TOUR AMERICA, 2019: PHOENIX, ARIZONA – THE GRAND CANYON STATE

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   UMOM New Day Centers, Phoenix 

Dec 2, 2019

Temperature 69 Degrees

We Made It – 36 Years and Still Traveling Along Hand in Hand

Christmas Trees and Concrete

The Couch is Free

The big news – today we celebrated 36 years together.  We’ve still traveling along, hand in hand singing our song.  Honestly, I’m so blessed to be enjoying this wonderful life with my best friend and the one I still and always will love.  How many more years?  Who knows but as long as there are laundromats I’m sure there will be plenty more wonderful years to come.  Think about it.

We’ve settled into a weather pattern.  Days are usually in the mid 60’s and nights are in the mid 40’s.  I like it like that.  Not too hot, not too cold but just right.

Period 16 projects started today.

There were Christmas trees to decorate in the courtyard.  Barbara and Sandra decorated this one.

There were Christmas trees in the Activity Center to put up and decorate.  Keith and Kris were in charge of this one.

There were Christmas wreathes to hang.  Keith is trying to figure out the perfect place to put this one in the gym.

There were outside projects as well.  This is the picnic pavilion which once was covered with beautiful decorative bricks.  The problem was the kids constantly lifted the bricks and used them for things that they should not have been used for.  Solution?  We’re going to put down a concrete pad.

Anton and myself began this project.  Neither one of us had any experience in building a form for a concrete pad, but really how hard could it be.

Later in the day Robin, who had worked in construction for over 20 years joined the project.  That’s when we learned that what we had done was all wrong.  Back to the drawing board .  In time we were able to correct our mistakes and move forward.

Work day over it was time to return to Graybeard to continue

the great couch removal.  What would I discover?  Would it cooperate and just slide right out?  Or would it fight me?

Sixteen bolts and four hold down brackets later it was loose and I was able to slide it out.   It was obvious, though, that it was not going to go through the door like this.

The first and easiest piece to remove was the back.  Four nuts and it was off.  Now, we’re getting somewhere.

Next to come off was the one side arm piece.  I’ll remove the other tomorrow.  With the back and both side arms removed it is obvious that what remains of the couch will go out the door without a problem.

I’m also going to have to do some cleanup.  For instance I need to remove the center track that the foot rest slid back and forth on.  I’ll have to rearrange the wires and clean up whatever that gray mess is against the wall.  I’ll also have to decide what to do with the seat belts.  I’ll probably remove them but put them aside in case the next owner wants to make use of them.

Later in the week we’ll go shopping for a swivel recliner and a computer desk.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  A day of celebration.  Time to go back to work.  Deconstruction at home moved right along.  All around a fantastic day.   Time now to catch some shut eye.

Thanks for joining us again.  As always we enjoy your company and look forward to your comments.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!