Arrived at my Happy Place around noon on Thursday, right on schedule. 

 Here's a recap of the past couple of days.  

I got on the road at a reasonable hour Wednesday morning, 8-ish (without rushing around) and stopped in Flagstaff to gas up.  (Usually I start off with a full tank, but thought it would be cheaper in Flag... though I didn't notice any real difference.)  By then it was around 10, and since breakfast had been hours earlier I thought a milkshake would be a nice thing to tide me over until lunch.  But the milkshake machine at the MacDonald's next to the gas station was out of order, so that saga continues.  Maybe it's the universe telling me I shouldn't be ingesting that garbage? 

My afternoon drive across the reservation was spectacular due to the incredible white cloud formations that filled the sky.  Because of the wide open spaces they seemed to go on forever.

At one point I drove past a modern new school, and was surprised to find that their mascot, proudly displayed on the sign out front, was the Redskins.  I was reminded of the big flap not long ago, which caused the Washington football team to rename their mascot...

About 30 miles outside of Cortez I could see that the sky up ahead was black and very threatening, which did not thrill me.  

I fully expected to get dumped on, but (happily!) that didn't happen.  Once I'd crossed into Colorado I'd lost an hour, so it was iffy whether I'd make it to the quilt shop in Cortez before 5:00 - but not only did I make it there by 4:45, but found one lone parking spot right in front!  And yes, I did buy a yard of (pretty blue) fabric, then picked up dinner-to-go at the bistro next door.

Checked in to my usual (pet friendly) Best Western, even though I didn't have Brownie with me this trip.  Because they are in the process of switching providers it turned out they didn't have wifi, so at least I got a little discount because of that.

I was up at 5, and after a shower and breakfast (which started at 6:30) I gassed up and hit the road.  Between Cortez and Durango a deer appeared on the right shoulder, jogging parallel to the road.  I was aware it might dart in front of me, but (before it could do that) another deer "came out of nowhere" and I had to slam on my brakes, literally missing it by a hair. (The deer I had actually noticed ran out in front of the vehicle behind me, but luckily that was also "just" a near miss.)  

Definitely got my heart racing!

It was too early to shop at the quilt store in Durango (it was only 8:00 when I drove through) but I did get to visit the one in Del Norte (where I found a nice SW panel.)  I picked up a sandwich at Subway, and then it was on to VVHS!

It was a lovely, sunny day, their first in quite some time - so everyone appreciated the fact that I brought  some Arizona weather with me.  After I unloaded the car and settled into the pink room I enjoyed a soak at the Apple Pool - at least until it was time for its weekly drain/clean.

Terry told me about the (big!) bear that's been raiding the large trash dumpster at night.  While all of the individual trash receptacles are bear-proof, the huge dumpster that a service provides (they come periodically to remove it and replace with an empty one) is not available with a bear-proof option. 

  She really liked Mom's sunflower cross-stitch that I'd brought along to offer her (though I'd DEFINITELY stressed the fact that if she didn't like it she was NOT obligated to pretend so!)  It's now hanging in the pink room, where I can see it on the wall across from the bed.

Tom messaged me that it "poured buckets", and added that we also lost power (though I have no idea how long before it was restored.)  It must have really rained, because I got a message from WMID that our next irrigation cycle, due to start on Monday, has been cancelled. 

This morning I enjoyed another delightful morning soak at Apple.  Almost went for an afternoon soak after I finished giving Hilda her lunch, but about that time it tried to rain.  So it seemed like a good time to blog.