Schedule
It’s been a busy past few weeks.
I’m starting to get into a routine and have joined some new clubs.
So my schedule kinda goes like this.
-I walk 2 miles super early in the morning at least 4 days a week
-I work 7 ½ hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday
-Tuesday is whisper ball at 5:15.
Eileen works every day so it’s after she gets out of work
-Whisper ball practice on my own Monday and/or Thursday after work
-Wednesday is deep water aerobics early in the morning, volunteer at
library right after, line dancing early afternoon – yes, line dancing. It ain’t just country any more.
-Saturday is water Zumba in the morning. Volunteer as needed at the library
-The 1st and 3rd Monday of the month is RummyKub
-The 1st Thursday of the month is Hand and Foot
-The 3rd Thursday of the month is Mexican Train
-Once a month is wine tasting
Then there are the social gatherings that the different clubs that I’ve
joined have:
-Boomers have happy hour at a bar/restaurant the 1st Monday
of the month.
-They also have happy hour at the club house the 1st Friday of the
month.
-Z-Club (Zymurgy) has lady’s night the 1st and 3rd
Wednesday. On Saturday evenings is when
the actual brewing and wine making will start as the snowbirds come back. Right now it’s just an evening to sit around
talking and eating.
I want to give Pickle ball a try.
The racquet ball courts are being resurfaced and walls redone. During that 2-3 week down time one of the
guys said he was going to see if he could put together a Pickle ball group.
Otherwise, I’ll check the rec centers if they have beginner lessons.
I played with 3 well-seasoned players (both in actual playing and in
age) this past Monday. Playing with 4 on
a court sure is different than with just 2.
I’m a decent player, but these guys are good. One guy has such control and can put spin on the ball that it will come off the back wall and hit the side wall a
foot over the line then the ball just drops straight down just in the line of play. Just as I got the hang of what the ball does
when he hits it this way, he changed it up.
It hits the back wall, then the side wall, but this time it spins up and
outward. So as I’m diving towards that
line where the ball had been going, now it’s all but going up and over me or
right at my head. All in all it was good practice for me. Intimidating, but good.
Tidbits
--I’ve conquered another disadvantage of being on my own. Where the heck did I park the car? Before between Jack and me, one
of us remembered where the car was parked. So after once at Walmart and once at the mall
of not knowing really where the car was thus walking around clicking the door
lock button on the key-fob to make the horn beep I found my answer - Park in
the same row every time. So I have my
specific row for Walmart, Kohls, Lowes, the mall, Fry’s Foods, Bashes Foods,
Office Depot/Michael (they are right next to each other), and the two rec
centers that I go to most often. That
just leaves the not so often places and those I just make sure I am super aware
of where I am parked as I get out of the car.
--It took a good 3-4 months after moving into this house before I got
into a good bill paying and budget posting routine. I do have auto pay on the utilities, but
I have to make sure to look at the on-line bill so that I can make sure there
is money in checking to cover them.
--I was watching “History Detectives” on PBS. The program was on
Jimmy Hoffa. One of the “former mobster”
said he feels Jimmy has gone to Australia.
The interview said “Australia?”.
Guy replies, “Yeah, gone down under, gone 6’ under, buried.” My but what ya can learn on TV.
Weather
We had a huge storm move through last week. It dropped 5.6” of rain in the Chandler/Mesa
area within a few hours. Blocks and blocks and blocks of
homes and businesses around Mesa were flooded.
Aerial views looked like views after a hurricane.
People have their cell phones set to receive dust storm warnings. I was at a gathering one night and four or
five cell phones went off at once. There was a
dust storm warning posted. It was coming
from the south. It fizzled out by the time it got
as far north as we are, but I saw the photos of it on the news. They are amazing. This one was estimated to be five miles
long. What they didn’t say or at least I
didn’t catch it was how high it was.
They are incredibly high.
It was explained to me that dust storms are created by the force of sudden downward
bursts of rain that the air radiates out and the out flow pushes the dust out and
up.
Late one afternoon a dust storm was moving in and the news on all channels
were following it just like the news in the Midwest follows a tornado. They have the little tracking thing that says it will
hit such and such an area in so many minutes.
Too bad I don’t remember how fast they said it was moving. But they do clip right along from the videos
I’ve seen. That one too didn't make up this far north.
The storm clouds move so slowly too.
To move just 7-10 mph is not unusual.
I’m used to if it’s raining around Chicago it will be in Kalamazoo
within 2 hours. So not only is there a
lot of rain from the clouds, the clouds just sit there and dump it on.
Arizona has a Stupid Driver law.
It basically states you will be ticketed, fined, and will have to
reimburse the city or county for the cost of rescuing you and the vehicle if
you drive into a flooded street or river bed. The TV was all over it saying the law hadn’t
been used often, but sure to be with a guy in a Mercedes who witnesses said
drove around a barricade and ended up in water half way up the doors of the car.
The other thing to get used to here is dew point. The humidity may be between 15 and 25, but
the dew point can be 55 and 65. I’ve
gone out for an early morning walk and noticed it being kinda humid but not
bad; certainly nothing like the oppressive humidity in Wisc/Mich. I worked up a good sweat by the time I got back. That day the humidity was 16 but the dew
point was 56.
There is also Monsoon Season Awareness week in June. Monsoon season is mid-June to mid/late
September. I think of Monsoon as days of
endless rain. Here it’s because
of the amount of rain storms create. It doesn’t rain
often, but there is a lot of water that comes down when it does. One station had a 30 minute special on
it in early June. I watched it and it was very
interesting and informative.
