Arizona days....

 Finally, we are seeing a warm up.    We know from previous years, both here and in Florida, that Dec/Jan can be chilly but I always forget that minor detail and keep whining when the days are cold.

 Jeff and Jen came over yesterday.    We played fun golf on the scenic Par 3 course and then lunch at the Club.   Still too chilly to eat outside where the views are spectacular.      I enjoyed sending them home with some home cooked lasagna (plant-based totally) and the renowned family rice krispy bars.

 I love walking  on the hilly trails  around here and would like to more consistently do 4-5 miles.    I look forward to  the views and all the cactus.    I feel like I am getting a really good workout. The limiting factor seems to be an annoying hip that has been there for years but is usually quiet and unheard.   I need to get out on my bike more as well but I dislike the wind.     Meanwhile, the golf is mediocre at best and the ponds seem to have a magnetic force pulling in my golf balls.  

A short walk from the house is this newly created park.     Not sure what is planned for it but there are sun shelters, benches, trails and lots of grass.    The grass makes me cringe since this is a desert and water is limited.    But it's a good post-walk cool- down area.

I prefer to walk while listening to audio books.     Paul was gifted with the new Apple Air Buds and they are a wonderful thing.   Of course, I borrow them but  I only wear one so I can hear cars and such.

I've recently listened to Tom Hanks narrate "The Yellow House".    Highly recommend.  
"The Wild Game" was very good..... being made into a movie.
   I finally listened to "Educated".... annoying and amazing.
 "The Night Circus" was very different and not my usual but I stuck with it.
I've just started a new audiobook "The Murmur of Bees".    Narrated beautifully.....

And, when I'm not listening while walking or knitting, I also read.    It's usual that I have a couple books going at the same time.     Currently, I'm enjoying "Marley", the relationship of Jacob Marley and Scrooge.   Historical fiction is a favorite.       I"m also reading "The World That We Knew" by Alice Hoffman.   I just finished  another of hers, "The Dovekeepers".   A good read.  I have so many on my wish list, I need to read faster.

And I'm  studying " The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day".     I would like to get back to making some crusty breads but I really don't want to invest in the bowls and stuff needed since I have everything at home.