March in Arizona

 (Remember once again, that you can click on any photo to see a larger image. Clicking on the X in the upper right corner will then return you to this posting.)

Greetings and salutations my fellow earthlings! Kathie and I are presently in Scottsdale, Arizona, though we will be returning to Iowa in just a few days. For many years, we have appreciated a gracious invitation from our good friends Richard and Rina to join them here during the month of March. Although the weather this year in the southwest has been unseasonably cool and often rainy, we have still frequently been able to enjoy the sun and opportunities to be outside. You may recall that prior to coming here we were at our cabin in Wisconsin where there was and continues to be a considerable amount of snow still on the ground. So the transition has been interesting. Meanwhile...

In early March, son Rob reached his 50th birthday. Though we were not able to be in attendance for the celebrations, I contributed by providing a slide show and a gift book with photo selections from his 50 years. Rob, his siblings, and their spouses posed for this very nice picture and shared a copy with me. I thought those of you who know them might appreciate seeing them all together on this occasion.

Of course, you will recall from my most recent prior posting, that we have been following grandson Anders as he has competed in various cross-country skiing events through the winter. He qualified this year in the U16 group (under 16—age 14 and 15 year olds) to be a team member for the Midwest Division and to participate in the Junior National Cross Country Skiing Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. Competing with the top 70 individuals in this group from all over the nation proved to be a clear step up in terms of challenge, but Anders finished all three of the events in which he participated. Though he did not reach the podium, we were so proud of him nevertheless. Few athletes get to compete at national levels such as this, and there is always next year! Below are two photos from Fairbanks, one of his proud parents and another of Anders during the classic skiing event. Yes, it was mostly bitterly cold up there. Events were not held unless temperatures reached at least negative 4ºF. We were thrilled to be able to watch most of the competition via Internet streaming.

  

The house and neighborhood we are inhabiting while in Arizona are very comfortable. I don't have a photo of the house, but there are some strange vehicles around. A junked old 1950s Jaguar is actually in the back yard of our "home", and another strange vehicle is nearby in the neighborhood.

 

 Son Travis flew down from Colorado to join us for a few days. The three of us spent one morning at the Desert Botanical Garden which is a favorite spot to visit. We highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. Numerous trails through the garden allow one to see many varieties of cactus and other desert plants and flowers. Currently, the garden is featuring Rotraut art work, including the one called "Rainbow Bridge" seen below.

 

 There are many majestic saguaro cactus to see throughout this region, including in the desert and in city neighborhoods. This one, located in the botanical garden was most unusual and definitely caught my eye.

 

 

A few days ago, Kathie and I drove north about 30 miles into the Tonto National Forest. Our plans included a horseback ride and viewing wildflowers. The riding was a way for us to practice prior to a guest ranch vacation we will be taking in early August in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of western Montana. Neither of us has been on a horse much or at all in recent years, and at least for me, the question had to do with whether or not my increasingly old frame could handle it. The answer turns out to be, "Maybe!" Though we rode only for an hour, both of us had a little trouble regaining our "land legs" and felt a bit sore the next couple days. Still, it was enjoyable, and when the ranch vacation rolls around "we shall see." By the way, the names of our horses were Hoolihan and Remington.

 The hills in the vicinity of the horse stable were very green this year—the desert has received more rain this is usual. California Poppies were everywhere and made the scenes golden. We have never seen the desert so beautiful as this, although it is always fascinating.

We also came across wild horses grazing on the hillsides. Word had obviously spread throughout the valley that this was an especially good year for viewing flowers and seeing the horses. Roadsides along the highway were jammed with cars pulled off to the side with groups of individuals taking photographs and walking into the landscape for closer looks.

Unexpectedly, upon arrival I learned that a good friend was also visiting the area. Tom and I go back nearly 60 years (can hardly believe I just wrote that!). Some of you will remember that son Will, Tom and I completed a cross-country bicycle ride from Seattle to Atlantic City during the summer of 1989, just one of several great memories. Anyway, we arranged to meet for lunch one day and tried to catch up on at least some of what each of us has been doing in recent years.

March in Arizona means spring training baseball. We saw quite a few games while here. Travis, my baseball buddy, loves the game as much as I do, so we typically work in several games during his visit. Major league teams we saw included Cubs, Angels, Rangers, White Sox, Padres, Brewers, Reds, Rockies (Diner, the mascot, seen below), and Royals. We even worked in one extra game in the World Baseball Classic between Canada and England. Travis is a White Sox fan, so I had to take one of him with the giant Frank Thomas bobble-head doll at the spring training home of the Sox on the day we saw them play the Cubs.

 

 The last game that Richard, Rina, Kathie and I attended just a couple days ago was at Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Cubs. We all wore the required color.

 

 

 Along with everything else, we have been following the amazing story that is the 2022-23 University of Iowa women's basketball team. These Hawkeyes have made it to the Final Four behind the leadership of several amazing players. Some of the them, particularly Caitlin Clark, have been featured in national news articles. Click here for one especially good read in the Washington Post. We'll be traveling home tomorrow and will be there in time to watch Iowa take on number one South Carolina. A win would advance the team to the championship final, but it will be a challenging game. Still, they have met and surpassed many hurdles already this year, so one never knows until the games are played. Go Hawks!

 

Just Have to Brag a Bit

I hope you will pardon a grandfather for being proud and wanting to brag a bit. I hope (and think) I have featured each of my grandchildren here from time to time for their various achievements. I know I have mentioned Anders' growing accomplishments in cross country skiing before, but yesterday we were present at the annual Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin for his participation in the Kortelopet event, which is a 29km race (slightly more than 18 miles).

All of the Birkebeiner events finish on Main Street in town. The city hauls in loads of snow to cover the street for this purpose. About 10" of fresh snow had arrived a few days before, so the trail was in very good condition too. Yesterday, though, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, though the temperatures were around only 0ºF when the race began.

Anders finished 1st out of 40 men in his age group (13-14 years), 23rd out of 892 participating men, and 23rd overall out of all 1,582 participants. Below you can see him as he nears the finish line, as he attempts to cool down while staying warm with a blanket, posing with his parents, and posing with one very happy grandfather.

His next events will be at the Junior National Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska March 13-16. He qualified as number one in the U16 group (14-15 years old) to be a part of the Midwest Division team that will travel to Alaska.

 

 

Staying in Touch

I haven't posted anything here in awhile, but we've been busy with various things, so it seems a good time to share some news. Each of us has dealt with various, probably age-related, aches and discomforts, but generally our health has been good. Little slows us down. I have another full post-cancer checkup scheduled for April, but all news on that front has been and continues to be good so far.

 We are currently at our cabin in Wisconsin enjoying the snow (really!) and the crisp, pine-scented air. Strange, but a given temperature never feels as cold here as it does back home. Perhaps the drier humidity level has something to do with that, perhaps having wind blocked by the forest helps, or maybe it is being able to enjoy our cozy home in the woods with its fireplace and other comforts.

When we arrived, we found over 2' of snow on the ground and on the roofs of our cabin and garages. I always worry a little about the weight of all that snow, but so far the trusses seem to be holding up--this isn't the first time for so much snow. The individual who has kept our entrance plowed created quite a hill of snow at the end of the driveway, and the pathway to the front door was quite narrow, though deer have been using it regularly.

 

 Of course, we guys like our "big boy toys." I have a nice snow blower here, so I got a chance to do some additional clearing of snow at the entrances to our garages, to widen the path to the front door, and to clear the heavy snow from our deck. Later, I used a long "snow rake" to pull snow from the cabin roof below each skylight, since failing to do so often results in ice dams and some dripping water inside the cabin.

Through the winter months back home, I managed to finish a couple of woodworking projects. I made a simple hall tree which has proven to be a nice addition for guests' hats and coats. I also made a quilt rack to display a quilt that Kathie made with some help from her sister. The quilt was made from most of my old work neckties. It is really pretty--I'm very proud of the work Kathie did on this, and now the quilt rack both displays and protects it. (Double click on the photo of the quilt for a closer look!)

 

 We love our new home in Iowa, but the kitchen likely had not been altered since the home was built in 1994. A number of the cupboards and drawers were showing significant wear or had broken, so we decided to do some updating. We picked out new cupboards, countertops and backsplash as shown below. Before we left home to come to Wisconsin, the old cabinets were removed. Since we have been away, the floor has been refinished. New cabinets are scheduled to be installed next week and other work to follow soon after. Being away while all of this is going on is a good thing!

 

We have enjoyed watching our grandchildren in various activities this past winter. Anders has been skiing very well and has qualified at the top of the Midwest in his age group. He will compete in the Junior National Trials in Fairbanks, AK in March. Via event streaming services, we have seen several of his past races. He will compete at the end of February in one of the Birkebeiner events in Hayward, WI near our cabin. So, we'll get to see him in person for that.

Penny was part of a choral concert during December.

Over the holidays, Jessica's family visited for a few days. There was card playing and a Hawkeye women's basketball game to attend, and I showed Leo how to use the lathe to turn a small goblet from walnut.

In January, Betsy's family visited, and we attended a Hawkeye men's basketball game. Ice cream may have been involved.

And Pete is often good for a laugh.

At the end of February, we are flying to Arizona to spend the month of March with friends there and to see a number of spring training baseball games. So...more news later from there!

Happy Holidays!

For those of you who have kept up with this blog and the postings throughout 2022, you will know that the year has been one with a few challenges. However, we seem to be past most of that now, and the future looks good. We are already making plans for some traveling in 2023. We have missed being able to do that, what with COVID and cancer interruptions. However, this next year we intend to spend the month of March with good friends in Arizona (yay—spring training baseball games!), travel with our very dear Australian friends through parts of Canada in June, and then in late July and early August spend a week with Jessica's family and Travis at a beautiful guest ranch in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area in Montana, a place we visited with them in 1993 when they were much younger and, in Jessica's case, sans family.

Of course, we are also looking forward to the opportunity to spend more time at our beloved second home in Wisconsin. In fact, in some portion of January and February, we plan to be there to enjoy the woods in winter, to do some snow shoeing and/or cross-country skiing, to spend time with friends who live near there, enjoy visits by some of our own family members, and finally, to watch those of our grandchildren who ski as they participate or compete in the annual Hayward area Birkebeiner event. (Click there for details and access to trail cams and other videos.) Some people escape to warmer climates when it gets cold. We go north into the snow! (At least for a bit.)

Before we say goodbye to 2022, I have to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to all of you who have been so kind, supportive and communicative, especially during the months I was dealing with surgery and the chemotherapy program. Your cards, Zoom or FaceTime calls, and other expressions of care and concern will never be forgotten, and I hope that we do continue to stay in touch. 

Confronting one's own mortality brings all kinds of memories, wishes, and hopes to the fore. I have so much about which to be grateful. My 78 trips around the sun so far have been mostly very good ones, and I look forward to at least a few more. More time up north. More woodworking. More books. More music. More time with my children and grandchildren. More paying attention to living things, green spaces, beautiful scenes, sunrises and sunsets, and friends.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the love and daily care that Kathie has shown and provided all through the year. During an illness like the one I faced, one does stop to think about that "in sickness and in health" phrase which is a part of most marital vows. Kathie lived that notion this year and seemed to do so with strength and smiles, though I know the time was often hard for her. I owe her my life and love, and I must work harder to be for her what she has been for me. (Maybe a new puppy sometime this summer will help!?)

We wish for all of you the happiest of possible holiday times, and best wishes for a healthy, happy 2023.

Kathie and Bill

What We Are Up To + A Few Musings

(Remember, to see better images of any of the pictures herein, just click on them.)

It is time for another report from me, whether you asked for it or not! 😃 This posting will be somewhat "all over the place." We are enjoying the transition to fall and winter, although global warming trends seem to find us now doing lots of things in our yard that we surely did much earlier in years gone by—raking or mulching leaves, covering selected plants, and trimming back growth on other plants. A hard freeze finally stopped our single amazing "Better Boy" tomato plant dead in its tracks. We brought the small plant home from a favorite nursery near our cabin in Wisconsin, and it produced like crazy. Kathie harvested every last bit of fruit near the end of the plant's life, as you can see below. Some of these tomatoes are still turning red, and we have prepared a few as fried green tomatoes. Many were shared with friends too. Going back to those store-bought tomatoes with the texture of an apple will be disappointing.

 

 

For a recent family gathering, I made a big pot of vegetarian chili, which ended up being some of the best tasting chili we have ever had. You can click here for the recipe if you wish. I'd like to say I used some of our tomatoes, but the truth is that I followed the recipe to the letter and used canned whole tomatoes with their extra juice.

 

 

 

As a preview of coming attractions (spring 2023), pictured below are our choices for new cabinets and countertops in our kitchen.  After living in our new house for about 1½ years, we have decided that the original cabinets are too dark and worn. Some of the hardware is failing, sliding pullouts have broken, and the finish is badly deteriorated here and there. Plus, there are presently two different styles/colors of countertops (a different one on the island), a backsplash along only a portion of the counters, and no accommodation for a microwave except by taking up counter space. The wood we have chosen is hickory. Everyone these days seems to be choosing white cabinets, but we still like wood. This hickory is going to be much lighter and varied than the present cabinets, and the countertops will be a nice light color too. Stay tuned! I'll provide more details second quarter next year.

I can't help talking about my children and grandchildren—something I suppose many of us do. So please pardon a little bragging here. Will's son Anders has become quite the athlete, specializing in cycling and cross-country skiing activities. He recently won the Minnesota state championship in mountain biking in his age group. Bicycles can get pretty muddy in such events! Riders too!

Rob's oldest daughter, Eleanor, has become quite the thespian, having performed now in three different productions with a lead in two of them. Here she is posing with an advertising banner for the Iowa City City High production in which she played the part of Peter. A contingent of grandparents, cousins, and an uncle attended one of her performances recently.

A couple of weekends ago, around the time of Kathie's birthday, Will and some of our grandchildren stayed with us. This was homecoming weekend for The University of Iowa (I won't let Ohio State get away with capitalizing "The" in front of their name if I can't do it for my university!), and some attended the game against Northwestern (which Iowa won—not a given this particular season!). Cousins Anders and Henry, who seem to have formed a special bond these past few years, sat together. (By the way, Henry has just been accepted as a student at the University beginning in the fall of 2023.)

All of the grandkids present helped in preparing for a breakfast birthday celebration for Kathie the following morning. They all helped with the cooking and table preparations.

We survived another Halloween! For us in our new home and neighborhood, "Trick or Treat" night is a very different thing. At our prior home in the country, we rarely had anyone come to the door. Here we get dozens! Kathie camped out near the front door while a steady stream of cute, clever children came by—81 in all!
 

Meanwhile, the grandkids were out and about in their respective neighborhoods. Here are Eleanor, I think as a Barbie Doll, and Penny as Elton John.

Henry was a three-hole-punched sheet of paper with other references to "The Office", Frederick was Darth Vader, and Clara was a snow boarder. I think I have this right!?

I want to mention a couple of very interesting NASA-related web sites to you. First, you may find it interesting, as I do, to know about "passes" of the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is a very bright object in the night sky, and it is fun to watch it arrive somewhere in the western sky, pass overhead, and then disappear in the eastern sky. These passes can take several minutes. In order to know when to watch for them, one can register with NASA in order to receive emails that inform you of passes that will occur the next night. These include details regarding where in the sky to watch for the appearance, maximum height above the horizon, and duration of the pass. I find this very fascinating, even after having watched many prior times. Click here to learn more. The second NASA web site I wish to draw to your attention is called "Astronomy Picture of the Day." The web site is located here. I like seeing these different day-to-day pages so much, that I have made this my browser's home page—that way, I cannot fail to see different things from time to time. One page in particular recently affected me. This was the September 26th picture of the day (by the way, the site offers access to an archive of its past postings). If that day's picture doesn't make you stop to think about how precious our planet's water supply is, then nothing will. Click here to see what I mean. If you do, you will learn that if one were to gather up every atom of water on the planet, fresh and sea water both, and form it into a sphere, that sphere would be quite tiny compared to the sphere which is the earth itself. The fresh water only version is even more diminished. When you think about what we have done to our water resources with pollution, runoff, introduction of micro-plastics, and more, some of the water that is tears in your eyes may appear.

Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Since 2010, I've kept a record of all the books I read, so I can tell you that I read between 70 and 100 books each year—mysteries and other novels, history, biographies, science, mathematics, and others. I always enjoying getting recommendations and sharing same, and I thank those of you with whom I share a periodic report about books. Here are a few of the 2022 books I've read that I highly recommend:

• Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South by Winfred Rembert (Only read a paper copy of this book!)
• Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen (Best book I read this year! Thanks, Luther!)
• Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• God Is Not Great by Christopher Hutchins
• The "Broken Earth trilogy" by N.K. Jemisin
• UNIX: A History and A Memoir by Brian Kernighan
• Code Girls by Liza Mundy (Tidbit: I learned that Bill Nye, the "Science Guy", is the son of a "code girl"—one of numerous women who made an enormous difference during World War II to decode enemy communications.)
• What if? 2 by Randall Munroe (His What if? is also very good.)

A bit more about this last one: Munroe draws a funny online cartoon at the web site xkcd.com. Most of the cartoons are about science, mathematics, etc. People have written to him for years asking often ridiculous questions. In these two What if? books, he has taken many of these questions and developed serious, accurate, but often very funny answers. For example, in What if? 2 he takes up "What if my phone was based on vacuum tubes? How big would it be?" (The answer, by the way, is about five city blocks, but the several pages of explanation are quite fun.) Another example (for you, Margaret and Murray): "How many pigeons would it require in order to lift the average person and a launch chair to the height of Australia's Q1 skyscraper?" 

I have a few woodworking projects underway but nothing to show yet. Some pieces for that folding Confederate War era chair I mentioned previously have been cut out, but I have a long ways to go on that project. In the meantime, I'm just finishing up a walnut hall tree for our home. I'm also designing a quilt rack to display a gorgeous quilt that Kathie made, with some help from her sister. She made the quilt from many of my old work neckties. I no longer need to wear them! Yay!

I've been thinking about writing to my readers about the political climate for some time, especially with the elections as they approached. I know this topic can be touchy. Honestly, I have been quite depressed about the state of our nation and the state of my state of Iowa, for that matter. I don't feel a lot better after the election! My concern is mostly for my children and grandchildren and their futures. I am pleased that the so-called "red wave" didn't appear to happen, although Iowa became a shade redder! I strongly dislike that Iowans voted (three to one!) for a constitutional amendment that further enshrines gun rights with language that will make it exceedingly difficult to enact sensible laws that protect us from gun violence. I also dislike that Iowa, which elected President Obama twice, has now become so staunchly Republican. I dislike that some of Iowa's Republican candidates (for governor, senate, and house) gladly accepted alliances with a former President who, in my mind, is simply a bad individual (dishonest, unprepared for leadership, divisive, and prejudiced). I dislike that so much of our political environment is based on lying and misrepresentation—I suppose this has always been present, but it seems so much worse today. I dislike that the Internet, something I helped advance in a small way, is today a vehicle for much of this. I dislike that politics is getting in the way of appropriate and decisive attention to the problems our environment and our planet are facing.  And I dislike that we seem to be turning away from civil rights, the value of diversity, and towards such public, pronounced prejudice. All of this hard line liberal versus conservative thinking isn't helping. Can't we find a way to work in the middle somewhere? I don't think it helps anyone to think that we have to be strictly one way or the other.

In closing, permit me to leave you with a few quotes that a best friend shared with me recently. These are, I think, especially appropriate for we retired, aging folks:

• People who ask me what I'm doing tomorrow probably assume that I even know what day of the week it is. (Amazing how this happens when you retire and keep busy!)
  
• Some call it multitasking. I call it doing something else while I try to remember what I was doing in the first place. (Kathie is a good multitasker. It seems like she can literally listen to and absorb one thing and think about another all while doing something constructive. I, on the other hand, much prefer things one at a time—don't assume I've heard what you said until you're sure you have my attention! I'm flawed!)
  
• Funny thing about getting older: Your eyesight starts getting weaker but your ability to see through people's bullshit gets much better. (And let me personally add...especially politician's!)