An Odd Interlude (Cottonwood, AZ)

The weather turned very bad today with high winds that brought cooler temperatures.  I wish I could say we had lots of rain, but the rain was barely getting the ground wet.  Since we were having such odd weather, we decided to spend the day inside our cozy home.  I pulled out my sewing machine and worked on a couple of quilts while watching some old DVD movies.

A couple of days ago, we were going to visit Montezuma Castle, but the small parking lot was full, so we will go back later this week.  Instead, we visited the Montezuma Well.  Yep, I took a few photos.  The water is a beautiful shade of blue-green...lovely.  The water seeps up through the rocks into this deep well.  It receives over 1.5 million gallons a day and holds over 15 million gallons.

This was a perfect desert oasis for animals and humans.  We saw a few ducks swimming around despite all the people.  The cliff dwellings are actually inside the well's wall.  You can see them on the left side and the well on the right.  They say people lived here more than a 1,000 years ago.

Cliff Dwellings and the Well

Over the years,  30 rooms were built along the rim.

Close-up of Cliff Dwellings

The well also has a natural outlet to keep it from overflowing.  The following photos are the man made canal on the outside wall leading to Beaver Creek.

Outlet to Beaver Creek

And one more of this leaning tree that I thought the bark was quite interesting.  The tree is more horizontal than vertical...that's why I left it in landscape.

Odd Interlude by Dean Koontz

This one was a little odd.  It is like Odd Thomas was traveling along to his next destination and had to stop to get some rest.  Except instead of rest, he is busy once again fighting strange forces.  Definitely an interlude, because this story doesn't seem to connect to the last two stories except for Annamarie  and his ghost dog - Boo.  Annamarie is even more confusing in answering Odd's questions.  I'm hoping in his next book Annamarie will start revealing her past and who she is without all the riddles.

Anyway, I found this to be a typical Odd sense of humor and even more fun - Odd meets his match in a 12 year old girl.  She thinks and sounds a lot like Odd, but without the help of ghosts.  I would love to hear more about her someday.  Maybe Mr. Koontz will start a new series just for her.

Odd finds himself in a small town run by a sadistic mind-controlling person and of course, the only person that might be able to help them is Odd.  This was a short and easy read.  If you enjoy Odd Thomas, I'm sure you will like this one too.
Deeply Odd:  May 28 release date.  Can't wait!
and now, back to my sewing machine.......Happy Quilting!

The Odds Have It (Patagonia, AZ)

I'm having a great time visiting with a good quilting friend and a new proud motorhome owner.  Lots of quilt talk, camp talk, kitty-owner adventure-swapping, long walks, and just enjoying good company.  I hope we are able to rendezvous again someday for another camping adventure.

Coues Deer (pronounced Cow)

The preserve is still pretty quiet right now as far as new birds showing up, but that will change soon.  Our weather is starting to cool down quite a bit at night and we got some rain last night.

Spending a hot afternoon in the shade

Who are you calling 'big ears'?

Squirrels are out collecting their winter stash.

We are watching you....

Fall colors are becoming more visible each day. 

Giveaway by Karice Bolton

I like a good paranormal story once in a while from Heather Graham or horror from Dean Koontz or Stephen King.  I haven't read a vampire or a witch related story since Ann Rice's Lestat and Mayfair Witches' series.

I just discovered Karice Bolton's books thanks to a Facebook friend posting about Kindle Fire Witch Avenue Series Giveaway.  I was more curious about the Witch Avenue series than the giveaway so I stopped by Amazon to read the first chapter of "Lonely Souls" and I was hooked. I had to download the book to my Kindle.

The second book in the series "Altered Souls" sounds interesting and I plan to download it as soon as I finish the first one.

Of course, I signed up for Karice's giveaway!  I certainly don't want to pass up a chance to win a Kindle Fire!  Although, I am quite happy with my ol' Kindle, it would be great to have the new Kindle Fire.  I can also be quite happy with one of the other nine prizes because I love buying new books.

Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz

I finished the fourth book in Dean Koontz's Odd series on my iPod.  Odd still has his quirky sense of humor as he goes about saving the world from evil.  It seems like his heroism  have become bigger than life.  In his first book, he was more focus on saving friends, his hometown, and talking to ghosts while doing a normal person's mundane work schedule.

It seems like each new story becomes a little more extravagant.  This last one was almost too dark with a post-apocalyptic theme.....not to mention, a little too bizarre, but......still, I would recommend this to all of Odd's fans.

I enjoyed listening to the narrator - David Aaron Baker telling the story through Odd's eyes.  I can feel Odd's feelings through his voice.  Odd's philosophy on life and his dry sense of humor during a stressful and usually life-threatening moment manages to make me laugh out loud.  I feel like this narrator has ruined it for me when it comes time to see the Odd Thomas movie.  I wonder if the actor will sound anything like the Odd Thomas I have come to know through my iPod.  Well, I guess I will have to wait and see.

“Too much mystery is merely an annoyance. Too much adventure is exhausting. And a little terror goes a long way."  ~ Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas

We all have to be a little 'odd' once in a while...right?  Happy Trails!