A Nice Peaceful Day

The hounds didn't wake me up this morning like they normally do but when I sat up with my eyes wide open for some reason this morning ... it was 4:10am. I knew the chances of me getting back to sleep were slim so I get out of bed, turn on the light and both hounds are already up laying the living room wagging their tails ... they know breakfast will be served soon.

That first photo was taken a little after 5:30am. So it was normal routine, hounds eat and back to sleep within 5-10 minutes. I sit outside with a cup of coffee watching the day wake up. A lot of thinking does NOT happen at that time of day. I'm just there.

I was surprised the Aerostat was still airborne this morning ... I had to get up around 1am to shut the bedroom window because it was raining hard and the wind was blowing the rain inside the bedroom. I checked the weather before I decided to open the window for the night ... it showed there was a 0% chance of rain all night long.

This is my view from the sitting position in that ugly but comfortable rubber chair.

Stella has become use to being on the "Injured List" with instructions not to take walks for 10-14 days. So the times we use to walk ... she sleeps besides my chair while I drink coffee.

I noticed this morning when I let Heidi out she was walking along the fence line. It was dark so I could not really see what she was doing nor why she was walking that way. After the sun came up I could see that small dry area along the fence. It's the lighter color rock that is dry. In Indiana she would walk under the roof overhangs when it was raining or had rained ... here along the fence.

I rode my 35 year old Romic bike this morning for a little more than a hour. It has gears that are too big sometimes so I don't ride it a lot until I get in better shape. So when I came back home the AC had kicked on ... Heidi decided she would stay inside to enjoy the cold air.

Stella thought it was the perfect time to get in some sun bathing in BEFORE lunch instead of her normal AFTER lunch.  LOL

I barely caught the Aerostat slowly lowering to it's landing spot, which I have ridden my mountain bike out there within view ... I am shocked that is were Brown Canyon is compared to the rest of the mountains.

You would not believe with a sky like that ... it was raining !!!!

The gray thunderhead clouds were above the house and opposite these photos. I thought about going for a hike, take some photos then the clouds started rolling in. Then I got busy making phone calls I needed to make and before I knew it the afternoon was over. Of course the hounds slept their afternoon away .... although Heidi did wake up at 4:10pm to let me know it was time for her bone treat they get every afternoon.

Not much else going one. Stella's vet appointment is at 9am tomorrow so she will at least get a new bandage ... that last visit just to change bandages and check the healing was $34 ... I know I know ... it's not that much and if you have dogs of any breed eventually you will start adding up the vet bills. It's normal. Some things I am just cheap about spending money ... other things, not so much.

Another beautiful day in the Wild West ... I love it here.

Stella Wants To Walk !!

The hounds have changed their routines lately that is causing havoc for me getting a good nights sleep. For some strange reason Heidi decided last week that she wanted to get up between 2:30am-3:00am to go outside. This is after she goes outside before sleeping around 9pm. Of course that wakes up Stella and her first thought is "it's time for breakfast I GET TO EAT" ... you would be amazed how much excitement that makes her. So I anxiously wait for that routine to change as soon as possible.

I guess the excitement yesterday was after almost three months living here, I pulled my small speakers out of their box and hooked them to the computer. After giving my old Epson printer/scanner away when I moved, I picked up a new Epson printer/scanner when I got here on sale for $45. It has been in the box since I bought it so it was time to get that thing running. I had a couple of things I needed to print out so it was time.

It was not hard setting up the wireless printer.

Nothing much was planned for today. I wanted to get back on the bike for the first time in a week and I did that. I saw afterward that my cut finger is healing better with just washing it and pouring hydrogen peroxide over it instead of adding the #1 recommended ointment on afterwords. I've been keeping a bandaid on it.

A trip to Walmart was almost a mistake. The place was packed and it is one of the largest Walmart stores I have ever seen. I only needed three things ... a spool of black upholstery thread, a package of two CR2032 batteries and a Krups Coffee Bean/Spices grinder. Luckily that self-checkout worked out well and I was out the door, out of the parking lot before I could even feel the million people in the area.

Since I had maintained my weight this past week when I didn't ride a mile or a minute I figured that I deserved a small amount of Mexican food. I knew right where I was going. It's a 'hole in the wall' type of place, in the old part of town but I always see a line of cars in the drive-thru when I drive buy.

I wanted to eat inside. I could tell by the size of the tortillas that were being warmed on the grill in the kitchen these were going to be HUGE burritos ... so I ordered two. One for lunch, one for dinner. Chicken burrito for lunch, carnitas burrito for dinner. Not only was it great tasting it was cheap. $6 and change for a two fisted burrito ... I WILL return ... plus the sign said "Open Late" ... I can live with that.

The first bite into my chicken burrito I thought I was back in south Oceanside California on Hill St. eating at Roberto's. I don't know if it is still there today but it was in the early 1980's and this burrito I was eating today was taking back 35 years with just one bite. It was just that good.

Although this was great food, the BEST Mexican food I have had so far is at La Casita Mexican Restaurant & Cantina just a few blocks west from where I was. But the BEST food had the MOST EXPENSIVE bill. I'll visit both on a regular basis though.

Oh the name ??? Filibertos. Trip Advisor ranks them #5 out of 10 Mexican restaurants in town.

I still have MANY restaurants that are family owned and/or hole in the wall places around here to try out. I don't think I will ever go hungry in this town but I might go broke based on how expensive a basic meal can be.

It was an expensive 10 days here in the Wild West. With Stella's unexpected surgery last Monday added to my previous dental work the weeks before and the final wrap-up the day after her surgery ... ended up taking thousands of dollars out of my billfold. I'll not tell the total amount but it would make you cringe if you saw the final tally. I need to find a hot craps table a the casino to replenish my savings for that amount of money spent.

Just a few observations to add to the ones I blog about before.

Someone asked me about the daily temps ... assuming its 90-100° every hour and every day of the week. It isn't and the mountains you see in the photos play a big factor in that, plus the monsoons that pass through. Starting in the morning when we get up it is usually 62-66°. It will slowly climb to the mid-80's by 10am and then turns the heat on ... it's like an oven soon after and before I know it, it's in the mid-90s or near a hundred.

Yet by 7 or 8pm I can sit outside to enjoy the sky, the mountains, the sounds as the sun goes down. Most nights I can turn off the AC by then and sleep with the windows open. Each day is a repeat of that and this is the last of two months of monsoons so there is heavy rain in the afternoon and/or nights but not always here at the house.

** This is strange ** -- fruits and veggies are better quality in Indiana than what I buy here in Arizona. I have tried three different stores here and they are all the same quality, although the Walmart fruits and veggies are pretty close to the quality I bought in Indiana.

My monthly grocery bill has increased about $80 to $100 per month since the move but that also may have something to do with any new tariffs with Mexico, I'm not sure. I'm told due to water rights, we are getting our avocados from Mexico and they are about half the size that we get from California.

For a town of this size I don't read or hear about a lot of crime. It's very quiet here in the neighborhood all the time and at night you hear almost nothing, even from town. No sirens, no gunshots (not expected).  I don't see a lot of crime headlines in the local online newspaper that I don't have a subscription to.

Holiday today ... I hear a knock at the door. I glance through the peep hole in the door and see two young boys at the door so I answer it since they most likely are not going to try to sell me water filtration systems, meat, or want to control my pests. One has a rake in hand, the other a broom and they almost shocked me with their question ... "do you have any chores we can do?"  I told them I didn't right now but to be sure to come back because I will eventually. I want to help them make some money with motivation like they showed.

The pest control companies, the water filter companies and meat selling companies ... oh yes, the security companies must have finally taken my address off their boards. I haven't had them knock on my door in weeks. I can live in peace now.

The move has affected Stella just a tiny bit. She still follows me from room to room unless she is in a deep sleep and doesn't hear me leave the room. If I move from the living room to the computer room, she will wake up and follow me, then lay down and sleep ... and vise versa. My bedroom and master bathroom is in back of the house ... yep ... she will wake up and follow me then lay down outside the bathroom doorway on the bedroom carpet while I shower.

On occasion she will sneak off into the dark big walk-in closet for a short siesta or the living room.

Heidi on the other hand is in her own world and sleeps in different rooms in her favorite spots depending what day or night it is. Like I said in a comment the other day, she has been having some problems not knowing where she is exactly. It's not because we moved because she was doing the same thing before we moved. I first I thought she was going blind but the vets have said that is not the case.

Due to a change in coat texture and a little more itching by Stella ... I have changed from a dog food we have used since February 2017 back to Fromm Gold for Large Breeds. I found a Fromm retailer downtown and the same deal as I had in Indiana years ago .. buy 12 bags get one free. Their biggest bag is only 33 pounds so that will not last long and it averages out to a $3 savings per bag after 12 bags are bought. I have always liked Fromm dog food's quality. Plus it's family owned.

Just like I knew before I moved here, I really like all the different business the town has to offer. I was just on the outside SE edge of Tucson on Friday and couldn't wait to get back home where there are fewer people and a lot less traffic.

I'm sure I am forgetting something that I was going to blog about today but this is about it for the day. It's been a very nice weekend here in the Wild West.

The Vet Says Stella Is Doing Well

Not a lot has been going on since Stella needs to be confined to the house, can't go on walks and needs a plastic bag put over her bandage if the yard is wet. That has happened only one time although it has stormed the last three out of four nights. Heidi as you will see below doesn't change her routine much. I do believe though as the temperature cools during the day that she will start taking more walks.

The past few days Stella had figured out that we were not walking. She was no longer whining to go on that walk yet every time I pick up the car keys she is excited and wants to go. She did that Friday morning at 10am as we headed out for her vet appointment where they would change the bandage, check the stitches and see if things were healing.

With the recent Border Patrol bust in the middle of a high traffic area in town, the Aerostat has been in the air 24/7 and I hear a lot more helicopter traffic since that news. Reports were they were caught loading cars or vans with illegal immigrants. Strange to me that they were near a high traffic area surrounded by shopping centers. I did not see anything in the paper about it but caught the news on one of my Twitter feeds.

After a night of the best storm I had seen yet.

Stella doesn't mind the bandage and has not tried chewing it off. She does not limp when she walks and a few times when she thinks she has a chance to escape through the front door when I go out, she almost breaks into a trot. I did not realize until the photos I took this morning that both bandages matched colors in her collar. How is that for attention to detail at the vet office?

They received the lab results on the growth they removed from Stella's paw. It was benign. 

This is about all the aerobic activity Stella and Heidi get during this time for Stella's recovery.

Notice the color change of the bandage on Friday ... matching colors in her collar. From pinkish red to purple.

It looks this nice every morning but with a 20% chance of thunderstorms later this afternoon and tonight ... it seems like a 100% the past few nights. I saw it storm the other afternoon when the weather apps said there was only a 10% chance of rain. We have our own little weather system in this area.

We have not seen any snakes or spiders, since I saw the snake in the driveway a few weeks ago. Stella and now Heidi move over the backyard daily with their noses to the ground in the mornings to make sure they know what kind of traffic, if any, had been there during the night.

When I moved in the seller had new carpet runners in different areas of the house. I rolled up all of  them except the one by the front door. Since day one, that has been one of Heidi's favorite places to sleep or just sit and relax. She chooses that piece of carpet over her Mexican blanket that is in the opposite corner.

In this photo I left the spot on the door on purpose. In this post all the photos but four, were taken with the Canon G9X camera that has a black spot on the sensor. That black spot showed up after I had the camera for only 6 months. I am heading to the Canon camera forum after this to see what the solution is. I'll contact Cannon about a fix since it is still under warranty. In the other photos I erased the black spots through editing the photo.

I didn't think the four photos I posted here taken with the Nikon D3200 were that good either. I am beginning to think the best camera I have in the house is my iPhone 8+. Maybe I should start looking at and researching the new attachments they are coming out with for higher zoom capability. Currently their built in zoom is not that good.  That might be better than spending money on a different camera.

There have been times I have had the feeling that my new 2019 Toyota 4Runner TRD OffRoad is too luxurious to go off-road. It will go anywhere I want it to but it's not like the old 4Runners that felt more like a truck. This feels more like a "family suv" than an off-road vehicle. I still say that the best car Toyota ever made was the FJ Cruiser. They stopped making them.

Long time readers know what happens when my braincells start thinking about cars and analyzing. Over the past 10 years at least I have had a TON of different cars and suvs. The best combination I ever own was one FJ and one sports car. Those sports cars were either Mini Cooper S or BMW Z4's.

I might go out for a short Sunday bike ride today just to see how my finger reacts, which is in it's 7th day of healing from a very deep cut. The cut is in the way of everything I hold, from a fork, a knife or where my hands go on a pair of bicycle handlebars. I'll find out today real soon after I start riding.

College Football arrived these past three days in the Wild West.

Stella's Back To Normal

After a good solid Monday afternoon siesta after her surgery, along with a solid sleep on Monday night, by the time Stella woke up on Tuesday she was back to her normal self with a bright reddish pink bandage on her rear paw. She whined and woke me up for breakfast with Heidi in tow. Then when she saw I was making coffee before her walk she whined and gave me this look. "Where's my walk?"

After all it was a bright sunny morning, it was time to leave before the kids flow down the sidewalk to the school bus.

Plus the weather couldn't be better than this with the Aerostat airborne. Why aren't we walking?

She gave me one more look pleading to take off on the walk or at least go outside through the front door to act like we were taking a walk ... but she settled for a day of rest, and sleep. I don't believe the word 'NO' is in her vocabulary.

This morning it was a different story with the weather but not with Stella. All things are normal ... water intake, appetite, no limping or signs of pain from the removed growth. Of course she is not doing any trotting or running but did catch me with the front door open yesterday afternoon ... where she bolted outside faster than I could call say her name. She just wanted to stand in the driveway and look around. Maybe there would be someone taking a walk with treats in their hand for her.

She practically owns the neighborhood now as her reputation is spreading.

I forgot to mention that on Tuesday morning, the day after her surgery I got a call TWO MINUTES after the vet office opened, asking me how Stella was doing and what was her night like? Did she mind the bandage? Is she eating normal and any issues with the medication she is taking?

We go back on Friday morning for them to remove this bandage, inspect the surgical area and I am guessing they will put a bandage over that area leaving her paw free and clear. That will only have Stella thinking that she has the 'green light' to get back to her morning walk.

Remember in early June back in 'the tropics', she was  boycotting the morning walks and stood at the corner of the house and not moving. Now she whines to let me know we are late for the walk.

With the skies getting dark quick this morning, the lightning moving closer to the house with the thunder louder ... It was loud enough for Stella to wake up. She listened to what was going on outside but she showed no signs of stress or fear of the storms about to arrive. I guess we had a little higher percent chance of rain than the 20% the weather apps were showing.

Or course Heidi has no fear of any kind of storm and besides, it was during her normal morning time for a deep sleep. Sorry for the blurriness ... user error.

Rain toward the Mule Mountains.

Raining down in Mexico. I'd venture to say the current highway resurfacing on Hwy 92 in that area is called off today.

I took this photo just to prove that we actually do get rain here at the house sometimes. Too bad the camera did not catch the big rain drops I was seeing.

I would normally be riding my bike in that area or driving the car to the top of Carr Canyon Rd ... not today.

Just a few miles to the left and I can see blue skies trying to peak through. The rain has had its five minutes of fame this morning ... back to normal stuff. That normal stuff will have the hounds sleeping until lunch is served. I'll be reading my latest book by heart surgeon Dr Grundry, written in 2008 but someway found its way from the library shelf to my coffee table.

I mysteriously cut my finger the other night deep enough I thought I might need stitches. I was picking up Heidi and am not sure if her fingernail caught me. It doesn't seem like it based on the type of cut. I've looked at that small metal hook on her collar that holds the rabies tags .. no blood stain there ... so there are not many other choices on what slashed my finger open. Due to that, plus trying to stay home to keep an eye on Stella ... I've not ridden the bikes yet this week.

I feel antsy because of the lack of riding and can literally feel the pounds combing back ... of course that small container of Ben&Jerry's Ice Cream I've been nibbling has not helped. At least I didn't eat the whole container in one setting.  LOL

No matter what the injury, what kind of weather ... it's all good this morning in the Wild West.

Stella's Home And Resting

They said she was a great bloodhound all through the process, some will resist and put up a fight under stressful situations. She was still groggy when I picked her up but she did wag her tail when she figured out where the car was. I backed it in where I could lift her into the back of the 4Runner from their sidewalk by the entry door.

Her blood work came back normal. They will call me with the histopathology results in 7-10 business days. She walked with no limp and slowly to the car but her "walking days" are suspended for 10-14 days. She has become addicted to her morning walks so I am not sure how she will react to the change in her routine.

It didn't take her long to find her spot in the computer room. She had no trouble getting down and only sat there a few minutes trying to decide which position she wanted to sleep in. She will feel the affects of the sedation and anesthesia and might be groggy for as long as 12-24 hours, although it didn't affect her long last September. Then she had a small grown inside her eyelid removed.

The bandage will stay on until this Friday when they will check the area they removed and to change the bandage.

I have a feeling for the next few days, taking walks will not interest her too much.

Once she stretched out in this position I knew she was in a deep sleep, hopefully for a few solid hours. It was kind strange but when the tech was explaining that they used an endotracheal tube during the anesthetic procedure I immediately saw the tv show Dr Jeff ... the vet in Denver. There were always good endings on those tv shows but I had to stop watching that show because there were just too many surgeries to see.

Im not sure what Heidi was doing with her mouth on this picture because she was making no sounds and had just curled around to lay down. She sniffed Stella when we walked inside but only for ID purposes as she didn't show the excitement I had seen in the past from other hounds when one of their roommates returned home. I have a feeling that Heidi has always been a 'loner'.

It did not take too much time to rack up some dollars on that itemized list. I am beginning to wonder if it's time for me to start looking deeper into pet health insurance since both hounds are older. I have spent more money on vet bills in the last 12 months than I have in many many years combined. Hard to say what to do but I bet the worse case is I'd break even after paying monthly premiums and part of the bills. Or ... I might save some money after all the dust settled.

When I told some old stories of different lumps I'd seen on my hounds in the past, including this lump ... all vets had different theories, even in June. This tech did not hesitate to tell me New Frontier Animal Medical Center does not like any lumps of any kind and prefers to remove them. Some of my past vets would hold off to see what it would do ... why?

Needless to say for the next 10-14 days any blog posts photos may not be from anywhere but the house and backyard ... "Resume normal activity after 10-14 days" and "Confine your pet indoors for 10-14 days" will be a huge change in Stella's daily routine ... even though a lot of her routine is sleeping.  LOL

After a couple of hours of sleep she stood up and whined a little, walked behind me to the corner and then under the computer desk finding a new spot to sleep, facing outward. That was an hour ago so she is sleeping well ... good sign.

Everything turned out good in the Wild West today.