I remember when..........

........I used to be a pretty good photographer and eagerly shared my efforts on the blog.    I carried the big camera on grueling uphill hikes, thru botanical gardens, focused on distant vistas and captured the grandkids in special moments.    Fast forward to present day......  My camera is rarely charged and my iPhone becomes the go-to short cut to capturing my world.    I think it reflects most everything about today's life.   The short attention spans and the inability to stop, look and listen as we seek instant gratification.      I must get better........Meanwhile, here's my snapshot views of the last couple of days.   

My  sisters came to AZ this week.    We gathered at Jeff and Jen's beautiful Scottsdale home and filled in the spaces since we last shared a bit of wine 18 mos ago.     They are funny, generous and very talented 'younger' sisters.     We also met up with a favorite cousin.    We laughed over all the childhood memories and found that the years hadn't diminished the stories.      From L to R    Sandy, Diane (the favorite cousin), the author of the world wide blog and Maureen.         It was a special time.

The next day, we loaded up the Jeep and headed north to Colorado.      Having only spent a couple of weeks in the new house, I am needing to get some things done and make arrangements for painting and some remodeling.     It's 550+ mi and doable in a days drive.    But, the mountains have been buried in snow so it was very slow going over Lizard Head Pass south of Telluride.    The views were breathtaking.    Maybe I could have captured the beauty with the other camera and the willingness to stop and step outside the car...... but we were anxious to get to lower levels before dark so the trusty phone had to be good enough.
 

After getting to a lower altitude and the setting sun, we had to deal with deer wandering the roads....very scary and this year, with the tremendous snows, the deer are leaving their safe areas to find food and the carnage on the roads has increased dramatically.    This morning, I read that they are setting up feeding stations to keep them off the roads.   

The undercarriage of the Jeep was heavy with chunky ice....this morning it cluttered up the floor.

It's good to be home !      ( for a week or so ).