February 28, 2025 - Friday
We weighed in today before our party weekend and both did very well. Went for my walk, then headed to Locale Italian Restaurant to celebrate Terri’s birthday.
We went there last year too and I ordered the same dish and would do it again and again.
My Sfolgia - handmade pasta ribbon, braised pork, mushrooms, saba, dandelion greens, Parmesan…
After our feast, we went to Jim’s mom’s abode - Brookdale Senior Living. She just turned 94 and has a cute apartment there which she showed off with pride. It is her “happy place.” This is some of her own art which adorns the walls, created in recent years.
We had cake by Nadine, and Terri opened her gifts in the library.
March 1, 2025 - Saturday
Did my walking thing early. Terri and Jim picked us up for a great day-trip to Patagonia. We stopped for lunch at Velvet Elvis where we have eaten before.
I had the Hearts of Blue Goddess Salad with blue cheese dressing, Gorgonzola and candied pecans and a pizza dough roll.
Went into the Gallery to check things out and I heard Rich, say, “Uh Oh!” As I catch up with him, he has another flute in his hands! Turns out the maker of this flute worked in the shop where Odell worked here in Patagonia. It was not nearly the quality of what he bought last week, so we walked out without another flute - thankfully.
I tinkered with the cigar box ukulele, but it wasn’t tuned.
The owner, Cecelia from Ecuador, approached us and we had a great conversation. Apparently, Patagonia used to be sleepier than it is now with nothing but dirt roads. This building was originally a home, but then became the Big Steer Bar. The sheriff said at one time, “The town didn't need a Marshall, the Big Steer needed policing.” She bought the building in 2002 and spent 14 months in renovation - she had 3 walls and a liquor license (no roof)! She used to live in this space before moving the gift shop in for more room.
There is actually a Chapel in the Velvet Elvis Restaurant which had been used as a gift shop.
We went further down the road and stopped at the Mercantile where I bought a number of gifts for my family last year. A really nice shop...
The next portion of the day was devoted to driving through the beautiful landscape in search of a new winery which was ranked in the the top ten in the country. Problem is that they are so renowned that you couldn’t get in without a reservation - which we did not have.
Tasting room to the right. To the left are casitas looking out over the mountains…
So down the road further is the Meading Room - with mead, cider, and wine. I didn’t know what mead was, but found out that it is a fermentation process with honey as the base.
We had a flight of 5 (1 dry, 2 sweet and 2 sweeter) beverages. My favorite was New Fashioned // Cherry Bourbon Mead - Avocado Blossom Honey, Orange Blossom Honey, Montmorency + Bing Cherries, Elgin Distillery Bourbon Barrel Aged 1 Year, Dessert Sweet - Alc. 14% by vol.
So hard to capture the beauty…
Last stop was at a little shop in Sonoita which carries Blue Bell Ice Cream - Rich’s all time favorite brand. I invented a new sundae - butterscotch, hot fudge, pistachio ice cream, with whipped cream and a cherry on top!
March 2, 2025 - Sunday
Went walking a little later in the morning as it is cooling off this week. Then went to TUKU at the Gilbert’s home as they are leaving the country for Canada and wanted to host a ukulele session in their beautiful back yard. We were the 2nd car to arrive cause that’s how we roll - got a great set up under the gazebo and out of the sun.
The group supplied pizza, vanilla Oreos, Maple Fudge, and vanilla Kit Kats for 36 people for this fond farewell. It happened to be Dennis (host) Gilbert’s birthday, so we played and sang Happy Birthday after eating.
Rich played every song on the harmonica even though we had never heard of a fair amount of them. Kathie Gilbert (hostess) was so happy that Rich was playing - her grandfather is 95 years old deaf, and has dementia - he still can play the harmonica for her.
Kermie sat in front of us and we chatted about her banjolele and her name origin - Celtic for a strong, independent woman who follows her God. I had never heard the name before so I Googled it and it says the first recorded birth by the SSA is June 30, 1899. Less than 5 people per year have been born with that first name.
Rose sat next to Rich and when he noticed her bracelet, he tapped her on the shoulder and showed her his bracelet. They looked at each other and said, “Sonja!” That is the woman in St. Croix who makes these unique bangles. Rose is from St. Croix and they started sharing stories and so it went. Rich gave me one when we were first dating.
Back to Terri and Jim’s to wrap up the birthday weekend - Jim made us girls his fancy Old Fashions.
Odometer reached 100,000 miles on 2017 Chevy Spark, a.k.a. Shadow. 😁
March 3, 2025 - Monday
Walked in mid-morning - had to put a sweater on as the wind made it chillier than usual. Went to the post office to mail my tax return. YAY! Later on, we had a nice chat with Gary about Rich’s flute playing and North Ranch happenings.
Rich’s son, Perry, called us using What’s App from the Philippines where they are having a wonderful vacation in Lyn’s homeland. It was nice to have a video chat with them. They purchased 30 XL white eggs for 240 pesos - $4.21. they are $1.68/dozen which is expensive there.
March 4, 2025 - Tuesday
Dropped a wad at Fry’s today bright and early. Couldn’t believe the traffic at 7:30am.
Look who showed up for a walk today! Pat is staying in Tucson near her daughter, Cyndi, for the month of March, so hopefully we can have some walk and talk time in this month. We met up today and made a plan to walk at 10:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays during March. We walked out of the RV park and over to the beautiful bike trail that circles the city of Tucson. I don’t go there alone - if something happened to this wibbly wobbly body, I wouldn’t have immediate help. Pat was a WW leader, so I always learn more ways to “remove" weight. Today we were talking about how happy we are that potatoes are now zero points on WW. I mentioned that I love having Simply Potatoes Shredded Potatoes as a side. She mentioned that she has used them for potato soup and I couldn’t wait to get home to make a batch. My Italian mother-in-law used to call it Rizi Potati, and used left over mashed/boiled potatoes and even the potato water with rice. So I put a box of chicken broth, rice, 1/2 package of Shredded Potatoes, with a little broccoli and some big cut shredded cheese at the end. It was delicious and low in points.
March 5, 2025 - Wednesday
Went for my walk before we went to Michaels to get more yarn! Then we went to Da-Bar Chinese Restaurant for the first time - so much for being “good” during the week. It was so appealing and clean when we went inside.
The waitress was great - kind and friendly with a smile on her face. We noticed the wall hangings and looked closer. They are all mandolins with miniature mandolins inside - zoom in to see the detail.
She brought the crispy noodles with a small bowl of warm sweet and sour sauce! Rich got Beef Kung Pao and I got Chicken and Broccoli. The meal comes with egg fried rice (we are used to paying extra for fried rice and getting packets of sweet 'n sour) and a spring roll. Needless to say, that was our dinner. It was delicious!
Sitting around outside when Kyle and Sarah stopped while walking their dog, BeeGee - still kicking. They played the guitar and banjo with us a couple of weeks ago. They are leaving tomorrow for Ruidoso, New Mexico which is where they live. We learned a lot about them - they had property in Florida and used to travel 2200 miles to get there in the winter, but now enjoy driving up to Tucson instead. They also built two RV parks from the ground up in their past lives and are looking to buy one near them. His profession was jeweler and she deals with collectibles. Interesting folks.
Then Joe came over and introduced himself. It pays to have a site near a dumpster - everybody has to go there. He is 49 years old and retired from Airtronics and gets VA benefits. I asked what Airtronics is and he said that all of these jets and planes that we see flying overhead, he has worked on at one time or another. He invited us to come over and have a drink sometime and if we need anything at all, he can help. Nice guy...
March 6, 2025 - Thursday
The wind is whipping today - I woke up sneezing which is what the "desert dust in the wind" does to me. Got out my neti pot for a sinus cleanse - it does help. Pat and I decided to walk anyway - troopers that we are, we did the full 2 miles on the bike trail.
Rich and I practiced our music - he found out there is sheet music for harmonica! The pressure of having all these solos is turning him into a researcher.
Finished watching Dark Winds on Netflix with Joe Leaphorn pursuing law, order and justice on a Navajo reservation. I highly recommend it.
