Pecan Orchard Tour

We drove to San Simon this morning.  We arrived at our friends, Penny and Brian's house by 11:30.  Penny had chili and corn bread ready for lunch.  Then we set off for the 3100 acre pecan orchard that Brian manages for FICO.  He drove us through the orchard to see the various stages of harvest.  There were big machines pushing leaves away from the plants into piles, then machines that came along to grind up the leaves and twigs, machines to shake the trees as the pecans fall off, and machines to scoop up the pecans.  Finally, the pecans were poured into semi trucks and taken to the sorting building. 

We put on ear plugs and I wore a mask in the sorting building.  Semi trucks opened a bottom gate and dumped the pecans into an underground shaft.  The pecans were fed onto a conveyor belt and began the sorting process, with sticks, leaves, and pebbles removed.  The sorting continued so that the best pecans come out at the end, and are poured into large containers to be shipped to the Sahaurita plant of Green Valley Pecan Company (FICO) for shelling and shipping to customers.  Brian was pleased that his yield this year at the San Simon Orchard is higher than last year.  He is running a very well oiled operation of pecan harvesting.  And they are delicious!

We got home about 5:15, with the sun setting and casting a glow across the Catalinas.  Beautiful!

Mercado Holiday Bazaar

We went to Mercado San Agustin's Holiday Bazaar this afternoon.  It was a feast of the imagination!  I am amazed at the things people create from ordinary materials.  In addition to the stores open each day, there were tents with artists set up for the bazaar.  We had conversations with several vendors.  We talked with a woman that has created a natural line of skincare products.  We met the wife of a leather craftsman who has been handcrafting leather moccasins since 1969, with their primary customers the Hopi and Navajo tribes, and they have put three kids through college on the proceeds and they have a nice life.  We talked with a furniture maker.  All these people are local Tucson craftspeople, with showroom stores at Mercado San Agustin.  The Mercado has expanded in the past year, adding an annex of modified steel shipping containers.  We had a delightful time exploring!

  

Girls Basketball

Our friend, Penny invited us to watch her daughter, Mikala, play basketball on Thursday night.  They live in San Simon, in Cochise County, and the game was at The Gregory School in Tucson, a short drive for us.  We met Penny at the game and enjoyed watching.  Mikala’s team won!  We went out for dinner together after the game.  I love watching basketball!

Party

We invited our Boys & Girls Club kids for a holiday celebration on Sunday afternoon at 4.  I prepared a 4' long cheese board and we sat around the table eating and talking for a couple of hours.  Everyone gets the chance to talk about themselves and what they've been doing since our last dinner.  We love hearing every detail!  They are a busy bunch!

After stuffing ourselves, we settled in the living room to play our version of Chinese Christmas exchange, with each person drawing a number and choosing a gift to open or choosing someone else's gift.  There's plenty of trading!  We talked until 10:45.  Our "kids" are no longer kids, with one in graduate school, several working, a couple married and one announcing they are expecting a baby next summer, and two still in high school.  We love every one!  We are truly blessed that they allow us be part of their lives.

Family Weekend

Claire and David, and Emerson and Colby arrived on Friday in time for dinner.  After dinner, Emerson and Colby decorated two small Christmas trees and Papa read Riki Tiki Tavi before bed (a bedtime tradition).  Claire and David were up by 4:30 on Saturday to go to the race.  They ran the Tucson half marathon.  We met them at the finish line, arriving just three minutes before Claire crossed.

After the race, Claire rested.  Papa built a fire in the fire pit with Emerson and Colby.  It was a beautiful day and we stayed outside, with Emerson and Colby having fun doing yard work and trimming trees.

Around 3:30, we drove downtown to Presidio San Agustin for their Luminaria Night Celebration.  Presidio San Agustin was established by the Spanish Army in 1775, a walled fort in what is now downtown Tucson.  It was used continuously until the Americans first came to Tucson in 1856.  The Carrillo School processed into courtyard in historic costumes and singing carols.  Hot chocolate and cookies were served.  Emerson and Colby decorated gingerbread cookies and made ornaments, and there was a reenactment with soldiers shooting a cannon.  It was loud!

Claire's family went home on Sunday morning.  We love having them so close that they can come for a day or a weekend!

Christmas Decor

Pulling out all the Christmas decorations each December brings a flood of memories.  I took my time opening our two big boxes of ornaments and Christmas things.  I put the tree napkin rings on our breakfast table, a gift from Nelcine and Alvis 35 year ago in Dallas.  The new dear antler candelabra went on the dining table, a gift from Lynne.  I made Papa's stocking for our first Christmas together 37 years ago.  Aunt Rhea gave my Lulu stocking for my first Christmas, 61 years ago.  Our tree has ornaments I made 39 years ago, for my first Christmas on my own, calico birds and stars; sand dollars found off Captiva Island with the girls, 30 years ago; tin ornaments from our neighbor, Mrs. Brunner, in Dallas 27 years ago for our 10th anniversary; a handmade birdhouse, a gift from Lynne last year, and so many more ornaments picked up on trips, at church holiday craft fairs, and from friends.  Every ornament has a story that adds to the Christmas story.

2018 Holiday Letter

Happy Holidays 2018,

We celebrated our 37th anniversary on January 3 with a nearby hike. We are enjoying Tucson! During the year, we visited UA campus often, going to a Wynton Marsalis concert, seeing plays The King and I and The Book of Mormon, the Tucson Book Festival, Homecoming Football game, private tour of the Native American pottery collection at Arizona State Museum, Assad Brothers guitar concert, and a lot more. We attended the Tucson International Mariachi Festival at Casino Del Sol, watching children’s mariachi bands for hours. We went to the Wa:k Pow Wow at San Xavier Mission, the Tucson Rodeo Parade, Biosphere 2, Tucson Museum of Art, hiked to see petroglyphs in various places, drove up to Mount Lemmon, visited galleries, and the Tucson Zoo.  We visited Kitt Peak and stayed overnight at Rancho De La Osa.

Lulu spent several days in Dallas in February, with Whitney and Brian’s families, and seeing friend Linda’s first grandbaby. In May, we flew to London, staying with Claire. Lulu attended the Chelsea Flower Show. We met friends Nico and Neil for lunch in Wimbledon. We celebrated Papa’s 72nd birthday with a tea party in London and rented a thatched cottage in Norfolk with Claire’s family joining us. We flew to Verona, Italy, visiting a pasta factory with a UA Study Abroad class, where we had a 10 course lunch, and enjoyed the city sights. We took the train from Verona to Orvieto, staying for two weeks, experiencing the Corpus Domini Festival, in its 754th year. We enjoyed several lunches with our friend, Alba, while in Orvieto. We visited Etruscan ruins with another UA Study Abroad group, several hill towns of Umbria, and picnicked in the Val d’Orcia, the most beautiful landscape of Italy!  

      

After returning from Italy in mid June, Emerson & Colby stayed a week with us. They attended a nearby day camp and we took field trips in the afternoons. Their favorite was sitting under the Campbell/Rillito Bridge as thousands of bats flew out at sunset. We drove to Colorado on July 2, with an overnight in Santa Fe along the way.  Our four children, their significant others, and six grandchildren joined us for July 4 week at Bear Lodge in Breckenridge. It was a joyful time! We took the long way home, visiting Mesa Verde, Valley of the Gods, and Monument Valley.

In early August we took a 12 day trip. We visited Audrey’s family in Chicago, flew to Kentucky for a few days with Lulu’s parents, enjoying walks and a fun dinner with cousin Dickie and Susan, and drove to North Carolina for a visit with cousin Jane and husband, Fred. They beautifully renovated Aunt Rhea’s home. We loved sitting on their porch overlooking Jones Creek! In late August, we drove up to Sedona to spend a day with Lulu’s childhood friend Pam and her husband Kenith, visiting AZ for the first time. We visited Lynne in San Antonio in March, May, July, and November for her 96th birthday.     

In September/October, we went on two short car trips, the first to northern Arizona to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, driving along the spectacular Vermillion Cliffs. We took a boat tour on Lake Powell, visited Antelope Canyon, and Sedona again. On the second car trip, we visited northern New Mexico, spending a day in Chaco Canyon, a day at Acoma Pueblo, and watching the early morning mass ascension at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. Wow! We spent two weeks in early November with Audrey’s family in Chicago.  Brrr! We celebrated Thanksgiving in Texas with Claire, Whitney, Brian, and their families.

Claire’s family moved from London to Phoenix during the summer. We are fortunate to see them every few weeks, for an overnight or a meal together. Lulu is still blogging and hiking. Papa bikes several times per week and works on leather projects. We continue to stay in touch with several of our Boys & Girls Club kids. Two graduated from college in 2018, two are married, and most others are in college. We got together in May for an Italian dinner, and we see each of them over meals every few weeks.  

We are grateful for every day of 2018 and look forward to a happy 2019!  We wish you a very happy holiday season!