Weekend Fun

Suzy and I decided a little early Christmas cheer was in order.  Lee and Heidy came over and helped us decorate the tree on Friday night.  Lee did all the heavy work — moving furniture, getting the boxes out of the garage, assembling the tree.  It’s really a beautiful tree, and it’s nice to sit and look at the ornaments we’ve accumulated over the years.  They’re all special – whether it’s one we got on our honeymoon, or the ones the kids made in preschool, or a Giants World Series ornament (we have 3!). Lee put the angel on top, even putting up with the rest of us suggesting better, straighter ways to stand her up there.  He was way more patient than we deserved.

Apparently, Suzy thinks she’s exempt from the Ring Theory.  I was feeling particularly worn out Friday night when we were decorating the tree, but I didn’t want to sit down and rest.  I was in the garage getting a box of ornaments and Suzy came out.  She fussed at me in a loud, stern voice, adding in a few curse words, telling me to go inside and sit down.  (“Sit your ass down” was the exact quote.) Now I know what Lee and Eric heard when they were teenagers.  I thought only love and encouragement were supposed to come my way!  (Folks, I really do know she was showing me love in her own way.  And I did need to sit my ass down and rest.)

On Saturday, we went four-wheel driving out in the Superstition Mountains.  We saw a lot of that classic Arizona scenery that we love so much.  Tons of saguaros and beautiful desert mountains.  We even drove through a canyon along a dry creek bed.  Lee did the four-wheel driving and loved it.  (We convinced Heidy to do some of the driving next time!)  We went about 20 miles on increasingly bumpy roads, turning around when it got super rough.  It’s fun not really having a destination.  Suzy and I sat in the back seat with Oreo.  He was on my lap for hours; we were both enjoying the attention. Last weekend, we did a backroads drive north of Carefree. We have a book called “40 Scenic Drives in Arizona”, so we have a few more trips in our future!

We live in far north Scottsdale, around a lot of open desert.  Since Oreo has been visiting us, the coyotes must have smelled his presence.  We see them walk by the back yard often, as if they’re checking if he’s there.  On Saturday morning while we were inside eating breakfast, one came up about a foot from our back fence, peering into the yard hoping for a snack.  (Believe it or not, they can easily jump 6-foot fences.)  We watched for a couple of minutes from the window before Suzy and Lee went out to scare him away.  We’ve never seen anything like that before, and it was really creepy.  I think Heidy and Lee now really understand when we say we have to keep our eye on Oreo when he is out back. We love where we live, but it’s definitely not your normal neighborhood!

I hope everyone will have a great Thanksgiving.  I could do some Covid safety preaching, but I won’t.  For us, we did the big Thanksgiving on Halloween and will spend the day eating a normal meal (spaghetti and meatballs), enjoying the company of Heidy, Lee, and Oreo.  The only “Thanksgiving” food we all decided we can’t do without is pie.  And Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole, even if that doesn’t really go with spaghetti and meatballs. Happy Thanksgiving!