Friday, June 19, 2020

Sunday, December 16/2018 - Saturday, December 22/2018

Another great sunset

The bar is pretty much done and it looks awesome.   We are going to have lots of good times around that bar in the future watching the sun go down.
We continue to have guests in the casita so that is a good thing.  Kay is busy working still and Christmas is almost upon us.
We are totally enjoying the little stove in the man cave and have fires in is almost every night.   We have to be careful with how big it gets as there is a bit of tweaking that needs to be done to the stovepipe.  It sure takes the chill off the cooler evenings.  Life if Good








Rough  life
Life is Good!!

Sunday, December 9/2018 - Saturday, December 15/2018


Booko taking in the sun

This week was highlighted by an awesome ride out into the desert that sits just outside our back yard.  With Kay working all week, we try to plan at least one fun "day off" for her.  With that in mind, we loaded up into the side by sides and headed over to "the rock" and travel the trails in and around the cactus.  It was fun and the weather was awesome.  Even Booko enjoys the trips.  Who knows, maybe there is a jack rabbit out there just waiting to be chased!!


Kay home from work on Friday night

Our Christmas tree

Out for a rip













The Rock AKA Dwayne

In our back yard





Occatillo
















He loves his rides

Saguaro cactus silhouette

Another great day
Life is Good!!

Sunday, December 2/2018 - Saturday, December 8/2018

Roof is on the bar

The construction on the bar continues along with a pretty steady flow of casita guests.  The weather has been a bit rainy but of course with the rain comes the rainbows.



One of guests was a young fellow from Texas who was learning how to fly a paramotor.  He booked in for a week and traveled daily to Aguila where he took his lessons.  He was very pleased with the accommodations and left a really nice review.


One of our guests

Nice rainbow





With the rain comes Rainbows
Life is Good!!

Sunday, November 25/2018 - Saturday, December 1/2018

Starting on the outside bar

The weather was certainly cooperating and it was time for the outside bar construction to be started.  John had a plan and got started.  He had both Booko and I to supervise the build!!  John used lumber he got from demolishing an old chicken coop on the horse property for the roof and was able to get the skeleton up and the actual bar attached to the supporting beams.  Kay was available to help when she was off work and between the two of them, the bar slowly took shape.



Kay and John busy building the outside bar


Of course all the bar building had to be done around the guests we were getting in the casita.  It was interesting all the different folks we provided accommodations for.   One particular couple we had were from France.  Julien and Stephanie were touring areas of the USA and with him being a firefighter in France, was interested in the Granite Mountain Memorial hike.  This hike honored the death of 19 hotshot firefighters who died fighting a desert wildfire and is only a few miles from where we live.  Stephanie was an emergency room nurse.  We enjoyed two evening with them and the one thing they wanted was to have a bbq with meat.  Of course it was a Friday and that meant rib night so that is what John cooked. It was interesting talking to them and they loved the bbq.
Life is Good!!


It's a hard job supervising

Our guests from France

Stephanie

Julien

Sunday, November 18/2018 - Saturday, November 24/2018

Our outside bar top

Once we arrived in Arizona, we took a few days to "catch our breath" and try to get a game plan going for all the work that was ahead of us.   We had soooo many plans and one of them was to get the outside bar built and usable.  Kay had managed to get a part of the original bar from the Salt Creek Lounge in Nephi Utah.  It was actually part of a bowling alley before it was refurbished into the bar top in the lounge.  It was awesome.



Old Yeller

We celebrated Veteran's day with some members of Kay's family.  Dean, Luke, Neal and Tammy and one of Kay's nephews Russell and her niece Angela  came out to see the house and get a ride in before they had to leave for home.  I had already prepared elk burgers and potato salad for supper so that left time for a ride.


Mitch's ride

Luke, Dean and Kay


They all enjoyed the ride except for Angela who unfortunately banged her head off the cross bar on the jeep when her Dad (Neal) lurched thru the wash in the jeep.  He was a rookie driver.  Lol!!  Although the ride was short, it was appreciated by all.





Russel on the bike


The family checked out the lower casita and all like what we had done to it.  They all wished Kay good luck with the casita rental.
We explained the plans we had for the outside bar and all agreed it was going to be awesome!!
We ate supper and our guests departed and once again, we were on our own....well until Kay had to go back to work....and then it would be just John and I.  Life is Good!!

Sunday, November 09/2018 - Saturday, November 17/2018

We took this time to get the house in shape and get a plan going as to what needed to be done and when we wanted the projects done by.
Kay decided that she needed to work this winter so got busy looking for a job.  It wasn't too long before she found one working on the Connect 202 job.  It was gong to last about a year so that would be a good thing.  It was work that was right in Phoenix so she decided to stay with Mitch during the week and come home on the weekends.  That worked out very well for both her and Mitch.
Booko was enjoying the freedom of the yard.  He too was happy to be "home" in Arizona.
Life is Good!!

Sunday, May 24/2020 - Saturday, May 30/2020

Marie and new side by side at Heart Lake

covered in mud
This week we had to take the new side by side out for its inaugural run.  John decided to head down into "the block" and check out a few of the lakes.  With that in mind, we headed out and were soon on the trail to towards Deer Lake.  We were shocked to see the amount of clear cutting that had been done and only hoped that Deer Lake itself had been spared.  As it turned out, they did spare the lake and surrounding forest but I wonder, for how long.
The trail itself was relatively dry although there were some areas where mud could be found.  Unfortunately, John managed to do just that and before we actually could extricate ourselves from the  slimy claws of the mud, I managed to get covered in it.  I remember looking up and seeing a wall of mud coming towards me and I received a lap full of the stuff!!  Holy Buckets!!  I did not sign up for this today.  It was supposed to be a leisurely ride to Heart Lake.  Apparently, there were other plans!!
Beau Creek
Once we left Heart Lake, we headed over to Beau Creek.  Surely there won't be any mud going there. Well, there was but we managed to skirt most of it.  We stayed at the creek for a while then headed back to the main trail.
Booko was running out front and before we knew it, he spotted and Mama bear and her cub.  The bear went running into the bush and the cub went up a tree.  We called Booko and it is a good thing that he listens fairly well and actually came back to us without any issues.  Once Booko was gone, the cub scooted back down the tree and into the bush heading for his Mom!!
At the tower in the block
Of course we had to see how well the side by side climbed so John headed up the very rutted and steep trail to the tower.  The machine climbed like a dream and John was quite pleased with the way it handled.
This week, John and I headed into Saskatoon as I needed to get an X-ray on my right hip so that the orthopedic surgeon could have an updated one.  There is still a hold on elective orthopedic surgery but at least now we have an updated picture.
We did not take the trailer.  Instead, we decided to sleep at Jace and Kim's since we were only going to  be there for a few days.  
We arrived on Wednesday and before too long, Booko had ticks on him!!  Holy Buckets....It's a good thing Kimmy is not squeamish as she was the one pulling them off.  They are just too creepy for me!!
Marissa volunteered to drive me around Saskatoon and go shopping with me.  It was fun but I must say, I was a bit tired after all that walking around.
On Friday, I went to Walmart to do some final shopping and ended up forgetting my cane in the grocery cart!!  Unfortunately, I didn't realize it until I got home.  Jesus, how does someone who depends on their cane simply leave it behind??  Go figure...Only I could be so absent minded!!
Karen (Kim's sister) came to my rescue.  She lives not too far from the Walmart I was at and was coming out to the acreage anyway so headed over to see if it had been turned in.   When she got to the house she had a cane in hand.  Apparently one had been turned in.  Unfortunately, it was not the one I left behind but the one she brought would certainly do.
Supper that night was ribs and we had lots of company that day.  John cooked three racks of ribs so no one went hungry and they were delicious.  It was a fun evening .
John tried to cut the grass as it was sorely in need but the mower ended up with a flat tire so that ended up not being repaired until Saturday .  John was very busy Saturday cutting all those acres on Saturday before we headed back to Leoville.
It was nice to get home after the chaos of the city.  Life is Good!!