When I was young, my sister and I would occasionally go over to Grandma and Grandpa Country’s house to visit them after dinner. They would occasionally be watching a nature or such show on WCNY-TV 24, the local PBS station. I thought that’s what older people did.
As I get older, my interest in living outside my little slice of the world has grown. There are so many places I want to see and do. My bucket list overflows. In the meanwhile, I watch videos of life elsewhere, much like my grandparents did.
Here’s a video that was suggested by YouTube: One Day in the Coldest Village on Earth. I should probably watch it again in the middle of July when temperatures are getting close to 120 degrees Fahrenheit in these parts.
The Intense Project at work continues at a frenetic pace. I’ve been working the longest hours I’ve ever worked in my career, aside from the craziness of on-call back in the 2000s. The target date for the project launch is the weekend of the 8th, so hopefully things will settle down soon.
I’ve been daydreaming about escaping the world for a week. I don’t know if I want to camp somewhere in the mountains and forests north of here, go for a meandering drive through small towns in a certain radius around Tucson, or just veg out in a dark room, but I’m looking forward to doing something adventurous that doesn’t involve writing code very soon.
When we lived in the mobile home my parents had a pair of late 1960s Westinghouse laundry appliances. They weren’t paired together because the washing machine was in the bathroom and the dryer was in a small laundry alcove in the addition my father built. The alcove was wedged between the master bedroom which had a gun rack and could accommodate a double-bed, and the living room which could accommodate a black and white TV, a fold out couch, and Dad’s chair.
The washing machine was fascinating to me until it flooded over one day and then it made me nervous because the washing machine was no longer reliably doing what it was suppose to do. It was a basic model from Westinghouse, the cycle on the left side of the dial was for warm or cold wash with cold rinse and the right side of the dial was for hot wash with warm rinse. Unlike the photo of the similarly aged washing machine above, the “Cool Down Rinses” imprint was on the left side of the dial, just below “Lock ‘n Spin”. If you tried to lift the lid when the washer was spinning, it would buzz. The washer and dryer made their way to the house across the street until it flooded again; the dryer lived several years longer until it squealed so loud we could hear it down by the road at the other end of the 200’ driveway. Perhaps Dad was cheap.
Living in the desert has not been kind to my skin. My skin dries out quickly and I’m thinking taking a hot shower, which I absolutely adore, accelerates the activity. So I’ve been ending my morning shower by moving the handle from “9 o’clock” to “3 o’clock”, with 6 o’clock being off. The rush of fairly cold water is exhilarating and I thoroughly enjoy the experience.
As part of my typical brain thought processes, I can’t help but think of the late 1960s Westinghouse Washer every morning during my “Cool Down Rinses”.
My husband appreciates it if I don’t flood the bathroom by letting water out of the shower while I’m doing my business. I continue to do what I’m suppose to do./
I installed the metal art sculpture we purchased in Tubac yesterday. It matches the gazebo doors nicely and is a nice touch for the kitchen. I like the little touches like this.
We went for a road trip today. We decided to head south of the city and made our way to Tubac. We did a little shopping; we found a metal sculpture to install over one of our doors in the kitchen. This was our first time walking through the quaint little town. I look forward to going back soon.
We then found our way over to Peña Blanca Lake and walked around a bit. The park had a few people here and there and was beautiful. It was great spending some time in the sun.
After a successful flight, my husband and I enjoyed a burger and a beer at a local eatery near Davis-Monthan AFB. We had a fun time; and after maybe two beers, Earl drove us home.
There are two celebrities that brought a tear to my eye (or more than a tear) when I heard of their passing: Elizabeth Montgomery and Betty White.
Lizzie famously played both Samantha Stephens and her mischievous cousin Serena on “Bewitched”. I mentioned this in a blog entry a couple of days ago and showed a freeze frame of Lizzie’s stand-in Melody McCord. In later seasons of the show, the credits showed Serena being played by Pandora Spocks. Not surprisingly, Ms. Spocks bore a shocking resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery. In reality, Lizzie once remarked some of Serena’s mischief came from her very own cousin Panda. When asked what Lizzie was like in real life, Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha, said “oh, Serena all the way”.
The episode “Serena Steals The Show”, where Serena meets 60s duo Boyce and Hart, and sings their song “I’ll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind”, is one of the more popular episodes from the series. Here’s a clip courtesy of YouTube. Look for a pre-Dyna Girl Judy Strangis as one of the groupies.
Lucky and Jinx are settling into our home quite well. They run around like playful brother and sister during the day and sleep together at night. They’re still figuring out their boundaries around Truman but there hasn’t been any intense drama on the subject.
They’re cute and a lot of fun but still a little skittish, especially around me. Perhaps I need to carry more treats in my pocket.
Homer invited us to a surprise birthday party for his partner Matt. It was a fun little gathering with vegetarian pizza and a delicious homemade birthday cake. They had been to the house the night before for St. Patrick’s Day and Homer brought Irish Soda Bread. Homer is an enjoyable baker.
Homer and Matt have made us feel quite over our nearly first year here in Tucson and I’m very happy to call them both friends.
At the surprise birthday party I was particularly amused with his selection of napkins for the occasion.
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.
