Thankfully November is over!

 We came down with a really mean spirited upper respiratory infection in Arizona.
Perhaps picked up on the flights west, planes are full of germs!

 First me, and within a couple of days I had shared it with Bob.  We were sick

 and miserable. Sightseeing became a chore rather than enjoyment. 

 Falling into hotel beds at night was somewhat comfortable. . . . . however when

 one is sick it's much better when it's your very own bed in your home - you know

 what I mean.

 For eleven days I have sneezed, coughed, blown, wiped and ached into oblivion.

 For Bob it's been eight similar days and then yesterday, after sneezing and

 perhaps rubbing his eye, he suddenly looked strange with a dark blood filled eye

 socket caused by a hemorrhaged blood vessel!  No treatment, time will
 heal - meanwhile he does look odd, like a leftover from a Halloween party! 
Sorry Bob.

   It's not the 'flu, we had our shots in early October - unless of course it's a
 strain not covered by this year's vaccine. Who knows. . . . . . .

Mission San Xavier del Bac

'White Dove of the Desert'

Tucson, Arizona

A comforting spot in the southwest desert.

I have had a second unexpected sad November death in my UK family,

 along with news of serious health issues for other loved ones.

Today, the arrival of December is embraced and I hope things get better.

I've been away from here a week - unusual for me - but what with travel, death,

illness, family issues, and lack of computer access (we will have our new ones

next week), my blog has been pushed to one side for a while.

Tombstone and the Wild West. . . . .

Tombstone is a town in southeastern Arizona, known for its Wild West history. 

Exhibits at the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park include a replica gallows.

 On historic Allen Street, the O.K. Corral outdoor theater re-enacts an

 1881 cowboy gunfight. 

Resident ghosts are said to haunt the bullet-riddled Bird Cage Theatre.

 Outlaws are among the local townsfolk buried at the 1878 Boothill Cemetery.

It's been many years since I was last here but not a lot has changed.

Reenactment gunfights are no longer permitted on the town streets, you have to

pay to visit other areas set up away from the main shops an traffic, such as

 the replica of the O.K. Corral, or the Old Tombstone Western Theme Park.

We went to the latter and, although somewhat comedic, quite enjoyed it - 

after all what gal doesn't like a cowboy!!!

Boothill Graveyard was the Tombstone City Cemetery from 1878 to 1884. 

It was not called Boothill until the 1920s. Its occupants ran the spectrum of all

 the cultures and nationalities of early Tombstone. 

Cowboys who "died with their boots on" lie next to housewives, business men

 and women, miners, gamblers, ladies of the "red-light district" and all the famous

 and not so famous occupants that contributed to Tombstone's early history.

 By the 1920s, Boothill had fallen into ruin with many grave markers lost or unreadable.

 A group of citizens in Tombstone and Cochise County began the task of researching

 old burial records, consulting with relatives, older residents, and using all means

 available to identify the occupants and mark the graves properly.

 The task took several years and the efforts of many to accomplish. This resulted

 in the graveyard being restored much as it was in the early years when

 it was the city cemetery.

Take a peek at Bisbee, Arizona. . . . . .

This is Bisbee, a short drive from my brother-in-law's home.

It's a historic place which became a renowned copper mining and smelting 

town following the demise of Tombstone which had turned into a ghost town

 by the 1920's.

The Lavender open pit mine is no longer in operation.

This area of Arizona is certainly different from where I live in North Carolina. 

Yes, we do have mountains in the western part of our state, however we also

 have trees and greenery as far as the eye can see, whereas here it is a dry,

desert climate and landscape.

We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with many members of our

 Arizona based family, and some of their friends. Now spending a few 

extra days sightseeing before heading home to get ready for Christmas!

Point Roberts - Living on the edge.

We are having computer problems.  

Seems both of our Macs how have aged out - both being almost 8 years old.
 Bob's desktop died last week but served him well with never a repair required.

My MacBook Air is experiencing death throes and hopefully will survive a bit
 longer - we're both using it now - while we await the delivery of new machines. 
You will know, if you've followed my blog for a while, the Air has traveled
 with me literally 'to the ends of the earth' (Antarctica), and to all seven 
continents, surviving thousands of air miles, rough seas, expedition ships,
 ocean liners, riverboats, African safaris, numerous islands scattered across
 the great oceans, and temperatures from below freezing to hotter than hell. 
 All ever needed to keep it going was a replacement battery about 18 months
 ago. We could possibly extend the lives of both machines with new hard drives
 and assorted hardware odds and ends, but neither would last long as they
 are now obsolete models. . . . . . . . .so we're treating ourselves to early
 Christmas presents this year.

I'm now moving most of my photos to portable storage to allow

 easier transfer of everything else from my old to new MacBook. 
Just writing this post is driving me crazy - things jumping, disappearing,
going haywire, mini crashes. So I'm just quickly sharing these photos
 I took whilst on a quick side trip to Point Roberts, Washington in late
 September prior to storing them away for posterity!

Point Roberts has an very unusual history, if interested you can read about it 
HERE. It's necessary to cross the international boundary between Canada and 
the United States to enter this tiny but scenic place where time seems to 
stand still.

Enjoy the weekend.

Early morning in the islands -

Crossing from Victoria, British Columbia back to the USA by ferry, is a scenic 1.5 hour

 sail through the 172 named islands and reefs of San Juan County, Washington State.

Leaving early morning, although not raining, it was overcast. Sadly, we didn't have a

 sighting of Orca whales who frequent these waters, and birds were few, but the 

smooth as glass water, lone sailboat, and atmospheric light was certainly

 beautiful. . . . . . . almost mysterious. 

This is peace at its best . . . . . . . and I would like more!

Hydrangeas in September, wow!

You may recall my disappointment over no beautiful hydrangea blooms this Summer.  

This was due in part to lousy weather conditions, plus the fact we had to prune

 these two shrubs to the ground last Autumn when re-siding/painting the cottage.

 They did grow back to several feet in height and a Summer season with just

 green leaves was OK - gave the front porch a feeling of coolness on those

 awful hot, dry days. . . . . . . . but how I missed the always lovely blue blooms.

So where did these come from?

Arriving home Tuesday I was amazed to see several gorgeous very blue heads

 being enjoyed by fat bumble bees, and certainly brightening up the fading

 early Autumn garden.

It was almost as if Hurricane Florence left us a gift among the mess of fallen 

branches, twigs, acorns and leaves.

Later I'll probably cut these for a vase then allow them to dry naturally for a

 little muted color over the Winter months. 

Yesterday we spent hours cleaning up the garden, mowing, blowing, pruning, 

weeding, cleaning and refilling birth baths and feeders. It was hot and sticky.

Today I'm off to renew my driver's license - look for some pots of chrysanthemums

for a small Autumn front entry display - and pick up some odds and ends at the

grocery store.

Traveling is always wonderful but coming home again is even better!

Home after sunset. . . . . .

~  Spectacular sunset in Washington State ~ 

I'm home again now. North Carolina welcomed us early this morning 
after the 'red eye' flight from Seattle to Dallas connecting to the 
Raleigh flight. A missed night of real sleep, just those little naps again.
So, turning in early tonight and hopefully my inner clock will get 
straightened out again soon!

With Autumn now officially here I certainly have a lot to catch up with.
A lot of garden work required. . . . . . and I need to start hunting for pumpkins.

On the way to Western Canada -

Heading northwest is always a pleasure.

This time I had not only the widow seat, but the middle seat and 

the aisle seat! Bob had the same on the other side - a first for us I think.

The 5:30 am flight from Charlotte to Seattle was about half full. After all,

how many other fools were like us wanting to get up and be at the airport 

at such an ungodly hour!  

Neither of us slept really, just those brief 15 minute naps between 

 servings of water, coffee or tea, and more water.

 

Crossing the Grand Teton National Park.

 Stunning Mt. Rainier - 14,410'

 Arriving over Seattle, Washington - Space Needle just visible on far right.

Driving to Port Angeles, Washington - pleasant overnight with views of

 Hurricane Ridge (Olympic National Park) and a delicious fresh halibut dinner

 overlooking the water.

Early morning 1.5 hour ferry crossing to Victoria, BC, Canada.

Looking back towards Washington State as we arrived in Canada - snow

 on the stunning Olympic Mountains.

The cruise port was busy with several ships arriving and leaving.

Welcome to Victoria - British Columbia Parliament Buildings

Weather has been mixed - cloudy with light showers and then some sunny periods

making it comfortably warm - perfect for walking about and enjoying this lovely city.

This is my third visit here and I've loved it every time.

Meeting up with friends in Canada. . . . . . . . . .

We arrived in Victoria, British Columbia yesterday morning via ferry from 

Port Angeles, Washington. Cool and damp, with a little rain in the afternoon, 

it actually felt good after the heat, high humidity and post-hurricane conditions

left behind in North Carolina.

Meeting up with old friends is always fun. . . . . . . . meeting up with friends

whom you've only known via your blog for many, many years, is even more 

than fun, it's an awesome experience!

Here on beautiful Vancouver Island, I spent a few hours last evening 

having a delicious dinner with two very special, long time Canadian blog friends, 

Honora of 'Pondside' and Lorrie of 'Fabric Paper Thread'.

Our husbands were also there, to take photos of course, and whilst they 

talked at one end of the table, we three chattered non-stop for more

than three hours. . . . . . . about everything under the sun.

September 20, 2018 - Honora, Mary, Lorrie - Victoria, BC 

Thank you again Honora and Lorrie, for taking time to 
get together, for the sweet gifts I'll take home as memories of Canada
 and you, and most of all, your friendship via our blogs for so many years.
It was definitely written in the stars that we would meet some 
day, and at long last it happened!

We wished you, our mutual blog friends, could have all been there with us!

Off this morning to explore lovely Victoria.