Category Archives: Opinions

Day 72 – Monday – Happy Veterans Day

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We closed up the RV for the next few days and took a trip to Sierra Vista. The ultimate goal is Tombstone, AZ but that’s going to wait until tomorrow. Today was just a travel day – get where we’re going and nothing else even though the trip only took a couple of hours. That’s a hard rule, set in stone. No sightseeing on a travel day.

Before we left, we talked with the neighbors and gave them our phone numbers, “just in case” something happened. That also gave Laurie time to talk with Max. With the two of them, it’s a mutual admiration society. Max is a healer which is good because Laurie has leukemia. Max is good for her. They are good for each other.

We’re in a Hampton Inn here in Sierra Vista. It has a real shower that we’re going to use every day. Maybe twice. Each. Might even wash Max. Once we got our “stuff” to our room, Diane went in search of a Goodwill to get a swimming suit. This place has a small pool and a hot tub which Diane thinks might unkink her left shoulder and neck muscles. Going to a Goodwill, or thrift store at a new destination does not violate the travel day rule, in case you were wondering.

Max thinks the room is great because the bed is low enough that he can jump on the bed. In the RV he needs help. I’ll bet he could make it if he gave it a valid try, but he seems to be just fine letting one of us pick him up.

Our next-door neighbors at the Bone Yard live in Sierra Vista and let us know that the temps here run about 10 degrees cooler than Tucson. That would be because of the higher altitude, I suspect. Tucson runs around 2,700 feet above sea level, and Sierra Vista is right around 4,600 feet.

Diane returned around 1630 with 2 swimming suits and 2 dog toys. Max loves his toys.

Diane said there’s a Papa John’s Pizza joint just across from the hotel. She checked her Google Maps and discovered it’s only 600 feet away, on the other side of a very busy 4-lane highway. There are no crosswalks within a mile either direction so the only way to safely get there was to drive Diane’s car.

Yes, it’s Diane’s, not mine, so I don’t get to drive it very much. When I do it’s always a scary feeling because I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong. Heaven knows I have plenty of other opportunities to screw stuff up.

When I went to get the pizza, Diane made it clear that I needed to get a salad, too. Unfortunately, Papa John’s doesn’t have side salads. Diane told me that Dominos did. So, after ordering the pizza I did a search for the nearest Dominos. It was a couple of miles away. Since I had to wait 15-20 minutes for the pizza, I had plenty of time to make that quick trip to the other pizza joint.

When I got there, I was told that it would take 15-20 minutes for the salad. That confused me a little bit, but I stepped back and waited. There was a display in the waiting area listing orders by name and mine was at the top. I figured someone would call me, but they didn’t. So, I went back to the order counter and asked if my name was on the list or was it a mistake that my name was in first place. The girl did a frantic search of the pizzas waiting for delivery and didn’t see my name, so I told her, again, that I was only getting a salad, no pizza. I truly believe that I was the first person to enter that pizza joint who ordered just a salad. She was on automatic with the “15-20 minutes” wait. When she realized that I was an exception to the norm, she ran to the back and got my pre-packaged salad. That’s kinda what I expected right after I paid for it.

With my salad in hand, I returned to Papa John’s for the pizza. It was done so I didn’t have to wait. Back at the hotel I stopped to get more napkins in the breakfast area and discovered a table full of baby cans of soda that would go well with the pizza. Pretty cool.

I had to do a balancing act with the salad, pizza, plates, forks and sodas all the way to the room on the 3rd floor. Then that long walk down the hall to a room far from the elevator. Everything went well all that way then I had to get my wallet out for the door key and lost everything on the floor. Nifty.

Diane opened the door to let me in just as I was gathering everything up.

It was the first time either of us had eaten a Papa John’s pizza and it was really good. The sodas I dropped exploded a little when we opened them so that was exciting. A good way to end the day.

Day 71 – Sunday – No Agenda

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It was around 12 degrees outside this morning when I got up at 0630 so I turned on the fireplace and went back to bed. It’s not a real fireplace. It’s an electric portable one that we store under the bed when we travel. So, technically, it’s a heater that looks a little like a fireplace. It works perfectly to keep the house warm.

Twelve degrees was an exaggeration, too. It was more like 20 … no, it was actually 47. Still, for Arizona, that’s cold, don’t you think?

Diane and I both wear Fitbit devices to keep track of our sleeping patterns and how many steps we take throughout out days. It’s interesting to see how well we sleep but it doesn’t work every night because one of us forgets to switch the mode to do that. This morning, I found that I got a 77 last night. Not too bad but being in the 80’s is better. I don’t do that very often.

The reason for my low scores is that no matter when I go to bed, I wake up between 0500-0600 every morning. That’s when my brain turns on. I’d really like to go back to sleep, but a lot of stuff is going on behind my eyes making it difficult. Most days the theme in my head is a reenactment of the dog fight Max and I got in while visiting a park in Imperial Beach, CA. I shared this many posts ago, so I won’t subject you to another rendition of that event. The repetitive morning episodes has convinced me that my continuous exposure to that event is PTSD.

Yup. Most people who suffer from PTSD were exposed to traumatic events related to warfare, not dog fights, right? Well, I’m sure PTSD can be triggered by any traumatic event. I speak as an expert though I’m not one. The point where I have to get up to end the memory is when I extract Max from the jaws of this big dog who was doing his best to kill my little friend. I always prevail but lingering in the back of my mind is the fear of what could have happened had I not been close enough to intervene.

OK now. I got that out of my head, and we can move on to something more pleasant.

It’s another beautiful day here in Tucson. Bright clear skies, and just a little chilly out there now. Diane said it’s supposed to be around 81 today, according to the weather people. It’s yo-yo weather; up and down. Yesterday evening, before the sun went down, we were lounging on the patio, and it was perfect. We haven’t had many days like that because previously it was just too hot. Being from the NW, we run out of sweat quickly, so it’s no fun being outside in the heat, watching your skin just wrinkle up and flake off in little, tiny pieces. It’s like having dandruff all over the exposed parts. Not very attractive. I think I read in a comic book that after a while the flaking stops, and everything just turns brown. I don’t know how long that will take, but it hasn’t happened, yet. My little stick figure legs will never get brown because it’s just too chilly for short pants. There’s just something about walking around in short pants on a clear, sunny day, and having to walk fast to stay warm just isn’t appealing. So, I wear long pants so Max, and I can just walk slowly, enjoying the scenery without feeling the need to shiver.

Around noon Diane went to the commissary to, once again, replenish our depleted food supply. Max and I stayed home and took a long walk. When we got home, I reclined on the couch to watch TV for a bit and fell asleep for a little while. Thankfully, I woke up before Diane returned so I was alert and able to help carry everything into the bus. I did it in four trips and everything fit in the proper place depending on whether or not it was frozen, cooled, or just happy in a warm cupboard.

Then we ate what was left of the meatloaf, the potatoes and a new can of peas. Both the peas and potatoes were smothered in an excessive amount of butter and a little sprinkle of salt and pepper. The meatloaf received an additional layer of ketchup. Sunday Linner was very good.

To end the day, we were blessed with this …

Good night.

Day 70 – Saturday – Sun City Arts & Crafts Festival

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This was Diane’s selection for us to visit today. The GPS predicted it would take us about 45 minutes to make the 20+ mile trip, but it seemed longer. It wasn’t unpleasant, just long. Max said so.

The facility at the end of our ride was the Sun City Community Center which lives on a golf course. Without being able to see any of the fairways, I knew this was true because the building was surrounded by golf carts. Not all of them had golf clubs attached, but enough of them did to validate my suspicions …

One of the fairways was just over the trees in front of the carts. I know this is true because I walked over there and looked.

Just behind me from where I took this picture, was some sort of game field but I have no idea what kind of game it might be.

Instead of a game thing, it might have just been a design element for the grounds. The area is surrounded with BBQ pits, benches, and small parking spots for the golf carts. Perhaps one of you can provide info on what this is for. My first thought was some form of bocce ball. If I’m right, I’ll be surprised.

The inside of the community center was jammed with tables surrounded by people. All the crafts were made by the people selling the products and there was some really beautiful stuff. There was also some skeptical stuff just to keep things even, I guess.

My favorite was a display of cards and framed watercolor paintings by Lori Nalewicki. On the end of her table was one of a javelina that I recognized. I’d seen the same one at the Saguaro National Park West gift shop. She confirmed that her stuff shows up in a lot of places. Her art is whimsical and just the way I like it.

Diane loves birds and couldn’t leave without getting the one to the right of the donkey.

On the back Lori wrote the name: “Birds, a Bee, and a Melody”. It’s very simple and meaningful. At this time, she has no idea where it’s going to hang. I say that, but I didn’t ask. I’m just guessing.

For some reason she had me take a picture of this. I don’t know what it is, but she liked it. But not for $400.00.

On the way back to town we encountered an opportunity to visit another craft sale. We were in Oro Valley, and this isn’t far from that. When we got to the venues, they were all just packing up to go home but one lady helped Diane get a few Christmas decorations. On the way back to the main road we got a great view of the western edge of the Catalina Mountains. Pretty dramatic.

This is the left edge of the mountains we can see from the RV park. Even though this is called the “foothills”, the elevation is about the same as the Air Force Base we’re living on.

That’s it for today. Now all I have to do is figure out what to eat for dinner. I’m thinking I’ll have another salad because there’s one avocado I need to eat before it turns black.

Day 69 – Friday – Massive Flea Market

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This day took us to the Desert Skies United Methodist Church, which is far, far away from the location of our currently chosen domicile. Actually, it’s only 12 miles and 23 minutes away. The GPS took us through uncharted territory on the way so that was nice. We’ve been traveling around the area almost daily, so the roads are becoming familiar, so it was nice to go to a place where the roads were not familiar. We’re almost to the point where we could be dropped pretty much anywhere in the town by helicopter, and we could find our way home. That’s just a working theory at this point. We’ll probably never know if it’s really true.

We found the church easily, and we quickly discovered that it’s a large, well-attended church. The first clue was that we parked in one of the first spots we saw when we drove into the parking lot, then had to walk 1/4 mile to the church and the area where the flea market was being held. I didn’t measure it, but we could have parked much nearer to the action if we’d known how to get around in the large parking lot. It’s not one large area, but small pockets of parking spots linked to the main building by a winding lane and paths through a forest of native trees, plants and cacti.

Once we navigated the correct route, we were in the midst of the largest private flea market we’ve ever seen. All of the parking lot near the church proper was covered with very organized tables covered with small items, and segregated areas of appliances, furniture, and anything else too large for a table. It was amazing.

Diane found all kinds of stuff that she wished she could have snapped up for gifts, but our current living conditions aren’t conducive to hoarding so she withheld her desires and kept her wallet in her purse. Most of the time.

The prices were very reasonable, so it was a challenge.

Need cookbooks? They had a bunch of them.

It only took us a couple of hours to look at most of the things on display. Diane found 3 small items that she couldn’t live without, so we paid for them ($7 total) and went looking for the car. That’s not true. We sat Diane down on a handy bench near the front access to the church, then Max and I went looking for the car. I drove it back to pick her up. Then we went looking for lunch.

I found a place named Ziggy’s on Google and the name appealed to me because we once had a little poodle named Ziggy. We had him for 18 years. They had a few tables outside so we could take Max with us. Diane had a patty melt and I had a Ziggy burger. Both came with two 1/4-pound beef patties which is a lot more than we normally eat. Well, more than Diane eats, anyway. She asked for one patty on the side so she could give it to Max for his lunch. I ate both of mine which I’m sure doesn’t surprise many of you who know me. For some odd reason I’m blessed with the ability to eat an enormous amount of food. I may have mentioned this previously. If so, please forgive me for repeating myself.

After lunch we drove randomly for a while just looking at the area and found our way home like magic. It was a good trip and a good day.

Once home I took Max for his normal after lunch walk and he wore himself out, so he took a nap with his lamb.

Then he took a nap on my lap.

Then it was time for bed.

Day 68 – Thursday – Laundry Day

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This morning the outside temp was 38, and inside the rig it was only 48. Off hand, I’d say that’s a bit chilly. It’s certainly not what I expected for Arizona weather. Considering that when we first arrived here, the temps were triple digits nearly every day for the first 2-3 weeks, then all the sudden it changed. I think it has something to do with day light saving time. Since that isn’t observed here, they must have decided that fiddling with the temperatures was a valid alternative.

I escorted Diane to the laundromat with all our laundry and she got started washing stuff while I made a trip to the bank for some more quarters.

In the afternoon, after the laundry was done, we took a long ride around town. The first two stops were planned.

The first was a thrift store somewhere in the foothills of NW Tucson. By the time we got there it was closed, but not a surprise. Now Diane knows where it’s at for future reference.

The second stop was Tohono Chul Botanical Park. The gates were open so we drove through to see what we could see. Mostly we saw empty parking lots scattered throughout the park. Like most botanical gardens, this is a walking venue. We may return at a later date, but it’s been moved down the list of “things to do.”

The drive took us to a much different part of the city so that was refreshing. We enjoy visiting new places and traveling different roads. After leaving the park, we headed back to the Bone Yard moving around looking for a road we recognized. It took a while, but we eventually found our way home just as the sun was setting. The rare clouds over the Catalina Mountains captured the sun setting behind us as we reached the street leading to the main gate.

The first thing I did after unlocking the bus was to leash up Max and take him for a walk. He spent the entire trip sitting in his throne. We stayed sitting the entire way, too but he earned the first trip to the areas where urinating is allowed. I had to wait until we got back but Max didn’t care. I’ve got to tell you that walking around with him just after sunset. It was really cold. Tonight, the weather people tell us it’s going to be 37 tonight.

Nifty. What a change.

When I sat down to write this post, Max jumped on the sofa and did his best to replace my hands on the keyboard with his little paws. He obviously wanted to help but I had to remind him that even though he could actually type pretty good, the post was mine, not his. He reluctantly let me finish, but I had to promise that he could write one of his own in the near future. That should be fun.

Now we will rest and wait to see what happens tomorrow.

Day 67 – Wednesday – Jerrie’s Echo Cardiogram

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1015 – My appointment was scheduled for 1100 and I was asked to be there by 1030. That meant we’d have to leave home no later than 1015 to make it on time. We knew that was true because we did a test run yesterday to make sure. As it turned out, timing on Tucson streets in the afternoon are not at all like the reality of Tucson streets in the morning. So, we were between 1-2 minutes late.

The early check in process involved registration into the Houghton Hospital system. My test was ordered by the VA Hospital, but they couldn’t get to it in a reasonable amount of time, so they sent me to a private hospital off the reservation. It was a good decision because Houghton got me an appointment within 3 days.

After checking in with the receptionist, I waited until 1111 before they finally called me into reservation room #2. The registration person told me her name, but I don’t remember it. I do remember that the tech assigned to do the testing was Vanessa. I didn’t get to see her until about 30 minutes after the registration was complete. The delay, I was told, was related some difficulty with surgery. That’s all I know.

Vanessa took me back to her testing room somewhere deep into the innards of the main floor. Once in the room she told me to strip, which I did. All the way down to my belt, as directed. All she needed access to was my chest, where my heart lives. Then I laid down on the table, on my left side with my left arm under the pillow supporting my head. That was comfortable for about 20 seconds before my left arm started making noise in my head about the pain. My left arm and shoulder aren’t my favorite body parts for that reason.

We talked throughout the test that took about 30 minutes. I was surprised I was allowed to speak but she said it was OK. So, I learned that she was an Air Force Brat who grew up in Ohio after her dad left the Air Force. She graduated from Ohio State which was evident because of the red and gray stocking hat she was wearing. Kind of odd for Tucson, I thought, but she looked good in it. She said her boyfriend also graduated from Ohio and said they went to Pittsburgh to see the Ohio vs. Pitt football game recently. It was a “hectic 3 days”, in her words. She’s not a football fan. Being from Oregon, I had to point out that I’m a fan of the Ducks who knocked Ohio out of the #1 spot on the NCAA ratings list. She was OK with that.

Diane, by the way, dropped me at the front door of the hospital then parked in a spot nearby. I knew that because she texted me. She could have come inside but was OK sitting in the car, waiting for me.

When I was done with the test, I was released into the wild without having to gather any papers regarding the service provided. So, I walked out and reconnected with Diane. She was glad to see me even though I had been gone long enough that she didn’t recognize me right away.

She gave me a choice. Home, or Lunch. I voted for lunch. She picked two places near each other about 30 minutes away. Oddly enough, they were close to the VA Hospital. We drove to the first one, parked, and entered expecting a good lunch. But we were totally ignored at the order window, so we left and found #2 about 3 blocks up the street. It was Rollie’s Mexican Food.

At Rollie’s were greeted with open arms and it smelled great. Diane had an order of rolled tacos and I had my routine burrito. Diane loved hers and mine was OK, and it was really big.

We ate it all, then went back to free Max from his jail. He needed a walk.

When we got home, Max was actually up, walking around. That’s rare. He’s usually laying in the driver’s seat so he can look us in the eye without raising his head letting us know he wasn’t happy about being left alone. This time he was showing his happiness about our return. He came all the way down the stairs but didn’t leave the bus. He came back up the stairs with me and stayed really close until I adorned him with his harness and attached the leash. Then he was happy.

We took the promised long walk then returned home so I could rest. It’s been a busy day.

Day 66 – Tuesday – Mt. Lemmon

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Yes, that’s a real mountain. I looked it up and know it’s true. To prove it, we packed a couple of sandwiches and took a drive in that direction. It’s only about 20 miles away and we can see it from our home in space 261.

That’s it. the one with the snow on it. The news told us that during the rainstorm we had a couple days ago the mountain got 5-8″ of snow. Yup. Right here in Tucson. Well, not in, but nearby.

Diane had the mountain on our list of places to go and today seemed like the one, so we went. On our way out of the back gate, we saw a meeting of the minds warming their tiny little feet on the powerlines.

Since today is Get Out and Vote Day, we thought perhaps they were discussing what life might be like with a new president. Then I saw the lone bird below the others and thought maybe this was choir practice and the loner was the leader. Perhaps he was tutoring the alto/tenor section when we drove by. We didn’t have time to stop and listen because we had a destination.

On the way up the very curvy road, we were fascinated by the rock formations.

As we neared the top, around the 8,000′ level, we encountered snow. We got out to investigate and to see what Max thought about it.

He wasn’t sure about it at first, then he did some zoomies as far as his leash would allow. He had fun and seemed to be fascinated with the white stuff but got over it quickly.

Diane was attempting to get Max still for his photo op.

Just below this area is a village of many cabins and a cabin hotel. The cabins were quite impressive as was the hotel that lined the street.

This next photo is looking out into the valley to where all the Tucsonians live.

Here’s a snap of the information provided for one of the stops. It came out pretty good, showing the very crooked road we took today.

On the way down we ran into a little bit of snow, and I asked Max if he’d like to stop and take a walk. This is what he gave us …

I took that as a “nope”.

When we got back to the saguaro cactus fields, we were amazed at how these guys can grow in such desolate conditions. Pretty amazing.

As soon as we got back to the RV, I took Max for his walk, because he was such a good little guy, and took another photo of the airplanes that live on the other side of the fence from the RV park.

Now it’s time for Max’s evening walk. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Day 65 – Monday – It’s Cold in Tucson!

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When I got up this morning, (0600) it was 46 degrees. It’s not the first time that’s happened since we’ve been here. That puts a different spin on my understanding of what “snowbird” means. The weather people even had long talks about 6-8″ of snow on Mt. Lemmon yesterday. That caused me to do a little research that revealed Mt. Lemmon is only 20 miles from us. It’s even on Diane’s hit list of places to visit. I think she changed her mind yesterday.

This isn’t the Arizona we heard about while shivering next to the fireplace in Oregon at this time of year. Instead, here we sit in the middle of a valley where the sun shines 300 days of the year shivering in our booties. There’s hope for a change in the weather, though, because looking out the window I see that all the clouds are gone, and the sun is shining brightly. When Max wakes up, we’re going to go stand in it.

IN all fairness, Mr. Lemmon is 9,159 feet high, and they have a ski resort up there. So, I suspect they expect the snow. I just wish they’d let me know so I could have packed a few parkas.

It’s 0707 now and I’ve managed to make enough noise to wake Diane which was a good thing. She knows where the electric heaters are. I looked but didn’t want to make too much noise which turns out to be a waste of time. She knew what I was doing. Now we have a little electric fireplace up and running and it’s getting warm inside. I may survive.

I had to drag Max off the bed, away from his cozy spot. The heaters were under the bed so it was necessary that he get up. Now he’s making his alternate cozy spot on his fuzzy pillow in the driver’s chair while he waits for me to finish breakfast. I envy his ability to go for many hours without having to urinate. I think 2 hours is my limit. He can last for 8.

Here’s something you may like. It’s a 46+ minute video taken by someone who took the Bus Tour Through the Bone Yard in 2016. Sadly, they don’t do this any more.

After the day warmed up, we cleaned our house. All the windows were opened, we vacuumed, and scrubbed carpets. The results are very satisfying. We figure we should probably do this at least once a month. We’ll see how that works out.

I have no photos taken today so I’ll share an old one with you as I depart.

Good Night

Day 64 – Sunday – Day of Rest

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Today we didn’t do nothing. Nope, we just sat around resting our bones. So, technically, we did do something, just not much.

I took Max out early for a long walk which was a good thing because of the rain later in the day. The sky was overcast and there was significant cloud coverage on the surrounding mountains, so it was obvious that something was going to happen.

On this walk, I let Max take the lead to see where he would take me. He took us quite a way from our normal route and we wound up near the fence that encompasses the airplane bone yard. It’s an impressive site and I haven’t been able to get a decent photo that shows how amazing it is. So, I took some more photos and decided to do a little editing to see if it would help. Here’s what I got.

Understand, this is a very small portion of the planes that are stored at this facility. I would like to see the area where the old fighter planes are stored but I’m not sure that we have access to that area from the active part of the base. So, just let your imagination run wild. You can also Google Davis-Monthan Boneyard or just use the link and be amazed.

We almost made it back to the rig before the rain started so we both got a little bit wet. Max didn’t mind. He loves to get the water toweled off.

Then it rained. It rained really hard, and there was a lot of thunder. Max could hear it before we could and barked, but when it got into our hearing range, he was quiet. He doesn’t mind that getting wet plays havoc with his hair. He doesn’t care about that either. We got outside a few other times between the heavy rain showers during the day, but they were short walks. It rained pretty must all day. In Oregon it would be a drizzle between the rainstorms.

Here’s a photo from yesterday that I couldn’t include with that post because I was having problems transferring it to the laptop.

I stood behind our rig to take this. A pretty magnificent sunset, right?

Now I must stop. Today is my shower day.

Day 63 – Saturday – Couch Potato vs. Thrift Stores

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You all have one guess as to who did what. Tic tock tic tock tic tock.

OK, time’s up. You’re all wrong. Diane was the couch potato today. I went thrift storing.

Diane stayed home and watched all the football games I was interested in while I went shopping and made an honest attempt to purchase things I know she would like. For instance, in one store I spent a couple of hours sitting on a couch going through a large box of Christmas cards, picking out the really cute ones I knew she’d like. I also found a couple of really nice shirts for her, and a really handy little cooler. I didn’t get anything for myself.

Diane’s main goal was to watch the Oregon vs. Michigan game so she could fill me in on what happened. Unfortunately, she fell asleep before half time so missed a pretty good game. Thankfully, it was set to record so I was able to watch it after I got home.

She didn’t even wake up when I returned and that was OK. She’s having difficulty sleeping about every other night. Usually, it’s because Max sleeps crossways on the bed. That never bothers me because I generally don’t sleep well anyway. That’s why I crave naps in the daylight hours but rarely get one.

After a brief respite upon returning home, I cooked dinner. Diane suggested hamburgers, our go to meal when in doubt. They were pretty good. We even had good fries using our handy dandy little air fryer.

After dinner I took Max for his evening walk, and he got to visit with Ally for a bit. They’re great friends.

Ally belongs to Dawn, the legs on the left below. The legs on the right belong to Linda.

We whiled away the evening watching fun things on TV. Then, all the sudden, it was bedtime again.