Filed under: clouds, exercise, me, personality | Tags: exercise, injury, stupidity
Exercise is something I am good at. I have always been active, but since moving away from my home state and becoming a stay-at-home-mom, I have forced exercise into my routine. I do not need exercise buddies or people to encourage me. I do not need gym memberships to motivate me. I just need a few essential items, and I am good at being motivated to get it done.
My exercise involves walking/running (pushing 50-105 pounds of jogging stroller, depending on who is in it), biking (dragging a bike trailer, again 50-105 pounds), rollerblading (with jogging stroller) and weight lifting. I do all this mostly because I get bored doing just one thing. Our housing development has about fifteen miles of exercise trails, and I know every nook and cranny of them. I have created different routes that I take to fill up the allotted time so I have the chance to see different things each day. Most of the time I have no problem getting four 1-hour+ workouts in each week, and sometimes more. (The more depends on my schedule, which is tight.) My point is that I get it done. I do not make excuses; I just go and exercise.
However, I have not exercised regularly since the end of last November. Since Chicklet’s birth (more than four years ago) and subsequent first year of misery (for Chicklet and me), my exercise has involved a weight loss goal. Since I am not a dieter (I eat quite healthy most of the time, but I like eating), exercise is my key to weight maintenance. When I stopped exercising last November, I was within four pounds of my goal. I do not even know where I am now, but it is a far cry from four pounds!
December made exercise impossible because Chicklet and I both got sick. It was cold then, and when we are coughing, it is not reasonable to go out and exercise. Unfortunately, my sickness turned into bronchitis, which lasted until I finally went to the doctor for it at the end of March. Thus, all winter long I was not exercising. (I plan this winter to try to find a gym that will let me join for four months so my exercise is not weather-dependent in the winter.) In mid-April, I started exercising again, but could not get back into the routine of it. School was nearing an end. There were constant field trips (which I faithfully chaperoned having a daughter in Kindergarten), Science Fairs, Art Shows (I am the volunteer art teacher at my daughter’s school, grades K-8), etc. Not having an established routine, it was too easy to not establish one then. I managed to exercise enough to damage my ankles a little, though. I had encountered this injury before, but it got better, and then it happened again. My body does not like it when I run. I personally do not like to run, but walking does not seem like enough exercise, so on “walking days,” I tend to run a lot of the time, which ultimately messed up my ankles royally.
The ankle pain was actually debilitating. I should have gone to the doctor. (I should have gone to the doctor two years ago when I first noticed it.) I resisted because not all of my medical experiences in New Mexico have been worthwhile. I thought that they would tell me one of two things: 1) Deal with it, or 2) You need surgery. I was already dealing with it, and I had no interest in surgery. (Recovery time from surgery would mean an even longer period of no exercising which would fully derail my exercise momentum, etc.)
In late May, while in Missouri, I reinjured the ankle twice. The second time I was running in an emergency situation, barefooted, and actually crumpled on the ground because the pain was so bad. (Thankfully, the emergency fixed itself.)
After returning home, I reinjured it repeatedly, 2 or 3 times a week. It got to the point that I was falling a lot because the ankle was so weak. If I would step on something uneven, it was not strong enough to hold me up. It would hurt less to fall than to strain the ankle more. Each injury would mean about a day of basically no walking. I finally decided to go to the doctor before our trip at the end of July. I was going to be walking in a Convention Center (totally forgot about hiking), so I could not be worried about 2 or 3 bad injuries a week. I walk better on heels (which is what I wear at Conventions) because of the angle at which they put my foot, but a fall from heels is worse. So I went. My General Practitioner referred me to a podiatrist, but I could not get in until after my trip was over. But she gave me a splint that she thought would make it possible to hike while we were in Zion. It worked! (Obviously, if you are a regular reader, you have seen a few of the pictures.) We hiked about half of every day, and I had very little trouble. I could not believe how much difference having the stability of a splint made. It was then that I decided I had been a true idiot in not going to the doctor sooner.
old splint in Zion National Park
The podiatrist gave me a different type of splint. It has a little bubble in the arch area that can be inflated to comfort level. This is a much better splint than the first, but it doesn’t work well with sandals at all.
So Monday I decided to try walking again for exercise. I had managed to hike half-a-day for three days in Zion (albeit at a 4-year-old’s pace). Surely I could do it here. I went on a level, shorter trail–a loop around our development that is two miles, and starts about 1/4 mile from my house. There are lots of places on this loop that I could cut it short if I was having trouble. I DID have trouble, but of course not until past the last short-cut. My ankle did not hurt, but this time it was my foot, because I use it differently due to the ankle injury. It was not horrible, just tired. The worst thing was that I forgot to take my camera.
new splint
Today I went again, and the foot was better. I remembered my camera and think I got some nice photos, but have not checked yet. It just feels so good to be actually moving around again. I really do not LOVE exercise, but I love how I feel when I do it. I cannot go tomorrow, but I will go again Friday, and if all goes well, I might try roller-blading next week. I cannot bike right now because the hitch on my bike trailer broke right at the beginning of this problem, and I need to shell out some big bucks for a new trailer. (Which I am willing to do because I use it a lot, and it is worth a lot to me, but I have not researched well enough what I want/need. The last one was only $99 at a resale sporting goods store. A lucky find.)
What is the point to this story? When I had bronchitis, I should have gone to the doctor sooner. I waited four months. After going I was cleared up in two weeks. When I hurt my ankle, I should have gone to the doctor. Even with just a splint, I would not have continued with new and repeated injuries. (I have to go back in a week to see what the next step is on the ankle. The splint is not a permanent fix.) I am all flabby and feeling less-than-perfect and have lost all my momentum, just because I did not want to go to the doctor. I am the opposite of a hypochondriac and never want to rush to the doctor at the slightest problem, but maybe there is some good ground in the middle somewhere.
Ya think?
Filed under: Prince Charming, clouds, me, personality, travel | Tags: airplanes, clouds, fear, flying, travel
Each weekend David McMahon at Authorblog asks a question and asks readers to answer it on their own blogs. This week’s question is here.
The question is: Are you a nervous traveller?
Most of the time I would say that I am, but if it is a car trip and I am not driving, I am not nervous at all. However, if it is a trip in which I am going to be driving all day with just my girls, then I am nervous. I have no idea about what I am nervous , but I usually have difficulty sleeping the night before the big trip. It is a strange phenomenon because I do not mind driving. Just my neurotic uptight personality, I guess.
But my real nerves come when flying somewhere. If it were not that flying is so fast and convenient, I would probably never do it. I actually used to love it and had no fear whatsoever, but sometime in my twenties I was in a plane (a Cessna something-or-another with one engine and six seats, though I would not have volunteered to have the 5th or 6th seat!) owned by the company which employed me. This trip was an all-day journey from southwest Missouri to Michigan and back, the purpose being to pick up two passengers in Michigan.
The trip began wonderfully. I loved flying, and it was exciting because it was going to be a stormy day. The weather radar showed cells building all around us. On the way to Michigan, I sat next to the pilot with headphones on so I could hear what was going on. Periodically we would get close to some cells, and turbulence would cause us to gain or lose a couple hundred feet of alititude at a time. We were being buffeted like a feather in the wind, and it was exciting. I would watch the radar and hope we would get closer to more cells. I imagined myself taking flying lessons. The clouds we flew among were enormous, and the combination of their beauty and the bouncing made the flight seem like a surreal amusement park ride. I was enjoying every second of it.
After picking up the passengers, we headed back. I was relating to the passengers my exciting version of the trip so far and telling them how much fun I was SURE the return trip would be. (Famous last words.) We all settled in with our own good books and water handy. Small squeals were heard when we hit good bumps.
The number of cells around us started increasing rapidly, and it came to the point that we were constantly in cells, trying to avoid the worst ones. Still having entirely too much fun, I was hoping we could not avoid them because it was such a blast to bounce around in them. The clouds were no longer pretty, however. They had closed around us to make the scenery little more than grey. Then, through my headphones, I heard we were headed for a tornado. Now I have always wanted to see a tornado; I grew up right next to a “tornado alley,” but had never seen one. But the nerves started to intrude at this point. For one, it was so stormy and cloudy, that I did not think we would be able to see it unless we were IN it. As much fun as the bumps were, the tornado did not seem like something that would be fun. I suddenly was thoroughly unimpressed with slipping through the air with no visibility. (And all thought of flying lessons bounced out of my head somewhere along the line.)
We never saw the tornado, nor did we get caught in it. But my cavalier demeanor had already diminished, and it seemed there was no end in sight to the storm. We were continually bumped and battered. I was not terrified, but it was not exactly pleasurable anymore. Then there was the Giant Bump. Our little plane that had been previously flying with wings parallel to the ground was now flying with wings nearly perpendicular to the ground. We apparently lost altitude during this as well because I remember all our water bottles being suspended in mid-air for what seemed like 3 minutes, but I know it was probably less than ten seconds. The pilot did not “right” our plane in less than ten seconds, however. Again, time was standing still, but it took more than a few seconds to get us flying level again. I remember seeing the determined look on his face as he put all his strength into holding the plane as steady as he could.
No one knew, but my head was a mess the rest of the flight. I prayed repeatedly for a safe landing, pretty sure my prayers would not be positely answered. I watched the radar like a hawk to see what was ahead. The pilot requested a different route because ours was so dangerous, but there were no. other. ways. The storm had grown into a massive severe thunderstorm so big that going around it would mean running out of fuel. My white knuckles clutched the armrests as we made our way home.
When we got below the clouds, it was calm. I could not believe we had endured such turbulence and came into such relative calmness. I did not kiss the ground when we exited the aircraft, but I wanted to. The pilot who always had a terrific sense of humor said, “Cheated death again,” as we pulled up to the terminal.
Since then I have never liked to fly. It is a necessary evil, and I do it, but without the least amount of joy. I do not drink, but I always get on a flight and say that I am ready to take up drinking. It is usually better than I expect it to be, but my nerves have never completely subsided.
But what makes it worse is all the sounds and smells on commercial airliners that have no explanation. When I am on a plane and hear a loud noise, then smell smoke, and no one bothers to say anything, am I supposed to just think all is fine? Am I the only one on the aircraft that is concerned at that moment?
The last time I flew was with Prince Charming to Winnipeg for our 10th Anniversary. One of the sounds I heard was an alarm bell. No explanation. If it is not something worthy of alarm, one would think they might not make it sound like a 5-alarm fire. Another sound was the captain pushing his “ding” button for some kind of signal to the flight crew or possibly the passengers. It is my opinion that there should be a card in the seat pockets that gives the meaning of all noises and signals. To me, a briefing of what noises mean what from the flight attendant rather than how to buckle my seatbelt might be useful. When that “dingy” noise happens five times rapidly, that sounds a little like some sort of trouble brewing to me. What is different about when it happens four times than when it happens five times? What if it is only twice? Call me crazy, but I want to know what all that means! Maybe if we knew, we would all be screaming in a panic. (I wouldn’t because I panic quietly in my head–but just as violently as those screaming loudly.) But I cannot help but think that if I knew what those sounds meant, I would be a little calmer.
Because here is the strange thing. Although it was a bad experience on the little Cessna that made me terrified of flying in the first place, I would still prefer to fly in it than a big jet. At least on the little plane, I can see the instruments and hear the radio traffic and know everything is fine. Clearly everything has been fine on the big jets as well (or I would not be here writing this), but NOT knowing at the time ties my stomach in knots and makes my knuckles ache from clutching the armrests so violently. Probably the right answer is Xanax, but I have never tried that. I am pretty sure if I did, I would be a vegetable upon arrival.
What I really want to use is a transporter like in Star Trek.
by Louise Cannon
Filed under: Birds, Food, flowers, me | Tags: cosmos, flowers, Food, homemade salsa, hummingbirds
Today a new hummingbird showed up at my feeders. It caught my attention because the regular hummingbirds were making a racket, like hummingbirds tend to do. I went to see what was up, and saw glistening rust and orange. All day long I tried to get a picture. I do not have time to sit and wait, but finally I got a pretty good one. My thoughts are that is is a Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus. There is something somewhat similar called Allen’s Hummingbird, but that one has more green, and I never saw much green on this one.
click on photo to enlarge
This bird is a real dazzler in the sun! Apparently they live in the northwest U.S. and southeast southwest Canada in the summer, but migrate to Mexico for the winter, so we were lucky enough to see the little traveler. I hope I can get a better glimpse, and picture, before it heads out. I have no idea how long it will stay.
click on photo to enlarge
For a short time while waiting for the hummingbirds to get close enough to photograph, I took pictures of the herb flowers in my garden. The hummingbirds like to get nectar from the lemon balm flowers. I also have cosmos in the herb garden and took some pictures of that. The cosmos pictures turned out OK, but I like an older one I have better, so I am putting that up.
This cosmos picture was taken in early morning light, and I liked it because of its shadow. I did not realize until I uploaded the photo how interesting the other shadows in the picture were. The extra shadows are from my late Weeping Cherry tree. (I will probably do a full post on the tree soon. ) It was dying suddenly when the picture was taken, leaving it without foliage which made the nice shadows. I cannot really explain why I love this picture, but it is a favorite from my own archives.
The last picture is of a Desert Willow bloom. I love these trees. They grow anywhere and very quickly. When we moved here six years ago, I thought it was a bush and trimmed it as such in the Spring. A year later I learned it was a tree. It is a bushy sort of tree, but it is already taller than the roof of our first floor. It will not be giant, but it is even now a very nice size.
click photo to enlarge
The Desert Willow blooms are full of nectar, and they “rain” it all the time. It always feels cool when walking under one in the summer because of the mist of nectar. This particular tree rains its nectar on my garden. This morning I was picking jalepenos for a batch of salsa, and all of the peppers were covered in nectar and quite sticky. The plants were also covered with aphids, and that was not as pleasant, but they came off easily when I cleaned the peppers.
The salsa recipe I made today is from Lynn at the Vintage Nest. You can go here to find the recipe.
When I made my first batch this summer, I used the following recipe:
Huachuca Salsa
4 lg. ripe tomatoes, diced
1 green tomato, diced
8 green onions, chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 or more jalepeno peppers, minced (I am a pepper wimp, so I usually remove the seeds unless the peppers have no heat at all.
1/3 c. olive oil
2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
salt to taste
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate to let flavors blend.
This is my favorite summer salsa. I make salsa once or twice a week when I have my own tomatoes and try different recipes all the time, but I come back to this one at least a couple of times every year.
Lynn’s salsa is much different. It is sweeter and has some interesting nuances of flavor. Go make one of these. I swear you will have it devoured in no time! (And you don’t need to bother with chips if you don’t want to. A spoon is just fine!)
by Louise Cannon
Filed under: Sky Watch Friday, clouds | Tags: sky, Sky Watch Friday, sunrise
click on photo to enlarge
Yesterday morning I was catching up on my Google Reader when I looked up, and outside. It was one of those fiery sunrises. I jumbed up, grabbed my camera and raced to the back yard for pictures. (The second picture is from the back yard.) While back there, I could see the color wrapped around from East to West, so I ran to the front to get more pictures. The wrong lens was on the camera, so Prince Charming assisted for a quick change, just in time to capture the above shot.
click on photo to enlarge
Some of my previous sky posts have received comments that the picture looks like something from a science fiction movie. I agree. I like science fiction and see that in the sky often myself. But this one… well, I think this one (the first picture) might win the science fiction prize of all my sky photos. It actually reminds me of some of the the bad special effects from the original Star Trek series.
The last picture was as the color faded into morning. As is often the way with sunrises and sunsets, it happened quickly.
click on photo to enlarge
To see LOTS more terrific sky pictures, head to the SkyWatch blog hosted by Tom, Sandy , Imac and Klaus. You will not be sorry you did!
by Louise Cannon
Filed under: holidays, me, personality, rubber stamping | Tags: afraid, darkness, fear, Halloween
Each weekend David McMahon at Authorblog asks a question and asks reading readers to answer it on their own blogs. This week’s post is here.
The question is: As a child, were you afraid of the dark?
The answer for me is a resounding, “Yes!” As I child, I had three major fears; I will address two of them in this post, including the one about dark.
The dark terrified me. I cannot explain why that was. It was not exactly monsters, but there was something out there. I remember seeing black images on my ceiling when I was quite young, too young to remember much at all. My parents said I was like that from the beginning. I was not afraid all the time, just when I saw whatever it was. And I do not know if those things were “real” or in my imagination, but they terrified me enough to assure that I would be afraid of the dark for a long, long time. I do not remember seeing the apparitions past age three or four, but the memory of that could still bring just as much fear to me during dark nights .
Paired with this was my fear of loud noise. Both of my parents drove in drag races on the weekends. This was also when I was extremely young, so I do not remember much about it except that I believe they were both pretty good. And there was a car there, The Green Monster, that was so loud it ALWAYS made me scream and cry from fear. I would be in the stands with aunts and uncles who would cover my ears and hold me tight.
Those two fears together joined to make me an absolute mess when we had thunderstorms at night. I remember starting at about age seven, going into my parents’ room, terror-stricken, when thunderstorms screamed into my sleep. It got to the point that when I arrived, the covers would be lifted up for me so I could snuggle safely in from the din in the dark. I do not remember when I stopped doing this.
What I find somewhat interesting about these particular childhood fears is that I overcame both of them with no effort on my part. I will admit still having a little fear of the dark at times, but only because I am mindful enough to know what could be lurking out there in certain, unlit areas. Most of the time I welcome the dark. The stars are friendly. The moon is soothing. The night is peaceful. Nocturnal air has its own quality that simply feels good brushing against my skin. The sounds of night are like a lullaby. The smell of night is pure.
As I embrace night, I also relish some loud noises. I would love the hunt down “The Green Monster” and just hear it. I love when fighter jets fly over our house because they are so loud. I adore thunder! The culmination of darkness and loud in a nighttime thunderstom brings electric excitement to ever fiber of me.
So yes, I was afraid of the dark as a child. And yes, it can make me uneasy now. But most of the time I love it.
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Since this post was about dark, I thought I would share something here I am doing through another blog that relates to Halloween!
Heidi Ann at Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly is hosting a “Very Vintage Halloween Swap.” (Don’t you love the name of her blog, and doesn’t the swap sound intriguing?) OK, I realize that a lot the people who read this blog may not think that sounds intriguing at all, but some of you will. And for the rest, sorry, but possibly your wife, girlfriend, sister, aunt, cousin would think it is wonderful. Anyway, you can go here to sign up (leave a comment to do so) by August 25, and Heidi Ann will pair up people to swap something for Halloween. I am so excited about this! I have two things in my head that I want to make. I cannot decide, so maybe I will do both. It will be so much fun! So if this intrigues you as much as it does me, head on over there to sign up! (And you do not have to make something. You can buy it instead if you would like.) I’ll be showing you what I made (and what I received) on October 1 right here.
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By Louise Cannon
Filed under: Awards, children, me, personality | Tags: Awards, children, life, people, swimming
After all the encouraging words I got after my last post, I almost felt like I should not have posted it! My life is almost never that bad. I felt a little guilty for invoking concern on my behalf. Thank you for all your kindness, however! I will try to keep my future whining to a minimum.
But first (I said, “future,” right?), I am going to explain a little about why I posted that—without using details. From as early as I can remember, I know I tried (potentially did not succeed) to think about the effects of my life and decisions on other people. Fully realizing that my life is my own, I still try to have as little negative impact on others as possible. When a decision comes into my realm, I do my best to think through every angle that might affect other people. Last weekend, there were people, and one specific person, who made a series of decisions without giving thought to the effects on ANYONE but him/herself. Though only one action directly affected me, several had negative effects for other people around me. Most of the time, this person clearly was not thinking at all. When s/he was thinking, it was certainly not past him/herself. This type of behavior grates on me. I guess after being on this planet for 43 years, I should be used to it and just let it roll off my back, but it is not my nature. I did not confront said person; from experience I know it would have done no good, only caused more trouble. So I should just let it go. I actually try to let it go and am successful most of the time, but said person makes a habit of regularly being selfish and thoughtless in my presence, so even when I do let it go, s/he makes sure I am regularly reminded of it.
- Chicklet coming down a slide
Chic and friend under dumping water bucket
Now for the AWARD! The Fish Whisperer from Picture This and Xtreme Fishing gave me this award!
It was last week, and it COMPLETELY made my day/weekend/week! It was such a pleasant surprise, and I am still giddy over receiving this honor! The reason he gave it to me was because I “juggle more things than anyone” he knows and put “out a great blog with interesting stories and wonderful images.” Wasn’t that the nicest thing to say? (I have decided to tell you more about the things I do in a later post.) THANK YOU FISH WHISPERER!
When I got my first award, I said that the rules for receiving an award from me are that THERE ARE NO RULES. The rules for this one are to pass it on to five bloggers. I will do that because I want to. But if you get an award from me, the rules are to do whatever you want. Pass it on or not. Display it or not. Acknowledge it or not. And I also like texasholly’s award policy. You can find it here.
With that said, below are the some of the blogs I think Kick A*s at the moment as well. (I am not being a prude by not typing the word “a*s;” however, I keep hearing stories of the traffic some blogs start to get just by having a word like that in the post, so I am trying to avoid that. Of course now some of you who comment—I know who you are—will put that in the comments just to make sure I get “that kind” of traffic anyway. That is OK. I am not going to flip out and find a cartoon to post about you!)
A Photo a Day by Donald Kinney. He actually has at least two FABULOUS photos a day, but one never has comment. It is just there, piquing my interest. Donald is a photographer who knows when there is a good picture to be had, and makes it excellent.
Blind Pig & The Acorn by Tipper. Tipper lives in the Appalachians and blogs about it. Hers is an eclectic blog about life in the Appalachians, and it brings me into her life. She has music, scenery, art, cooking, you name it. I love it. (And what’s not to love about a blog with that name?)
Ramblings Around Texas by Troy and Martha. Their ramblings go far beyond Texas! They are amazing photographers who have been (and go) a lot of places and share their adventures on their blog. Not every post is about travel, but one can definitely travel vicariously through them.
Sandpiper’s Place by Sandpiper! Sandpiper likes to take walks in beautiful, natural places and share them with us. She is also an excellent photographer, so it is almost as if I am walking with her when I see her posts.
Slackwater by Don Wiley. Another photography blog, but without label. His photos are interesting, unusual , beautiful, whatever. A true artist with a camera, and always something exciting (or fun or humorous or jaw-droppingly beautiful) to see.
My favorite thing about awards is passing them on. My hope is that some of my readers check out these blogs and find something new that they love. (And you may wonder why none of these people are on my blogroll. Well, I have not updated that since my blog was brand new. I will get to it one day. I promise I will!)
By Louise Cannon
This weekend is a little crazy. I must admit my mental demeanor is a little irritated like a fire-breathing dragon less than pleasant.
I have been trying to write a post, but the interruptions are too many right now. Prince Charming sent me the link to this cartoon last week which I saved because I thought it was funny. It is more than appropriate from my viewpoint today. Nothing to do with driving, just to do with people. I LOVE the last frame!
It is from a strip called Diesel Sweeties, and all the copyright info is on the strip. (I hope I am being totally legal here.)
click on strip for larger image
By Louise Cannon
Ahhhhhh……
If you do not understand the full extent of why I would post this, go here.
We got our annual (sometimes semi-annual) hard-driving rain today. During “monsoon season” it rains somewhere every day, but definitely not everywhere. Our turn was today, and my girls, who so rarely get to play in the rain, were having a wonderful time.
Happy weekend, Everyone!
By Louise Cannon
Filed under: Sky Watch Friday, clouds | Tags: clouds, sky, travel, vacation, Zion National Park
please click on photo to view full size
Today’s SkyWatch photo is another from my recent trip which included Zion National Park.
(That means there have been no spectacular sunrises or sunsets here all week. The season must be ending.)
Zion also has “monsoon” season like we do. Every afternoon the skies got dark and cloudy. I think they probably get more rain out of it that we do here, but not a great amount, either.
I love the colors in this picture, both the storm clouds and the many hues on the face of the rock. This picture was actually taken from the town of Springdale which is outside of Zion on the western edge.
To see more terrific sky pictures, head to the SkyWatch blog hosted by Tom, Sandy , Imac and Klaus. You will not be sorry you did!
To those who are regular readers, I have a couple of updates that are exciting to me, so maybe you will appreciate them. I just this moment (about 3 hours ago when this posts) got my Google Reader to ZERO! Whew! That was a big job. As I was trying to pare it down, I kept finding new blogs I wanted to add, so that made it take even more time, but I am sure it will be worth it. (Of course this great feat of mine came just in time for SkyWatch Friday, so I am behind again already–this is a busy day which will see me not at home most of it– but at least I am not behind in both areas.)
And… my dad and his wife, who got here less than 24 hours after we arrived home from our trip, left this morning to take a little side trip to see family in Denver. They will not return until Saturday afternoon. We have had a wonderful time visiting, and I am not shouting with jubilation that they decided to take this trip (although I am glad they did because they’ll enjoy it), but I have not even finished my unpacking yet, so I will hopefully get a few more domestic and other things accomplished than I thought I would this week.
Have a wonderful weekend!
By Louise Cannon
click on photo to enlarge
This is a valley in Zion National Park. I think it is the South Valley, and I love how it looks. It made me think I was on some jungle adventure when I was there. It is in the middle of the desert, but there is water here. I personally believe the water is what makes Zion a special place. The vegetation there was amazing to me, and this valley does not look like a desert at all from my perspective.
