HELLO AGAIN FROM MESA, ARIZONA

January continues with our usual social outings with friends. This month's pot luck dinner with the seniors at Trinity Baptist was a celebration of birthdays for the year. Granny Debbie came to share her humor after dinner. She proceeded to show her props including glasses for the class optometrist, John! Her humor continued with a "dress" challenging our imagination of what it would be like to be young again!! Food was delicious and way too much!! First time I have seen a pot luck with so many corn casseroles. Very seldom do you see so many of the same!! Ours is in our freezer now. We spent a second Friday evening going back to Organ Stop Pizza with a first time workamping couple, Eddie and Pam from Arkansas and our Ohio friends, Bill and Jane. We don't get too much of the organ music!! I usually have a five hour day doing scrapbooking each Monday. And Gary usually finds something to run out and about for while I scrapbook. Last week we decided that we girls do not get enough time visiting, so we went to lunch in Scottsdale at Grand Lux Cafe on Tuesday. Not a place that I can afford very often, but it was very nice for a change!! Our Resort has the usual venue of entertainment and we try to do it all, when possible. It is free to us as workampers unless it is "big name" or with dinner. Then we have to buy tickets like everyone else. We got to see Jimmy Travis from Branson. He sings and plays guitar, as well as his comedian routine. He was very good and we enjoyed it immensely!!

Then we had crazy fingers Gordy for our ice cream social. I just love his style of playing also.

The last event this past week was the "Death Ahoy" murder mystery dinner show. We had prime rib and a lot of fun trying to solve the mystery. Of course, we were not correct, but it was fun none the less and we met new people in the park.

The cast was people who work in the offices, the resort manager, our boss the activity director and fellow volunteer workers. The murderer was the gal in the white hat. We thought that it might be Keri, as it had been her for the past two years, and we were going to call her the serial killer. Not!! She got a reprieve this year.

That is our fun for about two weeks, so stay tuned and see what we find to do for the next two weeks. We really need to be doing some new sight seeing also. It does make the time go quickly. Much too quickly, really. Stop back to see us.

WE BEGIN OUR NEW WINTER SEASON IN ARIZONA

Just wanted to share with our grandson the pictures taken from the airplane as Audrey left Pensacola Florida for Ohio before Christmas. Neat Photos, eh?

We sure rode above the clouds!!

On our trip west we stopped in Memphis Tennessee at Graceland. Of course, convincing Gary was easier since I was driving!! We have been through there several times but had not stopped before.

I took pictures of both the front and back views of the house, as well as many of the rooms inside and the Hall of Fame. The decorating of much of the house was not in good taste for a Georgian Colonial. However, the parents bedroom, the dining room and the front living room on the first floor were more tastefully done and the kitchen was large and modern for the '70s. Maybe I will share those pictures later. I wished that the second floor would have been open for tour, but it was not.

The Meditation Garden beyond the swimming pool was pretty and inspirational.

Myself, the swimming pool was my favorite!! There were also horse barns and fenced corral since Elvis liked riding.

Driving into New Mexico we found our first snow of the trip, getting a little deeper as we drove on west.

After leaving Gary's cousins, Mildred and Zollie, in New Mexico, we took a new route through the mountains east of Mesa Arizona for a change. Since much of it is Indian reservation, we stopped at one of their casinos for a restroom break. Of course, we had to try the penny machines!! When our $20. became $25 it was time to quite and hit the road again!! That is our philosophy and we're sticking to it!!

Our first excursion after arriving at Mesa Regal Resort was to the children's Christian Home in Mesa, Sunshine Acres. Gary has volunteered to teach a graphite pencil art class to seven junior high students. He will begin this Wednesday and has already met the students.

We toured this home last February also, so I will not show the rooms again. They have seven one floor houses, each housing ten school age children. Their plan is to build thirteen more houses in the near future. The Christian influence is very visible on the facility by the church.

The view of the desert and mountains from the front of the sanctuary is awesome!! Wouldn't you agree?

The horse barn built from a check received from western actor, Ben Johnson, is very dominant also. The children raise different kind of animals for 4H projects as well as the horses that they ride.

If you enlarge these pictures from their walls, you will get some idea of what they started out with back in 1953. It is amazing and the founder's children and grandchildren are very much involved still.

Last Friday evening we went to Organ Stop restaurant for pizza and spaghetti with friends, Bill and Jane. It was fun and we have decided to go back this weekend also with another couple also.

So as you can see we are settling in. It seems like "home" now!!

Tune in again and maybe we will get more adventurous. Take care and stay warm.