New Friends, New Windows and New.........

 January 26 - February 5, 2023

Tombstone, Arizona

Allen Street, Tombstone

Winter is cold. Hmmmm. 

Having lived in California for the first 60 years of my life I'm not unfamiliar with the fickleness of "normal" weather. "Wait five minutes" is the typical response when one complains about the current conditions. In recent years it's the hotter temps that come earlier and stay longer that are the main concern. Here we're told that this is the coldest winter in years - as the monsoons brought more water than usual during the summer. We've also had the dryest monsoon season and the warmest winter during our short residency :-)

Many people think we moved our home base to southeastern Arizona for warmer winters, but really we were looking for colder winters and cooler summers. We got our wish this year with our average lows at 30 and average highs in the mid 50's. Brrrr for us! 

Some of the grands are enjoying snowy winters - they all think it's great fun!

Reese is loving Virginia.

Penelope rocking her hot pink snow boots.

Ezra is becoming a real mountain kid, appreciating a backyard full of fun.

Where cold temps are not appreciated is coming through the house windows. The single-panes were installed in this house in 1968, and did not keep out the outside air and dirt. They whistled and rattled in the wind. They were also ugly! Replacing them was a must-do, delayed by our huge rebuild last year, but this year's cold made them a priority.

Out with the old dining room window.

The old living room window - stuffed with pieces of cardboard to keep them from rattling.

Very happy with the new dining room view.

The new living room window turns the wall into a piece of art. 

The old awnings on the back windows looked dated and were noisy in the wind.

So much better!

The supervisors are very helpful.

The Home Depot (not usually my go-to, but we got a good deal and an install date that wasn't sooooo far off) crew do a great job. Every window looks like it's been here forever - inside and out. They take one 20 minute break, and get all eight windows done in under eight hours. The windows themselves are beautiful, and wow what a difference!! The house stays warmer and we don't know it's windy until we look outside. 

I enjoy another afternoon gathering of crafty RVers in Whetstone. Just hanging out, working individual projects. I play with some more needle felting, liking it enough to plan a shopping trip for supplies in the near future. It's also a lot of fun getting to know other folks in the area.

I added a few felted flowers to my favorite hat.

A couple bookmarks for me and my BFF.

In the category of "how were we not already friends?", Jim and Barb are at the top of the list. We read the same blogs, and the same blogs read us. When Jim B asked (not for the first time, so my fault!) us last summer if we were reading their blog I promised I'd check them out. Great musings and pictorial of their travels and South Dakota digs, I was hooked. And seeing nearly all of my blog roll represented in the comments confirms I'm definitely late to the party!

Fortunately this late connection is in time for their recent visit to our area.  Arrangements are made for a Saturday lunch in Tucson. El Charro is always a yummy choice with some local history thrown in. Fortunately it's also a Barb favorite! Even though the gem show started that day, we're seated quickly. I was unaware there are people who aren't Mexican food fans, but learned that Jim is one of these rare breeds. We like him anyway. 

In fact we like them both a lot, and have a wonderful time getting to know these new friends.

We have gorgeous skies, and one day of unusual clouds surrounding the entire valley. Looking like they were "brushed" downward, some bring a couple hours of light rain our way. 

360 degrees of these unique cloud swipes.

The most exciting "new" wraps up the post with our ninth grand baby due in August! Henry will have a little sister, and they will be our first two-gender-grands family. We're so happy for Chris and Megan - and for us of course!!

Happy Valentine's Day