We traveled to Christopher Creek in the White Mountains (north and east of Phoenix) for a Labor Day weekend stay with Jim, Liz and Jimmy. We were on the road before the sun came up to drive about an hour from their cabin to watch early morning wildlife (deer, elk and turkey).
We then met up with friends Mike and Sue and Allison and Brian for a hike - great day! We ended the day at Liz's sister and her husband's home for dinner. Thanks Marilyn and Mel for inviting us all over!
L-R: Sue, me, Allison, Liz and Marilyn
Liz, Jimmy, Larry and I went to a Diamondbacks game.
We enjoyed the lunar eclipse.
Larry had business in Rapid City in October so we added some vacation time allowing for a drive through Colorado to see fall colors. We drove to Telluride for the first night - beautiful.
Next day took us to Frisco near Aspen and the following day found us in Estes Park including a drive through Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw a lot of elk on that drive but I most enjoyed all the elk we saw on the golf course in Estes.
We then headed to Harrison to winterize Dorothy's home while she is in Wichita recovering from her knee replacement surgery. We were able to spend some time with friends John and Terry. Okay, so my camera doesn't always do a good job either....
Following an extremely quiet stay in Harrison (we're usually back during Fair when nearly all of the family is back) we headed for Angostura near Hot Springs, SD, to visit Virginia and Dennis in their new home. Larry headed onto Rapid City for his business and I stayed with Virginia and Dennis - enjoyed some nice walks along the lake.
We missed two of nephew Jimmy's football games but they were able to overcome our absence from the crowd and win anyway! Sister Jackie had arrived in Phoenix and was able to see Jimmy play allowing us a family photo.
The following Friday was senior night. Jimmy invited me to walk with him and his parents when he was introduced - gad, what an honor. They won their game for a regular season record of 8-2. Playoffs begin this Friday, November 6. Go Cats!!
The back yard remodel that began in late May: One of the features we liked about this house when we moved here four years ago was the back yard. We spend a lot of time on the back porch and we liked the back yard...but now we love the back yard. The remodel idea started because we wanted to move the outdoor grill to a shadier area (imagine July and 115 degrees and using the grill) and we decided a fire pit was more practical than the beehive fireplace feature and we wanted to replace the tile on the under roof patio. Well, those ideas morphed into a total back yard remodel.
The before picture:
The after picture:
Larry has been working on the landscaping and I need to take care of some touch up painting but in the meantime, we're very much enjoying the final product!
Larry's job continues to go well. He has been able to incorporate a reduced hour work week to a four day work week for the most part. Most of his travel is in Arizona and New Mexico.
On the health front, I haven't been able to shake a cough for several months so Dr. Paripati decided to take me off the chemo oral drug therapy and is sending me to a pulmonologist. My recent scan showed something going on in the lungs but she is thinking it is infection vs. cancer. I've been off the drug for less than two weeks and the cough has pretty much resolved. Interesting that the Temodar can cause lung infection in only 1% of the population. I meet with the pulmonologist on Nov. 11, and oncology again on the 18th at which time I'll find out when I'll start up on the drug again.
Thanksgiving is around the corner! We'll be going to San Diego the days before Thanksgiving spending it with Liz and Jim and Liz's sister Marilyn and her husband Mel. Looking forward to the trip - I can't remember the last time we were in San Diego. We'll spend Thanksgiving with friends Mike and Sue and their family.
No comments:
Post a Comment