A Day Trip to Phoenix to Visit Kevin

 

 

 

We've been good friends with Kevin for over 30 years and have shared many enjoyable adventures together.  On a recent warm Sunday decided to drive to his home for a visit and to enjoy Phoenix weather at its best.

 

Ron and the dogs are ready to go.

 

 

 

 



 

You've been here with us before..leaving Kachina Village

 

 

down off the Mogollon Rim

 

 

and entering the Verde Valley.

 

 

We can't do without our midmorning snack, so a stop by Burger King was mandatory

 

 

 

Kevin chose a home in an older, nicely kept, centrally located neighborhood. He's (mostly) enjoyed being a homeowner for nearly 10 years. 

 

 

 

His single complaint is that when he purchased his home, he didn't realize he would be living next door to a Pigeon Lady.  She feeds the pigeons, causing them to live in hoards (okay, flocks) in the neighborhood.  The resulting messes have restricted Kevin's outdoor enjoyment.

 

 

 

Kevin's animal companion is Molly, a 7 year old cat he welcomed a couple years ago.  Molly is a beautiful black cat, with no uncertainty about her place in the world.  She has tolerance of people she knows, though only on her terms.  We had arranged with Kevin to take our dogs directly to his back yard so as to disturb Molly as little as possible.  Molly didn't necessarily appreciate our thoughfulness..the back yard was still way too close for her.  There was a sliding screen door between her and the dogs, and she spent the whole visit sitting at the door, growling.  If one of the dogs came to the screen to sniff, stepping back wasn't an option she even considered.  She ATTACKED!  She was the most ferocious cat I've ever seen.  I think she scared me.  Though I didn't get any pictures of Molly, this selection is representative of the gamut of her reactions. 

 

  

We enjoyed a take-out lunch from a local Chinese food restaurant

 

 

Afterward, we took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood.  Kevin is looking for ideas for some minor exterior changes he'd like to make, and we enjoyed seeing what others had done.

 

 

 

Kevin has a nice-sized back yard, and he wishes it looked like this.

 

 

Until the pigeon problem is resolved, it looks more like this.

 

Not to worry, the warm weather and sunshine allowed us to pull up chairs,

 

 

visit, and get caught up to our hearts' content.

 

 

Late afternoon and time to head home. The Verde Valley looking north, with the Peaks in the distance.

 

 

Looking toward Sedona and Red Rock country.

 

 

We're baaaaack!

 

 

 

A Friend

A person who will listen and not condemn
Someone on whom you can depend
They will not flee when bad times are here
Instead they will be there to lend an ear
They will think of ways to make you smile
So you can be happy for a while
When times are good and happy there after
They will be there to share the laughter
Do not forget your friends at all
For they pick you up when you fall
Do not expect to just take and hold
Give friendship back, it is pure gold.

© Gillian Jones

 

A Red, Red Rose

Robert Burns

1759–1796

O my Luve is like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve is like the melody

That’s sweetly played in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;

I will love thee still, my dear,

While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

And fare thee weel awhile!

And I will come again, my luve,

Though it were ten thousand mile.

 

 

A friend recently told us that the first Valentine's Day with his now-wife, he considered the day something for school children, and didn't do anything.  WOW!  That was a one-time lesson!  Neither Ron nor I could ever be called sentamentalists, but I do like at least an acknowledgment.  Most often we've exchanged cards, small gifts, and red roses somtimes appear.

 

This year, we exchanged these cute cards:

 

Ron found me a book of crossword puzzles, and I concocted homemade strawberry ice cream filled with those little candy hearts with sayings that yes, school children exchange.

 

  This year we decided to drive out to a favorite place for lunch, visited here in other contexts, Mormon Lake Lodge.  It occurred to me that the restaurant might be seasonal, so I checked on-line before we made the 45 minute drive.  "Open Year-Round", the website said.  So, off we went.

 

 

 

There's always a nice view of the San Francisco Peaks on the drive north from Kachina Village, the subdivision where we live.

 

 

Getting closer to our exit.....

 

 

closer......

 

 

here we go!!!

 

 

We passed by Lake Mary, a major water source for Flagstaff, but like most AZ lakes, there's not a lot of surface water.  Actually, "lake" in AZ is often more historical, or even wishful thinking, than folks in places like Minnesota are used to.

 

There's lots of nice scenery on this drive.  This is a view of Mormon Mountain, home of a favorite summer hiking trail.  The foreground is Mormon Lake. Another word used to describe lakes in AZ is ephemeral...[(adj) lasting for a very short time].  Mormon Lake is the largest natural lake in AZ, and has contained water in the past.  The drought has caused it to be ephemeral for a number of years.

 

A quaint landmark greeted us at the entrance to Mormon Lake Village:

 

 

 

There were a few other cars parked near the Lodge, and in anticipation of lunch, we headed for the restaurant.

 

Despite the website information that Mormon Lake is open year-round, we unfortunately discovered that doesn't apply to the restaurant...

 

 

 

 

Fortunately, thanks to our solid snacking habit, neither of us were slavering.  We had the dogs with us, so we took them for a short walk before heading back into Flagstaff for Plan B.

 

Maggie enjoys a good roll in the snow, and indulges whenever she gets a chance.  This is the evidence: 

 

 

 

She was amazed to discover the water running under the snow.

 

 

Gypsy stayed alert for all possibilities.

 

Friends had given us a gift card, so after our scenic drive, we thoroughly enjoyed lunch at

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Math of Dishes

 

 

One of my "when I retire I'm gonna" plans was to keep the dishes washed, dried and put away on a consistent basis.  Our kitchen is small, with limited counter space, and only these not-so-modern but perfectly serviceable dishwashers:

 



 

 

 Shortly into retirement, upon noticing how many and how rapidly dishes accumulated during the day, I started doing some math.  Ron and I mostly eat at home, and we both have a habit of three squares with snacks in between.  That's each of us eating....wow! 6 times a day, making it 12 opportunities for dishes to be used daily. 

 

Here's what the day can look like:

 

First thing in the morning:  the sinks are clean! 

 

 

We have breakfast:

 

 

We have morning snacks, then lunch:

 

 

We have afternoon snacks, dinner, and after dinner snacks:

 

 

One of us washes dishes:

 

 

Which gets us back to:

 

 

Whew! 

 

After some time, more math occurred to me.  Just how many times does any given dish get handled during this daily process? 

 

Let's see what it looks like for a plate:

 

 

 

 

1.  Plate is taken out of the cupboard.

2.  Food is placed on the plate.

3.  The plate is taken to the table.

4.  Food is eaten from the plate.

5.  Plate is removed from the table to the sink.

6.  Plate is placed into hot, sudsy dishwater.

7.  Plate is washed and placed into rinse sink.

8.  Plate is rinsed and placed into dish drainer.

9.  Dish is dried and put back into cupboard. 

 

So if every dish is handled 9 times, 9 times all those dishes in the sink at the end of the day is....oh my!  I don't want to know the answer to this math!

 

 

 

Thank goodness for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We’re eating very well
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn’t want to fuss;
By the stack of evidence,
Life’s been very good to us.
–Author unknown