Quality time with Aaron (Kelley's Aaron)

Kelley got up and got ready for work and woke us up when she left. Aaron and I looked at each other a few times and then got up too. We went to a coffee shop that's a little further away but according to Aaron makes the best coffee because the guy just has a way with foam. I'm indifferent really about the foam, but it was a tasty cappuccino. Then we headed up to Thumb Butte in Prescott National Forest to walk a bit in the morning and see if we could find some blooming century plants so I could look at them up close. I had seen some on the way down the mountains yesterday and wanted to see them up close because I had never seen one that was actively blooming - just dried and withered and spent.

Aaron really knew the trails through Prescott National Forest so after dropping my pass on the dash, we headed out for a quick jaunt. I think that most people don't appreciate the chaparral ecosystem in this area, but I like it. Don't think I could live in, but it's a nice change to see prickly pears interspersed with junipers and ponderosa pines.

We did indeed find some blooming century plants and turns out - the pink I saw yesterday are the blooms getting ready to open, but the blooms are actually yellow.

Aaron was really patient while I took a million photos, but he likes the century plant too. Kelley and Aaron used a gold-spray-painted stalk as their Christmas tree last winter.

The century plant has a bit of a misnomer because it does not live for a hundred years. It's a type of agave that lives for about ten years, but only lives once in its life and then withers and dies. It does send out some runners so new plants grow nearby.

This is one of my favorite photos because it shows the two stages and colors and you can see the bees buzzing like crazy about the yellow flowers. Plus in AZ, the skies are sooooo blue and beautiful. After the short hike, Aaron and I headed home and we parted ways for a bit.

I got a huge star like the size of a quarter in my windshield coming on I-40 through Texas. It cracked really loudly and looked like it had two impact points so I thought I should take care of it. A quick call to mom to get the number, a call to them, a call to the glass insurance people, and a connection to a local glass shop and off I went.

Billy at Bennett's glass did not think he could repair the star because it was too big and the double impact, but he tried. He explained the whole process to me as he worked on my glass (because I asked a million questions). It didn't work the first time, but after he tried to book me an appointment the next day and I frowned and said I was going to California, he tried to superheat it and it took. He also sealed some of the other nicks in my glass, clearly impressed that after 140,000 miles I still had the original windshield. I wish I had taken a photo of it because now it is hardly noticeable! I am on vigilant alert though in case it is not fixed and starts to spread.

Next I headed to the post office to mail a letter and then to the beauty school for a five dollar hair cut. Joenna was recomended by Kelley, but has not had a lot of experience with short hair. I threw her off guard because I was not picky and was going to let her do her thing, but she got some pointers from the head instructor lady and it turned out really nice.

Then it was back to Aaron (Kelley's Aaron). We went out to lunch and now we are hanging out in the shop. He's on his second bike...and I'm on my second blog... but getting ready to do some classwork. Tonight Aaron is going to change my oil when we got to Joe and Carol's for dinner and laundry and then tomorrow its off to breezy California and Hot Mel!