Sunday, January 7/2018 - Saturday, January 13/2018

Our logo above the stove

Kay is continually checking the Wickenburg Swap Page on her ipad and she found a bedroom set that was priced right and made some inquiries about it.  Yes, it was still available and yes, we would come and get it.
John hooked up the trailer and we headed out.  When we saw it, we decided that it was perfect for what we needed so, loaded it up and headed back home.
We stopped at the trailer and got more stuff out of the man cave over there then headed back home.
We then decided to leave it on the trailer for the night and deal with it the following day.  It was time for an adult refreshment and time to sit around Kay's little wood stove!!
The following day, we unloaded the trailer, set up the bedroom set and cleaned up the yard.
Rain is in the forecast so it was time to get the yard cleaned up again and get all the stuff that could not be rained on out of the elements.
Man, who put all that stuff all over????  Yikes!!
The day progressed and we were soon getting ready to sit around the wood stove.
I quickly threw together a Cowboy Casserole and got that into the oven for supper.
Booko had a "creature" cornered in the rocks that lay beside the walkway and was busy harassing it.  He was very intent and we really did not pay too much attention to him as we thought it was probably a mouse or some other inconsequential creature.
Imagine our surprise when I got up to go into the house and this huge TOAD was trying his hardest to get away from the dog.  Now THIS was not good.   The Sonoran Desert Toad is a nasty little creature and one of the most hazardous to dogs.  They have huge "poison" sacks on their heads and are very dangerous to dogs often causing death to small dogs due to convulsions and poisoning.   Booko, I hope did not get too close.   John got the fire gloves out, ushered the toad into a bowl and let him go out in the desert.  He needed to be outside the yard and away from the dog.
Kay and I kept a close watch on Booko for the rest of the evening to make sure he had not got into any of the toad's poison.   She said that her dog Bruno had a few encounters with these toads and would froth at the mouth for quite a while as the poison gets into their mouths especially, if they are unfortunate enough to bite down on them.  Fortunately, Booko must have lucked out as he really did not have any symptoms at all other than to have a bit of an issue with his left eye.  We flushed it out and put in some of the antibiotic eye drops and continued to watch him.  He dodged a bullet with this one and that was a good thing.  The whole ordeal served to remind us that we need to be a bit more diligent when Booko is concerned about the fauna and flora of the area!!  Not only do we have to worry about rattlesnakes but now Toads as well.    The funny thing about this sighting is that these toads usually are only seen  in July and August when the monsoon season rolls around.    This damn toad was confused!!
Tuesday rolled around and brought dark clouds and the risk of rain.  Room was made in the garage for the jeep to go in so that it would be dry if it did rain.

Off to get the bed, 75F

The toad

Cats found a Kangaroo Rat

Jeep in its house

Work continued on the property with John and Kay busy in the man cave while I was able to start digging the "hole" for the grey water to drain into.  Mark had made the initial start on the hole but left for whatever reason leaving the job un-done.  I finished off the digging and then John, Kay and I hauled rocks and filled the hole to allow drainage.  Hopefully, it all works well and being about five feet deep, should!!  Eventually, the hole will be covered with the wood shed and there will be no evidence of the drainage at all.  That, will be awesome.  As it turned out, it worked well so that was a relief and the fact that the grey water from the laundry room and the apartment do not go into the septic tank is a bonus.
This week, Kay and I headed into Home Depot to buy the wood John needed to get the deck built for the apartment.  Time is ticking and Lorne and Marilyn will be here this upcoming week.  Hopefully we can get all the building and decorating done before they arrive!!
We managed to get all the wood home without incident and the build was started.  It really was quite surprising how quick it came together with both John and Kay working on it.  I was busy in the apartment doing the last minute touch up on painting and general cleanup.  Man, we certainly are messy builders!!
Another busy week behind us and things are finally coming together.  Man, I will be doing a happy dance when all this building, decorating and furniture moving gets done!!
Time for a beer!!   Life is good....even with all the smashed fingers, broken fingernails and sore backs!!  This apartment is going to look awesome!!

More work on the man cave