Fall - - Finally - 2011

Alex, me, Lewis at Jan & Julia's house in Virginia

July 1, 2011 – Friday
Left Phx VERY early to go to Virginia to spend the next 17 days with Lewis’s brother, Jan and his family. Flight got in around 5pm so we still had some time. Went to my favorite Chinese restaurant in VA – the one we go to whenever we’re there. I always look forward to that.

July 2 – Sat
My 56th birthday. 56. Who would have ever guessed I’d be 56!?
Very nice dinner (and chocolate pie).

Spent a good portion of the wk reading, playing games. Just relaxing.

July 9, 2011 - Saturday
After a way-too-long drive on a little bit of highway and a lot of 2-lane, winding country roads, (almost 4 hrs), we arrived at the lake house. This place is 9,500 sq. ft. I will detail the house more later, but for now, I need to lie down because I almost got car sick - even sitting in the front seat.

Aerial view of the lakehouse.

Lewis, Jan, Alex, Jason on top deck of lakehouse

Jason & Alex on our dock

July 10, 2011 - Sunday
Lewis and Jan went to the marina and got the boat today. We'll have it for the whole wk.

Lewis on the boat

When they got back, I was still asleep (it IS my vacation, after all). Lewis came in our bedroom and laid a pair of sandals next to me that he saw me eyeing in the store yesterday. Nice surprise!

Spent some time out in the boat. The lake, surprisingly, is about as warm as the pools in Arizona. I usually don’t’ get in the water until it’s about 88 or 89 degrees.

A couple of nights we just got in the boat and cruised over to the marina for dinner. The marina is a 3-story structure of fun shops and restaurants. And, of course, an ice cream shop. Lots of cool gift shops too.

July 17, 2011 – Sun
Got back to Phx and home to our sweet little Sparky. Eric picked her up for us at her hotel so she would be home when we got home. Missed her so much! But after 17 days, it’s really nice to be home.

Back home to the princess.


July 18, 2011 dust storm in Phx.. Here’s the link to the news of the haboob:
http://news.yahoo.com/giant-dust-storm-moves-phoenix-area-012217327.html
(Just what the heck kind of a word is “haboob” ?)

July 22, 2011 – Fri
Early morning, Alex left for the Hotel del Coronado (CA) with a friend’s family. They will be gone until next Fri. Gorgeous, historic hotel right on the beach.

July 25 - Alex and his friend tried surfing a few times.

Our new sunscreens were installed on the house. The old ones were as old as the house (14 yrs) and they didn’t seem to function as they were supposed to anymore. It was getting hotter in the house in the summer, so new ones were in order. We got a few estimates and decided to go with this company. They are family owned and operated. I will not insert a picture of a sunscreen here. They are, after all, just sunscreens.

July 24 – Sun
Celebrated the July birthdays at Cathy and Dennis’s today. The July birthdays are Aunt Bertha, Cath, and me. Samantha, Michael, and Riley were there too. She is just too cute. Little Riley is now a month old. I love holding her. She is such a little snuggle bug.

Aunt Bertha & Riley

July 29 – Fri
Finally went to have my tires rotated. Talk about excitement! I just sat there for the 30 minutes and read my book. No time wasted.

July 31 – Sun
Lewis, Alex, and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was really good. Tied everything together.

Aug 1 – Mon
Alex had to go to school today to register. Senior year! Wow! Did the time fly! My baby starts senior yr of high school on Mon, Aug 8. Then he and some friends went to see “Cowboys and Aliens.” Don’t even know what kind of a movie that is. Don’t want to know either.
Then he came home, grabbed some stuff and went to the gym. His home away from home.

Tomorrow (8/2) we are going to have his senior portrait done. He wants to wear a tie too.

Do NOT see the movie “The American” with George Clooney.

Another hijacking. Another pirate mystery – to me, anyway. A while ago in one of my blogs I mentioned that I had recently read in a pirate hijacking article, “The attorneys for the pirates…” & I thought that was outrageous. Attorneys for pirates?
Now, this. An excerpt from an article I read today (below). The pirates apparently have a business model. I wonder if they had to submit a business plan before they could start stealing ships. This is a crazy world we live in.
Do you think the attorney for the pirates shows up in court with a parrot on his shoulder?

"The pirates are unlikely to hurt the four Americans because they won't win any ransom money if they do, said Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, the head of Dryad Maritime Intelligence.
He argued that the pirates would be wise to abandon the yacht because the hijacking threatens their business model, which relies on ransoms from large shipping and insurance companies."

Their business model? What world are we living in?

"They risk the collapse of their business model if they change their status quo and the American government deems that they pose an immediate threat to the safety of American citizens," he said.
"They've made a mistake, and it's in the Somalis' business interest to get off the yacht as soon as possible," he added.

What the f*** ????
Unfortunately, we all know the outcome of that hijacking.

Oct 2 – Sun
Lewis & Alex went to the Cardinals game today with Dennis. Dennis had 4 tickets so Allan went with them too. They are still gone, so it’s just Sparky & me now. Peaceful here. After I put the laundry in the drier I will sit down & have some lunch.

We have filet mignon & creamed spinach left over from last night. Lewis & I went to the pre-grand opening of a new steakhouse in the Scottsdale Quarter called Dominick’s Steakhouse. We sat upstairs in an open rooftop area around a pool. It was beautiful. Service was excellent, & the food was amazing. Lewis thought his steak was better than Fleming’s - - our standard for filet. I thought it was ALMOST as good as Fleming’s. We brought home leftovers – about ½ of each steak & almost all of the spinach. It was served family style in a huge dish. We have more left than we ate. Now I’m really getting hungry.

Oct 31 – Mon HAPPY HALLOWEEN
This will be the first Halloween that we have opted out. It makes me sad to have to do this. Last Halloween we only had 3 doorbell rings. The year before, 5 doorbell rings. Every year it has gotten worse as the kids in the neighborhood have grown up. This yr Alex is at a friend’s house. He will eat there & probably play Madden & spend the night.
I did not decorate this year. I have about a dozen of those huge Rubbermaid tubs of Halloween decorations in the garage. Maybe whenever we move our new neighborhood will have more kids & I will decorate again.

So now that Alex is at his friend’s for the night, Lewis & I are making cheese fondue. Alex hates cheese so we try not to make the cheese fondue when he’s home. He can’t even stand the way it smells. What kind of an Italian kid did I have!? We are also going to watch a couple of creepy Halloween movies that I recorded last wk. Sparky will probably be happy that the doorbell won’t be ringing. It’s one of the few times she actually barks.

On Sat, Lewis had to buy a new tennis racquet. The first new one in 6 years because last Sunday his racquet just cracked while he was playing. The tennis store gave him a couple to try out before he decides what to buy. Then we went to lunch.

Nov 2 – Weds
Lewis & I went to Cheesecake Factory yesterday for dinner for a mystery shop. I love these restaurant mystery shops. The oil change ones are good too because I wait until I need an oil change & then I go & do the shop. Get paid for doing it & get reimbursed for the oil change too. I’m registered with about 25 mystery shopping companies. Have been doing mystery shopping for a little over 20 years. At this point, I have such a good rating with most of them that I get contacted for the good ones first. Get paid to eat my dinner & get reimbursed for completing their online survey after the meal. Can’t beat that. By the way, if anyone is interested, I have created a list of my favorite mystery shopping companies & how to register for them. If you want me to email it to you, just let me know. You never have to pay to register. Everything is free. And you don’t have to accept any shops you don’t want. For instance, I never accept any that are farther than I would normally go for dinner. I also don’t do the bank shops or apartment shops. I don’t want to pretend I want to open an account or look for an apartment. Those types of shops pay a little more than the restaurant shops because you aren’t getting reimbursed for a meal. I almost went to the Mercedes dealer shop. I was supposed to test drive a car & report on the service. But I was afraid I'd drive out of there in a new Mercedes so I declined. One of these days . . . . . .

Nov 3 – Thursday
Tonight is the season premier of “Bones.” Lewis & I have been looking forward to this for a long time. Bones is now pregnant, which we found out during the last 20 seconds of the season finale. Booth is the father. Should be fun. Then again, I’m easily amused.

Went back to the ophthalmologist today for my cataract surgery follow-up. Eyes are doing great. Afterwards, I went to the little shop next door to look at sunglasses. Since my cataract surgery, I only need glasses for distance – driving, watching TV, movies, so my favorite Maui Jim sunglasses, which are not prescription, no longer work for driving. I checked out Maui Jims at the little shop today & found a pair I like. But when I told the lady I needed a prescription in them she checked it out for me & told me it would be $700.00. Well, after I came to & got up off the floor, I asked her to show me another style of Maui Jim. She said they all run that high. I could pick another brand for a much lower price. So I went away a little sad. I will now do some research & look on some websites to see how I can get those sunglasses cheaper than $700! Another little project for me. But since I’m partial to Maui Jims, I don’t think I can get the price too much lower.

Nov 11 – Friday ---- Wait, let’s do this right (write) 11/11/11. I’ve wanted to write that for a long time.
Today, 11/11/11, at exactly 11:11 a.m., Lewis, Alex, & I, & a friend of Alex’s were at ASU with a tour guide named Michael. Michael was walking us around the campus, the area of the W.P. Carey School of Business where Alex will be going in August. As we were walking from 1 area to another, Michael looked at his watch & said, “Okay, it’s time. It’s 11:11 on 11/11.” But nothing happened. The sky didn’t fall, the ground didn’t open up. We just continued to walk. Well, we have another chance. Tonight at 11:11, we’ll see. Lewis & I will probably be asleep by then.

We looked at 3 of the dorms. The 1 is right next to the business school & it seems to be the nicest - & the newest. We already put a deposit down on it. It was nice walking around though. There are so many cool things on campus.

When we were finished, we went to the Chuck Box for lunch. That place has been there since the early 70’s. Family owned & operated all these years. Quite an institution. As we drove around campus, we pointed out all the places to eat to Alex. Lewis graduated from ASU in 1976. Our son will graduate from ASU in 2016 - - - 40 yrs later. Wow! Just think about that. The dorm Lewis lived in has been torn down. New buildings all over the place. It’s really a beautiful campus.

Going out tonight with Allan & Candy, Lewis & me, & an old high school friend of Lewis’s who lives in Calif & gets to AZ on business about once a month.

On the way to ASU this morning, we dropped my car off at the dealer to have the window fixed. It won’t go up. They called us with a reasonable quote for repairs so they’ll probably have my car until late Sat or Mon.

We took Sparky to the vet a couple days ago. You may remember she had leg surgery 2 years ago for a torn ACL in her back right leg (knee). She now needs it in her left leg. Poor baby has been limping. She’s been on anti-inflammatories for over a wk & that seems to be helping her. She doesn’t hobble as much, but we have to have the surgery. It’s scheduled for next Tues.

Nov 18 – Fri
Well, the little princess had surgery on her back right leg Tues afternoon. It was almost 2 yrs ago exactly (Oct, 2009) that she had surgery on her right ACL. Now it’s the left one. Poor baby does not like being in a cast that’s almost as wide as her whole body. She has to be crated for 6 wks. We have a very large crate so she isn’t cramped. She can stand up in it & take a step or 2. But when I’m at the computer, I put her on her pillow next to my desk. She is more comfortable like that. Also, when we watch tv at night, I hold her on my lap with a pillow by my knees for her head so her cast doesn’t get squished. But I do have to keep her in the crate sometimes. When I was making breakfast this morning she was in there. It isn’t one of those plastic crates; it’s all wire so she can see us wherever we are. She was watching me cook eggs & she was having one of her little Sparky tantrums. She stomps her front paw down on the crate (or bed, or wherever we are), then she makes a noise. If no one acknowledges her, she does it again, & again. Then she starts trying to knock her food bowl over with her nose. Then she covers it with her blanket. She puts the blanket in her mouth & tries to cover the food, then she will go back to trying to knock the dish over again. I removed her water before she got a chance to knock that over too. I just let her do it & go about my business. Must make her feel better. She’s really very cute. The vet gave me samples of these Greenies things called Pill Pockets. They are amazing! We have tried so many different things over the years to get her to take pills. Sometimes what we try works, then it doesn’t. Usually, hiding her pill in peanut butter works, but she’s caught on to that now too, but the Pill Pockets are great. I highly recommend them.

Mom’s birthday was Nov 15 (She is 78 yrs old now). We had the family over to our house this time. Cath & Dennis just got back from Italy & their cruise so I thought it might be nice for them not to have to do any cleaning or preparing so soon after getting back. They always do all the work. It was nice having everyone here.That little Riley is just cute as can be. She is almost 5 months old now. She’s so beautiful. Always smiling.

Mom's birthday

Picture on left - Cath holding Sparky, Mom, & Terry

Picture on right - Alex, little Riley, & Samantha

Speaking of babies in the family, Tarah is expecting her baby in April. It will be 1 month after the twins turn 3 yrs old. Tarah got a good promotion & they moved to CA, so we won’t get to see the kids as often as we’d like. But Tarah is great about keeping her website up to date with lots of pictures.

Alex turned 18 yrs old on Oct 19. The years sure went by fast. I remember when he was a baby, people would say things to me like, “Enjoy him while he’s young because he will grow up too soon.” I couldn’t understand how they could think that. But here we are – 18 yrs later. In less than a yr, he’ll be out of the house, living in a dorm on campus. Yes, time certainly does go quickly. Too quickly. I don’t like that one bit.

Lewis & I went out with Eric & Patty last night. Went to a Japanese Fusion restaurant called Iron Chef. Eric & Lewis both got the all-you-can-eat sushi. Weird looking plates of colored stuff just kept coming out to both of them. I have never cared for anything raw. I had the udon noodle soup. Then we went back to their house afterwards for ice cream.

Nov 20 - Sun

Supposed to rain later tonight or tomorrow. Please please pleaseeeee. I would love to see some rain. But it didn't rain this morning so Lewis was able to play tennis - his regular wkly game. With his new racquet.

That's all the excitement for now. Keep in touch. Let me know what's going on in your world.

Hugs,

Candace