Apricity West 5

January 3, 2025 - Friday

The usual - dance, walk, eat and drink. Lunch at Sizzling Wok and no supper for us. 

 

Cindy got a great picture of the brilliant sunset.

January 4, 2025 - Saturday

Even though the allergies are really plugging me up, I did my walk with LOTS of tissues in my pocket. Worked on joining my granny squares - it is the perfect size for our queen bed. 

 

January 5, 2025 - Sunday

Weighed in and miraculously lost another pound! Walked in the cold air after online church. Sat out in the afternoon when the sun warmed things up. Cindy came over and joined us for drinks and shrimp cocktail. 

 

January 6, 2025 - Monday

Day 100 of WW tracking and walking! It was low 40’s, but as the day went on, it warmed up so that we could sit outside in the afternoon - Cindy came by too. 

 

January 7, 2025 - Tuesday

Got up and did my walk wearing the cowl scarf I made this summer. It helps keep my shoulders warm. Joanne and I went to ukulele group - I drove into Wickenburg Senior Center. It was a good session with several new songs challenging us. I only have 3 more weeks to play with this group before we move on to Tucson - I will miss it terribly. Need to start looking for a group in Tucson and back home - no luck last year. 

 

January 8, 2025 - Wednesday

Walked and then danced. It was cold again but I felt the best time of the day was early as the winds were picking up again later in the day. During the night we were rocking and rolling with gusting winds and a persistent branch scraping on the rig. We noticed the wind had taken off with our new Cuisinart grill cover. Rich rode around the general area looking under rigs and all over. No luck.

 

Cindy and I practiced a while for the jam tomorrow. 

 

Dot and Harvey had us over to dinner tonight with Don and Darice who are only here another week before heading back to Texas. They are longtime friends and some past relation to Dot. We met them last year at the Eclipse Party in Mason, TX and really enjoy their company. 

Delicious Lasagna soup…

I haven’t mentioned that I have been studying Spanish with the DuoLingo app for 24 consecutive days - my grandson challenged me because he has been doing it since September. I like it. I took Spanish in college 60 years ago, but have never used it much. Gotta keep the brain working. 

 

January 9, 2025 - Thursday 

A different approach today - we went into Safeway at 7:30 and Rich had a haircut appointment at 9am. After we got groceries put away, Don knocked on our door with our grill cover in hand. We told them about it and he figured it out to be headed in a certain direction given how the wind blew! Did I mention he is a retired airline pilot - probably knows a lot about wind and weather! He found it exactly where he thought it would be leaning up against a split-rail fence post. Today was the last day that they can come to the jam; they seem to enjoy it. 

 

The wind is still howling and my nose is just raw from the constant blowing. There was a medical emergency early this morning - the ambulance came into the park and a half hour later, a life flight helicopter tried to land 3 times. It is so dry and dusty in that field that they couldn’t land. The ambulance drove out and headed to Congress Fire Station where there is a heliport. 🙏

Temps got into the 50’s at 11am so I walked then. The hardest decision was what to wear - 3 layers of long sleeves and hooded sweatshirt with a ball cap. The winds were 20mph to my back when I started. Was worried about the return trip with it blowing in my face, but it wasn’t that bad after all. Glad I did it…

The jam was a success today - the bass player came and we had an almost full audience. Rich was his best yet on harmonica…

Buen dia, mi amigos! 

 

Apricity West 5

December 27, 2024 - Friday

Danced and walked - then just chilled for the rest of the day. Dee and Dwight invited us to the Bar 7 for dinner and dancing. The food and the music (Casandra Long Band) was excellent. The dance floor is out back on the patio where they have put up a roof and placed propane heaters around the room. 

December 28, 2024 - Saturday

This is day 90 of my walking and WW tracking streak. This little guy wasn’t afraid of me…

It was in the 60’s today so we made a turkey and cabbage soup - tasted real good. The sun was shining so we sat out in the afternoon.

 

December 29, 2024 - Sunday

Slow start this morning, but was thrilled, surprised, baffled that I stayed the same on the scale. We had a good breakfast and then I went to church online.  A simply gorgeous day for a walk; then sat outside. Gary and Kathy stopped by to visit. Gary has a strum-stick he wants me to experiment with. Never heard of it that I can recall, but I'll “TRY” anything. 

We showed them the harmonica microphone that Charles donated to the cause of making music. It works great with the Mighty Amp we bought at Musical Surprise back when I got my ukulele. We notice that there is a metronome and several drum rhythms that can play in the background. Listen to the clip in the email…

Allergies starting to act up again. Taking Zyrtec and local honey, but I have been sneezing like crazy. I keep trying to think of what changed. As I look out our dinette window, I see a  flurry of bees around the flowering tree. Where there are flowers, there are bees. Where there are bees, there is pollen. BINGO!

 

December 30, 2024 - Monday HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY ZACHARY!

Danced and waited until later to take my walk. Another gorgeous day in the high 60’s with skies a bright blue. We sat outside and Gary came over to loan me his strum-stick. It is quite cool with only 3 strings to worry about and really only one is necessary to make a beautiful sound. You can make it richer with more skills, but for now, I was grateful to be able to play with it. 

He also brought over a few of his American Indian flutes to play and asked if I could join him on my ukulele. It actually had a nice sound with the two instruments together. We will work more on this in a quiet place with no background noise. Double flute! 

December 31, 2024 - Tuesday

Terrible night last night as I sneezed through the night and tried desperately to find the right position of my CPAP mask to not drown. Still went to ukulele group practice in Wickenburg with a pocketful of tissues. I got to play a couple of songs with my banjolele - not bad!

 

Had soup when we got home and took an Alka Seltzer Plus before a short nap in preparation for my obligatory walk. I was surprised that I made it. We then went to Wild West Saloon for our early dinner - split a pizzadilla there and brought home a dozen wings to settle in for the night. 

 

January 1, 2025 - Wednesday HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Slept until 8am, but still made it to the First Day Hike on time at 9am. Eleven of us walked out to Inspiration Point - just under 3 miles total. It was a gorgeous day for a hike. 

Me, Melissa and Cindy…

Three coyote holes…

Later Gary and Rich went up to the Clubhouse to practice on the flutes. He brought a plastic mouthpiece that Rich could use to try it out.

Video clip in the body of this email. 

 

Cindy came by with a bottle of Prosecco to bring in the new year. I had some dried cranberries to embellish it. The two of us polished off the bottle then Rich cooked us Asian shrimp on a skewer with rice and Brussel sprouts. Soooo good...

January 2, 2025 - Thursday

Allergies are still haunting me, but I continue to walk with a bulging pocketful of tissues! Brought my banjolele to the jam today, but will hold off on the strum-stick until I figure it out. Rich played two songs on the harmonica…

 

 

 

 

Apricity West 5

December 20, 2024 - Friday

Slept good and had to rush to go for my walk before dancing. Nothing going on today until 4pm when we go to Dot and Harvey’s to sing/play Christmas music. 

 

The “audience”, except for Rich and Dot, not seated next to Rich (who play their harmonicas) when it feels right. 

Dot and I taking a picture of each other while taking a picture of each other...

Harvey, Denny, Joanne and I played for over an hour and ended with Silent Night. Joanne debuted her new guitar - it’s a beauty and has a very rich tone. 

The feast… plus delicious meatballs and wings not pictured. I made sure to eat VERY few points during the day!

December 21, 2024 - Saturday

We got up early to go to Safeway and spend a small fortune on food. It gets expensive buying the correct items for WW. Hopefully, we don’t have to go back for a long while. When we returned, we were surprised with a Secret Santa gift on our chair. We don’t have a clue who it is, but the delicious Chex Mix is now gone and the cookies will be soon. 

I made some WW Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. I think they came out good; Rich, not so much. We hung our new Christmas Decoration with care:

Dee stopped in for happy hour and Cindy came over with 4 of her homemade cinnamon rolls. 

After happy hour, Rich and I were too tired to make supper, so we each had a roll for dinner! Afterwards, I watched The Six Triple Eight on Netflix. It was excellent and I learned so much - highly recommend watching it. Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington are phenomenal humans.

 

December 22, 2024 - Sunday

Lost weight again today, although I can’t imagine how it happened. Chillaxed as we had our 2nd cinnamon roll as a reward. I waited until after church to go for my walk. It was gorgeous t-shirt weather. I continue to assemble the granny square blanket, but can’t find all of the squares I have done. They are somewhere in this little house on wheels!

 

Tonight is the North Ranch Christmas Lights Parade. Dot invited us down to sit around a fire in her yard to watch it go by. Harvey started the fire at dark and kept feeding it mesquite to keep it roaring. 

Dot handing out Peppermint Patties (crème de cocoa, crème de mint, and Congac)…wonderful! 

The video in the body of this email is Don and Darice!

John and Geri did another great job organizing and advertising the parade - they calculate that 30 lit up golf carts and 1 tractor lined up at the Activity Center. They drive through every street in North Ranch, including the RV park; then they return to the Activity Center for snacks and hot cocoa. 

December 23, 2024 - Monday

The last line dance class before Christmas and the last day of dancing to Christmas tunes. Dee wore her light-up hat and brought her dancing gnome.

Cindy brought 4 different kinds of cookies - don’t know how she manages all of this in her 17’ motorhome! I brought one of each home for Rich and I to split. Then I went for my walk - 86 days in a row. It was a gorgeous sunny day in the 70’s and we sat outside for the whole afternoon. Eddi came over to wish us a Merry Christmas and wondered if we knew anyone who wears size XLT Wrangler shirts. I thought of Dwight so he and Dee came by for cocktail hour and I took him over to Eddi’s. He found 4 shirts that he liked and that fit him well.  

 

We gave Gary, friend/work camper, a couple of the cowboy cookies we got in Yarnell last week. He really liked them and said that he would try to replicate them. Well, he did a good job as he gave us two very large cookies of his own recipe. They were delicious - not exactly the same, but very close. 

December 24, 2024 - Tuesday

Went for my walk at 8:30 and then to yoga at 10am. I haven’t been in so long due to ukulele group, but we are not playing until next year. Well, it turns out the 10 o’clock class wasn’t happening today. At least I tried!

 

Quiet, beautiful day here although it is supposed to drop down to the 60’s later in the week. We sat outside most of the afternoon. Then Cindy stopped by on her way to a Christmas Eve bonfire party. She leaves tomorrow morning for Wyoming to spend Christmas with her family for five days. We will miss her...

 

Rich grilled lamb chops to have with rosemary potatoes and peas. 

Our families sent in pictures and FaceTime from the parties back home. So good to see their beautiful faces.💕

 

The online Christmas Church Service from back home was lovely, following the carols to tell the story. 

 

December 25, 2024 - Wednesday 

MERRY CHRISTMAS / HAPPY HANUKKAH

We have no plans for today, but I did walk in the chill, bake a WW dessert and continue working on my Granny Square blanket, since we found the missing squares. No sitting out today - no sun, cool temps. 

 

I ate the Christmas ornament (candy cane) 😛 after lunch. Rich made beef stew for the first time in forever. It was very good.

After dinner, Dee and Dwight brought over her cherry cheesecake and some appetizers they had at Dwight’s. 

 

December 26, 2024 - Thursday

Slept in this morning and didn’t leave the house until 8:45am to pick up a package from my son and his wife. She is a very good maker and baker of gourmet goodies; this year it was a jar of Strawberry Mango jam, Enchilada Sauce, and a box of Dark Chocolate Cayenne Nut Clusters! Soooo good! 

On our way to the Post Office, we noticed that the Flash Donut Truck was set up outside of Dollar General Grocery store, soooooooo we stopped for a 1/2 dozen piping hot, fresh made, mini-cinnamon sugar donuts. That was BEFORE we opened the package from home!

Well, I surely had to take my walk now. When I got back Gary had left us another two-pack of his latest version of Cowboy Cookies! We will definitely be pacing ourselves although I would love to in-take everything today. 

Charles, who Rich got the harmonicas from, knocked on the door to give him a microphone for playing. I did not know there was such a thing, but we have it now.  

 

Rich is making chili with ground turkey for tonight, so it’s a low point meal. We were inside until the sun came out with no wind mid-afternoon.

 

No jam today...

 

 

Apricity West 5

December 13, 2024 - Friday

Too cold to walk before dancing today, so I went in the mid-afternoon with sunshine on my face. Cindy’s friend, Elaine, came to stay with her for the weekend, so she came to dance too. She was here for a week last year too and guess where she is from - Rochester, NY. She is dry camping over in Quartzsite, not far from here. They both came over at cocktail hour and we got to find out more about each other.   

Lee High School basketball season started this weekend. Both Leanna and Jacob are on the varsity team as sophomores, so it will be an exciting season. I never got the home game online. Really need to get that figured out. Stay tuned.

 

December 14, 2024 - Saturday

Lazy Saturday morning lounging in my fleece pj’s until it warmed up a little for a walk before we went to Surprise to visit John and Eileen. Of course, we went out to lunch at Saigon Kitchen - delicious. When we drove back to their house, she invited us in for ice cream! Oh boy! Can’t remember the last time we had ice cream and it was Rich’s favorite - Blue Bell. 

This is a picture of the Hassayampa River as we cross over it. Where is the water, you ask? Well, it has only subsurface flow much of the year, it has significant perennial flows above ground in certain areas. I have never seen it flowing above ground yet, but am not here in monsoon season.

December 15, 2024 - Sunday

Can’t believe my weigh-in today was down more than usual! I have to think it is because of walking and dancing that it comes off… so I will continue. This is day 77 of tracking points and walking. Listened to church and sat out in the bright sun after my late morning walk. It was a glorious Arizona day.   

 

The moon was so full and bright that Cindy and 8 of her brave friends went for a night hike in the desert! 

December 16, 2024 - Monday

Walked and danced, then made some WW low point desserts. Cindy popped in during her laundry run. Gorgeous day - sunny and 70’s until the cold wind came up. 

 

Four of us line dancers wore flashing Christmas bulbs to keep in step with the holiday spirit.

December 17, 2024 - Tuesday

Every Monday a group of lot owners and some RVers gather at 7:30 am for Park Beautification. An impressive 20 something people show up for this important task and then have snacks in the end. Today 27 volunteers showed up for Highway Cleanup! Highway 89 is the road that brings you to North Ranch - it is a 65mph, 2-lane highway. Big blue bags, picker-upper sticks, and bright yellow vests were provided for their safety. 

 

Went to our last HUG ukulele practice of the year. Our leader, Cindy and Tom W had a beautiful table of Christmas goodies set up with Starbucks coffee to boot.

Each player took a gift bag which they provided - a lottery ticket (no winner here), Lindt candy balls, candy cane, and Cindy’s handmade hotplate pictured below. 

And the Senior Center had 2 cases of broccoli and huge baking potatoes on the Free Table. I took some of each even though we haven’t cooked a potato since we got here. 

 

We sat outsider and John pulled up in his golf cart and talked about the plans for the 8th Annual North Ranch Christmas Parade. He puts up signs all around the park as a reminder. The parade passes on every street, as well as the RV park.

  

Later, Don stopped by on his e-bike and told us that he and Darice took a ride up to Yarnell for a donut and it was closed. If anyone wants to make the trip for that purpose, call first to be sure they are open. As he was leaving, Cindy pulled up with her traveling cocktail purse. It got chilly with the wind, so we went inside for a while. 

 

December 18, 2024 - Wednesday

Woke up later than usual, but still got my walk in before dance today since it is supposed to be a sunny 75 degrees later. How did I not know that potatoes are zero points on Weight Watchers? I have been on this program at least 6 times throughout my life. So many things have changed in point value that I can’t keep up. Well, now that I have that knowledge, I found a recipe for potato soup that we made for lunch - zero points. Delicious...

 

Steve and Anita, our neighbors, came for a visit on this great 75-degree day. We had a lot of laughs and continue to find commonalities. Too bad for us, they are leaving Friday for Apache Junction.

December 19, 2024 - Thursday

Slept until 8am today so my walk was later than usual. I have been crocheting the granny squares periodically and decided it’s time to start assembling them. In total there will be 84 squares - I have finished all of the beige, but still have more to go on the blue. This is what it looks like so far...

This was our last jam of the year - and of Christmas music. It was a good one. Went to the Wild West Saloon for dinner. Cindy met us there. Good food…

 

 

 

Apricity West 5

December 6, 2024 - Friday

What a night from H*LL last night was! I was awake until 3am with songs buzzing in my head like a brain worm. That happens sometimes after jamming, but never for this long. I tried to listen to my book, even got up at 10pm to finish last week’s blog. Ended up sleeping from 3-5am, but still managed to do my walk so I wouldn’t break my walk every day streak AND dance for an hour. Then we went into CVS for our flu shots - already got Covid shots back home. Needless to say, I took a nap midday. At 3pm we went to the Wild West Saloon for our dinner - wings for Rich and a shrimp spinach wrap for me. It was very good while being WW point friendly.  

 

This common space is maintained by Gary and Kathy - nicely decorated …

December 7, 2024 - Saturday

After a good night’s sleep, I hopped out of bed to get us to Safeway early. Did my Christmas shopping of gift cards and bought a boatload of food. Our cupboards were pretty bare. Made a veggie soup immediately in the rice cooker - it had everything but the kitchen sink in it and tasted very good after my walk with Lu. We stopped to say hi to Richard M. sitting outside along the way. He has done so many oil paintings over the last 40 years that he has accumulated brushes and paints galore in his studio, which is a converted trailer. 

 

He took us into the storage shed to show off a few - they are really quite spectacular desert scenes. 

This one is of Kansas stone fence posts. He explained that in the mid-1800’s they quarried limestone from the ground to build fences. According to Google, the limestone was soft enough to shape when freshly quarried, but hardened and became weather resistant after exposure to air. They are set 24”-30” into the dirt with a “leaner” to hold them in position and last for over a hundred years. 

This one is my personal favorites with the roadrunner at the foot of the cactus. It stands 4 feet tall.

Later, I walked down the street to Nancy’s for a haircut. She has her Class A all decorated for Christmas. Later we were sitting outside and Eddi came over to confirm our lunch plans for Monday at Sizzling Wok. Cindy came over on her bike and they got to meet each other. 

 

December 8, 2024 - Sunday

Back on track with the downward progress on the scale. After weighing in, I had a leisurely breakfast in my fleece pjs. At 9am I walked and talked with Lu. Today was a "clean the inside of the rig” day. With such limited space, everything really needs to be in its proper place.

 

Rich mentioned that we should have gone up to Shira’s Pioneer Bakery today. I said, “It’s not too late.” So we picked Cindy up to give her the tour, buy a donut, and meet Shira. She was alone in the shop so we learned more about her and her aspirations. 

Went to church online in the evening - loved Pastor Marisa’s message of hope. 

 

December 9, 2024 - Monday

The weather has been so delightful - in the high 60’s and low 70’s as the day progresses. It is usually low 40’s when I walk at 7:30am, which is fine. I made a cowl neck wrap and have a quilted coat and gloves if I need them. It is actually refreshing. After walking, I went to dance and then we went into Wickenburg to meet Eddi for lunch after her doctor appointment. During our meal, she asked how I do “this" and Weight Watchers. It’s simple, I count all of my points and make adjustments accordingly during the day and the rest of the week. I know I could lose a lot faster if I didn’t have these excursions, of course, but… Turns out she was a WW Leader when her kids were young. Who knew?

 

Rich and I packed up my Christmas gift-box to send home. Hopefully, it won’t cost an arm and a leg to mail it. I was much more aware and careful about what weight went into it. Then we practiced our ukulele’s a while - he is doing good with the chords. Just has to build up calluses on his fingers and move those fingers quicker with practice.

 

No sitting outside today as the wind was blowing cold air… It is supposed to go below freezing tonight. Zero point soup for dinner and then under the covers to watch Grit. 

 

December 10, 2024 - Tuesday

Yup - my phone said it was 31 degrees when I got up at 6:30 and it won’t go above 60 later today.

 

Far right in the picture is Cindy, our leader. She is playing a new Outdoor brand ukulele which is molded out of composite polycarbonate in Corvallis, Oregon. This makes them invulnerable to outdoor weather conditions - be it the top of Mt. Hood or in the desert at Joshua Tree during the summer. Cindy and her husband do a fair amount of camping and this is perfect for sitting, playing and singing around the campfire. 

After HUG practice we went to the post office and put all of the Christmas cards and the family gift box in the mail. My caution paid off - it only cost $21 whereas last year I paid $65. 

 

Did a walk and talk with Lu at 3pm when it was considerably warmer. Cindy came over and brought her bottle of Tart Lemon Vodka brewed in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was VERY tart - she adds seltzer to tame it down. She joined us for Rich's turkey Chili (in an attempt to cut back points on daily foods) and it was delicious. 

 

After dinner, I got a surprise FaceTime call from my oldest granddaughter, Leanna, and sister Lily joined in, too. It is so good to talk to them and see their faces. We talked about her being on the varsity basketball team and both of their grades were impressive...

 

December 11, 2024 - Wednesday

Walked early at 7:30am in 42 degrees. It really felt like snow was coming as the cold mist hit my face. As I was listening to the radio, a real upbeat quick Scottish jig came on and suddenly my pace picked up, in beat with the music. I felt like I could break into a jog, but decided not to. Anyway, I realize why I feel energized to dance even after a walk - it's the music. The intermediate start up dance is to Runaway - there is a clip in the body of this email. 

 

December 12,  2024 - Thursday

Lu and I walked at 8:15 today - still cold but got to do it… Rich and I were invited for coffee at Nancy’s at Wickenburg Ranch. She was our neighbor in the park when her home was being built. What a beauty it is! Let’s take a tour. 

Nancy in the kitchen

Master bedroom

Master bathroom 

Guest room


Office

Back patio desert view

The jam only had 6 players today and 7 in the audience, but we did our best…