Yup, that’s what it is, a bright sunny winter day after another foot of snow over the last 24 hours. The best I can say is that at elevation the warm Arizona sunshine quickly melts off the sidewalks, driveways and roads leaving beautiful snowy vista’s as far as the eye can see; that is if you choose to leave the comfort of your home! Mom and I continue to do quite well sitting at the dining room table with puzzles to fix, card games to play and great outdoor viewing from the picture window. This afternoon it has been snow blower mania in the neighborhood as Monday morning is just 12 hours away for the worker bees. Unfortunately, the city snow plow foiled their efforts late last night.
These winter snow storms have provided lots of time for reading and I think I plowed through 4 books this past week and like the premise in the new John Sanford read. CNN has been running some great documentaries that I have finally taken the time to watch. My guess is one can access any of them online through the CNN site/app. Some friends down south are already experiencing the early signs of spring but the closest I am going to get right now is the new Spring Baking Championship on the Food Network. If you like cooking shows the new Tournament of Champions started last week; boy can those folks cook. Several weeks ago, I discovered a new recipe for Rhubarb-Coconut Cookies that were terrific especially with a little turbinado sugar and/or frosting drizzled over the top. For Mom, sweet treats are a must with afternoon tea. See the recipe on Pinterest.
Alas, this is Mom’s final week with us here in Flagstaff. On Friday, she and I are joining my niece, Christi, in Phoenix for a girl’s weekend and on Sunday will fly to Sacramento to spend time with another niece, Mandy, and her family that includes four children (2, 4, 6 & 8). Yikes! We will then fly to San Diego where she will, once again, enjoy peace and quiet in her own home. It will be interesting to see how she re-acclimates to being “home alone” after living the good life here in Arizona over the past three months. After some more family togetherness in San Diego, Paul and I will drive back to Flagstaff the middle of March and I will spend the rest of the month gearing up for my lumbar surgery. I bet I will have some stories to tell about the experience; that is if I am with it enough to report in as I make my way along the healing continuum.