Halloween

We hosted a small neighborhood gathering on October 30, close enough to Halloween for some of us to wear costumes.  It was a beautiful evening on the patio.

Roadrunner

While Papa and I ate lunch on our front patio yesterday, a roadrunner ran across the yard and down the steps to a lower level patio.  Suddenly, he jumped up onto the planter, danced a bit, then jumped onto the wall, danced some more, then walked across the wall, jumped to a higher wall, then up to our second floor balcony.  He was fun to watch!

Birthday Dinner

Yesterday was our friend, Donato’s 65th birthday.  We celebrated with him and Ornella over dinner at their house, pasta carbonara, a salad, and tiramisu.  They traded sailboats in Italy last summer, so Papa thought of a perfect birthday gift… Captain and First Mate hats.  We had fun.

 

Coffee with a Friend

A few days ago, I had coffee with Sarah, a neighbor and friend, and an accomplished artist.  Sarah gave art lessons to Lauren in January when they were visiting us, and during the lessons, I enjoyed looking at Sarah’s art.  I complimented a particular piece and she gave it to me, to use in our home in Lectoure.  I hung the painting in our bibliothèque and I love it!  I made a photo book of “before and after” of our Lectoure home, so I took it with me to show to Sarah.  While at her house, she invited me out to her studio to show me some of her latest work, mosaic ceramics.  They were all fun, whimsical pieces.

Catching Up with Friends

On Sunday evening, we had Ornella and Donato for dinner.  They spent the summer at their home in northern Italy.  I walk with Ornella five days a week, but we don’t see Donato so often.  The four of us always trade stories about our most recent European experiences as residents.  It is nice to have good friends doing some of the same things.

Last evening, we had our friend Yadi for dinner.  Yadi is 22 and graduated from the University of Arizona in May.  She is now in her first real job, putting to use her degree in Nutrition.  We talked for hours, and were so happy that she enjoys her job and is doing well.  We’ve known Yadi since she was quite young, from our days on the ranch, when her Dad would help us with roundups and brandings.  Her Dad, Manny, is an amazing cowboy!

We’re having a good week, continuing to study French, taking care of our house, and getting eyes checked, insurance policies arranged, and all those things that need attention.  Life is good!

Photo taken of cactus blooming in front of our house.

Weekend with Claire

We drove to Phoenix early Thursday morning, and arrived at Claire’s house in Phoenix about two hours later.  Emerson and Colby were eager to give us tours of their new rooms.  Claire showed us the rest of the house, and she and I measured for all the new pieces we were going to shop for.  We had a busy morning, a nice lunch, and then Claire and I went shopping.  Papa stayed home with Emerson and Colby to watch western movies - a favorite thing to do for the three of them.

Papa trimmed trees on Thursday afternoon and again on Friday.  David worked in the yard both days.  Claire and I shopped again on Friday.  On Friday evening, I organized some things in Colby’s room and on Saturday morning, I helped Emerson organize her bookcases.  Papa and I hung several picture frames.  We accomplished a few things. We enjoyed the time with all of them!  

Morning Hike

Photos from my hike this morning with my friend, Ornella.  The Sonoran Desert in Tucson seems particularly beautiful this October.

Lush Desert

We continue to enjoy nice weather in Tucson in October.  We’ve been getting some rain every few days, so the trees are quite green, the mountains are covered with green, and the Rillito River is wet with water running in some places.  

Papa has been cleaning up the yard over the past two weeks, with more to go.  Our neighbor Newton, came over on Saturday afternoon, to take some photos of us, that we might use in our holiday cards.  This is one of our favorites.

Sunset

We are enjoying spectacular sunsets, with the sky lit up in every direction.  These photos are from last evening.

At Home in Tucson

Papa and I returned home from France late Thursday evening. We’ve spent the past 36 hours going through mail, trimming trees, pulling weeds, blowing off the driveway, and Papa repaired the garbage disposal. We’ve talked with all four of our children and several friends. I walked yesterday morning with my good friend Ornella, and we talked nonstop for the hour+ of our walk. 

We had a wonderful summer! It was the most enjoyable six months of our lives. We are grateful for new friends and neighbors. We enjoyed our daily routine in Lectoure, walking to the boulangerie for bread, going to the spa every week, going to concerts or galleries, walking around the rampart walls…

We are also grateful for our home in Tucson, with views of the Santa Catalina Mountains to our north and other mountains from every window. Our Tucson home is full of generations of family photos, seashells we collected over many years, saddles that Papa built and are hanging on our library bannister, spurs Papa wore on the ranch, tile art collected by Papa’s Dad and passed to us, the piano our girls learned to play on, an embroidery that Papa’s mother made while pregnant with him, a painting by our son-in-law, a canvas with handprints of our children and grandchildren… our stuff collected over 41 years. We are grateful for this life we live. Every day is a good day. Every day is a gift.

A few photos taken this morning at our Tucson home.