Category: Personal

Day 2351

Monday March 11th 2024:

Dear Journal:

Can 6:10 be considered sleeping in? Whether yes or no, this morning I woke up to dawn in the Arizona desert, it was light enough that it just felt like time to get up. I made my way to the galley to get Mister Sam his morning treats, check the coach temperature 61ºF (16ºC), chilly enough to prompt me to start the heater, to just take the chill off. At 6:39 I’m standing on our patio in my housecoat to snap the above photo, well most of you folks have just endured another time shift for daylight saving time, a practice that Arizona has decided not to participate in and it is great, no worrying about being late to events, oh we still get lots of clock adjustments as we travel and we now have three hours to adjust for as we head back to Ontario next month.

Miss Laurie has been recruited to help in the garden this morning as with the wet winter has a surplus of unwanted growth (weeds) in the gardens in front of the Arboretum visitor center. Everyone looks for Miss Laurie to help in so many areas of the Arboretum, she has been taught most tasks around the visitor center and of course she finds weeding to be relaxing, which makes her a hero with the horticulture staff. I on the other hand, I’m not nearly in as much demand, which works out ok for me, I have some projects in the coach today, and a book to read, possibly a beverage or two that I need to consume before heading back north. I know sounds like a tough job but I am up for the task.

With Miss Laurie starting work this morning at eight o’clock, it make me feel a little guilty so I will tackle some of my projects earlier than normal. It is not lost on me that we are heading north in less than a month, and I have so many things that need to be done before we start the trek. And this is going to be a few weeks of so many little updates and repairs.

Miss Laurie didn’t make it back to the coach till after two in the afternoon, as usual she ended up finishing the weeding on her own as the other volunteer had to leave before eleven o’clock. Then she offered to cover for some of the staff lunches in the gift shop.

The afternoon was spent with Mister Sam and Miss Laurie napping on the bed and me ordering some items from Amazon and reading. Mondays are our down day after a weekend of volunteering in the admission booth.

Day 2347

Thursday March 7th 2024

Dear Journal:

Does 6:20 qualify as sleeping in? I’m thinking no. But I can tell you that dawn was breaking when I opened the shades to appease one kitty cat that wanted to see out the bedroom window. Miss Laurie just got up after an hour of urging by Mister Sam, he can be a persuasive kitty, with constant nose licks, kneading of the body areas that really don’t need kneading, or just walking on pillows as we try to ignore the kitty. But I heard the propane burner ignite so the smell of perked coffee is just moments away, and this is our last day before eight hours of volunteering tomorrow. Mister Sam is now perched on the counter by the window looking for birds, bunnies, chipmunks, and his favorite geckos.

Sun rise this morning had a little colour, but not photo worthy, and as I write this, I’m thinking it would be photo worthy if we weren’t lucky enough to watch so many beautiful sunrises every year. It is strange how some spots are sunset spots while others are sunrise spots but very few offer the best of both. Miss Laurie is preparing pancakes for breakfast this morning, as a kid we had pancakes on special occasions but we also always had maple syrup (we actually used to tap our maple trees and then boil the sap down into syrup) but now because refrigerator space is so valuable I have compromised to just a breakfast syrup that requires no refrigeration. A second cup of coffee with a splash of Irish cream is in order, as we plan our day.

We are meeting John & Brenda at the “‘Silver King Smokehouse” in Superior for lunch, Miss Laurie is doing laundry today, I’m going to check some more items off of my todo list. I would also like to get into the Arboretum for a walk before being in the admission booth for the weekend, it helps in directing visitors to areas with things to see.

For lunch I had the smoked brisket sandwich with a wedge salad, we have not dinned out much in Superior this year, but the brisket was just as good as I remembered it. We sat on the patio at the Silver King Smokehouse and as we enjoyed our lunch we observed a storm making its way toward us. It has been a wetter and cooler winter in Arizona than usual, but it is still the sunshine that makes it worth the journey.

Tomorrow we are back to work, and with the rain rolling through our area we said our “see you down the roads” and headed back to the coach for a quiet afternoon of reading before some evening of television, after lunch dinner will consist of just a few snacks tonight.