Blog

January, 2009 ... Where I live, we have a wonderful computer club with many retired teachers, gurus and professors who grew up in the computer age. They teach classes to novices and others of us who have used computers for awhile, but still have so very much to learn. One such professor, Dr. Leon Chapman (we call him Chapy), taught a web building class based on the WYSIWYG Web Bulding software. That's where I got started with this website which has already brought my family closer together. So, those of you who have always wanted to do something like this ... take heart. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks. The old dog just needs to want to learn.

January, 2009 ... For my 75th birthday, my family arranged a surprise party for me in LaJolla. My son told me he would be working in San Diego all week and my daughter would fly down and drive me out and meet him for the weekend. We would spend some quality time together as soon as he had a day off. Well, when we got there, we pulled up to a house (where I thought we were going to pick up my son) and lo and behold ... most of my family was there to greet me. My sister and her husband had flown in from Montana, a granddaughter with her husband and their new baby I had not yet met, flew in from Florida, grandson, wife and daughter came from Denver and my cousin and his wife drove down from the Bay area. My son wasn't working after all. They got me good! When I had recovered from the shock, I learned they had rented the house just a block from the beach for 5 relaxing days of fun in the sun and family time. We visited the Zoo and lots of other places. The pictures are linked to the Events page if you'd like to see them.

March, 2009 ... My dear friend from South Florida visited for a week early in the month. We took a weekend drive to Jerome, a beautiful mountainside art colony which is an Arizona tourist attraction also. They have a great hamburger place.
Also visiting, but later in the month, were my grandson and his family of 5. While here, he set up my new TV with my Wii and Wii Fit. The Wii Fit is a fun way to stay in shape if you just have the ambition required to turn it on.

June, 2009 ... Cousins Richard and Ulrike Moon came for a short visit in June. Shortly after they arrived, we headed to Chandler and picked up their son, James, then went to Heritage Square. It was a ghost town. We found a sports bar open, the Rose and Crown Pub, which turned out to have wonderful food. The conversation was smart and lively. Back home, we opened another bottle of wine and solved all the world’s problems.
Next morning, we had cheese eggs and bacon, then headed out to tour the SCG amenities. We stopped at Trader Joe’s for a few things, then later we had dinner at Kokopelli’s Winery. No reservation necessary. It’s summer. The snowbirds have flown. That evening, we sat out in front and watched a lightning storm move in. It never quite made it, but the show was great while it lasted.
After walks the next day, we took the tax system apart. California and AZ are both in deep trouble and considering idiotic solutions. We looked at some computer things such as the Legacy genealogy program and WYSIWYG Web Builder, I printed a new family address list, then we took some pictures out in back and they left at noon. On my recommendation, they planned to stop for lunch at the Chicken Noodle Café in Wickenburg on their way back to California. Gee, it was great having them here. We’re going to do this more often.

August, 2009 ... For what has become known in the family as Grammy's annual summer travels, I drove to Grand Junction the first day, then on to the Denver area to visit my son and daughter, grands and greats. We had a family picnic in Loveland at a popular park and picnic area. A river ran through it for tubing, there were water spouts for the little ones, and somebody brought a Super Soaker and after that, few stayed dry. I took new pictures of the "greats" for their pages right here. We visited my sister-in-law, Patti, who was baby sitting her grandchildren in Aurora. Staying with my daughter, I "helped" her lay a kitchen floor in her new apartment, we visited the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls and Manitou Springs, we joined my grandson's family and spent a day at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum on the grounds of the old Lowry AFB in Denver and saw movies and ate at some yummy spots. With my son, we saw movies, visited a modern art museum and he threw a party for family and friends at his place. I really enjoyed meeting his friends, especially the one who reminds me of a famous author. To family, I handed out copies of a video I had put together for a PEO program about my family in aviation. It's called "How High the Moons" ... Moon being a family name and this being the year of the 40th anniversary of my Moon cousin Buzz's landing on that other moon. In mid-August, I drove straight from Denver to Bozeman, Montana, to spend a couple of weeks with my sister and her husband. We got out for a picnic at Charlie's gun club, but spent most of our time just relaxing and enjoying the views and seeing friends. Charlie was still recovering from lung cancer surgery and his prostate cancer is at an advanced stage. There are still several treatment options open, and he is choosing to try those ... all except for the regular chemo. When the pain meds kicked in, Charlie would entertain us with wonderful anecdotes and family stories. I left on a Monday, drove to Kanab, UT, then home the next day after picking up my sweet old dog in Wickenburg.