Jan 31st

Can this be, Jan 31st?  Where do the days go?
  It was a nice day today.  It was shorts & no jacket weather again.  Supposed to get nice and warm for the next week or so.  Got up early and went to coffee & donuts this AM.  Marg rarely goes, but I sat with some people that included a couple of the gamblin' gals she hangs out with.  The meeting went pretty quick, so I thought I would have a little fun.  When they asked if there were any security issues in the park, I put up my hand.  I said I went to the animal races on Friday evening and had some concerns.  The hippo beat the zebra twice and as far as I was concerned there must be some of the Olympic doping going on in the hippo barns & it cost me several dimes to find that out.  This is new to the park and it got a good for a laugh, kind of sending the message that it is a fun thing.
  After I went for a bike ride.  The new bike was in need of some fine tuning, so when I got back I adjusted the gears as well as the seat; brakes, lubed it with silicone spray and took it for a short check up.  I think the adjustments will make for longer, faster rides; stay tuned.  It was into the wind, so I got down as low as 5 mph, but did get up to 11 mph for a while when I turned the corner.  Don't laugh, that is almost cardiac arrest speed for this guy.
  While I was gone, Marg went out to get a cake.  She got one made by "The Cake Boss", it's some dude on TV that makes big fancy cakes.  She was going to a chick thing at 11AM.  Some friends got a new [to them] park model [static caravan to everyone in the UK], so one of the ladies threw a party for her.  It was kind of a house warming without any guys.  This couple have been full-timers, in other words, they live in the motorhome and don't have a house.  There were about 20 women and her cake was a big hit, everyone wanted to know where she got it and had to have a piece.  The party went on for quite a while, as I had to make my own lunch today.  See there you go, I'm not as domestically challenged as most of you think.  What did I have, you might ask!  Open faced sandwiches and an orange.  We have some of the best oranges right now.  They are so fresh and flavorful.  Apparently they are sweeter if they get a touch of cold weather or frost, not sure which, but we've certinly had both.
  I played pool this afternoon.  I partnered with Elmer today. Char, he is the guy we bought the roller skates from.  He has a bad case of tremors in his right hand, but he can still play pool & very well.  He has learned to recognize there is a pause in his tremors & shoots during the pause.  We won all 3 of our games and it was the first time either of us has had that kind of success.  Just goes to show you what perseverance can do, Elmer just refuses to let it get the best of him.  Marg did laundry this afternoon.  Apparently there was lots of it, because she was just finishing up steaming it when I got back from pool.
  After we went out for supper to Ihop.  It was good, as always.  Went out and looked around a bit more for the gazebo type tent.  Saw a few of them, still not the right one, I guess, but I think we are getting closer.  She also bought a picture or something you hang on a wall anyway for the raffle.  As part of the park-wide patio sale, she always donates something for the raffle.  Then we buy tickets to try and win something in the raffle, I bought 20 tickets this AM.  Make sense to you -- me neither, but we do it every year.  LOL!
  Rent bill came today & Marg paid it, so we are good for at least the next month.
  I forgot to mention yesterday that Gerry and I saw a Javelina on the way to the golf course.  They are the wild pigs that are so common in Mexico and all along the border states.  They can be quite dangerous if confronted.  This one was road kill, but they are not all that common to see.

Dave's Day

  Started the day off a bit frosty, the car window that is.  Gerry Canuel came over early this AM and we went golfing to Apache Sun with the group from the RV park.  The course was in nice shape and we got paired up with a couple of good guys.  As we had a cart we were also given the flags and sent out as the first group.  The flags are for the two money holes:  longest putt & closest to the pin.  One of our group won the closest to the pin, but I believe the long putt carried over again this week.  Next week it will be really worthwhile as it will be 3 weeks then.  Hit some good ones & some that I was not so proud of.  Went back to the Taylor Made Burner & was really crunching them.
 When we got back to the park, Marg was over at Bingers helping them sort out their stuff.  They just sold one park model & purchased another and were trying to figure out what was good for the patio sale and what was junk.  I couldn't believe the amount of stuff that was left for the sale, but apparently they threw out several wagon loads.  Lots of time when you buy a park model, the previous owners are from far away and just leave everything in the unit.  That's what happened with both of the units Bingers had & believe me they had lots.
  I played some pool in the afternoon and managed to give as good as I got today.  Still lots of people around here with colds.  One of the guys I played pool with was just getting over a bad cold.  Apparently his wife caught valley fever last year.  It's something like a bad cold that looks like pneumonia.  It's unique to the desert area & although curable is pretty miserable.  Anyway with the number of people coughing and hacking around, it's something to watch out for.  Marg continues to be one of the ones fighting the cold.
  We went out to look for a gazebo type tent structure again.  Found one, but apparently it is not THE one, so the search will continue.
  Went to happy hour at Bud & Lynette's tonight.  I took my Old Pulteny & Finnigan whiskey's as there is a scotch drinker & an Irish whiskey fan who had never tried them.   At the golf course we were discussing them & expressed an interest in a taste.  Then one of the guys had some maple flavor crown royal & so it went until we all had more than our fill.  I was kind of tired after, lots of yawning, LOL.
  BBQ for supper and then played some poker this evening.  I think I made out OK, the little bag of coins seems to be pretty full.
  All in all a pretty good D Day.

Jan 29th

Can it be so, January is almost in the history books.  It hardly seems we have been in AJ for 6 weeks.
   The day was nice and sunny, but it was chilly last night, someone said it got down to 41F last night.  There was frost on the car windshield this morning.  I know this kind of talk would get me laughed at in GP today, but we don't have our mukluks down here.  People down here are always telling everyone how cold it is at home, but they never compare with us, wonder why.  Saw the weather at home on CTV news this morning; stay warm all you GP'ers.  That is one of the advantages of bringing our Shaw satellite dish.  All the Bell subscribers are crying foul as they get no reception at all down here this year.  It saves us from watching all the local news & sorting through all the channels for English ones, lots of Mexican tv here.  There are lots of channels available with an antennae, but it's all digital, not like home at all.
  Put my speedometer on the bike today.  It's been sitting in the car trunk for a while.  Not sure about the speed, I really just want to see how far I go.  I discovered the downside of one of these, is trying to keep the speed up.  Almost gave me a heart attack & all I got up to was 13 miles per hour, something like 20 kmph.  It works pretty good although it was chilly riding this AM, so I only went 1.5 miles.  That's another downside, it points out when I didn't go very far.  Hey it was cold out!
  After lunch I played pool and Marg went to get some stuff.  She came back with a sack full of vitamins and what-not to help her deal with the head cold she is suffering through.  We were waiting for a propane delivery, so she asked the neighbour to let me know if he came when she was gone.  I was in the pool room taking lessons again today when it came, so had to take a break.  Get it - that's a pun, took a break in pool.  Ah I crack myself up.  I came within one ball of reaching the 8 ball on one break.  In the next game they asked what happened, my answer - I never pretended to be any good at this game.
  BBQ for supper, first time in quite a while.  It was sure a nice dinner with the roasted potatoes/veggies and all.
  After supper it was bingo night.  Somehow I am becoming a regular with Marg at this.  I'm not sure how that has happened, but I never would have believed it possible a few years ago.  I think it must be the ice cream at intermission, I had a drumstick tonight, thanks Gerry.  No winners in our group, but one winner at the table. 

Monday

Well it never rained today, although there was some during the night.  The weather was better and is starting to warm up.  The forecast is for great weather starting again mid-week.
  Went for a morning bike ride.  It was pretty cool for that.  In fact I almost wished I had gloves on, LOL.  Didn't make a lot miles, but the longest journey starts with the first step, or something like that.
  I played pool in the afternoon and got some lessons from the boys today.  Pretty good bunch, so we had lots of laughs.  Marg went to Fry's and got some stuff so we can eat for the next few days.  There are lots of sales on liquor & snacks this week in advance of the super bowl weekend.  It was nice that she was able to get out for a while, being cooped up with her cold when the weather was bad.

  We have been before, but the show changes from year to year.  In fact they have different shows for odd or even days, as well as special occasions and a rock & roll show.  The Barleen family run it & I mean family.  Everyone does everything & plays multiple instruments.  For example, the gal singing here also runs the kitchen & they feed all 500 guests in 20 minutes. A nice roast beef dinner.  One of the cool things is the appetizer when you sit down, you have a slice of chocolate cake.  The guy in red, George was the singer with the Tokens & had 12 gold records.  You have likely heard his top hit - The Lion Sleeps Tonight & he still does it well.

  They have more instruments than I can even describe.  This was our 3rd time to the show in 4 years, but the first time we heard the Swiss alpine horns.  Pretty cool!  The guitar player in the middle played with Dottie West & is hilarious.  One of his jokes:
  Ran in to 2 big girls with accents at the bar today.  I mean big girls.  So I said are you girls from Ireland.  One said no Wales.  So I said, Are you whales from Ireland?  I guess you had to be there...

Jan 27th

Well the rains let up and it was a very pleasant day.
  Pretty quiet day for us as Marg has caught another cold and was on the mend, so we just stayed in.  I think she must have got it from all the people who were hacking around here last week.  It was mostly up in what everyone calls the Canadian end of the park.  I think there are half a dozen up the road in front of us.  We are what they call on the hill, in the center of the park.  It's pretty funny really, because the hill is only about a foot or so high.
  It was ice cream social tonight and we had a pretty good turn-out.  We were short our leader who had to return home to Kansas for a family emergency, but managed just fine.  Did lots of banana splits and sundaes tonight, hardly any root beer floats.  We let some of the stock run down as there is no social next week with the super bowl party in the hall.

Rain day

It started raining through the night and never quit until about noon.  I think we only had about a half inch, but the water ponds on the desert and just driving down the street we went through lots of big puddles.  At times it was almost a downpour, a bit of a surprise when you experience it for the first time.
  I got up early and went to breakfast in the hall.  It was pretty good & sat with a group of friends.  Most of the talk was about the animal races last night and the laughs we had.  I think some people were surprised to hear about the number of people that turned out for it & there were lots of comments about coming next week. 
  After we went out to look at some blinds.  Marg wants to put some new blinds in the motorhome.  The ones in here are aluminum venetians that came with it.  They are in fine condition, but apparently they do not meet our needs.  I will grant the one at the head of the bed sometimes rattles if it gets bumped in the night and we need to match it in the other 9 windows if we replace it.  I don't think it will we that difficult, but we will see.  Checked out the home improvement stores, but I think we are headed to Camping World.
  Went for lunch to Appleby's.  Marg had the same thing she always has for lunch, the soup & salad combo.  I had the chicken caesar salad, it was great.
  As a famous broadcaster used to say - and that's the kind of day it was.
 

Friday

The day was overcast, but still got very warm.  I think 80F was about as warm as it got.  It sprinkled a bit after supper, but nothing serious.  It's amazing to me how hot it can get when the sun wasn't hardly even out.   They are talking about rain on the weekend or maybe on Monday.  I would love to see what they call a gully washer & if we get a heavy rain you may see some pics.  The picture of us having lunch in the desert was in a dry wash & they tell me they get too deep to get across at times.
  Marg had a road trip today with the gamblin' gals, or her casino friends.  Anyway they went up to Fort MacDowell, but came home without making the big strike.  She said they had lots of laughs, except with the bingo results.  She was gone pretty much the entire day, but left me instructions on how to make my lunch.  You would think I never made a sandwich before, although it's nice to see she is concerned.  She sure left some nice rye bread.
  I went out for a bike ride, but still did not quite get to Idaho.  Nice morning for a ride.  Some of the guys in the park want me to join them, but they go 7 - 16 miles & I'm not there yet.  When I got back I went out and picked up new telephones.  We called Bill last night & we couldn't even carry on a conversation.  Seems the old phone had it.  Bought Marg a new flip phone, just got the old number transferred over, along with the minutes [they are pay as u go].  Got myself a phone too, but it's not a flip & it doesn't have a camera.  It's mainly to call her and ask what aisle she is in, so I bought the cheapest one they had - $9.88.  Then I had to add minutes to it, got a deal on 140 minutes for $19 & I'm all set.  The phone had a wall charger & 12v car charger included at that price.  Some stuff is a pretty good deal.
  I stopped for gas on the way back, boy has it gone up.  The price increase is about 23 cents per gallon since we got here in mid-December.  It was $3.17 per gallon today.  That was odd because they usually don't raise it until the day before I fill the motorhome.  I saw the dollar fell to 99 cents today, so we are getting a double whammy on the gas here.
  I played some pool this afternoon with a couple of guys from Saskatchewan & one from Michigan.
  When Marg got home we had brats for supper.  They were pretty darn good.

  Ron & Sue started up the animal races again, so we went to support them.  Marg won every race, me I won 1 or 2.  Who would think a Hippo or Camel would beat a Zebra?   Well she did, I guess.  One of her gamblin' pals won 5, but she held the record winning all 6.  It was lots of laughs and it got pretty raucous in the room.  There was a pretty good crowd  and I'm sure this will become a regular Friday evening event.
 
 

Jan 24th

Well the weather has changed a bit, we got a light rain this morning.  It was pleasant enough, we still are in short pants, but not the heat of the previous few days.  I think the forecast for the next few days is for some overcast skies with possibility of rain.
  We got up early today, well early for one of us, and went to coffee & donuts.  We often sit at table #1 with a bunch from Ohio & a couple from BC.  I can't believe how many times our number is drawn last & guess what position we were today -- last.  Some other friends reminded me that when I sat with them 2 weeks ago their table was last & they thanked me for changing. 
  We went out shopping this AM and wouldn't you know it the only thing Marg bought was 5 shirts for me at Kohl's.  We had to get back a bit before lunch as it was pool tourney day.
  We were short of players, we only had 6, so it was a good thing I got back, otherwise the team would have had to forfeit.  It was a road trip to Rain Dance, that's about 4 miles from here.  I drew a good partner and with only 3 teams we each had to play twice.  My partner & I won 4 of the 6 games, so we held up our end.  The tables at that park are very different, the pockets have sharp corners and the cloth is the competition felt.  As a result the tables play very fast & we had trouble getting our weight down in the first few games.
  Marg went out for groceries while I was away.  Walmart I believe, there is one very close to the park here in AJ.  There are two others within a short drive, they sure have a lot of them down here.  If we are buying anything larger, we usually go to the one in Mesa, because the municipal tax is lower there making things a bit less.
  Kenny & Doris had happy hour at their place.  They have a large covered cement drive, so in case of rain we would have been dry.  They had a large turnout, there were at least 2 dozen of us.  He's pretty clever, he invites the neighbours on both sides and across from him.  It was lots of fun.
   Supper in the rv  tonight.  Marg made pasta and shrimp.  We eat pretty darn good here.
  We were watching the news from home tonight and they were blaming a 4 times increase in the price of produce on the cold weather in Arizona & California.  That's funny because there is no shortage of produce here & it is still the same price as before the cold weather.  The produce here is so fresh, no comparison to home, it's like fresh from the garden.  In fact Marg just finished using a head of lettuce she said has been in the fridge 2 weeks and it was still nice.  The produce and fruit we get at home must be pretty old by the time it gets on the shelf.

Shout

BTW Patti, here is the picture Marg said she would send

D Day

D Day, that's what Marg calls Wednesday for short or Dave's Day in full.

  Another nice one.  Started the day early & went golfing with the group from the rv park here.  As you may recall from last year we share T times with another park.  This picture I would call - hey look I found my ball.  I played with 3 guys from the other park, 2 of whom were pretty darn good.  I was hitting the ball off the T & fairway well & if I could chip or putt would have scored well.  But then again if I was putting, the drives would have.... well you know how it is.

 Long ago I realized that I will never be a golfer.  At least 3 times I was on the green in better shape than anyone, then I got out my old fish boat & putt, putt, putt.  I take comfort in the knowledge that in the end it makes no difference anyway.  Did I forget to mention the weather was perfect for golf.  Pleasant in the morning and warming all day long. It was shorts & no jackets on the course today.



  I got back in time for lunch and then help pack laundry over to where the machines are.  Marg, well she went to water aerobics in the morning and then did the said laundry.  She did say that some of the stiffness from prior exercise is working out and that she is not finding the aerobics as difficult this week.  When I got back the pool was pretty much full of the ladies, not a guy to be seen.  She said the pool was cooler, but gradually warmed throughout the day.  My friend Jerry B had volunteered my services to a lady with no electrical power in her bathroom, so she came seeking help.  It took longer to walk there and back than it did to fix it, suffice it say she has light.  I think I need to remind him that I was an accountant, not a maintenance man in my working life.  LOL  The way this place works, she will probably tell everyone with a problem that she knows an electrician in the park.  Fingers crossed.
  Played pool with a couple of Canucks this afternoon.  That is phase II of D Day, the 8 ball games in the pool room.  Pretty much gave as good as I got today.  The one fellow John is almost as bad as me for leaving the opposition safe, so it was fun & if anyone won, they earned it.

  For supper we went to Waldo's, it's a place that specializes in BBQ.  It was our first time there.  We went with Ron & Sue, who had been before.  The food was good, Marg said it was worth a return visit.  The place was pretty funny, the sign on the door said - Sorry we are open!  They had a sampler plate that we both had so we could try different bbq.  We both liked the pulled pork best, although the chicken was a close second.  They made their own corn bread & the side dishes were very good as well.

We got back to the rv park for phase III of D Day, and I played poker with a group of guys.  We had another new player tonight, very encouraging.  He's a pretty fair player and best of all liked to have a few laughs.  I think I about broke even tonight, but I refuse to keep an accurate count.  My measure is how full my money sack is & it is pretty much still full to the brim.

 

More desert pictures

 A stone arch had another smaller one.  A good sized cave in the back to the left.  Lots of saguaro cactus - of course!

 A water tank, probably many years old, likely built by prospectors

 This was really cool, it looked like people standing up on the mountain watching us.

Just a piece of the mountain along the trail.  The camera caught a sun dog [the purple light].

Tuesday, Jan 22nd

What a great day.  Took off at 8AM with some of the guys in the park for a trip through the desert and a mountain pass.  Packed lunch & camera and we were off, 9 guys in 3 SUV's.  We were just ascending the summit when one of the vehicles started to overheat & I mean seriously.  The water in the overflow reservoir from the radiator was boiling like a pot of percolating coffee.  That was the end of the line for him.  We had to wait for him to cool down and then headed back.  It was a hot day today, probably contributed to it as the temp reached 83F.

   Lunch on the trail at mid-day where Bud's SUV heated up with some of the guys - Kenny, Norm, Val & Jerry.  By the time I took the pic, the others went on ahead.  I was the only one of the 9 whose wife packed his lunch, although Doris had helped Kenny.  All the others just shook their heads.  I'm accustomed to this now, so just reminded them I am domestically challenged.  LOL!  Eat your hearts out!  Hey that's a pun!

  The going was pretty good, probably something akin to poor lease roads, but dry with lots of dust. It was a combination of rough roads/trails and washes.  In some places the washes were actually better travelling than the trails. 
  This was where I found a piece of quartz with traces of gold in it.  No one could believe I found it.  Gave it to Norm who was really taken with it.
  Marg started out the day with some personal time with the vac & then went to water aerobics with some of the ladies.  Later a larger group of girls went for lunch out to Hackers & had a good time.  No that's not a golf course, just a restaurant to go to after.
  I got back early from the desert trip, so played a couple of games of pool to complete the afternoon.  By then Marg was back and we went to cocktail hour at Larry & Nancy's.  There were lots of people there [close to 2 dozen], likely something to do with the nice weather.  A quick trip up to Filberto's for supper [Mexican] and then off to bingo. The only winner among us tonight was Ron, so my streak has ended.  It was good he won, so he can play poker tomorrow night as he had a tough night last week.

Monday Jan 21st

Just another nice day in AJ, the weather is starting to settle in to a pattern we came here for.  For those of you who know my habits, we changed the sheets from flannel to cotton, so that should tell you how warm it is at night now.  In fact we are sitting here at 10PM with the door to the motorhome open.
  Got out the helmet and took a ride on the new bike before breakfast.  It sure rides nice and has some pretty cool features.  I think I am out of shape for riding, so didn't go with the group that goes most weekday mornings.  I didn't even make it up to Idaho before I had to turn back.  Not sure how far I went, I guess I better install the speedometer on it.  Took the free bike back to Howard today and explained how I needed a larger frame.  He said he had several other customers at the price he gave it to me for, free that is.  He seemed happy to have it back all washed up and lubed, it won't be hard to get rid of.
  Marg went to water aerobics with Doris, Patty & Mary.  She said the pool was like a nice warm bathtub this morning.  Apparently only a couple of others showed up, so they had the pool to themselves and enjoyed the workout.  I think it was about an hour.  I told her to take her laundry and some soap to dump in the pool.  With them all thrashing about, I figure they would get washed for free & then all she had to do was dry it.  No sense of ha ha.
  I did a few repairs in the rv, these things always need something glued or tightened.  This time it was glued.  After lunch I washed my golf clubs, they got all plugged up with dirt/mud last week at Encanto. Apparently they flood the fairways, so whenever I took a divot, my club face was covered with dirt the color of clay, it's hard to tell.  But the grooves were filled with it.  After that I went to play pool for a while and Marg went with Jerry & Patty to get some groceries & bottled water.  With the heat, we go through lots of water & oranges.  She got really nice oranges today.  She also had to pick up some lunch stuff as I need to take lots of water & a lunch when I go out on the desert tomorrow.  With any luck I will get some pictures for tomorrow.  Actually with any luck we won't get lost, LOL.
  Went over for cocktails again tonight.  It seems after that Marg has plans to go out for lunch tomorrow and back to Ft MacDowell on Friday. The guys mainly sat around and discussed the desert trip tomorrow.  There will be 9 guys in 3 vehicles.  If there is safety in numbers, we will be OK.
  A walk around the park and that was our day.
 

Sunny Sunday

It was a great day in the valley of the sun, not a cloud in the sky.  The highest temp I saw was 77F [25C] & I think that was the daytime high.  We both had the short pants going on today & no coats required.  Pretty warm during the night as well, the furnace never even came on last night.
  Marg made omelets for brunch today and they were great.  Went over to take a look at Bingers motorhome.  It had lots of oxidation on the dark colors and they had someone apply a cleaner to it, then a sealer.  The result was amazing, I don't believe I have seen a more dramatic transformation.   While we were there, he mentioned his neighbour had a bike for sale, so went to look at it.  It looked pretty good & just as I was mulling it over, Howard said 'take it if you want it'.  Howard & Shannon are from Alberta, actually Peace River at one time.  You really can't get a better deal than free, so I took it.  Spent a bunch of time washing it and spray lubing it.  Tried riding it and it was OK, but was only a 26 inch frame, so kind of short for me. 

  Got under way just after that, shortly prior to lunch.  We went out looking for an ez canopy, you know one of those tent like things for shade.  We didn't have much luck, but did find a bike that I took a liking to and it was on a 29 inch frame, so bought it.  The really amazing thing was it fit in the car trunk, so we brought it home.  Pretty nice wheels & can hardly wait to take it for a ride.  Now I have to take the other one back and explain how even at free, it's not to be.  Kind of runs against the grain doesn't it?  I keep blaming Marg, she gets another pension cheque starting in April & I keep accusing her of spending it already, LOL.

  One of the guys just bought a park model and found a flag in it.  As it was a maple leaf, he said he couldn't use it, so offered it to me.  I told him he could switch teams and get in with us Canucks, but he said it was too late to change teams, LOL.  It wasn't much of a flag, really, but I stuck it in the palm tree out front; see if anyone notices - eh!
  Got back in time for cocktail hour over at Larry & Nancy's and then a quick supper after.  It was ice cream social tonight so we had to scoop with the team.  Kenny told us they are not taking on the project next year, so this will be our last year scooping, as well.
  Almost forgot; it was so nice in the pool that Marg and some friends decided they are all going to start water aerobics next week.  Kind of funny that they are all keen on it this year; I wonder if it has anything to do with the 11AM start time, hah!  Not sure if pictures are allowed, stay tuned.

Sunny Saturday

  Just another beautiful day in the valley of the sun, I think it got into the 70's, that's over 20C for you  Canucks.  It was definitely a short pants day, even for me.  That is not an insignificant measure, when I put shorts on, it means WARM!
  Did some running around, but did not locate what we were seeking, so returned home.  That's the rv by the way for you non-campers.  For us it is home for between a third & a half of the year.  For others down here, who are what they call "full-time" their rv is home.  This is a small park with 140 stalls & I think there are about 20 or more who are full-timers.
  Marg did laundry, I did 8 ball in the pool room.
  BBQ for dinner, we had some nice New York steaks and while they were good, they were not Alberta beef.  At home that would have been an awesome cut, but here it was good.  You really have to experience it, I can't explain it in a blog.  In other words if you really want clarity on this, get your bum in a seat for Phoenix & we will show you first hand, LOL!

There was an entertainer in the hall tonight & we bought tickets for it. There ended up being quite a crowd of us, 12 I think.  The entertainer was Ron E Cash, corny, but he was pretty darn good.  Played a lot of 50's & 60's stuff and I would guess that 90% of the people there could sing the songs word for word,  know we could.  He really got people up on the dance floor, I know we were up lots.  All in all a fun evening with some good people.

  This is really an interesting phenomenon.  At home we think nothing of sitting around the TV on a Saturday night, but in Arizona we are out and going to things like this.  It's not just us, it's endemic, the place was full and this goes on all over here.

Friday - Jan 18th

Another gorgeous day in the valley of the sun.  The day started out sunny and just kept getting nicer. I think the temp topped out at around 73F.
  Marg was up early to go off with her friends to Fort McDowell to play bingo and try and win a car.  No new car & she reported that she did not have a winning formula either at bingo or in the casino.  I guess they had lots of laughs and she generally had a fun day.  The "girls" asked her to become a regular in their group, so time will tell, but she was pretty happy with the way her day turned out.  She left prior to 9AM and got home around 5:30PM, a pretty full day.
  Me, well I hung around the rv park until around noon.  Made my own lunch, then left to pick up Gerry C.  We went back to Encanto, where we played 18 holes.  The course was better the second time around, mainly because I knew where to go, LOL.  We both played better than the last time, but nothing to write home about.  I switched back to my old driver and my old putter and that seemed to help.  Gerry brought a new driver today & he stayed with it through the day as it seemed to work well for him.  It was nice and warm when we started out and kept getting nicer.  I ended up zipping off the bottoms on my pant legs and golfed in shorts today.  First time for that this winter.
  We finished around 5:30 or so, then drove Gerry home and made my way back to AJ.  Out here in AJ, we don't get to see the real Phoenix, but today I got to drive home in rush hour traffic.  Welcome to the real world, LOL.
  Got back and we went to the Village Inn for supper.  Friday there is a fish special that Marg had, me I went with my old stand-by, the Rueben sandwich.
 

Thursday

What a difference a day makes - 24 little hours -- the words to the song went something like that.
  Today was the nicest day since we came to Az.  It was 72F in the sun.  Everyone was casting off their heavy coats, getting out the short pants.  I'm certain is seemed nicer than it actually was because of the long cold spell, but it certainly picked up everyone's spirits.
  Got up and went to coffee & donuts in the hall this AM.  Marg, well she passed, stayed back, although she was up that early -- 9AM, LOL.  Lots of folks attended & it seemed the majority gave me a hard time about the poker winnings from last night.  Word sure gets around in this park.
  Went to play pool after lunch, but we had 15 players.  We draw playing cards for partners & there were 3 red cards in the deck and guess who drew the first one, yours truly.  So that meant I did not play today. I think I took it better than some of the other guys, 3 of whom volunteered to not play and give me their spot.  I had other things I could do, so thanked them and said we must respect the luck of the draw, well words to that effect anyways.
  Came back to the rv, but Marg had already gone someplace.  I went to find someone with a phone so I could call her to come back and pick me up, but only made it as far as Buds.  He is notorious for having a small fridge in his shed that is full of Miller.  So it seems that it was Miller time.  But I left after one, no easy task with Bud let me tell you.
  Never did get access to a phone, but when I got back to the rv, Marg had returned.  So we went out to look for a sun shelter.  You know one of those collapsible tent things that you can put walls on.  We found some nice ones at Dicks sporting goods, but I think we will continue to look around a bit before committing.  Also looked at bikes there, but not that appealed.
  Went and looked at a couple of stores in the area, it's an outdoor kind of mall.  Don't see much like this around home, the closest would be something like the Gateway shopping area.  Ended up at Total Wine, which is always hard to get out of with a buggy full.  Marg bought some tequila drinks and wine.  I got a nice bottle of Finnigan Irish whiskey & one of Old Pulteny scotch.  Where is Phil when I need him?
  Got back and there were a couple of cocktail parties started.  Everyone is really taking advantage of the nice weather.  Managed to avoid going and had bbq for supper.  It's not that I have quit drinking, it's just that I was hungry and it is less fun to go at the tail end of cocktail hour when you are stone cold sober and everyone else is well into their cups.  Went for a nice walk after supper.  Yes I know, no pictures for a while, will try and do something about that, but probably not tomorrow as I am going golfing and Marg is going with her gambling ladies group.  They load up a van with of ladies and go to a casino to play games and bingo.  Apparently they are giving a car away at Ft McDowell tomorrow and they have big expectations.  Stay tuned!

Wednesday

Got a call from Charlene today, it was sure great talking to her.  One of the things I really miss about being down here is the regular telephone conversations we have.
  The weather really warmed up today, it was very pleasant.  In fact we were sitting around in the rv with the door open.  I was told today that this cold snap we had was the longest cold period since 1978, now that is the way our luck runs sometimes.  Anyway it is behind us now, hurrah!
  After lunch I played some pool & Marg went to pick up some stuff to go along with dinner.  One of the guys I played with is remarkable.  He just walks up and shoots taking almost no time and he is a remarkable player & quite a character.  It was turkey soup night in the hall and it's a free dinner to all the park residents.  It's really more than a soup, with all the ingredients it is really closer to a stew & very filling.  For the past few years, Marg has always provided some very nice bread to go with it and this year was no exception as she found 3 different types & everyone enjoyed them.  There were a dozen of us at the table and we had some nice wines as well.  She had made & froze one of her famous carrot cakes before we left home & it travelled really well.  Today she thawed it and made the cream cheese icing and brought that as well.  It was a big hit and there was enough to share with friends at one of the other tables.
  I played poker this evening, we had a good group, more than enough actually.  As it turns out I made out like a bandit.  I don't count what I win or lose, but the little sack that I carry change in barely closed tonight & it was only about half full when I went.  The really good news was that we had 2 new players & anytime we increase the numbers that is positive.  If everyone shows up now we may just have 2 tables.

Jan 15th

It was chilly again last night, if you're getting tired of hearing that, well we are getting MORE than tired of living it.  This is supposed to be the valley of the sun.  Well the sun is shining, but the overnight temps leave a lot to be desired.  The day time high got up there better today and the forecast is to get better tomorrow & Thursday.  This really limits day time activities and has everyone looking to indoor ones, other than shopping that it is, LOL!  Marg checked the bank balances on line and her book is balanced to the penny, it seems she is becoming the bookkeeper in the family.
  We spent the day in the park today.  Marg made blueberry pancakes, always a good way to start the day.  For me anyways!  I played some pool after lunch, but cut it short so we could make a call to mother.  We have not spoken to her since leaving Edmonton in December.  We have tried to call a few times, unsuccessfully, so Jim offered to be at her place this PM so we could call and get through.  Thanks for doing that Jim, it was great being able to talk with her today.  In fact it was something we have been looking forward to for a while now & meant a great deal.
  After that we went to Kenny & Doris' place for happy hour.  It was inside today, but nice to get together with everyone, it was our first time doing cocktails this year and it was lots of fun.  Kind of a rushed afternoon, so Marg had made a stew in the crock pot, she has a small one in the rv.  It was great, as everyone already knows about her stews.  Very nice to have it on a chilly day.
  We needed a quick supper option as it was -- yes you know by now, bingo night.  Since winning, the big one, now I feel obligated to go with Marg.  She has her regular group she sits with, some of whom are also members of the happy hour group, LOL.  I won on 4 corners, same pattern as last night, so I am in danger of becoming known for something along those lines.  I just told them we were playing for propane tonight, it got a few laughs anyway.

Monday

  Here it is Monday, back to the old grind.  Wait -- there is no old grind anymore.  It's a bright new week to look forward to, for us retiree's.  A chilly day though, we're kind of getting tired of this weather.  It looks like we will turn the corner on Wednesday and start experiencing more seasonable weather.  The forecast is high 60's, low 70's.
  Little bit of a slow start to the day, not too anxious to get out and about until the sun gets up and heats the place up a bit.
  Played some pool this afternoon.  I was lucky enough to get in with some great guys and we had lots of laughs.  Not sure about the outcome, I think I could have played better, but what the heck, it was a good day.
  Deb & Gerry called and we made arrangements to meet them at Casino Arizona in Scottsdale.  It's up the Red Mountain freeway to the 101, close to Talking Stick, where we have been for the wonderful buffet.  This is the first time we went to this one & it's pretty nice.  We got there early enough to get in on the matinee special [early bird but name disguised for the benefit of seniors], LOL.  I guess, if we say we are going to the early bird, it's too much like a Seinfeld episode, whereas the matinee special is more refined.  Not that any of us really care, LOL.  We both had a great dinner, fish & chips actually and both the décor and food warrant a return visit.  We agreed to meet them to play bingo.  I won the first game, $100, then Gerry split a $500 pot, so we came away in good shape.
  It was about 10:30 when we got back to the rv, but the freeways are pretty quiet at that time of day, so good travelling.  Had a nice coffee when we got back & there are still butter tarts and shortbread from home & they still taste fresh, although we are getting close to the bottom of the cookie jar.
 

Sunday Jan 13th

  Another chilly night last night, the forecast is that it will warm up starting Wednesday.  Not sure if I  should sign up for golf, might be to cool for me, LOL.   It was pleasant during the day, but weather where a coat or sweater was needed.  Not the hot stuff we come down here for, but the whole country seems to be a bit on the cool side.  On the other hand, I might be over-reacting a bit as there isn't even snow up in the mountains.
  Went out to Burlington Coat just after lunch.  Stopped at a couple of other places along the way.  I managed to finish a pocket book in the parking lots, LOL.  Marg stopped in a Fry's on the way home & said they had all kinds of in-store sales on today, in fact she got a very good deal on some steaks.
   Lots of new people in the park this weekend and many of them came out for the ice cream social tonight.  We again offered banana splits, root beer floats as well as our cake & ice cream.  It was a good sized crowd, so we really had to hustle.
  After Marg played 31 with the group that plays every Sunday after the ice cream social.  As she didn't come back with a big sack of quarters, it appears she may not have been the big winner.

Saturday

  Boy it was cold last night, a couple of people had their water lines freeze, not hard like it freezes at home, but the water wouldn't flow until they heated it with a hair dryer this AM.  Ours never as I put a blanket over the tap and hose, so it was fine.
   I went to breakfast this AM in the hall, french toast, eggs, bacon; life is good.  After breakfast we went to a car wash and got an inside & out wash on the Malibu.  Just $15 for the wash in & out, but I paid another $15 for a hand wax.  It was right by source for sports, so I stopped in for some golf balls.  They had some great deals on & I almost talked myself in to a lob wedge, but then I thought geepers, I can't even hit the ones I have so it's probably not the answer.
  We went and looked at chairs.  I think we want to replace the occasional chair in the motorhome, it's just not that comfortable.  We were at half a dozen stores including: Ashley, Lazyboy, Grandpa's furniture.  Saw some that we really liked but we think we will keep looking for a while yet.
  On the way home Marg remarked on how rapidly the left turn signal was blinking.  I never noticed it, us seniors can ignore turn signals for miles.  It's a skill we develop over time.  Stopped at the auto parts place on the trail and managed to figure out how to get at it. Every few years they change the whole set-up so that it creates work at the service stations.  We're not falling for that, it's bad enough that the bulbs are $3 each, my father would not have paid that. 

  Went to Wells Fargo for some do-re-mi, we keep a bank account at a branch in AJ here.  That seems to run out every so often.  It's near the Bells store & Marg went in there to pick up a few things.  Maybe there is a connection there, LOL!
  When we got back to the park, Marg did laundry and I helped her - my part was dirtying some more clothes.  I got tagged to go help Almyra put new stuff in her hummingbird feeder. The little guys have been hanging around it & she felt sorry for them.  Got a pic of one that's was sitting on the clothes dryer across the way waiting for her to fill it. When you see it next to a clothes pin, it gives you an idea of their size.

  Also took a picture of the ICE on Superstition mountain.  Can you see it?  It's just part of the rock formation that they use to play tricks on the newbies.
 

Friday

  Well it was chilly last night & most of the day.  Funny thing here but the warmest time of day is mid-afternoon.  As I mentioned we are entering a 3 or 4 day period of some of the poorest weather we will see this winter.  The temp is forecast to be 2 or 3 degrees below freezing at night.  We just cover our water lines and let a bit of cold water run every so often and with luck will not have any frozen lines.  By Tuesday it will be above freezing at night & after Thursday, the temp is supposed to start climbing and get in to more seasonable patterns.
  Went for a hair cut this morning.  Went to a place I tried successfully last year and it seems to be ok this time as well.  They are Mexicans running it and the guy was talking about coming to Alberta to see if they could find work.  I told him there are lots of workers being brought in to our part of the province, some from Mexico.  He was very curious about the cost of things and the weather for both summer & winter.  Marg wandered around a few stores and spent quite a bit of time in one dealing in antiques & I don't mean senior citizens by that, LOL.  After we went over to Big 5 sporting goods to look at golf balls, but I think I will hold off and see if I can get some on sale. When I played with Gerry at Encanto this past week, I never lost a ball, so much better than Apache Creek the week prior.
  Got back in time for lunch and then I played pool in the afternoon.  Marg dyed her hair and then fussed with it for a bit while I was gone.  After supper we went for a walk around the park, for a change there were no cocktail parties tonight.  Most of the orange, lemon & grapefruit trees were covered as well as a lot of the flower beds.  In fact I lent out my large tarp, which is covering an orange tree tonight.  Apparently if the citrus trees get a touch of frost the fruit will rot while still on the tree.  We had frost on the car this morning when I got up.  Good thing we got propane yesterday.  Pretty good price on it, $3.05 per gallon.
  We had supper in tonight.  Marg had bought some smoked pork chops that were really good.  After supper we had a face-time conversation with Vanessa & Daniel.  Good job on the I-pad there Marg.
  There have been so many shootings in Phoenix this last week.  Apparently there were 6 involving the police. There was even a murder victim found in an AJ jewelry store yesterday.
  I have one of my nice warm coats from home out & it's just right for this kind of weather.

Jan 10th

Hard to believe but we are already 10 days into the new year.  Cooler day today, I think it only got into the low 50's.  Had to wear a jacket in the morning.
  We've been having a bit of a mail problem.  Today Marg discovered that the mail we are having forwarded here from home by Canada Post is in turn being forwarded to GP by the US post.  Talk about a gong show.  Anyway we got a big envelope of Christmas cards today.  Thanks everyone, they just about made it here on Ukrainian Christmas.
  As you may recall we left before the rv wash people were done, so went out early in the morning to have a look at the job.  It looks great, they put a liquid was in the rinse water that really brings up the finish.
  This was a red letter day, Marg went to coffee & donuts with me this AM.  It was pretty well attended and the donuts were good.  Actually I had a blueberry fritter.  They go over events for the coming week at the meeting.  It's really good for people who are newly arrived in the park.  For the rest of us, it's a good excuse to coffee together.  We had a guest speaker from the AJ food bank, it turns out the rv parks are a major source of support for them.
  After Marg went shopping with Betty & Sue.  Mostly grocery stuff I believe.
  It was inter-park pool tournament today, so I played.  We played Mountain View, our closest rival, so 3 of us walked over.  The guys my partner & I played were pretty good.  We did well on the first game, then they ran the table in the second.  We struggled in the 3rd, but I just kept hooking the guy who ran the table.  Finally after the 3rd straight hook, he sank the cue ball while he was on the 8 & they lost.  A win is a win -- right?  I am kind of known for my ability to leave the others tough, sort of the park hooker, LOL!  That's life in a seniors community.
  Kenny & Doris stopped in and had a beer with us later in the afternoon. After we went out to Los Gringos Locos, it's our favorite Mexican restaurant, not just because there is a coupon in our book.  I had the green horny & a burrito, while Marg had a burrito and an enchilada.  The beer was good & Marg reported that the margarita was as well.
  Our weather here is going into the tank for 3 or 4 days.  Everyone is covering the citrus trees as the overnight lows are forecast at 28 for 2 nights.

Wednesday

What a nice day.  The sun shone and it was beautiful out today.
  Starting the day off, the neighbours had the rv wash guys out to do their unit, so I contracted with them to wash ours, $75, a great deal. We just got them started and paid them as we had to travel.  They are the same guys we have had for the last 2 years, so trusted them to complete the job.  In fact we even left them a tip, we were so confident of a good job.  Unfortunately we got back to the motorhome after dark, so we only think we got good value, Hah!
  Drove in to Gerry & Deb's and got there right about noon.  Gerry & I had a tee time at Encanto for 1:30 and Marg went to go shopping with Deb.  I had almost forgot the way to their place, so used the new gps.  It has a some neat features that our old one did not.  One feature is when you get to a major intersection it shows you a street view photo with an arrow on your recommended route.  Way cool!  Its about 30 miles from here to their place, so we didn't want a mistake.  I joked with Gerry, he has come here numerous times, so going there once to golf seemed reasonable.  There is a new sign up system here for golf & I neglected to get my name on the list.  I found out after we made arrangements that Pat had put my name on the list anyway, but not Gerry, so I said that I had to keep the commitment with Gerry.  It was a municipal course, but a nice one.  Lots of mature trees [palm & others], some water, lots of dog legs.  We found out the hard way that short cutting the dog legs was taken care of with the plantings they had.  Nice fairways, all grass and well cared for greens & tee boxes.  As a matter of fact they watered so much that our biggest problem was muddy clubs & balls.
  The score, well we did OK.  I was better than last week & Gerry about the same.  Used my new Taylor Burner & every time I hit a decent drive, Gerry offered to buy it.  Each time $5 higher than the last until we reached his max.  LOL

  Marg & Deb went to an antique store, then found a cute place call the Secret Village.  There were 6 stores in a cul-de-sac with lots of neat stuff.  They had a nice lunch along the way.  Marg managed to get a few things she really needed, including a shelf thingy and a pair of shoes for Ross's, one her all time fav's.
  After we went out to a Chinese buffet around their place, I think it was called Mandarin.  There was lots of good stuff, some of it unique.  I ate mainly fresh fruit for dessert.  After we drove back to the rv park, arriving home after 8, so it was too late to play poker.  I went and watched them play poker for a while, but it's not the same - duh!

Tuesday Jan 8th

A nice day in the valley of the sun.  Everyone was out and about, so any attempt to do a walk about was slowed down by all the visiting.  Nancy & Larry were taking down their Christmas lights & decorations, so I thanked them for leaving the lights for Ukrainian Christmas.  She didn't realize it, but it was all good.
  Today was one of the days Az propane are in the park, so we had to stick around.  We just stick the bright orange sign in the window and the guy stops to fill the on-board tank.  There are actually 2 companies that do it, but the other one charges a $20 delivery fee.  We should be good for a while now.

  Marg went for a pedicure while I waited.  She usually gets a couple while she is down here.  She has had problems with her toes forever & really likes where she gets it done in AJ.  According to her, it is much better than any place she has found in GP.  Pretty bright color selection for a grandmother, LOL!
  As it turned out, she was back before the propane delivery arrived, so I went and played a few games of pool.  Played with a fellow from Saskatchewan & one from Ohio, both of whom could improve their reputations by giving a fellow a shot once in a while.  LOL
  From my visitations I found out the golf list was already turned in, so I missed it.  Gerry C & I will play at Encanto tomorrow instead, but I will have to play 18 holes.  Also stopped to chat up Gary & Patti and picked a dozen or so pocket books.  Gary has a collection that is unsurpassed.  He must have 5 or 6 hundred books, all westerns.
  Marg is going to come along & shop with Deb so that after golf we can all go for a nice supper.

  After a BBQ steak & baked potato we played bingo, yes we both played  It ended up that I won the last game of the night, the double dab, which is also the big prize pot.  Really getting in to this life in the park life style.  Now I know how politicians feel with all the groaning after I won.  Hah!  I just went for the ice cream they have at intermission, but it worked out well.  Yes I did split the prize with Marg.

Merry Christmas - Jan 7th

  To all my Ukrainian family & friends:  may the blessing of the season be upon you and your family.  We never observed the traditional meatless dishes today, instead just BBQ'd some pork chops.
  We didn't do a lot today, well that's not correct, Marg did a couple of loads of laundry.  I was going to wash the motorhome today, but the neighbors have the rv washers coming on Wednesday.  They are the same group we have had the last 2 years, so I opted to wait for them.  That way I will only have to put some wax on it.
  Watched some shuffleboard for a while.  I was not familiar with the deck version of the game, so learned something about it today.  Then went on and played a bit of pool with the guys.  The 8 ball group is small for some reason.  We are missing a few from last year, as well as there are a few guys not here yet.
  After we went back on our search looking for a new phone, but no success yet.  We just want a simple old flip phone.  We also looked at some bikes; saw one I quite liked, but I think I will look around a bit before committing.  Anytime you buy a new ride, you should check it out, LOL!  Got some fuel for the car, you have to watch around here.  Went to a circle K just up Delaware, but the one 6 blocks away was 5 cents a gallon higher.  I saw on the news that Arizona is bucking the national trend of rising fuel prices & we have some of the cheapest fuel in the US here.  That will probably all change when I go to fuel the motorhome in March, like it did last year.
  It was a decent day today, although the wind was cool.  Still in long pants, you will know when it starts to get hot, that will be when I report short pants are in season.  Hah!
  Will try and get something photo-worthy to put on in the next day or so.

Sunday in the park

RV park that is.
  Pretty nice day, although it was partially cloudy, it was warm.  It wasn't too bad last night either.
Lots of people arriving from their Christmas break.  They obviously are not Ukrainian or they would know that tomorrow is Christmas day.  Kristos Rodyvsya everyone.
  Some time ago we bought a heated mattress pad.  The new mattress we bought last year is great, except it is hi-density foam, so really retains the cold, if you let it chill down.  This has solved that problem, but we had wires everywhere.  I used some hooks & cable ties to tidy the cords up.  As things usually go with these small jobs, something generally goes awry.  One of the shelves I was attaching it to came undone & it became a bigger problem than the job.  It gave me an excuse to go to Ace Hardware.  Got it all sorted out, but by then it was noon.
  I am off to a slow start, I still have not washed & waxed the rv.  Now I want to make sure the rains are done before doing it.  It's too much work to have to do twice.
  The other thing about Sunday is tonight was our inaugural ice cream social.  Kenny decided to do it up, so we offered: sundaes, cake, banana splits, root beer floats, sherbet, sugar free ice cream.  I know sugar free ice cream is an oxy moron, but the Bunny Tracks is really popular.  Lots of people have diabetes or blood sugar problems, so it allows them to participate.  It was nice to see a good sized crowd for the first one.

Jan 5th

  Seems so quiet today, miss our family already.  It sure was nice having them here for the last week.  It challenged us to explore new things & gave us lots of laughs.  It was a pretty nice day, the temp was in the 60's and sunny.  The wind blew a bit, but not like some of the days in the past week.  They did leave me with a nice souvenir, a Taylor Made driver, that I can hardly wait to try. 
  Started they day off with a pancake breakfast in the hall.  Marg did not go, so I sat with a bunch of the bachelor herd.  Mostly guys whose wives do not do breakfast either.  It was good, a great way to start the day.
  After we went over to Best Buy to see the Geek Squad again.  It seems the problem with the new laptop is an overly sensitive track pad.  When I was typing my palms and thumbs were causing the cursor to move around.  I always thought I was all thumbs.  Anyway it turns out there is a way to disengage the track pad - f5, no -- it was that simple.  I really am a techno-peasant.
  They also handle Trac Phone, but never had the model we want in stock.  After we went to a couple of Walmart's looking for a new phone, same story, but the last one showed us an option that solved our problem.  It was a day for the technology challenges with anything containing the word trac/track to really show us up.  Also looked at a few bikes.  I never brought mine, with plans to get a new one down here.
  Stopped for a few groceries at the Superstition farm market, picked up a bag of fresh oranges.  They had cucumbers 8/$1, the oranges were $3/bag.  It's a great place.  Then stopped at an rv parts store to get light bulbs.  Ate in tonight, Marg had a small roast in the slow cooker, it was great.
  Had a walk around the park.  It almost seems half the park has the nasty cold Marg has been fighting over the last 10 days.  Some of them were right in bed with it.  While I had some of the effects for about 2 days, she had the nasty version of it.  She thinks she may have turned the corner on it today, apparently feeling quite a bit better. For a while there I was worried that she had the valley flu, but fortunately not.  Apparently last year was one of the worst for it, but this year is looking much better.
  Looking at the hits on our blog, we had 50 hits on Jan 3rd, a record number for us.  There must be a lot of lurkers out there, or someone's enter key was stuck - LOL!

January 4th

  An early start to the day, to help Bill, Patti & family to the airport.  Last chance for her to drive the freeway.  It's a large busy airport, although terminal #4 is probably the best to get to.  Dropped everyone off and then took the rental car back.  Good thing we had time, as the rental agency is quite a ways from the airport.
  Lunch at the airport, lots of selection there.  At least they don't have to travel hungry.  Then off to the departure gate and through security, so that they could find out Westjet had a 1 hour delay.  They were supposed to get home at 10 & with the delay it was 11, so not too bad all things considered.  It was unfortunate they couldn't get direct flights from Edmonton, as this made for a long travel day.  When you live in GP, lengthy & expensive flights is just something you get accustomed to.

  For our part, went back to the rv park for the evening.  A bit of excitement with fire/ambulance responding to a resident having a heart attack in the early evening hours.

January 3rd

Off to at a good time today, started the day at Ihop. To me that means it's going to be a good one.
  We decided to take the kids to the zoo today.  When Bill said that, I said to heck with it, if the zoo wants them, let 'em come and get 'em!  Hah!

They really liked the chance to feed the giraffes. 

  It was a good day & the zoo has lots of good exhibits that are well done.  I was particularly impressed with the Komodo dragon, it is the first time I have seen one.  Now that is a big lizard & females can reproduce without a male, they have it all together.  Lots of walking, so it was great for burning off that surplus energy that kids seem to have.  The lions, tigers, camels, elephant were big hits as well, so it was nice to see them having such a good day.
  At the end we made a cross city detour to get back to the outlet mall for a few last minute purchases.  Some of them are like grandma, don't want to make an impulse purchase, need to think a bit before parting with their money.  In the end everyone seemed pretty happy with their purchases.
  For supper we went to the Rainforest café, which is always good.  Then back the house to pack, tomorrow will be a travel day.

What happened?

Seem to be a little behind on my postings, just too busy.  Will try to catch you up on what has been going on here.

 Jan 2nd - Bill & I started the day off golfing with Gerry Canuel at Apache Creek.  18 holes was all I could handle as our T time was 7:45.  The course played pretty quick, we were done well before noon.  They both scored well for the first winter golf game, me, not so much.
  Brennan wanted to go car spotting and get some pics, so we stopped in Scottsdale at Luxor Car sales where they have lots of exotics on the lot.  He saw a Maybach [first one I have seen], Ferrari's, Porsche's, Bentley's [one a convertible], Range Rovers, Maserati's, you name it.  They have a great web site.  The Maybach was used with 60K on the clock for $135K.  He was pumped, but didn't think many of them [except the Range Rovers] would be good in GP, LOL.
 We went to the Arizona Mills outlet mall for the afternoon.  The kids were excited and impressed with the selection & the size of the mall.  Marg told me it's a mile around the outside of the mall building, I think she might be right on this.  We started at Neiman Marcus, which is almost enough to give the old wallet a shock, even at outlet prices, but quickly moved on in search of deals.  Everyone came away with bags of good stuff that their friends back at home can't duplicate.  It seems that in your teens this is very important.  I should have said everyone but me, I read a good book while they were checking things out. The other thing that they are quickly learning is that nothing is close here, your not in GP anymore, LOL.  Patti is getting lots of freeway driving practice.  After we came back to Mesa where we stopped in at Kohl's, another favorite of Marg's where we continued to fill the trunk. 
  Dinner was the #1 Eastern Buffet, a great Chinese buffet that everyone seemed to enjoy. 

New Years Day, 2013

I had to laugh, Paige said today she could hardly believe it was 2013 & that was incredible for anyone born in 1999.  My reply was just think about anyone born in 1947, LOL.  It was pretty funny anyway.
  Spent some time looking for options on activities for the last couple of days the family are here.  Bill was interested in go-karts, but the indoor tracks rent electric motor cars that will do 45mph and you need a valid driving license to rent.  They have a version for juniors, but even those riders have to be 4ft 6in, leaving the shorter ones to be left out. 
  Slow start today, but we all went to Ihop for lupper, half way between lunch & supper.

  After went to old town in Scottsdale, where Brennan saw a        fer-frickin-ari; or what some of you may call a Ferrari.  We really laughed at that, but he has really been impressed with the cars in the area.  Bill wanted to look in on a couple of the pawn shops to see what they had for sale [probably because of the popular TV shows about them], but unfortunately they were all closed today.

  After mooching around the shops for the afternoon, we made our way back to Mesa.  Marg was worried they hadn't been to one of her favorite shops,  Kohls, so a brief stop and then to supper at the Village Inn.

 Brennan had one of the biggest burgers I have ever seen while Paige tried the pumpkin pie.  I had earlier been telling them about free pie night on Wednesdays & how the pies were pretty darn good, so I guess she is from the "show me state" - Missouri, LOL! After, she was able to confirm the pie was very good.
  Our group are starting to amass quite a wardrobe.  I think they all want to get things that aren't available at home & they are certainly doing that.

Happy New Year

We want to wish everyone a very happy 2013.  May your year be filled with happiness!
  We started off the day at the Az Mills outlet mall.  Our grandchildren were impressed with the selection at the big mall the other day, but were really wide-eyed at this one.  It's a mile around the outside of the mall & the only familiar store to them was Starbucks.  We started at the Neiman Marcus end and power shopped the afternoon away.  Everyone got something and best of all they bought things that no one else in their group at home will have.  This appears to be important for teenagers.  LOL
  Went on to Cabella's for a short tour, Brennan didn't even buy anything, there was just too much to look at.  The gun library, fish tank, huge mountain covered with full mounts, it was great.  There were a couple of 50 cal. sniper rifles in the $10K price group that he liked, hah!
  We went on to Tempe where they had a downtown block party for kids from 6-9PM .  What a great idea, it was filled with family activities, even the entertainment was provided by kids and they were amazing.  It culminated in a fireworks display at 9PM, so kids would not have to stay up too late.  After this there was an adult block party, with midnight fireworks.  At the end of the night, they gave away a new Chev Traverse to some lucky person in attendance.  The street decorations were amazing.  The only negative was it was chilly, in the 40's, I believe.  The street was packed with young families.

 This young boy is 11

 

 This young girl is 14

 There was a photo booth idea, where you dress up with accessories they provided, it was hilarious.

  Back to Bill & Patti's after where we stayed until midnight to toast the new year.  Haylee started a puzzle, saying she remembered doing one at the cottage in England as a fun thing, so..  I guess her plan must have been to finish Jan 1st, because she sure is close.