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.