MORE IOWA VISITORS TODAY

Today, Barb and Lyle Wilkes from Dorchester, Iowa, stopped by for a short visit, which we enjoyed.

Because we have previous plans, we will probably miss seeing Cal and Betty Anderson from Decorah tomorrow. Sorry to miss them. It's been quite a week!

MORE VISITORS

Don's brother Jerry and his wife Pat are in AZ for two weeks from Iowa, and are staying with his

sister Kathy and Jerry in Surprise. They're spending three months in the AZ sun and away from the Iowa winter. They were sightseeing in Tucson and came overnight. We ate at Mimi's on Saturday night and after church on Sunday, we went to brunch at Robson Ranch. Then it was on to Eloy to the sky diving school to watch them jump and land in front of us. Here they're waiting for another group. Kathy is on the left and Pat on the right-his brother Jerry is beside him and his brother-in-law Jerry is on the right.

Here they come.

We even went over to the building where they "fly" inside in wind tunnels. You can't take pictures, but you wouldn't get me in there!

It's a cool place to go and watch-but not participate.

THE OLIVE MILL

We drove up to Queen Creek with Mary and Jim and toured the Olive Mill where they raise olives and crush them to make olive oil. This is the machine that does the crushing.

This is what an olive tree looks like.

We ate lunch there and dinners at Mimi's Cafe and the Creative Cafe. They got a little taste of what it's like to live in a park and seemed to enjoy playing bingo with us. We're thrilled that they came to visit-we always enjoy our time together.

A BUSY WEEK

Besides all our usual park activities, we've been quite busy this week with visitors. First, Mary and Jim Weingartner came from Minneapolis. We went to the Greek Monastery, the Olive Mill and up on South Mountain. Here they are at the top, with the wonderful view of Phoenix in the background.

We enjoyed the monastery which is like an oasis in the middle of the desert-however our outfits left a lot to be desired.

Inside, the chapels are beautiful.

It's an interesting place!

NEW YEAR UPDATE

I didn't realize I had neglected the blog this long. Time flies when you're having fun! Actually I've been blessed (?) with bronchitis with ugly coughing spells, so have been sitting around catching up on my scrapbooking. Today we went to church and then to a breakfast buffet with Ludekings and Browns and I survived, so will try to go to card bingo later. We're getting a little worried about answering the phone-it seems to be a lot of bad news. In the past two weeks, Don has lost two aunts and one uncle and I've lost a cousin. However, we just got a funny call from Mary & Jim Weingartner who just made it through the mountain passes around Sedona. They flew into Phoenix yesterday from Minneapolis and will get here on Wednesday. Obviously they're enjoying the weather, and know we will enjoy their visit. One other nice thing-after waiting 35 plus years to replace my missing diamond, my groom bought me a new one. Mulert isn't the fastest guy in the world, but he is a honey!