Friday, February 5, 2016

February 1 - 7, 2016, AZ

Friday, February 5.  I wrote in the blog earlier this week, but I must have not saved it.  So ... What did I write about back then.  I'll see if I can backtrack.

My friends, Jim and Sue from Wisconsin were planning to come here from Tucson on Monday, but there were wind advisories out and it was an ugly night.  Pat said that she saw hail early in the morning.  Sunday night, the wind picked up and blew through here, rattling the windows and sending debris everywhere.  Frisco never even got a walk that day, other than short potty breaks in the back yard.

Tuesday was a little better and I made Chicken and Dumplings to share with Pat, Rog, Jim and Sue.  I was a little disappointed in the recipe that I chose - it didn't call for enough veggies and was way too thin.  Other than that, the flavor and the dumplings were yummy and I didn't get any complaints from my guests.  It was great to be together again - we've been friends for a long, long time.

Wednesday afternoon, we all took a walk through the Gilbert Riparian area and saw lots of cool birds and water birds.


Of course, it's Happy Hour when we finish our walk - time for a reward at Casa Ramos.

I cleaned 2 houses on Thursday and wasn't much good for anything else after that.  It whips my butt.

Today, Jim, Sue, Pat and I went to Lost Dutchman to hike the Treasure Loop Trail and we left the dogs at home.  Pat and I just did that last week, so we started on the north side of the loop today and went in the opposite direction.  The views were quite different and the slope was more gradual.  None of us realized it was going to be so windy and it really had a bite to it.  We carried on and made the 3-mile trek, in spite of the wind, climbing to about 2600 feet.  Sue's Fitbit told her we had climbed 31 floors.


Dinner tonight at Painted Mountain was delicious, as was the company and the conversation.

Saturday, February 6.  I rolled over and looked at my phone to see what time it is, 6:30 - ok, I've slept enough.  So I get in the shower, come out to the kitchen to get the coffee going and I hear the clock chime 6 times.  I guess my vision isn't that great so early in the morning.  There is no doubt that I can make it to the clubhouse for coffee this morning.

This afternoon, Pat, Rog, Jim, Sue, Connie and I played a round of golf.  Connie didn't golf but coached and caddied.  It was fun - we didn't keep score but had a lot of fun laughing at each other.

Sunday, February 7.  We all headed over to Papago Park for a hike around the Twin Buttes. As we came around the south side, we noticed a man rappelling down the side of the mountain, two others up on top, and a fire department crew on the ground.  I'm thinking it was probably a rescue training effort, it was fun to watch.  After our hike, we stopped at the Devil's Advocate for a bite to eat and a Bloody Mary. 

Break time at the ampitheater on the north side of Twin Buttes.

I got busy and finished my crochet project for the grandkid's Valentine gifts - headbands with pink hearts and custom cards.  They turned out cute, now I just hope they fit alright.