Typical Havasu Weekend (10-30-15)

Its pretty normal for Havasu to have something going on most weekends.  They think nothing of shutting down Main Street to traffic in order to show off cars or boats. 













This past weekend it was cars.  Lots of cars.  We enjoyed walking the streets, looking at all the classic cars. 













The great weather and plentiful parking brings out the residents by the thousands.












Now that the weather is cooling off, the weekly swap meet has started back up again, and garage sales abound.  We’ve been keeping an eye out for anything we might need.



We also decided to extend our stay in the resort for another month, until the end of November.  It would be cheaper to stay at the Elks club, since we don’t need a full month, and the price went up where we are, but the fact that we won’t have to move all the stuff we have in the casita, and find a place to park the boat, makes it worth the extra money for us.

House Update

Things are really  moving along on the house right now.

The cement has been poured for the pool….

.. and the contractor has assured us it will be ready when the house is.  Awesome!

We have to slow down the curing process by watering the cement twice a day for almost a week.

Paul and I went to work on the wall as soon as the materials arrived. We started with 8 pallets of blocks for the wall.  Each block weighs 62 lbs, and there were 490 blocks. That means we moved 15 tons of rock.  And yes, I helped carry them.  The hardest part was the first layer- we had to make sure it was straight and level for all the subsequent tiers.



  It took us 4 days, but most of the wall is done.  We actually ran out of material, so when we get the next delivery we can finish each of the ends. 

In the meantime, the cement trucks were in the front yard, pouring the driveway.

These guys sure do work hard.

The finished product:

Inside the house, the tile work continues.

The front entryway medallion:

The guest bathroom:

and the master bath walk-in shower:

Much more to come next week!

Boston (10-22-15)

What do I do when there’s a break in the action on the house?  I book a flight to Boston!  I took advantage of the fact that I wasn’t needed in AZ, and took a trip to visit my son and the rest of my family in Massachusetts.

I was gone for over two weeks, which is why I haven’t posted any updates.  I spent a lot of time with my son, who is not interested in having his picture taken, so no pictures of him!



I had forgotten how much I love October in New England.  The colors were fantastic, and the air was crisp.  In fact, other than a few days of rain, and one day that it actually snowed, the weather was awesome!

I met two babies for the first time on this trip- my friend Linda, who I’ve known since I was 3, is a first time grandmother, and I had breakfast with her and her granddaughter Lillian. 

I spent two afternoons with my aunt and uncle, who babysit for their grandson Liam.  Liam is the son of my cousin Greg. I spent a lot of time babysitting for Greg when he was young so it was great to spend time with his son.












I made two trips to my favorite town- Rockport MA.  The first time I went by myself, but I ran into two good friends-friends that used to keep their boat on the same dock as me for many years, and we spent the afternoon catching up.





Before we left, we made arrangements to meet the following weekend, and head to Rockport again.

Every summer, Paul and I used to spend several weekends tied up to the famous “Motif #1”.  Our boat, 2nd Love, is on the right.

By the time I got back to Havasu, a miracle had happened!
The temperature has dropped dramatically and we are enjoying high temps in the 80s and lows in the 60s.

House Update

It seems like a million things got done while I was out of town!
The hole for the pool was dug soon after I left:

Now the plumbing and electrical are in, and they are ready to pour the cement:

The bulldozer has been busy moving dirt around. The side yard has grown, and RVs will now easily be able to drive all the way around the house.







The dirt on the other side of the house has been removed, so Paul and I can start building the retaining wall.  Also, the garage doors have been installed (but not painted) and the curb has been removed in preparation for the driveway install.

Inside the house the floor has been put in, the walls have been painted, and the cabinets have been installed.  The doors will go on at the very end.

It’s definitely starting to look like a home!

One last thing- we have booked the movers for November 17th, and have already booked Paul’s flight to Michigan for that.

El Paso (10-01-15)

With a break in the action on the house, Paul and I drove to El Paso to see his mom.  She had a hip replacement about 6 weeks ago and was ready to transition back into her house from rehab.

We spent a few days helping her get the yard and house cleaned up after her long absence. 



Unfortunately while she was gone, the GFI tripped to the outlet that her freezer was plugged into, ruining pretty much everything in it.  Since it needed to be emptied and cleaned, she took advantage of the opportunity to donate it to the thrift shop where she volunteers.

It wasn’t long before she was zipping (okay, not quite zipping) around the house getting stuff done.  She and Paul made many batches of plum jam- one of his favorites.

We were in El Paso for the eclipse, and had a perfect view of the moon coming up over the mountain, however, I hadn’t brought my good camera with me, so I didn’t get a decent shot of it.  I borrowed this one from my friend Mike Swain, who has the same camera as me. Thanks Mike!

On the way to El Paso we split the drive in two and stayed in a hotel in Tucson for one night, but on the way home we decided to leave really early, and make the drive in one day.

It’s about 10 hours of driving, a long day for everyone- especially the cat.  He doesn’t like how rough the truck rides when there is no camper or trailer weighing it down, and he let his unhappiness be known.  So, we let him out, and I held him so he wouldn’t disturb the driver.

Of course, the minute we left the truck to get some lunch, he was happy to take over the driver’s seat.











We knew we were approaching Havasu when the temperature outside crept up to almost 110*.

House Update

There is disappointingly little progress to report on the house.  Apparently there was a “delay of game” while we were gone, so instead of coming home and finding the inside completely painted, as we expected, they hadn’t even started.

Part of the delay was due to an issue that Paul and I discovered with the front entryway.  The door was not hung square and the hallway is wider to the right of the door than to the left.  They had to re-hang the door and rebuild the wall on the right.  Still, I’d rather have it fixed now, than be unhappy with it later.













Today we met with the pool contractor and officially laid out the pool.  His lines were much nicer than mine, but harder to see, so here’s a repeat of the picture I doctored before.

Next week we should have a huge hole in the back yard!