I'm not sure where the time goes, but plenty of it has slipped past me this week! I had a big success on Thursday, when I gave an "awareness presentation" on Photoshop Elements for our Far Horizons Photo Club. I talked about things that Photoshop Elements can do with Layers and Adjustment Layers -- selected adjustments -- and it was well-received by all who talked to me about it, including Shirley, Jack, John and Jean! :)
Then, on Thursday evening, Jack and I hosted John, MaryAnn, and Becky here for ribs on the grill, Jack's grilled potatoes, and asparagus. We topped off the delicious meal with pies which our guests had brought. What a fun evening we had!
Yesterday, Jack and I went to the Gem Show, Tucson Electric Park venue. Amazing. That's the only word for this incredible show. It's huge, it's quality, and it's very much fun. I bought a lovely 14K and peridot bauble for my collar necklace. We walked around among the vendors and tents for several hours.
Today we began the day with omelets at the clubhouse. Then we sort of relaxed. Jack had made soup, which he shared with me at lunchtime. Then I took him out for Long John Silver's nutritious fare and DQ to end the day. We walked around the Park Square Mall a bit, where I looked at bedding for my new cottage, which is coming.... soon!
Oh.. and did I mention that it's been COLD? We had a low of 18° with a wind chill of 5°. This doesn't mean much to the rest of the country, where you are all prepared for such stuff. But here, we don't *own* winter coats. We don't have our pipes insulated adequately, and we have heat pumps and not furnaces, in many of our buildings. HERE is a story about how our town was affected by this cold snap.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
California Dreaming
I've been away! Jack and I took a short trip to Corona, California, last week. The main purpose of the trip was to visit my new cottage, which is under construction at a manufactured housing plant there. It's very nearly completed, with just a few finishing touches to go before it's shipped here to Tucson! I expect that it'll be here next week.
The cottage is lovely to my eyes. It's a bit of a darker color than I remembered ordering, approaching a coffee brown, but it's still beautiful. The roof seems quite high, and I love the color that I chose for the interior paint, the Corian, and the cabinets. The stainless appliances look great, the sink is under-mounted, and the loft is wonderfully spacious. I should have no trouble getting my mattress to fit up there.
So today I did some money-shifting, so that everything is in place to pay the bill when it does arrive.
We spent a couple of days in Phoenix area, paying a visit to the state Capitol, and made a trip to the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting. Definitely worth a trip, if you're in the area -- the Hall of Flame, that is. The capitol building is nice too, serving as a museum now, though, since all the government functions are spread out over the downtown area. We enjoyed two visits to IKEA, as well. That's one of our favorite stores.
We also stopped in Quartzsite, AZ, on the way out. This is a huge and sprawling RV mecca for 2 weeks in the wintertime. And I mean huge. There are an estimated million people who come to Quartzsite for the RV show and then for the gem and mineral show. We walked through the main tent, spending a grand total of about 4 hours there. I got the new Trailer Life Directory, Jack got some hydraulic bed lifts, and I had some ice cream. I didn't eat it all, because it wasn't fantastic. But we had a good time.
We stayed in Best Western hotels the whole way -- in Tempe, Indio, CA, Blythe, CA, and then back in Tempe. We found them to be comfortable, clean, and well-supplied. The one in Tempe was the best. :)
The cottage is lovely to my eyes. It's a bit of a darker color than I remembered ordering, approaching a coffee brown, but it's still beautiful. The roof seems quite high, and I love the color that I chose for the interior paint, the Corian, and the cabinets. The stainless appliances look great, the sink is under-mounted, and the loft is wonderfully spacious. I should have no trouble getting my mattress to fit up there.
So today I did some money-shifting, so that everything is in place to pay the bill when it does arrive.
We spent a couple of days in Phoenix area, paying a visit to the state Capitol, and made a trip to the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting. Definitely worth a trip, if you're in the area -- the Hall of Flame, that is. The capitol building is nice too, serving as a museum now, though, since all the government functions are spread out over the downtown area. We enjoyed two visits to IKEA, as well. That's one of our favorite stores.
We also stopped in Quartzsite, AZ, on the way out. This is a huge and sprawling RV mecca for 2 weeks in the wintertime. And I mean huge. There are an estimated million people who come to Quartzsite for the RV show and then for the gem and mineral show. We walked through the main tent, spending a grand total of about 4 hours there. I got the new Trailer Life Directory, Jack got some hydraulic bed lifts, and I had some ice cream. I didn't eat it all, because it wasn't fantastic. But we had a good time.
We stayed in Best Western hotels the whole way -- in Tempe, Indio, CA, Blythe, CA, and then back in Tempe. We found them to be comfortable, clean, and well-supplied. The one in Tempe was the best. :)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Stuff 'n' Such
I did end up not singing the solo in church on Sunday. Marcia had all the sopranos sing that part, which was fine, and we sounded good. She told me that she wants me to be part of a group of 4 to sing a song in March, though, and I am happy and honored to do that. She says that confidence is something that I have to get, and she's right. I was particularly taken by Rita's telling me that I should do the solo because I have a good voice. :) I have some really great friends!
Today I got out on the deck and whittled a little. It was a perfect afternoon for that -- just a little too warm in the sun, so I whittled in the shade. I'm whittling on a piece of nice basswood that I got at Woodcraft and making a ball in a cage. If it turns out ok, I'll post a photo.
I'm really looking forward to getting my new cottage! It's supposed to be here near the first of February. I talked to George today to change my mind about carpeting the back room, which is going to be my hobby room. Even if it's someday my bedroom, it'll still be ok to have a hard-surface floor in there. I'm not sure why I thought that carpet would be best, but, anyway, I caught it in time, so it won't have carpet.
Today I got out on the deck and whittled a little. It was a perfect afternoon for that -- just a little too warm in the sun, so I whittled in the shade. I'm whittling on a piece of nice basswood that I got at Woodcraft and making a ball in a cage. If it turns out ok, I'll post a photo.
I'm really looking forward to getting my new cottage! It's supposed to be here near the first of February. I talked to George today to change my mind about carpeting the back room, which is going to be my hobby room. Even if it's someday my bedroom, it'll still be ok to have a hard-surface floor in there. I'm not sure why I thought that carpet would be best, but, anyway, I caught it in time, so it won't have carpet.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
End of another week
It's been a very busy week for me here in Tucson. The weather's been wonderful, health's been good, and the mood is, for the most part, high here in the Village.
I won't try to tell ALL the exciting things that have transpired -- just a sampling. We had a bike rodeo here in the park on Thursday. I was surprised at how many of us showed up -- probably 30 or more. The leader showed us some skill maneuvers and we got to practice them on our bikes. This included obstacle avoidance, quick right turns (like to avoid someone making a right turn in front of you), and quick stops. It was lots of fun, and it was good to practice these moves.
At church choir practice on Wednesday, I practiced my short solo for this coming Sunday and it went well. Then at Far Horizons choir on Thursday, our director told me that I wasn't "ready" for small group singing or soloing. This, along with my normal apprehension about doing something new, led to my decision that I'm not going to do that solo tomorrow. I sent our director an email begging out. I pray that she gets another soprano to do it. Maybe I'll sleep better now.
Last evening's movie here at the park was called "Flipped." It's about a childhood boy-girl friendship and I really enjoyed it.
Thursday evening, Jack and I went with Donna and Al to see "Secretariat." What a fantastic movie that was! Even though we knew how it was going to turn out, we were on the edges of our seats. We had a nice time with D&A, too. We have wonderful friends.
I bought EA Sports Active -- yet another fitness program for my Wii. I have done two workouts with it, and I like it! I'm also keeping up with Dance Dance Revolution, My Fitness Coach, Wii Fit Plus, Just Dance, and Gold's Gym Cardio. All good fun, and all different enough from each other to keep things interesting. My weight's still stuck between 140 and 143, but I suppose I could drop some, if I really were trying.
I won't try to tell ALL the exciting things that have transpired -- just a sampling. We had a bike rodeo here in the park on Thursday. I was surprised at how many of us showed up -- probably 30 or more. The leader showed us some skill maneuvers and we got to practice them on our bikes. This included obstacle avoidance, quick right turns (like to avoid someone making a right turn in front of you), and quick stops. It was lots of fun, and it was good to practice these moves.
At church choir practice on Wednesday, I practiced my short solo for this coming Sunday and it went well. Then at Far Horizons choir on Thursday, our director told me that I wasn't "ready" for small group singing or soloing. This, along with my normal apprehension about doing something new, led to my decision that I'm not going to do that solo tomorrow. I sent our director an email begging out. I pray that she gets another soprano to do it. Maybe I'll sleep better now.
Last evening's movie here at the park was called "Flipped." It's about a childhood boy-girl friendship and I really enjoyed it.
Thursday evening, Jack and I went with Donna and Al to see "Secretariat." What a fantastic movie that was! Even though we knew how it was going to turn out, we were on the edges of our seats. We had a nice time with D&A, too. We have wonderful friends.
I bought EA Sports Active -- yet another fitness program for my Wii. I have done two workouts with it, and I like it! I'm also keeping up with Dance Dance Revolution, My Fitness Coach, Wii Fit Plus, Just Dance, and Gold's Gym Cardio. All good fun, and all different enough from each other to keep things interesting. My weight's still stuck between 140 and 143, but I suppose I could drop some, if I really were trying.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Cookies!
I was feeling a little nauseous last evening, and I'm not sure why. I'd eaten some "raw" cashews, almonds, and craisins, but have difficulty believing that's what made me sick. I had a nap and regained enough strength that, when Jack appeared at my door with baked-from-scratch chocolate chip cookies, I was all over them! What a treat!
Today was hiking day and I decided to give it a try. I wore my heart rate monitor just out of curiosity. I didn't realize that the Esperero Trail in the Sabino Canyon area was SO challenging! I went about 5 miles total, and Susie and David went back with me. The rest of them, including Jack, went the whole way. My heart rate, for the 2.5 hours that I was hiking, averaged 131. And I had a high of 185.
Looking online just now, I see that my "maximum" heart rate is 226 - 54 (my age).. which gives me a maximum of 172. By looking at the chart at the bottom of this page, it seems as if, in order to increase my stamina and aerobic endurance, which seems like a good goal, I should shoot for 70-80% of this maximum rate. That gives me a range of 120 - 137. So my average, including the time I sat for lunch, is in the range. But what about that high reading? And all of the times that the thing beeped, telling me that my rate was over 168? Am I endangering my heart to do this sort of exercise? I don't even know whom to ask!
I did slow down, or even stop, when the thing started to beep, and my heart would slow right back down into a normal speed. I just don't know if I should even DO hikes anymore. I've never considered myself to be cardiovascularly strong, though I don't really know why. I guess it's that I seem to get out of breath easily when doing stuff like hiking or riding bikes. Should I start being concerned with such things? (Times like this, I really miss Michael! He would know!)
Today was hiking day and I decided to give it a try. I wore my heart rate monitor just out of curiosity. I didn't realize that the Esperero Trail in the Sabino Canyon area was SO challenging! I went about 5 miles total, and Susie and David went back with me. The rest of them, including Jack, went the whole way. My heart rate, for the 2.5 hours that I was hiking, averaged 131. And I had a high of 185.
Looking online just now, I see that my "maximum" heart rate is 226 - 54 (my age).. which gives me a maximum of 172. By looking at the chart at the bottom of this page, it seems as if, in order to increase my stamina and aerobic endurance, which seems like a good goal, I should shoot for 70-80% of this maximum rate. That gives me a range of 120 - 137. So my average, including the time I sat for lunch, is in the range. But what about that high reading? And all of the times that the thing beeped, telling me that my rate was over 168? Am I endangering my heart to do this sort of exercise? I don't even know whom to ask!
I did slow down, or even stop, when the thing started to beep, and my heart would slow right back down into a normal speed. I just don't know if I should even DO hikes anymore. I've never considered myself to be cardiovascularly strong, though I don't really know why. I guess it's that I seem to get out of breath easily when doing stuff like hiking or riding bikes. Should I start being concerned with such things? (Times like this, I really miss Michael! He would know!)
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Beautiful Sunday
Actually, I'll talk a bit about Saturday first. Jack and I were at the Home Show at the Convention Center in downtown Tucson when we heard the news about Gabrielle Giffords, the US Congresswoman from Arizona. She was shot and critically wounded at the Safeway store at Ina and Oracle, right here in our friendly city of Tucson. Along with her, there were 6 people killed and several badly hurt. People are blaming politics, of course, and Sarah Palin, with her goofy "gunsights" imagery is being blamed. Incidentally, I am not going to allow any comments in this blog about opinions regarding politics. Just ain't happening.
I will state for the record that I cannot abide any politician using gunsight imagery to identify candidates that she wishes to have "gone." I call that inappropriate, violence-inspiring, and just downright dangerous. I'm surprised that she's allowed to live free in this country, with that sort of attitude.
In church today, Pastor Bruce talked about how sad he was about this happening, but how hopeful he was for the world at the same time. Me too. I enjoy surrounding myself with positive people who carry positive messages. This makes my world a happy place. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe I'm not political enough. But maybe I just like living the way I live. I'm not afraid.
After a fine omelet at Village Inn, Jack and I were thwarted in our attempt to get to the Fiesta Room to practice setting up for our Fitness with the Wii presentation tomorrow, so we took off and did a little shopping. I actually was successful in finding 6- and 7-lb dumbbells. I just got the 6-pounders for now. And I got a bit more yarn for playing with knitting.
Later in the day, we did get in and set up the stuff for the presentation, and, after numerous trials and errors, we did get it all to work. The secret lay in changing something in the back room, moving the "channel" indicator to 0, and then .. bingo! There it was. I'm hopeful that tomorrow morning it works on the first try.
It was dark by the time we got back here and ready to go over to Jack's for dinner, and I didn't feel like a) driving; b) riding my bike; or c) walking, so I opted to stay here and enjoyed some of my delicious tuna salad. And now it's time for bed!
I will state for the record that I cannot abide any politician using gunsight imagery to identify candidates that she wishes to have "gone." I call that inappropriate, violence-inspiring, and just downright dangerous. I'm surprised that she's allowed to live free in this country, with that sort of attitude.
In church today, Pastor Bruce talked about how sad he was about this happening, but how hopeful he was for the world at the same time. Me too. I enjoy surrounding myself with positive people who carry positive messages. This makes my world a happy place. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe I'm not political enough. But maybe I just like living the way I live. I'm not afraid.
After a fine omelet at Village Inn, Jack and I were thwarted in our attempt to get to the Fiesta Room to practice setting up for our Fitness with the Wii presentation tomorrow, so we took off and did a little shopping. I actually was successful in finding 6- and 7-lb dumbbells. I just got the 6-pounders for now. And I got a bit more yarn for playing with knitting.
Later in the day, we did get in and set up the stuff for the presentation, and, after numerous trials and errors, we did get it all to work. The secret lay in changing something in the back room, moving the "channel" indicator to 0, and then .. bingo! There it was. I'm hopeful that tomorrow morning it works on the first try.
It was dark by the time we got back here and ready to go over to Jack's for dinner, and I didn't feel like a) driving; b) riding my bike; or c) walking, so I opted to stay here and enjoyed some of my delicious tuna salad. And now it's time for bed!
Friday, January 07, 2011
Friday
Today was a Mary day. Jack and I went over to her house early to take her little poodle Jill to the groomer. Then we went on errands -- Fry's, the license branch, and Costco, before hitting Buddy's (at Swan and Grant) for lunch. The restaurant was a new one for all of us, though Mary had been there many years ago. We found it to be dark and noisy, but the food was really good.
My search continues for the delicious Bora Bora Bars which I found once at Costco, have fallen in love with, and now cannot locate. The package that I got at Costco a year ago contained several flavors. The ones that I can order online are boxes of all one flavor. So I continue to look.
Tonight Jack and I went to see The Soloist, with Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx. It's a great movie, a true story, and it lets you into the mind of a schizophrenic man better than anything else I've ever seen. The voices that he hears are so much like the voices that I used to hear (from when I was about 4 till I was 17) that I found it uncomfortable to watch at times. (Thank goodness I got over it!) But it's a story about hope and friendship, about trust and love. We saw it here at Far Horizons for $1, and that includes popcorn!
My search continues for the delicious Bora Bora Bars which I found once at Costco, have fallen in love with, and now cannot locate. The package that I got at Costco a year ago contained several flavors. The ones that I can order online are boxes of all one flavor. So I continue to look.
Tonight Jack and I went to see The Soloist, with Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx. It's a great movie, a true story, and it lets you into the mind of a schizophrenic man better than anything else I've ever seen. The voices that he hears are so much like the voices that I used to hear (from when I was about 4 till I was 17) that I found it uncomfortable to watch at times. (Thank goodness I got over it!) But it's a story about hope and friendship, about trust and love. We saw it here at Far Horizons for $1, and that includes popcorn!
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Filing and Shredding
Another busy day in Tucson. Choir practice for FHTV was cancelled because our fearless leader is sick, so I had a little free time. I used that time to dig around in my files, find the 2003 folders and shred the contents, take out all the 2010 stuff and tuck away the things that I'll need for my taxes and file the rest in my longer-term files. Whew. That's always a bigger job than I think it ought to be.
It was sort of fun going through the 2003 stuff. I love finding things with Michael's handwriting on them. In particular, I found a little pile of notes that he wrote detailing all the calls that he had to make on one Friday afternoon. That was his phone-calling day. I really miss having him to do all of the business stuff for me, though I'm getting onto it better these days.
Then I dug around in my photos and found some that I thought were worthy of showing to the Foto Fun club, and I put these onto a thumb drive. While I was in there, looking at all these photos that I thought were pretty good, it occurred to me that I ought to be backing this stuff up! So I got out the ol' Seagate and got started on a backup. It took hours, but now it's done!
Foto Fun started at 3:30 and it went well. Bob critiqued the photos with an eye toward what story the photos told. I maintain that images don't always have to tell a story -- that they can be just for art, they can illustrate a point, or can be used to sell something. Of course a story can go along with any of these purposes, but ... I don't think that you have to have a story.
But then some of the "stories" that he and others came up with for the shown photos were things like "symmetry," "repetition," and "textures..." I'll buy that an image has to speak on some level to its audience, but I wouldn't call it a story all the time. Maybe I'm picking nits.
After FotoFun, I went to George and Patty's with Jack. They were having a large and fun gathering involving hors d'oevres, beer, and wine. Much of all of these was consumed, and a merry time was enjoyed by all!
Then Jack and I came back here and watched a couple of episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." The ones for which we stayed awake were good!
It was sort of fun going through the 2003 stuff. I love finding things with Michael's handwriting on them. In particular, I found a little pile of notes that he wrote detailing all the calls that he had to make on one Friday afternoon. That was his phone-calling day. I really miss having him to do all of the business stuff for me, though I'm getting onto it better these days.
Then I dug around in my photos and found some that I thought were worthy of showing to the Foto Fun club, and I put these onto a thumb drive. While I was in there, looking at all these photos that I thought were pretty good, it occurred to me that I ought to be backing this stuff up! So I got out the ol' Seagate and got started on a backup. It took hours, but now it's done!
Foto Fun started at 3:30 and it went well. Bob critiqued the photos with an eye toward what story the photos told. I maintain that images don't always have to tell a story -- that they can be just for art, they can illustrate a point, or can be used to sell something. Of course a story can go along with any of these purposes, but ... I don't think that you have to have a story.
But then some of the "stories" that he and others came up with for the shown photos were things like "symmetry," "repetition," and "textures..." I'll buy that an image has to speak on some level to its audience, but I wouldn't call it a story all the time. Maybe I'm picking nits.
After FotoFun, I went to George and Patty's with Jack. They were having a large and fun gathering involving hors d'oevres, beer, and wine. Much of all of these was consumed, and a merry time was enjoyed by all!
Then Jack and I came back here and watched a couple of episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." The ones for which we stayed awake were good!
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Happy
Mail came at last, containing just 2 bills for me. $20 for snow removal in Michigan and my tax bill for my house in Michigan. :) I love that house, and I'm happy to pay its bills.
It was a good day in the Old Pueblo, too. I went off in search of a knitting bag and found a very cool stand-up one at Joanne's, on sale even, for just $13. I love it so much that I did a bit of knitting this afternoon!
Tonight was church choir practice and that was, as always, fun. We have our new songs for the next several weeks, taking us up to Ash Wednesday. I'm going to get to sing a solo! It's just 4 measures, but it's my first real solo part ever, so I'm stoked.
Ok.. off to pay those bills now!
It was a good day in the Old Pueblo, too. I went off in search of a knitting bag and found a very cool stand-up one at Joanne's, on sale even, for just $13. I love it so much that I did a bit of knitting this afternoon!
Tonight was church choir practice and that was, as always, fun. We have our new songs for the next several weeks, taking us up to Ash Wednesday. I'm going to get to sing a solo! It's just 4 measures, but it's my first real solo part ever, so I'm stoked.
Ok.. off to pay those bills now!
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Sunny Tuesday
It's starting to warm up again a bit. Today was up probably near 60. As Herb said, "You can wear shorts today, but you're going to want to be in the sun!" Jack and I went to Goodwill and to the Humane Society to drop off things to be donated. I had some clothes I was finished with, and he had some animal crates from his Mom and Dad.
We both opted out of hiking today. It was going to be another dusty and flat walk through the desert, and I didn't feel like doing that today. Rather, I did Dance Dance Revolution for about an hour, and walked for about 30 minutes. It was just 30 when I was out walking, but it was sunny, so it was tolerable.
Jack and I got some supplies and he cooked ribs, artichokes, and potatoes for us at my cottage. Then we watched "Stand and Deliver," one of my favorite teacher movies.
We both opted out of hiking today. It was going to be another dusty and flat walk through the desert, and I didn't feel like doing that today. Rather, I did Dance Dance Revolution for about an hour, and walked for about 30 minutes. It was just 30 when I was out walking, but it was sunny, so it was tolerable.
Jack and I got some supplies and he cooked ribs, artichokes, and potatoes for us at my cottage. Then we watched "Stand and Deliver," one of my favorite teacher movies.
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