A yucca in bloom at the entrance to our neighborhood.
On my morning walks, I’ve noticed some beautiful blooms. We had a temperature swing of 30 degrees the past few days and I wonder if the flowers will wilt immediately in the heat? I decided yesterday to take photos to share the blooms while they are here.
A hedgehog cactus in bloom.
The hedgehogs have different colors of blossoms.
I hope all these buds bloom in the next day or two and it’s not too hot for them to make it.
According to my desert plant guide, these yellow flowers are Lemmon’s Ragwort.
I think Spring is my favorite season with all the wildflowers and the neighborhood coming back to life.
I saw these beautiful flowers at a neighbor’s house. I’d like this plant in my yard.
Does anyone know the name of this flower?
After feeling stronger, post Covid, I’ve been enjoying my morning walks. I’ve also spent time in my backyard reading and enjoying the warmth of the sun.
Sometimes we walk in the morning and afternoon. Yesterday was a very windy afternoon. Then this morning the temperature dropped to the high 30s. That’s after a few days in the high 70s.
Adding to the blustery cold temperature, my iphone told me the air quality is dangerous. That must be due to the particulate matter in the air because of the strong winds.
So, I am skipping my walk today.
I’m anxious for the weather to get back to normal — warm sunshine and no wind.
Random thoughts:
I stretched and did my crunches this morning for the first time since I was sick.
I broke a three-day streak of Wordle in three tries. Today it took five.
Yesterday, I got a pedicure and was shocked at the price. I paid $24 in Palm Springs, but I was charged $47 yesterday in Scottsdale. I did agree to a “deluxe pedicure” so there is that.
I’m trying to get a hair appointment because I don’t want to drive five hours to my old hairdresser. A neighbor recommended her hair dresser. I’ve been texting this new hair dresser for more than a week and don’t have an appointment yet. Apparently, she’s very busy and doesn’t usually take new clients!
I’m reading “Our Last Days in Barcelona” by Chanel Cleeton. I normally love her books, but this one is dragging. I liked “Next Year in Havana” and “When We Left Cuba.” It has the same characters, so you’d think I’d be enthralled, but it’s slow on action and long on dialogue.
This is a ledge outside our garage. That white stuff is snow or ice. I’m not sure which?
I was talking on the phone with a friend from college who lives near Seattle. I told her it was freezing here.
“Freezing? What’s the temperature?” she asked. She sounded skeptical. I often used the word “freezing” when I lived in Palm Springs. That meant anything under 65 degrees.
“It was 29 degrees when I got out of bed,” I said. “We’ll have a high of 40 today.”
“Wow, that really is freezing,” she answered.
The other night I sat on the sofa looking out our sliding glass door as the house and sky lit up with lightening. The roaring thunder that followed was exciting. On my lap, Olive the cat, clung for dear life.Then it poured rain for hours. It was a fun evening in my perspective — real weather!
The next morning, my husband and I tried to walk. But it was too cold for us and we gave up. It was 30 degrees.
We waited until 1 p.m. for our “morning” walk. I took the two pictures here leaving for our walk. I’m not sure if it snowed after I fell asleep — or if it was frozen rain. A neighbor came over the next day and asked me what the white stuff was on our roof! I hadn’t noticed that before. It’s been so cold the ice/snow lasted for two days!
FYI, my neighbor said she had none. She’s just around the corner from us!
What do you consider freezing temperatures? What temperature is too hot for you?
We had many beautiful walks this weekend. Mainly because it warmed up. I was able to walk without being bundled up in a ski parka and wool cap. I wore a sweatshirt instead.
My dishwasher quit a week ago Friday right before guests came over for appetizers. Saturday we had friends over for Oxtail soup complete with salad, vegetables and a rice dish. That meant a ton of dishes. Lucky me, we have dishwasher in our casita. I had to traipse back and forth with dishes on a tray for the past week.
Finally, this past Friday (a week after it broke down) the repairman came. He did diagnostics and said it would cost $1,000 to fix the dishwasher. I looked at the paperwork the prior owners left us. The dishwasher is around nine years old. Easy decision.
We went shopping Saturday for a new dishwasher. The one I wanted could be delivered in 25 weeks! I thought we were over supply chain issues. I’m not schlepping dishes to and from the casita for half a year. I looked at other brands and they had one dishwasher in stock! Imagine that! I feel like we lucked out.
Sunday I went with a girlfriend to a driving range to hit balls for the first time in years. I couldn’t believe how nervous and shaky I was. Eventually I settled down and hit a few good shots. We chipped and putted. It felt marvelous to be outside having fun on a bright sunny day. My new golf friend also hasn’t golfed for years and we seem to be a good match as far as our golfing skills go.
Sunday morning I got this video of Canadian geese:
Monday we had snow. Tuesday it was 30 degrees when I got out of bed. I skipped golf on the snow day and I was feeling sluggish due to lack of exercise.
My husband and I bundled up Tuesday and took our usual walk around the neighborhood. Although it was so cold, it was bright and sunny and we didn’t die! In fact, I felt so much better after getting out and moving araound.
This is about the Teddy bear cholla or jumping cholla:
Teddy bear cholla, or jumping cholla (C. bigelovii), is native to northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States and is sometimes cultivated as a desert ornamental for its showy golden spines.
I guess they’re called Teddy Bear because they are fuzzy looking. But they are not cuddly. They are a hazard. They’re called jumping cholla because they throw off little bundles of spines. If you accidentally step on one or brush them with your shoe, they may go all the way through your shoe to your foot.
My husband spotted this teddy bear cholla in front of a neighbor’s house. He pointed it out to me because of this:
In the center of the cholla is a bird’s nest. What a perfect place to keep eggs and chicks safe!
What’s the weather like where you are? Is it colder than normal?
What do you think of birds choosing a cholla for their nest?
Every morning I glance at my phone to see what time it is when I wake up. I also check the temperature.
This morning an article popped up that caught my eye. “3 morning habits to help you be happier and more productive at work, according to psychologists” by Morgan Smith on CNBC.
I have an established morning routine that I have followed for years. I developed the routine while reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I journal three pages. It’s a brain dump consisting of everything that’s making me anxious, plus a to do list for the upcoming day. Then I use an app called Laudate and either read or listen to daily Bible readings followed by prayer. Last, I go for my morning walk.
It’s a routine that helps me feel grounded. I was curious what the article would say about morning routines and if my morning routine hit their three suggestions to be happier and more productive.
I’m missing the first step.
Set an intention for the day.
Your to-do list might be doing more harm than good, psychologist Jessica Jackson warns.
Checking your emails, calendar or to-do list soon after you wake up “immediately starts the day off on a stressful note, and tells your brain to go into panic mode,” Jackson, who is also the global clinical diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging manager at Modern Health, tells CNBC Make It.
Instead, Jackson recommends all of her clients start their day with an intention meditation: taking a few minutes to sit in silence, take a couple of deep breaths, and choose a single word, or sentence, to be their “north star” for the day.
“You can tell yourself, ‘My intention for today is to feel successful’ or ‘I want to be comfortable today’ and think about what you can realistically accomplish in the next 24 hours to feel that way,” Jackson explains. “It can also be a single, powerful word like ‘gratitude’ that will guide how you react to and reflect on whatever happens throughout the day.”
Step two I do with my morning pages. The suggestion is to set an offline ritual and stick with it. My morning walks also fit the bill.
Step three is to have fun. I thought I was missing that also, but I play Wordle every morning. That’s my bit of fun. We realize how important recess is for kids at school, the article explained. But what do we do for fun?
What is your morning routine? Do you hit all three of the steps in the CNBC article?
A neighbor’s Mexican Fence Post cactus with Santa hats to fight the freezing weather.
It’s been one week since I got a nasty cold with congestion and a cough. I tried really hard to get over it quickly so I went to bed for the weekend. I found once I got out of bed and resumed somewhat normal activities, I’d relapse a bit. I got tired quickly and I’d wake up in the middle of the night with major congestion.
Yesterday I was feeling much better. We went for our morning walk — even though it was in the low 30s! I realized I hadn’t walked in close to a week. That’s after walking practically every day for years!
I missed my morning walks so much while I was recovering from my cold. Normally, I’d push through and walk anyway, but I didn’t want to tire myself out this time.
We went on two walks yesterday and it was gorgeous outside if not cold. I bundled up in a ski parka, stocking cap and gloves. The air was bright and clear. I’m thrilled to be out and about and taking my daily walks. I think the fresh, cold air helped me feel better. I know the beauty did.
Have a great weekend! What are your plans for the last weekend before the holidays? Are you caught up with shopping, decorating, etc.?
