Our weekend and a quick road trip

Happy new week, blog friends.

♥

Ahhh... A little cold front moved in for us this past weekend and our temps were only around 101°F (38°C); a relief from the previous weekend when we were hit with 118° (47°C). Really, 101° is tolerable for us, 118° is just plain awful!

Anyway, enough about the weather...

{the desert in Tucson, Arizona}

Friday evening we met some good, long-time friends for dinner at a nice restaurant in Scottsdale. It was a great way to kick off the weekend, and we came home with a doggy-bag full of rib bones that Lucky snacked on all weekend. I even sent a few home with Carrie for her doggies and I smile thinking of her wondering if they'd know what to do with them. Must remember to ask her how they liked them...

 

You know, I gave up teaching yoga on Saturday mornings, and this was the first Saturday that I was really able to enjoy the luxury of getting out of bed and having no commitments for the day. Very nice! I spent a good amount of time on my own yoga mat, took care of a few things around the house, and did our grocery shopping before it was too dang hot outside.

 

I came home from grocery shopping and mixed up a batch of cookie dough - a new recipe I'd been wanting to try and I will share more about that later this week. Once my cookie dough was mixed and chilling in the fridge, I went mall shopping with my girl, C.

Fun thing that happened this weekend: My aunt, Kathy, visits my grandma every couple of weeks and stays with her for a few days. While she's at Grandma's house she cooks and cleans and takes care of things that Grandma can no longer do herself. (Grandma will be 96 this summer and still lives alone. ♥ ) The past couple of times Aunt Kathy has been at Grandma's house she has texted me and we share photos and messages back and forth for Grandma. So on Saturday, Aunt Kathy texted me a photo of a new chair that Grandma bought and had wanted me to see, along with photos of her pots of plants and flowers on her little patio. I texted back photos of our backyard and a couple of selfies, including the one above of Carrie and me at the mall.

While Carrie and I were out shopping for clothes, Doug was home working on our master bathroom remodel.

Over the years of working together on construction sites, Doug and his brother, Don, have been drawing goofy pictures of each other and then covering them up behind walls and layers of paint. The one shown above was drawn, photographed and texted to Don before being covered with a fresh sheet of drywall. Don's text reply was, "DOUG!!!!" Lol. Those two.

Doug is making slow and steady progress on the bathroom remodel. It's going to look amazing when he's done! :o)

And yesterday we took a little road trip...

I met Mindy and her husband, Carey, while I was in Tulum, Mexico on my yoga retreat. They live in Atlanta, Georgia and were staying at the same resort for a few days. We ran into each other several times over the course of their stay and we became fast friends. This past weekend they were in Tucson for a wedding, so Doug and I drove south to meet them for lunch. It was so nice to be able to sit and share a meal with them! We bid farewell, trusting that our paths will cross again someday.

I had wanted to make a little side trip to see the Saguaro National Park, so on our way home Doug accommodated my request. The park was 16 miles off the freeway and we made it 13 miles before pulling the car over, taking a few photos, making a U-turn and heading back to the freeway. Cactus are cactus and we see our share all the time anyway.

Heading back toward the freeway...

It was a fun way to spend a Sunday, and we were home by 4:00 p.m.

Here's something cool about this week: Doug and I made the decision for me to cut my hours at my corporate job, and [after some negotiating] my boss agreed. Starting this week, I'll be working Monday - Thursday with Friday's off in order to pursue other interests. Specifically, I'm going to begin volunteering in hospice work on Fridays. ♥ For the next two weekends I'll be in volunteer training, then once my required training sessions are complete, I will begin volunteering in various capacities with Hospice of the Valley. I'll share more about this as it unfolds for me.

Time to feed the turtles and get ready for work.

Have a lovely week, sweet friends.

Count your blessings.

♥

Our day trip in search of desert wildflowers

Weekends aren't what they used to be! With me teaching yoga on Saturday mornings, and Doug using his weekends to squeeze in home projects and time in nature when he can, we've been a bit limited when it comes to picking up and hitting the road.

 

The office where I work was closed for Good Friday, and since Doug has the best boss ever {himself} he took the day off too. We loaded up the truck with snacks and drinks and Lucky the dog and headed out early Friday morning in search of this spring's desert wildflowers.

For my local readers who know the state of Arizona, you'll know where we traveled, and for others who are interested you can view a map of our state and find these points of interest. We traveled through Payson, up past Kohl's Ranch, to Young, and then home through Globe, Arizona.

Ah! Nature makes us so happy!

There's me, blending in with the trees. :o)

When we got to Young we headed out to the airstrip. Doug and Lucky hiked to a water hole to look for deer tracks, and I sat at a picnic table and enjoyed some mandala time. ♥

As planned, we were in Young around mid-day and had a yummy lunch at Antlers - our old stomping grounds.

 

Mmmmmm.... Heartburn for days but SO yummy at the time! :o)

 

From Young we drove to Globe, enjoying the views of Roosevelt Lake and finally seeing a few wildflowers. I think we may have been a little late this year because there weren't a ton of flowers to be seen and/or photographed. The drive was beautiful, nonetheless.

 

We arrived back home at 5:00 p.m., tired and happy.

As for the slim number of wildflowers?

None of us minded one little bit.

♥

Christmas Firewood Road Trip

Sigh. I love being off work the week before Christmas. And since Christmas totally snuck up on me this year, it's really great to be off work this week!

Doug took Monday off so we could take a little road trip to Ashfork, Arizona to gather some firewood. His brother has some property up there, and we were able to go up and clear some fallen/dead tree debris to bring back for our fireplace. It was so fun to see that the snow that had fallen the week before was still in patches in some shady spots. There wasn't enough snow to make it freezing cold outside (awesome for me!) but just enough to build a mini-snowman (again, awesome for me!).

Yes, I wore my camo pants that day. They are so comfy!

Doug wanted to show me where he and his brother had built a tree-stand (for hunting) up at the top of this mountain so we did a little hiking. I think taking this next photo is where I must have dropped the glove I was wearing. One of Doug's favorite gloves. :o\ When we got to the top I realized I only had one. Oops. Have no fear, we found it on our way back down.

That's Lucky the dog right on Doug's heels. And Doug is toting an ice chest with our lunch and drinks for the top of the mountain. And here's me, with one glove...

When I say I need a mountain, Doug doesn't mess around. The view was so beautiful at the top, although the wind was super cold up there. We ate our sandwiches and headed back down the hill.

Hooray! So, we have plenty of firewood to last us for awhile, and there's also enough to share with Carrie and Andrew. And Doug found a really cool hollow log that we plan to use in our turtle habitat. Rex and Casper will love climbing through that log! (Current turtle situation: winter hibernation.)

 

Lucky the dog had a blast! Here he is at the end of the day while he and I waited for Doug to secure the load of firewood. He was one tired little doggy, with sore feet and a few cactus stickers on his front legs. He loves a great road trip!

It was about a four-hour trek one-way, and we ended up back home just as the sun was beginning to set. A full day of collecting firewood, soaking up fresh mountain air, and making a tiny snowman.

And with that, my friends, I am off to celebrate Christmas! I have a few more gifts to wrap, one to deliver this afternoon, and a grocery store run to make on my way home.

If your eyes are reading my words, know that you are wished so many blessings this holiday season. Keep your thoughts sweet and kind for yourself and others, take lots of deep breaths, eat a bunch of chocolate, give gifts with all your heart, and no pouting!

Merry Christmas to all!

With love from PaperTurtle.

♥ ~ Deb

This weekend on our piece of the planet

Hi everyone!

♥

I hope this weekend recap finds you well and happy. It was a deliciously busy weekend on our piece of the planet. Doug took a much needed break from the new house remodeling and headed north to camp with his brother, and I had my monthly yoga teacher training weekend - a total of 13 hours of anatomy lecture, yoga poses and yoga friends. I loved every minute!


Saturday morning I hit the ground running. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the beautiful morning light streaming through our kitchen window - though the photo doesn't do that moment in time justice. I've packed most of our personal treasures in preparation for our upcoming house move, and it's actually been nice to not have so much clutter around. I'm thinking I may keep things to a minimum in the new house. Maybe.

A turtle story: Saturday morning I was rushing around here, admittedly with too many irons in the fire. I fed the turtles, started water for tea, put some eggs on to boil, got in the shower... About an hour later I came out to the kitchen to find our dog, Lucky, pacing around the kitchen table. Underneath the table was a big blob of something...was it a rock? What in the world... OMG - it was REXY! In my scurrying I had accidentally left the atrium door open, and our male box turtle wandered on inside and made his way to the kitchen table.

I picked him up and examined him for dog tooth marks but he was perfectly fine. So I held him down close to Lucky for a final dog sniffing and praising. What a good doggy!!! With our upcoming move we've been concerned about creating a new turtle habitat that was dog proof - just not knowing how Lucky would be with our shelled pets. We still wouldn't give Lucky free access to the turtles, but it's good to know his instinct for them is on the gentler side. Phew!

Saturday: Hurried housework in the morning, corralling a turtle, teaching yoga, learning yoga, practicing yoga, dinner with Carrie, and a visit to see her beau at his place of employment.

Sunday: Hurried housework in the morning, a 30-minute astrological phone reading from Debra Silverman (so cool!), lasagna soup made in the crockpot for dinner, more learning/practicing yoga, coming home to find Doug safely returned and Carrie here for lasagna soup, finished up laundry, enjoyed this sunset, fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Now comes Monday, in her typical here-too-soon fashion, ushering out the final day of August. I have lots of cool things on my calendar this week with a three-day weekend on the horizon (yay!).

Here's wishing you the best possible outcomes for every little challenge you may face this week.

Remember, it's all about perspective...

♥

Yesterday and beyond...

Monday morning, already.

♥

Well that was a quick weekend! Doug and I have a lot of things coming up in the next couple of months, so we decided to take advantage of our last free Sunday and take a drive up through Northern Arizona yesterday. Ah! What a beautiful day for a drive...

These photos were taken near Williams, and Ash Fork, Arizona - about a three hour drive from where we live. The temperature was about 20° cooler than being at home, and that sky and those fluffy white clouds?!?! Arizona perfection.

 

Doug has a small tear in his right knee and he's scheduled for surgery on Wednesday of this week. Send some happy thoughts and a few prayers his way, if you are so inclined, for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. ♥

Wednesday evening is the first night of the new four-week session for the yoga class I teach through my city's parks and recreation department. I love teaching that Wednesday night class! And it's fun because every four weeks there's an opportunity to introduce new students to yoga. I'm settling in and not feeling as nervous before I teach a yoga class. It feels wonderful to relax in that role a little.

Our house is beginning to feel a bit disheveled with our upcoming move. I've had a couple of boxes packed and sitting on our living room floor for the past week, along with a roll of packaging tape and a pile of newspapers for wrapping stuff. It's going to get worse before it gets better, so it's a good time for me to remind myself that this is temporary. It's all temporary... 

Those clouds though! Plus black-eyed Susan's along the way and a picnic lunch... Awesome!

We are scheduled to close on our new house two weeks from today. The list of things to do is growing, and we will work out the timing of everything as we go. Plans are for Doug to work on some remodeling in the new house before we actually move in (mid-September). Praying for patience and tenacity and realistic expectations for both of us. And for Doug to not over-do it on his newly repaired knee!

Yes, a day trip was just what we needed yesterday! Being out in nature is what fuels us, and now it's game on...

But first I'm off to tackle Monday. I've got my sights set on 5:30 p.m. when my work day will be done and I'll be meeting for Mandala Monday with B & C. Well, B for sure; maybe C...

I'll catch you on the flip side, my friends.

Have a great week!

♥

A renaissance weekend with my girl

Hey there, friends.

Happy Monday to each of you.

♥

This was another weekend for the memory books. We spent our time - from Friday night to Sunday evening - with friends and family. Surround that with Arizona's springtime weather and you have yourself a fantastic couple of days!

Doug and I had dinner with friends on Friday night and then dinner with his family on Saturday night. Lots of laughs and good times there - not to mention lots of yummy food and our fair share of drink. ;o) We were temporarily locked out of our house on Friday evening, so Carrie came to our rescue and sat and visited with us for a while. Loved that! ♥

Saturday morning's yoga class was awesome - a second chance to lead yoga and I was way more comfortable with it this week. Yay! And then yesterday Carrie and I headed out to the annual Renaissance Festival. We had so much fun, and these are the photos I have to share...

Lots of sunshine, lots of people...

Every year I say I'm going to buy one of these scarves with beads and coins that jingle. This year I did it.

Last year I talked myself out of buying one of these ceramic mushrooms for our garden. This year I got my mushroom too.

And Carrie and I both got henna tattoos, as per the usual.

There was also a bit of hula hooping where the fun factor is a bit more enhanced if you are wearing a scarf with beads and coins that jingle.

One of the things I love about the Renaissance Festival is all the color - bright colors every where you look...

Awesome, awesome, awesome weekend. I hope yours was awesome too!

Here's to the new week ahead...

♥

Just a Quote for Friday

 

"Just living is not enough...

one must have sunshine, freedom,

and a little flower."

~ Hans Christian Andersen

Valentine's Day in the desert

When I say "Happy Monday" I really mean it this week.

I have today off work for President's Day.

:o) ♥

It's so fun that Valentine's Day fell on a three-day weekend for us this year. Doug and I took a picnic lunch and spent some time in the desert on Saturday. Ahhh - the weather was absolutely perfect, and we found the prettiest spot to hang out for the afternoon. Come in, let me show you...

One of the advantages of being married to an outdoorsman is that he knows some really cool and remote locations. Though, we weren't exactly alone for the afternoon. With the glorious weather there were other Arizonan's out and about as well. Gotta' share the planet...

It's been a few years since I've shot a gun {healing shoulder} and we decided we'd take some time to do a little target practicing. Now, I know gun control is a hot topic and I'm not going to get all opinionated about the political junk associated around it. I will say that guns scare the living daylights out of me but Doug has taught me how to respect them. And he's taught me how to shoot and I must say I'm a pretty good shot. It's so fun to hit the bulls-eye! Or...well...pretty darn close to it anyway!

I smile to myself when I think of the contrast between yoga and the violent power of a gun. Yin and yang, dark and light, him and me...

What a beautiful day it was! This area was west of Superior, Arizona. Sigh...I want to go back...

 

 Exploring...

What a great way to spend Valentine's Day. The fresh air and sunshine was good for both of us. ♥

On the horizon this week: I'm SO close to finishing the quilt I've been working on! I'm excited to blog about it next week. And I'm gearing up for a road trip with my girl C to meet the new baby in our family and celebrate a first birthday for my niece, Olivia.

Wishing you blue skies and sunshine this week,

and the lingering happiness of Valentine's Day.

♥