Monday, January 30, 2012

Monday the Magnificent

Been a busy day and we're booth ready to stay home and relax.  Started out the day with fulfilling a request from the couple we're buying the mobile home from.  Made it to the bank and got the cashier's check made out to them and then a quick trip to Corona de Tucson Fire Department to change ownership of the mobile home.  The dues aren't due again till this summer but wanted to make sure they had our address in order to send the bill.
Then back to the park and over to Lot 62 to deliver the check and pick up the title and then back home.  While we were eating lunch Dan, park manager, showed up to complete the paperwork for leasing the lot the mobile is on.  Then off to the Arizona Motor Vehicle office, hidden behind other businesses, just like they do in IL and have the title transferred into our name.  Pretty effect and clean.  There was a wait but they were able to produce a new title on the premises for a fee of  $7.00.  Not a bad deal.  The rest of the afternoon was spent talking to friends wanting to know when we're going to move.  I really don't think they want to know so they can help.  By the way, we're moving in starting Wednesday, February 1st.  Can't wait, excited to get into my real kitchen and cook.  So is Ron, he's murmuring something like "cookies, more lemon bars, and meat loaf.  He's also thinking about that washer and drier he can use without leaving the mobile and  a way of doing dishes without drying out his hands.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Camera Club Outing

A great day today touring two of the missions Father Keno founded.  San Xavier del bac is still an active church having mass every morning.  It's been beautifully restore in the seven years we've been coming to AZ. The trip is far enough south (close to the Mexican border) that the distance is in kilometer instead of miles.

View from the parking lot of the church in the center and the Shrine to the Dead on the left.

This is a view of one of the homes as we were leaving the Tohono O'odham Reservation.

Another mile sign in kilometers.




Tumacacori is pretty much in ruins now.  It was invaded by the Mexicans and Indians during the periods after it's completion but still some of it's beauty still stands.

Some of the surrounding structure has been restored .  Above is a view of me sitting on one of the many walkways.  This picture was taken from that walk way.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Wednesday Knitting

I have come to the conclusion that if I had to knit my own socks I'd go barefoot.  $20 worth of yarn, 5 little bitty needles pointed at both ends, $55 for the class.  Wal-mart is a much better deal.  Plus today we spent four hours knitting just the heel of one sock.  Way to much work.  The company was fine but we didn't have time to chat.  Couldn't talk and knit or we'd miss a stitch and have to stop, back it out and start again.
When we get this sock finished we have to make it's mate.  If I knew someone with one foot, I'd give them the sock.
Off to bingo, maybe I'll win enough to buy more yarn.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

The Week to Be

It was so nice to have a quiet Saturday afternoon and Sunday.  It helps rejuvenate us from the past busy week and allow us to get thru the week ahead.
Saturday was an easy day.  I made up Caesar Salad dressing and Ron cut up the romaine and cooked the steaks.  We split a baked potato that I over cooked.  Sunday was church and then home and a light lunch. Preparing for dinner which was Pepper Steak that I hadn't fixed for years.  I was a little shaky in putting it together but enjoyed doing it none the less.  It turned out pretty good despite my lack of luck cooking rice.  Don't ask why, I don't know.  I measure carefully but it always comes out soaked in water.  I fixed it as usual and we enjoyed a great meal with some leftovers for someone later this week.  Tomorrow will be a make calls day, despite it being Monday because Tuesday starts the busy week again.  Coffee and donuts and then sewing.  Wednesday morning will be a knitting lesson, second of three to learn how to knit socks. and bingo to end the evening.  Thursday is Camera Club day with a trip to San Xavier del bac and lunch at an authentic Mexican Restaurant south of Tubac and then to Tucmacacori.  Both are missions built by Father Keno when he passed thru this area.  San Xavier is still a working active church and has been recently partially renovated but Tucmacacori was never completed.  
As we tour the missions I'll try and get pictures to publish on my blog.  San Xavier is a beautiful church also known as "The Dove of the Desert".  It can be seen for miles from along Rt 19.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Saturday Morning Breakfast

What a nice way to start the day.  Breakfast of crepes, sausages, fruit cup and mimosas.  A pretty carnation and a pink wristband to set the mood.  No we didn't jet over to Paris for brunch.  We have a true Frenchman in our park.  He's only been here a few months but his son and family live here also and they just got back from Paris fixing up his apartment to sell.  So the activity directors took advantage of  their knowledge and ability to make crepes to pay tribute to all the women in the park.
Oh yes the guys came to but they had to pay to eat and didn't get a flower nor a wrist band.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Friday night at CCRV

Beautiful day in Tucson.  Temperature was in the 70s this afternoon.  The park activity tonight was the dessert auction.  One of our friends from Canada usually make lemon squares and I buy them for Ron but this year she said she was going to make something else so I decided to make them myself and take them to the auction.  Of course, leaving some home for Ron.  I got out the biggest banking dish I had that fit in the little oven, looked for my recipe and found one that looked familiar even though I knew it wasn't the one I used.  Poor Ron ended up making two trips to the grocery store for supplies but we did buy a bag of fresh lemons the other day so squeeze I did.  The pan could have been larger but it looked good when it came out of the oven.  When it finally cooled down enough to cut I took a sample piece out, that first piece that doesn't always come out right, and it tasted good and Ron concurred.  So we put a couple pieces in a dish I needed to return to a neighbor.  Then started cutting it up for the auction.  Turned out not all of it would fit on the plate, darn had to keep some home for later.
The lemon squares went fast and at a good price as did all the other beautiful cakes and pies and cookies. Ron bought a chocolate bundt cake and I sliced it up and we shared the pieces with our friends.  Love doing that.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Friends

Things are busy again and I'm getting behind with my blogs.   Tuesday after quilting and before pizza I received a call from a friend that was in the park two years ago.  She and her husband were in the area and wanted to know if it was alright to stop by.  Of course it was.
Maryellen and Bruce and Bruce's father stopped by and we had a nice visit.  At least Maryellen and I did.  I'm presuming the guys did.  She brought pictures of their new home.  I was bowled over by the beautiful colors on the walls and the hardwood floors.  The kitchen was a dream.  I'm so happy for them.  I'm glad we stayed in touch after the left the park.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Rainy Sundays

Seems like we're getting our share of precipitation this year.  Not to bad beings this is our 7th season.  It even appears the rain dots are touching.  I'm sorry for the soccer players.  Tucson was bombarded with 10,000 soccer players Friday night.  We drove by the main venue this morning, Fort Lowell Park, on our way home from church and were rewarded with a plethora  of cute little munchkins running around.

Decided to work on my sock while the sun was still bright.  The thread is to thin and the lighting to dim to work on at night.  It seems I've managed to make some mistakes but I decided they would be part of my unique style.  Now all I have to do is duplicate them on the second sock.

Football is not a friendly subject at this house so don't ask.  I'm not sure how the Packer/Giant game will turn out but I have a feeling Ron blew all his good luck yesterday on basketball and football games.  Especially his undying love of the Patriots because I have an undying dislike for them.  His Kentucky Wildcats and our Mizzu Tigers both won yesterday so that was 3/0 yesterday.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Catching Up Again.

We've been so busy this week that I've not had the energy to Blog.  I'll try and catch up with some of the activity.
Sunday was church in the morning but no stops for breakfast after church.  It seemed we had been out to lunch so many times the past week that all I wanted to do was cook us a meal.  Ham, mashed potatoes and peas.  Me chilling, had a bad weekend of mood swings from the Cancer drugs.
We have decided to drop out of yoga.  The times just weren't convenient for our lifestyle.  Tuesday morning started with coffee and donuts at the Rec Hall, Quilting/sewing/knitting/crocheting Meeting  from 10:30 am to around 2 pm with timeout for a quick lunch and starting up my crock pot with smoked sausage and kraut for the pot luck supper later in the day.  In between quilting and the pot luck the park manager had a cocktail hour with wine or soft drinks and cheese and crackers and grapes.
Wednesday was knitting class out of the park.  We're learning how to knit socks for three weeks and then out to lunch with the girls before a return to the park mid afternoon.
Since Ron and I missed our Wednesday outing we decided to pick it up today with a movie.  We went to see "Moneyball" and enjoyed it very much.
On our way home we remembered the name of the bakery our favorite Italian restaurant uses for their bread and stopped. to check it out.  What a place.  It is called "La Baguette" and it's a true bakery.  Bread that smells to good not to eat and pastries that are very pleasing to the eye as well as the palate. We bought some bread and two cream puffs.
Even a stop at the discount bakery so Ron could pick up some shoe string potatoes he likes.  After we got home we were given the pleasure of one of our friends from the park, Larry.  Had a nice visit until we started talking about food and he left to go back to his place where his beautiful wife awaited his return. And we started getting the meal ready.
 One of the breads I cut in half length wise and then in half the long way.  I put butter on the bread and stuck it into the toaster oven. Heated some left over ham from Sunday dinner and melted swiss cheese on top then put it all on the bread.  Oh my was it delicious, tastes just like the bread from the Italian Restaurant.  We even decided to have dessert.  The cream horns.  Yummmmmo.  Whipped cream and the flakiest dough.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

A Day at the Museum



Early this morning, 9:30 am, 10 people from the park headed toward 6300 N. Swan.  DeGrazia Museum.  What we didn't know was we were going to get a guided tour of his compound.  That wasn't the best part.  When we arrived at the museum we were greeted by a petite woman, obviously American Indian.  Her words were soft spoken but it didn't take long to realize you wanted to make the effort to tune into her voice frequency.  She never told us her name but she did share her experiences working with DeGrazia for the last 11 years of his life.  What knowledge she had about his work and had even done the prep work for his later pieces in the different mediums.  Flash less pictures were taken but none could compare with the real thing.  The colored ones were so bright and cheerful that they put a smile on my face.  His tribute to Padre Keno, who he never met, was absolutely breathtaking.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Trip home from Green Valley

What a temptation not to stop and grab a few handfuls.  Our friend, Larry, blogged about driving past the pecan trees on their way to Green Valley.  I'm presuming they were in the first stages of harvesting the pecans by shaking the trees.  Today they were driving double sided rakes up and down the rows of trees gathering the pecans in a single row so the next phase could drive up and down picking them up.  I don't remember how they do it tho.  There are so many different groves of pecan trees on both sides of several roads that stopping and walking over to pick some up off the ground wouldn't have been a major deal but my conscience wouldn't allow me to take what isn't mine.  They would probably taste like a foreign substance.  My conscience would see to that.  So I guess I'll just have to stop by the company store in a few weeks and purchase some fresh ones.

Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day.  72 and sunny with a light breeze.  I can't think of a better climate to spend the winter, the entire year.
I think we'll take a drive this afternoon down to Green Valley, maybe stop for a late lunch at Manuel's and then quick shopping stop at WalMart.  Don't need any food just a few toiletries and the rest of the makings for Ron's Famous Salsa.  Actually it's his nephew, Daniel, recipe but since he's living in IL now we can make it down here in AZ.
Took the few Christmas directions we had up down today.  Didn't have enough to make much difference in the look.
Today is the ninth  anniversary of the birth of our first Great Grand Child.  We got to spend some time with her when she was younger but now that she lives in Hawaii with her US Marine mom we don't get to see her as we'd like.  Her mom is very good about sharing pictures and cute things she says. For that, we are thankful.
Today is also the 15th anniversary of Ron's son and daughter in laws marriage.  They've given us three more grandchildren and I can't think of not wanting three more grandchildren.  That brings the total grandchildren up to 10.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Years Eve/Day

Happy & Healthy New Year to all.
The park put a new years eve on the calender but did post any of the details till later in this past week.  Not real big on going out, even though it's just a few feet away we decided to stay home and celebrate in our own way.   We talked it over and opted for our way.
Romaine lettuce was cut up and spun dry.  Mushrooms were scrubbed and sliced into nice thick slices.  Steaks were fixed to order.  Ron with oil and salt, mine with salt and brown sugar.  Huge baking potatoes were scrubbed clean and wrapped in paper towels, placed in our potato bag and put in the microwave oven to be started when the steaks go on.  I prefer to get everything ready before we start so I can enjoy the ritual too.  A special container that Ron's foster parents gave us 37 years ago on our first visit to Arkansas was filled with ice, then vodka poured over ice with a cap of vermouth and then filled back up with ice.  Left to meld together till the Caesar salad was ready.
Caesar salad 101 starts with the dressing made ahead of time containing lots of garlic and anchovies in some form.  No anchovies, no Caesar.  We've stopped the raw egg yolk years ago when the first scare came out and found we couldn't tell the difference in the taste. A generous portion of  fresh grated parmigiana reggiano, fresh squeezed lemon juice and croutons were then added and retossed.  Makes me hungry for another one.
Starting with the salad and a martini we settle back and enjoyed our meal we prepared and shared together.
Now today is pork roast and kraut and potatoes all cooked together in one pot.  Not sure when this tradition started but it's a good one since we both like all three ingredients.  Rumor has it  that it's a German tradition but since neither of us are German, you'll have to figure out the origin .