The Countdown Begins

The suitcases have been moved from storage in the closet to the bed in the guest room. On the final leg of our upcoming adventure we are allowed one suitcase each, weighing up to 50 pounds and a carry-on weighing less than 13 pounds. Hubby had to get a new large suitcase as his lost a wheel after the cruise to New Zealand and Australia.

The need for a large suitcase is because we are traveling from North America winter to South America summer to open water excursions and summer in Antarctica. One night in New York City with some exploring in winter temps, four days in South American countries including a rain forest region, and then 9 days on a cruise with land excursions on ice.

one of us is farther along in the packing than the other

new black LARGE suitcase from Costco

We have specific clothes we are to bring for the cruise. Parkas and boots are furnished, but not the layers. Waterproof lined pants on the left. Two base layer shirts. Two mid-layer pullovers. Two pairs of base leggings. Two pairs of wool socks from Sweden and one pair of sock liners.

We purchased special gloves, neckwear, goggles, waterproof pockets for our phones, AND seasickness meds, sunscreen (not in photo) and three different electrical adaptors. (We had two of the three needed adaptors and only had to purchase the one needed for our overnight stay in Brazil.) All of this fits into the white packing cube in the first photo. Keep in mind, this is ONLY the clothes needed for the possible eight Zodiac excursions from the cruise ship to land in the Antarctic continent. 

A friend, Donna, purchased this lined, ear-flap, waterproof hat at a rummage sale in AZ last winter from a woman who was on an excursion to Antarctica on the cruise line Hurtigruten. I felt it needed to make another trip to the continent. 

Summer clothes, ship casual and dinner clothes are beginning to be pulled from the closet. I am going to keep those to a minimum! The adventure begins on Friday. More FB posts and blogs beginning next week.

Time with the Grandkids

 We were back in South Dakota for 9 busy days catching all the grandkid activities for December. 

We were able to watch McBe's Taekwondo testing from his third green belt level to his first of 3 blue belt levels. He was tested on form, sparing, and board breaking. His friends gave him antlers instead of bunny ears for the group photo. He and two other boys earned their blue belts at the award ceremony later in the week. His TKD dedication and hard work is paying off!

He had a seventh and eight grade chorus concert on Tuesday night. The following Tuesday was his Edison Middle School band concert. He is a percussionist playing the bass drum and snare drum for this concert. On the Sunday between the two he played a Christmas song at the prelude to the Children's Musical at church.

Miss W performed in the Lincoln High School Winter Chorus Concert on Thursday evening. She was part of a Women's Ensemble and in the Freshman Women's group. The top photo is of the entire Lincoln High School Chorus, grades 9-12, men and women, about 150 students. Bottom left is the Freshman Women and bottom right is the Women's Ensemble. Three different groups performed at the concert along with the HS orchestra for one number and six or more Ensembles performing before the main concert.

We had our family Christmas on Saturday starting with bowling then dinner and gifts at our house. We are back in AZ enjoying warmer weather and sunshine!

Proud Grandparent Weekend

 We flew back to South Dakota last Thursday NOT to experience the cold temperatures or snow...

but to attend the South Dakota Junior Honors Choir Concert.

Not all SD schools participate in the Honors Choir program. Students audition in the fall and are selected by a committee of music instructors. They learn the songs on their own and practice with their school music teacher. The Honor Choir members gathered from across the state on Friday in Sioux Falls to practice as a group with their guest instructors. 

Miss W auditioned all three years for the Elementary Honors Choir and was chosen. She was not selected as a 7th grader.

We got to the auditorium plenty early as we knew seating would be an issue if we waited until ticket sales started. As Hubby said, "I didn't fly 1100 miles to not see my granddaughter sing!" Row F, center seat for photo ops!

Mixed Choir grades 7-9 (about 80 men and women)

Womens' Choir grades 7-9 (70 young women)

Miss W

it may take a long time for the 14 second video to load

Miss W auditioned for the choir and was selected as one of 5 Edison Middle School students. She also auditioned for a solo part (was one of 7 who did) and she and the other young lady were chosen by the director because their voices blended so well. Miss W found out about the solo honor Friday night. We were not told until just before the concert.

proud grandparents with Miss W

catching the sunset on the way home from the concert

purple and pink clouds

the snow pile grew while we were home

leaving South Dakota on Sunday morning

and back in AZ 2 hours and 15 minutes later

Week One in South Dakota

 Hubby and I flew home for most of the month of December. We wanted to see the grandkids in their school programs, have Christmas with family, and if the weather cooperated, travel to see friends and family.

Saturday sunrise in AZ over the Superstition Mountains

Monday morning frosty trees

No SNOW!

Tuesday morning the perennial flower bed

We have been notified the city will be maintaining the wash behind our triplex. This is my perennial flower bed...on the city's right-of-way, which I knew when I created the flower bed. The neighbor graciously removed the planter/bird feeder hook and my decorative wheel before we arrived. But after a discussion with some men who were simply delivering a message and not the guys making a decision, 

Hubby and I removed the rocks that I have collected from our various adventures while geocaching or traveling. In that mix are the two rocks I brought back from a 2000 trip to Italy and Greece! There is also a brick from the school where Hubby taught and was principal. We also removed all the landscaping blocks I had placed three years ago. I dug out 2 plants as I was told Tuesday morning our area would be plowed and planted with grass. It wasn't. So maybe I'll be able to keep my flower bed????

M's Band Program Tuesday evening

the 6th grade band

he's a percussionist

Miss W is a flutist

she noticed I was taking photos, which she really appreciated

she is an 8th grader!

Hubby insisted on lighted yard decor

my hardly ever used ice skates on the sled we used a lot

on the farm sledding on the pasture hills

our house for Christmas - Tuesday and Wednesday's project

front door decor

Thursday and Friday we traveled to see my 94 year old mother

The grands came over for the weekend. Saturday's project was decorating the Christmas tree and making Christmas goodies. All the decorations have been collected on our travels or given to us by students in our working years.

Icy Point AK 2023

Mount Rushmore SD 

Rothenburg Germany 2017

Hawaii 2022

Iceland 2023

my kitchen helpers mixing cookie truffles

dipping pretzels

making white chocolate & peppermint pretzel bites

sunset in the neighborhood and the end of week 1

#1575 & A Boring January

No blog post for three weeks because nothing happened until this week. I guess it is a good thing to have a boring existence. No news is good news, as the old adage goes.

As I was about to put this post together, I noticed this is my blog post #1575. WOW! When I started years ago, I never imagined a thousand plus postings of our adventures and non-adventures.

So here is what happened the rest of January.

sunset on January 18th

building clouds and the sunset on January 24th

and later on January 24th

January 25th, day of rain and some snow and some graupel

Graupel: also called soft hail or snow pellets, is precipitation that forms when supercooled water droplets are collected and freeze on falling snowflakes, forming 2–5 mm balls of rime. Graupel is distinct from hail and ice pellets. Hail is common in thunderstorms, while graupel typically falls in winter storms. Wikipedia

January 26th, snow on 5057, the highest peak of the Superstitions

snow on the top of Flatiron

snow from the peak of Flatiron to 5057

We celebrated National Spouses Day on January 26th by using the delivery meal service offered by our resort and the Cal-Am company in the Phoenix area. The service is called Heat and Eat. Meals are prepared in a central kitchen at one of the larger Cal-Am resorts and delivered to our resort the following morning. Our resort then has a golf cart delivery service to the 600+ sites. It is like ordering from a restaurant and having the meal delivered to your door (you can choose the delivery time from 10 to noon) without ever leaving the recliner! Directions are provided for heating the meal when you are ready to indulge. We have used the service for another yummy meal since January 26th, and will use it again. The cost is very comparable to a meal in a restaurant.

chicken carbonara over zucchini zoodles

Delicious!

smoked pork chop and cheesy hash browns

Very Tasty!

And at the end of January we had visitors from South Dakota. Connie and I went to school and college together. Connie was in my wedding. We have been couple friends since 1969. Dan and Hubby served in Desert Storm and actually saw each other in Saudi Arabia. The four of us were educators and have children of similar ages. We have played many games of pinocle over the years. It was so good to see them during their visit to AZ.