Obsessed but Controlled

Fran, Grandma and I went shopping today for dishes I could use to make flowers. I don’t have shells to play with this winter so I have a different crafting idea and I need supplies to make this copied creation. We went to Goodwill and a resale shop to find the perfect dish parts. Unfortunately for Fran I found many items, and my obsession drove her crazy with all my ideas, I could use but I controlled myself and

limited myself to three to make the first and maybe last glass flower.

I have made the flower and must now decide how to get it on a stem so I can display it outside. 

In this picture the flower is on a plate so the glue does not stick it to the counter!! I hope the sun shines through the glass and makes it look cool!

We are in Sun City, AZ where most everyone is over 60 and fairly mixed up. We were driving to Grandma's and I noticed the stop lights are different at about every corner. The normal ones are long like we have in the North but then there are square ones and sideways ones. They wonder why people get mixed up!!

Good Idea?

It seemed like a great idea at the time but today my parents seemed a bit unsettled by it! I sent them cookies made to look like them thinking they would be fun to give their friends at Christmas. they are worried people will then think they have to give them something. I reminded them that people have given them items and it is just for fun and they can also just eat them.

bad air but good crops

We are in Surprise, AZ which is about 25 minutes from Duffey’s mothers house in Sun City. On the way to her house we pass subdivisions and farm fields. If the land is not fertile then it is a subdivision. Today we saw the huge fields of kohlrabi being picked. Next to this field are mammoth fields of carrots, immense fields of radishes, and tremendous fields of roses! None of the fields have fences and they all have one side with a water ditch for irrigation. To water they take a 6 foot length of hose and pump it in the ditch water and when the water is siphoned into the hose lay it in the irrigation row.When it is time to stop the water the hose is removed and  left laying there to use the next time. We were told that there isn’t a need for fencing because the fields are constantly being watched and it is dangerous to try to enter the field or touch the hoses! It is so dry here that when the fields are being plowed it is like dirt powder in the air and without much air movement it is very hard to breathe.

Duffey has been riding his bicycle like we did in Sanibel only with this dry air he does not sweat.  I haven’t been riding because my leg is still hurting. Hopefully another week of rest and I will be able to ride my bicycle for a distance and maybe even return to golf. Yesterday after  riding he came home all excited and told me to get in the Jeep and we traveled on his desert ride where on one side of the road was a dead coyote and across from him was the remains of a deer leg. We imagined all sorts of things that must have happened prior to the coyote getting hit by a car. He passed away full that is for sure!

I met a lady and she was telling me the history of Phoenix and all the people. Fifty years ago when Phoenix became mildly popular and people started moving here because they felt the dry air was good for their health they ruined Phoenix. The area was good for them partly because of the dry air but mainly because of the lack of pollen in the air.  The people came and brought with them pollutants such as shingles, Phoenix had been a place of clay roofs and now the shingles were polluting the air. They also brought with them non desert succulent plants or  plants with pollen. This valley was known for gravel lawns but the new residents needed grass lawns and fertilizer and water to keep their lawns green. Combined these items made the air here worse than the air in most places because this is a valley that rarely has rain or wind so the polluted air doesn’t move out of the valley. Today there are subdivisions going up everywhere, the desert is beginning to disappear.

Walking

Today I am walking without much pain, but climbing stairs is a different story.
I went to the sewing club this morning and was certified on their sewing machines. On Wednesday I'm going to get certified on their sergers and then I will be able to sew whenever I want. The ladies were quite upset when I got there because someone had used the room yesterday and left quite a mess.They cleaned up the mess and complained quite a bit and then looked at who had been in the room, I would not want to be her.
I was on the patio this afternoon planting some flowers Duf purchased and I met three of the neighbors. Everyone is very friendly, but I am going to need to write down names or I will never remember them! One man sounded like he has my luck, on the day they arrived he was on a ladder putting on window shades and fell off the ladder. He ended up in the ER with broken ribs, etc.

OUCH!!

Yesterday we decided I might need new golf clubs so we went shopping. The first store had nice clubs and he had me hit and analyzed my swing and all that. I wanted to shop around and in the third golf shop I took a swing and ZING up my right leg and hip to my arm pit I received a pain that was hard to describe. Needless to say it brought me to tears and they wanted to call an ambulance, but I sat down for awhile and then convinced Duffey to just get me out of there and home. I was in pain all day even though we kept icing my side. 

By 6 the pain had let up a bit so we went to play Bingo and it was fun when I was seated but walking was another story!

After a nights sleep I felt much better today, but I am still in pain if I move my leg the wrong way. I did not realize I had muscles but I guess I do and I pulled many of them! I spent the day laying around and hope tomorrow is as much better as today was. If I continue to improve at this rate I should be better by Tuesday, but will not try golfing for a week or so! I have to be one of the most unlucky people around! Oh Well, I will recover and be real careful now that it does not happen again although I’m not sure exactly why it happened.  My mind says I’m 30 but I guess my body has other ideas!!

Duf helped me ice my side, did laundry and cooking today. He assured me I did not have to get hurt to make him appreciate what I usually do!

Duffey Day

We will call today Duffey day because he planned the day. We left Surprise to drive to Lake Pleasant and as we got to the gate I heard a dinging and asked Duf if he heard it. He claimed I was hearing things and continued on. At the gate we stopped to purchase our yearly pass and Duffey asked if the yearly pass was a calendar year, it is December,  or the year from the date of purchase. He stumped the ranger selling the passes until we finally figured out it was good for one year from date of purchase and allowed access to all parks in Maricopa County. When he restarted the Jeep he also heard the beep and realized he had forgotten to fill the Jeep with gas. Duffey asked the ranger where we could get gas and she said we were going to have to drive 20 miles to  New River. This was our first wake up call about the desert and we realized we need to be aware of gas levels, water, and food.

Instead of exploring Lake Pleasant we drove to New River which turned out to be a cute little oldish town in the desert with a gas station that inflated their price! Imagine that! Along with gas we purchased a cooler and water and soda and snacks. While we were in New River we decided to investigate sunset horseback riding on the ridges in the mountains and four wheeling in the mountains. The road to these adventures was an adventure in itself. The road started out being a new blacktop road and about two miles down there was a new elementary school. After the school the road abruptly turned to gravel with a crudely hand painted sign advertising horseback rides and four wheel adventures. 

We continued down the extremely dusty road and followed the crude signs until we came upon a stable for the horseback riding. There was an extremely polite young cowboy there and he had all the information about riding and reservations. 

We continued down the road and it got dustier and the houses along the way were in sad shape with junk all around them but the signs for four wheeling continued. The road wound up the mountain and then it ended into a nice house in the middle of the dusty dry desert with only cacti around. There was a sign pointing to an office so Duf got out and slowly headed that way. It was like a scene from a movie, the house was not bad but it was surrounded by cacti and dust, there was an ARMY flag flying over the office door, a fairly new pickup with a thick rope for a dog tied to the hitch. Duf knocked on the door and it opened so he walked in and yelled but no one responded. He came back to the Jeep because that thick rope had us spooked that a huge dog might appear.. We waited a bit and then decided we should call before returning and we headed back down the extremely dry dusty road. Although this road was not much of a road it did not have any pot holes! Duf was in heaven, a Jeep road!

On the way home we stopped at a golf shop because Duf feels I need new clubs because we are going to golf while we are here and the guys he met while golfing have golfing wives. I did not find anything that I liked so we will look again tomorrow.

We stopped at an Italian restaurant and the food was all homemade and delicious. After eating we came home and showered to remove all the dust! This is the desert and once out of town it is dry and dusty. When we leave Happy Trails and turn north it is 2 miles until dry desert and cacti with wind and dust!

Golf Stories

Around 11 we decided to go to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls and then on to Kohl’s to purchase polo shirts for Duf’s golf game on Wednesday.I used my phone to record Duf hitting the ball to help him work on his game. I took different clubs today to decide on the ones I might use. I hit one club and it went over 200 yards. I was able to use that club perfectly five times! As I was about to hit my sixth a lady interrupted me to ask if I’d give her a lesson when I was finished with Duf’s. We laughed and explained the I was just recording him to help him and I did not give lessons. Her husband insisted that I should give her lessons and he was willing to pay my price. It took a bit of convincing to get them to understand that we were just hitting balls. 

When they finally left us we hit a few more balls and a man approached us. He was the pro and he started talking to Duffey then started asking me about the lessons I give. We told him we had not played golf in a few years and we were just warming up. He insisted my swing was to precise to not be a player. I was having a stellar day but decided to quit hitting balls. He proceeded to give Duffey some tips so he could get his handicap to 9 again. 

Crazy Day.

It was another beautiful day in Surprise, AZ so we decided to go golfing. In Sanibel I paid $85. to golf 9 holes and the course was not in that great of shape. Here we paid $20. for two people and a cart and the course is in beautiful shape. On the course in Sanibel we saw alligators in the ponds. In AZ we see the fur remaining from a rabbits that were last nights dinner for a coyote! At night we do hear the coyote howl on the course that surrounds us.

On the third hole I hit a beautiful shot but when I got almost to my ball I saw a sign that read: Bees! I am allergic to bees so I donated that ball to the person brave enough to venture that close to a sign warning of Bees in the ground! We saw this sign three times on this course!

Duf was so concerned with hole 10 because it ran along the road. His first drive went just where he did not want it to go, into the busy street. He got lucky though because at that exact moment there were zero cars! We saw his ball roll down the center of the street! He hit another drive and the fear was now gone so it was a perfectly placed long drive! He got this out of the way before his league begins on tomorrow!

Joining in

It was 60 degrees today and warm enough to play golf. This weather is different in that it is chilly out of the sun and at night but nice during the day when in the sun. It is dry so even when hot there is rarely any perspiration. Duffey doesn’t even sweat here!

I was afraid to use my golf clubs, they were purchased in 1985, and though I really like them I am afraid the heads might come unwound and fly off when I hit the ball. My parents were getting rid of their clubs so I now have their clubs in a new bag that my brother in law, Bob, won at a golf outing. Bob did not want to carry a bag trimmed in pink so he gave this beautiful bag it to me. I added a variety of clubs from my parents and viola I have a set of clubs! Duffey needed a new bag so he is using my dad’s old bag that looks almost new! Just going out to have fun made it easy for us to both have very respectable scores!

After golf we had lunch and then rode our bicycles to another club, the Computer Club. Duf knew a guy he had met at the Woodworking Club and we found the Computer Club interesting. This club will meet again in January and there after every Friday at 1:30!

We relaxed for a bit and then had dinner so that we could go to Bingo at 6. Joining again!! I was shocked at the concentration needed for the Bingo games that they play. It isn’t like the Bingo we played as children, it takes real concentration. They have many rules so even though there were over 100 people there it ran smoothly. We were lucky enough to meet a lady that explained everything to us so that we could play all the variations of Bingo. They insist you play at least 6 cards for each game!

Duffey's sister and her husband, Bob, planned to come next week and be here for Christmas. Today Bob got called to Jury Duty! The best laid plans don't always work. It could be a short trial!

Clubs

Today was my big day to participate. Duf reminded me that I’d have always said if we were in a place that had things to do I would join in. Good theory but sometimes hard to motivate myself to be the joiner.

I waited until 11 and rode my bike almost a mile to the Sewing Club meeting to join. When I got there the meeting time had been changed to 1. As I walked around the corner I saw the Card Making Club so I stopped there for a visit. The ladies were friendly and if I paid my year dues I could stay for their ink demo. I paid my dues and met some ladies that seem friendly and watched the demo.

After Card Making I returned to Sewing only to find the meeting was cancelled for today. The lady there stated that I could join but I would need to wait for a training day to use all the machines. She is not sure about the next training meeting so I left my number and did not pay the dues. I thought that maybe my dues withholding might inspire the monitor that trains people to give me a call and train me!

I am now encouraging Duf to join something. He is looking at the Jeep club and overthinking it. I told the neighbor he is a golfer so he is now in the golf league that begins next week. We are going to the range to hit balls tomorrow!

When I got home the RV washing crew had arrived and were busy washing and hand waxing the RV. In AZ this costs $79.99 and in FL the cost was over $400 ($10 a sq foot)! This AZ price included the roof and wheels! Great Deal! 

ASU

Grandpa Ainsworth gave our son Duffey an ASU hat when he was born so Grandma Ainsworth wants to give her Great Grandson an ASU hat. Today we drove to ASU for her to purchase this hat just like grandpa did. Although the hat style has changed, she found the one she liked.

While we were in Tempe on the ASU campus and we visited the Gammage Auditorium which is a Frank Lloyd Wright design built in 1959. It was one of FLW last designs and is acoustically as perfect as possible. Sheldon from Big Bang Theory would love this place! The exterior design reminded me of a circus tent.

On the way home we stopped outside Scottsdale in the foothills of McDowell Mountains to explore another FLW design, Taliesin West, built in 1937. Taliesin West is situated so that it is almost invisible until you enter the grounds, but when you are there the views of the valley and the McDowell Mountains is spectacular. Taliesin West was used as a lab for FLW and is now an architectural school. No interior pictures!

After all this we stopped at a restaurant, Zipps Sports Grille. It was a cute place with good food. Unfortunately after we ate it was already 4:00 and the traffic on the 2 hour ride home was bumper to bumper. Since there were 3 people in the car we were fortunate enough to be able to drive in the HOV lane and it moved right along.

Surprise

Every city has its issues so does Surprise:

It has been all over the news to check the local Department of Revenue website to claim unclaimed money and various items belonging to numerous people. The fellow that mans the site made a bit of a mistake and the thousands that checked the site were directed to a porn site! An errant X in the web address changed everything. Some say it was an honest mistake and others insist he be fired. You decide!

Last night a man was ACCUSED of drunk driving AGAIN. When you are ACCUSED you are able to bail out of jail. He was out on bail from a previous ACCUSATION of drunk driving where he killed a young man that was walking on the sidewalk. He is already out on bail again! Some say the dead young man’s mother should not be allowed to error her disbelief on the news, while others say she has the right. Hummmm, wonder what they would say if it was their son.

The ACLU is all over an issue that happened last summer when we were previously in AZ. There was a pro Trump rally, all televised,  in a convention center downtown Phoenix, speakers and very sedate. When the attendees exited the rally the center was surrounded with anti Trump protesters that shouted and threw things at the attendees. The police stepped in and funneled the pro Trump people to the parking area and out of town. This was all on TV and the rally goers left without retaliation. Police tried to get the anti Trumper’s to leave peacefully but they would not leave and began to throw things at the police, all on TV. The police went on guard and shot tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd to get them to disperse. One fellow that was hit with a rubber bullet was interviewed that night and said it knocked him off his feet but he clearly deserved it because he had thrown things at the attendees and police. NOW, months later, the ACLU is reviewing the TV tapes and asking people with video to review theirs so they can find incidents of police being aggressive. They have not been able to find any but are sure if the public helps them there will be incidents. 

The police indicated that people should be careful what they ask for because they have video evidence, where people are recognizable, of unprovoked assault on police officers and rally attendees. At this time the police and attendees have no desire to pursue charges but that could change. Sooooooo

The teachers are having a problem?? Some faculty school park lots have a limited number of covered spaces and teachers are upset how these covered spaces are assigned. Principals had decided that the fair way to use the spaces would be to have a monthly lottery. Everyone thought it was a great idea until some realized that their name wasn’t yet drawn so their month would be a winter month when the temperature is in the 70 and not the warm months when the temperature is over 100! Principals indicated they are open to ideas but none have been submitted that would be any fairer. Any ideas?????? Wonder if the faculty parking lots in areas with freezing weather had a few heated garages!

12/4/17

Today we finally got our bikes out and rode 10 miles. In Sanibel the bike paths were crowded but here in Surprise, AZ we only saw two other people on the path. We rode to the drug store, the Dollar Store, and past a mall. Duf kept telling me to be careful because not to far off the path cacti grow unlike Sanibel where if you get off the path you will be eaten by huge fire ants. Both will cause suffering for more than a week! 

On Sanibel when it is 85 our bike rides worked up a good sweat, but here in Surprise when it is 85 it is so dry there is no sweat. We have to be very aware that we need to drink because with no perspiration it is easy to forget!

We are near Luke AFB and pilots are being trained so we watched Jets do amazing Ariel acrobatics in the blue cloudless sky.

To enter our RV Resort we must pass through a guard gate and then an electric gate. Today they installed a transponder and decal on the Jeep. We will now no longer have to check in with the guards and the gate will automatically open. They are very aware of security here, which is comforting to know! We joke because Sanibel is a gated community with many unsecured entrances, but no joking here because we are in a truly gated community.

 The Ranch is a gated community within a gated community. Just like Sanibel we were fortunate enough to get into the Ranch. Just like in Sanibel many people were shocked we got in, this area, our first year because there are people on waiting lists!

 Our cacti is about to bloom!

It is dark now and although we had intended to watch TV we never got it turned on! We sat with all the windows open listening to the coyotes howl and speculating how close they might be. Today we saw a rabbit hop by and now we are wondering if we might ever see him again! We also have two humming birds that live with us on this lot. They stop for long moments in mid air to peek in our windows. This lot has a lemon tree, an orange tree that are both loaded with fruit, a palm tree, and some bushes that all seem to attract the hummers! Love It!! Don’t think the coyote will get them!

We have a huge lot with an enormous patio. At first the patio just looked empty, but today they brought us a very nice patio set with a table,  an umbrella, and six padded chairs. With this set, our rugs, chairs and tables it now looks like someone lives here.

December 2, 2017

Here we are at Happy Trails in Surprise, AZ outside Phoenix near West Sun City. We are 20 minutes from Duf’s mother’s home. Next week we will try to ride our bikes to her house and see how that works. There are bicycle paths all around so it should be a pleasant ride.

Phoenix has had some things different than what we are used to. 

First a mulch company had a fire and they decided to let it smother because they thought putting water on it would make to much smoke. Luck for us it was across town so we were not affected by the terrible smell that is traveling East and the residents in that area are heavily complaining. It is predicted to smother and smell for a few days.

Next, we are on the West side which again is a benefit because the East side has a dust storm that has stalled at the base of the mountains so they have air quality warnings and aren’t supposed to be outside anymore than needed. Smoke, terrible smell, and dust what a combination!

It is very dry here, I think I drank 8 bottles of water today!

The West side has been sunny and bright with temperatures in the 80’s during the day and the 50’s at night, good sleeping weather. With the windows open at night we can hear the coyotes howl and they sound very close!

November 28 & 29

November 28, 2017

We left Mark and Bettye’s home in Azel, TX around 7:30 headed for El Paso. It was a very windy day and the desert produces dust storms that are like fog. I rode most of the way with a towel over my nose and mouth to keep the dust out of my lungs! We were able to keep a speed of 50mph up Ranger Hill and that made Duffey happy with the motorhome’s performance.

El Paso is on the Mexico border so we were able to see past the fence to the mountains with very colorful homes stacked upon themselves three or more high.  

November 29, 2017

We left El Paso for Tucson today, where we plan to spend the night, then head into Phoenix tomorrow and find our spot for our new winter adventure. The weather was hazy, which is good for driving, and it was not windy which is also desired when driving a 45 foot motorhome. Most of the trip was through the desert.

In El Paso we were watching a Andy and Barney episode with Aunt Bea and the ladies protesting to save a chicken farmers house and coup so they could continue to purchase his eggs. The state was going to pay him double what his land and home were worth, he could purchase another place for much less than his was worth, but he did not want to move because his chickens might not like it. In the end Andy finds he has two illegal stills below the chicken coup and that is the reason he did not want to move and the church ladies were very upset to realize they had been lied to. We were so close to the border that we could see the fence and the Border Patrol informed us the fence was needed to stop some of the drugs coming into the USA. He assured us that without a fence the unlawlessness south of the border would make El Paso and other cities the bad old west! So, maybe living in IL and judging if a border is needed isn’t proper.

During this drive we had to pass through a Border Patrol stop. We were fortunate and they did not stop us for a search. We did see others at the check point and along the way being searched.

Next, we saw signs about wind storms that quickly crop up and how we should deal with the storm. We were lucky not to have any wind.

One area was called the Texas Desert and it contained huge rocks that were naturally stacked on top and near each other.

Finally, we saw huge orchards that went on for miles. We were shocked to see these orchards in the desert! When the trees were close to the road we could to see that they had planted the trees in ditches so that watering is flooding the area. We are not sure what the trees produce but we were told they were cherry and nut trees.

Azel,TX

November 26, 2017

Our destination today is Azel, TX where Mark and Bettye live. They have a beautiful home and in their driveway they have 50 amp service for their RV friends!!! We arrived late in the afternoon and we spent a few hours visiting. About 5 the deer appeared in the yard and stared in the windows until Mark and Bettye fed them. The deer are not afraid of Mark or Bettye and get fairly close when they are feeding them. For dinner we went to Pappasito’s Cantina for delicious food.

November 27, 2017

When we got up Mark and Bettye were kind enough to have a great breakfast ready for us! We left them about 10 to visit Kay and Keri in their new homes. They both have very nice Texas homes about 20 minutes apart and it was great to see Kay. Keri was at work so we did not get to see her. We had lunch with kay and then about 3 we headed back to Mark and Bettye’s home, about 40 minutes away. 

We arrived in time to see Bettye feed the deer and two bucks came for dinner tonight. They locked horns and pushed each other around a bit but they did not really fight.They were so close it was really amazing to see.

We decided to go for a pizza dinner but when we got to their favorite pizza restaurant something was amiss, not one diner was in the restaurant and was prime dinner time. That scared us so we decided to go to their favorite Rib joint. After dinner we returned to their house  where the three of them had home made Pecan pie and Bunny ice cream. Then we retired for the night!

November 25, 2017

Today we drove to OK City, OK and spent the night. We arrived around noon and spent the day walking around downtown OK City. The bombing memorial was very well done and the Ranger gave an informative talk ending with us dipping our hands into the memory pond and putting our wet hand prints on the wall to honor the fallen and survivors. We ate at Earl’s in BrickTown. On our way to the RV we saw a gentleman grooming one of the horses that pull the carriages downtown. He vacuumed every inch of that amazingly beautiful pure black horse. During the day we had our RV at the Bass Pro Shop and then we went to Flying J for the night.

When we arrived downtown Duffey took the information ladies directions and we ended up going under a bridge that was 14’9” and our antenna drug on the top of the bridge. Yikes-Lesson Learned!

 Cowboy Photo Bomb

 Duf getting directions!

 Duf getting more directions.