SUNDAY 

Jerry - good news: doing better.  bad news: because he's doing better, does not qualify for assisted care.

Rain again.

MONDAY

Chiro - really helped my painful rib 

drive to Flag - pretty clouds.  Sign "wild fire ahead. Do not report"  though it was many miles before I spotted the plume of smoke over the forest.

arrived 2-ish.  Great to visit with Tami and Alan (and Piper) Brownie loves the backyard.  A little rain, but still delightful sitting out back, even into the evening (though glad I had my light hoodie.)  

He didn't eat his 3:00 dinner (so Piper eventually did) and he seemed hungry all evening - 

but TUESDAY morning he still was not interested in his breakfast.  Hmmmmm

Up at 4:00 - sat outside early on, and surprised at how not chilly it is here.

Tami and I took the pooches for a morning walk in the forest (located conveniently about a block away from the house they're renting) but Brownie basically shot his wad on the way there, stopping at each house to sniff and pee.  He acted just fine - but still did not eat when we got back.

Text from Lily made me smile: Apparently this week is the OLT board meeting in addition to Neil's memorial last week so it's all old timers.  I keep meeting people who are like OH BOBBI'S DAUGHTER.

In the afternoon the three of us went to the movies and saw Where the Crawdads Sing, which was well done.

Tami's cousin Sharon joined us for dinner.

The dogs have been eating each other's food.  No surprise that Brownie prefers Piper's wet food to his morning dry.  But Piper preferring his dry to her wet?  Too funny!

Brownie has been making himself at home in Piper's bed:

WEDNESDAY I slept in until almost 7:00!!! 

Then Tami and I took the dogs for a walk at Buffalo Park. 

The wide, flat trail, was easy on me (the previous day's walk through the forest had lots of rocks, etc.) and accomodated lots of walkers (some, like us, with dogs, others with strollers), joggers, and a number of 'packs' of runners (from NAU?) Along the way "advanced exercise" spots were sprinkled here and there, many with some sort of equipment.

We walked the 2-mile loop.

Of course we brought water.

Before we left the park we checked out the info at the start of the trails.

Instead of heading straight home, I opted to drive up to SnowBowl.  Not much going on up there, but it sure was a pretty ride!

On the ride back down we did stop to smell the flowers.  

(The photos don't do them justice!)

After lunch (and leaving dogs home with Alan) we cruised into town for for a little foo-foo shopping, lucking out with parking.  (Flagstaff is not the sleepy little town it used to be!)  Aside from some whimsical earrings for me (the photo ones Tami had mentioned) I basically picked up thank-you/birthday/Chanukah gifts for people.  

I did pass on a fun wooden plaque for Tom (its price tag of $65 was a "bit" much for what it was) though this guy shopping right behind me thought his wife was worth the money, and scooped it up.  

Frank Gallagher, owner of the sewing/fabric store right where we parked (so I had to go in, right?) was  a total hoot! 

 A Scotsman with a wicked sense of humor, he had some wonderful stories.  He's a musician, and I look forward to checking out his podcast.  (The disc he's holding with his picture, including those bushy eyebrows, has the info.)  

Learned that Outlander was filmed in his home town in Scotland, and his daughter Leah worked on it.  (Now she's in NY, working on Wicked.)

There were several little girls in the store taking a dress-making class, and I was very impressed with what they were doing (and told them so.)  Later we passed them out and about on the street, and they were happy to see us again.

I got permission to snap this photo in a store where both Tami and I made purchases. (The artist's take-home brochure did include a photo of this particular work, but it was a very poor picture.)

Didn't end up buying earrings in this store, but admired the way they were sold; each pair featured a different woman on its card.

As always, I kept my eye out for interesting license plates.  

Tami and I sure laughed at the cards in this store, all of which cracked us up.

Brownie apparently spent most of the time we were gone sitting by the front door waiting for my return.

After another delicious dinner (thank you, Alan!) we played Spades.  Despite the incredibly horrible cards (translation: beyond difficult to read!) Tami brought from home 

I was leading until the very last hand.  Alan and I are definitely on the same page regarding the cards, though Tami "doesn't see anything wrong with them."  She did laugh at my litany of complaints (and Alan urged me to keep them coming!)

At least I know what a perfect gift for them would be...

THURSDAY morning we returned to Buffalo Park for another 2-mile loop walk, and Alan joined us. 

 Lots of folks out walking, jogging, running (many of them lapped us several times), biking, etc. while enjoying the glorious weather.

Needless to say it's likely to be the last walk for Brownie for a while, 

until it cools down some.

On my way out of town I stopped at Discount Tire.  Each morning my tire light had come on, though the three of us assumed it was just the cooler weather up there messing with the tire pressure.  But it turned out to be a very good thing I stopped, because there was a nail in my left rear tire.

The great news is that the tire was repairable, though (of course) I certainly wasn't going to take any chances, and would have bought a new tire in case the scenario had been 'iffy'.  

I was pleasantly surprised when there was no charge for them to repair my tire.

 

Brownie and I were on the road by 11, and home by 1.  And yes, it's hot here.