I'm disappointed this morning; my eye is  still super-sensitive to light, 

and vision remains blurry.

 New crown procedure went well this morning - and I was home shortly before 9:30.  

This afternoon I had my post-op eye check, and all is healing like it should.  I'm still extremely light sensitive (feels like a stabbing) but apparently that is normal, and should abate in the next few days.  Hope so!

 Yesterday's cataract surgery, and lens implant, seemed to go fine - though they had obviously overscheduled patients.  Though my appt was for 9:20, there was a wait for a bed in the back and I didn't have the first part, laser breakup of the cataract, until after 10:30.  Then it was another hour's wait for the actual lens implant surgery.  That meant I had to get additional doses of propofol via the IV - which really burned.

No pain afterward, but definitely blurry vision, like looking through a thick sheet of plastic.  Once home I had something to eat and then took a several hour nap (lingering effects of the anesthesia, I assume) before dinner. And then I still went to bed early.

This morning my eye remains dilated (which I find somewhat surprising) so my vision is still blurry.  I have a post-surgery check up at 1:00, and will find out how normal that is.

In the meantime, I will be spending the morning at the dentist getting a new crown. 

On the way home I stopped at the pharmacy to try (yet again!) to schedule a Covid booster.  Kristi recognized me (not that surprising since I've stopped in virtually every day), let me know that there had been an appointment cancellation, and said that if I was willing to wait she'd squeeze me in.  I was, and she did.  Also got my annual flu shot while I was there.

I saw that Tom had started mowing the backyard, and figured he was just taking a break.  Turns out a belt snapped - and unfortunately the repair guy is swamped (after all the rain everyone has been busy mowing) with a predicted turn-around time of 3 weeks.

After lunch Brownie came along for a ride, first to check out the exact location for tomorrow's eye surgery, and then to fill the gas tank - to the tune of $71.  Luckily I don't have to do that too often.

 Yesterday Brownie got home earlier than expected, so he went over to Mary's with me.  He was definitely interested in Pablo (the parrot), who is back after a 2-year hiatus living with her grandson.  But with Dominic in Scotland for a year Pablo has moved back in.  Meant to take a photo...

I found out that there was a reason Mary missed the fabric score-a-thon at the Bees on Wednesday; she had to make an impromtu trip to the ER, but happily she is fine!

I've set aside a whole bunch of goodies for her, including some really nice projects Carol had started but that no one else had scooped up.

Before we left I got to sample one of Mary's counter-top tomatoes - 

Yum!

Rosh HaShannah, the Jewish New Year, began at sundown last evening.  

For anyone keeping track, this is the start of year 5783.

Off to the chiropractor in a few minutes - missed my appointment last week!

 Yesterday there was a rat drinking from the watering sundial on the front porch.  I watched from my chair, and since it was taking its time I decided to pick up my phone and zoom in for a pic - which was when it decided to slink off into the bushes.  Now I'm thinking that maybe it wasn't seeing a bunny out the window that had Brownie so excited (and then focused for hours) the other day, but a rat instead.

This senior dummy experienced yet more frustration with my smart phone yesterday.  

And it's not like I was trying to hack into the Pentagon.

All I wanted was an address/website for red pins on a map...

 which SHOULDN'T be that hard!

But although I tried this and that for what seemed like a very long time (though it probably was "only" ten minutes) I never did figure it out. 

On the other hand, despite my technology incompetence...

Since the lantana aren't pulling out that easily any more, much of this morning's yardwork consisted of hand-trimming the vitex and privet "bushes" (more like trees) and cramming the detritus into the can.  

Now that I've showered I feel a whole lot better; I worked up quite a sweat in the mugginess.

Think I'll do some sewing before it's time to head over to Mary's for our visit.  And maybe by the time I get home Brownie will have returned from camping - and with some exciting stories to tell!

 I started my pre-surgery eyedrops regimen this morning. There are three different types, to be administered on different dates during the process, with color-coded caps to help keep them organized. 

Before it got too steamy I removed more tonnage of lantana, mostly from the jungle where the shade has kept that ground moist.  Tom mowed non-irrigation areas of the property, and acknowledged that it IS easier to mow now that (thanks to all the rain) I pulled all those weeds. 

He also commented on on how nice areas of the yard look where I have de-lantana-fied the lawn, which was good to hear.

Alex wrote that Brownie loves the great outdoors.  When I asked if he was making dog friends, he replied that Brownie has a new girlfriend rainbow dog.

Thursday I gave Brownie his bath after dinner, while Tom and Alex were watching Thursday Night Football.  Bathing is still high on his list of Things I Don't Like - 

and yet he doesn't seem to hold a grudge. 

As soon as bathtime is over Brownie still doesn't want to leave my side, 

even though Alex was trying to get him to come to him.

He's soft and clean now - though after a weekend of camping he may (?)  need another bath...

Waking up at 4:30 is getting to be a very nasty habit.

While cleaners did their thing Friday morning I ironed/cut more 5" squares for the October exchange; have about two dozen bee fabrics.  Also washed loads and loads of laundry - not only the rugs (as always on cleaning day) but all of Brownie's beds/blankets, which added another several loads.

I finally made the trip to Costco for the 50# bag of birdseed for the too-long empty feeder, and blocks for the quail. I had really struggled with that hefty bag on my last shop there.

 Luckily there was an employee nearby to help load it into the shopping cart, then a young man (helping his grandmother?) two cars over from where I had parked to load it into the trunk for me, and Alex at home to lift it onto the bath seat in the garage (which hopefully will discourage any rodents from getting into it?)  

And speaking of rodents - Tom heard from Lily yesterday, whose car was having problems.  Turns out some rodents had chewed through some of the wires, and sadly it'll be a very pricey fix.

It is quiet here without Brownie.  Hope he's having fun camping.

The weather became very threatening here last evening, WINDY with lots of thunder.

But as "promised", there was no more rain.

Saturday has started off promising... 5:45 is a lot better than 4:30!

Tuesday's gym session started 10 minutes late, so I was hoping today we would get in the full session.  Or not - I was up part of the night with another headache, and eventually got out of bed at dark:30.  So between lack of sleep and my throbbing head I may not be at my best today.

We are back to having to do the gates on 35th Ave for irrigation.  While that means we have more control over the water arriving on time (or early, since Tom misread the time by 10 minutes), it will make things less than convenient if/when we end up with middle-of-the-night time slots.

Alex was monitoring things on Tuesday, and when thick cactus pads were coming through and clogging up the gate to our main center ditch Tom had to dismantle it in order to clean it out.  We did drive over to try talking to the folks whose cactus were the culprit (Tom invited me along to help 'keep the peace', but they weren't home.  I'll just send Sue an e-mail and she can handle it...  

While the water was flowing I pulled tonnage of lantana from the center ditch, and later more from around Alex's backyard since the tree trough had overflowed.  That made weeding, when I found a crop of goatheads trying to establish a foothold, easy.

Alex helped replace the printer cartridges (he had same difficulty I did, which made me feel better) but despite several tries it still wouldn't print, just more or less flipped out.

That night Brownie was invited to his place for a sleepover, and he'll have even more adventures over the weekend since Alex is planning to take him camping in Flagstaff. 

Wednesday morning I got to Busy Bees a half hour early to help the ladies unload boxes and boxes of Garol Olson's goodies and unpack them.  We lost Carol to cancer this year, and all of her fabric (and other stuff from her sewing room) was available for the taking.  It rained fairly hard on my drive there, but happily was only sprinkling when I pulled into the parking lot.  (Monica had not been so lucky; she had gotten drenched minutes earlier!)  I donated $100 for what I brought home with me (including several bags of scraps for Jessica once the ladies had finished "shopping".)  We all were saying the same thing, that we didn't 'need' any more fabric.  But pretty sure everyone went home with something! 

All fabric left over (and there were at least half a dozen large cartons crammed full) went to another group that makes a lot of charity quilts.  Those ladies were scheduled to arrive at 11:30 to cart off their newfound wealth.

After lunch (when I finished up my gift card at Panini's) I popped over to the WalMart pharmacy to see about scheduling the newest Covid booster; I'd like to be as protected as possible when I fly to Maryland next month. I'd already tried to do it over the phone (nope), and then on-line (still nope.)

 While I still wasn't able to make an appointment (because the serum had just come in and was still packed; they were waiting on an e-mail to confirm it had been kept that the proper temperature during shipping) I assumed I would be able to do that today!

Yesterday was a very productive afternoon of weeding, because between Tuesday's irrigation and then the later rains the ground was very forgiving.  I filled about 1/3 of the green can, only quitting when my back started talking to me.  Later it rained hard for at least 15 minutes, so on my way to check the mail I ended up doing even more weeding.  Gotta take full advantage of the soggy ground!

Yesterday I also got the confirmation I was awaiting from Dan, that he'd received a package note in his mailbox.  (That was a relief; over the years I've heard too many horror stories of quilts being lost in the mail!)   I'm definitely excited to hear how he likes it! 

Got my package slip yesterday, hope to get by PO tomorrow to pick it up. Excited to see!

Alex swung by for dinner (Tom had made yummy chicken) and "fixed" the printer ... meaning that with him simply standing next to it the printer did its thing with no problem.  At least I was able to print up the newest Foothills roster, and also the ADL scholarhip letter.

Once it got light out this morning (I was up way too early again) I was off to do some more weeding.  Got LOTS more pulled (between irrigation and then rain it's still easy) before I finally had to shower and get ready for the gym. While I was out there our new pool person, Jose, came to service the pool and figured out why Creepy hasn't been happy; one of the hoses had a leak.  So we replaced that tube and (maybe) that'll keep him happy for a while...

Another late start at the gym.  Sure do miss Jim's promptness (among other things.)

Dan got his quilt, and absolutely loves it!  Here's part of his e-mail:

Whoa! Wow! Wowser! Holy Schmomboli! Bobbi! The Ribbit Riot is amazing! I can't believe you spent all that time making me a quilt. I'm in awe and so pleased. I love the frog images. I love the jaunty squares. I love the blue and purple and of course the green. I'm so happy Terry will be here on Monday to see it so we can marvel at it together. Thank you for the washing instructions although I suspect I'll be so darn careful with it that it'll never need washing!  I can't thank you enough Bobbi. A true work of art. I am forever in awe of you and that is now beyond your Wordle prowess!

Also on tap today was a visit from the plumber.  The very unhappy hose bib/pipe out back, which leaked buckets whenever we turned it on, is now fixed, and the master bathroom has a new toilet.  Luckily Cameron was outside getting a tool from his truck when I went to empty a bucket of weeds into the trash can - and there was a HUGE spider on the inside of the lid.  (HE even commented on how big it was.)  I have more weeds to put in there, but am a little gun shy at the moment.

Sometime today Brownie will get a bath so he'll be a less-aromatic tent-mate for Alex (and the cleaners can clean up the mess that's always left behind when they come tomorrow.) 

Tried to schedule the booster shot - but they still haven't gotten the OK and said to call back tomorrow. 

I had hoped to organize at least some of the fabric that came home with me yesterday, but between my headache and lack of sleep that is going to have to wait.

Going to post before I get behind again.  One of these days I'll be back to posting pix.

Things were BUSY BUSY BUSY after I got home from Colorado on September 1st, and (once again) when I got a few days behind I just kept putting off posting.  So now it's been over two weeks!  

The hibiscus and duranta that I planted in my large blue birthday containers have been doing well, though it did take a while to decide where they should live on the front porch.  Now that they've been moved several times I think I've figured it out.

On Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, I was back to playing Catch up.  My first chiro visit (after all the digging/rock hauling at the hot springs) went well.  In fact we were both surprised at how little adjusting I needed.  

On the way home I stopped at PT (the ladies at the front desk were happy to see me once we confirmed that I had NOT relapsed and come in for additional treatment.  I'd gotten a zillion-page printout from "them", listing all my sessions (there were over 85!)  The box at the top of the first page, listed "Payment Due", was blank, and as I leafed through the pages there were zeroes in all of the last columns where it showed what I owed.  So it was a good thing I actually leafed through and took a peek at the last page - because it turned out that it showed a charge of $213.64 'owing'.  After they checked it turned out to be something about my Deduction, and I was more than willing to pay it - but we all agreed that there should have been something in that empty box on the first page.

Then it was a stop at the gym to (maybe) clear up some things with (latest Trainor Supervisor) Vee.

That afternoon I was headed to the bankto deposit a check at the ATM, and got as far as the driveway (very short trip for Brownie...) when I remembered that I was awaiting my new debit card since the old one had beenhacked.  Happily it arrived in the mail that afternoon.

On Wednesday morning I was the sole 'student' for Betsy.  At least I had some of my pieces made, and was ready to learn about the next steps.  That afternoon I showed up for my appointment with the eye surgeon (and yes, I ended up there for over 3 hours with all the tests.)  It didn't start out well; when I walked in the guy at the front desk wanted me to fill out a bunch of paperwork.  Since I had printed up the forms, filled them out, and driven them over in early August and I handed them directly to him I became a little cranky <G> to learn that had been lost.  Then, when I was leaving, he wanted me to fill out yet another form, and when I told him I had done that already with Tierra (when we were setting up the surgery there was a massive amount of paperwork to complete) he said, "That's a different department."  

On the plus side I am scheduled to do my left (and worse) eye on Tuesday, Sept. 27, and the surgery office is conveniently very close, at I-17 and Greenway. 

I managed to finish the last little bit of Ella Minnow Pea before that evening's Zoom, when I led the discussion.  Everyone really liked the book except for Lisa G, who was ambivilent.  All 3 books for next time sounded good, and we let Terry pick. So it'll be Once There Were Wolves, which I got in a very timely manner from the library.  And though I actually started it (and it starts out well) I've set it aside for a bit so I can read it closer to the meeting date.

Irrigation (which arrived on time, just as Book Club was starting so I "let" Tom and Alex deal with it) went well.

Thursday I was up early, and as soon as it was light outside hit the post-irrigation weedathon.  Tom left for Oregon around 7:30, and assured me he would be home before my scheduled eye surgery.  But just in case Life intervened I  arranged for Carol to be a back-up driver.

I was at the gym on time for my initial training session with Brock, and (gee, what a surprise) there was another snafu and it didn't happen.  At least I had energy to give Brownie a much-needed bath before the cleaners came on Friday.

That night I was up during the night with a very unpleasant headache that made me nauseated and pretty miserable.  After the cleaners left I had my haircut appt and then popped over to TOQS Bag Day for binding fabric and then the hardware store to pick up a hook for Alex to hang before he took off (new birdfeeder on the way) but was extremely glad to get home and be miserable.

The weekend was a bit of a blur; I really despise those 3-day headaches, and glad they don't occur any more frequently than they do!  Eventually got some relief after I made some matzoh ball/chicken soup, and got the binding made/attached, and halfway hand-stitched while I watched a movie about the USS Indianapolis (which I first learned about from the movie Jaws.)  Even did some trimming and raking so all cans could go out full on Monday, and did not enjoy the muggy weather!

Did watch the 9/11 coverage all afternoon, and many of the segments concerned a lot of things 'discovered' over the past two decades, such as how they had side-stepped many of the safety protocols during construction of the towers.  

Sunday morning I awoke with no headache YAY fell back asleep, and slept in until 8:00!!!  

Because I wanted to make stir fry for dinner and needed some things I made a trip to the grocery store - and coming in from the garage I took another 'trip' on that step.   No clue how I managed not to actually fall, and with everyone gone it could have been  really, really bad!

In the afternoon I finished the binding except for the tail, which I saved to do in the morning when I eould be fresher.  I'd finished up Marilyn's thread (did have another spool in reserve,)

Did manage to load the Uber app "all by myself", and even connect it to the credit card (though that part was harder than it should have been.

In the early evening we got a HARD rain, accompannied by strong winds which knocked a huge limb off one of the trees along the center ditch.  It landed on Alex's hammock, but incredibly didn't seem to damage it.  He has been resistant to having those trees trimmed - but that's a prime example of why it absolutely needs to be done!  Last winter the crew was here for two days but we still didn't have time for the ditch trees.  This year that will be near the top of the list!  When the exterminator was here on that Monday he lifted it off (at my request) but it was WAY too heavy for me to drag of our bulk trash staging area.  

I took advantage of the rain to weed areas that don't get irrigation; not only does that make mowing easier with 'just' grass, but keeps the property from looking abandoned.  When it was time to come in from the Back 40, Brownie decided to lie down (and cool off?) in a mud puddle.  So guess who got to be rinsed off on the top step of the pool?

I grabbed a shower of my own, and then headed to the dentist for a routine cleaning.  That was when Molly noticed a sizeable chip (and cracks) on one tooth, though happily it hadn't given me any pain and I'd been totally unaware.  When the doc checked it turns out I do need a crown, but etween my schedule and his finding a date was not easy. and we ended up having to schedule that proceduere for the morning after my cataract surgery.

I thought Alex was gone, but it turned out that he'd post-poned his trip a day so we ended up going out for a belated birthday dinner at Carrabba's that evening.  I wanted to skip birthday cake (I was having my blood drawn the following day and didn't want to be 'contaminated' with sugar) but he inisted I get the Chocolate Dream and bring it home to eat afterward.  So I did.

Monday evening/night we got more rain, so I was back out weeding Tuesday morning.

Had my first session with Brock, and it did go well.  (Of course the actual trainers were never the issue, just the lack of continuity.)  Then it was a quick trip to Winco 'next door' because I needed fruit for Foothills snacks the next day.

Once I had my blood draw I had cake for lunch - and polished off the entire piece.  The bird feeder did arrive, so I filled that up and hung it.  It is a nice addition to the fifth window - but the song birds have not found it.  Guess it'll just be ornamental as opposed to functional

I was zooming around on Wednesday, cutting up fruit, and "forgot" that I'd brought my bag to sew the label and finish the binding tail that I'd joined during the business part of the meeting.  At least I remembered it for Show & Tell - and everyone loved it.

In the afternoon I tried to get a new screen protector at Verizon.  The one near hear doesn't carry the one I'd gotten, and sent me to Corporate (75 & Bell) where of coure I'd been near that morning.  First the guy had to get me signed up with the life-time warranty; luckily I'd been able to put my hands on the paperwork easily. But no matter how many times he tried, at the same point in the procedure he ran into a problem.

On the plus side, The Container Store was next door, and I was able to get a drawer organizer for 'that' jumbled kitchen drawer.  It's now in great shape, with things things easily findable.  I look forward to Tom to 'discovering ' it once he starts cooking.  (Last night I grilled salmon, accompanied by rice and steamed broccoli and cauliflower, which was GREATLY appreciated by him.)

Thursday morning I was hard at it, with hours of yardwork including the labor-intensive job of trimming the deck.  The real shocker was that I was actually looking forward to going to the gym later that morning.  There was a mix-up on the time <sigh> so I was half an hour early and used that time to work out on my own!  It then felt very good that I needed Brock to up weights during my time with him.

In the afternoon I drove Wanda to her chiro appointment.  She feels guilty about asking for rides, but I truly don't mind.  As I've told her, I'll tell her if I can't do it (like on Tuesday, when I was slammed with other appointments.)

On Friday morning I was getting the quilt ready to mail to Dan and wanted to print up the washing instructions.  So of course the printer was out of ink, necessitating a run to Target when they opened at 8:00.  But then I couldn't get the old cartridges out, and was afriad to push/pull too hard and break the plastic holder.  So I wrote out the instructions by hand.

Then I ran out of tape wrapping the box, so instead of going to the hardware store after mailing the package I swung by first (and also picked up a scraper to replace the one that disappeared the other day when I was working on the driveway.)  I was pleasantly surprised that priority postage for the box didn't cost more than it did, and happy that I'd made it in before the post office guy came by for pick up that morning.  It should arrive in NM any day now!

On the way home I stopped in at at yard sale (house is up for sale, and met Gail) where I picked up some anti-peach balls for next Spring.  Then I stopped to visit with Joy, who was just finishing up weeding her ditch (I was GOING to do that with my new tool, which I showed her I'd just bought.)  We scheduled a tutorial for Saturday.

Saturday morning I took Brownie for a walk (he was thrilled) and bumped into Dave taking his dog for a walk.  That's when I first learned of Neva's car accident; she'd been T-boned by a red-light-runner almost a year ago, resulting in 11broken bones, and is still doing rehab.  Luckily everyone (she had the grandkids with her) was belted, and the side air-bags saved the kids from serious injury.

While I was doing major electic trimming out front (the bushes outside the bedrooms sure grow like weeds) Stuart rode by, and I was able to thank him for mowing our strips.  Then Joy appeared, and we did her vinegar tutorial.  After that she came over to admire my plants, and I potted the rooted pothos for her.  Then more yardwork, finishing up around noon.  Of course I did take frequent rest/water breaks.

Sunday afternoon I ran three errands, all basically within a mile of the house (and with Brownie excited to be riding shotgun.) I was happy to drop off 3 bags at Kathi's, and a bunch of stuff at Savers, clearing shelves in the laundry room and the table in the garage.  Once it cools off more (yes, I know it'll 'officially' be Fall in a few days, but...) I will again attack the rest of the garage.

I've also been doing serious clean out of some file cabinet drawers.  All financial, bank, and credit card card statements needed to be shredded (and it's too embarrassing to mention how many YEARS some of those went back) and then I got started on outdated house/car insurance paperwork.  Filled many bags (which went out yesterday) before I killed the shredder.

Since Tom decided to skip his visit to Carlo's in Idaho he would be returning sooner than expected.  I thought I would have a few more days to finish up some projects (a couple of which needed Alex's final touches, and he's still out of town.)  So Monday morning there was a serious push to finish up some projects.  Tom arrived tired and dirty - and very glad to be done with the 2-day drive.  

Monday morning I had a routine visit with the oncologist - and have "graduated"!  On the way home I swung by Emissions to have the car tested (it passed) and didn't have to wait at all.  Quick stop at the store for a few items for dinner, and then a little more putzing around the house before Tom got home.

Rain last night (of course - we're getting irrigation around noon) so I did a bit more yardwork.  Was a bit worried when I came in and saw that I had a message from Brock - but he simply wanted to push back today's session half an hour.

Not going to proof-read or add pix - just want to get this posted!

 Once again I've fallen behind, and with a crazy week ahead of me I'd better try to catch up or it might never happen!

Last Tuesday, on my last night at the hot springs, it was yet another 'party' when Richard and Elinor joined us for my farewell dinner.  Afterwards, we had no problem polishing off my scrumptious chocolate/raspberry birthday cake!

Wednesday morning Terry woke Hilda early and we got her ready for her trip into town for her appointment with the derm pathologist.  She was supposed to have the fast-growing skin cancer on her face removed before my arrival, but that appointment had to be cancelled at the last minute when the office came down with Covid.  I got used to seeing it, but it looked pretty bad, with open wounds draining at times.

After they headed to town I took a final soak in the Apple Pool.  One guy starting talking about his trips to Havasu Falls with his daughter, so of course <g> I had to mention living/teaching in Supai back in the 70s, right?

On the way back to the house I bumped into Doug (who approved of the most recent roadwork I did), then took a shower and packed the car, and headed out.  I did make a quick stop at Elinor & Richard's (got to see the antelope herd enjoying a meal in the neighboring alfalfa field) for another round of hugs,  and then I was off.

I was only half an hour into my drive, just the other side of Saguache, when I almost got "up close and personal" with a semi (glad I have good brakes) which really got my heart pumping!  

Happily the rest of my drive was much less stressful!

I stopped in Pagosa Springs for gas, lunch (at Subway, where I had a delightful 'run-in' with a group of polite teenagers), and a stop at Colorado Gifts where once again I found some excellent gifts. (Hope Alex will get a laugh at Chanukah from a book I found for him.)

I did make it to Durango by 4:00 as planned, hoping to find some goodies at the quilt store... but

Sadly it's no longer a quilt store.  Sigh...  

From the parking lot I took the opportunity to call Terry and get the scoop on Hilda's surgery.  I was extremely relieved to hear that she did well (despite the surgeon having to dig deeply to get everything out) and even felt up to having some lunch when she got home. This was the pic Terry sent me.

Then it was on to Cortez, where 'my' motel still had no internet.  I was surprised, but turns out it's more than just changing providers; they need to lay all sorts of new cables.

The next day I made it to Flagstaff by noon.  Driving in I was treated to views of incredible fields of sunflowers (wish there had been a good place to pull over and stop for a photo op), as well as the results of recent serious flooding.  Gassed up (and when clearing my screen, as I always do when I fill up) I "somehow" accessed a screen that (in ten years) I had never seen before!  

After several unsuccessful attempts to get back to some of the 'regular' displays 

I ended up turning off the car and restarting it.

Grabbed a chocolate shake for lunch <g> before getting back on the road, and arrived home around 2-ish.  After hearing the dire heat-related weather reports I was expecting more heat, but it was only 104. (The day before it had been 111, so I lucked out.)

Brownie, as expected, was overjoyed to see me.

I managed to get unpacked, did some laundry (mostly Tom's), and glanced at the mail (nothing that couldn't wait until the next day.)

Friday morning I was back to my regular schedule, and worked in the yard until about 10.  Once I showered I got busy, and started by opening my mail.  There seemed to be a suspicious $100 debit from my checking account, so I checked into it.  It was made at a SuperCenter WalMart (where I don't shop, and had no receipt) so I called the bank.  Since the debit card is still in my possession we don't know how someone 'tapped' it there, but I wonder if someone 'scanned' it from my wallet when passing by me.  

As of that call the card has been cancelled and a new one is on its way.  So in less than a month both my VISA credit card and my BoA debit card have been hacked.

The rest of Friday was spent with more pleasurable endeavors.  I whipped up this cat block (for Barb's thank you as out-going Foothills president) using some cat fabric from my stash.

I stayed busy much of the day, puttering around with this and that.  Ordered some gifts (after this morning's text with Marilyn I know she'll love her birthday gift... too bad I have to wait until March to give it to her!)  

Also put in Brownie's next food order from Chewy, which this time included the bird feeder to hang under the eave and give me something to view from my recliner through the 'last' window. 

Of course the five food items are on the way, but the bird feeder will be arriving separately.

I let Brownie try out his new 'smelly' toy, from Karen.

Mine, it's mine!

Eventually connected with Lisa, and got to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

"Somehow" I stayed busy puttering until 3:00 - and then vegged for the rest of the day.

Saturday I was up early, and got in lots of yardwork, mostly hand-trimming out front.  Should have worn gloves, and raised a large blister to show for my work.  But at least all three cans will go out full on Monday (they always pick-up, even on holidays.)

Tom came out and wanted to get me started on my birthday gifts, which turned out to be in his truck in the driveway.  They included two LARGE blue planters (we need to also go pick up flowers to plant in them, part of my gift.) 

He had also gotten a replacement bird block, though when he came back from Costco yesterday I asked if he had gotten one, and he said no.

Instead of lying, he could have just said, "It wasn't on the list."

After I finished in the yard (and took a much-needed shower) I opened more gifts.  One had come in an Amazon package a few days earlier, and guessing (correctly, as it turns out) that it was not wrapped I waited to open it.

There was no paperwork in the package, but I guessed (also correctly) that it had come from Sandy ("and Andy") since I've been sharing this year's calendar pages with her and Pippa.

Marilyn's (four!) gifts had been waiting patiently in the gift closet for several months.  The first three were pretty perfect...

Great tee -

Happy dog notepads -

and a convenient wallet for when I don't want to schlep around a purse.

The final gift, however, remained uncracked; my "excuse" was I needed to dash off to pick up Wanda for our day of fun, but in truth I knew that even cartoon illustrations would likely make my skin crawl!

Wanda and I started off at The Other Quilt Store, where I picked up the light and dark grays I needed for the Bee quilt.  (Also treated myself to a couple of other goodies.)  While I was there Marilyn called to wish me a Happy Birthday.  She did find it amusing that I hadn't (yet) been brave enough to peek inside the book.

Next stop was 35th Ave., where I found some delicious fabric that Wanda and I are going to share.  And did send Marilyn a pic of these 'cute' spiders from the Halloween projects display there.

 

Wanda treated me to lunch at Panini's, where instead of my usual healthy salad-type lunch I pigged out on pastrami and rye; it'd looked so good going to another customer last time we lunched there.  And I went all-out bad, getting the french fries for my side. (Plus I did come home with a container of her fudge.)

Our last stop was the hardware store to get a bolt to fix the knob on her little rollator.  (The larger one we had to use that day isn't nearly as convenient.)  And while the bolt itself is perfect, when we got back to her place we discovered that the screw got hung up where the threads ended, and it needs something different.  She has since ordered one on-line, so will hope that turns out to be the answer.

Andy and Sandy called to wish me a Happy Birthday, and we enjoyed our chat while they were cooking dinner.  We're all looking forward to my visit next month!

While I was at the quilt store Lisa had texted to see if it was a good time to chat (not really) but once I got home I let her know I was 'available'.  When she called I got to hear the story about the fromme woman at the hotel when she was Back East recently for Lila's wedding.

I know Alex would have called - but he didn't have reception at Burning Man.  He gets home tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to hearing all about his adventures!

Yesterday morning I was doing more yardwork when my eyes really started to sting.  I thought it was simply from sweat dripping into my eyes, but even after I came inside and rinsed them with cold water, and then took a shower and let the cool water run on my face, the burn just wouldn't stop.  

I was pretty miserable for an hour (or two!), and even the 'fancy' eye drops I got from the opthamologist recently didn't help much.  NO idea what the issue was; I've trimmed that monster bush a zillion times since it grows almost as fast as bamboo and have never had a problem before!

In the afternoon I tackled the BEE project -

and so I should be ready for the next step at Busy Bees on Wednesday.

And speaking of Wednesday, that will be a bit of a crazy day...

I have Betsy's BEE class in the morning (when I will get Dan's frog quilt back from Monica), my several-hour appointment with the eye surgeon starts at 1:00 (so if I want to squeeze in some lunch I may have to skip out of class early), book club is at 6:00 (I'm leading this month's discussion on Ella Minnow Pea but haven't re-read the book yet, so that's on today's agenda!), and irrigation is scheduled to arrive at 5:58 (it's a day "late" because of the holiday today.)

Now that Tom's had his morning coffee we are getting ready to head off for my flowers.  After we get back and I get them planted I see a reading marathon... but at least it's a quick read!