Friday 6th November 2020...ten years ago!!

My blog from this day 2010!!

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Saturday 6th November 2010…a very sad and significant milestone in my life today!!!!

This morning, after 62 years,  I came to the undeniable conclusion that I am no longer deemed to be attractive and I am not considered to be a hot, buff, Latino picture of masculinity!!!!!!!

How do I know this you may well ask??

Well on a trail this morning it was quite hot and I took my shirt off and as I was walking this Native family approached me and Mum was holding hands with her small daughter and you just had to be here for this…as the young girl was walking by me she looked right at me, hid one part of her face with her hands and said the word,”uugghhhh”.  Mum and I burst out laughing and this is the kid…

Check her face!!!!

I immediately ran to Ramona and took this photo

and this

had a shower and shave and took this photo

Cleaned up I look not bad, well maybe that is a stretch….

So there you have it…this boy is toast, done, washed up, out to pasture…what a way to start my day!!!!!

So back to this morning…..I left by 8am and again caught the rising sun on my way to Page

 See all the hot air balloons more about those later…

I am now in Arizona….

This is a very lovely part of the country and I had my itinerary planned out my first stop…

I saw a photo of this place in a magazine about 7 years ago and it immediately went onto my Bucket List……so here we go..

Not bad but wait…

almost there…

My camera just isn’t good enough to capture the true beauty of this plus the sun is not helping out but really what a view a sheer cliff face about 1000 feet with no railings!!!!

The two little white things in the water are rafts!!!

So glad I managed to see this wonderful place and the mighty Colorado River!!!!

After about a 30 mile drive I came to this piece of magnificent engineering

The view from the bridge..

Another short drive brought me to Lees Ferry and my dip in the cold waters of the Colorado…

Before I get accused of impropriety BIMBO is the name of the Mexican bread company, the largest in the world!!!!!

Getting ready for their 10 day raft down the river!!!!

My next stop was a hike into

According to the booklet a moderate degree of difficulty in this 4 mile round trip…

It was a hike in the canyon bed of the gully where the flash flood waters run….I have seen a flash flood years ago in Vegas and never seen water come raging so fast and furious this would have been neat to see here in this gully but the forecast is good all day.

This is one section that was hard because you had to climb up the cliff face to get by..

of course once you are up coming down is supposed to be easier???  At this point I questioned myself about going on and said to myself “Come on Percy’s(that's my Dad) boy think what you are doing”   but of course if Percy(my Dad) was with me he would be the first one down…..so I kept going and was rewarded a while later with these views and a lunch break…

Just before I left on the hike I heard on the news about the collapse during the night of the Pompey building in Italy and I thought as I looked at all these huge pieces of rock that at some time and come cascading down the rock face..

After a few minutes iI was lucky enough to see the rafters that I had seen earlier loading their boats…

Strangely enough the hike wasn't so bad and I rewarded myself with some down time back at Ramona…

Reading this great novel..

Tonight was the 

and the  street was closed and truly amazing to see all these huge balloons on Main Street…

I am now in the parking lot of the local library, with Internet and a quiet place to sleep…..another off the list good night…

Thursday 5 th November 2020....a special day in England!!

This  morning I had a 9am dental appointment.....the lady where I have been going for the last ten years and where I used to take Daniela and Paola has moved or closed not sure which.

I was given a recommendation of another dentist in an office very close to my casita and I was there on time and so was the young lady dentist.

Her office was state of the art equipment and she practised very safe precautions....she gave me an examination and a clean and it was really great.

This is the part that I do not understand the total cost of this was 500 pesos....figure that out in your own currency..it is just amazing!!

I then went and dropped off Gracie’s car for a service and I pick it up mañana..so I came home and took the dogs for a walk around the neighbourhood.....not the best for them or me but at least they got out and this is the first day in five weeks they have not been hiking!!

Back home...

I then went to my place to water the plants and took some photos...

My good friend Gregg  came over a couple of days ago and moved the TV around the corner where I will be able to watch it in my new chair.....

So the mirror and tv are now in their new places...

I really do like this apartment it feels so airy, comfortable and safe!!

Tonight Martha came over for her English class......this will be the last one as Gracie comes home and Tues and I move back to my place but Gracie does want to con with Martha and they are going to do an English/Spanish class one night a week..it is so easy she just lives like one minute away and her English is extremely good!!

Now time for some soccer I think!!

This is an important day in England and also a day I used to always get I. Trouble letting off fire crackers!!

The Gunpowder Plot conspirators, led by Robert Catesby, were zealous Roman Catholics enraged at King James Ifor refusing to grant greater religious tolerance to Catholics. They planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament(Palace of Westminster) during the state opening of Parliament, intending to kill the king and members of Parliament in order to clear the way to reestablishing Catholic rule in England. The plan failed when the conspirators were betrayed. One of them, Guy Fawkes, was taken into custody the evening before the attack, in the cellar where the explosives to be used were stashed. The other conspirators were all either killed resisting capture or—like Fawkes—tried, convicted, and executed. In the aftermath, Parliament declared November 5 a national day of thanksgiving, and the first celebration of it took place in 1606.

Today Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom, and in a number of countries that were formerly part of the British Empire, with parades, fireworks, bonfires, and food. Straw effigies of Fawkes are tossed on the bonfire, as are—in more recent years in some places—those of contemporary political figures. Traditionally, children carried these effigies, called “Guys,” through the streets in the days leading up to Guy Fawkes Day and asked passersby for “a penny for the guy,” often reciting rhymes associated with the occasion, the best known of which dates from the 18th century:

Guy Fawkes effigy

On Guy Fawkes Day, effigies of the conspirator Guy Fawkes are tossed into bonfires.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November

Gunpowder treason and plot

We see no reason

Why Gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot….

Fireworks, a major component of most Guy Fawkes Day celebrations, represent the explosives that were never used by the plotters. Guards perform an annual search of the Parliament building to check for potential arsonists, although it is more ceremonial than serious. Lewes, in southeastern England, is the site of a celebration of Guy Fawkes Day that has a distinctly local flavour, involving six bonfire societies whose memberships are grounded in family history stretching back for generations.

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!

Wednesday 4 th November 2020...this day went by fast!!

I had a busy day starting off with going to buy this

Ice machine...

 I got a really good deal it has only been used once and I tried it out tonight and works great, so good to have it!!

My next stop was back at the cardiologist’s office where his assistant removed all the wires and I have an appointment to see him next Monday afternoon to talk about the results and then I can move forward from there to getting the knee surgery!!

Then it was to my favourite barber shop...not a shop at all just the front room of house where my lovely young lady lives with her husband and two kids and she cuts hair in the front...it is really nicely done and very clean and she actually opened up to cut my hair..she does a great job for 40 pesos.....yes that is not a typo!!

Came home and took the dogs out on a really long walk into the hills overlooking town...

The love roaming around and Negrita does he running laps...that dog is fast!!!

Just the start of a nice sunset...

A quiet evening with a soccer game to watch!!

Glad the US had a peaceful night last night!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Tuesday 3 rd November 2020.....election and doctors day!!

It wasn’t the dogs that woke me up this morning it was

the whoosh sound of the hot air balloons overhead.....

Had a lazy morning and so did the dogs...

At 1.30pm I went for my appointment with my cardiologist......I do really like this doctor he explains everything so well.

First he did this procedure..

He then attached the halter collar to me, after shaving away a lot of my chest hair, I know too much information!!!

he explained what I could and could not do for the next 24 hours...

I have to go back tomorrow afternoon and he will remove the wires and told me it would take him a couple of days to examine the readings and results and he would call me in for a consultation.

I have know for over 40 years that I have an irregular heart beat but for those who read this blog often you know I am extremely active and fit and healthy.

I just really hope that there is no delay from this test that would result in my knee surgery date being put off....

Finished off the day by taking the dogs on the hike close to my casita and we got some nice sunset shots..

I keep checking the election results and I just hope that whatever happens there will be peace and respect across the nation!!

Stay safe and healthy!!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Monday 2nd November 2020...lazy day!!

Really an easy day for me today...I did go on the scooter and pick up a couple more donations..getting around on the scooter is a breeze!!

This afternoon I took the dogs on a new hike for them up by my old house where the views of the city are really nice.....

Also the canyon walls are very pretty...

The dogs had fun being off leash...

Tonight will be similar to last night...

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Sunday 1st November 2020...Rabbit time again!!!

Well here we are saying rabbits, rabbits, rabbits again!!

That month went by quickly...I arrived on the 1st October and lots of things have happened as you know...I am hoping that this month I will have my surgery and start the road to a full recovery...

My good friend Jen posted this on FB taken from her roof top......the balloons have just been allowed to operate again after being shut down for the summer.

For a change I took the dogs up town this morning to see some of the decorations.......

Enjoy the photos..

This is one of the oldest cemeteries in town and usually only opens this weekend..it is quite lovely inside...

To be honest it was not easy walking the three of them they all like to be in front...

This afternoon I went to visit another tennis friend, Jen, she plays out at the gated community where her sister lives..really nice location and great to catch up with Jen..

So later in the afternoon I took them on their favourite hike by my casita where they could run and sniff....

It has been a year today since my tennis partner of many years suddenly passed away....I still miss Carolyn’s smiling face and her Texan wit!!

Tonight it is a soccer game for me.....

I have three memberships apps that I really enjoy...

The first is DAZN...a sports station where I get all the soccer games from England and Europe and other sporting events..what I like about it is that you don’t have to watch them live, so the game I am watching tonight was played this afternoon...the cost for this is 20 Canadian dollars a month.

The second one is called Britbox..this is about 12 Canadian dollars a month and has a whole host of great BBC Shows and I have watched some great dramas and detective series on here.

Finally, Blaze my new car..

 came with a free three month subscription to Sirius Radio...before I left Canada I ordered the package for 14 Canadian dollars a month which allows me to listen to all their stations  on my IPad.....

I really enjoy them all!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!