Last evening, we met our friend Jennie for dinner, then went to the Lights Up exhibition at Tucson Botanical Garden. Holiday music was playing throughout the garden and there were lights in the trees, an electric train running through historic model Arizona buildings, and a spirit of wonder amongst the guests.
On our drive back to Tucson from Albuquerque, we stopped a few times in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, to see birds. Located just south of San Antonio, New Mexico, the Bosque was established in 1939 to provide a stopover site for migrating waterfowl. It is a refuge for tens of thousands of cranes, geese, and ducks every winter. We saw a few hundred Canadian geese and ducks.
Papa and I drove to Albuquerque on Tuesday. We left at 7 in the morning and arrived by 2:30 in the afternoon. We were very happy to see Audrey’s family! We went for dinner in downtown Albuquerque at Sawmill Market.
We were up early on Wednesday morning. I went with Audrey to watch Lauren run the Turkey Trot 5K race with two of her friends and 3000 more people! It was a big race! Lauren and her friends had a good time. We came back to Audrey’s house and prepared Thanksgiving Dinner - honey baked ham, sweet potato casserole, roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots, hot rolls, Moroccan salad, and desserts of chocolate brownies, pumpkin pie, and maple pecan pie. We ate mid afternoon, then went on a hike. We played games and watched a movie in the evening.
On Friday morning, Papa went to the gym with Audrey. Dan put up luminarias on their front terrace. Lauren painted a new bulletin board for her room. I hiked from Audrey’s house in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, for an hour. I played games with Lauren and Taylor. We went out for a Thai dinner. It was a good day! We’ve had a wonderful time in Albuquerque!
“I don’t see life as endless anymore. So these lovely things that come to you, you have such intense gratitude. That’s the big thing about this moment in time: It’s insane gratitude.”
Quote by Mary Steenburgen in an article I read today.
It spoke to me and is exactly how I feel all day every day, at 68 years of age! So fortunate and so grateful for every moment.
We worked in our garden a few hours every day this week. We had neighbors for apéros on Tuesday evening and our friends, Ornella and Donato for a French dinner on Friday evening. We met our Boys and Girls Club kids for a pizza dinner this evening. It was wonderful catching up with them and FaceTiming with David traveling for work in Northern California. We are proud of each of them!
Papa and I drove to Phoenix on Friday afternoon, to attend a dinner celebration hosted by ASU’s Watts School of Public Service. Papa has served on the CDH Foundation Board for several years and they have donated funds to the program. CDH was honored with an award that Papa accepted during a ceremony at the dinner. It was an interesting evening for us, with over 200 people attending the dinner, and we learned about this interesting field of study.
We stayed overnight in Phoenix with Claire’s family. Mary came by on Saturday morning for a short visit. I walked with Claire and David on their daily dog walk around the neighborhood. By 11, we drove to Thunderbird High School to go the Arizona High Schools State Cross Country Championship, to watch Emerson compete. We were there over 3 hours for her 20 minute, 5000 meter race. Emerson was 2nd in her school’s division! We were happy to see her run!
Over the past week Papa has worked in our yard. We had dinner with our friends, Ornella and Donato, celebrating both our returns to Tucson. We went to Nogales, Sonora on Wednesday, to the dentist for a regular cleaning. I had my hair trimmed on Thursday. We had neighbors Sheila and Joe for dinner on Friday. Every day, I go for walks in the desert, from our house. I never tire of seeing the mountains covered with saguaros.
“The saguaro is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and a small area of Southern California. Saguaro typically grow at elevations ranging from sea level to 4500’. In 1933, Saguaro National Park the east and west sides of Tucson, was designated to help protect the species and its habitat. Saguaros lifespan often exceeds 150 years. A saguaro can absorb and store considerable amounts of rainwater, visibly expanding in the process, while slowly using the stored water as needed. Saguaros have been a source of food and shelter for humans for thousands of years. Their red fleshed fruits are turned into syrup by native peoples. The saguaro is a common image in Mexican and Arizonan culture, and in cowboy films.” The mountains on all four sides of Tucson are covered with saguaros.”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro#Ecology
I took these photos on my hike this morning.
I took this one last evening on a short walk before sunset. I am the shadow in the sand.
