Paddymac

Well friends, relatives and followers. We have completed our fourth winter trip from the Pacific Northwest to southern Arizona. This past winter, we spent one month (December 2012) in Yuma, and three months in Casa Grande. It was the wettest and coldest winter we have experienced to date in the sunshine State. But we appreciated all the more, the cold and wet of southern Arizona compared to the cold and wet that greeted us when we arrived back at the homestead in Washington State. We are slow and old. My bride celebrated her 70th b’day in January; sure, the gentleman I am, I picked up the dinner bill for the big 70 celebration. On a minor note, I hit the big “69” in February. What is it with a required minimum distribution? We put another notch ... read more

Update from Palm Creek On the evening of Feb 1, 2013, Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort, where we are staying in Casa Grande, AZ, hosted a hot air balloon glow burn in Palm Park common area. Six hot air balloons were on hand as featured attractions; part of the Resort’s support of the Cancer Support Center to help locals of Casa Grande. The Cactus Middle School Marching Band led a parade through the streets of the Resort. I grabbed my camera and tripod, and went for a stroll through Palm Park to grab some colorful photos. It has been unseasonably wet and cold during the month of January. Plans to watch the Super Bowl with friends in Chandler have been canceled because of flu in their family. Maybe we can get together later in the ... read more

Well, this old dog has learned some’um new. And it weren’t easy. Let me ask you; How do you determine length and width? See what I mean! What’s the length of a 20 foot flag pole? Does it have anything to do with the dimensions of the flag flying on it? So, to my minds eye, the length of a 20 foot flag pole is 20 feet. To bring it closer to home, we have an awning on the outside of our 5th wheel that rolls up on an aluminum tube when not in use, and fits snug against the leeward side of the rig when the awning is not in use. When it is extended and in use, the awning serves as a canopy that provides shade underneath it. Everything is fine when the sun ... read more

We’re in Yuma. This is our fourth year to snowbird from the Pacific Northwest to southern Arizona for the winter. We are settled in for a month at Country Roads RV Resort for a month. This year, we took a few extra days to make the mosey down here from home. We took three days to get from home to Redding CA, instead of our customary two. From Redding, it was an easy day drive to Flag City RV Park on the west side of Lodi, CA, where we spent three nights. We went wine tasting and to dinner with friends I made online several years ago. There is hardly a patch of spare ground in and around Lodi that is not devoted to growing grapes. And we did a little wine tasting the extra days ... read more

Within a few days, we will be concluding a two month stay at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, Arizona. This is our third snowbird adventure, traveling in a 5th wheel trailer to southern Arizona for the winter. Our homestead in Washington State recently has been hit with both a snow storm (3 feet), followed by an ice storm! How sweet is that? During the past two months, we have enjoyed the hospitality of friends Dave and Mare in Chandler, Arizona who have had us to their home two times for smoked barbecue and fixings. Like me, Dave is a master chef with the Black Diamond dual chamber smoker; a fire box and a smoke chamber. We drive up and stay at the Red Roof Inn because after a great meal and libation, ... read more

Wow; it’s 2012. How did that happen? We realize that we have more new years in the bank than we have ahead, especially being mindful that my Uncle Henry’s journey through life recently ended. I enjoyed visiting him via Skype during his last year. Our little Shaddy was groomed on New Years Eve, and is looking spiffy. We celebrated his 13th birthday in early December. What a joy he is to us. He posed for a photo with Santa to celebrate the season. We grilled shrimp on the barbee for dinner on New Year’s eve. The Trail Boss fixed up some baked ‘taters and sautéed tasty zucchini. We washed it down with some deliciously smooth 2007 Bell Chardonnay that was gifted to us by friends Diane and Phil, who know their way around Napa Valley. We ... read more

We arrived in Casa Grande around noon on Thursday, December 1. The drive from Yuma featured desert views, which to our surprise included cotton fields. There was a bit of blowing dust in the air, but visibility was good enough to drive on I-8 to our destination. As soon as we registered and set up at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort, we headed to Shaddy’s vet in Casa Grande. For the past couple of days, he has been yelping from time to time about pain in his anus. The doctor did a thorough check, expressed his glands and checked for areas of pain. He did not have a fever and did not express pain in other areas. She prescribed prednisone to be taken orally, and an ointment to be applied twice a day locally. Since ... read more