T.G.I.F......even for me!........................(martha)

There is a rhythm to our days. They pass quietly but seem full. When evening arrives, I am often surprised that the time has passed so quickly. The days do not drag and the slower pace makes me contented. It is nice not to be rushed. I can read a magazine when it comes in the mail. Often, I set it aside for reading in the late evenings. Mentally, I still feel like I am working from 9 – 5. However, my “work” is now household chores, errands or other planned classes/activities during that time. When 5:30 rolls around, I stop! Maybe that will change over time but this works for me now.

On Wednesday, it turned cooler. The highest it reached was 59 in the afternoon which is typically January weather (per long time residents). Since Jeff wore shorts for golfing, the person he was paired with glanced at his attire and asked, “Are you a snowbird?” He was surprised to learn that Jeff lived here………then Jeff explained we moved here recently. 'Give it time and soon you will think this is cold too' he remarked. Frost warnings were announced for the past two nights. However, by Sun., it will again reach the 80’s.

Jeff and I (at least from my perspective,) are not getting on each others’ nerves. It is not too much togetherness. We meet in the morning for our daily prayer time and then go our separate ways until the evening. Five mornings a week I leave the house around 8:30. This helps start my day. Alas my calendar reminder just popped up. My lunch break is over and cleaning the toilets and scrubbing the shower beckons. Care to switch places this afternoon?

Week 5 and more

Well, my SBBMV had a stumble yesterday in Pittsburgh. It was a good game, not great, with mistakes and big plays on both sides. But, the Vikings could have won. In fact Favre outplayed Roethlisberger, and if the steady usually sure handed Chester Taylor catches Favre’s pass the Vikes would probably be 7-0 now. Now it’s on to Green Bay (and the Pack looked good against the lowly Browns) and then a bye week. Hopefully the Vikes will be 7-1 at the break.

Here in Tucson the weather has been perfect, with lows around 50 and highs in the low to mid 80s. My plan is to golf once a week until the house is more settled. I have played two municipal courses now, and both were fun and easy to walk. My next tee time is Wed. on another muni (El Rio) which I have heard is easy to walk. It too was a PGA Tour stop in the 1930s as the Tucson Open.

We have noticed that the snow birds have started to arrive. There are lots more RVs on the road now. In fact a neighbor couple two doors down live in Canada, but winter here from mid-October to late April or early May. I’m pretty sure they are Americans living and working in Canada but they need to reside in the US for six months of the year for Social Security purposes. They have been our "neighbors" for 16 years.

I have started to clean up some of the front yard. We had a few dead plants and small trees that needed to be removed, and it took me a few days to get that done. I plan on contacting a landscape guy to help us plant a plant or two in the front, and give us some ideas about phasing in some serious repair to the back yard. I would like to have a 2-3 year plan that I can work on gradually. I have always liked yard work, and working with my hands. I like seeing something accomplished for my efforts, breaking a little sweat, getting my hands dirty and a “good” soreness to my muscles.

For all of you Halloween fans, we understand that Tucson goes gaga for the event. We have seen many impromptu set ups for pumpkins and costumes in parking lots. In VA some years no kids came to our door. We'll see how many come this year.

I'm a lean, mean fighting machine.....(martha)

Yes, I’ve become a jock…… (NOT)…but I’ll bet you’re reading this post! Last week, I joined a fitness center/gym. “So, what is new about that?” (You may wonder.)

First of all, I am actually going! Secondly, I am attending a Pilates class at 9 am every Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Next, I signed up for a personal training session (targeted for strength training). What was I thinking?! Monday night, I soaked in a hot bath for 40 minutes. That was the best part of my day.

Yesterday, I visited with the Director of Volunteers at Interfaith Community Services (ICS) serving Pima County. This county covers Tucson, Oro Valley (northern suburb where we live,) and Marana. It was so much fun to talk to her; we did finally get to business. On November 10, I am registered to attend their orientation session. She is thrilled to “nab” me before any other non-profits have a chance.

Backing up, twice/week (sometimes more,) we take my cousin, Jim, to Physical Therapy for his right foot. He had surgery 11 weeks ago and he has been wheel chair bound since then. Three weeks ago, he started PT to bear weight on that foot (25 % so far). Each PT session takes about three hours (with travel time). Sometimes it is longer if he also gets time in the pool before exercising on land. So, that fulfills my desire to serve others even before the house is totally unpacked or settled.

Whoops, it is time to get ready for my class! Bye for now.

Week 4 (almost) - Jeff

Greetings,
Our sympathies to our family and friends in MN who have already experienced the "white" stuff. It has been beautiful in Tucson the last few days, with lows in the upper 50s and highs in the mid 80s (though it is supposed to hit the mid 90s this weekend).

Well I finally made it to the golf course. Tucson has five municipal courses and I plan on playing them all over the next few weeks. Tuesday I played Randolph which is part of a huge sports complex that has another 18 hole course as well (Dell Urich which I play next Wed.). When I checked in at the clubhouse I spoke with Andrew (a Maryland transplant) and he gave me the low down on the various packages and courses. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say Tucson makes it easy to play lots of golf, and gives residents a price break as well.

I liked Randolph right away. It is a par 72, 6,436 yd track from the whites, and it is easy to walk, which I did. I still love to walk the course and carry my bag, and I hope to do that for many years to come. A pleasant unexpected bonus was the tree lined fairways, which provided a lot of shade as you moved about the course. It was challenging enough for me, and it used to be on the PGA rotation for the Tucson Open 25-30 years ago. I shot 86, with one birdie (4 ft tap in on a par 3) which I think is OK after a month layoff.

We continue to peck away at the settling. As the temps are cooling down, I want to start doing some outside work. I think we can get the front yard looking OK yet this year, but the back yard is a total disaster. I went to a cacti nursery yesterday to check out what our options are. Holy prickly pear! There is an incredible assortment of cacti that we can consider, many I never knew existed. I look forward to sprucing up the outside over the next months (years?).

Week 3......................(martha)

In random order, here are some highlights;

• My cousins (Anita and Jim,) live 4 miles away! It has been fun getting to know them. When they got married, I was 12, so now we are forging an adult friendship.
• We met our next-door neighbors… Tom and Judy, (about our age) who moved here from Michigan. Judy and I keep meeting at the mailbox. One day, our conversation lasted 40 minutes; Jeff wondered if he needed to send a search party to find me.
• Tuesday, Judy is going to afternoon tea with me! How good is that?!
• NEW Microwave installed on Friday. Dinner that night involved zapping an entree. Even I can touch buttons …it was so complicated I double checked the manual before using it!
• Jeff made his first T-time for golf on Tuesday morning. "Fore!"
• Introduced to ICS (Interfaith Community Services) at church last week. They serve low income, elderly and disabled people in Tucson. Imagine a huge “Pastoral Care Team” serving Pima county residents providing meals, friendly visits to home bound recipients, coordinating rides to doctors, pharmacies, banks, etc. Additionally they do health-care assessments and caregiver relief. The next volunteer orientation session is in November.
• Monday our new stove and refrigerator will be delivered. Yea!
• Found a WW (Weight Watchers) group to attend. WHEW ~ the jeans still fit… heading back to the group was done in the nick of time.
• Eased back into exercising; I missed that routine.
• The weather has cooled since we arrived. At sunrise it is in the 50’s and then it reaches the low 80’s by mid afternoon. As Jeff would say, “it is a dry heat” and feels pleasant.
• Last Friday, the WAC (Women After Carlson, Cos) met for an all-day outing. Carlson Co. (who owned Radisson Hotels and Resorts) was my former employer for 14 years. Wendy and I live in Tucson. Robin lives in Phoenix so we met halfway between the two cities. We met to celebrate (prove) there is life after corporate America.
• The Minnesota Vikings are now 5-0. Is that because Jeff is wearing his Vikings T-Shirt? Do our screams help the team win? The game time determines when we attend church. Maybe our priorities are skewed? We'll submit to Pastoral Counseling once the season ends. Until then, we'll be in front of the TV!

SBBMV!

In case you are wondering what SBBMV means, it is Super Bowl Bound Minnesota Vikings!

OK, so I got a little carried away, but after last week's last second victory, and tonight's win over the Cheeseheads, I can gloat a little bit about OMF (Old Man Favre). I knew that if he stayed healthy the Vikings would probably have a shot (I realize there is a long way to go), but what I am really enjoying is the excitement of watching the games. It is fun to watch the Vikes (sorry Redskins fans), and I sure hope it goes on a bit longer, say mid-February:) Also, I hope the Twins beat Detroit tomorrow. It would be great to watch them in the post season. And, yes, it has been great to have DirecTV and NFL Sunday ticket as well as the baseball channels.

I hate to admit it but we are actually scheduling around the games. Remember, until daylight savings Nov. 1, Arizona is actually on Pacific time. So, a noon game in MN is on at 10 am here. Last week we went to church on Saturday evening so I would not miss the game. This week the game was on MNF, so we went to a contemporary service at 10:45 am on Sunday. Next week we will go to 9:15 on Sunday and get home ASAP!

Well, we have now been in Tucson for a bit over two weeks. The time has certainly flown. We are continuing to peck away at boxes and things are getting settled. Our big news is that we will soon have a new kitchen. Hopefully all the appliances will be installed within the next two weeks, and cabinets and counter tops (along with new floor tile) probably in 2-3 months or so. We knew before hand that a kitchen makeover was in the cards, and after the microwave died last week we decided it was time. The stove and refrig work OK, but I don't feel like tempting the dish washer. Now that Martha has seen "Julie and Julia" (twice), I am hoping for big things as far as new and and exciting meals:)

The great news is that the weather is starting to cool down here, with lows in the upper 50s and highs in the mid 80s. Golf has still alluded me, but I hope to correct that soon.