Very pretty, but.....

I'm happy to say I missed out on all the beautiful snow up in Flagstaff. Sooooo much snow. It's great if you're inside by a nice warm crackling fire and okay to go out and play a bit, but when you have to spend days digging out....that's a bit much.

Dusting

We've had a lovely dusting of snow on the mountains to the east of Tucson. It looks like someone sprinkled powdered sugar on them and they're quite spectacular with the sun shining. Jack is up in Flagstaff helping a friend dig out from the 5 to 6 feet of snow that buried them. I opted to stay down here in sunny Tucson and just enjoy gazing at the snow from a distance.

The Lonely Houses

One day we'll have neighbors. I keep telling my husband we should just enjoy the peace and quiet. Before we know it we'll probably hear nail guns at the crack of dawn. In the mean time there are some great houses just sitting empty on our street. I took my camera along for a walk the other day and also spotted a neat old saguaro. They're really interesting even when they're dead.

Welcome 2010

Whew, what a year. So much happened last year that I'm hoping this one is a little more mellow. Happy to be moved into the Tucson house, although we have many more projects yet to complete. One goal is to find a great dining room set for our empty space. Sure makes it easy to clean that room in the meantime. Also need to get the built in shelving happening so I can unbox all the books in the garage.

For my personal agenda...I'd really like to walk into my closet and be able to put on any of my jeans and be able to breathe. I need to start wearing all my cute tops and shoes. Have to branch out from flip flops and chopped off sweats. I made a half hearted attempt today, I'm wearing a cute top, pearls, but alas, I have workout pants on below. Looks good from the waist up.

Hope to get my running legs back in shape and finish a couple of half marathons this year. I think the knees will protest any more full ones. And lastly, I need to put my knitting down once in a while and go explore this great Tucson area. It's 70 degrees today and it's ideal for enjoying the outdoors. 2010....here we come.

Andrea

Just back from a week in St. Louis at my mother in laws house. She is the most amazing woman. A well known and respected artist and a woman before her time. When we visit now we experience the toll of Parkinsons, Dementia and Macular Degeneration, but when I look at her I still think of the vibrant and creative woman I knew from the past. I'm so happy I was able to know her as she was before this slide. Another lesson to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment.

Is this our Bobcat

We have a couple Bobcat that cruise across our patio many mornings. When I saw these pictures in the morning paper I wondered if maybe it was one of ours. It's pretty amazing to look out the window and see one of these amazing creatures only about 10 feet away. They don't seem to be too concerned with humans and will gaze at you for a while before they wander off.

On another note....I've packed for St.Louis today as we fly out tomorrow morning. I realized that I don't really have a hat so immediately cast on for a simple slouch hat called "Cheeky". This will give me a little something to do while sitting in airports and flying tomorrow. It will take a little adjusting to the cold weather. Hope I finish my hat quickly!

Lace-O-Rama

This year I thought I'd miss the pre Christmas knitting frenzy, but somehow one item leads to another. I wanted to make something little for a couple of the gals at the club where we work out.....well, naturally it snowballed into something for about 8 of the gals at the club. What fun it is to give something that you've actually spent the time to make. Cowls and fingerless gloves were the items this year. Last year it was 5 pair of felted slippers and at below zero in Wisconsin it smelled like wet sheep for quite a few days.

I'm really getting into lace knitting lately. Pretty soon I'll have a closet full of shawls and shawletts. Took me a while to get to the point of actually using a chart, and I'm still doing pretty simple ones, but at least I'm not totally afraid of charts now.