Apricity West 4

December 22,  2023 - Friday

BIG day today - I skipped line dancing so we could get into Gateway Chevy Dealership before the rush! We had already arranged with Mike, sales rep, to meet up and take a test drive in a 2017 Chevy Spark they just got in. We had pre-approved financing too, so that helps. Mike turns up in his pjs - allowed by the dealership today. He is only 24 years old and has been at Gateway for 3 years. He is from Kansas, but came out here for his Aviation License which includes being an instructor! His roommate at the time, told him about this volume based dealership in Avondale Automall. It is a strip of huge dealerships of every car known to man on a miles-long frontage road. Gateway is #1 volume dealer in Arizona - and that is the difference. We got a better car for less money, $168.50 more for trading in Gracie than Lamb Dealership offered, and the doc fees were $75 less than Lamb. One cool perk is that the windows are tinted. On Star and Sirius radio are active probably until the free trial is over. We’ll see...

December 23, 2023 - Saturday

Today I went to the Level 3 yoga class for the first time and it wiped me out. I don’t know if I will go back next Saturday! Chill-axed the rest of the day. 

 

December 24, 2023 - Sunday  Christmas Eve

Went for a walk with Lu in the morning. Then laundry and puzzles. Later in the day, Cindy took us up on our invitation and stopped over for a wine and surf ’n turf dinner - shrimp scampi and steak with baked potato and salad. She had baked cookies so that, and good conversation, rounded out the whole celebration. My family FaceTimed during the gathering they had at my house in Lee. It was great to see and hear them all. 

December 25, 2923 - Monday  MERRY CHRISTMAS

Lu and I took a walk around the park and ran into Cowboy Dave and his dog, Millie.

His granddaughter gave him this sweatshirt so I asked how many grands he had. He has 4 in Wyoming, 3 here, and 20 in Tennessee - all girls but 2! What? That’s right, one mother had 12 and two other mothers had the other 8! Mind blown! He went on to explain that he had 7 sisters and 2 brothers. All of the girls learned how to operate heavy equipment from the time they could reach the clutch. When they brought boyfriends home, their initiation was to be present for the castrations - performed by the girls. In other words, don’t mess with my daughters. 

After a lengthy conversation, we learned that his son in Sheridan, WY called to say he was smart to be in AZ. The temp is 14 below there and is14 above in Pine Bluffs where Dave lives. He and his wife Beth will be heading back the first of January as they have 1700 head of yearling cattle coming in that he, she and Millie have to tend to. He told us the real rugged cowboys are the ones who do the calving. They have to go out all night looking for new calves to bring them to shelter. If you see cows without ears or tails, they were probably left out too long after birth. One of the reasons he stocks yearlings. 

 

When we ended the chat, I reached out to shake and told him my Dad was David as well as my son-in-law. His hand was a true rancher hand - big as a baseball mitt, rough, and a strong grip. His daughter and her 3 daughters live in one of the ranchettes (10 acres) down the road on Buckwheat - the same place Nancy’s daughter and son-in-law live. Small world, huh?

 

We invited Dee over for drinks and dinner - short ribs, mushrooms, sticky rice, and corn. It was her first Christmas since her husband passed, so we were happy to have her. 

December 26, 2023 - Tuesday

Went into Wickenburg for the HUG ukulele practice with Joanne. This week was at Roxie’s studio attached to her house. 

While we were gone a medivac helicopter landed after the fire department came to hose down the area they would land. We weren’t here, but Lu took a picture for this blog - good friend, indeed. Found out later that a family member/holiday visitor had a heart attack after playing Pickleball. I haven’t heard how he is now. 

December 27, 2023 - Wednesday

It has been a week since I line danced, and you could tell! Today was Heather’s 60th birthday. She is a neighbor to us and we couldn’t imagine her spending the day alone, so in mid-afternoon we loaded up Shadow and drove down the street 2 miles to The Depot for an impromptu celebration. Cindy came in her Spark to join.

L to R - Cindy, Heather, Rich, Me, Lu 

December 28, 2023 - Thursday

Went into town to shop early to beat the crowd, so no yoga. Lu and I did a short walk on this gorgeous day before I went to the jam session. There were several folks who were away or not feeling well today, so that means those of us there have to play more songs than usual - Ugh!  

 

Until next week, enjoy the New Year holiday...

 

 

Apricity West 4

December 15, 2023 - Friday

We really mixed things up today! Didn’t go to the Elks because Gracie is making too many noises, so we went to the Depot 2 miles down the road. (See you next week, Karen, after we get our new vehicle.) It is one of two places here in Congress to get a drink and food - the other being Nichols. This was our first time going there since the new owners took over.

As soon as we walked in, Hector walked up to greet us. I asked if he was the owner and he replied that he is a lowly partner. His common law wife of 30 years and business partner was home working on the stack of paperwork that needed attending. We sat at the bar with two large tv screens in front of us, both with news channels on. After a while, Hector came up to me and asked if the channels were OK. I asked if he would change one to the Cowboy Channel, which he did immediately. He went on to explain that this bar used to have a lot of problems with drugs and more, but the new sheriff is in town now - him. He had lived in big cities - NYC, Miami, and LA - all his life, but when he wound up in Albuquerque, NM, he fell in love with the desert and there was no going back. They wanted to open a sports bar, so bought a piece of property in Congress to build on, but decided to take over the Depot and make it theirs. They have 3 pool tables, a TouchTunes jukebox, 5 or more big screen TV’s, seating outside in the back, and karaoke. They will rename it the Wild West Saloon.

The hours of operation are 2 - 11pm and it started filling up. Kimberly was our friendly bartender and soon we ordered wings and a pizza of which we had heard good reports. We liked both and brought half the pizza home for the next day.

 

December 16, 2023 - Saturday

I slept in today until almost 8am. It feels good not to have to get up, get presentable, and out the door first thing in the morning. So I sat around for a while, caught up on Facebook, Wordle and Spelling Bee and then pulled out my uke to practice. Later in the afternoon, we were sitting outside when Dee pulled up in her bright yellow Chevy golf cart. We broke out the margaritas and had a nice visit. 

Back home, my sisters visited with another Dee in my life (our Mom) to deliver her early Christmas gift. She was very pleased and they got some great pictures too.

And this is Sadie’s debut in my blog. She is a sweet kitty and Mom is delighted with her, even though she swore she would not get another cat!

December 17, 2023 - Sunday

Walked with Lu before heading out to Surprise. John and Eileen invited us for a Christmas dinner at their house. We brought our instruments so we could have some holiday musical cheer. Surprise indeed! When we knocked on the door, they were surprised to see us as the dinner was planned for next Sunday, the 24th… We laughed about it and kiddingly tried to place blame on someone. But it doesn’t matter, we still had a great visit, a musical interlude and then off to Wolfhound for lunch. We passed a gas station and were shocked to see the price was $3.13/gallon. Eileen said at Costco it was $2.98/gallon. Wow - lower gas prices and an all time high for the stock market last week!

 

December 18, 2023 - Monday

Really enjoying dancing to the Christmas carols! They invigorate me. 

 

In the afternoon, we were sitting outside when a young man approached us to ask if we could assist him with a battery charge off road. Hmmmm - how far off road? It turns out that we didn’t really dare take Gracie off road as she is spitting and sputtering lately. We asked where he was from and he is out of Winkelman now, near the Globe area now, but was raised in Wyoming at Yellowstone National Park. He had been boondocking for a couple of weeks when his luck ran out. So we wished him well and he walked on down the RV row to seek out a truck person that could help. Soon, he came back and asked about charging cables as he found someone willing to help. We gave him our charging cables and they went off in a nice jeep, signaling that he would be right back. It was no time at all that he returned the cables with a handshake and his parting words were, “Remember - don’t worry about $1,000 or $2,000, up or down. It doesn’t matter in the end.” Random words, but they fit right in with our dealings with the Chevy dealership to finalize the purchase of the 2017 Chevy Spark!  

 

December 19, 2023 - Tuesday

Joanne invited me to go with her to the Wickenburg Senior Center to play ukulele with a group there called HUG (Hassayampa Ukulele Group). There were about 11 of us and it turns out they are practicing for a gig on January 6th. I truly enjoyed the session as it reinforced my confidence about strumming. It’s much easier to follow the rhythm others are playing along side of you! Roxie, standing, is the instructor. 

After a walk with Lu, Rich and I went down to Dot and Harvey’s to practice playing Christmas songs. Thursday will be our last chance to do them at the jam before Christmas is behind us. We are ready and have a few surprises, too. Stay tuned.

 

Stayed up until after dark tonight (6:30pm) to ride around the park to see the decorations. Trust me, these pictures don’t do them justice - they just don’t come out good. 

December 20, 2023 - Wednesday

Went into Wickenburg for a pedicure, lunch at the Elks and then shopping at the zoo-like Safeway! We are stocking up on food and drink for the next 2 weeks as we were told that the parts haven’t come in to the auto shop. We knew there was a recall of the side airbags which are being changed out for us.  At least that is what we were told. As we thought more about all of the hiccups with this deal, we started exploring other dealerships and found a 2017 Chevy Spark cheaper in Avondale. It was just traded in and we can see it on Friday. So, not sure if this is the ONE, but decided to cancel the Spark in Prescott. Just like that, the stress level was lifted and we are starting over from scratch. 

 

December 21, 2023 - Thursday

After yoga, Lu and I went for a walk to solve all the problems of the world - Ha! The jam session was awesome because Dot and Rich made their debut together (see the video in the email) and Cindy came back for a week. She is a fabulous violin player and vocalist. It was fun to harmonize with her. We did several Christmas carols - it is the last chance to do them.

Big day tomorrow to check out another 2017 Spark… stay tuned. 

 

 

 

Apricity West 4

December 8, 2023 - Friday

Changed things up today - stayed in North Ranch for the day. After line dancing, I went down to Joanne’s to practice Christmas Music with Bernadette on YouTube. I always learn something new when we play ukulele together - alternate fingerings for chords and what the dots on the neck of the uke indicate. Who knew? 

 

December 9, 2023 - Saturday

Finally made plans to get together with Marilyn at the Black Rock Cafe - about an hour west of us. The ride is always fascinating for me, watching the jagged ridges against the crystal blue skyline pass by. The ground level landscape is occasionally interrupted by small towns of old rickety buildings, railroad tracks, fields of onions, nut trees, and dark greens which we cannot identify. 

After miles of nothingness, I can see a glint of white dots in the foothills which turn out to be a community of RV’s boondocking out in the drylands. 

If you’ve been following from the start, you may recall that we first saw Marilyn in Deming, NM at Dreamcatcher Park in 2020. That year, we were a few sites down from her in her teardrop, but never actually met her. She walked and walked and walked using two walking sticks. I was intrigued by this flying-solo white haired woman (like me) and wanted to pick her brain, but it didn’t happen until the following year in the same place. At the time, she was knitting socks and didn’t know how to “turn.” She had seen me sitting outside knitting and posed the question. I couldn’t tell you how to do it now, but at the time I YouTubed it. That bonded us and we walked together many times where we learned about each other.

 

In 2021, we ran into her at North Ranch (Congress) and Crazy Horse (Tucson). Last year, we didn’t manage to meet up, but today we made it happen. She looks terrific and is as brave as ever, having recently traveled to Colorado, Canada, and Alaska alone. As I said, she usually uses walking sticks, but one day went without them resulting in a hard fall which broke her wrist. She declined suggested surgery and uses tape and a brace now to protect it, but has enough mobility to knit - she has moved on from socks to mittens. She really is a delight to talk with and we vowed to see each other again in Tucson in March. 

Her last vehicle was a 6 cylinder Tacoma truck. She had a really tough time climbing a hill while pulling her casita, so upgraded to this 8 cylinder beauty - 2019 Limited Toyota Sequoia. She keeps it sparkling at all times, even in the dusty desert.

December 10, 2023 - Sunday

Lu and I went for a 2 mile walk, followed by laundry for me. Just a kick-back day -  playing uke, a little napping, then sitting outside drinking wine and deciding about family Christmas cards...

 

December 11, 2023 - Monday

After dancing, we went up to Prescott (Press-kit) to check out a 2017 Chevy Spark. Gracie (our VW) has been making new noises (rattles, vroom-vroom engine or muffler or bearing, squeaks) that make us wonder if she will make the trip back to Massachusetts. She has been so good to us over the past 3 years, but time to let go. 

 

I love the climb over the mountain and especially the names of the towns we pass through - Yarnell, Peeples Valley, Kirkland, Skull Valley.

Top of the hill…

Yarnell

Into Skull Valley

Long gone by General Store - the cottonwoods in the background are a bright green in the Spring. 

December 12, 2023 - Tuesday

Today was a TCB day - Taking Care of Business. I even skipped a walk and yoga to do so. Between Christmas decisions, purchasing a car, health insurance squabbles, and grocery shopping, we were exhausted and re-energized with a short nap before going to Dot and Harvey’s for our weekly music session. I sure needed that and the de-stressor of the laughter that followed. These two have been sounding pretty darn good together. 

December 13, 2023 - Wednesday

Very chilly night last night (37 degrees) so the flannel sheets are going on the bed today. After dance, Nancy stopped over. She lives in her new home at Wickenburg Ranch, but comes over to North Ranch to line dance. Finally there was time to sit and visit. She was a great neighbor last year - in the site next to us with her van. She is an avid swimmer and sometimes I would go to accompany her. We’ll see if I get over there this year. Soon, we will be stopping by to see her new home.  

We went to the post office to mail our Christmas gifts to family. Last year, I mailed a box of small token items and it cost me over $60. This year it cost $13 to mail an envelope full of cold hard cash in the form of gift cards. Also, individual (hand picked by them) gifts from Amazon have already been mailed directly to their homes. The grandkids are 12 and 14 years old, so the element of surprise isn’t as strong for them.

 

Tom stopped by to chat and we shared lots of memories, news on ailing friends, along with laughs.

December 14, 2023 - Thursday

Rich went in to breakfast as usual with the guys. I just learned that the 1/4 biscuit and gravy only costs $3.60. Well, he got his money’s worth today as they were VERY generous portions that he could not even finish. 

 

I walked before yoga, but Lu bailed out this morning. We are just staying here today instead of the Elks. I will be planning my song line-up for the jam this afternoon. 

All went well even though Harvey couldn’t be there today. Heather’s final song was Ed Sheeran’s Perfect. She did a superb job and I threw in a little harmony…

3 inch Christmas decoration is hung! 🎄✝️🎅

Nighty night!

 

 

 

 

Apricity West 4

December 1, 2023 - Friday
Look what arrived today - a Cozy Cottage Sampler Afghan from Annie’s Club. Daughter, Shannon, expressed interest in my making this (for her)!

December 2, 2023 - Saturday

Crawled out of bed on this cold, crispy day since I wanted to experience the Biscuits and Gravy breakfast that Rich has on Thursday mornings with the guys. It was indeed a very good and plentiful 1/4 biscuit from the Horseshoe Cafe.

I haven’t been to this end of town yet this year, so these pictures help tell the story of Wickenburg downtown.

When we got back to North Ranch, I was glad to hear that Lu was looking for a good walk. We made several stops on our route to chat with friends.

 

Richard and Pat stopped by to invite us down for a beer. We obliged and sat in the sun in their yard - Margarita for me since I don’t drink beer. I didn’t realize that little Pat has her CDL license and drove big rigs on the highway. Richard drove in town; she only did highway. She grew up on a dairy farm so has had plenty of experience with horses, cows, pigs, etc.

December 3, 2023 - Sunday

Nice two-mile walk with Lu at 9am. Stopped to talk to Jerry and Larry along the way. 

...followed by church, crochet, laundry and puzzling in the afternoon.

 

Rich and I took a ride down to Dee’s for a short visit - Margarita Sunday. 

December 4, 2023 - Monday

Changed things up today since I have a haircut appointment tomorrow. We will not go to lunch at the Elks today, but will tomorrow. So I went to cardio-drumming for the first (and last) time. It turns out that the lack of decent internet here at North Ranch prohibits using YouTube for the classes. 

 

December 5, 2023 - Tuesday

Did our warm-up walk before yoga; then went to Wickenburg for my haircut. I asked Stephanie to spike it up this time so I can comb it down or spike it up. Then walked down the block for Taco Tuesday lunch at the Elks. 

 

Happy to have Dot and Rich join in with their harmonicas in the safety of Dot’s living room. Hoping for a Yuletide surprise debut at the jam session - coming soon. 

 

December 6, 2023 - Wednesday

Went into Surprise today to see John and Eileen for lunch at Wolfhounds. The boys love their Guinness. Also planned to drop off Rich’s U-Bass at Musical Surprise to fix the tuner that doesn’t seem to engage. The gal looked at it, tuned it, and sent him on his way, after selling him this super-duper tuner by SNARK.

The traffic was backed up 2 miles coming towards us due to a crash on the other side - people were waiting more than 2 hours to get through. 

There happened to be a veterinarian in the stalled traffic who checked out the horses. A car collided with a horse trailer carrying a young family and 5 horses, pitching them into a ditch. I was so concerned about the horses, but thankfully only one was injured. This picture shows the father with a fractured back trying to help them with his son looking on. The driver of the car was air-lifted out. The red truck and black car were totaled. 

Bob and Eddi stopped over to chat. Bob always has a special piece of music to share with me and today it was Tim Waurick - one man, four parts overlaid, fantastic sound. I put a link in the body of this email for you to enjoy.

 

December 7, 2023 - Thursday

Slept late today so no pre-walk before yoga. We went into town earlier than usual today for Elk's lunch. Each day the first person there draws a number which is posted on the chalkboard. If the last number of your membership matches this, you get one drink for $.25. Well, we were the first in, and Rich drew a 4 which happens to be the last number of his ID. Go figure...

 

There is so much heavy vehicle traffic on the road due to construction on new roads here. Here you see Oversize Loads coming and going. 

We had a great jam session today. Heather, our neighbor, did come with her guitar. The crew got her set up with a mic and music stand. Boy, were we impressed to hear her sing. She took up guitar to accompany herself singing and although she says she only knows 4 chords, she sounded fantastic! She has a beautiful trailing trill in her voice. 

She and Bella, the Lab, stopped over to visit after their walk. It was nice to learn more about her. She grew up in Florida and her family is still there. She is driving her truck there for Christmas week, leaving her casita here. She is doing all kinds of work to winterize it for her journey to Grand Canyon in February to drive a tour bus. Amazon and Federal Express do not deliver there; just General Delivery for mail. So she is loading up on supplies for Feb. - Nov. while here.  

This is the progress on the afghan this week…

 

 

 

 

Apricity West 4

November 25, 2023 - Saturday

Walked 2 miles with Lu in the cool, but calm, sunny weather. It was in the 40’s when we walked and rose to the 70’s midday.

 

Rich had expressed interest in buying some of Charles’ harmonicas. He is an excellent harmonica player and neighbor of Dot’s - he had let her know he wanted to give them to her, because he hoped someone would play them. Dot is not playing much anymore, so told Rich about them. He let Charles know of his interest, and invited him to stop by sometime. Today was the day. Charles was 8 years old when his father gave him his first harmonica. He sat down on the couch and started playing Oh Suzanna! His father said he didn’t know he already knew how to play, and Charles said, “Neither did I!” He plays by ear and now gets winded if he plays. 

I didn’t know anything at all about this instrument, but now know that there is a different one for each key and they do not play sharps or flats. Some of them have a button on the side which does allow sharps and flats - Chromatix. 

It meant a lot to Rich to have something of Charles’ as he (and GraceAnn) go back many years. So he bought this set which is good for a beginner. Oh course, he ordered his own case to store them.

November 26, 2023 - Sunday

My sister, Terri, just retired so has done a deep dive into Medicare to figure out the ins and outs. I have been on it for ten years now, but it is time to change things up. I learned a whole bunch of things from her and will investigate further since the open enrollment closes on Dec. 7th.

 

We have had a clear view of the park activity with no one in the site between us and the road. Tonight a Casita pulled in and we believe she is here for 2 months - meet Heather. She decided to retire early from driving big rigs and city buses (in Vail), and get on the road. She will be driving tour buses at the Grand Canyon beginning in February. She reminds me of Rich’s daughter in that she is in her fifties and traveling alone. It will be interesting to learn more about her. 

November 27, 2023 - Monday 

Back in the saddle today! Counting calories and weighing in on Thursdays now. It felt good to get back into a routine after 4 days off from dancing and yoga. There was a full class (20ish) for dancing and we are all improving every time. They have started a Sunday afternoon class for beginners to learn the basic steps (grapevine, weave, jazz box, toe struts, K step, twinkle, etc.) to the music. It has helped a great deal.

 

Joanne and Kay started up the cardio drumming class again, but I haven’t been able to attend yet. Working on it. 

 

Today I spent at least 2 hours on the phone finalizing my insurance plan decision. I talked to eHealth and the young man that worked with me was very patient, understanding and understandable. 

 

Charles stopped again to give Rich a set of DVD lessons and a spare set of plates. I don’t know what they are for😳

 

November 28, 2023 - Tuesday

A short walk with Lu before yoga gets us warmed up. This class was full - they offer 2 sessions (8:30 and 10) on Tuesday and Wednesday and one advanced on Saturday. We have not done that class yet. 

 

Went to Dot and Harvey’s today with Rich’s C harmonica in his pocket. We had a good session learning new tunes and a little harmonica accompaniment. Always fun!

 

November 29, 2023 - Wednesday

Another full dance class and we are still improving. It really feels good to see the whole class move in sync. Cindy is doing a great job with beginners and Chris with the intermediate level. 

 

Rich is on Lesson 4 and it is interesting to watch how to do “tahs" and “kahs" for the draw (inhale) and “toos" and “koos" for the blow (exhale). 

 

I ordered a Bedazzler Kit to bling up my denim vest and it arrived today. Can’t wait to get started - Rich will draw a design on it and I will attach rhinestones. 

November 30, 2023 - Thursday

We weighed in and both did very well considering all of the consumption that went on this last week. The scale tipped in the right direction! Dance teacher, Cindy, joined us for our pre-yoga walk today. 

 

Had a nice jam session with a few new spectators today. Our new neighbor Heather was one of them and speaking with her afterward, it turns out she plays guitar and sings. I knew there was more to learn about her. She plans to come next week to give it a shot, although she doesn’t think she can keep up. Gary spoke up and said that he only knew one song when he joined the jam 11 years ago. We are lucky to have a welcoming, non-judgmental, sharing group of musicians. Julie shared that she has only been coming for 3 weeks and even picked up an old amp and mic from one of the players.  

Dee stopped by on one of her rounds. One of her duties is to charge up her vehicles - Buick, truck, golf cart, and 2 motorbikes - by riding them around the park. She has a lot of decisions to make and it helps to talk to someone. Always good to see her. 

 

Footnote: I’m afraid to say it out loud, but the local honey has finally kicked in after a month - exactly what Cindy from Florida told me. It is so good not to have a faucet nose, while doing yoga especially. You are supposed to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth which I could never do right or the dreaded nose tickle would take over. Then sneezing, then dripping, then blowing…

Another beautiful Arizona sunset from Tuesday night.