Monday, June 17 through Friday, June 28: CBD Oil, Williams Life, and Preparing for Bend

In my quest for adopting a young male Dalmatian, the topic of pet grade CBD oil kept coming up. My poor Libby was in arthritic pain and the prescription remedies were not working well for her. So, why not! My sister Wendy had given me some large dog breed CBD edibles last year. Libby really liked the peanut butter and banana flavor and she was walking a lot better.

Monday morning, I picked Libby and Kelsey up at the kennel. Later in the afternoon, the girls and I went to nearby Kaibab Lake. It was a beautiful afternoon for walking through the campground and enjoying views of the lake.

In the late afternoon, the mule deer are back in the neighborhood. They love to graze on the open lot next door --- as they head toward the golf course.

Tuesday morning, pickleball play was on the tennis court by the high school. A fellow named John was back from his winter getaway at Rocky Point in Mexico. He is a good pickleball player, so it was nice to get several skilled games with Jon, Gus, and John.

Afterwards, I joined the Highland Meadows ladies for lunch at Kick's on Route 66. It was a nice number of women in attendance, and the server Dave was great.

I am still concerned by the excessive use of water being read on our meter. I stopped by the City Hall and requested a 30-day written read-out. We'll see if that produces anything.

Pickleball on Thursday had an extra attraction. Gus Beatty brought his small gas barbecue. After pickleball, he served grilled hot dogs with condiments, chips, and drinks. How delightful!

After pickleball, Tom and I headed over to the City Hall. It had been three days since I requested follow-up on our water usage matter. Anna, the clerk said that she would contact the Water Department. Later that afternoon, Albert arrived. He surmised that maybe the water meter was defective. It had been sending a lot of error messages.

The next morning, Albert and another fellow came back to the house and replaced the meter.

Today was June 21 --- the Summer Solstice --- the longest day of the year. I noticed on a posted flyer that Kaibab Lake was having a Summer Solstice concert with a Highland bagpipes and drums. The group was called Southwest Skye Pipes and Drums. I decided that it would be fun to attend. I picked up some picnic supplies at Safeway and we headed for the lake around 6:15 pm. It was a beautiful evening.

The Solstice Celebration started at 7:00 pm at the campground amphitheater.

The next day, we had an appointment at Costco in Prescott. Tom bought new tires there a year ago, and it was time for another tire rotation and balancing service. Before the appointment, we stopped at a Veteran's thrift store and I donated some clothes. After Costco, we had lunch at Augie's. Tom had a great meatloaf sandwich and I had a delicious grilled chicken sandwich with melted cheese and tasty habaneros.

We left Prescott to head back to Williams at about 3:30 pm. Just north of Paulden, on Arizona Highway 89, we hit a traffic jam. The highway had been closed due to a head-on accident. Unfortunately, Arizona Highway 89 is only two lane. At one point, I got out of the car to stretch my legs. I walked toward the blockage.

It wasn't for another thirty minutes that the law enforcement authorities began to slowly open the road. The southbound traffic started first. Of course, we were going north. When we passed the wreckage, you could not even make out the cars involved.

Later, we found out that a 23 year old male from nearby Chino Valley tried to pass illegally and was killed. The woman in the other car was airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center and was in critical condition.

I went to church on Sunday and played pickleball on the tennis courts. Sweet Annie brought fixings for cheeseburgers. Tom and I brought condiments and chips. Gus once grilled the burgers on his tailgate barbecue. There were 16 hungry pickleball players who enjoyed the food!
I took the dogs on a walk to nearby Cataract Lake. The summer wild flowers were in full bloom. Beautiful!

The spa water has become very milky. On Monday, I stopped by Summit Spa in Flagstaff and talked to Jeff. I showed him this picture.
He told me that I was using too much chemical. He directed me to drain 1/2 of the spa water and fill it back up. Jeff also suggested that I take the chlorine frog system out of the water for two days.

Tuesday was the usual pickleball play on the tennis courts. At noon, I joined four of the Highland Meadows ladies at El Corral Restaurant for lunch. I texted Tom to pick me up. Jan Chumley was with me. Tom and I drove to her home and we saw her backyard landscaping.

She and her husband used my landscaper, Troy, to do the job. It was very nice!

Wednesday was another trip to Flagstaff. I had a hair appointment with Shawna. The salon is being sold. It was weird to see the For Sale sign in front.

Shawna and the other stylists are moving to a new place in August. They prefer not to stay with any new owner!

Libby Beatty and I decided to share jigsaw puzzles. I am still working on a 1,500 puzzle that my brother John gave me for Christmas. On that puzzle, all that remains are green leaves, blue sky, and white clouds. It has been a very challenging puzzle! I gave Libby my drug store puzzle. It looks like a Norman Rockwell painting.

My girls, Kelsey and Libby, greeted me at the door later that afternoon.

The day concluded with a conference call with my siblings to discuss the status of my brother John's estate. Slowly, but surely, the estate assets are being collected. It didn't help that he had no will and no named beneficiaries on his financial assets.

Happy Birthday to Richard in heaven! Thursday, June 27 was his birthday. It was also the birthday of Tom's brother, Mike. Mike is in heaven too. Richard would have been 81. Mike would have been 59. The aspen trees I planted two years ago are thriving. But, I decided not to share a photo this year with family and friends. This was the photo from last year.

We leave for Bend, Oregon on Saturday morning. Tom and I pulled the trailer out and began the process of moving clothes, food, and supplies to the trailer. It is always nice to have time to make this happen.

When I was having my hair done on Wednesday, Shawna and I had an interesting conversation about faith. I told Shawna that I would share a poem written by Katie Glenn from my church. I have it posted in my office. So, I texted it to her.

The backyard garden is very lush this year. There are peonies blooming that I never knew I had!

Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 16: Routine, Home Repairs, and Quest for a Male Dalmatian

It was nice to be back in Williams. Tom was still not well. But, he could now convalesce at home. On Friday, I went to Flagstaff to have my hair done. I also stopped at Planet Dodge Chrysler. I made an appointment to have my truck's radio calibrated. Saturday afternoon, my neighbor, Libby Beatty came over. Libby told me that she and her husband, Gus, were separating. Libby had bought a town home in Prescott Valley the month before. I was sad, but understood. She had custody of their dog, Bucky.

Our DirecTV units were not working. It appeared that they stopped recording shows on May 29th. I called DirecTV, and they could not send a technician until Monday.

Our pickleball group had a potluck dinner on Saturday night. I made one of my family's favorite recipes, 24 hour layered salad. The dinner was at the vacation rental home of our host, Kerry-Lynn Moede. She and her husband own the Historic Yellow House.

Tables and chairs were set-up outside. It was good food and good friendship!

Since Ramsey's passing, I thought that it would be nice to add another male Dalmatian to my Team Dalmatian. Libby is getting up in age --- ten years old. Kelsey is almost eight. Dalmatians usually live to 10-13 years of age. I went online and signed up for Adopt-A-Pet, a search engine sponsored by Petco and Purina Dog Food. Unfortunately, many of the Dalmatians posted are mix breeds --- with many pit bull faces. I did find several cuter ones --- like Teddy.

Teddy is sponsored by a rescue group in Southern California where I got Kelsey. I submitted an application for Teddy. I felt that I was early in the process and that finding the right Dalmatian will take some time.

The DirecTV man came on Monday. My satellite needed a new part. It was not picking up the signal.

My friend Barbara Coad contacted me. We are going on a vacation to Australia the end of October. We are flying into Sydney and then taking a ten day cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. Barbara put me in charge of booking an Airbnb in Sydney. I found one that looked perfect for our five nights there.

On Tuesday, the Adopt-A-Pet search engine showed two interesting Dalmatians. One was a private party re-homing situation from Gilbert, Arizona. His name is Wyatt. I submitted an application and was contacted by his owners, Denise and Janice. We made an appointment for Sunday morning to have a "meet and greet" with Libby, Kelsey, and Wyatt.

My Libby is limping. She seems to be favoring her left front leg. I made an appointment for her to see Dr. Sullivan at Canyon Pet Hospital.

Tom and I had various appointments in Flagstaff on Wednesday. When I was in Alaska, I was caught up by the shape of the Moose. On Amazon, I found a Moose sculpture. I bought it and assembled it for my backyard table. Hello, Mr. Moose!

Thursday, Libby had her Canyon Pet Hospital appointment. Dr. Sullivan evaluated her and thought that the problem was arthritis. Libby was given some medicine to help with the pain. Unfortunately, it made her too relaxed and she could not support her two back legs!

This was not good! I immediately reduced the dosage. I also scheduled her for x-rays on Wednesday, June 12.

I took my truck into Planet Dodge Chrysler on Friday. I had a 9:30 a.m. appointment. Dave, the Service manager, introduced me to Louie, the technician. I did not have a good experience the first time I took my truck in for a recall notice. The service call was to update my radio computer and to change my oil.

On Saturday, I drove to Prescott Valley to visit my friend Libby. Dalmatians Libby and Kelsey went with me. We were going to spend the night in Phoenix --- in order to meet Dalmatian Wyatt. The dogs spent the day in my truck parked in Libby's garage. Libby and I visited a number of thrift stores.

Libby is trying to buy things for her new home. We had a very nice lunch at Augie's. I had never been there. Then, we stopped at the Prescott town square. There, we discovered a very nice art fair. I saw a mirror that captured my heart. And I bought it!

While at the town square, I also spread some of Ramsey's ashes under one of the Courthouse trees. Ramsey always loved to walk that square!

I also love the general setting of the courthouse!

The dogs and I left Libby's home around 4:00 p.m. It took me two hours to get to the West Mesa motel. We stayed at a La Quinta Inn and Suites --- dog friendly. In the evening, I barricaded Libby and Kelsey in the bathroom/closet area.

I liked that location, as there was no carpet. Libby sometimes has accidents! The next day, the three of us met Wyatt, Denise, and Janice at Cosmo Dog Park. It was a nice visit, but Wyatt is only one year old, not fixed, and was trying to hump both of my dogs. I decided to pass on this re-homing situation.

On Monday, the Adopt-A-Pet search engine surfaced a nice looking liver Dalmatian in Las Vegas. His name is Rio and he is sponsored by Dalmatian Rescue of Colorado.

I submitted an application to Dalmatian Rescue of Colorado. I was contacted a day later and had an interview with Michele Winner. I provided my sister Wendy as a reference, as well as Libby Beatty. I also gave them the name of our Williams veterinarian. All three were contacted.

Tom went to the North County Medical Clinic in Williams. The nurse practitioner, Daniel Knight, said that he had the beginning stages of pneumonia. So, Tom was put on heavy antibiotics. Hopefully, this will work! In the meantime, we put our barbecue to task!

The weather is perfect for grilling outdoors. I also hung my new mirror in the entry way.

The water bills for April and May were high. The gallons of water used was almost twice as much as a year ago. Tom checked the meter, to see if there was a leak.

I called the City of Williams. They sent out a technician to look at the meter. All seemed to be fine. Later that day, I took Kelsey into the Williams Veterinary Clinic for her usual anal gland procedure. Look! Her name was on the white board 😁😀😆

Friday morning, I decided it was time to book some of the Silent Auction items I won at the Lost Canyon Young Life event that took place in January. So, I went to the Canyon Motel & RV Park and booked the 1929 Red Caboose #1 for September 15. I also booked the Grand Canyon Railway trip on October 5. This was the final date in 2019 for the steam engine.

In the afternoon, Josh, the Aspen Security technician came to our house. For several days, Tom and I heard some chirping from one of the alarms, and it appeared that a "check security" light was blinking.

Josh later explained that the flashing "check security" light meant that the alarm was sending data to the alarm company contacts. So, it was in good order. But, Josh did replace all three of the batteries. He also said the the middle bedroom detector would need to be replaced in about two years.

Saturday, June 15, was the two year anniversary of when Tom joined our home. In November last year, I booked a suite at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow. At about 11:30 a.m., I dropped the girls off at the Grand Canyon Railway Kennel. They had the first kennel on the right.
Tom and I left for La Posada at about noon. About halfway to Winslow, Tom realized that he left his hanging clothes in our walk-in closet! So, we needed to stop at a clothing store to find Tom suitable attire for our dinner in The Turquoise Room. Can you say Walmart?!? 😝😝😝

Our suite was room 240, the Doublemint Twins Room. All of the La Posada Rooms are named and decorated in an appropriate theme.

Before our dinner reservation, we had adult beverages in the Martini Bar. Tom cleaned up well in his Walmart attire.

For dinner, we each enjoyed "wild game" options on the menu. I had elk tenderloins and Tom had a medley of quail, elk, and bison. All was very good!

Check-out time the next day was noon. So, we had a leisurely morning. At about 10:00 a.m., we had breakfast back in the Turquoise Room. It was Father's Day, so the dining room was somewhat crowded. We checked out at about 11:30 a.m.

We were not picking the dogs up until the next day. The weather in Williams continued to be perfect. There are also very nice sunsets.