LOOK!
RAIN!!
Only in Arizona would the am drive-time radio guy describe with delight that "its a fun day with light showers in Tucson!"And about that rain thing - how does one manage to lose an umbrella in a shotgun house that's basically two rooms?! First of all it's red, and second it should stick out like a sore thumb around here. It used to live in the trunk of my car 'cause hey, you don't want to get caught at Walmart in a rain storm, right? ... so I look in the car because I did use it a couple weeks back when we had winter for a few days ... so silly, when I left the garden center that day the guy at the cash register said "You don't want to go out in that do you? It's hailing!" I laughed and plunged out the door just like a kid playing in the rain. Ok, so I had to hold the umbrella open cause the wind kept trying to collapse it and push the cart with my tummy-- it was cool, hail and all.
I share the radio guy's opinion on that -- rain is FUN, and HAIL is funner!!
So. I'm looking in the car for the umbrella. It seems logical to look inside the car because that's where I last remember having it ("remember" being the operative word here). The back seat seems most logical. Nope. No umbrella. There's the big roll of paper towels in case Laney threw up when I brought her home; there's the Tucson street atlas in case I get lost in there again, ahem; there's the disinfecting handi wipes - have you ever wondered how dirty the handles of the push carts in the grocery stores are?! NASTY; there's the box ready to go to SSgt Aguilar at COP Speicher; there's the mandatory box of tissues; there's the ecologically responsible bags for the grocery stores; and there's the plastic bags to recycle because I usually forget the ecologically responsible ones. But there's no umbrella ..... Checked the trunk. Nuttin' there but the bug-out supplies.
By the time I'd gotten that far it wasn't raining anymore. So off we went for our morning ramble. And it was wonderful. The air was so clean and fresh, a bit of a breeze - just enough to feel bracing, invigorating. I felt like skipping and found it's a bit difficult in wet grass........ Down in the background of the shot above are some folks playing bocce ball so I decided to wander over and ask if I could take their picture.
Turned out one of them was my Coastie buddy and his Mom along with two other guys from Washington. Sorry Bob, this really isn't you best side ; ) I take care of his birds and their cat when they're away. Nice people, and I got to meet two new guys. One was wearing a Special Operations baseball cap and thank goodness I asked about it as I shook his hand because he told me it was some sort of joke about his wife. Ok, well, not funny to me but hopefully she gets a laugh out of it. Good thing I didn't thank him for his service. Every now and then the fates shine on me and I don't put my foot in my mouth :-) Wish one of them had a camera handy - when I climbed up on a bench to get a higher angle for the photos, none of which are here, Laney jumped up there too and sat beside me. What a sweet, smart, neat gal she is!
So now I'm sittin' here looking at a rainbow out the front window while a determined little humming bird visits the feeder which just happens to be situated smack in the middle of the rainbow. The chili's on the stove - 2nd day chili is always best - the Negra Modelo's in the fridge and I just got a fresh batch of tortillas. Got my books, got my animals, got some great old B&W videos.....All that's missing is the fire place. Ah well, life's good nevertheless............
PS: the umbrella turned up -- it was under SSgt Aguilar's box......
