And finally, where have I been the last two months?

The answer to that is mainly West Coast... Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada again. Oh and Phoenix too, not that being there is unusual for me but I may as well add it to the list.

I've been a bum, thinking only of myself and no one else, running around playing with friends and ignoring everything at home. It's been a way to relax, distract and give myself a chance to think. I've loved it and I've felt guilty but overall it was wonderful. And thank you dear, devoted David for being so understanding, smooch. I am blessed and I know it.

I started out with a trip to Oregon to visit my friend Laurel. I've known her since my son and her daughter were in first grade together. They are now 23 so it's been a while. One thing about Tucson, no one seems to stay for long. In the 20 years we've lived here, I've had seven good friends move away and Laurel was one. But like any good friend, the minute you reconnect, the time and distance disappear and it's like you never parted.

Laurel has a home in Oregon and one in Nevada. I also visited her in January, once again thinking only of myself and having a fabulous time. She mothers me, listens to me, pampers me and comforts me. She's like my husband but a better cook and doesn't work like he does so we can run around and do whatever we like.

This trip it was thrift stores! Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army, Deseret Industries, and many little private charity thrift stores. I shipped home 6 boxes of stuff, good stuff I might add. Everyone is getting thrift store for Christmas this year.There's your warning, no complaints, no whining! My sister got a thrift store, specially-chosen-for-her item as a housewarming present. It's so her, so retro, so Brady Bunch, so...mushroomy? OK, you decide:

These came from Carson City, Nevada and are now on her stove for all to admire ;-) As I said, they are so HER.

I've never been to the Oregon coast so we hopped up to Seaside Oregon for a day and since the ocean is my favorite atmosphere I was in heaven. Big, broad, windy, chilly beaches...

After a bit of time in Oregon we drove to Nevada,


and did our usual rearranging furniture, decorating projects and I painted mirrors and all kinds of things black. I was picking black paint off my hands for days. Here's a before photo of one thrift store mirror, wish I had the "after" photo:


The idea here was to paint different shapes and sizes of mirrors black to hang on her dining room wall.

We hung out for 10 days and drove back to Oregon, spent 3 days in Portland and I then flew to Seattle and met up with my husband so we could visit our daughter pictured below with hubby at the Japanese Gardens in Seattle:


It was wonderful to see Maggie and her boyfriend and meet his parents. We happened to be there during mid-terms but still had fun seeing her life, friends and college life in Seattle. One of the highlights of the trip was looking outside our hotel window exactly a month to the day my mother died and seeing a rainbow:

If you have followed some of my recent posts you'll realize that for me it was an important sign that my mother made it "home".

We were back in Arizona for a week and then went to Catalina Island for our 25th anniversary.

Another two weeks and Nick arrived home, tired and dirty after spending the night in the Atlanta airport but it is wonderful to have him home. We've missed both our kids this past year.

And in a week, Maggie will be home for a week.
And that's the update from here, in a house with air conditioning kaput and an over 100 degree day. If I don't move around too suddenly I can stay cool. The a/c man can't get here soon enough tomorrow...