Dear Potentially Bored Blog Readers,
June was rather uneventful. To ensure a good afternoon nap or night's sleep for you, I'll begin by sharing a tidbit of what I do for a living.
I spent the end of May and the first two weeks in June immersed in writing a Project Description for the environmental impact analysis being conducted for the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine on the Coronado National Forest. It was not an easy task to wade through a contractor's report (Plan of Operation) detailing activities needed to construct facilities to mine copper and process it onsite. The organization and flow of the contractor's report was convoluted and often less than comprehensive. Nevertheless, I turned in my deliverable the second week in June and never looked back.
Afterward, I continued to swim laps and nag Vern, two of my favorite hobbies. The monsoon started in June, which was nice, because it watered the vegetation and made the brown grass green again.
At the end of June, we trekked to San Diego (June 28) for my endocrinologist appointment at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla. Instead of staying overnight in SD, where the hotel prices are still outasite, we opted to spend the night in Yuma at a Wingate by Wyndham hotel. Still pricy ($70), but under what we'd have had to fork over for SD lodging. It was nice digs, except for the grossly funky shower curtain. I don't know what the Chinese are making those things from nowadays, but they soooo smell like Steven's jock strap after a soccer or Little League game in 100 degree heat.
In the a.m. on Monday, June 29, we headed west for my 1:20 appt. The Dr's office was supposed to call in a bloodwork order so that I could have it drawn earlier than the appt since i was to be fasting. When we got to the Lab, they didn't have the order...Murphy's law of course. I was feeling woozy from lack of sustenance aka low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. Undeterred by such a simple thing as needing to be fasting and armed with a motto of "better to ask forgiveness than permission", I blazed a trail to Jasmine, our favorite Chinese bistro on Kearny Mesa in SD. Needless to say, we dived into the dim sum offerings with full gusto and entertained the staff and nearby tables with muchos belches!!
Afterward, I met with Dr. Dailey as scheduled, seeking forgiveness for the delightful dim sum meal pre-blood draw. He took it well and gave me a bloodwork order for NON-fasting. Dr. was pleased that my monitor showed recent blood glucose levels of normal. My blood pressure was higher than normal when it was first taken, normal about 10 minutes later when we were leaving. He recommended that I purchase a wrist BP monitor just to keep an eye on it over time, since i am considered elderly now. The purchase will benefit Vern as well, since he is on meds for high BP and has a family history of heart disease.
We had hoped to enjoy a day or two of leisure in SD, but the weather was rather poor. Usually sunny, cool SD was drizzly and cooler than one would like for poolside putzing. We took a spin thru La Jolla beachside and marveled at the courage of those faithful surfers in their wetsuits in water temps of less than 60 degrees. Then, we turned eastward and drove back to Yuma on the same day we travelled over! Not at all a typical visit for us. The expense of staying in SD while it rained was impractical. We checked back into the Wingate in Yuma, same front desk clerk eyeing us quizzically, as she'd just checked us out 8 hours before.
Weather was VERY hot in Yuma. We toured our old haunts, checked on our house on Gateway, where the trees we planted are grazing the clouds. The new owners have painted the place a rusty desert orange, which was very pleasing to behold. The coup de gras was our supper late in the day at Ronnie's Pizza. Ronnie is a native Philadelphian and makes PA pizza second only to Sabatini's in Exeter, PA. Great pie...we ate the WHOLLLLLLE thing! Oink, oink, oink.
Our return from Yuma was uneventful. It was good to drive back in the light of day. We like to spend as much time in SD as possible, and usually end up driving to Tucson in the dark.
I spent the remainder of that week on VACATION on the patio and in our pool. I rested, read, relaxed and did NO household chores that would improve our quality of life on Larkdale. What else is vacation supposed to be?
Next post: July vacation to MA, CT and NJ. See ya then.
a
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Free at Last (Financially) aka The Kid Graduated!
My Tia Wooobeee asked that i get off my duff and update this blog. Because she is so special, i will do my very best to accommodate her quest for knowledge and wisdom (and gossip and such).
Let's see.... I last blogged in April around Easter, eagerly anticipating Nana's visit from TN and Steven's graduation from ASU.
Both events happened as planned.
Nana (Vern's mom) arrived in Tucson on May 11 for a week-long visit at our home. This was her first solo flight, and we hoped that it would be smooth and uneventful. Thanks to American Airlines and perhaps the weather somewhere back East, her flight was delayed leaving Knoxville, which made her miss her connecting flight to Tucson in Dallas. American was not too concerned about her plight, however, becuz there were several later flights that could carry her to Tucson. But, she stood by for the next flight and then another, without boarding. Instead of arriving here around 2 pm as scheduled, she arrived at 7:30 pm. That was 10:30 pm Eastern time. Bless her heart, Nana had an anxiety-filled day, but she was a trooper. Arrived in Tucson unscathed, and not as hungry as we expected. Reason: she had snacked in Dallas while she stood by for flights. Nevertheless, we stopped at a Sonic on the way home and pigged out on junk food as her (and our)reward!
We loved having Nana with us for the week. The focal point of her visit was, of course, the graduation events at ASU. After all the hype i gave you readers about attending the mass graduation event in Sun Devil Stadium (8000 grads on the field) with our esteemed President Obama giving the commencement address, we didn't attend...instead, we watched the President's approximately 25-minute address in the air conditioned comfort of our living room in Tucson. And, son Steven was nowhere to be seen on that sizzling, sardine-packed field.
A combination of conditions led to our decision to stay in Tucson and not attend the field ceremony, and instead, to attend the College of Design graduation in Tempe on May 14. That was the real deal where Steven actually walked on the stage and received his diploma. And it was in an air-conditioned sports arena at ASU.
Our decision was preceded by Steven's diabolical plan to foil our hearing Obama's address in the flesh. We had 6 tickets reserved for the stadium event. It was up to the student (aka Steven) to pick up said tickets at a campus location. Steven had already made up his mind that he did not want to participate in the mass graduation. He based his decision on the fact that he would have to be present for rehearsal at the stadium at 3 pm on a very hot (100+) day, after enduring the heavy security screening being conducted becuz of Obama's visit. He also said that he was concerned for Nana and us having to wait in the blazing sun for at least 90 minutes to pass thru the screening. Then, the seats we would be assigned were a crap shoot. We may have lucked out or we may have been up yonder dodging the small jets arriving at Sky Harbor. In any case, he let his opportunity to fetch our tickets lapse beyond the deadline. When i learned of this, i freaked out and scolded him to no end, threatening things i don't wanna repeat here. He begged my forgiveness, saying he moved heaven and earth trying after the deadline to score the tickets. Sooooooo, that's why we watched the graduation ceremony at home. No one at the stadium event got their diploma, and several folks, including students, were treated for heat exhaustion. Maybe Steven was right after all.
The May 14 College of Design graduation was much more comfortable. It was indoors and lasted about an hour and a half. Approximately 800 students were presented individually with their diplomas. We took pictures with those little disposable cameras from the drugstore, and professionals took photos of each grad as he/she left the stage. Afterward, due to time constraints, we went to the nearby Chompie's Deli in Tempe for a late supper.
On the following Saturday, we hosted a celebratory cookout. David's aunt Darlene and cousin Mark came down from Phx for the day. I grilled sweet Italian sausage; burgers; Nathan's beef franks; and red, yellow and green peppers. Had a mixed salad of fresh fruit as a side, and all the usual accompaniments. Darlene and Mark stayed til after sunset talking about David's uncle John, who passed away in Dec 08 and David's Dad, who passed away in Jan 09, as well as catching up on other family events. I believe a good time was had by all.
Nana left us on Monday, May 18, and her return flight was much improved over the first adventure.
Not much else to say about May 09, except that Vern worked on getting the foundation laid for the greenhouse. As of today, he has the bottom section of the thing built and battened down on landscape timbers and about 2 tons of sand raked out inside the structure as the base for the humongous concrete pavers we are using for the floor. Slow going, but that's life with Vern.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Tia Wooobeee as she continues to slowwwwwwwly recover from biliary surgery. She had a ruptured gall bladder and some post-surgery complications that have kept her down and out for 2 months now. We wish her the best and send all our love.
My next post will continue with June and July to recount my snoozer of a life for posterity.
Love and peace to all of you.
a
Let's see.... I last blogged in April around Easter, eagerly anticipating Nana's visit from TN and Steven's graduation from ASU.
Both events happened as planned.
Nana (Vern's mom) arrived in Tucson on May 11 for a week-long visit at our home. This was her first solo flight, and we hoped that it would be smooth and uneventful. Thanks to American Airlines and perhaps the weather somewhere back East, her flight was delayed leaving Knoxville, which made her miss her connecting flight to Tucson in Dallas. American was not too concerned about her plight, however, becuz there were several later flights that could carry her to Tucson. But, she stood by for the next flight and then another, without boarding. Instead of arriving here around 2 pm as scheduled, she arrived at 7:30 pm. That was 10:30 pm Eastern time. Bless her heart, Nana had an anxiety-filled day, but she was a trooper. Arrived in Tucson unscathed, and not as hungry as we expected. Reason: she had snacked in Dallas while she stood by for flights. Nevertheless, we stopped at a Sonic on the way home and pigged out on junk food as her (and our)reward!
We loved having Nana with us for the week. The focal point of her visit was, of course, the graduation events at ASU. After all the hype i gave you readers about attending the mass graduation event in Sun Devil Stadium (8000 grads on the field) with our esteemed President Obama giving the commencement address, we didn't attend...instead, we watched the President's approximately 25-minute address in the air conditioned comfort of our living room in Tucson. And, son Steven was nowhere to be seen on that sizzling, sardine-packed field.
A combination of conditions led to our decision to stay in Tucson and not attend the field ceremony, and instead, to attend the College of Design graduation in Tempe on May 14. That was the real deal where Steven actually walked on the stage and received his diploma. And it was in an air-conditioned sports arena at ASU.
Our decision was preceded by Steven's diabolical plan to foil our hearing Obama's address in the flesh. We had 6 tickets reserved for the stadium event. It was up to the student (aka Steven) to pick up said tickets at a campus location. Steven had already made up his mind that he did not want to participate in the mass graduation. He based his decision on the fact that he would have to be present for rehearsal at the stadium at 3 pm on a very hot (100+) day, after enduring the heavy security screening being conducted becuz of Obama's visit. He also said that he was concerned for Nana and us having to wait in the blazing sun for at least 90 minutes to pass thru the screening. Then, the seats we would be assigned were a crap shoot. We may have lucked out or we may have been up yonder dodging the small jets arriving at Sky Harbor. In any case, he let his opportunity to fetch our tickets lapse beyond the deadline. When i learned of this, i freaked out and scolded him to no end, threatening things i don't wanna repeat here. He begged my forgiveness, saying he moved heaven and earth trying after the deadline to score the tickets. Sooooooo, that's why we watched the graduation ceremony at home. No one at the stadium event got their diploma, and several folks, including students, were treated for heat exhaustion. Maybe Steven was right after all.
The May 14 College of Design graduation was much more comfortable. It was indoors and lasted about an hour and a half. Approximately 800 students were presented individually with their diplomas. We took pictures with those little disposable cameras from the drugstore, and professionals took photos of each grad as he/she left the stage. Afterward, due to time constraints, we went to the nearby Chompie's Deli in Tempe for a late supper.
On the following Saturday, we hosted a celebratory cookout. David's aunt Darlene and cousin Mark came down from Phx for the day. I grilled sweet Italian sausage; burgers; Nathan's beef franks; and red, yellow and green peppers. Had a mixed salad of fresh fruit as a side, and all the usual accompaniments. Darlene and Mark stayed til after sunset talking about David's uncle John, who passed away in Dec 08 and David's Dad, who passed away in Jan 09, as well as catching up on other family events. I believe a good time was had by all.
Nana left us on Monday, May 18, and her return flight was much improved over the first adventure.
Not much else to say about May 09, except that Vern worked on getting the foundation laid for the greenhouse. As of today, he has the bottom section of the thing built and battened down on landscape timbers and about 2 tons of sand raked out inside the structure as the base for the humongous concrete pavers we are using for the floor. Slow going, but that's life with Vern.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Tia Wooobeee as she continues to slowwwwwwwly recover from biliary surgery. She had a ruptured gall bladder and some post-surgery complications that have kept her down and out for 2 months now. We wish her the best and send all our love.
My next post will continue with June and July to recount my snoozer of a life for posterity.
Love and peace to all of you.
a
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