Monday, December 22, 2014

We were up this morning at our usual times.......me at 6:30, Sharon at 8.  We had invited Dennis and Mary over for Dinner today but we would be eating early.  They’re used to eating their big meal at lunch so all four of us will have to adapt. 

Sharon was into decorating the “house” this morning so we had to get everything out from under the bed.  The “inside” and “outside” decorations were up in about an hour.

She was quickly off to the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends for her Orange Pork Chop Dinner.  She picked up a couple of extras while she was there including Gingerbread Donut Holes.  We had never had them before and they were fabulous.  I think you have to like Gingerbread Cookies to like them however.  Later on Dennis ate 3 of them and this is a man who prides himself in walking past the donuts in the store.

They came over about 1:30 and we sat down to chat for awhile and Sharon finished up the “lunch.”  We sat down to eat about 3 and everything was quite good indeed.  It consisted of Orange Pork Chops, Red Potatoes and Peas and then we had Apple Pie for dessert.  Everything went smashingly.

They stayed for a couple of hours before they headed home.  Sharon and I camped out in front of the TV for a couple of hours before we decided to head for bed at 10.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

We were ready to hit the road today by 9:30 heading north to Sun City West.  Our plan today was to visit Bill and Jan Dieckman for the day and have lunch with them before we came back home.  Bill and Jan are friends from Iron Mountain who moved permanently out here a couple of years ago.

We arrived at Sun City West as our GPS took us right to their front door.  It was a good thing we had her along because it’s a complicated route to get there.

We sat around chatting and catching up for the next hour or so before we headed out for lunch.  After much discussion we finally settled on Applebee’s for the big   occasion.  I had the Pork Riblet Dinner and Sharon had the Fiesta Lime Chicken.  We shared appetizers with Bill and Jan and had a very nice lunch.  Bill offered to buy lunch which was a pleasant surprise to us.  We graciously accepted and thanked them.

After lunch we went back to their house for about an hour before we got on the road back home.  It was about 3 PM now and we knew that the traffic might be a little busy on this trip.  We didn’t really encounter any slowdowns until we got back near Fountain Hills.  It slowed to a crawl at one point for about 15 minutes.  But after that we zipped right along until we got back home.

We secured our positions in front of the moving picture box for the night even though the shows would be re-runs.  Over the years we’ve learned the art of surfing which helps during the re-run season.  We managed to find enough stuff to keep us entertained for the night.  We finally called it quits at 11 tonight.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

We were off this morning to Golden Corral with Dennis and Mary to start off our day.  We met them there cause we were coming from different directions and after we were done we were headed north to Anthem, AZ .

We got there at 9:30 and we had a lovely Breakfast eating everything we liked, and then some.  Golden Corral is one of my favorite places to have Breakfast and I think it’s now one of Sharon’s also.  We sat and chatted for about a half hour when we got done eating We were on the road to Anthem shortly afterward.  Anthem has a unique  Veteran’s Memorial that we wanted to see.  I got an e-mail from a friend that mentioned it.  I think it came from Phil & Joyce Bach, friends from the Bay Area of California.

The memorial is a series of 5 white granite pillars with polished aluminum holes near the top.  Each is a different height, and on Veteran’s Day (11/11) at exactly 11 minutes after 11 AM the sun shines through the holes lighting up an emblem of the great seal of the United States placed in the pavement in front of the pillars.  We were there at 11:45 on the 24th of December so the sunlight was all diffused.  It is an impressive memorial however.

We found it unusual, however, that the memorial was in the center of a Del Webb community.  But I think that also prevents it from being removed by anti-military zealots.  After we left Anthem we managed to get back home without any traffic delays this time.

Sharon suggested we have our leftover KFC from the other night for Supper tonight.  We thought we were hungry enough to have a full meal which was a mistake.  After finishing up the chicken we were both miserable for most of the night.  Sharon had to actually go and lay on the bed for awhile.

TV was re-runs again tonight but it kept us up til about 11 before we finally folded up the tents and put the animal away for the night.

Thursday, December 25, 2014                          IT MUST BE CHRISTMAS!

We were set this morning to have a restful, peaceful Christmas today, Sharon was off to mass and I hooked up and drained our gray water.  I’ll have to dump the black water before we leave here on Sunday, but for now it’s okay.

By the time Sharon came back from church I was ready to head over to the Ceshker’s.  We had planned to spend Christmas Day with them for the past year.  The  year before last was our turn to cook and host the party.

I had to fix the handlebars on my scooter before we left or I would have to do it when I got home.  I already have to plug it in so it will be charged up for our trip to the Flea Market tomorrow.  It took about 10 minutes to get them fixed.

We took off for Dennis and Mary’s about noon even though we wouldn’t be eating til around 2 or so.  After we finished eating we watched the Jeff Dunham Christmas special on Comedy Central.  The last one that we had seen was his world tour just before we left home.  It was quite good.

By the time we got back home we were ready to just sit and relax.  We had just consumed a lovely Dinner of Meatloaf, Hash Brown Cheesy Potatoes, Green Beans and a Lettuce and Banana Salad.  We finished it off with a Spice Cake with Cream Cheese frosting.  It was all very delicious.

We got back home and I plugged my scooter in for the night.  I’ll leave it plugged in until the morning.

We just sat around for the rest of the night watching the Telly.  There really wasn’t much on that wasn’t re-runs but it was mildly entertaining anyway.

We made it another early night tonight at 10 tonight and now it’s pretty apparent that we’re getting old.

Friday, December 26, 2014

We got a leisurely start this morning but we were off to the Mesa Marketplace for a few hours today.  We always manage to make time for a visit to the Marketplace while we’re coming through Mesa.  We’ve been going there at least once, sometimes twice if we go back home through Mesa. On the way we found gas for $1.979 so we stopped and filled up our tank on the car.

The Marketplace was a little nippy this morning.  The motorhome was a little cold this morning also so we expected it to be a little cool.  There always seems to be a slight breeze blowing through the place, and this morning was no different.  Even though I rode my scooter through the place, my hands were numb on the handlebars.  We managed to make it through in about 3 hours or so.

After we got back home Mary called and told Sharon they were going to stop over for a drink and a final farewell.  They arrived about a half hour later and stayed until Dinnertime.  We said our “good-byes” and gave hugs and kisses and then they were off.

Neither of us felt like eating Supper so it was going to be a “snack night” for sure.

We settled in for a night of TV re-runs.  We’ve been doing that for the last two weeks except for the period we had no TV.  As soon as the New Year is over with we’ll get back to some original programming.

We stayed up until 11 anyway even though we were struggling to stay awake.  It didn’t take long for sleep to come once we hit the bed, however.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

We really had virtually nothing to do today.  It would be a day to sit and relax before we hit the road tomorrow.

Sharon was off on a grocery trip this morning and while she was gone I took up all our utility hoses and put our 5th step away in a compartment.

This afternoon Sharon took off for church and I finished up the Newsletter for this month.  By the time she got home I had already designed the Logo for this month’s letter.  I thought it was quite appropriate for the last month.  I put the motorhome up on a jack with the rear wheels removed.  I think the intent will be quite clear after reading the first story.

We had Bratwurst for Supper tonight.  We’ve been carrying them around almost since we left home and tonight Sharon defrosted them and flung them in a frying pan to brown them up.  She had some sauerkraut that she also fried up and Bush’s Baked Beans.  It was quite good.  We love Bratwurst and these really hit the spot.

We settled in front of the tube as usual tonight but spent most of the night watching Lockup on MSNBC.  We even managed to stay awake tonight until 11 before we finally caved and headed off for the padded room.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

We hit the road at a leisurely pace this morning.  We were rolling by 9 AM knowing we were only driving as far as Quartzsite to watch the Packer game this afternoon.

The traffic was relatively light this morning til we hit the west side of Phoenix.  For some reason, possibly the end of Christmas Holiday, we ran into a ton of traffic that filled up both lanes for miles.

We arrived in Quartzsite just after noon and settled into our campsite at Tysons Wells and had plenty of time to do some shopping.  I usually gravitate toward the Tool Shops and Sharon likes to visit the clothes and craft shops. I managed to find a couple of things that I picked up for a song.  Nothing major just piddly things.

I shopped until about 2:15 while Sharon was still walking around.  I knew the game was slated to start at 2:30 but it actually started early before Sharon got back home.  By the time she rolled in Green Bay had already tried to get in the end zone 7 times from the 5 yard line.  Was this going to be one of those days?

The game actually turned out just fine with Green Bay winning by a comfortable margin.  Me and the Mrs, were both happy.

We decided to go to Silly Al’s Pizza for Dinner tonight.  A favorite eating spot here in Quartzsite.  We could hardly find a place to park when we got there.  When we got inside the place was crowded but not as bad as we expected by the number of cars outside.

We ate our pizza and then headed home to settle in front of the picture box for the night.  We actually had some original programming on tonight.  Sundays are not really a good night for TV but it kept us up until 11 tonight.  We had a busy day today but it didn’t seem to bring on the nods any earlier.