Wednesday, November 30, 2016

November 28 - 30, 2016, AZ

Wednesday, November 30.  Wow! The end of November and I realize that I have done nothing in preparation for Christmas. It's not like I have a lot to do, but it's not like me to put it all off until later.  I did manage to get my house decorated for the annual event, so that is behind me.  I do enjoy the lights and decorations and they are starting to appear throughout my community.

Yesterday, I was walking Frisco and noticed that LeRoy and Diane have their house for sale for $6,000.00.  As soon as I got back home, I sent an email off to my friend, Karen in South Carolina, since I had recently gotten an inquiry from her about another house.  Over the last day and a half, several conversations and emails later, she is buying the house and will be coming for a visit later in the month.  Yay, Karen!  We won't be neighbors but will see each other whenever I get back here in the future.

Friday, November 25, 2016

November 21 - 27, 2016, AZ

Thursday, November 24, Thanksgiving Day.  I sure have been slacking when it comes to writing these days, although life is a bit more settled here at home in Mesa and there isn't a whole lot to write about.  

I decided to stay home and cook on Thanksgiving Day and invited Pat and Roger to join me and just happened to check in on Arlene yesterday and learned that she wasn't going anywhere, so I invited her to join us too.  All during the night, I was thinking about Kirk, my neighbor who is wheel chair bound and hasn't been doing well since the summer. So I went over and asked if he wanted to join us but he said no, so I offered to bring him a plate of dinner when it was ready.

I cooked half the turkey (the whole one wouldn't fit in my convection ion or the grill) on the Holland Grill,  and it turned out wonderful. It sat on a bed of cut up apples seasoned with allspice and brown sugar and was basted with apple juice - moist and beautifully browned.  I might have to do the same with the other half.  I made the dressing, cranberries and pumpkin pie and Pat made the potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, and green bean casserole.  We had an enjoyable afternoon, a cocktail or two and lots of lively conversations.

Friday, November 25.  Happy 50th Birthday to my daughter-in-law, Tracey!  I got up this morning, got dressed, took Frisco out, and headed to the clinic for my annual blood work before eating or having any coffee. I got a sunken feeling when I noticed there were no cars in the parking lot and the sign on the door said closed for Thanksgiving. Dang, now I have to do it again on Monday. 

Each year after the grandkids celebrate their birthdays, I have assembled my favorite photos of the last year and compiled them in a photo collage that gets printed and framed and hung on my wall.  It is a long process since the program that I use, Printmaster, is loaded on my PC.  The photos have to be downloaded to the PC, cropped and dragged into Printmaster, arranged on the page and then saved in a format that is recognized by all - .jpg. 

Many times throughout the year, I stand and gaze at the collages, remembering each photo, the occasion that it celebrates and the milestones those little girls have made through the years.  I finally finished the latest collages and this is the final result.

Charlotte, Age 4

Camille, Age 2

Norah, Age 2




Friday, November 18, 2016

November 14 - 20, 2016, AZ

Thursday, November 17.  Another 4 days and I haven't written - not much to write about.  I've been cleaning - outside of all windows and screens on Tuesday and I finished the job this morning.  Not only did I clean the windows in the living room and dining room, I attempted to rearrange the living room furniture.  It was a lot of pushing and shoving that ended up with pushing and shoving it all right back to where it was originally.  The problem was that there was no place for the rocking chair and no matter how I positioned the area rug, it just didn't work because of the angles in the room.  Oh well, now my body has to recover.

Monday was the night of the full moon, the super moon, it was closest to the earth since the year I was born, 1948.  I saw it rise behind the Superstition Mountains, although they are 20 miles to the east and it was beautiful. 

Connie and I joined Pat and Rog for happy hour at Val Vista Village and had a nice time listening to Dakota Kid.  I'm not a fan of line dancing and the entire floor was taken by line dancers, although there were a few couples dancing.  Pat and I danced a polka and a few others and we managed to get a whole bunch of women out there with us. It was fun.

We're having a cold spell and it was only 52 degrees when I woke up this morning.  I'm sitting here with a blanket over me, waiting for the sun to warm things up so I can get Frisco out for his walk.  We should get up in the mid-70s later on.

Sunday, November 20.  I picked Connie, Pat, and Roger up this morning and we all headed to Cave Creek Regional Park to check it out.  I wanted to see the campground and we all were interested in a short hike - and it was short because Connie struggled with breathing and I was having trouble with my left knee and it started to rain.  We were predicted to have rain today, but not until much later in the day - what do they know.  So we headed into Cave Creek to grab a bite to eat. The dogs were welcome at Harry's patio, and we sat and watched it rain and watched the Steelers fans getting crazy about their team - it kind of looked like Halloween the way folks were dressed.  






Sunday, November 13, 2016

November 7 - 13, 2016, AZ

It's Sunday night and I just finished watching 60 Minutes, walked Frisco under an almost-full moon, and am relaxing in my comfy pjs.  It's been a busy week with appointments, a couple of cleaning jobs, and news, news, news of Donald Trump beating out Hillary Clinton in the election on Tuesday.  I am heartsick and afraid of what we are facing over the next 4 years.  I only hope that he doesn't mess with my Social Security, Medicare and health insurance benefits, our country's natural resources, and people, people, people and their rights.  I had a FaceTime conversation with Ben and the twins on Wednesday night and he told me that Charlotte cried when he told her who was elected as president, and her response was, "he's mean".  I'm sure she formed her opinion from hearing adult conversations and talking with friends about what they have heard.  His campaign sure set a tone that is against many of the things we try to teach our children, as far as respect for others is concerned.

Our monthly community club meeting was held on Tuesday and I've been working on Minutes and volunteered to write a flyer to invite all residents to join and become involved with our social club.  It's not just a matter of typing the documents, they always take lots of interaction with other members and approvals before finalizing.

We had a very nice program on Veterans Day on Friday, fish fry Friday night with Pat and Rog, garage and estate sales on Saturday with Connie and Sandy, a pancake breakfast this morning with Nan and Dale and dinner with Pat and Rog.  It's been a good week.


Tuesday, November 8, 2016

October 31, 2016, AZ

Grandkids Halloween Costumes

Norah the Lion

Charlotte the Peacock and ghostly Camille


November 1 - 6, 2016, AZ

My friend Nan, who works at City of Chandler asked if I wanted to work this week registering and printing ballots for early voting in the upcoming presidential election.  By the way - Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been slamming each other for the last 6 months and I am ready for it to be over with.  So Connie and I both took the job with the city and it turned out to be a 50-hour work week, with a constant line (sometimes 2.5 to 3 hour waits) checking addresses and birth dates, then printing ballots and sending them on their way to vote.  All in all, it was a good experience - I only saw 2 people the entire week that were talking down the system and a few who were shaking their heads in disgust but not really voicing their opinions.  In fact, I saw many people shaking hands or giving a pat on the back with those they had met in line.  I'm glad I made it through the week and I'm not sure if I would do it again - it was exhausting for this old lady.


I learned from Ben last week, after Norah's annual checkup recently, that she is anemic and might be gluten intolerant and her growth hormone was below what it should be.  She had an endoscopy on Thursday and the doctor said that it looked like a classic case and it probably is the cause of her not growing at the same level as Camille.  She is a voracious eater - always the last one at the table.  Now, the whole family has to be tested but can't be on the same diet that she is until the results are all in - it might skew the results.

When I asked Norah about her experience, she told me that the doctor put something on the inside of her wrist, she got a bandaid and she got a popsicle.

October 24 - 30, 2016, AZ

The week was spent cleaning the patio and carport and trimming the trees in the back yard.  I managed to make it to water aerobics every day and had a great time at it.  My body is feeling much better after it. 

The highlight of the week was the annual Halloween Party at the clubhouse.  It was lots of fun and the band was great - playing lots of tunes the old ladies (and a few men) could dance to.