This 'n That

This is Morris in his new "feed me or die" stance. In Tucson, he would sit at at the end of the counter and patiently wait to be fed. Now, he sits right in the middle of the kitchen and won't budge. If I'm cooking then I have to step around him or call Larry to come feed Morris so I can get on with dinner. He does this anytime we are in the kitchen fixing us something to eat even though he has food in his dish. And his usual dry food doesn't cut it - we made the mistake of giving him tuna and now that is what he wants. His second choice is deli chicken - no special seasoning on it please - just the basic chicken. Is there a word stronger than spoiled? In between "meals", he does eat his dry food. He has put on a little weight and it fits his long, lean body plus his coat is really getting glossy and pretty. His staff will probably get in trouble with the vet if he gains any weight since she thinks Morris was already the perfect weight.

New hairdresser: Since I can't go 8 weeks without getting my hair done, I had to go to a new stylist today. There is a shop right next door and I took the easy way out and went there. She did an o.k. job but it was still traumatic!

Dugan's Pub: We absolutely love this place and it's only a block away! We went over there for lunch today and set out on the patio. Yes, it was hot but there was a slight breeze and we were in the shade so it was o.k. Larry had their corned b,eef and cabbage which he says is wonderful - almost as good as their fish & chips. I had the Ham & Navy Bean soup that they make themselves. It is really good but not quite as good as their home-made french fries which are my absolute favorite...
Laundry: Still fussing with the "european washer and dryer". It takes forever to do a load plus they have to be small loads! A load of whites is 2 regular size bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 wash cloths. If the cloths are permanent press, then the load is smaller than that....

Old Statehouse Museum

The Old Statehouse is the oldest standing state captiol building west of the Mississippi. Construction started in 1833 and was completed in 1842. In 1836, Arkansas became the 25th state and government officials moved into the new building although construcion had not been completed yet. The building served as state capitol until 1911 when the new capitol building was constructed. The Old Statehouse became a museum in 1947. The building is beautifully restored and the wood floors are magnificent as is the hugh curving staircase going up to the 2nd floor. The building gained worldwide recognition when it was used as the setting for President bill Clinton's election-night celebrations in 1992 and 1996.

Little Rock National Cemetery

The Little Rock National Cemetery is out near where we had lunch today. During the Civil Way, Arkansas seceded from the Union. Following the Battle of Pea ridge in 1862, Union soldiers captured Little Rock and held the city for the remainder of the war. The land that is currently the national cemetery was located outside the city limits and was used for Union encampments. In 1866, with Union forces still occupying the city, a portion of the land was purchased by the government and set aside for military internments. In 1884 a Confederate cemetery was established adjacent to the National Cemetery. In 1938, the two cemeteries were combined, though the Union and Condederate burials continued to be in separate sections. The cemetery covers over 31 acres and is beautifully maintained.

Homer's Good Eats

Larry found an ad in a magazine for Homer's Good Eats so that's where we went for lunch today. It was listed as one of the top local places for southern cooking. Well......we got there at 11 a.m. and by 11:20 people had to wait for tables and there were a LOT of tables in the place. It was out in the middle of nowhere near the airport with a lot of industry around so most of the people eating there were on their lunch break. Today's specials, for $6.79, were Southern Fried Chicken, Oven-Baked Chicken or Country Fried Steak with gravy. The lunch plates are "meat n 3" which is a meat, 2 sides and bread. The bread is homemade yeast rolls or homemade cornbread. Sides included mashed potatoes, turnip greens, corn, pickled okra, potato salad,smothered cabbage, etc. Anyway, we had the fried chicken, fried potatoes, tomato relish and yeast rolls. The tomato relish was cut-up green tomatoes that had been cooked with onions, vinegar and pickeling spice. Different but good. I tried to talk Larry into having the turnip greens but failed. 8-) The food was really good!

How'd they do that?

Graffiti is old stuff to us who live in Graffitiville, USA - otherwise know as Tucson. However, here is some graffiti in downtown Little Rock that we keep looking at and can't figure out how they did it. They must have come down from over the top of the building.... Someone of it is quite pretty as you can see in the close-up. Some of it looks like it isn't finished yet.

Sweet, Little Morris

I think he has recovered from the latest move and is up to his antics again.

Last night we heard a noise and got out of bed to check it out. We dound him on top of the kitchen cabinets as you can see in the picture. He jumped up there from the counter top which was about a 5 ft straight up jump. And....he didn't want any help down so we left him there and sometime later he got down on his own. This sweet, little loveable cat is also back to being the 5 a.m. alarm. He jumps up on the bed and lets out a very loud, long meow that would wake the dead. Once he has seen sufficient movement of his staff, he lays down on the bed and goes to sleep. Of course by then we are wide awake. He has NEVER played with lamp cords and now he finds them very entertaining.

Arkansas Freeways

After 6 years of desert freeways where all you see is litter, cactus, dirt, rocks and weeds, the Arkansas Freeways are a delight to drive. The freeways in the city are typical city freeways. However, once you get out of the city, they are open, very clean, tree lined with wide grassy medians. The shoulders, from the pavement to the trees, are grass. We're amazed at how clean they are. Pleasure to drive on......

Meatless Dinner

Now, you say "What's the big deal bout a meatless meal?" When I was growing up in southwestern Missouri, you never had a meal without meat - beef, pork or chicken. That was just the way it was. However, tonight dinner was with no meat because we walked down to the Farmer's Market this morning and got our dinner. The Farmer's Market is on Tuesday and Saturday. Tuesday is a small one but Saturdays is incredible. We got there 45 minutes after it opened and the place was packed with people.There were 15-20 vendors and all had fresh fruits and vegetables. Larry even got to see what turnip greens looked like before they were cooked - another childhood staple but I wasn't very fond of it. Anyway, dinner tonight was corn-on-the-cob, cantelope, tomatoes and big slices of fresh cinnamon walnut rasin bread. No meat! 8-) I'm still stuffed and it was all soooooooooo good. I told the farmer that I wanted a cantelope that was ripe for eating today and he nailed it.

Historic Homes in Little Rock

Little Rock is full of old, beautifully restored homes. Today we drove around and looked at some of the most famous ones. Above is Ville Marre which combines the features of the Italianate and Secome Empire styles (whatever that is...) and was built in 1881 for saloonkeeper Angelo Marre. It became famous when the exterior was featured in the TV show Designing Women. Villa Marre is now a private residence.

The Impress of Little Rock was originally built by James H. Hornibrook in 1888 at a cost of $20,000 and exclusively used Arkansas Materials. It is described in the National Register of Historic Places as the best example of ornate Victorian Architecture in Arkansas and the most important existing example of Gothis Queen Anne style regionally. (if you say so....). When it was built, it was the most expensive and ostenttious dwelling in the entire state. Since it was built it has been a private residence, Women's College, Nursing Home, Apartments and is now completely restored and is a Bed and Breakfast. High Tea is also served on a daily basis.

Curran Hall was built in 1842 by Col. Ebenezer Walters as a wedding gift for his bride. The city of Little Rock acquired the house in 1996 and renovated it to serve as the city's official Visitor Information and Welcome Center. Several rooms in the old masion have been completely restored and are open to the public.

I don't know what the name of this plant is but it is in Curran Hall's garden. When I was a kid, my mother grew these and I knew then as "spider plants". These are the first ones I have seen since then.

The Old Mill

Today's expedition was out to The Old Mill located in a residential are of North Little Rock. This structure and park, dedicated in 1933, is a replica of a mill built in 1832.The water wheel still turns. The Old Mill was filmed in the opening scenes of the movie Gone With The Wind, which was released in 1939.

One of the flowers on the grounds of the park surrounding The Old Mill. It looked very different than it did when we saw it in January. Back then, there was snow, ice, bare trees and a bitter north wind blowing.

Pine Bluff, AR

We did a day-trip down to Pine Bluff which is about 50 miles south of Little Rock with a population of around 54,000. Rather interesting with it's history but not a place I would want to live in. Kinda out in the middle of nowhere and too far from civilization even if they do have a branch of the University of Arkansas there.

Pine Bluff, AR - Delta Rivers Nature Center

Exhibits show the history and importance of Arkanss's delta streams and wetlands. It was really interesting. Pictures top to bottom: (1) We did the 1/2 mile walk out through the area. Really good trail but pretty isolated. Larry kept listening for the banjo music. (2) Black Dog Bayou. I shrudder to think what is below the water. (3) Red fox in a diorama setting. (4) Bob Cat in a diorama.

Pine Bluff, AR - City of Murals

13 Murals depecting the city's past make downtown Pine Bluff an outdoor art gallery. The murals are painted on the sides of buildings and are really amazing!

Odds and Ends - Again

Finally settling into "living here" and doing some cooking, laundry, spending more time in the apt, etc. Trying really hard to not just be a "tourist" and on the go all the time. Today we drove out to an area of Little Rock we hadn't seen before and on the way back stopped at the grocery store. We just can't get over how many trees there are everywhere. We've noticed that when they tear down an old building in the downtown area, they put in a parking lot. However, it is nicely done complete with trees. Got our first rain today but it didn't amount to much. I'm still waiting on a big midwest, summer thunderstorm. We can't believe it was only 2 weeks ago today that we left Tucson! It seem like much longer. We got a phone call yesterday from a neighbor in Tucson letting us know that another neighbor died. After we got to thinking, we realized that 5 people who were there when we moved in 5 years ago have died. Kinda scary..... Arkansas ended their fiscal year $95 million dollars UNDERBUDGET. This fascinates us and we're going to do some checking on how they do it and how schools, etc rank compared to Arizona. This is "His Majesty" on his pillow in front of the window last night after the move. Hard day!

Settling in - Again

This is a diaroma at the Central Arkansas Nature Center here in Little Rock that we visited last last week. The bear is about 4' tall and the tree was about 30' tall. Cute!

We're settling into the new apt today. I think the last 2 weeks caught up with me since I was tired when I got up this morning. We didn't do much today but at least I got the "office" set up so feel more settled. I even have a printer now! We really like the new appt - especially the window blinds which roll down to filter out most of the sun. Morris is back to just eating and sleeping. He didn't even greet and help the cable installer that was here today like he normally would have.

Today was really hot again which doesn't thrill me. The difference here is that the heat is for a couple of months instead of 6 months like in the desert.

Tomorrow we will look at out Arkansas Bucket List and get a plan together.

Moved to a different apt today

We moved down one floor today to another apt, directly below the other one, after the bank foreclosed on the owner of the original unit. The corporate housing leasing agency we used had no idea there was a problem. They offered us 3 choices, including a much larger unit in another building, but we really wanted to stay in this building so we took this one. Actually we like it much better than the first one. The ONLY problem is that Morris doesn't have his throne (ottoman) anymore. He'll have to find a new spot which will hopefully be on the back of a big easy chair that is right by the window. He sure has been in a lot of new places lately! By the way, if anyone has any magic tips for cooking on a ceramic cooktop then I sure would appreciate them. I've never used one before and I hate them - either the skillet isn't hot enough to brown something or it burns whatever is in the skillet!

Raccoon

Here is a raccoon having breakfast in a bird feeder at the Pinnacle Mtn Visitor Center. I couldn't believe how much he ate. Then he hopped down and went for a swim in a small water hole.

Pinnacle Mountain Park

This morning we drove out west to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. However, it was too hot to do any hiking or anything so stuck to the observation deck at the Visitor Center. This is a view of the Arkansas River from there. Would love to go back when it is cool enough to do some hiking.

By the way, Morris has perked up a bit today and met us when we got home to give us heck for being gone. First time he has done that since we got here. We have decided that he was just wore out from the trip, stress, etc. However, his appetite was not affected as he is eating much more than usual. Maybe we'll get our fat, lazy cat after all. 8-)

Little Rock Organ Transplant Support Group

We went to the monthly meeting of the local group today and it was quite interesting. In Sacramento and Tucson where we have attended support groups, the groups were organ specific. i.e. Sacramento was liver and Tucson was kidney with liver being recently combined with the kidney group. Here, the group is for all transplant recipients. There were 5-6 people there who have had heart transplants. One woman has had 2 heart transplants - in 2004 and again in 2007 after her body rejected the first one - and she is doing great now. Others have had liver, kidney or pancreas which we are much more familiar with. They made us feel very welcome. I don't think people in the south have never met a "stranger". They act like they have known you forever.

Odds & Ends

MORRIS: He has settled in so good! But, all he does is eat, look out the window and sleep. This is the "Morris Throne" and where he spends his time. He has certainly become a lazy cat but then there isn't the stimulation that he had in Tucson with the golfers, animals, etc.

EUROPEAN WASHER/DRYER: The concept is great but it takes forever to do the laundry. To start with, you can only get about 1/2 the clothes in it that we usually can put into a washer. Yes, it's great that they go from wash to dry in the same machine. But then you can't put any Bounce or any thing in the dryer cycle. What people do is do the wash, set it for abut 40 minutes dry and then put it into a European Dryer with a Bounce, etc. It takes 1.5 hours to get through the wash and initial dry plus another hour in the regular dryer. It takes forever! I can't imagine someone with a family using these machines.

STAINLESS STEEL SINKS: People who have them and live in Tucson know that it is a constant battle with water spots on the sinks. After about 3 days here with one, I realized there are no water spots on it. What a difference the water makes!

OFFICE: We miss having an "office" with a printer, etc. The laptop has worked out better than I expected since I don't like doing much typing on a laptop keyboard. But having it on a corner of the counter isn't the most efficient. I do have a small printer but haven't figured out where to set it up. But oh well......

RESIDENT VS TOURIST: We have a list of things we want to do and keep forgetting that we are going to be here for more than a week so don't have to get them all done in a few days. Today we kicked back and played dominos for the afternoon.

It's Friday night so we're going back to the Peabody Hotel to listen to the duo who will be playing in the Lobby Bar again. 8-)

Big Dam Bridge

Yes, it's name is the Big Dam Bridge! It is one of two bridges over the Arkansas River along the 19 mile River Trail that I have mentioned before. This bridge is the longest pedestrian/bicycle bridge in North America. It is 4,226 ft long, 3,463 ft of that over water and 90' above the water surface. This picture is taken from the bridge looking down at the open lock at the Murray Dam. The Big Dam Bridge is built above the river dam, one of 18 locks and dams on the Arkansas River.

Larry pointed out some typos when he was reading the blog yesterday but hey, you probably figured out what I meant anyway. 8-)

Yes, it's humid...

Over lunch today at our favorite, local pub, Larry and I discussed "Living with dry heat versus living where it is humid." When you walk outside here, it doesn't feel like you are walking into a furnace - it's just hot. I don't like the condensation that forms on a cold glass or anything else that is cold. But the humidity makes it easier to breath and the hot, dry air doesn't burn when you take a deep breath. Morris can now actually purr since his sinus problems have cleared up. However, that is not a good thing when he is purring in my ear at 1 o'clock in the morning while we are sharing a pillow. While we were having lunch on the patio, a breeze can through and it was cooler air - not a hot wind blowing on you. Yes, 96 degrees with 40% humidity (currently) is hot. But it doesn't seem as bad as 110 and 5% humidity - at least in our opinion.

Farmer's Market

Crawled out of bed this morning and walked down to the Farmer's Market which is 3-4 blocks away, down by the water front. It is held on Tues and Sat, May - Oct. Tuesday's market is much smaller than the one on Saturday, so they say, and we'll find out when we go back on Saturday. It's in a permanent structure and next door are coffee shops, bakeries, etc. It was so exciting to get field ripened tomatoes, corn that was picked yesterday, peaches that are ripe when you buy them and field ripened cantelopes, etc. However, no fire roasted chilies... 8-)

July 4th Fireworks

The fireworks were spectacular! They are set off from a bridge that is about 5 blocks away so we had a great view.

Busy 4th of July

We started the day by going to the Clinton Library which had free admission today. They have a special Elvis exhibit right now that is pictures of him taken by a photographer who followed him around for about 6 months. During this time he recorded "Hound Dog", "Don't Be Cruel" and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. It was mostly candid pictures and really good. The usual admission is only $5 for seniors but it was the idea.... 8-) Then this afternoon we went next door to the Arizona Historical Museum for an open house type thing celebrating their 70th year. Kinda scary to think it is 4 years older than we are! The oldest house in Little Rock is on their grounds and dates back to the early 1800's. After a "militia" marching on the grounds, they had a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Then tonight, we walked down to the Riverfront for dinner and a concert. The group in this pic is a Dixieland Band. After them was the Symphony Pops Concert. Then at 9:30 is firewalks. They shoot them off a bridge that we have a perfect view of so it should be interesting. We had to get home before the fireworks since the "kid" doesn't like fireworks, thunder, etc. Different kind of 4th for us - usually we just stay home and do nothing.

European Washer/Dryer

If you have been a viewer of House Hunters International, you have seen the washing machines in Europe which are also dryers - all in one unit. Well, that is what is in the condo! I currently have a load of towels in it since I figured towels were a safe start. I'm curious to see how it does. However, I sure like the idea. One drawback is that you can't put as much in them as we do in out traditional washers.

Summer night on the town

After dinner last night, at around 7:30 pm, we headed down to the River Front area. The sun was starting to go down so it wasn't quite so hot. It was absolutely delightful down there. Little Rock really did a fantastic job in the design of the River Front park. There is somthing there for everyone - trails, gardens, gazabos, play gounds for kids, schulpture garden, etc. It was amazing how many people were there. The park and trail goes 8 miles up the Arkansas River, goes across on the Big Dam Bridge (honest, that is the name), comes back the other side of the river which is in North Little Rock and than you cross this bridge to get back to the main area which is 4 blocks from our condo. This bridge was once a bridge used by the railroad but was abandoned when the rail road was rerouted. When they built the trail a few years ago, this bridge was turned into a pedestrian bridge. After wandering around for awhile, we cut through the Peabody Hotel to get back to a street. However, we ran across a duo that was playing in the lobby bar of the hotel. One black guy was on keyboard and another black buy was on sax. The were outstanding! Their music ranged from blues, jazz, 60's to current. We set in the bar for over an hour listening to them and drinking pink lemonade. 8-) Then we walked home at about 10 o'clock. A fun way to spend the evening.

He's at it again....

This morning the climber discovered the top of the TV in the bedroom. The dresser is 4.5 ft high and it's a 46" TV. I guess our first clue was when he was on the highest perch possible at the rescue shelter where we got him...

Settling In

It was sooooooo good to wake up this morning and not be getting on the road again! Instead, we got up and enjoyed the sun rise over the city. Now it is settling in time. The block of windows between the 2 gray columns (where the red arrow is pointing) is home for the next 2 months. In Tucson, Morris sleeps on the bed, usually I share my pillow with him. However, he didn't sleep on the bed at all either of the 2 nights we were on the road which I thought was kinda strange. However, last night he was back on the bed as usual. Even he is settling in and just doing his usual things - eating and sleeping. The first thing on the list for today was finding a grocery store. Tried out a WalMart Super Center but not happy with it so will look at another store tomorrow. Gotta also find a Target and shopping malls. 8-) We had lunch today at Dugan's Irish Pub which is about a block away and it was really good! They make their own french fries each morning and they were so, so good. Larry had the corned beef and cabbage and not even crumbs were left on his plate. I think we will be frequent visitors there... And then there is the chore of getting used to all new TV stations.. The list goes on and on but we will slowly work our way throughthem all.

His Majesty Surveying His Kingdom

It didn't take him long to find the window ledge - a few hours after his previous escapades. This was as the sun was starting to set. Had a great dinner tonight in the restaurant downstairs. Now that, I can get used to... Down the elevator, out the front door and back into the restaurant next door.

Life with Morris is not dull!

Are you saying to yourself "This picture has to be a mistake." Well let me tell you how our first 3 hours went in the condo. First of all, we were all tired this morning and Morris was kinda noisy but not temper tantrums. He didn't go to sleep until the last hour which means we listened to him for 3.5 hours. We get here and everything goes smooth with the check-in, etc. The condo is really nice and the view is incredible. Of course we went through it like they do on House Hunters - "only one bathroom sink? No lamp by the sofa to read by, etc". I put the litter box in the laundry room which seem like a good location and show it to Morris. A few minutes later, after having just seen Morris back in the laundry room, I hear this "meow" and it is coming from up high. Yep, you guessed it.....He was up in the open ceiling in 3 jumps - one to the counter, one up to the top of the dryer and one on up to the open ceiling. I can see him but can't get too him. The building maint. person happened to be here fixing a faucet and he went and got his ladder. Still, Morris would come close to the edge where we could see him but not come down and not close enough to reach him. I wouldn't have worried except the guy said the ceiling is open for the whole floor and there are some hollow spaces between walls he could fall into. By now I'm somewhere between worried, mad and pissed. I would have waited him out if I knew he would have been safe. He would come to the edge but not close enough we could grab him. Larry said to just ignore him and he'll come down when he wants to. We decide the only thing that will entice him is tuna so off to the store I go. By the way, when you are right downtown, there isn't a grocery store around the corner... So with some tuna on a plate, I climb up and finally coax him within reach. I grabbed his head and started pulling him down as he is screaming all the way. I give him to Larry to set him down on the floor and he just meanders off as if to say "what's the big deal?". The laundry room is now off limits but he keeps trying to get back in there. I think he liked it up there wandering all around.

Co-Pilot Morris McClelland

Today was much better with our co-pilot. We carried him to the car this morning with his leash on and just put him in the car. The leash came off as soon as we were through McDonalds. I don't know that he made much more noise that he does when we are home and there certainly wasn't any of the temper tantrums like yesterday. He's always active and vocal (just meowing) in the morning and then quietens down and goes to sleep for a long nap. Larry and Morris had their usual morning conversations but today it was about other vehicles instead of the usual birds and lizards. Morris spent quite a bit of time on the center console looking out the window as he is in this picture. He was dead to the world by noon in the back seat. He would occasionally let out a "meow" without out even raising his head. We converted that to "are we there yet" in people talk. He checked out the hotel room when we got here and "settled in". One thing we have noticed is that he doesn't eat, drink very much or use his litterbox while we're in the car. From what I've read, that isn't unusual.

It is taking forever to get across Texas and what a boring drive it is! Yesterday we were on the road for 9.5 hours, today was 6.5 hours and tomorrow will be about 4.5 hours. The 2 hour time change was tough yesterday but we'll get used to it. I used to do it about every week and not think twice about it but that was when I had had fewer birthdays. On to Little Rock tomorrow - finally!

Traveling with Morris - Day 1

The first 30 minutes of the trip this morning was our worst nightmare come true. We got the car all loaded and then tried to put Morris in his carrier. All 4 of his long, bony legs went in different directions. We would get 3 in and one would escape. It was like putting an octopus in a box.... But we made it and he immediately started in. He yelled, screamed, howled, cried, hissed - you name it and he did it - all at the top of his lungs. We left McDonalds and then Larry unzipped his carrier so he could come out. He didn't shut up but every few minutes we would get a moment of quite. We had decided that if he didn't shut up by the time we got to Wilcox (about an hour) then it was time for the Kitty Valeum. But the quite moments began to be more frequent so we kept driving. By the time we had been in the car for about 1 1/2 hours he began to quite down - maybe he was exhausted but whatever it was we were thankful for it. He started exploring the car and setting on Larry's lap while looking out the side window. By El Paso, he was sound asleep on top of the suitcases. The last few hours he slept in his carrier which really suprised us. In the above pic, he has just woke up from a nap and was having a conversation with Larry. We got to the motel and he immediately checked out every single square inch of the room before settling down for a nap. Hopefully, tomorrow will be quieter at the beginning... 8-)

We were suprised that the speed limit, after we got out of El Paso, was 80 mph for cars and 70 mph for trucks. Both drop to 65 at night. Miles and miles of nothing..

On The Road Again

Car is packed, road map is marked, hotel reservations made, house ready to close up and in the morning we are on the road again. This time we are heading to Little Rock, Arkansas to spend 2 months in a furnished condo on the 12th floor of a building that is right downtown and 3 blocks from the river. The big difference for this trip is that Morris gets to go along. His stuff takes up about 25% of the car with his crate, litterbox, box of food, etc. His Kitty Valium (tranquilizers) is within easy reach if we need it. We have this dream that he will fuss for no more than 1/2 hour and then settle down and be the perfect traveler. Morris knows we're going somewhere because of the suitcases, etc but he will in for a big suprise when he gets put in the car to go along. We're looking forward to the trip but there are a lot of unknows... How will Morris travel? Will we like Little Rock in the summer as much as we do in the fall and winter? Will we like living in a high rise? Will we like living right down town? Will Morris settle into a new place as easily as he did when we brought him home 3 1/2 years ago? How long will it take for me to go back to my mid-western accent? Can Larry and Morris get used to thunderstorms? Should be an interesting 2 months!

Rain in the desert

You just don't appreciate the rain until you live in the desert and it rains. We got up this morning with a light rain falling and that has continued for most of the day. I immediately opened all the doors and windows to air out the house and to smell the rain - that fresh smell of rain on grass, etc. Everything looks so clean with the dust washed off. It is amazing how much dust accumulates on grass, rocks, plants, etc when you don't have any rain for several weeks or even months. It is very, very rare for rain to fall in Tucson during May and we are certainly enjoying it.

What a difference a year makes...

It was one year ago today when I donated my left kidney to Larry. It is hard to believe now that we actually did it! The difference in him is just amazing although it has been a rocky road at times. We were back at the transplant center earlier this week for our 12 month checkup and we both received a clean bill of health. For me, my only restriction is that I can't take ibuprophren (very hard on kidneys), I have some extra scars where they took the kidney out and my creatinine is 1.1 instead of .70 like it was before the donation. For him, he will be on immunsuppression drugs the rest of his life but he already was due to the liver transplant he got 15 years ago. His eneryg level is back to normal and his creatinine is also running in the 1.1 range. There were some problems getting all of his medicines worked out but the body seems to be dealing with them much better now that it did in the beginning. We are really blessed that we have an excellent medical team and a very good transplant center. We appreciate the new lease on life and definitely don't take life for granted. We are slowly working out way down the bucket list of things we want to do that we made while we were in the hospital. Photo is Larry and his little buddy....

Morris - Life is good again

You would think that a cat who has 1987 sq ft to himself with no one telling him to get off the table, has a king size bed all his own and has a staff that comes in every day to feed him would be content? But not Morris! He wanted Larry, his chief-of-staff and best buddy. Sometimes it would be nice to have a normal cat who was independent, did his own thing and once-in- awhile would tolerate people. Morris knew it was us when we drove into the garage when we got home since he knows the sound of the garage door opener. His back-up staff uses the front door when we are gone so he knew it was us. Anyway, we heard him "howling" as we got out of the car. We opened the door, he took one look at us and turned around and walked off. It was so funny.... After 5 minutes, he came over to Larry and wanted to be picked up. Then Larry couldn't get more than 2 feet from him for the rest of the day. They went to sleep sharing the same pillow and Morris even escorted Larry to the bathroom when he got up in the night. Morris and I had a rather one-sided talk the next day and I reminded him that he could (1) stay by himself when we go out-of-town overnight which is a lot better than living with 100 cats in a smaller house or (2) learn to wear a harness, sleep in a carrier and ride long distances in the car if he wants to go with us. He gave me a pathetic little "meow" that I'm still trying to interpret.

Day 8 NM Vac - Heading home

We had planned to come home on Wednesday. However, at breakfast on Saturday morning, I floated the idea of coming home on Monday by Larry and he jumped on it. It meant cutting out Albuquerque on this trip but figure we can do it later. Basically we were just wore out! So we started home early in the morning and got home about 7 1/2 hours later. Larry drove all the way and I quit looking at the speedometer early in the trip after reminding him that he got to pay for any speeding tickets he might get. The drive was long but went by really fast and we were to Willcox before we knew it.

Feeling the effects of elevation changes

We did not expect the physical effects of the elevation changes that we had while in New Mexico. It took a day or so for us to figure out why we were so tired and out of breath when doing things that we did at home with no problems. We discoved that Albuquerque is 5,312' elevation and Santa Fe is 7,000' elevation - quite a change from the 2389' we are used to in Tucson. I don't have a lot of lung capacity and get short winded easily so it was really hard on me when we were hiking and climbing up hills and stairs. With Larry, it was just fatigue. Thank goodness for lots of rest stops with benches or walls to set on.

Red or Green?

Before the trip, we had read and heard about "red or green" which is how the chili in Mexican restaurants is referred to. We heard that the flavors of mexican food in New Mexico is different. We have eaten in mexican restaurants all over the country and the food in the New Mexico restaurants is different! If the food has sauce on it then the server will ask if you want "red or green" which I though was kinda silly at times. Who would have green chili on a beef enchalada... The peppers are hotter - honestly... I had a Green Chili Stew at a mexican restaurant on the Plaza in Santa Fe. It was green peppers, pork and potatoes in a broth with some cheese on top. The first bite was wonderful with the flavors and then the effect of the peppers hit. Larry scoffed at my reaction until he tried it and the peppers hit him about 5 seconds after he swallowed. Very few of the restaurants automatically serve chips and salsa with meals - you purchase them seperately. The red enchilada sauce was stronger and more like a mole sauce. We will be happy to get back to Guadalajaras in Tucson!

Day 7 of NM Vacation - Bandelier Natl Monument

We were up and out early this morning to visit some more Indian ruins. About 50 miles NW of Santa Fe is the Bandelier Natl Monument are the remnants of an Ancestral Puebloan community established 7-8 centuries ago and incudes pueblo and cliff dwellings. About all that is left of the village of tyuonyi (chew-OHN-yee) are foundations of the original buildings (see photo). The buildings were originally 1-2 stories high and contained about four hundred rooms (very small rooms) and housed approximately 100 people. Access to the village was through a single ground-level opening. In the cliffs to the east lived the cave dwellers in the cave rooms.

The hike through the park was about 2.5 miles on a good trail. The Alcove House is a 3-story house up in caves that is accessed by a 140 foot climb on 4 ladders. We chickened out on doing the ladders - me because the ladders were not build for 64 year old women with short legs and Larry wanted to keep me company... 8-) He did climb into one of the other cave houses that only had one ladder.

The rocks were formed by the Jemez (HAY-mess) volcano that erupted over one million years ago and that left up to 1000 feet of ash in the valley floor. The eruption was six times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The rock looks like sandstone but is actually compacted volcanic ash and is a soft, crumbly rock called tuff. Erosion has caused it to have a swiss cheese effect. We agree that we have seen enough indian ruins to last us awhile....

On the way back we drove through Los Alamos which is home to the Los Alamos National Labratory which was established during WWII to develop the first nuclear weapons. We were suprised that it remains active today while working on projects such as developing a cure for AIDS, developing technologies that remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere and designing a stealth aircraft that can detect chemicals and radiation danger. It was kinda wierd to drive through the labratory grounds and think about what it must have been like 60+ years ago when the bomb was being developed. We didn't get to go through the museums since we were there on a Sunday morning and they don't open until in the afternoon.

Day 6 of NM Vac - Santa Fe

We have been on the go so much this week that we decided to stay in Santa Fe today and not do as much driving. Slept in, late breakfast and then went to the Plaza area where we walked for blocks, blocks and more blocks. Besides touring 3 missions/churchs and doing some serious shopping, we walked up streets and down numerous alleys looking at the old Spanish-Pueblo architure. My feet are never going to be the same after this trip! I have seen a lot of "Indian Jewelry" since we have been in the Southwest but have never seen the quality products that we have seen here in various gallerys. The pieces are absolutely beautiful and the detail is unbelieveable.

San Miguel Mission Church (see picture) is one of the country's oldest churches in continuous use. It was constructed in 1610 and was burned during the Pueblo Indian rebellion of 1680 although the sturdy, thick adobe walls remained unharmed. A bell cast in Spain in 1356 is displayed in the church entry. The bell was used in churches in Spain and Mexico before being brought to Santa Fe by oxcart in the early 19th century from Mexico.

Unlike Taos, Santa Fe seems to have embraced their heritage and it plays a very important place in the city's life. You don't feel like it was all done just to get your tourist dollars. The old houses have been maintained with pride and it really shows. You see new building in the area but they are still built in the Spanish-Pueblo style and painted the earth brown colors. Instead of fences around places there are adobe walls. Even fast-food places and shopping centers are in the Spanish-Pueblo building style. The people who live here seem to respect the tourist and what they bring to the economy - not just as someone to get as much money from in any way possible.

The Santa Fe Indian School is located here and was established in the mid-1800's. It is a boarding school for middle and high school students from the 18 pueblos (villages) that built and support it. It is huge with dorms for the students.

We really enjoyed Santa Fe and would love to return again.

Day 5 NM Vac - Taos

After the usual breakfast at McDonalds, we headed up to Taos. There are two ways to get to Taos – the usual road and the “High Road”. On the way up, we took the usual route which is the most direct and faster. The road is about 75 miles and it was an easy drive. Yes, Taos is a very old town and they have preserved a lot of the old buildings. However, the traffic is absolutely, totally horrendous. All the tourist have come to the town as they wanted them to but they still have the narrow, 2-lane roads with stop lights. There was total gridlock more than once. It took forever to get through town to the Plaza and then onto the other places. Coming back wasn’t any better even though we tried another route. Oh well…. We were not impressed with Taos!

Taos Pueblo: The pueblo (village) appears much as it did over 500 years ago when Spanish Explorers first reached the Taos region. The main part of the present buildings were most likely constructed between 1000 and 1450 AD. The village is not a re-enactment but is a living community of about 150 descendents dedicated to preserving the pueblo. It is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited communities in North America. Electricity and running water does not exist in the pueblo although there are some propane stoves for heating. Most baking is done in adobe outdoor ovens. Some of the original buildings contain gift shops selling jewelry, bread, etc that is made by the residents. Taos Pueblo was declared a National Historic landmark in 1965. In 1992, it was admitted to the World Heritage Society as one of the most significant historical cultural landmarks in the world (other sites include the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramids and the Grand Canyon). San Geronimo, the current church at Taos Pueblo, was built in 1850 to replace the original church built in 1619 and then destroyed in the war with Mexico in 1847. Ruins of the original church are still visible along with the cemetary. The fee to vist the Pueblo is $10.oo for each vistor and $5.00 for each camera brought into the pueblo which is the first time in my life that I have seen a camera charge at a tourist location.

San Francisco De Asis Church: The church was completed in 1816 and is still a functioning church today with regular mass, etc. It is considered one of the most photographed adobe churches made famous by the artwork of Ansel Adams and Georga O’Keeffe.

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge: West of Taos flows the Rio Grande River on it’s way from Colorado to Mexico. Hwy 64 crosses the river via a three span, continuous-truss bridge that is 650 feet above the river. Sidewalks and observations platforms are on the bridge and worth the short walk across the bridge. I knew about the Rio Grande river in El Paso but never heard anything about it’s journey to get there.

High Road back to Santa Fe: We saw some really beautiful scenery along the winding, hilly, 2-lay road. Actually, there were places when there was no center lane – just a narrow road out in the middle of nowhere. You would come around a hill top and spread out below is a valley, farms and a little town. Then through the valley, up another winding hill and down into another valley with another very small town.

Long day!

Day 4 - Santa Fe

Today was a rather slow day compared to the last few. We had planned on taking a “non-freeway” drive from Socorro to Santa Fe. However, after all the slow, stop and smell the roses roads we have been on this week we decided to just take the freeway and cut 100 miles off the drive. We got here around noon, checked into the hotel, unpacked and then headed out to see the sights. We went down to the Plaza for the afternoon. It is definitely an interesting place and the architecture is just wonderful. The Plaza has been active for over 4 centuries and is filled with shops, restaurants and native Indians selling their wares in the shade of the buildings as they have for hundred's of years.

We were looking specifically for rings for us. Rather than traditional rings, we wanted something that represented the Southwest since it has been so instrumental in our lives the last few years. After looking at numerous rings in several shops we found one for me and it is beautiful! We pick it up on Saturday after it is resized. We ordered one to be made for Larry from the same jewler since we couldn't find exactly what he wanted. His will be very similar to mine except with different stones.

Day 3 of NM vacation - Catwalk and VLR Antennas

Today we drove up to Glenwood, NM and then went for a hike on the Catwalk National Trail which is in the Whitewater Canyon. Back in 1893, minors build a pipeline to get water from the canyon to the mill downstream. The maintenance workers named it the “Catwalk” because of it’s need for constant maintenance. The mill eventually closed and the pipeline was dismantled in 1908. In the mid-30’s, the Civilian Conservation Corp rebuilt the Catwalk as a recreation area. It has been rebuilt several times since then due to severe flooding. The trail climbs 300 feet in elevation during the 1 mile trail. The first ½ mile is fairly easy and criss-crosses the stream several times. In places, the catwalk is right above the water flowing in the canyon below it. The last ½ mile is considered “difficult” and that it is. At the 3/4 mile marker is what is called the "helicopter bridge". It is an iron bridge that crosses the canyon and river. The bridge was brought in in 2 pieces by helicopter which was the only way to get it in place. The pilot had to have been very skilled since the canyon is not very wide. Definitely the hardest trail we have ever been on but we made it. For us desert rats, the constant sound of flowing water and water falls was very refreshing.

It seemed like we drove forever through the Gila Wilderness and over passes. The road was a good 2-lane road but couldn’t get a lot of speed and we drove for miles and miles without seeing another vehicle. There wasn’t even anyplace to stop and eat. About 60 miles west of Socorro, NM we finally got to the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio astronomy telescopes. I had never even heard of this before running across it in a AAA tour book. There are 27 antennas in the array. Each one is 82 ft in diameter and weighs 230 tons. The antennas are arranged in a Y pattern and are set on rails so they can be moved. Each arm of the Y is 13 miles long. Regular optical telescopes record a photographic image of an object in outer space. VLA’s make an image using the radio waves that are emitted by that object. There was numerous antelope roaming on the grounds where the antennas are which has an elevation of 7000 feet out in the middle of nowhere.

We were so glad to see hour hotel when we finally got here. Tomorrow we head on up to Santa Fe.

VLA Antennas

Gila Cliff Dwelling

Day 2 of NM Vacation - Silver City, NM

Today was the 2nd day of our New Mexico vacation and my feet are already tired… We got to Silver City yesterday afternoon and wandered around town. It is a hard town to see because it is miles from one end to the other and yet the population is only around 10,000. Very old, run down but they do have a huge, new Walmart Super Center! The Western New Mexico University is here but I don’t know what the student population is. We had a wonderful dinner last night at a Mexican restaurant.
Silver City hosts the Tour of the Gila bicycle race each year that is patterned after the Tour de France race. The race consisted of 5 stages and ended on Sunday. Lance Armstrong came in second. We drove one of the stages today and I absolutely cannot imagine anyone riding a bicycle up those mountains!
We are staying at a Holiday Inn Express. We wandered down to breakfast around 8 o’clock this morning. I remember when I was staying in such hotels while traveling for work. The “business” people were usually there at 6-6:30 for breakfast and then the retired, “more mature” people would wander in and not in a hurry. I realized this morning that now I am one of the people I used to envy..
Today’s trip was up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. It is only 44 miles north of town but it takes about 2 hours to get there since the road is narrow, very curvy and hilly. If something got our attention then we stopped and checked it out. A heard of deer got our attention so we stopped and watched them for a long while and took pictures. Most of the drive was through the Gila Wilderness Area so it was tall trees which we haven’t seen in awhile.
The Gila Cliff Dwellings are amazing. They are rock and adobe houses built in caves about 700 years ago by the Mogollon Indians. It was about a mile hike up to the ruins and very steep and rocky in places but we made it. Admittedly, I have to take advantage of the rest areas several times. I was really surprised that we were allowed to walk through caves 3, 4 & 5 which were all connected. Cave 1 was the “kitchen”. There were 6 caves/houses in all and 40 rooms have been identified – some are vary small. There is a little stream that runs along the canyon floor but it was hard to imagine them carrying the water up to the caves to make the adobe. I bet they were sure physically fit!
On the way back, we stopped at a little restaurant out in the middle of nowhere and the only one within many, many miles. The server was also the cook and we had absolutely wonderful Reuben sandwiches with homemade potato salad that is made fresh every day. It was incredible! The only other diners were 3 people at the next table which we chatted with. It was 2 men and a woman, all from the New York City area and at least 65 years old. They are hiking the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada. Can you imagine? It was fun to talk to them and learn about their adventure and how you do something like that. There were also a lot of birds in the area including hummingbirds. I have never seen so many in my life and at times there was 5-6 on one feeder. Totally unexpected experience..

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I never realized how much my life was dictated by work. I guess I knew but just didn’t really take the time to think about it – I just kept going the way I had for so many years.

The alarm clock now goes off at 6:30 a.m. instead of 5 o’clock. Why even set an alarm you ask? Well it because Larry has to take his meds at 6:30 and we have already been known to oversleep past 6:30 a.m.. I was shocked the first time it happened!

Then it was a matter of establishing a new routine for the day. When we wake up, do we get right up as in the past or turn the radio on, turn over and listen to “The Wall Street Journal This Morning” radio program or get up? Getting up, showering and getting dressed has remained the same. But, then come the decisions about a new routine. Do I eat breakfast right away? Diet coke first? Check email before breakfast? Eat breakfast at the kitchen table or at my desk like I have done for so many years? Once the kitchen table was decided to be the appropriate place for breakfast we had to then make the decision of which morning news network to watch on TV. We gave them all a one day trial and picked NBC. One network was too “fluffy” on the news’ one was to hard-core; one was bland….. And the morning newspaper – read it with breakfast or later? And email – what if I had an important email and wouldn’t know it for another hour if I didn’t check email as soon as I got up? There must be something I should be doing instead of setting down at 2 p.m. and reading a book. Oh, I forgot, doesn’t the world end if we don’t eat lunch between 12 and 1 p.m.?

Retirement - Life's Chapter 3

Mr. Webster says that retire means to withdraw or retreat. He also defines freedom as independence or liberty.

We were on a hike today out in the Saguaro National Park and it finally dawned on me what retirement is really about. It is about freedom! Freedom from early alarm clocks; rushing through breakfast to get to work; dragging the briefcase back and forth to work and always having work in the back of your mind. It is also about doing things when you feel like it; reading a magazine the day you get it in the mail; forgetting to take a lunch break; being able to go for a hike in the middle of the day in the middle of the week and having a calendar that isn’t booked full. I’m starting my second week of not being employed for the first time in 27 years.

The feeling is new and I’m slowly feeling it out and adjusting to it.