It's been a While

It certainly has been a while since I have written anything.  Retirement is busy!! I loaded all these pictures, and they are backwards in time. OOPs.  You get to hear the most recent adventures and look at them perhaps upside down because there is no rotate on this stupid site and although they are right side up in my gallery for some reason as I write they are wrong.  Perhaps when I publish this all will be good and they will appear right side up and you can ignore the above rant!!

Well this is me a couple friends after our hike celebrating by eating Rice Krispy treats that another friend who couldn't make it because she got sick made for the trip. We just had to send the picture to her to let her know how much we enjoyed!!

The route for our hike was not long, but it was up and down and climbing over rocks and beautiful!!

Horses along the way scared the shit out of one of us as we rounded the corner not paying attention to the obvious sounds of their hooves on the rocks.  Who talks that much on hike that they cannot hear that noise.   After that 1st encounter there were 4 other groups of riders.  What amazed me was that on this skinny, rough trail that people were riding these majestic animals quite expertly I might add.  If I were atop of one of these it would have been certain death.  To me this didn't seem like a trail ride.

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The rock formations at Chiricahua National Monument were impressive.  I didn't stop at the visitor to get a better understanding of these formations but will next time we go there and we will go there!!

Dick and I got to be honorary Canadians at the Canada party.  At this resort they have a party sometime during the season for each state or place where people come from. Sometimes they have to combine states because there are not enough residence to justify a party.  Anyhow it was great fun and fun to make fun of the accent.

While in Colorado I cracked and collected many shiny rocks.  I finally did something with them.  There was this old ugly tray that came with the house, and I painted it and arranged the rocks then poured resin over the whole thing and let it harden.  I have no use for this thing, but it is pretty cool looking.  It weighs a ton and would most definitely break your foot if you dropped it on it.

Glenn and Cathy (our yearly visiting friends)  Came out for 2 weeks and we had so many adventures 4 wheeling, collecting more rocks, eating good food together, hiking and enjoying the warm Arizonia weather.  They are from Wisconsin so they especially enjoyed.

Another beautiful sunset view from our porch.

Who doesn't love a good-looking dead tree!!

The diner close by has so many fun things outside for photo ops!  The food is pretty dang good too!

The Crested Saguaro Hike will never disappoint our visitors.  We have seen so many of these now that we know what we are looking for.  So very different they all are and so super cool. 

We drove up to the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere thinking that this rough road must go to something super cool.  The view was the super cool. I do believe there had to have been something else that brought people up this road but there was nothing there, but a wide-open views which were amazing.

Glenn and Cathy stayed in our previous home next to our new home. It was kind of crazy to see what we lived in for years next to where we will live for the winters 

Don't really know what this next picture is but looked cool when I took it I bet.

Our little princess Harriet visited with her parents and fun was had.  Never enough time with this little cutie!   We plan on visited Pennsylvania for a more extended visit this summer to spend more time.

We may have a drinking problem!!

Margaritas in Mexico!

This is funky fairy garden along a little hike.  A tree with all kinds of funky things hanging on it that people put there.

Just another walk about in the desert 🏜 

 

Out with the old...In with the new

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Well, the sun is still shining, and Arizona has not disappointed us yet!!  This place is so much fun. Settling in with not much for travel this winter but for the most part it's been pretty awesome  While Dick was on the mend, I went to the local racetrack with friends and had a great time watching cars go around in circles!! No crashes for excitement but flames coming out of one of the cars was pretty cool!!

Desert disc golf did not disappoint at Lakeside!  I will walk this course any day.  Some courses are just yuck but this has lot look at and some little up down hilly things!

I may have posted this in the last blog but its so colorful and pretty. 

Christmas decoration can be challenging when you have none of your decorations from our other life.  I will forever have paper bag snowflakes every year and use whatever is available in my junk crafts to make something fab.  I made little Gnomes from toilet paper rolls and yarn, used old cards to make paper ball ornaments, and clear plastic ornament balls that were filled with hot chocolate powder last year and hung them all on last year's green tinsel that turned a different color from the sun.  I am forever repurposing old junk into something.  May be tacky to some but beautiful to me!! 

An old coffee table book turned into this years homemade Christmas tree!!

Enough of Christmas.  I have been taking a couple of the classes offered here at the resort and this one was by far the coolest.  Something I have never done is always cool.  Glass fussion!!!  You take a base piece of glass and layer on a bunch of other cut or scrap (which I prefer) glass on top and fire it in a little firey furnace.  Ok its a kiln but firey furnace sounds cooler.  and then wah la!!  a funky thing.  The 1st picture is the layering thingy and the 2nd is the final.  I glued a magnet on the back and hung it on the frig.  This little guy make me smile!! I will most likely make more things.  You can do bowls, plates, earings, pendants etc.  

Candle making class was fun! Started this baby on fire and Mr. Gingerbread man fell of right quick. I stuffed him back in the melted wax so he couldn't escape again.

Oh boy!!!  I was feeling super energetic and painted all our cabinet doors and drawer fronts.  What a project.  These tiny homes have crap for cabinets, but I washed and sanded. Dick removed all the handles and we spray painted them and I proceeded to prime and paint them.  They look fabulous.  Well, better than they did when I started anyhow. I only painted the doors and not the cabinets and I think they look alright.  It was great to meet all the people who walked by as I painted requesting to be next in line for a paint job. Remember people......Its OK to say NO!!!

Painting a snowman!  I am not sure why I keep attempting this.  It may look ok but I am definitely more of a wall or cabinet painter!

Many of you know how I loved baking Christmas cookies.  Not so much anymore when you only have a convection microwave that only holds one tray at a time.  So....pretzel gingerbreads it is!!

Found this little gem on the side of the road for FREE!  So much free stuff out in front of peoples houses as you walk around that you never have to buy another thing!

Dick cousin Paul stopped by with his girlfriend.  It was nice to catch up!!

Ana came to visit!!!  Yippy for Grandkids!  Here she is praying to Jesus to make it down the slide.  It was so cute.  Her prayers were answered, and she made it to have more fun.

Charley, Ana, Dick and I took a ride up to Mt Lemmon to ride on the ski lift for fun. We also had a great lunch. Fun was had on the ride and we didn't die.

After the ride we went to a brewery for a beer and I almost died! For real but not for real.

1/2 a beer in I passed out and fell from my high stool.  Charley & Dick saw me going down and saved me from being concussed!  30 seconds later I started breathing and was on the floor not knowing what the hell just happened.  The bar tender called the EMS people.  Got my vitals taken and told them I was fine and we carried on with our adventure for the day.   On to another brew house, more beer and pizza.  WEIRD it was.  The next day I gave blood and life is good.  I do not believe I have ever fainted in my life.  Well there is a 1st time for everything.

Steve flew out to golf with a friend and spend time with Charley and Ana and us of course and we had a great visit.  Swimming, eating and talking!

Took a trip to the Childrens museum in Tucson and had a kids new year celebration where there was a 🌵 cactus drop at noon.  What a crowd for a stuffy to slowly drop from the ceiling and a bit of confetti.  The museum was pretty awesome and super crowded for this event.  Fun was had.

New years eve dance at the Resort did not disappoint. Laughed my ass off at these two ladies with their blow up date Tim.  Old people are fun!!

Best to you all in the new year and don't expect and super exciting blogs for a bit but I will try to keep you up with what's happening in the lives of Dick & Dawn!!