Apricity West 2

December 17, 2021, Friday

I thought this young cowboy was going to join the band at the Elk’s tonight, but he must be a roadie for them - his gramps is on Bass. 

December 18, 2021, Saturday

Meet Kathy Bross who hosted a neighborhood Craft Fair today! She was gracious enough to have pots of hot coffee/water with the fixings, as well as a heated pot of delicious hot cider for the crafters. It was quite chilly with some wind until the sun came over the top of her adobe to warm us. Her yard is like a museum with a plethora of teapot totems, accented by wall multimedia murals with adornments along side of them. 

I got to chat with her and found out she has accomplished this creation in just 5 years. Her husband passed away 6 years ago and after a while she decided she needed color in her life.

 

It all began with the frog totem - she had seen similar art while on vacation somewhere and thought, why can’t I do that? And that she did. Each totem is built on rebar with assorted tea cups, saucers, and more which she picks up at yard sales, etc., drills a hole in the center, stacks them on the rebar which is staked in the ground. She has a street corner lot which is perfect to display all of the items she has created.

She built a yellow brick road (which is not yellow) of uniformly sized rocks into various segments taking you into the side and back yards.

Can you find the dragon’s eye? Tail? Claw?

Rich took a picture of the yard so that he could give her a painting of it the day of the fair. 

He was surprised to see that she had already added a new green vine with various colors of flowers and leaves on it by the time he delivered. (Look to the left of the picture below.) With the perfect weather year round here, she is always busy with some new addition and has shaded little nooks and crannies here and there for guests to sit and chat or just enjoy the view. 

 

A FEW VENDORS:

Tom Kern - wood carver

Peggy Derrick - gem and wire wrapped jewelry 

Kathy Benton - intricate jewelry 

Jodi Shannon - infused glass

Ray Derrick - wood carver

I am told that the secret to the vast amount of talent in this group is that they are retired and have the time to focus on their art/craft!

 

December 19, 2021, Sunday

Getting laundry done to pack up for the trip home. Rich made a delicious hamburger soup today for lunch. It is 63 degrees and full sunshine today. Lu and I went for a 1.9 mile stroll around the park. 

 

December 20, 2021, Monday

My last Line Dance class for a while - I sure will miss it. 

 

December 21, 2021, Tuesday

I really wanted to take my ukulele home with me but having a suitcase, CPAP machine (which they don’t count as a bag) and a small pocketbook was the max on how many bags I could carry on. At the last minute I realized I had brought my money belt with me and when I sorted what I REALLY needed to bring, it would all fit in there which allowed me one more bag - my ukulele! Lucky Mom...

 

Rich and I said our goodbyes in Surprise - this is the longest we’ve been apart since we met. (That’s one perk for having a motor home to park in my driveway.) I used the same limo service that John and Eileen use to take me to the Phoenix airport from their house. Driver Wayne and I pretty much shared our life stories and thankfully he noticed a sign that said there was a crash ahead on I-10, so we pulled off and took the truck route and made it in plenty of time. I had a stop without plane change in Midway so easy peasy, right? I decided to get off the plane to use the big restroom and walk around a bit. I did not realized that they cannot let you back on until they pre-board the wheelchairs (7 to be exact) and one blind man. This flight attendant was a true saint with enormous patience and compassion. She escorted them one by one down the ramp to the new crew. On top of that there was a delay due to another flight being late and our new crew was on that plane. So we were delayed about 40 minutes. The pilot was waiting to board as well and we started chatting so I asked him if he could make up some time for us… He did. 

 

December 22, 2021, Wednesday

I tried to get a Covid Home Test Kit in AZ with no success. Sister Cindy found a double test kit in MA for me. When it came time to take it, I was torn. Rich and I were vaccinated last year in Arizona, got our boosters when we got here in October, and wear masks when shopping, so we feel like we are being responsible to protect ourselves and others. Of course, I wanted my family (especially 91 year old Mom and young kids) to be and feel safe. 

But what if I tested positive due to exposure to a sea of people at the airport? I would be spending the entire visit locked away in a room! For a split second I considered not taking it at all, but knew I would never live with it if I got someone sick. So Cindy and I said our prayers and I started the easy process. If the test strip shows pink and blue, it is positive. If it shows just blue, it is negative. I was so relieved to see it blue - I screamed, Praise God - It’s a boy! 

 

That afternoon I was able to watch my granddaughter’s basketball game (8 points) with sister Lily in the stands with my son, daughter-in-law, and her sister. Everyone is masked in Massachusetts - don’t know how the players can breathe, but they still play hard. I put a video of one of Leanna’s foul shots in the email portion. We went to the Locker Room for some eats afterward.   

Back in AZ, Rich went to the North Ranch Light Parade:

December 23, 2021, Thursday

Grandson Zachary was surprised to see me at his front door at noon. We went to Let’s Do Lunch and then went Christmas shopping for Mommy. Then we went to Gramma Dee’s, wrapped gifts and hung out until supper - delicious Mac ’n Cheese and some hearty beef stew with banana bread for dessert. Zach went to his game to support the team even though he can’t play for 2 weeks due to a mild concussion from the last game he played. Jake had been skiing all day and when he and Shannon walked in to the gym, he saw a "random old lady with a mask reach out to him” until he realized it was me. He explained that the building is housing for old people and they come to watch sometimes. He was surprised!

 

December 24 2021, Friday (Christmas Eve)

This year my son, Randy and his family hosted Christmas Eve PJ Party. Kristie decorates the house beautifully and is a great cook and baker too.

December 25, 2021, Saturday (Christmas Day)

Last night Kristie had gift bags ready for us to take home filled with sugar cookies, almond balls, fudge, chocolate cookies, Rolo in sugar cookies, nuts and candies. Needless to say, they were great with coffee on Christmas morn. 

 

Rich’s son, Perry and family

Granddaughter Nora taking a break from Mine Craft

Last summer before we started our trip in October, Rich was kept very busy doing commissioned projects for Christmas presents. Now that everyone has received and been so awed by his work, I can share them with you:

 

Pretty impressive!

 

 

 

Apricity West 2

December 10, 2021, Friday

Well, we have become Friday Fish Fry Regulars at the Elks, but this week they had a new band. They were good. 

There was a Light Parade scheduled on that street at 6:30pm, but we had already committed to a Holiday Concert at the Community Center. It featured a choir of about 25 men and women with really great voices. It was very formal in comparison to the Christmas Angels at Lee Congregational Church, but I had to get musically merry. Don’t miss the Lee concert this weekend!

December 11 & 12, 2021, Saturday and Sunday

Practiced our instruments today - serenaded each other until we couldn’t take it anymore. 

Went for our daily 15 -20 minute bike ride. It is cooler now so we bundle up a bit more. 

Did some art stuff - Christmas cards for the family. All others, consider this my Christmas card - Merry Christmas ❣️

 

December 13, 2021, Monday

I am reading (listening to) a great book, The Tide Between Us by Olive Collins, which is a trilogy about 2 families and their egregious interconnection over several generations starting with the hanging of one man and the exile to Jamaica of his son, documenting true historical events. Highly recommended.

I have not binge watched anything in a long time, but Big Sky on Hulu hooked me! It is a real thriller which is hard to stop watching!

December 14, 2021, Tuesday 

Now that Rich is a member of the Wickenburg Art Club, he goes in to town with Tom on Tuesday mornings to work on their art at the center. At 4:30pm we went back for a potluck dinner to get to know the amazingly talented people in the club,

Alet Kern (Tom’s wife) and Pam Plummer (artist)

Rich’s work will be juried and hung here too.

December 15, 2021, Wednesday 

Dance class is really fun and makes you feel young…

This is Suzi whose joy in dancing reminds me of Susie Brighenti’s… always a smile on her face while dancing!

We went to John and Eileen's today and shopped at Sam’s Club - not as good as Costco in my opinion. Then lunch at Saigon Kitchen again - love that place. Rich got Pho and we forgot to take a picture. Here is a Google stock picture.

Rich had two visits on his website (www.richartcreations.com) from France! Yay! Check it out!

December 16, 2021, Thursday

Went for 2 mile walk with my neighbor, Lou, from Nevada. We are considered the newbies at line dancing.

A lousy, fuzzy picture of this lovely lady dancing. 

We finally coordinated a walk together through the Saguaro Park and around the perimeter of the entire North Ranch. Walked, talked, and gawked at the wide variety of stone-scaped yards that these residents display. I don’t get as good a view when we ride our bikes or the bug, so this was up close and personal…  

In Saguaro Park, the rocks end and bricks now line a section of the park as a memorial for those who have passed beginning in 1994 with their name, year of death, and SKP number. Where you see 2 bricks, the remaining spouse has passed too. When we got to 2018, I counted 27 bricks and that doesn’t include those that are placed next to their spouse who passed before them. In 2019 there were 16 bricks; in 2020 there were a dozen more. It makes sense - the founding couple in 1978 (Joe and Kay Peterson) of the SKP’s have both passed and their children and grandchildren now run the organization.

The Time Capsule is another feature which I love…

The weekly Jam Session had 10 musicians today and they were excellent. I really hope Rich and I get to the point of joining the circle with our new instruments before we leave!

Rich was invited to join some folks to sit around the  campfire, have a drink, and watch the Christmas Parade the day after I leave for 10 days. That is wonderful news. The parade consists of North Ranch residents who decorate floats and bikes to drive through the whole park. Hopefully, he will remember to take pictures so I can share them.

 

Apricity West 2

 December 3, 2021, Friday

 

Ruth’s Bunkhouse - This is a very interesting, upscale art boutique shop and she accepts consignment. We will be returning with some of Rich’s work. We met Ruth at Richard’s 77th birthday party when we first arrived and have been following the shop on Facebook. She and her husband, Dan, have a number of Richard Martinson’s pieces on display.

 

Elks Club again. Tonight's Special was Chicken Huli Huli over rice.

 

December 4, 2021, Saturday

Wickenburg Sites

Double H Hat Company

Hassayampa Historic Building 

Wickenberg Art Club - Rich finally registered for the art club. He can now show his art at any event in Wickenburg without paying a fee. This presents many opportunities for exposure, and sales. 

December 5, 2021, Sunday 

Packing up for the trip ahead… The good thing about having a home on wheels is that you don’t have to pack and unpack when you travel - just secure all items, doors and windows. AND you don’t have to use public restrooms!

 

December 6, 2021, Monday

Heading to Oceanside, CA today to visit dear family friends of Rich… More info on them after I meet them.  It is a 6 hour trip with pit stops. The first hour and a half was pretty barren dessert passing through Aguila and  Salome - each with their own Dollar Store. Casinos start showing up in the desert - 3 in total. A huge solar farm can be seen in the distance. As we got closer to Quartzite, there were RV Parks every 1/2 mile on both sides of the road. However, Quartzite is best known for its BLM (Bureau of Land Management).

 

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands.

Headquartered in Grand Junction, Colorado, and with oversight over 247.3 million acres, it governs one eighth of the country's landmass. Wikipedia

Agency executive: Tracy Stone-Manning, Director

Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

Employees: Over 10,000

Founder: Harry S. Truman

Founded: December 10, 1946

Annual budget: $1.31 billion (FY2021)

Acreage: 245 million acres blm.gov

 

This is where RVs just pull off the road, drive to their special spot where they go off-the-grid (aka, boondock, dry camp) with no hookups for power, water, or sewer. There is supposedly a section of nudists too - can’t imagine how much time they spend applying sunscreen! As we drive through this area, you can see glints of metal reflections (RVs) as far as the eye can see on both sides of Interstate 10. We have not used our A/C, just a fan, but do use a small ceramic heater in the morning when the temperature is in 40s-50s. Folks will come down from the North in winter and put up in the middle of nowhere for the winter! Some will have solar on their rig for electricity, but since there are no hookups, companies drive around to provide water and sewer dumps (honey pot). It may be a LOT cheaper, but Rich and I could never (would never) dry camp in the desert or Walmart! Technically because of our CPAP machines; rationally because it doesn’t seem safe. 

Chiriaco Summit - General Patton Memorial Tanks

Pulled off of I-10 for gas and here in the middle of nowhere is a museum for General Patton…

The story starts in the 1930s in the face of limited water and power, rudimentary roads, and few other amenities. Joe and Ruth Chiriaco, a son and a daughter of immigrants, fueled their vision to serve the world on wheels with a deep but sometimes rocky love. The story moves through the building of aqueducts and roads, the laying of power lines, the development of Joshua Tree National Park next door, social, economic, environmental changes, and the arrival of a new set of immigrants. 

General Patton enters the story in the 1940s with thousands of troops. He spars with Joe Chiriaco, yet they become respected friends. Today the General Patton Memorial Museum, a nonprofit (501-C3), is an easy walk from the Summit’s modern complex, and the General remains an ongoing influence.

The hard-work ethic lightened by the antics of youth, several love stories, and plain good business sense combine to unfold how and why Chiriaco Summit has not only endured for four generations but flourished despite many obstacles. This book is a history that is fun to read.

 

Crossed over into Pacific Time in Blythe, CA so now behind EST by 3 hours. The cacti disappear and the palm trees prevail. I mentioned how hazy it was now and Rich corrected me - it is SMOG. They have Smog Stations that measure the amount of toxins you're emitting, but don’t inspect brakes, lights, etc. 

 

At first we thought this cattle was being fattened up and in holding for slaughter. We were relieved to see that it was a Dairy Farm! Phew...

 

Paradise by the Sea Beach RV Resort - A very nice park right on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), with pools, spa, picnic cove, cement pads, palm trees, cable tv, decent internet, paved roads for biking, seagulls, an entrance to the path to the beach. This is the underpass of the SeaCoaster rail that we walked through…

…for breakfast at the Buccaneer Cafe! Look st the size of this breakfast bagel and burrito!


Bird of Paradise along the way. 

It turns out that we were not able to meet up with the friends as planned, but we had a nice adventure - traveled coast to coast seeing new places and new faces along the way. We drove up the coast through Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, Balboa Island, as far as Huntington Beach before heading inland to make our way back. Rich lived there in 2002 when he was selling welding alloys for Cronatron Welding Systems. 

Traffic was backed up for construction and the police use a very interesting way to slow traffic down - they zig zag across 6 lanes of traffic to slow it down! Never heard of that before...

 

December 9, 2021, Thursday

Took a bunch of cards into Ruth’s Bunkhouse today. They really like Rich’s work and feel good about having his cards. Interestingly, their customer’s look for large Southwestern art - 5 ft. X 5 ft. to don the walls of their spacious homes. There is so much growth, especially at Wickenburg Ranch, that it boggles the mind how they will manage the traffic and shopping needs.