![\"demon](\"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/6\/5658\/29487929233_cd14f72a3e_m.jpg\")
I enjoy alone time, but only in small doses. Natasha and her daughter Giorgianna, our houseguests, are away with Donna, seeing the sights in Flagstaff and Sedona. They left Sunday afternoon and will be home tonight. What do I get out of the deal? Three days and two nights of raising hell,\u00a0which\u00a0in my case\u00a0translates to\u00a0watching\u00a0TV shows I like but Donna doesn’t, reheating leftovers, finishing a Carl Hiaasen novel. Oh, and\u00a0not watching the news.<\/p>\n
I’ve sworn off news for the\u00a0duration, except for a quick review of Google News headlines in the morning. If what I see there is any indication of what they’re covering on network and cable TV, I\u00a0chose wisely:\u00a0I’ll still be relatively sane by election day. You I’m not so sure about.<\/p>\n
Our refrigerator conked\u00a0out.\u00a0It’s 20 years old and probably fixable but Donna decided it’s time for a new one. She and Natasha went to Lowe’s, the only place still open at eight\u00a0on a Saturday night, while I babysat Giorgianna. They came home with a small\u00a0bar fridge. Donna wasn’t happy with the choices at Lowe’s, so\u00a0she bought the bar fridge to tide us over for a few days. Only a fourth of our food\u00a0fit inside, so I went to Safeway for ice, then brought in a\u00a0big igloo cooler from\u00a0the garage. That took care of the refrigerator contents, but not the frozen food. Donna bagged that up and took it\u00a0to our friend Mary\u00a0Anne, who had room in her freezer.<\/p>\n
The next\u00a0morning, when the girls had originally planned to drive to\u00a0Flagstaff, they were instead visiting\u00a0the few\u00a0appliance stores open on Sunday. Donna called in the early afternoon\u00a0to say she’d found a refrigerator\u00a0she liked and that it will\u00a0be delivered Thursday. They finally got on the\u00a0road to Flagstaff at\u00a0three and didn’t get there\u00a0until after dark, but all is well now and they’re having a good time.\u00a0Meanwhile, I’m eating takeout.<\/p>\n
By the time our next round of visitors come on Friday\u2014our granddaughter Taylor and our friend Angie from Tampa\u2014our kitchen’ll be back in business with a\u00a0new refrigerator. The little bar unit\u00a0will find a home on the patio: I doubt it’ll get much use after this domestic emergency has passed.<\/p>\n
Sunday morning, while the girls were hitting the appliance stores, I rode\u00a0around Tucson on my bicycle, scouting trail for next Sunday’s hare & hounds event. I did it as\u00a0a\u00a0favor for\u00a0two out-of-town friends, Angie and Theresa, who are flying in later this week to be the hares on Sunday. Knowing they wouldn’t have much time to figure out a trail, I mapped and scouted one for them, and it’s a good thing I did because Theresa had\u00a0a family emergency and had to cancel her flight, and now\u00a0I’m\u00a0Angie’s co-hare. Here’s me after my Sunday morning ride. If my face looks chalky, that’s because it’s slathered\u00a0with sunblock.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG_1584\"](\"https:\/\/c7.staticflickr.com\/9\/8113\/29820599190_a59c7ba5e5_z.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n