Fri/Sat/Sun

I've managed to go for a walk or bike ride every day since my little pinkie is keeping me from the pool! Drats! Friday about 1 I met Kathy Marcil at Olive Garden for lunch and a long visit...lots of catching up to do since this was the first time I've seen her since we got to AZ. We went to the movie "The Artist." Not at all what I expected and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone! Can't imagine why it got 10 Academy nominations!
Saturday Gary & I did a few errands; Saturday night Gordy & Peggy came for happy hour and then we went to a new restaurant near us called Uncle Bears. We had the best fish tacos and too many peanuts. After dinner we came back here and played a couple games of Farkle.
Sunday we were pretty lazy most of the day. We went to the 4 p.m. mass and found it to be the most pleasant time of all to go to church. They had a youth choir and it was not at all crowded! I didn't miss the heavy perfume smells that we usually encounter on Sunday mornings or Saturday afternoons. Tonight we watched a Net Flix "My Mom'sNew Boyfriend" with Meg Ryan. It was pretty cute.

Jan. 24-25-26

This is turning out to be quite a different January compared to the last three. The weather is very nice--even for AZ so can't complain about that. I made it to the pool Tuesday & Wednesday mornings; Tuesday afternoon I walked over and signed up for bridge for next week. I'm anxious to get back to playing cards with the ladies here. Wednesday afternoon we drove down to SanTan shopping mall to Sam's club. After that shopping trip, I had a doctor's appointment for my pinkie that I injured on New Year's Eve. I finally managed to find the time and a hand clinic that would look at my drooping finger. After 2 x-rays, they determined that it would heal if I kept a brace on it for 6-10 weeks...that means NO POOL during that time as it can't get wet! It makes cooking and dishes a little awkward to say the least! If the brace falls off, I have to go right in and start all over with the timing for healing. Rats!! Guess it could be something much worse. However, if it doesn't heal, I surely won't be able to play the piano anymore!!!
Wednesday night our neighbors came over & we played a few games of pinochle and rummy. I even managed to bake a batch of cookies! I've almost forgotten how.
Thursday Gary & I both got hair cuts; I went for a manicure (much needed and hard to do with my awkward finger) and then we grocery shopped.

Back to AZ

Thursday and Friday mornings Lisa was working so I got the kids off to school. Since Thursday night was my last night in NC, we had a movie night. Morgan went to elaborate means to set the stage for watching Rapunzel...even dressed up like her. We had popcorn and the three of us all enjoyed the movie a lot! It was much better than I expected.
Friday morning when Lisa got home from work, she drove me to RDU so I could take my flight back to PHX. It was a long day: I left Lisa's at 9:30am eastern time and with a layover in Atlanta I arrived here at 12:20am eastern time so about 15 hrs...Must say I was pretty tired!
Saturday afternoon Scott drove up from his jump school training in Marana, AZ, for an overnight visit. We went out of pizza and had a great time hearing about his experiences floating in the air...we figured he had jumped more than 80 miles thus far and he still has this week to go. He is really enjoying this training. Lisa will be glad for him to get home on Saturday.
He left after brunch on Sunday; Gary & I didn't do much the rest of the day...I'm still suffering from jet lag!
Monday morning bright & early the Wipers picked us up and we headed for Tubac, AZ, to have lunch with Lambda Chis who are wintering in the area: Al Olson, Tom Olson, Gary McFarlen, BZ, Gary W and John Sagsveen. Many had not seen each other since college so there was lots of reminiscing about prior escapades! We got home in time to have burgers at the Hub and then had a couple of games of rummy with Joyce & Bz. It was a full day!

Tuesday to Wednesday

These past 8 days have been quite non-descript. Lisa worked nights, slept part of the day and the kids and I mostly just hung out! I did a little cooking, laundry, housework, reading, knitting and lots of drinking coffee and sitting. The only eventful day was yesterday, the 17th, as that was the day we picked Morgan up early from school and drove into Fayetteville to Lens Crafters so she could pick out her new frames for her glasses. She was quite excited about getting glasses--to say the least! It took her all of 5 seconds to see the frames that she wanted. Thankfully, they fit her and within the hour she was wearing her new look. We actually had a thunderstorm last night...a very unusual phenomenon in NC in January. It rained quite a bit during the night and is bright and sunny today. The temps were almost 70 yesterday-which is also odd for their winter weather.
Today kids are in school, Lisa is sleeping and I'm doing some laundry, cooking and reading. I did get two vests finished for Morgan over the weekend. She was pretty happy to get both of them.

If it's Thursday, where am I?

The week is flying by; Sunday we spent a very quiet day at home all day without any company. We did a little grocery shopping and I actually made a pretty nice evening meal! I cooked extra so Gary would have some good food while I was away.
Monday it was pretty chilly so I skipped the pool. I did laundry and packed my bags for my trip. We did go to the Hub for burgers with Bz, Mac, and the Brusters for our usual Monday night burger. Afterwards we drove over to Bz & Joyce's for a great 6-handed game of rummy. We were home by 10 as I needed a good night's sleep.
Tuesday morning came early as I was up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the 8a.m. flight from Phoenix to RDU. I had a connection in Mpls. Both flights were on time and uneventful...even got my luggage in Raleigh! Wonders never cease! Lisa & Morgan were there to pick me up. We picked Evan up and went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. I was exhausted so went to bed by 10...(8 AZ time).
Monday I got up early and went with Lisa to Morgan's eye appt. We took her to school and then went back to the commissary to grocery shop. We stopped at Joanne's and I picked up a couple pieces of fabric to make vests for Morgan while I am here.
Scott is in AZ doing free fall jumping and is having a good time...but I think it is pretty exhausting as he makes about 4 jumps each day.
Today the house is quiet; Lisa is sleeping as she starts her four night 12-hr. shifts tonight. Kids are in school and I'm doing laundry. I do have Izzy and Dexter to keep me company!

End of the first week

I'm having trouble keeping track of days of the week and calendar days. All I know is we've been here a full week now. I made it to the pool every morning--even tho it was less than 50 degrees when I would walk over to the center. The 91 degree salt water really feels good when it's that nippy outside. I did make it to the exercise room again too and put a few more miles on a couple of bikes. So far I haven't hurt myself, so that's a plus!
Thursday we didn't do anything special...no company and we even ate at home. Friday night Mac invited us to Sunland Village's wonderful fish dinner. The clubhouse was packed so we sat outside. It got pretty chilly before we were served, but the food was delicious. We visited with Tim & Mac until about 9p.m.
Today we met Gene & Beth downtown Phoenix at Coach and Willies. We decided to make it a real adventure and rode the Light Rail from Mesa to the heart of Phoenix and then walked to our restaurant. We wanted to meet at a sports bar so we could watch the Bison win the football bowl game that was played in Texas. We had a great visit and enjoyed the game. Also, we didn't have any problems riding the rail and would like to do it again. It's much less stressful than driving in all the traffic. We got back to Mesa just in time for 4 p.m. mass and, as usual, there was standing room only! Tonight we spent a quiet evening at home.

Tues/Wed

Both mornings I managed to get to the pool by 8 a.m. Can't believe how much better I feel after some water exercise. Actually, we don't overdo the exercise so it's probably just the warm water that takes the aching out of stiff joints! We call ourselves the "Bobbers" so that pretty much describes how intense our activity is! I think I learn more about where to eat and where to shop than anything else. We do have some lively political discussions from time to time also.
Tuesday afternoon Gary & I went to the movie "War Horse." It was excellent, but so sad in many parts...a true story from WWI in Europe.
This afternoon I actually made it to the exercise room and found a couple of bikes to ride; I hope I can get up in the morning after all that activity! Tonight we were invited to Roger & Dorine's for a few games of race-horse pinochle and farkle. Dorine & I started out lucky, but our luck ended after the first two games. We were home by 9:30 and that's late for our area! The weather was perfect these 2 days.

Two days down

New Year's Day we had Mac & Tim over for a chili feed. We spent the evening just catching up with the news of the McFarlen family.
Today I spent over an hour at the pool first thing this morning. It really felt good to get in that nice warm salt water. Gary & I had the car washed; it was absolutely filthy after the trip down. Can't believe what a fantastic job they do at the car washes here...we have nothing to compare them to in ND. Then we went to the mall for a few items. Tonight Joyce & Bz picked us up and we met Mac & Tim at TGI Fridays for a great meal. Joyce & Bz came in and we played some mean games of rummy until about 11 p.m. That's the latest I've been up in a long time. I'm finally beginning to feel rested and a little organized here in the condo. Weather was perfect today!

2012 begins

Our days leading up to the New Year were long and grueling! We left Metigoshe about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. The first 200 miles were slow, icy and foggy! We decided to take hwy 3 and eventually connect with hwy 83 and once we hit the SD border the road deteriorated but the visibility improved. However, it rained the whole day as we crossed SD. We drove as far as North Platte, Neb., the first night. Stayed in the Comfort Inn, but didn't get much sleep. The bed was too hard or maybe we were just too tired for sleep.
Friday we were on the road again at 6:30. Hwy 83 in Nebraska is a very good road and there wasn't much traffic. We made it as far as Albuquerque that day, had a quick dinner at Applebees and collapsed into bed at the Sleep Inn very early. We were up and out on the road by 7:00 Saturday. Our drive was shorter, but there was lots of traffic on I40. We arrived in Mesa about 2 p.m.
After unpacking the car, Gary went for a few groceries and I began putting things away. Unfortunately, I did something in haste as I grabbed a pile of clothes and I either broke or badly sprained the little finger on my right hand. Ouch! That slowed me down a bit as I had to ice it a few times. It looks as tho I will never have a straight finger again, but as Mom would say, "You'll die with that finger!"
We were invited to Bz & Joyce's to ring in the New Year, but we opted out and I hit the bed by 8 p.m...too tired to even read, much less stay up long enough to watch the ball drop on Times Square. Am I getting old or what?
New Year's Day we continued to put things away and made another grocery run. It takes awhile to have enough groceries to actually make anything and we're sick of eating out so right now we have a big pot of chili cooking and we're waiting for Mac & Tim to join us for a bowl of hot stuff!