The good ole days

Last night dacheese, SLA, and Scott went to the college to try their hand at pottery. This left us alone with Madders. As we were just finishing our delicious dinner which G'rat and purplelurple cooked for us the power went out. It was still a little light outside and we thought the power would be back on within a few minutes. So we sat there in the semi-dark looking out the window at the tree blowing in the wind. After a short while and no restoration of power we all went out into the back yard to watch the storm as best we could and enjoy the breeze, because it hadn't cooled much from the 105 degree day. Madders loves being outside so this was fine with her anyway.

Abe decided to find some battery lanterns that we had on the camping trip and get those ready in case the power wasn't restored soon. G'rat and I went into the house and worked on the kerosene lanterns, which of course we always have at the ready...except this time we noticed that one had a way too short wick and the other was completely dry. So we put the two together and created one working lantern. We also lit the candles in the fireplace which actually produced a nice amount of light.

We opened up the windows and both doors after we moved back inside to let some of the breeze blow through. G'rat put the kids to bed. Then they went for a drive to see exactly where there was power in cooltown. Abe and madders and I went and sat on the swing on the front porch and watched the light show in the sky. JVA came over and we sat and talked waiting for the potters to return from school. As we were sitting there listening to the start of the rain we realized that if this were 'back in the day we would not only be sitting out here, we would probably be sleeping out here as well. Our neighbor was also sitting on their front porch watching the storm and trying to escape the heat of the indoor world.

It was great stepping back in time for a short while, where there is no TV, no computers, nothing to interrupt spending time with family. But when we heard the whir of the everything powering back up right before 10 we were glad also as sleeping without fans was going to be really uncomfortable.

Round two

Our bear called last Sunday night from the airport in New York. He was on his way to Kuwait and will be there for about a month before moving on to Baghdad. We knew this second tour was immenent, but we weren't ready for him to be going back so soon. In typical fashion he enjoys this new experience and relies on his faith that he will be protected.

For the next year I will have my cell phone at the ready and charged. With every meeting I attend letting those around me know that I will leave at a moments notice if my cell phone goes off. People will be asking how he is doing, have we heard from him, how are we coping with him being in harms way. We will smile and say he is doing well and no, he doesn't get to call very often. Something we got used to when he was gone the first two years.

He will return to us, this I believe, after all it is the only thing that keeps me sane.

One more wedding

In order to have a wedding, you must take pictures of the bride and groom to put in the invitations. Anyway, that is how it is in our family lately. And in order to take pictures, you must find some place that there are many photo ops. So on Saturday, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Superior to the Arboretum. Our thinking was that since the monsoons have actually produced rain this year it may be green there. We were not disappointed. I have been having some really bad stress related problems lately, and the drive through a desert that is alive and blooming with wild flowers was exactly what I needed.

After walking the 1.5 mile loop trail and taking pictures whenever we saw a perfect spot we weren't even too hot. Afterwards we drove up to Oak Flat and sat under a tree eating our picnic lunch. The weather was perfect, a light breeze and just the right temperature to be outside. We sat and watched the clouds coming up over the Superstition Mountains and wondered if it would rain that afternoon.


G'rat and family went home and Abe and I went on up the mountain to Globe to visit some relatives, and talk to a cousin about a horse trailer. After that we decided to see how the Salt River and Roosevelt Lake look. We haven't seen that much water flowing into Roosevelt in a long time. Thick, brown, water roaring over the dike and down into the Lake. Abe got a little excited about fishing once the water slows down.