American in Oz: Tour de France

American in Oz: Tour de France

The Birds are Singing

Morning sun filtering, birds chirping, coffee being sipped. All is well. The problems that develop through the day require love and patience and calm willingness to be in the shoes of the other person. And a sense of humor. I am blessed with all of the above. Thanks be said. Today maybe a movie, we have not seen Water for Elephants. We plan to leave here for NoDak about June 4. Plenty to do and I will be reluctant to leave this wonderful home.

Home at Sweet Spring House

We are now LIVING in Green Valley, AZ. Our new address is the Spanish word Manantial which translates: Sweet Spring of water flowing. What an amazing turn of events. I just took note of the passing of exactly 2 years since my left knee was replaced in Tucson and I was recuperating at the home of my friend Carol Lyen. She took me in to her "rehab" center in Phoenix. My recovery was speedy and on the 18th of April I flew to Bismarck and went to 3 days of school to be a qualified.....census worker. Now I am in partnership with Wesley Minear and we have moved into a wonderful house in Green Valley. We are having FUN making it our place. Lots of room to organize and put our stuff away so we can find it. Closet and cabinet space. Two bathrooms. A guest room, a workshop, a double garage, a patio and lots of other features that delight us.
The back yard is a magnet for birds and bees. Now the aloe vera are blooming and we have bird feeders and bird baths. The aloe vera are attracting bees and hummingbirds.
Cardinals and their cousin the pyruluxia. Good times.
This morning we had an over the stove microwave installed. Very spiffy. I may need the instruction manual for a few days. Let us surround each other with love and light in these times when we hear everyday about the natural and manmade disasters that are occuring all around the world. Prayerfully submitted. MNO

Windy Day. Arizona Style

Yes the wind has been howling and blowing and moaning and moving everything around. Reminds me of a breezy day in Dakota with NO windbreaks. It let up a bit ago. We have a lot of Red Winged Blackbirds here chowing down at the feeders getting ready to fly north. I heard the Red Winged song a few days ago and if I closed my eyes I could have been at the edge of the cattails by the slough. Wes and I are going to Phoenix/Mesa/Chandler on friday. Saturday we will go to a Swap Meet for HAMs. HamFest. Nothing to do with pork, all to do with amateur radio. Wes has a lot of suff to sell. The plan is to come home with NOTHING. Meanwhile buying a house takes at LOT longer than buying a car. Another learning experience. We know can look very optimistically at getting the keys to 111 W. Calle Manantial Kent Green Valley AZ 85614. on the 17th of March. Sunday the 13th we go to Baseball games in Chandler. The Valley City Vikings, coached by Casey C. Olney will be playing in
Arizona for a week. I am really looking forward to some fun in the sun. I want to get settled in the Green Valley house soon so we can travel north in May. We are selling the motorcoach so we will be traveling without that spacious ride. All is well.

New all over again.

MY Tooth cavern is healing very quickly and I am grateful. My friend is dealingwith/suffering with MURSA infection. It has settled in her spine. Very difficult situation. Our medics do not have a solution. very resistant virus.

Wes and I are SDP (sorting,discarding,packing). This includes giving away when we know of someone who will enjoy or use the item.. I this day and age recycele shops and flea markets are doing "land office" business. Wes is selling his motorcoach too so this involves another small household of kitchen tools, dishes and supplies.
It makes it easier when we have a lot of room to work with. This building is 4 by 80 feet. So we have areas in the garage for the boxes for each category. Wes also makes a trip to the dump ground every couple of days

Today we got a box of fresh garden produce from the organic garden just down the road. Carrots, cabbage, leaf lettuce, squash in the box this week. We get a box each Thursday. We do not have a choice of what is in the box, depends on the garden

Tommorow is my weekly Vitamin B shot and then we will take a load of stuff to the
WHITE ELEPHANT the local thrift store. We may have a game of dominoes on the agenda too..

More dental work

Last Thursday I went to the dentist that I have adopted. Dental work is costly. I get very quiet and introspective and perplexed when I come to the point that I must find a dentist to FIX a problem with my chompers. The past 4 years have been very very costly for me in the dental department. It is a long story. Someday I will write it all out for my own benefit, so I'll know where the money I have been saving for a trip to Australia disappeared to. Today a good Doc pulled a molar out of my lower jawbone. I found out dentists swear. "come on out you little devil" was what he said. So it came out and now I am staying quiet and healing and taking ibuprofen, vicodin and antibiotics. What a combination.
Wes feels sorry for me so I got to watch The Good Wife without recording it tonight. Whoopee, simple pleasures. Strawberry smoothies, yogurt and bananas delivered to the recliner by my sweet caretaker, Wes.

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit

Tomorrow is the first day of the marvelous month of March. I did a bit of research about my ongoing belief that saying rabbit, rabbit, rabbit the very first thing that you say on the morning of the first day of each month brings GOOD Vibes to you for the entire month.

Wicopedia says this is of English origin. Very commonly practiced by folks from the New England area. NOW the really important item that was mentioned there is tha
the good "luck" surrounds you if you say RRR anytime before noon on the first.
OK. Liberal that I am, I'm spreading the word. Let the good luck flow.

To the dentist

A trip to the dentist is not my idea of a fine day. Now after writing that I go to
gratitude that procedures can be done to keep me chewing and "masticating" food. My teeth have been an issue. This visit today is maintenance. Wes just asked me what I do when I start up my computer almost first thing each morning. What I am doing is checking on the news from the outside world People are very important to me. You who are choosing to read this message/journal are very important to me. It is a way for me to check on my balance and perspective.

111 W. Calle Manantial Kent

That is the address of the house. We call it the hacienda. This will be the home of Marcia and Wes. We are carefully planning our nest. Next week we will choose some new colors for some of the off white walls. Our friend and "spectacular" painter will help us so we have a no mess job. We will remove some very old and tired carpet and decide what to do after we see what is underneath. Then we will very very carefully move only the essential tools, items for comfort and precious possesions of the two of us. We have the luxury of temporarily storing the "stuff" we do not want to clutter our home with here at the MANSION at Arivaca for awhile and we will gradually sell it, give it away or discard. We are both very excited.

When March 11 comes we will drive to Scottsdale to attend a HAM Fest, a Ham radio swapmeet plus. We will take a batch of radio equipment and parts there with the hope of finding new homes. Then we will stay in Valley of the Sun cause Casey and the Valley City Viking Baseball team arrives the next day for a week of baseball in the sun. Double headers everyday. We get to cheer for the good guys. We have been looking forward to this all winter. Yeh.

February 17th.

Life is full and wonderful. I am as happy as I have been in my life. Wes and I are organizing stuff. Signing papers for a wonderful house in Green Valley. We found an excellent home for Duke and get joyous reports on his place in the life of his new master, Chris Steele. Wes and Marcia are healthy. We wondrously take just 2 perscriptions between us. I ask for support in keeping my WEIGHT low, lower, lowest.
I am ready to be "skinny" I remind myself constantly to satisfy all of my problems without FOOD. Even hunger. Water is my friend.

Super Bowl Sunday Manana

Yes Tom, there are plans for life after SuperBowl. I must add that life will be sweeter for Casey and his Mother when the Steelers win. WEATHER... we have had strange and difficult weather here is Southern AZ. COLD by any standards and of record making lows for Tucson area. 12 degrees here Thursday morning. EVERYONE has
broken or frozen pipes. They do not bury the water pipes very deep here. Brenda tells me she is ready for the sure signs of spring. For example the early spring training news: Catchers and Pitchers report-----.

Back in Arivaca and a New Vehicle

Tuesday, returned from Fargo on Sunday. I had a wonderful time. Jennifer and family and Tom, Brenda and Casey, Kari went out of their way to brave the frigid
temps to visit with me. Oh yes, Brenda and I were in the warm and cozy in the house except for a trip to Hornbacher's (Horsefeather's) and to the mall for me.
Tom did the driving. I was glad to not have to be concerned about the snow pack
on the streets. Tom is a VETeran. Made it look easy. My friends Pat Brickley and
Carl Hass are here for a couple of days on their way to Mexico. The new vehicle news is that Wes was vehicle shopping while I was in ND. We drove a Ford Flex, 2009
home yesterday. It is very very nice. A color hard to describe. I will start with
maroon and then add a little gold metallic fleck. It is not a deep maroon, it is rusty, reddish. Oh well. I call the vehicle BIG RED. We are selling the motor home so we will be traveling in this rig this summer.

Below Zero

Thankful that it is about 80 degrees warmer in Tom and Brenda's house than it is outside. A COLD SNAP here in Dakota. Visiting all day and half the night. Jennifer came over with Jayden (3years) and Drew (9mo). Casey came with his friend
Kari last evening too. We had lots to talk about. Remembering stories we have laughed about over the years and making new memories. We ate ourselves full of pizza that tasted wonderful. Casey delivered Valley City Baseball T-shirts.
We need to get a couple of child size shirts for the Hovland kids. I will be wearing mine when we get to cheer for the Valley City Vikings as they play baseball in Mesa AZ area the second week in March, The team will travel there for their spring training trip to the sunbelt. Yes I will fly back to Tucson on Sunday.
I hope the runway will not be icey.

10 Below and a cooling trend.

Hello from Fargo. Allegiant Air brought me here on Wednesday. Brenda, Tom, Jennifer, Derek and the two wonderful kids are here and I am loving being with them. I fly back AZ on Sunday.

Red Eye revisted

Yes all of my experts agree that the "redeye" is a passing inconvenience and for me a time to check out where there is PRESSURE in my life I will fly to ND on Wednesday and enjoy seeing the grandkids and Brenda and Tom and the snowbanks.
Freezing sub zero weather is predicted too. For Pat and Carl. I will be back here on Sunday evening the 23rd. I hope you can extend you SA explore until then. Wes will be here and you can phone him at 520-398-2722 and "tell" who are ready to use your room at the inn at Arivaca. I know you know the way. Coming from Mexicali I
would stay over in AJO and check out the Organ Pipe Nat Mounument. Kitt Peak. Have you talked to Carla??? I seriously want to see you two.

Red Eye

Saturday morning, January 15, 2011. My left eye is "red", I am not getting on a late night airplane flight to NYC. A hemorrhage in the white of the eye. It is worrisome and not painful. The information I have is that is it is not an emergency.
There is NO treatment. I just have to wait until it reabsorbs. I am taking it easy.
I have plans to fly to Fargo on Wed. Today I considering the wisdom of flying. I will know more as I monitor the eye today. It being Saturday I am having a bit of a question about who to seek professional opinion from.

Aussie Visitors

Here we are in Arivaca with my dear friends Graham and Dottie. Actually our dear friends. We are enjoying moderate winter temperatures while those we love are in sub zero, or deep snow, or flood waters. The mother nature is good to us.