What next?

Today is perhaps our last true Grunt Day.  We truly hope to have everything back in order here by camp fire time.  It's going to take both of us working at least 6-7 hours to get everything done but at least it's a goal.

In addition to using the chain saw to cut off all the mesquite sucker roots, we need to knock down the silver leaf nightshades and misc. weeds.  We need to sand and oil the window sills, repair a loose shingle, tar coat the watershed roof, store the shutter retaining boards and probably a few other things that escape memory at the moment.

I took a break from landscape and homeowner maintenance the last couple of days, spending 7 hours Sunday to prepare for my first Montezuma Marksmen Monday Match.  Yesterday, I was involved in match-related duties from 7 am until 3 pm so that's another 8 hours.  The actual match itself only lasted 90 minutes.  There were six of us shooting: myself, Tom B., Gary W., Tony G., Al G. and Brad W.  The fastest total shooting time was a grand total of under 45 seconds and the slowest time about a minute.  So, this means I spent a total of 15 hours to facilitate less than one minute of shooting by each participant.  Such is the life of a shooting match director.   It's a lot of fun and well worth the effort.

This year we plan to stage matches only every other week so there's just two matches between now and the end of the year and only ten scheduled for the January through April period.  As much fun as it is, it's just too danged much work to do every week.

Tomorrow is my 65th birthday.  We don't have any plans yet but will try to do something interesting and memorable as tough as that challenge is here in Arizona.  HA!  If you are also a Facebook Friend, you may have wished me Happy Birthday on November 1st.  That's my "Facebook Birthday," as I care not to divulge my real birthday to the world-at-large on Facebook.  One of our Dear Friends Catherine B. thinks the whole month of your birthday should be a celebration so, heck, we started 20 days ago and have ten left to party.

Thursday we going to our neighbor Joanne's Place for Thanksgiving.  It should be a Norman Rockwell family Affair with maybe 40-60 people milling around eating traditional foods while children frolic in fall cottonwood leaves as they are wont to do.

Friday Goatherder is staging yet another Thanksgiving for Family & Friends at El Rancho de Chivitos.
Now, perhaps someone else will have a Thanksgiving on Saturday, Sunday and well... let's just keep this trend going until Christmas and New Year's, eh?

Susun is flying out to San Diego on 12-12-12 so we will be going to Mesa either the 10th or the 11th.  We have quite a backlog of stuff to do down there in the Phoenix metroplex.  Once we get all our semi-annual chores squared away, we sure hope to do more hiking together.  SO far, we haven't even be out in the Montezuma Well pasture for a spin around their new trail system.  Shame on us.

Well, that's about all the news there is to report today.  Many Cheers, jp

PS--We forgot one last thing--you might enjoy this post on Roger P.'s blog

http://www.dugoutdick.com/2012/11/law-of-unintended-consequences.html