We did enjoy our time here with friends though. Christmas Eve 12 of us attended Christmas Eve services as Broadway Christian Church at 4:30pm for their candle light service. It was very nice & boy could those people sing! Talk about a "joyful noise unto the Lord"!!!! Needless to say, my emotions didn't let me get through the first prayer!! Bill knew then it was going to be a rough Christmas!
After the service we all came back to the park to Gene & Faye's for supper. They prepared grilled salmon (from Washington State!) and prawns (shrimp to most of us only larger). It was delicious. I made our families traditional Christmas Eve meal of stuffed shells. There was clam chowder, potato salad, vegetable salad, jello salad, several dips & snacks & of course, fudge & pies & cakes. We all ate so much we could hardly move. Gene had put tarps up around the patio & then a propane heater kept us warm. It stayed around 60-62 deg. & was very comfortable.
Christmas day we ate at the club house. Bill & I were the host/hostess for our table so I roasted the turkey & we decorated the table for 21 of us. It was really nice, but I wouldn't do it again next year. I learned afterwards that almost everyone does their turkey the day before, slices it & then just heats it up for Christmas day. I didn't know that & tried to get mine roasted fresh that day & hot & ready on time. It is too much to be the hostess AND cook the turkey. You don't get time to socialize before hand & by the time you eat, everyone else is ready to go home. I almost didn't get dessert. The one good thing was I didn't go back for seconds!
Christmas day our friend Phyllis had bad news that her brother in Minneapolis had a stroke. Our thoughts & prayers are with her & her family at this time of waiting & testing. She has made plans to go there if her brother doesn't make it. We will help Tom with his blood sugar testing & insulin shots & Gene & Faye will make sure he eats right. We pray whenever & if ever she has to travel, she has a safe & quick trip. It is always hard to be away from family at times like these.
We spent that last couple of days just visiting with friends here in the park & having a good time. We told our friends, Ray & Marquita, we were looking for some steps to the entrance of the trailer & lo & behold, Ray calls the next morning to tell us he found some as he was meandering around the park. We went to look at them, came home & measured, went back & bought them. We were just waiting to find someone with a trailer or whatever so we could move them. We knew we couldn't lift them up into the truck. Well, Gene, our nice neighbor & friend (also Mr. Fixit), says let's get the golf cart & go look. I said you can't get them on the back of the golf cart they are way too big. He just looked at me! Never said a word. Well.....................look how we got them back to the trailer............ Roger and Gene....
Of course, I inadvertently erased one of the pictures that showed it from the back. It was pretty funny looking with that golf cart going down the road with these double steps on the back!!!! We got a few curious stares!
We also have storage under the steps. The 2nd from bottom step hinges up as does the top. Now we can keep our extra cooler in there when we don't need it in the truck & we can use the back seat for passengers.
This is the crew. We have the greatest neighbors! Everyone is always so willing to help someone else. Roger, Gene, Bill and Tom, the supervisor.
We even are beginning to look like we are going to stay awhile. We now have a 100# propane tank so we don't have to keep running to the propane dealer here in town every 4 days.
Yes, it's been cold enough to keep that furnace running quite a bit (especially at night). Remember.......no place on earth (at least within my budget) has the perfect temperature year around! December and part of January just happen to be Arizona's winter too. But just look at the picture!!! We have sunshine, bikes & NO snow! We aren't shoveling anything here in the Valley! We have had quite a bit of rain, but this next week looks beautiful. Temperatures are suppose to be in the high 60's. I can take that! But it was frosty this morning. Several people had their flowers covered last night. It was a good thing too. This will make the orange picking time come sooner. If not, we will have our own frozen concentrate! I've picked one about the size of a soft ball off our tree. We only had 2 oranges & I can't get my fingers only about 2/3 of the way around it. I want to cut into it, but I keep saying "a couple more days".
Well, I'm sure more people will be arriving this next week. With the holiday season coming to a close, the rest of the "snowbirds" will be flying in.
It's hard to remember what day it is when we have weeks like this with weekends & holidays in between. Every morning I wake up & can't remember if it's Monday or what. Of course, some days are like that even without the holidays! It's an age thing I think. At least it was the last time I remembered. :) :)
Ok, I'm getting goofy. Until next time..................The Traveling Cardinal's
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