Friday, October 17, 2025

Surprising that I am first today! Usually I am 1-3 hours ahead of everyone, but here I am in the same time zone as CC, Peps, and Diane S.

Travel yesterday was smooth. We met DSD for dinner at a Mexican restaurant next door to our Inn. Cute atmosphere but mediocre food.

Today I am in search of a pair of cowboy boots. Always wanted them but talked myself out of them numerous times. I am determined to JFDI.

Hopefully will find cute places for lunch and dinner. Our Inn is in a quaint little area with a great view from our private patio. There is another cute town 5 minutes away where DSD is staying. Old Town Scottsdale is about 30 minutes away. We will probably do at least some exploration with DSD. Nephew, niece, great-nephew and niece's Mom are driving to Grand Canyon for the day. We have been there and it is a LONG drive so we are passing on that.

Have a fiscally irresponsible Friday!

9 balloons up this morning. Kirby and I got up with the chickens and I drank my coffee outside watching them. I do enjoy doing that when it's not too hot or cold. Yesterday I was rudely surprised by dew on the cushions when I sat down. Dew in the desert is a rare thing. None today.

I also had a frustrating chat experience with an Apple rep this morning. I got a new watch and am trading in my old one. You peel the label off the return box they send and it reveals the label to send it back, except it peeled a lot of the barcode off, so I doubt UPS will take it. I asked for a new label to be emailed. It was a half an hour of obsequious "thank you for letting me be of assistance" nonsense without actually being helpful! (Cut and paste of the texts: "Thank you so much for letting me know. Be Assured! I will surely guide you with best of my capability to help you. I understand how important this is for you, especially when this involves Trade-In. As a customer myself, I would want to be assisted as well. No worries, I will try my best to assist you.") Just send me a new label and stop wasting my time licking my boots! Like dealing with Dobby from Harry Potter.

Upshot, they can't send me a new label, only a new box with the same label set up. That should arrive in 3-5 days which likely will mess with my trade-in timing, but they are so very sorry to inform me they are not authorized to change the trade-in window. Very unsatisfactory experience when I just want to send back my old watch.

I think I will go get a car wash today. I need to make a list of stuff I need to do because I remember a hundred things when I'm going to bed and couldn't tell you one of them now. It's like when I walk into the grocery store without a list. I pass the threshold and can't remember a single thing I needed.

I'm off to try to come up with a list... Have a great day everyone! Welcome to AZ, Liz!

Oh yes, I walk past stuff everyday and think I need to ... but promptly forget about it until the next time I look at it and think again, yes, I really need to ... I'm thinking about writing a list before I go to bed of the things I want to get done the following day. I never had to make lists before for home stuff, just work, so I'm in new territory.

Exactly!!

I'm useless without a to-do list.

I bet that "person" on the other end of the texts was a chatbot. Easier to tell on the phone but it sure sounds like it. Asking for a supervisor might get you a real person?

Balloons!!! I hope we see some when we are there. We haven't seen one when we have been there.

hoping you can find your cowboy boots. Back when I was a little cowgirl myself, my boots literally saved my life. I was cantering on my Welsh pony when the saddle slipped, and suddenly I was being dragged down the road. Eventually my foot slid out of the boot, which is what they are designed to do, and I was left laying on the road stunned, scrapped and bleeding. After that, I NEVER NEVER let any guests who came to ride put their feet in the stirrups if they didn't have cowboy boots. Your boots probably won't be called upon to save you from calamity but you will look fashionable.

Yeah, yeah Paula on the house details and contracts all falling into place! Now it really begins, and you will be a Florida resident soon.

I loved the musings about music of our youth. When I was 18/19, I was a huge fan of Air Supply. Now I find them pretty silly. Conversely, when I was young, I didn't like Neil Diamond or Bob Seger. Something about the tone of their voices. Now I enjoy them both, and think they are master lyricists. I came of age with Dan Fogelberg in college. I thought he was so profound, and then when I got older, maybe not so much. I recently listend to him again, and decided he actually did create music and lyrics that can stand the test of time.

The dinner party went off without a hitch yesterday. The food turned out well, the conversation was entertaining, and BFF was very happy for one night. DH's BFF was one of the guests, and he and DH and my nephew had cigars on the patio together. DH's BFF also divorced his 1st wife because of infidelity, and has been remarried many years to the love of his life and now one of my dear friends. He shared a little of his journey with my nephew, which I hope gave him a belief he would have a happy life again. I thin that was very generous of our friend to offer his experiences.

I wasn't going to work out this morning, because I feel i hve a lot of things to get done, but I did go, and feel great for it. I am going to have a pedicure in a bout an hour, and then BFF, nephew and kids are coming over for a family birthday party and bonfire. Tomorrow I am going on a march, as my 1st amendment rights tell me I can. I do not believe all conservatives hate me, or think I am a terrorist, despite some of the rhetoric, and I hope they do not believe I am marching in a "hate America " rally. I love my country, and our democracy, and the Bill of Rights. It's an amazing document.

Until my appointment time arrives, I am enjoying left over pasta shells, and will finish the clean up from last night. I still have one more load to run in the dishwasher, and linens to wash.

I'm a conservative and I certainly don't hate you. I hope you don't hate me either

The opposite, I'm actually quite of fond of you

I'm pretty fond of you too!

I didn't know that that was how cowboy boots were supposed to work but based on the fit I can understand it!

I did not like Bob Denver's music when he was alive but have grown to like it as classic music from my young days.

Nice dinner party and good that your nephew can hear that there is hope for a good life ahead of him.