QIX is not a word ......

The parents came home and then it snowed some more..... 9 more inches !   This time it was fluffier and easier to manage and we had power and I just sat with my tea and knit through it all. 

Mary Beth's office was closed and Jon was home and school was closed AGAIN ..... so, we played a boisterous game of Scrabble.    We had been playing it for several days on the XBOX but the boys requested the board game.    I went to Target and looked and looked for the familiar box.    Finally I found this skimpy red flimsy look alike.    Apparently they have done away with the nice tiles, the wooden holders and the substantial board.    I looked on Amazon and they had $199.00 !! ones but not the familiar.     Anyway, it still involves coming up with words from what you have and verbal 

sparring over ' That's not a word " !!       

Then the Ides of March came and Andy turned 15.... just how did that happen?  That's an ice cream cake with Oreo base....

Jon also celebrated many more years on the 13th.    I remember that Friday very well....it snowed and the other two boys had the chicken pox.  

Meanwhile, while we were battling Mother Nature in CT, Alex came to AZ.     We were sorry that we missed this special young man.
He played golf with Jeff and Jen .... he's very good.....

Not sure where the next generation is getting those tall genes.... Andy is taller than most of us and Alex is towering above everyone.  









We're back in the desert...  A bit jet- lagged as AZ doesn't do the DST thing so we are trying to adjust to the 3 hr time difference.  

We played our first round of golf yesterday afternoon.    Only 9 holes on the pretty Par 3 course.   It's a good warm up for when I rejoin my league at Cobble Creek.      We felt those muscles that haven't been used in awhile.  

I have really ugly hands.    I have my mother's arthritic knobby fingers.    She always said that they didn't hurt but mine do.    It's the only place in my body that I feel the burning and aching of swollen joints.    It was especially painful after my golf.    I have the MJ cream and that helps.    I'll have to remember to use it before I go out again.     We were in Costco the other day and I always check out the diamond rings as I pass by on my way to the more mundane products.     They had a $28,000 emerald cut and P offered to buy it for me ..... not !    We've reached the point where we could probably afford nice jewelry (not the $$$ kind)  but the hands are too scary to wear it....sigh....

Excuses........

I have a few......mostly due to slow WIFI at our sight.    Plus,   our daily happenings are not that blog-worthy.    We go to pottery or pickleball.    We walk, we bike, we knit, we read and when the sun begins it's evening display over the desert, we gather around the portable gas fire pit and laugh with our friends and neighbors.    It's a good life..... for a few months.   

The pickleball courts at Palm Creek RV resort are the most popular place to be.   There are 32 lighted courts with covered seating between, water stations, a pool, BBQ area and nice bathrooms.    The member tournament is always popular with the over 900 !!!!! members.    This year, Paul and his partner Tom took a medal.    They 'almost' got the top prize.

  

 Linda and Therese warm up early in the morning.   Our neighbors, they took Gold in their first tournament.  

Biking is the easiest way to get around the spacious grounds....some people use a golf cart but this is better exercise.    This view is just one side of the parking area....the other side was just as full at the courts.     We have baskets on our bikes and it is very convenient.   Some attach their golf pull carts to the back for trips to the course.  

My sister Maureen and brother Tom passed thru the area one chilly day.    We wandered about the Desert Museum in Tucson ..... always a favorite place.    I hope to get back to see the desert in bloom.  

  

And then we came to Connecticut.     And so did the Nor'easter Quinn.    We were invited to play with the grand boys for a week and we didn't hesitate.    They are delightful.    And don't we all love having a strong tall 15 year old around.    

   

 The snow started out slow and shoveling was fun and easy...... and made great snowballs.

 And then it came down with more intensity and weight and then it became work.....

 And then, the wind started to blow and the trees shuttered and came crashing down all over.....and the power went.    So the men pondered the mechanics of the generator.   And due to darkness, decided that the wiring needed was pretty sophisticated and  so a group decision was made to wait until morning.      We rounded up flashlights and candles and some of them had ice cream and cookies for dinner because their grandmother is easy......   We retired early.....without our customary electric blankets.   And it kept snowing.

 Saving the dogwood tree from broken branches....

It was very beautiful .... all 24" of the white stuff.      The power came back on later in the day and we all appreciate our modern conveniences and generators even more.

Now that we've shoveled it all, the parents come home today and we will start making plans to head back to the desert for a couple more weeks.      And we're getting anxious  to head home to Colorado soon......