Desert Diaries, A Podcast

I was searching for podcasts on Podcast Addict, the app I use on an Android phone, about Arizona and found Desert Diaries, listened to the first episode, was charmed and subscribed. I really enjoy seeing the state through Sam Walker's eyes. We plan on retiring to a home we own in the Phoenix area next year. Jim, I think, is finally realizing that a retirement life can be a good thing. He has been mulling this whole idea of being a retired person over for a few years and is finally able to see himself as a person without a job and still having a good life. 

For me the main reason I read and listen to podcasts is because I can hear of lives and experiences from other points of view. Sam Walker's podcast Desert Diaries is such a fun way to hear about life in Arizona. She seems to take on the most problematic times of life in a new country with humor and joy in her story telling. She and her family decided to move here from Manchester England. I admit the my American ears love listening to her accent and she learns about a new county and life in the desert with husband, kids and a dog. The episodes are about 10 minutes or less and always leave me with a smile. Just search your favorite podcast app to find something new and fun. Trust me on this one.

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Good Time For Cold Brew Iced Coffee

In the summer here in Jackson summer days above 80 are pretty warm. Most homes do not have air conditioning. We rely on open windows at night to bring in cool air since the nights are in the 40's. At the end of a warm afternoon a cold drink is really nice to sit a minute with before starting to prepare dinner.

I recently bought a cold brew kit on Amazon. The setup I got arrived yesterday from Coffee Genie included 2 large mason jars, lids and one filter to hold the coffee. My brother recommends using your coffee grounds twice. The first brew is about 12 hours and the second brew from 24. I put 2 cups of coarsely ground coffee in the filter and filled the jar with tap water. Having this kind of system means I won't run out. 

The coffee that I ordered to try this all out with comes from my favorite coffee roaster, Coffee Bean Direct. I drink decaf and I bought Dark Roast Sumatra. I tried a cup of half coffee and half milk with 2 splendas hot this morning from my first 12 hour cold brew and it was lovely. I am looking forward to an iced version later today.

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Today the links are affiliate but my own purchase was real.

A Welcome Visit

Just a quick note today. Son in law and grandson are coming today. They need to pick up a trailer we have and will be here for dinner and to spend the night. They will be using the trailer to haul a Razor side by side thing they own. The hope is to find some safe, meaning few people around, place to go for some family rides. Hope it helps because I think the boys in the family have some pretty bad cabin fever.

Someplace like this would work. Don't where it is but thanks to Dave Hoefler I found this image on Unsplash.com.

Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash

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A Polar Bear Dawn (Book 1)

This book, A Polar Bear Dawn, written by Lyle Nicholson would have been a great read but...….

I liked the characters. I liked the plot. Each turn and twist in this thriller kept me turning pages to find out what came next. The ending however was no ending at all. I am so tired of writers thinking all their ideas need to be in a series and to sell the series the earlier books are obviously incomplete. If you are a writer listen to me. Write one hell of a story with great characters and with a complete story line and I will be back for more. Just sayin'.

The other great flaw in a book I really wanted to like was the very poor proofreading and editing. It was so distracting to come across a passage like this, "The helicopter pilot he had hired was definitely post-Vietnam War era, but luckily pre-Korean War." Really? After Vietnam and before Korea? There were more issues but I am only giving you one of them here today.

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If you would like to check out this story since you are prepared now to look past the mistakes the affiliate link in the ad above will take you to the book's page on Amazon.

I am also giving you links to a couple more recent reads you might like. 

If you use a rss reader that blocks html then you may want to check out the blog post directly so you can see the links.

Forty Four Years Already!

Forty four years ago last Friday I was married to Jim. The time has flown by or dragged on and on at times because marriage isn't perfect all the time but overall it has been good and I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Well maybe a couple minutes but I'll not go there today. 

Under the current quarantine out celebration was certainly different this year. We usually travel in July to celebrate. Other years have found us on cruises or road trips. Not this year. We were at home where I fixed us a nice steak dinner and that was fine. Where we are is not as important as that we are still together, still in love and still aware of how special our relationship is.

I would have posted about this special day on Friday but Century link internet was down at my house that day. 

I don't keep a lot of pictures around but Jim tends to and this one taken the day it all began is on his home office desk.

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Silly Question

I have been taking online surveys for several years now. I enjoy the process most of the time and I get a bit of yarn money or Etsy fees money by doing this. Not a lot of yarn or Etsy fee money but enough.One question comes up rather often the just leaves me scratching my head. It is "How do you feel about this company?" 

The answers can be given different ways depending on how the survey was set up. Sometimes it is on a 1 to 10 scale and sometime a slider along a line that you can move closer or farther from a heart. To me the silly part is the fact that they think I might have an emotional connection to a corporation even though the Supreme Court equated them with people. Being a customer does not mean I love you. It means that you have a product or service for me to buy at a price I am willing to pay. Does a business really need more than my money?

I hope I am not so strange that I am the only one who thinks this way. Come on, let me know I am not alone.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

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Get An Apron, Silly!

I have come to the great conclusion that I need an apron. Why? Well because I wear a lot of t shirts and I cook every day. I am tired of having grease spot all over my shirts. The spots take some work to get out and sometimes all I can do it relegate the shirt to the "don't wear this one out of the house" pile or throw it away. I could have saved a lot of clothes over the years by just wearing and apron. 

I could make one myself but my fabrics and sewing machine aren't here where I am staying during the current pandemic. I do like the idea of supporting other artisans too. I found a cute one on Amazon Handmade. (disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate). I'll be looking on Etsy and Zazzle too. But today check out this one.

Soft, layered apron made from recycled cotton saris come in an array of traditional Indian patterns and colors. Handmade with traditional kantha embroidery. Each is unique, colors and patterns vary. Machine wash cold, line dry. Size: 31"l x 23"w.

 

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A Recent Reread

I read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale many years ago. I was too young and naive then to understand how a society could end up how it did in this novel. I am older now, not sure I can say wiser but definitely older now.

When I first read this book I was a young wife. I was having children and getting used to being a Navy wife. Politics and the structure of society was beyond what I cared about. My eyes are more opened now. The, to use two of his favorite words, disgusting disaster of the current presidency has changed my view of the country I call home. The backdrop of inequality in the areas of education, health, housing and economics, and the rise of the born again Christian right and their desire to deny a woman and her doctor the right to make choices are in stark contrast to the county that I thought I raised in. That county took on great ideas like going to the moon, the Voting Rights Act and Medicare and made things happen. I didn't think we were perfect but I felt a sense of always striving to become the best of ourselves. Today we add in the lack of federal support for its citizens during the current pandemic on top of all the other troubles and it makes it hard for me to hope for a better day at all.

Like The Handmaid's Tale without a happily ever after ending I find myself unsure anymore that there are happy endings. I could give you a laundry list of worries and complaints but I won't. I will spend today recentering myself with the good news that I am safe and secure, my family is healthy and well so far and I can use the power of my vote to try and be a part of a better America.

  The ad above is an affiliate link to a book I recently read on my Kindle. I get a small commission if you click and make a purchase on Amazon.

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The Kitchen Counter Podcast

I love podcasts. Really. All types of people come right to me with stories, news, information and tips. Some of these during this pandemic keep me informed and save my sanity, some bring the lives of others to me in a way that can leave me in tears or smiling for the rest of the day. I think podcasts are a great way to have a background to your day without have a television on. I can take a walk or do chores or even write a blog post and take a friendly voice along with me. I even have some that are great to fall asleep to.

I use Podcast Addict for my subscriptions and right now I have 81 on my list but not all of them are active. If a podcast ends I don't unsubscribe I just leave it on my list to listen to again if I am in the mood.

Today I want to give a shout out to The Kitchen Counter Podcast hosted by Roger. This podcast has topics and formats including interviews, shows about specific types of cooking and information about tools useful for everyday home cooking. I think I come away from each show having picked up something new and useful to me. 

The purpose of the show is to encourage more home cooking which is an idea I wholeheartedly agree with. I have always thought of fixing food as a way to give a gift to those I am feeding. Although I like eating in restaurants sometimes it is just not the same as bringing people around your table and seeing them enjoy things from your own kitchen. 

If you would like to check out the show you can start with a search on your favorite podcast app. Roger is also available on the KitchenCounterPodcast.com website. You can find links to a private FaceBook group and a twitter account there. Links are there to email Roger or sign up for an email newletter too.

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Maskup Jackson Hole

My little mountain town welcomes the world every summer. This summer we are paying a great price for that. We were at zero new cases for more than a week. That was until the big parks, Grand Teton and Yellowstone, reopened to the world. The latest news is that one of my favorite places to eat had someone covid positive in their dining room last Friday night. We weren't there at that time but it means so many could have been exposed. We are having new cases diagnosed everyday. My safe little place is not so safe right now.

I am hoping that more people take wearing masks more seriously. I know some will and some won't but I can hope, right?

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A Dream About Yarn

I guess I dream about as much as most people. I seem to do most things in my life in the range usually described as average. What I rarely do is wake up and remember what I dreamt about. One night recently I did remember though.

In my dream I was in a yarn shop with my mother and my husband. The shop in my dream reminded me of a store I used to love going to called Super Yarn Mart. Anyone remember those stores? They went out of business before knitting became cool again and I really miss them. Anyway back to my dream, shopping for yarn with these two was stressful in the dream and it would be in real life too. My mother who is 86 and confused sometimes was looking for something to do. She doesn't knit or crochet but does know how to do embroidery and needlepoint which this shop had. I was trying to lead her towards things I thought would interest her but nothing impressed her. All the while I was trying to browse yarn for myself and any time I paused to pet something soft and pretty, you yarn lovers know what I mean, my husband would say "Buy it!" That's irritating because we all know you have to see all of the yarn and then think about what you want to make and have the yarn tell you what it wants to be and find yarn that works for both those ideas. (Just me?) I woke up before I got yarn for myself or got my mother settled on what kind of project she wanted to do.

Move forward a couple days. Jim was getting ready for work and I was going through my email. I get newsletters from Yarnspirations, Lion Brand, Knit Picks, Webs and Herschnner's and was reading one of them when he glanced at my tablet screen. Guess what he said? Yes it was "Yarn? Buy it!"

That sounds lovely and supportive however I am on a major crusade to work down my stash of yarn and fabrics. I feel good about how I am or was doing too. It has been more that a year since I bought any new yarn, that is until last week. Walmart got me with Summer Nights by Lion Brand. Four skeins came home with me. I want to make some of my veggie/market bags with it. I have made and sold those bags with plain crochet thread. I think the bling in the Summer Nights Yarn along with the pretty colors will make them stand out from the competition on Etsy whenever I get to reopen my shop once our settled retired life starts. Current thinking is that may happen next June. 

With yarn and projects on my mind browsing Zazzle for cute things was so easy! Below are affiliate links to some of the cuteness amazing artists there have to offer. 

It's yarn // The answer is yarn Postcard
by DraCat_Design

You Can Never Have Too Much Yarn Funny Knitting Magnet
by koncepts

Yarn Tote Bag
by Daisy_Cottage_Shop

Knitting Yarn Balls Colorful 3 Ring Binder
by stdjura

Yarn, Greeting card, Note card for knitters
by FiberFunPublishing

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July 15th National I Love Horses Day

So yesterday I told you about National Mac n Cheese day. I did make exactly that for dinner. Jim came home and said he wasn't hungry. That lasted til I told him I was making mac n cheese. Not out of a box but homemade with a white sauce and cheese added, baked in the oven topped with seasoned bread crumbs. He even had seconds! While eating his first serving he asked why the color was different. I told him that I had used whole wheat macaroni instead of the typical white flour pasta. He liked it so I am filing that preference away in my mind for future menus. I like whole wheat pasta and now I know that he does too I will make changes in how I shop for pasta from now on.

Moving on to today. It is National I Love Horses Day. Really who doesn't? I never rode more than a couple times in my life but looking at such beautiful animals can bring on such warm, happy feelings. I'll be looking at Zazzle for horsey things to share on twitter. Find me on twitter here @cozyatoz. I hope I find some things that my followers enjoy and share. I haven't made a penny of commission being a Zazzle affiliate but I have hope.

If you want to know all the day, week and month celebrations follow @NationalDayCal on twitter. Here is today's post about horses.

It has been often repeated, "If you love your job, you never have to go to work a day in your life." For all you horse lovers out there, here are 14 Interesting Equine Careers - Enjoy!https://t.co/4fAtkWHEBP pic.twitter.com/D8s5OwQ8LN

— NationalDayCalendar (@NationalDayCal) July 15, 2020

Of course Unsplash.com has many, many beautiful pictures of horses and so much more! Unspash is a great resource for pictures of just about anything for free use. You might start by taking a look at the work of  Ivana Cajina. Use the links below the handsome creature looking at you.

Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash

Use the links just above this line to check out Ivana and Unsplash!

Be prepared to spend a lot of time browsing all the eye candy you find.

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Dinner Tonight

Yesterday was National French Fry Day. Did you know? I use the site nationaldaycalendar.com to find out about these things. You can follow them on twitter too. So I found some cute french fry things on Zazzle to tweet including the one below. I am a Zazzle affiliate. For you that doesn't mean a thing if you make a purchase there after clicking a Zazzle link that I post. For me it means a small commission. So who do you love more than french fries?

Who do you love more than French Fries?

I Love You More Than French Fries Ceramic Ornament https://t.co/7ZuOZy1AGS via @zazzle

— Kathy 🌻 (@CozyAtoZ) July 13, 2020

Today is National Mac n Cheese Day and Tape Measure Day. So guess what is for dinner tonight at my house?

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A Little Something

Like so many bloggers I have grand intentions that include posting often, beautiful pictures, compelling content. Like so many bloggers I fail but like so many eternally optimistic bloggers we come back and try again and again.

So here I am once again with a bare post, no pics today, filled with the intention and hope that I can keep this little cozy spot I have here on the internet more active.

So what's up with me? Not much as usual.

My daughter's family did come for a visit on my birthday in June and we had a great time! We spent a week at their house over the 4th of July holiday. They have done a great job of masking and only doing essential errands out of their home just like we do so we were comfortable spending time with them. We also spent one evening with my son and his wife. We shared good food, lots of movies and spent time playing card games like 5 Crowns and Tripoly. I highly recommend both of these games for family fun.

Beyond that I am still reading through my gift stash of books and knitting to use up more of the yarn I have collected over the years.

Jim's recovery from shoulder surgery is going well. He has physical therapy twice a week now and is making good progress. He does not have a full range of motion yet but each week is better than the one before.

Leave a comment and let me know how you are doing these days. I'd love to hear from you!

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