Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I decided to wish you the best before this year instead of telling you what a great time we had after. The picture is last year's table setting. I'm sure this year's will be about the same.
We had our first real winter storm over the weekend. It rained and rained. It got cold but the frost did not come until this morning. There is a sprinkling of snow on the very tip top of the mountains behind us. The Whetstones seem to have missed out as they are not so tall. The weatherperson said snow would only get down to about 7,000 ft.
Willy completed his puppy class at Petsmart and got his graduation certificate. He did ok but the dog is still a pup, just 6 months old, so he still needs lots of training and discipline. He is scheduled to be relieved of his cajones on Dec. 4th. I expect he will be a little easier to handle after that.
Buddy did a brave but very dangerous thing. One morning about 2 Sundays ago, Buddy was going crazy barking and trying to get out of the yard, so I let him out. He tore down to the bottom of our hill where there is a wash. I could hear a horrible screaming, squealing noise. It was truly horrible but I could not quite figure out what it was. I saw Buddy's white shape down among the trees and I could see that he was shaking something violently, a gray shape. That was the source of the noise. I figured Buddy finally caught one of the coyotes I often see and he was killing it. Buddy returned to the yard after a time. He seemed to be unscathed but had a smear of blood on his face. Later that day, the men and grands took a walk down to the wash. They found a dead javelina! I was surprised as we have not seen javelina in the area until recently. The one Buddy killed was only about half grown, not a full sized pig. I am thankful for that because Buddy could have been seriously injured by a full sized pig or if a herd had ganged up on him. I hope if there are more they will move on so that my big brave guardian dog will not feel that he has to kill another one.
I have been getting ready for Thanksgiving and finally gathered all the goodies for that. I found sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls at Safeway this morning which completes the menu. All the other goodies, the turkey, pies, veggies, etc. are either in the frig or being prepared by someone else.
I have also managed to complete my Christmas shopping before "Black Friday"! Woohoo! I hate going shopping after Thanksgiving! So, all I have to do is wrap gifts and decorate the house. I haven't decided if I will go green and gold this year, or silver and blue, or traditional red and green. I guess I will decide after I drag all the trinkets out. I completed a dress for my one and only granddaughter to wear to her Christmas program at school this year. I was very pleased with the result. Now that I know the pattern, I plan on using it for her flower girl dress for our #2 daughter's wedding in April.
We have been having some fabulous Arizona sunsets lately too. Enjoy, and may you have a filling and happy Turkey Day! Don't forget it is THANKSGIVING DAY too!
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Halloween has come and gone. We enjoyed carving jack-o-lanterns, dressing up as zombies, ninjas and other creatures of the imagination, eating lots of candy and going to the grandkids' costume parades.
We have been visited by a few wild creatures lately. A hawk landed on a stump in the west side pasture. He took his time eating a critter he caught for breakfast and I was able to get a good picture of him. Then another morning, I saw 4 coyotes on the hill behind us. They are serenading us at night, making the cats very nervous and the dogs especially watchful. One of the wily creatures passed right by my chicken pen this morning. Buddy was going ballistic which prompted me to go out and get a fleeting glimpse of him. It pays to be aware and respond to Buddy's different barking signals. Friday evening he was going crazy and wouldn't stop so I went out and discovered a nice sized rattler. I hollered for my husband, who came out armed and dangerous. Buddy followed my orders and left the snake alone, saving himself from getting bit. Great dog! It was the third snake we had to kill this year and I was surprised that there was one still out this late in the season. We just always have to be cautious. I was thankful that Willy had already gone to bed for the night. He would've gotten bit as he is still a pup and does not yet follow orders so well, not to mention his bulldog heart, which propels him forward like a bull. He would've gone right up and grabbed that snake and tried to shake it to death. He is learning and doing well in his puppy class at Petsmart on Saturdays. He always seems so big to me, as he is still growing, but as you can see in the picture with Buddy, he is just a medium size.
Steve and I decided to take advantage of the great weather and a free Sunday and took a drive over to the eastern side of our state. We left our house about 1130 and headed east on the I-10. We took the exit to Dragoon and crossed over to Hwy.191. At that junction, we turned south and stopped at Cochise Stronghold. We took a short nature hike there and ate a light lunch. It is beautiful there but it was still early so we decided to drive further south on 191 until we came to SR 181 going east again. It is a beautiful drive through a flat plain punctuated by "sky Islands". That is mountains popping up in the middle of the grassland. We drove to Chiricahua National Monument, which is about 35 southeast of Wilcox, AZ. WOW! We were awestruck! I did not know such a spectacular place was practically in our backyard! There was a road through the monument that took us to a place called Massai Point. It was like being on top of the world! We could see all the way back to Cochise Stronghold in AZ, across to New Mexico further east and well into Mexico on the southern side. I also discovered that the area was once volcanic and that a volcano blew its top there much like Crater Lake's Mt. Mazama in Oregon. There are also great rock formations caused by the basin and range geological phenomenon. We enjoyed it tremendously and hope to take the grandkids there soon.
I have many sewing projects going and am in the middle of Christmas shopping which I hope to get done before Thanksgiving! Willy has two more puppy classes and then he will have to go through the right of passage of getting fixed. I am not looking forward to that, but I think it will be better for everyone in the long run. 'Til next time...
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The sky is crystal clear and blue. The hot humid days of the monsoon have finally passed. Mornings have been in the fifties or low sixty degrees. This is the time of the year I love best in Arizona. The days still get into the nineties but no more triple digit days!
The summer was filled with doctor appointments. I felt that I should get a "Well Woman" check up because I hit my 6th decade yesterday. So I had eye check ups and new glasses, dentist check-ups and a new crown on one of my molars, a mammogram and my first dreaded colonoscopy. The big "C" was not as bad as I expected. The cleansing part was not so fun but the procedure itself was painless. I had a great doctor and she gave me all the pictures and removed 2 polyps. She said I am fine, no cancer and to come back in 3 years. The mammogram also turned out clean so, at glorious 60 years old, I have a clean bill of health. I feel pretty good about that. Now if I could just lose about 30 pounds!
I started trying out a vegetarian diet after all my check-ups were completed. I have been pretty amazed about it. I thought I would miss meat and not be able to live without it. I have discovered just the opposite! I do not miss meat and I am not any more hungry than when I was eating meat. The astonishing thing is that I actually feel better, have more energy and feel lighter, even if I am not! I used to have a lot of pain in my knees and one of them was swollen all the time and bigger than the other knee. Lately, I have noticed that my knees hurt less and the swelling has gone down so much that both knees are about the same now.
I am back to working out on my tread-climber machine every day and working out with weights about 2 days a week. I have lost about 5 pounds since I started. Of course, the weight thing is still frustrating. It always seems to be two steps forward, one step back. I weigh myself every day. That seems to be less frustrating for me because I see the fluctuations daily. When I only weighed myself once a week, I got very frustrated because, if I gained, it seemed like a whole week had been wasted. Weighing myself every day shows me that I gain or lose every day. Often I can look back and say,"Ah-Ha!" I ate too many chips yesterday!", or "Wow! Sticking to veggies really makes a difference!" I only lost 2 pounds when I was doing my fast and cleanse for the colonoscopy. So eating nothing and starving myself does not really work either. Eating veggies and no meat does seem to work. My mantra has become "No wheat, no white, no meat!"
The chickens are giving us about half a dozen eggs a day now. I don't eat them but Steve does and I give many away to family and friends. I also cook some up for the dogs every day.
Willy has had all his shots now. He and Buddy were also tested for heartworms. They are both clear and have been put on preventative meds. We had lots of rain this summer and, therefore, lots of mosquitoes. Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it was worth it to me to pay the vet and get the protection they needed to stay healthy.
I recently made some pillows and a fall table runner for one of my girls. I have purchased fabric to make some new muumuus for myself. We have a new Hobby Lobby store in Tucson now. And much to my surprise, a Hobby Lobby also opened up in Sierra Vista. Also, Sierra Vista got a new JoAnn's Fabric store, which I have yet to visit. I am excited that I can go to Sierra Vista now instead of having to go to Tucson all the time.
On a sad note, my mother-in-law, Betty Hedin, passed away on Sept 28th. She had been battling colon cancer for about 2 years. She was 83 years old. We were told that if she had had a colonoscopy when she was 70, she probably would have avoided this cancer altogether. That was a powerful incentive to me and the rest of the family to have the procedure done. We will all miss Betty. She was a cheerful, positive person who gave generously to others. We are thankful that her pain and suffering have come to an end and one day we will all meet a gain in Heaven.
The summer was filled with doctor appointments. I felt that I should get a "Well Woman" check up because I hit my 6th decade yesterday. So I had eye check ups and new glasses, dentist check-ups and a new crown on one of my molars, a mammogram and my first dreaded colonoscopy. The big "C" was not as bad as I expected. The cleansing part was not so fun but the procedure itself was painless. I had a great doctor and she gave me all the pictures and removed 2 polyps. She said I am fine, no cancer and to come back in 3 years. The mammogram also turned out clean so, at glorious 60 years old, I have a clean bill of health. I feel pretty good about that. Now if I could just lose about 30 pounds!
I started trying out a vegetarian diet after all my check-ups were completed. I have been pretty amazed about it. I thought I would miss meat and not be able to live without it. I have discovered just the opposite! I do not miss meat and I am not any more hungry than when I was eating meat. The astonishing thing is that I actually feel better, have more energy and feel lighter, even if I am not! I used to have a lot of pain in my knees and one of them was swollen all the time and bigger than the other knee. Lately, I have noticed that my knees hurt less and the swelling has gone down so much that both knees are about the same now.
I am back to working out on my tread-climber machine every day and working out with weights about 2 days a week. I have lost about 5 pounds since I started. Of course, the weight thing is still frustrating. It always seems to be two steps forward, one step back. I weigh myself every day. That seems to be less frustrating for me because I see the fluctuations daily. When I only weighed myself once a week, I got very frustrated because, if I gained, it seemed like a whole week had been wasted. Weighing myself every day shows me that I gain or lose every day. Often I can look back and say,"Ah-Ha!" I ate too many chips yesterday!", or "Wow! Sticking to veggies really makes a difference!" I only lost 2 pounds when I was doing my fast and cleanse for the colonoscopy. So eating nothing and starving myself does not really work either. Eating veggies and no meat does seem to work. My mantra has become "No wheat, no white, no meat!"
The chickens are giving us about half a dozen eggs a day now. I don't eat them but Steve does and I give many away to family and friends. I also cook some up for the dogs every day.
Willy has had all his shots now. He and Buddy were also tested for heartworms. They are both clear and have been put on preventative meds. We had lots of rain this summer and, therefore, lots of mosquitoes. Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it was worth it to me to pay the vet and get the protection they needed to stay healthy.
I recently made some pillows and a fall table runner for one of my girls. I have purchased fabric to make some new muumuus for myself. We have a new Hobby Lobby store in Tucson now. And much to my surprise, a Hobby Lobby also opened up in Sierra Vista. Also, Sierra Vista got a new JoAnn's Fabric store, which I have yet to visit. I am excited that I can go to Sierra Vista now instead of having to go to Tucson all the time.
On a sad note, my mother-in-law, Betty Hedin, passed away on Sept 28th. She had been battling colon cancer for about 2 years. She was 83 years old. We were told that if she had had a colonoscopy when she was 70, she probably would have avoided this cancer altogether. That was a powerful incentive to me and the rest of the family to have the procedure done. We will all miss Betty. She was a cheerful, positive person who gave generously to others. We are thankful that her pain and suffering have come to an end and one day we will all meet a gain in Heaven.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Willy has been in our family 3 weeks already! Time flies when you are having fun! The swallows on the porch rafters have fledged four new babies and, I am happy to say, they all four are flying around! No cats got any of them this year! Yeah!
We have finally started getting eggs from our chickens that we got way back in April. My one and only black hen started and she is laying an egg a day. One of the Rhode Island Reds is also laying. Not that I can tell you which one exactly but I did get a picture of her in the nesting box.
Buddy got groomed and cleaned up very nicely. It is a pleasure to run my hands through his soft white fur again. Not that it will last very long. With all the heat, Buddy digs holes in any mud that happens to be around from watering gardens or whatever and lays in the holes to cool off. I don't expect him to be pretty for very long. He and Willy seem to be getting along ok. Although Buddy has been very tolerant, he has growled a couple of times or knocked Willy on his butt when he gets too rough. Willy thinks Buddy is a bull I guess. He tends to like to latch on to the thick fur on the front of Buddy's neck and not let go. I have corrected him by grabbing him at the scruff of his neck and giving a shake when I think Buddy has had enough. But Buddy is more effective with his own corrective measures, usually a growl and a big paw flattening Willy to the ground! Willy doesn't like that much and gets the message to lay off.
Buddy redeemed himself from the last disaster that ended the life of my little black rooster. Yesterday morning I could not find Buddy when I went out to feed the alpacas. Then I came around the front of the house and there was one of the Buff Orpington hens out in the yard. Buddy was right on her, then he picked her up in his mouth! Well, I thought she was a goner. "Leave it! Buddy" I yelled at him. He dropped her immediately and she scrambled back into the corner between the pen and the yard fence. I was able to catch her then. She did not have any holes in her or any blood draining anywhere. She was wet with Buddy slobber and seemed in shock. I took her in the house and clipped both her wings. Then I took her back out to the pen and placed her inside the coop in one of the nesting boxes and prayed for the best. Sure enough, later in the day she was moving around with the other hens, a bit slow, but all right non-the-less! I gave Buddy a treat for doing his job of guarding the chickens.
I got Steve to take a picture of me with the two dogs. Maybe you can get an idea of the size of Willy and Buddy. I hope to take pictures of Willy as he grows and keep track of his progress. He has his first Vet visit tomorrow. He'll get puppy shots but will still need one more Parvo immunization before I will take him out in public. His breeder said Parvo has been especially bad this year so I don't want to take any chances.
Buddy redeemed himself from the last disa
We have finally started getting eggs from our chickens that we got way back in April. My one and only black hen started and she is laying an egg a day. One of the Rhode Island Reds is also laying. Not that I can tell you which one exactly but I did get a picture of her in the nesting box.
Buddy got groomed and cleaned up very nicely. It is a pleasure to run my hands through his soft white fur again. Not that it will last very long. With all the heat, Buddy digs holes in any mud that happens to be around from watering gardens or whatever and lays in the holes to cool off. I don't expect him to be pretty for very long. He and Willy seem to be getting along ok. Although Buddy has been very tolerant, he has growled a couple of times or knocked Willy on his butt when he gets too rough. Willy thinks Buddy is a bull I guess. He tends to like to latch on to the thick fur on the front of Buddy's neck and not let go. I have corrected him by grabbing him at the scruff of his neck and giving a shake when I think Buddy has had enough. But Buddy is more effective with his own corrective measures, usually a growl and a big paw flattening Willy to the ground! Willy doesn't like that much and gets the message to lay off.
Buddy redeemed himself from the last disaster that ended the life of my little black rooster. Yesterday morning I could not find Buddy when I went out to feed the alpacas. Then I came around the front of the house and there was one of the Buff Orpington hens out in the yard. Buddy was right on her, then he picked her up in his mouth! Well, I thought she was a goner. "Leave it! Buddy" I yelled at him. He dropped her immediately and she scrambled back into the corner between the pen and the yard fence. I was able to catch her then. She did not have any holes in her or any blood draining anywhere. She was wet with Buddy slobber and seemed in shock. I took her in the house and clipped both her wings. Then I took her back out to the pen and placed her inside the coop in one of the nesting boxes and prayed for the best. Sure enough, later in the day she was moving around with the other hens, a bit slow, but all right non-the-less! I gave Buddy a treat for doing his job of guarding the chickens.
I got Steve to take a picture of me with the two dogs. Maybe you can get an idea of the size of Willy and Buddy. I hope to take pictures of Willy as he grows and keep track of his progress. He has his first Vet visit tomorrow. He'll get puppy shots but will still need one more Parvo immunization before I will take him out in public. His breeder said Parvo has been especially bad this year so I don't want to take any chances.
Buddy redeemed himself from the last disa
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
We are well into summer here. The monsoon rains have turned everything green and the wild grasses are getting tall. The humidity eased off a bit for a couple of days this week. Today it is back and the clouds are piling up over the mountains. I expect we will get more storms later today.
I got 2 new books this week from Amazon. The first one is Sheepish by Catherine Friend. The second is Navajo Shepherd and Weaver by Gladys A. Reichard, first published in 1936. I ordered these with the wild idea that I might get some Navajo-Churro sheep to raise and shear. Since some time has passed and my friends and family have declined to support this idea, I too have given up the idea of ever getting any more farm animals or livestock. I will have to be content with my 3 alpacas, 17 chickens, 2 ducks, 2 cats and one huge white dog. I will read the books though, as they look very interesting and reading will help keep the Alzheimer's at bay.
I did find a puppy in the Arizona Star Newspaper that I could not resist however. I saw the ad and couldn't wait for Steve to get home. I was afraid the pups would all be sold. Fortunately for me, only one of the 2 pups that I was interested in had been sold. The other one, a male, was still available. So at 5 pm on Wednesday, July 24th, we drove into Tucson and met our pup. We stopped at our daughter's house on the way home to show him off. Then we had to stop for some dinner. We finally got home about 8pm. I expected to be up all night with the pup. I was up all night but only about 2 hours was because of the pup. He settled down fairly quickly in his new crate. I, however, tossed and turned all night because of eating lousy food at 830 at night! Yikes!
Our pup is a registered "Olde English Bulldogge." It is a rare breed and fairly new. A man in Pennsylvania in 1970 wanted to get back the old time bull baiting bulldog of the 1800's without the aggressive tendencies needed for bull-baiting, but with a personality of a companion dog and without the genetic problems of the modern English Bulldog. Most modern English Bulldogs have to be delivered by Cesarian section because of their huge heads. Our pup and his siblings, there were 11 of them, have smaller heads and can be born naturally. The "Olde English Bulldogge" is a combination of English Bulldogs, Mastiff and a couple of other breeds. Our pup will grow to about 16 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh about 50 pounds or more. He is very mellow so far. He does chew things but seems to be content to sit or lay at my feet while he's tearing things up. He will chase a ball and bring it straight back to me, but he does not seem to be hyper active like most puppies tend to be. I think he will be a great dog for us as we age. But I tell you what! It is almost like having a new baby in the house! I have to watch him every second that he is not in his crate to prevent potty mishaps and chewing up the wrong things. He has been good about learning to "go to bed", meaning going into his crate, and mostly going outside to potty. But he is only 10 weeks old, so it will be awhile before the potty thing is conquered and I can trust him indoors. I keep reminding myself that puppyhood is short and soon I will have another lazy companion who is content to sleep at my feet or follow me around all day! It is going to be a long year! But how could I resist that face?
I got 2 new books this week from Amazon. The first one is Sheepish by Catherine Friend. The second is Navajo Shepherd and Weaver by Gladys A. Reichard, first published in 1936. I ordered these with the wild idea that I might get some Navajo-Churro sheep to raise and shear. Since some time has passed and my friends and family have declined to support this idea, I too have given up the idea of ever getting any more farm animals or livestock. I will have to be content with my 3 alpacas, 17 chickens, 2 ducks, 2 cats and one huge white dog. I will read the books though, as they look very interesting and reading will help keep the Alzheimer's at bay.
I did find a puppy in the Arizona Star Newspaper that I could not resist however. I saw the ad and couldn't wait for Steve to get home. I was afraid the pups would all be sold. Fortunately for me, only one of the 2 pups that I was interested in had been sold. The other one, a male, was still available. So at 5 pm on Wednesday, July 24th, we drove into Tucson and met our pup. We stopped at our daughter's house on the way home to show him off. Then we had to stop for some dinner. We finally got home about 8pm. I expected to be up all night with the pup. I was up all night but only about 2 hours was because of the pup. He settled down fairly quickly in his new crate. I, however, tossed and turned all night because of eating lousy food at 830 at night! Yikes!
Our pup is a registered "Olde English Bulldogge." It is a rare breed and fairly new. A man in Pennsylvania in 1970 wanted to get back the old time bull baiting bulldog of the 1800's without the aggressive tendencies needed for bull-baiting, but with a personality of a companion dog and without the genetic problems of the modern English Bulldog. Most modern English Bulldogs have to be delivered by Cesarian section because of their huge heads. Our pup and his siblings, there were 11 of them, have smaller heads and can be born naturally. The "Olde English Bulldogge" is a combination of English Bulldogs, Mastiff and a couple of other breeds. Our pup will grow to about 16 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh about 50 pounds or more. He is very mellow so far. He does chew things but seems to be content to sit or lay at my feet while he's tearing things up. He will chase a ball and bring it straight back to me, but he does not seem to be hyper active like most puppies tend to be. I think he will be a great dog for us as we age. But I tell you what! It is almost like having a new baby in the house! I have to watch him every second that he is not in his crate to prevent potty mishaps and chewing up the wrong things. He has been good about learning to "go to bed", meaning going into his crate, and mostly going outside to potty. But he is only 10 weeks old, so it will be awhile before the potty thing is conquered and I can trust him indoors. I keep reminding myself that puppyhood is short and soon I will have another lazy companion who is content to sleep at my feet or follow me around all day! It is going to be a long year! But how could I resist that face?
Saturday, July 20, 2013
It has been a very busy summer. On May 21 and 23, two of our grandchildren, Eden and Logan, graduated from kindergarten. We are proud of both of them! They will be big first graders this year. Eden already started on July 15th and Logan will start on the 25th.
On May 28, my long time friend and I started our journey to visit a mutual friend who had just moved to New Mexico. I was pretty excited about the trip because I had not been to New Mexico except to pass through. We drove east on the I-10 to Las Cruces, and then north on I-25 to Albuquerque. Our friend has a new place in the hill country between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It was absolutely beautiful. It was good to see our friend again after 30 years. She is a great hostess! Thanks Chris!
We started back toward home on May 30. We had a pilgrimage to accomplish. We stopped at the "Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary" in Candy Kitchen, NM. We drove through some awesome country and arrived at the sanctuary in the late morning. We took a tour with an excellent guide who told us the history of the sanctuary and each canine that is homed there. Most of the animals are wolf-dog crosses, but there were also a few full blooded Arctic wolves. I think the Arctic wolves were my favorites although some of the young wolf-dog pups were awful appealing too. I think the work of the sanctuary is commendable but I would much rather see them stay in a natural environment. It was a bitter-sweet visit.
My friend and I returned to Arizona through the Salt River Canyon in northern Arizona. It is almost as spectacular as the Grand Canyon. I took lots of pictures there even though we have been there many times.
In June, Steve and I took a drive up to Roosevelt Lake, northeast of Scottsdale, AZ. We got to ride around and fish in a pontoon boat with friends and family. The lake is man-made and in a deep canyon fed by the Salt River. We saw several large bass swimming around but only caught 2 smaller ones. I enjoyed being on a boat once again although actually getting between the dock and the boat was more challenging than I remember. Old knees and soft muscles don't make for quick moves or easy balance! LOL!
At the end of June, we loaded up all the grandkids and their moms and headed for Oregon to visit Steve's mom and family. We took 2 cars and took 3 days to travel. Mostly things were OK but the overnight stop in Stockton, CA turned out to be the motel from Hell! We had traveled 12 hours that day. The desk clerk put us on the first floor and the third floor facing the pool. The pool was full of a crowd having a birthday party. There were other questionable people around smoking questionable substances and drinking. It turned out the desk clerk lied to me because Shawna went back and told her the first floor room was not acceptable. Shawna managed to get a 3rd floor room closer to our room even though the clerk had told me there was absolutely nothing available! Then the bedspreads had cigarette holes in them, there were holes in the walls and the ceilings. The only ice maker on the facility was in another building across the parking lot on the second floor. Breakfast was supposed to be complimentary the next morning, but the room was so small and so crowded with the party goers from the night before that we just left and went to Denny's. All the while, the desk clerk from the night before glared daggers at Shawna and me as if daring us to say anything at all! Boy, were we glad to get out of there!
We had a nice visit with Steve's family. It was good to see them all again. Our niece had her first baby, a boy, the day we left. I made her a quilt with the dinosaur theme that she had picked for the baby's room.
The moms and grands left Oregon a few days before Steve and I. They visited the Oregon-California coast and the giant redwoods. They got home a day ahead of Steve and I. Steve and I decided to drive back home via the 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains instead of going back the way we came on the I-5. The traffic was much lighter as were the crowds in restaurants. We drove through some of the tallest mountains in the lower 48. I got to see the Owen's Valley and we stopped at the visitors' center at the foot of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the country outside of Alaska.
So we get home in time for the first really bad monsoon thunderstorm of the season. On July 2, a bolt of lightening struck so close to us that we about jumped out of our skins. Then I saw a weird flickering orange glow just down the hill and in front of our pine trees. It was a fire! I was freaking out! Steve grabbed a shovel and headed down the hill. Fortunately, it was a single yucca plant. Steve was able to knock it down and cover it with dirt. I was so thankful that I saw it,(it was 930 at night) and that Steve was able to put it out by himself. We had plenty of rain that night too. Thank the Lord.
Then on July 8, my little red dog, Penny, got bitten right between the eyes by a rattlesnake. We lost her the following morning. She was 16 years old. I will miss her. She is buried in my rock garden in the front yard.
The chickens have not started laying eggs yet but I am hoping they will soon. My garden produced some lettuce and tomatoes, a few peppers and turnips, but then was wiped out by one of our famous storms. I will be ripping it out soon and may plant flowers instead.
Til next time.....
On May 28, my long time friend and I started our journey to visit a mutual friend who had just moved to New Mexico. I was pretty excited about the trip because I had not been to New Mexico except to pass through. We drove east on the I-10 to Las Cruces, and then north on I-25 to Albuquerque. Our friend has a new place in the hill country between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It was absolutely beautiful. It was good to see our friend again after 30 years. She is a great hostess! Thanks Chris!
We started back toward home on May 30. We had a pilgrimage to accomplish. We stopped at the "Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary" in Candy Kitchen, NM. We drove through some awesome country and arrived at the sanctuary in the late morning. We took a tour with an excellent guide who told us the history of the sanctuary and each canine that is homed there. Most of the animals are wolf-dog crosses, but there were also a few full blooded Arctic wolves. I think the Arctic wolves were my favorites although some of the young wolf-dog pups were awful appealing too. I think the work of the sanctuary is commendable but I would much rather see them stay in a natural environment. It was a bitter-sweet visit.
My friend and I returned to Arizona through the Salt River Canyon in northern Arizona. It is almost as spectacular as the Grand Canyon. I took lots of pictures there even though we have been there many times.
In June, Steve and I took a drive up to Roosevelt Lake, northeast of Scottsdale, AZ. We got to ride around and fish in a pontoon boat with friends and family. The lake is man-made and in a deep canyon fed by the Salt River. We saw several large bass swimming around but only caught 2 smaller ones. I enjoyed being on a boat once again although actually getting between the dock and the boat was more challenging than I remember. Old knees and soft muscles don't make for quick moves or easy balance! LOL!
At the end of June, we loaded up all the grandkids and their moms and headed for Oregon to visit Steve's mom and family. We took 2 cars and took 3 days to travel. Mostly things were OK but the overnight stop in Stockton, CA turned out to be the motel from Hell! We had traveled 12 hours that day. The desk clerk put us on the first floor and the third floor facing the pool. The pool was full of a crowd having a birthday party. There were other questionable people around smoking questionable substances and drinking. It turned out the desk clerk lied to me because Shawna went back and told her the first floor room was not acceptable. Shawna managed to get a 3rd floor room closer to our room even though the clerk had told me there was absolutely nothing available! Then the bedspreads had cigarette holes in them, there were holes in the walls and the ceilings. The only ice maker on the facility was in another building across the parking lot on the second floor. Breakfast was supposed to be complimentary the next morning, but the room was so small and so crowded with the party goers from the night before that we just left and went to Denny's. All the while, the desk clerk from the night before glared daggers at Shawna and me as if daring us to say anything at all! Boy, were we glad to get out of there!
We had a nice visit with Steve's family. It was good to see them all again. Our niece had her first baby, a boy, the day we left. I made her a quilt with the dinosaur theme that she had picked for the baby's room.
The moms and grands left Oregon a few days before Steve and I. They visited the Oregon-California coast and the giant redwoods. They got home a day ahead of Steve and I. Steve and I decided to drive back home via the 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains instead of going back the way we came on the I-5. The traffic was much lighter as were the crowds in restaurants. We drove through some of the tallest mountains in the lower 48. I got to see the Owen's Valley and we stopped at the visitors' center at the foot of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the country outside of Alaska.
So we get home in time for the first really bad monsoon thunderstorm of the season. On July 2, a bolt of lightening struck so close to us that we about jumped out of our skins. Then I saw a weird flickering orange glow just down the hill and in front of our pine trees. It was a fire! I was freaking out! Steve grabbed a shovel and headed down the hill. Fortunately, it was a single yucca plant. Steve was able to knock it down and cover it with dirt. I was so thankful that I saw it,(it was 930 at night) and that Steve was able to put it out by himself. We had plenty of rain that night too. Thank the Lord.
Then on July 8, my little red dog, Penny, got bitten right between the eyes by a rattlesnake. We lost her the following morning. She was 16 years old. I will miss her. She is buried in my rock garden in the front yard.
The chickens have not started laying eggs yet but I am hoping they will soon. My garden produced some lettuce and tomatoes, a few peppers and turnips, but then was wiped out by one of our famous storms. I will be ripping it out soon and may plant flowers instead.
Til next time.....
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The hummers and the swallows are back! The desert willow and all the cactus are in bloom. The mesquite trees have new leaves and the ocotillos are showing off their bright red plumes of flowers. At 7 am this morning it was already 80 degrees. I'm sure we will get very close to 100 today. The weather has been just about perfect, sunny with big white fluffy clouds in the afternoons. Soon the monsoon will hit and make it humid and miserable but for now, well just WOW! This is why we live in Arizona!
The alpacas got their yearly shearing on May 3. We did it a little differently this year. My neighbor with the large alpaca farm was kind enough to pick up my boys and take them to her barn for shearing. It was more convenient for the shearer and shearing in the barn was much better than out in the wild wind at my place. It took no time at all and I got a discount on the fee besides. So now the boys are all skinny again, all legs and necks!
With the help of friends, we moved the ducks and the assorted chickens to their new big yard last weekend. At first it was a little scary for the chicks, who are about half grown now. The little black bantam rooster escaped when I wasn't looking, Unfortunately, he met his demise. Buddy, my big white guard dog, either tried to keep the rooster in the yard or got hungry. Either way, when Steve got home, he saw Buddy "gnawing" on the little bantam, (his word, not mine!) I prefer to give Buddy the benefit of the doubt and hope that he just got too heavy pawed as he tried to prevent an escape.
Later one of the hens escaped. I heard Buddy bark and paid attention this time. He was lying down watching the hen from across the yard. She was pecking away at the ground just outside the pen. As I approached her she started running up and down the fence line looking for a way back in. Buddy decided to help me then but I managed to keep him away from her with the "Leave It!" command. I managed to catch her pretty quickly and returned her to the pen. Then Steve and I went around the fence line and placed rocks and bricks and whatever else we could fine handy, all around the bottom of the fence to prevent any more escapes. So far so good!
We placed a little kid's wading pool in the yard for the ducks. They love it! I fill it every morning with sparkling well water for them. Then they hop in and swim around, ducking their heads and fluffing their feathers. The chickens run over too. They like to scratch the ground that is soaked with water. I guess they find yummy worms and grubs that way.
I am watering my raised garden every morning now. I soak it in four sections for about a half hour each. Everything seems to be doing better than when I was just sprinkling it with the hose twice a day. We just do not have any moisture in the air and haven't had any rain since, well, I'm not sure, maybe January.
I continue to read diet books and exercise. I feel pretty good but I cannot say that I have lost any weight. I am beginning to think it is impossible without taking drastic measures which I am not sure are healthy or long lasting. Besides, I do like to eat. I am turning 60 this year so I just find myself wondering what is the point in depriving myself? Of course there is the health aspect. I do not stuff myself and I certainly don't eat bonbons and cake. I just do the best I can and try not to stress about it.
Speaking of stress, the whole point of writing this blog is to relieve some stress, yours and mine!
I'm sorry I do not have any new pictures right now. My printer is on the blink and until I get a new one I will have to hold off on the pictures. Hopefully that will be by the time I post next time! Until then, enjoy life and smell the chicks and ducks! HA! Not really, they stink!
The alpacas got their yearly shearing on May 3. We did it a little differently this year. My neighbor with the large alpaca farm was kind enough to pick up my boys and take them to her barn for shearing. It was more convenient for the shearer and shearing in the barn was much better than out in the wild wind at my place. It took no time at all and I got a discount on the fee besides. So now the boys are all skinny again, all legs and necks!
With the help of friends, we moved the ducks and the assorted chickens to their new big yard last weekend. At first it was a little scary for the chicks, who are about half grown now. The little black bantam rooster escaped when I wasn't looking, Unfortunately, he met his demise. Buddy, my big white guard dog, either tried to keep the rooster in the yard or got hungry. Either way, when Steve got home, he saw Buddy "gnawing" on the little bantam, (his word, not mine!) I prefer to give Buddy the benefit of the doubt and hope that he just got too heavy pawed as he tried to prevent an escape.
Later one of the hens escaped. I heard Buddy bark and paid attention this time. He was lying down watching the hen from across the yard. She was pecking away at the ground just outside the pen. As I approached her she started running up and down the fence line looking for a way back in. Buddy decided to help me then but I managed to keep him away from her with the "Leave It!" command. I managed to catch her pretty quickly and returned her to the pen. Then Steve and I went around the fence line and placed rocks and bricks and whatever else we could fine handy, all around the bottom of the fence to prevent any more escapes. So far so good!
We placed a little kid's wading pool in the yard for the ducks. They love it! I fill it every morning with sparkling well water for them. Then they hop in and swim around, ducking their heads and fluffing their feathers. The chickens run over too. They like to scratch the ground that is soaked with water. I guess they find yummy worms and grubs that way.
I am watering my raised garden every morning now. I soak it in four sections for about a half hour each. Everything seems to be doing better than when I was just sprinkling it with the hose twice a day. We just do not have any moisture in the air and haven't had any rain since, well, I'm not sure, maybe January.
I continue to read diet books and exercise. I feel pretty good but I cannot say that I have lost any weight. I am beginning to think it is impossible without taking drastic measures which I am not sure are healthy or long lasting. Besides, I do like to eat. I am turning 60 this year so I just find myself wondering what is the point in depriving myself? Of course there is the health aspect. I do not stuff myself and I certainly don't eat bonbons and cake. I just do the best I can and try not to stress about it.
Speaking of stress, the whole point of writing this blog is to relieve some stress, yours and mine!
I'm sorry I do not have any new pictures right now. My printer is on the blink and until I get a new one I will have to hold off on the pictures. Hopefully that will be by the time I post next time! Until then, enjoy life and smell the chicks and ducks! HA! Not really, they stink!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
I got my baby chicks and they are so cute! I also got 3 baby ducks. They are all growing so fast that I wish I had taken pictures sooner! I got one group of assorted chicks on March 29th along with the ducks. Then on April 5th, I got a dozen tiny Buff Orpington chicks. Something snatched two of the assorted chicks on the night I got them. They had disappeared and I thought I must've only gotten 8 instead of 10, (the mind plays tricks when you start getting old! Ha!) but then I noticed that the screen on the door of the pen had been pushed inward. There was no sign of the chicks, no feathers or feet left or anything. So I do not think it was one of our cats as they would've eaten them on the spot and left some evidence. So I blocked off the door with a heavy wooden panel until Steve had time to fix the door for me.
Two of the Buff Orpington chicks died right away, so I only have 10 left. These 10 seem to be growing slowly and getting more active. They are growing much slower than the assorted chicks so they are still very cute and little. The ducks are growing like gang busters although they are still covered in soft yellow down feathers. I can't wait til we can move them to their outdoor enclosure and build a pond for them.
We had an enjoyable Easter. The kids had a blast hunting for hidden eggs. We had ham and lots of trimmings for dinner. The men hid the eggs for the kids while Buddy was banished to the outside yard. He ate all the candy and eggs last year so we did not want that repeated!
I about wore myself out this past weekend. All of my houseplants were in need of re-potting so I tackled that job. Little did I know that it would take all day! And the wind did not help at all! We have been having major wind for weeks now. I don't think a day goes by when the wind speed is not at least 30 mph. The gusts are even worse, sometimes getting up to 50 mph. We have lost many shingles off of the barn roof and there is no way Steve can do any painting! I have not hung up my hanging plants outdoors yet as I am afraid they will get blown down. The plants in the ground are taking a beating. I planted tomato plants in the garden. They are clinging to the ground! I also planted seeds for lettuce, radishes, yellow squash and zucchini. I am watering 2 or 3 times a day just to keep the seeds moist. Hopefully, they will sprout in about 10 days. Then I'll have to fight off the birds!
I also completed a set of pillows for my oldest daughter. She painted her bedroom and wanted some new throw pillows for the bed. I thought they turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Maybe my new business should be "Pillows! Designed by Debbie"! LOL!
Two of the Buff Orpington chicks died right away, so I only have 10 left. These 10 seem to be growing slowly and getting more active. They are growing much slower than the assorted chicks so they are still very cute and little. The ducks are growing like gang busters although they are still covered in soft yellow down feathers. I can't wait til we can move them to their outdoor enclosure and build a pond for them.
We had an enjoyable Easter. The kids had a blast hunting for hidden eggs. We had ham and lots of trimmings for dinner. The men hid the eggs for the kids while Buddy was banished to the outside yard. He ate all the candy and eggs last year so we did not want that repeated!
I about wore myself out this past weekend. All of my houseplants were in need of re-potting so I tackled that job. Little did I know that it would take all day! And the wind did not help at all! We have been having major wind for weeks now. I don't think a day goes by when the wind speed is not at least 30 mph. The gusts are even worse, sometimes getting up to 50 mph. We have lost many shingles off of the barn roof and there is no way Steve can do any painting! I have not hung up my hanging plants outdoors yet as I am afraid they will get blown down. The plants in the ground are taking a beating. I planted tomato plants in the garden. They are clinging to the ground! I also planted seeds for lettuce, radishes, yellow squash and zucchini. I am watering 2 or 3 times a day just to keep the seeds moist. Hopefully, they will sprout in about 10 days. Then I'll have to fight off the birds!
I also completed a set of pillows for my oldest daughter. She painted her bedroom and wanted some new throw pillows for the bed. I thought they turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Maybe my new business should be "Pillows! Designed by Debbie"! LOL!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Spring Begins Today! Yeah! In February, we had 3 blizzards here, one on February 9th, one on the 11th and the 3rd on the 20th, just a month ago today. Our weather since the beginning of March has really been spring like with temps in the 80s and warm bright sunshiny days. The wind has been a bit tedious at times with gusts up to 40 mph. Our humidity has just blown away in the wind. Some days the humidity is a mere 4 %. I have started thinking about planting veggies and flowers in my raised bed, but have not done so. I do not trust the March weather here. March came in like a lamb, as the old saying goes, so I figure it will go out like a lion. I have not forgotten the March's in the past when some of my baby goats were born in blizzards in March. Nope, can't trust March weather. I will wait til April to plant.
It was my great pleasure to have a visit earlier this month from a gal friend I knew when Steve was stationed in Idaho with the Air Force about 30 plus years ago! She brought her two daughters and spent a few nights here. Then I drove her down to Sierra Vista to meet with another friend that was also in Idaho with us. The 3 of us, all pretty much "old Ladies" now, visited Tombstone for a day. I had never been to the Boot Hill Grave yard in Tombstone. It was very interesting. The men who fought the famous gunfight at the OK Corral against Wyatt Earp and Dr. Holiday were buried there in one big grave. Most of the graves were marked with wooden crosses or grave markers. I took pictures of the most interesting ones.
It was great to see my old friend and try to catch up on the passed 30 years. She does not live so far away now, only one state over. My Sierra Vista friend and I hope to visit at her home sometime in the near future. Her daughters are smart and beautiful and I enjoyed meeting them.
We celebrated Valentine's Day in February with chocolate cake and candy. Then in March, our oldest grandson turned 11 years old. We celebrated his birthday a week late because everyone was too sick to get together on the day. Steve had pneumonia, and everyone else had colds or something . Our oldest daughter is still sick. She has been sick for several months now with what seems like a cold. The doctors found no evidence of bronchitis or pneumonia. She finally diagnosed herself when she discovered she has all the symptoms of Valley Fever. There is really no treatment for it unless she does develop pneumonia or something. She has an asthma inhaler and is just trying to wait it out.
I have been looking at ads on Craig's List in the farm and garden part. I cannot decide if I want to get new goats or some other livestock. I did answer an ad where someone was trying to re-home a donkey for $200. I was uneasy about that so I did not protest overly much when Steve said, "NO!" I am planning on getting some chicks soon. Chickens provide meat, eggs and entertainment, aren't too expensive to feed and do not tear my heart out when it it time to, let me say, put them on the dinner table! Maybe I will have pictures of chicks for the next post.
It was my great pleasure to have a visit earlier this month from a gal friend I knew when Steve was stationed in Idaho with the Air Force about 30 plus years ago! She brought her two daughters and spent a few nights here. Then I drove her down to Sierra Vista to meet with another friend that was also in Idaho with us. The 3 of us, all pretty much "old Ladies" now, visited Tombstone for a day. I had never been to the Boot Hill Grave yard in Tombstone. It was very interesting. The men who fought the famous gunfight at the OK Corral against Wyatt Earp and Dr. Holiday were buried there in one big grave. Most of the graves were marked with wooden crosses or grave markers. I took pictures of the most interesting ones.
It was great to see my old friend and try to catch up on the passed 30 years. She does not live so far away now, only one state over. My Sierra Vista friend and I hope to visit at her home sometime in the near future. Her daughters are smart and beautiful and I enjoyed meeting them.
We celebrated Valentine's Day in February with chocolate cake and candy. Then in March, our oldest grandson turned 11 years old. We celebrated his birthday a week late because everyone was too sick to get together on the day. Steve had pneumonia, and everyone else had colds or something . Our oldest daughter is still sick. She has been sick for several months now with what seems like a cold. The doctors found no evidence of bronchitis or pneumonia. She finally diagnosed herself when she discovered she has all the symptoms of Valley Fever. There is really no treatment for it unless she does develop pneumonia or something. She has an asthma inhaler and is just trying to wait it out.
I have been looking at ads on Craig's List in the farm and garden part. I cannot decide if I want to get new goats or some other livestock. I did answer an ad where someone was trying to re-home a donkey for $200. I was uneasy about that so I did not protest overly much when Steve said, "NO!" I am planning on getting some chicks soon. Chickens provide meat, eggs and entertainment, aren't too expensive to feed and do not tear my heart out when it it time to, let me say, put them on the dinner table! Maybe I will have pictures of chicks for the next post.
Monday, March 4, 2013
This will be my last post about our South American Cruise. On February 1, 2013, we docked at Cozamel, Mexico. This was the first day we had cloudy, rainy skies and less than ideal conditions. It was a very long walk through a crowded shopping mall to get to our tour bus. But we did get an idea of stores to shop at on the way back to the ship.
Our first stop was a history museum where models of the Mayan civilization were featured. These were small replicas of some of the ruins we had visited and others that were more famous that we did not visit on this trip. It was cool to see how the temples and villages were set up during their hay day. We also got to see men in native costumes climb a very tall pole and swing down upside down. I managed to get photos while they were on the ground, but my camera battery quit. By the time I got a new one in, the men had already completed their performance. Pretty scary stuff! I would have enjoyed knowing more about the significance of this particular pole dance. I either did not hear the tour guide's explanation or there was none.
After that we got back on the bus to visit another historic sight. They were rebuilding the first Catholic church and other historic buildings at this stop. Mostly, it was known for the black coral jewelry that the people sold there. You can tell the difference between black coral and say, onyx or obsidian, because the coral has little rings, like tree rings, that appear when it is cut for jewelry. It is also very light compared to the other stones. I picked up a necklace made with several pieces of coral and jade stones. I asked the vendor for the price. He told me $60! Wow! Well, I only had $40 to spend and told him so as I handed the necklace back to him. It was crowded and so I was slowly making my way out of the store. The vendor suddenly appeared in front of me again and said he would take my $40 for the necklace! Made me wonder if I could've made a better bargain! But I do like the necklace. Steve and I got our picture taken with a cute little donkey at this stop.
Next we drove along the beach and made stops for pictures at several scenic spots. Our destination was the tequila tasting factory. We walked by a field of blue agave plants. Tequila is made from the root of the blue agave. The hosts at the factory handed out little tasting cups to everyone who wanted to sample the varieties of tequila. Steve sampled each one. He thought some were too sweet and liked others. I took pictures because usually tequila does not agree with me. I loved the beautiful bottles filled with the blue tequila.
We returned to the dock and all the shops and stores and crowds of people. I was tired, hungry and frustrated. It was our last stop and I still had gifts to buy for people back home. It was also super windy and pouring down rain by this time. We managed to find hats and the gifts we needed and finally headed back to the safety and warmth of the ship.
That night on board the crew treated everyone to a "Chocaholics' Buffet." They had just about every chocolate confection one could imagine, brownies, eclairs, Boston Cream pie, Black Forest cake, lady fingers, fudge, cream puffs etc., etc. It was so crowded that we grabbed a plateful and headed for the wine store. Then we enjoyed our chocolate and wine in the privacy of our stateroom. It seemed a fitting end to our shipboard adventure.
The following day was spent at sea headed back to New Orleans. I think that was one of the fastest weeks of my life! Next time I will catch up on what has been happening since we got home.
Our first stop was a history museum where models of the Mayan civilization were featured. These were small replicas of some of the ruins we had visited and others that were more famous that we did not visit on this trip. It was cool to see how the temples and villages were set up during their hay day. We also got to see men in native costumes climb a very tall pole and swing down upside down. I managed to get photos while they were on the ground, but my camera battery quit. By the time I got a new one in, the men had already completed their performance. Pretty scary stuff! I would have enjoyed knowing more about the significance of this particular pole dance. I either did not hear the tour guide's explanation or there was none.
After that we got back on the bus to visit another historic sight. They were rebuilding the first Catholic church and other historic buildings at this stop. Mostly, it was known for the black coral jewelry that the people sold there. You can tell the difference between black coral and say, onyx or obsidian, because the coral has little rings, like tree rings, that appear when it is cut for jewelry. It is also very light compared to the other stones. I picked up a necklace made with several pieces of coral and jade stones. I asked the vendor for the price. He told me $60! Wow! Well, I only had $40 to spend and told him so as I handed the necklace back to him. It was crowded and so I was slowly making my way out of the store. The vendor suddenly appeared in front of me again and said he would take my $40 for the necklace! Made me wonder if I could've made a better bargain! But I do like the necklace. Steve and I got our picture taken with a cute little donkey at this stop.
Next we drove along the beach and made stops for pictures at several scenic spots. Our destination was the tequila tasting factory. We walked by a field of blue agave plants. Tequila is made from the root of the blue agave. The hosts at the factory handed out little tasting cups to everyone who wanted to sample the varieties of tequila. Steve sampled each one. He thought some were too sweet and liked others. I took pictures because usually tequila does not agree with me. I loved the beautiful bottles filled with the blue tequila.
We returned to the dock and all the shops and stores and crowds of people. I was tired, hungry and frustrated. It was our last stop and I still had gifts to buy for people back home. It was also super windy and pouring down rain by this time. We managed to find hats and the gifts we needed and finally headed back to the safety and warmth of the ship.
That night on board the crew treated everyone to a "Chocaholics' Buffet." They had just about every chocolate confection one could imagine, brownies, eclairs, Boston Cream pie, Black Forest cake, lady fingers, fudge, cream puffs etc., etc. It was so crowded that we grabbed a plateful and headed for the wine store. Then we enjoyed our chocolate and wine in the privacy of our stateroom. It seemed a fitting end to our shipboard adventure.
The following day was spent at sea headed back to New Orleans. I think that was one of the fastest weeks of my life! Next time I will catch up on what has been happening since we got home.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
January 31, 2013
Today we docked at the beautiful island of Roatan. As we went ashore we were greeted by native dancers and musicians welcoming us to their island. Once again we boarded a bus to take us on an island tour.
Our first stop was a new tourist area that is being developed. We were encouraged to invest in the condominium complex that will be right on the beach and have all the latest amenities. After that we got to go on a boat ride around the lagoon. The lagoon was surrounded and protected by mangrove forests. It is against the law in Roatan to cut down mangrove trees because they protect the shoreline from storm surges that would wash away homes and beaches. On this boat ride we also got to see two ship wrecks and the original "Black Pearl" used to film the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
After the boat ride I bought some trinkets for the kids and a piece of local pottery for myself. Then we were off to the next stop which was a view from the top of the island. Roatan is not flat like the other places we visited. It was mountainous and the views were spectacular. We stopped at two more places, one was to see the historic mud houses that the first people to the island lived in and constructed by hand. These huts were made by placing cane poles horizontally and then plastering them inside and out with red mud. We also got to sample a local bread made from casaba, which is a potato like vegetable.
I'm afraid I did not enjoy Roatan as much as our first two tours at Costa Maya and Belize. The tour guide was not as good or enthusiastic and there seemed to be more of a depressed atmosphere. The people spoke English and Spanish as well as their own dialect. And it seemed crowded and congested.
We returned to the ship and had lunch. Steve wanted to nap so I went to check out the ship's pool. I am spoiled as far as pools go. That is simply because we have our own pool at home which Steve keeps in immaculate condition and it is never crowded! Ha! Anyway, the ship's pool was full of elderly ladies, like me, standing around talking and blocking the steps to the water. There were also several men checking out all the ladies and most of the deck chairs were occupied also. I swam a few laps and realized that it was a salt water pool. Salt water itches! Yikes! So that was my last trip to the ship's pool.
That night we ate dinner at the "Ginza" restaurant. They offered Chinese, Japanese and Pacific Asian dishes. We got shrimp, sweet and sour pork and low mein. It was a ton of food and delicious, as we have now come to expect on board. After dinner we attended the theater again. It was a spectacular performance by the Russian husband and wife acrobatic/ballet team.
The next stop is the last stop on the cruise in Cozamel, Mexico.
Today we docked at the beautiful island of Roatan. As we went ashore we were greeted by native dancers and musicians welcoming us to their island. Once again we boarded a bus to take us on an island tour.
Our first stop was a new tourist area that is being developed. We were encouraged to invest in the condominium complex that will be right on the beach and have all the latest amenities. After that we got to go on a boat ride around the lagoon. The lagoon was surrounded and protected by mangrove forests. It is against the law in Roatan to cut down mangrove trees because they protect the shoreline from storm surges that would wash away homes and beaches. On this boat ride we also got to see two ship wrecks and the original "Black Pearl" used to film the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
After the boat ride I bought some trinkets for the kids and a piece of local pottery for myself. Then we were off to the next stop which was a view from the top of the island. Roatan is not flat like the other places we visited. It was mountainous and the views were spectacular. We stopped at two more places, one was to see the historic mud houses that the first people to the island lived in and constructed by hand. These huts were made by placing cane poles horizontally and then plastering them inside and out with red mud. We also got to sample a local bread made from casaba, which is a potato like vegetable.
I'm afraid I did not enjoy Roatan as much as our first two tours at Costa Maya and Belize. The tour guide was not as good or enthusiastic and there seemed to be more of a depressed atmosphere. The people spoke English and Spanish as well as their own dialect. And it seemed crowded and congested.
We returned to the ship and had lunch. Steve wanted to nap so I went to check out the ship's pool. I am spoiled as far as pools go. That is simply because we have our own pool at home which Steve keeps in immaculate condition and it is never crowded! Ha! Anyway, the ship's pool was full of elderly ladies, like me, standing around talking and blocking the steps to the water. There were also several men checking out all the ladies and most of the deck chairs were occupied also. I swam a few laps and realized that it was a salt water pool. Salt water itches! Yikes! So that was my last trip to the ship's pool.
That night we ate dinner at the "Ginza" restaurant. They offered Chinese, Japanese and Pacific Asian dishes. We got shrimp, sweet and sour pork and low mein. It was a ton of food and delicious, as we have now come to expect on board. After dinner we attended the theater again. It was a spectacular performance by the Russian husband and wife acrobatic/ballet team.
The next stop is the last stop on the cruise in Cozamel, Mexico.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Jan. 30, 2013 Wednesday
This morning we found ourselves at anchor several miles from the Belize Coast. The sea is too shallow for the cruise ships to dock next to Belize City. We had to take smaller boats called "tethers" to shore this morning.
Once on shore, we again boarded buses for a ride into the countryside. This time our destination was the Altun Ha Mayan Ruins. Our guide was a tall black man called Peter. He spoke fluent English, as Belize once belonged to the British, with a slight Belize accent. He was very informative and very entertaining. He seemed to genuinely enjoy what he was doing. We stopped at several places along the way where he pointed out exotic plants, like the Devil's Guts, and the large wild iguanas that inhabit Belize. The Devil's Guts was a parasitic plant that grew up trees. It resembles some of the cactus around here, smaller climbing versions of saguaro almost. Green and prickly, it covered the host tree. The iguanas climbed walls and basked in the sun, totally at ease in their jungle environment.
The Mayan ruins at Altun Ha are no less impressive than those in Costa Maya. Our guide informed us that the purpose of these ruins was not blood sacrifice however, but Altun Ha was a dynamic trading mecca for people who came from all over Central America. The name "Altun Ha" means "The Watering Hole".
Steve and many of the other tourists in our party followed our guide and hiked to the top of the largest temple there. I stayed at the bottom and took pictures. The stone steps were so huge people nearly bent in half to get a foot up and then walked down sideways. Our guide informed us that that is the way the temples were designed so that one had to bow on the way up and go down sideways on the way down so as not to turn one's back on the gods.
As I waited for Steve I was accosted by about 10 tall black young men carrying several alligators and some turtles. I was a little intimidated but quickly realized that they wanted to take my picture with the alligators for a tip. I let them take the pictures but realized that I had no cash on me. I told them Steve would give them some money when he came down from the temple and started walking back toward the bus. Steve was accosted by them too and he told them his wife had all the money! We did not feel good about that so once we reunited we walked back to the boys and gave then a generous tip. Or at least the looks and talk I heard made me think they were pleased. Each American dollar we gave them was equal to two Belize dollars.
When we returned to Belize City, there was much partying going on and people turning beet red from the tropical sun. They had spent the day at the beach and swimming at the pool while we were on our tour. We had plenty of time, so we found the Diamonds International Store, I got my charm and then we found an available "tether" for a nice cool ocean ride back to our ship.
Once on board we returned to the Blue Lagoon for lunch, we couldn't forget those wonderful buffalo wings! Then we returned to our cabin to decide what to do for dinner. I also wanted to attend the theater that night. The show was "Shout! The Mod Musical." Since we had lunch so late we decided to go to the show and then go to dinner. The show turned out to be very enjoyable. Four of the ship's female entertainers did a medley of British songs from the '60s and '70s with special emphasis on tunes that Petula Clark made famous, "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "Downtown" and some of the Bond movie themes, like "Gold Finger." Of course, they had to emphasize the role that the feminist movement played during that time with songs like "These Boots were made for Walkin'" and "You don't Own Me." Overall, an excellent show and a little walk down memory lane for all of us old ladies! Ha!
We stopped at the French Restaurant on our way back to the cabin to get a couple bottles of wine and retired to our balcony for the evening. In the morning we would awake to the sound of drums and dancing on the shore of Roatan, Honduras.
This morning we found ourselves at anchor several miles from the Belize Coast. The sea is too shallow for the cruise ships to dock next to Belize City. We had to take smaller boats called "tethers" to shore this morning.
Once on shore, we again boarded buses for a ride into the countryside. This time our destination was the Altun Ha Mayan Ruins. Our guide was a tall black man called Peter. He spoke fluent English, as Belize once belonged to the British, with a slight Belize accent. He was very informative and very entertaining. He seemed to genuinely enjoy what he was doing. We stopped at several places along the way where he pointed out exotic plants, like the Devil's Guts, and the large wild iguanas that inhabit Belize. The Devil's Guts was a parasitic plant that grew up trees. It resembles some of the cactus around here, smaller climbing versions of saguaro almost. Green and prickly, it covered the host tree. The iguanas climbed walls and basked in the sun, totally at ease in their jungle environment.
The Mayan ruins at Altun Ha are no less impressive than those in Costa Maya. Our guide informed us that the purpose of these ruins was not blood sacrifice however, but Altun Ha was a dynamic trading mecca for people who came from all over Central America. The name "Altun Ha" means "The Watering Hole".
Steve and many of the other tourists in our party followed our guide and hiked to the top of the largest temple there. I stayed at the bottom and took pictures. The stone steps were so huge people nearly bent in half to get a foot up and then walked down sideways. Our guide informed us that that is the way the temples were designed so that one had to bow on the way up and go down sideways on the way down so as not to turn one's back on the gods.
As I waited for Steve I was accosted by about 10 tall black young men carrying several alligators and some turtles. I was a little intimidated but quickly realized that they wanted to take my picture with the alligators for a tip. I let them take the pictures but realized that I had no cash on me. I told them Steve would give them some money when he came down from the temple and started walking back toward the bus. Steve was accosted by them too and he told them his wife had all the money! We did not feel good about that so once we reunited we walked back to the boys and gave then a generous tip. Or at least the looks and talk I heard made me think they were pleased. Each American dollar we gave them was equal to two Belize dollars.
When we returned to Belize City, there was much partying going on and people turning beet red from the tropical sun. They had spent the day at the beach and swimming at the pool while we were on our tour. We had plenty of time, so we found the Diamonds International Store, I got my charm and then we found an available "tether" for a nice cool ocean ride back to our ship.
Once on board we returned to the Blue Lagoon for lunch, we couldn't forget those wonderful buffalo wings! Then we returned to our cabin to decide what to do for dinner. I also wanted to attend the theater that night. The show was "Shout! The Mod Musical." Since we had lunch so late we decided to go to the show and then go to dinner. The show turned out to be very enjoyable. Four of the ship's female entertainers did a medley of British songs from the '60s and '70s with special emphasis on tunes that Petula Clark made famous, "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "Downtown" and some of the Bond movie themes, like "Gold Finger." Of course, they had to emphasize the role that the feminist movement played during that time with songs like "These Boots were made for Walkin'" and "You don't Own Me." Overall, an excellent show and a little walk down memory lane for all of us old ladies! Ha!
We stopped at the French Restaurant on our way back to the cabin to get a couple bottles of wine and retired to our balcony for the evening. In the morning we would awake to the sound of drums and dancing on the shore of Roatan, Honduras.
Friday, February 15, 2013
I left you on Monday, January 28th, sailing across the Gulf of Mexico. That was a very relaxing day and a day to explore the ship and get our bearings. We went to breakfast at the Market Cafe, which was the ship's main buffet on the 12th deck at the rear of the ship or "aft" as it was referred to on board. We had to use one of the elevators and then walk through several corridors of cabins to get there from our stateroom. I continually got turned around and had to refer to little maps of the ship that were posted just outside most elevators. We could have just about whatever we wanted for breakfast, including a made to order omelet, fresh fruit and all kinds of pastries.
Back in our cabin we enjoyed sitting on the balcony. We saw flying fish and dolphins swimming near the ship. Mostly they seemed to be trying to escape from the ship's wake. We were traveling about 16 to 18 knots and the wake was wide and deep. The ocean that day was not exactly smooth and glassy either. We were experiencing waves about 4 -5 feet in the open ocean that day.
For dinner that night we decided to go to Cagney's Steak House and made reservations for 6pm. The steak house was on Deck 13 Aft. A very elegant place with soft lighting and a sophisticated atmosphere, I was glad I dressed up! We both had steak, of course. Steve had a New York T-bone and I had a Petite Fillet Mignon. It was 5 ounces of the most tender delicious steak I ever had! The waiter was very attentive and friendly. We also got to speak with one of the ship's officers who was walking around greeting guests. He was from the Philippines, and since we have also been there, we had a nice conversation about his homeland.
We decided not to attend theater this night and returned to our cabin for reading and wine. The next day we would be docking at Costa Maya and our tour would disembark at 830 am.
I awoke at some time during the night almost terrified! We had left the balcony door opened so that we could hear the ocean. (We use a fan at home for "white noise"to make it easier to sleep.) Well, it sounded to me as if the ocean was coming into our room the waves and wake were so noisy! I had to get out of bed and look outside. The ocean was where it had always been, eight stories below us. I could see whitecaps in the dark, though, so I think the sea may have been rougher than before that night.
Tuesday January 29th, Land Ho! We could see a flat sliver of land from our balcony so I think it was off the port side of the ship (that is the left side, which I think was the side we were on). As we drew closer, we could see a small beach and jungle, jungle, jungle! It reminded me of the scene in Jurassic Park where the little girl is attacked by little dinosaurs! We watched the ship dock alongside a long wide cement pier and then we disembarked, walked about a mile down that pier and then we were on the island of Costa Maya. We were herded on to tour buses and then listened to our guide tell us interesting facts about the island and the Mayan civilization for about an hour before we got to the ruins of Chachoben. we had to pass through one of those "check points" that you hear horror stories about in third world countries. There were guards armed with machine guns wearing camouflage uniforms. The bus stopped and the guide talked to them so we had no trouble getting through. It probably would not have been a problem anyway, but it made us wonder...
We arrived at the park site where we would get our first sight of the Mayan Ruins. We stepped out of the bus into the heat and humidity. It was about 90 degrees with 85% humidity, a recipe for instant sweat! I was glad we were there in January instead of June! We had a short walk to get to the Mayan city. I walked carefully because my knees are bad and I tend to fall easily. It was mostly a gravel path and not as difficult as I feared. The huge Mayan Pyramid was impressive. We also walked through what was once a little city where we could see the remains of houses that surrounded the temple area. The guide told us about the flora and fauna that inhabits the park and we saw a spider monkey high above us in a stately eucalyptus tree. I tried to get his picture but he was really far away. I tried to show a lady in our group where the monkey was but I don't think she ever did see him.
We got back to the ship about 3pm that day. I stopped at Diamonds International, a fancy jewelry store that had a branch at every port. We had gotten a charm bracelet on the ship and if we stopped at the diamond store, the clerk would give us a free charm to add to our bracelet. It is only costume jewelry and an enticement to get you to buy diamonds but it was fun to collect the different charms. By the time we got back on board we were famished. We found the Blue Lagoon Restaurant on the ship. It was practically empty. Many people stopped at the restaurants on the pier to eat and party. Anyway, the Blue Lagoon ended up having the best buffalo wings I ever ate. Steve and I shared a plate of those and then we had lunch. Steve had meatloaf and I had fish and chips. I don't know if it was because we were so hungry after our tour but it sure was a good lunch!
We decided to try the Versailles Restaurant for dinner that night. It was the most elegant restaurant as far as decor on the ship. It had gold framed pictures on the walls, fancy French wallpaper and mauve upholstered chairs, along with gorgeous crystal chandeliers that provided a soft romantic atmosphere. It was one of the complimentary restaurants (no cover charge) so it was much more crowded than the steak house. I had cod fish prepared in a fancy creamy French way. It was very good but the salad before was better and more interesting. It was a pumpkin and orange salad with a tangy dressing. I cannot remember what Steve had, maybe steak. Ha!
We went to the Stardust Theater after dinner. This time there was an acrobatic show performed by a Russian husband and wife team who had been with the Russian ballet. They used long flowing scarves or drapes, wrapped them around there feet or bodies and then flew high in the air doing flips and all kinds of ballet moves. I was so tired from our day that I kept nodding off in spite of the exciting show. I was glad to retire to our cabin and looked forward to the next day in Belize.
Back in our cabin we enjoyed sitting on the balcony. We saw flying fish and dolphins swimming near the ship. Mostly they seemed to be trying to escape from the ship's wake. We were traveling about 16 to 18 knots and the wake was wide and deep. The ocean that day was not exactly smooth and glassy either. We were experiencing waves about 4 -5 feet in the open ocean that day.
For dinner that night we decided to go to Cagney's Steak House and made reservations for 6pm. The steak house was on Deck 13 Aft. A very elegant place with soft lighting and a sophisticated atmosphere, I was glad I dressed up! We both had steak, of course. Steve had a New York T-bone and I had a Petite Fillet Mignon. It was 5 ounces of the most tender delicious steak I ever had! The waiter was very attentive and friendly. We also got to speak with one of the ship's officers who was walking around greeting guests. He was from the Philippines, and since we have also been there, we had a nice conversation about his homeland.
We decided not to attend theater this night and returned to our cabin for reading and wine. The next day we would be docking at Costa Maya and our tour would disembark at 830 am.
I awoke at some time during the night almost terrified! We had left the balcony door opened so that we could hear the ocean. (We use a fan at home for "white noise"to make it easier to sleep.) Well, it sounded to me as if the ocean was coming into our room the waves and wake were so noisy! I had to get out of bed and look outside. The ocean was where it had always been, eight stories below us. I could see whitecaps in the dark, though, so I think the sea may have been rougher than before that night.
Tuesday January 29th, Land Ho! We could see a flat sliver of land from our balcony so I think it was off the port side of the ship (that is the left side, which I think was the side we were on). As we drew closer, we could see a small beach and jungle, jungle, jungle! It reminded me of the scene in Jurassic Park where the little girl is attacked by little dinosaurs! We watched the ship dock alongside a long wide cement pier and then we disembarked, walked about a mile down that pier and then we were on the island of Costa Maya. We were herded on to tour buses and then listened to our guide tell us interesting facts about the island and the Mayan civilization for about an hour before we got to the ruins of Chachoben. we had to pass through one of those "check points" that you hear horror stories about in third world countries. There were guards armed with machine guns wearing camouflage uniforms. The bus stopped and the guide talked to them so we had no trouble getting through. It probably would not have been a problem anyway, but it made us wonder...
We arrived at the park site where we would get our first sight of the Mayan Ruins. We stepped out of the bus into the heat and humidity. It was about 90 degrees with 85% humidity, a recipe for instant sweat! I was glad we were there in January instead of June! We had a short walk to get to the Mayan city. I walked carefully because my knees are bad and I tend to fall easily. It was mostly a gravel path and not as difficult as I feared. The huge Mayan Pyramid was impressive. We also walked through what was once a little city where we could see the remains of houses that surrounded the temple area. The guide told us about the flora and fauna that inhabits the park and we saw a spider monkey high above us in a stately eucalyptus tree. I tried to get his picture but he was really far away. I tried to show a lady in our group where the monkey was but I don't think she ever did see him.
We got back to the ship about 3pm that day. I stopped at Diamonds International, a fancy jewelry store that had a branch at every port. We had gotten a charm bracelet on the ship and if we stopped at the diamond store, the clerk would give us a free charm to add to our bracelet. It is only costume jewelry and an enticement to get you to buy diamonds but it was fun to collect the different charms. By the time we got back on board we were famished. We found the Blue Lagoon Restaurant on the ship. It was practically empty. Many people stopped at the restaurants on the pier to eat and party. Anyway, the Blue Lagoon ended up having the best buffalo wings I ever ate. Steve and I shared a plate of those and then we had lunch. Steve had meatloaf and I had fish and chips. I don't know if it was because we were so hungry after our tour but it sure was a good lunch!
We decided to try the Versailles Restaurant for dinner that night. It was the most elegant restaurant as far as decor on the ship. It had gold framed pictures on the walls, fancy French wallpaper and mauve upholstered chairs, along with gorgeous crystal chandeliers that provided a soft romantic atmosphere. It was one of the complimentary restaurants (no cover charge) so it was much more crowded than the steak house. I had cod fish prepared in a fancy creamy French way. It was very good but the salad before was better and more interesting. It was a pumpkin and orange salad with a tangy dressing. I cannot remember what Steve had, maybe steak. Ha!
We went to the Stardust Theater after dinner. This time there was an acrobatic show performed by a Russian husband and wife team who had been with the Russian ballet. They used long flowing scarves or drapes, wrapped them around there feet or bodies and then flew high in the air doing flips and all kinds of ballet moves. I was so tired from our day that I kept nodding off in spite of the exciting show. I was glad to retire to our cabin and looked forward to the next day in Belize.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
One week ago today, Steve and I returned from our 40th Anniversary Cruise to Mexico, Belize and Honduras. I am just now getting caught up and back into the routine of things around home. We had a fabulous time and are anxious to go on another cruise in the next couple of years. But I am getting ahead of myself here. I thought I would do a series of blogs to tell you about our trip, starting with the first leg of the trip to New Orleans.
We left Tucson on Saturday morning, January 26th, on a Southwest flight to New Orleans. It was pouring down rain and cold when we left. We had a short lay-over in Las Vegas and got into New Orleans about 330 pm EST. Then we got a taxi ride to the Marriot Hotel in downtown New Orleans. We drove right passed the Super Dome where the Super Bowl would be taking place the following Sunday.
New Orleans was crowded and wild! It was the beginning of Mardi Gras and people were already arriving for the Superbowl. Our taxi had to drop us off several blocks from the hotel because streets were blocked off for Mardi Gras parades that night. We enjoyed seeing the old historic buildings and downtown. Our taxi driver showed us places and streets that were flooded from Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans has done a great job of rebuilding and improving the city.
Our room at the Marriot was located on the 11th floor. We could see Canal Street and hear all the bands and hubbub going on in the street below. Out a window at the end of the hall we could see the mighty Mississippi River where huge barges and oil tankers floated by. We ate dinner at the hotel dining room. Steve had a great gumbo soup for starters. He also enjoyed a steak, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I had a salad and salmon. It was delicious, of course, and it went on our hotel tab!
In the morning, we decided to order room service for breakfast. Steve ordered eggs, hash browns and sausage for himself and yogurt and a fruit plate for me. Weren't we surprised in the morning when our server showed up with a huge table with double the order! OMG! We each had a huge breakfast plus 2 huge fruit plates and 2 yogurts! It was great until we got the bill. It was also HUGE. A whopping $88, which did not include a tip! Amazing! I was just hoping the rest of our meals would not top that! After that we got our stuff together and went down to the hotel lobby to meet our bus that would take us to the ship. I complained to my daughter via cell phone that Steve wasn't smiling yet. She texted back, "That's because he paid $88 for sausage and eggs!" LOL!
We were with about 85 other people who were boarding buses to go on the cruise. We were to get on the same bus as our luggage and got to the ship in about 5 minutes. We could not go to our stateroom as soon as we got aboard. We had to wait until they announced that our rooms were ready. We wandered around the ship's decks and public areas until the announcement was made. I took lots of pictures of New Orleans and the traffic on the Mississippi. We sailed down the river at about dusk.
Our stateroom had everything we could possibly need, a queen sized bed, a bathroom, tv, chairs and tables, a sofa, a small refrigerator, completely stocked with wine, spirits and soft drinks, and a balcony. We spent a lot of time on that balcony. We stayed on the balcony as we sailed down the mighty muddy river until it got dark. Then we went to our first shipboard restaurant, Le Bistro. It had French cuisine. Steve wanted to go there first because they offered escargot, something he enjoys much more than I do. He also had duck for dinner. I had a fancy portabella mushroom dish. It looked like a Whopper but it had no meat. Very interesting and good tasting. We also had wine with dinner and purchased a bottle to take to our stateroom.
After dinner we attended our first "Hollywood" show at the Stardust Theater. It was an onstage live performance with singers and dancers performing a series of ABBA songs. A spectacular extravaganza! The crew was also introduced and raffle tickets were sold. The theater was packed and all this was included as part of the cruise. We were feeling pretty good by the time we returned to our cabin for the night. Of course many people were just getting started. There were other shows and several parties going on all night, not to mention the on board casino! We probably could've partied 24/7 if we wanted to. We preferred a more quiet, private atmosphere and ended our first night drinking fine wine on our balcony while listening to the ship glide thought the water.
Day 2 was spent sailing across the Gulf of Mexico toward our first port of Costa Maya, Mexico. I'll tell you about that in my next post.
We left Tucson on Saturday morning, January 26th, on a Southwest flight to New Orleans. It was pouring down rain and cold when we left. We had a short lay-over in Las Vegas and got into New Orleans about 330 pm EST. Then we got a taxi ride to the Marriot Hotel in downtown New Orleans. We drove right passed the Super Dome where the Super Bowl would be taking place the following Sunday.
New Orleans was crowded and wild! It was the beginning of Mardi Gras and people were already arriving for the Superbowl. Our taxi had to drop us off several blocks from the hotel because streets were blocked off for Mardi Gras parades that night. We enjoyed seeing the old historic buildings and downtown. Our taxi driver showed us places and streets that were flooded from Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans has done a great job of rebuilding and improving the city.
Our room at the Marriot was located on the 11th floor. We could see Canal Street and hear all the bands and hubbub going on in the street below. Out a window at the end of the hall we could see the mighty Mississippi River where huge barges and oil tankers floated by. We ate dinner at the hotel dining room. Steve had a great gumbo soup for starters. He also enjoyed a steak, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I had a salad and salmon. It was delicious, of course, and it went on our hotel tab!
In the morning, we decided to order room service for breakfast. Steve ordered eggs, hash browns and sausage for himself and yogurt and a fruit plate for me. Weren't we surprised in the morning when our server showed up with a huge table with double the order! OMG! We each had a huge breakfast plus 2 huge fruit plates and 2 yogurts! It was great until we got the bill. It was also HUGE. A whopping $88, which did not include a tip! Amazing! I was just hoping the rest of our meals would not top that! After that we got our stuff together and went down to the hotel lobby to meet our bus that would take us to the ship. I complained to my daughter via cell phone that Steve wasn't smiling yet. She texted back, "That's because he paid $88 for sausage and eggs!" LOL!
We were with about 85 other people who were boarding buses to go on the cruise. We were to get on the same bus as our luggage and got to the ship in about 5 minutes. We could not go to our stateroom as soon as we got aboard. We had to wait until they announced that our rooms were ready. We wandered around the ship's decks and public areas until the announcement was made. I took lots of pictures of New Orleans and the traffic on the Mississippi. We sailed down the river at about dusk.
Our stateroom had everything we could possibly need, a queen sized bed, a bathroom, tv, chairs and tables, a sofa, a small refrigerator, completely stocked with wine, spirits and soft drinks, and a balcony. We spent a lot of time on that balcony. We stayed on the balcony as we sailed down the mighty muddy river until it got dark. Then we went to our first shipboard restaurant, Le Bistro. It had French cuisine. Steve wanted to go there first because they offered escargot, something he enjoys much more than I do. He also had duck for dinner. I had a fancy portabella mushroom dish. It looked like a Whopper but it had no meat. Very interesting and good tasting. We also had wine with dinner and purchased a bottle to take to our stateroom.
After dinner we attended our first "Hollywood" show at the Stardust Theater. It was an onstage live performance with singers and dancers performing a series of ABBA songs. A spectacular extravaganza! The crew was also introduced and raffle tickets were sold. The theater was packed and all this was included as part of the cruise. We were feeling pretty good by the time we returned to our cabin for the night. Of course many people were just getting started. There were other shows and several parties going on all night, not to mention the on board casino! We probably could've partied 24/7 if we wanted to. We preferred a more quiet, private atmosphere and ended our first night drinking fine wine on our balcony while listening to the ship glide thought the water.
Day 2 was spent sailing across the Gulf of Mexico toward our first port of Costa Maya, Mexico. I'll tell you about that in my next post.
Monday, January 14, 2013
We have been having pipe freezing weather. In Benson, my daughter did not have water at her apartment yesterday morning because it got down to 20 degrees Saturday night. The high for the day was only about 47 degrees but it was sunny and bright. We left our water running all night for the last couple of nights. It is about the only way to make sure we have running water when it gets this cold. We cover all the exposed pipes that we can and then leave the water running. We learned the hard way a couple of years ago when it got down to 18 degrees and our pipes did freeze and break! Expensive to fix, not to mention the inconvenience of not having running water. We are so spoiled and hope to keep it that way as much as possible.
Steve and I took a little road trip with some good friends to Slaughter Ranch near Douglas, AZ. yesterday. John Slaughter was a rancher and Sheriff who established his ranch in the late 1800's.
The ranch house was a beautifully restored building that had been brought back to it's original design as much as possible. The ranch is right on the Arizona side of the Mexican-American border. I took pictures looking across to Mexico and we could see the border fence quite easily. The grounds were also beautiful and quite remote. There were several ponds, large trees and an assortment of wildlife and livestock.
Upon first entering the property, we came across several large longhorn cattle, a couple of donkeys and a horse. The cattle were amazing! I have never seen such spectacular horns on such huge beasts before. We could walk up right next to them and were separated only by a barbed-wire fence. Frankly I was a little nervous because, if that cow wanted to charge at us, that fence probably would not have even slowed him down. The men stayed in the car while us silly women walked up to the beasts and took lots of pictures.
We toured the ranch house and read all about the history of the property, it's founder, John Slaughter, and how it got started. There was also lots of info on the Army outpost that used a part of the ranch right on the border. There were written accounts of the soldiers watching Poncho Villa raid the settlements nearby. I loved the ranch house and the furnishings, the hardwood floors and the floor to ceiling windows. It was very large and open. There were several outbuildings, such as an ice house, a garage that housed a 1915 Model T, a granary and a cook's house. I especially enjoyed a newspaper article written about John Slaughter. It claimed that whether or not you liked Mr. Slaughter, he was a real man. He reportedly killed 12 bad guys in his 10 years as a sheriff.
There were also several large saddle horses on the property along with a herd of sheep and a pen full of chickens. We fed the saddle horses a few pieces of apple that we had with us. It was nice to have the property virtually to ourselves most of our visit. The caretakers greeted us and gave us some literature about the property when we arrived but other than that we were there by ourselves. We could see for miles and miles in all directions. We tried to find "our" mountain far off in the distance, about 75 miles to the northwest to be precise. Overall, a most enjoyable day.
Steve and I took a little road trip with some good friends to Slaughter Ranch near Douglas, AZ. yesterday. John Slaughter was a rancher and Sheriff who established his ranch in the late 1800's.
The ranch house was a beautifully restored building that had been brought back to it's original design as much as possible. The ranch is right on the Arizona side of the Mexican-American border. I took pictures looking across to Mexico and we could see the border fence quite easily. The grounds were also beautiful and quite remote. There were several ponds, large trees and an assortment of wildlife and livestock.
Upon first entering the property, we came across several large longhorn cattle, a couple of donkeys and a horse. The cattle were amazing! I have never seen such spectacular horns on such huge beasts before. We could walk up right next to them and were separated only by a barbed-wire fence. Frankly I was a little nervous because, if that cow wanted to charge at us, that fence probably would not have even slowed him down. The men stayed in the car while us silly women walked up to the beasts and took lots of pictures.
We toured the ranch house and read all about the history of the property, it's founder, John Slaughter, and how it got started. There was also lots of info on the Army outpost that used a part of the ranch right on the border. There were written accounts of the soldiers watching Poncho Villa raid the settlements nearby. I loved the ranch house and the furnishings, the hardwood floors and the floor to ceiling windows. It was very large and open. There were several outbuildings, such as an ice house, a garage that housed a 1915 Model T, a granary and a cook's house. I especially enjoyed a newspaper article written about John Slaughter. It claimed that whether or not you liked Mr. Slaughter, he was a real man. He reportedly killed 12 bad guys in his 10 years as a sheriff.
There were also several large saddle horses on the property along with a herd of sheep and a pen full of chickens. We fed the saddle horses a few pieces of apple that we had with us. It was nice to have the property virtually to ourselves most of our visit. The caretakers greeted us and gave us some literature about the property when we arrived but other than that we were there by ourselves. We could see for miles and miles in all directions. We tried to find "our" mountain far off in the distance, about 75 miles to the northwest to be precise. Overall, a most enjoyable day.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Happy New Year! Wow! It is really 2013!
I did finish the muumuus I told you about. I made one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. I even wore them on the right days.
We had our first real snowfall on the last day of 2012. It was only about an inch and did not stay around very long. It has been very cool for us sun and heat lovers since the snow. I had to break ice in the water buckets for the alpacas and Buddy several times. Buddy's leg continues to heal. The hole is getting smaller and smaller but he has to keep on wearing his cone until the hole is completely healed. I hope it is not much longer. Buddy seems healthier and in better spirits lately. I continue to cook for him and have upped his portions by adding a couple of cooked eggs to his food. He doesn't waste any time gobbling it down.
We celebrated the fifth birthday of our youngest grandson on Sunday Dec. 30th. He had a custom made zombie cake made by his Aunt Shawna. Everyone made sure he got lots of gifts even though Christmas was just a few days before.
I decided I was tired of the old house so gave a part of the living room a little face lift. I painted the wall over the fire place. The paint color is "Arizona Sequoia". Then I rearranged all the pictures and added a few more. I think the new paint highlights the pictures nicely.
I have also been cleaning out kitchen cupboards, getting rid of old foodstuffs, disinfecting areas where there were mice and putting in new shelf paper. I still have to do that to the big pantry and I am planning on painting the kitchen too.
Tomorrow all the holidays will be behind us and the New Year's regular schedule will start. Everyone back to school and work. I will be catching up on things I could not do or would not do while everyone was at home. I did write down some New Year's resolutions, although, they seem to be about the same every year: lose weight, save money, write a book etc., etc., etc. I looked back on my weight loss chart that I have been keeping since 2009. I have lost the same 20 pounds and gained it back over and over again! Ha! This year I will be 60 years old! I don't know that it really matters whether or not I lose those 20 pounds for good. People tell me those extra 20 pounds makes me look 20 years younger, well, maybe not 20 years.....LOL!
I did finish the muumuus I told you about. I made one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. I even wore them on the right days.
We had our first real snowfall on the last day of 2012. It was only about an inch and did not stay around very long. It has been very cool for us sun and heat lovers since the snow. I had to break ice in the water buckets for the alpacas and Buddy several times. Buddy's leg continues to heal. The hole is getting smaller and smaller but he has to keep on wearing his cone until the hole is completely healed. I hope it is not much longer. Buddy seems healthier and in better spirits lately. I continue to cook for him and have upped his portions by adding a couple of cooked eggs to his food. He doesn't waste any time gobbling it down.
We celebrated the fifth birthday of our youngest grandson on Sunday Dec. 30th. He had a custom made zombie cake made by his Aunt Shawna. Everyone made sure he got lots of gifts even though Christmas was just a few days before.
I decided I was tired of the old house so gave a part of the living room a little face lift. I painted the wall over the fire place. The paint color is "Arizona Sequoia". Then I rearranged all the pictures and added a few more. I think the new paint highlights the pictures nicely.
I have also been cleaning out kitchen cupboards, getting rid of old foodstuffs, disinfecting areas where there were mice and putting in new shelf paper. I still have to do that to the big pantry and I am planning on painting the kitchen too.
Tomorrow all the holidays will be behind us and the New Year's regular schedule will start. Everyone back to school and work. I will be catching up on things I could not do or would not do while everyone was at home. I did write down some New Year's resolutions, although, they seem to be about the same every year: lose weight, save money, write a book etc., etc., etc. I looked back on my weight loss chart that I have been keeping since 2009. I have lost the same 20 pounds and gained it back over and over again! Ha! This year I will be 60 years old! I don't know that it really matters whether or not I lose those 20 pounds for good. People tell me those extra 20 pounds makes me look 20 years younger, well, maybe not 20 years.....LOL!
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