It's Getting Warm

(Second Try - last night I posted this and only the pictures and the first two words showed up on the blog - Grrrr)

Anyway, about a month ago, before it got too hot, I took a nice hike with Diana, Phil, and Joanne. Although most of you already saw it on Diana's blog, I'm going to post it anyway.

We drove east out of Apache Junction on AZ88 to just past Lost Dutchman's SP and followed a dirt road to a very popular trailhead. From there we were able to hike part of the Dutchman's Trail.


It was a level and very pretty hike among the interesting rock formations. (This is not Diana or Joanne, and certainly not Phil.)


Since I neglected to take a picture of our group, I shamelessly stole this one of Joanne and me from Diana's blog.


We even had to cross a bit of water - always an exciting sight in the desert.


I really liked the color on this bush, although I'm not sure if it's the flowers or the seeds or maybe both.


Here's one more shot of the colorful scenery.


Back at the house (and jumping forward to late April), my tomatoes are still surviving the heat although I don't know if they will ever ripen.


The saguaro down the street is blooming. This one seems to be on an earlier schedule than most since it was in bloom the first week in April. The birds love the little bugs that are attracted to the blooms.


But I was really impressed by this gazania which grew unaided in an empty lot. What tenacity!

You gotta laugh!

Although I am very neglectful of Facebook (I probably should take myself out of it), I read my Facebook messages tonight. I thought this was so funny, I just had to share. This guy obviously believes in throwing out a lot of bait to see who bites. Here's his message:


Hi,how do you feel today Beautiful woman ?? I am Mark by name , I'm astonished by your unbeaten beauty Pics and you lovely profile on Facebook,You're so beautiful that everyman would want to hold hands with you someday. Looking into your pictures alone, shows me a beautiful world.And i guess I'll a be the luckiest man getting to talk to you. If i were to present your picture in heaven, most of the Angels would hide their faces in shame. i just checked your profile on facebook and i found it very interesting cuss In short words i would say I'm very interested in knowing you better as much.. I like fishing,camping,reading,going to the movies,hanging around with friends,cracking jokes,listening to music,dancing, and also spending time with someone interesting.. I am looking for friends and possibly more that may lead to long term relationship.. I have plans and goals and looking for someone to share them with. I will love to know you more better. You can email me more things about yourself to my personal email address as ( m.hedrick50@yahoo.com ) or add me to your Instant Messenger List as ( m.hedrick50) and i will get back to you with more things about me.. I hope to hear from you soon.

Caring Mark.

This is a new one on me in the scam department. This one rates a ROTFL - at least I think that means 'rolling on the floor laughing.'

Say What ?!?

Long, long ago (well, a couple months anyway), two of my stocking-painting friends and I went to a 'High Tea' and fashion show at a neighboring community center. While there, Carol suggested we should hold a 'what not to wear' fashion show. I added the suggestion for a 'Low Tea'. As for when to hold it, we all agreed - April Fools Day! Well, Carol is a born leader and was off and running. She and Ferne helped with a church rummage sale and acquired clothes and accessories that were too ugly to sell. It was really fun going through all the 'treasures' and picking our outfits. We served punch, bag lunches, and cookies on tables decorated with newspaper runners and centerpieces in baked bean cans.

But the fun was dressing up. I think as we age we are more easily entertained. Ferne's red dress had a bull's eye on the back. She tied a dart to it and when she spun around, the audience howled.


Storm went for the movie star look.


Susan and Jim depicted the well-dressed tourist couple.


I subscribed to the theory that 'more is more' with my cross between country girl and can-can dancer.


Even some of the audience came dressed in their finery. This is Grace. My favorite part of her outfit was the earring hanging off the nose piece of her glasses.

Back in AZ

After my whirlwind trip back east, I'm settled back in our winter house in Mesa. (I keep stressing that it's only a winter place hoping all will go well and we'll be on the road in April like we are planning.) I thought I'd share a few recent pictures.

Although I'm a little embarrassed to post a bird shot that can't compare with the beauties that Sondra posts, here goes. This little guy (or girl) is a verdin that comes to the hummingbird feeder on occasion. You can barely see his chestnut shoulder patches, but the yellow face is obvious.

Ron just loves to snap pictures of me in full leaf-blowing gear. Here he caught me out the kitchen window.


While Ron's brother Mike and sister-in-law Mary were here, we went to see Elvis! In this case, Elvis's real name is Gene Styles and he is simply amazing! He certainly has the looks.To hear a sample of his talent, click here for his website. Listen to his 'Are you Lonesome Tonight' and you will swear Elvis has returned.

He was nice enough to pose with Mary and me, but I meant to ask him to do the 'lip thing' which I call a sneer. He did it during the performance and everybody loved it. He doesn't look as much like Elvis when he smiles.


And I know I'm the last of the bloggers in this area to post pictures of the snow that fell on the Superstition Mountains late last month, but here goes. Here we are hurrying to get closer before it all melts. This is one of my 'through the windshield' shots.


There were a lot of people with the same idea and this was a popular spot.


But what I really wanted was some poppies blooming in the foreground like these in my neighbor's yard.


Now if I was really clever like my sister, I could cut them out and add them to the shot. How's this, Diana? LOL! (I know everybody says that, but I actually do 'laugh out loud.')


Or maybe a whole field of poppies ?!?
By this time the snow was pretty much gone, but it was fun while it lasted.

More PA

I still have a few pictures from our trip to Pennsylvania that I'd like to share.

When Diana and I arrived, we enjoyed two days of 70 degree weather. The snowdrops were just making an appearance. I thought I would get a better picture another day, but then they were buried in the snow.

On a walk up the road, we got a chuckle out of this decorated tree.


Being city girls, we had no idea what the heck this was referring to.


Laura was determined to find one of these special cattle.

One morning I opened the curtain to this wondrous sight.


And here comes perfect neighbor Steve who plows my father's driveway every time it snows. What a guy!


I love the snow (as long as I don't have to go anyplace.)


Diana and I worked hard cleaning off the rental car.


My father gave me a note I had written when I was young. Read how adorable I was.
However don't be too impressed. My mother had written the date on this precious note and I was 9 1/2 years old!!! Just how stupid was I ?!?!

Happy 90th!

Last week, my sister Diana and I flew to Pennsylvania to help our father celebrate his 90th birthday! Our wonderful cousin Linda and her daughter Rebecca, along with their spouses who are both named Terry, planned and executed the most wonderful party ever! The food was amazing, the decorations were very clever, and over forty people attended.

This must be the place - his picture is on the door.


Here's Rebecca putting the finishing touches on the refreshments.


Linda's husband Terry really did a fine job printing some old pictures of my father to set the mood. Terry really married into the right family being a camera buff himself. I believe Linda was the creative scrapbooker who put the pages together that decorated each table.


My father had a great time and never sat down. You can see him in the background 'working the room.'


We managed to get a picture of him with his direct descendants who were there. From the left, we have my daughter Christine, me, my father, Diana, and my daughter Laura. We missed seeing Diana's son Mark and daughter Corrie, and the great-grandchildren (Corrie's two.) I know what you're all thinking - "Wow! What a small family."


Here's his baby sister Beatrice looking cute as always. Middle sibling Millicent lives in Florida.


On the way home Laura was buried under all the balloons.


Since he was busy at the party, he waited until he got home to open his loot.

I can never thank my one and only cousin and her one and only daughter enough for putting together this special and very memorable celebration. Let's do it again at 95!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Quartzsite

Quartzsite, Arizona, is a sleepy little town in the desert most of the year, but in the winter and especially in January, it hosts hundreds of thousands of RVers. Maybe host is not quite the right word, since most of those RVs are parked willy-nilly on BLM land outside of the town proper. Ron and I decided to pack up the RV and go for ten days. We met up with our WIN friends - about 175 of them. The WIN gatherings are always busy with activities, but we still had time to shop at the various swap meets that spring up around town during this busy time.

This was taken a few years ago when we climbed 'Q' mountain to get the bird's eye view. In the distance you can see some of the RVs that take over the area in late January.


You just never know what you're going to find for sale. These skulls didn't do much for me.


And although I'm not much for hanging dead animals on the wall, I did think this fox was kind of cute.


The WINs had their annual desert golf tournament. You get one golf club and a tennis ball. Good form, Ron!


And just look at Carolyn's follow-through. I was the slacker on our team.


This seems to be a good place for ultralights. Almost every day they buzzed right over our rigs.


In addition to seeing all our WIN friends, we even met up with fellow RVers Carol and John for lunch at Sweet Darlene's. To check out their blog, click here.


Ron was too busy shopping, but I joined Phil and Diana for a 4-wheel trip to Swansea - an abandoned mining town.


Although we missed the arch on the way, we did see this mountain that looked to me like a monster. Is it just me, or do you see the eyes, nose, and mouth?


Our first sight of the ghost town rally surprised me. What's with the modern-looking buildings?
It seems the BLM people have erected tin roofs over the buildings to help preserve them. I'm not wild about the reconstruction mindset. At what point do they stop being ruins?

Ah, this is more like it. This was the train station.


I think I found my new truck - it's a fixer-upper.


We also drove down to the river along this very pretty canyon.


Ah, water in the desert - always a welcome sight.


Most of the others saw wild burros along the way, but the only animal we saw was Bubba and he wasn't too wild.


Although pictures never look as scary as the reality, but this was the worst part of the road.


It's the end of another day (and year) at Quartzsite with sunset over Phil's rig.
For lots more on Quartzsite, see Diana's blog - click here.