Apricity West 2

December 26, 2021, Sunday

It was great to get to church in person again, singing with the choir, and seeing the familiar faces again.

 

Got to see Dee and Tim’s new home - really cute and remodeled  - had a nice turkey dinner, too.

 

December 27, 2021, Monday

Among many other presents, the boys will be taking a Spring Break trip to Galveston - while we are there! Yay!

The girls also got many gifts to open AND will take a Spring Break trip to the Florida condo and Disney! 

I have cancelled in person visits with friends. It just seems too risky with everyone being with their people, who had been with their people, who had been with their people over Christmas. It just snowballs and there are new COVID cases every day in the area. 

 

December 28, 2021, Tuesday 

Cleaning and organizing Mom’s Lazy Susan. It was nice to have quality time with Mom (and Freddie).

Zach’s impromptu birthday dinner at Gramma Dee’s - 10 years old!

December 29, 2021, Wednesday

Woke up to light fluffy snow - it really looks pretty and is rather warm today. 

Did a zoom call with Terry Green and caught up on each others’ lives. 

 

December 30, 2021, Thursday

Had a nice walk with Kathy DiMario today. It felt safe since she gets COVID tested every Wednesday for her job and we were outside.

 

December 31, 2021, Friday

Up at 3am to get to the airport for 6:30am flight, arriving in Phoenix at 12:15pm. Can’t believe how many people take animals on the plane with them!

I have been terrified of this trip due to the media reports about cancelled flights, weather, Covid, et al. But, it was a very pleasant (though long) trip with civil masked people, on time arrivals and departures, good weather, etc. There was only one mortifying incident when we changed planes in Chicago. I did the usual bathroom run while there. The line at the Women’s Restroom snaked out to the concourse but moved rather quickly. Then I washed my hands and walked past the line and went several gates to get in my boarding line. After a while, I felt a tap on my shoulder and thought someone wanted to check my boarding number, but the woman says, “You’ve been to the bathroom, right?” I said, “Yes” and thought - oh no, toilet paper on my shoe? That’s pretty common and easy enough to rectify! She continued, “You have white seat liner paper hanging out of your pants at your waist.” My eyes bulged as I looked at her and immediately reached back to tuck it into my pants! I thanked her sincerely and she said, “Only a woman would have the guts to tell you.” I agreed, but thought about the 8 women in the bathroom line who watched me wash my hands with my back to them. Not one of them said a word!! Maybe they weren’t all watching me, but I can’t believe at least one of them noticed it…

 

Can’t wait to see Rich! Missed him soooo much… Pretty sure he missed me too. He gave me my Christmas present today and it is the real deal - Luna, with a built in tuner and electric, too. I bought a cheapie from Amazon to see if  I would like it and stick it out. I do and did!

The inlay is gorgeous…

and he just had to get me a purple case to top it off!

It was great to see the family, but it took a toll on my joints. Since I stopped seeing people and only saw one basketball game - all others were cancelled. Glad I got my hugs in when I first arrived after my test. 

 

We went to the Elks and had their steak and shrimp New Year’s Eve special - can’t believe I didn’t take a picture but the steak was so big, we had to take half of it home. They had 214 reservations!

 

January 1, 2022, Saturday

It is warmer in Lee (46) than it is here in Congress (41). Ha! We had black skies at sunset with wind and rain all night long. The sun is out now, but still windy and chilly. But NO SNOW!

 

Apricity West 2

December 17, 2021, Friday

I thought this young cowboy was going to join the band at the Elk’s tonight, but he must be a roadie for them - his gramps is on Bass. 

December 18, 2021, Saturday

Meet Kathy Bross who hosted a neighborhood Craft Fair today! She was gracious enough to have pots of hot coffee/water with the fixings, as well as a heated pot of delicious hot cider for the crafters. It was quite chilly with some wind until the sun came over the top of her adobe to warm us. Her yard is like a museum with a plethora of teapot totems, accented by wall multimedia murals with adornments along side of them. 

I got to chat with her and found out she has accomplished this creation in just 5 years. Her husband passed away 6 years ago and after a while she decided she needed color in her life.

 

It all began with the frog totem - she had seen similar art while on vacation somewhere and thought, why can’t I do that? And that she did. Each totem is built on rebar with assorted tea cups, saucers, and more which she picks up at yard sales, etc., drills a hole in the center, stacks them on the rebar which is staked in the ground. She has a street corner lot which is perfect to display all of the items she has created.

She built a yellow brick road (which is not yellow) of uniformly sized rocks into various segments taking you into the side and back yards.

Can you find the dragon’s eye? Tail? Claw?

Rich took a picture of the yard so that he could give her a painting of it the day of the fair. 

He was surprised to see that she had already added a new green vine with various colors of flowers and leaves on it by the time he delivered. (Look to the left of the picture below.) With the perfect weather year round here, she is always busy with some new addition and has shaded little nooks and crannies here and there for guests to sit and chat or just enjoy the view. 

 

A FEW VENDORS:

Tom Kern - wood carver

Peggy Derrick - gem and wire wrapped jewelry 

Kathy Benton - intricate jewelry 

Jodi Shannon - infused glass

Ray Derrick - wood carver

I am told that the secret to the vast amount of talent in this group is that they are retired and have the time to focus on their art/craft!

 

December 19, 2021, Sunday

Getting laundry done to pack up for the trip home. Rich made a delicious hamburger soup today for lunch. It is 63 degrees and full sunshine today. Lu and I went for a 1.9 mile stroll around the park. 

 

December 20, 2021, Monday

My last Line Dance class for a while - I sure will miss it. 

 

December 21, 2021, Tuesday

I really wanted to take my ukulele home with me but having a suitcase, CPAP machine (which they don’t count as a bag) and a small pocketbook was the max on how many bags I could carry on. At the last minute I realized I had brought my money belt with me and when I sorted what I REALLY needed to bring, it would all fit in there which allowed me one more bag - my ukulele! Lucky Mom...

 

Rich and I said our goodbyes in Surprise - this is the longest we’ve been apart since we met. (That’s one perk for having a motor home to park in my driveway.) I used the same limo service that John and Eileen use to take me to the Phoenix airport from their house. Driver Wayne and I pretty much shared our life stories and thankfully he noticed a sign that said there was a crash ahead on I-10, so we pulled off and took the truck route and made it in plenty of time. I had a stop without plane change in Midway so easy peasy, right? I decided to get off the plane to use the big restroom and walk around a bit. I did not realized that they cannot let you back on until they pre-board the wheelchairs (7 to be exact) and one blind man. This flight attendant was a true saint with enormous patience and compassion. She escorted them one by one down the ramp to the new crew. On top of that there was a delay due to another flight being late and our new crew was on that plane. So we were delayed about 40 minutes. The pilot was waiting to board as well and we started chatting so I asked him if he could make up some time for us… He did. 

 

December 22, 2021, Wednesday

I tried to get a Covid Home Test Kit in AZ with no success. Sister Cindy found a double test kit in MA for me. When it came time to take it, I was torn. Rich and I were vaccinated last year in Arizona, got our boosters when we got here in October, and wear masks when shopping, so we feel like we are being responsible to protect ourselves and others. Of course, I wanted my family (especially 91 year old Mom and young kids) to be and feel safe. 

But what if I tested positive due to exposure to a sea of people at the airport? I would be spending the entire visit locked away in a room! For a split second I considered not taking it at all, but knew I would never live with it if I got someone sick. So Cindy and I said our prayers and I started the easy process. If the test strip shows pink and blue, it is positive. If it shows just blue, it is negative. I was so relieved to see it blue - I screamed, Praise God - It’s a boy! 

 

That afternoon I was able to watch my granddaughter’s basketball game (8 points) with sister Lily in the stands with my son, daughter-in-law, and her sister. Everyone is masked in Massachusetts - don’t know how the players can breathe, but they still play hard. I put a video of one of Leanna’s foul shots in the email portion. We went to the Locker Room for some eats afterward.   

Back in AZ, Rich went to the North Ranch Light Parade:

December 23, 2021, Thursday

Grandson Zachary was surprised to see me at his front door at noon. We went to Let’s Do Lunch and then went Christmas shopping for Mommy. Then we went to Gramma Dee’s, wrapped gifts and hung out until supper - delicious Mac ’n Cheese and some hearty beef stew with banana bread for dessert. Zach went to his game to support the team even though he can’t play for 2 weeks due to a mild concussion from the last game he played. Jake had been skiing all day and when he and Shannon walked in to the gym, he saw a "random old lady with a mask reach out to him” until he realized it was me. He explained that the building is housing for old people and they come to watch sometimes. He was surprised!

 

December 24 2021, Friday (Christmas Eve)

This year my son, Randy and his family hosted Christmas Eve PJ Party. Kristie decorates the house beautifully and is a great cook and baker too.

December 25, 2021, Saturday (Christmas Day)

Last night Kristie had gift bags ready for us to take home filled with sugar cookies, almond balls, fudge, chocolate cookies, Rolo in sugar cookies, nuts and candies. Needless to say, they were great with coffee on Christmas morn. 

 

Rich’s son, Perry and family

Granddaughter Nora taking a break from Mine Craft

Last summer before we started our trip in October, Rich was kept very busy doing commissioned projects for Christmas presents. Now that everyone has received and been so awed by his work, I can share them with you:

 

Pretty impressive!

 

 

 

Apricity West 2

December 10, 2021, Friday

Well, we have become Friday Fish Fry Regulars at the Elks, but this week they had a new band. They were good. 

There was a Light Parade scheduled on that street at 6:30pm, but we had already committed to a Holiday Concert at the Community Center. It featured a choir of about 25 men and women with really great voices. It was very formal in comparison to the Christmas Angels at Lee Congregational Church, but I had to get musically merry. Don’t miss the Lee concert this weekend!

December 11 & 12, 2021, Saturday and Sunday

Practiced our instruments today - serenaded each other until we couldn’t take it anymore. 

Went for our daily 15 -20 minute bike ride. It is cooler now so we bundle up a bit more. 

Did some art stuff - Christmas cards for the family. All others, consider this my Christmas card - Merry Christmas ❣️

 

December 13, 2021, Monday

I am reading (listening to) a great book, The Tide Between Us by Olive Collins, which is a trilogy about 2 families and their egregious interconnection over several generations starting with the hanging of one man and the exile to Jamaica of his son, documenting true historical events. Highly recommended.

I have not binge watched anything in a long time, but Big Sky on Hulu hooked me! It is a real thriller which is hard to stop watching!

December 14, 2021, Tuesday 

Now that Rich is a member of the Wickenburg Art Club, he goes in to town with Tom on Tuesday mornings to work on their art at the center. At 4:30pm we went back for a potluck dinner to get to know the amazingly talented people in the club,

Alet Kern (Tom’s wife) and Pam Plummer (artist)

Rich’s work will be juried and hung here too.

December 15, 2021, Wednesday 

Dance class is really fun and makes you feel young…

This is Suzi whose joy in dancing reminds me of Susie Brighenti’s… always a smile on her face while dancing!

We went to John and Eileen's today and shopped at Sam’s Club - not as good as Costco in my opinion. Then lunch at Saigon Kitchen again - love that place. Rich got Pho and we forgot to take a picture. Here is a Google stock picture.

Rich had two visits on his website (www.richartcreations.com) from France! Yay! Check it out!

December 16, 2021, Thursday

Went for 2 mile walk with my neighbor, Lou, from Nevada. We are considered the newbies at line dancing.

A lousy, fuzzy picture of this lovely lady dancing. 

We finally coordinated a walk together through the Saguaro Park and around the perimeter of the entire North Ranch. Walked, talked, and gawked at the wide variety of stone-scaped yards that these residents display. I don’t get as good a view when we ride our bikes or the bug, so this was up close and personal…  

In Saguaro Park, the rocks end and bricks now line a section of the park as a memorial for those who have passed beginning in 1994 with their name, year of death, and SKP number. Where you see 2 bricks, the remaining spouse has passed too. When we got to 2018, I counted 27 bricks and that doesn’t include those that are placed next to their spouse who passed before them. In 2019 there were 16 bricks; in 2020 there were a dozen more. It makes sense - the founding couple in 1978 (Joe and Kay Peterson) of the SKP’s have both passed and their children and grandchildren now run the organization.

The Time Capsule is another feature which I love…

The weekly Jam Session had 10 musicians today and they were excellent. I really hope Rich and I get to the point of joining the circle with our new instruments before we leave!

Rich was invited to join some folks to sit around the  campfire, have a drink, and watch the Christmas Parade the day after I leave for 10 days. That is wonderful news. The parade consists of North Ranch residents who decorate floats and bikes to drive through the whole park. Hopefully, he will remember to take pictures so I can share them.