Vacation Day Hike

Greg had a day off a while back and we decided to go for a hike.

It was on President's Day, so a Monday, and usually Mondays

are my REST BIG TIME days because Sundays are so busy and tiring

(physically and emotionally).

We slept in and had a slow morning, but a little before lunchtime, I decided

I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to be OUTSIDE!

We went to San Tan Mountains Regional Park,

which is closer than any other hiking area.

It's not my favorite because civilization is so near,

but that's what makes it accessible!

I found a creosote bush right off the bat.

Because of the rain we've had, the desert smells were extra nice,

and creosote is at the top of the list of nice desert smells.

Pretty little flowers, too!

We were happy to be out in the sunshine.

We took the San Tan trail for 45 minutes, ate lunch on a bench we found,

then turned around and came back.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but my ankle
isn't healing the way we expected, so I still am being cautious
with it.  In addition, my opposite foot has been painful, too.
I'll be having an MRI on both feet (!!!) soon
to see if there is anything leftover in there that didn't get addressed and to see if there's any
additional treatment that might fix me all up.

This means that we try to get out without being out too long.


This saguaro died.
They have skeletons and their bones are beautiful and delicate.

This must be a zombie tree!

We did not take the Hedgehog trail
and I don't believe any hedgehogs live in Arizona.

This curved bill thrasher (sitting on the cholla near the middle of the photo)
was singing happily.  They are very cheerful birds.

Here's another saguaro skeleton.

What a beautiful view!

Here's some mistletoe.  It's a parasite.

Little wildflowers are starting to bloom.

And it looks as if the ocotillo are already finished blooming.

When they're in bloom, their tips are bright orange.

You can see here that their flowers have all fallen off.

Here's a lupin.

This cactus had odd rows of spikes coming to a V.

Google Photos made this funny animation for me
of some of the selfies I took on the hike.
The background moves instead of my head!

Here's the bench we found at the top of one hill.

We decided it was a good place for our lunch.

I felt happy and a little silly.

We saw a cute long-tailed lizard wandering along as we were eating.
He's on top of that biggish rock.

There's his long tail!

These two cacti are like Greg and me:

living life together.

It was warm.
My thermometer (in the sun) said around 85.

By the entrance to the hiking area

was a bowl near a spigot to give dogs water.

In the bottom of the bowl, it said,

"empty water for bees".

Bees are smart and they gather around water in the desert

(we all do!)

It was a lovely day and the sunshine did us a world of good.

See you next time, desert wilderness!

Spring Is Coming

The weather has already started to warm up here.

In fact, it was another winter where we didn't really have much winter.

It's already reached into the high 70s,

and we might get 80 by the weekend.

I'm not super excited about that, even though the weather

is glorious, because I prefer more chilly winter weather before

warm weather arrives.

But I can appreciate this pretty time of year!

I enjoy Valentine's Day, not because of the "romance,"
but because of the cute hearts and pretty colors everywhere!

I wore as many hearts as possible during the week before the holiday.

I wore this pink and red heart sweater to church the previous Sunday.

sweater: unsure brand (Beall's)
skirt: Rekucci (Amazon)
tights, bag, & shoes: Target

I got new glasses, too!

I found these adorable tortoise-shell cat-eye

ones at Eyeglass World.

I was wearing this lipstick heart sweater the day I picked them up.

sweater: Maison Jules (Macy's)

The back has kisses on it!

I got sunglasses, too.

They're cat-eye, too, and a little bigger to keep out more sun.

The sides are extra cute and fancy!

Later in the week, my Mom and I went shopping.

my blouse: Maison Jules (Macy's)
pants: Jag (Beall's)
shoes: Target

We went out for pizza, too.

Even on a Saturday, which was brave of me

because Sundays are very busy for me,

so I usually don't do stuff on Saturdays.

But I did okay!

I love these people!

This outfit wasn't full of hearts,

but I did wear a pink velvet bow on the end of my braid!

blouse: Maison Jules (Macy's)
pants: 89th & Madison (Ross)
hair bow: J Crew Factory

shoes: Target

I think I accidentally got the wide version of these.

These's a little too much space on the sides of my feet for my preference.

I also bought a new necklace lately.

My other short necklace may be causing some irritation,

PLUS, I liked this little sparkly triangle one.

It's a great length for inside tops that don't have a deep v-neck.

I haven't bought a whole lot this winter, but I've had some things on my list.

This finally went on sale at Macy's.  It has tiny little hearts in splotchy patterns on it.

top: Maison Jules (Macy's)

I was returning some stuff to Macy's that I had ordered online,

and I walked by this adorable top in the store.

It also has hearts on it!

It's made of lyocell, which will be nice and cool and flowy.

top: Tommy Hilfiger (Macy's)

I rearranged the things on my fridge,

and my niece Cora's illustrations take the place of pride,

in addition to photos of people I love

and a little love poem from Greg.

We also have a new item in the house!

Get a good look at this scene,

focusing especially on the foosball table in the center.

Greg ordered a new one that will allow him to practice on the same style of table

on which the tournaments are played.

The truck came in the early afternoon.

He worked from home that Friday.

Here's a little compilation of the process of getting it set up.

Greg can go inside to look at stuff and arrange things if he wants.

It's pretty, huh?

Greg was able to sell the older table on OfferUp 

just yesterday (in less than 2 hours!)

Allistair doesn't care - he just wants snuggles!

So does Stephen!

On the way home from physical therapy,

I saw a roadrunner!

When I moved to Arizona, I thought they would be everywhere, but

I don't really see them that much, and they're so funny that it's a special occasion

every time I do.

One of the things my Mom and Dad bought us for an early anniversary gift

is this cute little table (under the blue wall hanging).

I wanted to have individual hand towels for our guests,

and I was looking for a little table I could put a basket under

for the used towels.  But instead, we ran across a table

that has a cute little built-in basket!

That's all for now . . . have a wonderful day
and check back soon for an ankle update . . .