okay, so it's been a while-

and we really haven't been TOO busy...

Tom has been in town all week, and off since Tuesday, using up some comp time and trying to get rid over a bout of bronchitis, or something. He has off next Monday and Tuesday, so will have had a nice break.

Baxter is also off on Monday and Tuesday, so I'll have a 4-day weekend, myself... speaking of Baxter, they're in the midst of working out a consent decree with the FDA related to their IV pumps- once it gets worked out, we'll be installing new hardware in all of them, which will mean more work. It almost meant a second shift, because we're so hard up for space, but thankfully, management decided against it. 3 pm to 11:30 pm is definitely NOT a shift I want to work, ever!

Today we drove to the house, and checked things out- hopefully Blogger will cooperate, and I'll put pictures in a separate post. We also drove up to Scottsdale, and visited Penzey's Spice store. I found recipes for a couple seasoning mixes that call for "Smoked Paprika" and that's not something you can get at your local grocery- boy, is it different- the smoky aroma is wonderful! I hope it tastes as good as it smells! I made taco seasoning, and a grill seasoning mixture that both use it. The Penzey's was fun; lots of jars of chili peppers, 4 different kinds of cinnamon, and all sorts of seasoning mixes- it was in a strip mall, more open, and not so intimate as the ones Jude and I visited in Wisconsin, though... those definitely have more atmosphere!

Tonight we're going to the Botanic Garden for a "Flashlight Tour" which is something they do a couple times a week through the early summer- walk through the garden in the late evening, to see (and hear) different birds, see night-blooming flowers, that kind of thing- we're looking forward to it!