I was up at dark:30 this morning, and shortly after first light Brownie and I were off on our walk.  It was quite pleasant when we started out, but of course had warmed up by the time we made it back home.  It's going to be another triple-digit day to end the month, and we're on track to beat the record for the tally of triple-digit days in a given year, though at this point 2020 is still in the #2 slot.

Because yesterday's water arrived on time we got a solid soaking in the front yard, and as soon we completed this morning's walk I was out there doing my usual post-irrigation weeding.  The water reached close to the outer edges (it doesn't always, especially like last cycle when it arrived almost half an hour late and so we were shorted on the volume of water) so I spent a couple of hours working from the outside in, pulling lantana.  The best news is that 99% of the plants. many of them fairly sizeable, pulled out by their roots, and by 9:30 I had filled the can and quit.  While all that work left additional bare spots, at least the 'original' bare spots have been working at filling in.

Naturally I had splattered dirt all over my arms/legs, so a shower was a must before doing anything else inside.  Wasn't out of the shower long before Alex popped by with Vera, who happily seems to have recovered fully from last evening's maladies. 

 Alex had brought her along when he joined us for dinner, and she threw up several times (luckily on the washable rug by the closed off dog door, and then the tile) and then pooped (again on the tile) after which she just lay around looking miserable.  Turns out she "may" have been given too many dog treats earlier; Alex didn't know Gabby had given her some before heading off to work, so he also gave her some.  

Reminds me of a time Echo and I were visiting Marilyn in Texas.  The twins were young (still in diapers) and because Echo was so gentle when receiving dog biscuits from their hands they enjoyed feeding her.  At some point when we obviously weren't supervising well enough <cue music> the boys "somehow" got the box out on their own and then proceeded to feed Echo all of the biscuits.  

Of course piggy that she was she was likely fine with that arrangement ...

but not long after was seriously "indisposed" on Marilyn's nice new carpet, and understandably Marilyn was NOT a happy camper! 

The pooches had their usual fun playing keep away and tug-of-war with Brownie's racoon today, though for the most part neither one plays with his/her toys when the other one is not around.  Vera will be spending tomorrow night at Dodge Doggy Daycare, when I hope to video some of their antics and (at some point?) post a clip on here.

At 10:30 Don called to say my laptop was ready for pick-up!  Obviously driving over there was next on the agenda.  Once back home with it I did need to call with my first question already (no surprise) but the great news is that he seemed to have transferred everything I've looked for... at least so far. 

This afternoon I finally bought a new laptop.  I didn’t even peek at it, just dropped off the unopened box with Don, my computer guy, so he can transfer everything from the old one.  Don said that he expects to have it ready for me to pick-up in the morning - but given my track record with electronics and technology (they really do seem to “pick on me”) maybe I’ll be forgiven if I’m a bit skeptical?

Alex is hoping that he will be able to get the printer to communicate with my new laptop. Obviously that would be wonderful... 

This afternoon we got irrigation. The water did arrive on time today (I never did find out the reason for the delay last time) but I had to keep monitoring the gates because large pieces of roots, as well as clumps of grass/weeds, kept clogging them up. While constant gate monitoring during the two hours is less than ideal, at least it’s do-able this time of day. But starting next cycle (and until we return to the offset spring/summer cycles) we’ll go back to a single flow schedule that means we could often end up with irrigation during the middle of the night. Naturally if/when that happens, keeping the gates clear of clogs will be a LOT less “convenient”.

Of course I watched the debate tonight. No real surprise that trump constantly kept interrupting and talking over both Biden and the moderator, and I loved it (and admit I applauded) when Biden finally told him to shut up. The moderator tried, though I was sad to see that so many times, when trump just kept bullying louder and louder despite it not being his turn to speak, the moderator eventually gave in and let him talk. I wonder why they didn’t just turn off his mic?

It was also telling that Biden used the respectful term Mr. President, while Trump condescendingly consistently used the name Joe. 

It's that time of year when catalogues start clogging up the mailbox.  While most simply get tossed right into recycling, this one is always fun to leaf through.  But though much of this particular issue is filled with winter clothes for dogs (not needed here) and Christmas-themed items (again, not 'needed' here) I absolutely loved the model on the front cover.  Annie looks just like puppy Echo did! 

Speaking of pix of dogs, the package with my birthday gift from Tom eventually arrived - a "Best Dog Mom" photo frame.  

Now I need to find/print an appropriate photo to display in it.

Phone calls have not started out particularly well.  <g>

Tried to schedule our annual winter tree trimming - 

but Deb is out of town on family business for next week or so.

Called the gym to adjust the charge for monthly sessions with my trainer since I haven't been been in 6 months and now have quite a cushion stacked up - AND it's not looking like I'll feel safe starting up any time soon... But manager Bryce ("usually" there M-F) isn't in today.

Tried both numbers on the sign for the latest property up for sale (it's always nice to find out what neighborhood properties are asking to help gauge the current worth of ours) but the agent's number went to voice mail, and the real estate company one went to their answering service (which of course had no actual information regarding the property.)

Maybe it's time to try something else on my list before continuing with phone calls?

* * * * * * * * * * *

After some yardwork, 

I went back to phone calls and tackled one to Social Security. 

 

Despite my polite request in the FAX cover letter to let us know that the the paperwork (sent over a week ago) had been received (not unreasonable since the paperwork that I delivered to their office IN JANUARY apparently fell through the cracks) I had not gotten a text, e-mail, phone call, or snail mail letter.

Today I spoke with Lorena, who confirmed that yes it had been received (good news) and then after some checking that "it had been worked on" (more good news.) I guess that's a start at least.  But since we've been working to resolve this since January it's hardly an early start...

The somewhat discouraging news is that now we have to wait to hear from the Processing Center, 

which she said takes from 45 - 60 days.

EVENTUALLY they have to approve it - 

and we should get a hefty reimbursement check.

 I'm happy to report that it was an easy fast yesterday.  However after Tom went to the grocery store and had grapes in the colander sitting out to drain on the counter, at one point I almost (mindlessly) grabbed some to nibble on as I walked by .

A pleasant 'shock' occurred when I weighed myself this morning and saw a number that I hadn't registered in years!  And all it took was 24 hours of fasting.  Hmmmm...

Brownie and I enjoyed another pleasant walk this morning, though still needed to search out the shady sides of the streets.  This time there seemed to be no dogs out walking, just walkers and bikers.  However the friendly little guy in a yard on 39th greeted us at the fence with his tail wagging happily (always glad when he's out and about) and Brownie reciprocated.  No doubt they'd have fun playing together.  

I'm a little surprised at the number of neighborhood properties up for sale, and now there's another one on Topeka.  Generally I assume they belong to old-timers who have aged out and are no longer able to do all the upkeep on these large properties, just as I expect that to happen to us in another decade or so.  When that happens it would be wonderful if Alex is still in a situation to want our property.

Now I'm just waiting until it becomes "late" enough

 to start in on a long list of phone calls.

 Got some tragic news yesterday, and wasn't in the mood to post after that.  

Sandy and her cousin Glady (an only child) were raised like sisters, and they remained close all their lives.  Saturday morning we learned that Glady had been killed in a car accident Friday night.

I wasn't terribly productive after I got the news.

Spent much of yesterday afternoon watching episodes of Rocky Mountain Vet, which (for the most part) involved happy endings for the many dogs and cats (as well as some less common pets) that came through the doors of Planned Pethood Plus.  Love how they do free spay/neuter clinics for the homeless as well as those in low income areas around the state.  They also travel to offer their services to various rescue facilities, where I got to see a 5-week-old therapy yak; what a cutie!

Brownie and I have been back to taking daily walks in the mornings before it gets too hot.  Unlike the other day, this morning we did see quite a number of dogs out and about with their people in tow.  Mostly we were at a distance, but the one time we passed nearby Brownie went into aggressive mode toward the two (considerably larger) dogs.

I've planned an early dinner tonight before my Yom Kippur fast begins this evening.  I'll be grilling chicken, and there's also corn-on-the-cob on the menu.

 Pokey in a couple of selfies with Lily:

Neither, however, seems a good representation of how 'sizeable' Pokey is.

Brownie was thrilled to go along with me to Mary's this morning.  The following photos aren't as clear as I'd like.  I'd meant to bring my actual camera with me, but since I forgot I had to settle for my flip-phone.  

At least I did remember to bring the 1986 Kingman newspaper article, that had resurfaced during my mucking of the file drawer, to show Mary.

 

In the lovely backyard we visited with her two desert tortoises.  Her first one, now 14 years old, was the size of a quarter when she came to live with Mary and Jack.

Both tortoises had found spots to chill in the shady perimeter where there was also a little mud - which Brownie "managed" to find and then transfer to my white pants.

Mary has two cats.  From his high perch Merlin kept a very close eye on Brownie during our visit.

Later Shadow cruised by, with Brownie in noisy pursuit.

Lunch was chicken enchiladas - and literally as we were lowering ourselves onto the dining room chairs to eat the clock struck 12.  That wasn't at all planned, but seemed like excellent timing.

This is part of the animal quilt she's working on.  The other blocks are being sewn together in rows, but Mary had ended up one hedgehog block short for this colorway.  

That made me laugh, especially given Pennie's recent post showing two of her quilts.  "Somehow" during construction of quilt #1she had ended up with a very large number of extra Flying Geese, so she decided to whip up quilt #2.  In my experience, like Mary I usually end up a block short!

 First thing this morning (after coffee) I took Brownie for a walk.  As long as we hugged the eastern walls on 37th Ave., staying in the shade, it wasn't bad.  While we certainly weren't the only ones out and about, mostly we saw moms with kids on bikes or in strollers.  Surprisingly during our mile jaunt we didn't see any other dog walkers.

Brownie managed to step on some goat heads, and of course needed them removed.  They're very nasty, but the good news is that he's gotten much calmer about letting me remove them.  

As soon as we got back from our walk I went to work hauling yesterday's many piles of vines and branches over to the bulk trash staging area.  Not wanting to supervise Brownie, I left him inside the fence to watch me make countless trips.  He opted to hung out in the mud again, at times lying down.  So guess who needed another mini-bath on the pool step?

Major (new) issue with my laptop this morning, so Alex came over to see what he could do.  While it is temporarily fixed, buying a new one has finally floated to the top of my list.  (Ran out of time to do that before Tom left.) Unfortunately Alex can't go shopping with me today (he's got to do some running around for RockStar today) but maybe tomorrow afternoon?

In the morning tomorrow Brownie and I will be visiting Mary, and are invited to stay for lunch.  Tom let me know this morning that he's heading home today, and expects to arrive tomorrow.  Except that every trip he says he'll make it a two-day drive, but then when he gets "close" (like Las Vegas...!) he decides to just keep going.  

Today I returned Estera's bowl to her, and visited with the kids.  Someone gave them a tiny Shih Tzu puppy (yesterday?) that is probably only about 4 weeks old.  (Wonder what happened to the mama.)  When asked my opinion about the names they are considering, I voted for Daisy.

On the walk home I stopped and chatted with Joy, who was mowing in her front yard with their push mower.  The woman is 91 and still going strong!

 At the grocery store I found everything for the farro salad, though needed some red wine vinegar from Alex for the lemon vinaigrette; not sure what happened to our RWV.  I tweaked Terry's recipe a bit (added celery for crunch, diced up more garlic than the recipe called for - because why not? - and substituted cilantro for the parsley and mint) and Alex and I agreed it turned out yummy!

Terry would be proud - and maybe a little surprised! <g>

Alex and I had done a LOT more yardwork this afternoon.  Now both cans are stuffed, and the pile for bulk trash pickup has grown considerably.  

Afterward he 'convinced' me to take a spin on his dirt bike.  

I practiced in the empty lot across the street, though never did get over my nervousness.  So instead of "driving" myself (he was going to ride his friend's bike) he took me for a spin around the neighborhood and then down by the wash.  There was some 'disagreement' about what constituted going too fast.

Even though I was wearing a helmet 

I was much relieved when we arrived back home and I could get off.