Thursday, January 2, 2014

Settling In


Settling in to a New Year, and a new accommodation. We arrived here in Mesa 3 days ago (I think). It is amazing how the days just slip away from me and I have no idea what day of the week or month it is...how did that happen to me?
We had a lovely drive, the last leg of the trip. There is a haunting beauty in some of the stark landscape, and the colours are so beautiful.



We arrived in Mesa a bit early so we had time to gas up, get a car wash, and grab a quick lunch before meeting up with the owners of our accommodations.
I was sitting in the car during the car wash kind of smiling to myself at how many "old people" there seemed to be around. (Fast forward) We went to Wendy's for a quick lunch and I was looking over my receipt and noticed that we were not charged for our 2 iced teas...the receipt said "2 seniors iced teas" free.
I said to Mr. O, well it sure doesn't take long to get put in your place eh...yesterday Gail commented on my blog that she thought I was fifty not sixty, and that was quite a boost to the old ego...today I get two free seniors iced teas...and I didn't tell her I was a senior..she apparently knew! Sigh.....
After unpacking we went to get groceries, and I have to say it was a bit of a sticker shock.


You may not be able to see everything, but I bought
2 onions, 3 tomatoes, 2 bunches of fresh radish, 1/2 lb of mushrooms, 1 green pepper, 1/2 lb green beans, fresh garlic, broccoli, cucumber, head of lettuce, potatoes, 3 large pink grapefruit, small watermelon, 1 honeydew melon, bananas, 4 mangoes, 2 large tubs of blackberries, 1 1/2 lbs. grapes, a chunk of fresh parmesan cheese, a container of gourmet black licorice, and a bottle of gourmet peppercorn salad dressing.


Can you see the bill total?  $28.60.   $12.00 of that was for the cheese, candy and salad dressing. All the rest was fresh produce that amounted to $16.00 !!!
TEN CENTS FOR A GREEN PEPPER! 
EIGHTY NINE CENTS FOR A WATERMELON!
 FIFTY NINE CENTS  A POUND FOR GRAPES!
TWENTY CENTS FOR A HEAD OF LETTUCE!

Needless to say, we will be eating lots of fresh produce while we are here!

And speaking of fresh...


I stepped out onto the front deck and picked this from our tree. This orange was growing just 30 minutes before I ate it...can we say YUMMY!?

While Mr. O and I were out walking our 5km. this morning, I brought along the camera. I had to share a few Christmas decorations we don't see a lot of in Northern New Brunswick...







 Christmas lights in palm trees and orange and lemon trees...Santa hats on cacti. Living poinsettias out in the yard...nope! Not gonna happen where I come from!
A sweet, sweet bonus for me being here, besides the weather, and the great prices on fresh produce..is that my sister and her husband are renting just across the road from our park! We live many thousands of miles apart and are lucky to see each other once a year, and here we are living in the same neighbourhood for the next 2 months!
Mr O and I had supper with them last night and toasted in the New Year (at 10pm)


By the looks of us, you would never guess we were toasting with "Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea". We are such party animals!
Today we hosted a supper of salad, bbq ribs, and potato salad, and then talked the guys into playing a few games afterward. A great start to the new year!
Tomorrow I spend the day quilting with the guild here in the park.
Ahh life is good!

I leave you with this last thought. Many of the blogs I follow gave a year in review, and I entertained the thought, but I think my year could easily be summed up with one photo




The Lord Bless you and keep you! The Lord let His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! And may you all have a Blessed, healthy and Happy New Year.
















7 comments:

  1. What an absolutely perfect "year in review" photograph! Have fun quilting today and it must be a huge treat to be so close to your sister. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, the photo really suits your year! My husband and I are both secondary teachers and being Australian we are currently on our six week summer break. We have no idea what day of the week it is, what the date is, and if it's a public holiday! We are so used to being timetabled and regimented in routine we lose sense of it on holidays. Retirement is probably similar! My Mum says so. Happy Birthday for last week too. 1953 was a good year. My Mum turned 60 in March, and many bloggers I read have turned 60 recently too. What facility are you staying at for two months? I don't think we have similar here, only if you tow your own caravan. Staying in park cabin accommodation would be unaffordable for such a long period of time. They charge by the day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so glad you are settling for bit! And in a spot where all that yummy fresh fruit and veggies are SO DANG CHEAP!!! Awesome! Yeah, we'll never see those prices up here in New England! Enjoy all your time with your sister! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. It dropped below -30°C here in Bathurst overnight, so those Christmas cacti look REALLY good right now!

    Hope 2014 brings many Blessings your way, Wendy!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks amazing....so interesting how the groceries are so reasonable. All the healthy things. Cannot wait to be down there with you.
    It was -31 below this morning with a windchill of - 49 they said in Toronto.
    Enjoy! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Somehow I missed this post until now. I love the cacti decorations! And those prices are amazing.
    Now that your settled, you can relax a bit, I hope. Ha!Ha!
    Can't wait to see what you do with the local guild.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello my dear Friend...just wanted to let you know that I have entered a photo Competition using your beautiful table topper that you made for my little house on the Prairie. Here is a link for you too take a peek of what I had to say about this exquisite piece of work!
    http://www.pentaxuser.co.uk/photo/comp-361/perfect-precision-in-a-stitch-71955

    Loving your Blog!
    Sis Judy

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment. I REALLY love to have feedback.