RangerRickL wrote: »

This is a sunset behind the North Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona. Within 3 minutes this almost volcanic eruption-like scene was gone. I love hiking in the desert.

SModa61 wrote: »

biketheworld wrote: »

Sorry I went AWOL for a couple days. My routine has been totally off track. I hated to admit it, but in the middle of a pandemic, we had 2 granddaughters (ages 3 and 5) for 8 days. My daughter and SIL had to attend a wedding half-way across the country. We kept thinking the wedding would be postponed but as we ticked closer, realized it was full steam ahead and SIL was the best man. So they left the girls with us and drove. They were an absolute delight and it was a treat to spend time with them but I am not used to that! They're up the same time as me, and grandma likes peace and quiet for the first 2 cups of coffee! Then getting everybody dressed, off to preschool, I'd work for 2.5 hours, pick them up, come home, play, eat, etc etc. Twice I bundled them up to play outside in the snow. I told hubby I felt like the mom from "A Christmas Story" bundling up Ralphie's brother. I was honestly exhausted before we ever walked out the door! A couple days I ran on the treadmill while they played. So exercise was not the problem, and even food choices were OK. It was once they went home that everything fell apart! Hubby brought home TWO bottles of wine - and once I start alcohol, the munchies hit. I have to be honest with myself, and claim two pass days already. No one to blame but myself. This is not "the end" - just part of the process.

Also - this morning I did get caught up on all the posts and there is one in particular that I have to comment on. @RangerRickL - you mentioned that Rose kicked you out of the kitchen when you retired and tried to rearrange her kitchen. I almost spit out my coffee when I read that. When my hubby and I had been dating just a month or two, he brought dinner to my house (he's a great cook and I think he wanted to impress me). At some point, I left the room to do something and when I came back into the kitchen, he was standing there with a cabinet door open and very proudly said "ta-da! I fixed your kitchen!" He had moved around some dishes/bowls for what he thought would be more organized. I was FURIOUS because I had been married for 32 years to an extremely manipulative man, was quite happy being single, and thought he was just another man that was going to constantly criticize and tell me what to do. I grabbed all the stuff he had brought, threw it into the box he brought it in, shoved the box into his chest and said "get out" while walking to the door! He had a look of complete shock on his face but walked out. I was still fuming when he very timidly knocked on the door and said that he couldn't leave under such bad circumstances, could we just talk about this? His reason/excuse was that he had worked in quality control for 25 years and he has trouble not looking/evaluating things for how they can be done better. I realized he wasn't a jerk, forgave him, and a year later we were married. We laugh about it now.

@biketheworld LOVE the story!