American in Oz: Tour de France

American in Oz: Tour de France

The Birds are Singing

Morning sun filtering, birds chirping, coffee being sipped. All is well. The problems that develop through the day require love and patience and calm willingness to be in the shoes of the other person. And a sense of humor. I am blessed with all of the above. Thanks be said. Today maybe a movie, we have not seen Water for Elephants. We plan to leave here for NoDak about June 4. Plenty to do and I will be reluctant to leave this wonderful home.

Home at Sweet Spring House

We are now LIVING in Green Valley, AZ. Our new address is the Spanish word Manantial which translates: Sweet Spring of water flowing. What an amazing turn of events. I just took note of the passing of exactly 2 years since my left knee was replaced in Tucson and I was recuperating at the home of my friend Carol Lyen. She took me in to her "rehab" center in Phoenix. My recovery was speedy and on the 18th of April I flew to Bismarck and went to 3 days of school to be a qualified.....census worker. Now I am in partnership with Wesley Minear and we have moved into a wonderful house in Green Valley. We are having FUN making it our place. Lots of room to organize and put our stuff away so we can find it. Closet and cabinet space. Two bathrooms. A guest room, a workshop, a double garage, a patio and lots of other features that delight us.
The back yard is a magnet for birds and bees. Now the aloe vera are blooming and we have bird feeders and bird baths. The aloe vera are attracting bees and hummingbirds.
Cardinals and their cousin the pyruluxia. Good times.
This morning we had an over the stove microwave installed. Very spiffy. I may need the instruction manual for a few days. Let us surround each other with love and light in these times when we hear everyday about the natural and manmade disasters that are occuring all around the world. Prayerfully submitted. MNO

Windy Day. Arizona Style

Yes the wind has been howling and blowing and moaning and moving everything around. Reminds me of a breezy day in Dakota with NO windbreaks. It let up a bit ago. We have a lot of Red Winged Blackbirds here chowing down at the feeders getting ready to fly north. I heard the Red Winged song a few days ago and if I closed my eyes I could have been at the edge of the cattails by the slough. Wes and I are going to Phoenix/Mesa/Chandler on friday. Saturday we will go to a Swap Meet for HAMs. HamFest. Nothing to do with pork, all to do with amateur radio. Wes has a lot of suff to sell. The plan is to come home with NOTHING. Meanwhile buying a house takes at LOT longer than buying a car. Another learning experience. We know can look very optimistically at getting the keys to 111 W. Calle Manantial Kent Green Valley AZ 85614. on the 17th of March. Sunday the 13th we go to Baseball games in Chandler. The Valley City Vikings, coached by Casey C. Olney will be playing in
Arizona for a week. I am really looking forward to some fun in the sun. I want to get settled in the Green Valley house soon so we can travel north in May. We are selling the motorcoach so we will be traveling without that spacious ride. All is well.

New all over again.

MY Tooth cavern is healing very quickly and I am grateful. My friend is dealingwith/suffering with MURSA infection. It has settled in her spine. Very difficult situation. Our medics do not have a solution. very resistant virus.

Wes and I are SDP (sorting,discarding,packing). This includes giving away when we know of someone who will enjoy or use the item.. I this day and age recycele shops and flea markets are doing "land office" business. Wes is selling his motorcoach too so this involves another small household of kitchen tools, dishes and supplies.
It makes it easier when we have a lot of room to work with. This building is 4 by 80 feet. So we have areas in the garage for the boxes for each category. Wes also makes a trip to the dump ground every couple of days

Today we got a box of fresh garden produce from the organic garden just down the road. Carrots, cabbage, leaf lettuce, squash in the box this week. We get a box each Thursday. We do not have a choice of what is in the box, depends on the garden

Tommorow is my weekly Vitamin B shot and then we will take a load of stuff to the
WHITE ELEPHANT the local thrift store. We may have a game of dominoes on the agenda too..

More dental work

Last Thursday I went to the dentist that I have adopted. Dental work is costly. I get very quiet and introspective and perplexed when I come to the point that I must find a dentist to FIX a problem with my chompers. The past 4 years have been very very costly for me in the dental department. It is a long story. Someday I will write it all out for my own benefit, so I'll know where the money I have been saving for a trip to Australia disappeared to. Today a good Doc pulled a molar out of my lower jawbone. I found out dentists swear. "come on out you little devil" was what he said. So it came out and now I am staying quiet and healing and taking ibuprofen, vicodin and antibiotics. What a combination.
Wes feels sorry for me so I got to watch The Good Wife without recording it tonight. Whoopee, simple pleasures. Strawberry smoothies, yogurt and bananas delivered to the recliner by my sweet caretaker, Wes.