Wednesday, October 31. Our week has been quite busy. My cleaning jobs started uphe first one on Monday at Karen's house back at Highlands at Brentwood. It took me a half-hour longer than usual, as there was much more dust than usual. She was gone all summer too and you just can't avoid the dust seeping in. It was nice to see her again too.
When I left there, I stopped by to say hello to Arlene and to wish her a Happy Birthday, and get a hug. Again, it felt really good to see her again.
Back home, it was relax and recovery mode - hanging out at the pool and enjoying the warmth of the hot tubas taking a little nap..
On Tuesday, we went on a hike to the Meridian Saddle with the park's hiking group, only 2 couples this time - Jim and Rejane and Ray and Vi from Alberta. The hike was considered 'easy', was a total of about 3.5 miles and it took us about 4 hours to do it. The reward came at the top of the saddle where we stopped for a break and you could look out at Apache Junction to the south and Fort McDowell to the north. The route back was a path not often traveled, a bit rocky in parts, skirting a few spiny trees, and much of it was through a dry wash - that meant soft sand and a good workout for the legs.
Needless to say, the hot tub and a nap were our afternoon's activities.
Today, we made adjustments to our Halloween costumes and went to the 'Monster Bash' this evening. We met so many people that I don't know if I will ever remember names, especially since many were in costume. As we came into the clubhouse, a couple that looked homeless sat in front of the building with a sign that said "Coachless' 'Need $$$ for a Prevost'. There were some other good costumes too - the winners were Lady Godiva and her horse, Mr Bug, and a bloody guy with a sword in his hat. A couple came as an electric outlet - she was the wall outlet and he was the plug, a good cowboy, a geisha girl and laundry guy, a couple of good witches and a wizard, and one gal wore a shirt saying 'The Best Dog Sitter' but carried a Lost Dog poster and her dog was pinned to the butt of her pants. I thought they were all pretty creative.
Dinner was BBQ ribs, beans, potato salad, and dessert. That was followed by a dance with the band, "Tombstone Renegades". They played a nice assortment of old rock and roll tunes.
