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...
