durangoscots

Cold in the mornings, but we will get reasonably better temps the next few days before winter makes a return. The Chihuahua is getting much better about his early morning walks. He seems to have figured out that if he does his business, I will put him back in the warm house and walk the Shih Tzu (he loves cold weather) further. The double walks are good for me. Yesterday turned into a frenzy of baking day. The Christmas party for the shelter was last night and they suddenly did some calculations and found they were going to be very short on desserts (and I took all those cookies to the shelter last week). I managed to turn out 3 batches of cookies and 2 Bourbon Pound cakes in the course of the afternoon. They were well received and my kitchen is a disaster. I went to the party to deliver my goods and stayed a short time. I think the staff has a much better time when the BOD members are not there. Actually, I enjoyed the baking.... something I do not do for myself. I think the meal of day sounds wonderful as our temperatures drop and snow is predicted. Would love to be the way to Mexico. I so envy those of you on ships, especially over the Holidays. Maybe next year for me. Susan Susan

Good morning... sort of late. I was up early with the dogs (and it was cold!!!) but had an early morning appointment to to the dealership to pay off my car.... way ahead of schedule....!!!. Back now and the car is telling me I have a low tire. Will head out to have the tires checked shortly when I go to the shelter. Gauge could not have obliged me by coming on when I was at the dealership..... that would have been too easy. Not much else.... that 28 day Alaska in 2024 is very interesting. Take care all. Susan

Good morning. Sunny and cold. I rushed the dogs in and out quickly this morning but now the sun is shinning and we will head out again as soon as the black ice is gone. Will have to wake pups up since both are now curled up in bed. My bed. Sorry to hear of the loss of the 2 fire fighters in PA. And I am truly sorry that so many of us are feeling stress and/or illness at this time. Some way the holiday time seems to compound the problems we are facing. Right now a friend and I are beginning to sort through our list of friends who may be alone at Christmas day and are planning to have a Christmas dinner at her house. She will fix the meat and veggies, I will handle desserts, beverages and breads. We will split the cost. I imagine there will be about 8 to 10 us ... we will have to see who will accept our invitation. And of course I will be dog walking both at home and at the shelter. Have not been to today's destination. Tomato soup is one of my go to comfort foods. Along with grilled cheese... or sometimes I melt the cheese into the soup. Tonight I am having some turkey from the freezer and some sort of veggie... just have not decided what. Probably whatever my hand lights on. Have a good, safe day all. Susan

Like so many, I really miss the Princendam. Susan

Good morning from a foggy Durango. When I walked out this morning with the dogs, I started humming Burl Ives "the Foggy Foggy Dew" and now I can't get the dratted song our of my head. Maybe if I dig up the old record it will help. It is still foggy. High today supposed to get up to 45F. Haven't been to the destination. I like chicken. Volunteering... yes. My work on the BOD for the shelter is all volunteer not to mention dog walking. And ...when I retired my theme song became "Forever in blue jeans". But jeans are the normal dress here. When Garrison Keeler was here with Prairie Home Companion and he sang a song "Durango ladies sing sing this song...Denim, Denim". I do have some better clothes which I usually wear for cruising and other travel and rarely, very rarely for events here. When I get back on to a BHB I am going to have to so some serious wardrobe adjustments. Hope all are staying well. @smitty34877glad to hear that Tana is feeling a bit better after her setback. Susan

Good morning to all. Cloudy here and evidently for the rest of week with on and off again precip.... going to be rather dull week weather wise. Will just need to time my outings with the dogs to between the rain/snow. Right now they are curled up together in the large dog bed. Little Monty does love his Bandit. Not too sure how Bandit feels, but he tolerates the intrusion. Yesterday was pretty much a lost day since we had a Kennel Club brunch to give out awards and exchange our usual presents in which we allowed to steel from each other. I did manage to hang on to the bottle of wine I scored late into the game .... I think people were afraid to try to take it from me. Since I stayed to help clean up I did bring home lots of meat, salad and various other left overs so will postpone the patty melt for another day. I do like them. Dropped the sweets off at the shelter for the staff - the weekend crew often misses out. Today is going to be catch up with laundry and cleaning day. Good Health to all .... and happy cruising for those lucky ones aboard. Susan

I am so sorry. Hope DH gets better quickly. Insurance is a wonderful thing. Susan

I am dragging a bit this morning -- probably because I know I have a shelter BOD meeting this evening and they are not something to look forward to. I wish if people would volunteer to be on a Board they would learn about the organization. Anyway, nothing that should start an argument on the agenda.... although you never know. We do have to review the employee health insurance plan and that is never fun. Was 7F when the dogs and I went out and little Monty absolutely refused to do his business. I brought him back in, fed him in his crate and then took him back out. He was much more cooperative. We should get into the low 40's today and then it is headed to the 50's on the weekend with rain. I am so envious of those on the Amazon cruise. When I did the Grand SA years ago the Boi Bomba was one of the highlights. The costumes!!!!!! Good health all. @Quartzsite CruiserI know you will be glad to have DH home. @kazuTake it easy on the foot and avoid ice at all costs. Susan

Will be thinking only the most positive thoughts for both you and Tana.

Glad I did not get caught in the car service cycle. I was in and out in 45 minutes. If it had taken hours I would have been very worried. Susan

Good morning. Woke up around 5:30 and looked out.... the stars were bright. Got up at 6:30 and it was snowing!!! Hauled dogs out around 7 and by 8 it was all over. Sunny now and temp is up to 29. I think today's high will be in the 30's and then warming for a few days before another storm. Not much on my agenda today.... I have to take the car in for oil change, tire rotation and a general check up. Will take some reading with me although they are usually pretty fast. Not a fan of cauliflower in any form although I will eat it. I like my pizza as pizza. Have not been to today's destination. Some day..... I do try to give a bit on Giving Tuesday, but it falls just before the Colorado Gives day... so I usually split my donations. And then there are the end of year appeals.... just wish I could help more to many deserving groups. Take care all, particularly those of you experiencing not so nice weather. I dread the ice here in the winters.... I am just not as firm on my feet as I used to be.

@JazzyVI am sorry to hear of BFF's loss. What a blessing that you were able to turn back and get home to be with his Dad. Sunny here and the forecast for the next few days is very mixed. I suspect we will get no snow, but there will be come at the higher elevations. It is still plenty cold. I bundled little Monty up for his morning walk and was glad I did as we got to our usual turn around point and then I could not walk back to the house due to a large number of deer between us and home. The dogs ignore them, but I did not want to startle them into the street as traffic was rather heavy so we waited until they moved up the hill. Temp was 14F. Today my main chore is to pay some bills, renew my membership in the local kennel club, and haul stuff in several loads to the recycling and to the trash. Also I need to mend a dog bed that Monty seems intent on ripping up and spreading stuffing through the house. Laundry needs doing too. Am going back and forth on the cruise I am booked for in January '24. I don't have to make another payment until June but I am just not sure about the length of time and the financial outlay. Decisions, decisions. Maybe look for something shorter. Susan

Got to agree although there are many other considerations and each person is different in their approach. I worked for 5 years between high school and college. Then even took a break of about 18 months during my BA to earn more money. After I finally went back to finish BA I kept on going straight through to my Ph.D. And it is easier to do now with on-line work and flexible schedules. Lots of decisions to be made. Susan

Oh no!!! So sorry and hope you don't get it. The Covid numbers here are rising according to our health department. I feel so lucky I escaped it on my travels to see my Sister and back. Hope your grandson feels better soon and it does not spread to others. Susan

Yesterday was very quiet for me and the pups. I fixed the turkey breast, veggie salad, stuffing and a small pumpkin pie. I will be eating left overs for some time and I need to freeze some of the turkey. Pups got some small scraps. Otherwise I read and watched some of the World Cup. Have to get some hustle in today but not shopping except for a quick run for milk. Hopefully the grocery will be empty as everyone is facing their leftovers. Little else here. @JazzyVHope the health situation improves. So glad the neighbor brought you some Thanksgiving. The drive home must have been tense ... to say the least. Susan

I have used both. I like the fixed seating on longer cruises. Waiters get to know you. And, if I know ahead that I will miss a night.... I just let wait staff and one of my fellow diners know.... then they don;t wait. On shorter and port intensive cruises I use open and usually don't have to wait long since I am a single and willing to share.

Oh dear. I am so sorry and I know you are both disappointed. Hope things turn our all right. Susan

FYI... just got a call from the shelter. The cat came back. We were worried the individual might dump it. She has serious problems. Her husband brought it back. Susan

Good afternoon.... nearly. Sunny and a bit warmer today. Supposedly we have more weather coming in next week. We shall see. Out to the shelter this morning to put some information in personnel files. Unfortunately we had to let a long time employee resign. We will miss him. While there everyone was rushing about because someone stole a kitten!!! We caught it on tape... and we know who it was. The individual was given an hour to return kitty or charges will be filed. Honestly, with video cameras all over the place you would think they would know better. The individual had already been determined to not be a good home. Police are standing by.... to retrieve a cat???? Life does get interesting out there. Today's destination looks really interesting. Great pictures. Susan

Ahhhhh.... so sweet and a rescue. Who could resist those eyes!!!!

@dfishGlad your city picks up large items. That only happens for us once a year and people keep dumping stuff in the open lots near us.... I have city waste management on speed dial. @kazuI am glad you made it up and down stairs successfully ..... I would have tossed things down too. Don't know what I would do if I could not go up and down with my dogs. Not a lot of stairs.... but I can't toss them and I do have to hold leashes and the railing. Should try some variations before I need them. Still cold here although it may get up to high 40's today. These walks with the dogs when it is 14F are really getting old. The good part is that Monty is realizing I am not going to kill him when his coat goes on. That makes life a bit easier. Think I can skip the meal today. I will probably just have a cheeseburger without the bun and a salad for the evening. I need to haul stuff out to the trash today and also put a bunch of boxes and paper in the recycling while there is still room. Then it is out to the shelter for personnel issues and maybe some kitten luvin time. Kitten season certainly stretched out this year. Wistfully following along with those of you on various cruises. Even rough seas sound good right now. Susan

They probably thought they had better chance of not being caught by taking only items that could not be easily traced.... like a credit card. You were very lucky. It is one reason I would hesitate to walk alone (which does not mean I have not done it). Did you report it? I know nothing can be done, but maybe others should be warned. Susan

Good morning all. Cold here but supposed to get up into the 40's by afternoon. It was 17F when I walked the dogs the first time. It may even make it into the low 50's by the end of next week. Terrible news from Colorado Springs. It can happen anywhere these days..... and tolerance does not seem to be a human virtue. I need to do a bit more shopping for next week.... will either head out later this afternoon, or very early tomorrow morning. Just don't feel like it at this time. Hope everyone gets home safely from their travels and those that are traveling, have a great time with minimal issues. I try very hard not to travel on holidays.... just more than I feel comfortable with. The dogs and I are planning a quiet Thanksgiving at home. I brought a turkey breast although I may save it for the weekend. My sister will have her daughter and one son over for a quiet dinner at her house. Their big family get together will be at Christmas. I will celebrate in Durango and visit by Zoom. Susan

Glad you are home. All of us need to pay attention to what happens when assistance is needed.... it could happen to any of us, particularly us older folk. Thanks for all your info and I do want to hear more about the cruise itself. Susan

Late this morning. I slept in as did the dogs. It was somewhat warmer when I walked the dogs. The Chi did not scream when I put his coat on.... not sure if it was the pain meds he is on or if he realizes I am not going to break his little legs. Anyway, better all around. No, No, No to the sardines. When I was doing archaeology in Alaska in the early 1960's we had to be resupplied by float plane. Weather was bad, he could not get in. We were running low on food so they did a food drop. Tins of sardines!!! lots of them. We were afraid we were going to attract every bear in Alaska.... and some people did not like fishies. Anyway, they did resupply again but it was 10 days...and existing that long mainly on tinned sardines was enough to put me off of them for life. (sadines for breakfast, sardines for lunch, sardines for supper). Last night was our open house for the shelter renovations. It went well, but I was exhausted when I got home. Standing around being pleasant for 3 hours is hard work. A surprising number of the people there were former students. At least they were still speaking to me. Those who are headed for ships..... have a great trip. Someday my day will come. Susan