Spence and I packed up the car on December 16th, and we headed for Quartzsite to spend the night with our dear friends, the Clydes. It was in the 50's on the desert, and the air was sparkling clean. Neither Colleen nor I wanted to cook the salmon I brought for our dinner, so we dined out, and guess what Colleen and I had....SALMON. It was delicious. We just spent the evening talking, and talking and talking, and that was delightful.
The next morning, bright and early, we headed for Phoenix where we had a Bruncheon date with about 12 of my old West High friends. It is amazing to me that we have kept our friendships and communications open for 53 years plus. Some of us actually go back to grade school. It is always fun to hash over old stories and memories, and of course, eating is one of our favorite things.
We then headed on to Mesa for a visit with my Dad. He looks great, and he gets around great, but we are starting to hear lots of his stories over and over and intertwined with each other. He is a GREAT story teller, however. I am so glad he has such wonderful health. We actually stayed in a Time Share in Scottsdale which was much more comfortable that the pull-out couch in Dad's living room. (It is fine for me, but not quite large enough for the two of us.). We took Paul, Gracie's son, out with us for Mexican food on Wednesday night, and on Thursday, Crystal and Josh went with us for Chinese. YUM...on both occasions.
On Friday we had the most beautiful drive up Highway 93 through Kingman and Hoover Dam to Las
Vegas and then on to St. George. The desert was beginning to green up and we drove through the heaviest Saguaro forest and Joshua Tree forest that I have ever seen. Dumb me! I didn't think to take pictures. I finally remembered I had a camera when we got to Hoover Dam. They are building an amazing bridge across the river many feet above the dam and about 1/4 mile south. It is going to make an amazing view of the dam and the lake when it is finished in 2010.
Vegas and then on to St. George. The desert was beginning to green up and we drove through the heaviest Saguaro forest and Joshua Tree forest that I have ever seen. Dumb me! I didn't think to take pictures. I finally remembered I had a camera when we got to Hoover Dam. They are building an amazing bridge across the river many feet above the dam and about 1/4 mile south. It is going to make an amazing view of the dam and the lake when it is finished in 2010.That evening was spent with Garth and Patty Crofts, and on Saturday we headed north for Highland and LaMar's family. I have been praying for weeks that there would be no snow today (Spence HATES snow) and my prayers were answered. We had gorgeous weather all the way, with temps as low as 16 degrees. The Provo area was overcast, but hopefully the rest of the week will be nice. Lotsa snow here, however.
Well, my wishes didn't fare so well. It started snowing on Sunday and essentially didn't stop until the next Friday evening, and during those days, about 20" of fresh snow was dumped at LaMar's place. Each day they would go out and shovel the driveway, shovel the walk and wait for the snowplow. LaMar has a quad with a snowblade which he uses to clear the sidewalks up and down the street. Lisa did most of the shoveling (LaMar is recovering from rotator cuff surgery.) Lisa has been tentatively diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, so the shoveling was really painful for her, also. She also has Renaud's syndrome, which means her hands and feet lose circulation and become painfully cold. She goes through dozens of hand warmers each winter season.
We were essentially snowed in, because we have no snow tires on our Buick. I did go out on Christmas Eve to get some fresh rosemary and thyme for my Coq au Vin that I was preparing (which was delicious.) And we did borrow their 4 wheel drive truck to go to Salt Lake City to visit our dear friends, the Zornes, on Friday. We also piled all 8 of us into the truck to head for a movie on Christmas afternoon. The rest of the time we spent cooking for 3 different family parties, including one with Shannon and Doran and their kids. Christmas Day we ate glorious leftovers, and it was so relaxing.
Saturday we awoke to sunshine, and my other prayer was answered...no snow on the roads for our trip back. We stopped in and visited my brother Bill and Marlene on our way down, and then stopped again in Cedar City for a good Mexican dinner with my old boss Don Myres, and his wife Helen. St. George was home for the next two nights...with Patty and Garth Crofts, and then back to good old Simi Valley. I love traveling, but it is always SO GOOD to get to our own wonderful home.
Well, my wishes didn't fare so well. It started snowing on Sunday and essentially didn't stop until the next Friday evening, and during those days, about 20" of fresh snow was dumped at LaMar's place. Each day they would go out and shovel the driveway, shovel the walk and wait for the snowplow. LaMar has a quad with a snowblade which he uses to clear the sidewalks up and down the street. Lisa did most of the shoveling (LaMar is recovering from rotator cuff surgery.) Lisa has been tentatively diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, so the shoveling was really painful for her, also. She also has Renaud's syndrome, which means her hands and feet lose circulation and become painfully cold. She goes through dozens of hand warmers each winter season.
We were essentially snowed in, because we have no snow tires on our Buick. I did go out on Christmas Eve to get some fresh rosemary and thyme for my Coq au Vin that I was preparing (which was delicious.) And we did borrow their 4 wheel drive truck to go to Salt Lake City to visit our dear friends, the Zornes, on Friday. We also piled all 8 of us into the truck to head for a movie on Christmas afternoon. The rest of the time we spent cooking for 3 different family parties, including one with Shannon and Doran and their kids. Christmas Day we ate glorious leftovers, and it was so relaxing.
Saturday we awoke to sunshine, and my other prayer was answered...no snow on the roads for our trip back. We stopped in and visited my brother Bill and Marlene on our way down, and then stopped again in Cedar City for a good Mexican dinner with my old boss Don Myres, and his wife Helen. St. George was home for the next two nights...with Patty and Garth Crofts, and then back to good old Simi Valley. I love traveling, but it is always SO GOOD to get to our own wonderful home.
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