Black Friday

I don't care for crowds let alone crowds of people going nuts over ridiculous sales. So black friday is just another Friday. Well in our home it's the day we start decorating for Christmas. Thanksgiving evening it's a tradition to put up our Christmas tree so that is done. Once all the decorations were on the ugly tree, it didn't look so bad. I just really like short needle trees much better.

Our Thanksgiving dinner turned out great in spite of only have a very very small amount of counter space. There were a few times, ok more than a few times, when I had a few choice words to say. I learned that next year we will bring in a small table to help with the lack of counter space. In fact it will be a permanent fixture during Christmas cookie baking time.

Most of day late afternoon and all evening on Thanksgiving, we had heavy rain and strong winds. The air was so cold and damp that I'm sure it ruined some of the outside plans for the snowbirds. It just kept us inside relaxing from a big meal. If we were in the rv like we were a for a few holidays, it wouldn't have been much fun, but the food would have still been good.

The rain has stopped and the sun is shining but it's still chilly outside. I've got the laundry in the dryers today, with the exception of a couple pairs of jeans of mine and a shirt. Once all the laundry is done and put away, I'll start on some Christmas decorating. I hope to NOT over do it today. There is no rush so why hurry through it all. It's no fun hurting.

There are plenty of leftovers from yesterday in the fridge but I'm thinking homemade pizza for supper. Sunday sounds like a good day for leftovers, and then the rest can go in the freezer for another time.

Our first Thanksgiving in our new home. Sadly the kitchen is smaller so I really had to be creative to get things done. On 4 feet of counter space it's not an easy task. But the turkey is stuffed and in the oven. Not only is there stuffing in the bird but wrapped in foil alongside the bird and another amount wrapped in foil to be baked beside the roaster. We love my stuffing and there has to be enough for another couple meals. Gravy is another dish that there has to be enough of. But making too much can also dilute the great turkey flavor. And I will NOT, I repeat will NOT make packaged or jarred gravy for any meal, no matter the meat. Yuck!!!! And never even a thought on Thanksgiving where everything has to be made from scratch. Well for as long as I am able to do so anyway. 

Yesterday Mark got all my Christmas totes to the porch but we can not find our Christmas tree. I’ll never find one as pretty as that one around here. :(  Then in a box I found the stuffed Santa mom gave me when she moved into her first apartment. That made me happy but cry. I had to stop looking in the totes so as not to spend all day crying. And mess up my eye make up. hehe I am having a hard time, more so now with the holidays. I didn’t spend many of them with mom the last 5 or 6 years, but I still miss her deeply with all the memories. And then phone calls because I can’t remember how I did something or just chat. We also found some old pictures of mom and dad that we had in a collage. The day was a hard one for me. And many more will come.

After running all over Yuma looking for a nice little 5 foot tree I had to settle for one from Target. It is lighted but I won’t use the lights, in fact I may cut them off completely. I don’t like lighted trees I want my own lights. I don’t like the tree itself either, but it was either that of nothing at all. I’m so sad and upset. Maybe with burying the tree in my ton of ornaments I won’t see the ugly tree. I’m so unhappy.  I have no idea what happened to our little tree. I should be thankful to have a tree at all, but am sad that it's not our pretty tree. Such is life. There are ups and downs at every turn. 

Holiday prep

Yesterday we were so happy to have made it to church. Since Mark is no longer working our weekends are free to do what we want. The service was lead by the youth group and they did a wonderful job. The time flew by.

After church we went to the Golden Corral. Where else can two seniors eat their fill and only spend $20. Food is always hot when it needs to be hot and cold when it needs to be cold. And the buffet is always full. Our tummies were full when we left too.

The bigger Walmart on Pacific Ave. is my favorite WM in Yuma. The store is always clean and neat and not many snowbirds shop there. That is probably why the store is that way. Anyway, I got all that I had on my list. I should be all set for Thanksgiving and Christmas baking. God please let our milk supply last until next week. I don't want to go into any store anymore this week.

Saturday Mark got some things done that he had to put off due to his crazy work schedule. He even got out bear fountain up front. And even though it had sat for 3 years, the pump worked. Bears may not be a Yuma thing, but we like bear things. He checked over the little back so called porch and found it to be built very very poorly. We had thought to enclosing it and using it for storage, but it's not built to hold much more than the lousy floor. Not sure where we go from there other than to tear off the unsafe porch and maybe start over. Cost is a factor too.

A busy week ahead for me with Thanksgiving prep and the usual laundry and cleaning. Yes, our dinner will be all the trimmings even for just the two of us. As long as I am capable of doing it, that is what I will do. Yummmm.

Amazing

It was a good trip to the clinic in Yuma proper, in spite of using the GPS. Marks internal GPS works so much better. We got there a bit early and I checked in right away.  Not even 10 minutes went by and I was called to go over my information. Hardly sitting down and into the room for the ultrasound I went. There was a mix up as to which gland was to be imaged for  short call to the doctor and all was solved. The tech and the receptionists were oh so nice and professional. All total I was in and out of the clinic in 40 minutes.

This morning while doing laundry the doctors office called to set up an appointment for the first week in December to go over the ultrasound results. I'm praying hard that it will be nothing serious and an relatively easy fix. Tomorrow is my first mammo here in Yuma and with any test I'm always nervous about the results.

As of last Friday, Mark is officially re retired.  So now my full time job begins. LOL He doesn't know all the things on the honey do list yet. I know he will enjoy being retired again.

I've made two really nice friends that I met on a group of Canary lovers. Sadly one lives in Texas and one in Mexico so our get togethers are by phone or computer. But it's so nice to have someone to share your interests with. None of my friends from back home correspond at all anymore. But then neither does my family, except for Lincoln, Barb and David and my dear cousin Patty.  Mom told me this would happen when she died, and she was right. But it started much sooner than that.

The weather has now turned from the mid to upper 80's to the low 70's during the day. The nights in the desert get colder in the winter, with the lows ranging from the mid 40's to upper 30's. Last year was the coldest wettest winter many could remember. And this one is supposed to be the same. Time will tell. Maybe the weather will chase the snowbirds back home early. That would be so great. I swear some of them leave their brains and manners in their home state or country. They are not good representatives of their home area.

Busy week ahead

This week I go in for an ultrasound on my glad that keeps swelling and for a mammo. For the last three plus years I've had a swelling in one of my glands every time I eat something. Sometimes it's very painful and sometimes it's just a nuisance swelling, but it's not the way it should be. I've finally got a doctor here that wants to do something about it. This will also be the first mammo since moving from Minnesota. So I'm nervous and a bit on the scared side as well.

This is also Marks last week at Walmart. He has been through hell since he moved to the  sporting section of the store. It was not just sporting goods as he was originally told. He was to work in several departments alone with little to no help. Next month Mark will turn 68 years old and it has been too much for a man his age. As hard as that is for a man to admit, he needs to leave.

Coming to an end.

After  a very stressful job placement with piss poor department management, Mark will be turning in his letter of resignation on Monday.  He had me proofread and edit before he prints it out. And true to Mark form, it is a long letter.  Much of which is defending himself to the unfair treatment which he received in the area he is working. Knowing the management at Walmart it will all land on deaf ears but at least the bad treatment is in writing. I'm sure Mark will enjoy having the time away from  working. The extra money is nice but his health and well being is much more important.

Today could be his last day at Walmart. He has off the next three days. And some places want you gone after you have turned in your notice. I do hope this is the case. Mark is so drained from all the turmoil and stress, that he needs to walk away now, not two weeks from now. WM, is as usual, very short handed and with all the snowbirds flocking in, the store is more chaotic than usual. I just want him out of that situation and to hell with a two week notice. They don't deserve one. But why burn bridges you may have to cross again. Ugh!

Nice Sunday.

A chilly morning and a week of mid and upper 80’s. At least it cools down at night and sleeps good. We used to come down here around the 14th of November and that is around the time the temp stays in the 70’s during the day and 40’s at night.

 Yesterday we were reflecting on our travels and all the work it involved. Watching the campers pull in and what the people were having to do to get settled made us glad we were now settled. It was great fun then but it seems we got too old too fast. We don’t miss the tear down and set up but really enjoyed all the rest. Well, I didn’t enjoy going through the mountains. They looked much better when we weren’t IN them.

Since we didn’t make it to church we sat and did nothing all the rest of the morning. I made a nice breakfast and Mark took Lola out. Then we went to PetSmart. Mark had it in his head that we needed another canary. Then he saw the pretty Cockateil. But after I explained to him what that would all entail “For Him” to do. He changed his mind.  And not another Canary at this point either. There is no room for another cage anywhere. Maybe someday I will have a pair to breed. But not right now. I’m still learning Carl’s needs. Come spring we will know for sure if Carl is indeed a male.  A female will lay eggs even if they aren’t fertilized. No eggs, then not a female. I hope Carl is in fact a Carl and will begin to sing soon. So far all he has is a cute little trill.

From the pet store we went to the Arizona Marketplace and looked around. Most of the vendors were there but not the one that had the sunglasses I want. Maybe later they will be there. I need the kind that fit over the glasses and I want pink like I had. After we got home Mark called a buddy and chatted for a bit. Then we headed out for supper only to find that most places were so busy. Yep, the snowbirds were all eating out too. We ended up at Denny’s. They have very good food. I love their super Nacho’s so I had a half order. The full order is too big even for me. hehehe

Mark doesn’t go into work until 5 today and 4 tomorrow.  He likes the later start. Then the rest of the week it’s 10 to 7, a bad shift for us. But I’m not sure how much longer he will stay working there. He isn’t happy there anymore. This new area isn’t managed well at all.

Warm days and cool nights.

Fall in Yuma this week...... eat your heart out. :)

The cool nights make for good sleeping  and no a/c needed during the day. Six months of great weather but way too many snowbirds. I wish we could use a shovel on them. LOL