March 19th

Happy birthday to Marg, the love of my life.
  It was a cooler day today with cloud cover following the rain yesterday.  In fact it was still rain in parts of the valley.  Temperatures were lower, a nice break from the hot days of the last week or two and never got above the 70's.  The wind blew most of the day and it was probably a big influence on the temps.
  I went for coffee & donuts this morning.  There was still a good sized group, so the return home is just starting now.  In fact the table with our group of friends was full, so I sat with some other people.  It was actually a good thing as most of the people here always sit with the same people and that kind of thing can make the place seem clique.  It really isn't, people here are very friendly, but often it's just easier to sit with friends.  Oh yeh, I got a nice fritter, so it was all good.  At the end they had a map and everyone was asked to place a pin on their home.  A few of us had to settle for putting one on the border as the map only goes north as far as Calgary.
  After I got back we went to Costco.  The place is always loaded on Fridays and the weekend, so not a time we normally go there.  It's the free samples that attracts them.  You ever notice that all the traffic jams are around the food sample tables.  I avoid them, but you can't avoid the lines around them of the old folks in the electric shopping carts buying a can of peanuts and trying to make a meal with all the samples.  Marg bought a bunch of things for the two happy hours we are having this week and I bought a bottle of Irish whisky [Bushmill].
  When we got home some nice folks across the road came to chat us up a bit.  They are from Colorado and were inquiring about things to do in the area.  Sent them off to Goldfield and Tortilla Flats as they have not been and are leaving the area tomorrow.   Then we went to Hackers for lunch.  Will have to make up the dinner later to Marg, but she at least got out for a bit.  On the way back we stopped at Food City for a few thins, like limes for -- yes you guessed it; the margaritas.
  When we got back it was time to set things up around here for the party tonight.  Some people thought it was a birthday party, but when she set the date, Marg didn't realize it was her birthday, only that it was Larry & Sue's last day here.  Anyway we had a dozen friends, 2 of the couples leaving this week.  It was a different group than we normally go to happy hour with, although it did include a few of them.  They were all special friends to us for various reasons.  Marg made her usual margaritas and the ladies really got into them.  The guys mostly drank beer, but we had a few enjoying the Irish whisky.  Everyone was in a light-hearted mood and we shared lots of laughs.  Will sure miss these folks when we part.
  We were supposed to go out in the desert tomorrow, but during the day a change of plans came about and it seems we are driving up to four peaks tomorrow.  As typically happens lots of stuff happening as we get nearer to the end.  Well someone's end as we have quite a bit of time yet.