Fall Cleaning & Snuggling

Welcome to FALL!

Fall in the Arizona desert is a time of renewal.

We welcome the wonderful thing Nature is doing in bring

moderate temperatures and beautiful chilliness.

I always get the nesting urge and the need to tidy up

our home.  I cleaned up the front courtyard first because it's smallest.

I couldn't believe I had the energy to even do this

(sweeping, wiping everything down, washing the plants).

I have turned a corner healing-wise.

My brain is chugging along, generating all sorts of creative ideas,

and I have the motivation to DO them.

After cleaning things up in the front, I decided

that I didn't want to put the succulent wreath away for the season.

Usually I put a pumpkin "welcome" hanging on the door during fall

and a gold tinsel wreath for the holidays.

But I LOVE this succulent wreath, and it really sets the tone for the rest of the house

that will be found once a person enters the gate.

I decided to hang it on the gate!

It looks great there.

It's not flopping around because I used twist ties to keep it in place. 

Even after all that, I couldn't stop myself!

I was brimming over with energy that needed to get used.

I went out into the back yard and started tidying.

I planted cat grass in this chipped cat mug.

It's already sprouted and it's been less than a week!

Then I swept and cleaned the layers of dust off all the furniture.

It's a beautiful desert paradise now!

Shade, trickling water, comfy places to sit, birds, geckos, and lots of happy plants.

Here is the coffee seating area.

And here is where we have meals and games.

Our little partridge breast agave hasn't been doing very well planted in the cactus garden.

I decided he needed his own special pot, where he could get special care (and more shade).

I had this owl pot filled with faux plants, but now he serves a more important purpose!

PLUS, it looks like he has cute hair! 

And he has an owl friend right behind him.

This little cactus, Melvin, is blooming up a storm again

(in spite of the fact that we didn't get any rain lately).

Beautiful orange blooms!

In fact, we only got .66" of rain during the 2019 monsoon season.

I love our patio.

I have a great view when I need rest and recuperation

and it's even better now that it's tidy and fresh!

Also this past week,

I have spruced up the inside by moving things around a bit.

I hung our straw hats on the wall in the master bedroom.

It's nice texture PLUS great memories of when we have worn those hats!

I gathered together rocks from special hikes (and special people)

and put them in the straw bowl I bought in California.

It's on the coffee table.

There's good news on the ankle front: I'm out of the big black hole boot!

Look how great the incision looks!

It's still a bit swollen, but not that much.

This hole is the one that had the leftover monofilamant suture

in it.  It looks better each day.

I had my six-week follow-up with the surgeon on Wednesday, and he said I don't need the big boot anymore.  I don't even need to wear the small brace if I don't need it (and I don't!)

I'm limping because my ankle is stiff, sore, and weak, but it's not hurting much.

HOORAY!

The surgeon said to gauge things with my physical therapist, but that I might be able to run in a straight line in as few as three weeks.  We'll see . . . 

 I found this cute hat while browsing at WalMart . . .

It's ARIZONA!

Here's what I was wearing on that outing:

blouse: Cece (Dillard's)
bag: Target
skirt: Rekucci (Amazon)
shoe: Sketcher's (Amazon)

$4!

I also found this cute flannel gingham one.

Will be cute for outdoor outings - 

of which I expect to have MANY this winter!!!

Thank you, Big Black Hole Boot, for your service!

Here's another outfit, this one from Sunday.

You can't see it well, but the top has the cutest white ruffled bell sleeves.

top: Tommy Hilfiger (Macy's)
skirt: Rekucci (Amazon)
bag: Target
shoe: Sketcher's (Amazon)

I did some cooking and baking this week.

I made lots of potato wedges. 

And some black bean burgers!

Low effort veggie burgers:

Add a can of low-sodium black beans and 2 cups of rice (or so)

into the food processor with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and

any other spices you might like.

Maybe slice up some potatoes while you're at it so you have fries.

Mix up.

Plop on cookie sheet (using nonstick liners or parchment paper).

Bake at 400-425 until firm.

Eat!

I ate them open-faced (on a half a gluten-free bun).

I have also continued slowly exercising.

Yoga, Qigong, and Ballet Beautiful are my go-tos because they can be done seated

and they are slow movements.

Allistair LOVES helping me exercise.

 

Juvy usually watches from the couch.

It helps my ankle to have some extra padding.

The one on the left is the one that's recovering.

Stephen came to help, too.

He's been very calm and sweet lately.

Look at that cute poking-out tongue!

He's like a cuddly little black bear/mouse.

Allistair seems to know when I need to sit down and rest.

He starts HOWLING until I actually SIT.

I think he's a Guardian, sent to help me.

I think this weekend there will be a lot of laundry (slowly),

some (old) Doctor Who, and some crocheting.

This mustard one is almost complete,

and fuschia is next (for a couple of special women in my life!)

I'll probably be spending more time like this . . .
with FOUR cats on the couch with me!



 I need to gather my strength for Sunday . . . 

we're opening an 8:30 am special needs classroom!

That means we will have 1:1 support available for students at ALL our our three Sunday services

starting this weekend!

Once that's stable and once God sends more volunteers, we'll start working on coverage for our Saturday services . . . 

This kind of growth is SCARY but EXCITING!

Have a wonderful weekend!