Apricity West 4

November 17, 2023 - Friday

Elks for lunch and then went to see where we would be setting up tomorrow at the Crafts and Art Sale. Karen loved her crosses.

November 18, 2023 - Saturday

Woke up to a thunderous storm at 4am that sounded like a loud waterfall on the camper roof. Cool, cloudy day ahead.

 

Big Craft and Arts Sale today from 9-2pm. We had a decent day with more sales than last year. Kathy coordinated the event and has 3 tables of her artistry. 

I actually sold one of my books and signed it! 

November 19, 2023 - Sunday

Now that the art show is behind us, it's time to clean up our tiny little home which is in disarray. Rich lined the shelves and floor board under the sink with the nice plastic roll I bought for 50 cents at a yard sale, while Lu and I went for a walk. Upon my return I tore my wardrobe apart to see and sort what was within. Then swept and mopped the floor which was much needed. I even did the laundry today while working on a jigsaw puzzle at the clubhouse. 

 

November 20, 2023 - Monday

The line dance class is growing in numbers as snow birds continue to arrive. One of the visitors introduced herself as Fawnda - sounds like Monda.

 

Look who stopped by - Dee. Had a nice visit and ended up moving inside when the cold wind picked up. 

November 21, 2023 - Tuesday

I really messed up today - totally forgot about my hair appointment! Stephanie called to ask me if I could go in a little earlier or late. BUT I missed the call as I decided (for the first time ever) to attend the 10am chair yoga class, instead of 8:30am. My appointment was scheduled at 10:30. I didn’t get the message until almost 11:30, so too late to do anything at all. Have to wait 2 weeks for another appointment.

 

Happy to see Bob and Eddi walk over to our place today - Bob had back surgery just a few days ago and was standing straight and tall and pain-free. He had been stooped over and in pain for the last five years so this is a fantastic outcome. 

 

Had a nice practice session at Dot and Harvey’s - no harmonicas today, unfortunately. We did get a few new songs together for the next jam session. 

 

November 22, 2023 - Wednesday 

Had a great line dance class this morning. We sailed through a lot of dances and really had the heartbeat up. Therefore, a hearty lunch at the Elks was well deserved. We were asking others about their Thanksgiving plans and learned that Karen and her boyfriend plan to go to the downtown Roper’s Arena to help and participate. A local family has been holding this event for many years; recently the father died and the daughter is continuing the tradition. The family provides all of the food and has recently started charging a nominal fee to cover the costs. Volunteers assist in the preparation and set up which is open to all ropers and spectators - a noble cause. This is a forward look of what happened this year…

Mark and Regina stopped over for a visit. Then Dee showed up in her souped up golf cart. Lots of reminiscing from there on...

The motto here is when "the mountains are pink, it’s time to drink.” Truth be known, these days we start earlier than that and are having dinner to end our day by this time.

November 23, 2023 - Thursday    HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Glorious sunrise...

Happy to get a call from Jeff and Cindy in Florida. With any luck, we will see them on the way home in the Spring. 

 

It was a cool, breezy morning so went for a walk with Lu around the perimeter of the park - just shy of 2 miles. We went in the clubhouse to check on the signup sheets for Pot Luck Dinner - there were about 10 tables reserved - each table has a name and a list of what each party is bringing. 

 

On the way out, a woman was walking by and we asked if she was going to Pot Luck. She said that she was here with a group of 7 rigs that call themselves Framily, as they are a family of friends. They have been traveling together for decades - once they decide where and when they are going, they make it happen. 

 

Rich and I talked to our families back home about their plans for the day. We were fortunate to be invited to John and Eileen’s in Surprise - a 45 minute drive. This is our 3rd year celebrating Thanksgiving with them and their son, Matt, and wife, Sue (who recently walked across Spain); neighbors, Rod and Steve; and Eileen’s sister (a new addition this year), Pat, from Sacramento. John is responsible for smoking the turkey after soaking in brine.

Eileen handles the mashed potatoes; and Steve and Sue do the lion’s share of the kitchen work while we stand around drinking wine and watch the masters at work. They have been prepping for days now, with Steve, a former restauranteur, preparing a sliced sweet potato and cheese casserole, artisan jalapeño/cheese bread, honey butter, stuffing, giblet gravy, and a delicious apple puff pastry dessert in their new commercial kitchen. 

Rich carving the turkey. He also did shrimp cocktail for appetizer.


Our gracious hosts sat at the head of the table.

You could have fed another 10 people with all the food we had, so we were sent home with two generous plates of food with extra gravy on the side. So happy...