durangoscots

Good morning to all. Sunny and dry here and we have another fire. It is on the western side of town and right now is listed at 105 acres. Some of the aerial resources from other fire were diverted to us and came in late yesterday afternoon and they seem to be getting a handle on it. Two subdivisions have been put on pre-evacuation notice, but so far no evacuations or loss of structures. Fingers crossed.... winds are supposed to be moderate today. Like others, I am just stunned and distressed at the news out of Texas. How long will this go on? Have to head out to the shelter.... hopefully this day will be quiet. Contractors are not here to work on my kitchen and I am getting really tired of climbing over boxes and eating out, but it could be so very much worse. Later, everyone. Take care. Susan

Me again. My dermatologist appointment got cancelled..... someone evidently totaled a deer and their car on the way in to work this morning and so they asked if I would mind rescheduling to Thursday. Fine with me. I will continue trying to bring some order out of the chaos in my house....the cabinet arrangements are different from what I had. I am doing a second round of tossing.... and trying to put the essentials where I can find them. I struggled yesterday with shopping as "they" have rearranged my local grocery store - rearranging is not good for this old lady...it takes me forever to locate things as I wander the aisles. And they have added additional shelves ....up.... and I am short. The dog shows went well. There were some glitches and a number of the volunteers did not show up but I think the exhibitors were happy. With the lack of volunteers I really wracked up the fitbit steps but that is ok. I slept well at night. Sending best wishes to all who need them and happy cruising to those who are bound away. @marchhawk - you are so right to cut back. No one needs to be overdoing. Susan

Good morning to everyone..... I and back from the dog shows!!! I have missed you. New Mexico was hot and smoky. I am trying to catch up and will write more later. This morning I have an appointment with the dermatologist. And my kitchen is still under renovation.... they are always too optimistic about the time needed . Bandit was very happy to come home from the spa although he always seems to have a good time and never shows any reluctance to go. Susan

Good morning. I am taking a quick break from clearing out the last of the kitchen cabinets. Replacement of cabinets, counter top and dish washer is due to begin late morning or early afternoon (it is only 8:20 here). I will be away for the next few days at the Durango Kennel Club shows in Farmington, NM. Back on the weekend. Take care all.... hope weather behaves, covid goes away and the Putin comes to his senses. Lot to ask I know. Susan

Need to come back and read today's Daily later.... I have the Annual Meeting at the shelter this morning and I need to prepare for that. On the fire front, it looks like they got it contained, if not out. The evacuation order for the nearest residences was lifted about 9 last night. We did get a few animals yesterday and I think they will go home this morning. I wish I had my camera with me when the air tanker went over my condo....it was flying very low and was pretty spectacular. More later. Susan

Just a quick check in.....will fill in tomorrow morning. Got an alert on my phone this pm..."pre evacuation due to Ute Pass fire". OooooKay. Ute Pass is fairly close to me as the crow flies, but no sign of fire. Double checked.... there is a fire at Ute Pass but they sent the notice out to a larger area than needed. Not meant for me. Whew. A large air tanker has gone over my condo so hopefully they are on it fast enough. Winds are dropping but expected to increase tomorrow. Hopefully they can get a good handle on it this evening.

Good morning. Cool here, but is supposed to heat up rapidly and the winds will come mid-morning. I have the doors open to get lots of fresh air before I have to close up. The dust has been terrible. Fortunately we are not getting smoke. I feel terrible for the people in New Mexico. I am very familiar with those wonderful little towns that dot that region. Many of the families there go back several centuries in the same area. Little new here. I am working on getting things ready for the kitchen replacements and find I have lots of stuff that needs to be junked. I need to pay attention to what is in the cabinets before buying more of whatever it is I thought I needed. Some very expired spices are hitting the trash. I have friend coming Friday morning to trim my hair, give me a pedicure, and.... help me reach the top cabinets. I do not climb ladders any more. Especially when I am here alone. Sigh..... my sister complains of the same thing. Off to work. On the plus side, our lilacs are blooming and Ralph's Iris bed looks happy and healthy. Now if the winds will just stay down. Take care all. Looks like Covid is beginning to sneak up again. Susan

Interesting. We have limited storage facilities but if something is usable, but not sellable, we send them on to other groups or resources. However, I have to say that much of what we get is junk and we do have to discard. Susan

Good morning to all. Cool here this morning, but it is supposed to warm up and get windy (what else is new?). Winds should die down in the next couple of days but pick up again over the weekend. Not fun and scar with the fire danger. My house definitely needs a full cleaning and will be getting it after the work on my kitchen is finished. I am currently trying to shift some stuff around and hauling large amounts of it out to the thrift store. I am also tossing some items that are only of interest to me and take up room...... lots of pictures of some of dogs over the year. I will keep a representative sample... but really, how many puppy pictures do you really need!!! And ribbons won at past dog shows. Some of those dogs have been gone for 30 years and pictures are more important than ribbons. The past couple of weeks have been really interesting at the shelter. To make a very long and complicated story short - we have been holding a dog on court order for about 6 months. Very big dog. Not neutered boy. Young. Untrained. A problem child who unfortunately lacks discipline. The owner has been fighting the charges of animal cruelty and has been giving us lots of trouble with emails to us individually and collectively, letters to various people around town, posters attached to her car accusing us of poisoning animals and other crimes. Obviously she is not well. She failed to show for her last court date and the dog has been awarded to us because she owes us for its care. So today he will be neutered and in a few days he is headed for breed rescue well away from here. I hope he can be trained out of some of his bad habits..... unfortunately we were not allowed to do much with him except board him although we did sneak in a bit of training when we could. We are hoping the former owner has left town. I think the dog has a nice temperament and he just needs to realize how big he is and that puppy habits are not a good thing in an adult dog. Maybe get a job to do that keeps him focused. Working with the shelter you meet some strange people.... the animals are usually fine. Keep well all.... don't overdo.... and think of the cruises to come, even if we don't know when. Susan

Sounds like. Hope your next year's cruise is great and uneventful.

Greeting from sunny (soon to be very warm) and windy Colorado. Right now the winds are giving us a bit of a break but they are expected to really pick up this afternoon. South of us in New Mexico it is much worse. They are really having an awful time getting a handle on those fires. I will happily celebrate Iris Day. They are the one flower our local deer do not eat. Mine look very happy this year - they must like fluctuating temperatures, sun and wind. This Iris bed has a tale to tell. Probably 25 years ago an old man who lived like a hermit down the street from me was going to be moved by his family to an assisted living - against his will I might add, but he did need to move. He was also a hoarder.... his house was demolished with everything in it when he left. He had a whole yard full of Iris. For some reason he dug many of them up and replanted them in an empty flower bed in front of my condo building. He did this in the dead of night so one morning we got up and there they were "Ralph's Iris" continue to thrive. One of my neighbors took a few when she moved a few years ago and those are also doing well in what is now their third home. Ralph also brought his 3 cats to us to rehome. I don't know why he picked us..... we probably had only exchanged a few words with him but maybe that was more than most neighbors had. The cats stayed with us. I am trying to get some area cleared so that I can empty cabinets for the kitchen remodel which will be coming up. Stuff needs to go. Took a large load to the shelter thrift store yesterday and will haul another out tomorrow. Susan