House Mode in the Desert

 November 18 - December 11, 2022

Tombstone, Arizona

When looking forward time seems to move at a normal, sometimes slower, pace - but looking back time has moved faster than ever! We're in back-at-the-house mode, which always seems much less blog-worthy. As a result I'm also weeks behind on reading what more exciting things our fellow blogging buddies are doing! The more time that goes by the harder it is for me to jump back in. Here's what we've been up to. 

Enjoying dramatic skies every evening.

We return from SoCal a week before our friends arrive for the Thanksgiving holiday, plenty of time to have the motorhome repurposed to guesthouse, and all the groceries bought. 

Jimmy and Maggie are our only "cross-over" friends - went to high school with Jimmy (Maggie has been with us for decades), and they RV several months each year as well. It's great fun having so much in common. They arrive Wednesday from their Kingman, AZ home.

With other high school friends living nearby, and another couple visiting from SoCal, we enjoy several gatherings here and at Donnie and Anna's a mile away. Never imagined when we were preparing to take on the world 50 years ago that we'd be celebrating the holidays in Tombstone when we retired!

Cribbage with a view - Bill, Donnie, Kevin, Turk (Donnie's brother now also living in Tombstone) and Jimmy.

Watching college football at Donnie and Anna's - Jimmy, Donnie, Kevin and Turk (Bill's knee in the left corner). 

Bridgette shuffles for the game "3-13" with Kevin, Donnie, Anna, Jimmy, Maggie and Bill. I'm not a card player so I just listen :-)

Thanksgiving dinner is of course enough for 12, and the five of us enjoy it for three days. Grateful that Bill barbeques the turkey and makes killer sausage dressing, and Jeff makes the deviled eggs, leaving me to fill in with the easy stuff. Maggie's yummy honeybaked ham is the perfect addition!

Also grateful Maggie remembered to get a pic of the spread.

Jeff (damn kids), Bill, Maggie and Jimmy getting ready to dig in!

We enjoy football all day, some pie, and great conversation. A very fun and tasty day. 

Maggie and I take a day trip on Friday to the Amerind Museum where I renew my annual membership, and we enjoy a leisurely visit to the exhibits and gallery. There are more people than I've seen in the past, and I'm happy to see it getting the support it deserves. No photos allowed.  

I forfeit football for another girls' day trip on Sunday to Chiricahua National Monument and the Whitewater Draw. Two of my favorite places in the area, I love sharing them with my dear friend who's never been to either one.

A beautiful blue sky day among the towering rocks.

A good catch and a deep overhang on the right. 

Over the hoodoos, across Sulphur Springs Valley, to the Dragoon Mountains.

Cochise Head - once you see him lying there facing up, you can't not see him!

Miles into Mexico to the south.

Maggie braves the cold wind to learn about Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoons.

After a stop at the visitor center for a few goodies we continue through the gorgeous golden plains to the Whitewater Draw refuge. More water than I've ever seen here means the huge flocks of Sandhill Cranes are almost too far away from the trail to see them. Even at this distance we can hear their unique calls. We're fortunate that about a dozen of the tall gray birds are hanging out near the parking lot for us to enjoy. 

Monday morning Christmas begins! I love decorating the house, and even with no grands here this year I'm excited for the season. After the last three years of having our tree drooping and dry before the big day, I give in and purchase an artificial tree. It's the last one so I leave Lowe's with three big "hunks" of evergreen in the shopping cart - looks like a slaughtered a forest!

It's soooooo easy to put up, the lights all work (both white and color options from the same bulbs), the light flocking and pine cones are lovely, and at 7.5 feet it's the tallest tree I've ever had. With the addition of six more ornaments collected this summer, we have lots of fun travel memories on our tree now.

Tessa is a fan of the tree skirt - every night she drags it out to fluff up and sleep on. Silly dog!

We can hardly remember what the old fireplace looked like - the new one feels like its always been here.

A little holiday spirit in the kitchen.

Ezra's favorite in the neighborhood - I sent him the pic so he knows it's still here making us smile.

With Thursday night football only on Amazon Prime now, we have a new "tradition" of Donnie and Anna coming up for dinner and the game. It's been great fun in addition to Donnie's nearly daily visits for cribbage games :-))

Anna catches dog-petting-duty this week.

Now that we finally have our healthcare coverage we're getting caught up on appointments. We haven't been to a doctor (except for ER visits on the road) since 2019 so there's a few! Our primary care is with a great PA who is also new to the area. I think we're going to be very happy with her. She's also part of a large network in Sierra Vista and Tucson. It's still weird learning how "things are done", with a lot more paperwork and longer waits than we're used to. 

One morning we're surprised with heavy fog along the San Pedro River.

Finally, we've scheduled the installation of dual-pane windows throughout the house that should be done in early March. Getting rid of the rattling paper-thin windows that let in a lot of cold and heat will be a great improvement, and new picture windows in the living and dining rooms will enhance our lovely views. 

Tonight's stunner.

The amazing closing act.

Oliver's first Christmas <love>.