Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from AZ,

This year is a special year of giving thanks for Martha and me. We still have to pinch ourselves from time to time just to make sure we are not dreaming. By God's grace we are here, living out the dream we put in place over 15 years ago.

Things are great here in AZ. We are getting settled in, and a certain rhythm is starting to develop. On MWFs I do a Total Gym workout here in the house (we bought one recently) because I am not a big fan of going to a gym. Martha will probably do TG as well and goes to a Pilates class on MWF. I am golfing once a week for now but I hope once the house gets "done" I can make that twice a week. There are four or five nice city/county courses I have played so far, and they are easy to walk. I just bought a golf push cart so I don't have to carry my clubs anymore because my shoulder has been bothering me a bit more these days.

We went to see "The Blind Side" last weekend. It was a great movie, based on a true story. In fact Martha and I made sure we watched some of the Baltimore Ravens game this past weekend. Go see the movie and you will understand.

Last Saturday we joined Resurrection Lutheran Church (RLC) and signed up to volunteer with Interfaith Community Services (ICS). You may recall that Martha was raised Lutheran (I was raised Catholic) so this is like going home for her. It is also very familiar to me because for the first 12 years of our marriage we worshipped at Lutheran churches. RLC is very outward focused, trying to meet various needs in the community, and ICS is focused on meeting daily needs in the Tucson area, from Mobile Meals to augmenting the local food bank. Martha and I feel that RLC and ICS is a good fit for us to start volunteering and helping others.

The house is coming along. We had a landscaper do a lot of work in the front yard (clearing, planting, new timed drip irrigation system) and it looks great. The new plants are fun and give the front yard a clean and diverse look (see above). We are especially fond of the Santa Rita Prickly Pear cactus (thanks JoAnn, John and Anna). The back yard will probably be a two year project. Also, we are about to tear up the kitchen and family room area. We are putting in new tile and new cabinets, as well as some minor construction to give us some more storage space. So, for about three weeks starting Dec. 7th, things will be a bit messy and disorganized. But we hope to have everything done by Jan. 8th.

We will be heading to MN on Dec. 24th again this year for Christmas and New Year. It will be great to see family and friends, and get another reminder why it is great to live in a snow-free zone! Right now the temps have been great, with lows in the 40s and highs in the mid 70s. This is the nicest time of year in Tucson for sure. We have met many of our neighbors, and they all seem like nice folks.

As I said at the beginning, Martha and I are well aware of how blessed we are. We thank God for all the blessings He has poured into our lives, especially all of our family and friends. We cherish each one of you and look forward to seeing some of you in the very near future.

Week 8 (almost).......................(martha)

Well, it has been a whirlwind week.

My well intentioned plans to write at mid-week did not materialize. Instead, I was busily preparing for my sister, Mary's, arrival on Wednesday with John, her husband. Besides cleaning the dust bunnies, scrubbing shower stalls and settling the guest room I have been cooking (yes, don't faint!)

Backing up, last Tuesday, Jeff and I attended the volunteer orientation to "work" for Interfaith Community Services (ICS). The scope of services offered and the wealth of opportunities to help were impressive. Currently, their # 1 need is for drivers delivering MM (Mobile Meals). They differ from Meals on Wheels in that their program accommodates dietary restrictions.

At orientation, the presenter asked for volunteers for the next day's annual golf tournament benefiting ICS; I offered to help. My assignment was an easy one. Four of us sat at the 7th green (a par 3,) to vouch for anyone who got a hole-in-one. The prize was a Steinway grand piano. Alas, nobody managed that feat and we had a pleasant afternoon outdoors. Fortunately I arrived home 30 minutes before John and Mary came.

They drove 8 hours from Pasadena, CA with their bikes mounted on their SUV. They have taken advantage of our bike-friendly city each day. Thursday, Jeff and John golfed. Mary and I walked in our neighborhood, ate lunch at a local park and took my cousin to PT in the afernoon.

It's time for me to close. All four of us are heading to my cousin's for dinner.

Settling in? - Jeff

Greetings from still warm and balmy Tucson!

One of things that Martha and I wanted to do in retirement is be more active volunteers. Well, things are starting to heat up in that area.

Our first time worshiping at Resurrection Lutheran a woman, Sandy, from Interfaith Community Services (ICS) gave a short talk about current needs in the Tucson area. ICS provides meals, transportation, and other "pastoral care" type services. Martha thought it would be a good idea to at least check them out, so we are going to attend volunteer orientation on 11/10. When Martha talked with Sandy I could tell they made a connection of sorts. In fact, Sandy called Martha this week and asked if she could help out preparing foods bags (stapling instructions to the brown paper bag)for distribution even before we agreed to be volunteers. I decided to tag along, so yesterday Martha and I stapled 500 grocery bags. It felt good to do a little something for ICS right now, even before being official volunteers.

But the fun thing, for me, was that while we were stapling bags I overheard Sandy talking about the golf tournament. Naturally I inquired, and now I am signed up to play in the ICS tournament on Wed. 11/11. It is a Texas scramble which should be fun. This is ICS's major fundraiser for the year. I am looking forward to playing for a worthy cause and getting to know some more folks, especially golfers!

Our lives are starting to develop a certain rhythm now. We get to bed by 10-10:30 and we get up at 6:30. We don't seem to have too much trouble filling our days. Martha does Pilates three days a week, and I have been golfing once a week. We also help out taking Jim Vadis (cousin-in-law) to physical therapy twice a week.

ps. I have added a couple of pictures to earlier posts if you want to check them out.

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?).