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| February 2010 |
February 22 - 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 23. Brrrrrrr! It was 38 degrees when I woke up this morning, but the sun was shining brightly and a warmup to 65 was predicted for the day - I am perfectly content with that. The dark, cloudy, rainy days were getting me down.
Last night while watching Antiques Roadshow from Madison, WI, I was sure that I recognized one of the people getting information about his items as my cousin's husband Dick. Mike was skeptical and not sure I was correct. This morning I sent off an e-mail and found out that my eyes weren't fooling me. He was showing his collection of Beatles memorabilia and learned that he had a rare child's toy guitar (complete with the original packaging) and it was worth $1500.
We got a lot done today, vacuuming, dusting, some cleaning in the house. Mike drove the motor home over to the house and plugged it in so that we could get the refrigerator cleaned good - I didn't defrost the freezer before parking it in the storage. We also gave it a good vacuuming, filled it up with gas (there is talk of $3 gas again), ran the generator, and tucked it back into it's storage spot.
Thursday, February 25. Some chores around the house got taken care of the last couple of days. We also found some time for sitting and enjoying the sunshine. Some shopping yesterday yielded a few t-shirts and some household goods from Ikea. We couldn't decide on desk chairs so ended up not getting any.
This afternoon, we walked to the library in our community's clubhouse and learned that it is a very nice collection of books, magazines, and reference materials that is manned by volunteers. When we left, we checked out the pool and hot tub and exercise room. People told us that the pool is perfect - about 95 degrees - we will have to add that to our list of things to do while here.
It was a nice day hanging out at home. We've also been getting our address changes in order and have been working on getting our stuff shipped from Florida. A decision has been made and a United Van Lines truck will meet Jonnie at our storage unit next Wednesday. Our stuff should arrive in Mesa somewhere between the 8th and 15th. I'm getting excited to be reunited with our stuff, it will be like Christmas at our house.
Friday, February 26. It was a very nice day hanging out with old friends and meeting new friends. Allan and Sharon invited us to their home for a barbecue and to meet some of their RVing friends that they met at Watersedge in Rockport and have connected with on their travels. Jim and Nancy are from Pennsylvania and are fellow full-timers that have spent the last month at Apache Junction. It is always fun to talk about the places we have visited, to learn about new places, and to get suggestions for future places to visit. They are very familiar with the east coast and had many great suggestions for our summer trip.
As usual, there was no lack of good food at this gathering. We had a late lunch of marinated and grilled steak and shrimp kebabs, veggies, Sharon's yummy cabbage salsa, Nancy's homemade sourdough bread, and my broccoli salad. Lots of great conversation topped off the afternoon.
Saturday, February 27. It's a gray and cloudy day - a front is supposed to move through here tomorrow, dropping the temperatures again. This morning, we went to Apache Junction, picked up Allan and Sharon and headed for the Boyce Thompson Arboretum to attend the World Desert Fair.
The drive was about 30 miles east on Hwy 60 and was beautiful. The desert is quite green because of the recent rains and we were able to see bright orange poppies and blue lupines in bloom along the roadside. Once in the park, we checked out the for sale plants and couldn't resist a couple each. Sharon picked out a couple of unusual cactus and my choices were a Banana Yucca and an Octopus Agave. Their annual plant sale will be held in a couple of weeks, so we will have to be sure and go to that.
Throughout the gardens were stations where we were able to sample foods from different areas of the world; the vegemite from Australia (a strong, yeasty spread for bread or crackers), prickly pear juice, mesquite waffle, and agave syrup from the Sonoran Desert, tea and ostrich jerky from South America, and Baklava from the Mediterranean.
The plant life was quite varied, from cactus to a Eucalyptus forest, a legume garden and a demonstration garden. It was a pleasant few hours with friends, topped off with a burger at In N Out.
Sunday, February 28. It was another rainy morning in Mesa and Frisco and I got soaked on our walk this morning. He's got his favorite spots to visit on our walks, so I couldn't let him down.
Nan and Dale invited us for dinner this evening and requested that I pick up a pie from the Iowa Cafe, a place that is on our to go list for breakfast some day. The place was abuzz and I was able to get an apple pie, both Monica and Dale's favorite.
Nan decided to try some recipes from a program that she's been watching, so dinner consisted of short rips cooked wine sauce, polenta with Gruyere cheese, and red cabbage. Top that off with fresh bread and apple pie and it results in a delicious dinner.
After dinner, we played some Wii games and learned just how out of shape we are, well it really wasn't bad. Mike's Wii age turned out to be 72 but he was goofing off the whole time and not following directions. We will have to see if he can improve on that in the future.
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February 15 - 21, 2010
Monday, February 15. Our day started early, we were up at 6 am to prepare for having the carpet cleaned. Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of furniture to be moved and most of it (2 lounge chairs and a wicker settee) are outdoor furniture anyway. The shampooer showed up at around 10:00 and was done within an hour.
Allan and Sharon came over at 10:00 with their pickup truck, he and Mike loaded up the 2 green recliner chairs that we have and headed to the consignment shop to pick up the 2 recliners that we bought last weekend. We made a great decision, as we like the Lazy Boy's much better than the puffy green recliners that we hope will be sold for about $100 each.
Sharon and I stayed at home and talked about plans for traveling together this summer. Mike and I were considering heading for the east coast this summer and then we found out that was in their plans too. We all agree that it would be fun to travel together, something
we've never done before.
When the guys got back, we headed to Vito's Italian in Mesa for lunch and all had a great meal and as usual, lots of great conversation. We're all pooped and ready for a nap.
Tuesday, February 16. Happy Birthday, Ben! Our youngest son is 33 years old today.
It was another busy day for us, spent mostly doing chores around the house. Little by little, I have been getting the windows and other surfaces cleaned - desert dust is everywhere. We also made several phone calls this morning to get our address changed.
This afternoon we took a drive to north Phoenix to check on my cousin Donna, who is having some chemotherapy treatments. Her family in Wisconsin and Florida had been unable to reach her by phone. We were glad to find her outdoors with her family, feeling good but quite tired. We only visited for a short while but I was able to call Jonnie with the good news that she is ok.
On the way home, we stopped at Terri's Consignment shop in Scottsdale to look at the furniture selection. Nothing really had that "take me home" kind of look.
Wednesday, February 17. I got another window frame and door cleaned today. This afternoon, I dropped Mike off to hang out with Dale and I went shopping. I didn't find much but a few things for the house.
When Nan got home from work, we had another wonderful dinner with them and watched the Olympics snowboard and speed skating competitions.
Thursday, February 18. The busy days just don't cease, I'm not complaining, as I feel better when I'm busy and have been sleeping better at night. I headed out to an estate sale this morning, as I'm always looking for a good deal and I did find a few little things. I spotted some pastel sticks, so I gave Sharon a call to see if she wanted me to grab them ($5.00 for a box of 50 and they normally cost $1.50 each stick). While talking to her, I learned that they were headed for Ikea, so I asked if she was interested in picking up a table that I wanted to buy for the spare bedroom. They agreed and dropped the table off on their way back home.
Mike wanted to go by the consignment store to see if they still had a sofa that we kind of liked the last time we were there. It still sat on the floor, so they called the owner to see if they would drop the price and we got it for $100 less. So now we have a sofa (to be picked up with Allan's truck tomorrow afternoon).
Mike assembled the table this evening. We now have a table for our dinner tomorrow night with Allan and Sharon. We're moving right along on getting the house settled.
I also learned from Jonnie that she met 2 moving company representatives at our storage unit this morning and we should be getting quotes from them soon.
Friday, February 19. It was another busy day for us, getting prepared for having Allan and Sharon over for dinner this evening. I did the grocery shopping this morning, starting at Trader Joe's, then Sprouts, then I had to make a stop at Safeway, as there was one item on my list that I couldn't get at either of the previous stops. I also learned that I can probably do most of my shopping at Sprouts in the future, as they had most everything I needed and their prices and quality are very comparable to TJ's, and the store is also much closer to us.
Back at home, I cut up veggies and made an interesting heart healthy dessert; melted semi-sweet chocolate and pistachio nuts, stirred and poured onto a baking sheet and allowed to cool.
The Frey's called us to let us know they were heading our way in their truck and we left to meet them at Terri's Consignment Store where we purchased a sofa yesterday. We unloaded it and proceeded to enjoy having another piece of furniture in the living room. Dinner was enjoyable; Mike's grilled pork tenderloin, Rose's grilled veggies, Sharon's tossed salad, and the dessert. We took a little walk with Frisco after dinner and they headed home.
Sunday, February 21. Just when I thought that I had a good handle on my grief over losing Owen, it set me back again this weekend. Yesterday morning, I was looking at photos of my new nephew Lincoln (born just 2 weeks after Owen) and I just started to cry and felt all heartbroken again. And then after a conversation with Ben, I just feel so bad for them and the struggle that they are going through, knowing that the pain will be with them for a long, long time.
Mike and I decided that we needed a distraction, so what did we do - go shopping. This time, looking for a stand for the television. We had heard about a place called "The Dump" that recently opened in Tempe, and we did not like anything we saw there; much of it was large and what we would consider gaudy (leather with lots of studs, brightly painted, and very Spanish styled). We made a couple of other stops but didn't find anything that we liked.
On the way back home, we saw an incredibly beautiful rainbow. A complete arch that was bright and wide and full of intense color. As we pulled into our community, we pulled over at the golf course and took pictures. Check it out in the gallery.
This morning it was pouring down rain and Frisco and I were able to squeeze in a walk but did manage to get wet. I also fixed us a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. Mike bought me the latest version of Family Tree Maker so I got all involved with that this morning. I was busy merging files and updating and before I realized, it was 1:30.
The sky started to clear and brighten up a bit, so we took Frisco out and headed down the canal. Just as we got to the end of the block, it started to rain again, lightly at first but by the time we headed into our community, it was pouring. Then by the time we got to our house (about 3 blocks) it was clearing again. It has been raining off and on all day.
Computing, movies, and a relaxing bath were the order of the day.
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February 11 - 14, 2010
Wednesday, February 10. The drive today was only about 3 hours, parts of it through rain but nothing real bad - just enough to get the motorhome all dirty. We arrived at our house in Mesa and proceeded to empty the motorhome. There is so much stuff packed into that little 30 foot motorhome - it just amazes me that we could have so much. We carried load after load after load, until about 6:00 and just couldn't do any more, saved the rest for tomorrow.
It feels kind of good to be back here. Two of our neighbors stopped by to welcome us and Nita delivered the mail that she had picked up.
Had a bit to eat, soaked in a hot bathtub, and crashed for the night. Although "for the night" isn't quite correct, as I was awake 2 hours after falling asleep, read for a while, fell back asleep and was awake 2 hours after that. I'm hoping to settle in and get some rest one of these days.
Friday, February 12. Busy, busy, busy - putting away stuff, getting organized, and cleaning. The house smells dusty (do ya think?) after sitting empty for 2 months. The crazy cleaning lady will have it ship-shape in no time. I've already arranged to have the carpet shampooed on Monday.
Our good friends, Allan and Sharon, took us to lunch at Joe's Real BBQ in downtown Gilbert. It was yummy and the company was especially nice too. We sat outdoors at a picnic table in the warm sunshine. The only problem was the bees trying to get at our home-made root beer.
We stopped for groceries at Trader Joe's and Fry's before they dropped us off at home. Mike had setup an appointment with the Cox Cable Guy to install our internet service. He was right on time and we now have fast internet. The only trouble was that it isn't wi-fi, so a trip to Best Buy was necessary to get the router that we needed. Funny, here we sit with little furniture and the 1st thing we need is internet - we sure have become dependent on electronics.
Saturday, February 13. What a day! Starting with my walk this morning. I walked the canal that goes at an angle through our block, it would be about a mile if I went to one end and turned around and came back. Instead, I decided to actually go around the block on the street. That ended up being almost a 3-mile walk and taking close to an hour. Midway through, when I couldn't see the stop light at the end of the block, I was wishing I had turned around to go back. I also remembered that this city is structured in 1 mile sections. It was good for me but I think I will stick to the canals from now on.
Back home, I was hungry, thirsty, and felt like soaking in a hot tub. I recently bought an herbal tea bath treatment that is actually in a tea bag. The tub was full, I got in, gently squeezed the tea bag to release the herbal elements (as instructed on the package), the bag broke open and deposited those elements in my tub full of water. So now I had little green particles settling all over my body which took away some of the luxuriousness of my bath but it was still soothing and relaxing.
Mike took the car to the car wash (there are 2 covered bays in the park that are designated for that purpose) and washed the protective layer of road grime off of it. I proceeded to groom Frisco - trimmed his nails and gave him a much needed bath. I also washed a couple of windows - little by little I will get the desert dust off the surfaces of the house, just to have it build up again. That's the way it goes.
This afternoon we went to a couple of consignment stores and just happened to find 2 matching Lazy Boy recliners that had just come on the floor. We quickly pulled the tags, paid for them, and now have 5 days to pick them up. They will take the 2 recliners that were left in our house and sell them for us - not a bad way to recycle. We still need to get a sofa, but didn't find anything that we really liked today.
Sunday, February 14. Happy Valentines Day to all our lovely family and friends!
Mike and I went to Costco this morning and bought a TV. We didn't take the time to get it setup, as tomorrow is carpet shampoo day and we were spending the afternoon with Nan, Dale, and Monica. It was nice to see them all again. We cooked up a great dinner of steak, lobster tail, mushrooms, and asparagus. Spent most of the time watching the Winter Olympics events.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
What's most on my mind today is the loss of our dear Grandson, Owen a month ago today. Such a sad, sad, memory that will never go away. We do try to look to the future and hope for more research and understanding as to why these things happen. It kind of just seems like it is Mother Nature in control and there's nothing that science could do to prevent it.
Another day of driving took us along a parallel path to that we drove in 1968 - to and from Wisconsin and California - the year we got married in San Bernardino, CA while Mike was in the Navy stationed at Long Beach. Seeing parts of Route 66 (along I-40) it just seems so small, narrow, and winding - remembering that little Volkswagen Beetle loaded with all of our stuff (including my brother, Rocco) - making that long drive - twice in one year. Whew!! That must have been the start of our gypsy-like tendencies.
The terrain was rather boring, if it hadn't been for the beautiful mountain ranges on both sides of the highway. We also so a very brilliant rainbow (see photo) off in the northeast skies. Once we turned south on US-95, a 90-mile stretch of road that ran along the Colorado River, it was nice and scenic, although the quality of the road wasn't the greatest. Mike and I have always thought that some day we might drive that road that stretches from the Mexico border to the Canada border - that might be a fun trip.
We stopped for the night at the Colorado River Oasis at Ehrenberg, AZ ($3.00/night) and used our Western Horizons membership. What a deal - will have to remember this as a nice place to spend some time. We don't use our membership to it's full potential because it is a bit confusing (2 weeks in (free) - 1 week out - 2 weeks in (free) and we tend to plan our trips around where we want to go and who we want to see. Another disadvantage is the location of many of the resorts tends to be off the beaten path or right on the freeway. Oh well, will just have to see what the future brings.
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February 8, 2010
On the road again! The plan was to get an early start this morning but for some odd reason, we both slept soundly until almost 8:00, so by the time we got disconnected and the car hooked up to the motorhome it was 10:45. Darn!
We planned a different route this trip, so we would avoid the "grapevine", the mountainous stretch of I-5 that goes between Bakersfield and Los Angeles, that is sometimes closed due to snow and is a real high traffic area. It isn't a bad thing to avoid Los Angeles anyway, and we would hit it during evening rush hour. The trip was uneventful, although whenever driving through California, we face lots of traffic. Once we hit Hwy. 58 heading east out of Bakersfield there was a lot less traffic for the last hour of driving, a very good thing so we could enjoy some of the scenery through the Tehachapi Pass. It took us up to 4,000 feet of elevation and we were real close to the snow line - pretty, but we wouldn't want to get close enough to touch it.
We stopped for the night at the Sierra Trails RV Park ($13.25) at Mojave, CA - it was advertised as "Your Oasis in the Desert", a nice little park, well-kept and clean, it appears to be home to lots of permanent residents. The price was right.
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February 1 - 7, 2010
Monday, February 1. I met Jill at the salon this afternoon and she gave me a haircut and along with that came a great pick-me-up. She needed to check her schedule for next week and also wanted some practice before getting back in the swing of things. I certainly had no problem volunteering to be her guinea pig. I left there feeling great about my hairstyle, as usual.
Tuesday, February 2. After breakfast this morning, Frisco and I headed to Jill's house where we were going to go for a long walk. We walked the Land's End coastal trail for an hour and 15 minutes - talking the whole time. That is such a beautiful place where the path follows the rugged coastline and the views of the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate bridge are beautiful. Needless to say, it felt good and the dogs just loved it too. Check the photos for a picture of our route.
When I got back home, we had some lunch and then I needed a little nap.
Wednesday, February 3. I let Frisco off the leash this morning so he could run and play with Molly, a cute little poodle mix that we met while walking along the marsh path. He had a great time, running and playing and exploring and was really good about sticking around until it was time for us to head back home, then he kept getting farther and farther from me and wouldn't come to me when I called him. I finally got his attention and then he came running back to me, but I sure was scared for a while there.
We decided we had better get off our butts and get some sightseeing done while we're still here and the weather is nice. Today we took the drive on the north side of the Golden Gate bridge through some of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The last exit before the bridge took us on the winding roads and beautiful overlooks that led to the Point Bonita Lighthouse. The lighthouse was closed today (California's attempt to save money), so we weren't able to do a tour of it, but we sure did get some nice walks and different views of the bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz, San Francisco and the rocky shoreline of the Marin Headlands. A stop at the visitor's center helped us to get educated before we took the drive.
There is so much variety to the terrain and beauty in this countryside. We love it and will miss it until we get back again.
On our way back home, we stopped at In N Out for a tasty burger, it's been a while since we've had any fast food.
Thursday, February 4. Happy Birthday, Ashley! We're getting all of our cultural activities in San Francisco packed into this one week. Today we went to the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park to see the King Tut exhibit. We're so glad that we were able to fit this in, an incredible collection of artifacts from so long ago and so far away. It's quite the interesting story too.
After seeing that exhibit, we took in some of the permanent collections of the museum and saw a wonderful exhibit of Amish Quilts, so colorful and vibrant. It was kind of amazing that they dated back to the 1920's, must have been well preserved as the colors were gorgeous. Mike entered the exhibit apprehensively, as he wasn't really interested in seeing a bunch of quilts, but really appreciated the abstract forms once he saw them. We also saw some Stickley furniture, a Frank Lloyd Wright chair, Tiffany glass and lamps, and Dale Chihuly art glass (LOVE THAT STUFF!).
Jill kept Frisco while we were at the museum, so we hung around with her and talked for a while. She took him with her on a long walk, so he was kind of tired when we got him back home.
Friday, February 5. Today was one of those all around nice days. The weather was beautiful, getting to about 65 degrees. We got a lot done around the house; laundry and cleaning, starting to put some things away to get ready to travel again on Monday. I had a great conversation with Rita.
Mike is having computer woes - not sure if he got a virus or if he uninstalled something that he shouldn't have. That has kept him glued to the little box most of the day. We did get a nice walk in with Frisco this afternoon and managed a short nap in preparation for tonight's dinner in the city.
Since we won't be here for Ben's birthday on the 16th, we wanted to celebrate with him before we leave, so we let him choose the restaurant. His choice was Harris' Steakhouse, a beautiful building with high ceilings, gorgeous woodwork, and spacious leather booths, it is known for their in-house aged midwestern beef. We started the evening dinner with one of their special *bleep*tails. Since we all wanted to be able to eat all of our steak, we didn't have appetizers. The bread was delicious. Jill, Mike, and I had beef tenderloin, Jill's had a cognac sauce and Ben chose a New York strip steak. The evening's potato was au gratin and that was the best I've ever tasted. We shared a bottle of Marcucci Farm wine and shared some Creme Brulee and Guinness Chocolate Cake for dessert. Happy Birthday, Ben!
We were only 4 blocks away from Bob's Donut Shop and since the fresh pastries start coming out of the fryer at 11:00, Ben insisted that we sample their wares. It's not like any of us needed it at that point, but it's one of those San Francisco goodies that we had to experience. Just the walk there along Polk Street was an experience, the night life was just getting started, lots of happy people hitting the bars and lots of folks stopping at Bob's for the warm, sugary, goodies.
Saturday, February 6. Boy, us old farts don't do too well after a night on the town. We were dragging butt until we had enough coffee, a walk, and a Bob's donut this morning. Ben came over and joined us for coffee and a donut and hung out for a while. When he left, we took naps and just hung around. It was a nice day and we managed to get in a nice walk this afternoon.
Sunday, February 7. Ben and Jill made reservations for brunch this morning at the Epic Roasthouse on the Embarcadero. Thanks to the beautiful sunny morning, we were able to sit outdoors at a table facing the bay. Had a wonderful time, great conversation and delicious food.
This is it. We had to say goodbye until the next time. So sad, and so hard - but we will be hopeful for the future.
When we got home, I headed to the grocery store to make sure we had enough food - just in case - and also so I don't have to run to the store immediately when we get back to Mesa. Initially, we intended to make a couple of stops to visit friends along the way, but have decided to just go, probably a 3-day trip.
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Created on 02/01/2010 10:52 AM by bridge
Updated on 03/01/2010 08:01 PM by bridge
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