El Mirage, Arizona

We moved yesterday from Gold Canyon to El Mirage. Basically we moved from east of Phoenix to west of Phoenix.

There’s a huge cold front throughout most of the USA, and we haven’t escaped it.

There was snow on the Superstition Mountains yesterday morning.

Rich talked with one neighbor who said he hadn’t seen snow that low in over 20 years. Beautiful!

I guess we’ve gotten used to the warmer temperatures because we’re freezing to death.

One of my favorite sayings is appropriate for this weather: “It’s colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra!”

And here’s where that saying came from:

In the age of sail, on the cannon deck of a warship, next to each cannon, cannonballs were piled up at the ready, in a pyramid, which the sailors called a witches tit.

It was built on a brass plate with holes cut in to hold the cannonballs from rolling off as the ship listed, rolled and pitched. The sailors called the plate a brass bra.

Because brass expands and contracts with temperature at a greater rate than iron, rare extreme cold on the cannon deck would cause the brass plate to shrink to the point that the cannonballs would be released from the pyramid and roll over the deck. “Colder than a witche’s tit in a brass bra” is a saying that evolved from that phenomenon.

And now you know should that question come up in your next game of Trivial Pursuit. 🙂

Gold Canyon, Arizona

Wishing you a __________* 2015.

*Fill in with the adjectives of your choice and let those be your new year’s affirmations!

Gold Canyon, Arizona

One of the great things about staying here at Gold Canyon Resort for two months is that we’ve developed friendships that have gone past the superficial level.

We’ve exchanged stories and eventually confided in one another.

The surprising thing is finding out that others, not all but most, are as unsure of what to do as we are.

Harry and Marlene are in their 80’s and they are trying to decide if it’s time to sell their 2500 square foot home that’s on the shores of Lake Almanor in northern California and move closer to their children.

Mike and Debbie are at odds. Debbie thinks it might be time to sell their home in Ohio while Mike wants to keep it. She’s ready to try RV living full time; he’s not so sure.

Wally and Lea are also trying to decide if they should sell one of their two homes. Maybe they will upgrade their Arizona park model to an actual home because they spend most of their time here and more space would be nice.

(Park models are about 400 square feet (14′ by 35′), and most have an ‘Arizona Room’ added on that is either additional living space or a covered patio. In Texas they are called ‘Texas Rooms’.)

The good news for us is that hearing everyone else’s dilemmas has helped us realize that we’re not alone.

We are struggling with deciding how and when to transition back to home ownership. We ping and pong ideas back and forth continuously.

Perhaps it’s time to buy an eight ball… 🙂

 

Gold Canyon, Arizona

Woke up the other day, looked in the mirror, and what did I see?

A pimple!

Zit, blemish, abscess, carbuncle, hickey, acne, goober… Whatever you call it, they aren’t pretty.

Like most, I had my share during my teen years.

But I never expected to have them at my age.

Pimples AND wrinkles at the same time are just insulting!

Just doesn’t seem right to have an oily skin problem at the same time as an old and dry skin problem.

Don’t even get me started on when I spot a whisker, too… 🙁

Gold Canyon, Arizona

I had one of my top five pickleball sessions yesterday afternoon.

Amazing fun. Tons of sweat. Lots of learning.

I invited ten of the better players in our park to a play session when no other players would be there.

Yep, I’m a pickleball snob. I wanted a session where we could play fast and slow, hit hard and soft, and use the two most important skills in pickleball: patience and smarts.

Interestingly, as one evolves into a better pickleball player, patience is the most important skill to cultivate.

Patience allows a player to set up a play that will allow her to use her skills to most effectively to win the point.

What was so fun yesterday for all of us is that we didn’t have to hold back at all. Because we were all skilled players, we didn’t restrict ourselves in the ways we do with beginning players.

We could dink (very soft hit just over the net), slam (very hard hit right at your opponent), slice (wicked spin on the ball), and lob (high and soft arc to the back of the court) to our hearts’ content.

Well, we could at least try to sink, slam, slice, and lob. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

And the best thing about pickleball is that it’s fun even when it doesn’t work… 🙂

Gold Canyon, Arizona

We’ve been in Gold Canyon since October 31, and a couple of times we’ve experienced how small the world actually is.

Story #1

The first happened not that long after we got here.

Rich went over to the clubhouse to surf the Internet and drink coffee one morning. He noticed a guy wearing a T-shirt that said, “Neibauer Drag Racing”. 

Rich had recently met someone at a drag race in Idaho who was named Neibauer, so Rich asked the guy wearing the shirt, “Do you know the Neibauers?”

His answer, “I AM a Neibauer!” Turns out that Wally is the racer’s uncle. Rich had met the racer and his dad in October at Firebird Raceway’s Halloween Classic.

Since then, Wally and Rich have been hiking a couple of times and attended a car show. I’ve played pickbleball with and against Wally multiple times. Wally’s a great guy, and I’m happy we’ve gotten the chance to know him.

Story #2

About three weeks after we got here, I was walking in the clubhouse to meet Rich for Tuesday hot dogs.

(Every Tuesday we can buy a hot dog, chips, and a drink for lunch at the bargain price of $2.50. It’s a fundraiser for Activities section of the RV resort.)

I heard someone call my name, “Kathy, is that you?”

Turns out that Fred, a pickleball buddy from Boise, is a long-time winter resident here. I had no idea that Fred wintered in Phoenix.

We’ve had a blast playing pickleball. Rich and Fred met for the first time, and we both met Fred’s lovely wife Hope.

That’s Fred on the left.

 Story #3

Then yesterday afternoon, I wandered over to the pickleball courts to see if anyone was playing. Four people were playing. Two I knew already, and I met two new players.

Turns out they are from Eagle, Idaho. They are new to pickleball and new to this RV resort. In fact, they are new to wintering in Phoenix.

So we have lots in common. I’m sure we will get to know each other more while we’re all here together.

And hopefully, we’ll meet often enough for me to remember their names because I sure as heck can’t after only one meeting. 🙂

 

Gold Canyon, Arizona

Faced some fears yesterday and made some cold calls to two real estate offices trying to sell them felted soap.

Actually they weren’t technically cold calls because cold calls are usually done over the phone.

But I HATE talking on the phone. The thought of cold calling over the phone can make me hyperventilate.

So I decided to visit a few (emphasis on few) real estate offices in person.

As I drove up to the first real estate office, I was a nervous wreck.

But I gave myself a lecture and told myself that I could make it through the next five minutes.

I survived.

And I told myself that I could make it through another five minutes at the second real estate office.

And I did.

While I didn’t sell any soap, I found out how to try to set up an appointment so that I can meet with all the agents at an office during their monthly meetings. I didn’t know that they had monthly meetings or that I could request a few minutes to pitch a sale to them.

So I consider the morning a half success even though I didn’t sell any soap.

I harvested necessary information and I survived two five minute sessions of uncomfortableness…

Gold Canyon, Arizona

Bear with me, Gentle Blog Reader, because it is going to take me a few minutes to set the scene for this post.

For one of my business classes, I had to read a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald called “The Last Tycoon”. I don’t remember much about the book other than it was about a Los Angeles-based business man who had a college-aged daughter.

She unexpectedly saw her father on a sidewalk in New York City, but she didn’t recognize him at first because he acted and behaved so differently than she was used to. It startled her to realize that she really didn’t know her father as well as she thought she did.

On Saturday night we went to a Christmas dinner dance here at the RV resort. We had a great time visiting with wonderful people, eating delicious food, and enjoying fun music!

At one point during the evening, Debbie asked me, “Are your kids ever surprised by what you’re doing in your life right now?” My answer, “Yes!” Hers are, too. (Heck, Rich and I are surprised by what we’re doing, but that’s a subject for another post… 🙂 )

So like the Last Tycoon’s daughter, our children may not know us as well as they thought they did.

As the evening wore on, more wine was consumed. Laughter and voices grew louder and louder. Faster songs started getting more dancers than slow songs. And couples started swapping dance partners.

Debbie’s question got me to start wondering what our kids and others’ kids would think if they had attended the event. Would they have asked in disbelief: Are You My Mother (or Father)?

Later I texted Melissa that Rich and I “just got home from a Christmas dinner-dance, and we even danced!”

Her exact response:

“You danced?!?!

Both of you?!?

Together?!”

It was a legitimate response. Rich and I aren’t known for our gregariousness, and I think it’s been at least two decades since we last danced.

Rose, a woman who I’ve come to know through pickleball, danced nearly every song. Most often she danced with her husband Dean, but when he wanted to rest, it didn’t matter who she danced with or even if she had a partner. She was a dancing fiend the entire night long.

The funny thing was that Rose dances a lot like Elaine Benes in Seinfeld. Not quite as dramatically, but definitely to a different drummer’s beat than the rest of us. 🙂

Rose and Dean attended the dance with Delores and Tim. Rose told me the next day that until that night, Tim hadn’t danced in over 30 years.

I asked, “Well?”

She grinned as she said, “He didn’t stand a chance! I would not let him say ‘No’…”

Tim danced and danced and danced. I wondered if Tim got to dance with Dolores or if Rose monopolized him.

I also wondered if Rose’s kids ever watched her at a party and said, “Who are you and what did you do with our mother?”

Gold Canyon, Arizona

Sophie and I took a little walk around the RV park yesterday, and I took pictures of the many different types of cacti growing here.

I have no idea of their names, so I’m going to make names up based on their appearance…

1. Mickey + Minnie — Notice the mouse shape on the right side.

2. Anise Seed Pod — The anise seed pod often has seven ‘arms’ just like this cactus.

3. Old Monkey Socks — These look exactly like a bunch of bleached out monkey sock dolls .

4. Ruffles — Because it has both ridges and waves.

5. Fat Wrinkles — I intend to get fatter as I get older because the fat will fill up my wrinkles.

6. Frisbee Pancakes — These are flat and damn near Frisbee-sized.

7. Artichoke — Looks ready to peel and dip into melted garlic butter.

8. Spike’s Hair — Reminds me of a 1980’s hair cut with lots of Bed Head gel holding it all in place.

9. Skinny Indian Paintbrush — Same colors as the wild flower, just skinnier.

10. Sea Anemone — Saw some of these while snorkeling in Alaska but the real ones are way more colorful.

11. Triceratops — Ever seen these dinosaurs’ scales?

12. Morphing Octopus — Number of arms can vary from one to twelve.

13. Sea Urchin — Same explanation as number 10.

14. O’ Christmas Tree — Flowers gold and silver only during December.

15. Arizona Skin — This is what all of Arizonians’ skin looks like because it’s so bloody dry here. And the red bumps are from prickly heat rash.

16. Cactus Wren — The Cactus Wren is a very pretty bird and has lots of stripes and speckles. 

17. What Are You Doing? — So named because the owner of this cactus came out and grilled me about why I was taking a picture of her home.

18. Spaghetti Al Dente — Each arm resembles a piece of uncooked spaghetti. 

19. Sheriff Woody — Each arm is “Reach(ing) for the Sky” as if told to do so in Toy Story.

20. Faux Cactus — Made out of metal and artificially colored. Too perfect for nature.21. Eiffel Tower — This is growing out of the roof of a park model. We drove by this for over a month before I noticed it. 

 22. Who Are Their Fathers? — All the babies look suspiciously different from the mother…

Gold Canyon, Arizona

Played pickleball a couple of times yesterday. Yep, I’m a twice daily player whenever possible.  🙂

When I play pickleball, I try to meet three criteria.

Here are the criteria:

1. Sweat tons
2. Laugh a lot
3. Learn something

The interesting thing about yesterday is that I met the criteria in totally different ways during those two sessions.

The afternoon session was what most of my pickleball play is like in that I sweated and I laughed and I learned more about the mechanics and strategies of the game.

The morning session was similar in that I laughed and I sweated, but the lesson was about me rather than pickleball and it came to me later in the day.

One player got on my nerves, and I came way too close to criticizing her in retaliation to some things she said to me.

I talked with Melissa later who she said asks herself, “What’s the purpose of saying this now?”

Wise words…

 

And that lent me to remember one of my favorite quotes:*

• Is it true?
• Is it necessary?
• Is it kind?

If I can’t answer YES to all three, there’s no purpose to say anything.

*This is from a poem by the same name written by Mary Ann Pietzker, published in 1872.