Livin' Sedona Vida: Chapter 7 - Better Safe Than Sorry

"Better safe than sorry" as the proverb goes. I know it's true, but 90 minutes worth of safety? That's how long it took me to make sure I turned off the electric scent warmer. 45 minutes after leaving the cottage I realized I might have left the warmer turned on. Aargh! So I turned around and went back only to find out I had turned it off in the first place. My forgetfulness was probably due to my excitement about...well let me begin at the beginning.

I went up north alone since Bill worked on Columbus Day. On the trip up I saw the strangest thing I've ever seen being transported on the freeway. An airplane wing! I'm not kidding - it was huge!

Once at the cottage I went straight to work - vacuuming the remaining spiders and webs from the porch, cleaning windows, and taking down more screens that need repair - actually they all do. A huge locust and praying mantis showed up to watch me. As daylight faded, I treated myself to dinner at Indian Gardens while Karl Jones filled the air with music. It was nice and relaxing.

Walking home, I bought some organic apples, then stopped at Oak Creek to sit on the rocks. I meditated and reflected on Steve Jobs' passing and the things he did to change our world.

Darkness comes early in the canyon and I was fast asleep by 7:00 cocooned under an electric blanket. I love electricity. A hard day's work puts you to sleep early and long. I awakened once and checked for the Milky Way but it was absent due to the bright moon.

Morning's coffee, oatmeal and banana lasted a few hours and soon I craved a toaster-warmed Pop Tart. OK - it's on the list for next time. I began cleaning and organizing the kitchen cupboards and drawers, something I enjoy doing. Soon the propane guy showed up and spent about 2 1/2 hours hooking up the furnace, oven/stove, and hot water heater. Everything works now! YEAH! I did a happy dance and even brushed my teeth with hot water just for fun :-)

So anyway, back to the reason I spent 90 minutes making sure I turned the warmer off. Leaving right after the propane guy and the joy of having the propane hooked up threw me off kilter (it certainly couldn't be the fact that I'm almost a senior citizen). Knowing we've moved from eloquent camping into early cottage-ing made me get out of rhythm. I'll make a check off list to make sure the cottage is ready to be human-less for a week or two.

Sometimes I wish I could spend more time hiking, relaxing, shopping...oh well, someday.