J.P.

Lightning.

I’m getting better at capturing lightning shots with my trusty iPhone X. I’m tempted to put a “weather camera” up on the roof specifically for Monsoon Season so I can share the excitement with the world. Do people still do that sort of thing?

We’ll probably get another round of thunderstorms in the overnight. The National Weather Service has predicted a good chance of storms for the next 24 hours, and then it tapers off over the weekend. Monsoon Season likes to take a break and then ramp up again; we’ll probably see more storms next week.

As long as the house cooperates and holds itself together, I don’t mind the thunderstorms. They’re still quite thrilling to me. The thunder and lightning here reminds me of some of the storms we’d get on the Eastern shore of Lake Ontario where I grew up, though the storms here move much slower. My sister and I would camp out in the pop up camper set up in the driveway and together we rode through a couple of impressive thunderstorms. One time we brought the menagerie of cats in with us so they wouldn’t get wet. We had six or seven cats at the time. They appreciated the extra pets they would get.

I think they liked the attention more than the thunderstorms.

Truman doesn’t seem too upset by the storms. During the first one or two storms at the beginning of the season he’d station himself under the buffet in the dining room, but now he just hangs out with us during the frivolity.

Like his ancestors, he likes the extra pets more than the storms.

29 July 2021 by J.P. Ponderings and Musings 0

Five.

We tried out a new (to us) Mexican restaurant this evening. It was near the downtown area and the five of us had a great experience. I appreciate being able to eat outside, in the fresh air, where mask use and such is less worrisome.

28 July 2021 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 0

Fuzzy.

Some days are better viewed through a bit of cheese cloth or with Vaseline on the lens.

27 July 2021 by J.P. Ponderings and Musings 0

Skymall.

Up until a couple of years ago, whenever I jumped on a flight to a faraway destination, I would take delight in perusing through the Skymall catalog found in the seat pocket of every airline seat. It would usually be situated next to a barf bag and the safety instructions card. Occasionally the Skymall catalog was front and center.

The Skymall catalog contained all sorts of oddities, such as a bicycle helmet with laser lights to regrow hair on balding men or blow up neck pillows for those contortionists who felt they could get a good night’s sleep on their flight from Peoria to Lubbock or mirrors that let you try on a mustache like the one pictured above.

Quality, solid offerings for the discerning capitalistic society.

Last week I came to the realization that ads on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter are basically electronic versions of SkyMall. With just a few quick clicks of my mouse and solid records of my last bowel movement, and any other personal information the platform can glean out of my interaction, for a low $599 I can have an Android tablet that lets me take notes and nothing else.

I then further realized that “Shark Tank”, the once popular television show where innovators grovel for funding for their latest get-rich-quick scheme, is really just the king of SkyMall with some extra drama to give the whole experience an edge. For those struggling with the aforementioned bowel movements, the inventors of Squatty Potty groveled for millions of dollars of funding from the queen of QVC, so you can raise your legs to Jesus while taking a dump for only $69.95.

I bet you didn’t see that on your last airline flight.

26 July 2021 by J.P. Why. 0

Wet.

It rained for much of the weekend. Folks that have lived here longer than us have told us this amount of rain is not normal. The ground is saturated and several of our saguaros (cacti) behind the house have become water logged and lost an “arm” or two. We have a few leaks that need to be tended to; a call to the roofing company again tomorrow is in order.

Monsoon season!

25 July 2021 by J.P. Desert Life. 0

Socializing.

My husband and I went for a ride and then met the rest of the family at a local restaurant called Serial Grillers. We don’t get out very much, what with pandemics and the like, but it was nice to be able to sit at a bar, have a drink, and just chat with others out in public for a few moments. We miss doing this, but we’re balancing a responsible approach to our health and the health of others with the need for some social interaction.

I have a feeling there may be some attempted lockdowns later this year. COVID infections are starting to spike amongst the unvaccinated population and this is concern for everyone, not just those that are not vaccinated for whatever reason.

Thank god polio didn’t come around in the 21st century.

24 July 2021 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 0

Storms.

The blue dot/cross hairs shows our location. We had a very impressive thunderstorm come through last night. The lightning show was wild, the rain was driving, and the wind was rattling all sorts of things. Surprisingly, we never lost power.

However, the house did display its vulnerabilities in this type of storm.

Today we have the roofing company out. They did work for the previous owners of the house and assured us the roof is still under warranty. We had a couple of leaks in the hallway, a leak in Chris’ office, and a leak behind the piano on the upstairs landing. The roofers went through and patched things up and hopefully this will help with the leak situation.

We still love the house very much and we knew it needed some work. So no surprises there. When the roofers were here they pointed out a few things they had recommended to the previous owners, but the owners declined the expense. We’ll probably have these things done soon. While everyone has their own reasons for the decisions they make in life, I’m wired to do what needs to be done to make the investment of a home last a long, long time.

I feel like we’re ready for the next round of storms coming in this weekend.

23 July 2021 by J.P. Desert Life. 0

Thank You For The Music?

I have always been an ABBA fan. Even before their resurgence and the “Mamma Mia” productions and the like, I have always enjoyed the music of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Anna-Frid (Frida). So one can understand that when it was announced back in 2018 that ABBA had gotten together and recorded a few new tracks, there were many folks that were excited to hear the new these new numbers.

It’s 2021 and they still haven’t been released. Apparently, ABBA wants to accompany these new songs with a road show involving a young ABBA (as we remember them) depicted by holograms in concert. The technology is a little wonky at the moment, then of course there was the worldwide pause for COVID-19, and as things start to resemble whatever normal is, still no word on when the tracks will be released.

Let’s hope it’s soon. The world needs to say Thank You for the Music. Soon.

22 July 2021 by J.P. Music. Why. 0

Rose.

I am very tired. Here’s a photo of the roses growing in our greenhouse/pool room. Chris has the greenest thumb of the family.

21 July 2021 by J.P. Desert Life. 0

Emergency.

After a weekend at the ballpark, my husband realized he wasn’t feeling well on Monday. He said he had a pain above his abdomen. He tried to sleep it off but the pain would not subside, so at 11:00 PM he woke me up and asked him to take him to Urgent Care.

We went to the nearby Urgent Care center where they told us to go to the Emergency Room, since they didn’t have any machines to look at what could be wrong. We went to the Emergency Room. Honestly, the facility was a bit of a mess with chairs and wheelchairs strewn about. It was very cold and they were handing out blankets for soon-to-be-patients to wrap up in to keep warm. The computers were down (apparently it’s a nightly thing), but after a bit we got him registered and the wait began.

We were called in fairly quickly where they asked a bunch of questions and decided to do an ultrasound. I wasn’t allowed up in the ultrasound area; soon my husband was sitting with me in the meat locker like waiting room.

It was at this point that the hospital apparently lost interest in us.

Four hours later we were still sitting in the waiting room. We had checked on the status of where we were in line. Messages arrived via text advising we’d be seen in a few hours. My husband started falling asleep in the waiting room chair. He was seemingly comfortably asleep when we jerked awake and said to me, “I feel better but not great, but if I can sleep here, I can sleep at home”.

We let the check-in desk know we were heading home and that was the end of that ordeal. Later in the day he awoke from a long nap and declared he was feeling fine. I had grabbed a couple of hours of sleep and was making my way through the workday. All is well that ends well.

I have to admit, the folks coming through the Emergency Room were somewhat interesting. A man came in a skateboard and was promptly brought in because he had “broken heart syndrome”. We had the feeling they’d seen him before. Another man moaned really, really loud constantly and he was whisked into the bowels of the hospital. My husband decided that if we go to the ER again he’s going to moan loudly to get attention.

I’m happy he’s feeling better.

20 July 2021 by J.P. Everyone's A Critic. 0

Lightning.

Five.

Fuzzy.

Skymall.

Wet.

Socializing.

Storms.

Thank You For The Music?

Rose.

Emergency.

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