Saturday, Dec 13th

It rained last night, fairly hard I think and there was water all over the roads.  The weather reports on TV said around an inch.  The problem with rain here in the desert is that the ground is actually very hard and does not absorb the water very quickly.  While it does eventually soak in, there is lots of water on the roadways until that happens.  The drainage pieces I put on the downspouts yesterday worked pretty good and we had very little water on the drive pad.  The day was a bit cooler, although we were still in short pants.  We are headed into a week of cooler weather, thanks to what they are calling the pineapple express.  A moist weather system coming all the way from Hawaii.  The highs for the next week are in the mid-70's.  May have to go back to the long pants if that happens.
  It being Saturday, I got out and joined a bunch of friends at the hall for breakfast.  As luck would have it they had French toast, so you know what I had, with bacon & eggs.  I think I must have generous friends behind the counter as well, because of the size of the portions I was given.  I would like to think I am a pretty good breakfast eater, but no way I could finish the mound of scrambled eggs.  We had lots of laughs about the antics from last night.  Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
  After breakfast Marg & I went to the big market in Mesa.  If you saw the blog in past years, you have no doubt read about this massive flea market.  Marg was looking for an outdoor mat in the southwestern them for the driveway area and after quite a bit of research she came up with one that is supposed to have an above average life.  The weather, particularly the sun, is tough on everything, so that is always a consideration for anything used outside here.  She also got a couple of other things and we ran into Jim Steele & his wife Linda.  Really funny because we saw them at the same place last year and it was the only time we saw them all winter.
  We then went to Lowes for a few things.  Actually went for bug spray, there are lots of critters here that we don't normally deal with.  Mostly we had an over-abundance of ants and they can be a serious problem here, because some are termites.  The spray I used is both an ant killer and barrier, so hopefully it will discourage a visit by the next travelling ant group.  We are considering getting the service some other friends in the park here use, if they re-appear.  Also got some ideas for a back splash for the kitchen and bathroom.  We'll see how it turns out.  Also picked up a stand we are going to use for the TV and assortment of boxes plugged in to it.
  By the time we were done we realized we had missed lunch, so stopped at DQ for a quick bite.  We had heard about the $5 buck lunch, so went to check it out.  Marg had chicken wraps and I had  a bacon cheeseburger, all with drinks and a sundae.  It was a really good deal and best of all the ice cream tasted like real ice cream, not like the frozen milk they use in GP.
  Back at home there was just time to put the TV stand together, lay out the mat and dig out the lawn chairs.  Marg had dinner in the slow cooker from before lunch, so having a bit of time we went to happy hour.  It was a bit cool outside, in fact there were only 6 of us at happy today.  It was a nice change and we were able to have a nice visit, particularly with Gary & Linda who just got in late yesterday.  Definitely needed a coat by that time as the wind was picking up pretty good.  Apparently they got snow in the high country last night, most up around Flagstaff and north of there and not here.
  Back for a great dinner of roast and potatoes thanks to Marg's forward thinking.
  The TV service and internet were on and off quite a bit tonight, not certain what is going on with that.  We are seriously considering just using the antenna for TV if it keeps up.  There are something like 55 channels available over the air waves, or peasant vision as it is sometimes called.
  Almost forgot, I bought a compressor yesterday at Home Depot.  It was a package deal that included a finishing nailer, a brad nailer & stapler. For those of you who don't know, I get a new tool every time I tackle a large project and while I don't have a large one this year; I have a large number of small ones.  Anyway when we were at the checkout a young guy behind me said it would be nice to get one & Marg told him this makes three compressors for me.  This creates a bit of a dilemna for me as it is better than either of the others I have, so I will be debating taking it home and bringing one of them back here, but I've got a few months to decide.