Category Archives: Arizona

St. Patrick’s Day Gathering

I went out and ran a few errands Thursday afternoon. Before I left on the Spyder, I dropped Donna off at the nail salon here at Viewpoint RV and Golf Resort. You gotta love an RV park that has its own nail salon! Earlier I had stopped at the main office and booked some time here next season. I reserved a site starting December 21st for a three-month stay.

While I was out and about, I made a stop at Lucky Lou’s where I found my friends John and Stan. We had a few laughs and a cold one on the patio. Before I left, another Can-Am Spyder parked next to ours. This one was a newer touring model called a Spyder RT. The touring models are more luxurious with more comfortable passenger accommodations and we tend to see these more often than the other models.

Can-AM Spyder RT – built for comfort

They also include more storage space with built-in saddlebags. This one was even equipped with a trailer hitch!

Our Spyder is the RS model – more nimble and sporty. We find adequate space in the frunk – the name Spyder enthusiasts use for the forward trunk space. Donna also carries a backpack for groceries if she’s making a big grocery run. The passenger seating isn’t as comfortable on an RS.

Our Spyder RS – nimble and sporty

Of course, the RT models with all of the creature comforts and accessories are priced several thousand dollars higher than the RS model.

I hit the pickleball courts on Friday morning. The pollen count remains high and I suffered a bit, but felt better overall than I did earlier in the week. I played eight games and got in a couple of hours of activity. I wrote about the hawk’s nest by the courts in an earlier post and stated that I hadn’t seen the adult hawks in a while. I surmised that they moved on – well, I was wrong. On Friday morning, I saw both adults and one of them flew to the nest with a mouse in its talons. So, they are apparently still feeding the juveniles in the nest.

Red Tailed Hawk perched above its nest in a power line tower

On Friday evening, we went to a St. Patrick’s Day happy hour and dinner at the Northpoint Gathering Room in the RV park. One of our neighbors, Dave and Molly MacFarland, organized the event. For a cost of just five bucks per person, they supplied liquor and food. Others pitched in to help and Donna made her famous Irish soda bread from scratch and brought it along. Dave clued me in to the hiding place for the good IPA beer and told me to help myself – which I did.

They had all of the traditional fixings served buffet-style. The corned beef brisket was some of the best I’ve ever tasted. They served it with a mustard gravy – a first for me – and it was delicious. They had scalloped potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes with green onion, cabbage, carrots and boiled onions. They ran a 50-50 raffle to help offset the cost of all the food and drink. Donna snapped a couple of photos.

Back of my bald head on the left at the St. Patrick’s Day gathering

Lots of green in the Gathering Room

The pickleball tournament scheduled for Saturday morning wasn’t what I expected at all. It turned out to be a “fun tournament” where we had to play some silly games. Our first match had to be played with your weak hand. I never hit a ball with my left hand and it showed. Things were a bit chaotic but I had fun.

The temperature has reached the mid 90s for past few days and we can expect the hot weather to continue for a couple more days. The past two nights were a little rough for me as my allergies interrupted my sleep and I feel like I may have a sinus infection coming on. I’m planning to have a mostly quiet day today.

Ozark the cat spends most of the mid-day hours napping in her window bed. That leaves her with plenty of energy to get up and tear around the place at 4am!

Another mid-day nap

I’m going to have to find a way to change her sleep pattern.

Heat Wave

Wednesday was pretty low key for me. Donna went to the pickleball courts in the morning while I stayed home and nursed my hay fever. I ended up spending most of the day indoors – just as I thought I would. The thermometer hit 92 degrees in the afternoon. This heat wave may be a blessing in disguise – it seems like the hot daytime temperatures are causing the orange blossoms to drop from the trees prematurely. The pollen counts are still quite high, but I slept well last night and I’m feeling a little better this morning.

Donna and I had a conference call with our tax accountant in the afternoon. I always dread these things. We uncovered a mistake in last year’s filing and it looks like we overpaid, so that may be a good thing for us this year.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, there’s live entertainment from 3 to 5pm here at ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort. Donna walked down with her hula hoops and hoop danced to the music. She always takes two hoops in case someone wants to join her. Yesterday, she offered a hoop to a young girl who was visiting her grandparents and the two of them had a lot of fun. I only got out once all day and that was just to make a run on the Spyder to the store.

Donna defrosted the last of the lamb rib chops we bought from the farm in Portland near the Columbia River RV Park. She put them on the grill along with some sliced zucchini, peppers and onions for dinner.

Grilled lamb chops with zucchini, peppers and onions

Lamb chops are very flavorful but a little fatty in my opinion. I guess it’s an acquired taste – I didn’t like lamb when I was younger but I find it a pleasant change now. I paired the lamb with an IPA from Elysian. Although Elysian is located in Seattle and typically brews West Coast style IPA, this bottle called The Immortal is more of an English style IPA with pronounced malt flavor and a sharp bitter finish. I liked it but wasn’t crazy about it.

The Immortal

High, thin clouds formed in the late afternoon sky. This always brings a colorful, fiery sunset here in the desert.

Fiery sunset

I’d like to get out and about today – hopefully my allergy symptoms will continue to abate. I plan to hit the pickleball courts tomorrow morning and we’re both signed up to play in a tournament on Saturday. The heat wave is expected to linger through the weekend with daily highs in the mid-90s.

Down for the Count

Before I could go out to the pickleball courts for the Monday morning round robin play, I had to take a Benadryl allergy tablet. The orange trees here are in full bloom. For most people this brings a pleasant aroma to the area. For me, it’s misery. When I was tested for allergies back in the late 90s, the allergist told me he had good news and bad news.

The good news was I didn’t have to get rid of any pets because I had no allergic reactions to dog or cat dander. The bad news was I had moderate to severe reactions to all of the tree and grass pollens they tested on me – I can’t get rid of trees and grass. The pollen will be in the air at various times of the year no matter where I am. Since we tend to follow the sun, I’m more likely to be in areas that will affect me.

Most of the time it’s tolerable. I take a daily dose of fluticasone nasal spray and Opcon eye drops. When the pollen counts get very high – like they are here right now, I suffer. There’s so much pollen in the air that the Spyder looks like it’s covered in yellow dust. Last year it wasn’t so bad – I’m hoping this is a temporary condition and the pollen count will subside soon.

Taking Benadryl before pickleball wasn’t the best idea. It made my throat dry and I felt a little woozy a couple of times after playing long rallies.

Pickleball courts at ViewPoint RV Resort

I mentioned in an earlier post the hawk’s nest near the courts. I haven’t seen the adult hawks for a while. Monday morning I saw an immature hawk fly to the nest. My guess is the adults have moved on and the new generation has taken over the nest for now. I’ve read that Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and often return to refurbish the same nest every year. If so, I think junior can count on being kicked out.

Hawk’s nest in a high-voltage power line tower

Donna has really taken to our new Weber Q. She didn’t grill much on the old one. The feature she loves most on the Weber Q 2200 is the built in thermometer. She can set it to the temperature she desires without having to guess if it’s hot enough or too hot. Monday night she rubbed chicken thighs with a green chili rub she bought in Taos, New Mexico and cooked it on the grill. I usually do all of the grilling, but she wanted to do it and it came out great. Along with the chicken, she roasted a mixed baby squash medley with garlic and herbs and and served it with crumbled feta cheese on top.

Green chili rubbed chicken and baby squash

Tuesday morning I woke up with burning eyes and stuffy sinuses. It was time to break out the Neti pot. I’m hoping this is the peak of the pollen issue. I stayed indoors with the air conditioners running all day and read a book.

The outside temperature was in the low-90s in the afternoon for the last two days. This heat wave is supposed to last through the weekend with temperatures in the mid-90s. This is well above the average high temperature of 77 degrees for March here in Mesa, Arizona. I passed on the pickleball round robin this morning and will probably have another lazy day indoors.

 

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

 

Moonlight Paddle

I haven’t posted for a few days. With the rainfall we had here in Mesa, Arizona in January and February, plant life in the desert has flourished. Now, with the arrival of warm temperature, everything is blooming. Not only are the desert wildflowers and plants blooming, the orange trees here at ViewPoint RV Resort are flowering as well.

The Weather Channel shows high pollen counts for tree and grass pollen. Unfortunately for me, I have allergic reactions to tree and grass pollen and I’m suffering this weekend. The afternoon high temperatures have been hovering around 90 degrees since Thursday and we can expect higher temperatures by the end of this week.

Hopefully my allergies will settle down and I can get back to regular posting about fun activities.

Speaking of fun activities, I pulled the Sea Eagle SE370 inflatable kayak out of the trailer. On Friday evening, Sara Graff picked up Donna and they took the kayak to Saguaro Lake where they met up with Donna’s friend, Audrey Arrington, her sister Jackie and a friend of theirs. The girls made a moonlight kayak trip on the lake.  The moon was bright enough for them to easily see where they were going. They had wine and snacks on the lake and came home around 8:30pm.

Moonlight on the lake – photo by Audrey

That’s about all I have to say today. I’m going to lie on the sofa and read a book – hopefully the Benadryl allergy tab will kick in and give me some relief.

 

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Whiskey or Whisky

Donna had an appointment at the hair salon in Tempe on Tuesday. We rode the Spyder there – about a 20-minute ride from ViewPoint RV Resort. I dropped her off at 11am and continued on to the Total Wine store at Tempe Marketplace. Total Wine is a big box discount liquor store. They have a huge selection and good prices.

I was looking for a bottle of Scotch whisky. I like to sip single malt Scotch occasionally. There’s a difference between American whiskey and Scotch whisky – beyond the spelling and geographic origin – they are made from different ingredients. Scotch is malted barley that’s been distilled twice and aged in oak barrels. American whiskey is distilled primarily from corn.

The aging process for Scotch whisky takes place in oak barrels – usually in barrels obtained from American distilleries after they’ve been used to age whiskey. Some Scotch distillers will then transfer the whisky to used European wine casks – like sherry casks. The aging process takes place while it’s in the barrels or casks. Once it’s bottled, the aging process stops. So, if you have a bottle of 10-year-old Scotch and put it on the shelf for five years, you still have a bottle of 10-year-old Scotch.

Scotch whisky also has distinct flavors depending the region it’s distilled in. The largest region is Highland which is known for a warm, smooth product. A sub-region is called Speyside and it’s similar to Highland Scotch but also produces fruitier flavors. Scotch produced off the coast in the islands (Islay) is often peaty and/or smokey.

My preference is Speyside or Highland Scotch that’s been aged a minimum of 12 years. Scotch that’s aged 18 or more years is usually far superior but the price jumps exponentially. A lot of people will say not to waste your money or taste buds on inexpensive Scotch. I disagree – to a point. I look at it like shopping for red wine. Anyone can spend $30 or more and come home with a decent bottle of red wine. To me, the trick is finding a decent, affordable daily glass of wine for about a third of that cost. I shop for Scotch in this manner also.

My fallback position on single malt Scotch is Glenfiddich or The Glenlivet 12-year-old Scotch. These are very popular and affordable. I like to try out different offerings from time to time. When we’re in California, Trader Joe’s carries their house brand of Scotch which they obtain from a brokerage called Alexander Murray. Alexander Murray buys from various distilleries and bottles under private labels. They carry 750ml bottles ranging from cheap 8-year-old Scotch to very expensive 25-year-old Scotch. I’ve had their 13-year-old and 15-year-old and it’s quite good.

At Total Wine, I found a bottle called Glen Ness 12-year-old Highland Scotch. It’s their house brand and I thought I’d give it a try. It was a couple of dollars less than Glenfiddich and I found it to be fairly comparable – although I think Glenfiddich has a little more complexity. That was probably more than you ever wanted to read about Scotch.

After we returned home, I took it easy for the rest of the day. The temperature reached the upper 70s and things are blooming all over the desert. Tree and grass pollen counts are high and I’m suffering from pollen allergies. Donna rode her bicycle to her physical therapy session and afterward continued on to complete a 16-mile loop.

Donna prepared one of our favorite fish recipes for dinner. She wrapped individual servings of cod with asparagus, orange juice, butter and fresh tarragon in parchment paper.  She put the parchment wraps on a baking sheet and cooked it in the convection oven.  It’s very easy. She makes four servings and we enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Parchment wrapped cod filet

Perfectly cooked

Here’s Donna’s recipe…

Fish in Parchment with Asparagus

4  15×15-inch squares parchment paper
4  5-to 6-ounce fish fillets (such as halibut or cod; each about 1 inch thick)
12 fresh tarragon leaves
2  tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces plus extra for buttering parchment paper
1  pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed (and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces if desired)
4  tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place parchment squares on work surface. Generously butter half of each parchment square (I rub the parchment with one end of a stick of butter). Top buttered half of each with 1 fish fillet. Dry fish with a paper towel and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each fillet with 3 tarragon leaves, then 1 piece of butter. Arrange asparagus around each fish fillet; pour 1 tablespoon orange juice over each. Fold parchment over fish and asparagus, folding and crimping edges tightly to seal and enclose filling completely. Place on 2 rimmed baking sheets, spacing apart. Bake fish packets 17 minutes. Slide packets onto plates and serve.  NOTE: Can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, making it a great dinner for company.

On Wednesday morning, I played in the round robin pickleball matches. In the cool morning hours, my allergies seem to be a little more subdued. By the afternoon, I was going for eye drops every four hours or so. I took it easy for the rest of the day. Yesterday the temperature reached 86 degrees and we should see upper 80s through the weekend.

WinCo, Rain and Wind

After writing my post on Monday, I rode the Spyder to my new favorite grocery store. I went to WinCo Foods a few miles away from here on Southern Avenue at Power Road. I first shopped at a WinCo store in Washington when my daughter, Alana, took us there. WinCo is an employee-owned business with stores in eight western states. They have a great selection of groceries in clean stores with great prices. The history of the company is interesting – you can read about it here.

I wanted to get a few things at the store, then cover the Spyder before the rain started. Right on cue, the rain came around 1:30pm. It rained off and on all afternoon and into the night, with heavy showers at times.

We still had a few showers lingering on Tuesday morning. Donna had a physical therapy appointment for her shoulder – she injured it ice skating when we were in Santa Fe last fall. Her appointment was at 11:20am and the rain stopped falling around 10am. We were thinking it was only a mile and a half or so to the therapist’s office and Donna felt like walking there. By the time I finally got around to mapping it out, I found it was actually 3.3 miles and would take at least 45 minutes to walk there – it was too late to walk and make the appointment.

I rode the Spyder and dropped Donna off at the corner of Brown and 80th. It was a mile and a half walk from there and she wanted to walk. While I was out, I made a stop at CVS to buy wine for Donna – they have a great sale on Lindemann’s Pinot Noir. The nearest CVS had sold out of the wine, so I went a few miles down Ellsworth to the next store. It seems like there’s a CVS Pharmacy every two or three miles around here. I bought the last four bottles they had.

I parked the Spyder and came inside and was surprised by the crack of thunder. Rain started pouring down!  It was still raining at noon when Donna sent me a text telling me she would walk back to the park. I told her it was raining here. She was west of our location and told me the rain had already passed and was moving east. She was confident it would move on before she got here. She was right, but only barely as the next round of showers started as soon as she arrived here.

Donna spent the afternoon working on a project she’s been thinking about. She has a greeting card company that caters to professional organizers (Organized Greetings). Ten years ago, we had boxes of cards on shelves in the garage and Donna would fulfill orders from our home. Later, she changed her business from stocking cards to a print-on-demand model fulfilled by Cafe Press.

Now she’s offering the organizing cartoons featured in her greeting cards under license to professional organizers for use in blogs, newsletters, and social media. I spent most of the evening formatting the cartoons and watermarking them so she could put up samples.

Donna made garlic and lemon roasted chicken thighs with oranges in her cast iron skillet – she started out pan frying on the induction cooktop, then finished it in the convection oven. Served with sweet potato and green bean’s it was a delicious meal.

Chicken thighs with sweet potato and green beans

We watched the president’s address to congress on TV. I thought Donald Trump gave a great speech, very Reaganesque with a message of confidence and prosperity ahead.

On Wednesday morning, the rain was just a memory as we had blue skies and a dry landscape. It was breezy though. I played in the 3.0-3.5 round robin pickleball match and got 10 games in – the windy conditions made it tricky and we switched sides of the court at six points. Then I made a quick run to Costco to buy Keurig coffee K-cups. It seems odd to many people to go to Costco for one or two items, but sometimes it’s worth it to me. Costco is nearby and you can’t beat the price for K-cups.

In the afternoon, I went through Donna’s greeting cartoons again and standardized the format for electronic fulfillment. The original formatting seemed haphazard with different resolution settings and sizing of the images. Then I kicked back and read a book outside in the sunshine.

Today we woke up to clear skies with no threat of rain in the forecast, but it’s windy. I would guess we have gusts up to 25mph – it’s enough to feel it in the coach. The funny thing is – the weather forecast calls for gusty winds tonight and tomorrow. No mention of the wind gusts we had overnight or the current gusty conditions. I checked three weather forecasts and all said the same thing – gusty winds later today and tomorrow. Hey, take a look out the window!

 

 

Meet Me at Fat Willy’s

I was up early Saturday morning. I walked down to the park entrance on Hawes Street by Fat Willy’s restaurant. Mike Hall and Ray Laehu picked me up there a little past 7am. We were heading out for a day at the races. It was time for round two of the NHRA National Championship series at Wild Horse Pass Raceway.

Over the past four years, I’ve joined my friends at the races here – we get a deal from another guy named Ray. He pays for a space to park a motorhome and puts up a scaffolding to view from. He has a number of passes to get people into the event. We pay him and he provides the pass, food and beer. It’s a great deal – food and beer from the vendors at the track is incredibly expensive.

We took an early walk through the pits to see the teams preparing for the day’s qualifying runs.

Jack Beckman’s car packed in tight in one of his trailers

Jack’s crew pulling tires from a trailer – it takes a lot of tire to put 10,000 horsepower to the track

Tim Wilkerson inspecting parts while one of his crew members builds the bottom end of the engine

The Kalitta team putting the body for J R Todd’s funny car on a rack

Bill Miller Engineering showing his political viewpoint

When we got back to Ray’s space, they had breakfast fixings ready. We made breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, sausage and hash browns. We watched the Sportsman events until the pros started running after lunch.

Redneck grandstand built from scaffolding

As always, it was good time. There’s nothing like a nitro burning Top Fuel dragster or Funny Car thundering down the drag strip at 300 mph.

Meanwhile, Donna spent the morning playing in her first pickleball tournament. She enjoyed it and hopes to play in another tournament. Afterwards, she met her friend, Stevie Ann, for a long lunch at Baja Joe’s. Stevie Ann was one of the first friends Donna met when she moved to Arizona back in 2002.

On Sunday morning, Sara Graff picked up Donna at 9am. They planned to spend the morning hiking up the Wind Cave Trail in Usery Park. Sara’s husband Howard picked me up. Howard is a member of the Rio Salado Gun Club and their gun range is also located in Usery Park.

We spent the morning shooting. I had a great time. I used to shoot regularly at a gun range in Michigan. I also shot frequently when I was with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office in Washington. Since we’ve been on the road, I hadn’t visited a range.

My rifle skills are still up to par, but my handgun skills have deteriorated. Like most things, it takes practice to maintain proficiency. I plan to get out and shoot more often in the future.

Rio Salado Gun Club below the Usery summit with the Phoenix sign

Shooting benches

Afterwards we met Donna and Sara at Fat Willy’s for a late lunch. It’s nice being in an RV Resort that has a restaurant and bar. And it’s always nice to spend time with the Graffs.

The weather here in Mesa, Arizona was pleasant over the weekend. We had daily highs in the upper-60s. Today is cooler with high clouds. We spent the morning on the pickleball courts where gusty winds made things interesting. The forecast calls for rain to move into the area this afternoon and linger for 24 hours. It’s been unusually wet in the desert – the February rain total has exceeded the monthly average just as it did in January. Donna figures that today will be a good day for her to make a pot of pea soup. I need to make a run to the grocery store before it rains, then I’ll probably relax and read a book.

 

Face Down Under the Sink

I usually write my posts first thing in the morning. Not this time – I’m writing at 4:30pm on Friday afternoon. If you read on, you’ll understand why.

We’re really enjoying our time here at Viewpoint RV & Golf Resort. The people here are so friendly and it seems like everyone is active. They have two golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools and five pickleball courts. On Thursday, I walked up to our mailbox which is next to a baseball field and saw a ladies softball team practicing. The coach was hitting balls as they did infield drills. They were looking good – most of these women put my arm to shame as they threw to first base.

Ladies softball practice

Donna rode her bicycle over to our friend Lana’s house to help her with organizing some stuff stored in a guest room. While she was away, I took care of a couple of maintenance items. One thing that was overdue was replacement of the filter on our purified water spout on the sink.

Rick at the RV Water Filter Store told me I should be good for two to three years on this filter since we have two-stage filtration for all of the water coming into the coach. This additional filter adds bacteriostatic filtration and is supposed to be good for 1500 gallons of water. We only use the purified water spout for the coffee maker and cooking, so we don’t run much water through it. I’ve been putting off the replacement because I remember what a chore it was last time I did it.

The filter is mounted under our kitchen sink. It has quick release fittings attaching it inline to the PEX lines plumbing the spout. The quick release fittings make removal a snap – but installing the replacement wasn’t so easy.

Purified water filter – that’s the sink drain pipe in the foreground

Removing the filter is a one-handed affair. I just pull the collar back on the fitting and pull the PEX away from the filter. The replacement filter I had didn’t come with the fittings. You can get it with or without the fittings. I figure it’s simple to remove the fittings from the old filter and install them in the new one and save a few bucks.

Old filter on top, new below

A 9/16″ wrench was all it takes – plus some teflon tape to seal the threads.

The issue with getting the new filter attached is the sink drain pipe. It prevents me from being able to reach in with both hands – one to hold the filter and one to pull the collar back on the quick release fitting to attach it to the PEX plumbing.

Instead of beating my head against the sink pipe and stretching arms to limit, I tried another approach. I took off my glasses and put my head – face down – under the sink drain pipe. Then I visualized the task with my eyes closed and tactiley worked the quick disconnect fittings. It took a couple of attempts, but I got it done!

After that my only maintenance chore for the day was to dump and flush our tanks. I dumped the tanks when we arrived last Wednesday. On Saturday I was surprised when I heard a gurgling sound coming from the kitchen sink while the clothes washer was running. This sound is an indicator of a full holding tank. I immediately dumped the gray water tank.

The tank was nearly full judging by the time it took to drain. What I didn’t know at the time was Donna had done at least seven loads of laundry – catching up from our time at RV Renovators. This alone accounts for 70+ gallons of gray water. So, I’m keeping a close eye on the gray water tank.

Friday morning I headed out early for the 3.0 to 3.5 round robin pickleball match at 8am. Donna came to the courts around 9:15 for open play. Once again I was a glutton for punishment and played 11 games over three hours on the courts. I’m feeling it now.

Pickleball courts

It was noon by the time we came home. After lunch, Donna headed out for another grocery shopping run. After she returned, I rode the Spyder to Lucky Lou’s for happy hour with the guys. We firmed up our plans for the NHRA drag races at Wildhorse Pass raceway – formerly Firebird Raceway. I’ll be up early again tomorrow as Mike Hall and Ray Laehu will pick me up at 7am. So that makes two early mornings in a row without a chance to write a post. We’ll spend the day at the races.

A cold front is stalled in the area. It got cold overnight – it was 39 outside when we woke up this morning and 51 in the coach. Today we had clear sunny skies, but the temperature only reached the low 60s. The same is forecast for tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the middle of next week when the forecast calls for upper 70s!

 

Pickleball and a Movie

The nice weather continued on Tuesday – the temperature hit a high of 77 degrees with sunny, blue skies. We had a notice in our mailbox of a package being held at the park’s post office. As part of my effort to increase my activity, I walked to the post office to pick it up. This is a large park. We’re in the northwest end, the post office is located to the southeast.

It was about three quarters of mile from our site to the post office. When I got there I found they had not one, but two packages for us. One of the boxes was little bulky, the other was a Priority Mail box with a month’s worth of mail forwarded from our service (MyDakotaAddress). Carrying the two packages made the walk back seem a lot longer.

Donna’s keeping her activity level up as usual. She went out for a 16-mile bike ride Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday morning I went to the pickleball courts for the 3.0-3.5 level round robin matches at 8am. Donna came down an hour later to play on the open play court.

A pair of red tail hawks are nesting in a high voltage utility pole near the courts. I saw one of the adult hawks return to its nest with a snake in its grasp. I wish I could have taken a picture. I’m pretty sure there are immature hawks in the nest and it was bringing back the snake to feed them.

The round robin matches consisted of six games played over a two-hour period. I stayed for another hour and played nonstop, ending up with 11 games played. Donna played quite a few games as well.

After lunch, we headed over to the Harkins Theater on Superstition Springs Boulevard. We went to the 3:20pm matinee and watched John Wick: Chapter Two. It was all action and an entertaining shoot-em-up movie. We watched the original John Wick movie released in 2014 a couple of weeks ago on TV.

We don’t go to movie theaters very often. One thing that kills me at the theater is how they gouge you for snacks and drinks. You can’t bring your own, so they charge $4.50 for a bottle of water! A large popcorn, a soda and a bottle of water was $18.25! After sitting in the theater for more than two hours – with very comfortable seats – I was feeling a little stiff from the morning’s activity.

Last night, Donna prepared something new to go with the salmon cakes she made for dinner. She made a cheesy cauliflower bake. This was steamed cauliflower with cheddar cheese, bacon and green onion baked about 20 minutes to meld the flavors. It was a little labor intensive to make, but it was very tasty.

Cheesy cauliflower bake

We had a discussion about whether to call the entree salmon cakes or salmon patties. I decided to call them salmon cakes as they are made like crab cakes. Salmon patties implies something akin to a burger.

Salmon cakes with cheesy cauliflower bake

I opened a bottle of Ninkasi Total Domination IPA from Eugene, Oregon to go with the meal.

Ninkasi IPA

Before I went to bed, I checked the S-Health app on my Samsung Galaxy smart phone. It showed 12,999 steps for the day. I went over 13,000 walking from the living room to bed. The activity bars on the screenshot below show the pickleball activity and then an inactive period in the afternoon – that was the movie theater time.

Steps recorded on the S-Health app

I had to close our bedroom window in the night. We usually sleep with the window open, but a cool breeze was blowing in overnight. Today the forecast calls for a high of only 63 degrees. The next seven days will be cool and Friday the overnight low is expected to be 39! Brrr.

 

36 Hours of Rain

We sat out another wet weekend. The rain was falling when we woke up Saturday morning. It was a wet, cool day. After lunch, my friend Howard picked me up at the Viewpoint RV Resort and drove me to his place. We hung out in his garage and he taught me all about AR style rifles. It was the full armorer’s course. It was a good time. I came back home around 4pm and it was still raining off and on.

Sunday was more of the same – steady, light rain with occasional cloud bursts and short dry periods. More than an inch of rainfall was recorded over 36 hours. It felt more like Seattle than Mesa – the temperature only reached a high of 59 on Sunday. It was nothing compared to the rainfall on the California coast – I read that four to six inches fell in some areas.

Mostly dark clouds at sunset on Sunday

Donna prepared a pork tenderloin – she seasoned it with adobo seasoning and glazed it with pomegranate and mango chipotle sauce. Then she roasted it in the convection oven – no grilling in this weather.

Roasted pork tenderloin

For side dishes she served mashed acorn squash topped with pomegranate seeds and steamed green beans with sliced almonds. A nice meal to end a cold, wet weekend.

Monday morning was bright and cheery. The ground was drying quickly. I went to the pickleball courts at 8am for the level 3 to 3.5 round robin session. Over the following two hours, I played six games. It was a lot of fun and I plan to continue playing with this group on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I should be able to play my way back into shape in a week or two. Donna came to the courts for open play around 9:30am. He ankle held up fine and she plans to work her way back into it.

I failed to mention our upgrade to the Weber Q grill we made when we were in San Diego. A fellow Alpine Coach owner – I can’t come up with his name at the moment – had a Weber Q 2200 for sale. It was in immaculate condition. I bought it for about half the cost of a new one. Our old one was a Weber Q 1000. The new one has built-in folding shelves on each side and a thermometer. It also features a larger grilling area – 280 square inches versus 189 square inches. He included a grill cover and an adapter hose for hooking up to a large propane tank.

Weber Q 2200

On Monday evening, I grilled Italian sausages on it. Donna served it with roasted cauliflower and cheese mezzelune pasta and her homemade marinara sauce. It was a delicious meal.

I snapped another photo at sunset on Monday night. What a difference 24 hours can make.

Clear skies at sunset on Monday

The temperature should reach the mid- to upper 70s today. The forecast for the rest of the week looks good.

 

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!