem I had 18 months ago when I mailed my laptop off to HP and they fixed it by installing a new mother board (at least I think that was the lingo). The repair was free because it was a recall defect and I just happened to remember the e-mail about it, but the fix was only guaranteed for 90 days or something ridiculous like that.

Anyway, when I let my laptop go to sleep, it won't wake up! I can't restart it -- it's just dead on arrival. After that happened today, I decided to clean it up with a soft cloth. Sure enough, rubbing on it revived it -- just like CPR. Now that's technical! But I know from my experience last time that it's not long for this world. So I'll back up my photo files tonight just in case!

Depending on the cost of repair, I may just chuck it and start over, but I think I'll avoid HP. I don't trust them now. I noticed a smaller Dell at Costco that peaked my interest. Smaller would be better because this HP has been a beast when I have to lug it anywhere. I've thought about a netbook, but noticed many of those don't have the DVD-RW, and that's important to me. And whatever I buy will be my primary computer.

I'll keep you posted. If I suddenly disappear for a few days, you'll know the beast died.

Book Race

Sometimes I feel like Lucy in the Chocolate Factory when it comes to books. I reserve books online from the public library and often, all five holds become available at the same time. The checkout period is only three weeks. Since all but one of these books are new popular titles, I won't be able to renew. So I'm once again in a race to read all of them in three weeks.

I started Change in Altitude, by Anita Shreve, first and it's a page turner! It's about a young American couple from Boston who marry and move to Kenya on a one year adventure. The book revolves around a tragic accident that occurs on a mountain climb and how that alters their lives. I'm having a hard time putting the book down to go to sleep at night!

I think I'll have to spend quite a few afternoons at home reading if I'm going to finish this entire stack by October 22! Too bad I won't be able to tuck one of them in my bag for the trip to Isla!

Work Weekend

Sorry I haven't posted, but we've been busy working! We had lots of projects this weekend we wanted to get finished. One of the most bizarre aspects about living in Arizona is that if you want to have green grass in the 'winter', you have to tear up the bermuda and overseed with rye. We swore we wouldn't have any grass when we moved here, but the house we found was on a main circle in the neighborhood where all houses are required to have grass lawns in the front.

The first time someone told me that grass had to be torn up and overseeded every fall, I thought they were crazy! I just assumed the grass would automatically be green year-round since it's paradise! The problem would be that bermuda type grasses are the only ones that make it through the extreme heat of the summer here, and those grasses go dormant in the winter time. So Craig took on the overseeding of the front yard yesterday, and I tamed the jungle we call our backyard! I won't show any photos of the overseeding because it's ugly! And it'll be ugly for two to three weeks!

Before I forget, Craig finished the Adirondack project. We really like how they turned out!

Saby gets so overwhelmed just thinking about all the work we're doing -- she zonks out. She doesn't seem to mind sleeping wrapped in that big fur coat.

I trimmed up all the shrubs, washed down patios, brushed the pool -- ugh. Am I leaving anything out? I did forget -- I replanted a pot or two and I'm still not finished with all of that!

The torchglow bouganvillea are really pretty right now. All the shrubs are coming back with the cooler 90 degree temps.

After I finished working, I went into the house and found my Bengue from the supermercado on Isla. It has naproxen in it and really works. I'm going to buy multiple tubes of that stuff when I'm on Isla. I don't think it's been approved in the U.S. yet.

Which reminds me! Three weeks from this morning, we'll be waking up to one of these beautiful Caribe vistas! (If you can't tell, the excitement is mounting!)

After all the work, I took a swim in the pool yesterday. We've had it covered, so the temperature was still 88 degrees. Wonderful!

Last night, some friends who live in a retirement community 30 minutes out of town invited us and another couple for dinner. Their neighborhood has canal/lakes that wind between the houses, so we sat outside on their patio watching the sunset with the water and palms as a backdrop. It was beautiful!

The minute we got home, my head hit the pillow and I was sound asleep for the entire night.

We still have some chores for today, but I'm planning on working in some fun. After all -- all work and no play . . . .

Don't Let the Rain Come Down

No, it didn't rain today here in Arizona. It was sunny, beautiful, and 89 degrees. But it was one of those days when everything seems to go wrong!

It started last night. Craig and Michael took Saby for her evening walk. They ran into four silly women who were letting their four big dogs (3 boxers and a pitbull mix) run off leash in the community lakes area. One big boxer charged Saby and she ended up with a bite above her eye. That's the second time in two weeks that she's been bitten by another dog running off leash. One bite above each eye now. Ouch. The dog owner's response to Craig was -- My dog doesn't bite. Right. Saby had the blood to show it. So tonight when Craig walked Saby, he took a wooden cane with him. Maybe he can cane the owners if their dog attacks! Hopefully, it won't happen again and he'll never need to use it. Thank God I wasn't walking her alone because I don't think I could have kept the dog from doing more damage to Saby or me.

Strike number two came this morning. It was in the lo-60's and we had the windows open. I suddenly realized that the pool pump was coming on, then shutting down about a minute later. I went out to try and troubleshoot it, but no luck. So I called the pump manufacturer for a service call. Cha-ching, cha-ching. Hopefully, some of it will be covered by the warranty.

And then add a broken window to the list. It looks like something that happened as a result of a manufacturer's defect.

Oh well. Tomorrow's supposed to be another lovely day with a high of 90. And then Saturday night, the rain IS supposed to come down! And you know I do love rain! : )