Day Twelve

I finally got the only working space in the kitchen completely cleared off only to find that our cat, Muffin, had claimed the space. That really is the entirety of counter space in my kitchen. We have been learning to hold mixing bowls while mixing, and balance cutting boards on one knee while juicing.. It's been loads of fun cooking in this kitchen with it's limited counter space, but at least it is ours and we are together. What matters most for us is that our family is together, and having fun. Everything else is transitory and easy to deal with, even cats taking over the counter!

Day Eleven

I am always taken aback by the beauty of candles, and the effects that they have on candle holders. This mother of pearl mosaic tile candle holder takes on a whole different appearance when it is holding a lit candle. This picture was taken with the room lights off, so that the only light was coming from the candles in their respective candle holders. I love the warm glow of each of the mother of pearl squares of this candle holder, and the lines between them that the grout produces. This creates an effect that is organized, yet irregular, and reminds me so much of life.

Day Ten

With the torrential rains and flash floods of today, who would have known that the boys would STILL want to go outside to play?! They donned their snow boots, and winter jackets, and headed out to play. I thought they would stay on the back porch under cover, but next thing I know they were heard running across the front porch. A little while later, they were seen out at the street playing at the edge of the water.

The water running down the house made us feel like we were going through a car wash.. we just kept waiting for the soapy brushes... This view from the front porch was repeated through every window as the rain water blurred our vision out.

This was taken through the window, so the blurriness is not the camera, but the water streaming down the window. That bush in the background of this picture actually marks the neighbor's yard across the street. Notice the lack of street in the picture. It seems that our street took the day off and chose to be a river instead. I guess we won't be going anywhere without a boat..

When the boys came in I made them go straight through the hallway into the bathroom, and climb in the tub to drip, strip and dry off. The funniest part is that this was taken after their second foray out in the rain today. They needed completely different attire the second time around.. you see those snow boots in the tub acted like sponges and currently weigh a ton.. and that was after the boys dumped the standing water out of them!

Day Nine

My daughter said this photograph reminds her of a glass butterfly. I loved the pattern within the broken glass.

This actually used to be just a small piece of my 9" x 11" glass cake pan. Do you know what happens to oven glass when you put it on a burner on the stove that is on? It explodes in a spectacular display of broken glass shards, and the most melodious sound of splintering glass. It really was a beautiful sight to take in. Cleaning it up, on the other hand, was not so beautiful. Luckily it was on the back of the stove top behind two pots on the front burners, and no one was near the stove.

This spectacular display exploded off the front of the stove and continued on the floor. There is something about broken glass which just fascinates me. The angles of the shards, the splintering pattern of the cracks, the way it sparkles with any light... It is just gorgeous to look at.

I'll just try not to remember that I need to go buy a new cake pan while I admire it.

Day Eight

Now this is a rare treat. You just don't normally see this much water on the ground here.. unless a pipe burst, or someone left the garden hose on! This was just the very beginning of the rain today. A couple of toys seem to have escaped my grasp, and slipped out to play again. Got them cleaned up after this shot though.

That sheers effect that seems to be the porch walls is created by the amount of rain puring down the side of the house. Living in a trailer is interesting in a rain storm like this. The rain that can be so gently tapping on the time roof some days, sounds more like some one has a power drill up there today! Since our trailer, like most actual trailers, is simply parked and had it's wheels removed, it sits three steps off the ground. I don't have to worry about rain coming in from the bottom up. Now getting to the car could prove to be another story. In our last house, the driveway flooded, and we literally had to wade through water to get to the car.

I am so much happier that this driveway does not seem to flood. A few puddles I can deal with. We can get to the car okay so far, and it seems that getting out of the driveway should be a simple task too.

I can say that I am very happy our yard is not flooding like the neighbors! Yes that is a gigantic puddle covering their whole driveway. No, they aren't stuck. Like most good country folk around these parts, they have three wheelers or quads that they are taking out to get around to the store and take the kids to school.

Day Seven

I can't help it. These two are just too cute! I love finding them curled up together. It seems to only happen when we aren't looking. Seems like any other sibling relationship.. they only show affection to each other when no one else is looking! These two are exactly that way. The rest of the day sees them chasing each other through the house playing chase and tackle, or follow the leader. They are quite a raucous pair.. there are times when the kids know to get out of the way when the kittens are coming.. they have been known to knock us right off our feet, literally!

Mario and Snowshoe seem to have claimed the house at the top of the cat tree, while their mother Miss Nora actually prefers the shelf below. At least in the cat tree there is enough room for all of them. It is really funny to see them all curled up together on top of the little cat condo! It looks like if any of them took a deep breath, they would fall right off. It makes me wonder what exactly possessed them to curl up there in the first place.

Day Six

This is just a normal everyday part of life for us. We are part of Neilson's HomeScan program. Everything we buy comes home and gets scanned in like this. The gift rewards you can earn are really not that great, but the satisfaction that companies are actually hearing my choice to buy organic veggies, to buy almost all fruits and veggies, to buy almond milk, to buy cheese without hormones.. that is what makes it worth it. And yes, they even find out when I give in to temptation and pick up the bag of Bugles too! The kids love them.. call them tornado chips. When you have that much fun with your food, how can you not get it occasionally?!

We had just gotten home from stocking up for the big rain storm that we have watched come across the ocean from Japan, and devastate parts of California.. best to be prepared for the worst. After all, it is a 30-45 minute drive over the mountain to get back to the store.. in either direction.

Yes, that is the little ten gallon fish tank behind me that holds our three family fish. The wire cage holds our two female gerbils. Up on the table you can see the Green Star juicer and the pitcher for our Vita-Mix.
I swear it feels like we live in a giant slider puzzle at times!

Day Five

These magnetic foam shapes just seemed to call out to be photographed today. They have become a constant  on our coffee table in the living room. I am starting to wonder if I should find a home for them there! I am so glad that they are enjoying this Christmas gift so much. I love watching them build and explore things. I love watching these random shapes spark their creativity. They have become robots, trees, boats, and spaceships over the last few days. They have laid on their magnetic boards at times, and at other times they have been carried across the room. Okay, I mean they "fly" across the room. I love the way all of their toys seem to get together and can be played with at the same time. Even when their sizes are so different, they can still call to each other and be best friends.

Day Four

January 15th was my baby's seventh birthday. They grow up so fast. I swear it feels like just yesterday that he was crawling up into my lap to breastfeed.. okay, okay, so that really was two years ago. A couple of days ago Little A started asking for his first two wheel bike. I can't believe his first one needs to be a 20" bike. When did he get so big?! I have to admit I was relieved because I had not come up with an idea of what to give him for a birthday present yet. I hate buying stuff just to buy it.. his request came at just the perfect time. To make the whole thing even better, the J-man asked to have his training wheels taken off. That means I don't have to buy training wheels, just move them from one bike to the other. Yeah! Doesn't he look happy sitting up there on the new bike he picked out?! And wouldn't you know, big brother is not just sitting in the close background, but actually holding his little brother steady on the new bicycle. I love when they watch out for each other like that!

To go get the birthday boy's new bicycle we got into the car and went up this side of the mountain..

...and back down the other side of the mountain. Notice the road sign at the side of the road.

Here is a closer view for you... I love this road.. and the one leading out of the other side of the valley. Having a manual transmission car, I get to the top of the hill, and just push in the clutch and coast down. Mind you, I end up keeping my foot on the brakes most of the way down.. it is quite easy to achieve speeds over a hundred if you are not paying attention. Since the road does curve it's way back and forth, and it is not designed for those speeds, you will also find the all too familiar flowers and tributes along the edge of the road. This road is fantastic on the gas mileage! Of course we pay for it going back up it, but taking life one moment at a time, just enjoy the ride down...

Yes, that sign does say it is a 6% grade for the next five miles, and that is a warning for the stoplight at the bottom of the hill. We pass by such exciting things as emergency truck pull offs. We drive through the mountain watching the rocks pass right outside the windows of our car. The drive is a fantastic training course in offensive driving, and occasionally in defensive driving.

As we pass over the mountain, every so often we see glimpses between the rocks of what lies beyond.. the vast expanse of low land with the river snaking its' way from north to south across the landscape..

Day Three

I went in the bedroom to find these adorable fuzzy kitties curled up on the bed. I went to get the camera, and when I came back the expression on Mario's face seemed to be saying to me, "My sister is sleeping.. leave her alone." It is great the way that he seems to be so protective of Snowshoe.

I think this might just be the cutest batch of kittens we have ever had. I love the fact that they have tail stubs.. daddy must have been at least part Manx. It makes the way that they walk and jump different from normal cats. I swear they look like they must be part bunny rabbit!

When I finished snapping a few shots and started to leave, this was the reaction I got. I'm not sure if they were objecting to me leaving or the camera turning off. Either way, they melt my heart several times a day. My declaration that I was only going to keep two cats from now on seems to have flown out the window. I don't think I am capable of letting these two adorable kitties leave the house.. so much for my resolve!

Day Two

I went outside to try to capture the beauty of the storm clouds over the mountain in the distance, and then started to look around the house. This gorgeous flower caught my attention. I saw it on a bush just below my front porch.

Now since I can not stand having to choose just one photo, I thought I would share a bit more of what I saw from my front porch.

A view looking over the back yard from the side of the house.. I loved the darkness of the mountain outline against the lightness of the sky, with the clouds just hanging in the air. This is a common sight for us living here, but I hope that I never take for granted the beauty of it.

The mountains to the east of us can be just barely seen over the tops of the house next door. I love the way you can actually see the rain falling at such a distance, and I have always been fascinated by seeing the edge of the storm.. See the sweeping rain at the left in the picture, and the rolling clouds at the right?

See.. trees, big fluffy clouds.. they really do exist in Arizona! Our deciduous trees leave their leaves in the winter just like they do every where else. They may look a little bit funny with their thin leaves, but they behave just like a normal tree!

This lovely cactus graces the front of our house with its' splendor. I love the unique shape that it's "branches" have. It is actually so large that it covers the entirety of the front of the house. I thought this close up was a much friendlier view.

I didn't think pictures from the desert be complete with a good old standard barrel cactus. This spiny guy lives in the shadow of the one above. I have been assured by my boys that when you get him all wet, he turns red.. and there really is no room in there for even wind blown garbage to get caught.. Those red spines do a fantastic job of protecting the succulent green plant within.