Tag Archives: books

Day 62 – Friday – Retraced Our Steps a Little

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After breakfast Diane drove us back to the Last Outpost in Old Tucson to swap the shirt I mentioned yesterday. While she bartered with the store manager, Max and I wandered around the parking lot. The last time we were here I found a crisp $5 bill just lying there on the ground. That’s almost as good as finding a heads-up penny. We didn’t find any more during our walk. We were about halfway across the parking lot when Diane came out of the store. Since we were the only ones in the parking lot, I turned Max loose and told him to go get Mom.

He took off like the wind and got to her just in time for Diane to open the car door. He didn’t hesitate about jumping in. There was no way he was going to be left behind. That, and he loves to ride in the car.

Next, we drove to Mission San Xavier to get a refrigerator magnet, something we forgot to do during our last visit. I walked around the mountain adjacent to the mission while Diane bought me a tiny saguaro cactus. We hope it grows from its tiny state to a magnificent remembrance of this area.

Max and I climbed the hill adjacent to the Mission proper. It’s not very tall but gives one a nice view of the valley in all directions. This was the best view. The mission is like a massive jewel in the wilderness.

Looking the other way, you can see the “mountain” Max and I climbed.

Diane needs to print the AAA Trip Tiks she’s working on for our return trip to civilization, so we decided to get a small printer so she can study the routes. The first likely place to get one was the Base Exchange (BX). So, that’s where we went first. They had slim pickings and didn’t have the one I thought would be best. So, we drove to Costco and found just the right one.

I’m so happy Diane likes doing that because I’m much better at traveling as a silent observer instead of all that front end stuff necessary to make the trip pleasant. She’s a stellar planner and makes the trip easy on me since I’m the bus driver. We no longer feel the need to get from Point A to Point B the quickest way possible. Now we go from Point A to Point Z and visit all the places in between. It’s much more relaxing.

After Costco, we drove home in time for supper. Max didn’t care that he’d been home alone after lunch. He spied on our neighbors and ran to them and was rewarded with treats. Those are way better than supper. Our neighbors are Patricia and Laurie, Mother and Daughter. They dressed up for Halloween.

Awesome neighbors and they love Max, too.

We watched a little Dish TV then streamed “White Collar” on Netflix, but it wasn’t buffering well. Lots of pauses at night so we discussed, again, getting our own hotspot. I know I can get one from Verizon, but I’d like to do it through AT&T since we already have service with them. Should get a break because of that. Perhaps you remember I tried doing that in California, but it didn’t work out. I’m going to try again. I’m sure you will be holding your breath waiting for the results so I’ll report back as quickly as I can.

Now, my pillow is calling to me.

Twenty-Seventh Day – 11 days and 1 Nite-Nite to go

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If I counted properly, the title of this post reveals that we will be leaving Fiddler’s Cove on October 8th. If I’m wrong, Diane is going to let me know. For now, let’s just pretend I’m right. I know, that’s rare, but sometimes I get lucky.

I’m sitting on our very large patio enjoying the cool breeze from the bay washing over me, making everything good. For those who might be wondering, Diane is thriving down here. Though there are actually many green plants and trees, they are different from the NW version and don’t seem to clog her up. This was our hope. That, and the occasional SH-60 Seahawk, F/A-18C/D Hornet, and MV-22 Osprey makes our days a little exciting and the nights sometimes shorter than desired. I keep calling the aircraft noise “the sound of freedom” and that makes it more tolerable for me. Diane? Not so much at night.

At 1030 Diane summoned me from the patio so I could get properly dressed for our trip to Anchors. We had a lunch date. One at which I vowed to eat the entire 2 hours the place is open. That’s from 1100 to 1300.

We got there about 1115 which meant there was no possible way I could obtain my goal. So, I got busy right away to make the most of it. Thankfully, there were more people later than us so we had a chance to load up before they appeared.

We sat at a large table with 8 chairs until after 1200 then a group showed up and asked if they could sit with us. Of course they could. It was a family representing 3 generations. I only remember 2 names — Rose and Joon. Their daughter and a friend (?) and the daughter’s grandparents were the other two. Grandpa told me his name, but I forgot during the 10-mile trip back to Max. I seek forgiveness but must point out that it’s amazing I remembered two of the names. During the short time we sat at that table visiting I feel we formed a bond of friendship. Apparently asking permission before sharing anything inappropriate was a good idea. I’m glad I remembered to do that. So is Diane.

Our new friends.

Now it’s 1815 and memories of lunch have jogged my need for some kind of supper. Diane chose cocoa and toast, with marshmallows. That made Max happy because he loves toast and knows he’ll be able to shame Diane into giving him a nibble. I was going to eat the shrimp Diane bought for me at the commissary, but they were frozen, so I had two hotdogs instead. Now I’ll have to figure out why things are freezing in the refrigerator.

Now I’ll quit. Be safe. See you tomorrow.

Twenty-Third Day – Monday

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Today there is a definite change in the weather with fog all over the place. It was pretty dense until noon when it warmed up and lifted so we could actually see all the way across the harbor. I should have taken a photo, I know, but I forgot to stuff my phone in my pocket before taking Max out on a marathon walk down the beach. It wasn’t really on the beach but it’s a path through the sand next to the water so that counts. We walked 1.67 miles. I know that’s true because I counted my steps. There were 4200 of them and I measured my step at about 2 feet. Close enough. Max took many more steps than I did mainly because he doesn’t walk in a straight line. He’s very much a zig-zag walker.

As I sit here, the breeze is blowing gently, and Diane spied the USS Michael Monsoor (DD-1001) returning to port. She missed it last week when it went out and was bummed.

She enjoys watching the ships come and go without having to be concerned that I’m on one of them. It does, however, conjure up many memories of days gone by.

Diane is the only one who worked today. She did the laundry. I helped a little, but I’m not allowed to do laundry unsupervised because of previous infractions involving one of Diane’s favorite sweaters. It was pretty bad. I had no idea an entire sweater would fit in the lint trap of a dryer. Lesson learned.

She also vacuumed up a mess of Max hair that he isn’t shy about sharing. I think we should save it and make him a pillow, or four. From the amount of hair, he loses one has to wonder how he isn’t bald.

The day ended with me watching the Monday Night Football game between Cincinatti and Washington and Diane watching The Voice. Now I know why we have 2 TV’s. I heard her laughing in the bedroom so The Voice must have been pretty good. I probably should have watched that, but I couldn’t change the channel. Diane took my remote with her.

Actually, that’s a blatant lie. I had the remote. I just don’t know how to use it. Diane always changes the channels. I just call out the numbers.

Time to quit.