Moon o'er VDO

This Halloween morning I stepped out of the rig and saw this pre-dawn desert moon setting behind the palms

I went back for the camera although I didn't expect our modest gear to capture the beautiful sight. I was pleasantly surprised. We got these colors, shading and lighting without doing any fixing " in Photoshop". Fun, yeah?

What was I doing out this early? I was heading over to the little gym here at VDO. I've learned that if you don't get there early, the place is crawling with sweaty old folks.

Gramma's Oktobergame

The other night the Auswanderers went to the VDO ballroom for their annual Oktoberfest. As usual at their activities there are uberdecorations. Gramma saw a perfect opportunity for a grandkid game. 

Here is the challenge: See if you can find these items

A Ceramic Turkey, Scarecrow with triangle shaped nose, Little green truck near the milkmaid, Cloth chicken near the front, 3 pumpkins stacked up on each other.

An red accordion, Milkmaid with 2 red cups in her hands, Big Silver German root-beer stein, A wicker basket with shiny vegetables, and the two black owls.

Please comment for Gramma

Rise and Shout!

The Cougars are Out! At least a couple of us in Mesa

This coming Saturday, 10/13/12, Brigham Young University football team plays a ranked Oregon State team. The BYU team will be wearing special black uniforms and fans have been asked to wear black to support the team in a so-called "blackout". Special T-shirts were made available at the BYU bookstore. Heidi was kind enough to get and send two shirts to Becca and Papa. So we are ready for the game.

Go Cougs!

"The First Event of the Season"

That was what the MC called the Columbus Day Dinner when she welcomed us to another season at Valle Del Oro RV Resort. We needed to pick up free tickets at the activity office early so the kitchen would know how much lasagne to bake (an Italian dish, get it?)

All of the tables were decorated with little ships in little bottles

The serving tables were decorated with larger ships

And there were plenty of Italian grape decorations.

This event was held on the patio. It was still warm outside, so I wore what Gramma calls it my retirement hat.

And she wore her sun bonnet. She drove her scooter over here. Becca and I rode our bikes.

All of the some 250 guests signed up for some potluck contribution. The lasagne was delicious and there was plenty of food. We continue to be impressed with the quality of events here at VDO.  The thematic decorations were fun. There was live music. Well, sort of. It was one guy singing along to his computer PA thing. Later on some of the folks got up and danced. We headed home before things got too wild.

Three generations of Connelly men

In late March 1996, circumstance allowed a convergence of Connellys to visit my and Aunt Catherine's father, John James Connelly at the Veteran's Hospital in Los Angeles California

On this Sabbath day, 10/07/12, my thoughts ran to family history. Recently I came across this bitter/sweet photo and I'd like to make it available to those who  look at our blog.

Here is a little of the backstory. Jon and Cathy had decided to move their family back to Hawaii. Ganon and I flew to  the mainland to help them with that move. At the time they lived in Las Vegas with four children and an apartment full of belongings. We rented a truck and began the considerable work that was required. But it was a joy to work as a family to accomplish a difficult task. The plan was to deliver the van pack of belongings to a ship in Long Beach and then fly out of LAX. 

At the time my father was a patient in the hospital, where he would die, October 16, 1996. We were blessed to go and visit him. He was able to meet grandsons Ganon and Jon and great grandsons Kevin and Michael, and (not in this photo) great granddaughters Jennifer and Kimberly, and Jon's wife Cathy, who took this photo. I'm sure that he was touched, as were we.

During Dad's final months, his business was tended to by my sister, Aunt Catherine, who lives in Sacramento, CA. Upon his death she arranged for his remains to be sent to Hawaii to be interred at the National Cemetery of the Pacific. That ceremony was attended by those of us living in Hawaii, where the beautiful cemetery is known as "Punchbowl". On that day, November 29, 1996, Dad was accorded military honors, including a 21 gun salute and a folded American flag, which we proudly fly on appropriate national holidays. 

We all need to remember the importance of families.

Ocotillo

Our winter home boasts its own beauty. Cacti are/is everywhere. I've asked Gramma to study with me the various types. Below are several varieties. Today we look at the "ocotillo". It's the tall bunch of sticks in the back.

Here is what "wikipedia" teaches:

Fouquieria splendens Engelm. is a desert plant of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Common names include ocotillo, desert coral, coachwhip, Jacob's staff, and vine cactus, although it is not a true cactus. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2-4 cm) ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.

Individual stems may reach a diameter of 5 cm at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 m. The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that the branches are pole-like and only infrequently divide further, and specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The leaf stalks harden into blunt spines, and new leaves sprout from the base of the spine.

The bright crimson flowers appear especially after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall. Flowers are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each mature stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.

So, the know-it-all wikipedia says ocotillo isn't "a true cactus". But it is an amazing desert plant

The ocotillo here in Mesa is still in the dead stick phase. So Gramma went into her photo archives and found these examples from our time in Needles

Aren't these flowers strange and beautiful?

Next time we'll look at another example, maybe "a true cactus"