Christmas in the Desert

Irish Nativity set that was displayed along with about 60 others. This was all part of the Mormon Christmas in Mesa. This was one of my favorite ones. They had these Nativities from all around the world. We were there on a Saturday night to look at the lights. This was in their visitors center but on Saturday the line was so long to get in there. Pudge & I returned Monday about 10 am and we were the only ones there.

I liked this one a lot. It is the Fisher Price Nativity.

This is the room where they all were displayed. There are some tables that are not in this picture. It was amazing and so very glad we went back to see this.

This was a huge scene on the grounds of this big Mormon temple. It was beautiful. There were several of these life size displays telling the story of the birth. There was one where Mary and Joseph were traveling by donkey. She was on the donkey and one thing that I found fascinating was the fact that you could tell she was very definitely pregnant.

John, Shannon, & Gloria under a tunnel of lights

This Mormon light display was so incredibly fantastic. It was unbelievable and these pictures do not give it justice at all. This is only a small part of the whole thing. I am here to tell you that it was amazing. It left one speechless and gasping for breath. Could not help but think "Oh! the work that it must have took."

Part of the story. The 3 kings. They really used spatial design to make this really effective.

At the boat parade in Tempe. Notice Pudge in shorts. It was a nice evening. Just cool enough to weaqr light jackets. No cold toes or noses.

This boat parade was spectacular. The decorating was great and then it would reflect on the water making it even more incredible.

The moon was out in full force making it a very pleasant evening to watch this boat parade.

Now one of the big reasons I am blogging about all of this is because I went back and read my old blogs. I discovered by doing that how great it is to read about my world. Now how egotistical is that previous statement? I guess what I mean is that I really like the documentation about what I have done, seen and thought. With that being said more blogging will be coming.

Golf Cart Parade-12/7/11

After the parade there is a show with different entertainment. All kind of homemade cookies and hot chocolate are served. Usually lasts about 30-45 minutes. The Sunsationals performed this year with a darling dance "Sleigh Ride." I was not a part of this because they learned it over the summer. They made me proud because they looked so good.

Waiting in costume at the auditorium. I thought they were very cute. BTW--I am now on that committee.

Performing on stage.

The bear on back of my golf cart with her little tap shoes on.

Here she is!! In all her glory with the pink lights.

Linup of many of the other golf carts.

This is the cart that carried the Grand Marshall and led the parade.

Dale is our neighbor. He wrote a memoir about his experiences on D-Day along with other things about the war. I read it twice because it was so amazing.

The military is well represented. There are many resident veterans. Here are our very dear, sweet neighbors--Dale and Louella Olson. Love these two!

Backing out of driveway with decorated "Minnie." Clarification for the name--Her first name is "Minnie." Middle name "Sota." Last name "Berg." Get it? Thank you Diane Martin Lepinski for that name. The red chairs in our driveway (and neighbors) were brought around from our back patio for our guests to watch the parade which went right down our street.

In the lineup by the auditorium. It was a beautiful evening. We had to be there by 5:00 and parade started at 5:30. Side note of information--in this land of old people you come to realize that if you get to an event 5 minutes before it starts you will absolutely be the very last one to arrive. Take note that when the time is set you need to be there 30 minutes before and even with that you will probably be one of the last ones--not the last one but close to it. The cart next to me was a Red Hat group and the Queen Mum was the one honored. It was really cute. Wish there was more of it showing.

Here are the Sunsationals with the organizer of the parade. It is customary to have a shot of blackberry brandy before the start. I can barely get it to my lips. It is so much like Nyquil it is not even funny. Hate it. But that was OK because I had a thermos of peppermint patties on my cart (hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.) Just for the record-- it sounds like this is a big drinking ordeal--it is not.

Lineup at auditorium.

Reasons for this blog:

1. Want to get this documented for posterity.

2. Share the fun.

3. Get on the top of sidebars on other blogs for awhile.

This is the 2nd year I have participated in this parade. The Sunsationals have a fleet of golf carts decorated in pink (that is our signature color) and it is really so much fun.

There were probably about 25 golf carts decorated differently for this parade. I am amazed at the creativity that is displayed. A marching band from a local high school adds to the festivities. There is a float or two, a trailer with a garage band and decorated bicycles among other things .

None of this is in order. And I bet when I post it the paragraphs disappear. Oh well--so be it.

Pudge's Room-Redecorated

I had my doubts whether both of these chairs would fit. I am happy to report that they did. Note the table lamp in between. That was a very dated brass with an ugly lamp shade. I did not like it. Spray painted it with a nickel finish and got a silvery lamp shade. Like it so much better. I am fond of the pictures. They fit the southwest very well. I have grown very fond of this artist's work--DeGrazia. Got this as well as 5 others from my sister in law, Bobbie. Actually they were from her mom who had bought them when she lived in Texas.

Book case was bought brand new. I want to move it to the other corner. Pudge likes it where it is and it is his room. The TV stand was stripped and stained. That gave it a more updated look. I know it looks too small for TV but it is solid wood and I like the shelf and storage underneath.

Here is the bright red wall. Once again--not sure what happened here with this underlining. I am not going to try to correct it. I admit I am paranoid and with good reason I might add. Anyway, we like this wall a lot. Other walls are a taupe. This does give the room some color and it pops. The golf pictures were bought at the Goodwill. Pudge picked out the clock the first year. This was after I spotted it and then he went to see if he liked it. That is how we operate and it works pretty well.Here is the new couch and rug. Also the new ceramic tile floor which I really like. So much better than that crappy linoleum that was so very difficult to keep clean. The rug really pulls all of it together. It has the red from the wall, the blue from the chairs and the mocha from the couch. We love the picture above the couch. It is a print of "our mountain." It is Superstition Mountain and we see it every day. Also by DeGrazia. Truth be told -- about the couch -- it was not the one I would have picked out. It is just OK in my eyes.

Pudge is prepping for painting. It was badly in need of some color and fresh paint. Here you can see the ceramic floor. We were so busy the first 2 weeks we got here. Not much time for fun. But it was only temporary and now that it is done we are happy with it.

This post is to appease Cousin Donna. I know if no one else reads my entries she does. I swear she is one of my biggest fans. Also another reason for this post is so my blog can get at the top of Sarilla's side bar. I know it will only be there for a brief time but if I make it a goal of mine maybe I will be motivated to blog more often.

Thanksgivng,--November 25, 2011

The condo was sporting a lot of autumn for the Thanksgiving holiday. Patio doors had corn stalks. Bought these a while ago and brought them down. They are just plastic sheets with these pictures on them. It was perfect for these doors. Really didn't go with the palm trees and the golf course outside but we pretended.

Denny Moes. One of Pudge's buddies from North St. Paul. He also winters down here in another park not far from us. He was involved with hockey back in MN.

Priscilla & John. FYI-surprised the heck out of me when he agreed to wear this. Must have been because the others were so willing.

Another plastic sheet. It almost looked like this was right outside the window. Cast a nice gold glow over the dinner table and living room.

Set the buffet up for all of the food. Nothing there now because this was before. The bouquet on the right was brought to me from Shannon & John. The one on the left I won at the ladies luncheon a few weeks ago.

John & Shannon Wedemeyer.

Aren't they cute? Jim & Gloria Tollefsbol. Didn't surprise me too much that Jim wore his pilgrim hat. There was a strategy behind it though. I didn't even bring them out until after he had a few cocktails. And it worked!!

22 pound bird. It was good. Sent leftovers home with everybody.

This greeted my guests at the front door. Didn't want to get a wreath that would be hard to store. This one fit the bill.

Tablescape. Colors are not good. Can hardly see that the tablecloth is a beige gingham. I did wish that I had bought more dishes down from MN. I could not justify buying any more knowing that there is so much back there. I actually managed quite well using what I had.

OK--I really wanted to write this before the pictures but not having success with that so going ahead and so it at the end. I don't want to mess with this too much because from past experience I have had the whole thing disappear.

The Mold

While drying out the basement and having to open up the walls about 2 feet from the floor they discovered mold. Little did I know what a big deal that was going to be. Geez--do they take that seriously. Another team was brought in. Everything had to be plastic up with heavy duty plastic. The doors had zippers in the plastic so you could go in and out by zipping it up and down. There were tunnels made out of plastic where they had the air blowing to the outside. All of this was done so it would not contaminate anything else. The guys went in with white coveralls and big gas masks on their face. I thought then and still do now that it was a bit of overkill. They were adamant about how dangerous it was. Could not touch anything. We were ordered to stay out of the basement until it got the "all clear" from a certified mold specialist who came in with hand held devices to take a reading. As it turned out it was very little mold. Some on the outside kitchen wall and some in the furnace room. All that for such a small bit. And it was expensive.




Replacing the furnace, hot water heater and air conditioner. They were all taken out by the flood and could not be fixed so we had to get new ones.

More big fans were brought in when mold was discovered. These were all hooked up to tunnels so as not to contaminate.

The mold team. They worked hard and long.

Plastic every where and they made sure it was sealed tight. This was one of the walls where mold was discovered and it is being contained until it could be treated.

Putting up plastic.

The Clean Up

Part of Dad's plaster walls had to be destroyed because of moisture and then on top of everything else mold was discovered. Now it takes on a whole other dimension. This was caused by flood. Remember we are talking two different kinds of damage--flood and fire.

Part of all walls had to be opened up and big time fans are brought in to start drying.

This truck got to be very familiar around the house. They were there from morning to night for about 8 days. I would work right along side of them. When they cleaned something I would pack it up. All boxes are lining the garage at this point in time.

About the third day into this I heard the workers groan. I rushed in to see what it was all about. They had just opened Mom's cupboards to reveal all the dishes. Every single one was hand washed, dried and put back. This is not all of them. There are 2 more cupboards filled with the pretty things. They did dishes for a day and a half. I do come by my love for dishes honestly.

Of course my two little buddies, MyMy and Zoey are always there to give me support.

The furniture was cleaned and stacked in garage. This is where it is at right now. Although the kids (Kim. Jeff, Shannon, and Kari) have taken some of these things.

The team doing dishes. They said that was probably the most dishes they had done in their entire career of doing this type of thing.

The team is vacuuming, scrubbing and hauling. I got to be good friends with all of them

Garage got to be a dumping ground. Why this is typing with underline I do not know. All of a sudden blog disappeared and came up with gobbly gook. I spent some time just getting it back to this so I am not going to try to correct it. You will have to take it like it is. Grrrr.The textile team. This was the first team to show up. They packed all curtains, linens, clothes and electronics (computer, TV, washer, dryer, etc.) They took them off to be cleaned and treated and they had to be put in an ozone room for 24 hours.