Feeling Old

There’s nothing like a skin cancer diagnosis to make a member of the Boomer generation really feel past their prime and it happened to me last week. Since April I’ve been aware of a small growth on my cheek just below my eye which my regular doctor thought could be burned off with dry ice. Given that didn’t work; I saw a dermatologist this past week and learned that, in my case, surgery is probably going to be the best option. There was another treatment in the form of a cream which could be used over the course of three months but which produces oozing crusty sores and lots of skin irritation. I figure a lifetime scar is probably preferable since I’m out working everyday in the public and the thought of carrying ugly sores for three months just wasn’t that appealing.

After a trial of nearly two months, most of the kitchen redo is finally finished. Well…at least the tile portion! We ended up having to tear out most of the work the Mexicans did due to shoddy workmanship. Marc’s job turned out beautiful and I love it! Marc still has to make some cabinet doors and spice racks which he will hang on either side of my kitchen window that will triple the storage I had previously.







The small dinette table and chairs are gone and in its place is a new wine rack where I also store all my cookbooks and some serving dishes. The pies de la resistance is the butcher block which we have really enjoyed using.





My schedule has gotten unbelievably busy with my seniors; in fact, I’m just about as full with as many clients as I can handle at the moment. Now that the snowbirds are returning (yes already!) I am getting at least two-three calls a week in which I must turn people down which is always a tough thing for me to do. But since I’m a one-man band there is only so much of me to go around and still have anything left for the home front. A busy schedule makes the weeks fly by but I often reach the weekend too tired to do much beyond my normal errands and chores to get ready for my following work week. That’s not to say I don’t truly enjoy what I am doing though.

Our daughter Rachael will be visiting for a few days in a couple weeks so I will take three days off to spend with her. We’ve got some fun things planned and we’re very excited to see her soon! Even Derby will likely be amazed (and a little confused) to see her again! Meanwhile, Marc is about to get going on welding and building some gates so we can try and contain our cats a little better and we hope to do some more landscaping as soon as we can find the gumption (and cooler weather) to dig some deep holes. I want some more palm trees. We also have a plant against the front privacy wall which has struggled from day one which I want to pull and replace with a bougainvillea. I’ve always wanted to see one growing up and cascading over the wall. Nights here have finally started to cool off although the days haven’t so our air conditioners still grind away 24/7. October should see us turning the heat corner and then it will be Yuma’s turn to shine with fabulous weather all winter.

Desert Deluge, September 5th

As so often happens with desert storms, this one appeared quickly over the Gila Mountains with a few thunderheads and ever-increasing winds. It didn’t take long for the downpour to begin and quickly provide inches of runoff from the streets and into the washes. The cooling effect was immediate too; we quickly fell a full ten degrees in temperature and then another ten degrees within the next hour after the rain had stopped. The humidity also jumped to an oppressive 80%!

They often advise not driving through the water-filled washes and even though it might seem like mere inches, I was surprised today to see road crews out with heavy equipment scraping not only buckets of sand off the roadway, but fairly large boulders and broken limbs of trees six inches in diameter. None of that debris was visible under the raging, muddy waters as I took these pictures yesterday during the storm. In a small car like mine, a person could do serious damage to their undercarriage.