Thursday 11 November - Jo is in town.

I slept in till 7 and when I went downstairs I found a ladder out that Jo had thought to change the chirping alarm with.

It woke her up and she thought it was a bird in the house.

We had a lovely chat and then breakfast off scrambed eggs and with Mary and Ron.

A nice walk where my new target is butterflies which seem to fly far too fast and they never land for more that a second.

when we got back Jo then played the rented Guitar for us out on the patio.

Wednesday 10 November - Rotary, driving and Jo

Woke up early and worked on the WW1 Diaries.

There was a chirping noise in the hall and when I went to investigate it turned out to be a low battery signal in the , what I thought was a smoke

detector. I thought I could change it but it seems that the detector that I tried to change was part of the fire alarm system and it went off when I took it down. T

he Alarm was very loud and woke up Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron. He came out the the bedroom and answered the phone . It was the fire department calling to check on the situation. Boy they are fast.We decided that we would let it chirp and not change the batteries.. We had a much quieter breakfast and then we went for a walk. It is much cooler now and we had to wear jackets as the breeze was very cool.

Then off to Rotary where I learned that later this month the guest speaker is going to be Sherrif Jo! I am very excited. We all love him at the coffee shop and I might get to meet him in Person!After that we went into Apache Junction and Mesa to find a guitar to rent for Jo. That all went well and I got lots of drive time on the freeway and busier streets in Mesa.

When we got home Jo called us just before dinner and said that she was coming up and would be here in about two hours. She got a ride with a course mate who lives in Mesa and as promised showed up about 830 that evening. Lots of hugs all around and chatting till about 930 when we all headed off to bed.

Tuesday November 9- I slept in

I heard an owl last night around 1230. I had been woken up by my hacking and coughing cold. After I got some thera flu in me ( they don't sell neo citran down here) I heard the owl. who.. who.. who... clear as a bell and there was an answering call from further down the golf course. Tonight I am going to play the owl call from my computer that I think it is and see if he will answer. I fell asleep again but I woke up about every hour what a drag!

But I did sleep in till about 930 which for me is amazing.

had a bran muffin for breakfast and then Uncle Ron , Aunt Mary and I went for a walk. I showed them where the bobcat came out of the brush and I measured the barrel cactus that it walked by.

It was up to my knees.

Saw a lizard in a drain pipe and thought maybe he was trapped in there so put a stick in so he could climb out. I will look him up in the reptile book and see if I can figure out what kind he is.

Lots of butterflies around, monarchs and golden yellow ones that I can't seem to get a picture of.

We are going to have a quiet day today. Uncle Ron is busy making lunch. He likes to take care of us. Actuaslly since My cold bloomed yesterday he is being very careful about me not touching anything of thiers so as to not spread my cold . I would feel awful if they got this cold from me.

Saturday and sunday - the first Weekend

I rode one of the bikes down to the store this morning which was very nice. The only problem with riding a bike down to anyplace is that one then has to ride the bike back up to come home. It was a good workout as I had a few groceries too.

I saw a coyote quite close, it was smallish and looked like maybe it was a youngster maybe one year old, like I would know the difference. Of course I did not get a photo as I was riding the bike.Uncle Ron is correct in saying that you will never see one quail..... they are always in groups.

It took less than an hour to get there, shop and get back. When I walk it takes me about two hours.

Anyway, this morning we went to the Swap Meet in Mesa for some sandals for Uncle Ron and myself, a magnifying glass for Uncle Ron and myself, a brown sugar keeper and a gift for Dennis whose birthday was just two days ago. It was very hot inside the tents. I do not know if the swap meet is open in the summer but I do know that I would not go there in the high heat. After our escape from the Swap meet ovens we went for air conditioned chinese food and then home. Almost.

There were some tents set up in Bashas parking lot, an art fair, and Uncle Ron wanted to see it. Aunt Mary said she was game so we went to our second market of the day. It was much cooler and way less crowded being about 24 tents in all. Mostly paintings and wall plaques, some great photos, and there was a jewelry tent. Hand made pounded silver. who could resist. I got a pair of earrings and Uncle Ron bought Aunt Mary two necklaces with earrings to match. One necklace a mother of pearl circle with the moon and a star.

When He gave it to her he said 'I got you the moon and the stars'. They will be celebrating their 66th anniversary this month. So cute.

home for the race, the Breeders cup which we missed but I saw it on Utube. a sad day for the favorite as she lost by a Nose.

My cold is now fully developed and I am trying to stay away from Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron with out seeming to be isolate myself. it is kind of tricky.

I have laryngitis and so half the time they cannot hear me talk.

How many days does a cold last?

Driving down here is easier than I thought but we stay in Gold Canyon and Apache Junction and don't go into the real busy parts of town.

Friday 5th November-

Slept in till 630 as we had a late night last night.

Met peter rabbit this morning when I went out to get the paper.

Worked on the WW1 Diaries and then had breakfast with Uncle Ron and Aunt Mary.

We went for a stroll around the circle and I

got some photos of butterflies and flowers. I was surprised that there are still so many flowers blooming, of course they are in peoples yards and tended. there is not a lot blooming out on the desert.

one hummingbird posed for me ever so nicely but I did not want to scare it away so didn't get too close. They are so cute.

There are some flowering bushes down here with seed pods that almost look like pussy wuillows,

all fuzzy and soft but I did not touch them as everything down here seems to look fuzzy and soft and then it sticks you with thorns or some such thing.

About half way around the circle Uncle Ron offered Aunt Mary a seat to rest on in the shade of an appollo Verde ( Green Tree) and ever gracious she accepted.

4th November- Leo and Grace, Glen and Virginia

Woke up at five and typed some WW1 Diaries.

I seem to have a cold now. Rats!

The moon was a sliver of gorgeous orange this morning.

I walked to the store and back to get some medicine. Yesterday we went to Rotary for lunch and it was fun. I bought a ticket for a car. If I win I do not know what I will do with it.

Today we had Grace and Leo over for Lunch.

They are friends of Dave and Colleen who just bought a house down here and are here to furnish it and fix it up.

Mary and I listened to another chapter of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. and then some music.

When we played ' Let me call you sweetheart' Uncle Ron and Aunt Mary danced together.

They are so sweet.

A late afternoon walk around the circle with the walker went very well. We saw an agave plant with a spike that was 15 feet tall and

wondered if it would end up pulling the plant up by its roots.

We watched some news and then we were off to Leo and Graces to have dinner.

It is so black out there as there are very few if any street lights that we missed the turnoff the first time and so were a little late.

the evening was very pleasant. We met another couple, Glen and Virginia, who stay down here for about 6 months of the year. Leo and Glen work together in Edmonton.

back home in the pitch black and

2 November - Bobcat!

The flight down was smooth and uneventful. the movies were not working so read from my new E-book - Plato the Republic and took about a 20 minute nap. Jim picked us up at the airport and we were here at about 830 phoenix time. they have a different time than Edmonton. It seems that Arizona and Ohio are like Saskatchewan and don't do the daylight savings time.slept well and woke up at 5 am.typed up one and one/half page of WW1 Diaries,

ate breakfast

Went for a walk. saw a lovely spiders nest, a tarantula's I think.

As I was coming around a tight corner in the road just down the street from Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron's I saw a Bobcat! crossing the road about a 1/4 block in front of me. I was so shocked that I almost forgot to get a photo but at the last second I shot and got his hind end going into the bushes.

I was so excited! I followed it into the brush and was so nervous that when my camera shut itself off I just about had a heart attack. The bobcat was long gone by the time I followed it and of course I probably made so much noise that it would have had plenty of time to hide from me anyway. they are so cool and much larger than I thought they were. don't worry I did not chase it into the thickets I was out in the open.

Made it back to the house with not too much more excitement, certainly nothing to top the Bobcat. I saw a golfball in a jumping cactus.... would like to see someone play that ball.

Saw some quail, a bunny rabbit and hundreds of bees were enjoying the flowers of these purple bushes.

After breakfast we went to the store, I drove, and we got some groceries and I picked up some stamps.

The afternoon was filled with an alfredo chicken pasta lunch for M&R and a salad for me.

A crossword puzzle, two chapters of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.(an Audio book on my I tunes) and some old songs again courtesy of Itunes kept Mary and I busy. Uncle Ron had a nice long nap and then did all kinds of little things to get himself organized. He knows he is getting better because he could remember where he put his drink of juice.

Supper was a light affair of veggie barley soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with frozen vanilla yogurt for dessert. Did I mention that I picked up some Cadbury praline chocolates at the duty free in Edmonton and we each had one of those too.

M&R watched TV and Blogging and Facebooking and emailing filled my evening. Will hit the sac early and probably wake up early again tomorrow. Great first day at Superstition.