More HOT SPRINGS PIX  :-)

We all enjoyed watching the hummingbirds swarm the feeders this summer.  Terry and Steve were kept quite busy filling (and refilling) them constantly, often more than once a day.  Steve was using organic sugar, which is what gave the nectar that cloudy brownish-yellow color.

We also had a great view outside the kitchen window of a couple of bird houses.  Though these pix were shot through a screen, I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.  Possibly this red-shafted flicker was checking out the birdhouses to be used as his winter accommodations?  A few days later, when I didn't have the camera handy, a different type of bird was actually pulling nesting material out of one of the birdhouses, apparently cleaning it out, and stacking the material up on the roof.

I had plenty of chances, on my way to/from Elinor's, 

to 'shoot' the herds of antelope that were omnipresent.

Often this was the view I got -

but did manage this nice close up on one occasion.

Didn't make it up to the mine and bat cave a couple of miles north of the springs, but if you know where to look <g> it's in this picture.

And while I'm talking about animals, here's Bob, lurking in the Party Pool.

Not exactly wild animals, here's Q hanging out in the guest bedroom at Elinor and Richard's - I love the batik fabrics in the quilt on the bed!

And Shadow, resting by the Dancing Waters quilt I made 

for Terry's 60th birthday a couple of years ago.

Speaking of quilts, here's Dave with the cactus wall-hanging I made for this summer's OLT auction that he and Jessica captured.  

I enjoyed their antenna decoration!

And got a smile out of this bike's passenger:

And moving on to other fabrics, this is Marie's sarong that had artistic holes cut into it - though not sure if you'll be able to tell from the photo.

And moving on from fabric to hats.  Here's Glenn with his hat

and me after I captured it.  

Obviously I have not quite captured the art of selfies...

The sentiment on this hat gave me pause, especially since they run several group homes in Minnesota for women with Alzheimer's. (Though sadly that statement would be true, it seemed like a very negative one!)

Turned out to be from a bar!

This t-shirt made me smile.

Tom finally made me throw out my old Bernie's Breakfast T (admittedly it was disintegrating badly, and falling apart) but here's Slim modeling a newer version.

Here he is with the door he built to keep Neil from falling down the cement stairs to the basement.  (I never made it down to The Row to see Slim's house, though Tom did, and was quite impressed with all his woodwork.  I did, however, get to enjoy a photo album of some of his creations.)

And Tom helping with the installation.

 In the miscellaneous category, here's an interesting tattoo (and I saw many during my time there...)

While I couldn't take pix up at the Top Pools ("don't shoot people"), here is a shot from the trail.  That's Road GG down in the distance.

And another view of Road GG from the trail behind Neil and Terry's -

with a tenting site nearby.

I snapped a LOT of cloud photos - this one from right outside the front door.

And a few on the drive out:

That's all for this installment; time to get ready for my day.

Somehow (!) I figured out how to make my blog accessible again; it seems to have had something to do with a general Google change, and I just had to 'accept' the new normal.

At the gym this morning Jim had me doing core/balance exercises.  I did manage to fall off the step during one (and not terribly gracefully, landing on my butt) but at least it seemed to happen in slow motion and I was able to break my fall with my good hand.

Then I went to vote.  There was a moment of panic when I went to grab my driver's license for ID and it wasn't in the slot in my wallet where it always lives.

Thinking back to when I used it last, I realized that it was at the

 airport in Denver to to pass through Security.   Instead of taking my wallet out of my purse to replace it I simply slipped it back into one of the zippered pockets in my purse... and of course that's where it's stayed ever since.

Last was a run to Michael's to pick up velcro for the bibs, and also sticks and felt for another fabric bouquet.  Sitting outside on the sale shelf were flat plastic tubs (in 4 pretty colors) that will work well for storing UFO quilt projects, so of course <g> I had to pick up one of each color.

Think I'll take a break and read in the pool 

before trying (again) to post vacation pix.

For some reason, blogspot has stopped letting me access my blog on the computer.  Yes, I rebooted, but that did not solve the problem.  (Is anyone surprised that I'm not surprised?) Was all set to post some more pix from vacation, but that isn't going to happen now.

Touched base again with the computer fix-it guy (to 'fix' the printer, which has been disconnected since February.)  In theory he might be able to help me with this additional problem... except that he's currently recovering from heart surgery.

Onward and upward - off to the gym.

I called Bank of America this morning to address the issue of why I couldn't change my Netflix billing from one VISA card to another, and Annette told me that my latest card was "never activated" (?!)  Which I find  rather strange, because 1) I would never have taken off the activation notice strip before activating, and 2) all of my other billing to that account has been going through like clockwork.  However, she was happy to activate it for me, and when I went back to my Netflix account I was easily able to change the billing info.

The upshot of yesterday's visit with the PA (the waiting room was a busy place, so I had to wait a while... though seconds after I sat down with the ubiquitous paperwork they called "Dodge" for PA Lisa Babel, but turned out to be a different patient) is that she really doesn't believe I've blown out my repair.  The only way to know for sure is another MRI; in the meantime, I'm scheduled for more OT, plus she suggested another shot to help with the pain.  

I've had the shots before (twice a year, for many years) but yesterday was the first time I had a reaction to one.  Within seconds I was light-headed, then 'tingly' and feeling like I was going to pass out, so she had me lie down with a cold compress for a while.  Weird!  She did ask if I'd had much to eat that day (no) and said it could just have been low blood sugar.  Obviously I didn't leave the office until I was sure I was fine!  

The good news is that the shot did seem to give me instant relief.  :-)  I've got an appointment on Oct. 10 (with the actual surgeon) to see whether or not an MRI would still be indicated.

Thus it was considerably later than anticipated when I got to the grocery store, and by the time I arrived home it was time to start dinner.  Alex joined us (for steaks) and again recommended a Netflix Series Narcos.  So after dinner (and cribbage) we watched the first episode, which held our interest.

This morning I'm off to the gym and then to vote.  Lots of state offices holding elections, but only 1 (our District 6 Representative) has more than one person running on the slate.  Did my research, and am ready to cast my ballot. 

On the news last night I heard a report that the voting sites in two states (one of them ours!) have been hacked - and it's thought that it was the Russians!?  Appears that Dad was right all those years ago... <G>