Happy New Year!

We are expecting snow for new year's eve. Mostly above 7000 feet but the valley floor is also expecting rain mixed with snow.

According to the radio, 1967 and 1987 both had snow for Christmas. We did not in 2007, but 2011 looks like a good chance for new year snow.

Have a great holiday and a safe New Year's Eve and Day.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to my family. Hope everyone has a great day. It will be warm here and sunny.

Happy December!

Ready for the season? It will be cold. Hope everyone stays well.

Eating well

I just read the book Eat Fat, Lose Fat, by Dr. Mary Enig. It was an interesting exploration of health and weight issues. Her main premise is that the fat is not only important for health, but is necessary for life. She says to incorporate Coconut oil into your diet so you are getting medium chain fatty acids, which are apparently the best kind to feed your brain and skin and muscles. I have started using Cultured Cocount milk in my protein shakes in the morning and like it. I do seem to have a bit more energy, but it's probably too early to tell.

Autumn

Autumn is here and the trees are like fireworks. The weather has stayed nice, in the 60s and 70s, making me want to stay outside all the time! Interestingly, my apartment has heat from radiators, and although I have the heat turned off on the control knob, my radiators have heated up anyway. So, I can sit by the window and get a cool wave over me, and feel the warmth in my buttular region. So fun!

Monsoon (or lack thereof)

The days start clear with sunny and humid mornings. As the day progresses, the clouds build up and the heat soars. Then a rumble and a flash and some wind might appear. Then if you are lucky, two drops fall from the sky and the clouds flow away again to leave clear skies for morning. We have had two good rains this season. One left us with one inch of rain and one brought two inches. We have had a few other small rains too. Other parts of the city have gotten more and to the south and west, they have had quite a good rainy season.
Our 'garden' is prospering and the rain helps. All the aloes have babies and a couple of the agaves do too. The Lantanas around the corner are growing big and flowering. The other two had a problem and are slowly recovering. Hopefully this winter we receive lots of rain again so our plants will be firmly established and we will not need to water as much next summer. Although Wayne likes the exercise he gets from hand watering all the plants.
Our cats are looking forward to the cooler days when they will be able to go outside on the patio again.

Cats

My two cats are settling into life with me, but they are not really getting along still. They fight (although it might be just really aggressive play) at intervals. In general they have staked out their territories, and will sometimes each claim one spot at different times during the day so the other cat doesn't have exclusive rights to it! Rowen is carmel colored underneath with leopard spots on her belly with a striped brown on her back. Her fur is short and shiny, but each hair has all different bands on color on it; very interesting to look at when I find them everywhere. Ro-Ro is extremely affectionate and especially loves her belly rubbed. Bandita is long haired with a fluffy tail that she uses so expressively. She is dark with patches of white and brown at unexpected places. When you pet her, her fur feels like mist against your hand and she is so lightweight that she barely makes a dent when she sits on the couch. She loves to play and I have some yarn tied to a stick that is her favorite toy.

I am enjoying getting to know them and have loved having them to come home to after a stressful day at work!

Dozer the Dog

Dozer is doing well. only one accident so far in the house. he is trying to work his way up the chain in the family by intimidating Noelle and William. we are walking every day and playing several times. short spurts because of the heat.

I want Noelle to be able to walk him so we are working on that skill. she needs to be able to control him so he cannot pull her off her feet.

Now the wedding

my big son gets married in about 3 weeks. we are getting some things ready, the other boys need to be measured for shirts and vests with jeans and boots to be bought, our dresses are bought so the girls just need to decide on what to do with our hair. the dog is doing well and we are working on getting back into a school schedule.

Dozer the dog

we are getting a dog! he is a silver lab we are adopting from a friend who needs to simplify. we are excited. he is 6 months old and has had a good start on training (potty, sitting, etc) so we will just need to continue the training in Texas.

trip to AZ

the younger kids and I are headed to Tucson this weekend. we are adopting a dog from a friend and will bring him home with us. we will spend some time with family and friends as well as doing some training with the dog so we can continue what he has already learned. it has been a good summer and we will need the couple weeks to get into a routine with the dog. school starts in Texas on Aug 23.

School Starting means Fall

School will be starting soon. Some of our school districts are already back in session in Arizona. That means Fall and Football season. W. is excited about Football. He thinks baseball has too long of a season and does not watch regularly so the summer is very long without a sport to watch on TV. He watches Basketball after Football season ends.
Fall also brings yellow leaves on the ground, slightly cooler temperatures, and time to be outdoors again. The summer is so hot it is not comfortable to be out for
any time at all.
Fall brings apples, pumpkins, and Halloween.
What do you like about Fall?

Back in the Swing of Things

coming home from vaca is always hard. we had a great time at the shore and are glad to be home. daughter has a dental appt this afternoon and we (well me) are cleaning up and putting things away. will finish the mound of laundry today just need to put stuff away.:)

Read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society while at the shore with the sisters in law. they like to read while on vacation so i joined in. I liked this book and would recommend it to others. human nature with some history thrown in.

downloaded the 12 Andrew Lang fairy books onto my Kindle as well as the 15 OZ books. I am looking forward to going thru them again. it is hard to find all the fairy books now but I have a print collection of the OZ books.

need to sew a couple of needlework projects into pillows this week as well as put together a pillow cover for Will. he is always taking my giant pillow so i need to get his made so he has his own

Busy!

Sorry about being so late contributing; things have not exactly been quiet for me this summer so far! I do live in D.C. and work for a major medical center here as a Human Resources Specialist. I live with two cats who are not yet happy about living with each other in my apartment. I work a lot as my hospital is undergoing transformation and I am working directly on that project. Otherwise, I like to read, cook and exercise, although don't always get to it, especially with the heat wave we've been having this year. Yuck!

What are we Reading right now?

What kind of books are you reading, or are you doing much at all?

I tend to stop reading when I am very busy at work creating spreadsheets. Right now I am reading Urban Fiction in the paperback section of the Library. Which is not large as they are remodeling the Library. I like Anne McCaffrey books as well as vampire and other fantasy books. I like Jen St Clair from "DisOrganization'.
I tend to write fantasy when I am able to write.

I also play games on Facebook way too late at night. I can read and play games at the same time.

Hope your summer is going well.

Happy Holiday

Hope everyone had a good holiday. I had to work both days. I had my vacation the week before.
Did you all see some fireworks? They had some pretty ones here. Usually we have monsoon weather by the 4th, but not till the end of the week, the weather people say.
We still need to hear from the DC sister. Did you have some great fire works there?
And we need pictures for the other two. It doesn't have to be of you.
Anyone have an idea of a great subject to talk about? Remember to comment on each other's posts.

The Baby, Miss Spoiled to my sisters

I am the youngest and always the trouble maker although Booklady did her share. Currently focusing on school, just send my sweet daughter to MD to our sister that is queen of DC, at least her little part. Just got a promotion at work, YAY!

Second

I am Renni and I am the second oldest. I am married with 3 children, live in Texas and working on my Master's of Library Science degree. My family, with the exception of the oldest who is working this summer, is at the New Jersey Shore with my husband's brother and sister and their families. They came to the shore as kids and are now continuing the tradition with their children.

Tanya, oldest sister

This blog is about the viewpoints of 4 sisters. We are geographically diverse and also have diverse viewpoints about the state of the world.
I am Tanya, I am the oldest. I live in Arizona with my partner, W. I work at a resort in the Housekeeping department. I am registered Democrat but vote however I feel. I have 6 cats, 2 birds, and a fish tank. We recently lost our 12 year old Shih Tzu to a tumor. We will probably get another dog in the next year or so.
My partner is retired and we recently got back from a trip to Yosemite, California.
My son lives in Texas with my sister Renni and is getting married in September to a wonderful girl.