July 31--Grateful to Be Out of the Van

Patience, patience, patience is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith, One should lie empty, open choiceless as a beach--waiting for a gift from the sea. 
--Anne Morrow Lindbergh

    Driving/riding hundreds of miles teaches one patience also. "Are we there YET?!?!?!" We covered about 620 miles yesterday, with about half that left to get home.

    Below is our last group photo taken at the statues commemorating the founding of Show Low, Arizona. 

    Time to hit the road again,

        Leta

 

July 30--Taking Our Fun on the Road

In the end, in search of useful wisdom, you could only come back to the most hackneyed concepts, like kindness, forbearance, infinite patience. 
--Chad Harbach

    Our last day in Show Low was a laid-back one. We went to the local farmers' market, which was more craft-type stuff than farm stuff, but it was quite cool and expansive nonetheless. I saw a man with a t-shirt that said, "Let's just assume I'm right. It will save time." Our group of seven women had many ideas for that one! We also got a kick out of these wine-themed signs.

 

    Then we had breakfast a PersNIKKIty's Cafe. The menu had changed since previous visits, and those in our group who were returning were disappointed with the new options. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed my avocado toast. I also enjoyed their many amusing signs:

Excellent life philosophy!!

    The rest of the day we hung out at the house. We watched a couple movies, cleaned up the house for next time, and packed up to head home. 

    So much fun we have had!!!

    Off we go on our two-day trip home,

        Leta

July 29--We All Have Time to Be Kind

If it is right, it happens--

The main thing is not to hurry.

Nothing good gets away. 

--John Steinbeck

    Yesterday started with another trek to the Aquatic Center for a lap swim. I swam four times on this trip, an extra bonus. Five of the ladies played golf; two of us stayed behind and had quite an interesting experience in the Safeway parking lot. It was packed. I pulled the large vehicle into a tight (but not impossible) space, and my passenger was very careful with the next vehicle when she opened her door. Before she could get out, the owner of the pickup beside her was standing at the back corner of his vehicle, and he freaked, yelling, calling us nasty names, screaming about his pickup. I was out by then, saw him, and said I would move our vehicle (rather than possibly being shot by an asshole). He stood there behind his pickup, still yelling, making it even harder for me to get out of the space. I finally got around him and moved to another spot. 

    This incident really troubled me. First, it seems that it is perfectly acceptable to be a rude obnoxious asshole to complete strangers. (I believe this is part of Donald Trump's legacy.) Second, I could have just as easily been an asshole back at the guy. I don't like that in myself, and fortunately, wiser action won out. Third, the man could have simply asked us politely to move, and none of this angst would have happened. 

    We did our shopping and returned to home base with no further incident. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon that included prep of a sloppy joe and salad supper. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. The golfers had a decent day temperature-wise for their last round on this trip. 

    Let us all work a little harder at kindness today,

        Leta

Our beautiful Mother

July 28--Robot Waiters--CLEVER!

Cleverness is good, patience is better.  --Hermann Hesse

    I found this quote recently from Jim Carrey: "I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they dream so they can see that it's not the answer." All that certainly sounds like the answer! It takes much cleverness to accomplish so much. I would suggest, however, that the "answer" is comfort in one's own skin, liking oneself, and absolutely, that takes patience. 

    Yesterday was a no-golf day. I swam at the Aquatic Center, we played a few card games, then around noon headed out to the Wild Woman Saloon for lunch. The food is excellent, and we all saw something never before seen by us--robot waiters. They had three of them. We asked if they had named them. Of course! Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and Dirty Diane. DD is the one that takes the used dishes back to the kitchen. The waitresses said they don't take away jobs, but make their lives a lot easier. The waitress didn't know how much the robots cost to purchase, but she said they pay $2/hour for each hour any of them is operating. Fascinating!

    The rest of the day, for me, was comfy lazing at home base. My six buds went out to listen to music at a local restaurant. 

    More AZ fun to come!

        Leta

July 27--Losing Patience with the Heat

Patience is also a form of action.  --Auguste Rodin

    "Hurry up and wait." Annoying though it can be, sometimes we just have to wait for things to develop. I find that there is significantly more in life that I cannot control, rather than the limited amount that I can control. This leads to "let go and let God"--taking the action of surrender and waiting patiently to see what good is in store. 

    Yesterday was another difficult day of golf. Despite starting at 8:30, it was too hot and sunny with very little breeze. I made it through with drinks, cold towels, and bits of shade, but I played terribly. It simply was not fun. The others will likely play one more time, but I'm not sure if I will. 

    The highlights of my day were two phone calls. One was from my brother, who is recovering from a minor but uncomfortable illness. I had sent him photos of my grandson, and he raved about those. The other call was a lengthy catch-up chat with my niece (the aforementioned brother's daughter). We talked about our travels, our kids and potential future visits. I am interested in spending more time with her dad, and she is all in for that idea. The two live about three miles apart in northeast Ohio. We shall see what develops. 

    I am good for now using patience as my form of action. 

        Leta

It sure feels closer than 
93 million miles!!!

July 26--"The Best Laid Plans"

All human wisdom is summed up in two words--wait and hope. 
--Alexandre Dumas

    Well! Yesterday was one of those days when a person might feel that the Universe is laughing at him/her. (Note that this is the reason for "wait and hope.") Six of our ladies were all set to go golfing, and I was taking a break, looking forward to a few hours of lazing by myself. I did get to swim early, then things went downhill from there. I returned from my lap-swim to find that the bathrooms were STINKY due to sewer backup. So five ladies went golfing and our hostess started the frustrating exercise of finding a repair person. The first part of the process required getting city personnel out to determine if it was a city or homeowner problem. The city came out quickly and (of course) declared it a homeowner problem. While waiting (and hoping) for a repair, I dove into a computer project to enable us to watch the Aftershocks basketball game without having internet service at the house. With a trip to Radio Shack (yes, there is still at least one!) and several calls to my techy husband, I was successful. 

    The sewer/plumbing folks came in the early afternoon and got everything flowing again. The five golfers returned to a much better smelling house. We enjoyed a BLT supper while watching the Aftershocks lose. Bummer. 

    I did make up for several missed naps, and it was a treat to lie around and read, carefree and relaxed. 

    More golf today!

        Leta

Nature's bounty back home 😃

July 25--Our Precious Water

Drop by drop is the pitcher filled.  --Buddha

    Being in the high desert, my mind goes with this quote to water. Yesterday we visited Schoens Dam where the water level was so low, it is unimaginable that water could ever get high enough to flow over it. On top of the levee, however, the wind was flowing with mighty power. One can see for hundreds of miles up there. 

    We also had a great time playing pickleball at a local rec center. We initially waited outside to play, then learned that there were three indoor courts. We bolted for those--much cooler out of the blazing AZ sun. 

    Our roaming took us to Snowflake Smokehouse Bar where our two Barbaras enjoyed "Barbie margaritas" and two others enjoyed "Shark Tank margaritas." The Barbie drinks were pink (duh!). The Shark Tank drinks had shark-shaped gummies in them. What a creative bartender! She was so much fun!

    Our chefs of the evening made us a fabulous steak, baked potato, salad, corn and garlic bread supper. We finished off the day chilling to a movie. 

    I did get to swim this morning!!

        Leta

We were on top of the dam...
the water is WAY far below.