Wednesday, August 5, through Tuesday, August 11, 2015: Biding Our Time:

We are planning to leave on a couple of trips at the end of August, so we are preparing for those.  One trip (by train) is just a long weekend in San Diego to attend a Buena Vista Social Club concert with some friends, and the other is a three + week trip (in our RV) to the northwest.  The RV has been sitting idle in our garage for almost four months, so I need to make sure the batteries, etc., are  ready for a trip. 

We plan to take it out of the garage a few days before we are scheduled to leave so we can put back into it some of the stuff we took out of it when we arrived here in April.  We really stripped it at that time.  We plan to be fairly bare bones on this trip.  It will be interesting to see if the substantially reduced weight will make any difference in handling the RV or in the fuel usage.  We also are arranging for some work to be done at the house while we are gone.  Otherwise, the past three days (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) have been very normal---haircuts for the two of us,

many walks with the dogs, a Bordatella shot for Ramsey.  One highlight was the Republican Party debates on Thursday.  Normally, I wouldn't bother watching since they tend to be very boring.  These were different, though.  A few fireworks, and a few surprises.  It'll be interesting to see how things develop over the next few months.

I was introduced to the Buena Vista Social Club several years ago (probably 1998) on a trip to visit Salli and Carl Middleton in Washington.  The music was playing on their stereo during our freshly caught (by Carl) crab dinner.

Months later, I heard their music on a plane returning from a trip to France, and recognized it.  It was a very different and recognizable sound, performed by some old Cuban musicians.  When I returned home, I immediately bought the CD, and over the next several months almost wore it out.  Although I know some of the members of the group have now passed on of old age, I am very much looking forward to the concert later this month. 

Saturday morning we dropped off the dogs at the GC Railway kennel and headed for Prescott.  Besides suffering from not having visited a Costco in several weeks, Becky wanted to go to the Prescott Art Fair in Courthouse Square to see Lori Wyznewski, a co-worker at the South Rim who had an exhibit there.  We hadn't seen her in years.  She makes decorative items from old watch parts.  They're quite nice.  It was fun seeing her.

We also stopped at Wal-Mart, Costco, and Trader Joes, of course and had lunch at Murphy's, our favorite restaurant in Prescott.  On the way home, we drove by the home of Joe and Stephanie Happ, old friends of Becky's from her days in Europe in the late '70s, who recently moved to the Prescott area from Palmdale, California.  They have a large home on a large lot (probably six acres) in Williamson Valley and have a few horses. 

Very nice setup.  We didn't stop to say hello because they had already told Becky they would not be available.

The Saturday redbox movie was Danny Collins, with Al Pacino.  I normally don't like him or his movies, but this one had nice reviews and was surprisingly good. 

Sunday was a day of relaxation.  We had cheese and crackers for dinner.  The redbox movie was a turkey called Slow West, starring nobody of any interest.  It had good review numbers and apparently was a hit of some sort at Sundance, bit it was so slow and uninteresting that we turned it off half-way through.  Oh, well, it's only a buck and a half down the drain.

Monday and Tuesday were normal, mundane days, with, but, some serious rain showers at times.  It is, after all, monsoon season here.

Wednesday, July 29, through Tuesday, August 4, 2015: The Sale of Sequoia:

Mark Ogden, the broker from Sotheby's who is handling the sale of Becky's dad's house on Sequoia Drive in Pasadena, had set Tuesday as the day to consider the expected first wave of offers on the house.  There were three offers.  All necessary folks got on a conference call Wednesday morning to consider the offers and decide on the next steps.  At this point we don't know how that will turn out.  We should know more in a couple of days. 

Immediately after that call, Becky and Lucy took off for a hike up the steep Bill Williams Mountain just outside town.  It's an 8-mile round trip, which was more exhausting than they anticipated, but they were very happy they did it. 

While they were gone (most of the day) the dogs and I hung out and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  At one point, we took a walk around the neighborhood, stopping to talk to Tawny, a lady from "the Valley" (Phoenix), who is building a home just down the street.  We had a nice chat, and Ramsey and Kelsey were well-mannered the whole time.

Becky made sockeye salmon for dinner, which was delightful.

Thursday morning, early, Becky and Lucy took off for the 55-mile drive to the Grand Canyon, planning to take the shuttle from the Bright Angel trailhead to Hermit's Rest, and hike back along the 8-mile trail back to the Bright Angel trailhead.  They got back just in time to head for the Red Raven restaurant in Williams (our favorite).  After the usual wonderful dinner, we walked around town a bit, showing its dazzling sights, then watched the nightly staged shootout on the corner outside the restaurant.

Early Friday morning, Becky, Lucy, Ramsey, and Kelsey went for a short hike to what used to be a local lake.  It has now dried up and become a lovely meadow.  Lucy left at 11:00 AM for Flagstaff, to meet a friend with whom she will spend the next few days camping at the North Rim.  We had a great time during her visit.  She is welcome back any time.

  
Late Friday morning, Mark Ogden sent out the news that two of the three original people who made offers were still interested after receiving our counter offers.  It's getting exciting.  We later learned that one of the two had actually made a new offer and that the other had decided to drop out.  The new offer---which was accepted Saturday morning---was more than five percent over the asking price.  The buyers are a couple of recently married  (though not necessarily fresh-faced) professionals from the San Gabriel Valley.  He is a scientist at JPL and she is a doctor at the Glendale Adventist Hospital.  Near the end of the negotiations, they wrote the Shelton family a lovely letter introducing themselves, explaining how much they liked the house, and asking for permission to buy the family's former home.  Very touching.  And convincing.  Assuming all goes well, this should be a nice transaction for all concerned.

Our dinner Friday evening was a cooked chicken (cold) from Safeway.  We just carved off a few pieces and ate them Tom Jones style, standing at the center island in the kitchen.  Completely classless.  We then forgot to put the rest of the chicken away, and either Ramsey or Kelsey, or both, ate the whole thing, bones and all.  We have heard that chicken bones are bad for dogs, so we will have to watch them closely for a few days.

The Friday night redbox movie was Run All Night, the latest Liam Neeson thriller. 

I thought it was a little too violent and complicated, but I suspect it will do all right.   Saturday and Sunday were very relaxing.  Just puttering around, a lot of reading, and a few projects.  The major one was putting up our hummingbird feeder, which took all of three minutes. 

I never got out of my pajamas.  The Sunday night redbox movie was Clouds Of Sils Maria, a European film with Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart, that was both uninteresting and seemingly pointless---unless it was to show that people in the entertainment business are completely self-absorbed.

As of Monday morning, the dogs have shown no signs of internal distress, so we seem to be out of the woods regarding their chicken caper.  We decided to get out of town for a few hours, and headed for Sedona.  We made the round trip without stopping for anything but bathrooms---for us and the dogs---and it was a lot of fun. 

I think this may have been my first time going to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon without being at the wheel.  As a passenger I saw things I had never seen before, and realized just how beautiful that drive is.  It's also steep and curvy, so we came back the long way, avoiding driving up the canyon.

Tuesday was a nothing day.  My highlight was finishing James Patterson's Cat & Mouse, which I've been struggling through for several days.    


   

Wednesday, July 22, through Tuesday, July 28, 2015: Mostly Hangin' Out::

We chose on Wednesday to go to Flagstaff---to pick up a jigsaw puzzle we had framed, to get me a haircut, to buy some casual pants for me, to have sushi for lunch (at Hiro's, our favorite), and to pick up train tickets for our trip to San Diego next month. 

After I pigged out at Hiro's, we cancelled the haircut and pants portion of the trip.

On Thursday, our spa stopped working properly---flashing warning lights on the keypad and not maintaining temperature---and Becky had several conversations with the Summit Spa people in Flagstaff to try to diagnose the problem.  Nothing worked, so they made an appointment to come see it early next week.  Friday afternoon, it started working again---for no apparent reason.  Perhaps turning off the electricity for several hours did it.  Or adding water.  I guess we'll never know.

Saturday was "Bearizona Bash" day.  They had live music

and some special animal exhibits, and food, beer, and wine everywhere.  We set up two camp chairs in the picnic area and just watched the world go by for a few hours.  Fun, and relaxing.

Sunday was a relaxing day.  Becky worked on a jigsaw puzzle and I watched a few TV shows I've never seen before.  I have to do that more often; the shows were interesting.  Early Monday morning, Becky booked us on a river trip to Bordeaux, France, in November of 2016.  Talk about planning ahead!  The rest of Monday and much of Tuesday was spent largely getting ready for the arrival (on Tuesday) of  Lucy Daggett, a friend of Becky's from high school days, who will be staying with us for a few days.  Lucy flew to Las Vegas from Oakland (her home is in Walnut Creek), then waited in line an hour and a half to pick up a rental car, and drove three + hours to our house.  She arrived about 6:00 PM, tired but exhilarated. 

We had a quick glass of Chardonnay and headed for Kicks on Route 66 for dinner.  Delicious, as usual.

Wednesday, July 15, through Tuesday, July 21, 2015: An Easy Week:

We truly did relax on Wednesday---finally. 

Even though I went to the hardware store for some stuff, I was still in my pajamas.  The only thing of any substance we did was install the new spa cover.  That took all of five minutes, including cutting up the cardboard box the new one came in to fit in the recycle bin.  And we didn't even finish taking the old cover to the garage.

On Thursday we took the old cover to the garage, then I took it to the dump.  I also had a long conversation with a lady at Transamerica regarding some commissions owed to Becky's dad.  That took care of Thursday's special activities.  Otherwise, it was an ordinary day---meaning I read and Becky walked the dogs.  Friday was similar except Becky went to Flagstaff to get some chemical for our spa and I made train reservations for a trip to San Diego next month.  I also prepared some more documents relating to Becky's dad's affairs. 



And the Friday night redbox movie was Woman In Gold, with Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds. It was a terrific film.

 

We started out Saturday with a rare morning dip in the spa.  It felt great, but I think it got rid of any big plans I had for that day.  I spent the day going back and forth between crossword puzzles and Fury, the book by Robert K. Tanenbaum I'm reading.  The Saturday redbox movie was Kingsmen, Secret Service, an awful movie, starring Colin Firth (surprisingly, since he's such a terrific actor) that was supposed to be funny, I guess, but was just stupid.

Sunday was a quiet day, and I finally finished Fury.  Not a great book; too complicated.  We had filets mignon for dinner.  Yum!

Monday and Tuesday were generally dedicated to follow-up with some of Bill Shelton's stuff.  (But Tuesday morning, we snuck out to breakfast for the first time in months---to the Pine Tree Restaurant.  Yummy!) 

One of the interesting events of the two days involved my following up with the insurer of his home in response to an inquiry, and was told the insurance was no longer valid since the house was vacant, and we had to procure a different kind of policy. That started a flurry of activity, eighteen phone calls, three attempts to fax paperwork, and, ultimately, success.   It's amazing how hard some of these people are to pin down on just what it is they need from us to take possession of, and manage, his assets.  I got so frustrated at one point that Becky has taken over regarding some of the issues.

Saturday, July 11, through Tuesday, July 14, 2015: A Whirlwind Visit To L.A. and Return:

Our train finally arrived at the Los Angeles Union Station at 10:45 AM, 2 1/2 hours late. 

We rushed to Budget to pick up our rental car, then headed for the beach to have lunch with my brother and sister-in-law at the Jonathan Club.  We arrived right on time, thanks to whatever CalTrans has done to speed up traffic at the beach.  We had a great time with Bob and Elise.

We then split for San Gabriel and the home of Becky's brother Peter and his wife, Terry.  We had time to change clothes and leave for a party at the home of Carlos Solis in Pasadena.  The party, for past and current officers and directors of the LA Junior Chamber of Commerce, was hosted by Carlos and his wife, Denise, and by Bill and Linan Ukropina, all friends of ours.  It was fun seeing a lot of people we have known for a long time and haven't seen in years. 

After the party, we dragged Barbara Coad away from the gang and had Margaritas with her at El Portal in Pasadena.  We then returned to the Sheltons' home in San Gabriel and crashed.

On Sunday, the main event was a reception at Honoria (now) Petrie's home in San Marino to celebrate Honoria and Richard's (family-only) wedding which took place a week previously in Rancho Bernardo.  It was a very nice affair, with lots of people, and the honorees appeared to be blissful.

After the reception, we returned to the Sheltons' for a Trustees' meeting relating to Becky's father's matters and dinner from Costco.

Early Monday morning we met with Joel Almquist to sign a bunch of estate documents and get his Medallion guarantee, then proceeded to Frank Waterman at Wells Fargo for similar things---that Joel could not do due to corporate rules.  We then went Bill Shelton's house to make a few minor repairs and meet with the "stager" who had just started to prepare the house for sale. 

After a quick lunch, we then went to the Sotheby's office in Pasadena to meet with Mark Ogden, who will be the primary marketer for the house, then to San Marino to meet with Dan Floyd, who is doing some tax work for the family.

Our last stop was at Union Station at 4:00 PM, where we got our seat assignments for the return train trip, and had the chance to relax over a few adult beverages before boarding the train. 

It left promptly at 6:15 PM, and I immediately conned the dining car boss into bypassing normal protocol and giving me a reservation for the first seating at 6:45.  Becky had already told me she would eat in the dining car only if we ate very early.  Soon after I returned to my seat, I learned that Taylor Greene, the fellow sitting across the aisle (with his 10-year old son, Gavin) who lives in Laguna Beach, was just a few years behind Becky at San Marino High School, and they thus spent the next two hours playing Whom-Do-You-Know. 

It seems they both knew all the same people.  Taylor and Gavin were going to the same place we were---to visit the Grand Canyon for two days---so we of course filled them with all the expert advice we could about experiencing the canyon.  The train finally arrived at Williams at 5:00 AM, just 1 1/2 hours late.  We drove the 2 miles to our house, and crashed for a few hours.

Our first appointment on Tuesday was at 10:30 AM at the dermatologist's office, so I could meet Dr. Cynthia Knutson, who would now take over supervision of my body for dermatological things. 

That went well, so we headed for the Cinder Hills Kennels (a few miles east of Flagstaff) to pick up the dogs, then back to Flagstaff to have cleaning appointments at the dental office of Dr. Benjamin Stark, a regular of ours.  That also went well, and we finally headed back to Williams, arriving at 5:00 PM.  We were exhausted.  But the whirlwind was over and we had no plans for Wednesday.              

Monday, July 6, through Friday, July 10, 2015: The End of Radiaton:

We returned to our normal routine Monday morning.  Becky convinced me (it wasn't that difficult) that the screen over the spa had to go, so after my radiation treatment (the first of the final five) we stopped at Home Depot in Flagstaff to pick up the necessary parts to convert the screen to just a protective tarp on top of the spa cover.  I took down the screen and re-installed it as a tarp.  Much better. 

We celebrated by relaxing in the spa for several minutes.  Aaaaah. 

We had a simple dinner, and crashed.

Tuesday and Wednesday were routine days, though I picked up the new spa cover on Wednesday.  We'll install it next week after returning from Los Angeles.  Thursday involved a visit from Lynn from Goodman Electric to hang a couple of lights in our patio and garage. 

He's such a nice man, and he did a great job.  Later, we had a visit from Brian, who is scheduled to bring a crew to paint (oil) the outside of our house in a week or so.  We made some interim decisions and he was on his way.  He seems very competent.  We're expecting big things from this exercise.

Since we're taking the Amtrak train to Los Angeles this Friday night, I decided to start tracking its on-time record on Wednesday.  Since the train starts in Chicago, there are a number of reasons for it to be late---even in the summer when weather is not a factor.  The Wednesday night train was four hours late.  That made us think briefly about driving the 450 boring miles instead.  (One time, the train was so late getting to Williams that we drove instead, spending the night in Needles, California, and yet we still beat the train to LA.)  But the Thursday night train was right on time, and, as of 9:00 AM Friday morning, the Friday night train was also right on schedule.  At noon the train started drifting off-schedule, and it finally arrived 3 1/2 hours late (at 1:00 AM instead of 9:30 PM)  We hung in there, though, and made the trip.   

Sunday, June 28, through Sunday, July 5, 2015: The Big Weekend Visit:

On Sunday I made up for the excitement of Saturday by not doing a lot.  Naturally, there were small projects (I started installing the baseboards in the master closet, for example) and some conversations with Becky about matters relating to her father's affairs, but mostly I just puttered around and relaxed.  Delightful.

Monday was routine, except that on the way to Flagstaff the sky opened up.  The monsoon season had finally arrived. 

The temperature dropped from 80 to 60 in less than a minute.  At one point, I realized I was hydroplaning---and immediately slowed down enough to regain complete control.  After my radiation treatment the sky was clear and I stopped at Home Depot, Walmart, and Maverik (for diesel fuel), then headed home without incident.  We had some Mandarin Beef stir fry for dinner from P. F. Chang (via Safeway) and it was delicious.

Becky joined me for the trip to Flagstaff on Tuesday, so we did a little shopping, of course, and picked up some parts for our spa.  Late in the afternoon we started watching Focus, the day's redbox movie, starring Will Smith and a delightful Margot Robbie, of whom I'd never heard before. 

It's an interesting caper movie, but for some reason we couldn't finish it Tuesday. 

Wednesday was another day of radiation and shopping.  Among other things, I stopped at Home Depot on the way home to pick up the necessary parts to install the shade cover over our spa.  The cover is not really for shade, it is to keep stuff from the pine trees out of the spa and off the spa cover.  We finished watching Focus late Wednesday afternoon.  The spa cover arrived at 6:30.  It's perfect.  I installed it first thing Thursday morning.  Becky's not sure she likes it.  We'll see. 

Thursday afternoon was my last scheduled radiation treatment for the week since the folks are taking Friday off.  Becky had a 1:00 appointment for a facial in Flagstaff, giving me a lot of time to kill before my 2:30 appointment, so, after picking up some special bread at the local Whole Foods Market, I went to the hospital an hour early on a chance---and they were able to take me immediately.  Yea!  After returning home, I finished Street Lawyer, an old John Grisham novel I've been reading off and on for a week,

and immediately picked up Fury, a Robert K. Tanenbaum novel. 

Thursday evening and Friday morning we took care of last-minute things to get ready for the Bernsteins.  They arrived at 11:30.  It was great to see them after such a long time.    

We talked, and snacked, and talked some more, and snacked some more.  And David went for a 15-mile bike ride.  (It would have been longer, but it started raining off and on.)  He's amazingly consistent in keeping up his riding.  The gang started on a jigsaw puzzle.  Finally, it was time for dinner at Red Raven, the #1 restaurant in Williams and a clear favorite of ours.  It was delicious, as usual.

Saturday morning, we went to Bearizona and enjoyed the "wild" animals, many of which were sleeping.  They're still fun to observe.

In the afternoon, while David went on another bike ride, the gang continued on the jigsaw puzzle.  It was very complicated and nearly consumed us for the rest of the weekend. 

Since Saturday was the 4th of July, we had to cook our dinner of hot dogs (actually brats) and hamburgers on our dazzling barbecue.  Yum!  (Cleaning the barbecue later was my job and it was no fun.) 

Donna and Emily are preparing for a mini marathon so they went running through Williams on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The Bernsteins had originally planned to leave early on Sunday morning, to arrive home at a reasonable hour.  That all changed and, except for Donna and Emily's running and David's bike riding, we had a leisurely morning.  They finally left, heading for an interim stop at Four Corners, the intersection of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. 

They apparently had a good time on that adventure, but we learned they didn't get home until 1:00 AM.  After they left us, we relaxed, realizing it was wonderful, but exhausting, having them here.