Another Emotional Day

I drove Josie to work yesterday and picked her up at 7 PM. She has real problems driving at night so I made the two round trips for this one scheduling exception. It was smooth sailing both in the AM and at night as the hours were ideal for freeway traveling. I hope it doesn't happen again. Supposedly, the manager is trying to hire a person who will be scheduled to close each night and that will ensure that Josie will not have to drive at night after it gets dark.

It was another emotional day as I watched and recorded (for Josie) the service that was held in Phoenix for John McCain. The guest speakers, including Larry Fitzgerald from the Cardinals and Joe Biden - former Vice President - were terrific. I watched them take the casket from the church to Sky Harbor Airport where they loaded his casket on the special plane, along with the family, and watched as John McCain left Arizona for the final time:

Now, there are three days of events in Washington that will further eulogize the Senator ending with his burial at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD on Sunday. He was one of a kind and I doubt that we will see another like him in our lifetime.

This morning, Josie caught up on the copies I made of yesterday's events and we will head out shortly for some shopping and perhaps a stop at a restaurant to have some brunch...

Dinner Out

Most of the day yesterday was spent doing normal stuff - Josie was at work and I did things around the house along with my normal computer work. She got off work at 3 PM and arrived home after 4 PM with a stop for gas along the way.

We met George and Cheryl at Little Bite of Italy in Sun City at 5 PM. They have a very good menu and everybody ordered something different with me having the only pizza. I am trying to locate other local pizza places where we can get good pizza and not travel very far for pickup. This certainly qualifies. I took this shot before we got busy eating and talking so I wouldn't forget:

Following dinner, we all came back to our house and visited some more and watched the first inning  of the Diamondbacks game against the Giants before they left at around 7:30 PM. We plan to have more of these get togethers and will look forward to seeing them more often.

Josie works the late shift today (11-7) and I will drive her to work and pick her up - this one time - as she does not like driving when it is dark - which is surely the way it will be at 7 PM when she gets off from work. This is, supposedly, a one time scheduling change for her. We hope so...

Catch Up

It turned out be a typical day for chores yesterday. Josie's day off was spent playing catch up on some chores like laundry, hair and some phone and computer maintenance. We didn't leave the house at all and will plan to go to the AJ's in Glendale on Friday which is her next day off.

The major memorial services and events for John McCain start today and will go through the weekend. I expect to watch as much of that as possible.

Josie works from 7AM until 3PM today and we will meet George and Cheryl at the Little Bite of Italy restaurant at 5PM. It will be the first time that we have visited that restaurant but the reviews are very good and we are looking forward to the visit.

That's about it for today...

Start of Week of Mourning

This entire week will be filled with events mourning the passing of Senator John McCain. We start Wednesday where he will lie in state at the Capital Rotunda in Phoenix. Thursday, there will be a memorial service in Phoenix followed by his body being flown to Washington, DC. On Friday, he will lie in state at the Capital Rotunda in Washington. Saturday is the funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. A private service and burial will take place on Sunday at the cemetery at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. It promises to be an emotional week that reflects the honors he so deserves.

Josie has the day off today and we began with having our coffee outside and enjoying some rare time without wiping sweat from our brows. These shots were taken of the full moon that was visible from our deck:

and this one, of the little rabbit that hangs out at our lantana bush every day:

There are always rabbits in the area and some of them are regulars around our plants.

We plan to take another trip to the AJ's store at 67th Ave and the Rt101 in Glendale today. Josie wants to talk to the manager (not there on our first visit) to make sure she understands that Josie is anxious to transfer there from her current Arcadia location in Phoenix. It would be nice if that store, in the meantime, requests her help occasionally to break up the commuting she now has to her store.

The forecast is for the monsoon to take a short break this week and we are looking forward to perhaps having some quality outside time...

Emotional Weekend

The passing of Senator John McCain over the weekend took center stage over all other activities. He was a true American and patriot that will be missed by the entire world. Except by President Trump, that is, who continues to be an embarrassment to all Americans.

I kept hearing the name of Chuck Larson mentioned as a dear friend of John McCain's and that he will be buried near him at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. I did some research and have included a copy of the speech that John McCain made at the Academy in 1998 about his friend. Click on this link to read the speech: Chuck Larson. I now understand the reasoning behind the decision to have his final resting place beside his friend. Words cannot suffice to show my admiration for this great man.

Josie's schedule for this week has been changed to allow for some extra time to help with inventory at the store. Originally, she was scheduled off on Tuesday and Wednesday, but now has to work on Wednesday. She will get off at 3 PM which should allow enough time for her to return home and get ready for our evening with George and Cheryl which we have planned to start at 5 PM. The horrible commute is still the only major problem with her new job. We are hoping that she either gets used to that drive, or can get a transfer to a closer store...

Good Sports Weekend

This weekend just happens to be the beginning of the Fedex Cup Playoffs in golf. It is the first of four tournaments over the next four weeks to determine the $10 million winner. The favorites are mostly near the top which is fun to watch. Tiger is still in the running although he just barely made the cut for the weekend. It should begin to become clear next week who will have the best shot at winning it all.

The other exciting weekend event is the series between the Mariners and the Diamondbacks. I really root for the Diamondbacks unless they play the Mariners. So far, after two games of the three games scheduled this weekend, the Mariners have won both. I would like to see both teams make the playoffs at the end of the year and right now the Mariners need the wins more than the Diamondbacks. Even though the Mariners have a better overall record, they are behind in their division standings. Great games in a great season.

We are happy to see the weather slowly improving to cooler days...

Car Service Done

Well, we have the white Escape all set to go for another 5K miles before the next service. With Josie running up the miles for her commute, it won't take too long before that time rolls around again. Thankfully, the car gets close to 30 mpg, so the gas bill will remain tolerable. The red Escape still gas about 2K miles to go before service is due.

Josie was asked to work the 67th Ave store for one day on September 29. That, as you recall, is the closest AJ's store to us and is the one we visited on Wednesday. Maybe this will be the beginning of a regular trade-off situation where she can split time between the stores to help lessen the commute. Sounds good to me.

I am getting pretty good now at using our instant pot. Last night I made a salmon dinner from frozen fillets in 10 minutes and it was delicious. It sure is a good way to quickly fix meals when Josie is working and doesn't have the time - or energy - to prepare the meals. So far this week, I have also done chicken and pork chops that have all turned out to be excellent meals. There isn't much that cannot be done using that gadget and we can even do desserts in the pot. I'm not quite ready for those yet...