Today was a lucky day. A dear friend of ours, Joni Burnett, had attended a Keller Williams seminar in Phoenix and came up to Flagstaff to visit for a few hours and see our new home. Only the day before had the appliances arrived so she got to see a practically finished house. We had a wonderful visit. Served her breakfast (because she left Phoenix so early to come see us) and then chatted about what is going on in her life since we left a year ago. Also talked about our spiritual communities and KNITTING!!
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Trisha was the guest speaker at our spiritual center on Sunday, February 16th. She was loved by everyone at our church and gave a wonderful talk. Many asked her if she was coming back!!! She and her husband, Will, stayed with us while they were in Flagstaff. It was such fun having them and catching up on what is happening in their lives and also to find out what happening at Universal Spirit Center. Steve and I are doing the 40 day visioning prayer for a new spiritual home for USC, too!!!
Here are some photos of them visiting our new house. Thank you both for a lovely connection!! Early evening, December 23, angels brought Ceci, Jose and Javier to our front door. Such joy, seeing our dear friends from San Diego. It was truly what our spirits needed as we were a little sad having lost Steve's mother on December 19th. Friends were just what we needed to lift our spirits and who better than our energetic friends!!!! We served them comfort food: homemade soup!! The next day, Christmas Eve, we all headed for the Grand Canyon. What an awesome day. I never grow tired of her beauty. This time, we had a special treat. As we were walking one of the lesser used paths, we came upon a herd of female elk. Swear to God, they were 5 feet from us. It was a moment none of us will ever forget; it felt sacred. To be in connection with mother nature. So we hiked about 4.5 miles, got some coffee and headed on a 25 mile drive over to Desert Tower for yet another view. We had driven about 4 miles and came upon another herd of female elk. I have been to the canyon numerous time but have never seen elk and to be able to get so close to them was unbelievable.
The next day was Christmas so we were lazy and just ate a late breakfast, walked around the neighborhood and took them over to see the house under construction. Later, Steve cooked a ham, I made yams with a special orange glaze, Steve made mashed potatoes and we feasted. Cherry pie for dessert. Dec. 26th, we headed over to Sedona. We had glorious weather. Chilly but beautiful. Lunch at Coffee Pot and then to the Sedona library so I could activate my library card. It was the first day of the quilt show and we were blessed to see 50 stunning works of art. Such talented people. We hiked in Boynton canyon; visited the Chapel in the Red Rocks and went to Bell Rock. It was quite a day. The next morning, we did a quick breakfast and sorrowfully said goodbye as they hit the road back to San Diego. Tears were shed but we keep in touch weekly by e-mail so all is good. We thank God they wanted to have Christmas with us as we have no family here and they filled a much needed hole in our holiday!!! I have included some pictures from their visit. Steve and I had a wonderful surprise as Barry and Linda, friends of ours from San Diego, came to Flagstaff to stay in a timeshare and also to visit us. They are drawn to the area because of their love of trains and keep looking for a mobile home that will fit their needs but nothing has clicked yet. We enjoyed several hours of conversation and then a visit to our new house. They got to see it right after the gypcrete had been poured and the texture coat had been done on the drywall. We wish them luck on the search for a home here as we would totally enjoy their company on a more frequent basis!!! We had a wonderful time and hope they come back soon! Tonight, Steve and I joined Jack Welch as he took us on a walk to see the Luminara Lights. What a wonderful Christmas treat. (And not near as cold as last night at the parade.) Our group had about 30 people so there were a lot of people to keep track of but we managed to stay together despite the draw to wander off, looking at so many wonderful homes. The streets were totally lined with luminara lights....white "lunch sacks" with sand in the bottom and a tea light inside illuminating it. REAL candles, not the battery operated ones....and it was funny because several times we saw homeowners having to re-light some of them! Many houses had little portable fire pits in their driveways in case you wanted to visit a while and get warm. We stopped at a house that had a little orchestra playing in their garage....see the picture and notice the big gas heater in the background!!! They were serving hot cider and butter cookies. Then there was also a house sponsored by the Latter Day Saints that had a live nativity scene and next to it was a flatbed truck that had kids singing Christmas songs and playing instruments. It was beautiful. They even had a live pony we could pet...so I did!! It was a great time and we even got a little walk-time in for the day.
The Northern Lights Parade is Flagstaff's Christmas parade. It was just as magical as the 4th of July parade. Fire trucks and HUGE special service units (like bomb squad vehicles) started out the program....all decorated in lights, of course! With kids spilling out of the windows! They were singing Christmas carols and shouting Merry Christmas to everyone....Yes, I wrote it right....Merry Christmas, not happy holidays. Of course, Santa was there along with about 60 floats! Everything had lights....even the people were wrapped in Christmas lights. It was very festive. Second Chance had a float with animals that had been mistreated or abandoned and were looking for loving homes; the humane society was there, too. Then there were a couple of boy scout troops as well as girl scouts and cub scouts. The Flagstaff Family Food Center (where Lark serves dinner once a month) had a float. The Goodwill and several thrift store had decorated trucks. There were a few day care centers represented (their mothers and dads pushing them around in strollers) and as well as the Walk the Walk walkers....that's our buddy Jack Welch who leads so many of the wonderful weekend walks that Steve and I have participated in since we got here in January 2013. And it was FREEZING cold (actually it was below freezing....I think it was about 28 degrees) yet tons of people and kids lined the sidewalks. Venders were selling hot chocolate and cotton candy....and these fabulous Star War type "wands" that had multicolored lights in them...They were very cool. And I've never seen so many people bundled up. It was quite a fashion show in cold weather clothing! And based on how cold I was standing there....I need to get some warmer clothes!! We are still thrilled with our move to this beautiful city. I believe we are in a lifetime romance with Flagstaff! I looked up this hike in our Flagstaff Hiking Book. It looked fairly close to home and not too much driving on dirt forest service roads to get to the trail head. Also, the hike was a gravel road so I thought that would make it easier....well....think again. It was listed as a moderate hike and it probably was. Thing was, though, it was a 700 foot elevation climb!! So, the first half of the hike was all up hill - yep! All three ++ miles! Boy, were we happy to get to the top and have our lunch. It was worth it, though as we had panoramic views of The Peaks, Kendrick Peak and the Painted Desert and The Grand Canyon. Of course, we had to come back down but it took a lot less time. Here is a like to the slide show on Snapfish. Make sure you click on the little open box at the lower right of the screen so you can see my comments: http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=12045934014/a=100815329_100815329/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish Steve and I had our first experience at the local Flagstaff-Coconino County Fair. All I can say is it was as endearing and quaint as the Fourth of July Parade! It was nothing like the Del Mar Fair. Parking was only $5 and there was plenty. It wasn't crowded. Everyone was friendly. We waited to go on the last day as the first three days of the fair had thunderstorms and rain! It was a beautiful day, sun was out and warm. An all around delightful experience. More pictures posted on the pictures tab. The monsoon season has started early this year. EVERYONE is talking about it. It's in the papers daily and a common source of conversation these days. Steve and I have experienced being in several thunder and lightning storms that resulted in HAIL. Hail hitting the car so hard, we thought someone was throwing rocks! Earlier this week, we were outside walking and got drenched by the rain twice in one day....but that pales compared to what happened today! We showed up at Sechrist Elementary School to do a Flagstaff Walk About with Jack Welch. We took off shortly after 5 PM. Crossed the street and hiked some of the FUTS trail, working our way up to the Loop Trail. A little beyond the halfway point in our hike, we felt the first sprinkle of rain and heard the first thunder. Soon, we saw the first flash of lightning and the monsoon rain began. Oh my God!!! We were actually in the middle of the storm!!! There was vertical and horizontal lightning all around us. And the rain just poured and poured. There was not choice but to continue. We had brought rain coats but it was so warm when we started the hike, Steve and I BOTH did not listen to our intuitive voice and left them in the car! BIG MISTAKE! We were soaked to the skin and sloshing in our tennies in minutes. Suddenly, a ball of lightning hit the ground nearby. The sound was deafening! We continued; stunned we could be in such an dangerous position. The rain had turned the path into a river and it was getting harder and harder to navigate. FLASH and BOOM, another bolt of lightning hit a tree. You could smell it. Further down the trail, we saw pieces of the tree, blown to bits! We continued on, finally got down the Observatory Mesa trail, turned right onto a paved sidewalk but now it, too, was covered in rain and mud. We were seeking shelter! We got to the Thorpe Park Adult Center for cover and ended up calling a cab to take us back to our cars. There was no way we could walk another 1.25 miles in the rain. The driver arrived pretty quickly and was in good spirits considering the storm. He had no problem fitting 6 sopping wet people and a dog in his van. No doubt we left puddles on all the beautiful, soft upholstered seats. He was just glad he could get us safely to our cars! It was a walk we will remember forever. And even though we did not complete the walk, we went 4.75 miles! I had an awesome time. Do it again? Not on purpose but it certainly evoked our spirit of adventure. Thank you Jack Welch AND Mother Nature!! PS: I said it was like an E ticket at Disneyland. Steve thought it was more like an F ticket and you can imagine what his F word was!!!!! The morning started out EARLY....we met at a friend's house for breakfast at 8 AM before the parade. Walked over three block to the parade and it lasted over 2 hours! We saw people we knew in the parade. Guess we're getting settled! It was wonderful and was written up in the paper as a combination of Lake Wobegon and Norman Rockwell. I agree! I thought I was dreaming. It was very "small town homey"! Afterwards, we went to a free concert at the fairgrounds and the performers were none other than the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra! They were amazing. And every other song was a John Phillip Souza march! Heaven...We left to go do a Flagstaff Walk About but it was cancelled due to rain. Yes, we were hit with a HUGE thunderstorm. So we drove home and sat on the swing on our front porch and watched the thunder and lightning storm over the San Francisco Peaks for over 2 hours. It was awesome and the rolling thunder vibrated everything! Temperature was in the low 80's. What a way to celebrate the freedom of our country! Hope you had a good July 4th, too! (Check the pictures tab for a link to Snapfish for all the July 4th pictures.) |
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December 2014
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