January 30, 2017 Monday evening

The last blog was Thursday and I showed you the pile (100) of patio stones. On Friday and Saturday, I moved a fair amount of Mother Earth to level a 10' x 10' patio under the clothesline.

Moving dirt

 

Each block was leveled so the result was very nice.

Laying the last block (17.5 lbs. each)

 

I could barely get off the couch on Saturday evening, but the job was finished. I hope by Wednesday golf that I'll be recovered.

Finished job

 

Lela using the new dryer

Sunday we went to Desert Sands Church of Christ for a fifth Sunday singing worship service.  This congregation can really sing.  They also have several really good song leaders. Lela and I are very impressed by the organization of the worship and Bible study.  We did miss our home church's fifth Sunday pot luck and Jocelyn's singing group. That is always special.

Today, Monday, I smoothed out the earth I moved for the patio into an area which pools water when it rains.  There was about 8 to 10 wheelbarrow loads.  I flooded the area and spread the dirt until I thought it would be level and drain.  We'll see when we get our next rain.

After playing in the mud, I grilled a batch of brats and hot dogs, because Paul Jr. nd his family were coming for dinner.  We had a very nice time.  The weather for the last few days has been great.  I think we hit 74 degree today.  We were able to eat on the "entertainment deck" out doors.

The Family

Lela went this morning for her regular exercise but then went back in the afternoon as the ladies are beginning water aerobics.  I asked her,"how was it" she replied, "I'll let you know tomorrow." Stay tuned.

The view over our back wall of snow on the Superstition Mountains.

January 26, 2017 Thursday

I'm trying to catch up on the blog today. We have had a couple events this week.

On Sunday, we worshipped as usual at the Desert Sands Church of Christ.  Afterwards there was a potluck luncheon to honor Sally, one of the members there, on her 100th birthday.

Monday, Lela went to her exercise and I walked the park.  That is getting to be our routine.

The weather has been pretty bad by AZ standards.  There has been a lot of rain here.  Queen Creek Wash (that is a creek in MO) has been running in flood mode for a few days.  We have never seen water in there before this week. 

To the north, Flagstaff has seen 40 inches of snow this week, and Snowbowl has received 92 inches in the past 6 days.  These are Pacific storms that have been chaining through AZ. 

Tuesday we shopped for rock to cover our lot as the pea gravel that was originally here, has pretty much disappeared into the soil.  We estimate we will need about 20 tons to cover two inches deep.  We also decided to put patio blocks beneath the clothesline in the back yard.

  It will need to be leveled before placing the blocks so I can foresee a shovel in my hands this weekend.

Wednesday was golf at Western skies, as usual.  My score improved to 42 - 42 for an 84.  I have improved each week, but at some point it can't go any lower. I hope to break 80 at some point.  I played in Jeans and sweatshirt yesterday.  When I left for the course it was 35 degrees.  There was hardly any wind so when the sun got high it was very comfortable in the 40 - 50 range.

Last night we went back to church for our Wednesday Bible Study at 7:00 and returned home at about 9:30.  The church is about 40 minutes away.

This morning Lela went to her exercise class and I stayed here and did the banking online, and now this blog.  I'll walk for my hour (4 miles) when I finish here.

January 21, 2017 Saturday afternoon

Rain, wind and cold this weekend.  It began raining heavily yesterday and continued most of last night creating some ponding here in the park.  The wind arrived this morning.  It is strong and continuous.  Temperatures are in the 50's.  This is not what I signed up for, but it is not freezing and snowing here. Another storm is on the way for tomorrow.

Thursday, Glenn and Andrea, with their children, Morgan and Garrett stopped to see us.  They had been to the Grand Canyon and were returning to the Tucson area, where they are spending a couple months away from their Alaska home. It was a great visit and we were happy that they went out of their way to stop by.

Cousins, Lela and Glenn

Lela, G'pa, Andrea and Glenn

 

Morgan, Garrett, Andrea and Glenn

Thursday evening we spent on the couch watching TV and having popcorn in Joey's popcorn bucket.

As you can see, I'm not very skilled at selfies 

Friday morning we traveled to Florence, AZ where we met Glenn and Andrea again.  Florence is about half way between us.  Glenn bought breakfast and we visited some more.  We intend to visit them in Tucson in February.

We returned home and spent most of the day watching the inauguration of the new president.  So much pomp and circumstance involved in celebrating our American Republic transfer of power.  We thank God for the blessing of living in America.

In the evening we enjoyed the company of our friend Ross.

His wife, Laura, has been in Indiana visiting relatives for the week.  Poor Ross has been eating tacos all week, so Lela invited him for some real food.  She fixed a beef roast with all the fixings.  Ross and Laura are our very good friends from church.

As I write this while looking out the window, the flags are standing straight out, the sun is shining, but  the outdoor activities are not very inviting.  Maybe we'll find some indoor activity to do today.

January 19, 2017 Thursday

We have had a pretty calm week so far.  Lela has been true to her exercise program with the ladies at the park and I have been walking each day as weather allows.

We are expecting rain for the next three days and 2-3 feet of snow in the north altitude.  Temps should be in the 50's during the days, but no freezing weather here.

Glenn and Andrea called and want to stop and see us.  They were at the Grand Canyon and are driving back to Tucson in the snow. We are excited to see them.

Yesterday, Wednesday, was our busiest day.  I had my regular golf league.  I played better this week carding 41-45 for an 86.  That is three shots better than last week. 

I observed some of the local wildlife this week.

  This is the local Roadrunner who frequents our park.

 

and then I saw Wile E. Coyote on he golf course.

At 5:00 we went to dinner at the clubhouse.

  It was soup and chili potluck. Lela made Judy's steak soup and we brought that to the dinner.

The leftovers were sent to a couple of older folks, who we look out for. 

Then it was off to Wednesday bible study.  We returned home at about 9:15.  That was a pretty full day.

This morning I spent time doing online banking, balancing accounts, paying bills and trying to figure out the finances.

While I write this Lela is at the grocery store as she is preparing to feed our friend from church, Ross.  His wife Laura is in Indiana visiting relatives, so we'll feed him tomorrow night.

January15, 2017  Sunday afternoon

 The week was pretty much "normal." Lela went to her exercise class in the mornings, riding her bicycle and I resumed my place in the golf league.

I didn't expect much in the way of scoring in golf as I hadn't played since my hand surgery in July.  I did manage ten pars but the other holes were ugly, final score 89.  Not too bad according to what I expected.

Wednesday evening we headed back to Gilbert, AZ for our Bible Study.  The Desert Sands congregation has some very capable teachers.  We enjoy going there.

The Midwest is dealing with cold and ice this weekend so I am not looking for sympathy, but it has been cold and rainy here in the Valley of the Sun.  We sat on the loveseat all day Friday watching Turner Classic Movies.  I guess after having a couple mid 70's last week, our blood has already "thinned."  We were cold, just like the natives, as the temps were low 60's.

Yesterday, Saturday, we celebrated Nic's 15th birthday.  It is hard to believe the grandkids are the ages they are.  Paul was trapped at work and didn't get to be with us, but we enjoyed the rest of the family.

Nic

 

Nic and Quintin

Counting his loot

Getting his wish

Courtney

Ben with a mouthful of food

Quintin

Zac fixin' a sandwich

This morning we headed back to church for study and worship. I see where Harvester had to cancel assembly because of the ice storm.  I think that is two months in a row that Ed hasn't been able to bring his sermon. I guess those unused sermons are piling up in his repertoire.

After church we went to a burger joint with a few of our church friends.  Smash burger has an interesting menu but they aren't Steak & Shake. http://smashburger.com/
The fellowship was better than the burger.

Before we arrived here our tree, which we planted last winter, had leaned over.  The roots did not come up but the trunk was totally bent to the ground.  The neighbors pulled it up and re-staked it to resist the wind.  I think it happened twice.  Someone cut the center of the tree out.  We are not sure why that happened but this was the result.

I trimmed it back pretty far and tried to shape it up, so this is what it looks like now.

Lela bought a couple new plants last week and they have been planted but I don't have a picture of those so maybe that will be info for the next blog.

I hung a few more articles on the walls indoors yesterday.  It wasn't necessary to hold the nails in my mouth, thanks to Gloria and Ron's Christmas gift.

Showing off my wrist magnet with nails attached.

 

 

Tuesday Evening January 10, 2017

The weekend came and went while we worked on getting everything set up and cleaned.  I keep asking when I get to be retired and sit down.

Friday I washed all the concrete to remove sand, dust and leaves. the wicker furniture needed to be touched up with paint as it had suffered in the storm. By the way, some of you do not know about the storm which hit the ranch last fall.  I'll post some pictures at the end of this post.

Lela worked inside organizing closets, pantry and also tried to catch up on the laundry
I managed to get the outdoor entertainment areas put together. the north side is not quite as comfortable yet as it is on the shady side.

north side

 

The south side is sunny and warm, which makes it our favorite spot for lunch and relaxation.

south side...notice the new shed built to match the ranch.

Our vegetation was pretty much intact.  We lost the cactus tree we brought from La Feria, TX, and some ground cover. Our Meyer Lemon tree which we planted in March last spring, surprised us with five lemons, two of which a neighbor pilfered before we arrived.

The tree does not look good.  Neighbors think it was too wet.

I have fertilized and sprayed for insects and hope it recovers.

 

Sunday we joined our friends, Ross and Laura, at the Desert Sands Church of Christ.http://dscofc.org/  We met a lot of folks, none of whom I can remember by name.  It is a congregation of about sixty to seventy Christians of all ages.  We meet in a strip mall about thirty minutes from home. The singing is very good and the teacher and preacher we heard, were very good.  We will return tomorrow evening for a Bible study.

After church we went with Ross and Laura to Tacos and More for lunch, which lasted about three hours as we were catching up with the news. https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-n-more-2-gilbert

Yesterday Monday was pretty much the same story of organizing and cleaning.

Our neighbor across the street, Harold, made a wood welcome sign for the ranch.

Harold was a carpenter by trade during his working years.  I think he is 84 years old now, but this is his hobby and he is VERY good at this art.  Many people here display something similar which he has created.

This morning, Lela and I joined Marilyn and Harold (not a couple, both single) for breakfast at the San Tan valley Café.  It is kind of a quaint, family owned café with excellent breakfast food.
https://www.thesantancafe.com/

G'pa and Harold

Marilyn and Lela

After lunch it was on to Home Depot for some odds and ends I needed and Lela bought some plants.
Once home, she proceed to repot a few succulents and plan where to plant the new plants.

I went to the putting green as I am involved tomorrow with the golf league and I haven't played since July, while my hand surgery (trigger finger and Carpal Tunnel) healed. I'm not expecting much.

As I promised, here is the story of the storm.

The metal 8x10' metal shed sat on the end of the driveway.  It was loaded with all our outside furniture and tools etc..  It is assumed that a downburst in a thunderstorm hit our unit and three others adjacent to us.  Our neighbor said she watched as the shed rose in the air and hit the awning and then was hurled to the back yard where it was wrapped around a palm tree. Both awnings had damage.

shed before the storm

After the storm

Shed contents spread out in the yard

 

The next day, Laura from church picked up Zachary and Ben (grandsons) and carried the contents into the house to protect it from the weather until we could return this winter.

 



This is why we are in AZ.

Thursday January 5, 2017

We are pretty much worn out this evening.  Lela and I have been unpacking and putting away, organizing, and trying to remember where we put everything.

We left Las Cruces early on Wednesday with the intent to arrive at the "ranch" around 1PM.  Naturally, the best laid plans aft times go astray.

As we pulled onto the highway accelerating, the truck didn't feel right but we continued on.  Horror of horrors! I hate that little engine light.  We were about 12 miles down the road when the warning light started flashing.  We chugged to the nest exit and called the nearest Ford dealer.  He said bring it in, but he probably wouldn't be able to get to it today.

Well that was going to really put a crimp in our travel schedule.  We returned to Hacienda RV park, where we had spent the night and disconnected the Silver Star on the site we had overnight.  Check out was at 12 noon so we were going to be okay for a few more hours.  I went inside and told the desk clerk about the trouble so she would be aware that we might have to pay another night if we couldn't get Ford to work with us.

She told me about a mechanic she uses and swears by him.  She called him and he said to come on over.  It was only about a mile from the park.  He diagnosed the trouble as a coil on #3 cylinder.  That was the same problem ( different cylinder) that kept us in Winslow, AZ last year. He tried every parts store in town without finding the part.  Finally, he called the dealer and they had one.  It was the only one in all of Las Cruces. 

He put it on, test drove it and all was well. We picked up SS and headed out again.  going up the ramp to the highway, the engine light came on again.  We limped back to the shop.  Chad (mechanic) changed the spark plug in the offending cylinder and we were off again.  This time everything went smoothly.

It was late, however, when we rolled into our park.  It was a few minutes after 7PM and we were very tired, not only from the travel but also the stress of the day.

Christy and the family come over to help us settle.  They brought pizza and helped move things.

So, we are unpacked, SS is in storage, I fixed BBQ pork steaks for supper and we are anticipating another busy day tomorrow.

Lela got to do FaceTime with Ana this evening.  It seems she got to play in the snow today.  I'm sorry I missed the snow (not).  We have enjoyed middle 60's since New Year's day, all through Texas, New Mexico, and today was near 70.  We are lovin' it.

Here are a few shots along the road.

West Texas...nothing there

First view of the mountains in the distance

impressive formation in front of us

Mountain range

cool rock formation

Impressive in person.