More Snow on the Mountains

We had more precipitation over night, with additional snow falling on the mountains.  Beautiful!

 And then sunset came and the light on the mountains was magical!

Snow on the Mountains

We woke up to a light rain this morning.  The sky cleared a bit to reveal snow on the mountain top.  There was light rain with low clouds off and on throughout the day, until pea size hail fell by early afternoon.  By 3:30, the clouds are lifting so the snow on the mountains is more visible.  It’s beautiful!

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Papa and I are having a wonderful Christmas Day!  We are alone, but have talked with all three of our girls, Mary, and Lynne.  We’ve had email greetings from friends near and far.  After lunch, we went for a walk in the neighborhood, with clouds still dotting the sky after a light rain this morning.  We are counting our blessings, including living in Tucson.  It’s a beautiful day in our neighborhood!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

2019 began with Claire and Audrey and their children with us in Tucson for a few days. We hiked, built fires, and went to Colossal Cave. We celebrated our 38th anniversary on January 3... a good way to start the new year!

We took a driving trip to California in late January, staying in Santa Barbara and Carmel, and visiting Spanish Missions along the way plus Hearst Castle, and enjoying the drive along HWY 1 through Big Sur. A highlight was seeing over 50 whale spouts while having breakfast in Carmel. We took another driving trip in May, to Canyon de Chelly, another favorite place, with friends Rachel and Bill, and their daughter Rebecca meeting us. We enjoyed a visit with friends, Joanne and Janice, Navajo jewelry makers. Rachel and Lulu nominated Joanne for a Master Artist award at the Southwest Folkart Alliance and she won! We hosted Joanne's family for a weekend in Tucson in October.

We met Audrey’s family in Eleuthera, Bahamas in March, for a week on French Leave Beach. We spent a few days in Dallas in May, with Whitney and Brian’s families, plus saw long time friend, Linda. We are fortunate to see Claire’s family every month or so, since they are in Phoenix. Colby invited Lulu to his first grade Mother’s Day Tea in May, and he and Emerson spent a week with us in June. We took them to Old Tucson in September and watch old Western movies every time we’re together. We enjoyed visits with Whitney’s family in Arizona, in March for spring break and again for Labor Day weekend. We visited Lulu’s parents in Kentucky in September, decorating Lulu’s Dad and Martha’s apartment with Mary and Rick, and spending time with cousins Dickie and Susan, then flew to Omaha to visit Audrey’s family in their new home. We made several trips to San Antonio through the year, visiting Lynne and helping her with a move.

Tucson keeps us busy! We stay in touch with our Boys and Girls Club kids that are growing up! We hosted them in May and again in August for breakfasts. We see them individually and enjoy keeping up with their education and career choices, a quinceanera, a baby shower, and more. We went to Wa:k Pow Wow in March and the International Mariachi Festival in April with friends Rachel and Bill, and we visit the UA campus often, for Engineering Day, Tucson Book Festival, lunches and dinners with scholarship recipients, and lectures. We see Papa’s childhood friend, Jennie and her mom, Jovita, for an occasional lunch or dinner. Jennie met us at the Tucson Museum of Art a few weeks ago. Our neighborhood has a new supper club. We hosted supper club in late April and have enjoyed several suppers since, getting to know our neighbors. 

We were away for much of the summer. We spent ten days on Mallorca with Audrey and her girls joining us for a week of exploring beaches, caves, markets, and Palma. We flew to Bordeaux and met Lulu’s childhood friend, Pam and her husband, Kenith, for ten days of exploring along the Dordogne River and the Bordeaux region. Pam and Kenith flew with us to Bari, Italy, and we spent a week at Masseria San Paulo Grande near Ostuni, exploring towns full of trulli and Baroque architecture. We spent two nights in ancient Matera, the 2019 Cultural Capital of Europe. Friends from London, Nico and Neil, joined us for dinner in Matera. We said goodbye to Pam and Kenith in Italy, and flew to Athens where we rented a car and spent two weeks on the Peloponnesus, visiting Corinth, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Sparta, Nafplio, Pylos, Olympia, then up to Meteora, Delphi, and ending our visit south of Athens at Poseidon’s Temple. It was a wonderful trip!

We left in early November for two weeks in Portugal and met Audrey, Brian, and Whitney’s families in Iceland for Thanksgiving Week.  Favorite memories were made at the Blue Lagoon and seeing the Northern Lights. Lulu spent a week in Dallas in December, staying with Toby and Greta, while Whitney went to Shanghai, a course requirement for her MBA. Papa stayed home and was invited for dinners with friends, Jennie and Jovita, Judith and Toby, and Rachel and Bill.

Papa has done various leather projects for family throughout the year. When at home, he rides his bike a few times/week on The Loop Trail. Lulu walks with neighborhood friend, Ornella, a few times/week. We hike in the mountains of Tucson from October through May. Life is good! Come see us! We’ll take you on a hike!  

Love, Lulu and Papa

   

Dallas Arboretum

After ice hockey practice and a game on Saturday and a 6:45 morning practice on Sunday, I was ready to do something relaxing and celebratory of the holidays with Greta on Sunday afternoon.  We spent five hours at the Dallas Arboretum, enjoying the giant jewel box gazebos of “the twelve days of Christmas,” the Christmas Village (meeting Santa), and hours in the Children’s Adventure Garden.  We had a good day!

Christmas Lights in the Park Cities

I have taken Greta out the past two nights to see Christmas lights in the Park Cities.  She was mist excited to go to the “Santa House,” with hundreds of Christmas scene figures.  We took photos along with a bus load of other people and a limo.  We went to SMU’s boulevard that was beautifully lit.  Last night we drove down to our old neighborhood in Highland Park and drove up and down streets.  So many houses are beautifully decorated and holiday festive.

Change of Plan

In mid-September, Whitney invited me to join her on a trip to China for her MBA global project.  I eagerly said, “yes!” and made air reservations right away.  I applied and received a Chinese VISA.  I planned tours and daily excursions.  We were to depart today.  On Saturday, I asked Whitney if her nanny was set to take care of everything at home while we would be away, and her reply was that the nanny was out of town for two weeks.  I felt terrible that Toby and Greta would be without Whitney and their nanny, so on Sunday, during another conversation with Whitney, I chose to fly to Dallas and stay with Toby and Greta rather than go to China.  I cancelled my flights.  I think Whitney was relieved.

I’m staying very busy in Dallas, running back and forth to drop Toby and Greta at school, pick them up, take them to activities, wrap holiday gifts, do a bit of decorating, cook, and more.  I went to Greta’s third grade performance of the Granny Awards, a spoof of the Grammy Awards last night.  While Toby was at ice hockey practice this evening, Greta and I listened to Christmas carols.  I’m having a wonderful time!

Brunch with Family

We hosted brunch at our house this morning, for our grown up Boys and Girls Club kids.  They have been in our lives over the past six+ years.  We’ve watched them grow from high school students into adults.  We ate, talked, and laughed around our dining table, over four hours today.  Everyone always gives a personal update.  We couldn’t be more proud of each of them!  We love them!  They are family!

Arizona Sunset

We are back in Tucson, with beautiful weather, big mountains, and colorful sunsets.  This was the sunset that welcomed us home last evening.  Nice!

Sun Voyager

On our last day in Iceland, we went downtown Reykjavik and walked along the waterfront to the Sun Voyager sculpture, depicting a Viking long ship and an ode to the sun.  It’s backdrop was snow covered mountains, after snowfall during the night.  A perfect place for our sendoff from an incredible week of firsts for all of us!  First time in Iceland, first time at Blue Lagoon, first time on the Golden Circle, and first time to see the Northern Lights... with family - the best part!

Thanksgiving in Iceland

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day in Reykjavik!  Most of us went swimming at a local geothermal pool before lunch.  It was refreshing and very nice, except for the 10 steps between the outside door and the pool.  Icelanders enjoy swimming, regardless of outdoor temperature and they are fortunate to have so many thermal water options.

We had lunch in downtown Reykjavik, at Reykjavik Street Food, enjoying fish and chips, various soups, and chocolate bars.  We went to Perlan after lunch, where we watched the planetarium show, Aurora - Northern Lights, and spent time in the hands on exhibits of Wonders of Iceland, including an ice cave.  We were home by 6:15 and put together a “Thanksgiving Dinner” of fruits and vegetables, cheeses, breads, and more.  We took turns talking about the things we are grateful for.  High on the list... family and friends.  We have much to be grateful for!

Pingvellir National Park And Northern Lights

Whitney arrived early Wednesday morning, with Greta and Toby.  Papa and I picked them up at the airport at 6.  After breakfast, we drove with Audrey’s family and Whitney’s family out to Pingvellir National Park, about one hour northeast of Reykjavik.  The views were incredible and we were all fascinated with the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, that run through the Pingvellir region and are drifting in opposite directions at the rate of .8” annually.  We also hiked to Oxararfoss waterfall.  It was stunning - a mix of flowing water and ice.

We all had lunch together at a local diner, then went to Volcano House to watch a documentary film about two of the most recent volcano eruptions on Iceland.  Our day was topped off by a drive out to the Grótta Island Lighthouse, where we’ve gone every night to watch for the Northern Lights.  Papa, Audrey and I went out last night with just the kids, and it was the best night of our trip!  We loaded back in our little bus and went home to get everyone else.  We saw the Northern Lights!  Unfortunately, we don’t have any amazing photos, but we have the memory of the amazing experience!

Fly Over Iceland

Today is Dan’s birthday, so we’ve celebrated all day!  We got a late start to our day, so we went downtown Reykjavik for lunch of lobster soup.  We explored and shopped a bit, learning about the Christmas Cat story.  We walked along the waterfront.  We went to Fly Over Iceland - a state of the art experience, where we strapped into seats with feet dangling, and were whisked away on a journey across Iceland.  Special effects included wind, mist, and motion.  It was an unforgettable experience!