Back to Arizona

Flew to Phoenix on Wednesday, March 24. Stayed with Lisa that night. After dinner, we went to Nick’s new home, a house he is renting with a friend.

Thursday, Lisa took me to meet my dear friend, Marilyn, with whom I stayed the next three nights. I spent an hour with Al and Barbara Taylor, who bought our Terravita house. I enjoyed seeing how they had made use of the space and pleased to see that they hadn’t made any major changes as they liked what we had done in our remodel. I really miss the floor tile and would love to have it in our Florida home. Barbara was amazed when I told her that Arne had installed the wall tile in the guest bath. I pointed out the other things Arne had done and she continued to be impressed. After lunch and a visit with Jane Frisch, Marilyn and I went to the driving range to practice for the Sonoran member-guest tournament in which we would be playing on Friday and Saturday. Thursday evening we went to Carefree Station to join four other friends for dinner.

Friday and Saturday, Marilyn and I played in the tourney. Friday was very cold! I had not brought the right clothes as I thought it was going to be in the upper 70’s and lower 80”s. Thus I had shorts and sleeveless shirts. Not appropriate!! Marilyn gave me a windbreaker belonging to her husband, Tim. It didn’t fit too badly but was a little large. I didn’t really feel comfortable in my swing until Saturday afternoon when I was finally able to shed the windbreaker. While we didn’t play well, actually coming in DFL in our flight, I saw lots of friends so it was a fun time. Also, the tee prize was a $50 gift certificate with which I bought a hat, glove, and cosmetic bag. We also got an Arizona charm bracelet. Marilyn and I did get some money back by sharing a 3-way tie for second place in the putting contest. :-)

Sunday, Jane took me to meet Erik and girls. We went to Mesa where we checked into the Marriott Mesa for four nights. Sunday night, Lisa, Erik, their children and I went bowling.

Monday, I watched Kadin and Gracie as Erik and Lisa had meetings for their new business. The girls swam for two hours in the morning. We then went to Subway for lunch and McDonald’s for dessert and playtime. Back to the pool for another couple hours swimming. In the evening, we went to Lisa’s for dinner.

Tuesday, I took Kadin, Gracie, Taylor, Brock and Nick to Jumpstreet for two hours of jumping on the trampolines. They had a fun time. Nick ended up with burns on his elbows and knees. He also hurt his shoulder and he’s only 23! Guess it’s not an activity for people over 20.

Tuesday night we met Mark, Marla, Andy, Drew and Kayley for dinner at Manuel’s in celebration of sister Marla’s birthday.


Wednesday, I took Kadin and Gracie to the Phoenix Zoo where we met Marla and her grandkids. We had a couple good hours together before the kids started to get tired. Took Kadin and Gracie to the pool for a couple hours in afternoon.



That night, all three of my children and all 6 grandchildren gathered at Dave and Buster’s in Tempe to celebrate grandson Daniel’s successful completion of his GED. He had high scores and we’re very proud of him. D&B’s has a big arcade so after dinner the grandkids had fun playing games and then picking out their prizes. Gracie was a big winner and went away with 3 stuffed animals.

Thursday was a travel day for me as I flew back to Florida. Arne was glad to see me and had the house in A-1 shape.

Friday night Arne and I went to Lake Sumter Landing for the Corvette show. It was a beautiful evening and a long time coming after a very cold winter.

Today we cheered on our neighborhood softball team in the AM and in the PM we watched part of a beach volleyball tourney with professional players. Wish I could jump and spike like these girls!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This evening Arne and I went to the Town Square for the St. Patrick's parade and some corned beef and cabbage. I had a green beer which wasn't very appealing but still tasted like beer.



Volleyball is taking its toll on my fingernails. Sunday I broke one nail and last night I lost three nails. NOW, if I were hitting the ball properly, my nails wouldn't be breaking.

My First Gold Medal

Yesterday I participated in the Good Life Senior Games near Clearwater. I was part of The Villages basketball team for age 65-69 . My dear friend and Iowa Wesleya teammate, Lori, drove up from Bonita Beach to play with us. We played three games. A team from North Carolina who've played together for several years beat us 23-18 because we missed 12 free throws and also they had a 70-year-old lady who could sink it from the 3-point line. We then played a Clearwater team in their early 50's. They beat us 40-26 with one 6' gal scoring all of their points. She's the Tampa Police Chief and played for University of Tampa in the late 70's. We won our third game by 20 points against another Clearwater team. We won the gold medal because there were no other Florida teams in our age bracket and the North Carolina team doesn't qualify. Now I know how some people have so many medals. :-) We also now qualify to play in the Florida Senior Games in December.

This afternoon I went to basketball and volleyball practice. (A neighbor who had gone with me the last two weeks, fractured her index finger last Tuesday night so her volleyball days are probably over.) We are preparing for The Villages Senior Games after Easter. I hadn't planned to play volleyball but the coach said she wanted me to play to get some experience.

I played 18 holes of golf on Tuesday. Shot 98 which would be good for me on Terravita but not on these courses, which are less yardage. Wednesday morning I went to my chiropractor for an adjustment. I think it helped as I was hitting the ball quite well on Wednesday afternoon when I played in a neighborhood 2-person scramble. My partner and I won first place. That makes me 5 for 5 in money winnings for Wednesday neighborhood golf. :-)

Busy, Busy...

Finding time to update this blog has been difficult the past week. I'm sorry I still don't have any pictures. After looking at new cameras, Arne suggested I check the Internet for a new battery charger. I don't know why I didn't think of that. I know my sister would have checked the web right away. Anyway, I ordered a new charger and another battery for less than $50 so should have some pictures in my next post.

Tuesday night a neighbor and I tried the co-ed volleyball group which plays from 5-8 PM. They are more tolerant of inexperienced players than is the Sunday afternoon co-ed group. We're going again this Tuesday.

Wednesday I spent the day cleaning house and baking as I had 17 women coming on Thursday to play Hand and Foot. I had ladies at the dining room table, kitchen table, a card table in the living room and even set up a card table in the master bedroom. It was a good time.

Friday night we had three neighbor couples for dinner. They were here from 5:30-10:30 and everyone told me over the week-end that they had a great time.

Saturday we stopped in at The Villages Golffest which was held on the Polo field. Annika was the headliner at Noon. We got there around 1:30 and someone coming out gave us their passes so we saved $20. We looked at golf carts and then watched a trick shot golfer who was sooooo funny. My sides were aching from laughing so hard.

Sunday night we went to a '50's party in the neighborhood. There were about 50 people reminiscing and reliving their youth. A large screen on the Lanai and the television in the family room were showing video of Ricky Nelson, Buddy Holly, Big Bopper and Richie Valens. Lots of fun.

Nice week-end

Played golf Friday morning followed by lunch with the ladies. Weather was actually nice for a change.

Saturday morning Arne and I headed south to Bonita Springs. Our friend, Larry, was celebrating his 70th birthday. His wife, Lori, with whom Arne and I went to college, had invited us and five other couples to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for the celebration. I had never eaten there before. It's very pricey but my filet was cooked to perfection and remained warm throughout the meal due to the HOT plate on which it was served. Lori put us up at the Holiday Inn Express and we stayed an extra night so that we could visit a Marine with whom Arne attended Officer's Basic School, 46 years ago.

Sunday morning Larry and Lori treated us and two other couples to brunch. In the afternoon, we visited the Marine, Rick Stein, and his wife, Jane. They were on the beach so we joined them and took a LONG walk along the water At 5:30, we met Larry and Lori and Byron and Gloria, with whom we had also gone to college, at Pincher's Crab Shack for dinner. From there we went to Royal Scoop for an ice cream cone. Needless to say, I consumed way too many calories this week-end!

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I need to get a new camera as I lost the battery charger for my Sony on my last trip to Arizona.:-(

Golf in a Wind Tunnel

Today I played a 9-hole scramble with our neighborhood. If I'd been in Arizona on a day like this, I would have canceled. Sine most of the people here come from up north, they don't think it's so bad and seldom cancel. :-( So I endured the sunny but cold day with wind gusts over 20 miles an hour. I am still feeling chilled and it's almost 4 hours since we finished. The good news is my group won the birdie pool, with just one birdie, and we each got $11 so I more than doubled the $5 I threw into the pot. :-)

Erik's Week-end Visit

Enough! This cold weather is really getting old. I know...we’re not shoveling snow. BUT, it’s supposed to be warm down here. OK, enough whining.

Friday poured down rain all afternoon as I went shopping, running through the wind and water. Fortunately, the rain stopped before we headed to Tampa shortly after 5 to pick up Erik and his friend, Jamie, whose flight was due in at 7. Forty miles from Tampa, we were stopped on the Interstate due to an accident. After we’d been sitting for almost 50 minutes, Erik sent a text that they had just landed. We still weren’t moving. Finally, an hour and 15 minutes after stopping, we started to move. On the way home, we saw the moving van which had gone off the road and caught fire. We saw cars backed up for miles and miles and miles. I later read that one person had been trapped inside and died and that traffic was backed up for eleven miles.

After that rocky start, the week-end was delightful. The sun was out although the wind brought down the temperature on Saturday. We gave the kids a tour of The Villages, had a nice dinner at home and watched the Olympics.

Sunday after church, we drove over to Al and Donna Smith’s home in Harbor Hills, hoping to see some gators. No luck. We came back to Arnold Palmer Legends for lunch. Then a trip to Fresh Market where we picked up filet mignon and twice-baked potatoes for dinner. Oh yeah, Arne picked out a decadent chocolate cake for dessert. We got home around 4. Erik and Jamie went for a ride in the Corvette. They went over to Lake Sumter Landing and spent some time sitting on the boardwalk by the lake.
Monday, it was time to make another trip to Tampa for their 2 PM flight back to New Mexico. We were doing well until 18 miles from the airport and we ran into another accident. Thanks to a digital warning that an accident was ahead and Arne’s awareness of the stopped traffic, we got off the Interstate, programmed the navigator to minimize freeways and got to the airport 25 minutes later than planned. Our detour took us past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers field and George Steinbrenner field where the Yankees play their spring training games. Erik and Jamie made their flight, which was 20 minutes late taking off, but they nearly missed their connection in Dallas and their baggage did miss it. Fortunately, there was another flight in less than two hours so they had dinner while waiting for their bags to arrive in Albuquerque. I hope they got a refund of their baggage fee.

I was surprised today by the ladies to whom I teach English. At the end of class, they brought out a big cake with white frosting and red writing “Happy Valentine’s Day.” I didn’t realize it was in my honor until one of the ladies handed me a knife with which to cut and serve. It was 11:45 and I didn’t really want cake before lunch but I had to be polite. :-)