2009 - ChrisBeth'nEmily

Oops - It's 2010!!! Time for a new blog!

16 Jan 2010

So I forgot to start the New Year with a new blog...

You can find us here:  2010

Continuing up the War Road(s)

7 Apr 2011 - Happy Birthday to our eldest grandchild, Trevor!!!

   I keep forgetting to update where we are. We did Vicksburg. We did Corinth and Shiloh. We continued on to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We jogged north for an overnight stop at Bristol, Tennessee area (and took long enough to visit the NASCAR track...) We continued on to Appomattox. And now we're in Petersburg area.

   That's a lot of history in a short period of time. And then, if you factor in the driving time, it gets even more condensed.

   At Chattanooga, we not only visited the Chickamauga Battle site, but also tried to drive up to Lookout Mountain, but we missed the Missionary Ridge exhibits and drive. We took long enough to visit the Chattanooga Choo Choo, however, and the Tennessee Aquarium. The Aquarium is very nice (not quite to the Monterey or Lisbon levels, but few are.)

   From there we headed north towards Appomattox, with a half-way stop near Bristol, Tennessee. Most of us made it in to camp in time to do a tour of the NASCAR track nearby. That was cool!

   I was quite disappointed at Appomattox. This is one of the Civil War sites that gives me goosebumps. This is where the War ended; where the country came together again. There was no overall discussion within the group of its meaning and the nearby locations. The most important thing appeared to have a group photo taken. Humph. We drove past the marvelous D-Day monument at Bedford with no mention - except our little 3-unit group that at least drove around it. Nothing was said about the importance of Lynchburg for the Confederate supplies and transportation. We arrived too late for the tours of the various buildings. For one of the first times, we didn't even have our evening meeting to discuss happenings, so I couldn't share what I knew of the area. It just became pretty much a minor footnote on the whole trip. Disappointing.

   We are now in Petersburg. There is a National Park Service site, which is quite good. The exhibits and park at City Point are terrific - at the confluence of the James and Appomattox Rivers - where Grant's headquarters were for the 9 month seige. The wharfs and docks and rails supported the Union efforts and communications, making the eventual Union breakthrough possible. President Lincoln visited Grant here for several weeks during the last month of his life. The Pamplin Historical Park is fairly new and quite elaborate - it's privately owned and was developed by the Pamplin Family (as in CEO of Georgia-Pacific, among other companies) and is very impressive. Lots of high tech, but also wonderful walks in the woods through the original old Confederate and Union earthworks - site of the final Breakthrough Battle that led to Lee surrendering Petersburg and moving the government out of Richmond to the West. A week later came Appomattox.

   Tomorrow we are taking the day off. We will go visit friend Lynn - that we've never met, but is a close personal friend of both of us based upon months of playing FaceBook games with her.  Tomorrow night the group will go out to dinner to celebrate Mother's Day - as none of us are with our children, we figured we might as well console each other... Or some such thing.

   I'll have to add photos later. Sorry. The computer connection is slow tonight.

 

Old Photos and Memories

15 Jan 2010

    One of my FaceBook "friends" is doing a Decade Review - posting old photos and stories of the past 10 years, a lot of which have been full-timing in an RV. It's fun to see them and read of their adventures. But it tickled little thoughts about all we've done also.

    We're coming up on 11 years since we sold our home in the Bay Area and hit the road. Wow, have we had some adventures and good times! I've been trying to weed out some of the boxes and boxes of 'stuff' we own - including many full of old photos. Some are worth keeping; a whole lot are worth tossing. But even the keepers never  seldom get seen. So maybe I'll keep posting a few at a time as I digitize them.

   

    There we are - right by the "SOLD" sign. Hurrah! And is that AJ and Irene's home we see in the background? Hmmm. They sold out a year or two later, moved to the Sacto area and then followed in our footsteps and started the RV lifestyle. Aren't they just so clever? They now play pickleball in Casa Grande in the winter; they try to flyfish as much as possible in the summers. We ran across them in St. George last October, purely by accident.

    One of the first - and smartest - things we did in our RV life was get involved with the Beaver Ambassador Club - the owners' group for our motorhome manufacturer. The BAC provided us with a ton of new instant friends, who were full of good information, immediate answers after cries for help, ideas of how to make life easier on 4 wheels, and it made available scores of gatherings and parties all over the country. Our first rally was for the Calgary Stampede in 1999, but this photo is from the Homecoming Rally in Bend that fall. Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys!

    We've tried to see the sights in our travels - this flattering photo was taken as we embarked on the Snake River to see the Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. It was cold. It was windy. It was spitting rain. We had a fantastic time!!! Chris still has the heavy winter coat I found on a sale rack for the occasion. One of the highlights of the tour was Morley Nelson's narrative and presence. My dad had worked briefly with him back in the 1960s and spoke of him with reverence. After the tour, Morley invited any of us that were interested to come over to his home, where he showed us his collection of rescued eagles and hawks and such - up close and personal. Wow!

    So, back to real time life. Yesterday was Playing With Gourds at our house. Paula came over to learn how to do a kokopelli; Nancy and Julie came by and worked their fingers to the bone finishing up some gourd cleaning - Julie brought some down from Washington last week as they finally arrived for the winter. I owe Nancy BIG TIME!!! She also fixed us lunch. Jan stopped by - her brother grows gourds in the SLC area and now we are hooking and reeling her in - she tried the woodburner and liked it! Diane and Pam stopped by just to see what was going on and what kind of toys I have for future trading and utilizing - Diane has a turbocarver and has been known to carve ostrich eggs! I'm cultivating her friendship.

    Today will be 'load up some clothes and food in the RV' and maybe by late afternoon hit the road to Quartzsite, where some of our good Beaver Buddies (see note above about BAC helping us make long-term friendships!) are already parked in the desert with lots of surrounding room for us to join them. Sunday night we will move over to Blythe, where we'll play gourd classes for 3 days! I'm writing this as tears stream down my face in anticipation - I went to bed exhausted last night after one day of said fun. 

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Quotes for today, in no particular order nor meaning:

Antonym, n.: The opposite of the word you're trying to think of. - Anon.

Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty - a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture. - Bertrand Russell

Beautiful weather!

10 Jan 2010

    Well, compared to the rest of the country - and parts of the world - we're in the lap of fantastic weather. It's supposed to be in the mid-70s F today. That's just a wee bit cool for us, but we'll survive. And it's better than the high-60s we've been experiencing. Then we think of Hugh and Ceil driving back to Minnesota thru the winds and snow and waaaay below freezing temps; and Mum and Alfred in London with the nasty, nasty storms that have been coming thru there; and Seattle in the 40s and rain; and Boise in the 30s and whatever... Yuk. We love Yuma in the winter!!! I think Nic and Jase and Sofia in Perth are the only ones beating us. They posted FaceBook photos of playing in the surf on New Year's Day.

    Nic and Jason just moved to Western Australia this summer, so it's their first experience with the opposite climate. Not only is it 'summer' for Christmas, but it's a Hot Summer - much warmer temps than they were used to in the Birmingham, England area, even in the real summer. They appear to be sucking it up and forcing themselves to enjoy it.

    Susan and Allan are coming over from Blythe today. Susan and I will play with gourds all day - we are having three days of classes at their park in a week or so - I guess it's finally time to start preparing for it (lol!!!) I think Chris will haul Al over to the fair grounds to the gun show.

    Also in town this weekend is a craft and fun fair in Old Downtown; the Gathering of the Gunfighters at the old state prison, which is always fun; an antique show and auction; the Wood Carvers show - we went to that yesterday; and a fiddlers' contest. Talk about overload! It must be Yuma in the Winter.

    Chris made it to Houston, and back, safe and sound. I think he kinda enjoyed doing a road trip by himself - no wife to whine about speeds and rest stops and food and such. He filled out all the paperwork and was endowed with yet another temporary extension (he didn't tell them about the other one), so I guess we can cross borders with no fear. He stopped in Benson, Arizona on the way back and got a hug from Howard and Lynda. Last time we saw them was in Anacortes, Washington last summer. (Note to self: We love our RV lifestyle and peripatetic friends!) Lynda documented the stopover from Chris and the "Silver Streak."

    Trevor made it back to West Point safe and sound. Taft is already in Buenos Aires. Caitlin had a holiday in New Orleans with her mom. The other grandkids are back in school and playing at being diligent...

    Life is good. And how is yours?

Back to the Real World. Or not.

30 Dec 2009

    We made it back to Yuma safe and sound - after the storms abated and before the TSA kicked in with new delays.

    But, this is not the balmy Caribbean weather we became so used to so quickly. IT'S COLD! Clear down into the mid-40s at night and not breaking 70 during the day. Yuk. We might have to move further south. I know, I whine like this every winter. But we have had no snow, at least.

    We are still sad when we come back and have no budgie to greet us.  I really miss the little critters - but not having to locate a babysitter is nice also. One of these days we'll get set up again with a new baby.

    Our Christmas was a non-event - we cruised right thru it. Three presents under the tree - his, hers and ours. And mine was the recycled Kindle. Chris was nice enough to wrap it for me, even. I love my Kindle! We saw bunches of them on the cruise - apparently I'm not the only one.

    Now it's Gourd Season: a class in Yuma; three classes in Blythe; the festival in Casa Grande... all in the next month. Better get my buns in gear and clean and cut piles of those little round creatures.

    I'm awaiting delivery of my new Photo Shop Elements software - I want to see what I look like in my vacation photos, minus wrinkles. Well, maybe not completely.

    Chris has to drive to Houston Sunday - isn't he lucky? - his 'next' appointment with uscis.gov came through and he decided he'd better just get it over with. He says he's going to drive straight thru, but I'm not sure he can anymore. I know just the thoughts of driving 1300 miles each way gave me a sore rear end. Think of it as an adventure! (?)

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Quotes for the day:

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; in practice, there is. - Chuck Reid

History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely when they have exhausted all other alternatives. - Abba Eban (1915 - 2002)

Chris' security/smoking buddy in Acapulco with "Fresno State" tattooed on his shoulder...

When this is most of your Christmas decor for the year, you know you didn't have the spirit - but my little Charley Brown Christmas tree is in there blinking away!

The Rest of the Voyage

21 Dec 2009 - off Cuba somewhere

Notes from the past week - photos to be added later, so you have to come back again and again...

In fact,  it appears this will be a work in progress for some time. Who was the idiot that took 700 photos in two weeks????? Sorting, discarding, labeling, organizing - gives me something to do...

Costa Rica is a land of coasts and beaches, mangroves, rain forests and agriculture - this may have been the last tour boat (or a drug smuggler.)

   

  PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA - We elected the Mangrove and Scarlett Macaw Shelter Tour, which consisted of an hour in a small boat wandering thru the mangroves, with two excellent college-age guides who knew their wildlife and nature, and then an hour or so at the Shelter, where they try to separate the native birds from the imports and let what they can back into the wilds. We drove by acres and acres of sugar cane and were offered the opportunity to purchase the "best coffee in the world!" which is grown locally. (None of that Juan Valdez stuff for these people!)

    We liked Puntarenas and Costa Rica! One of those places we might like to go back to when we can relax and enjoy. Puntarenas is about 70 miles from the capital - San Jose - and is the primary Pacific port. Costa Rica was discovered and named by Columbus. It has based much of its economy on agriculture rather than gold - coffee, sugar cane, bananas are all exported. The guides explained the stable and very socialistic government, of which they are very proud.

We always had an opportunity for photos as we exited the ship (and then we could purchase a copy later, of course...) Often they furnished "props" like this beautiful young thing in a gorgeous native dress.

    PANAMA - Our chosen tour was on an old executive railcar (refurbished equipment from somewhere in the States), very cool, with outside platforms.

What? It's not 2005???

Best map I found - it's on top of our lunch/snack box...

You can see Chris halfway down on the right in our rail car.

We're up early and in line for our turn in the locks - the ship ahead you'll see again later.

 

The blue is the ship; the concrete is the lock. The in-between is how much clearance we had!

This was our 'sister' ship going thru the first locks - see how tightly we fit?

    The day before our trip thru the Canal we went by train up to Gatun Dam and Locks and then back by bus - a 4 or 5 hour venture. On all sides there was gorgeous rainforest tropical scenery - water and trees. David McCullough's excellent book on the Canal - The Path Between the Seas- has been spotted repeatedly, as it is being read by fellow passengers (and yes, was downloaded to the Kindle). It gives a terrific history from the Gold Rush thru the French engineering and financial problems to Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama "secession".

    The tour day before and the trip through the Panama Canal were worth the price of admission for the whole 15 days!!! It was a fantastic voyage and learning experience. I was overwhelmed with the history and significance and reading the book before and as we were doing it made it even better. Just these two days made the cruise a wonderful experience; the rest was just icing.

    As the ship (a Panamax style - meaning it is the largest that will "fit" in the Canal) inched into the locks, the passengers were all instructed to breathe in and hold it, in order to give an inch or two more room. No?? Just kidding. They had a good foot on each side. It was pretty impressive! And slow. From 6 am until 4 pm to go 47 miles. I promised not to make a video and make people watch it. (But, of course, by swiping your cruise card you too can own a video production made by Princess showing the ship, the tourists, the scenery and the locks, all up close and personal. I almost bought it.)

    There is not enough room here to show the photos or discuss the goosebumps I got from being there. You may have to visit our Picasa site to see photos. But you also may have to wait till I sort thru them and throw out a bunch.

Entering the port of Cartagena - this is a very impressive harbor!

 

Did someone call for a tour bus????

Damn Yankee fans end up everywhere!

Wanna buy a Panama hat, senor? Or visit the fort up the hill? How about some emeralds???

Okay, so these were my favorite sites of Cartagena - even better than the Inquisition Museum and the statue of Simon Bolivar.

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA - This is a VERY old Spanish settlement - 1500s - now it has multi-million inhabitants and a REALLY lousy tour guide service. There was a fort, there are multiple islands, there is a huge protected harbor, and LOTS of emerald and diamond shops. We may have to return someday just to get the bad taste out of our mouths from the tour guide. No, lady, I will not buy any stupid emeralds! On top of which it was HOT and HUMID!!! And we didn't see a single Drug Lord anywhere! I was disappointed and disgruntled, in case you can't tell.

Welcome to Aruba...

Our yacht is not over there...

They have a sense of humor! - the Banana Bus.

We sat here in downtown Oranjestad and watched the world go by. The stores across the street are all full of jewelry "bargains."

ARUBA - We really were tired of being tourists by now - fortunately I planned ahead and didn't schedule a formal tour. We landed just after lunch - no early morning stuff. We found a little store with reasonable prices and purchased a charm for my gold bracelet - we kept forgetting this in Europe a few years ago. We sat on the balcony of the Iguana Joe'[s with a cold drink and watched the harbor and the tourists below and soaked in the sun... and the humidity...

AT SEA - Everyone is winding down. The crew is openly soliciting good reviews and comments - there's a $500 Best Employee award. The staff has all been exceptional, even tho we didn't interact with many because of our failure to "participate" in many events:

- we didn't do Spa treatment(s), but loved walking the Promenade deck

- we ignored the art auctions, but really enjoyed browsing the library - we both read for hours and hours.

-we failed to appear for the afternoon trivia challenges, but tried to complete the daily brain quiz.

-we didn't take the dance classes - line, salsa, ballroom - but appeared at 2 of the 3 English Pub lunches - bangers & mash, cottage pie... after all, we have our priorities! And I did take the computer class on PhotoShop.

-we missed the shuffleboard tournament, but saw several of the nightly variety shows.

-we failed to attend the acupuncture lecture, but enjoyed the one on how the canal locks were built and operate.

-the scrabble tournament didn't attract us, but a number of movies and football games on the HUGE screen by the pool did. Julie and Julia was my favorite! I may have to try a Julia Childs recipe - with lots of butter.

We decided cruising is very similar to living in an Arizona Snowbird Resort - where you'll notice we do not live - tons of stuff to do, but you don't have to do any of it. We've met a lot of nice people, but no one we'll stay in touch with. The meeting and greeting got old - where are you from? how many cruises have you taken? - the standard opening phrases. Our alternative lifestyle always made answering the where are you from? more difficult. Our answers varied, depending on our mood - Tanzania, Arizona, Idaho, California, Texas... So we've been known to tell a tall tale or two... There was at least one other full-timing couple on board - we kept hearing about them.

Now we are on our way home, after a terrific holiday. The East Coast is fighting one of those 500 year storms - airline connections may be less than fun. But maybe we can get bumped??? We  hope Trevor made it from West Point - he was scheduled in the middle of it all at the worst possible place.

Will we do it again? Maybe. But not until Internet prices come down - $.55 to $.75 per minute is ridiculous!!!

And yes, we dressed for all 3 "formal" nights - my feet survived and we even had a photo taken to prove we did it.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

PS - After all was said and done, there were other sayings and doings...

One of the most fun was the tour of the galleys - what a production facility!!! They allowed us to wander thru in a somewhat organized fashion and take photos. Feeding 3,000 people a day takes organization, storage, and lots of raw ingredients!

Central America

14 Dec 2009

Central America - off the coast of Costa Rica, to be exact

    Life can't get much tougher than this - eating, sleeping, drinking, dancing, reading, fixing the laptop, shopping thru the jewelry and clothing shops, eating, walking around the promenade deck, watching a movie on the Big Screen by the pool in the open, enjoying a musical production, attending a "lecture" on the history/geography/politics of Central America, eating, sleeping, visiting, sitting by one of the pools, eating, reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, visiting with new friends, fixing the laptop... - well, you get the idea.

    Check what you want for breakfast and it is delivered every morning to your cabin. Wander in at any hour and find an endless buffet of remarkably good food awaiting you. Or eat when you wish at the classy dinner room. Enjoy one of the small bands in one of the bars in the evening. Choose what stage entertainment you want to attend after dinner. Or not. Pick out a book from the well-stocked library of latest fiction and non-fiction. Or use your Kindle - there are many of them on board.

    As first-time cruisers, we have been surprised/amazed/delighted/appalled by some things - how was I to know that the cruise "price" is merely a down-payment. After you board comes the real costs! You want a land tour? No problema. Swipe your room card. You want an alcoholic drink? No problema. Swipe your room card. You want a cold soda? No problema. You want to take a computer class? No problema. You want to take an exercise class? No problema. You want your sore feet massaged? No problema. You want to sign on to the wireless internet? No problema. You want some photos when you are all dressed up? No problema... it goes on and on. If they ask for your card, it's going to cost you! But there is no running bill - it will all be delivered in one big printout the night before landing - I'm assuming this is so we will be close to US hospitals for the heart attacks. (Later I find out you can obtain a running total by asking.)

    It was cold and rainy as we left Los Angeles - my first purchase was a heavy sweatshirt! But the next day the temps improved and have now settled in the mid- to high-80s for most of the time. It dips clear into the 70s at night. The humidity is definitely higher than Yuma!

    As you might imagine, the average age of the passengers is way up there - methinks some of them are partakers of the "No nursing home for me! I'm going to live on a cruise ship!" policy. I've always figured this was a joke. Maybe not.

    Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas. We didn't do much - walked thru the local arts & crafts merchants, ate a shrimp taco, went with friends to a nearby hotel to meet another friend, who didn't come thru with the promised fishing expedition, sat on the waterfront and watched the tourists... We last visited here in 1997 - there are many more high-rise condos/time shares! The entire bay in ringed with the monsters.

    Acapulco was not what I was expecting - it is a huge city (1 or 2 million!) - the layout is confusing around the port; El Presidente (de Mexico) was in town with his multitudes of bodyguards and troops; there was a huge 2-day festival just beginning; the bus tour was bland... Said tour ended with the cliff divers - the whole point of the tour. We arrived just in time to see the final two divers... I guess the divers change their schedule depending on waves and winds, so it might not have been the tour guide's fault, but we weren't impressed! Our tour drove by "our" time share here - Grupo Mayan has 5 or 6 resorts in Mexico and this was being built when we were buying. It is spectacular from the outside. We didn't see it personally, but the guide described its most noted feature - the mile-long swimming pool!!!

One of the bays at Huatulco.

    Huatulco, however, was a delight. It is a small fishing village about to be/ in the process of being enlarged and engorged and subsidized by the Mexican and Oaxacan governments to become the "next Cancun." There are multiple individual bays/beaches along the coast. Unlike most tourist destinations, this one is being planned and regulated - there are curbs and sidewalks, and a water treatment plant for each area, and landscaping (lots of imported palm trees!), and paved roads... Right now this is a resort we could enjoy. Later it may be too big. Sigi, our tour guide, sounded as if he was employed by the Chamber of Commerce - he was enthusiastic and positive about all the changes. Reminded me some of being in Mesquite at the very beginnings of the boom. The little town has nice clean stores carrying whatever you might need, and all the people speak excellent English. The area is home to two Mexican Indian tribes, so the schools teach both Spanish and English as second/third languages.

     The Internet has been a continuing problem. We picked up a very nice virus while at the hotel in L.A. (Thank you very much!) and Chris has had to remake it a time or two. Perhaps it now works. There is an Internet Cafe on the 8th deck which has 10 or 12 stations, so we've been able to sign on occasionally. Yesterday we finally managed with our own machine. Yea! And in a very spotty manner, it is available from our room. (Sure it is available in every room at every hour... Si, Pepe.) I'll try to get this posted today. At these prices, you write off-line and then copy and paste.

Photo right: the ship library - and a very fine one it is!

    We "live" on the 12th or Aloha deck. Most of the center of food/entertainment/shopping/bars are on the 5 - 7th, so we get part of our exercise climbing the staircases. Good exercise! Thank heavens there are also lots of elevators. Upstairs one and two more levels are the pools (yes, two of them - in addition to the kiddie's splash pool on the 15th level) and the food buffet. The 7th deck is the Promenade Deck - I (and others) can walk a beautiful planked deck all the way around (2.8 times around is a mile.) And it is FREE!

    We have an outside balcony large enough to hold a couple of chairs and a table. It's perfect. The room itself is very nice - not that different from living in an RV, y'know? With even a small fridge. And a small shower - I have no idea how the "portly" passengers manage it. They must rent larger rooms/suites/bathrooms.

    Well, it is off to explore Costa Rica today - we are doing the Mangrove and Scarlet Macaw Habitat tour. This is our longest port stop so far - 12 hours. But it began at 6 am, so it hardly counts.

    Hasta la vista!

On the Promenade Deck - thinking of abandoning ship??? NO.

The Soap Opera continues

4 Dec 2009

    We left you last thinking our immigration problems were over - the vote was 4 to 2, for goodness' sake. But no, on our arrival home, we went to the mailbox, wherein was The Letter from U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (uscis.gov) telling Chris to show up on 2 Dec 2009, at 1 pm for his Biometrics appointment. In Houston. In Texas. (Don't even ask me what a Biometrics exam is - but if you flunk, I think they seize your Green Card, your fingertips, perhaps your iris(es) and throw you away. See photo.) The date of receipt of the letter in Yuma was 2 Dec 2009, of course... Ooops. Might not make that puppy.

The Wickenhut bus with one-way tickets to the border for bad people. (Or is this Chris' new RV???)

    Okay, so you prepare to call someone and say "I sent a letter telling you I was in Yuma!
What's your problem???" And then you notice the fine print which says if you fail to appear, "your application will be considered abandoned and denied." And no, it wasn't in fine print; it was in caps and bolded. Oops.

 

    Okay, so you start the web search AND the phone calls. (I know this has never happened to anyone else, but it was "difficult" to find a live voice to speak with. Nah. A government agency without human voices? Couldn't be.)  Several hours later, we actually found a nice lady that said we could do what we had been asking for all along (but all the local folk said it wasn't possible!) - go to the closest USCIS office and get his passport stamped with an extension. He had done this last time around - ten years ago - because the San Francisco office kept losing his file. It took 3 years that time. Maybe it will be quicker this time around, but I wouldn't bet on it.

    Back to the computer - you can't just show up at one of their offices; you MUST have an appointment - and a letter to prove it! And you can only get appointments from their internet page. The nearest office capable of stamping said passport is in Phoenix. Okay. That's only a 3 1/2 hour drive from here. The only appointment available this week and/or before our trip is at 7:20 AM on Friday, December 4th. Hmmmm. You're right. That works. We arose at 3:15 am, drove to Phoenix, handed the passport to the nice man, drove back to Yuma and were home by 10:30 am. Somewhat the worse for wear. Or early arising. Or something. Maybe it was old age. Chris' blood pressure is now back to normal. Our trip is on track. Life is good.

It's the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...

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And then later I found a Quote for the Day that was just too good to pass up.

If not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.
- P. G. Wodehouse

Nuthin' Much

2 Dec 2009

Nothing much is happening...

We are finally into the packing mode - we leave this coming Sunday to drive to Los Angeles to catch the boat. 

    My Christmas Present arrived, was immediately opened and has been put to good use almost constantly! This has to rank way up there on the favorite Christmas presents list - a Kindle ebook reader. It's a WOW. I love it - I can read in bed without having to balance a book and turn pages; I can shove it in my purse and have something to amuse me while standing in line; it automatically remembers what page I was on so I don't have to use paper bookmarks that fall out; the speedy book downloading satisfies even people who want instant gratification; there are thousands of free books available to download (google free kindle books) - even best sellers; I could go on and on... this is a Good Present! Thanks for listening, Chris!

Not a great photo - but I was in a hurry...

    We did a trial run to Mexico yesterday to see if Chris could ever return on his makeshift Green Card - the definitive answer is: Maybe, Maybe Not. We were hauled into the back room by the guy on the front desk to face a panel of 6 fine uniformed officers devoted to keeping trash and terrorists out of these United States. After discussing and re-discussing and listening to our shouts and whines and explanations, the vote (this is a democracy, after all) was 4 to 2 to let him back in with the defective paper collection. They refused to give a ranking on what hassles we might face in Fort Lauderdale in a few weeks... Thanks, guys.

    While in Algodones, we picked up the primo souvenir/crafty artifact of the past few years - pine needle baskets. Well-made, gorgeous, low-cost pine needle baskets!

 

    The day after Thanksgiving I did another gourd class - this time at the Shangri La RV park - a couple of people didn't show up, so it was only 4 of us again, but that was okay. This group didn't go quite as fast as the last - or the instructor wasn't as clear on instructions... - but they had some nice results! Teresa brought in one she had done previously that I may try out - with stencils. And everyone was talking about another class or two after the first of the year, so we'll see. I found out two of them only a week apart, in addition to T-Day at my house, was too much like work. Most of the problem is the time and effort hauling the stuff out and back from the Playhouse to the car to the craft room to the car to the Playhouse... I guess the solution is to do it here. We'll see.

Teresa's great stencil and grass gourd from before.

One of the finished products - nice.

A turquoise one, for a change. She did multiple layers of various colors to get this.

     As we are packing for the cruise, I'm digging out "real" clothes and jewelry for the first time in how many years???? I left this lifestyle in the dust. But it is being fun - did I mention I purchased new shoes with heels???? (Talk about a shock!) And a slinky black cocktail dress with a jacket... Chris located his suit and tie last night and tried them on - just to make sure the body hadn't changed too much. We are going to be spiffy.

    I also found my good jewelry - gourd making doesn't encourage the wearing and use of expensive stuff. My charm bracelet always brings back great memories. In the Old Days we used to purchase nice charms in exotic places.

Hmmmm, they represent: Kenya, New Orleans, Egypt, Monterey, London, Cabo, Reno, the World Cup, Virginia, Australia... we have had some fabulous trips and adventures. I also have a silver one with lots more on it. I keep thinking I need to do some "travel days" on here so I recall some of those adventures.

    I took it in to have the loose charms soldered on and a couple of clasps on gold necklaces replaced. I may have found a good new jewelry store here in town. The nice lady who helped us has damaged brain cells, however. She is a marathoner and trained for the Chicago Marathon during the heat of the summer in Yuma. Whee! And Todd complained about training for Boston in the winter in Seattle. Methinks it might be the other side of the coin.

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Quotes for the day:

I've been on a constant diet for the last two decades.  I've lost a total of 789 pounds.  By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.  ~Erma Bombeck

Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry. - John Lennon

Happy Thanksgiving!

26 Nov 2009

    It's been a long busy day, but a most wonderful one. I hope yours was also! I'm so thankful for my friends and family - they love and support me, give me problems and grief, amuse and delight me, but I always know there are so many people I can call for help or advice or for a shoulder to lean on. Thanksgiving, it's called.

    We had a few of the neighbors in for turkey and duck from the rotisserie a la Chris. He does it so well - I would never be able to truss and balance the little beasts, and he does it so well...

Ah, the process has begun... the turkey is starting to roll on the big rotisserie...

 

Both are beginning to brown... it's smelling very good in here...

 

Which button should we push??? No, I think it's that one...

 

The most excellent lemon rolls a la Lisa and Rhodes bread didn't last long - note the great basket is from an old beat up gourd. All you have to do is tie a napkin in it...

We laughed the most at Donetta's pie cutting - this is definite proof she is not an engineer!

 

    We were going to play Farkle after dinner, but unanimously decided a nap at home would be a better idea, so we divied up the leftovers, threw the dishes in the dishwasher and the sink, admired Nancy's new Kindle reader (covet, covet, covet) and said Good Night.

    Today was a good one for connecting with people. I chatted with Eric for a while; Trevor called later and we had a nice visit about life in West Point; I kept track all day of how many friends were doing in the progression of our/their hearty dinners on FaceBook - Sig in Seattle, Lynda in Half Moon Bay, Joan in SoCal, Meredith and Lynn in Virginia, Barb in Washington, Roxie in Texas, Brent in New York... 

    Tonight I was going to go to bed early. Tomorrow morning - instead of going out shopping on Black Friday - I'm doing a gourd class. Much better idea, methinks. But my mind isn't quite in gear yet. I'll set the alarm for an early beginning.

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Quotes for the day:

Nice guys finish last, but we get to sleep in. -Evan Davis

Formula for success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil. - J. Paul Getty

Gourds... yet again

20 Nov 2009

    I realize everyone has been totally concerned, so I finally decided what to do with my Great Leaping Lizards Gourd - you can all sleep better once again. It's going to be a religious experience, well, maybe just a "holey" gourd...

Two lizards and a great shaped top, but with a less than perfect-fitting lid (we call these educational opportunities - How-to-cut-a-lid-to-sit-flat-and-not-fall-in 101.) It's going to have a filigree effect ala Bonnie Gibson. I still have to decide on colors and such, but the big decision and initial cuts have been made. There's lots more to do, but it's easier with a plan in mind, y'know?

    The Gourding For Fun class at WestWind RV went very nicely yesterday - not as many participants as I had wished, but we had fun. I'm thinking there might be more in January for the next round. I really have fun teaching this beginning stuff - the ladies came in with totally blank canvases on what and how to and left 4 hours later with a completed project - one they were very proud of. Cool.

    So now I must begin cutting and cleaning gourds for the next class at Shangri La RV next week. Oh, and incidentally, clean the house for Thanksgiving Dinner for the friends and neighbors we're hosting this year. But it's a small group - no problema. And they promised not to look in the corners nor under the rugs.

    The weather has been perfect the past while - mid-70s, sunny, mild, perfect. Remind me of this when I start whining later. Seattle apparently hasn't had it as nice lately. Soggy, soggy, soggy. I'm sorry.

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    Quotes:

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.  ~Kin Hubbard

The only way I'd worry about the weather is if it snows on our side of the field and not theirs. - Tommy Lasorda

Some people walk in the rain; others just get wet. - Roger Miller

To say nothing is out here is incorrect; to say the desert is stingy with everything except space and light, stone and earth is closer to the truth. - William Least Heat Moon