Christmas in Arizona

On the morning walk today I saw how beautifully the main clubhouse was decorated.  Since it was still dark at 7am I was able to get these photos of the lights.  It's cold, windy and there is a possibility of snow after midnight.  Happy New Year!

And the hard work begins

We've finally arrived back in AZ and have done nothing fun, yet.  We've been working like dogs getting the new place cleaned up and getting the current place ready to put on the market.

So far we haven't played Pickleball, taken any walks, gone swimming, or done pottery.  Soon.

Also, a mountain lion has been spotted, several times, near the new place.  I'll keep a lookout in the backyard when I'm working.  But I don't think mountain lions care for oranges or grapefruit.

Entry way, white walls, linoleum - all going to disappear.  Notice the dirt on the wall on the left.

Looking into the family room from the kitchen.  Walls and floor are both changing.

Den/Gillian's room.

Very dirty guest room.  Currently.

Hallway to master bedroom.

Living room/dining room.  Carpet, walls and window coverings will change.  Notice the orange tree on the right.

Master bedroom.

Look forward to the exciting pictures as the transformation takes place.  Starting next week!

Activities of Late

There is a neighboring 55+ community called Sun City.  At that development there is a pottery club and they hosted our pottery club for a "meet and greet" and luncheon.    So we carpooled there and got to tour their studio/facilities and see what are they were making.

And they served us lunch too.  It was fun to get out of the compound and see other communities.  I still like Saddlebrooke best.  So mainly a bunch of older women oohing and aahing over ceramic pieces.

Some of the tennis courts are being resurfaced.  I think this job is $250,000.  It's interesting to see all the equipment and manpower that is needed for tennis courts (which didn't look that bad to me).

Ceramic Factory

On our last day with our visitors, Linda and Pete, we went to the HF Coors factory where they make dishes.  This was a great one hour tour and really interesting.

We all use dishes everyday, but to see them made in mass production makes me appreciate the work involved.

The above photo shows the glazing process.

Just a small amount of the hundreds of shelves of dishes they made.  They also make the mugs that Ellen Degeneres uses on her show!

Miscellaneous happenings

The month of March is when the smaller cactus start to bloom.  The blooms only last a couple of days so everyone is kind of on the hunt for taking good photos.

There are also white and pink blooms, but I didn't get those pics in time.

On our hike to Madera Canyon we rested at the Santa Rita lodge.  It's an area known for birding.  At the lodge there were benches set up to view about 40 bird feeders and it was fun to watch the many different, colorful birds who fed there.

A late stroll around the compound last night and this is the moon starting to come over the mountains.  Really fun to watch it rise.

And this morning as I was heading to the grocery store I noticed that Oracle Avenue was "on fire".  There were two men trying to put out about six small roadside fires.  It eventually was contained by the FD, but kind of spooky to see something like that.

Uncle Update

Oh, no good news.  Kevin has been having a lot of problems and now he has finally had a bunch of invasive tests.  Looks like he has a large tumor in his esophagus and something else that is causing a blockage.  They are driving back to CA tomorrow to meet with doctors and surgeons.  He has been in discomfort and pain for months.  I'll know more later this week once he sees more doctors.

It's so sad to see him this way since he's been feeling bad, not sleeping, and has lost a lot of weight.  He's much too young (82) for all this.  He definitely not been his usual jovial self.  I don't think there will be any good news.

Just an unhappy FYI.

Picacho Peak hike

The other day I went on a "D" hike with the hiking club to Picacho Peak.  "D" means it is flat, short and easy.  This was not the case.

We had a lot of elevation gain and it was very rocky.  It felt like we were just walking on bits of shale.  Going downhill it was easy to slip and fall - a few people did.

I rode to the hike with an 80 year old Austrian man named Bernie who is a nice friend.  He fell as it was too slippery for him.  And our hike leader is a little goofy.  This is my last organized hike of the season.

During our lunch break I saw all these baby Jumping Cholla plants growing on the ground.  It's easy to see how these plants repopulate.

Some of the hiking group.  No one is young.