Backing Up

This is an effort to put down some of the more noteworthy activities and events of 2008.

Carole's Thai Chicken Peanut Soup won the Village "Souper Bowl" contest. This was her second win in 6 years, the other was for TexMex Halftime Soup, a much easier and less messy one to prepare. C learned that peanut oil spatters!

Our annual visits to our doctor brought no surprises, the only concern being C's blood sugar continually creeping up every year. A recheck in May was an improvement, down significantly as a result of more stringent carbo control.

E's gotten acquainted with a neighbor who has introduced E to the sport of live pigeon shooting. C remembers vaguely when her Dad was involved in this, it must have been even before WWII, don't think it was after the war but the memory is just a dim recollection of hearing him talk about it. Anyway, it's propelled E into doing some trap shooting to get back into the game a little. Perhaps more of this will follow--in the meantime, E & Brad and Rambo (longhair Dachsund) did some dove hunting as well. Rambo, believe it or not, is a retriever! And a darling little dog who's everyone's pet.

More

These photos give at least an idea of the changed appearance; again, in this light the walls appear lighter than they actually are, these could be called deep ivory perhaps, or warm light beige.

So many different colors were used because of the great difference in lighting--one big wall is almost constantly shadowed, so needed a lighter color, etc. In fact, when we began the task of canning our touchup paint out of the larger containers, it took 10! Oh, yes, the master bedroom has one large wall called "Mayan Red," an even more brownish deep red, matched with classic taupe on the other walls.

So this ends the chapter on interior...while we're away in Colo. this summer our guy Andrew is pulling up master b.r. carpet and old bathroom tile, and laying new 18" tile throughout that area + the master closet. It'll all look very different when we return, then we will need new bathroom rugs, and on and on. The interior continues to be a "work in progress." But we're probably not going to do any more major work, intend to enjoy the differences already made.

More of the same

The guest bath is bright and cheery now, done in "Sly Fox" (the brownish red) and a classic taupe.

More Interior

This is a view of our dining area; though the lighter colors appear white in this light, they actually are a warm beige called "Oat Cake." And the kitchen area with new granite countertop is an even warmer light beige. The under counter area that appears white is again "Oat Cake."

Interior Decorating

Those who've been in our home know that we had the original construction "primer white" walls throughout the house. Vast changes were wrought this spring as all walls & ceiling were painted; this is a sample of the entry and living area.

This is mainly a test just to see if I remember how to do the sign in, since it's been quite a while since the last posting. So here we are, will catch up on events of the last months.

More Redecorating

The next project will be a total interior repainting (desert colors), and new bedroom carpet. Maybe will get it done yet this spring before we leave on our Danube River Cruise, maybe not...in which case it will be deferred till fall.

Other Winter Stuff

We've had more snow events this winter than any year C's lived here, at least 5 different times the storm front brought conditions for good rains in the valley, and the mountains above us had visible snowfall, and we had just a trace in the valley once. Anyone who watched the Accenture Matchplay Tournament on TV saw some of that snow in the mountains when a panoramic view from the blimp was shown. Marana, AZ, is actually the site of the venue; the announcers frequently called it as being in Tucson. Wrong!

We had a great time with our friends Edmund and Carol (the other ones) Hovasse in Laughlin in late Jan. That's the good news. The bad news is that Carole picked up a nasty upper respiratory virus which lingered for 3 weeks, and passed it on to Edmund, who was just recovered enough to have his skin cancer surgery on Valentine's Day, of all things. He's recovered well from ALL that, still is healing from the 2+ inch (2 of them) cuts on his face, but he does heal well, and quickly, so it will be fine soon. He's had so many of these surgeries that we don't even document them with pictures anymore.

Carole's volunteered for one of the Homeowner Association standing committees (is doing a lot of wordsmithing and editing of governing documents), which has tested the computer skills, have learned a few new things (always a good sign), and pressed the gray matter into areas that haven't been used like this for a while. Actually, all quite enjoyable.

Last evening we enjoyed a festive community event, a 4-course sit-down Italian dinner with wine, live dinner music, and featuring a performance by our fellow resident, friend and neighbor Joe Bourne, a professional entertainer who's performed all over the world, and on the oceans as well (cruise ships). We had a great time!

Friday we fly to Kansas City to help celebrate cousin Mary Stacy's 90th birthday. A family lunch with somewhere around 35 attending will be a real surprise for her on Sat. afternoon, followed by a larger party in the evening with all her past connections in Lee's Summit on the guest list. Should be a blast, more on that later.

More Granite Project

So this is how it looks with the new countertops. We changed out the cabinet pulls to match the new sink hardware, which definitely helped pull it all together.

The sink is undermounted, color: Mexican Sand. The faucet is the most expensive one C could find! The spray apparatus pulls out of the end of the faucet and has a spring-loaded return mechanism. On this picture the granite coloration is more visible.
This piece at the entry was a white faux marble previously. Now it coordinates, and is the resting place for our rather large Remington which depicts a bucking horse and rider. Sets the mood right away!
This is just a closeup shot showing color and pattern detail. Most of the visible "items" that clutter the picture are actually reflections in the granite surface.

Granite Project

This is an attempt to display "before" and "after" photos of our kitchen countertops, and the entry area matching piece. So, here goes...These photos show the old Corian countertop in a sorta seagreen color, installed in 1999. Originally, in 1999, the floor tile was white, and most of the living area was carpeted. We had the carpet removed, along with the white tile, several summers ago (the year following our Alaska trip), replaced by tile more in keeping with the desert home theme. This, of course, made the green counters look grotesque! So, off they came this year, replaced by tan and brown granite. (next blog, please).

We've decided to put some effort into using this blog as a regular journal that will become somewhat of a diary of our activities, certainly not all entries will be of interest to the general populace but will help us track the when,where and how of life events, major or trivial. A little catching up is in order. Since I threw away 2007's calendar in a spurt of organization action, it's all from memory!

October and November was a time of getting back into the groove at home, with one week away from home when we met Don Grainger in Las Vegas for our usual good talk, good food and good fun. We celebrated Carole's 74th birthday together (prime rib dinner at the Orleans Casino) and spent one evening with Linda and Ed.

We had some glorious weather this fall, and we spent a lot of time at the golf driving range trying to regain whatever we'd learned all last winter. Ha! Our scores on the course do not progress in accordance with the time spent practicing. But we still enjoy the challenge and exercise.

Carole had a fair amount of dental work completed (crowns, etc.) this fall. Our dentist says we're outliving (read wearing out) the 2 sets of teeth God provided us. What a good news/bad news story.

When we returned home at summer's end we found the community exterior paint project had been completed, and it was time to do some window washing. We're still contemplating whether or not to put screens back on some of our windows. I know people who never open a window, so who needs screens? Our view is too nice to dull with sunscreens, perhaps. Not sure there's a payoff with use of sunscreens. We'll worry about that tomorrow!

We spent a lovely Thanksgiving Day with Luane and family. Linda and Ed drove in from Las Vegas, spent Wed. night with us and the rest of their visit with Luane and Don. We had a great holiday feast and lots of talking. Granny Bessie chose not to come this year, her first holiday without her beloved Ed, and it wasn't quite the same without her.

The weather turned wet and cool in early December. The rains are sufficient to raise hopes of a banner wildflower bloom in spring, 2008. Hope so! It's been pretty cool all month, with spells of warm, sunny weather in between fronts moving through the area. The wettest late fall I can remember since about 1997/98, my first year in Tucson. I remember so vividly how cool and wet it was on those early mornings when I drove to the U of A Cancer Center or to the hospital when Glenn had treatment or was having in-patient care. The 10-yr. anniversary of his death comes Feb. 2, 2008.

We've enjoyed several holiday private parties and Village clubhouse events leading up to Christmas. It's been a time of festivity and fun, capped off by Christmas dinner (Mexican buffet) at Luane's, this time with Granny Bessie, now in her mid-90's, present. Good for her!

We've begun the process of having granite countertops installed throughout the kitchen area. 2 days ago we ordered the new sink and hardware, the long leadtime item (naturally Carole selected a new model not yet stocked by dealers). Next step will be selection of the granite, itself. Then we wait for all items to be available for accurate measurement and fabrication, then comes installation. We are hoping for end of February.

In the meantime, we expect to hear more from the Homeowners Association about the resolution/settlement for repair of interior wall (perimeter) damage from water leakage, cause of which is supposed to be eliminated with the summer caulking/repair/repainting HOA project. We don't expect to get this all settled in time to do interior painting this year, that would be a miracle! The wheels of justice move slowly, it took our HOA several years to get the monetary settlement from the developer, which is making all this work possible.

Edmund's scheduled for 2 basal cell skin cancer surgeries Feb. 14. His surgeon characterizes Edmund as a "bloomer"; he keeps having them every 6-12 mo. He has a wonderful surgeon who specializes in Moh's surgery for mainly facial skin cancer.

We plan to go to Laughlin, NV Jan. 17-20, along with "Carol & Edmund Junior", our neighbors the Hovasses (visited Lake City in June). At initial introduction we four where stunned to learn we had the same names. "Junior" and "Senior" fit both our ages, and our tenure in the community. We got such a good deal at what's now the Tropicana (formerly Ramada Express where we stayed several times) just couldn't turn it down. Rooms are virtually free, and 2 very cheap show tickets (the Carol'e's will use 'em). And we're all looking forward to a break away from home at that time.

We've both lost some weight since returning home at summer's end (too much sitting on the Porch?). More is needed, and we're working on it, we feel good that we're not gaining it all back during the holidays.

Got word from Mike Moore that he and Breeana are flying out from Kansas City April 10-14, we look forward to seeing them again. Her great-grandma tells me that Bree's always learning "new tricks." I believe it.

Till after New Year's Eve......

And As a Reminder....

Here are some "best of the best" pix from summer, 2007. This is Deer Lakes in September.
This is Capital City in September
This was seen from The Porch on the clubhouse one late afternoon thundershower.

This is American Basin in early summer.
This is from American Basin selection.
This is in Vail, CO. August
This is from Big Blue Creek Trail above the Lake Fork River.
Camp Robber Jay at Big Blue picnic area.

Uncompaghre Peak in early summer.
Alpine Loop road, toward Cinnamon Pass, June.
June, Cinnamon Pass portion of loop.
American Basin, State Flowers
Maricopa Lily, from Los Pinos Pass road.

Durango to Home

We spent Tuesday night in Durango with dinner at Seriously Texas BBQ (Hutch in L.C. does a better smoked BBQ, folks). Went to bed early, trying not to worry about the ATV and trailer in the parking lot (they are prime theft targets). We've gone to great lengths to make a theft extremely difficult via locks and kryptonite cable, so we were pretty confident they were secure. Next morning, with our ATV and trailer thankfully intact, we set off on a longer day with continuing great weather and not much traffic. It was an uneventful drive through some very familiar and equally boring territory, through some of that painfully desolate Ute and Navajo reservation land between Durango and Gallup, NM.
We gained an hour on the clock as we entered Arizona (you know, that silly daylight savings time thing), so arrived at our motel at ShowLow too early to check in. We quickly decided that our best move would be to boogie on up to the Hondah Casino, stay as long as we wanted, since the room was guaranteed till 1 am (long past our bedtime!).
C promptly found their one blackjack table, and wonder of wonders, the minimum bet was $3. Loving the game, she'd gladly play for a quarter! Four hours later and up $16, it was dinner time, and the minimum was raised to $5 a hand. It was fun, low-stress gambling, just what the doctor ordered.
Meantime, E had a met a fellow at the bar who knew people HE knew from the Springerville, AZ area, and long story short...they became bar buddies, next thing we knew we all 3 were meeting in the lounge after dinner for drinks and dancing. Yes, after a whole summer of lowkey living we picked our last night on the road for partying. How wise was that, huh? We did all have a good time, the band and the dancing were a welcome contrast to the past months of mostly outdoor life. Civilization does have its advantages, after all! Sure is nice to be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.
This guy we met is an elk hunting guide in the White Mts. and in New Mexico mts, a very interesting and gregarious fellow, AND quite an athletic dancer. We exchanged personal info, may connect with him and his wife another time when we get through the area. But if we never meet again, he'll have a spot in our memory book!
Not all that much worse for the wear, next morning we completed our trip home, reminiscing all the way through Salt River Canyon about the summer the truck blew the engine (pulling the 5th wheel and blocking the traffic lane), on the up slope going north out of the canyon, on a 2-lane road. Not a pretty story, but all ended OK and here we are 2 yrs later, with a new 5th wheel, permanently parked in L.C., and the truck replaced by a Honda Odyssey.
Perhaps the selection of an Odyssey, now that I think about it, was a subconscious choice of a headline for our life story, as we continue to journey and wander, with hope that our personal odyssey will last longer than the 10 years Homer described in his epic poem!
It's been gratifying to hear from friends and family that they've enjoyed the pictures and narrative we've done this summer, your positive and complimentary comments have been inspiring and motivate us to do more. Thanks!

On our departure morning, the 25th of Sept., the sunlight was bright and the foliage was brilliant. At one point the glow from the aspens surrounding the road in tight formation was so bright that it hurt my eyes. But who wants to distort the color with sunglasses? Not me! E, the driver, just had to do it, though. Going upward to Slumgullion Pass was simply an ethereal experience that morning....I search for words to describe it, and fail.
We stopped at the overlook above San Cristobal Lake for one last look, and though even these enhanced pix don't do it justice, it's a small clue to what the naked eye really sees. Many of the scenes prompted our comment, "You just can't capture this in a photo, it will have to be another beautiful memory in our minds."
Further down the road, the Rio Grande Valley that lies below Spring Creek Pass and onward toward Creede provided another colorful palette, a little different, large ranch meadows making the scene more pastoral (I started to say "bucolic", have been dying to use that word, but pastoral is more appropriate). The meadows are threaded with twining, twisting streams and surrounded by sweeping, golden and red mountainsides that terminate in rocky precipices backlit by a clear, deep blue sky.
Up and over Wolf Creek Pass, we drive through familiar territory full of memories of previous summers spent camping around this area. In Pagosa Springs, we stop at Tequila's for lunch, a peaceful respite as we watch the San Juan River tumble over boulders just below the hot springs location. As we reminisced about our times in Pagosa, we talked about the Happy Camper campground where we met the owner Rick, and Spike (with the bottomless Jack Daniels bottle), Carl & Joanna (email moniker is "goatroper"!?!), our evenings in the Bear Creek Saloon, our breakfasts at Victoria's Parlor, our dinners at the HogsBreath, our hikes above the Piedre River and on Wolf Creek Pass, our fishing in Echo Canyon Lake, and finally....our dip in the hot springs pools when we swear we stayed overnight in the Best Western across the street. This becomes noteworthy because we just can't figure out under what circumstances we stayed at that motel, given that we always were in a camper up until this year. But we both swore we actually did stay in the motel, and concluded that we've just been running so fast and furious for the past almost 8 years we can't remember every detail.
More trip home stuff to come, stay tuned, have to get some breakfast into our bellies!