I remember when..........

........I used to be a pretty good photographer and eagerly shared my efforts on the blog.    I carried the big camera on grueling uphill hikes, thru botanical gardens, focused on distant vistas and captured the grandkids in special moments.    Fast forward to present day......  My camera is rarely charged and my iPhone becomes the go-to short cut to capturing my world.    I think it reflects most everything about today's life.   The short attention spans and the inability to stop, look and listen as we seek instant gratification.      I must get better........Meanwhile, here's my snapshot views of the last couple of days.   

My  sisters came to AZ this week.    We gathered at Jeff and Jen's beautiful Scottsdale home and filled in the spaces since we last shared a bit of wine 18 mos ago.     They are funny, generous and very talented 'younger' sisters.     We also met up with a favorite cousin.    We laughed over all the childhood memories and found that the years hadn't diminished the stories.      From L to R    Sandy, Diane (the favorite cousin), the author of the world wide blog and Maureen.         It was a special time.

The next day, we loaded up the Jeep and headed north to Colorado.      Having only spent a couple of weeks in the new house, I am needing to get some things done and make arrangements for painting and some remodeling.     It's 550+ mi and doable in a days drive.    But, the mountains have been buried in snow so it was very slow going over Lizard Head Pass south of Telluride.    The views were breathtaking.    Maybe I could have captured the beauty with the other camera and the willingness to stop and step outside the car...... but we were anxious to get to lower levels before dark so the trusty phone had to be good enough.
 

After getting to a lower altitude and the setting sun, we had to deal with deer wandering the roads....very scary and this year, with the tremendous snows, the deer are leaving their safe areas to find food and the carnage on the roads has increased dramatically.    This morning, I read that they are setting up feeding stations to keep them off the roads.   

The undercarriage of the Jeep was heavy with chunky ice....this morning it cluttered up the floor.

It's good to be home !      ( for a week or so ).

Alive and mostly well.......

 After getting partially settled, we left the cold west and flew to the cold east on Dec 22nd.    Prior to departure, we received word that there were evil germs lurking in the body of this innocent and adorably cute kid.   However, we felt brave and invincible and armed with a store's supply of ColdEze and hand sanitizer, we forged ahead.

 On Christmas Day, this very tall 13 year old, who preferred not to be photographed, came down with the bug and spent the day prostrate on the couch with a 103 temp.   It was over for everyone by that time.   One by one, we succumbed.  

Despite all of the misery, it was a wonderful family gathering and almost worth every sneeze.

Feeling rather crummy, we took the plague with us and flew back to FL to retrieve the RV.    Despite a strong will, we had to say no to a neighborhood gathering that the Scott's so generously planned.  We will surely miss them and the good times we've shared.
We gave ourselves an extra day or two to try and heal ourselves but then we had to leave as there were no more reservations to be had.     We limped westward until we got to San Antonio where one of us finally gave in and admitted to being really sick.    Drugs became his friends.  

Eventually, we made it across Texas and into Arizona and finally settled into our spot  at Palm Creek Resort in Casa Grande.     

It's nice here....lots of activities, lots of very nice RV's, lots of small houses, lots of Pickleball and a golf course.   We haven't explored the surrounding area but don't think there's much to see except desert.    We have several CO friends about 30 min away and look forward to catching up with them on Saturday.   Jeff and Jen are about 90 min away and we will get up there when they are not so busy.

We would like to drive back up to the house ( a long day's drive) to get some things we neglected to bring.....hiking stuff, bikes..... But the roads throughout CO are inundated with snow and avalanche warnings and closings....we'll wait  for clear weather and venture forth.  

The weight of buying and selling and selling and moving and moving  has finally been lifted.   I can't wait to get back to the house and get settled.... probably not before late March or April.    Until then, we'll enjoy the sun...........