I've definitely gotten behind on posting this week - and there's been a rash of that this month.  I have been thinking about Mom a lot, with the first anniversary of her death coming up next week, and that has made December considerably less cheery than the season 'demands'. 

Today's post will attempt to get caught up on the basics.

Tuesday

Alex came by in the morning with the news that Tyler Moldovan, the young police officer who had been shot in the wee hours, was a friend of his; in fact he had been over here just a few days earlier picking up some RockStar.  The extent of Tyler's injuries (he was shot 8 times, and at least once in the head) sounded quite grim.  As of yesterday he was still on life support, and I haven't found any updates yet today.

In the afternoon I took care of my lab work for next week's routine visit with oncologist.  As I've learned, 2:00 is definitely the time to go, and I was in/out in just a few minutes.

Alex brought Chase over to see Tom's fire obsidian, and the guys stayed for dinner.  Tom had prepped everything, though I did the actual grilling of the steaks outside, happily before the rain/cold arrived.   During dinner Alex got invited to go snowboarding in Vail with Chase and his family over the weekend.  Alex has vacation days he needs to "use or lose" before the end of the year, so that sounded great to him - as did the opportunity to travel via family's private jet!

Wednesday

Paul and his crew got started on some of the tree-trimming, and the section of the yard they tackled looks great.  They did try to work on the cottonwoods, but despite the cold the bees let us know just how unhappy they were with that plan - and before the guy could scramble down off the ladder he did get stung.  

I had been clear with Paul that there were bees and I did not want his crew to take any chances, but Paul thought it was too cold (the storm front had brought quite cold temps) for the bees to wake up.

Some years ago, when we were not paying enough attention, the huge bush/tree on the east side of the front yard grew into the fence.  When we had the guys cut off those limbs, some chunks remained solidly stuck to the fence, but on Wednesday were removed.

As of Wednesday we have a much better gap, so it should be easier to keep up with errant limbs!

Cara and Zenna came by for a bit before I had to head to PT, and the pooches zoomed around the Back 40.  (Despite being bundled up I was definitely looking spots in the sun!)  In the afternoon I did some serious mucking of the sewing area, which has been way, way overdue - and that sure has made sewing much more enjoyable.

However despite his (many) complaints about the unsightly mess, Tom never noticed - and I know because that night at dinner (where he sits facing the table) I asked him!

Alex made his first snowboarding trip of season, to Flagstaff, finally having a chance to use his Season Pass birthday gift.  It was quite cold, only 19 degrees, and he did admit to feeling chilly, but said the gloves I'd gotten him for Chanukah (ones he'd chosen) really helped.  He wore them under his mittens, as planned, but sent these pix before being fully outfitted.

Thursday

Another session at PT in the morning.  Still working hard!

The window guy had been scheduled for 3:00, but called because he had a cancellation and would be able to come by in the late morning, which worked great for me since I often <g> fade by the afternoon.  We are finally going to have the five floor-to-ceiling windows out front replaced after all got shot up with BBs more than a dozen years ago.

  At first there were just the tiny ‘dents’ in the glass, but in recent years those have morphed into serious cracks, and I just discovered one actual hole where a section of the cracked glass has fallen out.  

Of course they are months out from being able to get/install the (pricey, of course) windows; everything is custom-made, and our target date is mid-April.  That date, of course, is dependent upon whether the supply chain doesn't become even more disrupted than it already is, and I did have to sign a disclaimer to that effect.  At least <g> I got to pay half the total yesterday.

Some of the afternoon was spent sewing on a UFO that I uncovered while mucking, and also did some other uncluttering around the house to get ready for the cleaners on Friday.  

Friday

Woke to good news, an e-mail from Lily that she will be coming to town for a few days between Christmas and New Year's.  She'll be staying in Scottsdale, and plans are fluid, so not sure what day we'll see her, but luckily our schedule is quite flexible.  It was a very pleasant surprise because she didn't expect to be able to make it for a visit.

Paul's crew returned at first light.  In the early cold they were able to cut many of the dead limbs from the cottonwoods, which will make for a much nicer view from the hot tub.  But despite the low temps quite a few of the bees inside still woke up again (from the chain saw vibrations?) 

Obviously the trees can't come down until we have the bees dealt with.  Would be nice to have someone relocate them instead of killing them, so hopefully I can find someone willing/able to do that.

Everything the crew was able to get to looks wonderful, especially the jungle which is seriously opened up now.  But despite putting in a full day they still weren't able to get to everything in the backyard, including the mulberries, and nothing in the Back 40, so I'll be calling Deb on Monday to schedule more days in the new year.

Brownie had a very social day.  First he "helped" the crew, and even with the various gates open was good about staying inside the yard.  Then he supervised the house cleaners (except during the dreaded vacuuming phase), and Friday is also the day the pool guy comes to service the pool. 

SATURDAY

SO many early mornings this week (yesterday an unreasonably 3:30, and today not much better, at 4:00) so I guess I'd better get busy and be productive this morning before I fade!

One thing on tap for today is to juice a bunch of oranges and grapefruit. They were on some very low limbs that got trimmed yesterday in order to allow the riding mower to pass underneath more easily.

Another is to continue organizing the piles of fabric that ended up on the couch, 'leftovers' from the other day, as well as those piles remaining on the bed in Lily's room after that mucking marathon got interrupted by the phone call about Jim.

Really hoping to start off the New Year with less clutter ~

and it's still too chilly to attack the mess in the garage, though temps will be warming up soon.  At least I don't have this garage problem...