First thing this morning Terry needed to refill one of the hummer feeders, so while it was down I tried hand feeding them under the spot where it usually hangs.  With their “flower” gone, they definitely did not waste any time swarming me.  Several landed on my hand, and at one point two had their beaks in the tiny feeder hole at the same time. It was quite a trip to feel their tiny feet on me, and be so close to them!  Terry snapped some pix through the kitchen window so I have 'proof'.

When I arrived on Thursday, Terry had pointed out the robin’s nest about 20 feet up in the tree right outside the pink bedroom upstairs. One of parents was on the far side of the nest, making it easy to spot the orange belly. Two little heads were peeking up over the edge of the nest, with their yellow beaks wide open in the classic “feed me” pose. I did not have my camera with me, and still have not been able to catch them like that again. I'll keep trying until they fledge (possibly within the week), but in the meantime:

Laptop has been incredibly sluggish today, and at one point just quit working altogether (even though it was fully charged.)  With Terry's help it's been coaxed back to life - but is still running VERRRRY slowly!

In better news, I'm all done!

MAGGIE is Somebunny Special  

 Before I arrived at the hot springs yesterday (where I don't get cellphone reception) I spoke with my brother and got the results of Mom's visit with the cardiologist that morning.  Turns out that the doctor doesn't think her breathing issues are related to any heart issues, so now she's scheduled to see a pulmonologist in a month.  Maybe she just needs a little extra oxygen?  The good news is that the cardiologist doesn't feel that her valve issue requires surgery.

     I arrived at the hot springs at noon yesterday.  Spent the afternoon at the house visiting with Terry, and am very happy to report that Neil has not declined as much as I had expected and feared.  A replacement curtain rod arrived that afternoon, and Terry and I managed to get it installed and the curtains up on that west-facing bedroom window right before Keta and Brian (Neil's sister and BIL) arrived. That will really help keep that room from getting so hot.  I'm in the cool basement until they leave in a few days, and am the only one not "complaining" about how hot it is at night.  It's also quiet down there, so I didn't hear the nearby dog barking last night - though Steve said it kept him up all night.

Terry whipped up a great dinner last night (grilled steaks, corn-on-the-cob, a yummy green bean salad, and baked-from-scratch peach cobbler) to start off our visit.

This morning I got in my first soak.  Check out the crab (Townes, who will be 2 in August) and pirate (4yo Sutton) floaties at the party pool.

 

I'd put on lots of sunscreen before heading up there, but still decided that an hour was enough time in the sun and water at that altitude.  Happily I didn't get pink at all.  I did, however, leave my water bottle up there (which I realized as soon as I got back down to the house) so I had to hike back up.  Definitely feeling the (almost) 9,000 ft altitude.

Keta and Terry went into town for lunch today, and while I was invited to join them I opted to stay back at the house and help Steve with Neil.  I did have time to work on Maggie's bib, and now that is virtually finished.  Hope she likes it. <g>

The ladies were late getting back because the road was closed at Poncha Pass for about 45 minutes due to an RV on fire.  

Brian, who had chosen to go fishing instead of joining them for lunch, got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and had an adventure of his own.

Another delicious dinner (Terry sure feeds everyone well!) of grilled salmon, dill potatoes, and an incredible kale salad - with baked-from-scratch oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert.

Tired - probably because I stayed up late last night reading.
Will crash earlier tonight.

I got a good night's sleep, and after a bit I'll shower and grab some of the breakfast here and then hit the road for the last 100 miles or so.

Forgot to mention that when we got back from dinner on Tuesday night, Alex noticed a bump on the end of Tyga's nose.  An insect bite?  Then right before bedtime that evening, walking barefoot of course, I noticed a rather large scorpion (first one we've seen this year) cruising across the floor of the family room.  Glad I found it before it found me!  Maybe that's what stung Tyga, though he seemed to be fine.

I had forgotten to ask the guys at Firestone to take a look at the temperature gauge in the bumper when they had it up on the lift to change the oil and rotate the tires, though I did mention it when I picked up the car.  My hope was that it was just a loose wire, though the guy said it was more likely broken, by a rock. or other debris thrown up under the car.  However, my theory is supported by the fact that it seems to have started working again.

Speaking of Firestone.... when I was leaving there with my car Tuesday, I noticed that they had not replaced the reminder sticker.  So I went back in and got that done.  Then yesterday, when I was updating my screen info after getting gas, I came across the oil screen - which is still reading only 30%.  Either they didn't actually change the oil - or (more likely) they just didn't reset the info.

Woke up early, finished packing, and was on the road by 7:00.  All lanes of I-17 were open, but the fire crews were still working at the site of the brush fire (about 15 miles south of Camp Verde) where things were still smoldering.  It was right by a runaway truck ramp, so my thinking was that maybe a semi had sparked the blaze.   But according to a news report on the radio a few minutes later, they're thinking it was caused by a tossed cigarette (idiot!) or a dragging chain (ditto.)

Shortly before I got to Flagstaff I experienced eye floaters.  That had also happened yesterday (for the first time in a LONG time) when the sugar cure did the trick in just a couple of minutes.  I did have one sugar packet in my car (and it was easily findable since I mucked out the console yesterday) so I was able to get rid of that annoyance in short order.  I fueled up with breakfast in Flagstaff, but there were no sugar packets on the table, just a cannister, so unfortunately I was unable to replenish my stash.

Picked up the Sew Musical Row-by-Row pattern at the quilt store in Cortez, and then made it to Durango in time to stop at the two quilt stores there before they closed to pick up their patterns.

Continued on to Pagosa Springs, where I have landed for the night 

with about 500 miles under my belt today.

 Traffic wasn't bad on today's drive.  While there are always some idiots on the road, happily the worst of the lot seemed to be elsewhere today.  

Saw on the local news at 5:30 that I-17 was closed in both directions near Camp Verde because of a brush fire - with no word of when it was likely to reopen. 

A quick check just now showed that as of 7:30 this evening the southbound side was open, with a single lane of traffic moving on the northbound side.  And that situation could improve by tomorrow morning, when I'll be driving north. 

We went out to dinner tonight at George and Son, where we started with soup. The first dinners to arrive at our table were Alex's and mine, and right after they were set down we heard a major crash by the kitchen.  Yep, it turned out to have been Tom's dinner.  

Luckily it didn't take too long to whip him up another order, 

and we definitely all left there stuffed.  

Now I'd better go do some last minute packing. 

Not sure when I'll be posting next.

Guess I shouldn't have been too surprised that my Rx wasn't ready when I stopped by after the gym. I had to make another trip to the pharmacy an hour later, but at least now I do have my meds.

Alex has been whittling on the honey-do list I gave him -

and has already gotten most of it done for me today! 

He also got me set up on Instagram, so (in theory!) I can keep up with him and his adventures.  Facebook is old-school, and "nobody" uses it anymore.

Meanwhile I've been working on my own list.  Car is all gassed up and has a nice clean windshield, and is currently getting serviced while I've been getting miscellaneous stuff done around the house.

* * * * *

Just called to check and see if my car was ready, and the oil had been changed and the tires rotated.

Their check discovered that the battery is not at all happy and needs to be replaced.  So now I'm waiting for them to install a new one.  Our heat is hard on batteries and they just do not last long here.  No point in waiting since I certainly do NOT want to have car issues on the road!  

It would have been nice to shop around and find a cheaper option, but at 3:00 on the afternoon before I hit the road I'm crunched for time and have pretty much run out of options.

As of last night I'm now all caught up on recorded Jeopardy programs.  I scored another "big win" (in the World Geography category), getting a Final Jeopardy answer correct when none of them did.

Australia's fourth-largest city, 

it's at the southern end of the road called Indian Ocean Drive.

I must admit that Perth was just an educated guess on my part,

 though Darwin (one of their answers) had also come to mind.

Didn't do quite as well on a dog quiz I took on FB this morning, only scoring 30/40 breeds.

Here's the link for those who want to try the quiz themselves:

http://learn.howstuffworks.com/quiz/we-gave-this-dog-screenshot-quiz-50-people-only-2-passed-learn?acct=act_10155672832692945&utm_medium=paid&utm_source=facebook&asid=23842830273930027&adid=23842830274200027&mkcpgn=a68cdd151855492f9fde1027e9a54f17&sg_uid=a68cdd151855492f9fde1027e9a54f17 

Good thing I called the pharmacy this morning instead of just cruising over there - because insurance will not pay for the Rx until tomorrow.  I sure hope there are no further surprises, and I can actually pick up the meds tomorrow on the way home from the gym!

Patti cut my hair this afternoon (it needed it) and we chatted about their plans for an upcoming vacation in Montana, mostly at Glacier National Park.  

On the way home from Patti's house mid-afternoon I stopped in to see the new backyard landscaping at Marcie's - but the nursery guys had not yet arrived.  I brought Latina back here with me for a bit so she'd be out of the way when they did arrive, and when I brought her home I got to see the plantings in progress.  Their yard keeps looking better with each step.

I'd forgotten that today is Latina's birthday.  Now that she's turned one she's no longer officially a puppy … though reasonably sure <g> that she doesn't realize that.  

We cruised to the back house to visit with Tyga (who had just had a bath after rolling in a dead lizard) and got to listen a bit while Alex played with one of his Rockstar guitars.

I realized today that I am a bit overdue for an oil change.

Happily was able to make an appointment for that (and to get my tires rotated) tomorrow afternoon.   Trying to get all my ducks in a row...

The outdoor temperature gauge in my car 

has been acting squirrelly the past few weeks.  

I looked in the car manual, which says it's located in the front bumper - but it must be hidden on the underside.  I thought about crawling underneath to see if it had gotten gunked up, though (surprise, surprise) never did.  And today it started working again.  There's some perverted "pleasure" in knowing just exactly how hot it is outside...

Did a bunch of packing today, though of course many things 

can't be packed until tomorrow evening.