I’ve mentioned before how much fun we start to have in the desert after paying the price of living here in August and September (although we had a mild summer, in my opinion). For all things weather in Arizona, I check my friend Stu’s blog. Stu has weather stations in Flagstaff and Anthem, so if his blog doesn’t tell me what’s going on, we text him. Ha! He’s way more reliable than the news. And while he’s very scientific about the weather, I can tell you this from personal experience, we are having crazy mosquito activity right now, and that’s very unusual. I think it has something to do with the grass seeding around the parks and golf courses and all the watering they are doing. There is plenty of standing water in a lot of places. Anyhow, I digress. I was talking about fun!
It’s perfect weather to enjoy urban activities such as the Arizona State Fair including all the concerts and entertainment, the taco festival, ball games, etc. And it’s still perfect weather in the high country to go to pumpkin patches and apple orchards. And….it’s good weather to hike in town or in the mountains.
By the way, my idea of the perfect weather we are enjoying is the endless blue skies, low humidity, gorgeous sunsets, warm days and cool nights.
John and I went with Evon to Turf Paradise and watched the ponies on a spectacular fall day (which is exactly like a spectacular summer day for the rest of the country). As usual, I didn’t care a thing about betting, but we managed to lose some money, eat a dog and drink beer, so I hit all my goals for the day! You can see Evon, with her perfect manicure, also enjoyed a beer!
What I’m Reading
I finished The Last Widow on audio by Karin Slaughter and I loved it so much. I’m getting on Goodreads and giving in five stars. It is the latest in the Will Trent series and it’s my favorite so far. I literally cannot stop thinking about it. There was one tiny thing in the beginning I didn’t love and it was frustrating on audio because I couldn’t skip through it, but she re-wrote the first part to tell from different characters’ points of view. Once that ended, whoooo, I loved it.
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I am still reading Less, and it’s good, but I know I don’t love a book when I don’t finish it in a day or two. I keep doing crossword puzzles instead.
This week on audio I’m listening to The Stormchasers. It’s not bad – the main thing is to keep me entertained while I’m walking and exercising and cleaning house, so it met its purpose.
What I’m Eating
We made what I call Greek Chicken for Shira’s birthday celebration and we grilled it on the salt block for grilling that Denise gave us for Christmas. John did an experiment and cooked one breast just on the grill and the others on the block. Man, what a difference! The chicken on the block was about twice as moist. Nice. This block is similar to ours with the serving tray. When my brother-in-law, Pete, grills he uses a laser infrared thermometer to measure the meat temperature. Brilliant, no sticking the meat with the probe. This one on Amazon has good reviews and is only $16. That’s less than the food thermometer I bought at Sur le Table and this tool can be used anywhere, not just in the kitchen.
Here’s the recipe:
Greek Chicken
- Two or three chicken breasts or thighs
- 1.5 cups Greek yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon oregano
- 2 or 3 pressed cloves of garlic
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Juice of two lemons
Marinate chicken for 6-8 hours and grill on salt block for 20-30 minutes or until done (it takes a little longer on the block).
What I’m Doing
Tammy, a friend who attends the same water aerobics class as I on Saturdays, makes beautiful cards. I mentioned that a few years ago my sisters got me card-making supplies, and while I did make several cards over the years, I knew there was a lot I didn’t know, so Tammy invited me to a class on Friday, and boy was I right – I have a lot to learn. Wow, those ladies in that class are pros. It was a fun day. We made several cards for autumn and Christmas, but here’s a pic of the cute Halloween card I made (with my handsome friend posing along side).
We did two nights of playing Five Crowns, a card game our friend Terry turned us onto when we were in Oklahoma. We played with our Anthem posse and celebrated Shira’s birthday.
Amanda and her team at Anthem Golf and Country Club fitness center do such a great job making the gym fun for the members. Every day I go to the gym, they have decorated it further. There was this fun blow up next to the weights I use. Scary!
I have decided I’m never going on a diet again, but I do try to watch what I eat and I know when I get too much sugar I don’t feel well, and of course, I’d always like to lose five pounds, but I don’t diet. Anyway, strangely since we are no longer weekend people, my healthy eating and drinking starts going out the window on Thursday and by Sunday or Monday, I’m starting all over again. Anyway, all that socializing, sure made for a bad eating plan, and I’m shaping up starting today!
Ok, one last little thing. Costco shopping day is so exciting around here. Not only do we get fresh tomatoes, Roxy cannot wait to get into the box. That box gives us days of cat entertainment. Really, who needs TV?
