I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Ours was very nice. Steve and I got up early to hide eggs for the grandkids. We hid them all over the yard, under plants, in trees, and even in the flower pots. An hour later, Steve yells at me, "Buddy is eating the eggs!" Yikes! I ran out and, sure enough, that smart old beast had eaten about half the eggs! He cracked open the plastic eggs and ate all the jelly beans and chocolate eggs right out of them. Wouldn't you know, it was only the ones I had hidden! He didn't get as far as the back yard where Steve hid most of his eggs before we caught him! I was afraid that he would be ill but he never was. So much for revenge! I ended up collecting all the eggs again. I washed the shells Buddy had slobbered on and refilled them with candy. Then Steve and Jeff hid the eggs all over again just before the egg hunt so they could watch that wiley dog!
I used the good China for the Easter meal. We had ham and potato salad. Our daughters made bread and dessert. Boy, was I stuffed!
On April 5, I noticed the return of the barn swallows. I have no idea why, but the sight of them soaring and diving after being gone all winter, filled me with an inexplicable joy! I love those little birds!
I spent the week after Easter getting ready for the yearly neighborhood yard sale. It is a lot of work and I never really feel like I have much to offer. But this year I decided to empty my over crowded book shelves and sort through my closets and drawers for all the clothes I haven't worn in over a year. I ended up having over 150 books and quite a pile of magazines. Last time I did this, a couple of years ago, I had the magazines out for 10 cents a piece. They did not sell at all. So this year I sold them for 5 cents a piece and gave one away for free. They went like hotcakes! I also sold my hard back books, which I love and hate to give up, for .25 each or 5 for $1.00, I sold over half of them as well. I put out my aprons and stuff that I made for the Farmer's Market this past summer. NONE of it sold! Not one piece! People freak out when they see the price of new stuff at a yard sale!
The first day of the yard sale went really well. The weather was sunny and warm but not hot. In the afternoon the wind picked up as usual. By Saturday we were having rain, snow and sleet. I tried to keep the sale open. I even had about 5 or 6 hardy souls visit and buy a few things. But after an hour with no customers and the pouring rain and cold I decided to close up shop. I didn't do too badly. We took in a little over $100 for one day's sale. I just won't count all the work up to the sale!
The weather is back to sunny, if not quite warm yet. I hung clothes out on the line to dry this morning. The weather people promise we will be back in the 80s by the end of the week. I hope so cuz I put all my winter stuff away all ready.
Sandy's little doxie seems to be pretty much back to normal and has not stopped challenging the bigger dogs. Prince continues to take his medicine easily so all is well at the moment. I have not heard back from any shearers as yet. They are a strange lot, just busy I guess. I posted pictures of the alpacas at the yard sale. One lady said, "Oh! You have Appaloosas?"
"No, I don't have horses," is all I said. Hehehe!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Last week it seemed that Spring had really sprung, but today we are getting blasted with 30-50 mph winds and only about 60 degrees! Yikes! Oh well! I suppose I should be grateful that it is not blowing snow and hail stones again!
I have been giving Prince his valley fever medication for about 3 weeks now. He has been very good about taking it. I put the two good sized pills in a handful of grain and he runs to the fence to get it. Sometimes I have to push the other two away but I do give them a little grain too after I make sure that Prince has gotten both pills. This takes place at the morning and evening feedings. I am about out of feed again. I'll have to send Steve to get more tomorrow.
This weekend we spent getting our #3 daughter relocated to an apartment closer to her work. It is a one bedroom but plenty big enough for her and her little dog. Poor dog! He is just a little miniature dachshund and he was attacked by a much bigger dog about 2 weeks ago. It turned out he had several puncture wounds and a broken rib. The vet put him on antibiotics and pain pills for about a week. He seems to be doing fine even though the vet said it will take about 2 months for the rib to heal. The dogs in the new apartment complex all seem about the same size as Chewy. So maybe he'll be better off there. Also, our daughter can now walk to her work. That is a big help to me.
I moved most of my plants back outside last week when the weather was so nice. Now they are getting blasted by the wind. The wind was so bad and so cold this morning that I decided to wait til this afternoon to water. I hope all the plants aren't dead from the drying blasting wind and no water. In this hostile desert, watering plants becomes a ritual every day just behind feeding the livestock.
The little tomato plants that I put outside will have to be replaced. I planted about 20 . Each day I have fewer and fewer. I think I am down to about five now. No, it's not the wind or water. It is the birds! They are eating up the little leaves as soon as they appear! So frustrating. Sometimes I have to remind myself why I moved here. It was for the warm weather and our grandkids. I guess if I ever want a really great garden, I'll have to stick to cactus and mesquite trees or move back east! Ha!
I took some pictures of the weather front that moved in about the 19th of last month. It brought lots of wind then and snow and hail. Now the weather people are warning us of fire danger again. Why didn't I move to Hawaii??? Oh yeah! It cost too much, it's surrounded by ocean and none of my grandkids live there!
I have been giving Prince his valley fever medication for about 3 weeks now. He has been very good about taking it. I put the two good sized pills in a handful of grain and he runs to the fence to get it. Sometimes I have to push the other two away but I do give them a little grain too after I make sure that Prince has gotten both pills. This takes place at the morning and evening feedings. I am about out of feed again. I'll have to send Steve to get more tomorrow.
This weekend we spent getting our #3 daughter relocated to an apartment closer to her work. It is a one bedroom but plenty big enough for her and her little dog. Poor dog! He is just a little miniature dachshund and he was attacked by a much bigger dog about 2 weeks ago. It turned out he had several puncture wounds and a broken rib. The vet put him on antibiotics and pain pills for about a week. He seems to be doing fine even though the vet said it will take about 2 months for the rib to heal. The dogs in the new apartment complex all seem about the same size as Chewy. So maybe he'll be better off there. Also, our daughter can now walk to her work. That is a big help to me.
I moved most of my plants back outside last week when the weather was so nice. Now they are getting blasted by the wind. The wind was so bad and so cold this morning that I decided to wait til this afternoon to water. I hope all the plants aren't dead from the drying blasting wind and no water. In this hostile desert, watering plants becomes a ritual every day just behind feeding the livestock.
The little tomato plants that I put outside will have to be replaced. I planted about 20 . Each day I have fewer and fewer. I think I am down to about five now. No, it's not the wind or water. It is the birds! They are eating up the little leaves as soon as they appear! So frustrating. Sometimes I have to remind myself why I moved here. It was for the warm weather and our grandkids. I guess if I ever want a really great garden, I'll have to stick to cactus and mesquite trees or move back east! Ha!
I took some pictures of the weather front that moved in about the 19th of last month. It brought lots of wind then and snow and hail. Now the weather people are warning us of fire danger again. Why didn't I move to Hawaii??? Oh yeah! It cost too much, it's surrounded by ocean and none of my grandkids live there!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Burr! It is cold! We have been in a winter storm watch since Saturday. The wind has been howling and hitting 45 mph. This morning it is snowing and hailing and the wind has not diminished at all. The road is a sloppy mess and my car needs a good wash again. But the weatherperson has promised that the storm will be gone by tomorrow and we will be in the 80s again by midweek.
The vet came out on Tuesday as promised. The Valley Fever tests came back on Friday, also as promised. The news was good and bad. Stewie and Cimarron tested negative, but Prince's test came back positive. Today I talked to the vet and picked up medication for Prince. She said he may never get sick, just carry the fever. It is unpredictable. I am still working with the lady who showed interest in taking the boys. She will have to decide about these results. I'm hoping she will come visit some day this week.
The alpacas really showed their personalities when the vet was out. There were 3 of us, all women who had to catch them and hold them while the vet took blood. We caught Cimarron fairly easily and he stood stoically while the vet stuck the needle in his neck and took his blood. Then we caught Stewie. Stewie did not want to be caught so he bucked and dodged and squirmed right out of my hold. The vet stood back and said," If you 2 can't hold them, we'll have to get a man to do this!" Well, I just looked at her because Steve had taken the whole day off before and she had not shown up! But we showed her anyway, the vet tech and I. The second time we caught Stewie , we caught him in the barn and crowded him into a corner so he could not escape. He still did not cooperate however. He cushed! Just laid down and then bounce up whenever the vet tried to stick the needle in him. So the vet tech pushed down on his hind quarters and I held his head and neck while simultaneously pushing down on his withers with my knee. I paid for that for several days afterwards with a very sore gluteus maximus!
Then it was time to catch Prince. He was the hardest to catch but he stood quietly while the vet did her thing without moving or flinching. He had a good trainer named Liz!
The vet came out on Tuesday as promised. The Valley Fever tests came back on Friday, also as promised. The news was good and bad. Stewie and Cimarron tested negative, but Prince's test came back positive. Today I talked to the vet and picked up medication for Prince. She said he may never get sick, just carry the fever. It is unpredictable. I am still working with the lady who showed interest in taking the boys. She will have to decide about these results. I'm hoping she will come visit some day this week.
The alpacas really showed their personalities when the vet was out. There were 3 of us, all women who had to catch them and hold them while the vet took blood. We caught Cimarron fairly easily and he stood stoically while the vet stuck the needle in his neck and took his blood. Then we caught Stewie. Stewie did not want to be caught so he bucked and dodged and squirmed right out of my hold. The vet stood back and said," If you 2 can't hold them, we'll have to get a man to do this!" Well, I just looked at her because Steve had taken the whole day off before and she had not shown up! But we showed her anyway, the vet tech and I. The second time we caught Stewie , we caught him in the barn and crowded him into a corner so he could not escape. He still did not cooperate however. He cushed! Just laid down and then bounce up whenever the vet tried to stick the needle in him. So the vet tech pushed down on his hind quarters and I held his head and neck while simultaneously pushing down on his withers with my knee. I paid for that for several days afterwards with a very sore gluteus maximus!
Then it was time to catch Prince. He was the hardest to catch but he stood quietly while the vet did her thing without moving or flinching. He had a good trainer named Liz!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
I need to put a beeper on my glasses! I carry them around with me then leave them when I have to pick something up, go away and WAAAA!!! I can't find them again til I back track everywhere I went in the last half hour, which could be a lot of places! Anyway, I found them now.
Some of the seeds I planted last week are coming up already. I am watering the raised bed outside so it will be ready to plant soon. Our humidity has raised to a whole 4% and there is no rain in sight, at least not this week. We are supposed to have sunny, blue skies and temperatures in the 80s. Wonderful!
The vet was supposed to come out yesterday morning to draw blood from the alpacas for the valley fever test. She never showed up. It turned out that she had an emergency surgery that took an hour and a half and then she had to perform an autopsy on a 3 year old male alpaca that had died suddenly. Turns out the alpaca belonged to the lady who might take my boys. She was devastated. She did not tell me why the alpaca died. She may not know yet. She did say it was her favorite male. I felt really bad for her.
Saturday we celebrated the birth of our first grandson. He turned 10 years old! Unbelievable! That means we have lived on this windy desert hill for 8 years now. One of my alpacas, Prince (Shoot to you, Liz) is now also 8 years old. Cimarron, gray with a white face, is 6 and Stewie, beige, is 5. My little red dog, Penny, a Tibetan Spaniel, is 14 or 15 years old. I think she tried to kill herself this past week. She started spewing really dark diarrhea about every hour or so. She got me up every hour one night, scratching on the door to go outside. I gave her a single pepto bismal tablet which seemed to slow things down a bit. She was still eating. She acted a little sheepish because she didn't get out in time a couple of times. My bedroom stunk to high heaven! Ugh! Anyway, I think I might have figured out what she ate, CHOCOLATE! The poo was the same color as dark chocolate and I saw her snatch a little piece of chocolate pop tart off the couch this morning before I could grab it. I hope she doesn't get sick again. She literally poisoned herself. Poor baby! I'll have to be more diligent in picking up after the grandkids or anyone else who happens to leave chocolate around or dropped on the floor. With Easter coming, it may be a chore.
Back to the grandson's birthday, we went to "Funtastics" which is a fun park in Tucson. You pay one price for a certain amount of time and get unlimited access to all the rides and miniature golf. The little kids liked the flying dragons the best. The big boys and the men liked the go-carts. It was the perfect day for the outing. The sun was out, no wind and it was about 70 degrees. Fabulous!
The vet is supposed to stop by today on her way to Tucson. I hope she does. I really want to get this test out of the way and find a new home for the alpacas.
Some of the seeds I planted last week are coming up already. I am watering the raised bed outside so it will be ready to plant soon. Our humidity has raised to a whole 4% and there is no rain in sight, at least not this week. We are supposed to have sunny, blue skies and temperatures in the 80s. Wonderful!
The vet was supposed to come out yesterday morning to draw blood from the alpacas for the valley fever test. She never showed up. It turned out that she had an emergency surgery that took an hour and a half and then she had to perform an autopsy on a 3 year old male alpaca that had died suddenly. Turns out the alpaca belonged to the lady who might take my boys. She was devastated. She did not tell me why the alpaca died. She may not know yet. She did say it was her favorite male. I felt really bad for her.
Saturday we celebrated the birth of our first grandson. He turned 10 years old! Unbelievable! That means we have lived on this windy desert hill for 8 years now. One of my alpacas, Prince (Shoot to you, Liz) is now also 8 years old. Cimarron, gray with a white face, is 6 and Stewie, beige, is 5. My little red dog, Penny, a Tibetan Spaniel, is 14 or 15 years old. I think she tried to kill herself this past week. She started spewing really dark diarrhea about every hour or so. She got me up every hour one night, scratching on the door to go outside. I gave her a single pepto bismal tablet which seemed to slow things down a bit. She was still eating. She acted a little sheepish because she didn't get out in time a couple of times. My bedroom stunk to high heaven! Ugh! Anyway, I think I might have figured out what she ate, CHOCOLATE! The poo was the same color as dark chocolate and I saw her snatch a little piece of chocolate pop tart off the couch this morning before I could grab it. I hope she doesn't get sick again. She literally poisoned herself. Poor baby! I'll have to be more diligent in picking up after the grandkids or anyone else who happens to leave chocolate around or dropped on the floor. With Easter coming, it may be a chore.
Back to the grandson's birthday, we went to "Funtastics" which is a fun park in Tucson. You pay one price for a certain amount of time and get unlimited access to all the rides and miniature golf. The little kids liked the flying dragons the best. The big boys and the men liked the go-carts. It was the perfect day for the outing. The sun was out, no wind and it was about 70 degrees. Fabulous!
The vet is supposed to stop by today on her way to Tucson. I hope she does. I really want to get this test out of the way and find a new home for the alpacas.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
This has been a busy week as usual. March has come in like a lion, blasting away at us with 30 mph winds. It has also warmed up some during the day to about 80 degrees. I also heard that we have a negative reading as far as humidity goes. If you can believe it our humidity was at -8%. The sky seems to be white instead of blue. I started watering the raised garden bed in the back so that there will be some moisture when I get ready to plant my veggies and flowers.
Tuesday I went to Sierra Vista and got a bunch of books for research and reading. Some of the books I wanted are at the Benson Library so I may have to go there tomorrow after I take my daughter to work. Most of yesterday was spent reading and brushing up on writing skills and research methods. I spent some time on my new laptop adding to my diary and proofreading the 2 or 3 paragraphs I have written for my book.
A friend recommended a couple of books to help with my writing so I looked them up online today. One of the authors, Sandra Dallas, writes books about Colorado. I will probably get a couple of hers to get an idea how to write about Arizona. The other author she recommended was a little more difficult to find because I was looking up the wrong name. I was looking for David Merrill when I should have been looking for David Morrell. I did eventually find the books she was talking about. They look like good references also.
My grandson climbed up into my raised bed today and helped me fill the seed starter trays with potting mix. We had to move indoors to plant the seeds because of the wind. We planted 3 trays with veggies and flowers, watered them and put on the clear plastic lids. They are like miniature green houses sitting on my book shelves. The sun shines in that south facing Arizona room so the plants should germinate fairly quickly. Then when they are big enough I will put them in the outside raised bed to be beat up by the wind and the elements. I will never be able to skip one day watering if I ever want to get any tomatoes or squash. The Arizona sun is brutal and takes no prisoners, unless you count those of us who are foolish enough to try to garden.
Tuesday I went to Sierra Vista and got a bunch of books for research and reading. Some of the books I wanted are at the Benson Library so I may have to go there tomorrow after I take my daughter to work. Most of yesterday was spent reading and brushing up on writing skills and research methods. I spent some time on my new laptop adding to my diary and proofreading the 2 or 3 paragraphs I have written for my book.
A friend recommended a couple of books to help with my writing so I looked them up online today. One of the authors, Sandra Dallas, writes books about Colorado. I will probably get a couple of hers to get an idea how to write about Arizona. The other author she recommended was a little more difficult to find because I was looking up the wrong name. I was looking for David Merrill when I should have been looking for David Morrell. I did eventually find the books she was talking about. They look like good references also.
My grandson climbed up into my raised bed today and helped me fill the seed starter trays with potting mix. We had to move indoors to plant the seeds because of the wind. We planted 3 trays with veggies and flowers, watered them and put on the clear plastic lids. They are like miniature green houses sitting on my book shelves. The sun shines in that south facing Arizona room so the plants should germinate fairly quickly. Then when they are big enough I will put them in the outside raised bed to be beat up by the wind and the elements. I will never be able to skip one day watering if I ever want to get any tomatoes or squash. The Arizona sun is brutal and takes no prisoners, unless you count those of us who are foolish enough to try to garden.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The last few days around here has felt like spring. I noticed some of the mountains have a faint tint of green unless they are still covered with snow. The mountains in Sierra Vista are still covered with snow from the last storm.
I have not heard back from the lady who is interested in adopting the alpacas. She was attending the Southwest Regional Alpaca Show and said she would get in touch after that. If I don't hear from her by Monday, I will email her again. I just ran out of timothy hay for the alpacas. I am feeding them alfalfa temporarily. If I end up keeping them I will get more timothy but it is expensive. I don't want to make the trip all the way to Tucson and pay a small fortune for the timothy and then not use it or have to give it away. I am already giving away the alpacas.
My two eldest daughters made a trip to Apache Junction to the Renaissance Faire today. It was "Pirate's Day" so the girls dressed up as Pirate wenches! Ha! I thought they did a pretty awesome job.
I am still reading and doing research on Arizona's Wild West History and the cities and areas around here. Today I got 2 books I ordered through Amazon. One is from the Arizona Highway's collection, Stalwart Women: Frontier Stories of Indomitable Spirit. It was an incredibly good deal at $4.37 which included the shipping. The other one is Death In the Desert: The Fifty Years' War for the Great Southwest. It was a bit more expensive and, I'm sure, it will be more difficult reading as it is about the fight against the native Americans. It is incredible to me that Arizona just celebrated our 100th anniversary, having become a state on February 14, 1912. Even more incredible was learning that some Apaches were still riding around on horseback, fighting, killing and barely surviving as late as the 1920's. From 1872 to 1874, Cochise County was the Chiricahua Apache Reservation. Cochise Stronghold is only about 30 miles from my house. In fact, I can see the Texas Canyon, Dragoon Mountains and the rocks of the Stronghold from my front yard.
I also watched a couple of movies in the name of research. Ha! It is a good break from the reading and a good way to get ideas for writing. One was "Bad Girls" which I watched because it was the story of western women. The other was "Rio Bravo" which I found at Walmart for $5. It starred John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. Wow, was Ricky Nelson young! It was a very slow movie compared to the movies Hollywood is producing today. It was also uplifting and the good guys won! Hurrah!
I have not heard back from the lady who is interested in adopting the alpacas. She was attending the Southwest Regional Alpaca Show and said she would get in touch after that. If I don't hear from her by Monday, I will email her again. I just ran out of timothy hay for the alpacas. I am feeding them alfalfa temporarily. If I end up keeping them I will get more timothy but it is expensive. I don't want to make the trip all the way to Tucson and pay a small fortune for the timothy and then not use it or have to give it away. I am already giving away the alpacas.
My two eldest daughters made a trip to Apache Junction to the Renaissance Faire today. It was "Pirate's Day" so the girls dressed up as Pirate wenches! Ha! I thought they did a pretty awesome job.
I am still reading and doing research on Arizona's Wild West History and the cities and areas around here. Today I got 2 books I ordered through Amazon. One is from the Arizona Highway's collection, Stalwart Women: Frontier Stories of Indomitable Spirit. It was an incredibly good deal at $4.37 which included the shipping. The other one is Death In the Desert: The Fifty Years' War for the Great Southwest. It was a bit more expensive and, I'm sure, it will be more difficult reading as it is about the fight against the native Americans. It is incredible to me that Arizona just celebrated our 100th anniversary, having become a state on February 14, 1912. Even more incredible was learning that some Apaches were still riding around on horseback, fighting, killing and barely surviving as late as the 1920's. From 1872 to 1874, Cochise County was the Chiricahua Apache Reservation. Cochise Stronghold is only about 30 miles from my house. In fact, I can see the Texas Canyon, Dragoon Mountains and the rocks of the Stronghold from my front yard.
I also watched a couple of movies in the name of research. Ha! It is a good break from the reading and a good way to get ideas for writing. One was "Bad Girls" which I watched because it was the story of western women. The other was "Rio Bravo" which I found at Walmart for $5. It starred John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. Wow, was Ricky Nelson young! It was a very slow movie compared to the movies Hollywood is producing today. It was also uplifting and the good guys won! Hurrah!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friends have reminded me that I have been a bit lax in my writing. I am sorry. Sometimes in winter I am hard pressed to keep up a cheerful attitude and my writing suffers. I will try to do better than once a month, I promise!
On Valentine's Day we had an honest to God blizzard here on Saguaro Hill. Huge snowflakes fell for about 2 hours. Visibility was down to zero. Trees, bushes and structures were covered in the white stuff. The roads got slippery and muddy. The dogs and grandson had a blast. I froze my behind off while they played and threw snowballs. Then at 3:30, the snow stopped, the sun popped out all the snow melted and you'd never know anything even happened! That is Arizona for you.
I did not win the HGTV dream home although I faithfully entered the contest twice a day. I have not sold my alpacas yet but there is one lady who may be interested in giving them a good home. She wants me to get them tested for the Valley Fever before she agrees to take them. And she will not take them if they test positive. We are working on getting all that taken care of. I am praying that they will test negative for the disease because, truth be told, I have lost interest in being an alpaca farmer since Kardigan died. I also realize that I will probably never have enough resources to make money in that business. I am feeling a need to be free and start something new.
I am tired of it being cold and windy, although yesterday was a nearly perfect day. Steve and a friend had the perfect day to play golf. It was sunny, about 70 degrees and not windy at all. My friend and I drove around Sierra Vista and looked at houses while the guys played. We also went to a book store, where I spent a small fortune on magazines, books and a movie. I am a hoarder of books. I just love them. If it is not a novel to take me away from reality, it is a reference book to use for research and writing in whatever field I am pursuing at the moment. Today I started and finished one of Louis L'Amours classic works. I also read through the newest Mary Jane's magazine and a copy of Arizona Highways. I started a new journal on my new laptop and am studying the history of Tombstone and Arizona in general. Fascinating stuff.
We visited Tombstone yesterday as well before the guys golf tee time. We had lunch in the Crystal Palace Saloon and I wondered how it was 150 years ago when the Earp brothers were there. I bet a lot more people were toting guns. We walked by the place where one of the Earp boys was shot in the back and lost his life. And men walked around wearing the red sashes that were worn by the Cowboy Gang who fought with the Earps. Today they invited us to the re-creation of a gunfight and tours of the old silver mine. One of them tried to start a gunfight with Steve, teasing him about the "dumb yellow shirt" he wore. My husband, knowing that discretion is the better part of valor and not wearing a gun, wisely let the comment slide.
The waitresses in the saloon wore red and black tightly laced up corsets, their decolletage barely constrained above black lace. They were friendly and lively but I felt fortunate that we women no longer have to wear such restrictive garments. Tombstone's buildings and landscape seem much the same today as they were all those years ago.
On Valentine's Day we had an honest to God blizzard here on Saguaro Hill. Huge snowflakes fell for about 2 hours. Visibility was down to zero. Trees, bushes and structures were covered in the white stuff. The roads got slippery and muddy. The dogs and grandson had a blast. I froze my behind off while they played and threw snowballs. Then at 3:30, the snow stopped, the sun popped out all the snow melted and you'd never know anything even happened! That is Arizona for you.
I did not win the HGTV dream home although I faithfully entered the contest twice a day. I have not sold my alpacas yet but there is one lady who may be interested in giving them a good home. She wants me to get them tested for the Valley Fever before she agrees to take them. And she will not take them if they test positive. We are working on getting all that taken care of. I am praying that they will test negative for the disease because, truth be told, I have lost interest in being an alpaca farmer since Kardigan died. I also realize that I will probably never have enough resources to make money in that business. I am feeling a need to be free and start something new.
I am tired of it being cold and windy, although yesterday was a nearly perfect day. Steve and a friend had the perfect day to play golf. It was sunny, about 70 degrees and not windy at all. My friend and I drove around Sierra Vista and looked at houses while the guys played. We also went to a book store, where I spent a small fortune on magazines, books and a movie. I am a hoarder of books. I just love them. If it is not a novel to take me away from reality, it is a reference book to use for research and writing in whatever field I am pursuing at the moment. Today I started and finished one of Louis L'Amours classic works. I also read through the newest Mary Jane's magazine and a copy of Arizona Highways. I started a new journal on my new laptop and am studying the history of Tombstone and Arizona in general. Fascinating stuff.
We visited Tombstone yesterday as well before the guys golf tee time. We had lunch in the Crystal Palace Saloon and I wondered how it was 150 years ago when the Earp brothers were there. I bet a lot more people were toting guns. We walked by the place where one of the Earp boys was shot in the back and lost his life. And men walked around wearing the red sashes that were worn by the Cowboy Gang who fought with the Earps. Today they invited us to the re-creation of a gunfight and tours of the old silver mine. One of them tried to start a gunfight with Steve, teasing him about the "dumb yellow shirt" he wore. My husband, knowing that discretion is the better part of valor and not wearing a gun, wisely let the comment slide.
The waitresses in the saloon wore red and black tightly laced up corsets, their decolletage barely constrained above black lace. They were friendly and lively but I felt fortunate that we women no longer have to wear such restrictive garments. Tombstone's buildings and landscape seem much the same today as they were all those years ago.
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