After we ate our dinner this evening, we took Bear, Cabela and Beethoven for a walk up to the top of the hill behind our road. This is a view looking northeast toward the Bradshaw Mountains. Click on the image to enlarge.
December 2011
Desert Delight
The Wickenberg Sportsmen’s Club, where we went to practice shooting today, is less than a fifteen minute commute from our little house. It’s a short distance but the route takes us out to the east side of town where there are wide-open desert spaces.
Image – Desert Delight – click to enlarge
This scene is the view across Constellation Road just outside of the entrance to the club’s shooting facilities. Note the very happy saguaro cactus on the right and the hills and mountains in the desert beyond. It’s just beautiful!
Late Fall Roses
These nice orange-colored roses are in the office this week. Click on the image to enlarge.
Draining the Spa
Verna and I decided to drain the spa for the winter season. Even though we are likely to get 70° + days during the winter months, we figured that keeping the spa heated up would be a losing proposition.
Image – ice chunks coming out of the hose – click to enlarge
I hooked up the hose to the drain on the spa after running the other end down to the wash west of the house. I was mildly surprised by the chunks of ice coming out of the hose as the water started draining. I should have expected that since there was a layer of ice floating on the water in the bucket under the RV drive hose bib.
After we got the spa drained, I went to the spa manual and read the section about winterizing. I have to get out the shop vac and remove the water standing in the spa’s internal pipes to avoid freezing damage.
I saw a bumper sticker in town the other day that said “RETIREMENT IS A FULL-TIME JOB.” I’m beginning to believe that very thing.
Healing Up
Yesterday, I went to the clinic where I had the minor surgery performed two weeks ago. The surgeon removed the stitches from the incision he made to remove suspicious tissue that may have contained additional carcinoma. The lab report was good. They found no more basal cell tissue.
The surgeon brought a student in the treatment room to observe the suture removal and to discuss the technique used for the procedure. He referred to the process as subcutaneous suturing. The Better Half was in the room and told me that he clipped off a knot at the bottom of the incision and then pulled the knot at the top to remove the remaining suture.
You can view the incision with the sutures at this post. You can view the “after” result by clicking in the rectangle above right. Voila! the subcutaneous technique left very little scarring. It is nothing like the spiderweb scar that a former surgeon left on my back a few years ago.
Christmas Colors
There are natural desert shrubs along the road in front of our house. One of those is a small palo verde tree. I took advantage of its green color by hanging red Christmas ornaments on it. I think it looks festive and cute. Click on the image to enlarge.
