Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Very Short Post
I just burned my finger & it HURTS. Back to the ice!
Otherwise, we are all fine. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Until Next Time..........The Traveling Cardinal's
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A Sad Day
On a lighter note, here are some pictures of our morning yesterday playing shuffleboard. There weren't as many playing yesterday, but we had a great time anyway. This is the first time I've pulled to play against my hubby. Look at that scoreboard! Yes, he had to pay me a nickel. Such a lot of fun, entertainment & exercise for just a nickel a game! We were playing on this end of the first court. Our opponents were Hermell on the right (from Canada & a curling player) & Dick on the left. Sorry the picture is so dark. The sun was BRIGHT! Our end gets the sun, the other end the shade on this side of the courts
Here Sharyn is giving it her shot - keep it out of the "kitchen". That's a -10!
Since today is Wednesday, it's wash day again. But since it's such a nice day at least I can get in the pool again.
Got an email from Bill's brother, Denny, & sister-in-law, Gloria, that their grandson, Austin, is playing hockey. Pretty good for a 10 yr. old. This is his 5th year playing. Here is part of the article from the Dunkirk newspaper:
"Youth Hockey
NCCYHA Squirt
Team III 6, Cazenovia Chiefs 2
Mike Meredith continued his scoring ways for Team III with a hat trick followed by a pair of goals from Seth Schrader.
Korey Gee netted one for good measure.
Jarrett Parks was credited with the lone assist.
Alex Majka, Taylor Mattoon and Austin Lewis played strong defensively, while Ben Turner earned the win between the pipes."
That's about all the activities for this week. Bill played pool & poker & did pretty good at the poker last night & yesterday afternoon.So, until next time...........The Traveling Cardinal's
Friday, November 13, 2009
I've Been S L A C K I N G Again!
We've played cards a couple of nights, gone out for supper a few times and just general running out to the store to shop.
Before I go very far, I want to wish all our Veteran's a Belated Thank You! I did email out a thank you to most all in my address book. If I forgot you, I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional. We are so thankful for all you have done both in the past & the present. You make us proud & we are so blessed because of your bravery & courage. Below you can see our new flag pole we bought in Michigan this past summer. Because of David's welding work, we are able to fly it every day (that the weather is good). We are proud to show our colors & support our troops. When Mark leaves at the end of the year for his 6-7 month tour of duty at sea, we will fly our Navy flag. Beautiful against that blue sky isn't it?
Bill and I started playing shuffleboard this past Monday. We played Mon., Tues. & Wed. It is really a lot of fun. Poor Roger & Camilla were after us all last season to play & we were just plain lazy I guess. But we found we really enjoy it. So hurry up & get here guys. Maybe we can win a nickel from you! I'm still a little confused on the score keeping when there are only 3 of you on a court instead of 4, but I guess we'll get the hang of it sooner or later. So now I've squeezed that in among my exercising in the mornings. Thursday (yesterday) was the first day of Scratch Art classes again. It was fun to be back together again. We have 2 new gals starting off this year. I know we will grow as more gals return.
Today there was no computer club meeting so Bill & I made plans to go see the Nation's Capitol Christmas Tree that is touring Arizona before it makes the long trek to Washington, DC. The following are pictures taken from the time it was picked out & then cut on Nov. 9th from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest headquartered in Springerville, AZ. That is about 200 miles from where we are.
Cranes getting ready to cut the tree & lay it in the cradle on the bed of the truck (especially made) for transporting the tree.
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Friday, November 13 | Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce 576 W. Apache Trail | 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. |
Florence Main Street Park 121 E. 22nd St. | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. | |
Oro Valley Oro Valley Market Place 11875 N. Oracle Rd. | 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. |
If you read the information I inserted after the pictures, you can gain a wealth of information about the tree, how big it is, how it is kept watered, information about the decorations made by the people of Arizona, etc.
This trailer will haul all the decorations made. If you click on the picture you can see the red ribbon wrapped around the state of Arizona. The picture is beautiful.
The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree 2009 will travel from its origin in the White Mountains of Arizona to Washington, D.C. On November 30, 2009 the 85-foot Blue spruce will be presented to the United States Congress. The first time Arizona has ever given the annual Christmas tree to the U.S. Capitol, this historic project is delivering not only a tree taller than a 7-story building, but nearly 10,000 handmade ornaments and 80 companion trees that will be placed in offices throughout the Capitol Complex in federal offices, congressional and senate offices, as well as the US Supreme Court.
ARIZONA’S GIFT
- Arizona’s tree is about 125 years old. That’s longer than Arizona has been a state!
- The Forest Service recommends 6 to 8 trees for selection. However, the U.S. Capitol Architect makes the final selection and determines which tree will be the official Capitol Christmas Tree.
- Arizona’s tree will travel throughout the state visiting nearly 24 cities and towns before it journeys to Washington, D.C. The Arizona state tour will take about 10 days.
- The Capitol Christmas Tree 2009 will make frequent stops across the nation on its way to Washington, D.C., escorted by federal officials. The national tour will take about another 10 days.
- The tree will travel on a double flatbed truck. Placed on its side, it will rest in a custom cradle that supports the branches, preventing damage and maintaining the tree’s perfect shape.
- A caravan of approximately 12 vehicles, including two semi-trucks, will escort the tree east. The Capitol Christmas Tree 2009 will travel more than 3,000 miles during its three-week tour.
- The base of the tree is fitted with a plastic bladder filled with fresh water nightly. The tree will absorb about 65 gallons of water each day throughout its trek to Washington, D.C.
- A full-sized semi-truck will be needed to transport all the ornaments delivered to Washington, D.C.
TRIMMING THE TREE -
The children of Arizona will make the 5,000 ornaments used to decorate the tree. The ornaments will be 9 to 12 inches tall and must be made to withstand 3 weeks of harsh winter weather.
An additional 1,000 ornaments will be made for the 75 companion trees displayed throughout the Capitol.
About 10,000 LED Christmas lights are strung throughout the tree.
It takes more than a week for the U.S. Capitol Architect and his team to decorate.
The Capitol Christmas Tree is topped by the same single star ornament used each year.
The tree will be placed into a hole nearly five feet deep and actually cemented into place.
Although Capitol Christmas trees are varied heights, when installed they can be no taller than 65 feet. The Capitol landscape crew does not have a basket crane taller than that!
Another evening out to eat, 8 of us played Hand & Foot (the women won tonight! Ya!) so the evening is about over.
Yesterday I called my grand kids in Virginia Beach because I was worried about them & the terrible storm they were having. Everyone was holding their own & kids were doing well. They lost electricity while I was talking with Samuel, but I called back a few minutes later & Samantha answered on another phone, so guess it was okay. The pictures we watched on the Weather Channel made us so glad we weren't still there camping at the campground in Virginia Beach, nor at Bar Harbor in Maryland. If you remember the "High Tide" pictures from Sept., you'll remember we had water up under the trailer then & it wasn't even a storm! Tomorrow we will check on the other grand kids in Maryland to see how that family fared.
Congratulations to Renee. She was selected to become a regular rather than a substitute Cafeteria Worker at the elementary school next to the boys school. Then after she finishes her work there, she goes to their school to volunteer doing odd jobs for classrooms. I'm happy she now has a regular job & her days & time will coincide with the boys school days.
Today was Bill's sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Carolyn. Hope you had a great day. On Veteran's Day, Randy celebrated his birthday. A Happy Belated Birthday to you too. (Well I did send you an e-card so I guess I didn't forget, just haven't blogged!)
Tomorrow is our grandson, Hunter's, birthday. Have a great day & a Happy Birthday, Hunter. We love you & good luck with your basketball try outs!
We had an email from Mark this past week & he got stuck in France because of bad weather, but he did get to visit the beaches of Normandy. That gave him some time to contemplate the bravery of those who served before him & the sacrifices they made. He was upset because they were suppose to have been back to Norfolk by the 10th. Now with the storm, he won't be able to pull in probably either. The ocean probably looks like a shipyard. During hurricanes & tropical storms with high winds, the ships are sent out to sea to avoid any damage while in port. Pray for our boys. If they are riding rough seas, they probably need them!
Well, that's all the news for now. So until next time............The Traveling Cardinal's
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
What Beautiful Weather!
After taking the clothes home & putting them away (gosh it was nice not having to stop & iron when I got home!), Bill & I rode our bikes back down to the Club House. Today was the Welcome Back Party for the park. The lunch of BBQ pork sandwich, coleslaw, baked beans, bread pudding with whiskey sauce, beer or soda was provided by the park & prepared by Taylor Ray's restaurant. Bill & I have ate there several times. It's similar to a Perkin's Restaurant back home. The staff here at the park served 660 people within 25 minutes. Now that is organized! The Activities Office, the Office Staff, Maintenance & Housekeeping were all directing, serving & cleaning up. Everyone did a fantastic job! Thanks, Superstition Sunrise RV Resort for our lunch today.
Here are some shots of the party served on the patio & eaten inside the ballroom, & outside wherever you could find a place to sit. This was one half of the room.
Ralph & Norma
The second part was by 2 of the 3 Branson Brothers. They sang country, gospel & Christmas. They will be performing at Fiesta Fountain here in the Valley during the Christmas season. They are from Branson.
By this time Carol was getting thirsty. I don't think I've ever seen her do this & it was only 2:00!! Dave said take a picture of that! She was thirsty, but she never did drink it all.
The following pictures are some I just want to share with you. Since I've been looking at other people's pictures on Face Book, I've gotten to copy & keep a couple of precious memories on my computer.
This first picture was posted by the little boy on the left, Eddie. His sister, Lacy, is shown with him. He graduated with my daughter Renee. They lived in the house next to where we used to camp when our kids were little. You can see a couple people riding bikes - that was the campground & we were right on the corner to the left. If you look at the cute little girl with the ringlets in the lower right corner, that was my sweetheart, Renee. No, the ringlets weren't natural; they were put up in rags to make the curls. She was a pretty patient little gal.
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Friends Kathy and Tina
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