February 28, 2007

How cute is she!?

February 27, 2007

Whew! No photos posted for ten days, and then wham! Here they are! I have been taking the pictures, just not diligent about getting them up. It's been a busy week (and I am a weenie). I actually wrote a post on my regular - which is mostly irregular - Web Log, too. Will the wonders ever cease?

Today's photo illustrates progress in my continuing battle with "Toasted Plants From the Big Freeze of '07!" Another view of the front porch. Steve whacked back the bougainvillea and I did the clean-up work: chopped back a pile of deer grass and a totally crunchy asparagus fern. Added some fresh bark for a good measure. We've either killed everything or it'll come back better than ever. Regardless, drastic measures needed to be taken.

February 26, 2007

Today was "Spring Clean the Kitchen" day. Where on Earth does all that dust and cat hair come from?!

February 25, 2007

Ooh... my new slippers!

February 24, 2007

Today I whacked off the completely toasted lantana that used to be just to the right of the front porch. What a job! The sucker came off like a gigantic tumbleweed! Steve hacked it into smaller pieces and piled it in the alley for the bulk trash pick-up. The crunchy looking bougainvillea to the left of the porch is next!

Bonus picture: The peach tree is blooming! I took this photo and then ran it through a PhotoShop filter to get this pastel kind of effect.

February 23, 2007

This is my "Day Room," as it is where I spend my time when I'm not in the field or playing out in the garden, or on vacation, or shopping or... well, you get the idea.

Today I am transferring data from my work laptop to my personal laptop, as I am scheduled for a replacement and don't want to lose my data (which happened to Steve when he got his new work laptop!).

February 22, 2007

After being in Silver City for three weeks and having a house guest for ten days after that, it is time to get back to work at home. First order of business was mowing the front lawn (yeah, I know it's February!). Got quite a bit of pruning to do out there, too. Will post my progress over the next few days/weeks.

February 21, 2007

Bye, Michael! After some minor maintenance (oil change, cap and rotor, wires, washer fluid, air in the tires, chip in the window, etc.), Michael heads off on his adventure - back to Silver City!

I have to tell you, I repaired three chips in the window using this totally cool repair kit from Auto Zone. The kit was only $10.99 and worked really well. I'm feeling quite proud of myself! ha!

February 20, 2007

We found a car for Michael! A 1993 4WD Subaru Loyola. It's in pretty good condition and is nearly identical to the car he drove from Pennsylvania to Silver City (where it died on Little Walnut). Michael's happy. I'm happy. Steve is happy. The cats are sort of neutral about the whole deal, but, hey, they're cats.

February 19, 2007

Tonight was dinner out at one of my very favorite restaurants in Tempe, called Pita Jungle. I always order the "Mediterranean Platter," which includes babaganoush, hummus, falafal, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli, greenbean and tomato salad, a hunk of feta, and two pitas. Yum!

February 18, 2007

Steve busy writing workplans in the living room. One of the benefits of being a field geologist who telecommutes is that when he's not in the field, he can work from the comfort of home in shorts (or pajamas). Excellent!

February 17, 2007

One of my favorite stores! I stopped in today to exchange a pair of slippers (from Christmas!). My mom got me these fabulous Qwaruba slippers but they were too big. I finally, finally got a chance to head to REI to get the correct size, and got a store credit because the new pair was on sale! Score!

February 16, 2007

I scored this totally cute teacup at the Goodwill a couple of days ago. Today, while walking back from the salon, I found some lovely acorns on the ground. I wanted to photograph both of these so, voila! I thought the dainty cup with the acorns amid the stones was rather nifty.

February 15, 2007

Late in the day. Must take picture. O.K. Tomato catches my eye. Nice bowl. Three onions and an avocado. It's late. That will work. Months from now I will remember eating salad with these ingredients.

February 14, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day! Left to Right, Michael, Mary, and Steve. Michael and Steve both cooked for us tonight - purple (!), red and white fingerling potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, green salad - Yummy! (We celebrated Mary's birthday a day early.) Mary brought a Fairy Tale Brownie, which I thought was over-the-moon delicious!

February 13, 2007

Technically, I didn't take this picture, but it IS a picture of moi taken on the 13th. Michael, Steve and I went to play golf and I landed in the kitty litter. This is me taking a shot towards the green and the ball is actually caught in flight.

February 12, 2007

Steve busy cooking up something yummy for dinner. (I am the luckiest of women to have married a man who not only CAN but LOVES to cook!)

February 11, 2007

Michael (left) and Steve pick up lemons that have fallen since the hard freeze a couple weeks back. The plants really took a beating. After three weeks away I can really see what did and what did not fare so well. Lots of pruning to be done (starting with the lemon tree).

February 10, 2007

Ahhh... nothing like being back in my own bed with my kitty - and Steve! It's SO good to be home!!

February 9, 2007

Hooray! After three weeks in the field, tomorrow I am going home! As I was packing up this evening, I emptied my pockets and thought the contents might make a good "slice of life" pic for today. (Yes, those are latex gloves and dog biscuits - an important part of our safety equipment!) There are also a couple of rocks that I am taking home to add to my ever-increasing collection of geologic mementos (which along with "rocks," includes fossils, shells, and jars of sand).

February 8, 2007

Fellow samplers: From left to right - Allen, Diane (our totally cool Project Manager), and Mary. Great folks to work with (and I'm not just saying that 'cause they might actually read this! hee hee!).

February 7, 2007

After class, today, a group of us fellow employees went to dinner to continue "bonding." The food was quite tasty!

February 6, 2007

Really. A day in the field. This is what I do (I'm in the back) - at least for THIS week.

The BEST picture for today: Steve arrived in SC for the class we are taking tomorrow. Yippee!

February 5, 2007

Whew! I escaped the hotel room! It is a BEAUTIFUL day in Hurley, today. We've been out sampling and I saw this totally cool looking wagon.

Bonus Picture: This is Kane. He is the sweetest dog (in spite of the fact that he is chained with a padlock! Really!). He was in his kennel at one of the properties we sampled today. I always carry a pocketful of Milk Bones when I'm working, so Kane got plenty of treats! Good doggy!

February 4, 2007

Another slow day at the HIE. Still feeling sluggish and droopy and since I've been in my room all day, there is not much to take a photo of that you haven't already seen. With that said, my photographic phriends (like that?), I bring you "Guest Preferred." Yes, it's toilet paper. Seriously, have any of you ever been questioned regarding your toilet paper of choice by any of the hotels at which you have stayed? How do they know that the guests prefer this one? Actually, it kind of unravels and is a bit scratchy (although it does have an attractive wrapper).

February 3, 2007

A completely uneventful Saturday here in NM. (Only one week to go and I'll be back in the Valley of the Sun.) I ended up taking a four hour nap this afternoon, after a morning of fun stuff like doing my time sheet and working on my expense report and folding my laundry - yoo hoo!

I love socks! So comfy and fun! Always the Perfect gift! No, I don't have any idea how many pairs I own, but here are some that I brought with me.

February 2, 2007

Living in a hotel for three weeks straight can start to get tedious. I try to make it a little more homey by bringing my own supersize tea cup. I loooove Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies with my tea!

February 1, 2007

Wow! It's February and we're still going! Great job!

You know, when I travel away from home for work, I tend to load everything but the kitchen sink into my over-sized purse (which makes it really difficult to actually find anything, and as a result I am constantly making exciting new discoveries). Today, I found my hand lens AND a roll of Lifesavers of indeterminate age. I don't think Lifesavers actually go bad, though, so back into the abyss they went to await future discovery!

Bonus picture: Each Tuesday and Thursday a cleaning crew comes to the field trailer and does their best to mop up the mud we are constantly tracking in (it's akin to the labors of Sisyphus!). Anyhoodle, there is an artist among them who beautifully stacked the TP into a pyramid on the back of the loo! ha!