Dec. 21 - 25 - Movin' On Up - In the Green Valley RV Park
Saturday, December 21
I love this day because it means things are only going to get brighter for six months. If I was pagan, this would be a day of great celebration for me. (Conversely, I’d mourn June 21.) It amazes me how quickly and easily Laur and I see warm weather and endless sunshine as normal. I do look forward to spending my winters here. Check out what is for sale... http://greenvalleyrvresort.com/availability/
Laur got lots of marking done – woo hoo – and I got rested up for the event of the year... Yes, the Green Valley RV Resort Santa Claus parade. Check out pic # 4 & 5 at http://greenvalleyrvresort.com/ You can’t imagine how much fun this is. The Parade Marshall starts beeping his horn at 5:15 pm – the call to assemble. Folks decorate their golf carts, boats, trikes and bikes – and we drive and ride around the park singing Christmas carols and yelling Merry Christmas at our adoring fans on the decks and patios.
Then back to the Park Workshop for all the (non-alcoholic) apple cider and old-fashioned Christmas cookies you can stuff into yourself. Just about everyone participates in one way or the other – not many people in the parade, but lots of folks eating cookies! I think for a lot of park folk, that passes for supper. For me, it’s an excuse to go out to eat at a restaurant since I’m so tired (ahem) from riding my bike around the park. We wrapped our bikes with tinsel and added a gigantic bow. We both wore silly Christmas hats – Laur’s had lights.
We went out to supper at Asian Sky. See http://asianskysahuarita.com/ OMG! (Oh my gigantic portion sizes!) It is usually after our Asian Sky evening out that I realize how little I am exercising and how much I am eating. And then I say to myself, “Oh well. I can start to normalize my habits in the New Year.” HA!
Started the second season of Damages. Sadly, Laurence is losing interest so I may have to watch on my own and give him play-by-plays. Since it moves at soap opera speed, he could rejoin at any time and not have missed much!
Sunday, December 22
I confess, I didn’t go to church this morning. A worse confession – I’m not really big on Christmas carols. For no good reason, they depress me. I have decided that when we move to St. Catharines in 2015, I’m going to change my attitude on this. (Mind you, we’ll be in lazy AZ in December, so who’ll know?! Insert evil laughter...) Hey, check this out! http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=13907825&PidKey=-1264465770
This was certainly a day of rest for me, and a day of marking for Laurence. We finished the Asian Sky leftovers and started a new series – Copper. It’s “Irish immigrant police meet slums of New York.” It’s OK, but I yearn for a rainbows and kittens series about people who keep getting dragged into goodness and mercy.
Monday, December 23
A very big day. I went for my morning walk before Senior Stretch and saw a “for sale” sign on a unit we like - #134 Dripping Springs. (Currently, we’re at #43 Rattlesnake – sounds more adventurous, for sure.) It’s what’s called a Park Model plus it has an Arizona room AND a saguaro cactus in front, dressed up as Santa. (We found out its name is Larry the Cucumber.)
After Senior Stretch, Laur and I checked out the bulletin board to see what the asking price was, and the owner – Mr. Kelly – was just putting up the information. $35,000 – including all the furnishings and a great deal on his car, a 1997 Cadillac Seville! We booked an appointment to see it and fell in love. We asked to be able to think about it overnight.
To celebrate we went out for Mexican food at Manuel’s. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g31236-d511074-Reviews-Manuel_s_Restaurant-Green_Valley_Arizona.html Oh my green-corn-tamales! What a great seat we had, to say nothing of excellent food and service. We really missed John and Lauren Vary – they introduced us to this place. I tucked in early – had to get my rest because on Tuesday we were going to play our first round of pickleball... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2KNhIgOkXM
Tuesday, December 24
Christmas Eve day (and just about any day) is wonderful in Green Valley, Arizona. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, there is a little breeze, and you can wear shorts and a T-shirt...
We went to the Kellys and said YES! We want 134 Dripping Springs. Mr & Mrs Kelly understood that it would take a few days to get things organized with the bank. Next we let the office know and our immediate neighbours. Within a few hours just about everyone in the park knew and – when they saw us – congratulated us.
Pickleball is wonderful. We played with Wayne and Bob who have been playing for a few years and are very patient with newbies, I must say. Pickleball is a combo of tennis, pingpong, and badminton. I love it. When Laur partnered with Bob, and I played with Wayne, the scores were pretty much even. When we switched around and Laur and I were on the same team, we lost 11 to zero at both games. Woo hoo! So much fun anyway!
After supper we tried another Netflix series – Comanche Moon – the prequel to Lonesome Dove. Plus we called Elaine, and Carolyn and Jeremy. It was grand to talk to them. We tried to reach Tom and Julie but they were out – it being Christmas Day in Korea, and all. We sent them a silly Skype video about life in the Park here. It will put them off old age for sure. I talked to my mom earlier in the day and all was well with her. She was so excited about my brother Jim and wife Dorothy and their kids and son-in-law and toddler Oliver arriving for Christmas day.
Wednesday, December 25
A lovely and lazy Christmas morning. We got to talk to Anna and Neal. Emma was having a nap in her new “big girl” bed. As always, the conversation involved some Star Trek references. Emma has got a bad cold and is not feeling 100%. Does this bring back memories!
Christmas potluck at Green Valley RV Resort was at 2 pm. We sat with friends Nita and Sam from Missouri. You cannot imagine the SPREAD of food. Laur and I were part of the clean up team. We were done within half an hour – talk about a well organized team.
The congratulations from fellow Park members kept on coming. There is something about buying a “permanent” home here in the Park that makes you feel like you’re truly part of the team. There is always so much to do. Not everything is listed but check out the activities page anyway. http://greenvalleyrvresort.com/activities/
In the evening we finished “Comanche Moon” and tomorrow we start “Return to Lonesome Dove.” If I was a Native American I am not sure what I would think of this series. I’m just a European Canuck who loves the desert scenes...
I love this day because it means things are only going to get brighter for six months. If I was pagan, this would be a day of great celebration for me. (Conversely, I’d mourn June 21.) It amazes me how quickly and easily Laur and I see warm weather and endless sunshine as normal. I do look forward to spending my winters here. Check out what is for sale... http://greenvalleyrvresort.com/availability/
Laur got lots of marking done – woo hoo – and I got rested up for the event of the year... Yes, the Green Valley RV Resort Santa Claus parade. Check out pic # 4 & 5 at http://greenvalleyrvresort.com/ You can’t imagine how much fun this is. The Parade Marshall starts beeping his horn at 5:15 pm – the call to assemble. Folks decorate their golf carts, boats, trikes and bikes – and we drive and ride around the park singing Christmas carols and yelling Merry Christmas at our adoring fans on the decks and patios.
Then back to the Park Workshop for all the (non-alcoholic) apple cider and old-fashioned Christmas cookies you can stuff into yourself. Just about everyone participates in one way or the other – not many people in the parade, but lots of folks eating cookies! I think for a lot of park folk, that passes for supper. For me, it’s an excuse to go out to eat at a restaurant since I’m so tired (ahem) from riding my bike around the park. We wrapped our bikes with tinsel and added a gigantic bow. We both wore silly Christmas hats – Laur’s had lights.
We went out to supper at Asian Sky. See http://asianskysahuarita.com/ OMG! (Oh my gigantic portion sizes!) It is usually after our Asian Sky evening out that I realize how little I am exercising and how much I am eating. And then I say to myself, “Oh well. I can start to normalize my habits in the New Year.” HA!
Started the second season of Damages. Sadly, Laurence is losing interest so I may have to watch on my own and give him play-by-plays. Since it moves at soap opera speed, he could rejoin at any time and not have missed much!
Sunday, December 22
I confess, I didn’t go to church this morning. A worse confession – I’m not really big on Christmas carols. For no good reason, they depress me. I have decided that when we move to St. Catharines in 2015, I’m going to change my attitude on this. (Mind you, we’ll be in lazy AZ in December, so who’ll know?! Insert evil laughter...) Hey, check this out! http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=13907825&PidKey=-1264465770
This was certainly a day of rest for me, and a day of marking for Laurence. We finished the Asian Sky leftovers and started a new series – Copper. It’s “Irish immigrant police meet slums of New York.” It’s OK, but I yearn for a rainbows and kittens series about people who keep getting dragged into goodness and mercy.
Monday, December 23
A very big day. I went for my morning walk before Senior Stretch and saw a “for sale” sign on a unit we like - #134 Dripping Springs. (Currently, we’re at #43 Rattlesnake – sounds more adventurous, for sure.) It’s what’s called a Park Model plus it has an Arizona room AND a saguaro cactus in front, dressed up as Santa. (We found out its name is Larry the Cucumber.)
After Senior Stretch, Laur and I checked out the bulletin board to see what the asking price was, and the owner – Mr. Kelly – was just putting up the information. $35,000 – including all the furnishings and a great deal on his car, a 1997 Cadillac Seville! We booked an appointment to see it and fell in love. We asked to be able to think about it overnight.
To celebrate we went out for Mexican food at Manuel’s. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g31236-d511074-Reviews-Manuel_s_Restaurant-Green_Valley_Arizona.html Oh my green-corn-tamales! What a great seat we had, to say nothing of excellent food and service. We really missed John and Lauren Vary – they introduced us to this place. I tucked in early – had to get my rest because on Tuesday we were going to play our first round of pickleball... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2KNhIgOkXM
Tuesday, December 24
Christmas Eve day (and just about any day) is wonderful in Green Valley, Arizona. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, there is a little breeze, and you can wear shorts and a T-shirt...
We went to the Kellys and said YES! We want 134 Dripping Springs. Mr & Mrs Kelly understood that it would take a few days to get things organized with the bank. Next we let the office know and our immediate neighbours. Within a few hours just about everyone in the park knew and – when they saw us – congratulated us.
Pickleball is wonderful. We played with Wayne and Bob who have been playing for a few years and are very patient with newbies, I must say. Pickleball is a combo of tennis, pingpong, and badminton. I love it. When Laur partnered with Bob, and I played with Wayne, the scores were pretty much even. When we switched around and Laur and I were on the same team, we lost 11 to zero at both games. Woo hoo! So much fun anyway!
After supper we tried another Netflix series – Comanche Moon – the prequel to Lonesome Dove. Plus we called Elaine, and Carolyn and Jeremy. It was grand to talk to them. We tried to reach Tom and Julie but they were out – it being Christmas Day in Korea, and all. We sent them a silly Skype video about life in the Park here. It will put them off old age for sure. I talked to my mom earlier in the day and all was well with her. She was so excited about my brother Jim and wife Dorothy and their kids and son-in-law and toddler Oliver arriving for Christmas day.
Wednesday, December 25
A lovely and lazy Christmas morning. We got to talk to Anna and Neal. Emma was having a nap in her new “big girl” bed. As always, the conversation involved some Star Trek references. Emma has got a bad cold and is not feeling 100%. Does this bring back memories!
Christmas potluck at Green Valley RV Resort was at 2 pm. We sat with friends Nita and Sam from Missouri. You cannot imagine the SPREAD of food. Laur and I were part of the clean up team. We were done within half an hour – talk about a well organized team.
The congratulations from fellow Park members kept on coming. There is something about buying a “permanent” home here in the Park that makes you feel like you’re truly part of the team. There is always so much to do. Not everything is listed but check out the activities page anyway. http://greenvalleyrvresort.com/activities/
In the evening we finished “Comanche Moon” and tomorrow we start “Return to Lonesome Dove.” If I was a Native American I am not sure what I would think of this series. I’m just a European Canuck who loves the desert scenes...