So Much for Resolutions

Okay okay - so I "resoluted" to write in this blog more often in 2013....but that was 2012 when I made that resolution and it didn't happen. Until today. It's 83 degrees outside, not very windy, and cloudy. We are perhaps going to get some rain....at least that's what "they" say....50% chance of scattered thundershowers. HA! Sure hope the rain gods are listening to the weather service. All of New Mexico is in a severe drought and that is not helping the firefighters although the lower wind speeds and higher humidty do help. I keep asking God (the one in charge of rain) why some parts of the country are flooding and we can't get a dang shower here?

Nadie and Michele

Otherwise, the year is clipping along quickly. Michele is  nearly 13 months old now and a real sweetie. She is gorgeous and smart and doing pretty good in her training. She has finally decided that it's ok to jump into and out of the car....for a while there I thought I'd be lifting a 50 lb retriever into the car every time we go somewhere...but after she spent 10 days with Andrew (another puppy sitter) in Albuquerque she realized that "car" is an OK command. I'm sure he didn't help her into his truck. So we've solved that problem. She still loves to pick everything up in her mouth that she can find...from dog poop to sticks to rocks.... we were using a "leave it" command until we were told that that is not a CCI command....it's "don't" or "no". Not sure where I picked up the "leave it" idea but we've switched to the correct commands and she listens. "Come" and "stay" are still hard for her. She's so curious about everything outside that coming when called is more like a suggestion for when she is done checking out her yard.... and stay....oh dear....the butt goes down with a sit very nicely but getting it to stay down is another story. Making slow progress on that one. But overall she is getting better. We are awaiting her signal that it's time to go to the convent but so far that has not happened either. She'll be away for 3 weeks when that happens at a pet spa in Santa Fe. She keeps us busy but we love her. We have to take her to "turn in" in California the middle of Feb 2014 and I don't even want to think about that. It's going to be hard to say goodbye but hoping that she will graduate and be someone's helper. 

Ready for golf

Life goes on here in the desert. Gene is busy again this summer with his gardens....he has a new truck that he used to pull a trailer with a 600 gal water tank on it and goes into town to get effluent water - it's really cheap and we are trying to save our Ponderosa pines in the back yard. With this awful drought, the trees all over are really stressed. Gene also has lots of stuff planted in the greenhouse and outside gardens....tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus (that'll be ready to harvest next spring finally), onions, beans, and squashes. Maybe other things but I am not sure. He sure stays busy with all that. We've already had a few small tomatoes - YUMMO - and can't wait for more. He also put in a dahlia garden in the front of the house with drip irrigation and it is looking good. His cactus garden is coming along great and some of them are blooming now. Me? I have flowers in pots on the deck and a couple of tomaotes in big pots too.

Gene - before the party!!

No big vacations this year....we had a great 70th birthday party for Gene on May 4th with about 35-40 people stopping in to wish his HB. The family pitched in and donated money for an iPad for him....he is as addicted to it as I am to mine. Gene's sisters and a friend from Minnesota came down for the party and lots of neighbors and other folk came over. Great wonderful cake from Meadow City Cakes with a garden theme 
and other snack and sangria were served. It was really fun to invite all our friends and watch those who didn't know each other meet and everyone seemed to get along great. The party was from 1-4 but there were those who stayed until 7:30 and some who showed up at 7:30 or so and stayed till 9:00. I was exhausted but it was a really wonderful day and the birthday boy had a ball. The picture was staged....he really did not sit in the rocking chair with a jug of sangria and his walking stick. We managed to get him dressed and mobile!!

"An Excuse for More Cherries" aka Las Cruces - the Crosses

Heading to Loveland CO in August for the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival...I entered my "crosses" quilt in the show and am taking a couple of classes. Driving up by myself and enjoying a nice hotel with lots of water for 5 days. Not sure what we'll do with Miss M yet during that time. She's fine staying home with Gene (they LOVE each other) but I might see if someone in the Denver CCI group would like to puppy sit. It's good to get the dogs into different situations and to meet lots of others. We'll see.

So now I'm heading out to watch for rain...and water my tomatoes. Maybe that'll make it rain. And leaving this post with a resolution to write more often. Wish I was heading to Tower for the 4th but maybe next summer again. I'll just re-read my blog from last summer and remember all the fun.

Hmmm...there are big holes of blue in the clouds....that does not look like rain to me.