I wake up when I want to, usually before 7:00 AM. If Joe is climbing the canyon I go for the newspapers. If he's not, he's already gotten them. I sit on the patio drinking my smoothie - 3 strawberries, 1/3 banana, skim milk and a handful of baby spinach ( thank you Colleen for that hint.) I watch the momma quail march her babies past our patio and listen to the coo-coo-ca-roo of las palomas in our trees.
I plan my day. I will go and walk on the treadmill this morning and then spend an hour at the small pool. I read a book. I exchange pleasantries with my neighbors who are passing by. I come home and check Facebook and my E-Mail. Not much there. I check my calendar to see what birthday cards need to be sent. I skim the newspapers and omit the political commentary. I avoid the TV until Jeopardy comes on at 4:30. I get a lot of the answers, but a few seconds too late. I spend an hour with my latest book.
At 6:00 we start cocktail hour. We started at 6:00 because that's when Seinfeld comes on at home. We don't have a clue when he's on here - but we stick to 6:00. We do it on the patio, not in front of the TV.
I love our view of the stars and the moon (full tonight). I love the silence and the freedom of the javelinas and coyotes and rabbits to roam our community without fear. I'm still pretty damn ticked off about the palm tree murders, but all in all we have a great piece of paradise.
I visited my Aunt Caro yesterday. This required me to drive down off our mountain into the city. Because school is out and the snowbirds have gone away the traffic was not bad and I didn't hyperventilate on the way down Sabino Canyon Road. We had a great lunch together and laughed our "you know whats" off as usual. I saw 3 bunnies, a roadrunner, a dust devil racing across Broadway and a gazillion lisards on my drive home. I chose to ignore the strip malls, big box stores and empty storefronts. Nothing provoked a rant on my blog.
Late this morning I saw a turkey vulture in our tree before I went to do my water weight lifting exercises and take my walk around the community. Its wing span was bigger than my car.
What's the point of this post? Too much peace and quiet must be bad for my writing. Until I return to Chicago and the sirens, idiots hitting the wall at the Oak Street curve, gangbangers at the North Avenue Beach and the @#$@*&^% politicians of Illinois, my posts will be pretty boring - so maybe you should tune out. I know there are plenty of politics going on here, but in our little foothills haven we can tune them out. Wherever you are, try to do the same thing and take a break from the insanity. Tomorrow I am going to Sabino Dam at dawn to watch biologists banding hummingbirds ( which by the way, love our patio).
I know when I get home and start walking around the city again and go to City Council meetings and the like, I'll find lots of things to love and hate. I could never leave Chicago for good. In the meantime, I'm waiting for something to really tick me off! Then maybe my blog will be worth reading.
Posts
