February 4 to February 10
Well, the past week seems to have gone by rather quickly, which surprises me because through most of it we didn't do much worth writing home about. Mother Nature has been a bit of a Debbie Downer this past week with the weather, and it looks like she's going to stay in her funk for a couple more weeks. Granted it's nothing like family and friends are experiencing at home, but I think we're feeling the edge of the Arctic outflow that you up north are all dealing with. ❄🤧 For the most part, it's been overcast, cool (sometimes even cold, since the winds have been quite cool) and we've had a fair bit of rain. We're back to having the furnace kick in just before dawn (and it's set at 58F/14C).
We did have a very good steak dinner 🥩😋 with Perry & Bev at a place called Carrabba's on Wednesday (6th); managed to hook up for a visit with John & Fran who have been very busy with tennis and pickle ball lately; met up with a number of friends for 🍺, 🍷, and 🌞shine at the patio on Friday (8th).
Saturday, the 9th was a bit more interesting. We decided to take in a couple of arts and crafts markets, and check out a massive restaurant supply store we had heard about. Well, I really need to pay better attention to details when looking up things on the internet. We headed to downtown Mesa for an event called MesaFest, which I thought I remembered from past years being advertised as every Saturday. Well you can guess what we found. NOTHING!😕 Apparently it is now just the 1st and 3rd Saturday's of the month, or maybe it always was, but this was the 2nd Saturday. Oh well, it was actually on the way to the restaurant supply store, so not a complete waste or out of our way. The store is an old Walmart building, so you can imagine how big it was. Found a couple of things to buy, but mostly just wandered around and were amazed at the huge array of products.
We then drove to the southern end of Chandler for another market that turned out to be about a dozen tents in a mall parking lot. I did buy a pair of earrings and had an interesting chat with a young man about CBD oil – it's the same price as at home, BEFORE adding exchange. We then drove to downtown Chandler to find some lunch. Came across a Great Dane rescue group (Dane Haven) with a bunch of their rescues, looking for foster or furever homes (the dogs, not the rescuers, I believe). Every one of those dogs was so gentle and calm, and one just wanted to lean right into me when I started petting her. Braced myself and let her have at it. There was an adorable 6-month pup that had been rescued from Mexico. When they got her, she was very malnourished and didn't walk on her feet, but actually on her ankles with the feet turned under. But they've got her walking pretty much normal now (the feet go at a bit of an odd angle, but she's on the pads now). What beautiful animals, although definitely more than I would be willing to try and handle.
Sunday, Feb 10th we jumped (and I'm being very generous with that term) into Lance's truck and headed with him and Ursula over to Tortilla Flats for lunch. Slow, windy and scenic drive, a good meal and a leisurely drive back. Decided to head back to where we had seen the wild horses a couple of weeks ago. Just before the turn off into the park, we noticed a few people along the side of the road, all looking off into the shrubs. Sure enough there were some horses, so we pulled off the road at the park entrance. Lance isn't a fan of horses and stayed in the truck, but the rest of us scampered off to join the other spectators. There was a herd of 11, I think, including at least one young one. After watching for a minute or so, they started to wander towards us, so we're all reminding ourselves that they're wild animals. Suddenly, they started to cluster together and pick up speed. Fortunately, we were right where there is a metal barrier along the road, and the horses know it's there. So they ran past us to where they knew there was an opening for them to cross the road and get down to the river. Apparently, a horse was hit and killed there last week, so they had volunteers with warning signs monitoring traffic. They saw the horses coming and jumped into action, stopping all vehicles so the horses could cross safely. Ironically, Lance had turned the truck around and was parked right where they ran across, so he had a front row seat.
Well, the past week seems to have gone by rather quickly, which surprises me because through most of it we didn't do much worth writing home about. Mother Nature has been a bit of a Debbie Downer this past week with the weather, and it looks like she's going to stay in her funk for a couple more weeks. Granted it's nothing like family and friends are experiencing at home, but I think we're feeling the edge of the Arctic outflow that you up north are all dealing with. ❄🤧 For the most part, it's been overcast, cool (sometimes even cold, since the winds have been quite cool) and we've had a fair bit of rain. We're back to having the furnace kick in just before dawn (and it's set at 58F/14C).
We did have a very good steak dinner 🥩😋 with Perry & Bev at a place called Carrabba's on Wednesday (6th); managed to hook up for a visit with John & Fran who have been very busy with tennis and pickle ball lately; met up with a number of friends for 🍺, 🍷, and 🌞shine at the patio on Friday (8th).
Saturday, the 9th was a bit more interesting. We decided to take in a couple of arts and crafts markets, and check out a massive restaurant supply store we had heard about. Well, I really need to pay better attention to details when looking up things on the internet. We headed to downtown Mesa for an event called MesaFest, which I thought I remembered from past years being advertised as every Saturday. Well you can guess what we found. NOTHING!😕 Apparently it is now just the 1st and 3rd Saturday's of the month, or maybe it always was, but this was the 2nd Saturday. Oh well, it was actually on the way to the restaurant supply store, so not a complete waste or out of our way. The store is an old Walmart building, so you can imagine how big it was. Found a couple of things to buy, but mostly just wandered around and were amazed at the huge array of products.
We then drove to the southern end of Chandler for another market that turned out to be about a dozen tents in a mall parking lot. I did buy a pair of earrings and had an interesting chat with a young man about CBD oil – it's the same price as at home, BEFORE adding exchange. We then drove to downtown Chandler to find some lunch. Came across a Great Dane rescue group (Dane Haven) with a bunch of their rescues, looking for foster or furever homes (the dogs, not the rescuers, I believe). Every one of those dogs was so gentle and calm, and one just wanted to lean right into me when I started petting her. Braced myself and let her have at it. There was an adorable 6-month pup that had been rescued from Mexico. When they got her, she was very malnourished and didn't walk on her feet, but actually on her ankles with the feet turned under. But they've got her walking pretty much normal now (the feet go at a bit of an odd angle, but she's on the pads now). What beautiful animals, although definitely more than I would be willing to try and handle.
Sunday, Feb 10th we jumped (and I'm being very generous with that term) into Lance's truck and headed with him and Ursula over to Tortilla Flats for lunch. Slow, windy and scenic drive, a good meal and a leisurely drive back. Decided to head back to where we had seen the wild horses a couple of weeks ago. Just before the turn off into the park, we noticed a few people along the side of the road, all looking off into the shrubs. Sure enough there were some horses, so we pulled off the road at the park entrance. Lance isn't a fan of horses and stayed in the truck, but the rest of us scampered off to join the other spectators. There was a herd of 11, I think, including at least one young one. After watching for a minute or so, they started to wander towards us, so we're all reminding ourselves that they're wild animals. Suddenly, they started to cluster together and pick up speed. Fortunately, we were right where there is a metal barrier along the road, and the horses know it's there. So they ran past us to where they knew there was an opening for them to cross the road and get down to the river. Apparently, a horse was hit and killed there last week, so they had volunteers with warning signs monitoring traffic. They saw the horses coming and jumped into action, stopping all vehicles so the horses could cross safely. Ironically, Lance had turned the truck around and was parked right where they ran across, so he had a front row seat.
We got back in time for a short happy hour before the sun started to disappear. John and Fran stopped by on their way back from a tennis tournament. Congrats Fran on your bronze medal for women's doubles. Other neighbours, Doug and Leanna, stopped for a short visit on their way by until we all decided it was time to head indoors before the sun completely set and we were all chilled through. An enjoyable day out with good friends. Great way to finish the week.
Until next time, dear readers.
Until next time, dear readers.