Corona de Tucson
October 31, 2024
Somehow, I just can't continue on until I have finished out October. When we returned home from our little vaca, it was a busy time. Joe had surgery...an amniotic membrane transplant and tarsorrhaphy surgery to be exact...on his right eye. In fact, his right eyelids are still sewn together and we have fingers crossed the stitches come out next Tuesday. I will spare you the details and the photos.
On a brighter note, Edith celebrated her fourth birthday...
and she and Felix went camping for her big weekend.
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| They roasted marshmallows, cooked hotdogs on a stick, enjoyed hayrides, and went trick-a-treating at the campground. |
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| Joe and Jena rented a camper and they all had a great time at a near by South Carolina State Park. And a great big shout out to our oldest daughter Jill. She had her first novel published. Jill has always loved to write and was a great teacher and we are so proud of her. The Secrets Of Shadywoods is a novel for middle school students partially inspired by true events. Life has always been an adventure for Jill ! _Original.jpeg) Jamie, Andra and Ozzie came for a week-end visit. On Saturday, we enjoyed a ride to Mt Lemmon. It was a gorgeous fall morning and we took the windows out of Pearl to add to the excitement and a better view. We stopped at most of the viewing sites and even did a decent walk/boulder climb at Windy Point Vista. The aspen, maple, and oak trees were colorful...   |
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| Waiting for our lunch table at the Iron Door. |
After lunch we stopped at Summerhaven. There are 450 privately owned acres on Mt. Lemmon. Summerhaven is the largest subdivision and was subdivided in the 1920s. Commercial development is limited to the lots along Catalina Parkway. The Sawmill Restaurant, the General Store and Gift Shop, Mt. Lemmon Lodge which also has a Beyond Bread restaurant, and a Cookie Cabin which serves pizza, chili and giant cookies. There are also cabins of all sizes to rent on land leased by the US Forestry Service....I'm thinking a summer getaway!
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| Cabins for rent... |
On Sunday, the four of us went to Civano Nursery. I had some pots in need of replanting after the hot/dry weather we had when we were in Bisbee and Willcox. There is a lot more to Civano than beautiful pots and healthy plants!
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| Griffin and Rodrick... |
Back at the oasis...our feathered friends slowly returned.
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| The Gamble's Quail |
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| White-crowned Sparrow |
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| Cooper's Hawk |
We spent time gardening...
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| Catalina Parkway |
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| Civano Nursery Butterfly Garden |
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| The birthday girl... |
Until next time...
Sure hope and expect that Joe's eye surgery restores him to full vision!
ReplyDeleteI found Jill's book on Amazon, congrats on being published!
So glad to see the birds did not give up on you!, especially the quail :)
We finally put the top back on Fran's Jeep yesterday. So fun still being able to drive around topless in mid-November.
Hi Jeff…unfortunately, the best we can expect is that Joe’s eye will be as good as it was when he started this process in 2017 after the shingles. Peripheral vision is what he misses the most and fingers crossed he has that again. Thanks for taking the time to look up Jill’s book. We love having the windows out of the jeep and the kiddos had a great time. You can’t beat that wonderful SD weather…topless in November…wahoo!
DeleteThank you, Jeff, for looking up my book! I really appreciate that!
DeleteWell Edith is just too adorable - what a great pic! Congrats to Jill, it's wonderful to have an author in the family :-) Another wonderful collection of photos of a life well-loved. Hope Joe heals quickly!! Aren't the little Sparrows cute? They and the little wrens always seem so "gentle" compared with some of the other more aggressive visitors!
ReplyDeleteHi Jodee…thank you on all accounts! Fingers crossed stitches come out tomorrow! I LOVE those little sparrows. Sometimes they make a ring around the birdbath for water and just sing and drink…until the curve-billed thrasher comes along. Talk about aggressive…I’m surprised we have any birds at all with them around!
DeleteThank you, Jodee, for the congratulations!
DeleteI so hope Joe's eye is better this time!!! What a smart thing to do--rent a RV! That little family looks as if they had a great time! Mount Lemmon looks life fall! Jill's book is in my Amazon shopping cart--I always give my greats books for Christmas--Jill's book will make a great addition. Lovely photos Gay and great blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Janna…thank you! We will all be happy if the abrasion that collected all the calcium is gone and Joe regains his peripheral vision... 🤞. Joe and Jena are always coming up with fun things to do and the grands had such a great time! Thank you for purchasing Jill’s book. She had a book signing at a coffee shop a few days ago. So proud of her!
DeleteThank you so much, Janna, for ordering my book! I hope they enjoy reading it!
DeleteYou are most welcome! I have two greats that are big readers.
DeleteAnother sweet blog Gay....your personality shines through. I love Edith's beautiful blue eyes, what a cutie she is! Did you buy one of those stunning red pots? I hope this latest surgery helps Joe's eye problems, I'd be interested in the details of this procedure sometime, if you want to share.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue…thank you! I love Edith’s blue eyes too. Both her parents have brown eyes, but blue eyes do run in the family too. I did not buy a red pot…yet. The transplant is preserved human amniotic membrane for the cornea if the cornea has defects. After shingles, Joe’s eye was scratched and nothing seemed to help and the scratch eventually filled in with calcium and was uncomfortable. The amniotic membrane is the innermost layer of the placenta located next to a fetus and is procured under sterile conditions during a C-section and developed in a lab. Pretty cool! The other part of the surgery is just a big word for sewing the eye lids together…
DeleteI love your blogs, Gay, and I appreciate the shout out. :) I'll pray extra hard for Dad as his stitches are removed tomorrow that his eye will heal and his vision is greatly improved. I love all your pictures, and that moon... wow! I love you both very much and miss you lots.
ReplyDeleteHi Jill…I love writing about and including our family in the blog…we love you and I am so proud of you! We miss you too! Thanks for your prayers…keep them coming!
DeleteIt's been great fun getting to know your family over the last year or two. I never realized you had several children and grands. Glad you're sharing them and able to get together. What fun to camp over Halloween. They certainly had a great set up of blow ups. Fingers crossed the transplants give Joe back comfortable vision. Hope the stitches come out tomorrow!!! Congratulations to Jill! How great to have a children's author in the family. You must be so proud:)
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DeleteGood morning Pam…thank you for your very thoughtful comment. We are so proud of Jill, Jamie and Joe (son). We are also happy that they are so happy, busy, productive, and surrounded by the people who they love and love them.