A Day In The Life - 6/24: Gaye goes back to Dallas

Gaye received a call from her sister that her father was not doing to well and that if she wanted to see him alive she had better get to Dallas within the next 48 hours.
She had planned to go on Sunday but she changed her flight, packed her bags and headed out to what was to be her last time to see him alive.
But it was a good trip. He was lucid enough to realize that she was there and she was able to express her love to him and feel like she had said goodbye before he moved to a state where he was not very coherent and then on to death.

A Day In The Life - 6/22: Rich's Birthday Party

Paul and his family are here at the house with Ben and his family. Q, of course is here because he lives here. Jennie and Kyle arrive a little later. It was fun to eat and talk and enjoy the time together.

A Day In The Life - 6/19: Juna Birthday Party

Every June we have the Tinsley family birthday party. It is a combination birthday celebration and remember Jase day.
We usually make a day of it although it is only in Tucson. This year was no exception.
No trip to Tucson is complete without a trip to Eggee's for grinders and slushes.
Then it is off to Bookman's, the biggest little used bookstore around. It is a horrible place to go because, Like Costco, which we love to call the hundred dollar club, because you never get out for less than a hundred dollars, we also never escape Bookman's without an arm full of books and magazines to read.
Finally, we end up at the home of Gaylen and Dena. They are always such wonderful hosts and lots of friends come by to wish them well and to reminisce about Jase and the good times we had together with that great young man. The food is always good with some great elk, deer and javalina burgers or steaks with all of the side dishes and desserts to make the scales scream in agony and run for cover when we get home.
Our kids gather together and chat while enjoying the food.
Dena's family comes as well. This year Jackie and Art Jacobson also came with Christa.






















And I get to have the fun with the girls. Gracie is trying to not be seen but wants to be included. Hero is having fun, fun, fun.

A Day In The Life - 6/18: Teds Hot Dogs

Here we were, minding our own business as we ordered our favorite hot dogs at Ted's and I looked down the line and who should I see but Lynn and Vicki Nelson. So we ate with them. Then a couple of weeks later (these photos) we did it again only this time on purpose. And we invited Gary and Darla Tyler to come along as well.



The only flaw in our plan was that they don't have seats big enough for more than four people. Our solution was to split up and the guys sat at one booth and the gals sat at another one.

A Day In The Life - 6/16: Jennie and Kyle to Dinner

We are so lucky that Jennie and Kyle love to come over often and have dinner with us and play games. Also, our fortunate circumstances include having Quentin around to join us for meals and conversation and an occasional movie.






If you have been very observant you have noticed that either Jennie is a fast-change artist and that there is a huge selection to choose from on the table or that these two photos were not taken the same day.
The bottom photo was most likely taken while Gaye was out of town on one of her trips.
The top photo is probably when Gaye was home . . . or someone got out the cardboard cutout of her. :)

A Day In The Life - 6/14: Bike Rides

I love riding my bike. I don't do it as often as I would like during the summer. It is not that it is too hot. While I am riding I am very comfortable. I am often riding at 9 or 10 at night but that doesn't help too much because the temperature is still hovering around 100 degrees even at that time of night.
The problem really comes when I stop riding. While I am moving the air keeps me nice and comfortable. But when I stop riding, even though I am in a nice cool house under a fan, my body has generated so much heat that it takes as much as an hour for me to cool down.
These pictures are of the area where I ride. The cities in the Phoenix Metro area have started using the canal areas as great places to make accessible to people who want to bicycle, run, walk or ride horses. It is nearly perfect because it is mostly away from traffic and the canals run all over the valley. These shots happen to be of the Tempe area where I ride. Tempe has not only paved the riding areas on one side of the canal (leaving the other side for riding horses), they have put designs in the pavement, added rest areas and drinking fountains. Near some of the parks they have put up netting to keep riders/runners from being hit by balls. There are bridges over the canal and walkways into neighborhoods, etc., to make these areas as accessible to everyone as possible.

A Day In The Life - 6/12: Rearranging The Family Room

Gaye is out of town. That much should be obvious. How else would I have survived making such a mess in the house?
I figured that I really wanted to flip the layout so that we could use the windows for light now and then.
So, I started moving things around. But some things are attached to cables. Not just electricity-type cables but ones that make stuff come on the TV, too.

So I found some extra coaxial cables. But you can;t just hook those together because someone who wasn't as smart as the guy who invented water hoses put the same kind of ends at both ends.
I went and found some adapters. Things were falling into place. But, when I got it all done, there was an extra piece - a leather chair and foot stool that was still sitting in the middle of the room and no where to put it because it would have to sit in front of the laundry room door in my layout.
So, back it all went to the original plan. I guess it is just tough to improve on Gaye's system.

A Day In The Life - 6/11: Hero Loves Tomatoes

Hero LOVES cherry tomatoes. She loves to pick them. She loves to eat them. And she loves to wear her bear backpack while she does it. So we send her out with a bowl (and a helper) to pick cherry tomatoes. It is very entertaining to watch.



Hero is picking them from the bunch on the stalk.

















One-at-a-time is NOT the game plan here. It is more similar to Stuff-your-chipmunk-cheeks.

A Day In The Life - 6/09: Pricing Dirt

Today I went to price some good, composted dirt for the garden boxes and the new garden area that I am planning. I was shocked at the price of that . . . DIRT! For the amount that I need it is over $600! But, after thinking about it, that may still be a fair price but just more than my budget wants to bare right now.

A Day In The Life - 6/08: Kyle and Jennie for Dinner

Gaye is off gallivanting all over Texas (her dad had some cancer removed and is not doing as well as had been expected so she flew out to Dallas to spend some time with him and Audrey). So I am entertaining on my own. It was a fun evening. Notice that when I am doing the cooking that we have steaks and when she cooks we have real food. :)

A Day In The Life - 6/02: Hero and Tomatoes

We discovered that Hero, Paul and Jessica's daughter, loves cherry tomatoes. And then she discovered that you can just walk out to Opah's garden and pick them right off of the stem. So she is packing those cheeks like a squirrel who has seen winter just around the corner.
Having tomatoes and peas in the garden has been a mainstay for us over the years. When the kids would not eat the canned or frozen stuff from the store is was still nearly impossible to keep them away from the garden when the plants were producing.
When Ariel was over a few weeks earlier, she and Jase were eating them as well . . . at least Ariel was. But Jase wanted to pick them anyway. So we got them the colander bowl and the two of them nearly filled it with cherry tomatoes. We had all we could put in salads and snack on at work and at home for several weeks. And that was only about half of what they could have picked at the time.

So now we have created the Cherry Tomato Addict. She will have to be in rehab and therapy for years to come. She'll be hopping peoples fences in the middle of the night to get her fix of fresh tomatoes. She will try to deny that it was her but the red stains on her hands and clothing will give her away every time.