Weekend Happenings

Good Monday morning to whoever stops by!

At least now I can say it's good. Over the weekend Jim had to travel in Utah, in a snow storm, driving. He did okay but someone behind him did not. His truck was hit from behind by someone who the UHP ticketed. Both vehicles were driveable but damaged and no one was hurt so Jim was able to finish his trip.

Now comes the fun (not) part of dealing with insurance.

Hello There!

Well hello there. It has been awhile since I last posted. The month of October had lots of travel in it so I didn't pay attention to this blog but I am back now.

I got to spend time in Utah last month to see some of the family there. From Salt Lake we drove up to Jackson WY and spent a few days exploring that fantastic little town. We also went to Pennsylvania and saw a lot of Jim's family and see a bit of the fall color which I was told was past its peak but still looked pretty to me.

There were some firsts for me on this trip. I got to see New York City and the Hudson River. It was from an airplane window on the way to landing in Newark to make a connection to Scranton. I had never been in New Jersey either. Does the airport count? Coming home we went from Scranton to Detroit to Phoenix. Have you ever been in the Detroit airport? I was very impressed. The coolest part was a long walkway that had a light show and music. Going through it you felt calmer with every step or at least I did. The pictures I got aren't the greatest but will give you an idea of what I saw.

Until next time.

One Week Ago

One week ago today I was at a 6th grade promotion in Utah. My oldest granddaughter is moving on to junior high next year. It all seems to go so fast. Pretty soon she will be talking about cars and driving one, finding the best acne medication and using make up, boys,school dances and what to wear to one, all the latest fashion for clothes and hair and I did mention boys didn't I?

Congratulations!

Wednesday

The middle of the week feels so strange when it starts your week at home. We spent Sunday through Tuesday in Utah and now we are back home on a Wednesday that feels like a Monday. Jim went off to work this morning and I got caught up on laundry and other things that pile up even when you are away a little while. There is still no magic housekeeping fairy here to do things while I am gone. 

We did have a good time with those that we were able to see. Don't tell Hilton Hotels but we had three stowaways in our room on Sunday night. They think it is a special thing to come to the hotel and spend the night with the grandparents.

Weekends

One of the favorite things for our family on weekends is the Sunday drive. We would load the kids in the car and just follow a road or county highway to see where it ends. This is something Jim and I still do here in Arizona. We have made some great discoveries and seen some beautiful places.



Following Highway 88 out of Apache Junction you end up on a dirt road past Canyon, Apache and Rossevelt Lakes ending up at Rosevelt Dam.

Canyon Lake where you can see the level lowered for work on the dam.

Taking US 60 to the east to Globe and then continuing on US 70 takes you through a few very small towns and the San Carlos Reservation. I don't remember what town it was but on that route we found a great local ice cream and burger place. It had 21 flavors of ice cream and a quilt shop next door.

You can also head south of US 60 before you get to Globe to end up in Kearny. There is a nice little pizza place there right on the main street.

Can you tell our little road trips almost always include a stop for a snack or meal?

If you go east on US 60 if starts to head north and you can end up in the pine trees of the Show Low-Pinetop area. We went up there for a blue grass festival once. We had a granddaughter along with us that time. That road wanders down in switchbacks to a river and back up again. Silly me recommended that road to a sister who get motion sickness. Let's just say she didn't like the trip as much as I did.

South and east of Tuscon are the very touristy Tombstone and the mining town of Bisbee. The way is is built in a canyon Bisbee reminded me of Park City in Utah minus the skiing.

Going north on the Beeline Highway (87) you go through Payson. You can get on Highway 280 there and drive through some very pretty scenery and tie in to US 40. If you head west on this towards Flagstaff you can see the Impact Crater.

View from the Mogollon Rim in the Payson area.

North on Highway 17 can take you to Prescott. Prescott has a beautiful town square with a courthouse. Antique stores and restaurants in the block surrounding the courthouse are fun to check out.

The Yavapi Courthouse in Prescott.

These are just a few of our little trips since we have moved here.

Where have you been lately?

Is It Just Me?

Is it just me or does everyone have a bit of the blahs? Not to whine but my car broke down. By the time I get home I will have been away for 3 weeks instead of the one I had planned. Visiting with my kids and grandkids is fun but I am feeling a need for my own stuff and space. The weather has been Utah strange. This morning it snowed again.

On the bloggy front Project Wonderful may delist my ad space. Something about views and visitors. I don't get rich off that but I actually enjoyed seeing what ads showed up here each day. I discovered new shops and blogs keeping an eye on those spots and I hope some of you did too.

Enough complaining. I got to spend the day with Posie the 2 year old while her mom worked. How could I not have a good time with this face?

It's Spring or Is It?

Finally it felt like spring and on Saturday we took advantage of it here at my daughters house in Salt Lake. It was a perfect day for a 5 year old boy to give up his training wheels and take off for the first time. The smiles and looks of growing confidence were wonderful to see. Little sister of course had fun trying to keep up. I took so many pictures but this grandma will save them for her screensaveer and just give you this one of them together.
Then today in typical Utah fashion this happened. The snow started last night and continues so far this afternoon. So no matter what the calendar says, is it spring yet? Not today.

My Car

If you are a reader of my other blog A Cozy Life you may already know that I am stuck in Utah waiting for my car to be fixed. It had a major breakdown and the part it needs is back ordered nationwide. They say I will probably have it back by next Wednesday.

In the meantime I am able to use computers at different houses to check mail and write occasional posts.

Today I am showing you a box of cute car themed cards. They are from the shop Liz Felgate Crafts. Stop by and take a look at this charming shop and if you are in the mood let her know Cozy sent you.

Now Ready

The daffodils are blooming beside the walk to the front door. It was so nice to see them there. It means that spring is on the way to Utah. Along with the daffodils the house is now already for the next family. We have turned the home over to a property manager now to find renters. With a lot of work it has been freshly painted, all the bathrooms and kitchen are clean and shiny and the carpets have been cleaned.
I am still waiting for the car to be fixed. It should be ready for me to pick up on Thursday. By this weekend I should be back home in my little desert house once again.

Going Back Again

We had this house built for us about 8 years ago. When we moved to Arizona my daughter rented it from us. They were recently able to purchase a very nice new nest for their family and I am excited for them.

We were up in Utah a couple weeks ago taking home a visiting granddaughter and helping with the move. We are making a quick trip back soon to make sure it is ready for the next family whoever that might be.

The house is now getting all painted inside and getting spruced up and ready for a new family. Since we will be here in Arizona a few more years we need someone new to love and live in this place.

It has 5 bedrooms, 3 baths and the basement is finished. The backyard is fenced. For cooks the kitchen has a gas cooktop and double ovens.

This house is in Stansbury Park, Utah. It is close to the freeway for getting into Salt Lake easily. Do you need a place to live and love in Tooele County? Do you have any questions? Let me know.

Fun Days Ahead!

Posie gets to ride the airplane home with Grandpa for a nice long visit soon. I don't know who is more excited Grandpa or Posie or the Mom who gets a bit of a break from two year old drama and will spend some special time with Posie's big brother. I know that not seeing the grandkids often is one of the pains of living here in Arizona when they are all in Utah. I guess I had better start gathering favorite foods and some toys to keep us both busy and happy.

Smart and Forgetful

Movie Reviews

I found this quick little evaluation to be a bit surprising. I found the link on Musings of Mommy Bee. Not too shabby a result for a girl who only was in college for a couple semesters before she met a certain sailor who whisked away from all that to live on Guam and start a family.

While basking in the glow of pride I have to admit something about the certain sailor. It seems, as I was informed by my daughter Cindy, that I forgot to post about his birthday on Sunday. He never wants much fuss made over him on that day but it was remembered. We had one of his favorite dinners, which is his grandmother's spaghetti sauce and garlic bread. He had a carrot cake for dessert. I also found some reed diffusers for his office at home and the one at work. He mentioned he had seen them somewhere else and liked the idea.

Being from June to January older than he is I always like it when he catches up to me in age. Then the teasing can stop about me being an old lady!

If you read this blog regularly you will know that I am famous or is that infamous for the pictures I choose of the birthday person. I don't know what he will say about today's picture but I suspect not a thing. He doesn't read my blog because as he puts it I live with you I don't need to read about your life. Oh well.

So here is Grandpa Jim with all six of our grandkids in the picture on Thanksgiving.

For Kaycee

One of the events included in our Thanksgiving trip to Utah was celebrating a birthday. Our oldest granddaughter turns 11 today and we had an early celebration while Grandpa and Grandma were around. We all got together on Friday (Black Friday) and went bowling and then back to the house for cake and ice cream. It was a fun day!So on your real birthday Kaycee I want to wish you all the best!

Thanks

Today is a good day to think about what you are thankful for. Most of us would start that list with things like family and good health. At least that is where my list would start. I would add that I am thankful that my eyesight and hands are ok so that I can still knit and crochet as well as send greetings to you all through this blog. I am also thankful for silly things like that my husband is not a great outdoorsman. That means that I can look at the beautiful new snow on the mountains at my son's Utah house and not running amok on a cold mountain breathing the smell of snowmobile exhaust. The turkey is in and others will start arriving soon. It's all good.

See That?

I keep a weather chart on my desktop courtesy of Google. On that chart I track the weather for where I live and the towns that my three married children live in. They are in Utah and I am in Arizona. It is a whole other story about how I spent all my time preparing myself for my kids to move away from me and I ended up moving away from them.Do you see that on Friday all of their towns have snow predicted and where I am will be 90? That is one of the reasons we are down here.