Saturday, February 1, 2020

Helen Comes to Visit, Jan. 8 - 15, 2020

After returning from Portland on Dec. 29, we spent a couple of days in Phoenix before heading up to Flagstaff on Jan. 1.  While in Flag, one day Patty and I walked to the Whole Food Store - it is about a 25 minute walk.  We ended up filling two backpacks.


We passed by a home that reminded us of the decorations we would have seen in Portland.



Patty had purchased a rug at Target, but we wanted two others to cover the tiles in the front hallway, so one of my errands was to return to Target.


Paulie is getting acclimated to our home in Flagstaff - she even seems to walk more when we are there, compared to how much she walks when we are in Phoenix.  For snacks, we tried to find a lower calorie snack and switched her to cheese balls.



We bought four dining room chairs from Ikea.  Usually, we have been very happy with how Ikea products fit together and how they last.  These chairs were made incorrectly and none of them had the holes line up properly.  So they had to be returned.  On Wednesday, Jan. 8, I drove to Phoenix, returned the chairs and got two other chairs we liked.  I assembled the chairs and put them into the car, then drove to the airport to pick up Helen who had flown from Boston via Atlanta.





Wednesday evening, Helen and I stayed in Phoenix and Thursday morning we drove to Flagstaff.  Patty made an excellent lunch.  Friday we went to see the movie 1917.



Saturday we went to the Lowell Observatory, the "home of Pluto" to learn about what they do, including the history behind the discovery of Pluto.

Plan-Your-Visit-Lowell-Observatory

We wondered into town and had pastries and coffee at a bakery that was very retro.


On one of the cold evenings, we sat by the gas fireplace with wine and cheese, with Helen using one of the new dining room chairs.


On Sunday, we visited Riordan Mansion State Historic Park.  Prohibition became law by the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on Jan. 16, 1919.  So the park had a special tour to celebrate the history of the Prohibition era and we learned how the good Irish Catholic Riordan family opposed prohibition and how they got around the law.







On Monday, we visited the Museum of Northern Arizona and learned about the history of the geologic and biologic changes of the area as well as the history of the native groups that lived there.


This included the story of and exhibits about the Navajo Star Wars.




On Tuesday, Helen and I drove to Phoenix and on to Ikea to get two more dining room chairs.  Then we went to the Desert Botanical Garden for lunch.  While I did a couple of hours at the Yucca station, Helen had time to explore the garden, including the art work from Cracking Art Cooperative from Milan, Italy.


Tuesday afternoon, we met at 4:30 (in time for Happy Hour) at the Windsor and enjoyed several hours visiting with Anne, Shawn, Jane, Cathy, Meg, Lauren and Gardner.


Wednesday morning, I took Helen to the airport at 5:00 a.m., had blood work and breakfast at the VA and then drove back to Flagstaff.

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