Jan. 8 & 9 - Small and South is Beautiful
This is the last of the cacti stories for now.
Wednesday, January 8
Up in the middle of the night to try again to get out of Arizona. It was a half hearted attempt to escape, I must confess.
All went super well. Got our car back in time, had a nutty breakfast, our plane left on time, Laur and I both slept on the plane, we had time between stopovers to have an Asian food lunch, our trip to TO went smoothly, we had a marvelous room awaiting us at the Crowne Plaza, and we enjoyed fine dining at Boston Pizza. (“Fine” is a relative term and it was very fine to us.)
But nothing made us happier than having our Intrepid start up without a complaint. It took awhile to sweep and scrape it off and, sadly, I knocked off the decal from the hood. Laur could have wept.
Thursday, January 9
We slept almost 12 hours. Crowne Plaza (which I keep calling Crown Royal – which is rye whisky, and I think it smells like hair spray) offers an all-you-can-eat brunch and that’s just what we did.
The trip home was smooth sailing (driving) and we arrived at supper time. Brian and Lindsay did a fabulous job of keeping things going. The driveway was shovelled out; our mail was all organized for us – and so much more.
I left such a screwy message on the answering machine that we had very few messages left; lots of bills to be paid, but that could wait until Friday. We need to hire a contractor to fix the room that took most of the water damage, but that can wait even longer. And some correspondence to attend to.
We pulled things out of the freezer to zot for supper, went for a wintery walk, followed up some emails, and collapsed in front of the last two episodes of Longmire. The difference between winter in Green Valley and winter in Sudbury is truly like day and night.
*****
I’m writing this en route to Sudbury. The sun is shining and I like the cold temperature. This sounds like an odd thing to say when I’m such an Arizona-phile. What I really love about AZ is THE SUN.
I always get reflective on this part of our trip – as reflective as I get, which is none too deep. In fact, I only have 4 points to make
What Have I Learned or Appreciated on this Trip
1. I love being in the Green Valley RV Park in Arizona. The people are so friendly and there is so much to do – some of it silly, some of it physically challenging, some of it talent-building, and some of it intellectually-stimulating.
2. I look forward to selling our current house and buying a teeny-tiny house with very few possessions. I don’t own things; they own me. They keep me from doing the things I’d rather do – just because they have to be looked after. Water pipes that burst, large floor spaces that need to be refurbished, fences that need repair, garage doors that need replacing, etc.
3. In fact, I think Laur and I should buy a condo or RENT AN APARTMENT in a seniors-centred development instead of buying a house. We detest indoor and outdoor work – having a balcony would be as good as a deck and I can do “container-gardening.” I’m leaning toward renting. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/mortgages/downsizing-to-condoland-why-its-best-to-rent-not-own/article4619669/
3. I truly enjoy the company of my hubs Laurence when we don’t have the stresses of a demanding life. For us, everything that isn’t about what we want to do, is demanding. That sounds very selfish, but context is everything. For the first 35 years of our marriage we have done what needed to be done. We have been mostly competent and upbeat about this.
4. But I want the next 35 years to be about doing things we want to do and things that are good things to do. Reading good books, seeing good movies, hiking interesting trails, and eating happy vegan meals. As well – playing with grandkids and their friends, getting together with friends and family, going to the gym for the exercise we don’t get by walking (weight-lifting, yoga, etc.), and volunteering for a heart-warming, cashed-strapped cause.
If I was an American, I’d live in South AZ for the winter and North AZ for the summer. I understand the appeal of full time RV or mini-house living. But I’m Canuck, so that’s not an option. But as long as we can do it – I want to winter in our small space in a Seniors Park,and summer in a small place in St. Catharines. http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/enesti/#ad-image-0
Wednesday, January 8
Up in the middle of the night to try again to get out of Arizona. It was a half hearted attempt to escape, I must confess.
All went super well. Got our car back in time, had a nutty breakfast, our plane left on time, Laur and I both slept on the plane, we had time between stopovers to have an Asian food lunch, our trip to TO went smoothly, we had a marvelous room awaiting us at the Crowne Plaza, and we enjoyed fine dining at Boston Pizza. (“Fine” is a relative term and it was very fine to us.)
But nothing made us happier than having our Intrepid start up without a complaint. It took awhile to sweep and scrape it off and, sadly, I knocked off the decal from the hood. Laur could have wept.
Thursday, January 9
We slept almost 12 hours. Crowne Plaza (which I keep calling Crown Royal – which is rye whisky, and I think it smells like hair spray) offers an all-you-can-eat brunch and that’s just what we did.
The trip home was smooth sailing (driving) and we arrived at supper time. Brian and Lindsay did a fabulous job of keeping things going. The driveway was shovelled out; our mail was all organized for us – and so much more.
I left such a screwy message on the answering machine that we had very few messages left; lots of bills to be paid, but that could wait until Friday. We need to hire a contractor to fix the room that took most of the water damage, but that can wait even longer. And some correspondence to attend to.
We pulled things out of the freezer to zot for supper, went for a wintery walk, followed up some emails, and collapsed in front of the last two episodes of Longmire. The difference between winter in Green Valley and winter in Sudbury is truly like day and night.
*****
I’m writing this en route to Sudbury. The sun is shining and I like the cold temperature. This sounds like an odd thing to say when I’m such an Arizona-phile. What I really love about AZ is THE SUN.
I always get reflective on this part of our trip – as reflective as I get, which is none too deep. In fact, I only have 4 points to make
What Have I Learned or Appreciated on this Trip
1. I love being in the Green Valley RV Park in Arizona. The people are so friendly and there is so much to do – some of it silly, some of it physically challenging, some of it talent-building, and some of it intellectually-stimulating.
2. I look forward to selling our current house and buying a teeny-tiny house with very few possessions. I don’t own things; they own me. They keep me from doing the things I’d rather do – just because they have to be looked after. Water pipes that burst, large floor spaces that need to be refurbished, fences that need repair, garage doors that need replacing, etc.
3. In fact, I think Laur and I should buy a condo or RENT AN APARTMENT in a seniors-centred development instead of buying a house. We detest indoor and outdoor work – having a balcony would be as good as a deck and I can do “container-gardening.” I’m leaning toward renting. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/mortgages/downsizing-to-condoland-why-its-best-to-rent-not-own/article4619669/
3. I truly enjoy the company of my hubs Laurence when we don’t have the stresses of a demanding life. For us, everything that isn’t about what we want to do, is demanding. That sounds very selfish, but context is everything. For the first 35 years of our marriage we have done what needed to be done. We have been mostly competent and upbeat about this.
4. But I want the next 35 years to be about doing things we want to do and things that are good things to do. Reading good books, seeing good movies, hiking interesting trails, and eating happy vegan meals. As well – playing with grandkids and their friends, getting together with friends and family, going to the gym for the exercise we don’t get by walking (weight-lifting, yoga, etc.), and volunteering for a heart-warming, cashed-strapped cause.
If I was an American, I’d live in South AZ for the winter and North AZ for the summer. I understand the appeal of full time RV or mini-house living. But I’m Canuck, so that’s not an option. But as long as we can do it – I want to winter in our small space in a Seniors Park,and summer in a small place in St. Catharines. http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/enesti/#ad-image-0