January-March 2015 – Apache Junction, AZ

January-March 2015 – Apache Junction, AZ

We closed on the House on the 16^th but we will not be able to move in until April 1^st as the house is rented.  The owners left the end of December but had rented the house to friends of theirs from the first of January to the end of March.  It is hard to wait to move in but we did get the amount of the rent off the purchase price.  We have paid our lot rent in the RV Park until May 1^st so it will work out great to stay in the 5^th wheel and then have a month to move in and get settled before we start traveling again.  Next fall we will have to put the 5^th wheel in an RV storage lot as there is no place to store it either at the house or in the Meridian Manor community.

After the closing we met Kevin and Trudy, the people from Manitoba who are renting the house.  They are very nice people but it was strange being guests in “our house”.

In November Nancy decided to heed her Dentist’s advice and start the process to get braces.  She opted for Invisalign braces and it took a while for her orthodontist to be satisfied with the fit but she finally got her braces on the January 23^rd.   It took some getting used to and taking them out every time she eats or drinks (other than water) and brushing her teeth before putting them back in is inconvenient but the end result will be worth it.  It will take a year and then her teeth will be straight and all the crowding will be eliminated.

The same day that Nancy was getting her braces, Rex got his hearing aids.  He now has no excuse for ignoring Nancy when she is talking to him!  

We went to a Blue Grass Festival at the Pinal County Fairgrounds with our friends, Larry and Pauline the last Saturday in January.  We enjoyed a nice day with good friends and listening to some great bluegrass music.

The first week in February the manager of our resort, Mary, resigned her position to take a managing position at a manufactured housing community.   We were without a manager for 6 weeks leaving Nancy and her co-worker to run the office so Nancy started working Friday mornings.  Unfortunately that meant no more trips with our Friday morning hikers.  She wasn’t real happy about working 4 days a week and was really not happy to start working on Fridays.  Now that we have the house and will not be coming back to Golden Sun next fall she has decided not work here next season.

Rex had started meeting with a few other guys once a week to play guitars.  A couple of the guys are very talented musicians and it has been a wonderful learning experience for Rex.  The group decided that they would perform for our residents on Valentine’s Day.  As they practiced and word got around, more of our residents wanted to participate until they had 9 people involved.  The theme for the evening was “Love” and all the songs were related in one way or another to love and the stage area was set up like a Paris sidewalk café.  The wives of the performers sat at patio tables on either side of the stage sipping wine and nibbling on baguettes.   The group thought that maybe 30 or 40 people would show up – were they ever surprised to perform before an audience of over 200! 

The individual taking these pictures for us cut off the last performer on the right side – sorry about that Ted!  Rex is the second one in from the left side.

 

Rex learned a lot from the group leader, Gunther – even that he could sing if a song was in the correct key.  Here he is singing “Perhaps Love” by John Denver – who would have ever guessed that he could sing and in front of a large audience!  He also sang “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney and “Woman” by John Lennon along with singing backup for many of the other songs.

Gunther had a great commentary prepared and kept everyone entertained with his wit and his great talent playing the guitar and singing.  Rex thanks Gunther very much for all of his help and encouragement.

After the performance the musicians played a few more songs while the audience enjoyed strawberry shortcake and other desserts.  It was a wonderful evening enjoyed by all.

In March some of our friends and neighbors starting leaving for their homes to the north.  The resort held a very nice Good-Bye dinner for all the residents.  It is always sad to say goodbye as the season starts winding down but we look forwarding to seeing most everyone again in the fall.

We are getting anxious to move into our new house on April 1^st and are busy getting things ready for the move.