Who Says Getting Older Is Boring?

This past week I flew down to see my parents in Arizona. Now that they are retired they are snowbirds and go to Yuma, Arizona for three months each year. After all the stories last year I had to go find out for myself what it was all about. Let's just say those retired people wore me out! They all know how to have a good time. I decided the best way to describe it was like going to a college town 50 years later. They are buzzing around all over the place and are busy from sun up to sun down. They are playing sports, going to do daily activities, lunches, dinners, happy hour, parties, the girls socialize the boys socialize it is quite cute. Hence the title of my post there is nothing boring about being retired. I have always been fearful of getting older but heck look at all the fun I get to look forward to.

Mom and Dad had an itinerary all put together upon my arrival. First up was tennis on Thursday morning. Dad plays tennis four days a week with a group of people. They were all very sweet. Most are french-Canadians that live in the park they stay in and they are quite cute and funny!

Nice form Dad!

I think that one is out.

Next on the itinerary was to get some sun as apparently I had brought rain and cold weather with me and of the days I was going to be there Thursday was going to be the best day. People were not very happy with me. It even rained and it hadn't rained in over a month.

On Friday the itinerary said we were going to Algadones, Mexico. This was unlike any other trip I have made to Mexico. We drove to California which is only 30 minutes away from where mom an dad stay. We then parked the car and walked across with the hundreds of other people who were doing the same thing. This little boarder town is a major hot spot for dental work, optometrists, prescription drugs (although no prescription is needed), cheap haircuts and booze. On a daily basis this town is swarmed with retirees from surrounding areas coming to get their drugs but dirt cheap, haircuts for $3.00 and if you need a crown you would probably pay around $250.00. About every other shop you walk past is a dentist office, optometrist or a pharmacy. All of the retail has been pushed out onto the sidewalks. Instead of being asked to come look at jewelry, purses, etc. they are asking if you want your teeth cleaned, eyes checked, etc. We went for the experience and so I could see what Mom and Dad had been talking about and yes both Mom and Dad have had dental work done down there and their friends have been going to the same dentist down there for over 10 years. Guess it must be okay but I am still a bit skeptical.

Isn't he cute?? He was so happy to sell
Sheral the candy wrapper purses
for her granddaughters.

Here we are on the sidewalk shopping.
Cheaper than Walmart??



Look at the colors they are beautiful!

I'll take one of those please! :) She was so adorable sitting amongst the t-shirts.

As we were circling the block shopping we ran across a line which led to a shrimp and fish taco stand. Mom and Dad had heard about this so we decided to check it out. It was worth the wait in line for sure. I don't think they were better than  mine but authentic none the less and with a cold Corona they were even better.

On Saturday the rain came like they said it was going to so we went shopping. I had heard all about the isles and isles of trinkets, junk and finds at the Arizona Markets so we went to one that they call the Mervyns Market and another which is called the Arizona Market. If I thought Mexico was overwhelming these are probably worse. I don't have many pictures unfortunately but really you could get just about anything you can imagine and for cheap. 

This was just sandals. You could find watches, sunglasses, purses, beads, tools, clothes, art, etc. that was just like this.

 As the weather improved a little bit on Saturday afternoon we went to Downtown Yuma which was quite cute as well. On the way we went past the cemetery and it was beautiful so we stopped for pictures.

On Sunday we were on our way out to see Norm and Rosemary. They stay outside of Yuma bout 30 minutes in the desert. On the way to see them we drove through the Proving Grounds which is the Army Base in Yuma where they quality control all military equipment to "prove" it will hold up in real world use.

Literally the middle of nowhere!

We also ran across a cute little, I should say tiny, tiny church that was along the roadside. We stopped for more photo opportunities. It was built by a farmer for his wife.

Isn't it cute?

I was signing the guestbook.

Still making our way to see Norm and Rosemary we ran across the "Liberry" otherwise known as a Library/Bookmobile. It functions on the honor system and each year someone brings it out to the desert and just leaves it there during peak season.

Did you find a good book mom?

Pretty funny huh??

One more item on the itinerary before I can go home and that is going to Martha's Gardens which is a date farm. Mom wanted to go get a date shake. I decided after going that I am not a big date fan but mom liked it. The date palms were very pretty and it was a nice afternoon so it was a fun stop.

So after tennis, craft fairs, art shows, Mexico, shopping at the markets, happy hour, screw your neighbor (card game), pegs and jokers, visiting new friends, family, a couple hours of sunshine, shuffleboard, geocaching and last but not least trying to keep up with it all it was time to go home or was it? I had joked before I left about taking a bump if offered so I could extend my vacation not thinking it would really happen. Well, it didn't quite happen like that. Mom and Dad took me to the airport, I got on the plane, got to the runway, pilot started up the engine and backed it off tried it again and next thing I new we were headed back to the terminal. They had us get off the plane back through arrivals and to wait while they fixed the plane before going through security again. In the meantime my flight from Phoenix to Seattle was leaving in about 40 minutes and I was not going to make it. I called up Mom and Dad told them I was staying and they came back and got me so my vacation was extended a day and a half after all. Funny how things work out.

It was a fabulous trip and it was great to share in all of the experiences Mom and Dad are having. Never a dull moment and not much time to rest that is for sure! Thanks for a great time, cheers and until next time.

JET

Winter Wine Tasting

Ahhh, my favorite time of year. The first weekend in December is our annual trip over to Walla Walla, WA for the Winter Barrel Tasting. Will and I think this is our seventh trip over but we are not sure. Let's just say we have been enough times that the wine makers are starting to recognize us. I think that it's kind of fun. It is like seeing long time friends once a year and what is more fun than sharing in a fabulous glass of wine or two.

This year we got the pleasure of showing our friends Lexy and Peter  Washington Wine Country and I think we have some new believers in the annual trip. We left on Thursday and were there for four days. I think we made it to about 30 wineries +/-. You might be thinking that is a lot but when there is over 130 wineries now we didn't get to that many. We do have a little problem though of going back to our favorites and not trying out others which we should. We have however discovered a couple new favorites over the last couple years. One year we were driving by a small winery out by the airport and I felt sorry for them because there was no one in their parking lot so we stopped. It ended up going on our favorite list and we have gone back the last three years.

The wineries always have such fun displays and decorations. On the left was our first stop at Renninger and on the right was well stop number ??? at Tamarack Cellars. We were careful not to spill all the wine glasses off the tower. That is a test for us after tasting for several hours. I bet they did it on purpose!!

So it is not a trip without some actual wine tasting pictures. Some of these might show that too much wine was consummed sorry to those who may not want their pictures out here.

Uncle Bob couldn't get enough of the stuff!



Peter talking with the wine maker about the process and waiting for his taste, of course.

Here we are at Seven Hills one of our favorites!! I think it was about 9AM. Don't tell anyone!

So let's talk a minute about purchasing wine. We obviously drink a lot of it but that is only a part of it. Let's just say we take Will's truck for a reason. Will and I don't have near the wine buying problem as others do um....... Chris and Uncle Bob. Love ya!


Day 1 - If you look close you might see initials on the boxes. (Here is a hint...CMT)

So where there is wine there is food and art. At one of the wineries we went to they had these amazing sculptures. They were so detailed and very very heavy as they were made out of bronze! I only had my small camera so the pictures don't do them justice.



They were such sad clowns. You would think they would be happy!

Always lots of photo opportunities while we are visiting these fun places so have to share!

Jen and Lexy

Consider this my Christmas Card. Smile!



We had some snow. Makes it magical!

What a view! This was at Longshadows.

I think I mentioned too much wine? Here is Chris trying to pull the sleigh full of presents. She had a great smile so I had to share! I think this was taken during our marathon of card playing which is also a requirement of the trip.

We had a wonderful time as always. Great wine, food, friends, family, conversation, snow, shopping and of course the holiday decorations and spirit. Can't ask for much more.

Before I sign off I apologize to my blog readers that it has been a while. I have a few more posts before I am caught up. I will try to go in order and get all my December pics in for December. Wish me luck! Cheers and until next time.

JET

Gobble Gobble

Was it Thanksgiving or Christmas? I am a bit confused with the snow and all. Let's see, where does the story begin.... This year Will and I hosted Thanksgiving Dinner at our house. After many many years of searching for the perfect dining room table I finally found one. Actually, I found the table a few years ago, but really had a hard time spending the money on it. With no luck at finding anything else, I made the purchase about a month ago and it was delivered in time for the holiday. We decided since we now had a table that would seat everyone it would be fun to host. I realized once I started looking through my pictures that I was so focused on the table decorations that I didn't really get a great picture of the entire table. At this point I have not purchased the chairs, so we are using a random selection. So, maybe the close up pictures are better. Once we have the chairs I can post a table shot. Oh wait.... I also need a rug and a light fixture. Guess my dining room makeover is not totally completed yet so stay tuned.

To breakdown our Thanksgiving Holiday we had fall decorations, snow, tons of food and at any Evans/Sessions family gathering a project. We will begin with the fall decorations...

On to the snow... I secretly love the snow as long as I don't have to go anywhere. Thank goodness everyone was able to get to our house without any trouble. We all had a fun time. However, watching people go up, wait go up, no really go up okay well maybe just down our hill, was  great fun. It can provide hours of entertainment as long as it is not you on the hill.

With the cold weather Will's pond started to freeze over. It was pretty, but the poor fishies have to be sooooo cold. They were still swimming around, probably trying to keep warm would be my guess.

Icy pond



View from the front door.

  

 

View from the deck.



Look at the snow coming down!



 

Welcome!

Time to get the table ready!

One thing I have always wanted to do is decorate a large table including all the place settings and centerpiece. Now was my opportunity to do so. It was fun! 



Handmade place cards and all! I had too much fun.

  



One of my random selection of chairs. It's cute!



Getting hungry?? Okay, here is the food! Another reason for having Thanksgiving at our house is that Will just got a new smoker and he wanted to try and smoke a turkey. I think we are all in agreement that is was a huge success!!! 

Look at that turkey! Picture perfect!



Sweet potatoes, rice potatoes, stuffing and more!



Look at those veggies and salads. Yum!

A little something for everyone.

So, it is not a holiday gathering without a project from Ma "teacher" Evans. She always comes up with some fun things for us to do and this year we made turkey's. They were pretty cute and tasted good too!!

And of course it cannot be a family gathering without a group photo:

Nice smiles everyone!

It was a successful Thanksgiving. Great to be with family, beautiful to see it snowing and fabulous food provided by all. I honestly think this is the largest Thanksgiving family gathering we have ever had. Quite fun and maybe a new tradition started. Cheers and until next time!

JET