What's been going on.

You will remember that we found a caribou antler on one of our mountain forays this past summer. We decided that it could best be utilized by carving it up. Peggie can use pieces of it in her art work, plus whatever else we decide.

One of the things we thought of was to have Greg Welden carve some spoons. He does a lot of that in wood, and we have one he carved from a piece of driftwood we sent him. So Greg and Amy came for a visit and he and I started cutting away at the antler. The scoop at the bottom of the photo was a day's worth of cutting, scraping, and sanding for Greg. The other pieces are what I did with saw, Drexel, and sandpaper. We have other pieces, but this is the best photo. The wooden platter was also a gift from Greg.

Altogether, we had a wonderful visit. We even used that antler scoop for salsa, and it worked just fine.

Don and Karin are staying in Cottonwood until the end of the month. We will have a service for Mom on the 28th. Meantime, D and K are going to spend a few days with us. Don and I will do some jeepin' Southern Arizona style. Peggie and Karin might be able to occupy themselves in the studio.

Philosophy 101: Why is it when some close to you dies, and you are going through their things, you keep wanting to ask them questions about stuff, now that it is too late?

I think what we should all do, is go through each others stuff now, while we are still around to answer questions. Too bad if you see something you want, though. You can't have it yet.

Rest in Peace, Mom

Everyone fills a number of roles as they go through life.

My mother, Elizabeth, is no exception.

She began life as a daughter, and simultaneously a sister to two older siblings. Eventually three additional siblings rounded out the family. I suppose, she was also a niece at that time, but since her parents brought their young family halfway across the country, she was never physically close to her aunts, uncles, and cousins. She grew into a beautiful young woman who attracted the attention of a cowboy from Scottsdale. She became a wife. That brought with it the roles of daughter-in-law and sister-in-law. She became a mother. And an aunt. Her four children grew up and married, making her a mother-in-law. They had children and she took on the role of grandmother and, finally, great grandmother. GG.

She has been very good in every role. I have no doubt she was still a wonderful daughter right to the end. She lived her life in such a way as to never bring disappointment or embarrassment to parents, siblings, husband, children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren. She is, truly, universally loved by all who knew her.

She passed quietly in her sleep early this morning. Twenty-two years, to the day, since the death of her husband, my father.

Happy New Year

Well, the ball has dropped in Times' Square. Though the "live" broadcast hasn't shown that yet. So now it is twenty twelve. I still have a hard time with it being the 21st century. About fifty years ago I started being aware that I would live to see another century. Now it is Y year plus 12 and I am not quite used to it, yet.

We, of course, are at a wild and woolly New Year's Eve party dancing on the tables and drowning in champagne. I can barely hear my keyboard tapping over the revelry.

I want to take a moment to brag to our northern readers that we hit the low 70's today, with blue skies. I did a little yard cleanup and took the roof off the jeep. Well, I really only wanted to make sure that the bag I got for Christmas, designed specifically to contain the roof pieces, would actually do its job. Then I came inside to play on my new computer. Greg remoted in to install some programs and I am good to go. This is my first post using the new CPU. It looks like it is working just fine.

Happy Birthday, Peggie

You just can't stay married 41 years forgetting your wife's birthday.

So, Happy Birthday to Peggie.

Don't send a bunch of fat quarters this year, she still hasn't used all she got last year.

We just celebrated our first Christmas with Ariana. At 3, she is at the right age to get excited about Santa without being greedy. She is very concerned with turn-taking and fairness while we all open our gifts. Amazingly, she got what she asked for from Santa. She got to dress in her new princess outfit and her Rapunzel wig for the day.

We also got what we wanted, which was to have our children and and granddaughter here for the holiday.

Now we are ready for the new year. Bring on 2012. And please, pronounce it "twenty twelve."

Happy (belated) Birthday, Tomoko

We have a good excuse. We weren't home yesterday.

There was a death in Dave's family in Durango, so M&D wanted to go to the funeral. We were available to stay with mom, so that's where we have been. They drove back to Cottonwood in a snow storm, but didn't have any particular difficulty with slippery roads. Just poor visibility. Don and Karin came out for a visit, also. Their live-in trailer needed some work, as did his jeep, so they left the trailer with a good facility in Arkansas, and brought the jeep to a good facility in Cordes Junction. So theirs will be an indefinite stay while repairs are made. I think they should let the government know that they are now among the growing number of unemployed, homeless war veterans suffering through the hard times.

It is nice to see the entire state getting drenched this time of year. It bodes well for the spring wildflower extravaganza which we will actually be here to see this year. That is the plan.

Happy Birthday, Casey!

I can't believe my "baby" is already 26 years old!

Wait a minute, yes I can...26 wonderful years.

Happy Birthday, Casey. Have a great day and a wonderful year!

Brrr...it's cold!

We've had a few days of wind, rain and cold. Right now it's 39 degrees at 8:30 p.m. Just FYI--it's colder in Tucson than White Plains, New York. It's colder in Tucson than Mesa, Arizona. And it's colder in Tucson than Skagway, Alaska.  What in the heck is going on here?

My plants are all covered or moved to the patio or brought into the house. My vegetable garden has been sprouting but I seem to have a rabbit that keeps getting in the yard and helping himself to tiny, delicious leaves!

I remembered to take advantage of the cold temperatures and decided to run the self-cleaning cycle on my oven. It really heats up the house so I usually don't want to run it.