This is my puppy Cosmo. isn't she darling?

Cosmo

We got a puppy. she is the cutest thing. She is a mini-dachsund. She runs, plays, poops, pees, eats, sleeps and is just a joy to watch. We love her.

Snake!

I do not like snakes. Turtles, lizards okay, snakes no. They just creep me out with their beady eyes and movement. Sure I look at them at the zoo and pet store, but I really don't like them. I especially don't like them when they are slithering around my backyard. yep, there was a 4 footer (or s0) gopher snake slithering around the backyard. yep, I'm scared. Not going in the backyard anytime too soon either! Hopefully, it will find a way out.

there's snow again!

so we go all winter with not a hint of rain or snow and then we get it 2 weeks in a row in March! Yesterday, we could see the snow falling on the mountain and it was hailing here in town. Quite cold too...like 50 degrees. I couldn't get warm until we put a fire in the fireplace. Ah..warmth :)

The mountains are so pretty with all the snow on them. Tomorrow, we might actually drive up Mount Lemmon to play in the snow. That is, if the road is open! The ski resort on top actually opened last week for a couple of days and may reopen this week too.

There's Snow!

Yesterday, we had our first major rainstorm of the year! Yes, in March. The desert so badly needed the rain. It rained all day and night. We heard it was snowing on Mount Lemmon but couldn't tell because it was obscured by the rain clouds all day long. Woke up this AM to a gorgeous view of the Catalinas covered in snow about 2/3 of the way down. Also, the Tortolitas had snow and the Tucson mountains. By 10a, a lot of the snow at the lower elevations had melted off. Still a beautiful sight!

Wishing for rain

Wow, never thought I would ever wish for rain. I miss the smell of it and seeing puddles of water all around. I don't miss driving in it, however! It has been 106 days without any measurable rain here in Tucson, AZ. It is a record, and everyday it doesn't rain adds to that record. There is no rain in the foreseeable future.

Yes, winter with no rain. It feels so unreal to me. No rain also means no snow up on Mount Lemmon. We were up there this past weekend and the concessionairs at the ski lift are still hopeful for some snow in February or March. Said they have been skiing on the mountain every year since the lift opened in 1942. Maybe only once that year, but skiing nevertheless.

The desert plants look awful. Usually, they are green but they are turning yellow. These are the plants that are accustomed to this drought situation. Matt has been watering the ones in our yard a couple times a week. The wildflower outlook is nil. No water = no wildflowers. Sad

Family Visits

We just had a wonderful visit with my Brother-in-Law, Paul and his girlfriend Jodi. We had good conversation, good times, good food. Friday was Paul's bday and we took him out to Lil Abner's for a nice steak dinner. They had a live band and we were able to get them to play happy birthday to Paul. He was embarrased. But, we had fun. Too bad they live so far away.

Orkland

I'm rediscovering the joys of Mork and Mindy. What a fun comedy show. Robin Williams is such a clown! I love it! Check out http://www.sitcomsonline.com/morkandmindy.html for a lot of Mork and Mindy info.

New Year's Day

We have made this sort-of a tradition to go on a hike on NY Day. This year we went to the spectacular Chiracahua Mountains! http://www.nps.gov/chir/ A national park that is not visited very often. It is located in the very SE corner of Arizona. this is the land of the Apaches and Geronimo! The place is full of awesome rock formations. Very much like Bryce Canyon but without the color. We took a 3.4 mile hike (the Echo Canyon loop) through the rocks. It was amazing. If I can figure out how to post pics, I will.

And, they are over

The Holidays, that is. We had an awesome holiday this year. We flew to Fresno to spend Christmas with the fam. Christmas Eve was the usual pizza dinner at the in-laws. A great poker game started and we all had fun. Christmas day was at my parents house. Matt and I got there an hour early and were immediately put to work helping prepare the food for the fondue dinner. It was fun being involved making everything esp. the crab and cheese fondue. The dessert fondue was the best. We had a chocolate waterfall and hot caramel. Yummy.

The plane ride home was very bumpy. the airline didn't put the $400 fishing pole on the plane though we gate=checked it! It arrived on a later flight.

New Year's was spent here in Tucson with some colleagues of Matt's. Another poker game and the Motley Crue concert on the TV!