May to September.

Much time spent in cooler climes. Playing catch up in garden needs, bird feeding, golfing and bridge buddies to update and schedule playtimes. Birthdays and anniversaries speeding by too fast and the body is moving slower. Taking advantage of grandson's special knowledge of Apple for the 21st century and newer mortgage rates. Are we busy or what? Books and more books to read. Gravitating toward historical novels and tales which cover historic periods.. Cruisin and traveling not lite but heavier thanks to all the gourmet meals. Shopping and fixin whatnots and flower pots and promising sales. So much to do and so little time. Reviewing facebook and granddaughters blogs to get up to date on the latest. And then there are always the newest magazines with the newest styles, ideas and current news. My goodness! Got to plan Fritz's 2nd birthday with a dog costume party on Halloween, his birthday. Next Thanksgiving and then Christmas and a lot of family birthdays in between. Help Ava! There is just too much to do!

Golfing in the Cool

Yes it is that time when I need to work on my game to see if I can improve. I join the ladies tomorrow at 11:00 or thereabouts. This mountain course is so beautiful with surrounding pines, ponds and stunning homes. One of the most beautiful courses I have ever played. You could say it is not difficult until you end up putting. I swear I haven't had one good putt yet ! One has to remember the ultimate goal is improvement. That thought is one of the motivations. And then you can meet the most interesting people who also can think of nothing more fun to do than to hit and chase the little white ball.

And what else do we do......let's see, play bridge. Usually low hands and low scores but today the small slam made and bid was memorable. Ed was not my partner, of course. Something about our Karma means our hands never never fit. I get high he gets low or vice a versus. Then the other thing we do is to not communicate. Generally it may be a good idea if couples do not play as a team. No matter what, you still have to go home together and reprocessing bids and miscommunication doesn't add up to a good evening.

Visited a restaurant tonight with family that has been in this area since 1976. No disappointment there. I can never remember, even in years past of ever having a bad meal. This evening was no exception. Wonderful food, good waiter, good company=an outstanding time for all.

Monsoon Months

Yesterday the afternoon rains made everyone run for cover. Ed didn't get to finish the 9th hole. The puddles don't last long in the summer heat, so it is a refreshing break. I have four good friends from southern Utah in town so we have been bridging and dining out. Such a fun summer. I didn't play golf today. A little achy this morning but maybe Ed will take me this afternoon. If the rain doesn't come.

Need to get some new books. Recent picks have been big let down drivels. Yuck! Well I do have a Faulkner classic SANCTUARY. Possible I have read it before but a good reread is better than shmuck. Bridge tonight with buddies.

60's remembered

We were so lucky to get tickets to see the Hair production at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City. We had not seen it before although we were acquainted with the music. Such a turmoil those days, drugs, the Viet Nam war, the draft. Sexual revolution of sorts and the beginning of so much open communication in Theatre and writing. I wonder where all the hippies went. It is a remarkable time in our history which the musical deftly presents. Hair was such a symbol of rebellion against the status quo. Shocking for men to have long curls and pony tails. I loved it. A fun evening of memories of those days. Great production and performers. Bravo Egyptian!

Summer Park In the Mountain Cool

We are keeping sooo busy. Joined the local bridge group at the Senior Center and the local women's golf league which is great fun.
Many occasions to eat and visit with friends and family. Keeping up on the news both locally and international. Reading POLAND BY MICHENER. He was born in Poland and has provided a historically based novel. Not easy reading but so much information about Europe and the turmoil over the centuries to maintain borders, independence and life. Although it makes our quibbles seem rather trivial the participants are much similar to today's struggles. I would like to visit Poland which must be a beautiful country. We have been to countries which surround their borders but I never realized how much these borders have changed.

I suppose I am most impressed by the people and their love of country. Everyone wants their own space and right to a good life. this novel is rather lengthy and having completed the read I would like to keep it. Our country is so young in comparison. Perhaps we will have an opportunity to visit Poland. Maybe it will go on my bucket list. So many places to see, just limits of time and money which become more real every day. Love being home though with grandkids & babes and bros and sis. Nothing quite like family and friends you have known all your life. And Fritz and his doggy cousins seem to love the time to play.

Park City Pleasure

Early morning and the sun is just beginning to light up the pine trees. Cool 4th of July for the Furias and Fritz. Early walks on mountain trails mark the beginnings of our days, A few blasts of firecrackers broke the calm of the 3rd night but we were tucked in. Fritz gave a snort or two but overall I think we are a laid back group for this holiday.

Checking in with blogs my day begins reviewing glorious shots of new babies. These are the products of my beautiful, smart babes--my granddaughters who are producing the best and the finest of the next generation. We experienced a barbecue to end all barbecues this week. Three little boys in place and one charming young lady trying to help tend them all.
Our family gatherings are growing and the Grandmom is somehow managing to bring them all in closer and warmer. It would be too much except that the kisses and hugs are sweet and one cannot get enough of that in a lifetime.

Then too, there are my own brothers, sister and friends. All doing well tending to business, families and aging concerns. We have so much to get caught up on and an entire summer in which to enjoy and love their company. I am so lucky!

Prairie Dogs & fairways

Saturday was the day to join the Invitational for Ladies Golf at Cedar Ridge in Cedar City, Utah. I volunteered to fill in for someone who had needed to drop out due to illness. Ed, being the kind man and dedicated golfer that he is, offered to go to the golf course with me on Thursday to get acquainted with the course which has expanded to 18 holes from the previous nine that I had played. It had been years ago last played but Cedar City is a good 10 or 12 degrees cooler than St. George.

The setting is gorgeous against the green high mountains and red cliffs. The thing is that I had read a book by Terry Tempest Williams who discussed prairie dogs in southern Utah and those in the Cedar City area as well as those near Bryce Canyon. Someone had told me also that if a golf ball was lost in a hole, the golfer got a free drop. The day that Ed and I played we donated a lot of balls but I could not blame the prairie dogs. Just the golfers.
There has been some controversy over land development up there versus prairie dog protected environments. Some sort of truce must exist with golfers because I counted as many as sixteen burroughs and dogs on one hole. They are kind of cute. The dogs stand up or just lounge around looking at the carts. They also eye the balls and I believe they have been known to take a view. I am surprised we didn't see any snakes although we did see ravens and eagles circling in the sky.

The Saturday open included about a hundred women, some of whom braved road construction on I-15 to get there. All in all it was a wonderful time for everyone. Good food, good company and for some good golf, door prizes and wins. I think the golf pro, John Evans, a very nice gentlemen, was kidding when he said our low net of 54 was the record for the course. I wish I could win by gross scores so that my friends wouldn't accuse me of sandbagging. But a win is a win and the ladies in our foursome were in mid-seventies to middle eighties and still playing which deserves some praise. It was wonderful to find people who can laugh at errors, prairie dogs and good jokes and make a few pars while they are at it.

Summertime and the Living

Well so many desert dwellers have left for the mountains and the seas I have increased my reading quotient. For whatever I have been studying the rise and fall of empires, Romans, Greece, Mesopotamia, Eygpt etc. We in our travels have seen so much left of these civilizations in archeological museums. It is a wonder that these populations have left so much to be studied and to wonder at. Our own country is relatively new but powerful, and we have been a force for democrasy just as Greece was. It seems we have tried to make changes in so many countries whose politics have been in turmoil since the time of the Greeks. Right now I am in the middle of a book about the Athenian navy which really caused their expansion and began a movement upward for the common man. Seems like they also turned their backs on leaders who had served them well but then became unpopular and were ostracized. Yet we all have common basic needs.

Today got away from all that and went to golf. Just me and a club and a ball and the various worries that torment many of us on the fairways and greens. At least these are troubles that I can work on. Perhaps not change, But work on. With others who have similar interests and needs. Next item to work on dog training with new gentle leader leash and new training hints video, Going to see How to Train a Dragon this afternoon to see if that gives us any ideas about approaching our schnauzer Fritz or at least developing a sense of humor about same. After that some bridge and maybe we should learn to play chess. I once did that as a form of therapy with brain damaged children but now that my own brain is becoming damaged and wearing out, I don't know how much if any I remember.
Also I'd like to see some large outdoor chess games in parks like we saw in Europe. I don't know why they haven't emerged here. Maybe chess pieces could be made out of recycled materials or something.......Maybe.........

All For the Birds

We just got our warning butterflies on the window facing North today. Exactly one day short and too late for the mourning dove that crashed and died yesterday. It happens every summer because the birds get flying and just don't know it is a window. It really makes us sad. Usually those mourning doves fly in a swift flock south toward the Santa Clara river. This one must have been trying to catch up.

Following our return and on warm days Fritz has been enjoying a sunbath on the back patio. I had noticed that one or two large birds were circling now and then. As one got closer I could see the white feather tips and realized it was an Eagle. Fritz at less than l2 pounds could be a promising tid bit, so I ran him into the house. I also have been maintaining a closer watch on his ins and outs because he has these two doggie doors now. Anyway seems one of my neighbors had sighted an eagle nest and two adult eagles flying back and forth, apparantly feeding young. Well more recently a young eaglet was rescued off the highway below us after a raven was harassing it. Wild life rescue came and got him. They said the young birds sometime get overly tired learning to fly and just set down. I will try to attach pictures.

Cookies In The Jar

Rainy morning spent baking Amerettis. Modification of gluten free recipe and beginning of banana pudding recipe. Experiments with not using flour and cutting the sugar content is rather fun. Amazing to think of all the different flours you can make. Also now trying blue agave syrup in coffee. Whatever works because the aging body does not appear to be metabolizing as well these days. As Hope says, We have now come to the tuck and roll part of our lives instead of "rock and roll." But there are so many new things to try these days that one would really have to work at being bored. Another benefit of cookie baking is that you sort of forget the horrible oil spill and the drowning birds, suffocating shrimp and crab and other fish. Lord if we keep it up Popeye won't even be able to eat his spinach.

So I got out my old cookie jar saved for lo these many, many years. A gift from a small boy and girl about 50 years ago on Mother's Day. A bit of nostalgia on a cloudy day. Visits by cell with daughter and sister and reviews of emails blogs & Facebook. Oh so far away yet so close its a contradiction. Everyone is so over connected that it should be a time for this planet to be glowing with love and caring for all that we humans have achieved and what we can further be. And yet, as the song says "so far away" doesn't anybody care any more?
I was going to read The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire until I realized it was six volumes and was written by Gibbons in the 1800s. Substituted reading on the rise and fall of other empires, Mesopotamia, Greece, Roman and Egyptian, So many years and yet so far away. Probably woman have always been baking cookies or trying to reach a few hearts and get a few smiles.

Fabulous Fritz, The Desert Dog

He did it. Walked into the wading pool and scarfed up all the treats waiting in a bowl. Learning is an expensive proposition for the mini-schnauzer. His dog doors are working but he now knows we will help, even pay for him to go in and out. Schmart Schnauzer this pup. At the rate he is gaining treats and knowledge we could send him to college.

Spent all morning downloading 845 picts from the Rhine, Moselle River and Luzerne Switzerland region. We did the same thing at Cosco yesterday but they confused our disc with someone elses which we did not learn until we got home. So I have to go back to my tacky techy skills. I love Apple Steve Jobs, but I have an aging forgetful brain. If I get better at this I may share some of our photos. I will do a slideshow for DVD copies and get a few pics on my blog. Maybe. The ravishing Rachel is so talented at that. Lovely Lisa too, but she is involved with another project just now. They make me feel so lazy.
They are producing the fourth generation of smart kids besides other spectaculor and amazing accomplishments. In old age, you don't rest on your own laurels so to speak, you just bask in your grandkids. Of course I take first credit for their Mom. She is a top notch attorney, mom and grandmother, a marvelous cook, a creative program developer and an awsome gardner, besides being a caring, supportive daughter.

So many things to be grateful for. Ed, of course caps it all. Busily checking the drip system, the budget and bills, the social schedule:golf, bridge etc. and etc. Our days are fun and full.

Hot Spot

Cool nites & mornings save us all. Walking follows a fragrant trail among the spectacular desert orchid trees, the cactus blooms. In the shadow of red mountain the developers are digging, new people are coming and new roads transverse the desert sage. Mixtures in emotion not to be selfish but water is scarce and eternal beauties cannot be replaced.
Fritz, the timid shnauzer, has to be coaxed through his new dog doors. I think he always followed other dogs when they were using theirs. Who thought he would want someone to push the way. Food is an entizer. I also am trying to get him in his wading pool. Treats floating in a dish get his interest but he is definitely not a water dog. His most fun game is catching house spiders and watching the lizards until they move. He likes his walks along the desert trails with us but I know he misses his doggie cousins and the romping that took place every day. Consequently his watch duty has increased and he is taking good care of us. Oh the fierce barking he can do. I hope he calms down before I get out my water pistol. He is such a loving guy I hate to splash him. It is good to be home.

Summertime

Stormy sky with some wind tossing the silver sage around but my red sage is smilin, yellow roses bloomin, cactus buds out, and temps up to the 80s. No one in these parts moans about rain. Unless we golf. Which Monday and Tuesday we did with enthusiasm if not with aplomb. Last of the season competition for our club and I will miss my buddies of the green and the guys in the pro shop who put up with us. Such fun and so many laughs we have had. At our age or any age, you have to giggle as your best intentions end up in disaster. On a 3 par hole my partner got 22. Unbelievable until you lose your cool and the club reflects your every twinge and anxious stab to get out of a horrible situation. What is the relief? None from the rules. In a tournie you just have to keep trying. Again and Again. You laugh! You show ultimate courage and show up to play again another day. You get respect and understanding from your golfing buddies because there but for the grace of the golf gods go I. You gotta love it!

Closer to Perfection

The garden of eden was perfect I hear. Only a snake or two and ours is similar but we have seen no snakes. More than a few lizards. Spring always brings a planting frenzy and then there is the pruning, weeding, and getting the drip system going. Our native plant payoff is starting to show this year with Mesquite, Desert Willow, Acatia and Cypress trees only needing deep water about once a month. So the book says. We have also installed a couple of gates near the patio and a section of fence which we are hoping is dog proof. Thus far Fritz hasn't hopped the rock wall and respects the gates but we have yet to face the running rabbit test. I am good for about two hours on the garden detail. That depends on the sun, lack of wind and reasonable warmth. Also it can't be a golf day. Slowly we move toward perfection. Eden in Kayenta.

Spring

Soft breezes blowing whiffy clouds across the red sands. All cacti bow to the sun giving rise to buds and blossoms. Achy bones bow to cheat grass wedging its way among legit resting flora. Dog loves it most of all. Running bezerk and barking at new bunnies and birds nesting and eating our lot. Quiet life this. Reading books, golfing, cards and movies and friends. Who said "Grow old with me. The best is yet to be". And God, if he or she be, is in the beauty of children, grandchildren and memories of a life well and fully lived. We are so lucky!

Windswept

Ed finally got the front walk clear. The wind banged all night but it is good to see the sun and to feel the springtime warmth. We have our area weed free in front but given the wetness this year there will be much to do to get the cheat grass around the yard. The dog loves being outside but sleeps in the sun most of the time. When we returned it was as if we had come to a spectacular desert resort. Kayenta is so beautiful! Miss family but nothing beats home. We had so much fun with Rachel, Ava, Slade and Cruz. Seems as if they grow so fast and we will miss seeing them every day. Can't wait to hear about Ireland and Mexico. No blogs as yet. Was happenen?

Sandbagging

We no doubt will be accused if we got a low score in the scramble but sometimes the golf gods smile. Sometimes they don't. More often in fact. But I told my partner Janet that we are out there and that is what is important and sometimes miracles occur and the little ball finds its way down to the hole. This is probably our fifth or sixth tournie together. We have won some and lost some but always supported one another which is the fun of the game. Friendship, getting older, swinging a little slower but laughing all the way. So cold today that we were bundled like Eskimos. And windy, so that you were lucky if your ball went 50 feet. But in the end we were done with 18 holes behind us. We survived even if we did not conquer.

Movin in March

Not really to anywhere else. Just into spring cleaning and disposing of winter clutter. The Oscar's and some movies broke the routine. So much graciousness and caring of others in the ceremony although it was long and tedious for those of us not into the background workings. A little different format than generally. a few innocent jabs and then a few not so innocent. Dress design was elaborate. Ed was not impressed. Most of those things end up in a museum anyway. We have yet to see the Hurt Locker. Don't remember it being in St. George. With so many nominations it would be difficult to see all. Precious took me back to my working days. So sad but so true and more often than anyone would like to believe. such a tragedy! Next bet. Oprah goes for an award as another female director, deserving an oscar. And I found out Clooney is still not married or promised. Such a catch.

Mesquite

Monday we travelled to meet friends in Nevada. Who knew? You can break this cabin fever with short jaunt west and south. Senior day and sushi. Nevada library system. Why not? I actually sat at the blackjack table and won. (small of course} Such a different environment yet so close to home. A fun, fun time. Thanks to Jim and Judy we amped up a bit and plan future similar trips. Yeh.

Rainy days Corrected

Ed worked and I played. Bridge games most of the day in a fundraiser for AAUW. Rain is condusive to snuggling up with a good book. Ed is into the Olympics. I have the book THE CONSTANT GARDNER by LeCarre. Apparently not new since it is now out in paperback. Also it was a movie nominated for an academy award. I am enjoying it although sometimes the British terminology is confusing. English authors always get so detailed in description but midpoint the action is getting a little more emphasis. Right now it appears to focus on corporate greed and domination of another land and culture. How many countries and plots would fit this scenario? Avatar looks more like a future prediction than fantasy sometimes. And the female protagonist gets murdered before her story is told or understood. But then the men struggle to avenge her death and bring the culprits to the guilletine . She apparently was a liberal, progressive determined to improve health care in Africa. Beware Nancy Pelosi! Men like a cause that has a martyr or is this a martyress? By the time the sun shines on Tuesday I should be finished with the sad tale. Did I see rain predicted for Sunday and Monday? Oh woe!

Testing, 1,2,3

Wine spill disaster! Horrors! Cover with salt or other absorbent material. Do not rub, scrub. Wow who knew? It came out fairly well from hand-woven, cherished Zapotek. Card game went on. Sharon and I won! Sometimes the Gods are generous to those who sin.

Bless the Fridays

Need some time out and away but lots to take care of. Oven which blew in power outage apparently can be resurrected. Blessed be the electricians for they help keep food on the table. I am rethinking my emergency equipment as to absence of electricity. Camping equipment? Candles? Time is big element here. We can always eat granola for a week. Good repairman who promises a working oven in 4 days. Not that I bake all that much and there are plenty of takeouts close by. Ed started on taxes with our favorite CPA. He came back with a smile so I guess we don't go to jail this year. Good visit with Lisa Lu to get updated on SLC happenings. I don't know after rethinking with Lisa whether Grandmothers and g-strings are compatible. At least I don't think we would win the gold awards that Penthouse gives out each year. Maybe we should stick to baking contests!

Uptime

Totally awake and vibrant before 7:00 a.m. Thinking, thinking of computers and what we need to do to understand the Macs in our household. Ed has his thing and I have mine. Neither of us geeks. Amazing the capabilities of the machines, the internet, the new toys, the communication possibilities. Who would have thought the worlds opening up during our lifetime. I need to write the first chapter in the G-String. Communication for Grandmother's flexing their power. I'm committed. Today!

Power failure!

Up and down holiday with the best laid plans going awry! Sixteen friends invited, hors deurves ready to bake and no electricity. I know there are horrible catastrophes in other places on this planet than the minor dilemna in my kitchen. Well thanks to friends and borrowed ovens and a sense of humor no harm done. We probably had too much to eat anyway. Just another first to remember in the book of cooking.

Mixed or Missed

Pat back home. House seems empty without her. Routines forcing the day. Movie tonight It's Complicated. Yea for that. Read Sutherland Institutes analysis and critic of initiatives on ethics. 27 pages of interpretation. Some issues termed reasonable some unreasonable. Sad memories when legislators could threaten agency closure or cutting off of funds when programs state and federally funded were being monitored "too closely". "Back off or else." "Local Control" But then of course, state is failing to be a watchdog over public funds when abuses are discovered. Unreasonable to stop legislators from threatening or getting directly into the stream of funding and accountability. Can't assume a "quid for quo relationship" on the part of the legislator or local supporters. Influence peddling is considered normal in society. Hmmmmmmmmmm. At least the desert is here and now, changing and beautiful!

Morning review of groups going on Politics in Paradise, Transparency International, Kleptocrasy and Facebook. No to Chevron Oil and the pollution of the rainforest in Ecuador. Noted on the World Transparency Index that South America is high in signs of corruption. I need to study more Political Science and the various "crasys". I think Buttars would be a good vice-presidential candidate in Sarah Palin's move toward the presidency. Our own ethics campaign seems lost in the morass of Federal and state proposed ethics bills being considered on the hill. Looking at clouds promising rain seems to promise more benefit to this area than any political moves by either party. Look over travel pics and family is uplifting and presence of daughter is a boon to one's sanity and peace of mind.

Thursdays in February

Here I sit wordless when I am so full of it. Walked the path thru the cactus and sage borders. Fritz pulling, sniffing and peeing on the coyote trails. Minor clouds under blue sky with a slight breeze. Beauty unsurpassed yet matched in many places in the world. But my paradise for the moment, shared with my daughter and my dog. I am so very, very lucky today.