Mom’s visit is very enjoyable. Last night we treated her to the wonderful experience of dining outdoors in December, something she definitely doesn’t get to do very often in Syracuse.
Chris is back east visiting friends for a long weekend, but the rest of us went to a local restaurant and had a very enjoyable meal together.
Truman likes to pose for a casual shoulder shot from time to time, especially in low light which highlights his color patterns beautifully.
I decided to give my holiday spirit a kick by putting up on more Christmas tree. I picked up a couple sets of vintage lights on ebay. One set was still in its original packaging. I figured after waiting 45 years this set deserved to be on a Christmas tree so I installed them this evening.
Instead of going back east to visit folks for the holidays, we flew Mom here for her first trip to Arizona. She navigated her United flights through Denver just fine, apparently chatted with folks seated around her, and is now relaxing here at the Desert Compound.
She just enjoyed her first Arizona sunset.
I stumbled upon this video on YouTube this morning and watched it in its entirety. It’s all about why we all seem to be losing our focus.
It’s worth your attention.
In this day and age of instant gratification, everyone wants everything right now. Being able to order something online at 8:00 AM and getting it delivered by 5:00 PM is awesome. But then when we get cranky when it doesn’t work.
I have been looking for a small artificial tree for my home office. I’d like to have a little bit of something in the background of my Zoom/Teams calls to bring some merriment to the experience. In addition, I wanted a constant reminder as to what season it is, because even though we’ve lived here for even four years, when I look out over the desert landscape I still think it’s some time in July.
I have a plan for this little tree in my office; a plan that will warrant a separate blog entry when the whole affair comes together. In the meanwhile, I have been on the search for an artificial tree, and more specifically, an *unlit* artificial tree.
They are not easy to find.
Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, Lowe’s… they all have plenty of trees with plenty of LED lights already installed. We have a tree or two that has non-functioning lights on a very functioning tree, so we end up putting more lights around the lights that don’t work. I don’t want to get into that situation again with this tree. So I’ve been on the hunt for an unlit artificial tree.
I finally found one on Target.com, and it’s only sold through target.com. UPS reports it will arrive on Friday. I like that. It’ll give me some time to get the tree up and still have a few weeks of enjoyment. I trust UPS more than the United States Postal Service these days. I’ve seen stories of packages going from Nashville to Seattle by way of Puerto Rico. I recently had a package take five days to get from Phoenix to Tucson. I know I-10 can get backed up at times, but that’s ridiculous. And yes, I know it’s the busy season.
I’m looking forward to when the tree arrives and I’m looking forward to bringing the festive vibe to my office. Even if it’s only July.
There has been decorating this evening. I’m feeling the holiday spirit a bit more than I was 24 hours ago.
The family time together was wonderful.
I had a great hike down the Lemmon Rock Lookout Trail to the Wilderness of Rocks trail yesterday. My starting point was the highest parking area on Mount Lemmon. I tried a few different video recording techniques with my iPhone 16 Pro in this video, and I talked about some new accessories I have built for my adventures.
Truman ponders the status of the treats as he gazes out my office window. He enjoys looking at me, and occasionally the funny little humans that appear on the screen in front of the hooman. The others ask questions about the large cat.
He won’t answer questions unless there’s a treat.
I never thought I’d see the day that I would look forward to the sunrise. I’ve regularly been a night owl, but as I get older I find I can’t sleep in like I used to. I feel more productive after seeing the sunrise.
This morning’s sunrise was beautiful. Enjoy the sunrise is a reminder that our time in life is finite, and we must enjoy each moment.
Memento Mori.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!