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Hi ~ well, on countdown to our last days here It has been a really busy month so I will try and be brief.
Each state, or a group of States, puts on a party for people from there. Well, there is one big Canadian celebration and it is reputed to be the best so non-Canadians sneak in :) There is a dinner and then all kinds of entertainment and they had a slide show featuring how much snow there is in Canada (everywhere it seems)-fun time!
Once a month there is a pancake breakfast which is a fund-raiser for all the shops (like glass fusion, woodwork, silversmithing) and being a good girl, I volunteer to help serve. But, it starts at 7am! I have to be there at 6:30!!!If you know me well, you know I am not an early-bird. Thought I had left the alarm clock behind me :)
We have been playing Pickleball several times a week and there are about 40 people who play regularly. But, we decided to have a beginner's clinic so I helped out by showing stretching ( all these old people aren't too flexible, you know) and helping them with getting the ball over the net (sum total of my knowledge :) Now there are even more people playing, a really fun group.
Due to our stupid Canadian medical insurance rules, Malcolm had to go home in February so his premium would be reasonable. So, up at 4:30, he flew to Vancouver, had a coffee and flew back by 11pm. Dumb eh?
A few years ago while we were in a resort in Texas I was shown how to decorate T-shirts using stencils and bleach. Some of the women here liked them and demanded to be shown how to do it. So, had 2 sessions which were lots of fun. Now they want more next year!
There have been two wine-tasting parties here - a local store brings in 6 wines and we all get to see how uncouth we are. At the last one a guy from Kelowna started to play the piano and people were dancing and after we left I heard that people were jumping into the pool fully-clothed. Must have liked the wine.
We had "Margarita Monday" by the pool and were entertained by a Mariachi band, they were good too.
Once a season there is a fashion show - a local store uses RVers for models and brings in casual clothes. A group of residents decorates the room(the theme was black and white) and this year men did all the cooking for lunch and escorted the women into the show all dressed up in black pants, white shirts and black bowties. I have put a couple of pictures of it in this blog, it was quite elegant.
There is a lot of entertainment at night and once a steel-drum band from a local high school came - they were really good, played by memory,and the teacher explained all about the drums.
Well, we got talked into doing another slide show -this time we did New Zealand, had about 130 people come and now they all know what a haka is! It went well but we have decided that it`s a lot of work(since we are so bad about organising our photos) so only one a year from now on.
Another thing we got talked into (well, sort of, we were both keen) was indoor skydiving! What a blast!!! You get a lesson, they suit you up with a coverall, ear-plugs, helmet and goggle then you `fall`into a cylinder which has a huge fan underneath and you fly! We had two turns and on the second one the air speed increases and you fly up about 30ft in the air, spin about as you`re coming down and do that 3 times!! The instructor is holding onto you to make sure you come down :) There was a group of 14 of us from here (mostly pickleball players) and the resort supplied the bus and driver. Loved it!!I will try and post some photos.
There is a group here who, led by an ex-college music prof, put on an evening of songs. Some of our friends are in it and one did a great solo.
We are now pinball wizards! Went to downtown Tucson for lunch then to a place that has a lot of old pinball machines - fun for a little while.
Last week the photo club put on a wine and cheese while they showcased the photos that won their competition.
There are some very talented people here and it is very interesting getting to know people and finding out what they did for jobs. One guy worked at the nuclear plant in new Mexico, another did computer work for a branch of the US government that he still can`t talk about, 2 were teachers of deaf kids etc We are finally getting a bit of a grip on how American politics works though really a lot of Americans are just as mystified as we are!
I have still been doing glass fusion and loving it! Nice people and lots of fun Wish I was more creative but noooo
This has been a really fun winter and we are looking forward to returning next year and meeting up again with friends. Now it is getting hot, people are leaving, activities slowing down so time to head the truck north. We will be home by April 13th.
Hope all is good with you -please write!!
Malcolm and Elinor
(and Tess of course)
- comments
Irene Sounds like a really fun time you guys have been having! I would love to try the indoor skydiving! Have a safe drive home. Hopefully the sunshine will still be here when you arrive back on the 13th.:-)
Christine Flowers You have sure had fun! Now you'll have to entertain yourselves at home
Brenda Cofield Wow Elinor what an amazing time you are having down south!! I really enjoy getting your blogs and hearing what you are up to. You are both so active. Your are very creative. You need to show us how to make the t-shirts. It would also be fun to learn how to make soap. I'm hooked on the soap and loofa you got me for Xmas. The skydiving, how fun would that be. I look forward to seeing you when you get home. Safe travels! Love Brenda
Alison Glad you're both having a really fun time. See you at home soon - safe travels.
Jayne Glad you have had a lovely time there. We have enjoyed hearing all about it and seeing your photos. We are thinking of going to Galapagos for our holiday this year and want to pick your brains as I remember you saying you went there - maybe drop me an email when you get back and we can discuss :-) x
Liz Jordan So lovely to hear about all of your activities, they sound like a lot of fun. I so much enjoy your photos as well. So sorry Im not too great at writing and getting back to you. Summer is coming to a close here and it has been a great one. Busy with all my harvesting of beans and tomatoes, relish making, freezing beans and David gave me a huge load of figs so have been making jam and paste to go with the blue cheese and freezing the rest for future batches. Growing seeds in the hothouse for autumn plantings and continuing to build tracks through the bush and through the orchard we are developing. Soon be planting time again. Life is busy in retirement! Travel safe on your trip home. XX
Liz Bell Busy, busy, busy!!! Good to hear what you've been up to. So are you going home for a rest? We got home from on around the 21st after a nearly 3 week trip to Myanmar. A fantastic experience. Love to you both.
Annie Scholton Good to hear from you. Sounds like a great park, what is it's name? Do they have tennis courts?We have just got back from 2and half months in Vietnam and Cambodia. Teaching english as volunteers. No birds over there, they eat them all!!! Keep in touch
Gaby Lepitre Wow, you both sure are keeping busy. All of your activities sound like loads of fun - thank you for sharing. The weather here has been fabulous - a little windy today but you're coming back at a good time weather-wise. Have a safe trip home and hope to see you sometime this summer! Hugs