1-29-17

Whoa....look at that crazy amount of snow burying the Tahoe cabin. YIKES! Great to see they are having an awesome ski season around the lake! Photo from Pat.

1-28-17

The bathroom tile was completed last week!

We're happy with it! Now we can move items back in & function like a real bathroom (it's only been a year long process).:-/

We're not entirely finished either. We'll be ordering a corner cabinet (trying out the boxes to visualize the width & height) and we'll be painting the bathroom a blue/grey next week. Fitting mirrors & lights will be last (I think).

1-27-17

Orange juice & hot tea for me.

Can't shake this sore throat & cough. It's getting me down. :-(

1-26-17

Laundry pile up. Please fold our clothes!

#helpharley

1-25-17

Pretty sure I have more photos of Harley than any other thing or person on my blog. That's ok...we like this dog & don't mind it being about her. Maybe I should rename "Creative Living" to

"The Blog about the Dog". :-)

1-24-17

After touring Kartchner Kaverns we drove a little further to visit Tombstone. I wonder if these guys remembered me from October? 

The famous OK Corral shootout...Doc Holiday & the Earp brothers against the McLaury brothers.

2 of the McClaury's & Billy Clanton didn't fair so well.

Bob Sr & I had our own little shootout with the tin men.

We both won. :-)

Tombstone was fun; walking the dirt main street, having lunch, and popping our heads in different saloons & shops. We drove home late afternoon & enjoyed the remaining evening and next morning with Pat & Bob before they left for CA. So glad they made the trip to AZ with enough days to tour 3 very cool holes & more.

1-23-17

Here is hole #3...a HUGE cave!

Kartchner Caverns is a place worth visiting. We took the 1 & 1/2 hour tour to see 2 of the impressive cave rooms. 3 large cavern rooms were discovered in 1967 by two college guys. Gary & Randy were out hiking and searching for caves in the area when they explored a sink hole.

That sink hole led to a whole new world! Above photo shows one of the main features in the Throne Room. This HUGE limestone column formed from dripping water that calcified!

Many small & large stalactites were hanging from the ceilings. These skinny ones are called soda straw stalactites. They are hollow inside & very fragile.

Amazing that those enormous & beautiful caves are inside these hills. And it's so fortunate that Gary & Randy (who had a love for caves) found them & protected them. They coordinated with the land owners to bring this discovery to the proper people & now its an educational state park.

1-22-17

Pat, Bob, Bob & I looking at the 2nd hole we drove to see on Saturday.

The hole is below that beige concrete wall in front of us.

Looking down over the concrete ledge...and there it is...

The Titan II Nuclear Missile.

This missile is obviously no longer active but between the years of 1963 and 1982 it was on duty to be released IF necessary. Thankfully it was never launched & neither were the other nuclear missiles that were in locations around Tucson (18 missiles), Kansas City (18 missiles) & Little Rock (18 missiles).

The tour was full of information that was so interesting & impressive. Heading down the stairs to view the control room.

With my finger ready...in case I need to push "The Button". :-/

A 4 person crew rotated every 24 hours to oversee the missile & were fully trained for that dreaded call to launch it. Not a job for me.

A view of the Titan II from below ground. Wow!

We left the 2nd hole behind & traveled on. Stopped along the road to get a look at the numerous Pecan Groves.

We picked a few pecans to try but were quickly yelled at to "DROP those pecans!" Oops, we just wanted to taste them. :-)

We had another stop in Tubac, Arizona. It's a charming town with streets full of creative art studios and cute restaurants. Saturday night was spent in Benson, AZ with plans to visit hole #3 on Sunday.

1-21-17

The 1st of 3 holes we went to visit south of Tucson. This giant hole is a working open-pit copper mine. 2 miles north to south. 1.75 miles east to west. 1/4 mile deep.

6 x the amount of earth moved to dig the Panama Canal has been mined here. They expect to be mining here another 20 years.

And this is how big those trucks are that move tons & tons & tons of rock.

They grind the rock.

Then move it indoors to grind it some more. 

It's deposited in this turn style mixer that creates the proper formula. It turns it into a powder which is then turned into a large plate made of 99% copper.

The next step is trucking the plates to Texas for another refining process creating a finished product of 99.99% copper. This percentage is needed & suitable for using in copper piping, wiring & more for all our electrical uses. 

A favorite photo at Asarco! We all enjoyed the tour of this interesting & massive operation of copper mining!

Now onto hole #2...

1-20-17

Inauguration Day

November 20, 2017

The 4 of us watched much of the coverage on television today. 

Taking the Oath of Office

Donald J. Trump; 45th President of the United States.

PS: I did like Melania's dress. ;-)

Prayers for our government leaders as they guide our country. Prayers for our local leaders & communities. Prayers for ourselves & all people of the United States & world. 

One of my favorite non-political quotes...

"Be kind & have courage" - Cinderella

1-19-17

The finished project by Pat; an outdoor tablecloth to protect our granite counter from the sun. We had a cover before but it faded quickly. This new fabric is Sunbrella & truly doesn't fade. Excited to have it; Thank you, Pat!

And since the guy threw in extra fabric (which was already 50% off!) there was enough for Pat to make 5 outdoor pillows! While Pat sewed, Bob & Bob installed a new garage door system so we can check our door to make sure it's closed plus open & close it from anywhere. Nice to get that item off our "To Do" list.

While we were working away on this rainy day Harley was down at the local "Bark Bar". Harley chatting it up with her buddy, Luna. :-)

1-18-17

Harley taking Bob & Bob on a sunrise walk.

Visiting "Heart Hill" on South Mountain.

Throughout today Pat was busy creating things with her magic sewing hands. Love that she can whip up, stitch up & fix so many things! Thank you, Pat!

Bob showing off our new grill we bought at Lowe's today. Thanks to Bob & Bob for putting it together. It passed the test with yummy grilled hamburgers & asparagus this evening.

Was a good day!

1-17-17

Look who arrived tonight & with a BIG box of Shirley's cookies too!

Pat & Bob drove out from the bay to spend a week with us. Looking forward to spending time together!

1-16-17

So do you remember this day just over a year ago? I was so excited to see a taping of The Kelly & Michael Show while we were in New York City!

Then I got picked to be the Trivia Dancer! Here's a photo from that crazy experience from September 8, 2015. I had posted this pic on my blog back on 9/9/15 but didn't get the video on the blog then...until today. Thanks to Bob for putting the video on You Tube so it's able to post. For those wanting to see the TV video click here: Trivia Dancer LIVE on the Kelly & Michael Show

And here is a pic Bob took of the dance audition before the show. We were picked from the audience & then they narrowed it down to 2 of us for a Dance Off. Here is that video: Dance Off

Warning: I am doing some crazy dancing to get the gig!! :-)

After my dancing we got to see Richard Gere, Tyra Banks & Hank Azeria. Great guests & fun to see Kelly & Michael!

I think getting up EARLY to be in the front of the line was good luck. :-)

Good times in NYC with my honey!