It’s pretty muggy out today, which is very unusual for here, except during monsoon season. Last weekend we got over 2 inches of rain. Usually a “good” monsoon brings 2.77 inches. While I’m certainly not complaining about rain, it is not pleasant to be outside.
After my latest doctor’s report I broke down and hired someone to mow my lawn this weekend. He’s here now and the dogs are going crazy. I reminded him (twice) that when I was feeling better I would be taking over again and so not to mow again without checking with me. He’s done with the front and side and it looks great.
It’s been an emotional week. I’m looking forward to regaining some equilibrium this weekend.
Another peaceful picture taken in Oro Valley. Don’t be fooled by the beauty though. The humidity when I was there was in the high 80%s every day, making it not as comfortable as you might imagine.
I’ve been having a difficult time breathing lately. My guess was the increased difficulty was a result of the less-than-stellar air quality we’ve had lately, coupled with the humidty settling in the past few days. After consulting with my doctor, I was sent home with a new inhaler and a nebulizer. Unfortunately, neither of them seem to be helping, nor is sleeping half-sitting up. I find myself coughing and gasping in regular intervals throughout the day and night. And, it’s not worse at night as has been the case with asthma (for me) in the past.
So after calling in late last night, I went in for a CT scan, a scope thing (I can’t remember the name) and full blood work up beginning before the sun rose this morning. Whichever doctor is on call will be giving me a call later today if the results are back. Until then I have my old inhaler back (for emergencies) and no nebulizer (since it wasn’t actually helping anyways). Any other medicine or treatment will depend on the results.
[It's amazing to me that they really "can" get results back that quickly when they push it. Because normally I'd be waiting 4-6 days (at a minimum) to find out anything.]
About 45 minutes before the local fireworks were to start, a dust storm blew through, followed closely by lots of wind and (what I call pretend rain) a few sprinkles. The fireworks were cancelled, which made sense to me given where they planned to have them: close to the river bed full of dried plants and shrubs. I wasn’t sure how the organizers were going to keep the river bottom from catching on fire given the wind and the conditions. I read in the paper today that the fire from ten days ago is finally contained after burning more than 6600 acres southeast of here. That fire was harder to contain because it was in a dry river bed where there’s plenty of brush and the like to burn.
Anyway, the fireworks were cancelled.
I went outside during the storm because I thought it was going to rain more than the normal 8 drops of muddy water. The (adult) neighbor (of the kids that burned the tree while I was in Flagstaff) asked me if I wanted to set off fireworks with them. I’m not sure what look I must have had on my face, but he then said maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea given the wind. No kidding. I’m not sure if they just lack common sense or if they have an unconscious desire to burn down their house, and possibly mine because of the location. The wind was still blowing hard when I went to bed around midnight and I never heard any fireworks from next door so I’m guessing that they chose wisely to not set any off.
I had a nice time in Tucson (the pic is a view from my hotel room), but I was happy to get home late Wednesday afternoon. It was funny because during one workshop a monsoon storm came through the area. People got up during the speaker’s presentation to watch it hail out!
Thankfully when I got home no trees had been ignited in or near my yard. The dogs didn’t miss me much because John and Sarah took such good care of them. The next morning, Cotton and Lucy, who had both been ignoring me since my return both acted thrilled to see John (Lucy even kissed his arm!).
Later today I’m going over to John and Sarah’s for a barbeque. Other than that, I’m hoping for a very quiet and restful weekend.
The picture is from earlier this month when the moon was almost full. I’m trying to learn to take better pictures when it’s dark. I’m leaving for Tucson around 8 p.m. Which is considerably earlier than the original plan of 10:45 p.m., but still later than I wish it were going to be. I’ll be in Tucson until Wednesday afternoon. Lucy was not happy to see the suitcase come out this afternoon.
I have a headache. Some days I really feel like a failure. I like to tell myself that it’s just a “moment” and that things really have turned around, but I’m not always sure.
Since I wasn’t convinced this morning that I’d fully recovered from the flu, I pretty much puttered around the house. Most of it involved cleaning, which generally involves moving furniture in my mind. I just think it’s easier to really clean if the furniture is being repositioned as well. Lucy, as you can tell by the picture, puts up with it, but she really doesn’t like it. Luke and Cotton just hide when the vacuum comes out, although Cotton has gotten a bit braver about it all recently. They were interested when I was cleaning off the top of the refrigerator; however I’m sure it was because that’s also where I keep their dog treats. I’m glad that John and Sarah are coming home today from their vacation in Chicago. It will be nice to have them back. Lucy and I drove out earlier today to check on their house for the last time before they get back.
While he’s happy to be in the house, Cotton still refuses to come near me. He does this everytime I’m gone for a few days. Luke, on the other hand, has been at my side since I returned home.
The burned tree is being removed today. My neighbors were a little irritated that I took a picture of it, but since I did it from my side of the fence, they’ll just have to live. I’m not sure why they waited until 11 a.m. to start it either, but that’s their business. (It was 96F at 8 a.m.)
I watched No Reservations and Juno earlier today while I was doing laundry and cleaning a bit. Since they irrigated yesterday instead of Tuesday as they normally do, mowing is out of the question for this weekend. Irrigation yesterday is also why I’m cleaning “a bit” since evertime the dogs come in they track in dirt with them.
Remember me writing about the neighbor’s burning their tree while there parents were at work? Here’s a few pictures from the fence up.
