Mom left for home yesterday. I talked to her this morning and most everything went well with the trip. So, now, where was I before she came to visit? When I don't get a lot of alone down time whatever can be put aside, is. Now I'm picking up the pieces.
One of the things I'm doing is getting ready to add to the family. No, I'm too old for what you are probably thinking. I'm going to talk to someone about adopting a couple of cats. Full grown or kittens, don't know yet. I'm going to try to arrange it so I can get them after work on Monday, when I then have 3 days to stay home with them. More on that next time.
Some things going on, but nothing worth mentioning. I was to make a transfer at work, but that has been put off. A bunch of stuff was going on there this week while I've been off, so I have no idea what I'm walking into tomorrow (or, later tonight). Guess someone would have called me if any of it was important to me.
Now, off to Petsmart to talk to the nice ladies that run the no-kill adoption center hosted there.
Arizona
Thursday, March 06, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Tour Time
Yesterday Mom and I did a tour of the Verde Valley. In the library here at the park someone left some Arizona Highways magazines and Mom had picked up one on the Verde Valley. I said 'hmmmm, want to go there this week?' and she said sure. When I mentioned leaving at 5am, she paled a bit, but said ok. So we pulled out in the dark at 4:58am yesterday morning. Spoiler alert, no pictures posted. So what's new, right?
Anyway, I headed up I17. Mom mentioned Montezuma's Castle as a place she would like to see. That hadn't been in my plan, but we stopped on the way up to check out the hours. It wasn't open yet, and it was 40 degrees outside. I pondered, and headed on up I17. By the time we got to Flagstaff at around 7,000 ft (more or less) it was 25 degrees and sunny. I was thinking of the almost 80 degrees due in Phoenix that day. Hmmmm. I say that a lot.
We started the tour by driving down Oak Creek Canyon from Flagstaff to Sedona on 89A. It is pretty, but I admit I'm spoiled. Hanging around in the Southeastern US for so many years I take such drives for granted. Or did until I moved to Phoenix. I'm thinking I'll be more impressed with it in the summer when the temperature in Phoenix is 118. I'm sure all of Phoenix will be right there with me as well, which may make it interesting. As it was most of the campgrounds and picnic areas were blocked off.
As we got into Sedona the rocks turned red and there were more buildings. I had come to Sedona last summer and wanted to find the Forest Service office to get some maps. So, we rolled through north Sedona and out 179 almost back to I17. I'm efficient like that. The views at the office were as great as I remembered. Mom was snapping photos and I was snapping photos of her snapping photos. She got a senior pass for $10 (lifetime). I was going to get an annual pass for $80/year but decided to just use her pass on this trip. We asked for suggestions of a place to get breakfast and where the thrift shops are. Having those pinpointed on a map they gave us, we headed back up 179 and had breakfast at the Red Rock Cafe. It was ok, but as most restaurants are here (compared to Tennessee or Honduras) I considered it a bit expensive.
We checked out thrift stores on our way to the Sedona airport. I think Mom bought a small something at one of them. We drove up to the airport and I noted that even at 10am there wasn't any room to park at the pulloff to the vortex. With Mom I wasn't going to hike to the vortex anyway (that's my excuse this time). Mom took obligatory pictures of the view at the overlook while I basked in the sun and just enjoyed the view. Then we went to the actual airport. The landing strip is on top of the mountain. It must be a real trip to land there. Small airplanes only, or helicopters.
We then worked our way on south on 89A, stopping at the McDonalds on our way out of town. Yes, we are heathens, well, I am. The arches are small and are green instead of yellow on the small sign out front. The place was packed and needed to be at least 3 times as large as it was to handle the crowd. I figure even in Sedona, whether they want to admit it or not, McD's has a place to fill. For me it was a large sweet tea. We drove to Cottonwood and I looked around for RV boondockers and saw one small grouping.
The original plan had been to go on the train ride that starts in Clarksdale. I do plan to do that at some point. However, it leaves the station at 1pm and is 4 hours long. While we could have made it to the station in time, it meant that we wouldn't get to Montezuma's Castle. I also weighed the $50/each price tag of the train trip vs. free with Mom's pass at the Castle, and suggested that we just drive to Jerome, Tuzigoot, and head back to see the Castle. Mom was ok with that. She hadn't been too excited about the train ride anyway, which is why when she actually wanted to see the Castle I changed the plan. We went to the Jerome Historical Park and toured the visitor's center at $5/each. Then we drove around Jerome. We didn't stop in town as we weren't hungry and didn't need either antiques or wine. Again, I'm a heathen. Having been to Gatlinburg, TN many times and Mom living around Weston, MO most of her life, there isn't a lot that tourist towns hold for us.
After that it was a drive to Tuzigoot. By this time I had the air conditioning on in the Jeep as it was very sunny. I still used my fleece when walking around outside, but it was a beautiful Arizona day. We used Mom's pass to get to visit the museum in the visitor's center at Tuzigoot. I find this to be an unfriendly place. Can't really put my finger on it, but I felt the same way last time I was there. They won't let you just walk around the visitor's center without paying up. $5/each, or have a pass like Mom did. Mom doesn't walk far easily, and I had already seen the actual ruins. I think the best view is from the road driving up anyway. It may have something to do with the fact that it was really hot when I was there last, and I had already walked all around Jerome and was tired. At any rate, after walking around and reading all the informational displays in the museum we headed out.
It was fun driving through old town Cottonwood on the way back to 89A and then heading back to I17 on 260. We got to Montezuma's Castle around 3pm and used Mom's pass again to gain entrance. This place seems much more friendly It was an enjoyable walk around looking at the cliff dwellings from the ground below and sitting on the benches. A nice ending to the tour. On the way home we stopped at Rock Springs. Mom just got some pie while I had a cup of their corn chowder. The chowder was good. Our waitress was having a bad day and Mom ended up with regular peach pie instead of peach crumb. She even put a packet of sugar on it as it wasn't sweet enough for her. As I said, we are heathens. My Jack Daniels pecan pie ended up being regular pecan, which I know because I had the JD pecan pie last time. I decided was good enough that we didn't bother telling the waitress. She had also messed up the pie order of another table and was making amends to them.
Mom had her return ticket for March 5, so we have time for a couple of trips yet. I'm thinking of driving up to Payson for lunch next week.
Anyway, I headed up I17. Mom mentioned Montezuma's Castle as a place she would like to see. That hadn't been in my plan, but we stopped on the way up to check out the hours. It wasn't open yet, and it was 40 degrees outside. I pondered, and headed on up I17. By the time we got to Flagstaff at around 7,000 ft (more or less) it was 25 degrees and sunny. I was thinking of the almost 80 degrees due in Phoenix that day. Hmmmm. I say that a lot.
We started the tour by driving down Oak Creek Canyon from Flagstaff to Sedona on 89A. It is pretty, but I admit I'm spoiled. Hanging around in the Southeastern US for so many years I take such drives for granted. Or did until I moved to Phoenix. I'm thinking I'll be more impressed with it in the summer when the temperature in Phoenix is 118. I'm sure all of Phoenix will be right there with me as well, which may make it interesting. As it was most of the campgrounds and picnic areas were blocked off.
As we got into Sedona the rocks turned red and there were more buildings. I had come to Sedona last summer and wanted to find the Forest Service office to get some maps. So, we rolled through north Sedona and out 179 almost back to I17. I'm efficient like that. The views at the office were as great as I remembered. Mom was snapping photos and I was snapping photos of her snapping photos. She got a senior pass for $10 (lifetime). I was going to get an annual pass for $80/year but decided to just use her pass on this trip. We asked for suggestions of a place to get breakfast and where the thrift shops are. Having those pinpointed on a map they gave us, we headed back up 179 and had breakfast at the Red Rock Cafe. It was ok, but as most restaurants are here (compared to Tennessee or Honduras) I considered it a bit expensive.
We checked out thrift stores on our way to the Sedona airport. I think Mom bought a small something at one of them. We drove up to the airport and I noted that even at 10am there wasn't any room to park at the pulloff to the vortex. With Mom I wasn't going to hike to the vortex anyway (that's my excuse this time). Mom took obligatory pictures of the view at the overlook while I basked in the sun and just enjoyed the view. Then we went to the actual airport. The landing strip is on top of the mountain. It must be a real trip to land there. Small airplanes only, or helicopters.
We then worked our way on south on 89A, stopping at the McDonalds on our way out of town. Yes, we are heathens, well, I am. The arches are small and are green instead of yellow on the small sign out front. The place was packed and needed to be at least 3 times as large as it was to handle the crowd. I figure even in Sedona, whether they want to admit it or not, McD's has a place to fill. For me it was a large sweet tea. We drove to Cottonwood and I looked around for RV boondockers and saw one small grouping.
The original plan had been to go on the train ride that starts in Clarksdale. I do plan to do that at some point. However, it leaves the station at 1pm and is 4 hours long. While we could have made it to the station in time, it meant that we wouldn't get to Montezuma's Castle. I also weighed the $50/each price tag of the train trip vs. free with Mom's pass at the Castle, and suggested that we just drive to Jerome, Tuzigoot, and head back to see the Castle. Mom was ok with that. She hadn't been too excited about the train ride anyway, which is why when she actually wanted to see the Castle I changed the plan. We went to the Jerome Historical Park and toured the visitor's center at $5/each. Then we drove around Jerome. We didn't stop in town as we weren't hungry and didn't need either antiques or wine. Again, I'm a heathen. Having been to Gatlinburg, TN many times and Mom living around Weston, MO most of her life, there isn't a lot that tourist towns hold for us.
After that it was a drive to Tuzigoot. By this time I had the air conditioning on in the Jeep as it was very sunny. I still used my fleece when walking around outside, but it was a beautiful Arizona day. We used Mom's pass to get to visit the museum in the visitor's center at Tuzigoot. I find this to be an unfriendly place. Can't really put my finger on it, but I felt the same way last time I was there. They won't let you just walk around the visitor's center without paying up. $5/each, or have a pass like Mom did. Mom doesn't walk far easily, and I had already seen the actual ruins. I think the best view is from the road driving up anyway. It may have something to do with the fact that it was really hot when I was there last, and I had already walked all around Jerome and was tired. At any rate, after walking around and reading all the informational displays in the museum we headed out.
It was fun driving through old town Cottonwood on the way back to 89A and then heading back to I17 on 260. We got to Montezuma's Castle around 3pm and used Mom's pass again to gain entrance. This place seems much more friendly It was an enjoyable walk around looking at the cliff dwellings from the ground below and sitting on the benches. A nice ending to the tour. On the way home we stopped at Rock Springs. Mom just got some pie while I had a cup of their corn chowder. The chowder was good. Our waitress was having a bad day and Mom ended up with regular peach pie instead of peach crumb. She even put a packet of sugar on it as it wasn't sweet enough for her. As I said, we are heathens. My Jack Daniels pecan pie ended up being regular pecan, which I know because I had the JD pecan pie last time. I decided was good enough that we didn't bother telling the waitress. She had also messed up the pie order of another table and was making amends to them.
Mom had her return ticket for March 5, so we have time for a couple of trips yet. I'm thinking of driving up to Payson for lunch next week.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Cooking
No, Mom and I haven't killed each other, I just haven't felt like writing. We are doing fine. I took her to Tortilla Flats for lunch last week. The food was good and she enjoyed the drive. Yes, DD, they still have prickly pear ice cream. Still didn't try it as again I was stuffed from my meal. Some day I'll drive out there and just get the ice cream. A few days ago we went to Boyce Thompson State Park, and I bought a season pass. So far it is my favorite place to visit as they have trees there and lots and lots of interesting plants. Mom and I each bought 4 small cactus plants to grow. Mom has since found yet another type growing in front of some of my neighbor's places and will try to talk them out of a start of it. They actually offered when they saw she liked it, but she was too busy looking at it to hear.
Another neighbor had recommended the Ranch Market for produce. Actually, they were recommending Midwest Meats as a great place to eat (has a restaurant as well as a bakery and butcher shop) and mentioned that the Lutheran Thrift Shop and Ranch Market were in the same area. Turtle Lady and Bill and I ate at the restaurant, and it is great. I went back to the produce market a couple of weeks ago and was disappointed. Mostly because it was so crowded at the time. I did get a couple of yams to start my foray into cooking again. I mean, what can go wrong with a couple of yams, right? So they have sat there and waited patiently (mocking me) in the fridge since then. Mom mentioned them, slightly puzzled why I would have real (as opposed to canned) yams, but dropped it when I just shrugged. This morning I was inspired to DO SOMETHING with the darn things. So, I peeled them (do you usually peel them?) and sliced them into the nice baking dish the casino gave me earlier this month. They do strange things like that at the casinos here, give random gifts and we all stand in line for up to a hour to get this free thing that we wouldn't spend $30 for at Walmart. But, I digress. I put several glugs of Avocado Oil over them as I chopped them into bite size pieces. The oil was something that looked interesting at Costco when Turtle Lady and I went there. I mean, I was buying a large tub of Coconut Oil, which I have no idea what to do with, so what is another bottle of oil? A young oriental guy in line behind me at checkout looked at me quizzically and asked me what does one do with Avocado Oil? I said it has a high smoke temperature so it's good to fry stuff in. I hope it is, anyway. But again, I digress. So, I did all this while Mom is still asleep so I didn't have to answer similar questions. Who knows what will come out of the 350* oven in a little over an hour. Hopefully something I can make soup with if nothing else. I have the bag of quinoa to use up as well, because, well everyone seems to say how great it is. Once I figure out how to use it I'm sure I'll be hooked as well.
Another neighbor had recommended the Ranch Market for produce. Actually, they were recommending Midwest Meats as a great place to eat (has a restaurant as well as a bakery and butcher shop) and mentioned that the Lutheran Thrift Shop and Ranch Market were in the same area. Turtle Lady and Bill and I ate at the restaurant, and it is great. I went back to the produce market a couple of weeks ago and was disappointed. Mostly because it was so crowded at the time. I did get a couple of yams to start my foray into cooking again. I mean, what can go wrong with a couple of yams, right? So they have sat there and waited patiently (mocking me) in the fridge since then. Mom mentioned them, slightly puzzled why I would have real (as opposed to canned) yams, but dropped it when I just shrugged. This morning I was inspired to DO SOMETHING with the darn things. So, I peeled them (do you usually peel them?) and sliced them into the nice baking dish the casino gave me earlier this month. They do strange things like that at the casinos here, give random gifts and we all stand in line for up to a hour to get this free thing that we wouldn't spend $30 for at Walmart. But, I digress. I put several glugs of Avocado Oil over them as I chopped them into bite size pieces. The oil was something that looked interesting at Costco when Turtle Lady and I went there. I mean, I was buying a large tub of Coconut Oil, which I have no idea what to do with, so what is another bottle of oil? A young oriental guy in line behind me at checkout looked at me quizzically and asked me what does one do with Avocado Oil? I said it has a high smoke temperature so it's good to fry stuff in. I hope it is, anyway. But again, I digress. So, I did all this while Mom is still asleep so I didn't have to answer similar questions. Who knows what will come out of the 350* oven in a little over an hour. Hopefully something I can make soup with if nothing else. I have the bag of quinoa to use up as well, because, well everyone seems to say how great it is. Once I figure out how to use it I'm sure I'll be hooked as well.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Quick picture
This is me, near Jerome, AZ several weeks ago. Just a picture to start to catch up. It is a shock to me to see how I look now, vs. how I looked just a few years ago. I'm also almost ready to do something about the braid. Not sure what yet. The braid was what I did to take care of my hair getting everywhere and getting tangled up so it was difficult to brush. A diet and a new hair do. They are on the list.
Nothing is wrong
When folks start commenting and emailing to see if I'm ok I know it's time to do a post. I'm fine, life just got a little busy. Mom arrives on Monday. I spent the past 2 weeks cleaning and clearing. Then I spent 3 days in Vegas again. I think I'm about done with Vegas for awhile. It has been fun, but I'm ready to try other things. This is good as Mom doesn't gamble much. I'm at work, so no pictures right now. I kept thinking I'd catch up with the pictures, but that didn't happen. Oh, well.
Saturday, January 04, 2014
365 - 4
Awhile back I mentioned a good Greek restaurant I go to sometimes. This is it, Niros Gyros. I've liked everything I've had here. It is on the expensive side to eat there every day. Now the hours I'm working don't jive with eating there much at all. If you are down I-10 near Elliott Rd., this is at 48th (I think) and Elliott, west of I-10 and a couple of stoplights.
Friday, January 03, 2014
365 - 3 Work in Progress
This is the sweater I'm working on now. I had 3 times this much done, but I realized it was way too big, so I ripped back to the beginning. I like it much better this time. It is a self striping yarn, an acrylic called mosaic.
I am out of my original ideas for pictures now, so I'll have to get a bit more creative.
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