For a change, Patty and I hiked into South Mountain Park - it is a bit of a drive, but it was well worth it. We hiked the Mormon Trail and after reaching the National Trail, hiked another half mile along it toward Fat Man's Pass. We then turned around and returned back to the trail head. There were great views looking north to the city and the airport control tower looks so small.
We continued to sort through our things and make more donations to Goodwill.
On Tuesday Dec. 15, it was a cold and very quiet day at the Desert Botanical Garden. At lunch, all of us docents talked about how few visitors there were because of the cold. Since it was Sharon's birthday, I suggested we all go to Gertrudes Restaurant at 2:00 after finishing our afternoon shifts - but being the wild and crazy bunch we are, we said why wait until then, so we went at 12:30. Linda did not drink and went to do the 1:00 tour, but the remaining twelve of us stayed and shared a couple of bottles of a nice wine recommended by the other Linda - she apparently knows the owners of Provisioner Wines.
When I went out for Shadow's morning walk on Friday Dec. 18, I discovered we had a man made flood - I think a water pipe burst. The underground pipes for the sprinkler system is not buried very deep and the boxes where the valves are located expose pipes to the cold. I think one froze and burst.
My mother's second husband, Francis, had three sons. The youngest, Steve, and his wife, Linda, are 62. Linda retired in the summer of 2014 and Steve retired this summer. They spent the last year cleaning out their home in outside Tacoma. Steve brought five truck and trailer loads of their stuff to Tucson during the last year, they sold their home in WA and were preparing to buy a home in Tucson for their retirement. Unfortunately, Linda started having both mental and physical problems, and shortly after arriving in Tucson in October, fell and injured her back. She was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with Stage Four cancer in her brain, spine, liver, lungs and adrenal gland. At first, they thought they could transfer her back to a hospital in WA to be near friends and colleagues - but that fell through. After surgery on her back, Linda was eventually transferred to a rehab center. From there she had radiation therapy on the tumor on her brain. She has not progressed well and will not live much longer. Patty and I have visited several times. On one of the visits, we took this photo of the three of us bald people.
We also came across an unusually shaped saguaro.
We continued to sort through our things and make more donations to Goodwill.
On Tuesday Dec. 15, it was a cold and very quiet day at the Desert Botanical Garden. At lunch, all of us docents talked about how few visitors there were because of the cold. Since it was Sharon's birthday, I suggested we all go to Gertrudes Restaurant at 2:00 after finishing our afternoon shifts - but being the wild and crazy bunch we are, we said why wait until then, so we went at 12:30. Linda did not drink and went to do the 1:00 tour, but the remaining twelve of us stayed and shared a couple of bottles of a nice wine recommended by the other Linda - she apparently knows the owners of Provisioner Wines.
When I went out for Shadow's morning walk on Friday Dec. 18, I discovered we had a man made flood - I think a water pipe burst. The underground pipes for the sprinkler system is not buried very deep and the boxes where the valves are located expose pipes to the cold. I think one froze and burst.
My mother's second husband, Francis, had three sons. The youngest, Steve, and his wife, Linda, are 62. Linda retired in the summer of 2014 and Steve retired this summer. They spent the last year cleaning out their home in outside Tacoma. Steve brought five truck and trailer loads of their stuff to Tucson during the last year, they sold their home in WA and were preparing to buy a home in Tucson for their retirement. Unfortunately, Linda started having both mental and physical problems, and shortly after arriving in Tucson in October, fell and injured her back. She was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with Stage Four cancer in her brain, spine, liver, lungs and adrenal gland. At first, they thought they could transfer her back to a hospital in WA to be near friends and colleagues - but that fell through. After surgery on her back, Linda was eventually transferred to a rehab center. From there she had radiation therapy on the tumor on her brain. She has not progressed well and will not live much longer. Patty and I have visited several times. On one of the visits, we took this photo of the three of us bald people.
Our family and friends continue to have more problems as we age. Last week, Jane had surgery on her left arm/wrist to repair damage done when she fell this summer in Maine; today (Dec. 22) she is having a new cast put on her arm. Shawn had work done yesterday to deal with kidney stones in both kidneys. After a rough night at home, she was admitted to the hospital today; we hope to visit her later today.
Yesterday (Dec. 21) Patty and I hiked Phoenix Trail #308, the Lookout Mountain Circumferential Trail. We made a few wrong turns that let us explore the area more and extend the hike. We came across one of the trees that had been decorated for Christmas.
Today, Patty is packing for her trip to Ketchikan - it will be the first time since at least 2007 when the two of them will be together for Christmas. It will also be Patty's first visit to Ketchikan. I hope to get there in 2016.
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