Well, a big hello to all my friends out in Blog Reading Land! Let’s see, I spy with my little eye:

Stevie, Laura, Garold, Penny, Rachel, Irene, Bill, Becky, Bernie — and of course, MARGARET, my #1 fan (on Facebook anyway!).

Great to have you all here, and I’m sure you’ll be just devastated to learn I won’t be blogging next week.

Yeah, it’s time once again for a trip to beautiful downtown Phoenix, Arizona, home of Triple Digit Thermometers ‘R Us!

Why am going, you ask? Why subject myself to the boiling sidewalks, the melting asphalt, the all too real fried-egg-on-sidewalk breakfasts?

Well, mainly it’s because I haven’t been out there for an in-person visit to see The Fam for quite a while, since pre-Cancer Diagnosis, to be exact, so now that I’m feeling more in the pink, I figured now’s as good a time as any!

Plus, for some strange reason, hotel prices are dirt cheap in Phoenix right now.

So I’m taking advantage of their Summertime Fire Sale rates to upgrade my stay from the venerable La Quinta, aka La Crime of the Day, to something slightly more luxurious!

I’m also splurging on a rental car, with Sirius XM, so’s I can listen to Old Time Radio shows while cruising through the desert!

So all things considered, I’m looking forward to it! Even though … well … I mean it IS Phoenix, Arizona, after all, not Paris, France. Howesomever, sadly, given the heat wave currently inundating Europe, Paris may be lookin’ (and feelin’) more like Phoenix every day.

(And if you’re reading this from Europe, my deepest sympathies! I’ll pray for cool breezes and gentle rain!) Anyway, I’m looking forward to trying out my brand spankin’ new Weight Watchers app/program on the road, and seeing how long it takes before I give in to temptation and grab a hefty bag of Hyper Nacho Cheezy Ranch Dortilla Chipz!

Actually, I think I’ll be okay in that regard — strangely enough, I haven’t really been tempted by the junk food a lot in recent weeks (even prior to WW). Knowing I have good stuff waiting for me at home, I’ve been less tempted to do the grab ‘n go at 7-11. Also, another more serious reason I’m avoiding 7-11 is that there’ve been a string of armed robberies out here, which makes me really nervous about going in, and also really sad for those poor people who have to work there.

It’s a rough ol’ world out there these days, isn’t it? Welp, we can’t really change anything except our attitudes, so I’ve decided MY attitude is that for the next coupla weeks, I’m gonna plant my head firmly in the sand and enjoy the view!

And there’s plenty of sand between here and Phoenix, so that should be super easy! See ya in a couple of weeks, and enjoy YOUR vakay — even if it’s just a “staykay”!