Wednesday PM Feb. 24

First of all congratulations to my daughter Pamela and her husband Chris on their 20th anniversary.  As I remember it was a warm February day. We love you both (and the girls).

This past weekend we went to Fort Mohave, AZ near Bullhead City to visit with our friends Tim and Tracy.  It is about a 300 mile drive.  We drove west into California and then north to Needles, CA where we crossed the Colorado River back into AZ. 

Friday evening we went to Topock, AZ, pronounced 2 pock.  There was an all you can eat fish restaurant there, Topock Marina. http://topock66.com/

   It was a beautiful evening and we ate outside.  It was a very interesting place and the food was great.

Tim and Tracy

On Saturday we took a daytrip to Chloride AZ, a ghost town and Silver mining town.
http://chlorideaz.com/

 

 

There is a population of about 200 there.  We ate lunch in a restaurant with all kinds of history of the area.  The name of the restaurant is Yesterdays.  Tim and I had the 1/2 pound burger, but Lela and Tracy had Yesterday's chili over Fritos.  That turned out to be a poor choice for Lela.

Lela, Tim & Tracy

In the upper left corner you can see the rings that were there

to raise the stage coaches to grease or repair wheels

Chloride was a stop for the Butterfield Stage line 1895 to 1920 and then the Santa Fe Railroad 1890 to 1935.

One of their big tourist draws is the mural painted on the mountains and some petroglyphs.

In order to view the art, it was necessary to traverse what I would call "nearly a road."  It wound through rocks and washes and washed out areas.

almost a road

 

surrounding vista

Tracy

 

I was glad to be in a 4 wheel drive truck.  This was actually my first "off road" adventure.

Chloride

Chloride

Chloride

Chloride

On the return trip we stayed on AZ 93 which is a very scenic ride. We took a side trip to Wickenburg AZ. http://www.ci.wickenburg.az.us/  It is the roping capital of the world, we were told.  We bought a used lariat to add to our outdoor décor.  There were other treasures in our shopping bag when we got home on Monday.

We spent most of the day there in the antique shops and learning the history of the town. I think you should go to the web page and read the history under the things to do tab.

street statues

G'pa and Hoppy

Lela and Dale Evans

 

I took this pic for Becky.  How about this rooster?

 

This was lunch

We have been going to Bible study each Thursday night at Ross and Laura's home.  The men rotate teaching a chapter of Acts each week.  It is really a good evening.

I was in the pulpit to deliver the sermon on Sunday, Valentine's Day.  It went very well and I was very well received.

Back on the 12th of February we went to a song service at Mesa AZ at the  Sun Valley Church of Christ.  I joined in and led a song.

Wednesday is my golf day and I have been enjoying that even though I cant seem to break 90.  I have been 45 / 45 for 90 on the last two weeks.  I think I am going to have to rethink what I am capable of shooting.

Lela is busy going to exercise class 4 days a week and meeting new people in the park. She rides her bicycle every day and enjoys that very much.  I still haven't gotten her picture on the bike.

We have entertained several neighbors on our patio and have been entertained on theirs as well.  Our weather has been great for being outside as we have had nothing but mid to high 80's for the past two weeks.  Yesterday it was 72 degrees and we were all cold. Now it is upper 80's each day on the 7 day forecast.

 Yesterday, Tuesday 23rd we worked in the yard changing our drip system and planting more flowers.

 

The moon was setting in the west as we left Bullhead City

 

Paul Jr. after work

 

Wednesday evening Feb. 10

Catching up on the blog tonight.

Last week we had freezing temperatures in the mornings for three days. Very cold for AZ, as low as 27 degrees.  We had our plants covered, but some got burned anyway.  Nothing killed, but probably stunted until they recover.  I can just hear everyone feeling sorry for us.

I can change that by citing the past few days of mid-eighties.  We have set two records for high temps and expect more records to fall in the seven day forecast.

As those who know us remember that we do not celebrate Valentines Day.  We have always taken Groundhog Day instead.  There is no one in the restaurants or in the hotels.  It has always been our mid winter get away, but since we have already gotten away, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant here.  Serrano's has become our place to go. http://www.serranosaz.com/menus.html

Serrano's on Groundhog Day

 

The Happy Couple

On Monday evening I was hanging pictures, holding a small nail in my lips as I have done a thousand times before.  This time I suddenly inhaled and the nail rocketed into the back of my throat and was immediately swallowed.  We went to the local hospital E. R. and I was x-rayed.  The Doctor said "yep, it is in your stomach."

The nail is hard to see in this x-ray

This was the initial location.

I wanted them to send me to the oscopy lab to have it removed.  The Doc said that if it is less than 2 centimeters  (3/4 of an inch is 2 centimeters) we wait for it to pass.  He said 24 to 48 hours and gave me a handful of rubber gloves. Thursday night Lela's daughter Noel became concerned that it might be hung up and because it is a pointed object, it could perforate the bowel and then we would have big problems.

She contacted a surgeon she worked with in Houston and explained the situation to him.  He said he would see me on Friday morning and do another x-ray to determine the reason it hadn't passed.  Well, God answers prayer.  96 hours later I successfully passed the test and the surgeon wasn't necessary.

I played three rounds of golf over the last ten days.  I haven't played very well out here, but I am working on it.  I shot 43/47 today for 90.  I played pretty well but haven't been able to score well.

Hallelujah!  John ( my Post Office buddy) finally got my mail forwarded on Tuesday.  Persistence pays.

We have been busy making improvements here.  Lela has planted more vegetation and we are becoming a veritable oasis in the desert.

Pablo, the gardener

This tree will eventually shade our West facing window

Yesterday I hung three ceiling fans.  We bought the one for the living room at Menards at home.  The two for the bedrooms were bought at Wal-mart at home.  We hauled them out here.  The one from Menard's did not work.  When it was hung from the ceiling and power was applied...nothing.  It didn't work.  So I opened one from Wal-mart and the glass that covers the lights was broken.  I don't know why all these things happen to us. We seem to have the worst luck with our purchases.

I thought I would post a couple pics from inside the ranch. I can't remember if I've posted any interior pics.

Living Room

Living room

Fireplace

Kitchen

Breakfast Nook

Master Bedroom

 Guest Bedroom

Notice the painting above the headboard

Painted by Sherwood Kitchell in the 1950's of the Superstition Mountains

 

 

The same mountains we can see from our yard. 

 

We have been going to Bible study on Thursday Evening.  We are studying Acts 13 this week.  I will be in the pulpit for the first time in AZ on Sunday.  I am hoping to make a good impression.

Lela has been going to exercise classes in the mornings and has been riding her new bike around the park.  I'll try to have a bike picture in the next blog.

A couple of "Classics"

Laura and Lela

 

 That's all I can remember.  We are having a great time.  The weather is great.  We are active.

We are truly blessed.