I did it!

After 40 years of Christmases and hearing how I should learn to make the dreaded anise cookies, I took a lesson from Grandma Chance and made some last night.  First of all the hardest thing about them it finding the anise oil, not extract, not the seeds, but the oil.  Paying dearly for the nasty stuff is the biggest outlay of time and effort.  I found that if you have a heavy duty mixer with a stand that can beat non stop for 60 minutes you can make the batter in no time.  I would hate to think what they were like to make when you had to hand beat the sugar and egg mixture for the hour.  Grandma and Grandpa keep their apartment so hot that with my cold I got overheated and almost fainted.  After getting the last of the cookies on the wax paper to air dry over night I started "losing my cookies"!!!  I told Curtis that I always knew that those cookies could only make you sick and they just proved my point.  Anyway, today about noon I picked up the finished baked cookies for Curtis to enjoy and enjoy he will like it or not.  I guess there is now no reason not to make them for the ones who like them but I will never bake them for myself.  Ugh! Just thinking about them makes me queasy!!!

Putting away Christmas

We are almost out of propane and that means moving the motor home from its site to the propane area of the campground.  That also means everything that isn't tied down needs to be put away so it won't slide around and break.  So down came the Christmas tree and all the accompanying decorations this morning.  As we were taking things apart I thought about how sometimes it is a bittersweet chore - putting away Christmas.  Yet as I think of the true meaning of Christmas we never have to put it away and it certainly shouldn't be a bittersweet chore at all.  What a joyous thing that Christmas is - the celebration of the Christ Child.  As we put away the brightly colored balls and the sparkling lights we should be focusing on the gift of salvation that never requires us to put it away.  And that gift is perhaps the only gift that truly should be re-gifted to everyone we meet along the way.   We should be soooo excited about that gift that we should be sharing it all the time with all we come in contact with.  So as we all put away the trappings of the holiday, remember the Holy Day and rejoice and be thankful.

Saturday

Whoa, it was 24 degrees this morning when I got up.  Curtis called from Wisconsin where he went to his nephew's wedding and said it was 40 degrees there!  Who would have thunk????  Zeke and I are by ourselves and doing just fine.   I chose not to go into Cottonwood yesterday as I am fighting off a dreaded sore throat.  Everyone else has had one but I have up to this point no fallen victim to it.  I did come into town today as Curtis is going to try to do a web cam from the church while the wedding is in progress.  Hopefully, we can get it going so Grandma and Grandpa Chance can see the wedding as it occurs.  Grandpa had to "race" off in the car the moment I got here because he was without it yesterday as I had it out at the campground and heaven forbid that he was stuck at home.  Oh, well, such is life.  

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing for everyone a very Merry Christmas with lots of love to go along with it.  If you are out and about please be very careful, too.

Merry Christmas

Just a quick posting to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas!  May you each stay safe and warm this season wrapped in love and good wishes.

New Puppy Nights and Days

Our new puppy, Ezekiel, (Zeke) is so much fun but being a typical puppy a lot of work, too.  In order for us to sleep comfortably we keep the heat very low in the motor home.  Guess who has no extra body fat to keep him warm against the cold?  So Zeke is snuggling in our bed during the night.  His middle of the night potty time corresponds with ours, so that is no trouble.  But the day time potty breaks are a guessing game.  As a result we spend a lot of time redirecting his steps to the piddle pad we are using.  Right now he is too unprotected against parvo which is picked up from the AZ soil to take him out for walks.  Today he will get his 2nd puppy shot so I am hoping that he can start being taken out after that.  Valley fever is also a biggie in AZ for both people and dogs to stay away from and it is windblown.....so like with any "parents" of a newborn we are none to anxious to expose him to the elements right now.  However, this housebreaking is HARD work since we don't have a yard that we can just send him out on to take care of business.  He is so cute and loves to play already, pulling on things and already knows to bring back his toys that we toss for him.  Guess the love and companionship we are experiencing with him are a trade off for the work of housebreaking!  

Only a few hours before Santa wings his way to your house.  All the anticipation is so much fun if children are in the house.  So you parents out there enjoy your little ones expectations and joy.  Merry Christmas to all.

Winter

Today is the first day of winter, I believe, and true to its name the day has been cold and damp.  Our day was spent doing the mundane chores of life, laundry and grocery shopping, all in a light drizzly atmosphere of the Verde Valley of Arizona.  The usual Christmas crowds of shoppers were out today.  Most were cheerful or at least friendly, but there were the usual grumps, too.  While in the grocery aisles of Safeway I saw people huffing and puffing and scowling and even one old gent pushed me out of the way with his elbow as he passed not even saying "excuse me" in the process.  I really did not have the aisle blocked in any form or fashion, but I was in his way somehow.  Of course, I said "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was in your way" and even smiled but all it got from him was a "hrumph" and on he went bullying his way down the next aisle.  I always wonder why some people are in such foul humors especially this time of year, but then I realize that they are more than likely that way all the time.  Christmas just brings out the worst in some.  Perhaps they don't like the hustle and bustle or perhaps their memories of Christmases past are hurtful or they miss their loved ones.  Mostly I think it is because they simply don't understand the whole point of Christmas.  I hope for each of us this year that we stop and remember the real reason of the season - the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who came as a babe to grow to manhood only to be crucified for our sins on that cross so long ago.  How can we remain grumpy or unhappy when we realize that God loved us (ME) enough to do that for us (ME)?  As you enter into the last few hours before that wonderful magical time called Christmas, take time to give thanks for that most wonderful gift of love and sacrifice ever.  Merry Christmas to all of you.

A Living Gift

Yesterday, Curtis took me down to Phoenix to purchase my Christmas gift.  He bought me (and himself) an adorable little dachshund black and tan puppy.  Fifteen years ago tomorrow he gave me a wonderful red dachshund we named Maxwell.  Max was a great dog and just filled the bill for loving and keeping us company as our children grew to adulthood and left.  He even kept his esteemed status as our dog child after the grandchildren came.  But alas, last Christmas while we were in Austin, TX with my dad, sister and her family, he developed congestive heart failure and we grieved greatly as we put him down on Dec. 29, 2007.  All year every time we saw a mini dachshund like Max we grieved again but remembered all the good times we had with him.  He was a super companion that stood loyally with us as we fought the cancer Curtis had in the mid 90's and made the move from suburban dog to savvy city dweller when we relocated to San Francisco, CA.  As Christmas neared my heart really began to ache for another such companion for us.  So after perusing the pet classifieds all fall we found him in Phoenix, AZ just as we found Maxwell.  So the miniature dachshund with the giant name of Ezekiel came to live with us as of yesterday.  We will call him Zeke with the possible exceptions of when he "misbehaves" and at that such time he will most likely again be called the full moniker of Ezekiel.  He is napping next to me on the sofa as I write this posting.  He is full of energy for about 45 minutes then "needs" a little down time.  He will be 2 months old on Christmas Eve and has been introduced to our other children via the web cam.  Of course, no gift at Christmas can come anywhere near the gift we all received that first Christmas so long ago, but he is a special one in his own right.  So, thank you, Curtis, for this terrific gift of love.

Cool Morning

This morning finds the skies cleared of large rain/snow clouds but filled with the wispy clouds of windy days.  There are all types of birds out today.  Sometimes bald eagles soar over the mesa just to the east of us, but today its mostly smaller birds.  Most of them are very colorful, yellows, reds, rusts, and greens to name a few.  As we leave our motor home we often scare up the ones that roost just on the branches of the chollas and creosote bushes outside our door.  The sounds they make are reminicient of the movie "The Birds" made in the '60's by Alfred Hitchcock.  So far though none of these birds are in the attack mode!  

Tonight we will go into Cottonwood to the Verde Baptist Church concert with Justin Unger.  He is an up and coming music pastor from here in Arizona in the town of Prescott.  Grandma and Grandpa Chance have invited some of their friends from The Village to go with them so we will probably see them there.  Hope that it includes an audience carol singing session... that is one of my favorite things at Christmas time.  

Only six days left until Christmas and my gift is nowhere to be found!  But that is par for the course with Curtis.  It has become an annual joke that he waits until the last minute to get mine.  But actually this year he bought his own gift and told me I could wrap it and give it to him.  So that is what I did; therefore, I didn't have to shop for him.  It is funny how we slip into what is easiest and convenient after years of thinking and conniving and trying to come up with just the right thing.  Oh, well, after forty years I guess that is okay.

We wish everyone near and far a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!!

Thankful

Wow, what a night of storms here in the Verde Valley.  The wind was unmerciful.  About midnight we decided to roll in the living room slide as the wind was catching the awning on top of it and whacking it on the slide's ceiling.  We could hear creaks and moans from every joint in it.  The small Christmas tree in the front wind swayed with each gust.  I must say it really was a bit frightening to feel this big box moving constantly from side to side.  But the Lord kept us safe from any damage and we survived it all with minimum sleep.  (At least minimum on my part, my other half seemed to snore through the ordeal.)  This morning the skies are somewhat clear but there seems to be clouds building up once again on all sides so I suspect we will be getting more storms today.

Yesterday afternoon was spent helping David and Amy Yarger move some of their boxes into their new home.  It is a terrific house for that young family with lots of room.  And the view out their eating area is fantastic.  It looks out over the foothills of the Mingus mountain in a preserve.  While standing there we saw 3 javelinas walking by.  Amy's parents, Marty and Randa Thompson are here visiting so it was really a good time visiting with long time friends as well as helping out a bit.

I am sorry that I haven't done the downloads for the pictures yet.  I have to do it from Curtis' laptop and from his parents home since they have the faster internet connection.  I will try to do some before long.

Catch Up

Just wanted to catch everyone up on our travels since we left San Francisco.  We sold our Born Free motor home in August '07 and purchased an Allegro Bay motor home.  The Bay is a much larger one with 2 side slide outs and is much roomier as a result.  Unfortunately, our year of carefree travel was not meant to be.  We had some family needs that required us to travel from Colorado to Minnesota to Texas and to Arizona.  Our winter last year was spent in Texas with my dad and my sister and our spring was spent traveling up to the Rochester, NY area where Chris and Acacia and family moved.  We worked all summer this year at a KOA campground near Rochester in the Finger Lakes area of NY.  It was beautiful country and of course, we enjoyed being within 30 minutes of our grandchildren.  I will try to post some pictures of the campground on this site for all to see.  This fall after Curtis' parents experienced some health issues we decided that we needed to make our way back to Arizona where we are now.  We are staying in a campground near Cottonwood, AZ where they live.  Fortunately, they are doing much better though they are very frail and fragile at this point.  On our way over here from the East we stopped in Texas to check on my dad.  He is doing well especially mentally.  His memory is pretty good for an 87 year old and he still has his good humor.  After leaving Austin we drove to Albuquerque, NM for the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.  Wow, what an awesome sight!  I will try to post those pictures too on this blog.  I won't post them all because Curtis and I took something like 223 pictures while there.  If you ever have the opportunity to go, GO!  It is well worth the trip.  Anyway, that is our last 20 months in a nutshell.  We are in good health and spirits and plan to work again in Canandaigua, NY this summer to be near Chris and family.

No snow fell here during the night, only rain!  Today it is still raining off and on and is pretty dreary looking.  It will be very messy going out tonight to the church's potluck.  Oh, well, a bit of rain or mud never hurts.  

So glad to hear that Acacia made it through her root canal just fine.  Those are never fun but sometimes a pressing need.  

Brrr

The weather forecast for the Verde Valley is snow possibly tonight.  Wow, I really didn't think it was going to get that cold here.  Tomorrow night we are suppose to go with Grandma and Grandpa Chance to their church's senior potluck.  (That would be the senior citizens not seniors in high school!)  Yikes!!!! Are we really senior citizens?   Anyway, we will go and smile and have a good time knowing that we are making them happy.  Perhaps our children will find themselves doing the same thing for us.  

Just around the corner

Only a few days left until Christmas and all the gifts are wrapped and either at their intended destinations or here under the tree.  Seems odd to think that we won't be with either of our kids this year yet again.  But really Christmas is just another day to thank give thanks to the Lord for them and for our other family members whether we are with them or not.  So we will look forward to talking with them all and having "webcam" chats with some of them as we all celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  That way we are still making memories regardless of where we are.

Today I am doing some baking of a tea bread that I have made for years at Christmas time to give away.  This year's batch will be given to friends of Curtis' parents.  These friends have gone out of their way to help them out whenever they needed help.  Beverly and Steve and Marvin and Sunny have certainly been there when no family members were available.  However, they did not help Rose and Clayton out because of any self serving need, but simply because they are modeling the Savior, Jesus Christ.  They have been a wonderful reminder of just why we celebrate this season of the year, His birth.  Our prayer for all of you and ourselves is that we strive to model Him all year round in everything that we do and say.

At Last

As Curtis retired and we left San Francisco we promised to keep everyone updated on our "rv'ing" lifestyle by posting a blog.  Well, it is many months later and I am making an attempt to fulfill that promise.  Not that I really know what I am doing but I will give it a shot.