Nothing planned.

Nothing done.

Here’s a little Bone Yard Christmas Spirit.

Here’s another Thursday that I’m going to miss going to coffee with the guys at the Kozy Korner. I think the last one I was able to attend was last August. It’s OK, because they know we’re out of the country for a while and one of them might even read this stuff I share.

This morning at 1100, I had an appointment at the VA Hospital. It’s a follow up for my visit to their emergency room a month or so ago. You may remember that after that visit, they sent me to have an Echo Cardiogram, and this was where I got the follow-up info.

Diane got me to the proper building (38) just in the nick of time. I checked in and was almost immediately escorted to the back rooms where a young lady pointed to a chair and said, “take your shirt off and sit down.” I figured she was serious, and she was bigger than me, so that’s what a did. She was back in a flash with an armload of wires and a bunch of sticky terminals which she planted all over my chest. Then she connected all wires and ran one of the fastest EKG’s I’ve ever had. She also tossed in a BP check (120/70 BPM 55) and a blood oxygen check (92%). I was a little disappointed because my oxy level is normally in the high 90’s, not the low ones. But she thought it was OK. She also told me that my heart echoed back OK during the cardiogram, but they were putting me on a 30-day heart monitor anyway. Just for fun.

When the test was done, she ripped all the little sticky things off my chest, told me to put my shirt back on, and escorted me to another young lady, my very own nurse practitioner. She checked me again and we had a nice long talk about my health. In the end she issued me a Philips Mobile Cardiac Telemetry unit that I must wear for the next month. Apparently, they had this unit just laying around in the back room and needed to find out if it worked. So, they gave it to me. When it tells me the test is done, I’ll mail it back to them. I should be hearing from them about the results sometime next spring. So, you can either hold your breath for those results or just let it go and listen to whatever lies I tell you about it along the way. I’m actually not worried because no matter what they tell me it will be something they can or cannot fix.

After the appointment Diane drove us to Culver’s for lunch. She had 3 pieces of cod, and I had 10 fantail shrimp. Max got a “Pup Cup” filled with whipped cream. We all loved our lunch.

On the way home we stopped by the Injoy Thrift Store (you’ve seen it before). I took Max inside, and we went to the toy section where I put 3 little animals on the floor and told him to pick one. He dove on the rabbit, so I put the other 2 back. As we did last time, I got him to pick up his choice and convinced him to find Diane who was way on the other side of the store. He only dropped the rabbit a few times, but he always picked it back up with a little coaxing. We found her and after that delivery, Max and I went outside to wander around and let Diane go on her own. Eventually she appeared and we headed home.

She said the cashier saw Max carrying the rabbit back to her and didn’t charge for it. A gift for Max. That was nice. Save us a few bucks, it did.

After dropping Max and me at the dumpster, with the bag of garbage we carried all over town, Diane continued on to the commissary for required items. Max and I took care of the garbage then wandered back to the bus. We made ourselves at home on the patio where I exercised my fingers and started this post. Max just laid around on the patio, keeping an eye on everyone who passed by.

The weather is changing, looking a lot like Oregon with a threat of rain. Flawless blue skies all the time gets boring sometimes. This is pretty and dramatic.

It actually did rain a little, but it wasn’t much. Just a little drop once in a while, the kind that makes you wonder if what touched you was a drop of rain, or just your imagination.

After sunset, our neighbors unveiled their new firepit and I got to help put it together and hook it up. Then we all gathered around it and chatted late into the night. I think we broke camp a little after 1900. That’s late for us to be outside. We had a great time visiting.

We retired to our living room and watched random TV shows until” Elsbeth” came on at 2100. She’s one of our favorite shows for now.

Exciting stuff, right?

Oh, I almost forgot. Just for fun, while Diane was out running around town one day, I decided to see if the bus would start. I had actually considered waiting until January 7th, the day before we get kicked out of the Bone Yard, but prudence suggested that knowing if it will start now might be a good idea. I’m pleased to announce that it started just fine. It’s been sitting idle since October 11th, a little less than 2 months. In case you’re wondering, Les, I checked the batteries first. They’re fine, too. It was a “Yippee!” moment and no one was here to hear it.

All is good.

Yup. Another thrift store. We’ve been there before and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it so I won’t bore you with a repeat. The thrift store is run by the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, or HSSA, if you prefer. It’s a fun place. All the ladies working there adore Max. Sadly, for Max, Diane will be going alone while we two guys take a walk to the Dog Wash.

Before leaving, however, I made myself lunch. Just a reasonable salad to help use some avocados and tomatoes that might go bad if they aren’t devoured soon. I also found some peas left over from a previous meal which I added to the bowl.

That will tide me over till supper. If it doesn’t, I’ll find something else to eat.

At the Dog Wash Max was a little skittish, same as last time. But he toughed it out and I got him nice and clean. It’s the process he doesn’t like. The results make him very happy. If he didn’t have to be on a leash for the walk home, I’m sure he could have made it in record time.

This is Max calling for help:

It doesn’t do him any good, but it makes him feel better. He eventually calmed down, like normal.

The wash station has a vacuum for getting excess water off your pet but it doesn’t work too well with Max. He kinda hates it more than the blower, so the blower is what he got. It didn’t dry him completely, but the walk back to the ‘house’ did a pretty good job.

Max got a new vest in our last box of mail, and he looks pretty snazzy in it. It’s helpful, too, because he can go with us everywhere. He doesn’t actually know that so we can leave him home at times, so don’t tell him.

Yes, he’s certified. He got a card that goes along with this, but no one ever asks for it. He’s just too cute to card, I guess.

Yesterday afternoon our neighbors, Pat and Laurie, came over to visit and we sat in a square talking until well past sunset. We must have been there for 3-4 hours. It was really nice to visit with them. That’s actually the first time on this trip that we spent time talking with other people for any length of time, and we discovered that we really enjoyed it. We’ll no doubt do it again. In fact, we already have a date for Thursday to break in their new fire pit.

See you tomorrow.

Today was another slow day. When I got up it was 54 degrees inside and outside. I wore my short pants to walk Max anyway, but I also wore my fuzzy shirt. I guess my legs are so skinny they can’t tell if it’s hot or cold. It didn’t take long for the temp to move quickly to the high 70’s so we went on a drive. Max loves rides.

We wound up at a Restore Store, and Max got to ride around in a shopping cart. He’s been bugging us about that for a while. He loves shopping carts. So, today was a good time to give him that ride. It gets him closer to his audience so he can look them in the eye, catch them off guard, and lick their lips. He’s really quick. Not all the adults like his approach, but most kids do.

When I rook Max for a walk last night this star was shining bright. I used my app that tells me what stars I’m looking at but it failed me this time. Seems like it should be a star everyone knows.

We dressed the bus up for Christmas. Can you tell?

Since we stayed home except for that short trip for Max, Diane decided it was laundry time.

I stayed home and fixed the light leak issuer on the small slide in the bedroom. I’ve been collecting self-tapping screws for a while and finally found some that actually work for the place I needed to place them. The deed is done and the light is gone.

Oh, and I cut all the curls off the back of Diane’s head. Honest, I didn’t cut anything else.

I probably should have taken a before shot, huh?

Jennifer and family had Thanksgiving dinner at our house and the following photos show almost all of those who attended. Even with these two photos, showing different people, some still remained missing. I’ll leave it to you to figure this out.

Can anyone help me out?

I think this is a good place to stop.

Max got to go to the dog park while Diane went to the commissary, again. I stayed home and took a nap, and I sent my phone with Max so he could have someone take photos of him having fun. I offered to let him use the selfie stick but he declined. It’s my understanding that Aiden, Hazel and Maddy were there with their corgi, so Max had someone to chase. I think Aiden took most of the photos, but I’m not sure who took this one since all three of them are in it.

When Diane got Max home, she got busy putting dinner together (crock pot orange chicken) which means I get to wash all the dishes. That’s OK. I hardly ever get to wash the dishes so this will be a treat for one of us.

Here’s what we had for supper:

Orange Chicken:

Mixed Veggies:

Rice:

Orange Jello, with pieces of mandarin orange pieces randomly scattered throughout, and half a pint of cool whip:

Max even got a couple pieces of chicken. One I gave him on purpose and the other piece accidentally fell on the floor. He got to it first.

Day is done.

Today was like spring for us. When I got up at 0600 it was a cold 54 degrees, so I had to wear mt fuzzy shirt for Max’s morning walk. I’ve actually been wearing my fuzzy shirt on morning walks whenever the temp is below 65. I suspect that means I’m acclimated to my location. That 54 morning start turned into an 80 degree day which makes this very spring like. So, Diane pried me out of my lazy mode and we cleaned house.

There was a lot of vacuuming and mopping going on. Max spent a lot of it tethered on the warm patio and he didn’t complain even one time. He was plenty happy to get away from the vacuum. He’s not fond of mops, either.

This is what a clean house looks like. I didn’t take any photos of the dirty version for two reasons: 1) I figured Diane wouldn’t like it, 2) I forgot.

There’s really nothing else to add because we just stayed busy until the Oregon Duck game came on at 1730. Actually, I was laying on the clean sofa a little earlier than that. In case you missed it, the Ducks won 49-21, or something like that. They finished their season 12-0, the first time in a while. So, they are #1 in the country and will be playing for the Big-10 championship their first year in that division. Should be fun.

Today is my shower day so guess I better get to it.

Today we visited a couple of Max’s favorite thrift stores to kill time until about 1700. That’s when we had to put our warm clothes on so we could go see the light show at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. This event is something that runs from today through January 12th. Diane planned our trip through the gardens so we could be in the first group to see the splendor.

We got there early and found a parking space about 10 feet from the entrance. We were so early, that we had to wait about half an hour for the door to open so we just sat in the car and watched the people show up and create a line that went all the way around to the front of the building. When the door was opened, we got out and just blended into the line and no one objected. Everyone was in good spirits. This is us waiting.

After showing our tickets, which were on my phone, the first thing we encountered was a Christmas tree decorated with bird houses.

The paths were lined with hundreds of luminaries. They weren’t candles, but Christmas lights, Lots of them. The advertisement reported that there were well over a million lights on display. I was a bit skeptical about that at first, but as we progressed further into the display, I became a believer. It was all quite stunning. I’m just going to put in a bunch of photos with no words.

After moving through the display for a while, getting whiplash to ensure we didn’t miss something, Diane took a break next to the only dinosaur in the place. Thankfully, he was friendly.

In the middle of it all was this display of trees with lights connected to the music. The music was great. I stood there and watched this three time.

After this we followed the luminaries and found our way out of the display. Just before the exit is this incredible wall covered with ceramic pieces that are edged with either brass or copper. Each piece had to have been placed individually because the only tiles are on the post. Quite stunning.

We finally found the exit and went home. Max had been alone for 2.5 hours and was ready for a walk. I know that because he sent me a text. He knows how to do that.

We’re not accustomed to doing anything after dark, so this was a special night for us.

Now it’s time for bed.

Today was all about food and friendship.

We ate at the Dessert Inn Dining Facility here on base. Max couldn’t go. They told me that either I, or the dog could eat there, but not both of us. They said even letting in old sailors in was stretching their rules so adding a dog to the mix went beyond acceptable. That’s a total lie, of course. We were greeted at the front door by who we ultimately figured out were spouses of the senior officers and enlisted folks who were working the serving lines. There were a number of colonels dishing up food, and they roamed the floor talking with diners when not serving. It was very nice.

It’s a pay as you go place, kinda like a casino except you pick your food then you pay. It’s not all you can eat for a set price, but it’s certainly reasonable. For two full plates of turkey dinner, it cost us $17. A gentleman joined us at our table for 8 and Diane initiated a conversation and got him talking with us. His name is Bob, and he’s a retired AF colonel with 28 years active. It was great talking with him. I think he said he is originally from Philly so maybe Barb knows him. Didn’t get a last name, though, so hard to tell.

Sunset tonight.

A great end to a really nice day.

Now, get busy on those leftovers!