The calendar says it is winter, but...

We have this informal gathering for coffee on the first Friday of each month. It is attended by fellow retirees from Amphi. You show up at AJ's sometime between 8 and 9 and stay until some other errand calls you away. Since the first Friday was a holiday (yes, we observe holidays) we met on the 8th. There were only three of us this time, we are all busy after all, and we had a pleasant visit in the morning sun on the patio. We were vaguely aware (gloating) that much of the nation was huddled under snowy, windy, sub-freezing conditions, but didn't let it stop us.
One day last week, I think it was Thursday, I went jeeping. It is some hunting season, I think doves, so the roads are spotted with vehicles left by these intrepid sportsmen as they tromp through the brush hoping to scare up some game. I never did hear any shots, so maybe they weren't doing too well.
The only animals I saw were rabbits, but I did get to cross a stream, actually drove in water for half a mile, so it was a satisfactory outing for me. I was happy to find a drivable way around a barrier and onto a trail I had previously been unable to access. I have to say the desert looks drought-stricken, which may also account for the lack of doves. The water I drove in has been there in an otherwise dry wash every time I have been there, in every season. The biggest surprise is that nobody has tapped or trapped it for use.
On this outing I twice had to turn around at obstacles I might have been able to overcome if Don had been there to direct me through. Sometimes you just can't see from the driver's seat well enough.
I subbed Monday and Tuesday. I still really enjoy the students, especially since I don't have any of the related duties and responsibilities of teaching. Monday I was in fifth grade social studies and every class had lively discussions about the Olympics. It was fun. Tuesday I was in Middle School in a class of students labeled as "underachievers." What they actually are, are students with room temperature IQ's for whom school holds no interest other than as a place to socialize. There is no love of learning, no curiosity, no desire. Most of them are perfectly nice, though some are trouble makers, and days in that class are fine, but not as much fun as more animated groups.
I managed to get in a little bit (stress little bit) of yard cleanup. Today the plan is to attack the inside of the house. There is a vacuum cleaner somewhere around here and I intend to activate it.
Peggie has finished one of the round robin quilts and is working on the second. For a few weeks she is partially limited by some treatment she is getting for pain in her left foot. That should be over soon.
We also had dinner with our former neighbors and some other retired teachers. One couple has been to China and Spain teaching English. That sounds like a good future adventure. We will look into the possibilities when we are finished with Alaska.
I just can't believe some people are afraid they will be bored in retirement.

Just because

This entry is just because it has been awhile and I don't want to dissuade anyone from staying with us.
We are busy being retired. Today has been really busy. I got out of the house bright and early (around 11:00) and went to the library to drop off and pick up some books. (duh) Then headed to the barber college for a haircut, then on to the grocery store. All of us old people go on Wed. because they honor last weeks sales and begin this weeks sales, as well. I am also cooking a pot of (fresh from Willcox) pinto beans with the Christmas ham bone. On my way to pick up the mail, I had the obligatory chat about nothing-in-particular with the neighbors.
While I am doing all of this, Peggie is finishing up her part of Allison's quilt so she can send it off and get started on Janie's.
We had a very relaxing holiday period. Casey was here for a few days, but doesn't get a full break now that she is more employee than student. We got the tree down on New Year's Day, and the house is back to normal. We were able to skype with Greg and family in Japan a couple of times, but they are back in NY now. Just in time for the deep freeze.
I went to the doctor Monday for a physical that is required to keep my CDL for Alaska. Last year it was that physical that told me my blood pressure was too high. Now it is fine. I will have my regular physical later this month just to be sure everything else is fine, also. Sitting in the waiting room at the clinic was different than regular waiting rooms. A big part of their business is workmen's comp related. People really like to talk (complain) about how their companies are trying to cheat them. Most waiting rooms are quiet. In this one everyone talks in normal voices and don't worry who overhears.
Since Thanksgiving I have read Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It took him twenty some years to complete it. Reading it all at once, it was evident how much he has improved as a writer. The first one was noticeably inferior to the later additions.
Also, for those of you who grew up in the fifties, I recommend Bill Bryson's memoir "The life and times of the thunderbolt kid." I think that is the title. Do a search for Bill Bryson and you can find it. That's what I did.
It is time to go taste the beans and get something out of the dryer. Thank goodness for electronic beeps. Otherwise, I don't know how I could get everything done in one day. Busy, busy.

Happy Birthday Peggie

Okay, so this post is a day late, but what's one day in 59 years?
Casey baked the traditional potato cake to celebrate, after she and Peggie got back from trying to take advantage of all those poor retail stores that have to put everything on deep discount just to make a meager living. They both showed reasonable restraint and were able to carry everything in just one trip from the car.
Casey packed up her new Honda Fit and went back to Tempe today. So, for us, that ends the Christmas season. We will take the tree down and put away decorations for another year.
We had used one of Peggie's sewing tables for gift wrapping, so Peggie is anxious to get it all cleared away so she can quilt. She and three friends from Skagway are doing a Round Robin project and Peggie has a block (actually several blocks) to complete so she can send it on to the next-in-line. Eventually they will each have a quilt with contributions from all the others.
I wonder if they will all be done before it is time to go back.
Greg, Tomoko, and Ariana are in Japan. They will celebrate New Year's with Baba and Jiji (Baba and Jiji are grandma and grandpa in Japanese) and will also visit Nagasaki while they are there.

Merry Christmas

It is Christmas Eve.
Yesterday, Peggie and I made a quick run up to Cottonwood to deliver some small things for the Gooslin and Taylor children. Mail is cheaper, but wouldn't get there in time. And we wanted to see Mom. It was a pleasant day for a drive. The storm had passed through the day before, so there was snow on the higher spots, but the road was clear and traffic was relatively light. Casey came home a little after we did, and will stay until Tuesday.
This is supposed to be "the happiest time of the year," but I attended a funeral service for a former student last Friday, and Tuesday we went to Willcox for a service for Becky's brother.
We logged over six hundred miles in two days. Good thing we have so much free time.
Tomorrow we will open presents here, then go to Smythe's for dinner. So it will be somewhat more relaxing than some of our past holidays with a houseful of people. And the Wildcats won both games this week with baskets at the buzzer. Very exciting!
We hope all of you have a very Merry Chrismas, and a safe New Year.
Speaking of which, I am on a campaign to get people to stop saying "Two thousand" now that we are out of single digits. It is "twenty-ten," please.

Going back.

Looks like we are going back to Skagway.
We had a hard time deciding. Vacillated. One day aye, next day nay. Good reasons to go, good reasons not to.
When Janie said she couldn't go back, I thought we were done, too. Janie was half the fun of being there. Don and Karin won't be there, either.
Then Trish called Peggie. During the course of the conversation we swayed and landed on returning. The decision felt right as soon as we made it. By the time she hung up, I was excited again.
Now, days later, it stills feels right. It will be a different experience in some ways. We are not taking our trailer. Trish has an apartment in town we can stay in. So, we can take the Jeep on the ferry, instead of driving all the way. The cruise ship schedule will be different, so we will both be able to have more time off. The apartment is on 7th. We will never have to walk more than five blocks to anything we need to get to.
Okay, that is it for now. Stay tuned.

Ka-BOOM

Sunday evening, November 29:

House-rattling BOOM tinkling glass flash of light. (I can't type BOOM big enough so picture it ten times bigger)

I was on the top of the stairs so I saw the flash of light and knew where, but not what. Peggie was in the office and knew nothing. My instinctive thought was gunshot, maybe shotgun, right in the yard. Peggie thought plane crash. Our neighbor thought incoming artillery.

What it was was lightning.

The mesquite tree that has been on the corner of the house for 22 years exploded. The sap must have instantly boiled when the bolt hit. One whole branch fell on the neighbors' house and the trunk (it was 7' in circumference) was split right to the ground. The metal strips that are glued to our windows to break them into smaller-looking panes fell off. That was the tinkling sound, the glass stayed in one piece. The nearest windows in the house next door also lost the metal strips. Two of the bird houses that sat on the window sill fell off onto the chair where I might have been sitting if I was reading or watching TV. An hour later a picture fell off the wall. The rest of them were all croooked, but we hadn't noticed. The EM blast knocked out two radio-frequency remotes. The cable which supplies us with TV, DSL, and phone was fried. The door jam into the garage came loose, and the curtain hangers in the garage came out of the wall and ceiling. Peggie's heart raced for two hours. We figured out what it was within minutes, but the initial fear took a while to subside.

There was no fire, but we could smell burning still after an hour, so I dialed 911 on my cell phone. The first operator said, "That's the sheriff's department," and transferred the call before I could argue. I gave the next operator my address and she said, "What city?" and I said, "Tucson, but really we are in the county." She said, "Pima County?" "Yes." "Well, this is Pinal County, I'll transfer you." The next operator transfered me to the fire department who agreed to come check it out as a non-emergency, meaning no lights or sirens. Good thing it wasn't an emergency since it took several minutes to get through the system. Apparently my cell phone went through a tower in Pinal County. Who knew?

We also contacted Comcast to come out for the cable, the insurance company, and a tree company. The cable people were out Monday morning. The tree people couldn't get here until Tuesday. The insurance people said to send them pictures, and handled it on the phone.

The tree was a total loss. They had to grind it up and haul it away.

Now we have a big empty spot in the yard and in the sky. The neighbors all came out because of the tree guys. They all remember the explosion, but hadn't known what it was. The cable guy took pictures because he had been working in the neighborhood and heard the explosion, too.

I bet the insurance company is talking about us. After thirty-some years of coverage, we've had two truck windows, the trailer siding, and a lightning-struck tree in a six week period. I wonder how much the premiums will increase.

Back Road to Crown King

We wanted to post pictures with this, but are having trouble, and now lots of time has gone by, so here is the post, sans fotos.

Don is visiting in Cottonwood and he brought his jeep. So, naturally, we have to go jeeping.


Can you say "adventure?"


Of course it took a few days and a few phone calls back and forth to choose a day for the trip. From watching Youtube, I have been wanting to try the Back Road to Crown King. And, since it is between Tucson and Cottonwood, it is a good place to meet. We decided to go on a Sunday so Margie and Dave could go along. Good thing, too, because Don's jeep won't run so they had to bring their Grand Cherokee instead.


The road begins at Lake Pleasant and climbs the Bradshaw Mountains to join the Senator Highway just outside of Crown King. For those unfamiliar, the Bradshaws were first settled and explored because gold and silver were discovered there. The roads were put in in the 19th century and have not been improved since then. The Senator Highway, though grandly named, is a narrow road fit for high-clearance vehicles and should be traveled by people who are not in a hurry to go anywhere. The Forest Service and ranchers' roads that connect to it, and on which we intended to travel, are rated a six, which means only experienced four wheelers in sound vehicles should attempt to drive them. Modified vehicles are recommended. On Youtube I have seen plenty of stock-looking vehicles making it, so I decided we could, too. We discovered, that for some reason, the Youtube videos didn't show the roughest parts of the trail.


So we met at nine oclock and set out. We passed a Land Rover club staging for the trip, as well as several groups on quads. It is a 34 mile trip to Crown King and my books list it as a six hour drive. The first ten miles or so was graded and well used because boaters use it to access Lake Pleasant. After that it started to be less well maintained with washouts on the hills. We played leap frog with the Land Rover club for a while, as they stopped to allow various members to attempt some difficult stretches, or we stopped to enjoy the view.


We had a nice picnic lunch after we had climbed high enough into the mountains to find some shade trees. Peggie decided she would like to drive for a while. She has obviously paid attention over the years, as she did a fine job of choosing the right line over the exposed rocks and washouts. When it got truly rough, she let me back at the wheel. Shortly thereafter we came to the first obstacle that required road building. That means rocks have to be rearranged so the undercarriage doesn't drag on something. It is also the reason many fourwheelers modify their vehicles with lifts and large tires. Don is helpful to have around at such times because he is good at standing in front and guiding me over the obstacles, thus avoiding damage to my jeep.


When we came to the second obstacle, we decided it was time to let the Land Rovers take the lead, so they could do the road building. Boy, are we smart! Not only did they move the rocks, but we got to watch them choose the right and wrong lines to take over the big unmovable rocks. One of their group didn't do so well. We noticed oil spots on the rocks from a cracked differential. But many of them had run the trail before, so they told us when we came to the last obstacle that it was a "piece of cake" from there on. Okay, there was no more road building, but the next two miles was crumby cake that still required careful driving.


In Crown King is a store and a saloon. The Land Rovers were enjoying the saloon. We looked around and then headed out via the old railroad grade that is the main road in from the interstate. It is still 24 miles of washboards and one-lane cuts with lots of switchbacks, but four wheel drive is no longer needed.


Did you think the adventure was over?


Silly you.


We waved goodbye to Dave, Margie, and Don when we neared civilization and headed for the freeway. Then both of our cell phones rang. "Come back, we are broken down."


Now is the time to note that is wasn't US broken down for a change.


We headed back and Dave had the hood raised and the fan belt was laying over the grill. Since we were in cell phone range, they called AAA and got a tow truck to come from Cordes Junction.


Instead of heading straight back to Tucson, we took Margie and Don to Cottonwood, while Dave was stranded with the Cherokee "out in the middle of the desert, all alone." Don went back to Cordes Junction to pick him up. And we headed home.


After starting at 7:00 am, we finally got home at 11:00. Long, dusty, bouncy day. What fun!


It turns out that the water pump on the Cherokee had frozen up because a bolt from the fan had somehow become lodged in it. We were all grateful it had happened within cell phone and tow truck range, and not down on the rough part of the trail.