A few new developments

We finally have a working refrigerator! This is the old one, original to the 5th wheel. It would have been too expensive to repair because RV refrigerators are complex and run on both electricity and propane.

This plug-in cooler has been our temporary fridge for several months. We also have a full-size fridge in the shed by Mom's house, and use her fridge, of course, since we often cook there for all of us. But sometimes you need stuff right in your own kitchen!

Here's our new one, which Sam found at Lowe's on the recommendation of friends (thanks, Don and Linda!). He installed it one day while I was gone.

We love having more room and it fits perfectly.

We continue to work on Mom's deck. All the walking surfaces, steps and pillars are done, and Sam sanded the railings, so we'll be starting those soon.

We had a surprise visitor last week. An actual, full-size blimp floated directly over the ranch, heading towards Tucson. It was much larger than it appears and was the first one I've seen up close. We were all outdoors and had fun watching it.

But Mom's favorite development was when Sam's coworker sent home 4 little pieces of homemade carrot cake. Sam and Mom each had one for lunch. I was in Benson doing laundry. Sam left for his afternoon shift and by the time I got home, the cake was gone! Oh well, the pieces were small and she won't live forever!

What a difference the sun makes. We're having a few days of rain, and early this morning a ray burst through the clouds, illuminating a narrow line of hills and a rainbow at the end of our drive. A few minutes later, a totally different view.

Then the clouds shifted and we were bathed in light again.

I hope you all have a great week!

Running around

I've been making more 2 hour round trips into Tucson than usual, going to follow-up doctor appointments for my eyes (which are doing very well, thanks). Mom Vae usually comes with me. A couple times, we treated ourselves to lunch; a nice break!

Sam has been working hard on polishing the hummer wheels and finally finished the main set of 4. See how shiny that top one is? Now he can work on the 4 backup wheels at a slower pace.

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Fortunately, he cleans up well. What a handsome guy!

As autumn progresses and the sun swings to the south, Rincon Peak (otherwise known as "our mountain") shows off its ridges and shadows. I never get tired of its many faces.

I also love our views in other directions. The Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson are southwest of us, and the last few days have been cloudy with a bit of rain.

With the cooler weather, our garden has slowed, too. The okra towers over everything, but is dying back.

Tomato plants are going strong, but we haven't had a hard freeze yet. We've been eating a lot of salsa, since I don't have time or knowledge to try canning.

Last weekend, our good friend Karen came down from Phoenix with her 2 boys and her mom visiting from New York (sorry, Linda, I didn't get photos!). We all went to Kartchner Caverns, less than 20 miles from here, then they came by the ranch for their first visit.

I think for the boys, the highlight of the trip was driving Sam's tractor! Big brother was first.

Then he reluctantly gave way to his little brother.

Of course, 3 and 4 year olds have energy to spare, so I challenged them to a race up and down the hill. You can see who's winning.

It was a fun day and we were sorry to see them go.