Tribute to Mom

Life in Arizona

Some random pictures of part of my life here in Arizona.

Mom, Denny, Pudge and I at Starbucks in Scottsdale. This was after we had a wonderful drive through the hills looking at the beautiful homes and scenery. We were stalling for time here waiting to go pick up Gemma at the airport.

Shannon, Gloria, & Darcy at the Arabian horse show in Scottsdale. This show is awesome. I am not even into horses but I sure do enjoy it. I would recommend this to anyone.

We are preparing the stage for our big 2011 dance review. The theme was Broadway Lights and Boogie Nights. Many of us showed up to do this. Some were hanging back drops and curtains. We are covering outlets with tape. It turned out well and it was fun to do.

Mom & I at Ms. Thomas Tea House for tea. Shannon, Gloria, & Darcy were with us. This blog only allows me to put on 5 pictures at a time. I would put a lot more pictures on here if it allowed me.

Mom & I out for her walk one morning. I had the camera and was taking pictures of Mom when my very nice neighbor asked if I wanted one of the two of us. Of course, I did so this is it. This time we were walking on the road in front of the condos.

The Master Bedroom

Master bedroom before. It seemed dated and dull to me. Cream walls, light furniture with brass handles, picture above bed was intriguing but it was not me. It was mostly pink and I do not like pink for decorating especially in a master bedroom. Duvet cover was creamy yellow and bed skirt was bought at Goodwill and it did match the duvet cover pretty well. Now I could live with all of this but I really wanted to update it. What you cannot see is a microwave cart that held our printer. Very functional but it was that laminated wood and not appealing.

Bougher bedroom after. Walls were painted a somewhat deep sagey green. That is the microwave cart that I painted black and added new handles and it is hard to see but a basket is on the shelf right below printer to hide paper for printer. The mirror was very reasonable. Shelf on wall and white urns were from Goodwill.

All the light colored furniture was stripped of varnish and stained a very nice, rich dark walnut which I am like very much. Handles were spray pained a brushed nickel and that really made a difference as far as giving it a more updated look. Billowy white sheers hang from a silver decorator rod and we got new vertical blinds. Not real crazy about the vertical blinds but they are functional and easy to keep clean vs. the horizontal that would collect dust. And I am all about low maintenance.

Love the picture above the bed!!!! There was somewhat of a dilemma with this but I am so very pleased. It is the focal point of the room and so very peaceful and pretty. The frame and matting are done so nicely. I have fallen in love with this painter--DeGrazia. The dust ruffle, duvet, and shams were a splurge but I am not sorry about it. They are a very crispy, fresh white with some embroidery trim which is the same sagey green as the walls. The lamp was from a garage sale but I painted some of the raised spots the same color green as the walls. I would like to find another one like it or similar for the other side. It does need a few more pictures but it is a good start.

Night Before Christmas

Did not do as much decorating of the house that I usually do. Wasn't even sure if I was going to put up a tree being as we came home from AZ Dec. 18th. I was not planning on doing a lot of entertaining so what was the point. Well--I guess I am not quite ready to give that up yet. I still felt the need to put up some kind of a tree. No intention of doing much of anything else but when the boxes came out and I kept discovering things more and more went up. But to give myself credit where credit is due it was not nearly as much as other years. I also got the feeling of wanting to minimize things and stuff around this house. But I have come to the conclusion that is going to be an ongoing process for me. Sometimes making those decisions can be stressful for me. Sentiment sure gets in the way. I don't mind doing this for others because I am not attached to their stuff and do not have to make any choices. I mean how could I ever get rid of the ugly lump of clay that Bryan created in art class. Or the little pin cushion mouse given to me by my niece and nephew when they were small. How can I get rid of the coaches ornaments that Pudge has gotten through the years from kids on his team. Or what about the pretty dish that I bought just because I loved it. And then there is my collection of children's literature. I used to use these when I would do a teaching unit on the subject. Don't use them now but I do so love the pictures and the stories. Oh yeah--then there is the bird house and little table & chairs that my dad made and Tony Dadey's shelf. The picture of the 3 little girls that remind me of my mom & my aunts because it is in that time period. See what I mean. Maybe someday I can bid these items farewell but not today. Well--didn't mean to get off on that tangent. Back to the night before Christmas.
Table set for Christmas morning brunch. Theme was red & white and snow flakes. I vowed that I was not going to buy anything. Everything had to come from what I had and it did. I really had not clue what I was going to do until I just started doing it.

I have never tired of these white dishes that I purchased years ago. They are hexagon and from England. I have used them a lot. All the candle holders were in my china pantry. Candles and greenery were in boxes that just had to be brought out. Water glasses were bought in Czechoslovak when we were there in 1995. Stemmed juice glasses were Princess House bought many years ago. And then the mix of silverware which I love was all purchased at Goodwill. And do I ever have a lot of it. But I love it. Lace tablecloth from garage sale. Snowflake ornaments were bought for nickles at end of year sale. There have been some years when it is snowing outside during our brunch and it feels like we are in a snow globe because of being surrounded by windows.

Did not put up the big tree. This is 4 small trees bunched together on small table. I liked it. It was something different from the large tree usually put here. Not nearly enough room for ornaments but that was OK.

Stockings were hung and stuffed. There are usually 4 more but Kari's family was not able to be here this Christmas. We will be celebrating our Christmas with them Friday, Dec. 31. Mantle is very much simpler this year and I like it better. I usually have Father Christmases up there. This year--greenery and a big wrought iron candle holder with big ball candles. Little lights were tucked in the greenery which made it look like it sparkles.

Kirsten, Kit, Addy & Caroline getting ready for Christmas underneath the steps in the LR. Kit & Kirsten are doing all the work while Addy & Caroline are enjoying tea.

In the lineup for the golf cart parade. The trouble with being in the parade is you do not get to see the parade. There was a couple of floats, a high school band, & other golf carts. It was so much fun. I did blog all about it with more pictures but lost everything when I went to spell check it.
Gloria, Shannon & I went to the Tempe art festival. Saw this vendor there. Had to take a picture of it.
"The Sunsationals." My wonderful tap dancing group (part of them) not everyone was there. I loved Isla's Christmas tree outfit. Roy is our only male member and he was a roller blading Santa during the parade.
Gloria & Shannon trying on gorgeous hats at the Tempe art festival. Got scolded right after I took this picture because there was not supposed to be any picture taking at this booth. Did not see the sign--it was too small. I apologized.
Thanksgiving at Jim & Gloria's with John & Shannon. The meal was fantastic. The weather was 74 and sunny. We sat on the patio all afternoon watching the golfers.

Life in Arizona

Love our fire pot that Jim & Gloria gave us last year as a house warming. Every evening about 5pm we make it a point to be on the patio to watch the sun set over the golf course. They are magnificent and every one is different.

On the driving range not too far from our condo practicing driving. I get thrilled when I hit a nice drive which is far and few between. Pudge has been very patient with trying to teach me the tricks of this. We also chip and putt on the practice greens. I like that better. Doesn't seem to be as much work but it still can be frustrating. Haven't been on the course yet but soon Gloria, Shannon & I are going to golf. I am looking forward to that.

The last night on our trip down here we stayed at Laughlin, Nevada. The next day we stopped at a Oatman, Nevada. They are known for the donkeys that roam the town. I liked the town a lot. It was a rundown, very western, cowboy town. The donkeys were at the edge. They were so cute.

Bryce Canyon in Utah. We hiked some of the trails.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Arch made out of elk antlers. I liked this town. There were four of these at each corner of the town square. The Tetons could be seen from here and they were beautiful

Follow up on Golf Carts

Just to add a few things to the fiasco on Saturday involving the golf carts. We arrived at John & Shannon's and inspected the golf cart and heard the story of how it happened. John was visibly upset. He & Pudge spent some time in the garage trying to straighten a few things out on the wrecked cart. Now what I am going to tell is going to seem very insensitive but I am going to tell it anyway. When Shannon & I started talking about the experience we got into a fit of giggling and laughing about it. Every time I pictured it in my mind I would go into fits of uncontained laughter and Shannon did too. But when John came in we had to be very serious because we could tell he was not about to see any humor in the situation at all. But he would go out of the room and we would start all over. Even now when I think of it I laugh. I mean it had to have looked like a cartoon with the runaway golf cart and the 2 of them just having to watch it. On Sunday John was able to see the humor in it also. He still was not happy but he did have to smile as we talked about it.

Our golf cart was dropped off at 7:30 am and we picked it up before noon. We were told that the cables were not tight and I guess it created friction and got hot and caused the fire. A hole did get burned through but there is no way you can see it. It is way under and the seats have to be removed in order to see it. Cost to fix $70.00. Not bad. I can handle that.

John's cart had to be picked up and brought to repair shop by trailer. I thought his bill was going to be $1ooo or more. Not the case. They called and said it would be about $450 and he can pick it up tomorrow. It will not have the windshield on it yet because that had to be ordered. When it comes in he will have it put on then.

Today John is laughing about it. He said that most people he has told laughs about it so that makes me feel a little better.

So it is like Shannon says--I now have the most expensive, bent up patio umbrella that I don't even like and paid too much for in the first place. Grrrr----but all is well that ends well.