Week 47

"People don't take trips,
trips take people."

~ John Steinbeck

We took a road trip to Chino Valley to spend Thanksgiving with Mom. The drive down was great and took us only 10.5 hours. The last half of the drive back home was not great. 

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Good food + fun people for the win. Thank you, Pat and Jerry!

Mom is doing well, slowly getting her energy back after what she's been through the last few years. I'm so thankful she has an excellent community of friends surrounding her with love.

Watching the world wake up as we cruise down Interstate 5.

Pit stop in boring Boron.

Miss Goofy being quiet for a second.

Making homemade cranberry sauce at Mom's

Monument Valley sand painting by my Grandfather.

Sneaking a photo of my Mom.

Sunburst.

Exploring a few gift shops on Route 66

Got some decent coffee from this one.

Mojave National Preserve, waaay out there.

Stopped for breakfast here. I had French toast, of course.

Week 34

Spent most of this week with my Mom. It was nice to visit with her and a few of her dear friends. 

One evening we got to talking about her life in the 1950s... 

Mom joined the Civil Air Patrol with a friend when she was fourteen. My father was a flight instructor there at the East LA airport and that is how they met. She started taking lessons and got her private pilot license at sixteen, then her commercial license at eighteen. So much history still to discover from this woman. 

The Monsoon Season was in full performance mode in the afternoons and it was beautiful. Hence, all the sky photos in these past two posts.

Sunset from Mom's backyard.

Mom lives in the high desert and she calls these weeds. 

She has several rose bushes on her property. 

This is Goofy. She adopted my Mom. They are inseparable. 

Spent a few nights on the front porch watching the Monsoon show.

My customary stop at Sunset Point.

Thankfully, I had very little weather to deal with on the way back down to the airport.

I got myself into a watercolor rainbow groove in Procreate. 

(more to come)

A very soothing activity while dealing with an "insect venom allergy" 

aka 50+ mosquito bites on my ankles and feet.

My souvenir from Arizona's monsoon season.

Week 33

I'm so behind here, I almost can't remember this whole week. 

I'm enjoying the new Tuesday and Friday morning routine with Miss Paisley.

I saw the most fantastic rainbow mass as I was driving north on AZ 17 and into the monsoon. 

I flew to Arizona on Sunday to visit Mom. I have to say, flying is it used to be so fun, then it got tedious, and now it is downright awful. 

I love summer fruit - especially these delicious slices.

Got out my watercolor supplies for some quick fun.

August sky.

Found these poster paint sticks at Marshall's. Fun!

Splish, splash on a Friday morning.

My plane. Almost three hours late. Made for an unnecessarily long day.

Don't get me started on their incompetence. 

Phoenix International Raceway, from the window seat, of course.

We drove our 1988 Ramcharger onto this track many years ago.

This. Had my flight been on time, I would not have had to drive into this scary beast. 

Thanks for the extra dose of anxiety SWA.

Thankfully it cleared up as I drove north and I got to see all that gorgeous sky.

Week 14

Yay, I'm caught up...for a minute. 

Lots of things going on, got lots of things done, and still have lots to do. 

Spent the week in Arizona, hanging out with my Mom. She's had a rough year and Sister and I are trying to help where we can. It is actually very healing for all of us. 

Life is a trip.

PHX final approach.

A 178 mph race between SWA and AA.

Mom's cat Goofy. She is the sweetest.

Turns out Kombucha makes a tasty mixer.

Always trying to look up.

Getting some morning Vitamin D while enjoying the quiet of Mom's backyard.

Friday night food prep sesh for Mom.

Headed back to PHX from Chino Valley.

I always have to stop at this rest stop, just for the view.

Sunrise shadows.

This is a kid's plate and this kid ate it all. 

A Bewick's Wren waiting for the babies in there to fledge.

Week 7

Another week.

I got to spend a few days with my Mom and my sister. We went through boxes of photos at my Uncles. It was a salve for our sad souls.

I made it back home with my knee still swollen and sore and then - tested positive for COVID. Ugh. I avoided it for almost two years. On the bright side, after four days of not being mobile much, my knee feels better.

And that is all the energy I have currently.

The beautiful gift from my Sister to our Mom.

Me (in my go-go boots), Uncle, brother, Mom, Grandmother, sister.

Rest in peace, Ted, Brad, and Grammer 

Me, step-dad, and sister circa 1989(?)

 Rest in peace, Mr. Jones.

Sunset Point rest stop, Arizona.

Female Northern Flicker

My neighbors' roses are budding.

Just add chicken sausages and roast.

The 'rona finally got me.

Week 6

I'm late, I know. 

I try to get my images edited and posted on Wednesdays from the prior week, but I was traveling to and from Arizona. 

So here we are. 

I've been dealing with a cold, did something to my knee (Doc says it's arthritis, I think there is more going on), and my step-father passed away. 

Rest in peace Harvey. I hope he is no longer depressed, confused, or in pain. 

I feel so sad for my Mom. I already had a trip planned for this week to visit her, and I'm grateful I could be there for her and help where needed. 

All the feelings have been happening the last several days.

Roasted pork, butternut squash, tomatoes, and kale...stew?

Playing outside in her slippers and she don't care.

A late afternoon view of this gorgeous moon.

The Flickers are visiting our backyard every day now.

Magnolia blooms under the giant, old oak trees. Beautiful!

Well, it's official, I'm old. This sucks!

From my window seat, just after take-off.

Downtown Phoenix - final approach.