Four Family Birthdays!

Three generations and four birthdays!

January has always been the time I come to Arizona - since the time my boys were little.

It was a way to celebrate our January/February birthdays while my Grannie was still alive, and of course it gave us a well needed break from the winter doldrums when we lived in Idaho.

Starting at the left - My dad is turning 83 in less than 2 weeks.  My niece Emilee has her birthday tomorrow.  Then there is me, with my birthday last week.

Next up is my new brother-in-law Todd who has his birthday in just a few days.

Not seen - Melissa who was at the other end of the table, celebrating her birthday on January 1st.

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Baby, it's Cold in AZ!

It's 8am.  And it's 34 degrees!  

Not exactly the pre-spring-break that I was hoping for, but at least unlike the white stuff that is currently falling at home in Virginia, there is nothing here we need to shovel.

Because it has been on the chilly side, we've basically stayed in and relaxed - until yesterday afternoon when we broke away to catch a matinee showing of "A Man Called Otto" featuring Tom Hanks.

Hooray for outings!

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Adventures in Just Being.

I've been told that I was 'high strung' from the time I was 5.

Even within the last month or so I enjoyed a pleasant chat with someone I have known since the 3rd grade who reminisced things like "Your house was always known as the 'Crafty House.' There was always SOMETHING being made."

That made me smile - and I started to recall the summer I was 10 or 11 and started up my own business of making sand candles in our old sandbox - now that we were all too grown up for sandbox playing.

I melted the wax, dug the holes in the sand, poured it all in, wicks tied to sticks balanced over the holes to keep them upright and in position while the wax cooled.

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The Journey to Sun Lakes!

Good morning!

After a good night's sleep I'm feeling a bit more like myself this morning, and as I look around at my dad's place - I am so grateful to be here.  

It has been a long 3 years since I've made this trip and now that we are permanently in Virginia, it's not as easy as it used to be.

I took this photo at 7:30am yesterday morning as the defroster on the van was blowing hard to clear the frost that had settled overnight at 22 degrees. Brrr!  

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Something Happening Here!

Well, I went and did it.

I emptied some totes full of UFO pieces, looked at some projects that weren't going anywhere and put the remaining fabric back into the stash while putting the completed-thus-far blocks into the orphan bin of pieces and parts that will become something at some time.

And then I opened up this tote:

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Friday Out & About!

Knowing I was going to be heading to Phoenix on Tuesday, friend Martha suggested an "outing day" with a new lunch destination to try, and time to wander a couple of antique malls.

You know she doesn't have to ask twice.  I'm game!

Antique mall wandering is still a favorite pastime - the thing that has curtailed the frequency is simply the fact that I've been home for the past 3 years since Covid happened.

Tuesday will be my first time on a plane in 3 years!

With my travel life at a stand still, that only leaves local malls - and their merchandise has been slower to turn over, so things start to feel a bit hum-drum if you get my drift.

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