February and March 2022

February and March were very quiet months for Dave and I.  We didn't go anywhere during February, due to the cold and snowy days.  It was nice not to have to worry about being out and about, dealing with the snow and the icy roads.

March was still cold and snowy, and again we stayed home.  The last of the month, we met up with one of Dave's former co-workers, (and his wife), to go to dinner and the four of use headed downtown to see Carol Burnett.  It was a great evening.  We have great seats.  Carol came on stage and she simply let the audience ask questions and she would answer the questions with stories about her life and time, (over 60 years in show business).  It was so funny.  She was still as sharp as a tack.  And the 90 minutes with her just flew by so fast.  Originally we had tickets to see her 18 months ago, but because of COVID, the show was postponed to this year.  And it was so worth the wait.

This month Dave and I also received our 2nd COVID booster shot, (recommended because of our ages).  We're guessing that in the future, we will receive a booster and our flu shot at the same time, (usually in October). But we feel it is so worth it to be protected.

As you can see, we had a very quiet 2 months.  We are so looking forward to Spring and warm weather. 

January 2022

 New Year's Day, we spent on the cruise ship relaxing as the ship had a day at sea.  It was so nice to have a day to just watch a movie, (No Time to Die, James Bond), play a trivia game, eat good food, and just relax.

On January 2nd, we docked in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  A very tropical paradise.   But lovely and very warm.  A nice change of pace from the winter weather we had back home.

We were greeted on the dock by a great raggae band.  They were a fun group to listen to.  After our day was over and we were returning to the ship, they were still performing, so we stopped and listen to them for a while and a few people were dancing and singing along.  It was a mini party on the dock.

We boarded a bus for our day-long excursion and were treated to a local street food faire.  A small pocket turnover filled with a spicy meat mixture.  The locals eat this almost every day.

We were taken to a train station, where we boarded an open-air vintage train.  During the ride, our tour guide pointed out all the banana trees and explained to us how the bananas grow.  He showed us a small banana pod and opened it up to expose little bananas that were starting to form.  He explained that as the pod grew bigger and the banans grew larger, eventually the pod would be about 5 to 6 feet long.  Then the farmers would cover the pods with protective blue netting to keep the bugs and animals from eating the bananas.  He also explained that in the wild, monkeys DO NOT eat bananas.  As we road through the countryside, we noticed that every house had banana trees, coconut trees, and a garden.  Their houses were small but very neat and tidy.  During the ride, there were lots of monkeys in the trees, they were chattering to the tourist on the train, but Dave and I just couldn't see them no matter how hard we looked.  Other people on the train would point to them and say, "I see them, right there".  And laugh about how cute they were.  After a long day, we were tired and ready to return to the ship.

On January 3rd, we docked in Colon, Panama.  A very busy and very modern county.  Our ship did not pass thru the panama canal, but...

We took an excursion that did.  We boarded a smaller boat and set sail for the canal.  Along the way, (a 2-hour tour), we learned many facts about the building of the canal and the upkeep involved in maintaining the canal.  The ships that pass thru the canal must apply for passage long before they arrive and the cost is based upon the size of the ship, how much cargo, and how many passengers are on board.  Some ships will pay up to 1 million dollars.  The smallest fee ever paid was for a small boat that had 1 person on board, and the fee was $15.

There are many shipyards along the sides of the canal to load and unload cargo ships.  Once we arrived at the canal and took our place to enter, it was a slow move thru the canal.  And even though we were in a small boat, it was a tight fit, and one could feel a little claustrophobic.  During the trip, you could see hundreds of workers on the sides, doing maintenance work, and landscaping work.  It is amazing the amount of work it takes to keep the locks in working order.  When we returned to our ship, we were definately tired and ready for dinner.

On January 4th, we were supposed to dock at Cartagena, Colombia.  However, the night before, our ship's captain received word that Colombia had changed their COVID protecal, and any tourist entering the country via ship would need to have a negative Covid test no more than 2 days before entering the country.  And since the ship did not have the notice in time to test all 1,500 passengers, we would be unable to dock in Colombia.  And instead would have an extra day at sea, and make passage to our next stop.

On January 6th, we docked at Oranjestad, Aruba.  A modern city on the outskirts, with older Hispanic influence on the inner city.  Very clean and neat.  We boarded an air-conditioned bus for our day excursion.

Our first stop was at an Aloe farm.  We learned how the aloe plant is grown, harvested, and used in medicine, cosmetics, and food.  We saw acres and acres of aloes in many different sizes, one plant was well over 6 feet tall and4 feet wide.  Our guide took one of the aloe leaves, sliced it open, and showed us the 4 different parts to the inside of the aloe, and how it can be used for different applications.

Our next stop was to a historic lighthouse that was over 500 years old.  It reminded me of the historic lighthouse in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  It was mid-day, and the heat was starting to beat down on us, so we didn't spend too much time out at the lighthouse, we quickly got back on the air-conditioned bus.   Our next stop was at the natural bridge, (a rock formation formed into a bridge by the ocean).  It very much reminded me of the formations we saw in Hawaii.

We then toured around the town and saw some of the sights and hear some of the histories.  It so reminded me of Cabo and made me want to return to Cabo soon.

When we returned back to the ship, it was good to be back in the air conditioning and it was almost dinner time.

Our ship had another day at Arub.  Most people went into town to shop and some spent their time on the beach, but Dave and I stay on board and relaxed.  I now wished we had walked into town and got a couple of t-shirts.

On January 7th and 8th, our ship sailed toward home.  Two days of relaxation again.  There was certainly never any lack of wonderful desserts or good food during the final days at sea.  We enjoyed the pool, the live entertainment, movies, and games, and every night we fell into bed exhausted.

On the morning of January 9th, we docked in Miami, Florida.  After breakfast in the dining room, we boarded a bus for one final excursion to an aligator farm.  We rode an airboat into the swamps, where they looked for some aligators.  They had an alligator wrangler that showed us 2 large gators' and explained their habits, lifestyles, mating habits, etc.  We then had a light lunch and headed to the airport to catch our plane and come home, (home sweet home).

Unfortunately, I have to end the month on a sad note.  Dave's niece, (Pam, Jeanne's daughter from her 1st marriage), passed away on January 24th from thyroid cancer.  She had been battling this disease for many years, and her body finally couldn't fight back anymore.  Her family will be having a celebration of her light for family and friends on Saturday, February 12th, in Arizona, where she lived and worked.  She died way too young,

December 2021

 December was a quiet and fairly warm month.  Dave and I continued working at Honey Baked Ham up until Christmas eve.  We worked long hours every day and saw overtime hours on our paycheck.  Dave got several customer reviews for doing a great job, (if you ever purchase a ham from Honey Baked, there is a survey at the bottom of your receipt, just go online and fill out the short survey giving your opinion of the person who helped you).  The store we worked at would post the certificates on the wall behind the counter.  I would point out to Dave all the "Atta' boys" that he got.  He would just smile, and say, 'Really?".  I have several customers who asked for me, and when the manager and assistant manager would call me upfront, the customer would thank me for doing a great job of helping them place the order, or give them clear directions to find the store.  A couple days before Christmas, a gentleman came into the store and asked for me.  When I went up front to the register, he said, "Hi, I'm ***, and you helped me on the phone.  I want you and the managers to know that you are just too nice to be working here at Christmas time".  I just laughed and thanked him.  He then said, "I also own a bakery, and I wanted to give you this loaf of Chocolate Raspberry Rum bread, freshly baked this morning.  If you want you can share it with the store or take it home.  Also here are 2 of our store's oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies.  Enjoy."  I thanked him and told him I would give the cookies to my husband and pointed out Dave to him.  He told Dave that I was a real keeper, and Dave gave him a thumbs up.  Kyra, (our assistant manager), whispered in my ear, "No customer has ever done this before".  Since that day we already had so many homemade cookies, candies, and treats, I decided to wait a couple of days to share the bread with the crew.  After setting a couple days, the bread was delicious, I wish I could find his bakery to buy more.

On December 9th, we finally got snow, and boy did we ever get snow, (8 inches).  And it snowed for 2 days.  The mountains got 2 1/2 feet.  It really helps our water situation.  Then the temps got warm and it melted, but it started to feel like winter and look like Christmas

Our grandchild, (who was living with us), had an auto accident on the night of the 19th and now was no longer with a car.  So then the grandchild decided to move back in with their mom for a while.  It was been nice and quiet around the house.  Dave and I spent days working at Honey Baked, coming home eating a quick dinner, going to bed, getting up, and going back to work again.  

After finishing up at Honey Baked, the last week of December we got ready for a Caribbean cruise. 

We took our Covid test, (with negative results) on the 28th, and we dropped Opal, (our cat), at the kennel on the 28th.  Packed and left for Miami on the evening of the 29th.  We spent the night at a motel in Miami, boarded the cruise ship at 11:30 AM on the 30th of December, and set sail at 4:00 PM, for 10 days.  The ship normally cruises with 5,000, but for safety, they only allowed 1,500 passengers, and we had to be fully vaccinated, and have a negative Covid test 2 days before sailing. 

New Year's Eve was a formal night.  The whole ship was decorated, and dinner was extravagant.  The partying went on until the wee hours of the morning, but Dave and I didn't last that long, just around midnight we crashed into bed.  We knew that we had plenty ahead of us.  We were on our way to Panama, Costa Rico, Columbia, and Aruba.

What a way to end the year, and after more than 2 years without any cruising this was a great way to start cruising again. 

November 2021

November temps started cooling down, but they were still in the 50's, and still no rain.  We normally get our first snow around the 3rd week of November, but still no snow and the ski resorts, (which usually open on Thanksgiving weekend). turned off their snowmaking machines and decided to wait until Christmas, (it was just too warm, and the little snow they were able to make was melting as fast as they were making it).

Dave and I finished cleaning out the garden the 1st week, we had quite a few carrots, a few turnips, and a few potatoes left in our root bed to be dug up.  We shared a large bag of carrots and gave all the turnips to the neighbors across the street.  They were very grateful, and later the next week as Dave was cleaning up the leaves, their oldest son, (he's 13), came over and asked if he could help.  Dave was very grateful for the help and gave him some money for the help, (which he was very reluctant to take).

The first week of November, I got a call back from Honey Baked Hams, asking if I would come back again for the holidays to take phone orders.  I started back to work on the 9th.  There was pretty much a whole new crew of holiday workers this year.  Our unemployment rate in Utah is so low, (less than 3%), that those who are want to work are already working, and it's very difficult for employers to find help.  There were only 4 returning holiday workers, and the rest were all new hires.

Dave was one of those new hires this year  He worked the front of the store, (cashing, stocking coolers and shelves, and even training other new hires).  He learns so fast, and he's so good with people.  The general manager and he bonded so quickly.  They would go into the cooler to talk about store strategies and where to place products and which employees needed more register help, etc.  The assistant manager really appreciated Dave's help with training the other employees.

When the season was over, and we picked up our last checks, we were asked, "You are both coming back to help us out at Easter time.  Right?"

This year, I managed to finish an advent cross stitch calendar for our great-granddaughter, (Autumn).  On Thanksgiving weekend, Dave and I drove over and gave it to her.  She and her mom were so surprised.  Trevor remembered when I cross-stitched the same one for him 25 years ago, (the first Thanksgiving his mom and dad were married).  Autumn ran over to the living room wall, (where she had a little store-bought advent calendar, took it down and hung up the one I made.  Dave helped me during the final production, he cut and painted the dowel, and helped with the measurements.  I was worried I wouldn't get it finished, but Dave was a great help.

November flew by, and we were so busy with working every day and still trying to get the last of our outside chores done before winter.  We were so exhausted by Thanksgiving.  We just had a quiet day at home alone, (just the 2 of us).  I fixed a small meal, (we got a free turkey breast from Honey Baked, a fixed a couple sides, and we had a small pie.  It was a nice quiet peaceful day.

 

October 2021

October weather finally started to cool down to the 80's.  It was more like fall.

Dave and I spent the first week of October clearing out the garden of the last of the above-ground produce and getting the beds ready for winter.  Once again, our butternut squash was a good producer, we gave away 6 large-sized squash to our neighbors and kept these smaller-sized ones for us.  They are sitting in our garage, waiting for us to use them this winter.  We still have to dig up our carrots, and just a few turnips and beets yet.  The herbs are still producing, and I've been clipping and drying them.

For our anniversary, Dave and I took a trip to Kississimme, Florida for a week.  We spent the week just relaxing around the pool, and resting.  For our anniversary dinner, we received a gift card from Jared to Flemings Prime Steak House and went out for a wonderful steak dinner.  When they showed us to our table, we were greeted with an anniversary card, and hearts.

The meal was first class all the way, and we split the entree, (a very large rib-eye steak), crispy broccoli, asparagus, and for dessert, I had a key lime pie and Dave had a caramel brownie al' a mode.  We were so stuffed, and we brought home half of our meal, for dinner the next evening.  It was a wonderful evening.

We came home to find a dusting of snow on the ground and I sighed with relief that we were able to get the garden and all the flower beds cleaned up before we left.  The snow only lasted 1 day, and the temps then climbed back up to the mid 70's, and the water level for our state still hasn't increased.  Here's hoping for snow in December to fill the reservoirs for next year.  Dave and I spent the rest of the month cutting down our decorative grasses and getting the front and back yard ready for winter.  We're still hearing about more friends who are getting COVID and wondering why they still won't get vaccinated, (???).  We still wear our masks out in public, but for the most part, we stay home.  Here's hoping that our family and friends will stay healthy as this new strain is starting to gain momentum and spread.

September 2021

September continued to be a hot and dry month.  Still no rain, and triple-digit temps.  We are growing quite concerned about what our water situation will be like next year.

September was a very quiet month for Dave and me.  We continued to work in the garden, gathering the harvest and getting the produce canned and frozen for winter.  We shared much with our friends, family, neighbors, and the Senior Center.  

A couple of days before my birthday, I was out in the garden working, and I walked into the house, (just as the doorbell rang).  It was a local florist with a delivery for me.  Dave sent me a huge flower delivery for my birthday.  He is so wonderful to always remember me.

This year for Dave's birthday, I sent him a box of chocolate-covered strawberries.  They are one of his favorite treats.

We both got our Covid booster shots this month.  Hopefully, we will have that extra protection again this dreaded disease.  We still continue to wear our masks when we are out in large public gatherings are among people we don't know.  We don't go out much, and we're fine with staying at home.  Here's hoping our friends and family are all staying healthy.

August 2021

August was as usual in the Rocky Mountains, HOT, HOT, HOT.   We had 16 days of triple-digit temps and added to that our skies were extremely smokey from all the California fires.  It made for an uncomfortable month, but as usual, we survived.

Our water restrictions were still in place, and we only watered at night and then very little to keep the lawn just green and alive.  I did do a twice-daily watering on the garden, so we wouldn't lose our plants.  It was a bumper year for our tomatoes, and the few neighbors we do have small gardens had a bumper crop of tomatoes.

Last October, I planted garlic. and the first part of August I harvested our little crop.  I dried it on the deck, then I cleaned the bulbs and braided the stems, and trimmed off the roots.  This winter we will be able to enjoy our own homegrown garlic.  It smelled so wonderful as I was working the stems and braiding it.  It is hanging in our pantry, and it gives me a little smile whenever I look at it.

It's been quite a few years since we've grown corn, so this year we planted some Salt and Pepper variety.  It was ready to harvest starting August 1st.  Every 4 or 5 days, we would harvest a dozen or so ears.  We would have 2 ears that evening for dinner, and then I would cut the kernels from the cob and freeze a couple quarts for this winter.  We were able to harvest corn until the end of September. and now we'll have plenty of corn this winter.

Our peach tree was quite a producer this year.  We gave away about 2 bushels to our neighbors, the local Senior Center, and friends.  The peaches were so sweet and juicy.  I made several cobblers, some peach bread, a pie, and froze several quarts.  I still had these 2 bushels left.  They were sitting on our deck, and in just one day's time, the high heat, and a light hot rainstorm came along and ruined them.  I was so sick when I  noticed that they had to all be destroyed.

On the 19th of August, we flew to Minneapolis to visit Jared and stayed for 5 days.  We helped celebrate his 41st birthday.  It was a low-key event.  We visited a couple of sites, went out to dinner a couple of evenings, but mostly just stayed around the house and visited.  

Dave and I are still staying at home for the most part.  We have found that it's nice to go down to the local Senior Center for lunch a few days a week.  We visit with other people our age, swap stories, and sometimes catch a free movie at the center.  It makes for a nice change of pace.  We are finding out that more of our friends have caught the Covid virus, and we've been thankful that we've gotten the vaccine early.  We have heard that a booster is soon going to be available, and we are planning of getting it when the time comes.  We home the rest of our family and friends stay healthy and well  Take care.