A Day In The Life - 9/28: I Love Tuesdays

I love Tuesdays. They have become our date nights for the past month. Not that we don't go out on Fridays . . . and Saturdays, but we also get to do so much together on Tuesdays as well.
Gaye has had some classes that she is taking for her school career on Tuesdays. (She does those without me.) Then I pick her up from class and we go to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Those are always spectacular. I would pay the price for the classes just for the entertainment because they are so much fun. He really makes us see ourselves in some of the dumb things that we do financially.
And then Gaye usually has a coupon for free or reduced food somewhere so we get to go out and eat (or at least treat) while we talk about the things from class. And here we are at Culver's - again. Man, they have good ice cream.

A Day In The Life - 9/25: Jennie Finally Turns 20!

For Jennie's birthday we all went to Yogurtland for frozen yogurt. These are great places that specialize in letting you choose your own flavors and mixes and toppings . . . and then they charge you by the oz. But it is also way too fun to build your own dessert.





And as usual, Jennie has to do her own posing for the pictures and give me some sort of annoying face. So I decided to pull a fast one on her and do a video clip rather than a picture. It is pretty funny. Now you, too, can be there for the action. :)

A Day In The Life - 9/24: A Wedding!

The day is not over and I am already making more entries - one was just not enough.
William Shoemaker and his beautiful bride had their wedding reception this evening. It was so much fun, as these things always are. No only are you really happy for the Bride and Groom and the families, but you also get to see all of these wonderful people that you never get to see.
For example, right here on the right side of this picture is Logan Hendricks of the Lee Hendricks persuasion. Their family has since moved to Utah near Provo. But here he is in the . . . pixels. And of course Mark Shoemaker and Toby and Patsy Ballentine with Rachelle. That was a totally fun time for visiting.
And then, since Kevin Shoemaker couldn't be at the wedding because he is serving a mission for the LDS church in South America, they had a cutout of him. He has finally become the poster child his parents always hoped he would be. And Jennie, being one of his great friends, had to have the picture with him, without him.

A Day In The Life - 9/24: More Hospital

Happy Birthday, Ben. It is a good thing that we made the trip down to Tucson to do Ben and Noah's birthday's last weekend because this week we are spending time at the hospital with Jase and his parents. He has been in since Wednesday. They finally figured out that he has Salmonella poisoning. There is no telling where he got it from. He is going to have to be in the hospital for a few more days until they get it under control and then on a pic line for about 10 days after that to give him the antibiotics he needs. Quentin and Mandi have been with him day and night but are needing to get back to work and school so we are glad that they have finally figured it all out.

A Day In The Life - 9/23: Jase in the Hospital

We got some scary news from Quentin Wednesday night. He and Mandi cam over asking for a blessing for Jase. He was sick and running a fever and had a persistent infection on his finger. They had been to the doctor's office but had not been able to clear things up. They were taking him to the hospital.
Quentin told us that they were keeping him at the hospital because they couldn't determine what the problem was. The doctors had ruled out Merca and appendicitis but it was still not getting better.
When we cam by for a visit they were taking him for a sonogram to determine if this was an appendix issue. It wasn't.

A Day In The Life - 9/22: A Keen Wit Plus

We are still in the process of making knives. It takes several sessions to grind, sand and shape the piece of steel to something that you want to take home. And about the time that you feel like it is coming together and you have spent enough time on this thing, you discover that you still need a handle for the darn thing.



There are a couple of options. Most of the time we make handles out of antler. Scott Larson got a hold of some good pieces for us. But some of the guys have done this before and so this time I offered them an option to do their handle in wood. This is more difficult. A piece of antler only requires that you drill some holes in the soft, porous core so that the tang of the blade can fit inside and then you glue it in place.

Making a handle out of wood requires that you cut the handle piece long-ways and off center. Then a groove must be routed down the center to hold the knife tang. Then the two halves must be glued back together. When they are dried, the work begins. The handle must still be cut and shaped, smoothed and sanded, then finally finished.



So, if this process seems to go on and on and on and on, it does. But the boys (and the leaders) love it and will be hard pressed to move on to their next project for the Mountain Man Rendezvous preparation.

A Day In The Life - 9/18: Noah (and the animals) Have A Birthday Party

This day started out as such a nice one. The morning was cool (if you can call 90 cool) and a little breezy. It was a magnificent day for working in the yard. I went and mowed Mom's lawn and then came home and mowed mine. Then I was moving some of the terracing stones, trying to decide how this garden thing was going to work with the trees I need to dig holes for. And then there was this one stone. I had placed it next to another stone but the rough edges just sort of hung up on each other. As I went to nudge the hanging stone I just had this thought that if I did that kind of nudging I was going to smash my finger. And, boy was I right. And just then I felt like the guy in Jurassic Park played by Jeff Goldblum who says, "I hate being right all of the time." So I did the un-happy dance so that I didn't say the un-happy words. Unfortunately, you can't see in the picture how wonderfully purple the whole thing was from the joint to the tip. Just one big blood blister. Yowza!
Then it was down to Tucson. To Sahuarita, actually. It was time to celebrate Ben and Noah's birthdays. Jenn, in her ever-creative manner, made a birthday cake that was every boy's dream cake - a race track with a race car on it. And it had Oreo tires around the sides like the bumper tires around some tracks. What a spectacular and tasty treat. And to top that all off, she had prepared some dinner, too.
Part of the arrival tour included the new castle in the play room. Ben has been planning this for quite some time and when he finally had some time off over Labor Day weekend, the family headed to Phoenix to stay out of his hair while he worked on the big surprise. It is a two-story job with a couple of rooms beneath for reading, playing or having the queen's tea parties and a loft above for sleeping or fighting off dragons, which are quite plentiful this time of year.
Finally, the gathering begins. Getting so many friends and family all ready to open presents was quite a chore but somehow they managed it. And Noah was more than exuberant in his zeal to reveal the contents of each package in as little time as possible, flinging papers and ribbons in a myriad of directions. But, to his credit (and that of his mother) he did take a moment to thank each person for the gift they brought.

Gaye spent some time discussing the many attributes of her new phone with her Mom and Bob. Now she is really in geek heaven. She is envied by both her kids AND her parents. That is an enviable and short-lived position to be in so she is making the most of it while she can.





Finally, things quiet down enough that, before everyone heads home with bellies full of dinner and birthday cake, Ben gets a chance to open his gifts. His kids show as much enthusiasm for the gifts as he does and when he opens one that has two wooden gliders (one for Noah and one for Ben), Emma is elated. "One for the girls and one for the boys", she says confidently.

And finally a short video of the participants during the decloaking of the gifts.

A Day In The Life - 9/17: Dirt and Dog

The garden has taken off. I have sprouts everywhere. I have Joy School sprouts, Cub Sprouts (get it?), single sprouts, family sprouts, tall spouts, skinny sprouts even sprouts with chicken pox. I guess I got carried away there. But they are coming up by the fist full. But most of those are either weeds or volunteers. Not volunteers like the kind they had in the Revolutionary War. More like the kind you get when someone says "Free Food" or "You can sleep on my couch until you get a job." But there is a better cure for the garden variety than for the couch type. I just spray them with a little roundup. And it really does kill them down to the roots.
So I am out doing the garden thing. The dog is out with me doing the dog thing. "And what is the 'Dog Thing'?" you ask. You will just have to catch the quick video is when it refers to our dog (Betty Poops) and getting a free rub in the lawn.

A Day In The Life - 9/16: Miracle Mile Deli

Today I got to go out to lunch. I seldom go somewhere for lunch. I prefer to eat at my desk - all day long. It is so much more satisfying to munch something whenever I get the urge. I also get some perverse satisfaction from leaving an hour earlier than the others who came in at the same time I did but took a lunch break.
But today I took a lunch. I had finally hooked up with my friend, Loren Jepson, and we picked a spot somewhere between our two work places. He works out on the west side of Phoenix and I work near the south east side of Phoenix, so Camelback Road and 20th Street seemed like a good place to enjoy some time talking and eating without making the travel prohibitive. And Miracle Mile Deli is a good place to do it. The sandwiches are thick with meat and dressings and hot off the grill. (I am making myself hungry just thinking about it. I had the New Yorker.) The drinks are cold and the prices are fair for the fare. Yum! So we talked for an hour or so and caught up with each other's activities. It was money and time well spent.

A Day In The Life - 9/15: My Man, Jase

It is Wednesday. Wednesday's are generally pretty good days - none of that Monday morning blues stuff for me. It is the middle of the week, the wrinkles have been mostly ironed out. There is no panic yet that the end of the week is arriving before everything is done. Wednesdays are good.
Jase was over to the house and in a pretty good mood about things. It was a good and mostly quiet evening. He is ready for bed in alien jams of some sort. It was a good time to snap a picture before he could do either the "Sure, take my picture" pose or the "Don't ever do that again", hide your face and frown pose.

A Day In The Life - 9/14: Mockingjay Lands

Yahooie! I finally finished the book and the series by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games begins the series about a time when the country is divided into 13 districts rather than 50 states and are controlled by the Capitol. The rebellion had been put down and just to remind everyone who was in control, the capitol demanded two youngsters from each district to fight in the Hunger Games each year - and only one survivor comes out as the victor.
This is a great, well-written trilogy that was written for young adults (like me) and keeps you guessing what is going to happen next that will get Katnis and her friend Gale, into even more trouble. A recommended read for everyone.

A Day In The Life - 9/13: My Piece of Dirt

My piece of dirt. I water it. I dig in it. I find hidden treasures in it - like a snake and a lizard. I mix stuff in it. (This sounds a lot like the grand kids playing in the pile in the play area.)
Finally I just leave it alone and it starts to sprout things if I am patient. Not always what I planted, which is half the fun - like going to the treasure box.
I got the automatic watering all set up so that I don't have to have too much fun. And my compost barrel is there where I bury my treasured scraps of vegetable waste for next season.
Now, if I could only keep the dog from digging up the treasures in my piece of dirt . . .

A Day In The Life - 9/12: Reeds for Two

We went to visit Doug and Daryn Reed to celebrate Daryn and Taryn's birthdays (oh, so belated) and they surprised us by preparing dinner for Gaye and me to join them. It was so good and so much fun to get to spend time with them since we don't see them nearly as often with our different church assignments. So we got to catch up on what is happening and eat great food and talk with the girls. Then the fun really began. Haley wanted to show us her back walk-over that she is doing for the play, Oliver. She is also taking ballet lessons instead of sports.


Then Haley and Whitney got to show us their double tumble routine that they have been goofing around with. It was lots of fun having them show us their stuff.

A Day In The Life - 9/11: Spiders and Bugs

I love busy days - days spent in the yard, at the shows and involved in life up to my neck. That was what this Saturday was. It began with two lawns to mow - mine and Mom's (or is it Dad's?) The dog, known as Mutton-head, loves the out of doors in her own way. She races around the yard as fast as she can go. Then she takes a dive into the lawn with a twist so that she slides on her back for her own kind of back scratching Olympic event. Then it is off to her own corner of the yard to do her business before sticking her nose into the air and then all around the yard sucking up dust and anything else that smells. Then it is back to the lawn for more racing and scratching.
About 10 o'clock we were off to the Home and Building show at the Phoenix Convention Center. Rosie on the House was broadcasting from the show as well as working with Sanderson Ford to give away a new Ford truck and a rafting trip down the Colorado in the Grand Canyon.
Gaye and I wandered around the show for awhile, getting ideas and talking to a few tradesmen about their products. I am looking for three trees for the back yard. We talked with the guys at Moon Valley and they had some of what we wanted - Chilean Mesquites but the guys at another place, located over on Guadalupe and Stapley/Cooper have a new variety of Mesquite that is much like the Chilean but without dropping all of the foliage and it has a tap root that goes deep down to provide more stability during our blustery storms. I will need to get over there soon to check them out since they did not have any on display at the show.
Then there was this exterminator who had a couple of really cool displays - one that had a tarantula climbing the walls . . .









... and the other had a bunch of scorpions. But not just scorpions. You see that one that looks like it has a yellow spot on it's back? That is a baby scorpion riding on mama. Scary little critters. They were kind enough to open both of the cages so that I could get some pictures. (They must have been really bored.)




Finally, in the afternoon, there was an open house at the church building. It was built twenty years ago and so they were having an open house to let the neighbors come by and check things out - kind of see what we do and how we are involved in the community. The Mayor of Chandler came with several other political people. We also had lots of neighbors come by to visit. There were a lot of people helping to staff the event. And then they fed us.
I was sitting upstairs reading by the window when I saw this wonderful sunset taking place. I just had to run down stairs and snag a couple of pictures. It was very delightful.

A Day In The Life - 9/10: Where To Go

Where to go on a date. We ask ourselves that nearly every week. Where haven't we been in a while? Who have we not been out with for a while? And there is hardly ever a good answer. But to night Chine Bandito bites us both and we are off to another food adventure. This is the place on the southeast corner of Chandler Boulevard and Dobson, so far back away from the street that you can't even see it. But those who know of it's existence come for great food prepared in an unusual way.
I am not certain how I was able to catch my lovely assistant in a pose before sprinting madly for the door, but here she is.



The trick to the Chino is a variety of Chinese food - Pork Fried Rice (my favorite), Sweet and Sour stuff, Flash-Fried stuff, Jade Green stuff. And of course, rice and beans is the Bandito secret . . . along with the preparation. And chicken stuff, too. You choose two entree's and two sides and a drink. You tell them if you want the entree's done in a quesidia or in a burrito or just left naked. Then you go sit at one of the many picnic tables and wait for the food to be brought to you. and when it comes it is delicious. Such a mix of flavors all in one tin dish. (I am making myself hungry just describing all of this.)

A Day In The Life - 9/7: Free Treats

There is nothing like free. A free day is wonderful. A free day that no one else has is even a bit better. A free day that no one else has off with a free treat is nearly unimaginable. But there it was, the Labor Day weekend come to an end. Everyone gone back to their jobs. Everyone, that is, except me. And I wasn't even unemployed! No - I was on VACATION! PTO! Holiday! It was simple mental bliss. I worked (the "W" word!) in the yard. I read books and ate ice cream. I watched some TV.I was free! When Gaye finally got off work we went to our Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class and then went for a free treat at Culiver's near Baseline and Country Club Road in Mesa. And, you know - food just tastes better when it is free. Even if it is quite horrid, since it was free you have lost nothing at all, so even poorly made, poor tasting food is OK when it is free. But this food (the Cement Mixer) was fabulous. Another marvelous day in paradise.

A Day In The Life - 9/6: Oh, So Much Holiday

Today's project was to re-build my garden watering system and move it from a perimeter system spraying in towards the center to a single line down the center spraying out. I had almost all of the materials already (except some soaker hose) so it was pretty cheap to do. I was also able to salvage most of the old fittings, which is what I am doing in the picture to the left.
After that was all done I needed to spread the compost and then plant my seeds - spinach, lettuce, carrots, onions and three varieties of peas. I love peas and so do the kids and grand kids.




Whenever we take the dog out she has to race around the yard like her tail is on fire and then take a dive into the lawn with a few rolls to get all the itches out. Then it is off to chase her chew toy, She is just a little bit crazy. I need to figure a way to hook her up to a generator and harness some of that youthful energy.



Then we are off to Fat Burgers. It is by the AMC Grand theaters. We have a coupon and so two nice burgers, fries/onion rings and a couple of shakes runs us $10. And they were excellent burgers. We will have to try them out again.

A Day In The Life - 9/5: Break The Fast

On the first Sunday of each month we fast from two meals for 24 hours in order to better appreciate what we have, to grow closer to God and to share the cost of those meals with those who are in need. Gaye and I now work in a young single adult ward and they have a tradition of meeting together after our church meetings and having a meal together. We call it "Break The Fast". It is a very fun time to sit together and talk, get to know new people and get to spend time with those who you just don't get to spend time with as often as you would like. This is usually a fairly simple meal but it is a time that we all look forward to. And here they come . . . .

A Day In The Life - 9/4: Too Much Holiday?

I am only into the second day of my holiday weekend and I am already wearing blisters into my thumbs. It has been my habit on more than one holiday to damage myself severely. I enjoy the time out doing things that I sun burn myself, get blisters, make myself sore from doing things I don't do all that often or simply sprain or twist something. (I save breakage for non-holiday time.)
Today was no different. I just love working in the yard and around the garden or in the shop. Today it was roto-tilling, spraying weeds, roto-tilling, hauling in bags of compost, more roto-tilling, mixing in fertilizer and then . . . more roto-tilling - until after 7 pm. I love holidays.
Jenn and the kids came up from Tucson but I never saw them. I was recuperating from my vigorous morning when they came. I missed seeing those kids. :(
But, all was not lost. The Great Gannon Get Away arrived and took us off to a very fun restaurant over on Val Vista and Baseline and then, to top it all off, they took us to another place near by called Ocean Blue where we got frozen yogurt or sherbet and then stuff to mix in and then toppings - any combination that you might be interested in. And it was the perfect end to a great meal. We sat outside on the benches nearby and talked and just enjoyed being together with great friends. How lucky are we?!

9/3: The Holiday Continues

It is 4:45 am on a holiday weekend. My eyes pop open. I am wide awake yet it is still dark outside. It is too early to do anything in the yard but there is no going back to sleep. So I get up and work on the computer fro an hour. At 6:00 am I get dressed and go out and spray the weeds which are still proliferating from the recent rains. At 7:00 am I am the first person at the nursery nearby. I wander through the plant displays dreaming of the day when I can scrape together enough money to finish up our yard so that we could actually invite people over to eat and enjoy the great spring and fall weather that we have here in Arizona. Did you know that there are at least seven different varieties of Hybuscus . . . I think it is Hybiscus. You know, those yellow-flowered plants that you see all over? They also so come in white, blue, lavender, red, pink and a purple or pink with a white center. But today I am there to get mulch and lawn fertilizer. $67 worth of mulch and lawn fertilizer. Ouch! Gardening in Arizona has got to produce some of the most expensive vegetable known to man. But I digress.
By 8:00 am I am home and hauling stuff around to the back. But not before I discover that the wheel barrow not only has a flat tire but also that most of the bolts are loose. I hook up the right end to the compressor and get out the wrench and soon the beast is moving bags of stuff to the back yard smooth and easy. Then it is time to get ready to clean the church building. We could not attend the Hartford Ward trip to Snow Flake, Arizona to go to the temple so we are part of the cleaning crew for the church building. Then it is back home to work some more in the yard and then out to dinner with the Gannons. They took us to their favorite restaurant and then to a really cool frozen yogurt place called Ocean Blue (I think). It was so much fun to pick your favorite combination of yogurt and then add toppings and mixers to the concoction. It was a total blast.

A Day In The Life - 9/3: My Holiday Begins

It is the beginning of the Labor Day weekend. I know that it is only Friday. But I was bold enough to take Friday and Tuesday in addition to the weekend and the Monday holiday to make this a nice long "restful" time. But it is not really working that way - as usual.
It is again something over 110 degrees during mid-day but I am up early. I have breakfast and drive Gaye to work (she does not get the day off from her class of third-graders). So it is no longer "cooler" by the time I get started.
First there is all of the summer garden plants to clear. The tomatoes have over-run the place. The weeds have under-run the place, meaning that under every tomato plant that I take out there are weeds being way too prolific. So, step one on my list is to clear the landscape. As you can see from the photo, I got a barrel full. I added a few branches from the trees that were hanging low.
The next job was to clear the watering lines and shade out of the way.
Now comes that hard part - Roto-Tilling. The great thing is that, in years past, I did all of this with a pick and shovel. But, to do it right still takes a fair amount of time and lots of muscling the machine along the course that you want it to take. Otherwise it wanders and you get rows that are much less that arrow straight. It is so hot that I do a couple of passes and go in to cool off and then a couple more passes and go in to cool off. So I am just finishing up the first run of the entire garden just before dark around 7:00 pm. It has been a long day, interspersed with a couple of TV shows, some reading of a Nevada Barr book and a movie or two. It is a good day to be off from work.

A Day In The Life - 9/2: A Bull And A Buff

It is Thursday - the second day of September and hotter than blazes again. Something over 110 in the shade. I have have donned my chauffeur's hat and collected Miss Vaterlaus from her activities at Roosevelt Elementary School. Our abode is secured and the viscous guard dog, Delta, has been fed, run and set on her watch. We are now on our way to a rendezvous with the great financial wizard, Dave Ramsey.
We are on route to our destination with only one thing on our minds - food. We are starving! But, suddenly Miss Vaterlaus is directing my attention to a small corral near the canal, a wild area through the heart of Gilbert in that cowboy state of Arizona (they should have left it as part of the New Mexico territory, if you ask me.) I am directed to take our limousine on a retour of the area to view one more glimpse of the run down corral. And, what a marvelous sight awaits our tired eyes. Here in the midst of traffic and urban living, a corral with a milk cow, a Texas long horn steer and a buffalo. And that is not all, although the tin type above does not capture it, there are also two calves - one a buffalo and the other a Long Horn. What an endearing sight. So off we drove to have Waldo's BBQ before our class, because "beefalo" just would not have been appropriate after such a sighting. And, as on Tuesday, the class was simply magnificent. I can't wait for next week to do this again.