Wednesday, January 25. I have only one cleaning job this week and I had planned to use my time wisely. Guess what? I have shopped and worked on a jigsaw puzzle and that is about it - other than a nice walk along the Velda Rose Nature trail with Pat and Roger and the dogs on Monday morning. I was leading out pack when I saw 2 coyotes only 30 feet ahead of us - they quickly walked away in the other direction. We had heard some yipping and it sounded like coyotes but we weren't sure. A bit of excitement to start the walk.
That afternoon, we went to the outlet mall in search of new walking shoes but we all came home empty handed, as I was unable to find either of my favorite brands.
Today was a full day with a cleaning job, physical therapy, dog sitting for Louie, and I got the dent on my car repaired. Nan had referred Sergio to me, the husband of her co-worker, as a guy who works in a body shop and does repairs in the side at his home, He told me he would charge me $50 to pop out the dent and then I could decide if it looked ok or if I wanted more work done to it. I'm thinking it looks ok and I will keep the insurance settlement in my savings account for other necessities. He is a nice guy, knows his work well, and we had a nice chat while waiting for the bumper to warm up. Life is good.
Friday, January 27. Yesterday, Pat, Roger, Frisco, Louie, and I took a roadtrip to Jerome, an old mining town about 100 miles north of Phoenix. It was a nice, sunny day like we haven't seen for a few days, but cold, topping off at about 42 degrees. When we arrived, we walked with the dogs around town, deciding on places that we wanted to check out. There was no problem leaving them in the car, since it was plenty cool and they would just nap. We stopped at a few artsy shops, had some lunch, and took a few photos.
When we left Jerome, we took the route through the mountains toward Prescott and it was true to their claim of 151 turns in an 11-mile stretch of road. It felt like the Tail of The Dragon in South Carolina that we drove in our Miatas many years ago. We just had to stop to check out the foot of snow on the ground and it was so pretty resting on the branches of the trees. In the bright sunshine, it really didn't feel that cold.
The magnetic pull of the Rock Springs Cafe drew us in for a piece of the "Best Pie in Arizona". I'm not sure if it was the best, but it sure was good. It was another great day with good friends.
This morning, as I was heading out to an estate sale in southeast Mesa, I sent a text message to Diane to see if she would be around. I haven't seen her for a year and I was going to be right near her house. She replied back quickly, saying that she was working from home, would take a break and change out of her pjs and go with me. By the time we finished at the sale, it was lunchtime, so we stopped at Fat Willy's right there in her community for a bite to eat, chatting the entire time. Gotta do that more often, it is always nice to connect with old friends.
Talk about connecting with old friends, TGIF was in order for tonight, an evening of good conversation and dinner with my friends in the community.
Sunday, January 29. What a perfect day today was. Topping it off was the weather - a warm and sunny 72 degrees. A slow paced relaxing morning, drifted into a slow paced relaxing walk around the Gilbert Riparian Preserve with Pat, Roger, Connie, and the dogs. There were lots of birds a twittering in the trees and bushes, the large ponds filled with ducks, geese, egrets and shore birds.
Back at home, I got to see the grandkids on FaceTime which always makes for a good feeling in my heart. I did my good deed for the day and helped Arlene get her TV and internet back - she was having trouble following instructions by the technicians because she couldn't see to do what they were telling her to do. It wasn't long and she was back in shape and can now watch something other than Channel 3.
Tonight, Chris invited me and Connie to her park to see a presentation on The Salt River Wild Horses. Cindy Shanks has been visiting the Salt River since 1988 and, although this presentation was about the horses, she has witnessed and recorded and photographed the other animals and plants in that area. She knows it like it is her own back yard and has become up close and personal (from a respectful distance) with the horses. I totally enjoyed her stories and slide show and walked away with 2 of her books that I will share with the grandkids when I go to visit.
What a week! I talked with both of my sons, the grandkids and my sister, Rita and I did a lot of stuff. I love it!