Packing Away Christmas

The plan for yesterday was to gather some oranges, make some juice and get as much as possible of the inside decorations all packed and put away for another year. Well, we spent a lot more time than planned getting Christmas put away. That was largely a result of having to make room in the garage for the boxes. Josie did the packing, I did the storing.

We also gathered more oranges to make some juice and we came across this "giant" that we took from our naval orange tree:

It is easily the largest orange we've ever seen.

We didn't get a chance to fire up the juicer, so that will be put on the agenda for later. I had to stop everything to watch the Seahawks barely get by the Cardinals. It is funny how the Seahawks lower their game for all the poor teams and play the better teams like they own them. I hope it continues into the playoffs as the Seahawks will play the Cowboys in Dallas next weekend.

This last shot is of a large group of birds that happened to be resting along the edge of our yard. There were actually a lot more of them, but some flew away:

That's about it for 2018. Enjoy your New Year's Eve everybody...

Beauty

With all of the snow we are getting in the high country and in all the right places out west, we still have some beautiful views of our own desert. This shot was taken last night at sunset and shows, once again, the nice views that we enjoy in our own backyard:

 The cold will stay with us for a few more days but as long as it doesn't go too far below freezing, it is OK with us.

We are going to get out the juicer today and gather some oranges and lemons to make some juice. Along with packing up some Christmas decorations (none from the tree or from outside) and trying to locate a space in the garage to place them, it looks like a full day ahead.

Only one more day left in 2018 after today, so try to enjoy the time...

Freezing

We came very close to dropping below freezing last night. I wrapped the outside pipes with towels to keep them from a possible freeze. It appears that we only went down to 34 during the night but it is close enough. The weather forecast is for more of the same tonight and tomorrow night. When I went to fill the birdbath yesterday there was some ice already on the top. I wonder, do birds skate on the ice?

We did lots of errands and some shopping yesterday. I went to Macy's to exchange the top of the sweat suit I received from Patty and that was successful. I will receive the replacement within a week. We then went to Fry's to use the gift card that Josie received from her shop owners. That was sure a nice gift and went a long way to cover our grocery bill. One last stop was made at Sam's Club where we buy our ice cream popsicles and a few other items that are best acquired at that store.

There are a couple items we forgot yesterday that we will get this morning. Other than that, it is just a "try to keep warm" kind of day...

Winding Down 2018

The most exciting event yesterday was the installation of my new mirror on the truck. Not very exciting, you say? It's part of the winding down for 2018 which is really just a series of last minute stuff to get ready for 2019. Most companies are coasting into the new year with lots of vacations and family time. Josie is one of two employees scheduled to work today, and she then has off until New Year's Eve day. We have talked about taking a possible day trip somewhere over the weekend but nothing has been decided.

Included on my schedule for the rest of this week is organizing data files for 2019. I keep track of certain items throughout the year (every year) and use forms that are created at the start of each year to maintain the records. One of the decisions I have to make sometime during 2019 is to determine the future of this blog. I have been doing it for over ten years and feel like maybe it is time to back off. The full-time traveling is over and it is difficult to continue with relevant and interesting activities. The main purpose of the blog is to keep the family informed about our activities, location and future plans. Of course, we are now in a more or less permanent location. We'll see how it goes as we get into the new year...

Wonderful Christmas 2018

Santa left some very nice gifts for us this year and we are always thankful that we are able to enjoy this special day each year. Our dinner with family at George and Cheryl's house was also wonderful and we especially enjoyed the "real time, live" interaction and visits from family members that were at their homes in distant locations. The visit from Patty and family in Naperville, David and family from Oregon and a short visit from Debby in California made it an extra special day. Don't we just love the interactive/video technology of today!

Rather than taking photos of everybody chowing down at the dinner table, I took these shots of all of us interacting before mealtime:

The meal was terrific and we had another memorable Christmas.

It 's back to work today for Josie and I will attempt, once more, to have the mirror problem fixed on my truck. This is the time of year - between Christmas and New Year's - when we catch our breath and get ready to take down and put away Christmas for one more year. The football games during this timeframe aren't too bad either...

Christmas 2018

We had planned to go to church last night (Christmas Eve) but the timing of the services - 3 PM and 5 PM - were too close to when Josie got off work. In fact, she didn't get home until almost 4 PM which was really pushing it for church. Josie had a lot going on at work during the day with lots of food being brought in by the owners and all the employees. We were pleasantly surprised at the generosity of the owners who provided gifts to all employees, including a $100 gift card. The difference between this ownership and the Phoenix Flower Shops owners is like night and day. The gifts that Josie received amounted to more than what Josie received, collectively,  in 10 years at the other shop. Not that that is so important, but it does show how appreciated the employees are at this shop.

We also received this nice shot of the Guido boys (and Oakley) on this Christmas Eve:

What a handsome group!

We were up at 6 AM this morning to discover that Santa made a quick stop at our house. We are thankful for our nice gifts and look forward to having a nice Christmas dinner at George and Cheryl's house where we will also see the other Reed's - Amy, Brian, Jason and Jesse.

Enjoy your Christmas Day everybody!!

Playoff Bound

What a terrific game last night between the Seahawks and the KC Chiefs, won by the Seahawks, 38-31. They are now in the playoffs as a wild-card team and have surprised almost everyone with their strong finish to the season. The Cardinals, on the other hand, performed as usual and lost, big time 31-9. I want to show this copy from my blog entry, dated Monday, September 17, 2018:

"Yesterdays' Cardinals loss to the Rams was the worse performance by an NFL team that I can ever remember. They only had two first downs and didn't cross midfield until the final seconds of the game while losing, 34-0. It wasn't even that close. Personally, I think the Cardinal's choice for a new head coach was a huge mistake, as is their choice for the starting quarterback."

With only one game left (against the Seahawks) in their season, and after 13 more games, I rest my case!

Today is the final, and hopefully short, working day for Josie before the Christmas holiday. I will be going to the dealership this morning for my mirror replacement on the truck and we both expect to go to the Candlelight Service at church tonight. Then, we will just watch the skies, sip some eggnog,  and hope that Santa finds our  house...

Work Party

Yesterday was the scheduled Christmas "party" at Josie's flower shop. She was suppose to bring lasagna, but had absolutely no free time to prepare it for the occasion. So, at 6:30 AM yesterday, I drove up the street to our local Safeway and picked up a Stouffers Lasagna to serve 12 people. Josie said it was all eaten, so I guess it was OK. They also had their gift exchange and she brought home a couple gifts that were nice, and she got off a little early to boot. She has the day off today, but has to work tomorrow which is the big delivery day at her shop.

It appears that our nice weather is going too change for the worse on Christmas day. There is a storm coming in from California that will provide some snow up north, and showers in our area late in the day. This is when it would be nice to have some property up north so we could enjoy a white Christmas. I was going to wash the truck today but will hold off now until the rain ends on either Wednesday or Thursday.

We can really see the difference in our commuting costs. Our gasoline expense, so far in December, is zero dollars. With Josie having only a 2 mile round-trip commute now each day, and my driving being limited to local activities, we are saving big time on gas by only having to fill up once a month. I hope that continues, as Arizona is still way behind the rest of the country in lowering fuel costs...

Schedule Changes

There were  couple minor changes to our schedules yesterday. My "new" mirror replacement for the truck didn't show up at the dealership in time, so the swap will now take place Monday morning. Also, Josie was asked to work the day after Christmas after having most of the week off. Nothing major, but a little inconvenient.

There was a small panic after the Christmas package that was to be delivered to Patty in Naperville didn't show up as scheduled. Actually, it did arrive on time, but was not where Patty normally looks for packages. Anyway, the tracking information revealed delivery, on time, at the Fox Valley, IL post office which has a zip code not even close to Naperville. It turns out that it was a regional P.O. and perfectly normal for that area. All is well and we also received her package yesterday, on time.

Only three days to go before Christmas, so we hope everybody is ready...

Birdbath Action

I was so glad that yesterday was a spectacular day, weather-wise. It gave me an opportunity to spend some time outside to enjoy watching the golfers go through and to watch the birds that frequent our birdbath each day. I wanted to take a video to post but there are restrictions on the size of videos for the blog, so I took these individual shots of some of the activity. There have been times when there are 5 or 6 birds in the bath at once which is really a circus. These shots are of just two of those birds:

They actually fully submerge themselves in the water and shake like crazy, splashing the water everywhere. Sometimes I have to refill the bath with water several times a day.

I received a new license plate in the mail yesterday from Florida to be placed on our fifth wheel. This was the year for a new plate, so I went to the storage unit, put on the new plate and allowed the office to make a copy of the new registration. We are set to go again with that detail done.

I expect to receive a call sometime this morning informing me that the new mirror has arrived at the dealership and to bring the truck in for the swap. I hope it happens earlier, than later...

Big Travel Day

We are so thankful that we don't have to fight the airport crowds today and tomorrow. While watching the clips on TV from some of the airports, it is going to be a long, long day for many travelers. We went through a similar experience at Thanksgiving, but believe the Christmas travelers win first prize. The end of the day is worth the effort for most folks. There is nothing like being with family for Christmas and, hopefully, next year we will have all our families together for the first time in many years. We are looking forward to that.

I have one last gift to buy today and we will be ready. I lost track of the days and need to get out this morning to finish up.

I received word yesterday that the mirror for my truck is expected to arrive at the dealership tomorrow. What an unexpected headache that turned out to be. I had no idea that the side mirrors on the Ford F series trucks were so different in each model and expensive and hard to find. My understanding is that the model for my truck runs $1300 - each! So glad that I don't have to pop for that fix. I will admit that these mirrors do a lot of extra things - retractable, folding, adjustable, telescoping, etc. The question I have is why they need so many different models to do the same thing. Oh, well...

Full Throttle

I sympathize with Josie over her seasonal workload. The floral business, by nature, is busiest around the holidays which takes so much time away from the enjoyment of other activities. Of course, she is doing the work she enjoys, but there is a lot that is missed by her work schedule. She will work 7 out of the 8 days leading up to Christmas with only having this Sunday off. Someday, not too far off (we hope) she will be retiring from the business, or working a very limited schedule. The conversations we have about those options seem to point to about one more year. Sooner - if our ship comes in.

It looks like she will have a fairly light schedule the week between Christmas and New Year. She is now scheduled to work on New Year's Eve in addition to one more day during that week. It would be nice if we can get some "away" time scheduled sometime early in the year.

There is so much remaining to do around this house that it will be difficult to justify any away time. The garage is number one on our list of to-do activities and we desperately need to make room for at least one of our vehicles. Any talk of going to Jackson for the summer requires that we make room for our car while we are gone. We have just under 5 months to make all that happen...

HUGE Oranges

We have a naval orange tree in our back yard that has produced unbelievably huge fruit this year. I fertilized it shortly after we moved into the house and I think it energized the fruit. This shot will show the size compared to Josie's hand:

These oranges are as large, or larger than grapefruit. They are pretty juicy but not real sweet. Maybe the next batch will be perfect. We are getting overwhelmed with all the fruit that is ready to be picked from our trees. Josie is taking some into work but I guess we will be making lots of juice soon.

Our potential problem with the truck as been fixed, and I received the new registration yesterday. That is a relief.

I'm beginning to gather documents for the tax season. Although we haven't received any W-2's or other forms, it never hurts to get a head start organizing receipts and other evidence for deductions. I hope to continue our recent run of not having to pay any taxes. Of course, that becomes easier when you don't make so much money...

Disgusting Performance

There is only one word for the performances by our favorite teams - The Cardinals and Seahawks - and that word is disgusting! I'll say no more.

I was up and out the door early this morning - 6 AM - to go to the Sonora Quest Labs for my bloodwork following my physical exam and to give a urine sample. I was there for 1.5 hours and, once again, it took two technicians and two tries to locate a blood vessel to complete the vials. It is very rare for me to go in for these blood samples and complete the work on the first try. To make it worse, I didn't have to pee and had to wait forever to give the urine sample. Sheesh!

There is a potential problem with the new registration for our truck - we haven't received it yet, and the temporary registration expires on the 20th of December. I am disappointed in the dealership where we purchased the vehicle as they are also slow in paying off the trade that we had financed through our credit union. They had to pay up some more funds to cover the timeframe beyond the "good until" date. I hope we can get things back on track. This is not the kind of problem we want going into the Christmas season...

On the Mend

This will be rather short today. Both of us are still nursing colds and are pretty much staying close to home and taking medicine. Josie's has just started so she has a way to go yet. Mine is on the downside and about over.

It will be a good day to sit in front of the fireplace and watch TV - good football games today...

Cold Is Making the Rounds

I have been suffering with a cold for over a week now and, as feared, Josie has contracted it. She was actually called into work today - on her scheduled off day - and was sent home just now so that she doesn't spread it among the workers. As I recall, a couple of them have already had the cold anyway. We will be going to the store to shore up our cold medicines.

The weather has been on the chilly side for a couple weeks now. In fact, I don't recall having so many cloudy days as we have had so far this season. Arizona is suppose to be sunny every day, isn't it? The highs are into the 70's most days so there are no complaints there.

With ten days to go to Christmas, we are ready to enjoy the festivities and watch the Christmas shows on TV - in between the good football games, of course...

Closer to Christmas Readiness

I think we are probably about 90% there for Christmas readiness. We only have a few small items left to get and get mailed in time and we will be done. While shopping yesterday, we about wrapped up everything for our family. One item that will go under Josie's side of the tree is a new vacuum cleaner that has been sorely needed for some time. We have been struggling with an old cannister vacuum that we have used for lots of years (great for the RV though) but it hardly works at all on our carpets. This new upright Hoover should last for the foreseeable future.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in a long time is the status of my "active" cross stitch project. I haven't had the time to work on it that is required to finish this project in a timely manner. It is a very detailed and large piece that I decided to put aside for now and begin on a new, less complicated piece that I can finish in a reasonable time. I will begin work on that, probably within the next week. It will be another Native American theme (of course) and should be done within a couple of months.

Josie is working today, but has the weekend off before the final race to the finish line for Christmas...

Passed Physical

My annual physical was yesterday and I passed with flying colors. Everything seems to be normal - I still have to provide bloodwork - and there are no major concerns right now. I was given a prescription for the Shingles Virus vaccination and an order for my bloodwork. Also, I have a referral for my Gastroenterologist for my bi-annual Colonoscopy and a referral for a Nose doctor who will check on my "Deviated Septum" which occasionally results in minor nose bleeds. I will have a follow-up review at the end of January to discuss my lab results and then I have next year's physical already scheduled for December, 2019.

Once again we have been invited to George and Cheryl's house for Christmas Dinner. We appreciate their invitation each year as they have been our only family nearby. Hopefully, next year we can include Patty and her family as part of the family Christmas gathering. It has been many years since we have had a truly, full "family" Christmas. We are looking forward to that, for sure.

Josie is off today so we will most likely catch up on some shopping and get a little closer to being "ready" for the holidays...

Planning 2019

We are beginning to look toward 2019 and any changes we may want to make. The usual targets are there - lose weight, save money, enjoy some travel. There are some new things that we may want to add, like: involvement in local activities, clubs and become more active in church. A lot depends on how our health goes, but also on how the working situation goes.

Josie will continue to work at the flower shop and both of us will be looking to spend at least one more summer in Jackson. We have been offered a return to the Visitor Center in Jackson and as of now we are planning to go. That, of course, will depend on Josie's shop cooperating with her schedule and our RV being able to make the trip or our being able to replace it. We hope to have those answers by the first of March.

Whatever happens with our planning for 2019, we hope to include some nice things with our house which we are loving more and more as time goes on. Along with our house activities, we hope to see Patty and her family make the move, successfully, to the area from Illinois. That will be a big part of our 2019 planning. There is a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to look forward to...

Statement on the Field

It was a defensive statement made by the Seahawks last night that I never expected to see this year. They beat the Vikings, 21-7, with a defensive team that is loaded with first year players and have run their record to 8-5 for this year. They are almost a lock now for a playoff spot. Great game and great effort. I just wish the Cardinals were more competitive this season so we could also enjoy watching them make the playoffs.

The neighborhood coyotes are making their presence felt. I found out yesterday that another dog was taken by one - while the owner was having a conversation with his neighbor just a few yards away! They seem to just walk along the golf course and make a quick jump over a fence to grab them before anything can be done to stop them. This time, the owner was helpless to do anything. There have been several animals taken that way - including cats -  and we always watch the rabbits scamper when there is one in the area. Nature can be cruel at times. It's all the more reason for us not to have another dog - and, we don't even have a fence.

Not much is going on this week as I wait to hear again from the car dealer about my replacement mirror for the new truck...

Annual Fruitcake

Every year, I have to buy one of the Christmas fruitcakes from Costco. I know that they re super fattening and sweet, but there are none better anywhere that I have seen. The Costco fruitcake is a special one that, no matter what else you decide to give up for a diet, this is a standard that cannot be missed. Besides, you can always freeze part of it so that you don't pig-out and eat all of it for Christmas. Yesterday was the special trip to Costco to pick up the fruitcake for this year.

Okay, I have a confession to make. This is actually our second Costco fruitcake for this year. We bought one a couple weeks ago when they first hit the shelves and it is all gone. We just had to make sure that we had some to eat right up to Christmas. They last a lot longer when you only take a very small piece each time. Yum.

Josie started making Christmas cookies yesterday so forget any chance of losing weight for the rest of this year.

My annual physical is scheduled for Wednesday, so I hope all goes well with that appointment. I have no major complaints, so I expect no problems.

I was sorry that the Cardinals lost their game yesterday against the Detroit Lions (17-3), but it was not a surprise. There were other great games during the day (congratulations to the Bears) and the big one for me is tonight with the Seahawks/Vikings. Go Seahawks!...

Fruit Picking Time

It appears that our fruit trees are producing some nice fruit that are about ready to pick. We picked some oranges and lemons from the trees yesterday and we ate a couple of the oranges - nice and sweet and juicy! We are going to pick more today and maybe even make some juice out of some of them so as not to waste any. These shots were taken of the trees where the fruit is ready:

This first one is of an orange tree that is naval oranges. These oranges are huge, and are very juicy although not as sweet as the other oranges-

This tree has both oranges and lemons. The previous owner took out the branches from this tree that were producing grapefruit and replaced (grafted) them with lemons. The rest of the tree is oranges and they are very sweet and juicy:

Here is another photo of the "mixed" tree with the view of our neighbor's tree that is also full and ready to be picked:

There will be no shortage of oranges or lemons this year. These shots don't even include the largest of all of the trees which has no fruit ready to be picked. I didn't take a photo of that tree.

It looks like a nice day for fruit picking as it will go to about 72 today. I fertilized all of the trees shortly after we moved into the house in May, so it looks like some of that effort is about to pay off. We will have to be patient with the larger tree.

It's almost time to "tune-in" to the football games for today. The only one of real interest today is the Cardinals game with the Lions. Maybe the Cards can get lucky again and win another. The big game for me this weekend will be the Monday Night game between the Seahawks and the Vikings which will go a long way in determining who makes the playoffs...

Good Medical Report

Josie had her Colonoscopy and also an Endoscopy performed yesterday with very good results. It has been over 5 years since she has had these procedures done and the report shows no sign of any of the problems she has experienced in the past. That is always good news and the kind I hope to get when I get my Colonoscopy early next year. She is pretty much done with all of her medical activity and it leaves my physical - scheduled for Wednesday the 12th of December - and my Colonoscopy which, as mentioned, will be scheduled in the early Spring next year. Now, if we can avoid emergencies, we should be in good shape.

We are in a transition period, sports wise, from watching college football to watching college basketball which I have very little interest in watching - until the Final Four in March each year. There is still the bowl schedule which has some interesting games, but for the most part the college football season is over. The pro playoffs will be coming soon and, of course, the Super Bowl in the early part of the year. Maybe we can get some real work done around the house now without all the football distractions...

Busy Day All Right

It seemed like everything was falling into place in the morning yesterday. The truck appointment was made for 9 AM to have the new mirror installed and our notice from the Home Depot delivery service was that our refrigerator would be delivered between 2 PM and 6 PM. Perfect. I could get the truck service done and have plenty of time to empty the old frig and get it ready for the pickup in the afternoon.

The mirror installation was a joke. After waiting for about 45 minutes I was informed that the mirror that was sent was the wrong one. It would not fit my vehicle. It's hard to imagine how that kind of mistake could be made as there is only one model that would fit a 2011 Ford F350. Anyway, I headed back home with the promise they would call me when the right mirror arrives next week.

The job of emptying the old frig into some containers was started right at 2 PM so that I could be ready for the delivery. I waited, and waited, and waited. Josie came home from work at 4 PM and we both sat and waited until exactly 6 PM when they showed up with our new refrigerator. How was that for wasting a whole day!

Josie did her prep for the Colonoscopy scheduled for today at 10 AM. That is not a fun procedure, and she will be famished by the time it is all over at around noon. I hope we have better luck today...

Wow! Ownership Faux Pas

First of all, I have a few comments on the beautiful and touching ceremony yesterday at the Washington Cathedral for George H W Bush. I couldn't help thinking that President Trump and Melania felt totally out of place and unwelcomed at that service. Unfortunately, none of the kind words spoken about George H W Bush would ever apply to him. He must have sat there feeling like there was not the bond between himself and the world that was felt with the late president. Words like: sincere, loving, honest, caring, decent, understanding, compassionate, great husband, great father, and healer are not in his vocabulary, nor in his DNA. What a sad contrast. I'm sure I won't be around for his funeral, but I would bet that it will be a small, private affair attended only by his children.

I believe that the ownership of the Arizona Diamondbacks are the same group that is controlling the Cardinals. They just traded their franchise player away for practically nothing. They are headed in the same direction as the Cardinals by letting their top players go. You know, I find it difficult to understand why other, successful, franchises don't go through the cellar dwelling phase. Teams like the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Yankees are never in the basement of their respective divisions. I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like the beginning of a rebuild for the Diamondbacks.

I think that is enough of a rant for today.

I get the final repair done on our new truck today with a new mirror on the driver side. Josie has to begin her prep for her Colonoscopy which is scheduled for tomorrow, and we are expecting the delivery of our new "frig" between 2 PM and 6 PM today. It will be a busy day, for sure...

Celebrating George H W Bush

I was watching the Memorial Service for George H W Bush from the Washington Cathedral in Washington DC this morning. It went longer than I expected which is why this entry is so late. But, I can tell you, it was a wonderful - and emotional, at times - service for the former president. What I will also say is that it is too bad Trump and Melania were there as their presence cast a "chill" over the entire Cathedral. Enough said about that.


I went to our local Safeway store yesterday to pick up the items that Josie needs for her Colonoscopy which is scheduled for Friday. I arrived at the store to see this:

There were cops all over the place and the store employees were all outside along with many customers. It looked like a murder scene at first but I found out there was a gas leak in the store and they had to evacuate everybody. I went on down the road to the next nearest store, Albertsons.

I also picked up some Vicks Dayquil for my cold and there seems to be lots of improvement today. Part of yesterday's activity was to tape all of the electrical connections for our outdoor lights so that they don't short-out during any rainstorms. That about wraps it up for now...

Stubborn Cold

For some reason, I am not having much success using the cold/cough medication that I have. My cold is still hanging on to the extent that there is very little improvement with the cough. Generally, I can begin to feel some loosening of the congestion after a few days which is missing on this occasion. Maybe it's the medicine - I generally use Vick's Dayquil or Niquil, but this time I'm using a Tylenol substitute. I thought they all worked the same. I'll try switching back to the Vicks products and see what happens.

I got a bit excited yesterday when I saw the college football bowl schedules. Western Michigan University (7-5) is returning to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to play BYU (6-6) on December 21. As you recall, that was the first bowl that Austin played in as a Sophomore (2014) several years ago. It will be the final game for the seniors that were freshmen during the last visit.

I also saw where Penn State (9-3) will play Kentucky (9-3) in the Florida Citrus Bowl on Jan 1. That should be a good matchup. There will be other good games to watch, including the playoff series. Lots of good football ahead.

I received my Turbo Tax software in the mail this week, so the dreaded tax season is just around the corner...

Decorations Complete

First of all, I was half right with my football predictions for yesterday. I had no idea, as did nobody else, that the Cardinals had it in them to upset the Green Bay Packers, 20-17. They didn't win because they were the better team but because the Packers were totally futile the entire game. The Packers ended up firing their coach following the game which tells you about the Packers situation. The Seahawks came through with flying colors, 43-16, over an equally futile 49er's team. The Seahawks are in great shape now to make the playoffs with a record of 7-5 - who would have guessed.

After going back and forth about decorating our outside for Christmas, we decided to go ahead and put our lights up regardless of what the rest of the neighborhood does. We don't care if we are the only ones as we feel good about having ours on display. Here is a shot of the result:

We only have one outlet along the entire front of the house if you can believe that. That kind of dictates how much we can install without getting into an overload situation. Maybe we can make some changes for next year so that we can possibly string some lights along the roofline. Even so, what we have done looks pretty decent in our minds.

Bring on the Christmas cheer as we are now ready...

Calm Weekend

With my cold hanging on and Josie working, there hasn't been too much excitement around here. I watched a couple of the college conference football playoff games yesterday - two really good ones with Oklahoma beating Texas, 39-27, and #1 Alabama nosing out #4 Georgia in the final minute, 35-28 to stay undefeated. They deserve to be #1 but Georgia gave them all they could handle.

Today we get some pro football action while the Cards will lose to the Packers and the Seahawks will beat the 49er's. So much for the football scene.

We will most likely put out some Christmas decorations in our front yard today. There aren't any neighbors that have anything but we aren't going to wait for that to happen. If we are the only ones with decorations, so be it.

A trip to Walmart today will likely happen for us to restock some paper supplies. Other than that, it looks like a ho-hum day...

Fighting A Cold

It has been quite a while since I've had a cold, so I guess I was overdue. I started to feel the tell-tale signs a couple days ago with the usual nasal congestion and body aches. The guess is that I got it while on our return trip from Chicago where we were handling lots more items and touching more things than normal with the excessive crowds. At any rate, I don't enjoy the downtime that accompanies these colds and will just have to ride it out.

It also appears that winter has arrived in our area. We are seeing temperatures in the 60's for highs this week and there is some rain in the forecast. It's time to get out the sweats and long sleeve shirts. That also means that some good football is on the horizon - college conference championships and some key pro matchups to help determine the playoff picture. This is a good time of the year for those games along with all the good Christmas shows on TV.

So, enjoy the season everybody and have a happy December...

Some Sad News

I failed to mention the fact that we received a phone call on Tuesday from Josie's niece in New Jersey informing us that her brother-in-law (sister Marie's husband) passed away on the day before Thanksgiving. He had been fighting prostate cancer for a couple years and succumbed to the illness last week. He was 88 years old. Time has a way of getting away from us and we forget that folks we don't talk to very often are getting older. We also heard that Josie's sister, Marie, is not doing well since her battle with stomach cancer has taken a toll on her. We pray that the Lord is watching over that family at this time.

We are about to close out November and head down the stretch to Christmas. Our shopping is about done - actually, it is already done for ourselves - as we hope to get things wrapped up early this year. Our house is all decorated on the inside and we are still trying to decide how much to do outside. We have discovered that folks in Sun City don't go overboard with exterior decorations. That is probably because most of them either aren't home over the holidays or are getting to the age where they avoid the use of ladders. So far, we have seen very few homes with lighting displays on the outside. We'll see how it goes over the next few days...

Leak Repaired

I did some research of plumbers yesterday before settling on a recommendation from Angie's List. I have had great success with contractors from that source and decided to go forward with one that had excellent ratings. They showed up at my door within about one hour from contact. They looked at the problem and quoted a repair cost of $385 if repaired using galvanized pipe, or $315 if he used plastic. I told him the price was too high and that I would get another quote from another source. He then sharpened his pencil and asked what I thought it should be worth since he was already here. Without knowing what would be a fair price, I suggested $250, for a galvanized pipe repair. He called is boss and we had a deal.

These are the shots - before and after:

It is now fixed and I have a two year warranty on the repair. I guess I am satisfied.


I made a trip to Home Depot in the afternoon and closed a deal on the new refrigerator that Josie and I had seen at the Home Depot in Naperville. We also got the Black Friday deal which was excellent. That price ends today, so we had to move on it yesterday. It will be delivered on Thursday, December 6. Our old (current) refrigerator should make it for another week with all the loud noises it is making. It's kind of funny that all the appliances in our home are covered by the homeowner warranty we were given by our realtor when we bought the house - except for the refrigerator! Hmm.

We ended the day with another fabulous Arizona sunset:

Leak Discovered

We have discovered our very first problem with our house. Even though it is a very minor problem, it represents the kind of issue we can expect with any older home. The plumbing is as old as the house - 40+ years - and we are not surprised that problems will occur. Here is a shot of the leaking pipe that is in the water line to the front of our house:

I have been searching the local Sun City paper for a handyman and also the Angie's List for a local plumber. I know that the certified plumber will cost more, but I also know that I don't want to have more than 1 visit from anybody for the same problem. It isn't a major leak as it is only a slow drip at the present time. I'll keep you posted on that development.

The latest NFL power rankings are out for this week. The Seahawks have moved up again - to the #10 spot - and the Cardinals have finally done it - they reached the bottom - #32 out of 32 teams. It is not something to be happy about but I could see in the beginning of the year that the Cardinals were going backwards. I still maintain that they will never improve with the current (new) coach.

I picked up my hearing aid yesterday - a brand new replacement, so all is well there...

We Missed This

Patty had sent these photos to us yesterday morning to show us what we beat out of town:

One day makes all the difference in the world sometimes. I'm sure they will not miss these occasions after this year. Along with the snow, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees from when we left on Sunday. Every time we see shots like these it reminds us of our final winter in Michigan way back in 1977-78!

I got the fifth wheel moved over to our new space in the Sun City RV Compound yesterday morning. Everything went according to plan and we now are settled into the space that we will attempt to keep for the foreseeable future. We have a 50' pull through space that will cost us $200 a year. You can't beat that anywhere else unless you can store it at your home. We may attempt to downsize our RV in the near future which would potentially result in a cost savings at the RV Compound.

We will restock our refrigerator today and also go to Mesa this afternoon to pick up my hearing aid that was sent back to the factory for replacement before we left for Chicago. There are also some terrific deals on new refrigerators that we may take advantage of before the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales end...

Beating the Storm

The primary goal for the day yesterday was to beat the anticipated storm. We left the house early - before 8 AM - and drove to the airport exit in near record time. That is where the unbelievable backup started. We had crawling traffic for the final mile or so to the departure area at the terminal. These shots give a good example of the delays:

Fortunately, we still arrived at the gate in plenty of time.

Our flight left on schedule and except for a couple "bumpy" areas, had an excellent flight that arrived in Phoenix a bit early. We were back home by 3 PM.

All was well in the home and we even found one more golf ball in our back yard. That makes 16 balls discovered in the 6 months we have lived here:

Almost all of them are quality golf balls. Not a bad way to stock up.

Today is the "big day" for finally moving our fifth wheel into the Sun City RV Storage facility. I hope it all goes well, as I have been ready for this since the middle of May...

Saying Farewell to Naperville

This morning marks the end of - what has been many wonderful years - visiting family in one of the nicest areas in the Chicago vicinity, Naperville, Illinois. We had a terrific Thanksgiving holiday this year that has created one last fond memory. There is a winter storm approaching that is going to see temperatures drop dramatically and bring some snowfall. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 11:15 AM and is expected to beat the storm front out of town.

Our stay concluded last evening with a wonderful Italian dinner at one of the best restaurants in Naperville - Maggiano's Little Italy. It was a very nice change from all the Thanksgiving turkey and trimmings.

Of course, we all have to get on some serious diet programs now.

Our flight should get us to Phoenix at 2:00 PM this afternoon. It's back to the old grind again tomorrow. See you tomorrow from Sun City, AZ...

Naperville Christkindlmarket

The order of business yesterday was to attend the annual Naperville Chriskindlmarket in downtown Naperville. This is an annual event that runs for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas and is in downtown Naperville. It is an event that is very unique and is not to be missed. There are so many interesting and unique gift items, from ornaments to crafts to food items that cannot be found anywhere else. Following are some shots from our visit:

It was a fun time and an experience that we will not forget. We picked up a couple nice souvenirs of the event and even had some spiced wine in Christkindlmarket mugs that we brought home.

Another big event from yesterday was the arrival of Austin's new car that was promised for his graduation from Western Michigan University - his new Jeep Grand Cherokee:

Congratulations to Austin - it sure is a beauty!

We began to get a little concerned this morning about the weather forecast for the Chicago area for tomorrow. It appears that a winter storm front is moving this way and we are watching it closely to make sure it doesn't impact our flight for tomorrow. Our fingers are crossed...

Great Thanksgiving Day

All of the work and all of the preparation was well worth the effort yesterday. The final count was 17 people. I took many photos during the day and will share some of the most significant ones here.

Starting with some of the preparation, including getting the turkey ready for the oven:

and the "after" when we removed the turkey from the oven - all 25 pounds of it:

We had lots of activity in the kitchen as the preparations involved lots of different traditional Thanksgiving foods:

I also made our Holiday Eggnog which was enjoyed by most of the guests. It is a powerful and potent recipe which means you have to watch what you take as it does sneak up on you:

There were also lots of choices between wines, beer and "specialty" beers that Mike brought and were super delicious.

All of the food was spread on the counter in the kitchen for our "cafeteria" style meal. There were so many different foods available - lots of which were brought by some of the guests - that the only way to make all of the food available to everybody was to set it all out on the counter. It worked like a charm as everybody went through the line and helped themselves:

We had set up two tables for the meal. The big table was for the older adults, and the smaller one for the younger adults. These shots are of all of us sitting down and ready to eat:

What a fantastic meal and terrific day. There were lots of desserts available - pies, cakes, chocolate covered cherries, etc. that there was no shortage of any delicious choices.

Throw in a few excellent football games on TV and it turned out to be a memorable Thanksgiving Day celebration...

Safe and Ready

Our flight arrived a little early but Patty was right there to pick us up outside the baggage claim area at around 10:45 AM local time. We had a super day catching up on things with the boys and getting a few last minute items for the big meal today. Mark was busy working with Austin to complete the deal for the new Jeep that was promised to him following his graduation from Western Michigan University. I took some photos of the activity before the big day today.

This is one of Mike (visiting for a couple hours) with Brandon in the kitchen:

And these two shots of the girls getting things together for the meal. Josie did a couple arrangements for the two tables we will have set for the meal, and Patty was getting "Tom" ready:

I said it before - 25 pounds is a HUGE turkey.

This final shot from this morning shows all the activity in the kitchen:

The final count for dinner guests today is 17 the last I heard. I will make the "special" Holiday Eggnog for everybody to enjoy.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody!! ...

Travel Day

It's about 3:15 AM and we are just about ready to head out for the airport. It will be a long day today as we got up at 2:30 to get everything ready to go. We don't have any idea what we will run into on the freeway or at the airport, but we are allowing extra time just in case. The flight arrives in Chicago at 10:43 AM and Patty will meet us outside the baggage claim. Again, we don't have any idea what kind of traffic mess there will be on the Chicago freeways but we expect the worse. It will sure be nice once we arrive in Naperville.

Here's hoping for a terrific Thanksgiving for everybody! See you tomorrow from the Guido's...

Ready for Flight

I printed our boarding passes this morning for our flight to Chicago tomorrow. That gives us a bit of a head start for tomorrow and saves time picking them up at the airport. Now, the only thing we have to do before our flight is check our one bag through when we arrive at the airport in the morning. We expect to arrive at the parking facility between 4:30-4:45 AM tomorrow which should allow sufficient time for our flight which leaves at 6:15 AM. If we are lucky we will beat some of the traffic on both the freeway and at the airport. Chicago will be a different story. We expect that to be super crowded and lots of traffic by the time we arrive at 10:43 AM.

Patty indicated that the crowd for Thanksgiving dinner is now up to 15. Wow! It should be a good time at the Guido's on Thanksgiving.

I heard from the Sun City RV Storage facility yesterday. They have a space available for us that we can move our RV into when we return from Chicago. The appointment for the transfer from our current storage location to Sun City is set for 10:30AM on Monday the 26th. I calculated that the money we spent using the interim storage facility over the last six months, as good as the deal was, is equivalent to 2 years worth of storage costs at the Sun City facility. It will sure be nice to finally get the fifth wheel settled into the local location...

Shame on Cardinals

If there was one game that I thought the Cardinals would win this season, it was the game yesterday against the Oakland Raiders - the bottom team in the NFL power rankings. Wrong. They lost, 23-21, AT HOME! What an embarrassment. They may not win another game this season.

Our decorating exercise is completed and we can see the floor again in the house after moving out the empty boxes. We are basically done decorating with the possible exception of some outside decorations. We will wait to see what the neighborhood does before rushing into covering our house with lights and outdoor Christmas décor. As of today, we see no indication that the houses on our street are going to do anything. I guess that is one aspect of living in an area where almost all of the residents are seniors (kind word) and/or part time residents. At any rate, we will wait until after our return from Chicago to address that issue.

Two more days of work for Josie before getting the rest of this week and the weekend off for the Thanksgiving holiday. She is really excited about that and we are anxious to start our holiday. I know that we will be facing mobs of people at the airports in Phoenix and Chicago, but that comes with the territory these days...

Decorating Almost Done

We spent almost the entire day going through boxes marked Christmas and deciding which items to keep packed and in the garage. The ones we kept out were placed around the house and the empty boxes taken back to the garage. The problem we had was that almost all of our decorations were in our storage unit for years and we bought new decorations over the years when we couldn't get easy access to the main decorations. That has created a situation where we now have a "mega" amount of decorations. Asking Josie to get rid of anything is not a good approach to solving the dilemma.

Wrapping up the project is on today's agenda along with gathering our clothes that we expect to take to Chicago on Wednesday. Josie will get everything cleaned today so we can begin packing our bag. We will have to leave here at 4 AM on Wednesday to allow enough time to get to our 6:15AM flight. I'm sure that all airports will be like a zoo on Wednesday, so we will need to have patience during the entire day. I will also get our boarding passes printed on Tuesday morning, 24 hours before our flight.

This will most likely be our final visit to Naperville. Hopefully, Patty and family will be relocating to Arizona next summer so we look forward to that happy occasion...

Tree is Up

It was an interesting day and a productive one yesterday. It was productive from the standpoint we got our tree up and decorated:

It was interesting because now it appears that we just moved into the house. We have boxes everywhere that contain Christmas decorations. We have accumulated so much stuff over the years that we will never be able to display lots of nice decorations. The garage is also a mess now as we had to identify all the boxes that contained Christmas items, open them to see if we could use the contents, and bring them into the house. We will have to empty all the boxes we brought in and then take the empty boxes back out to the garage to save for after Christmas when we will have to repack everything. The chances of our ever getting the garage emptied are slim and none. We sure do miss a three car garage!

The rest of our weekend has been determined for us - finish the decorating and empty the house of the boxes...

Great Game

The Packers/Seahawks game last night did not disappoint. It started out like the Seahawks were going to be blown away as they trailed 14-3 after the first quarter. They improved steadily throughout the game and ended up pulling out the game, 27-24, in the final quarter. They may not go to the playoffs this year, but the consensus among the analysts is that they will certainly be spoilers. They do have an outside chance to make the playoffs, but have a very tough schedule the rest of the way.

Josie is off today and has a doctor appointment at 9:15AM. It is really just a consultation for a colonoscopy, so it shouldn't last long. The rest of the day will be spent in our garage (ugh) locating and bringing all of the Christmas decorations inside. I hope it isn't as difficult as it appears to be after looking at the garage situation.

I saw where there is another winter storm heading for Illinois with about 4" of snow forecast in the northern Illinois area. I sure hope it either comes and goes quickly or doesn't arrive at all...

Golfing Slowdown

It appears that the rule of staying on the cart paths with motorized carts has impacted the volume of play on the course. After the reseeding effort which was completed on November 10 when the course reopened for play, the rules for play require that no carts cross the fairway or ride on the new grass for two weeks. I see a lot more folks playing with hand carts and, overall, less play each day. I'm sure it will pick up again after November 20 when the carts are once again allowed on the course. The course is in fine shape and the reseeding looks like it was successful.

Today will be Josie's final work day this week and she has off until Monday. Then, it is only two more work days before our trip to Chicago for the holiday. She says that the volume of business is picking up and she is very busy everyday leading up to the final days before Thanksgiving. Of course, much of the business is for center pieces, and she has been "greening" lots of containers in anticipation of the flurry of business for those.

The Seahawks will play the Packers on Thursday Night Football tonight. That should be an excellent game...

Switch to Heat

It happened yesterday for the first time since we moved here - we switched the thermostat from A/C to heat! So, from May 18 until yesterday (November 13) we have had the summer setting on our system. The heat wasn't on for very long, but it sure felt good to take the "chill" out of the air. It was 45 degrees outside. The daytime high was only 67, but today we expect to get back into the low to mid 70's for the next week or so. I like it much better than 115!

The word from Chicago yesterday was that the turkey is now "resting" for the big Holiday. It is a 25 pounder which is the largest I have ever seen. With all the big, hungry men that will be sharing it, I hope there is enough. We are anxious to begin our holiday and I know that Josie is looking forward to having the time off. She is working very hard to prepare for the Thanksgiving rush and is getting very favorable feedback from the owners. I think they realize they acquired a gem of an employee.

We are also getting mentally prepared to attack our garage situation this weekend. Hopefully, we will be able to get all of our Christmas decorations separated from the pile and get a real head start on decorating the house for Christmas...

Ready to Tow

The final step was taken yesterday to prepare the truck for handling the fifth wheel. The hitch was installed:

It is very similar to the one we had in our last truck and that one did the job in spades. It is rated for 25,000 lbs and we haul about 18,000 lbs when it is fully loaded. We are now ready to move the fifth wheel to the Sun City Storage ourselves - whenever we get the call that our space is available. That has been a real disappointment - the length of time it is taking to acquire a space at the Sun City facility. The good news is that we can save the money from having a third party move the rig for us.

We will try our best to attempt a trade on a smaller unit sometime soon. The amount of effort and expense required to fix the outstanding problems on our present fifth wheel are not worth the investment. We are gathering info on all possible candidates. Our time spent at the RV show over the weekend was time well spent. There is no set time frame to make something happen, so we'll wait and see...

RV Show

Every year, the La Mesa RV dealership has several shows at the stadium. One of them was this weekend and Josie and I went yesterday to check out some small fifth wheel trailers. There is definitely a fit for us in that segment of fifth wheels as we saw a couple candidates that more than fill our needs. There were a couple that are half the cost of what we own and what we have been looking at in the class C motorhome market. We will be following up on that possibility sometime in the near future.

The football games that I followed yesterday were, for the most part, disappointing. The Cardinals actually showed some improvement while losing to the KC Chiefs, 26-14. The Seahawks lost for the second time this season to the Rams in another close game, 36-31. The Seahawks should have won the game - as they should have won the first meeting - as they had the ball in the red zone as time expired. They are so very close to putting it all together.

I will call the B & M Hitch shop this morning to schedule the hitch installation on our truck. This is the same company and location where I had our very first hitch installed on my green, 2008 Ford F450. They are very competent and very reasonable. I hope they haven't changed.

This promises to be a very busy week as we begin preparation for our trip to Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday next week and we begin the process of decorating for Christmas...

Hotspot Activated

The solution to our slow response time and loss of data allocation on our phones was to activate our hotspot. We purchased that when we signed with AT&T and didn't have a need for its use until now. So, for $20 per month, we get another 10GB of 4G data access before slowing again to 158KB. That makes a total of 40GB that we will have available each month (15GB on each phone plus the 10GB on the hotspot). The lesson here is that anytime you have to switch computers and download tons of data, make allowances for the extra data transfers on your monthly plan.

The only game I watched yesterday on TV was the Penn State/Wisconsin game, won by Penn State 22-10. It was another lackluster performance by PSU but it is another win. Today, we get to watch the Cardinals play scrimmage with the KC Chiefs who are expected to win by two touchdowns. The Seahawks schedule doesn't get any easier either as they face the Rams again today for the second time. They made a great game in the first contest, so maybe they can surprise some people today.

We will go to church this morning on Josie's day off and then plan to go to the La Mesa RV show at the State Farm Stadium today. We want to check out smaller fifth wheels as a possible alternative in our RV plans. Since we are no longer "fulltimers", it makes some sense to downsize.

Things are Never Easy

I took the new batteries to the fifth wheel yesterday and installed them the same way (I thought) as the old batteries. After connecting them, I tried to operate the levelers and got nothing. What a dilemma. I called my AAA service (which includes RV coverage) and they transferred my call a few times to different areas where RV service is handled. I finally was connected to someone who could help, only to have them tell me that the AAA RV coverage does not cover battery calls. I asked her what good the RV coverage was if I couldn't get help when I needed it and she responded that it only covers breakdowns and flat tires. Excuse me, how can a trailer break down? Whatever, I then tried to connect with a mobile RV service. The one (nearby) that I contacted was on his way to Camp Verde on a service call, but could help me tomorrow (today). I asked him what he charges and he indicated $75 for the call and $150 for each hour with a one hour minimum. Sheesh! $225 to fix a battery connection? I don't think so. My next move was to stop at our local RV dealership (Orangewood) and ask their service department for suggestions. I showed them this photo of my battery connections:

It was during this conversation that the service tech pointed out that the batteries could be in the wrong position. Yes! the battery on the right needed to be turned around and reconnected according to the photo above.

I went back to the trailer, disconnected the batteries, turned the right battery around, reconnected them and ….. success! It turned out to be a major project for such a simple task.

I am also now dealing with snails-pace response times on my computer. The new computer purchase exhausted my 4G data allocation while I was downloading so many files and applications. We reached 15GB after which the data transfer rate goes to 158KB. AT&T does not offer the ability to buy extra data like Verizon did. So, we are stuck until the monthly allotment resets on November 19. So much for their "unlimited" data plan. Another of the many, many strikes against AT&T...

Trailer Tests

It was a good day to take the truck over to the fifth wheel to test connections. I had no high expectations and it was a good thing. The batteries in the fifth wheel were completely dead which I suspected. No amount of charging from the truck revived the batteries. I tried attaching my charging cables and still got no life from the batteries. Alas, I took them out and headed to Sam's Club to buy new ones. The old batteries were over three years old, so we are due for new ones. I will take them back to the trailer today and install them.

I am waiting to hear from the dealer regarding the hitch installation. I spoke with them yesterday about some other items and I anticipate having an appointment scheduled soon for the hitch. There are also a couple small items that need to be fixed and we will take care of all of them, probably early next week.

We saw where Patty had some snow over the last couple days. Get that stuff out of the way now before we come for Thanksgiving!!...

Some Updates

I neglected to mention the other day that both of the twins received acceptance letters from Universities for next year. Jordan will be attending ASU here in AZ, and Brandon was accepted at Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. He will be trying to make that a football scholarship as they are interested in his football ability. We are proud that both were accepted and have a commitment for their further education. That pretty much solidifies the move to AZ by the Guido family next summer.

I went through another marathon session on the phone with AT&T this morning over our monthly telephone bill which was wrong again - for the sixth consecutive month. I will investigate moving back to Verizon today and if the damage isn't too great, will begin the transition back to them ASAP. We are also not happy with their plans which slow your tethering speeds to a crawl after a certain amount of data. There is no option to add minutes - which Verizon had - and, as a result, I am forced to use Josie's phone to accommodate our needs. I may make a total break from AT&T as we are also having issues with DirecTV that they don't seem to be able to correct. I have information on Dish Satellite which doesn't look like a bad option.

All of the cleanup has occurred from our landscaping project and we are now looking at planters that may work around our new, extended patio. There is no rush for those, though.

I am also now waiting to hear from the dealer where I purchased our truck to have the hitch installation scheduled. Once that happens, we will be ready to tow again...