Author: Rudy

After breakfast we decided to go for a walk. We headed up to the little hill behind our house, Vista Point, to take a look at the view. (And for the second day in a row, we saw a roadrunner, squawking his ‘meep, meep’, and running around the top of the hill — crazy! When Ed and Millie were here they looked for roadrunners but never saw one.) On the way down from the hill, Sue insisted on a photo next to one of the many blooming bushes that are making Arizona look ‘greener’ than we’ve ever seen it before. We walked to the Mountain Brook corner and back — not a very strenuous bit of exercise, but exercise nonetheless. When we got back to the house it was time for lunch.

After lunch we played a few hands of bridge. Then each of us went off to our own corner and did our own thing — reading, snoozing, listening to music. At 2:30 we hopped into the van and drove across the road to the Gold Canyon Golf Resort. We met Dave D and Ed P there — they had a tee time right after our 3:06 time. We got on the first tee right on time. Things were going pretty good — in fact, Jessie had a TWO on the par 3 Hole #2. Then, when we got to Hole #4 things got a bit backed up. I guess a couple of foursomes, all part of the same organization, were bunching up and slowing things down. They were ‘partying’ and playing their music loudly. There was NO way we’d finish more than 9 holes behind these guys. So at hole #5 we decided to zip back to the first tee and replay the first 4 holes. Which we did. Good move! Now we had no one behind us, no one ahead. And by the time we got back to the tee at #5 the holdup was long done. We continued golfing, finished the front nine, and then golfed another 3 holes on the back nine.

It was 6:15. The temperature was still nice and comfortable, although it was starting to cool off. We probably could have played one more hole, but we opted to call it quits for today. We phoned the ‘Great Wall’ Chinese restaurant and ordered take-out. We had a fine evening meal together and then picked up our bridge game where we’d left off earlier in the day. Once again, the boys managed to win the rubber. At 9 o’clock we put the cards aside and watched the CBC News before going to bed. I stayed up for the Daily Show and went to bed after that.

After breakfast, Ed, Sue, and I went for a short bike ride around the neighbourhood. Jessie wasn’t feeling well — she’s been fighting a cold for over a week. We made a pitstop at Walgreen’s to pick up some water and a pop for Jessie. When we got back to the house, Sue and I decided to get back on the bikes and do an extra circuit, just to get a bit more exercise. We doodled around in the east section of the Mountain Brook community. An hour later we were back at the house. It was 1 o’clock, high time for lunch.

After lunch I went to the driving range while the others went to the pool to read. By 3:15 I was back and it was time for all of us to get over to the Mountain Brook Golf Course — we had a 3:45 tee time.

Golf was great (again!). The sun was shining, and it was comfortably warm outside. No wind to speak of. The group ahead rarely kept us waiting. The group behind didn’t ‘push’ us. Not too many pars on the course today but, as Ed said, we made quite a few good shots. And we had fun.

We were back at the house by 5:30 — time for crackers and crab and drinks. We played a few hands of bridge and then got supper on the table — barbecued cheeseburgers, etc. We followed that up with some more bridge, including a slam by Ed and Rudy. Dessert was a slice of homemade apple pie (courtesy of Millie) with ice cream and coffee. More bridge.

At around 10 we called it a day. CBC News and off to bed.

After breakfast the Hildebrands and we went for a little ride in the van — around ‘our loop’. We ended up at one of the trail heads into Silly Mountain. We’d brought along extra jackets and sweaters, but when the sun peaked out from behind the clouds it was nice and warm. And hiking up the trail warmed us up even more.

We ended up making our way down the mountain by way of a poorly marked trail, and had to pick our way through some cacti and prickly plants. We got back to the main path okay, and decided to hike back to the van by another way.

We stopped at Bashas for some groceries before going home for lunch. After lunch we all found a corner to ‘relax’ in. Ed had a snooze on the lounger in the sunshine in the backyard. Jessie and Sue read. I watched a feature on “Muscle Shoals” on Netflix.

At 3:30 we loaded the pull carts and our golf clubs into the van and went to Mountain Brook for 9 holes of golf. The sky was VERY dark, and the wind picked up and a few drops of rain began to fall. We wondered whether we’d made a bad choice, but decided to give it a try and if it rained too much we’d ask for a rain check and try again another day. But once we were at the first tee the weather quickly improved — the dark clouds disappeared in the eastern sky and the sun came out and warmed everything up again. We took our jackets off and had a great time golfing 9 holes. Quite a few pars, too.

We got home by 6 pm and had happy hour and played a few hands of bridge. Then the ladies got the salmon and rice on the table and we had a delicious supper. More bridge after supper. We called it a draw at around 10pm. Time to watch the news and go to bed.

It’s too bad I booked tee times for the four of us today on GolfNow on a ‘Hot Deal’ — that means it’s ‘non-refundable’. That means we gotta pay even if it rains and we can’t go golfing.

The sun was shining when we woke up at around 7:30. We had breakfast. It looked pretty good outside, even if the temperature was a bit cooler than it was for the past few weeks. Sue and Jessie went into Apache Junction to buy a few bags (i.e. about $20 worth!) of fresh fruits and vegetables. Ed and I practiced putting on our backyard putting green.

After an ‘early’ lunch, we left for the Apache Creek Golf Course a little after 12 noon. No rain yet. We checked in and were sent out to the first tee as soon as we were ready. Cool! And it was a bit cool. And we had a very fun time golfing eighteen holes over the next 4 hours. Yeah, every once in a while we had a few drops of rain, and yes, the wind was blowing a bit stronger than it usually does, but the Hildebrands hadn’t hit a golf ball for a few months, and today was a real treat for them. And for us, too. Ed had a couple of birdie TWOs. On the ride home he calculated that as a foursome we’d shot a 70, counting the best shot on each hole. So it was a great afternoon.

We were back home at 5 and had a little ‘happy hour’. Then out came the cards. We played a few rubbers of bridge before and after our pasta supper. Coffee and ice cream for dessert. Rudy and Ed even got a ‘slam’. All-in-all, a very fun day. And the forecast for rain proved to be a bit premature. The ‘real’ rain finally fell for about 10 minutes at 10pm while we were watching the CBC News.

By 10:30 the effects of all that fresh Arizona air and the exercise we’d had in it got the better of us. Bedtime.

Sunday morning. Sue made a nice omelette for me for breakfast and we watched our Sunday morning shows. We even got to watch Fareed on CNN this morning. After our shows were over, Sue took the van to Bashas to pick up some groceries. I watched more TV. In the afternoon, after we’d had lunch, we watched Codebreaker on Netflix. It’s the story that the movie “The Imitation Game” is based on — the story of Alan Turing, who invented the computer. Sue and I both thought it was better than the movie which is nominated for an Academy award tonight.

I was about to watch another Netflix show when we got a Skype call from the kids. They were just back from a weekend with friends in Thief River Falls. They’d had a great time. As soon as I hung up the Skype call, I had a text from Ed Peters wondering if I would like to join him golfing Sidewinder at 3 o’clock. You bet! I was there in a flash.

What a great decision! There was no one ahead of us and no one behind us. We had a fun game and both played well. I think we both shot a 42 on the front nine. Ed played a very good back nine and while I didn’t play as well, I ended up with a 95. And I got back to our house by 6 o’clock, just in time to change and head out to the Sky Harbor airport to pick up our guests. We got there in plenty of time and I sat in the cell phone parking lot and wrote in my journal while waiting for the Hildebrand’s to get their baggage. It was after 8 o’clock when finally we loaded their luggage and golf clubs into the van and headed for our house.

Lucky for Jessie, the big final curling game on TSN still had two ends to go when we got home. We put off sitting down for “faspa” until Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones had won the tournament. Then, after we’d eaten, we watched highlights of today’s golf final on TV before heading to bed at around 11:30.

Well, the Hildebrands’ time in the sun is about done. They’re heading north today, scheduled to be back in the frozen tundra that is home for all of us by next weekend.

Sue rustled up some bacon and eggs for breakfast. (No break from the Nikkel routine, even for visitors!) A second pot of coffee. Ed and Millie pored over their devices, trying to figure out a route that would take them home by way of one more work-away connection in South Dakota. What’s the weather look like in Denver? Oh oh, snow in the forecast. How about in Kansas City? Hmmm… Oh well, we’ll be okay. We’ll just ‘wing it’. They packed up their stuff, we said our goodbyes, and they were on the road by about 10.

Sue did the laundry. I vacuumed. We have company coming for dinner tonight, and then tomorrow we’ll pick up the ‘other Ed Hildebrand’ (and his wife Jessie) who will stay with us for the coming week.

We had ONE LAST film to watch before tomorrow’s Oscars. “Citizenfour” is a two-hour documentary about Edward Snowden. We watched that this afternoon. We’d seen much of the story on various news and documentary shows — but this one gave us a pretty good glimpse of who Snowden is.

Sue went outside to read. I texted Ed Peters who came over right away to ‘re-calibrate’ the satellite dish for our TV.

At around 5:30 the Peters and Foxes came over. We had drinks outside. Then I barbecued the pork and we had dinner and sat and visited around the table for a few hours. The Jets were playing the Maple Leafs on TV — and ultimately lost in overtime. We moved to the living room and had dessert and coffee. I fun evening.

By 10:30 our company had left; we watched a bit of TV and then went to bed.

 

 

Leftover crepes for breakfast. The plan was for the Hildebrands to go visit the Mesa market and maybe tour the Boyce Thompson Arboretum while Sue and I joined Ed Peters and Dave Driedger for a golf game at Dinosaur. We left at around 11:30, hit a few balls at the driving range, and then teed off at 12:20. The first hole is pretty tough; I’d played this course once in November and that time I think I shot a 10 there. Today I shot a five. So far so good.

Unfortunately, that’s where my luck ended. Hole #2: I criss-crossed the green, chipping the ball from bunker to bunker to bunker. I decided NOT to mark my score — no point in recording my misery — and just enjoy the scenery.

Sue, on the other hand, played an ‘okay’ game, and Ed and Dave were making most of their shots. Dinosaur Golf Course is famous for its panoramic mountain views. Today, even though my game was going down the toilet, not all was lost; the weather was comfortably warm, the beer was refreshingly cold, each tee box presented spectacular vistas, and the company was _____ (find your own adjective) great. So, all in all, a fine way to fritter away an afternoon.

We were done and back at home by around five. Time for happy hour in the backyard. The Hildebrands had done a bit of shopping but had opted not to go to the park. Now, the four of us had some chips and salsa with our drinks, sat and visited in the backyard, and waited for ‘supper time’. Ed read a few excerpts from the diary of Noel Coward (a playwright who was famous in the mid-1900s) while the girls drank wine. Finally, a little after 7 o’clock, we were hungry enough to go for supper.

The Hildebrands were taking us out. We hopped into our van and headed out to Apache Junction, to the Handlebar Pub. Unlike the last time we were there, the evening was warm enough for us to sit at an outside table (under a propane heater). We could just barely hear the live band that was playing in the bar over the sizzle from the outdoor grille. The smoke and aroma of frying burgers wafted over us. Good food and good conversation managed to erase any remaining negative thoughts I had about what a crappy golf game I’d had that afternoon.

Back at the ranch, there was some discussion about the possibility of another crib game — but I quashed that and forced our visitors to watch yet another ‘documentary’ on TV. Sue slept through most of it, and my head bobbed a few times as well. I ended up fast-forwarding through the last half of ‘Man on Wire’ before finally releasing everyone to their bedrooms.

This morning Ed made us crepes for breakfast. That provided enough energy for us to hike Silly Mountain. Coincidentally, we were near the top when we ran into Ed & Val and the Foxes. We took a photo at the summit, planted a flag and claimed the land for our God and King, and then hiked back down the long way around. We got home at noon, just in time for lunch, which we had outside on the patio.

After lunch I went to the driving range for an hour. The girls went to the pool. Ed stayed home and finished watching the movie “Whiplash”. That’s where I found him when I got back from the driving range. When the girls came home we had G&Ts and watched another Oscar-nominated film, a documentary called “Finding Vivian Maier”. Okay. When that ended it was 5 o’clock — time to tune in the Jets game on TSN.

While Millie and I watched hockey, Ed took a little nap and Sue started supper. The Jets really weren’t ever in the game, but we waited until there were only a couple of minutes left and the score was 5-1 for the Capitals, before putting the chicken on the barbecue.

After supper we (finally!) got out the cards and the crib board. We sat at the table until 11pm, looking for scoring cards in Sue’s hand in order to help the girls add up enough points for them to win a couple of games. A little chocolate peanut butter ice cream and it was time for the CBC National and the ‘At Issue’ panel. That about did it for this Thursday.

This morning the four of us did a bit of cycling. First we went back behind our place, on a short ride through the “Deerfield” area of Gold Canyon. We continued on around “our loop” all the way to Bashas, where Ed treated us to doughnuts and coffee. That helped give us the energy to cycle back UP the hill on the way back to our house.

We’d invited Dave and Marylou, and Dave’s brother Paul and his wife Shirley (who have a condo in Scottsdale), to come to our house for supper. The Hildebrands and the Driedgers all grew up in Leamington and are friends from way back. After lunch Sue and Millie got their grocery list organized and headed back to Bashas. Ed and I took a drive out to the ‘TotalWine’ store in Santan. We went for a little stroll around the shopping village, and peeked into the Apple Store too. By the time we’d driven back home, the girls had packed away the groceries and Millie had baked a couple of apple pies. We were ready for our company.

We were sitting in our backyard, enjoying our happy hour, when Dave called. Paul and Shirley had missed a turn on the drive down from Scottsdale and would be delayed a bit. So it was around 5:30 when the Driedger clan arrived. Dave had made a big pot of chilli and Shirley brought a salad. We all sat in the backyard and had some crackers and guacamole and visited. I turned on the propane heater (the first time we’ve used it) and we managed to sit outside in the cool of the evening until it was time for supper at around 7pm.

The eight of us squeezed around our little dining table and enjoyed the dinner and the company. We’d just finished our dessert (pie with ice cream and coffee) when the doorbell rang. It was Joel, Karen, and little Henri! Dave and Marylou’s kids and grandson have been staying with Dave and Marylou for the past week and a half. The three of them had been out for the day, visiting friends in Scottsdale, but made it back here in time for them to see Joel’s uncle and aunt and to give us a chance to Henri, who will be 3 years old in April. It was great to see them.

By around 9pm the party was over. We cleaned up the dishes and sat around in the living room until around eleven. Then to bed.

The big activity of the day today: a hike to the petroglyphs at Superstition Mountain with Ed and Millie. We left soon after breakfast and joined about a million other hikers on a trek into the mountains to see some aboriginal(?) graffiti, known here as the ‘hieroglyphic trail’. Still, a very comfortable day, and a nice bit of exercise for a couple of hours. Obligatory photos, lots of interesting plants along the way, and back home in time for lunch.

After lunch I went to the driving range for about an hour — gotta stay sharp! — while the rest of the gang sat at the pool and read/talked. When I got back I showered and then around 4:30 the four of us got on our bikes and cycled over to Ed & Val’s for happy hour. They are entertaining Val’s sister and brother-in-law, the Foxes, and the eight of us sat outside on the patio and enjoyed some special chips and salsa while the sun set. We cycled back at 6:30, quickly before it got too dark to cycle. At home, Sue got a salmon dish going and soon we were sitting around the table for supper.

After supper we watched “Rosewater”, the movie produced by Jon Stewart about a journalist imprisoned in Iran. Pretty good. In honour of our band-teacher guest, we watched the first third of “Whiplash” next. But it was eleven o’clock, time to go to bed and get some rest. Tomorrow will be another ‘busy’ day.