It is too cold!

With the spa/pool at 104 degrees Michael was still too cold!

So, on with the wetsuit!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell that we are excited?

We managed to get the cushions clean of the mildew and dirt of many years past.

Enjoying the chairs for the first time

Another Gambel Quail family

This morning we happened to see another family just outside our office windows.

The male quail were watching over the babies.

Our very first Craig's List Purchase

Last night we happened to see a listing just as it was posted and we called the number listed but had to leave a message - didn't give us much hope.

The seller woke me up this morning just after 7 and we made arrangements to meet when he would be back home between 4-5 pm.

We went over there and left with two teak Captain's Steamer Lounge Chairs.

They hadn't been used in quite a while and needed to be cleaned up and oiled.

So our next stop was Lowe's for some teak oil and then home where I went to work on cleaning them up.

Michael helped me put on the first coat of teak oil but tomorrow we will apply more as they are a bit dry but we love them.

Well at least we can keep M&S happy

We found a bench for the garage so now we can sit down and tie our shoes instead of standing on one leg and trying to balance.

The other method was to sit on the floor but then you have to get up and as we get older that gets harder and harder!

So, M&S you should be happy.

You can now come and visit again.

Babies! or Chicks!

We haven't seen any baby Gambel Quail this year yet and we felt it was soon going to be too late to see any.

However, a family just walked through our yard.

I managed to barely capture the father shooing away one of his chicks and a couple that were stranded behind.

There were a lot of chicks but they moved too quickly to photograph!

A Royal Visitor

The snake that came to visit us today in our driveway has been confirmed as a California King Snake.

Although I did not get a tape measure and measure it we believe it is between 4-5 feet long.

We like those - they eat rattlesnakes and packrats!

Go to it!

We also found a piece of iron art

We've been looking for a piece of iron art for the wall outside the pool/back door where we often sit and enjoy the weather and the view.

We found one we both loved!

The colors are actually a bit more intense than the photo shows and when we get it mounted outside we'll take more pictures and post those.

Another piece of furniture!

Yesterday we learned that a very nice furniture store called "Knock-on-Wood" was going out of business and today was the first day of their sale.

So, off we went.

When we had visited the store before we fell in love with the southwestern motif on some of their talbes and today we bought a 'sofa table' as they call it.

A surprise in our box of mail (or BOM)

Sue Veseth sent us another BOM and there was a surprise in it!

She had finished the scarf from the yarn we bought together here in Tucson.

It is gorgeous but a little warm for this time of year here!

Our new Breakfast Nook Table

Yesterday we stopped at Copenhagen Furniture Outlet and bought a table that we had actually fallen in love with months ago.

There was a sale going on and we bought it!

Asked our neighbor's son in law to help us bring it home in his SUV and then to help us carry it in.

It is HEAVY! It was made from Brazilian Rosewood and stainless steel in Singapore.

We are so excited!

Bev's Visit

A couple of weeks ago my sister, Beverly, drove down from the Phoenix area (Avondale) to spend several days with us. Cliff was in Minneapolis working and Bev didn't have the grandkids to take care of.
We had a great time.
Swam, beaded, ate and ate, even did some shopping taking advantage of Bev's expertise at Joann's and Michaels.

Our day with George and Marj

I am late in posting this.

On April 29th we spent the day with our cousins, George and Marj.

First, a tour of the Asarco Mission Copper Mine just south of Tucson. We thought and still feel that they were the perfect people to take the tour with. As many of you know, George was the President of the Colorado School of Mines and both George and Marj have toured copper mines all over the world!

It was fascinating! It is amazing that so little of the ore that is mined finally becomes copper.

After the tour we went across the freeway to the Desert Diamond Casino for a wonderful and inexpensive buffet lunch - will definitely go back there and take guests with us.

On the way home we stopped at San Xavier Church as they had taken down the scaffolding on the front of the church so we took a few pictures before heading home.

The Rock Walls

As you can see we disassembled the larger rock walls to clean out the buffel grass and other weeds, sprayed them well with herbicide and in some cases put plastic sheeting under the rock walls to slow down the weeds.

What a big job!

The guys were so happy when they finished the job and could move on to easier tasks in our yard - so were we!

This is for Alice

We purchased three small tables for outside.

Two are for the outdoor kitchen area and a slightly larger one for the front patio.

Also a wonderful outdoor cart to help with dishes when we entertain.

House Warming Gift

Our friends, Mike and Sue Veseth, gave us a houswarming gift when they visited last winter.

It is a beautiful lace doily that Sue made while visiting Tucson the year before.

Just gorgeous!

We finally managed to get it framed and since it needed a white wall behind it it now hangs prominently at the entrance to the master bedroom.

It looks wonderful!

More Flowers in our yard

Tonight's Visitors

Around 8 pm or so we heard the driveway alarm go off and went to look at who was here.

We could hear some noise but couldn't see what was in our yard but when we managed to find a flashlight we found 2 javelinas (there could have been more but we didn't see them) rooting around in our yard.

Although they are so ugly that we think they are cute they can be very vicious so we took pictures from a distance!