Bruce and Vicki Small

Great-grandparents in Salford

My great-grandparents Edward and Jessie Bruce owned a pet store at 143 Blackfriar's Road in Salford, England. This photo of them was taken about 100 years ago and shows them in front of their store with one of their daughters. The family was listed in the 1901 census, and reading the family names was pretty amazing, like going back in history. Another daughter, Florence, was my grandmother, and there is a strong resemblance between Jessie and Flo.

Great-grandmother Jessie was born in 1863 and died in 1948. She is buried in St. Catherine's cemetery at Barton-on-Irwell. Thanks to Andrew Roberts and the Internet, I have a photo of the cemetery, now somewhat dilapidated.

Every now and then I browse the genealogy sites and come up with more links to my past. The search is difficult because they had common names, and the family passed down names. My mother was also Jessie, and she had a brother Edward.

It can't be comfortable

This can't be comfortable, but on the other hand she chose to sleep that way. She was reversed last night.

Here there be Grindylows

It was supposed to be a routine and fast survey, setting stakes for a new gravel pit operation. I had surveyed the site and thus had all of the coordinates pre-loaded into my Leica GPS system. I had barely begun when I came across this retention basin, and since I had my camera with me I took a picture of the neat geometric patterns in the dried mud. Pretty, isn't it.

A few minutes later I had this sinking feeling, as I broke through the crust into the deep layer of gloppy mud underneath. Fortunately, I remembered my survival training and threw myself forward, so I could crawl out lugging the big bundle of laths and hammer with me. Then I had to go back for the GPS rover, and again crawl out.

I completed the survey while lugging a thick layer of mud around the site with me, all the while muttering to myself. Vicki hosed off the clothes when I got home; the old shoes we tossed in the garbage.

Grand Canyon hike with son Joe

For my 69th birthday Grand Canyon hike I was joined by my son Joe, and we had a great time hiking to the river and back in just over 9 hours. We went down the Kaibab Trail and back up the Bright Angel Trail, a grueling hike, about 15.8 miles. We were panting for air on the last stretch, looking up at the Kolb Studio way up there at our destination.

My wife Vicki  came with us, as did Joe's friend Kathy and her mom, Viola, both as nice as could be. We had a delightful meal the night before at The Arizona Room on the rim. Good food, good family company.

Medical mystery: I've had a painful right arm caused by a deltoid muscle impingement. Therapy has helped, but the pain shifted lower and has been much worse in the past two weeks. I miss several hours sleep at night from the ache in my arm. The pain disappeared after the hike, and I mean gone. I can't imagine why, but I'm grateful.

Plush piggy

I was in Kohl's buying work slacks, and they always have a stack of plush animals by the checkout, with the proceeds going to charity. Only $5, so I got the stuffed piggy for Bailey. She has been a little down all year, not feeling quite will, so she needed a treat.

She loved it, and went dashing around the house, up and down the hallways, with the energy she used to have. 

Maine 2009

Vicki and I visited daughter Cathy and family in Appleton, Maine over the weekend, and it was one of the nicest family visits of all time. Cathy fed us, and fed us, extravagantly. She is a superb cook. It also gave us an excuse for a near-enough birthday party for Ethan, Grandpa Bruce, and Grandma Vicki.

Before we left Tucson Vicki had gone clothes shopping for the kids, something she loves to do, so we were treated to a fashion show as Cassia and Ethan showed off their new duds. At the same time we sent them the old microscope I had bought my kids in the early 1970s, and that was a hit. That's dad Jeff showing them how to use it.

I bought the kids a reflecting telescope so they could see the craters on the moon, but Jupiter and its moons were also a hit. Unfortunately, I had pretty much forgotten the Messier objects, but that can be remedied by getting them a good star chart.

We love their animals, mostly rescues in need of a loving home, and they certainly found one. This is Vicki with Ace, a former runner, and Cathy with Dodge. Poor Dodge was moping because he knew we were leaving soon. Poor little Aerial, who lost her FIV+ mom a few weeks ago, has been grieving by living in a large cardboard box in the basement, but when offered a belly rub she became the happiest and squirmiest cat you can imagine, a real purr machine. Rose is Aerial's sister, Murphy is an older adoptee who prefers living outside, and there is lovely Smeigle. Canilla the guinea pig and Johnson the Siamese fighting fish didn't want their pictures taken.

My daughter Pam, who is living with them for the nonce, has two wonderful cats: Mary and Savannah. Pam works at a gourmet bakery and brings home the unsold bread at the end of the day, and it is so good.

Hampton Inn

The newer Hampton Inns have a nice counter and sink near the door, and a nice counter and sink in the bathroom. What neither has is a place to hang up a towel.

Here is the key flaw: Anytime you use the sink and therefore get your hands wet, you will need to dry your hands. Right? In the newer Hamptons the only place to hang up a towel is on the wall beside the shower, where there are plenty of towel racks. But none by the sink 12 feet away, and none by the sink 30 feet away.

One wonders if the Hampton Inn execs every stay in one of their suites.

Bailey, not well, again

Poor little Bailey has an upset tummy, yet again. It occurs every now and then for no reason we can think of. We changed food earlier this year to canned venison and potato, with plain pumpkin, and she loves that, but two mornings ago she sniffed at her breakfast. She has been getting me up late at night, too, just to be tucked back into bed. We hear this pitiful moan, and I know it means, "I want my daddy." Yesterday we switched to baby food with peas, and she loved that.

Last night she had me up repeatedly, from 11 pm until 2 am, and generally refused to be tucked back into bed in the corner of the couch. She was uncomfortable and wanted her daddy to fix it, but there wasn't much I could do but cuddle her. This morning she refused even the baby food, and spent the day on the couch looking out of it. This evening was worse, as she heaved bile twice on a short walk.

The only one happy last night was Kat, purring away on the couch and showing me his belly every time I got up.

Stump and roots

I am now working on removing the big stump and roots of the tree by the patio, and it is tough because the trunk grew snug against the patio wall, so I can't dig all around it. I may also be seeing some of the nearby Magnolia tree roots coming out under the concrete base of the wall. The Acacia wood is very tough and both the chain saw and the reciprocal saw blades wear down fast.

On the other hand, Bailey loves to be with me while I'm working out there, if she can find a shady spot from which to supervise.

Buddy

I've been getting physical therapy for my sore right shoulder from Bill Adelman, who is highly skilled, and a great dog person. His dog Buddy, a big gentle soul, stays in Bill's office during the day, mostly snoozing.

During breaks he gets a dog biscuit, and he has learned a routine. He spits out the first biscuit, knowing a second will then be offered as a replacement. He eats the second one, then picks up and eats the first one, thereby doubling his score of dog biscuits. What a cuddle he is.

Kat, lounging

Kat has been walking around the house, hollering. I thought yesterday he was trying to tell me he wanted to go out front, but minutes after I let him out the front door he walked around back, came in the doggy door, and started hollering again. He was at it again this evening.

I wouldn't have thought it likely, but maybe he misses Hoagie as a companion. They were not close, and he generally was pretty insolent with Hoagie, but it was constant attention.

Cute plates

I spotted these cute custom license plates while surveying. In case you have trouble reading the plates because of the sun glare, they say EXSTEW and XPILUT.

According to the neighbors, they are a retired couple, late 70s or so. He was an Air Force pilot, and she was an American Airlines stewardess.

I thought it was pretty romantic of them.

Jackson

I was out surveying this morning and met newly adopted Jackson, being taken for a walk by two little girls. All three of them were so cute.

Hoagie, RIP

Our beloved Hoagie died peacefully in his sleep last night. He was 13, going on 14, and he was a big dog, so it was not completely unexpected, but still a shock.

He had a good almost two years with us, and we are so glad we adopted him and gave him a nice home for his final years. We got that one right.

The picture was taken a few days ago and shows him doing what he did best, supervising Kat.

My cousin George married Betty in Montreal 60 years ago. For a long time they lived on a beautiful country site in West Brome, where my parents built a cabin in 1953, on the Yamaska River. I loved to spend summers there, rafting on the river, and exploring the woods. Now that was the life. I took my kids back to see the place in 1974 and they fell in love with it. George and Betty are now retired to a condo in Knowlton.

When I was much younger and we would visit George's parents in Verdun, I remember George going out and buying us pistachio ice cream cones. He also gave me the model boats he built. He was always so good to me.

They are the nicest couple you could imagine.

PCC Leadership Community

Vicki and I attended the semiannual Pantano Christian Church Leadership Community yesterday afternoon, and really enjoyed it. It was fun chatting with the people at our table, and we learned a lot about the church and the intended direction.

Packrat

We both heard vague noises at 5:30 this morning. Nobody in the driveway, and the wind was not blowing the branches, but we heard something. At 2 pm Vicki found the source, a packrat, running behind the bed. We moved furniture, found him again behind the dresser, and he vanished. Not good.

I went to Ace Hardware, bought a Havahart humane trap, and baited it with peanut butter, a universal favorite. At 9:30 pm Vicki found her lip moisturizer and eye drops under the bed covers by her pillow. Oh, oh, now we know he is actively collecting treasures in the bed. He thinks he has found the perfect nest. Really not good.

Vicki was fretting this when she looked over, and the trapdoor was closed. There he was, cute little guy, in the trap. We took him out to the far back corner of the lot and let him go.

Blind Snake

I found a Blind Snake while digging out the tree roots. This little guy was cute as could be and completely harmless. About 5 inches long, they eat mostly ants and termites. They can move quite fast, and dig really deep.

Palo Verde grub

This is the second one I've found this week, several feet under the ground, as I've been digging out the roots in the back yard. They live for several years in the tree roots and are very destructive.

Even worse is when they hatch into large, agressive flying beetles looking for a fight. Best way to kill them is with a tennis racket.

I confess I didn't have the heart to kill the grub, although I should have.

Chilean Mesquite seedling

I had a bright idea. Instead of buying new trees, I picked up some seed pods from the Chilean Mesquite tree up the street. The trick was to get them to germinate. It would be much easier if we had a cow (their digestive system prompts the seeds to germinate, and when deposited back on the ground they are pre-fertilized, so to speak.)

So, I scarified the seed pods, put the seeds in a jar with some sandy gravel, shook well, and left it in the sun for a day to bake. Then I put the seeds in a shallow pan with some good potting soil, and voila!

Tinkerbell funeral

Three years ago daughter Cathy in Maine adopted an FIV-positive cat and her kittens, left at a shelter and facing sure death because they were unadoptable. They settled in and quickly became members of the family.

Tinkerbell, the mom, has not been doing well lately, and died today. They had a funeral in the woods near the home. That's Ethan filling the grave, while Cassia tossed in flowers.

Acacia roots

Thinking long term, as I often do, we've decided to take out the ratty Acacia trees and replace them with Chilean Mesquite, which can be gorgeous. When we retire in ten years or so, we should have a really nice grove of shade trees in the back yard.

The Acacias are known as the most hated tree in Arizona. Their common name, cat's claw, gives a clue. You can't walk by the tree without getting attacked. They are the reason I come home from surveying looking like I spent the day sword fighting, with blood running down both arms.

Cutting the branches was tough, since the trees fought back, but the hardest part is digging out the roots. That's Bailey supervising her daddy.

Sandy having a soak

Sandy, the cuddly dog who lives around the corner, came ambling by on her evening walk, and decided to have a soak in the bird bath.

I have the bird bath in the cactus garden at ground level so all of the local critters can have a drink, but a surprising number of dogs prefer a soak, especially in the summer heat.

Monsoon observer

Our monsoons start the first week in July and usually bring heavy rain and some flooding in the washes, but this year has been pretty much a bust. I spent the day yesterday watering the trees before they wilted in the blistering heat, so of course we had some heavy rain last night.

Kat was interested in watching the rain, so sat on the window ledge, safely inside, of course.

Duarte survey

I did a topographic survey on Mr. Duarte's residence with morning because he is having drainage problems. My old friend from the Cella Barr days, Clint Glass, will design the drainage solution.

This is Mr. Duarte, and Lakas, who is just as cute as could be.

Up, the movie

We tried last week to see the movie Up, but were thwarted when we reached the head of the line and realized the movie was in 3D. Roger Ebert strongly suggested seeing the movie in 2D, so we gave up.

We tried again today, with the 2D version, at Park Mall. Some 20 minutes into the movie the screen went dark, as in, the film had stopped. A slight delay of ten minutes, and they had it going again. Another 20 minutes later and the screen again went dark. We gave up, as did several others, and got our money back. We know an omen when we see one. We are not intended to see this movie.

It was a pretty good movie, too.

Give me a break

As we were filling up in West Covina prior to returning to Tucson, we spotted this sign in the gas station. One has to wonder how they do on reading the brake repair manuals, given they can't spell the word correctly.

Hampton Inn

When visiting Vicki's relatives in West Covina, California, we always stay at the Hampton Inn. Very convenient for us, and they almost always let us have the suite, with oodles of room. Then they converted the suite to a meeting room, so now we are stuck in a regular room. That wouldn't be so bad, but for the room layout. Notice the air conditioner on the left, then the desk and chair directly in line with the blast of frigid air, and the armoire on the right which effectively blocks the cool air from the rest of the room. Meaning, there is a 10 degree spread across the room, and we can't sit at the desk.

Being resourceful we solved the desk problem with five minutes furniture shifting. But that still leaves the armoire blocking the cool air. And the AC was off in the fitness room last visit. We've decided we have probably stayed at that Hampton for the last time.

Forest fire smoke

Oh, oh. That is a wall of stinky smoke coming our way, from the forest fire in the Rincons. A monsoon storm moved past us, but instead of dumping rain on the fire it just pushed the smoke our way.

Later news: We have rain! Actual rain, not just wind gusts and clouds.

Lawn mower crash scene

From daughter Cathy in Maine: I was cutting the grass on the John Deere riding mover and the grass was still way too wet and the tractor slipped right into the ditch with me on it. It was so far down the hill that I called and called until Jeff finally heard me. The ditch was cold and water with mud and thousands of mosquito's on me. I was able to get my leg out, but couldn't walk. Thank goodness Pam was here to watch the kids. It is not broken, badly bruised. They were more worried about my blood pressure which was so high if it didn't come down, they weren't going to send me home. It was 190 over 190. The doctor felt it was my body reacting to shock. It was 140 over 80 when I left. I have crutches and have to see an ortho guy next week just to make sure it is healing well. Jeff revoked my driving license until I can show him I can stay away from the ditch. This is the 3rd time I have rolled the lawnmower. Luckily I haven't killed myself. I'm going to blame it on the rain.