Monday - the middle of December already. I took Gary to work at noon and then went for a long walk on one of the paths in Saddlebrooke. Back home to shower and then Gary called and needed to be picked up and taken to his next route. After dropping him off, I went to my massage appointment, then picked him up afterward. That night, he went to Dan's to watch football. I stayed home and watched my show.
Tuesday - I took Gary to work and then went to another cleaning job. One of Dan's realtor associates had a quick turn around time situation with a seller/buyer closing and needed someone to come in after the movers left and before the buyers moved in. It was easier, but also harder in ways, to clean an empty house. You know how dirty it can be after furniture is totally moved out of rooms. It all went well, I was done in three hours. Picked up Gary and home for the night.
Wednesday - Wally and Jan were flying back to Mitchell, SD to be with family for the Christmas holiday, so I took them to the airport. On the way back home, I stopped for errands in town and then back home. I finished packing the Christmas packages I needed to mail and took them to be mailed. That night I tried a new quick bread recipe and it flopped. I was glad I had tried it since I was going to make it for company the next night. It started raining pretty steady late afternoon and continued through the evening. Gary was glad to be home that night.
Thursday - I had permission to drive Wally & Jan's car while they were gone, which made it much easier for our schedule while Gary worked. I had sold some items on EBay, so I packaged them up and took them in for mailing. It was a rainy, cool day - where is the warm desert sun? That night, Joe, Deb and Viola came over for supper. Gary came home a little wet that day.
Friday - Sun! Hooray! Gary left for work and I went for a long walk again. Shipped another EBay package and did some work on the blog and our Christmas letter.
Saturday - we were home. Got some projects done and rested. It is different not having our neighbors here to spend time with. Deb & Viola flew back to South Dakota today as well.
Sunday -Mass at Santa Catalina this morning. That night we were invited to Krista and Brian's house for supper
and games. We have so much fun with them. We sat by their fireplace
outside, had supper and then a great game of dominos.
Friday, January 16, 2015
December - Week Two
Monday - Gary found out he would be working with Louie, a UPS driver with a route about 10 miles away in the El Conquistador neighborhoods. I drove him at noon to their meeting spot, his work day would begin at 12:30. I dropped him off, then drove in to Tucson to meet a lady that was buying our Coleman grill. After meeting her, I went and found a Hobby Lobby store and bought Advent candles for our Advent wreath. Gary was done at 3:30 that day, so I picked him up on the way home.
Tuesday - Jan and I went thrift store shopping. We were both looking for certain items and had fun shopping in several stores. Our last shop was Savers, then we stopped for lunch at Nico's Tacos. It was delicious. After a final stop at Sam's, we went home. My UPS man worked the afternoon again and we shared supper with Wally and Jan that night.
Wednesday - we were getting a schedule now, home duties in the morning, then I would take Gary to meet his driver at noon and run errands. A couple days this week, he worked with one driver early afternoon and then switched to another in the Saddlebrooke area for late afternoon.
Thursday - after dropping Gary off, I explored the La Canada neighborhood and found a very nice Goodwill store. (I love spending time exploring thrift stores) The timing worked great again, I picked Gary up mid-afternoon for his driver move. I stopped at Deb & Joe's to pick up mail they had received for us and then picked Gary up in Saddlebrooke when he was done. That night, Wally & Jan treated us to a delicious pork loin dinner.
Friday - Jan & I went Goodwill shopping. She found out she was getting a puppy for Christmas and wanted to look for puppy accessories. She was successful. It started raining in the afternoon, a little more challenging for the UPS helper. He worked later that night, okay except that we planned to go to the Lessons & Carols evening at the Santa Catalina church. He got home after 6:00, showered and we made it in time for the 7:00 program. It was very nice to sing Christmas carols along with the choir and audience. Afterward, we stopped at Mi Tierra's for supper.
Saturday - a rainy day. Gary is home, the driver helpers do not work on the weekends. A day of rest and football. That night we were supposed to join the group at a park in Tucson to see Christmas light displays. It was cold and rained most to the day, so Krista and Brian invited everyone to their house for supper instead. They grilled smokies and we all brought dishes to share. A nice holiday gathering.
Sunday - Mass, breakfast, the Sunday paper and football.
Tuesday - Jan and I went thrift store shopping. We were both looking for certain items and had fun shopping in several stores. Our last shop was Savers, then we stopped for lunch at Nico's Tacos. It was delicious. After a final stop at Sam's, we went home. My UPS man worked the afternoon again and we shared supper with Wally and Jan that night.
Wednesday - we were getting a schedule now, home duties in the morning, then I would take Gary to meet his driver at noon and run errands. A couple days this week, he worked with one driver early afternoon and then switched to another in the Saddlebrooke area for late afternoon.
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| The Captain in a new uniform |
Friday - Jan & I went Goodwill shopping. She found out she was getting a puppy for Christmas and wanted to look for puppy accessories. She was successful. It started raining in the afternoon, a little more challenging for the UPS helper. He worked later that night, okay except that we planned to go to the Lessons & Carols evening at the Santa Catalina church. He got home after 6:00, showered and we made it in time for the 7:00 program. It was very nice to sing Christmas carols along with the choir and audience. Afterward, we stopped at Mi Tierra's for supper.
Saturday - a rainy day. Gary is home, the driver helpers do not work on the weekends. A day of rest and football. That night we were supposed to join the group at a park in Tucson to see Christmas light displays. It was cold and rained most to the day, so Krista and Brian invited everyone to their house for supper instead. They grilled smokies and we all brought dishes to share. A nice holiday gathering.
Sunday - Mass, breakfast, the Sunday paper and football.
December - Week One
Monday - I spent the morning gathering cleaning supplies. That afternoon, I cleaned a house for people that were returning to Saddlebrooke for the winter months. Joe & Deb watch their house the months they are away and they asked Joe to find someone to clean it. A good job for me! A very nice home, I cleaned all afternoon. It was a good workout.
Tuesday - a few more hours cleaning to finish the job. Back home, I cleaned up for our day's adventure - going to Nogales, Mexico with Wally and Jan. Wally had a dentist's appointment there, he has seen the same dentist for fourteen years. The cost of dental work there is 1/2 to 2/3 the cost in the US. That is great for those of us who are retired and do not have dental insurance. We shopped in the duty free shop before crossing the border. There are some good buys there, to get the price you must buy it and take it across the border with you, then bring it back. Jan, Gary and I walked through shops in Nogales and had lunch while we were waiting for Wally. On the way home, we stopped and had supper at Guadalajara's, a great Mexican restaurant in Tucson.
Wednesday - a rainy day in the desert. I spent the day putting up our Christmas decorations in the motorhome. I had to make a new tree, I use hanger wires for the frame and then wrap green roping around it. Now it felt like December. Gary filled out some on line employment applications. We were both looking for some part-time work for the month. Thursday we worked on things at home, book work, laundry and correspondence.
Friday - we had breakfast and then Gary had an email from UPS about a job as a driver helper. He responded and they asked him to come in right away that day for orientation. After a few training videos and giving him a uniform shirt, pants and jacket, they put him to work that afternoon. A driver helper rides along in the truck and runs the packages up to the houses or into the businesses, allowing the driver more time to pull the next orders in the truck. The month of December is much busier, of course, so they wanted to hire 300+ helpers for the Tucson area. That night, we went to Dan's with Wally and Jan to watch the Arizona football game.
Saturday - another long walk in the morning. We went to Mass that evening in Oracle and then met the group, family and friends, for pizza at Nonna Maria's in Oracle.
Sunday - we did not try to go anywhere. We had gone to church the night before, because the Tucson Marathon route was this day from Oracle in to Tucson, which blocked off lanes on the highway outside of our park. All the locals said it would be hard to get on the highway. We sat outside in the sun, watched football and had fresh salsa, chips and margaritas with Wally and Jan.
Tuesday - a few more hours cleaning to finish the job. Back home, I cleaned up for our day's adventure - going to Nogales, Mexico with Wally and Jan. Wally had a dentist's appointment there, he has seen the same dentist for fourteen years. The cost of dental work there is 1/2 to 2/3 the cost in the US. That is great for those of us who are retired and do not have dental insurance. We shopped in the duty free shop before crossing the border. There are some good buys there, to get the price you must buy it and take it across the border with you, then bring it back. Jan, Gary and I walked through shops in Nogales and had lunch while we were waiting for Wally. On the way home, we stopped and had supper at Guadalajara's, a great Mexican restaurant in Tucson.
Wednesday - a rainy day in the desert. I spent the day putting up our Christmas decorations in the motorhome. I had to make a new tree, I use hanger wires for the frame and then wrap green roping around it. Now it felt like December. Gary filled out some on line employment applications. We were both looking for some part-time work for the month. Thursday we worked on things at home, book work, laundry and correspondence.
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| Christmas tree 2014 - I had not kept the one from last year. |
Saturday - another long walk in the morning. We went to Mass that evening in Oracle and then met the group, family and friends, for pizza at Nonna Maria's in Oracle.
Sunday - we did not try to go anywhere. We had gone to church the night before, because the Tucson Marathon route was this day from Oracle in to Tucson, which blocked off lanes on the highway outside of our park. All the locals said it would be hard to get on the highway. We sat outside in the sun, watched football and had fresh salsa, chips and margaritas with Wally and Jan.
Back Home at the "Junction"
Monday - up early to move to our site at the Oracle Junction Mobile Estates. We got checked in and set up in the same site as last year. This year, our friends Wally and Jan, are parked right next door. After set-up, I went to town with the girls, Deb, her mom Viola and Lisa. We had fun running errands to Joann's Fabrics, Sam's Club, Total Wine and then out to lunch for Chinese. Back home, it was time to clean our house and get set up for a long stay.
Tuesday - Finished cleaning the rig, inside and out, did laundry and book work. That night, we went with Wally and Jan to the Catalina Elks Club for taco night.
Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving. After a long walk in the morning, we went to Dan's house so I could bake pies for the Thanksgiving meal. Gary helped Dan put a new desk in his office and that night we made Peppers & Shells for supper and watched football.
Thanksgiving Day - over to Dan's to help prepare the turkey and fixings for dinner at 4:00. We watched the parades and football. All the friends came over for dinner, Leo and Doris, Lisa & Jeff, Deb, Joe and Viola. A wonderful meal and evening together.
Friday - a beautiful day. We watched the college football games at Dan's. I sat outside in the sunshine - it felt great! Taking on the Vitamin D.
Saturday - it is so nice to be in weather where we are able to get out and walk again. We went through our closets and extra clothing in our suitcases and pulled out the clothing for warmer weather (and put away the cold weather gear). In the afternoon we watched the college games and that night, Jan and Wally had us over for supper. She had made soup from the Thanksgiving turkey carcass, yumm.
Sunday - back to our little church in Oracle. It was nice to see the same parishioners there. A day to relax.
Tuesday - Finished cleaning the rig, inside and out, did laundry and book work. That night, we went with Wally and Jan to the Catalina Elks Club for taco night.
Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving. After a long walk in the morning, we went to Dan's house so I could bake pies for the Thanksgiving meal. Gary helped Dan put a new desk in his office and that night we made Peppers & Shells for supper and watched football.
Thanksgiving Day - over to Dan's to help prepare the turkey and fixings for dinner at 4:00. We watched the parades and football. All the friends came over for dinner, Leo and Doris, Lisa & Jeff, Deb, Joe and Viola. A wonderful meal and evening together.
Friday - a beautiful day. We watched the college football games at Dan's. I sat outside in the sunshine - it felt great! Taking on the Vitamin D.
Saturday - it is so nice to be in weather where we are able to get out and walk again. We went through our closets and extra clothing in our suitcases and pulled out the clothing for warmer weather (and put away the cold weather gear). In the afternoon we watched the college games and that night, Jan and Wally had us over for supper. She had made soup from the Thanksgiving turkey carcass, yumm.
Sunday - back to our little church in Oracle. It was nice to see the same parishioners there. A day to relax.
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| Sunset over the mountains view from the "Junction" |
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Southeast Arizona
Monday - by staying in Benson, our goal was to see new places in Arizona. This morning we headed south on Hwy 80 to Bisbee. We read about the Queen Mine Tours, so went there for their 11:00 tour. While we waited for the tour to start, we read about the history of the mine and watched a video on the mining process for the copper. The tour guides were two men that had worked in the mine when it closed in 1975. They outfitted us in a yellow slicker jacket, hard hat, belt and light. We boarded the little mine train and chugged down into the mine. (The Queen Mine being an underground mine versus the Santa Rita open pit mine we saw in New Mexico.) We had three stops inside the mine, where they showed us where the miners worked, the tools and machines they used, and stories about the miners. At the final stop, we stood near a piece of machinery that only a few could first identify - the bathroom cart! The guide wanted someone to sit on it while he told us about it, so I hopped up on it. So everyone has a picture of me on the two holder cart. It was a great tour as we learned a lot about the mining history of southeast Arizona. It has been one of the most productive mining areas of our nation for many years with copper, silver, gold, and zinc all mined in the area.
We drove into the town of Bisbee and walked around looking at the old architecture of the buildings and the eclectic little shops and eating places. We had lunch at the Old Bisbee Brewing Company, they had a great chili brat and fresh popcorn. We drove back to Benson and picked up groceries and then home to the park. We rode our bikes around the park in the early evening and watched the sunset again.
Tuesday - we did computer work in the morning and then headed to Tombstone, "the town too tough to die". It is very touristy, but a historical place as well. We paid the small fee to see the historical Cochise County Courthouse museum, an 1882 Victorian structure, it was very interesting. They had the court room where the trials were held and the hanging gallows out in the yard. We walked through some of the shops and went in to the famous Bird Cage Theatre. It was named for the fourteen bird cage crib compartments that were suspended from the ceiling overhanging the gambling casino and dance hall. It was in these compartments the ladies of the evening entertained their guests. They have ghost tours at night, saying it is the most haunted building in America. We did not take the tour, just looked around in the gift shop. Then home and supper.
Wednesday - Packed up, moved today to Arizona City to stay with our friend, Curtis Coleman, founder of RVillage.com, a fast-growing social media network for RV owners and enthusiasts. We were delighted to find that Curtis lives in a beautiful spot on a private lake, with plenty of room for us to park the RV. We enjoyed visiting and catching up with him and enjoyed the beautiful views and especially the sunsets there. He even treated us to some of his original guitar music on the patio! Curtis was a member of the New Christy Minstrels and spent many years as a band member for Carole King. He has tremendous musical talent!
Thursday - we went for a hike nearby in the Casa Grande Mountain Park. We hiked the two miles up the Radio Tower trail and then back down on the Bolt Trail. The views were great, we could see Picacho Peak to the south and the town of Casa Grande to the north. It was a good workout for us and a beautiful, warm day. We stopped and picked up a few groceries for supper and then went back to Curtis's. The sunset was even more beautiful this night. We made a crockpot pork loin supper to share with him and watched the Kansas City Chiefs game. They lost to the Raiders! :(
Friday - said our goodbyes to Curtis and headed south for Tucson. We were not able to check into our RV park there until Monday, so we parked the RV for the weekend on Lisa & Jeff's cul-de-sac. A nice spot off the busy streets. We had not told Deb, Joe & Dan that we were arriving that day, so when Lisa and Jeff went to Deb and Joe's for supper that night, we went along and surprised them. (Luckily Deb had plenty of good supper to share - I took a pasta salad along in case we needed to stretch the meal). We had a great visit, Deb's Mom was there visiting from South Dakota - it was good to see her.
Saturday - Lisa and Deb prepared a wonderful brunch for all of us. Late morning, Gary and I went for a long walk for exercise and then spent the afternoon watching college football with Lisa and Jeff. That night we all went to Nonna Maria's in Oracle for pizza. (If you are in the area, it is the best.)
Sunday - After mass, we went over and visited Dan, then to Deb and Joe's to watch the football games. I went out for a good long walk and then we were all at Deb and Joe's for supper. Joe made his delicious marinated, grilled beef roast. Yumm. The nights are cool in the desert - we needed to wear jackets and pants in the evening.
We drove into the town of Bisbee and walked around looking at the old architecture of the buildings and the eclectic little shops and eating places. We had lunch at the Old Bisbee Brewing Company, they had a great chili brat and fresh popcorn. We drove back to Benson and picked up groceries and then home to the park. We rode our bikes around the park in the early evening and watched the sunset again.
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| The Queen Bee Mine tour train |
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| Heading into the mine |
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| A rail bike and wagon |
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| One the the drills used |
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| The"facilities" when working in the mine |
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| Demonstrating model |
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| Queen Bee Mine - Bisbee |
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| Tombstone Historical Courthouse |
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| Hanging gallows |
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| Tombstone court room |
Wednesday - Packed up, moved today to Arizona City to stay with our friend, Curtis Coleman, founder of RVillage.com, a fast-growing social media network for RV owners and enthusiasts. We were delighted to find that Curtis lives in a beautiful spot on a private lake, with plenty of room for us to park the RV. We enjoyed visiting and catching up with him and enjoyed the beautiful views and especially the sunsets there. He even treated us to some of his original guitar music on the patio! Curtis was a member of the New Christy Minstrels and spent many years as a band member for Carole King. He has tremendous musical talent!
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| First Arizona City sunset |
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| A flock of geese at sunset |
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| No clouds this night |
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| Radio Tower trail |
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| Picacho Peak in the distance |
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| Desert views |
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| Coming down a ridgeline on Bolt Trail |
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| Our parking spot at Curtis's |
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| Amazing sunset! |
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| Colors changing every minute |
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| Gary and Curtis |
Friday - said our goodbyes to Curtis and headed south for Tucson. We were not able to check into our RV park there until Monday, so we parked the RV for the weekend on Lisa & Jeff's cul-de-sac. A nice spot off the busy streets. We had not told Deb, Joe & Dan that we were arriving that day, so when Lisa and Jeff went to Deb and Joe's for supper that night, we went along and surprised them. (Luckily Deb had plenty of good supper to share - I took a pasta salad along in case we needed to stretch the meal). We had a great visit, Deb's Mom was there visiting from South Dakota - it was good to see her.
Saturday - Lisa and Deb prepared a wonderful brunch for all of us. Late morning, Gary and I went for a long walk for exercise and then spent the afternoon watching college football with Lisa and Jeff. That night we all went to Nonna Maria's in Oracle for pizza. (If you are in the area, it is the best.)
Sunday - After mass, we went over and visited Dan, then to Deb and Joe's to watch the football games. I went out for a good long walk and then we were all at Deb and Joe's for supper. Joe made his delicious marinated, grilled beef roast. Yumm. The nights are cool in the desert - we needed to wear jackets and pants in the evening.
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