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| September, 2012 - CA, AZ |
September 24 - 30, 2012 - AZ
Monday, September 24. Once a month, the ladies in our community go out to lunch, so today, twenty-seven of us met at the Cheesecake Factory. When we arrived, we were greeting Annie, this month's organizer, and asked to sit by someone other than the people you came with, giving us all an opportunity to get to know somebody new. Each place setting was decorated with a colorful candle for us to take home - what a nice touch.
It's a good thing that I chose a healthy, Asian Chicken Lettuce Wrap because the decadent Apple Crisp that I ordered for dessert was enough for 4 people. I guess that is my sweet allotment for the week.
Thursday, September 27. Mike has gradually improved this week, especially once he finished the bottle of antibiotics. I think they made him feel worse than the darned surgery and that is healing up very nicely.
We ran some errands this afternoon; renewed our library cards, disposed of our recyclables, and did some shopping. I also made the run to Costco to stock up on meat today.
There really isn't much to write about - it has been pretty quiet around here.
Friday, September 28. Today was the first busy day that we have had in quite a while. Mike had a doctor appointment, his first annual check-up since going on Medicare in August. All is good, he is in good health.
While he was doing that, I went and checked out the Farmer's Market in downtown Mesa and I'm quite glad that I did. It isn't like any of the markets that we have seen in other places that we've visited but it is good. The largest vendor was offering produce and a very nice selection of lettuces, cabbages, squash, many types of peppers and potatoes, beets, beans, onions, leeks, garlic, lots of different tomatoes including some heirloom ones and even some fruit. There were also the usual baked goods, eggs, Alaskan salmon, tamales, spanokopita, soaps, a seed exchange, and some crafts and jewelry. It wasn't big, but I think I will be going back there for my produce since they had many of the items that I purchase regularly and also the prices were quite reasonable.
This evening, we went to Rancho de Tia Rosa for dinner and were not disappointed. We sat out on the veranda, had a yummy margarita and enjoyed our dinner. Back home, we watched 2 episodes of "Hell on Wheels" and were quite surprised with the outcome.
Saturday, September 29. What better way to start the day than to have breakfast with Ben and Charlotte and then to get to see her scurrying around, walking and showing off her toys to us. I sure do miss being able to reach out and kiss those little cheeks and play with her, but I am so thankful that we can see her this way.
After that, we had a nice conversation with Mom and she sounded happy and glad to hear from us.
Mike and I both got busy with projects around the house this morning. He repaired 2 of our bent and damaged downspouts and I rearranged the bedroom. In doing so, I took a couple of pictures off the wall and exposed the nail holes, so that led to filling the holes and painting over the bad spots. I also took apart the table fan so I could clean the buildup of dust from it.
We met Connie at the pool this afternoon and then Sue joined us, so we had a nice long chat in the comfort of the pool. What a life!
Sunday, September 30. Here it is, the last day of the month and I'm sitting here enjoying the morning with my coffee and listening to the sounds of the great variety of birds that are hanging around. I have seen Flickers, Peach-faced Lovebirds, Sparrows, Mockingbirds, Cactus Wrens, Hummingbirds, and Pigeons (they could leave their droppings elsewhere). I think they like the shelter that my trees are providing and there's usually a bowl of water to quench their thirst. I love it!
We went to Nan and Dale's to watch the Packer game and they pulled through in the very end to win the game by 1 point. We haven't seen Dylan (Dale's son) for over a year and it was nice to see him again - an ambitious guy going to college and working to get through it. Also got to see Monica again too! Nan and Dale tried out their smoker and smoked a pork loin - was that ever tasty! Can't wait to see what they try next.
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September 17 - 23, 2012 - AZ
Friday, September 21. Wow! Here it is, Friday, and it's the first time I'm writing all week. Not that it has been an especially busy week, just that there hasn't been a lot of good stuff to write about.
Mike had his oral surgery on Wednesday morning and that all went quite well. They removed a broken molar and an impacted wisdom tooth that was right behind it. The wisdom tooth was extracted because of the position in the jaw - some of it would have been exposed and that could cause infection. The pain medication has been keeping him comfortable and very sleepy. He hasn't had a lot of swelling to deal with and was feeling much better today. He's definitely on the mend now.
I have been doing little projects around the house this week - got new sunblock material to replace the old screens on 2 of the living room windows. It was $50 for the 2 and we have decided to do that on all of the windows - only the 2 bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom are left. It is such a nice material that blocks 80% of the UV rays, keeping the house a lot cooler and also makes it so you cannot see in the house from the outside. The view from inside is unhampered.
We're hearing news from our friend and family up north that it is getting cold up there - one morning was expected be down to 31 degrees. Yikes! Pat and Roger and Chris and Norm will be heading our way on the 1st of October - we're looking forward to seeing them all again!
I made some Peanut Crunch candies to take to our Friday night TGIF but they never set, melted after being out of the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour. Dang it! I tried melting them down again, adding more chocolate chips but they still softened quickly. I guess I will cross that recipe off the list and we will have to eat them right out of the refrigerator. It's disappointing because I thought it would be a good treat, as there was no sugar in the recipe - just peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate chips. Live and learn. I had to go to the store to get something to take tonight.
Sunday, September 23. Mike still isn't feeling back to normal, he quit taking the pain pills yesterday afternoon but then he woke up at 2:00 this morning in pain, so he took another one. He's still sleeping a lot.
I have been working on a sewing project, attempting to make a pair of pj bottoms for myself. The first attempt was big enough to fit a giant, so I took it all apart and went down 2 sizes on the pattern. This time, they are too tight across the stomach and now I can't make them bigger. Guess I will either have to lose a few pounds or give up. I put the stuff away for now and might finish them later (to give away to someone that is thinner than me). Too bad - the fabric was really cute, a multi-color wavy stripe with pink, yellow, brown, and blue.
I got to see Charlotte walking on Facetime this afternoon. Yay! She's still a bit wobbly but walked the entire distance across the room to get to me on the computer. Proud Papa was grinning ear to ear in the background. What a sweetie!
I met up with Connie, Vicki, and Jacki at the pool this afternoon and it was nice hanging out. The water was a perfect temperature, a little on the cool side but very refreshing.
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September 10 - 17, 2012 - AZ
Tuesday, September 11. Happy Anniversary to Chris and Norm! It is also the day to remember those that lost their lives in the attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago. I also remember how stressful the day was for us, knowing that Ben was traveling home from Tokyo. We knew that his plane was in the air but all flights in the US were grounded or redirected to Canada. Was his flight a target? Mike made many calls to the FAA and Thai Airways and was treated with respect and concern. It turned out that Ben's flight was the only international flight that was allowed to land in SF after airports across the country were shut down. His flight was escorted by F16 jets and they were greeted by police once they landed. We sure were grateful that he arrived home safely.
Mike was still involved in jury selection but was released at noon and has to return again on Thursday to see if he will be on the jury for a trial that starts in October and could go until mid-December. He is interested but reserved - it will definitely have an impact on our lives if he is selected.
Friday, September 14. Our friends, Jan and Jim were back in town for a few days, so we got together on Wednesday night for some *bleep*tails. It was nice to see them again and they will be back for good around the first of October. Also, Pat and Roger, and Norm and Chris will be back in early October too. Yay!
Mike returned to Jury Duty yesterday and was questioned by both attorneys and then was told to return again on October 9, the day before the trial. A total of 400 people made the selection and it will take that long to get through all of the interviews. Today, he was called and excused.
I have been working on building some planters for a raised herb garden, something that I saw on Pinterest. You take 4 12" concrete patio blocks and glue them together on edge with construction adhesive. Each planter ends up costing about $6.00 and they don't look bad. I then bought my herbs at Trader Joe's and the total project (3 pots + plants) ended up costing about $30.00.
Sunday, September 16. I am so proud of my son, Ben, today! He ran the SF Giants Half Marathon, his first ever and he did it in 1 hour and 39 minutes at a pace of 00:07:32 per mile. WOW. He ranked 30th in his class and 320th of 3,500 total runners. That is so amazing! His estimate was to complete the run in 2 1/4 hours and to do 8-minute miles - he exceeded his goals by a lot! Watch out now, he's probably hooked.
Yesterday, I pruned the 2 Texas Sage shrubs and boy, did I cut them back. They are now about 2-feet tall and I'm hoping that they fill out and have a much better shape than before. If not, I think I will probably pull them and put something else in their place. Now, I can feel it in my hips, shoulders, elbows and ankles - this body isn't cooperating very well these days.
I also loaded a new app on my iPad and tried making a collage of Charlotte's first year. It turned out pretty good, don't you think so?
We went to the pool this afternoon and really enjoyed the time spent there. We both keep telling ourselves that we have to get off our butts and go down there once in a while because we always enjoy the time when we do.
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September 3 - 9, 2012 - CA, AZ
Monday, September 3. Happy Labor Day! We had a surprise visit this morning from Ben's family as they stopped by when they were out for a morning walk with Ruby. Today's plan was to go to a warm part of the bay for a picnic, so we headed south to Coyote Point. Unfortunately, dogs were not allowed at the park so we had to find an alternate picnic spot. We ended up just down the road at Robert E Wooley State Park and it was just perfect. The blankets were parked under some shade trees and we had a beautiful view of Berkeley and San Francisco across the bay. The sun was out and we had a nice breeze.
Back home, Jill made mac and cheese for dinner and again, we checked out the birthday party photos and those that were taken today.
Tuesday, September 4. Ben decided to take the day off work to hang out with us, so we started it off with a walk through Golden Gate Park with Ben, Ruby, Lois, Dennis, and I. We walked to the North windmill and tulip gardens near Ocean Beach and then back to our flat. We then went to their apartment where he fixed a yummy breakfast for all. I got Grandma privilege and was able to give Charlotte her bottle and read stories before nap time. She sure does love her books and can even say the word.
After her nap, we all went to the playground at Golden Gate Park for a while before walking to the Pacific Cafe for dinner. A trip to SF just isn't complete without their crab cakes and Parmesan crusted halibut, although I tried the sole with mushrooms and capers and it was yummy!. Charlotte had her first taste of clam chowder and it met her approval as evidenced by the little "yum, yum, yum" sounds and looking at Grandpa Mike in anticipation of another spoonful that were coming from her.
At bedtime, I got to put her to bed, but tonight it didn't go so well. She didn't want to leave all of her people gathered in the living room, so a bottle, rocking, and several books just didn't work. She cried and cried until Jill was able to get her settled down for the night. Naturally, I didn't feel so good about that.
Wednesday, September 5. Ben went back to work. Jill, Charlotte, Lois and Dennis are heading for the Russian River. Mike and I are heading back south to Oxnard, but before we left we just had to have a few more hugs from Charlotte. After all, they have to hold us over for at least a couple of months.
The 6-hour drive was uneventful and it was great to see our happy little Frisco again. He settled right in to the routine with Mary and Lance. We watched the 2nd night of the Democratic National Convention and got pretty fired up with Bill Clinton's speech. Mary fixed a delicious Tuscan Chicken Stew for dinner.
Sunday, September 9.. We are back home after a 6-hour drive yesterday and it feels pretty good. We have no plans for travels in the near future, thatis if we can stand to be away from Charlotte until Christmas.
Thursday and Friday with Mary and Lance were nice. We took walks with Frisco, relaxed, watched the rest of the DNC, cooked, and talked. We all went to lunch at Fresco's in the Oxnard Harbor and then walked the beach near the Ventura Pier so we could get a taste of the ocean before heading back to the desert.
Another week of travel and visiting is behind us - what a life - I am so thankful for all we have; good health, wonderful family and friends, a sweet little dog. And a nice place to live. It can't get much better than this.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Mike has to show up for Jury Duty at 8:00 tomorrow morning in downtown Phoenix Superior Court. He is nervous, to say the least - never has been called before.
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September 1 - 2, 2012 - CA
Saturday, September 1. Mike and I watched Charlotte while Ben went for a run. He is getting ready to run a 1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks. Once he got home, he barely had time to grab a bite to eat and it was time for him to leave for the airport to pick up Jill's parents. There were 2 more happy grandparents to greet the birthday girl when she woke up from her nap.
We hung out for the rest of the day, except to check in to the flat that we have rented with the Quinn's for the next 4 days. The newly remodeled 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment is only 4 blocks away and a great deal at $200/per night. We couldn't find motel rooms for that price. It is fully furnished, has a gourmet kitchen, and gorgeous bathrooms. The only drawback that I see are the pillows that could stand to be updated.
Jill finished frosting and decorating Charlotte's birthday cake, Lois and I chopped fruit for the Sangria, and the guys were buys cleaning up coolers and getting blankets and other stuff ready for the party.
We had Paxti's pizza for dinner, did a lot of talking and catching up while looking at pictures of Charlotte's first year before heading back to our flat for the night.
Sunday, September 2.. Happy 1st Birthday to our little peanut! The morning was a scramble and everyone was involved with the prep for the big party. An assembly line prepared 4 different types of sandwiches, making about 60 in all and then 2 cars were loaded and headed to the park. Lois and I stayed back to get the birthday girl dressed after her nap and we both felt that we got the best job of all.
The party went great and the 2 little ones both started bawling when we set them in the grass for their photo - guess it was stage fright with all of those people looking at them and singing Happy Birthday. Leo dug into his cake aggressively and was covered in it and Charlotte was more graceful, just running her fingers through the icing and picking the colorful dots from it. They both had a ball!
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Created on 09/03/2012 11:04 AM by bridge
Updated on 12/06/2012 08:23 AM by bridge
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