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| On this date in 2016, we were in Sydney, Australia, about to board our ship for a 14-night cruise to Auckland, New Zealand. Our hearts go out to all of the people of Australia who are dealing with the horrific fires throughout the continent and to all of the firefighters and first responders who sacrifice their lives in an attempt to extinguish the rampant fires. For more photos from this date, please click here. |
Yesterday, we attended the 3:00 pm party by the pool. When it started, it was a pleasant 70F (21C), but by 4:30 when the sun was no longer shining on our table of eight, and the temperature was dropping rapidly.
We’d dressed for the warmer temperature, but when the sun wafted away, and we were left in the shade, we decided to head back to our “park model” (as they call the permanent homes in RV parks). It was simply too cold to sit there the way we were dressed.
Tom picked up Margie at the Mesa airport at around 10:30 pm to return from her granddaughter’s wedding in Minnesota on New Year’s Eve. I stayed behind when he left to pick her up at almost 10:20 (her plane was late) while Eugene accompanied him.
They all met at Colleen’s place to catch up with Margie and eat chicken and coleslaw at 11:00 pm when they returned. Tom returned to our place by 1:00 am, and I awoke immediately to greet him. We both fell asleep in no time.
Today is another Minnesota Vikings football day with the game broadcast on local TV. We won’t get together with everyone today since it’s easier for all of us to watch it, if interested, on our TV. There will be plenty of gathering in the upcoming weeks.
Watching football isn’t my favorite pastime, but I do enjoy watching the Vikings play, perhaps because I know how much Tom wants it and my two sons, Richard and Greg, who both are quite enthusiasts.
Today is an otherwise quiet day for me. Tom will watch other football games for which I have little interest. To keep busy, I’ll continue to work on the new 2020 travel spreadsheet, transferring pertinent data and conducting more research for the six months we’ll spend in Europe this coming spring and summer.
We’ve decided we’ll stay in Spain and Portugal during our last two-plus months and now must decide where we’ll stay in the first four months, most likely in and around the UK, to avoid the Schengen visa requirements.
At this point, the possibilities that appeal to us are Scotland and the island of Jersey, where we could easily spend two months in each location. Today, I’ll begin researching these areas. We’ve already found several great possibilities in Spain and Portugal.
Once we decide on the itinerary and appealing holiday homes, we’ll begin booking the locations. As much as we enjoyed moving every few weeks in England this past fall, we’ll welcome staying put a month or two at a time after the constant moving while in India.
Sunday dinner will be easy today, a spiral sliced ham, rice for Tom, green beans, and salad. To avoid drying out the ham, we’ll only warm small sections at a time since it’s already cooked. Spiral sliced ham may become dry when baked in the oven to reheat. It will be a quiet day, relatively uneventful, which can “change on a dime” and fast become another day of socializing. We’ll see how it all rolls out.
May you have a restful and peaceful Sunday!
Photo from one year ago today, January 5, 2019:
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| We drove for five hours to Kathy and Don’s home in Pretoria, South Africa. Don, on his birthday, knocked lemons off the tree in their yard for us to take back to Marloth Park. We stayed for four nights at their lovely home. For more details, please click here. |