Apricity West 3

March 17, 2023 - Friday

Terri and Jim took today off so we could celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the fact that we are only here this weekend and next. We chose to stay put at their place rather than be on the road and Rich cooked up a delicious boiled brisket dinner. Terri and I worked on art - she did her first rock painting and it really sparkled. I tried to make one of my drawings sparkle more too. 

March 18, 2023 - Saturday

Gorgeous day today. T&J are ISO (in search of) their go-to Mexican food fix so today we tried a new-to-all-of-us restaurant - LaChaiteria. The meal was very plentiful and delicious food; the only downfall was they do not serve margaritas. Carnitas for me…

Totally vegan for Terri…

 

The boys each got a burrito…

The wall art was so bright and colorful…

So with full bellies, we took a ride ISO fields of desert poppies that carpet the fields after the unusual rainfall here. We only found a smattering of poppies, but it was a great day for a ride and since my hip prohibits us from walking any distance, is our best option. We stopped at an age old (1956) watering hole for margaritas which were especially strong and tart. On top of that, they over-salted the rim with table salt - tooooooo much! As we got back into Parsons’ neighborhood, we spotted beautiful clusters of the poppies.

March 19, 2023 - Sunday

Very windy and cloudy so we spent our day inside at Terri and Jim’s. After solving the problems of the world, Terri and I set up the art supplies at the kitchen table and got busy. The boys went out for a beer at the Hop Shop nearby. When they returned, Jim set up the bar and proceeded to make various beverages...

In the meantime, Terri had created her Southwestern Vegetable Chop-Chop Chowder and it was stewing on a low flame. The fragrance was enticing, but the flavors were amazing. Garnished with a wedge of lime and artisan bread, who could ask for anything more?!

March 20, 2023 - Monday

Rich started up again on his woodcrafting, even though this is our last week here and there is a lot to get done - most of it at the last minute. These are his adorable key holders, including velcro on the back for hanging. 

Ran some errands and stopped in at Murphy’s to hear about the St. Patty’s Day celebration. Uh oh - no Guinness! They didn’t run out, but the lines weren’t working which was getting fixed this afternoon. And no more peach cider or food because they ran out. Note to self - don’t expect the usual after an Irish holiday at an Irish bar. Britney, a bartender we had not met yet, was busy scrubbing every surface behind the bar - she had already done the public area. We had a quick alternative drink and learned that they had made $3600 in tips alone - divided by 6 bartenders! Do the math - they each got around $600. They talked about dividing it up by hours worked and decided to split it evenly as this was such a well oiled team.

 

March 21, 2023 - Tuesday

I got busy working on my paisley collection...

March 22, 2023 - Wednesday

Stopped at Copper Mine and chatted with Marina. She suggested we come by on Sunday with our chairs and sit outside to watch the Air Show. We had planned on that with Terri and Jim since they have never been there.  

 

March 23, 2023 - Thursday 

HAPPY 93rd BIRTHDAY, MOM 💗

My card for Mom...

Terri’s card for Mom...

Thought I was pretty much done with the blog this week as we didn’t have anything new that we were doing today. However, when we got to Murphy’s we told Tora it was our last time to see her this year. She asked if we were flying home, and I showed her a picture of the camper and bug. 

She loved it and said that is what she wants to do - get an Airstream and haul a trailer of her music around the country. What? Music? We have been trying unsuccessfully to find Matt at the bar at lunch time because of his musical acumen. Little did we know, Tora is also a singer, song-writer! As we continued to ask questions, she shared that she was on X-Factor where the judges loved her, including Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. Simon gave the winners a tour of London, including his home. As a business woman, she declined signing the contract and wanted to negotiate the terms, so they disqualified her. Click on this link too see her audition on YouTube - amazing! https://youtu.be/o2iNoeTxJU0

Much of her life has been in the Bay Area of California, where she had a scholarship for film school which was disrupted by the pandemic. Then in December 2022 her grandma passed away in Tucson, leaving grandpa (who she was caring for) alone. Tora decided to try to support her family and stay in the area to help out. Adam (owner of Murphy’s) has been a friend of hers for years and was venting about working so many shifts as he couldn’t get enough bartenders. So she offered to help as she was staying and would need work. There is a lot of music happening in Tucson, but she needs to get a band together. She plays piano and drums along with dancing, modeling, photography and she is an artist. 

She has done commercials for people and has Instagram accounts - ToraTigerArt and ToraWoloshin. Tora means Tiger in Japanese. We certainly wish her well💕

We continue to watch the weather systems for our best route home - departing on Monday!