A Summer Evening Drive

A couple nights ago our neighbor (Sandra) came knocking on our door and asked if we'd like to go out for a ride in "The Chevy".    Of course we would!!!    It was fun to get out in that car and go through the county roads in our lake area.    We saw lots of deer out grazing in the evening fields.  We ended up in a little town of Dorset where they have mostly eating establishments.    We treated Doug and Sandra to a dish of ice cream.     I had to get a picture below of the dice hanging on the window.    The only thing missing was a key chain that had a rabbit foot.    This is a beautiful restored 58 with red interior.   It sure gets a lot of attention when you stop at an ice cream shop!!!!  

 

August 25th

We have enjoyed spending a few days in Hudson with the Slangers.   They are getting to know the area well so took us to some wildlife areas and parks.  It was especially fun to be with them over Vic's birthday.   Early this morning I wished him a Happy Birthday and his response was, "I don't want to be 76".   

The cake choice was a good one - the famous Whole Foods Chantilly Cake.  I highly recommend it.

 

Neighbors

 Our neighbor, Doug has been struggling with leg and back pain for about 16 months.  He has been doctoring with the best doctors, had some surgery and more recently was doing serious physical therapy.   He decided to switch to a doctor and therapist in Park Rapids and was so impressed with the care he was getting.   The doctor recommended a shot but after trying several he wasn't too keen on trying another one but finally agreed to it.    His wife stopped over when we got back to the lake to tell us how well Doug was doing.  Vic said, "I'll believe it when I see the two of you dancing on the deck"......well, pretty soon we got a text saying - "come out on your deck".   Sure enough - there they were.......

Spring Project

35 years ago we put in this landscaping in our yard.   The railroad ties we used to border the back of the area had rotted and needed to be replaced.  (Vic said things just don't last like they used to).  He hired a friend who needed a job to help him.     It is a lot of work but for a change we are at our home in GF and not at the lake in May so think we will get a lot more outside jobs done.  

It Must Be Spring

Moving into our sunroom is a huge day for me especially.   We don't like to make the move too early when night temperatures are still so cold but this morning I heard these words, "I think we could move into the porch today."     Vic knows that is something I have been wanting to do since we got back from Arizona early March.     I snapped a couple pictures when Vic was taking a break in the middle of the move.     If you look closely you can see small patches of snow outside.   Also, we are so grateful that the sump pump is working great and has kept the lower level of our house dry.  You can see the blue hose out the window.

For the record......

This is to record the weather after we returned from Arizona........

Picture Number 1 taken on March 19
Picture Number 2 taken on March 28
Picture Number 3 taken on April 3

Special Days

We had 3 very special days with Carrie.   Rob had a few days between flights and stayed with the kids while Carrie flew to Arizona.    We had the most wonderful time taking her to places we enjoy going, spending as much time outside as possible and eating at some fun restaurants. 

The first time I came to the desert when my Mom was here in the 80's I wasn't so sure I liked it, but after the 2nd visit I fell in love with the cactus and warm sunshine.   They say there are over 300 days of sunshine in Arizona and that feels so good in the winter months.

We went to the Desert Botanical Garden the second day Carrie was here.   We had never been there and couldn't believe how much time we spent walking through all the loops and checking out so many different desert plants.   The blooms hadn't started yet but it will be very pretty this spring because of decent rainfall.    Vic is checking out the very large organ pipe cactus.

Vic has enjoyed the time he has spent with his high school best friend, David Finger.   They were roommates at Iowa State and David was in our wedding.   After we left Iowa we didn't have much contact with him until our Steamboat Rock High School Reunion.   He settled in the Tempe, AZ where he was a mechanical engineer for a large corporation.    He met Nancy after he moved to Arizona and they now live in Gilbert so we have seen them several times this winter.    Nancy is a really neat gal that I have enjoyed getting to know better.

Fountain Hills Walk with a Twist

Today we discussed several different ideas where to take our walk and decided to go to Fountain Hills after changing our minds several times.

We started out walking together and then after Vic decided he wanted to "grab some photos" I put my ear buds in and listened to my story.    I was minding my own business when I heard a voice say, "That looks like Marilyn Luiken".   

I looked up to see a Mike and Gwen from Grand Forks FEFC we have known for years.    Right before we left GF in December they had asked us out to eat but we couldn't go.  So, now we will get together in Gilbert tomorrow.   Carrie calls this area "Little North Dakota".    There are certainly lots of ND people here!

Restaurant #2 -

Our next restaurant visit was to Snooz Eatery    It wasn't a fancy place but the food was really good.   I had shrimp and grits which was so tasty.     Vic had freshly made chicken sausage with eggs and hash browns.    We both liked our choices.

A New Tradition

I decided we needed to start a new tradition....so, we are going to take turns picking a new restaurant to try each week.   Since we don't eat out that much this will be fun.   This week Vic picked a restaurant we saw on a local PBS Show - Fabio on Fire.   The current owner is a third-generation pizzaiolo with generations-old recipes for the dough and tiramisu.  It is located in Peoria about 45 minutes from our condo.  We decided on lunch instead of evening.We learned from the owner that Margherita is the best choice because it's the one you get the best flavor of the crust - great suggestion!!    You just can't go wrong with tiramisu either.    We'll see if this new tradition continues....

Enjoying the sunshine

Leave it to Vic to get a bird poop on his hat...

but, that doesn't stop him from loving birds - he set up a hummingbird feeder on our patio soon after we arrived. 

This was a view on a walk this week....

and, this is the view from our home this week.

Pat gave me this Amaryllis when we left Santa Fe.  I have enjoyed watching it start blooming (2nd pictures taken 1 week later).   Because of the rains here in Arizona there are lots of blooming things.