Sunday was a day to watch football...two games! That's two more than I've watched all year. We had Gary's former boss Gordy and his friend Peggy over for the afternoon and supper while we watched the play-offs. At least this year I know who will be in the Super Bowl!
Monday I made it to the pool and then drove to Superstition Springs Mall to meet my cousin Faith for lunch. We did a little shopping...my first since I got here! I really miss Kathy as she was my best shopping buddy! It just isn't the same to shop without her. Our Monday night ritual of hamburgers and beer with Wipers continues followed by some competitive card games and dessert at our place. We always enjoy the friendly battle and it seems that Joyce and I are very unlucky!
Tuesday I hit the pool again before my afternoon bridge game. My lack of cards (and luck) continued, but it's fun anyway. However, I really miss my bridge player friends from the lake... Tuesday night we played cards with neighbors so we've gotten lots of hours in around the game table.
Wednesday I skipped the pool (I slept in)! Most of the day I sat on the couch, watched a movie (Presumed Innocent) and knit! I'm about finished with the doll outfit and this time the sweater looks like it might fit Jackie (Morgan's doll.)
We met Gary's best friend from Minto HS, Ed Stoltman, for supper at Coco's Restaurant. Afterwards we came to our condo for a visit. He and Gary had a great time reminiscing about former classmates, neighbors and teachers. He is renting a place at Apache Wells so he's pretty close to us. He lost his wife 2 years ago to cancer. It was so nice to see him down here.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
20-21-22
I barely have time to make entries in my blog these days. I did continue to sneeze and wipe my eyes for a couple more days. I don't know what is causing my allergies, but I'm hoping the worst is over. By Saturday it seemed that I was back to some kind of "normal." Thursday afternoon we drove to Phoenix to Billy and Geraldine's. They had invited us, Bernsteins, and Gary & Sandra Nordmark for an evening of visiting and a great meal. Seems all we do is eat and talk! We were home before 10--which is late in our village.
I did make it to the pool both Thursday and Friday mornings; Friday it was 42 degrees when I walked over so the warm pool really felt good. Friday night Gary & I went to O'Sullivans Irish Pub in Mesa to watch the Sioux vs. UN-Omaha. It was a terrible showing for the Sioux...score at the end was 8-4; worst defeat they've suffered in their own arena.
Saturday morning we spent grocery shopping...we drove to 4 different locations in search of the grocery store "Bashas" only to find that the first 3 had been closed. We must have been 15 miles from home by the time we found one that was still open. This area is so depressed with so many empty store fronts...including Bashas! I don't think we'll bother to go there again! In the afternoon we went to church and then to O'Sullivans again to see if the Sioux could redeem themselves. We met Gary & Sandra Nordmark there. The game Saturday night was a real thriller and we won 4-2! It was quite a different game from Friday night...thank goodness!
We were home before 9 as the game time was 6:00 AZ time.
I did make it to the pool both Thursday and Friday mornings; Friday it was 42 degrees when I walked over so the warm pool really felt good. Friday night Gary & I went to O'Sullivans Irish Pub in Mesa to watch the Sioux vs. UN-Omaha. It was a terrible showing for the Sioux...score at the end was 8-4; worst defeat they've suffered in their own arena.
Saturday morning we spent grocery shopping...we drove to 4 different locations in search of the grocery store "Bashas" only to find that the first 3 had been closed. We must have been 15 miles from home by the time we found one that was still open. This area is so depressed with so many empty store fronts...including Bashas! I don't think we'll bother to go there again! In the afternoon we went to church and then to O'Sullivans again to see if the Sioux could redeem themselves. We met Gary & Sandra Nordmark there. The game Saturday night was a real thriller and we won 4-2! It was quite a different game from Friday night...thank goodness!
We were home before 9 as the game time was 6:00 AZ time.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
End of week 2
Monday morning I didn't make it to the pool as I actually slept in! I did manage a walk tho as the sun was shining and the temps were perfect for that. Monday evening Bz and Joyce picked us up and we make our weekly trek to "Dubs" for hamburgers and beer followed by an evening of rummy games at our house. Tuesday I did go to the pool and played bridge at the center in the afternoon. The cards didn't improve much from last Tuesday, but I did enjoy it. I have been busy knitting for Morgan's doll, Jackie, so the rest of the day I worked on a pair of pants for her. I like to think I'm beginning to understand how to read patterns; this project actually looks like the picture!
Wednesday I had some kind of allergy attack and spent much of the day sneezing and blowing my nose. I skipped the pool and went for a long walk. In the afternoon, Gary & I hit the golf course for the first time. It is such a beautiful course and fun as it isn't too long. For our first attempt, we were pretty satisfied! I continued my knitting and almost finished the project I'm working on.
Wednesday I had some kind of allergy attack and spent much of the day sneezing and blowing my nose. I skipped the pool and went for a long walk. In the afternoon, Gary & I hit the golf course for the first time. It is such a beautiful course and fun as it isn't too long. For our first attempt, we were pretty satisfied! I continued my knitting and almost finished the project I'm working on.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The end of the weekend
Saturday night was quiet on the home front. I watched the movie "Becoming Jane" about Jane Austen; Gary listened to the UND Sioux vs. Gophers hockey game over the Internet. The Sioux won tonight (but they lost last night--darn!!) The movie wasn't very good so I'm glad Gary didn't waste his time on that!
Sunday morning I did some cooking; in the afternoon Billy & Geraldine Siercks and Faye & Dave Bernstein came for some competitive pinochle card games and supper. We played 5 games (six-handed) and the men won 3 and the women 2. We women worked hard to get those 2 wins. The cards weren't going our way! We had a great time and I think everyone got enough to eat. I'm sure we were the last ones up in the neighborhood as they didn't leave until midnight! Hope we didn't keep any of the neighbors awake! Talked to Anne and she told me that both Kutter and Brody had won gold medals at the ski races in Assissippi, Manitoba, over the weekend. Sounded like it was cold up there (surprise) but they had a really good time!
Sunday morning I did some cooking; in the afternoon Billy & Geraldine Siercks and Faye & Dave Bernstein came for some competitive pinochle card games and supper. We played 5 games (six-handed) and the men won 3 and the women 2. We women worked hard to get those 2 wins. The cards weren't going our way! We had a great time and I think everyone got enough to eat. I'm sure we were the last ones up in the neighborhood as they didn't leave until midnight! Hope we didn't keep any of the neighbors awake! Talked to Anne and she told me that both Kutter and Brody had won gold medals at the ski races in Assissippi, Manitoba, over the weekend. Sounded like it was cold up there (surprise) but they had a really good time!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Time flies!
I made it to the pool every morning this week...except I take the weekends off. My pool buddies do the same. It's always worthwhile as I learn where to eat, where not to eat, where to shop for bargains, who is having health problems and a wide variety of other tidbits. Wednesday afternoon we were invited to Gordy and Peggy's golf club for an afternoon social. Gordy was Gary's boss at IDS over 35 years ago, but we have always maintained a friendship with them. He has a new significant other since his wife Audrey passed away a few years ago. We really enjoy Peggy too. It was fun catching up with them and news of their families.
Thursday we drove to the Chocolate Factory on Camelback Rd. in Scottsdale to meet our friends from Crazy Horse, AZ, for lunch. We visited them there last year...they're only 3 miles from the Mexican border. They have given up going in to Mexico for any reason now as the situation at the border towns is anything but safe! It was great to see them again and the lunch was great too! We did some shopping on our way home. It's hard to find time for that some days! Thursday evening we had neighbors over for a few fun card games.
Friday afternoon, Gary's brother Gene and wife Beth came over; we had tickets for the stage play "Chicago." It was really enjoyable! The costumes and dancing were great and we all loved the music. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays before the play. We came home and visited until quite late. We had so much catching up to do with them. They stayed overnight. This morning after brunch we made a trip to Cosco for more groceries. They went back to Surprise after our shopping and we managed to make it to church at 4 p.m. Once again, the churches were packed with standing room only. We managed to get ushered into a pew...luckily! Parking is such a problem at the church too. It was a beautiful afternoon...perfect temperature at 74 degrees. We had a quiet evening at home. I spent more of the time knitting the sweater for Morgan's doll. So far it looks like it will be big for the doll and too small for Morgan! I'm enjoying TRYING to read knitting patterns!
Thursday we drove to the Chocolate Factory on Camelback Rd. in Scottsdale to meet our friends from Crazy Horse, AZ, for lunch. We visited them there last year...they're only 3 miles from the Mexican border. They have given up going in to Mexico for any reason now as the situation at the border towns is anything but safe! It was great to see them again and the lunch was great too! We did some shopping on our way home. It's hard to find time for that some days! Thursday evening we had neighbors over for a few fun card games.
Friday afternoon, Gary's brother Gene and wife Beth came over; we had tickets for the stage play "Chicago." It was really enjoyable! The costumes and dancing were great and we all loved the music. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays before the play. We came home and visited until quite late. We had so much catching up to do with them. They stayed overnight. This morning after brunch we made a trip to Cosco for more groceries. They went back to Surprise after our shopping and we managed to make it to church at 4 p.m. Once again, the churches were packed with standing room only. We managed to get ushered into a pew...luckily! Parking is such a problem at the church too. It was a beautiful afternoon...perfect temperature at 74 degrees. We had a quiet evening at home. I spent more of the time knitting the sweater for Morgan's doll. So far it looks like it will be big for the doll and too small for Morgan! I'm enjoying TRYING to read knitting patterns!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A new week
I made up my mind that Monday would be the day I start my new routine...the pool had to be first! It was quite chilly (42 degrees--above zero) when I walked to the pool. However, the 91 degree water was worth the brisk walk. The pool was steaming and we must have looked like some old wrinkled bodies boiling away to anyone who passed by. I felt so good after my walk and water exercise. It gave me energy to tackle more technology challenges that we had been putting off.
Our first project was to hook up and activate our new Sirius FM radio that we got for Christmas. I almost convinced Gary to just pay someone at Best Buy to do it for us, but when he found out what they charged, he decided that we could do it ourselves. I get a real anxious feeling when I'm doing something that is way above my pay grade...anything that involves reading a series of directions written by someone in India who already knows how these things work falls into that category. He worked on the stringing wires in the car and I got on the computer to activate our license. Wonder of all wonders, we got it to work! Next, we debated if we should go buy a new TV for our ROKU or try one more time to get it to play on the current TV that is in our living room. One call to Cox communications solved our problems and we now can watch movies on demand from Netflix as well as get our DVD player to work. We were on a roll! Now that we have both our Nook ereaders working, we should be set for the rest of the winter. I've toyed with the idea of getting a new cell phone, but I think I'd be pushing my luck to get yet one more gadget to work. Enough is enough!
Monday evening Joyce and Bz (pronounced beez) Wiper picked us up and we went to Dubs for a hamburger and beer. It's a popular restaurant only a couple of blocks away and a very crowded place on Mondays for retirees as they have some half-price specials! We had a nice visit with them and they stopped in afterwards for a couple great games of rummy. Unfortunately, the guys won both of them!
Tuesday I made it to the pool again; it was equally as cold today as it was yesterday. I must say it's invigorating to walk home in the chilly air after a swim in a nice warm pool. After lunch I played my first afternoon of bridge with the ladies at the club...I didn't play well, I might add, but it was fun to see so many familiar faces again. I didn't remember any names; I've pretty much given up on that effort and I just smile and say hello. Tonight we watched a terrible movie about a wedding; it was so bad that I can't even remember the title; I know I won't be recommending it to anyone! It did warm up this afternoon to the high 60's and the sun felt really good!
Our first project was to hook up and activate our new Sirius FM radio that we got for Christmas. I almost convinced Gary to just pay someone at Best Buy to do it for us, but when he found out what they charged, he decided that we could do it ourselves. I get a real anxious feeling when I'm doing something that is way above my pay grade...anything that involves reading a series of directions written by someone in India who already knows how these things work falls into that category. He worked on the stringing wires in the car and I got on the computer to activate our license. Wonder of all wonders, we got it to work! Next, we debated if we should go buy a new TV for our ROKU or try one more time to get it to play on the current TV that is in our living room. One call to Cox communications solved our problems and we now can watch movies on demand from Netflix as well as get our DVD player to work. We were on a roll! Now that we have both our Nook ereaders working, we should be set for the rest of the winter. I've toyed with the idea of getting a new cell phone, but I think I'd be pushing my luck to get yet one more gadget to work. Enough is enough!
Monday evening Joyce and Bz (pronounced beez) Wiper picked us up and we went to Dubs for a hamburger and beer. It's a popular restaurant only a couple of blocks away and a very crowded place on Mondays for retirees as they have some half-price specials! We had a nice visit with them and they stopped in afterwards for a couple great games of rummy. Unfortunately, the guys won both of them!
Tuesday I made it to the pool again; it was equally as cold today as it was yesterday. I must say it's invigorating to walk home in the chilly air after a swim in a nice warm pool. After lunch I played my first afternoon of bridge with the ladies at the club...I didn't play well, I might add, but it was fun to see so many familiar faces again. I didn't remember any names; I've pretty much given up on that effort and I just smile and say hello. Tonight we watched a terrible movie about a wedding; it was so bad that I can't even remember the title; I know I won't be recommending it to anyone! It did warm up this afternoon to the high 60's and the sun felt really good!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The weekend
Saturday morning we attacked the new phone that had been charging overnight and believe it or not, it worked! We now can have friends leave us a message if we're not here! We are convinced that the other phone was really faulty and it certainly wasn't our lack of "techniness" that caused the problem. However, our next effort was to hook up our "ROKU" so we could watch movies on demand from Netflix. Well, needless to say, that didn't work either. A call to COX communications is in order...or we may just buy another TV and hook it up to that! We did get in a nice walk around SV East. The weather is about perfect...in the 60's.
Sunday morning we went to church only to find that both churches were filled to the brim. The perfume and warm air about knocked me out (I'm convinced that old ladies have no sense of smell--thus the heavy doses of perfume!) so we ended up sitting on temporary chairs in the courtyard where we could almost hear what was going on. The air was wonderful tho! I can't believe how many people try to pack in to both of the church services. We saw 3 people from our Westhope parish of St. Andrews. It made it seem almost like home!
About noon Kathy Marcil came for brunch. We hadn't seen her since last March and it took until 5 p.m. to hear all the newest "Kathy" stories. Her life may be disorganized, but it sure is interesting! She seems to be doing well since her bout with cancer 2 years ago. Thank God for that!
Sunday morning we went to church only to find that both churches were filled to the brim. The perfume and warm air about knocked me out (I'm convinced that old ladies have no sense of smell--thus the heavy doses of perfume!) so we ended up sitting on temporary chairs in the courtyard where we could almost hear what was going on. The air was wonderful tho! I can't believe how many people try to pack in to both of the church services. We saw 3 people from our Westhope parish of St. Andrews. It made it seem almost like home!
About noon Kathy Marcil came for brunch. We hadn't seen her since last March and it took until 5 p.m. to hear all the newest "Kathy" stories. Her life may be disorganized, but it sure is interesting! She seems to be doing well since her bout with cancer 2 years ago. Thank God for that!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Another day of organizing
This morning we were up bright and early and headed to the "Bottineau" breakfast at BJ's Restaurant in Mesa. Greta, the woman in our Garmin, had the wrong address so we had to rely on our memories to find the place. (We had been there a few times last year--but that was last year!) Fortunately, we happened upon it just in time to join about 30 other folks from the Bottineau area wintering in AZ for a visit and breakfast. Yes, the talk was about shoulder surgeries, MS, cancer, etc. Not too surprising, I guess!
The rest of the morning we spent tidying up our condo. It wasn't as clean as last year so it took awhile to get it clean. My mother would approve now! The afternoon was spent in near hysterics trying to get our new phone with the answering machine working. We laughed so hard each time we tried to record a message, only to find that it wouldn't work. We followed the directions carefully--and, time after time we got the same results. Isn't that a sign of insanity? When you do the same thing over and over expecting different results??? Well, we had to finally admit that the damn thing didn't work so our mission after we ate tonight was to return it to Walmart and try yet another brand. Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to tackle a second phone. Yippee!
The rest of the morning we spent tidying up our condo. It wasn't as clean as last year so it took awhile to get it clean. My mother would approve now! The afternoon was spent in near hysterics trying to get our new phone with the answering machine working. We laughed so hard each time we tried to record a message, only to find that it wouldn't work. We followed the directions carefully--and, time after time we got the same results. Isn't that a sign of insanity? When you do the same thing over and over expecting different results??? Well, we had to finally admit that the damn thing didn't work so our mission after we ate tonight was to return it to Walmart and try yet another brand. Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to tackle a second phone. Yippee!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
December, 2010...the brrr and the blur
The last part of December was very cold, stormy and hectic. We were scheduled to go to North Carolina on the 20th for Christmas with Scott, Lisa, Evan and Morgan. We arrived at the airport in Minot at 9 a.m. only to be told 5 hours later that our flight into Minot had been canceled as it was snowing too much for the planes to land. We were very disappointed as we drove home in very stormy conditions and we had been rescheduled to fly out of Grand Forks 2 days later. Tuesday we drove to Grand Forks, stayed at the Fairfield Inn that night so we wouldn't miss our flight on Wednesday, and caught our flight the next morning. We made our connections and arrived at RDU (Raleigh/Durum) on time. Scott and family were waiting for us. It was so great to see all of them again. Scott had just flown in from Dubai as his flight from Iraq home had been diverted there due to the storm across Europe at the time. We were all happy to be there!
Christmas Eve was very sad for us as we got a call that Kathy McFarlen had passed away from her lung, liver and spine cancer--just 3 weeks to the day from when she was diagnosed. We were devastated! The day after Christmas, Lillington received about 7" of heavy, wet snow. The kids were ecstatic and so were Izzy & Dexter. We spent 3 days inside working on 2-1,000 piece puzzles...Lisa spent part of that time wiping ice chunks off the dogs. It was a fun time just to be together! One night we ate at the Crab Shack and that was a treat for us to have Dungeness crab...something we don't see where we live! Christmas Day we deep-fried (rather, Scott did) a whole turkey. It was a great treat and we served that with all the "fixins" as they say in the South! We flew back to GF on the 29th, met Brett for breakfast and drove back to the lake that afternoon.
We spent Thursday unpacking from that trip and packing the car for the trip South. Anne & Brent & kids met us at the A-Frame Thursday night and treated us to a great last dinner in ND. We left Friday morning despite the warnings that the roads were snow-covered and icy in spots. We headed to Bismarck, then west and south to Spearfish, SD. We lucked out and had great roads the whole way. We spent the night in Spearfish at the Fairfield Inn. It was New Year's Eve, but we were both in bed by 9 p.m.--exhausted!
Saturday we managed to drive to Castle Rock, CO, to McFarlens. It didn't seem like New Year's Day at all. It was so hard to be there without Kathy. We turned in early that night also. Sunday we went to church with Mac and spent the afternoon with all the kids making last-minute arrangements for Kathy's service on Monday. That evening Claudia & Bob Sladic had all of us over for a great Italian meal and an enjoyable visit.
Monday morning we were at the church shortly after 9. Kathy's service was beautiful. The music was awesome! Katie, Ryan and I gave the eulogies at the end of the service. That was one of the hardest things I've ever been asked to do. The church was packed and there wasn't a dry eye by the time the service was over. A great lunch was served before the grave-side service. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Castle Rock. After the burial, we went back to Mac's and celebrated Kathy's life with more good food and drink. We were so thankful we were able to get to CO for the service.
Tuesday morning we left for Albuquerque. Once again the roads were perfect! We arrived at Danny and Maxine's about 4 p.m. We had a great visit with them. Scott and Gretchen joined us for dinner. We left Albuquerque Wednesday morning and drove to Mesa. We arrived here in the late afternoon. After unpacking the car, we headed for the grocery store to "stock up" on the essentials as our cupboards were bare. We collapsed into bed about 9 p.m.
Wednesday we continued unpacking and putting things away and made another run to the grocery store and Superstition Mall. Gosh, it was good to get back there!
(to the mall, I mean) I don't think Gary shared my enthusiasm! Wednesday night we played cards with some neighbors. However, it never gets very late and that is fortunate as I am bushed by night!
Christmas Eve was very sad for us as we got a call that Kathy McFarlen had passed away from her lung, liver and spine cancer--just 3 weeks to the day from when she was diagnosed. We were devastated! The day after Christmas, Lillington received about 7" of heavy, wet snow. The kids were ecstatic and so were Izzy & Dexter. We spent 3 days inside working on 2-1,000 piece puzzles...Lisa spent part of that time wiping ice chunks off the dogs. It was a fun time just to be together! One night we ate at the Crab Shack and that was a treat for us to have Dungeness crab...something we don't see where we live! Christmas Day we deep-fried (rather, Scott did) a whole turkey. It was a great treat and we served that with all the "fixins" as they say in the South! We flew back to GF on the 29th, met Brett for breakfast and drove back to the lake that afternoon.
We spent Thursday unpacking from that trip and packing the car for the trip South. Anne & Brent & kids met us at the A-Frame Thursday night and treated us to a great last dinner in ND. We left Friday morning despite the warnings that the roads were snow-covered and icy in spots. We headed to Bismarck, then west and south to Spearfish, SD. We lucked out and had great roads the whole way. We spent the night in Spearfish at the Fairfield Inn. It was New Year's Eve, but we were both in bed by 9 p.m.--exhausted!
Saturday we managed to drive to Castle Rock, CO, to McFarlens. It didn't seem like New Year's Day at all. It was so hard to be there without Kathy. We turned in early that night also. Sunday we went to church with Mac and spent the afternoon with all the kids making last-minute arrangements for Kathy's service on Monday. That evening Claudia & Bob Sladic had all of us over for a great Italian meal and an enjoyable visit.
Monday morning we were at the church shortly after 9. Kathy's service was beautiful. The music was awesome! Katie, Ryan and I gave the eulogies at the end of the service. That was one of the hardest things I've ever been asked to do. The church was packed and there wasn't a dry eye by the time the service was over. A great lunch was served before the grave-side service. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Castle Rock. After the burial, we went back to Mac's and celebrated Kathy's life with more good food and drink. We were so thankful we were able to get to CO for the service.
Tuesday morning we left for Albuquerque. Once again the roads were perfect! We arrived at Danny and Maxine's about 4 p.m. We had a great visit with them. Scott and Gretchen joined us for dinner. We left Albuquerque Wednesday morning and drove to Mesa. We arrived here in the late afternoon. After unpacking the car, we headed for the grocery store to "stock up" on the essentials as our cupboards were bare. We collapsed into bed about 9 p.m.
Wednesday we continued unpacking and putting things away and made another run to the grocery store and Superstition Mall. Gosh, it was good to get back there!
(to the mall, I mean) I don't think Gary shared my enthusiasm! Wednesday night we played cards with some neighbors. However, it never gets very late and that is fortunate as I am bushed by night!
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