| Date | Comments |
2005-11-18
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Did the Superstition Ridgeline last weekend with all of the usual suspects and some new folks as well. Janet spent Friday night at Karen's house and Sarah spent the weekend with Emma, so Emily had the choice of going with me or mom. After much deliberation she chose to go with me. I knew she couldn't do the hike but the Arizona Hikers support team was going to be at base camp so I gave Hooli a call Friday night at the camp where those who were spending the night had already gathered and were around the campfire. He said he would be delighted. We got up at 3:30 in the morning and headed for the Lost Dutchman State Park. We arrived a little before 5. Emily stayed in camp with the support crew and the rest of us took off for either the Carney Springs trailhead or the Siphon Draw trailhead. The idea was to exchange keys for the shuttle in the middle of this rigorous 10 mile hike. I started at 7:00 AM and finished at 5:00PM. Some of the others traversing the same direction as I finished at 2:30 and some later than 5. It is one rough hike, I was sore for three days after. It was a pleasure to make new acquaintences on the trek. I finally got to meet Ken who had purchased two of my paintings earlier in the year and also meet Steve from Friends Hiking and Chris, Dale and Sean from Boeing. After the initial mile and a half or so up to the first false saddle, I hiked a lot on my own. At the summit bypass I was Joined by susan (she took the photo of me on the left) and we were caught by the rest of the hikers shortly before the Flat Iron. Chris, Dale and Sean took a side trip out of the Siphon Draw descent to look at the area where a T-38 out of Williams AFB(no longer there) crashed into the side of a cliff face in the early 70's. I had explored that site in 1972 the day after Thanksgiving with a friend named James Crabtree.
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2005-11-28
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Thanksgiving Day was beautiful, the weather was perfect, the food was perfect and the company was perfect. Attending were: Me, Janet, Julie, Jose, Andrea, Jacob, Briana, Sean, Candice, Garrett, Sarah, Emily, Walt, Karen, Dominic, Koko, Kathy and Chris. This year we cooked a 24# turkey and it turned out perfect. Everyone contributed some sort of dish and if you just sampled everything you had to have two plates. Before eating we all gathered 'round in a circle and held hands. Each one in the circle told what he was thankful for and we gave thanks to the Lord and ate, some outside at one of two tables and some inside at one of the two tables. By half-time of the Denver/Dallas game I was in a triptofan stupor. In my opinion this was one of the best and will most likely be one of the most memorable Thanksgivings ever. Turkey sandwiches are on the menu for the next week.
The day after Thanksgiving we reinstated an old tradition of going up to an old ghost-town named Jerome that is now a huge tourist attraction and becoming more and more so everyday. I'm fortunate to have many pictures of the older Jerome when it really was a ghost-town. When my mom's dad came over here in the beginning of the 20th century from Sweden at the age of 18 he worked in the mine at Jerome and it was a booming town in those days. We had a very nice day and the weather was perfect. We did wait quite awhile for a seat at the Haunted Hamburger but the food was good and we had perfect seats on the patio with nice views of Jerome and the Verde Valley. The picture of Janet to the left was taken at the little park above the chamber of commerce and across the street from the Connor Hotel and the Spirit Room. Janet had a good time tossing quarters across the street into an old building where visitors are encouraged to hit targets with coins to help some function of the town with funds. Candice, Kathy and Briana had "antique photos" done. Maybe I'll scan and post here. I always hate to see these nice weekends end. Back to work tomorrow. |
| 2005-12-18 |
Forgot to mention the latest PSA was undetectable. I think it's going to be much smoother using the wellness center and as it turns out they send the blood to the same lab that was billing me more than twice as much. Wow, something is sure wrong in the medical field. Where does all that profit go? |
2006-01-07
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Went to the Urologist's office on the 22nd of December and saw a PA because the Doctor was on vacation in Minnisota. I asked the PA about the need for a DRE when I didn't have a prostate. Her answer didn't make sense to me, but I didn't feel like getting into a debate. I think I'll bring it up on the email lists at ustoo.com. If there is any growth in the area it seems to me it would show up first in a rise in PSA and because I get a test for that what is the need for the DRE. Also did not give a urine specimen. Why should I? I do that at my primary care physicians office on my regular annual visit. I don't need to fork out extra money to the urologist when all I need there is PSA evaluation and I'm beginning to wonder about that. It's easy enough to see the test results myself since I'm getting it done independently for economic reasons.
Christmas was nice. Sarah and Emily were elated when they opened their gifts and found out that they did indeed get what they wanted. I had told them right up until that time that they weren't getting what they wanted. Emily got a ferret and Sarah a cell phone. All of my family made it over to my mom's house Christmas Eve. Shaun, Briana, Garrett, and Candice were over on Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. New years Eve Candice and Garrett were here as well as Ciara and Moriah . We had a fire out back and lots of music and food. The girls put up the tent and they all slept in it.
Hiked South Mountain New Years day with a group from Arizona Hikers. Went over to my brothers for dinner and ended up playing poker with his son and wife for a couple of hours. Janet went over to Karen's to have her hair frosted but ended up being sick and had to do it the next day. |
2006-02-05
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Went to the Arizona Hikers 3rd Anniversary gig at Lost Dutchman State Park January 12-14. Courtney, Sarah and Emily came along as well. They are pictured to the left with Hooli's dog Rich. We had a great time including campfires and potluck dinners Friday and Saturday nights. Shaun fixed pancakes Sunday morning. On Saturday most of the avid hikers did a trek from Canyon Lake to Second Water trail divide to the First Water trailhead. Some of us, self included did the Hackberry Spings Trail option loop back to the First Water Trail. Picture to the left in front of the Hackberry Spring includes Sande, Shaun, Ray and myself with my daypack there in the foreground. Everyone had a wonderful weekend of hiking, eating and kicking back around the campfire where Todd, Diand and Tracy did a wonderful job of presenting certificates of appreciation to many of the AZH family. Hooli even did some kite flying and we all had a blast making fun of his Osprey flying above the motorhome. Of course I had a few fine cigars to pass out commenorating the event.
Friday night February 3rd. Janet got her belly button pierced. I think it looks terrific, but I think the girls will take a little time to get used to the idea that their mother got her belly button pierced. Janet has been wanting to do it for some time now and I'm glad she did. I'm just praying that it will not get infected for any reason.
I am very busy at work right now. I like that, the ovetime is very helpful but doesn't leave me much time to paint, which I have taken up again after about a 3 month hiatus. Will be listing a few on eBay soon. |