A day in the life of Sooki!

Bought a new table and Sooki decided..."what a great place to hide."  Hey,  I can see you.

Enjoying the nice warm weather...relaxin' in her chair.

And, watching the birds through the front window.

The Water feature is done!

What started out as a 2-day project, turned into a week project.

Here's the before..

And, now the after.  

Here's how he got there.  Could have taken less time, if Allan hadn't decided to do tile work on the back wall instead of stacking blocks up.

 Had to build a frame, then mounted cement board.  Now the tile work started.   He is getting good at tile.  Even made a decorative border.  Lots of cutting with his tile saw.  I did nothing, except came up with "I want a water feature in the courtyard."

Then he had to do some figurin' from the garage side to get the mechanical stuff mounted.

We ate lunch out here today.  Waited until I got home from grocery shopping to have me turn on the fountain.  I just love it!  The water spout glows at night.   Another place to have my morning cocoa.

Pyramid Canyon Hike 1-25-12

Off to Pyramid Canyon with the Seniors again...our every other Wednesday hike...about 25 of us active seniors.  Even had an 83 year old on it.  Sure hope we're hiking (or even still alive) at that age.

Beautiful scenery again...back out in the hills of Mecca, which empty out into the Box Canyon.  This was an Easy hike (which Paul, our leader, said Allan will kill me if it isn't really Easy); 6.5 miles, and an 800 foot elevation gain. 

Just look how much Allan enjoys hiking!

Was wondering why it was called Pyramid Canyon, and as we turned around...there it was.  Guess we don't have to go to Egypt to view the real things now.

No rock scrambling this hike.

But there were flowers in bloom.

Yes, I've turned into the group photographer.  Paul asked me if I brought my tripod again.  I said, "of course"...so he called the group together in front of the Pyramid.

May be our Christmas picture next year.

Hiking out...gives you a perspective of the magnitude of the canyons.  Can't wait for our next one.

Another week in review 1-19 to 1-24

We anxiously awaited a call this week from long-time Alaskan friends, Bill & Shari Howard (notice I didn't say "old" friends, we're sensitive to that word now.)  It's been at least 15 years since we've seen them.  Bill & Allan worked together in Fairbanks.   Bill and Shari do it right...get out of Alaska in the winters...they were on their annual "get away from the cold" adventure...on their way to Bullhead City, AZ.  Had drinks at the house then out to dinner at The Crab Pot in LaQuinta.  One of our favorite restaurants. 

If you look hard, you can see the Mud Pie in the center.  Allan always orders one (hoping he gets to eat it by himself), but we all decided to dig in, too.

Bill & Shari are golfers, so the next night we decided to meet them at Arnold Palmer's Restaurant in La Quinta for Happy Hour.  They had spent the day trying out their new golf clubs.  We were supposed to meet @ 3:30...we were there, Bill & Shari weren't yet.  Allan called them, and just when he was talking to them...Arnold Palmer walked out onto the patio.  Allan got off the phone and motioned to Arnold to come have a drink with us.  He said, "I've got to figure out how to make money at this place." 

He was so gracious.  I told him my sister will die when she sees this picture.  He said, "I certainly hope it doesn't kill her."

Allan took the first picture, then Arnie said, "does your husband want one, too."  So this ranks as our most famous person we've met so far.

Bill & Shari finally showed up an hour later...very disappointed that they missed "the man". 

The rest of the week, we've been busy...went to the Indio Performing Arts Center (no, not dancing this time) on Friday evening for the performance of "Sister Robert Anne's Cabaret Class".  A great one-woman show with a collection of songs from the entire NUNSENSE series.    Only 10 of us in the audience...we're trying to support the local theatre, so it will keep going.

Sunday afternoon was our weekly concert at the Palm Desert Community Center...and it was a barbershop group called the Sandblasters.  Loved it!  Once those 30 seniors started singing...everyone had a smile on their faces.  Reminded me of the quartets my Dad sang in at church. 

 That evening we were invited to dinner at a neighbors (Alan & Sally) down the street (winter here, other home in Sacramento).  We met at our annual Homeowner's meeting.  Alan liked Allan, yes, hard to believe, huh?  Sally is quite the gourmet cook...their trips are centered around cooking classes...latest were to Italy and China.  The highlight of the dinner was Sally's homemade Limoncello (which she learned to make in Italy).  Us girls had one small cordial, while the guys finished off the bottle.  Needless to say, Allan didn't move too far off the couch the next day.

Allan's off the couch now and feeling better.  Starting a courtyard project.  Decided we needed something bigger on that wall.

So here is the start of the new fountain...can't wait.  While Allan worked on setting the blocks, I played tennis (I have my priorities), then went to the Senior Center for a free flower pot planting class coordinated by our Indio mayor.  Got to bring a pot home, too.

Life is good...here in the desert!

Sooki trying to catch "Crush"

Sooki was mesmerized by "Crush", the turtle...waiting for it to get closer to the edge.  She was hunting.

LaQuinta Overlook Hike 1-18-12

Our first hike with the Desert Trails Hiking Club.  Here I'm scrambling over the rocky trail.  Was a moderate, 4 miles, 800 ft. elevation gain. 

Taking a break.  Allan has developed his own trail mix...peanut m&m's, regular m&m's, baby Reese's peanut butter cups, and a few nuts for some brown color.  He says it's the best ever.

Only 5 of us on this hike...plus the leader.  This is the Canadian contingent looking down onto the cove.

Here's Allan and the "sweep" bringing up the rear.  What goes up...must come down...as we are always finding out on these hikes.  Thank goodness we have hiking poles.  He has taken over my "Yosemite" pole now.

The view from the top...looking down on the Quarry (a private golf club...membership is $400,000).   Think we'll join.

No complaints..he's still smilin'.  Those 2 back surgeries must have worked.

Mountain high overlooking the LaQuinta cove.    Another great hike in the desert!

Our Week in review -- so much to do 1-12 to 1-17

Started off the day with the Chef''s @ the Library series in Palm Desert.  A different chef from a restaurant in valley prepares a dish each week.  This week featured a French chef from the Cork Tree Restaurant...fabulous!   Then later we were invited to friends in PD for dinner...and guess who was there...Ken.  Lots of wine and lively talk the rest of the evening.

On Saturday, we strolled Old Town LaQuinta during the "Art Under the Umbrellas" to try and find some nice artwork for the house, but after checking the prices...decided Walmart was more our price point.  Cocktails that evening with Canadian friends here in the country club (my tennis and hiking partner, Gail).

On Sunday afternoon, it was back to PD Community Center for the "Sunday Sounds" smooth jazz concert.  And, we pondered whether to try dancing again at the IPAC...tango tonight.  Decided we didn't want to be embarrassed again.

Monday...went to the Living Desert to see the new baby giraffe, Niara.  My favorite!  She was born in Oct., weighed 111 lbs and was 5'9".  How would you like to give birth to one of those.  You can see her in the background. 

Here's looking at you!

Stretchin'....they were showing off today.

Then Tuesday night we got on our cowboy outfits and headed to Desert Falls Country Club for dinner and a show...Juni Fisher, the cowgirl balladeer.  And, what a show it was!  She'll be in Genoa in April.  A definite...must see.  (if you like Western music).

The Grotto Hike - 1-11-12 affectionately called Paul's Crawl

We signed up for another Senior Center hike...19 of us total who headed out to Mecca for another adventure.  And, I must say, what an adventure it was!  Paul, our hike leader, said it would be a moderate hike.  Wait 'till you see the pictures.

Looks pretty mild as we were starting off...hiking to the top of the ridge.

We made it to the top...overlooking the Salton Sea.  A little bit about the Salton Sea...its surface is currently 226 ft. below sea level.  The deepest area of the sea is 5 ft. higher than the lowest point at Death Valley.  It is the largest lake in CA and averages 15 miles by 35 miles...it's a biggey!

Had to stop and smell the flowers...see the lady bug?  (That's a Diane shot!)

Here we're hiking up the wash getting ready to go into the canyons.  Just magnificent scenery...

And now I'm getting the idea of why the hike leader asked us to wear long pants and to bring flashlights.

And this is what we were faced with.  This is when the group divided...the "Fearless 9" went on through the slots to the grottos and the "Safe 10" decided to turn around and go out the easy way.  This is Allan believe it or not being hoisted up to the next slot.

Rather than climb the ladder, some of us found this way to get back to the slot.  Allan had looked at this way, but decided he wouldn't fit.

The "Fearless 9" all ended up at the same spot...and realized we had more climbing to go.

And once you go up...you have to go down.  We're now getting into the grottos.  And ropes were the only way down.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

Allan made it down...now we have our flashlights out.   Look he's still smiling or is he scared to death!

Then we looked UP....and realized we had to start climbing out again.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING!!!!!  A "moderate" hike?

So the "Fearless 9" started climbing again.

Whew!  We made it...we saw the light.  It is almost over, we hope.

Okay...another slot we have to maneuver through.  Can't be too bad.

WRONG!  The only way out was crawling on your belly like a reptile.  Allan even made it through...and he is claustrophobic...it was a small hole, I must say.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING!  And, we were all seniors on this hike. 

We made it through...and only one slot canyon to go.

Here's the "Fearless 9"...and we all made it!

But we had to hike back out...and in some places it was a little narrow.  Here's Allan walking a tightrope.

Unfortunately, we were back on top...and we had to hike back down.  My knees were starting to go, but I saw the oasis waiting below.

I'm smilin' now!

And here is the whole group...WE MADE IT!

Allan told Paul that if he classified this hike as a "moderate"...he'd hate to see his strenuous.  Next hike is an easy...Paul promises there will be no ups or downs or ropes or rock scrambling or crawling on our bellies like a reptile...just hiking up the washes.  We'll see.

Who wants to come hiking with us?  They are definitely adventures!