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.