Tag Archives: pizza

Day 72 – Monday – Happy Veterans Day

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We closed up the RV for the next few days and took a trip to Sierra Vista. The ultimate goal is Tombstone, AZ but that’s going to wait until tomorrow. Today was just a travel day – get where we’re going and nothing else even though the trip only took a couple of hours. That’s a hard rule, set in stone. No sightseeing on a travel day.

Before we left, we talked with the neighbors and gave them our phone numbers, “just in case” something happened. That also gave Laurie time to talk with Max. With the two of them, it’s a mutual admiration society. Max is a healer which is good because Laurie has leukemia. Max is good for her. They are good for each other.

We’re in a Hampton Inn here in Sierra Vista. It has a real shower that we’re going to use every day. Maybe twice. Each. Might even wash Max. Once we got our “stuff” to our room, Diane went in search of a Goodwill to get a swimming suit. This place has a small pool and a hot tub which Diane thinks might unkink her left shoulder and neck muscles. Going to a Goodwill, or thrift store at a new destination does not violate the travel day rule, in case you were wondering.

Max thinks the room is great because the bed is low enough that he can jump on the bed. In the RV he needs help. I’ll bet he could make it if he gave it a valid try, but he seems to be just fine letting one of us pick him up.

Our next-door neighbors at the Bone Yard live in Sierra Vista and let us know that the temps here run about 10 degrees cooler than Tucson. That would be because of the higher altitude, I suspect. Tucson runs around 2,700 feet above sea level, and Sierra Vista is right around 4,600 feet.

Diane returned around 1630 with 2 swimming suits and 2 dog toys. Max loves his toys.

Diane said there’s a Papa John’s Pizza joint just across from the hotel. She checked her Google Maps and discovered it’s only 600 feet away, on the other side of a very busy 4-lane highway. There are no crosswalks within a mile either direction so the only way to safely get there was to drive Diane’s car.

Yes, it’s Diane’s, not mine, so I don’t get to drive it very much. When I do it’s always a scary feeling because I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong. Heaven knows I have plenty of other opportunities to screw stuff up.

When I went to get the pizza, Diane made it clear that I needed to get a salad, too. Unfortunately, Papa John’s doesn’t have side salads. Diane told me that Dominos did. So, after ordering the pizza I did a search for the nearest Dominos. It was a couple of miles away. Since I had to wait 15-20 minutes for the pizza, I had plenty of time to make that quick trip to the other pizza joint.

When I got there, I was told that it would take 15-20 minutes for the salad. That confused me a little bit, but I stepped back and waited. There was a display in the waiting area listing orders by name and mine was at the top. I figured someone would call me, but they didn’t. So, I went back to the order counter and asked if my name was on the list or was it a mistake that my name was in first place. The girl did a frantic search of the pizzas waiting for delivery and didn’t see my name, so I told her, again, that I was only getting a salad, no pizza. I truly believe that I was the first person to enter that pizza joint who ordered just a salad. She was on automatic with the “15-20 minutes” wait. When she realized that I was an exception to the norm, she ran to the back and got my pre-packaged salad. That’s kinda what I expected right after I paid for it.

With my salad in hand, I returned to Papa John’s for the pizza. It was done so I didn’t have to wait. Back at the hotel I stopped to get more napkins in the breakfast area and discovered a table full of baby cans of soda that would go well with the pizza. Pretty cool.

I had to do a balancing act with the salad, pizza, plates, forks and sodas all the way to the room on the 3rd floor. Then that long walk down the hall to a room far from the elevator. Everything went well all that way then I had to get my wallet out for the door key and lost everything on the floor. Nifty.

Diane opened the door to let me in just as I was gathering everything up.

It was the first time either of us had eaten a Papa John’s pizza and it was really good. The sodas I dropped exploded a little when we opened them so that was exciting. A good way to end the day.

For All The Susan’s, Pizza Lovers, and Idol Fans

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We drove out of the Hilton driveway at 0900 this morning, right on time. Really. It was the time we picked to leave. I believe this is another First for us … actually right on time. On my way to get the Buick so I could stage it for loading, my new publisher friend, Paul, and his wife, Doreen, stopped to greet me on their way to play golf and ask if I got the cards her left. I hadn’t done that yet, but I did. Diane and I both find that meeting him is kind of an omen. We just don’t know what kind, yet.

We made it out of Las Vegas without mishap, which was pretty amazing, then Diane drove her 200 miles which placed us a little north of Tonopah. If you do a little math on a map, you may figure out that Tonopah is more than 200 miles from Las Vegas, but don’t tell Diane. We were looking for the Subway Sandwich shop for lunch, but drove all the way through town without seeing it. So, she pulled over to the side of the road and made us PB&J sandwiches. I got apples and our bag of grapes for dessert, Diane got peppermint patties and carrots. We were set, so I crawled into the driver’s seat, readjusted all the mirrors, the seat, and steering wheel the clawed my way back into the northbound traffic on US 395. It wasn’t too difficult because there wasn’t a lot of it.

I have to mention that while Diane was driving, we drove passed Cheech AFB and she was affected by all the UMDE fowling the air. Cheech is, perhaps, the main facility where Unmanned Drone pilots are trained. It may also be the facility from which all the overseas drones are controlled. I don’t know that, of course, but it could be true. We do know they fly drones because you can watch them takeoff and land quite often. Just like the ones you see on TV. The “E” on UMDE is for exhaust, of course. It’s probably not true that it really bothers her, but she started sneezing right about then. So, that could also be true.

I drove my allotted 200 miles, that actually worked out to about 170, then Diane exerted her authority and recaptured the driver’s seat and drove the rest of the way to Susanville. I expertly guided us to our abode for the evening, the High Country Inn. Nice facilities. Overpriced, I thought, until I paid $18 for a medium pizza that was about the size of a Papa Murphy’s small pizza. We can get their mediums for $5. Once in a while. A caveat to this is that tonight’s pizza was a pretty awesome hand-tossed piece of culinary wonderment. I ate all four of my pieces but Diane stopped at three. She has one left for breakfast, lucky duck.

Now we’re just lounging in the room watching American Idol. So far our favorites are Alex and Sam. We loved the guitars. Nice.

Blog # 400

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Hey! It’s a milestone! This is my 400th entry. You’d think that by now I would be a lot less full of crap than when I started, wouldn’t you? Diane doesn’t think so. She thinks I have a never-ending supply. I suppose I should be offended, kinda, but I’m not. I think, as Popeye would say, “I yam what I yam.”

Today was PT day for me at the VA, and I think it might be my last because the diagnosis changed a little bit. Instead of my rotator cuff, now it’s my bicep that’s deemed to be problematic and it can be addressed by pushing really, really hard on the part that hurts, just before applying ice. Diane said she’d be happy to do that for me so there’s really no need for me to visit EB at the VA any longer.

After the VA we took back roads from Portland to Hillsboro where we had lunch at the all you can eat joint. I had dead chicken, shrimp scampi, corn, mashed potatoes, buns, a root beer float, and frozen yogurt with hot fudge topping. Very nutritious. Well, it taste very nutritious, anyway, and that’s the important part.

After lunch went a few blocks to the Habitat For Humanity ReStore store to look for ‘stuff’. The original thought was to see if they had any of the panelling that looks like wainscoting to use in The Bathroom. Instead, we found wainscoting of various sizes that’s all tongue and groove on all four sides. Interesting. We bought almost all of it, in addition to a large area rug that will be placed in the dining room area once we rip out the rest of the carpet that’s there. This rug is, of course, for Ozzie who does not walk on hard wood, or ceramic tile floors. He needs rugs. Oddly, he has no problem walking the length of the garage floor. I think it has something to do with traction.

After the ReStore store visit, we went to Tuality Hospital in Hillsboro to visit our friend Tom. Linda was there, so got visit with her, too. Tom is doing absolutely great. He’s up walking the floor for his physical therapy and is doing wonderful. We had a nice long visit which ended when his PT person arrived to get him moving around. When he raised up and swiveled around to stand up I made him stop because he had on one of those backless gowns and I didn’t want the image of his ass burned into my brain as I knew it would never go away. He was kind enough to defer until I could get around in front of him and make my departure. We’re really proud of him. Of the three people who were on life support, including him, he’s the only one who made it out. There’s a reason. We don’t know what it is, yet, but we’ll be finding out.

On the way out of the hospital I stopped at the Admissions Desk and asked the young lady behind the counter if she was the one to whom I should confess. It was an impulse, and she immediately got it. You know … admit you did something wrong, or confess … all the same to me. She told me no in a very nice way, but I think she was on the phone to security as I made my way out the door.

Then we headed home. I told Diane what I did with the Admissions Lady and she asked, “Jerold, why do you do things like that? One of these days you’re going to ask the wrong person and they’ll just lock you up.” She was very serious, as she is every time she tells me that. I never listen, of course. I just cruise that fine line, down the middle of the decorum  column, with the belief that everyone has at least a little sense of humor. If they don’t, they should. Diane’s concern, with which I must agree, is that my sense of humor is a bit obscure for some folks. That’s OK. Can’t satisfy everyone.

Today is Newspaper Day for me. That’s when I go to the Lion’s Club newspaper collection container and straighten things up a bit. Someone does this every day to ensure only paper gets stacked inside. Most people follow the suggested rules, about paper only, but others couldn’t careless. It’s handy so they toss in whatever they have because a trash can is too far away. It’s usually not too bad. Today it was because someone decided it was OK to drop a bag of well used cat litter inside, and it leaked. Add to that the high temp today was just under 90, and it’s in a large, truck size, steel container, it just kind of permeated everything. I think the temp inside was well above 100 so exerting any kind of effort produced prodigious amounts of sweat which really messed up my glasses. I had to work fast because the smell was starting to get to me, and I had already called in an order for pizza. I was a total mess when I emerged from the container. Everything was wringing wet, even my socks, so folks in Papa Murphy’s were eager to see me get my pizza and leave.

As soon as I got home I fired up the oven and came to my computer to put together my agenda for tonight’s church council meeting. The whirlwind continued when Diane got home from taking her Mom to Safeway, the pizza was inserted, giving me only 8 minutes to do something before having to eat it. Actually 10 minutes. After 8 we turn it then cook it another 2. Perfect every time.

As we ate we watched Diane Sawyer news, then it was time for me to leave for my meeting. It was brutal. I’m home from my marathon meeting and got tired all over again just relating all that.

So now I’m quitting. It’s really sad that I didn’t have something really profound to share for my 400th entry. The best I could do was about Tom. You know, Tom’s situation is pretty profound, now that I think about it. It’s amazing! It’s a miracle! He’s literally  back from the dead to bless us with his presence a while longer. Maybe not all by his choice, however, I have no doubt that a strong will to survive had something to do with his recovery.

G’nite.