Hang in there New England

Weekend nor'easter leaves North Shore buried.

   Bob and I come from Massachusetts and over the weekend they were delivered a staggering 3 feet of snow, along with wild winds whipping it into towering drifts reaching 2nd floor windows.  I remember the sounds of the snow plows all night going up and down the street, knowing full well that with each pass , they would be leaving a wall across our plowed out driveway.  

 The last snow storm of this size was the Blizzard of "78".  No cars were allowed on the road for three days after it stopped snowing unless you had a Police pass.  It was a time that everyone slowed down, talked to neighbors in the street, and pulled a sled to the local market to pick up supplies, and play with the children and dogs in the snow.  No place you had to be, it was a mini vacation for all.

   In 1978 we were really into CB's.  The local club offer the city their help on getting emergency food or prescriptions to the elderly or shut ins.  The city paid the guys for the gas  used and they were kept fairly busy delivering  supplies.  One house that Bob delivered a prescription to, he had to go into snow  drifts above his knees.  He layed across the drift and reached down to knock on the door.  When the women came to the door she had to reach up and he reached down to hand her the bag.  They never saw each others face. 

   Our friends sent us pictures yesterday of their house and yard.  They were trying to make us jealous.  Ya, I really feel bad about this sunny 70 degree weekend we had to put up with.

 

Sweet revenge   New England is heading back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons.

Quarterback Tom Brady, a two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, threw two touchdown passes as the Patriots defeated the host Pittsburgh Steelers 41-27 in the American Football Conference championship game last night.

The Patriots will now have a chance to capture their third Super Bowl title when they battle the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 6 in Jacksonville, Fla.    GO PATS!

 

Patriots vs Steelers

        GO PATS

It's going to be cold tonight and the Patriots will have to cool down the red hot Steelers, who have won the last 15 games.  It should be a nail biting game.  Bob and I will be there in spirit wearing our Patriot shirts, hooting and howling.

 

Laughlin, Nv

Happy Birthday  Bob,  Love of my life and my best friend.  

   Well,  we are back  from Laughlin, a little bit poorer but had a great time.  Our friends came home with a winners smile and a bit  than what they went with. The company was good and we all had a good time.   Three of us also came home with serious colds and I guess I started it and passed it along to the rest of them.  I hope I will be forgiven.

  Our friends were offered a two day stay with all expensive's paid for at the Ramada hotel and Casino and they invited us to be their guest.   The rooms, meals and drinks  were all included.  We all over ate and now will have to start a  dieting  again!  

This week the hotel has their hottest slots from the last quarter marked.  When you arrive we were all given black Fedoras and 3 D glasses.  The slots had signs on them and the 250 hot slots could be read with the glasses on.  Most of the signs said "Keep Looking" but when you read the right one it said "You have Found One".  I hope this makes sense to you. They also had a women dressed like something out of a Peter Sellers movie wearing trench coat and black porkpie hat, handing out $ 20 vouchers every 15 minutes.  

 The weather here is in the high 70's and I've seen a lot of folks walking up to the pool.  But I still feel like, well you know what mean, so I stayed home like a good patient.!

Cher's "Never Say Goodbye Tour"

Cher call tonight's concert her  final touring appearance.  Cher's "FAREWELL NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE TOUR" was  great.  Her costumes are amazing and she still looks spectacular. 

   I had hoped to take a few pictures but cameras were not allowed.  She sang all the old favorites "I've  Got You Babe," "If I Could Turn Back Time" and "Believe" .

    We have been fans, I guess, like most of you since 1965 when she and Sonny made "I've Got You Babe"  Cher is approaching 60 and she still looks incredible, even if she was a multiple winner of "worst dressed" awards all over Hollywood.  

 Cher told the crowd that Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez can have the touring circut.  "Follow this, bitches!" she cackles with convincing glee.  The fans loved it!  

 The opening act was The Village People, you must remember them from the late 80's.  They also preformed our favorites as YMCA and Macho Man. Of the original six members, five are still together.  Glenn was replaced  with Eric as the  Biker/Leatherman.    

 I don't have time to tell you more as I must get to bed now, we are off to Laughlin in the morning  for a few days.  Wish me luck!

Red Hats and Western Week

Today the Red Hat's met for their monthly luncheon at the Mid Western Restaurant in Mesa.   You know when we arrive as a statement, of some sort is made ,when we all enter the dining room wearing our purple outfits. and flashy red hats.  Christmas was good to all of us, we all are sporting new Red Hat pins necklace, watches, earrings, and a feather boa.  We are a fun loving group with no rules.  Next meeting is Jan 26 with a wine tasting party.  Yum!!  

 Last night Bob and I went to the park center and played Mexican Train.  There were so many of us there, some did not get to play.  A bigger hall next Tuesday.   

 They also had a entertainment last night up there, by "Igor Jazz Cowboys"  This is western week, so a lot of activities suggest a western theme.  

 Tomorrow, Thursday, is the Rawhide Luncheon which always draws a crowd.  Starting at 11AM , there will be a pie action with the profits going to the local fire and rescue department.  We will all wear our western finery and keep the biding going. Bob has a softball game in the morning  and hopefully he will get back in time for lunch. 

  Friday will be filled with games after another lunch.  The games will begin with "Cow Putter Golf" followed by Cow chip toss, calf roping and good guys against bad guys western tug-of-war.  

 Thereis a lot going on Saturday too.  The softball teams, there are three of them, are sponsoring a western pork chop luncheon.  Saturday is also the park's patio sale day, like a very large flea market. And come Saturday night we can dance the night away with Wild Bill and Carol Z entertaining.  

Sunday will be a day of rest and probably laundry!!!

This and That

The other night our street group of 35 went to the Organ Stop Pizza.   This pizza restaurant holds seven hundred people and is home to The Mighty Wurlitzer.  This Wurlitzer is one  of the largest and finest theater organs in the world today.  Its 5000+ pipes, numerous percussions are wonderful sounding.  This is a yearly trip for our group  and everyone seems to enjoy it. 

   The pizza itself is just ok, but the musical staff makes up for the questionable pizza. LOL    A requirement of the organ staff is that they are able to play anything at any given time, and that they do.  They have a request form in front of the stage and work from it.  There is the usual Happy Birthday request  and often show tunes.  As Mesa is a snow birds paradise, we have visitors from every state here, which leads to a request for a state song.  From there he goes from one state song to another, with lots of cheering  and appluding when he plays home state.  It's a fun place. He plays for 45 minutes and takes a ten minute break.  One of my favorite grouping of songs are the patriotic ones.  This is always a sing along.  Hooky some might say, but seniors like this !  

An update on Bob's softball progress.....every bone in his body aches!  

Friday night I went to the park Bingo, what a crowd.  Every regular game was worth $70 and the cover all was near $600.  I didn't win but had a good time anyway.

  Have a happy day.   

Thoughts for the new year.

  WORTH PONDERING
"We will open the book. It's pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves. The
book is called 'Opportunity' and its first chapter
is New Year's Day." — Edith Lovejoy Pierce

To start off the new year, I have started knitting again.  When the children were small They never had a store bought sweater.  I always enjoy knitting and I'm glad I kept a few needles.  I found a pattern for a beautiful Irish Hiking scarf and am warming up on it, no pun intended.  My next project will be a lot more challenging, a fisherman afghan.

 Bob has joined a softball league here in the park.  They have three teams here and weekly games against other senior parks in the area.  I will try to remember to bring my camera to the next game.  I told my son we now post the team schedule on the refrigerator, just like when he was in school.  

Tonight we are going to play Mexican Train with a dozen other people here.  We will have at least 6 on a table. 

Sunday night, my friend and I co-chair the cribbage group, we had 11 tables of 4.  The numbers will grow from now on as more people will come to AZ. after the holidays.

  The weather here has been rainy and much cooler than usual, but we still don't have to shovel it!   Love to all.