college-football | Temporary Sanity ...

Today was a good one for a number of reasons. First, Diane had us scheduled to visit Green Valley to go see the Festival of the Trees at St. Francis Episcopal Church.

Green Valley isn’t very far from where we currently live, so it was an easy drive down I-19. It’s just a little way beyond San Xavier Mission so we got to see a little more of Southern Arizona and got closer to Nogales than we’ve ever been. Maybe we’ll make it to the Mexican border before this trip is over. We can’t cross it because Diane doesn’t have her passport. I don’t have mine, either, but I’ve got the magic driver’s license that will allow me permission to cross over. I won’t, however, because I made a promise to never go to Mexico without Diane. So, we’ll just get close.

Once at St. Francis Diane went in to see the trees while Max and I roamed around the parking lot. At the entrance there was a prominent sign alerting everyone that pets were not allowed. Although Max was wearing his working vest, I didn’t try to get him in because I suspect he would have found a reason to pee on one of the trees. Instead, he stayed outside and peed on bunches of rocks. It was OK. When we left the church, Diane drove around in the urban area so we could look at houses, just for fun. Green Valley is a nice place, and we discovered that houses here are wildly expensive, just like they are at home. We both like the architecture and the colors used to make the adobe-like homes. It’s very pleasing. I’m not a big fan of yards full of rocks and various kinds of cacti, and would rather have a lawn to mow but that doesn’t seem to be an option down here. They do get into the holiday spirit here, though.

Then we went to lunch.

I selected KFC because it’s one of our favorite places. When we got our order the young girl at the counter asked if she could give Max a chicken strip. I had to accept because I think there’s a rule somewhere about severe consequences if you turn down a free chicken strip at KFC. I chopped it up for Max and he gobbled it up rather quickly because he really likes dead chicken.

After lunch Diane stopped at a DQ and got me a large chocolate malt and herself a dipped cone. I paid for them. Now I only have $3 in my wallet. That’s OK because I don’t spend much cash. No one offered Max an ice cream cone, so we drove directly home.

The mountains caught my eye. We find them pleasing. These things surround the entire valley where Tucson and a bunch of other villages live.

When we got home, I gave Max his lunch. It was only a few hours late, but he didn’t seem to mind. He did, however, make short work of it. Once he was done, we took a walk around the park. He earned it because he’s really a good traveler. We walked a long way and found this little resting area that has 2 chairs, a bench and an ashtray for smokers surrounded by very large rocks. We didn’t stop to sit. Max just peed on a couple of the rocks, and we went on our way.

Around 1630 we got ourselves comfortable on our couches to watch football. Today the Oregon Ducks played Penn State for the Big10 Championship. The game was in Indiana. I don’t know why Oregon had to travel 2500 miles and Penn State only had to travel 497. That didn’t seem fair. Seems like whoever chose the venue for the game wasn’t a Duck fan and wanted to make it easy on Penn State. Surely that’s true.

I won’t bore you with details, but despite the travel distance disparity, and the ho-hum chatter about the Ducks by the TV announcers, THE DUCKS WON 45-27! It was a great game most of the time but we had to turn the TV sound down so we didn’t have to listen to the announcers proclaim how great Penn State is even though they were getting beat the entire game. Oregon scored first and never looked back. What fun. The Ducks are 13-0 and is the #1 seed for the Championship playoff. We also heard, from our daughter, Jennifer, that the Ducks are playing in the Rose Bowl this year. More fun.

Now it’s time for bed. I believe we will sleep well tonight.

Diane decided that she was cooking today. We had some porkchops thawing in the fridge for a couple of days and it was time to spice them up. She did it in the crockpot and it was really good. It had sliced potatoes and onions under the meat and the end result was a lot like pork chops and scalloped potatoes. It wouldn’t be ready until 1730 so she had the entire day free to roam.

Once the food was in motion, we went to ACE Hardware, one of the many in Tucson, to get metal screws so I could properly attach the flapper seal on the bottom of the bedroom slide. That’s the part that blocks daylight from streaming under the slide when it’s extended. She figures if she can see daylight under the slide, so can mice and rats. Up until now, I’ve been blocking the gap from the inside but that’s a tedious task. I should have fixed it a long time ago but by putting it off for so long I was honing my procrastination skills to a world class level. Diane has convinced me that it’s time for me to give up on this lofty goal and get to work. What I needed was some self-tapping metal screws to put it together properly, so we took a little trip to a local ACE store. There are 5-6 of them in this town. Thankfully, it had free popcorn. I got to eat most of it before I dumped it on the floor on my side of the car. What a mess.

Diane dropped Max and me at home then drove off to complete her visit to the last thrift store she was at yesterday, the Humane Society Thrift Store. She had to stop shopping early because she wore the wrong shoes, and her feet complained. Today she’s in flip flops and can walk a mile in those things.

I stayed home with Max with the understanding that I was to find a way to use my time alone in a productive manner. So, between bouts of productivity I watched a little NCAA Football and randomly walked Max. We ate some stuff, too. I don’t remember what it was, but it was good. It was a nice day, so we spent some time lounging on the patio. Max got whiplash trying to get a bead on everything that moved, and I just sat there, reading. It was best to be outside because the crockpot aroma was getting to me. It was wonderful.

Watching football wasn’t really interesting to me until late in the afternoon. The Oregon Ducks, #1 in the nation, didn’t play today so I had to wait until 1700 when the PAC 12 teams, both of them, played each other for the title. The Oregon Ducks used to be in the PAC 12, but they went east to play with the Big 10 guys. They are doing OK, too.

The Oregon State Beavers played the Washington State Cougars for a full four quarters. The lead changed hands numerous times throughout the game, and it was tied 38-38 with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Oregon had the ball, and it was 4th down. All the Beaver kicker had to do was nail a 57-yard FG. Which he did. Final score, 41-38, Beavers win. It was awesome.

While I watched the game, Max spied on the neighbors, Diane locked herself in the bedroom and watched old Columbo mysteries. It’s her safe place. I appreciate that she allows me to watch a game now and then.