Grandkids

My sister, Terri, is expecting her first grandchild next month. I just wrote her on how much more fun being a gramma is rather than the tough parenting. I am looking forward to seeing both my grandson's together this summer when Niels and Jen bring Danny to Minnesota this summer. Lots of photo ops!

Speaking of, here is a picture of my older grandson experiencing the fun of ice fishing with his dad. He is growing up so quickly...and I miss seeing his new discoveries. He sent me a picture of two cowboy saguaros with a note "I miss you, Gramma Chi"...that he made on the computer! And my new grandson is now cooing, smiling and rolling over....and I am missing seeing it all. But thanks to the Internet and Skype, I can see him, even though I can't cuddle him right now.

The snowbirds are packing up and heading north, and the weather is warming up, with 90's predicted this week. In about two months I plan to head north again ...maybe with Bart...maybe with Mom....maybe with both...and am looking forward to cooler weather in the pines, fishing, golfing and seeing friends and family again. I will miss my house and friends here, but I am sure it will be nice to escape the Arizona summer temps for awhile.

But in the meantime, I am enjoying wonderful trail rides on Bart with Betts in the hills, seeing all the cactus putting out their colorful spring blooms, and relaxing in the warm pool and Jacuzzi. This week I will be cleaning up my trailer to get ready for the 5 day Las Damas ride in Prescott next week. Will be nice to ride in the pines again, and to be out camping. I will raise a glass of wine at the campfire for those wonderful horse-camping friends in Minnesota, and am looking forward to joining them in a few months.

SPRING FLOWERS

It is sometimes difficult to believe all the national news showing snow blizzards in Kansas, tornados in Georgia, and freezing cold weather and 8" off snow in Minnesota when I can walk around the park and see all the bright flowers beginning to bloom. Phoenix may break a record to day with 90 degrees, and I actually walked in the house a few minutes ago after taking these pictures and thinking "Ah, it feels nice and cool in here!". My sister, Mary, is on her way here from Wisconsin and says she HAS to get out of there after yet another blizzard filled their driveway with snow. I am so grateful to be living in the warm, dry climate of Arizona. But I am well aware that in a few months it will be getting very hot here, while up north they will be enjoying a northern summer playing golf, fishing , swimming, picnicing....and swatting mosquitos and dealing with humidity. And here, people will be golfing and riding at dawn with an eye out for an occasional snake....then hunkering inside during the heat of the day. I guess there is no Utopia, but springtime in Arizona may be as close as it comes!

BLOOMS AND BABY BLOOMERS!

My Minnesota guests just left, and I miss them already. They were fun to have, and we enjoyed shopping, sightseeing, the pool, eating out, steak dinner on the grill, and seeing "Wild Hogs" last night. This morning we walked around the neighborhood admiring the blooming cactus before they left. They head back to Minnesota with snow and 5 degrees......BRRRRRR! I have less than 3 weeks left to enjoy my Arizona home before following them to the north county. But I will be looking forward to joining them camping and trailriding again this summer. Here are some of the blooms....look how many more came out on the Easter cactus today!

GLIDER IS DONE AND SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!

The glider is all assembled with no leftover pieces or short any bolts or nuts. WHEW! Remind me not to tackle a project like that again. It is like having a baby....right afterwards it is "NEVER AGAIN!", and later, one sees a cute baby and forgets the pain of bringing the last one to fruition.

So here is the new glider with Mom and Wylee having their morning coffee. With the full moon tonight, it should be baptised with a fire and a toast with wine. Who wants to join me?

Spring has arrived in the Arizona desert. The sunny 80 degree days have brought forth the cactus blossoms. Here are three in my front yard.