Fun and Games Dept

When we lived in the mobile home my parents had a pair of late 1960s Westinghouse laundry appliances. They weren’t paired together because the washing machine was in the bathroom and the dryer was in a small laundry alcove in the addition my father built. The alcove was wedged between the master bedroom which had a gun rack and could accommodate a double-bed, and the living room which could accommodate a black and white TV, a fold out couch, and Dad’s chair.

The washing machine was fascinating to me until it flooded over one day and then it made me nervous because the washing machine was no longer reliably doing what it was suppose to do. It was a basic model from Westinghouse, the cycle on the left side of the dial was for warm or cold wash with cold rinse and the right side of the dial was for hot wash with warm rinse. Unlike the photo of the similarly aged washing machine above, the “Cool Down Rinses” imprint was on the left side of the dial, just below “Lock ‘n Spin”. If you tried to lift the lid when the washer was spinning, it would buzz. The washer and dryer made their way to the house across the street until it flooded again; the dryer lived several years longer until it squealed so loud we could hear it down by the road at the other end of the 200’ driveway. Perhaps Dad was cheap.

Living in the desert has not been kind to my skin. My skin dries out quickly and I’m thinking taking a hot shower, which I absolutely adore, accelerates the activity. So I’ve been ending my morning shower by moving the handle from “9 o’clock” to “3 o’clock”, with 6 o’clock being off. The rush of fairly cold water is exhilarating and I thoroughly enjoy the experience.

As part of my typical brain thought processes, I can’t help but think of the late 1960s Westinghouse Washer every morning during my “Cool Down Rinses”.

My husband appreciates it if I don’t flood the bathroom by letting water out of the shower while I’m doing my business. I continue to do what I’m suppose to do./

I installed the metal art sculpture we purchased in Tubac yesterday. It matches the gazebo doors nicely and is a nice touch for the kitchen. I like the little touches like this.

We went for a road trip today. We decided to head south of the city and made our way to Tubac. We did a little shopping; we found a metal sculpture to install over one of our doors in the kitchen. This was our first time walking through the quaint little town. I look forward to going back soon.

We then found our way over to Peña Blanca Lake and walked around a bit. The park had a few people here and there and was beautiful. It was great spending some time in the sun.

After a successful flight, my husband and I enjoyed a burger and a beer at a local eatery near Davis-Monthan AFB. We had a fun time; and after maybe two beers, Earl drove us home.

I’m smart like that.

There are two celebrities that brought a tear to my eye (or more than a tear) when I heard of their passing: Elizabeth Montgomery and Betty White.

Lizzie famously played both Samantha Stephens and her mischievous cousin Serena on “Bewitched”. I mentioned this in a blog entry a couple of days ago and showed a freeze frame of Lizzie’s stand-in Melody McCord. In later seasons of the show, the credits showed Serena being played by Pandora Spocks. Not surprisingly, Ms. Spocks bore a shocking resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery. In reality, Lizzie once remarked some of Serena’s mischief came from her very own cousin Panda. When asked what Lizzie was like in real life, Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha, said “oh, Serena all the way”.

The episode “Serena Steals The Show”, where Serena meets 60s duo Boyce and Hart, and sings their song “I’ll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind”, is one of the more popular episodes from the series. Here’s a clip courtesy of YouTube. Look for a pre-Dyna Girl Judy Strangis as one of the groupies.

Lucky and Jinx are settling into our home quite well. They run around like playful brother and sister during the day and sleep together at night. They’re still figuring out their boundaries around Truman but there hasn’t been any intense drama on the subject.

They’re cute and a lot of fun but still a little skittish, especially around me. Perhaps I need to carry more treats in my pocket.

Homer invited us to a surprise birthday party for his partner Matt. It was a fun little gathering with vegetarian pizza and a delicious homemade birthday cake. They had been to the house the night before for St. Patrick’s Day and Homer brought Irish Soda Bread. Homer is an enjoyable baker.

Homer and Matt have made us feel quite over our nearly first year here in Tucson and I’m very happy to call them both friends.

At the surprise birthday party I was particularly amused with his selection of napkins for the occasion.

It’s Friday. I miss Xena. I don’t want a reboot. I just want the original Xena back.

We spent the weekend in Flagstaff. We haven’t reached our one year anniversary of living in Arizona yet and it’s weird to me to think of the Grand Canyon as a reasonable weekend destination by car. Stopped traffic on Interstate 17 notwithstanding.

We were to go away for a long weekend this weekend as a celebration of Earl’s birthday at the end of February, but work plans interrupted that plan and when I knew what my work schedule looked like we were able to make some last minute reservations and find ourselves a place to stay in Flagstaff. The small reminder of winter weather was a nice change of pace.

This was our second time to The Grand Canyon and it’s still as beautiful as it was the first time we visited over 20 years ago. I was a little surprised at how much Grand Canyon Village had grown. The south rim viewing area and visitors center was busy but not overly crowded. COVID-19 precautions are now uneven at best. We make do with what we have.

We had a very pleasant drive and some nice meals and a very relaxing weekend away. It was good to get recharged.

Earl and I spent nearly two hours just north of milepost 246 on Interstate 71 north of Phoenix. Actually, we were just north of Black Canyon City and not quite to the Bumble Bee exit. Traffic was stopped for a crash at milepost 249. The electronic signs told us the left lane was closed but then traffic came to a grinding halt and we sat in the same spot for nearly two hours. I am thankful it wasn’t in the heat of the desert. Actually, the pre spring breeze was quite pleasant, and we were amusing ourselves in the darkened car by watching others in their cars. Plus we played on our phones.

Then everyone started turning off their cars because gas is expensive these days.

When traffic started moving again, the truck ahead of us couldn’t get going on the hill, so we drove around him. When we finally crawled to the accident site, it was evident one or more cars had gone down the sharp hill off the left side of the freeway.

Just a wild assumption, but don’t use your phone when you’re driving.