4-29-12

Martin: Weather update.

Me: On our way back from Prescott last night we stopped at Carol and Paul's so we could see April and Ameyr all dressed up for their high school prom. They looked great! Loved April's dress; the style, color and beading. Stunning couple, sweet too!

4-28-12

Martin: Daniel at the end of the afternoon's tennis. They probably would have played on but the sun was about to go down.

Me: The Whiskey 50!!

It's done, we did it, it was good! I was right...this race was hard! 50 miles of everything; big hills, single track dirt trails, rocks (big and small) and some very technical downhill (NOT my favorite). Fast descents on jeep road, a grueling 15 mile long climb in the middle of the race and more adventurous single track with stream crossings, and pine tree obstacles. Amazing views but no time to enjoy them. :-)

I'm super happy with how my race went! I was 1st place female overall with a time of 4 hours and 11 minutes. Bob is very happy with his race too. He climbed well, is excellent at technical descents and despite some bad leg cramps at mile 38, finished at 4 hours and 44 minutes!! All our friends from Phoenix did great too! Really fun, well supported event that the whole town of Prescott goes all out for. 

4-27-12

Martin: There's Adrian looking serious in the middle.

Me: Bob and I drove up to Prescott today to ride the Whiskey 50 tomorrow. We're up here with friends and about 1700 other cyclists participating in 1 of 4 mountain bike races over the weekend. We picked up our race packets, walked the bike expo, ate a spaghetti dinner, prepared our bikes, laid out our clothes and set a wake up call for 4:30am. We're both racing the 50 miler off road. I'm a bit nervous...it will be a hard race (& fun too). :-)

4-26-12

Martin: You can imagine the sound made by a few hundred pipers and drummers. 

Me: 'Twas a Happy Birthday!

• Started my day with a Harley walk; cloudy and cool. 
• 6am birthday bike ride with Bob; beautiful morning - see photo!
• Relaxing pedicure and See's chocolate; a birthday must.
• Admired 3 new toilets that Bob & James installed; funny birthday present! 
• Celebrated with a wonderful dinner at Hillstone Restaurant; we're stuffed.
• Had many lovely birthday wishes too; a great day!

4-25-12

Martin: Part of the ANZAC Day march passing the town hall.

Me: Garage progress: Last week finished texturing ceiling, patching holes, painting ceiling & walls and putting in 3 fluorescent lights (recycled from the kitchen). Today Bob, James and I recycled some of the old kitchen cabinets and put them up for storage. They are going to be perfect for bike gear, hiking stuff and micsellaneous supplies.

Other progress: Put in kitchen recessed lighting, lights in master BR closet, & painted the master bedroom. Our new move-in date is now scheduled for next week, May 2nd!

4-24-12

Martin: Today's weather. Had a lot of rain again these past few days.

Me: In this photo:

1) My favorite coconut water by Real (in the green bottle). Discovered it a while ago and like it better than other brands. It has pulp and it's delicious!

2) Zico coconut water (in the blue bottle). Bob and I had it for the first time on Saturday when we biked from Phoenix to Tucson. The support crew were giving them out at each SAG stop and this cold, chocolaty (yes, chocolate) drink hit the spot and kept us going. It really is good and now I'm trying to find out where they sell this stuff. I'll keep drinking Real but am going to put Zico in the fridge as well.

3) Harley. She's patiently waiting in the background while I take a photo of coconut water. I told her we're going for a walk and she's ready.

4) Table runner. The coconut water is sitting on top of a beautiful table runner that my mother-in-law, Pat made for me. So pretty, love it.

5) Roses. Freshly cut from our courtyard. I'm going to miss our rose bushes when we move. 

4-23-12

Martin: Two little pigs straight from the outdoor oven. An old childhood friend of Ruth's had a get together today for around twenty five guests.

Me: The 2 saguaro cactus outside our backyard started blooming today!

4-22-12

Martin: Weather report for today.

Me: Today was our first swim in our pool. Bob and I worked all afternoon cleaning the garage, washing out cabinets and loading up a trailer full of junk to take to the city dump. The water was refreshing - especially since it was another day over 100.

PS: Our move-in date (originally scheduled for tomorrow) has been pushed back. The buyer of our condo needs another week to meet some loan requirements. Not necessarily a bad thing for us as we can use the extra days to get more done on the house. 

PPS: The white on the stucco fence is primer. The wrought iron is painted green, the same color the stucco fence will be painted soon.

4-21-12

Martin: Got a close-up in the garden late this afternoon - anticipating a feed.

Me: Biked from Phoenix to Tucson today (115 miles). We rode with some friends from LifeTime Fitness who put on this great supported event. Fun and hard day of biking that was rewarded with a dip in the La Paloma Resort pool afterwards. Much needed since it was over 100 degrees today!

4-20-12

Martin: Adrian sanding part of his school project. A niece piece of Ebony for the drawer fronts. 

Me: James, he's a hard workin' man!

4-19-12

Martin: Weather report for today.

Me: Mom is now staying with my sister, Carol and family. While she stayed with us she helped Bob and I make homemade peanut butter. Mom shelled a huge bag of peanuts! Thanks, Mom! As delicious as the peanut butter is (we think it's worth it)...Mom told us never to buy a bag of peanuts again. :-) 

4-18-12

Missing Martin's photo.

Me: Mom, Joan and I went to April's high school trackmeet. She ran 2 great races; the open 800 and the 1st leg of the 4 x 400. Awesome job, April! 

4-17-12

Stay tuned for Martin's photo of the day.

Me: Five of us drove northeast of Phoenix to mountain bike 4 Peaks (the mountain far in the distance). It was a 4 and 1/2 hour ride with a lot of climbing. Cool temps, no one around & beautiful scenery!!

4-16-12

Martin: Finn was very pleased to see that we had not left him for good.

Me: Great-Grandma rocked Kavan, I packed boxes & Bob worked hard on the house.

4-15-12

Martin: Panning

Me: The packing begins! We'll be busy all week filling and moving boxes. The moving company is scheduled for April 23rd to take the big stuff. The first night in our new house will be in one week. So much to do to get the campground ready enough for move in! Excited and tired.

4-14-12

Martin: The bark on this old tree in Hill End reminded me of bits of a jig-saw puzzle.

Me: While Bob and I went on a 5 hour WINDY mountain bike outing, Janna and Kavan came to hang out with Mom. Once we were back Harley and I joined them for a long walk in the neighborhood. It was so enjoyable with the cool temps (rare in April!).

4-13-12

Martin: Panning back home in the front garden.

 Me: Garage Sale Finds!!

Mom, Bob, Harley and I went on our Friday morning garage sale hunt. Wow, there were some good ones today! Bob spotted this old window with colored glass (pic above). We got it for $15 and from the looks on Ebay we got a pretty good deal (the window is 22 x 32). We love it and already have a window in mind of where it's going to hang. Yeah! Last week I found a little (12 x 18) stained glass window with a hummingbird. I bought it for a whopping $2. The wood frame needs painted but it's so pretty.

After a break Mom and I went back out (Bob and Harley were worn out) to a couple more sales. I'll have to post some pics of those finds later but the best deal were 3 bathroom vanity light fixtures for FREE! Our new home needs them (even if temporarily) because the ones there are broken and falling apart.

4-12-12

Martin: About to head home after a late lunch in the park at Hill End.

Me: Bob, Mom and I enjoyed the Deer Valley high school track meet last night. April did great in the Open 800 (3rd place and a PR by 7 seconds)! She also ran a fast leg in the 4 x 400 and their relay took 1st! Way to go! April's boyfriend, Amyer did really well too and Amyer's brother, Trey won the 100, 200, and 400. Trey is the fastest high school sprinter in the state right now - he literally runs away from his competition.

4-11-12

Martin: Mining party at Hill End. Wouldn't trust any of them.

Me: I'm babysitting Kavan this afternoon (he's 3 months old now!) and Bob is working with James at the campground. We're driving to Glendale this evening to watch April and her boyfriend, Ameryr at their high school track meet.

4-10-12

Martin: Saturday night dinner under a full moon.

Me: Our carrot crop! Been using them in our veggie smoothies and salads.

4-9-12

Martin: Creek was running low. It was about four metres deep at this point around three weeks ago during heavy rains. 

Me: Jerome and I on the trails yesterday evening.

Bob and I had joined Andrew and Jerome for a little mountain biking in South Mountain.

4-8-12

Martin: Grapes were gone but the ripe figs were out all over the four fig trees. Tasted good and the birds thought so as well.

Me: Happy Easter!

Celebrated at Hope Church with a wonderful Easter message from Paul. 22 of us gathered at Carol and Paul's home afterwards and enjoyed their backyard and a delicious meal. We had turkey, ham, green bean casserole, cheesy potatos, yams, lettuce salad, fruit salad, asparagus, deviled eggs, and rolls followed by chocolate and apple pie. Wow, no wonder I'm stuffed. It was a very nice day with family!

Jerome, Ashley, Mom, April, Ameyr, Me, Bob, Janna, Andrew, Carol, Paul & Kavan.

4-7-12

Martin: Back at our favorite shack.

Me: 13 of us met in Prescott to pre-ride the Whiskey 50 course, a race we'll be doing on April 28th. It was a tough ride: 50 miles with quite a bit of single track, a lot of dirt jeep road and some very long, steep climbs! It was a spectacular sunny, cool day and we all had a blast. Celebrated afterwards with hamburgers from Gurley Street Grill (it rates right up there with Diablo Burger in Flagstaff - so good!). 

Pic is from Skull Valley in front of garage with old gas tanks that still operate.

4-6-12

Martin: Weather report for today.

Me: "The campground" (what we've been calling our new house lately) is taking shape! The upstairs walls are textured and primed plus the ceilings and closets have been painted with Swiss Coffee. But more exciting than that is James and Bob took out the floor above the dining room yesterday. It opens up the downstairs even more. Love the high ceiling in this room now plus the extra light that fills the whole house. Despite the dust, clutter and obvious work that lies ahead...mom likes it.