Joan on the Road...of Life

Today was a 'work' day. Yes, we do have those. Jim spent most of the morning refining the wiring for the new TV, Bose CD/sound system, satellite input, cable input, VHS (yes we do still have one) and bedroom TV. When done he created a spreadsheet showing what switches need to be where for any viewing situation. So now I can watch TV in the bedroom and he can view a movie in the 'living room'. (Course that only happens when we need our own 'space'.)

While he was busy I loaded new software on my computer--Delorme Street Atlas and GPS, Printmaster and Photoshop Elements upgrades. All went well and I decided to print out a letter on Printmaster....no printer. Thought I'd screwed something up in my installations. Tried Jim's computer...no printer. So I had to get the expert fixer involved and after 15 mintues he discovered that his printer connection was loose. When will we ever learn to check all connections and restart the computer before doing any other searching. It's like the time I called the washer repairman only to find out the washer was unplugged. (a true $65 story).

In the middle of all this work we heard and clanking and rattling on the roof. What the @#$% was that? So Jim climbed up on the roof and found a beef bone! Some crow was using our house as his table!

We mailed the Family Calendar, packed up the bikes and chairs, did grocery shopping, and put away all the Christmas decorations. So we are ready to break camp and head for Vail Lake Resort in Temecula for a month. I created a map for the short trip and we'll try the GPS software out. Wonder if Jim will like the computer voice better than mine?

Posted by Joan at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Christmas Eve day was one of those perfectly beautiful California days. This is the view out my window looking east to the San Bernadino mountains. At night this becomes a sparkling city lights view that others pay millions for. Everyone in the campground was out walking and visiting. We ended the day with a great steak dinner at son Jim's. He served homemade eggnog spiked with rum and brandy. Wow! ....had to be careful how much we drank of that yummy stuff.

We woke to dense fog on Christmas morning that gave a first impression of snow. We spent the afternoon at daughter Renee's home where the whole CA family gathered. Our two teenage Santas decided to pass out a gift to each person and then open them one at a time so we could all see what each person got. While it ltook a long time it really was fun to watch each person react to their special gifts. We had big gifts and homemade gifts....each one loved. granddaughter Mary was on a knitting streak and made scarves, hats and a baby blanket for Evan. I, too, had made a few scarves and a poncho. Hilly wound up with four neck scarves. Good thing they're in fashion!

Renee and Tom served up a delicious buffet including Mary's homemade French Pear Pie. This is a family favorite. We had champagne, wine and more of that rich eggnog.

The family calendar was a hit and provided lots of laughs as we recalled special times past. We were delighted by a special photo gift from Naomi and Brad of our Baby Evan. I'm sure it will be a calendar shot next year.

It was a truly lovely, warm, laughter filled Christmas day. I'm so glad we were here with the family this year. Gifts are wonderful but the warm memories of times together last forever.

Posted by Joan at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we celebrated our good health checkups with a great lunch at Parker's Lighthouse in Seashore Village, Long Beach, CA. As you can see we had a great view of the Queen Mary. We are both good to go for six months when we'll be back for follow-on checkups. So we're doing high fives.

The calendar is nearing completion...yeah! Tonight we'll print out test pages and hopefully get copies printed and bound by Christmas. Putting the calendar together always turns out to be a bit more than I figure on. I get lost in the old pictures and memories, work on the computer til late at night then dream about the pictures. This year's calendar has some digitally altered shots...scenes that never really happened. Of course, many of the pictures are "enhanced" but a couple are drastically altered.

The family has grown in number so that this year I made out a spreadsheet grid showing months and names then we checked off each calendar page to see that every person is well represented. Of course the one with the most pix is the newest member...baby Evan.

Posted by Joan at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well I've finished my Christmas needlework gift projects (no pictures until after Christmas). So now it's time to begin the annual calender project. About 10 years ago I started making a family calendar with one 8x10 photo per page. It was a cut and paste effort using only my own photos and printing 5 copies at Kinko's.

Now I use Photoshop Elements 3.0 and get contributions from many adults in the family. So it is all digital and we print out 8 calendars on our HP printer. I make a collage for each monthly page, sometimes including 18 pictures smooshed together. I crop the picture to zero in on faces. It's a great way to really see who looks like who!

Last year I started including scanned slides from years gone by. It's a fun and sort of emotional project as I review pictures 40 years old. I get lost in the memories as I relive vacations with toddlers and teens. This year I scanned more slides and negatives so who knows what might show up on the 2006 calendar.

I used to try to include a picture of everyone on every page because when the grandkids were younger, the first thing they'd do would be to count how many times they appeared in the calendar. I don't think they do that now. (? ;)

Now we have a 5th generation to include. I could probably do the whole calendar on Evan Patrick! The one thing I have learned is not to include teenage girl/boy friends. They come and go and it sort of screws up the calendar to put post-it notes over the faces of lost loves. To be included in the calendar there has to be a pretty firm commitment.

I hope I make the deadline. The greatest joy for me is to present the calendar on Christmas day and see the reactions as everyone reviews the year in pictures.

Posted by Joan at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We left Fountain Hills AZ headed for the border...CA and AZ that is. The Colorado River is the border and there are several campground/resorts on the river that are nice stops. We pulled in at Colorado River Resort and started the registration process. We intended a two night stay just because we're pretty lazy and don't like to travel two days in a row...even though they are short, 200 mile days. (What a life!)

So I pulled out my Passport America card to get the half price discount.

"I'm sorry ma'm, we can only do one night on Passport America."

But their book says 3 nights....sorry she says.

So can I use one night Coast to Coast.

"Sorry ma'm, we cannot combine discount offers."

Hmmm..so I guess I just pay full price for the second night.

"Sorry ma'm. We cannot do that. This is a membership park. You'll have to leave and come back another night."

Jeez!!!! By this time my other half, who is less patient than I, says..FINE...WE'LL STAY ONE NIGHT!

"Oh, ma'm you could stay 3 nights for $29.95 and hear our marketing presentation for membership in our system."

NO THANKS...with all the rules and regulations we'd never know what we could and could not do.

So...we called our friends at East Shore RV Resort in San Dimas, CA and they said..."sure you can come in a day early!"

So here we are and here's our view...not too shabby! We've been here, done this before but it's a lovely SoCal base for a few holiday weeks.

Posted by Joan at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We put out over 2 pounds of bird seed and it was gone in one day! We created a welfare state. After the feeder was empty the birds came and sat on the feeder and screeched at us! We were sitting about 10 feet from the feeder and the brassy birds were demanding food! We had wrens, sparrows, mourning doves, and quail. At one time I bet there were 50 birds fluttering around and fighting over the spaces at the feeder. They threw seed into the grill and then scooted in under the feeder to get the seeds there.

Across the street in a blocked off camp space was a dead Saguaro. With the little arms stretched out I almost feel as though this is a dead alien being. Seems the birds poop on the cactus and the poop has a parasite that then feeds on the cactus and turns the insides to green goop, eventually killing the cactus. And we thought it had been burned out by a genetically damaged camper!

A couple of days ago the campground maintenance came along and bulldozed the fallen cactus out, spread new gravel and reopened the site. RIP.

Posted by Joan at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a boy! We are so looking forward to seeing this guy next week. This is the latest picture of Great Grandbaby Evan who is now 2 months old. I couldn't resist posting this. I'm sure this kid will grow up to be a little dickens.

Posted by Joan at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are parked at McDowell Mountain Regional Park north of Fountain Hills, AZ. This is a county park in a Sonora Dessert setting with an abundance of cactus and surrounded by mountains. On our first evening we were treated to a spectacular sunset. Unlike most sunsets, the view here is 360 degrees. The cloud formations all around the horizon, above the mountains, keep changing colors for 20 minutes. We've never seen sunsets like this. (Although the setting sun over the ocean in CA is awesome, especially in the winter months.)

This morning I took the plunge and got up for sunrise! Yikes! That was about 2 hours early for me but what a treat. Another total horizon view. Just as I focused on one direction, I'd turn around and there'd be a beautiful cloud display behind me.

So here goes...which is which? Sunrise? Sunset?

Yes, those pinkish rectangles on the right really were there. Strange...

We have our own private Saguaro on our huge campsite. There are birds galore pigging out on the bird feeder set out on a table. Speaking of pigs, there are wild javelinas here that might come root around in the trash and the coyotes wander the streets. There are two kinds of scorpions and three different rattlers that we are to watch out for. This is a beautiful, rugged, wild park. Oh...sunset is on the top.

Posted by Joan at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)