Thank Goodness for a 30 day warranty

I had every intention of updating this blog on a regular basis depending on where we stopped, traveled through, etc. Due to the lack of WiFi that has not been possible. So let me catch you up.

We left Blanchard on Saturday, November 12th packed to the gills; stuffing shoes, blankets and other small items into any tiny hole available and with just enough room for Maggie we headed out of town.

We made a couple of stops along the way to visit with friends, but finally got a chance to see the motorhome for the first time on Nov. 15th. At first glance it doesn't look too bad considering it's 17 years old. We dealer that sold us the coach let us stay in it for a couple of nights and that's when we started to notice the laundry list of items that needed fixing the worst of which was a leak in the fuel lines. We were very happy that we thought to ask for a 30 day warrantee.

We left Mesa on Friday the 18th at 2pm with the hope that we could make Flagstaff before dark. Our next round of issues reared their ugly heads almost immediately. In the heat of the afternoon we found out that the air conditioner didn't work, we thought we didn't have a radio, and that night as the temperatures dipped below freezing, we found out that the heater didn't work in the cab and neither did the furnace. Can you say Brrrrr!

Our second day on the road started off with a pit stop at Horseshoe Bend, a great recommendation, we got a spectacular view and a nice walk all in one.

  


We arrive at the Trailer Ranch RV park on Saturday the 19th and get set up, where we now find that the hydraulics have a leak, Yikes! Even with all of our issues, Newmar pros Jim & Patty said they thought the rig looked pretty good. So we just continue to write down the things that need to be repaired. (Because they couldn't fix everything before we had to leave Mesa they agreed to extend the warranty beyond the 30 days. We'll be dropping the coach back with them after our tour of duty in Santa Fe). In the meantime, we have gotten settled in our new home on wheels. The park where we are staying is pretty nice 2 locations for laundry, a dog park, and centrally located. With Thanksgiving looming the resort was pretty full which must have been why the wifi was so weak I couldn't use my computer and we're lucky if we get 2 bars of cell service, hence the lack of communication on social media sites.

We started work on the 21st at the See's Candy holiday store.

We've been here now for a 10 days and we are starting to get he swing of things. We found a local community center where we can play pickleball 3 days a week and Maggie has her new routine for play time and walks. She is now completely spoiled as she sleeps in our bed every night.

We got our first snowfall yesterday and it has since melted off, but the low temps will continue for a few more days. Steve's uncle Tom was a resident here in Santa Fe for many years so we will be making an attempt to hit the restaurants he has recommended. We have already experienced the chilli here, which is extremely hot so we order our meals with it on the side.

Now that we don't have as many neighbors the wifi has improved which is why you are reading this now. Not to be selfish but I hope it stays this way until after Christmas when we be returning to Mesa to drop off the RV for what we hope will be final repairs.

Counting Down the Days!

I'm not counting down to Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas or the opening of Trolls. In less than 2 weeks we will begin our trip to pick up our motor home in Mesa Arizona.

Thinks are piling up in preparation. We purchased a rooftop cargo box in which our golf clubs and vacuum cleaner will fit.

Unfortunately, we won't know how much we can fit until we can actually start loading up the car. Right now we are contemplating leaving as early as the 12th or 13th. You'll know when we do!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

It's been a long time since I've posted and since then a lot has happened. 

First, in March the passing of my Dad. Fortunately, I was able to be there to say my good-byes. 

Second, Steve and I did some real estate juggling. We sold a duplex, purchased in 2007, in Coeur d'Alene and bought a 1.2 acre lot adjacent to StoneRidge. One of four lots as part of Blanchard Creek Acres where we plan to eventually build and live.

Blazing a trail on the lot

We decided to have a cocktail on the new lot to celebrate.

Third, we purchased a 1999 Newmar Dutch Star 38' motorhome and for the first time EVER will be taking a 4 month trip away from home. We plan to leave StoneRidge on November 15th for Mesa, AZ where we will pick up the coach. 

Fourth, we will be adding a new job to our resumes. We will be working in Santa Fe, New Mexico for See's Candy from Thanksgiving to Christmas with our friends Patty & Jim Mosier. See's has a program where they hire retired RV'rs to manage their holiday stores. Patty & Jim have been doing it for quite a while now and we hope to be managing our own store next year. That is assuming we like it... time will tell.

StoneRidge Gets Blown Away

As many of you have heard, the Pacfic Northwest was hit with a record setting windstorm on November 17, 2015. The following slideshow will let you see how we fared here at StoneRidge.

A Hole That Can't Be Filled

It's been ages since I've posted anything on my blog and it's a shame that it had to take something like this to compel me to do so again. For some reason today I just had to write about my Mom.

My Mom & Dad in the early 50's. 

I had never seen this photograph until it was posted 

on my cousin's Facebook page after my Mother's death.

I always thought that I was so independent growing up. I moved away from home when I was 19, but moved back home a couple of times. But when my son was born in 1990 my mother once again became a critical cog in my daily routine. She was my mother, but more importantly she was my son's babysitter.
I saw her every Monday - Friday and sometimes on weekends. Then when I met Steve and moved down to San Pedro, in 2000, I thought "How great not to be under my parent's scrutiny every day!" Funny, I guess I still wanted to be "independent". Selfishly, I hadn't considered the impact on my parent's lives. Not that it would have made any difference in my moving. Then we made a bigger move up to Idaho. I no longer had the ability to just jump in the car to visit my parents & siblings. But life goes on. Our new busy lives make days fly by as thoughts of "I need to give Mom a call" buzz in and out of my head. Looking back now after 10 years, maybe I should have called more often, or made an effort to drive down to visit, when I had the opportunity. Again the thoughts of calling Mom were there but never acted upon. 

This is the last picture taken of my Mom, 5 days before she passed.

Pictured here with my sister Karen who she was visiting in Las Vegas.

My worst nightmare became reality on July 2nd when I got the call from my niece that Mom had a massive heart attack and was on life support. The next day I few to Las Vegas to be with my Dad, brothers and sisters to say good bye to the person who made the biggest impact on my life.

She's been gone 12 days now and most days are okay, then out of the blue it hits. To see me crying for no apparent reason would be quite common lately except I hide out when it overcomes me. Right now I have to be sure that my tears don't short out my keyboard as I type this and hope that Steve doesn't notice. He would just try would console me and there isn't anything anyone can do to help. It just needs to be done, and in a few minutes I'll be okay again.

Even though I hadn't spoken with her for a couple of weeks, I know that my Mom knew that I loved her. And it makes me feel glad knowing she "went out" doing what she loved best. She had a great week with Karen and her grand & great grand kids. They went shopping, got a hair cut & pedicure. She won on the slots and on her last waking day on this earth she went to the movies and had a hot dog and ice cream.

And when she takes a break from playing that big slot machine in the sky, she'll hear me as I tell her that I love her and miss her every day.

Happy Halloween

A Halloween Treat from the Suarez-Bradford Clan.

 Be sure to pause MyTunes before viewing the video.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

The Stoneridge Ladies, all 16 of us, traveled down to Lewiston this past weekend to participate in the 2010 Northern Region Golf Association Tournament South. It's a 2-day event, which we willingly turn into 3. Stoneridge Pal and team captain Debbie organized the group, making sure everyone had a ride and a room.
Last year my Stoneridge Bunch was 4 to a room, this year we all decided we needed more space so decided to just double up.
I joined Stoneridge Pals Patty, Terry & Carol for the 3 hour drive down. Patty drove, I navigated and Terry & Carol made sure both of us did our jobs properly. It was a quick trip made eventful with a stop at A&W for happy hour. Who can pass up 1/2 price root beer floats?
Within our group we had two Mother-Daughter Teams with us. Diane and Rachea with Linda and her 80 year old Mom Lucy. 
After we checked in we needed to make a stop at a local grocery store for appetizers needed for the get together with the rest of our team after volunteering Betty & Sherry's room to be party central.
By 6pm drinks have been poured and plates are piled with a variety of tasty treats. Having only a dresser and desk in the room along with 2 queen beds and being the ingenious gals we are the ironing board was set up to hold the platters. We all learned one very important fact... Howard Johnson's has very sturdy beds.

Wait! Where's Betty?

Following our little party, the few gals that arrived early to play a practice round gave the rest of us an update on the course. It seemed there was one central theme to everyone's advice: "Stay on the fairways!". The roughs were thick and very hard to get out of. There isn't a flat lie ANYWHERE! The greens all slope and are incredibly hard to read. After this update some of the gals were ready to pack up and head home, but were all good and didn't party to hard. Some left to grab a bite to eat, and we were all in our own rooms and settling in by 9pm. 

Monday was our first tournament day at Lewiston Golf Club. Tee time was 8:30am and luckily the weather couldn't have been better. It's been so rainy here at Stoneridge lately it was such a pleasure to be in the sun. All but 2 of us played in threesomes or foursomes with ladies from the 7 other clubs. The game is individual best ball with a team best ball to create comradeship within each foursome. 

 Mother/Daughter Team Lucy & Linda

 Our Captain, Debbie collecting the score cards

After my 3rd hole I understood what the gals were trying to explain to us the night before. Unfortunately my attempt to "Stay in the fairways" didn't hold up. As I hacked my way through the rough, out of bunkers, from under trees and attempting to navigate my ball into the cup I came to the realization that I would probably NOT be helping my team out in the scoring. To my surprise, it seems that the field was sharing my fate.After golf we all headed to town for an early dinner at Anthony's where we celebrated our best finish ever.

These were the winners from our group after the round in Lewiston:

Individual Winners

Rachea - Tied 2nd Place Net, 2nd Flight (75) $20.25

Kathy - 2nd Place Net, 3rd Flight (78) $23.00

Stoneridge Gal - Tied 2nd Place Gross, 4th Flight (107) $17.50

Patty - Tied 2nd Place Net, 4th Flight (79) $20.25

Carol - 2nd Place Net, 5th Flight (80) $23.00

Terry - Tied 4th Place Net, 5th Flight (84) $6.00

Team Best Ball - $15.00 Each

Kathy, Rachea, Stoneridge Gal

After the 1st day...Stoneridge's Overall

Team Standing - 4th Place!

Clarkston Country Club was the site for our 2nd day of the tournament. We died and went to heaven! It was flat. Now don't get me wrong, the course's slope/rating was higher than Lewiston. It is flat, but it was longer, tree lined and had water. Overall, the entire field improved.

Even though we wore our red, we weren't able to move up in the overall standings. We did have winners!

Individual Winners
Sherry - 1st Place Gross, 1st Flight (92) $35.00

Rachea - 1st Place Net, 2nd Flight (69) $35.00

Kathy - 2nd Place Net, 2nd Flight (70) $23.00

Patty - Tied 2nd Place Gross, 4th Flight (104) $20.25

Carol - 1st Place Net, 4th Flight (71) $35.00

Betty - 2nd Place Net, 4th Flight (74) $23.00

Julie - 3rd Place Net, 4th Flight (75) $17.50

Kathy - Tied 4th Place Net, 4th Flight (76) $2.50

Team Best Ball - $15 each

Kathy, Rachea

We all had a great time,  the Stoneridge team did great and I can't wait to see what happens when the NRGA moves up to our neck of the woods.

Ice Queens!

Saturday, April 10th was the date of the 1st tournament of the season here at StoneRidge. StoneRidge Guy and I decided to play. Our partners were friends and neighbors Dennis & Carol. After a week of crazy weather, we had everything rain, hail and snow, Saturday was supposed to be the turning point. The temperature was supposed to be in the lower 50's, much improved from the 40's, and the wind and rain was supposed to have moved on.

We arrived at the course at around 9:30am with the sun shining a blue sky and the best part... no wind! That didn't last long. By quarter to 10 the wind started up again and brought with it C*O*L*D!!!

There were 24 teams for the men and a whopping 2 teams for the ladies. I think the weather scared everyone off because the field was definitely less that last year. After a 30 minute frost delay the teams set off to their respective holes to begin.

Yes, it was cold. Yes, it was windy. But playing with the 3 ladies in my foursome made it all bearable and we all had a great time.

Enjoy the following short slide show. (don't forget to pause the "MyTunes" on the sidebar).

A list of the winners is at the end of this post.

 

Ladies Winners:

1st Mary Bradford & Carol Sadeckas   9.2   87/77.9

2nd Dorothy Tompkins & Terry Richter   8.1   87/78.9

As you can see we were closely matched.

Men's Low Gross:

1st Mac Ray & Bam Cousins   3.6   63/59.4

2nd Don Kari & Jared Blair   1.3   67/65.7 

3rd tom Shanholtzer & Jim Martin   2.3   69/66.7

4th Ron Cluster & Don Martindale   2.7   70/67.3

Men's Low Net: 

1st Dick Penland & Steve Johnson   4.1   67/62.9

2nd Aaron Sexton & Shawn Stanford   4.0   70/66

3rd Steve Bradford & Dennis Saylor   4.4   71/66.6

4th Dan Blomgren & Boyd Bentley   3.2   71/67.8

KP's:

#2 Dorothy Tompkins

#8 Shawn Stanford

#13 Gabe Richter

#15 Jared Blair

#17 Jim Sattleen

Longest Drive Men: J. Blair

Longest Drive Ladies: Carol Sadeckas

   

In Memoriam

The video you are about to see has been 18 months in the making. Not so much because of any difficulty, but it just kept getting put on the back burner. I figured I'd get to it later. Then as I worked on the project it kept morphing into what it is today.

I first heard about our topic at one of our Mammas on a Mission meetings. I happened to look out the back door at Stoneridge neighbor Gail's home, where the meeting was being held. What I thought were statues turned out to be live geese. She hooked me by telling me that her husband taught the female to fly. I decided right then that I would come back to get the whole story.

Gail kindly told me about Goosey Goose and Mr. Fella and supplied me with most of the photos. I wanted Gail and her husband Bob to see the final product and give it their blessing. Unfortunately over the course of these 18 months Bob had been diagnosed with cancer and has since succumbed to it's treatment. Learning of his passing motivated me to finally finish it.

(please excuse my raspy voice and a few stumbles,
and make sure to pause the "My tunes" on the sidebar.)

As told to me by Gail, I give you "Goosey Goose and Man who Taught Her To Fly"

'Til Next Time...

Spring Has Sprung!

Today was a picture perfect here at StoneRidge. It was warm enough for short sleeve shirts and shorts. The sun was bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There couldn't have been a better way to usher in the Spring.
Can you name 10 things that comes to mind?

Spring Cleaning

Spring Board

Spring Training

Spring flowers

Spring Fling!

Spring Break

A warm sunny day on the course

Hikes with the dog

Friends Returning Home

Dinners at the Grill

There is only one thing that could have made this day any better...
If you all could be here to enjoy it with me.

What You Don't Know About G.O.L.F.

Now Let's Get This Straight!

In my quest to come up with a clever name for our Ladies Golf Tournament I came upon a few websites dedicated to the etymology of golf terms. The one fact most surprising was where golf got it's name. It's not what you think...read and learn. (an excerpt from The Etymology of Golf Terms)


"Golf: First off, let's get one misconception out of the way from the very start. Golf does not, and has never been an acronym for 'Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden' even though some golf committees would like it that way!One theory is that the term golf is derived from the medieval Dutch word "kolve" meaning "club". From there, we have Scottish dialect to thank for its transformation into "golve". Another theory is that the origins of the word golf are derived from the Scottish "goulf" - a verb which meant "to strike or cuff", given the game involves a lot of striking the ball.
Either way, by the 1500s, the term "golf" had developed from these routes.

Par: Contrary to popular belief, the term "par" did not originate on the golf course. It entered golf terminology in the 19th Century, and meant exactly the same thing that it did (and does) outside of golf: average, standard, ordinary.
Bogey: Perhaps one of the most bizarre terms in the golfing lexicon, this is a word that actually evolved right here in England. It relates to the Bogey Man who in the 19th Century song said "I'm the Bogey Man, catch me if you can". According to the USGA, golfers at the time pursued the Bogey Man on the golf course - as in they were trying to 'catch' the perfect score. This led to the term 'bogey score' meaning the perfect game.
But now the term bogey denotes one over par, rather than the perfect score, so how did that happen? It came about with the split between professional and amateur golf - from both words being initially interchangeable, par went on to become the term for an average professional score, while bogey became the term for a total that amateur golfers could be pleased with.
Birdies and Eagles: The term 'birdie' is quite easy to explain - if you have knowledge of 19th Century American slang words! In that era, the word "bird" was a way of describing something particularly good - much in the way 'cool' was (and is) used more recently. Simply, a shot under par was 'bird', and this eventually transformed into 'birdie', which was in worldwide use by 1910.
From there, "Eagle" was to follow, simply sticking to the ornithological theme. "Albatross" was a later addition to the golfing vernacular.
Mulligan: Unfortunately, there's no straight answer to how the term Mulligan became a golfing term for retaking a shot. A number of theories have emerged:
The first is simply that it was named after someone called Mulligan who took a 'correction shot', and had the do-over named after him.
A more interesting theory is that the term is actually an ethnic slur against Irish-Americans (Mulligan being a common Irish name) trying to join top class golf clubs, as they were often regarded as poor golfers.
A final suggestion is that the term is derived from old saloons who would keep a free bottle of drink at the bar for customers to take shots from. Allegedly this bottle was called a 'mulligan', and it's possible that this term took on a similar meaning as a 'freebie' in golf.
Fore: The only thing that can be said with any certainty about the origin of this golf word is that it does derive from the fact that 'fore' means 'ahead' (like a ship's fore and aft) - and it remains to this day a warning to those ahead of you on the course.
There are two popular theories as to the specifics of the term's usage on the golf course: The first is that the term has military routes. At the time golf was properly taking off in Britain, infantry troops would advance in formation while artillery was fired from behind. When the artillery fired, there would be a shout of "beware before", which would tell infantrymen to drop to the floor to avoid the shells above. It's entirely possible that this advice applied to the golf course - with shells being replaced by the less dangerous golf ball!
The second is that it came from the term "forecaddie" - a person who accompanied groups around golf courses. The idea behind this is that an errant ball would be accompanied by shouting out "forecaddie" which would later be abbreviated to 'fore', just like the other half has been shortened to 'caddie'."

What was the world's first golf book?

It took about 200 years from the first recorded playing of golf in the late 1440s until the first book on golf was published.

Originally written as diary entries by medical student, Thomas Kincaid, on the subject of how golf clubs were made the world's first golf book was published in 1687 title 'Thoughts on Golve'.

More sites to check out:

Origin and Meaning of Golf Words and Terms
About.com
Wikipedia
A History of Golf since 1497 part I
Chapter II: The Origin of Golf

See you on the links!

Wish You Were Here!

This is my new alarm clock. It was a pleasure waking to this view compared to the morning fog we've had the past few days.

We had a small group last week at coffee without a lot of new business but with some updates of neighbors. Bob Weaver is back home. Unfortunately, he'll need to start rehab again as he is unable to walk. The good news is that his feeding tube has been removed. Gail is busy taking him to doctor appointments and caring for him at home. So if you're on your way to the market, remember to give her a call to see if you can pick something up and save her a trip to the store.

A recent Facebook status from Ginger: "We are home!!!! Jim finished his chemo yesterday and is doing good, tired but hanging in there."

For those of you still here, the Facebook class has been rescheduled for March 3, 2pm and the Grill. Don't worry, I'll make sure to have another one for those of you who can't be here for this one.

The monthly forum meeting, usually on the 3rd Thursday of the month, will be held next week for March only. So make sure to mark your calendars March 11th, 10am at the Grill during our coffee social.

All of you should have received the StoneRidge Newsletter, so I'll let you read the rest of it there since I don't have any pictures. If you are seeing this and did NOT receive the email make sure to let me know so I can get you on the list.

As you can see we are in for a great week of weather.






The carts are out and there were quite a few golfers out there yesterday.


I drove around the compound to see if there was anything new cropping up.

There's still ice on most of Sans Souci

Until you get to the walking bridge. From there it's at least 200 yards til you hit ice.

So I took advantage of it. Maggie loves to swim and fetch sticks. An I love it because it tires her out!

No new construction going on right now. However, there are more people around. Mostly golfers here taking advantage of the discounted rates. I too will take advantage of this great weather and hit the links today. What are your plans?

'Til next time...