April 29 - 30, 2013 - SF
Monday, April 29. Jill heard from some of her friends that they would be at the Clay St. playground, so we got ready and headed over there. We were both dressed in jeans and then decided to change to warmer weather clothing and were glad that we did. It was warm enough for capris and a t-shirt for me. Jill's friends all met each other during their pregnancies and their children are all just days apart. One has a 4-month old, another is due in a few weeks, and Jill is due with her twins the end of October. It was nice to see these people that we first met at Charlotte's first birthday party.
We made it home in time for lunch and then I realized that I didn't have enough time to make the Tortilla soup that I had planned to make, so we went to plan B - steak fajitas and guacamole.
It was so noisy here today - the upstairs flat is being renovated and they were working on the floors - constant pounding, tapping, sanding, and buffing - then came the unpleasant odors of polyurethane sealant. Not too pleasant for napping today but Charlotte slept right through it and had a good nap in spite of it.
Ben and I had a nice walk after dinner - to help digest the cheesecake that we indulged in.
Tuesday, April 30. I'm having another day with Charlotte, but we started with a nice walk with Jill and Ruby. When we came to the playground, Charlotte and I stopped to swing for a while. I tried to get her to play on some of the other things but she wasn't interested - just giggled over the swings.
I got the Tortilla Soup going on time today and while I am writing now, it is filling the house with good smells.
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April 22 - 28, 2013 - AZ, CA
Tuesday, April 23. I was busy yesterday preparing for dinner after inviting Jan & Jim, Bruce & Carmen & Connie to join me. I've been wanting to do that to express my gratitude for all that they have helped me with and just the fact that they have been there for me. We've also been on a roll with dinners last week. We had a really nice time together and Connie and I sat out on the patio talking until almost 10:00.
This morning started with a trip to physical therapy. My shoulder is feeling very good, with minimal discomfort and gaining strength and mobility.
I've been doing laundry and getting ready for my trip to SF tomorrow. I just can't wait to see my family again and squeeze and hug that little girl, Charlotte.
Sunday, April 28.. My travel arrangements all went well and I have been having a wonderful time with Ben, Jill, Charlotte and Ruby. Charlotte has changed a lot in the 2 months since I saw her last. Her vocabulary has increased and she is putting together short sentences, she can say all of the ABCs, sings several songs, still loves reading books, and is climbing on everything. We've made several trips to playgrounds and she walked almost 4 full blocks on Saturday.
It sure doesn't feel right to be here without Mike. Everything we have done reminds me of our experiences together and how he really liked it around here. I just heard that one of his favorite country singers, George Jones, died at the age if 81 and it makes me feel cheated. There was a man that really abused his body and lived hard, but was able to live a long life. It makes me feel sad.
Ben made a New York Cheesecake for my birthday cake on Saturday and we went to the Pacific Cafe for dinner. A trip to SF just isn't complete without the Parmesan crusted halibut dinner from there. Today, we spent the afternoon cooking dinner - a pork roast stuffed with garlic and thyme and served with an incredible sauce, yummy potatoes and sautéed collard greens. Dessert was the cheesecake and was absolutely delicious.
Today's weather was gorgeous.
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April 16 - 21, 2013
Monday, April 15. We didn't hang around the hotel for long this morning, but headed straight to Sabino Canyon for our walk. We took a tram to the end of the canyon and walked back down - about 3.5 miles. What a gorgeous site that is. It was an interesting walk as we saw several waterfalls along the way. Unfortunately, we didn't spot much wildlife other than a little squirrel.
After our hike, we had some lunch before going to the Desert Museum that is in the Saguaro National Park. The museum was nice enough, but we weren't impressed as it was way too hot and we had already walked enough for the day.
After the drive back to Mesa, we met up with Nan and Monica for dinner at Rula Bula on Mill Avenue in Tempe.
Tuesday, April 16. Bob and Penny were dropped off at the airport by 7:00 am and that left me the entire day to just hang out at home.
I woke up with a sore throat and stuffy head - I'm thinking it might be allergies because of the hind winds and we left windows and fans running all night.
I did make some appointments and one was to check on the whistling noise that is coming from the windshield of the Honda (it was replaced about a year ago). The guy at Arizona Glass got my insurance rep from Progressive on the line and a few minutes later, I was scheduled for a replacement this afternoon. Wow! I wasn't expecting that kind of service and there was no bill attached either. Another maintenance issue to check off the list.
Even though I had planned on just staying home today, Connie invited me to join her, Bruce and Carmen, and Jim and Jan for Eggplant Parmesan dinner and I just couldn't turn it down. She makes the best! We had an enjoyable visit.
Wednesday, April 17. I started physical therapy for my left shoulder this morning. It turns out that the AC Joint is affected by arthritis and there are slight irritations/tears in two of the tendons that are part of the rotator cuff. They had me working pretty hard on it for almost 2 hours. The point is to strengthen the affected areas to avoid future problems.
I really haven't felt too good with this stuffy head and whatever is causing it is getting me down.
Sunday, April 21. Happy Birthday, Penny! So... what has been going on? Another dinner with friends, this time at Bruce and Carmen's house on Friday night. Nobody was interested in the TGIF this week so Carmen decided to do a salmon dinner. It was yummy!
Connie and I went for a walk through the desert gardens through the nearby 56th Avenue greenway this morning, hoping to see some brilliant color from flowering cactus. Unfortunately, they were kind of spent and there weren't a lot of blooms to see. We did spot some good sized lizards and Frisco got excited over several cats and bunnies.
Kathy organized a Happy Hour at the pool this afternoon, so Arlene and I walked down there together and just enjoyed hanging out with friends and having a drink and some snacks.
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April 8 - 14, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 My week started on a really good note, I went to get a massage yesterday morning (a generous gift from my dear friends, Pat, Susan, and Kim - thanks so much girlfriends). I walked in there with lots of kinks and creaks and stiffness and left there fully relaxed and feeling quite limber. My emotions were out of control when I realized there were hands on my back and they weren't the familiar hands that I was accustomed to. Once I got past that, it was a very enjoyable experience.
The weather turned crappy, the winds were gusting at 30-35 mph and the sky was a dingy gray- brown and dusty. The wind was whistling through my windows and debris from the palm trees was hitting the house and upsetting Frisco. When I settled in to bed, I heard the rain coming down and it must have continued for some time, as it was still wet on the ground this morning.
Today was another busy day, starting with a drive to Allan and Sharon's house for breakfast and then an iPad training session to help Sharon get familiar with her new device. Frisco was happy to be able to play and rough house with Murray and Elsie.
This afternoon I had an appointment with an orthopedic doctor to check on some problems that I'm having with my left shoulder. It turns out that there is a slight tear but nothing that requires any surgery. I was given a prescription for some physical therapy sessions that I will be able to continue at home to get it strengthened and back in shape.
Thursday, April 11. Happy Birthday, Susan (yesterday) and Jan (today)!
I spent the entire day at home yesterday and it really felt good. One project was to re-clean the patio. After the mud rain that we got earlier this week. Yuck! I remember seeing that in Rockport, TX for the first time. Both cars needed to be cleaned up too.
I got Bob and Penny's room ready for their weekend visit, laundry done, and my ceiling fans cleaned too.
I also spent some time walking with Frisco, relaxing on the clean patio, and made some progress on my latest knitting project (a pretty little pastel striped hooded sweater for Charlotte). It is my first knitting attempt since Pat was a young boy and I made him a hooded sweater (it has been passed around to various family through the years) and lots of mittens, etc. Thanks to You Tube and Pinterest, there are tutorials for when I get stuck on something.
Today started with a trip to the Honda dealer for an oil change and check-up. I forgot to tell them to put synthetic oil (Mike's preference) in it but they assured me that it would have no effect on the life of the car or its performance if it had regular oil in it. Those are things that I am no good at and I really miss Mike's expertise and knowledge, and the fact that he was on top of it.
I had 2 really nice conversations today - my cousin, Donna, who lost her husband in January and Mike's cousin, Louie, who lost her brother in December. It sounds like we are all having to go through similar experience.
I went to the pool with Connie for a while this afternoon and then later on we went to have a drink with Jan and wish her a Happy Birthday with several other girlfriends from our community. We had some good conversation and lots of laughs.
Friday, April 12. I just learned that it is ok to spread the joyful news that I am going to be a grandmother again - my twin granddaughters are due to arrive on October 25. Yes, you read that right - twins! I was overcome with happiness when Ben called after their doctor appointment and told me. They were totally surprised to hear that there are 2 babies on the way. Oh my, we have some changes coming up in our family!
I picked Bob and Penny up at the airport this evening - it is so nice to see them again and I'm looking forward to the next few days. We had a nice dinner and some good conversation while enjoying the nice evening on the patio.
Saturday, April 13. Today marks 2 months without Mike - it is still just so hard to believe that he is really gone. There are many reminders of him everywhere I look - we got this here..., this was from his childhood, he wore this to ..., this was a gift, he looked good in this photo... The list goes on and on and I hope it never ends.
We headed to the Salt River this morning and were surprised to see that a group of 5 of the wild horses were feeding along the shoreline. One was a very young one. What a sight! We walked the path on the north side of the river and passed another hiker along the way. She showed us a photo that she had taken of a large oven with an arched top and a chimney and said it was near the trail another mile up the wash. We headed in that direction and Bob spotted a small Gopher snake that was eating a lizard - it was camouflaged by the sticks and brush where it was hiding out. Good eye, Bob! We turned back before we got to the oven.
This afternoon, we went to Chuck and Kathy's to help her celebrate her 60th birthday. Several of our friends and a lot of her family were there. Chuck is a wonderful cook and he made a delightful prime rib, baked potatoes, cole slaw, and some yummy buns for the meal. Too bad we are going out for dinner again this evening because we are all stuffed.
Sunday, April 15. After a walk along the canal this morning, we packed up and headed to Tucson where Bob and Penny treated me to a night away from home. We headed straight to the Visitor's Center and got information and more importantly, a recommendation for lunch. El Charro Cafe is our nation's oldest Mexican restaurant, operated by the same family for 91 years. The food lived up to it's reputation and was excellent. It is located near an art's district but we weren't too impressed with the variety of shops there.
From there, we headed to 4th Avenue, the Hippie district . Again, there weren't many shops that interested us but we did have some great conversation and recommendations for something to see and do tomorrow. We checked into our rooms at Aloft and they are so clean (it just opened up on Thursday) and unlike most hotel rooms I've seen - very modern and contemporary.
The gal at the hotel suggested a pizza place within walking distance and I had a giant antipasto type salad that really hit the spot.
What a nice day!
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April 1 - 7, 2013
Wednesday, April 3.. I'm retired - again. My seasonal job at the RV Resort ended on Monday. Whew, March has been a busy, busy, month.
When I came home for lunch on Monday, Pat and Rog were just pulling up with their motorhome with a U-haul trailer attached and the Miata (Pat will be driving the Miata) and they got busy with getting it loaded up to head back home to Wisconsin. Their remodel turned out beautiful and they will have so much more livable space now. It looks just great!
Other than walks with Frisco, I never left the house yesterday and I was busy the entire day. I decided to switch my bedroom around again and that ended up to be an all day project.
Allan and Sharon invited me to lunch today at Sahara in Tempe and what a treat that was. I tried some things that I've never had before. The Lentil soup and Spinach Sunbasek (pastry filled with spinach, cheese, and herbs) were delicious. It was great to have a nice visit and enjoyable meal together again.
Friday, April 5. What a week. I thought I was busy when I was working! I decided to switch my bedroom around and it took me 2 days to reorganize everything and get it all cleaned and I feel pretty good about getting it done.
I've been taking nice long walks with Frisco in the morning and sometimes in the evenings too (once it cools down a bit, as the days have been getting up near 90 degrees). Most morning, I have met up with gals to chat with and the coffee clutch on Tuesday morning. They even had treats for Frisco.
Connie invited me to go with her to a free concert at Freestone park in Gilbert on Thursday night. The band was good, just not really our cup of tea - they played current country and they did a great job of interacting with the kids and getting them involved. The entire stage was loaded with little ones dancing to their own beat. It was enjoyable and the sunset was gorgeous.
I got a call from Howard, my financial guy, this afternoon with an offer of his tickets for Wednesday's Diamondback game. After calling Dale to see if he was interested in going, I called back to accept and then he even delivered them to my house. What a nice guy he is!
I also had a visit this afternoon from a representative from the funeral home that took care of Mike's arrangements. It was a follow-up to see if I understood all of the changes that need to be made and their offer of assistance if needed. That conversation sure brought it all back to mind, but I was also glad to see that most of those chores are behind me now.
I went to our community's TGIF tonight, another first without Mike. I did have an enjoyable time but headed home right after dinner so I could see Ben and Charlotte on FaceTime. That always improves my spirit when I see her get excited to see me. Her latest interest is Seahorses because she saw them at the aquarium this week.
Saturday, April 6. Right after my walk this morning, I headed to Scottsdale to Monica's apartment. We changed into walking shoes and headed for a walk through her neighborhood. After that, we went to an estate sale in Fountain Hills. What a gorgeous town that is - the houses are mostly built on hillsides and the views of Red Mountain and Four Peaks and the surrounding McDowell mountains are just beautiful. We then had some lunch at a nice little Mexican spot in downtown. It was an enjoyable morning to just hang out with one of my favorite nieces.
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Created on 04/03/2013 11:06 PM by bridge
Updated on 04/30/2013 04:04 PM by bridge
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