Tom’s new laptop is ready to use…Another fun evening of playing cards…

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It was pleasant to see so many flowers blooming in the desert.

Tom’s laptop is done. Since he didn’t want to carry over “junk” from his last laptop, I loaded every item separately without using Google’s transfer tool. Over the years, he decided he didn’t want to keep many old and useless files that invariably get carried over using any transfer tool.

That’s why I took so long to give him a clean start. He wanted to save some items, but they are on two clouds, Dropbox and Google Drive. This way, his Windows desktop is uncluttered and easy to manage with a fresh start. This allows his device to operate more efficiently and gives him ease of use.

Overall, it took me about eight hours to complete the process while he helped by sending links to website pages he uses regularly. Now, as needed, he can add folders that will automatically save on Google Drive.

Windows includes a browser that neither of us cares to use, Microsoft Edge. Removing this browser from the laptop is difficult when we prefer to use Google Chrome. Microsoft has made it nearly impossible to eliminate Edge, so we make Google Chrome the default browser. At times, Edge seems to pop up. It’s Microsoft’s way of ensuring its Windows users also use their browser to make more money.

Undoubtedly, Google Chrome is a money maker for Google, but since we can choose our preferred browser, we operate with the one we like, regardless of who’s making money from our use. All browsers are money-makers for companies. Who are we to complain when we also have advertisers on our site? It’s the nature of the beast. We’re “small potatoes” in the realm of things.

We don’t make much from our ads on our site and YouTube. Why? We haven’t promoted our advertisers since that’s a job we didn’t want to include in our life of world travels. Nor did we hound our readers to use the links on our site. However, we kindly ask that you consider using some of our advertisers when making purchases.

By using our advertisers, we make enough money to cover the costs associated with the operation and management of our website. The links have the same products and services as you’d find if you go directly to the sites from your browser. It costs you no more, and small amounts of revenue are sent our way to cover our costs. Thank you to our readers who use our advertisers! It’s so appreciated!

Last night, we sliced some ham and cheese and brought it to Colleen’s unit for snacking while playing cards. Tom had gone to lunch and wasn’t ready to eat a full dinner before we headed to her place. I had nibbled on a few healthy items during the day and was fine without making dinner.

Today, I’m bringing a huge batch of chicken salad and a green salad to one of the sister’s park model when we gather again this afternoon. Another family member, brother-in-law Tom (Rita’s husband), arrived late last night. Now, there are eight of us for the next few days until Mary and Eugene head back to Minnesota for a funeral, where they’ll stay for the summer, returning to Apache Junction late next fall.

We don’t know how they can keep up two houses, as many retirees do, to get away from cold winter weather up north and other areas in the US with inclement weather in the winter months. We love not having the upkeep on one house, let alone two or more. It provides us with so much freedom.

Have a great Tuesday!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 16, 2014:

At the Terrasses des Espices Restaurant in Morocco, we were served this black olive Tapenade, which I could eat along with a basket of bread for Tom. Notice the ashtray on the table. Smoking is allowed in restaurants. For more photos, please click here.

Halfway through our time in Arizona…Original plans changed…Tax Day in the US!…

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A view from a second story in the souk in The Medina, The Big Square in Marrakesh, Morocco.

When we realized today is April 15, tax filing day in the US, Tom commented on how we are halfway through our time in Apache Junction, Arizona. Initially, we planned to stay two weeks longer, although we only paid for April in advance. We figured we could easily add two weeks to our rental agreement if necessary, with the weather heating up resulting in fewer renters staying in the RV park.

Knowing we were waiting to hear from Cleveland Clinic for my soon-to-be-arranged appointment, we decided to move along more quickly. With Tom’s sister Rita here now for the next two weeks, we wouldn’t go to South Dakota, which we intended to do to visit her on our way to Minnesota.

Thus, once we leave California to see my sister Julie for three nights, we’ll head to Utah to see Marylin and Gary for lunch or dinner and then get back on the road to Milwaukee to see Tom’s sister Betty in Milwaukee, in a medically assisted retirement home for nuns, staying only one night and then make our way to Minnesota the following day. Most likely, we’ll arrive in Minnesota around May 10.

Our hotel reservation in Minnesota begins on May 23, based on our original plan to arrive later, but we won’t worry about that. We can easily book the added days we’ll need. at either end, depending on my Cleveland Clinic appointment date.

This morning, we’re busy making chicken salad with leftover chicken I’d frozen a few days ago when making the dish to share with the family for Saturday night. Since we have no idea when we’ll get together with everyone, chicken salad is an easy meal to have on hand, with no additional preparation necessary other than to add a lettuce salad, if desired.

There’s a fabulous microwave here with excellent settings for defrosting frozen meats. In no time at all, the chicken cubes were defrosted. Meanwhile, Tom is busy peeling the hard-boiled eggs for the chicken salad. Once he’s out of the way in the kitchen, I will chop the onions and celery to go into the chicken with the diced hard-boiled eggs and also make a green salad to go with it.

With our Boost grocery delivery service contract (from Las Vegas, also used here) ending on April 19, I am putting together our last online grocery order. We’ll head to Fry’s Market to shop when we need more groceries. All we have left in the freezer is ground beef, for which we’ll make taco salads, enough for three dinners, and a small turkey breast roast, enough for two dinners.

With all the upcoming planned meals, we have enough to get us to April 23, with only one more week to prepare meals. It will be easy going forward to plan simple meals using the ingredients we have on hand.

We’ll have lightened our load when we leave here in 16 days. Soon, we’ll drop off the two old laptops at a recycling center in Apache Junction, and we will eliminate one of our suitcases, which has broken wheels and won’t be necessary going forward. Traveling on the road for the next several months by car makes traveling much more accessible.

Since we stay in holiday homes or hotels anyway, those we book on the road trip won’t be an extra expense, nor will dining out at the end of each day. The only additional charge we’ll incur on the road trip is the fuel for the rental car and the rental car, although, in most locations, we’ll have a rental car anyway. Even with the high fuel cost, we’ll still be ahead when we won’t incur expenses for flights and baggage.

That’s it for today, folks.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 15, 2014:

Dining on the rooftop, we spotted this familiar Minaret Tower. For more photos, please click here.

Another beautiful day in the desert…Busy cooking for tonight’s family dinner..Convenient routines…

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An odd combination made for me by Madame Zahra, our household cook in Marrakesh, Morocco, consisted of calamari rings, white sauce, and ground beef tagine. It was delicious!

I’ve been in the kitchen all morning, preparing tonight’s dinner to bring to the family. (our place is too tiny for all seven of us). It’s one of our favorite all-in-one dinners: Low Carb Sausage, Mushroom, and Chicken Casserole. Now, it is in the refrigerator, ready to be baked at about 6:00 pm, and ready for the arrival of the fourth of Tom’s six sisters, Rita, who is flying in early this evening.

To go with it, I prepped a huge salad to toss with homemade dressing before serving. There will be enough for the seven of us tonight and plenty of leftovers for everyone for the next few days. Hopefully, they all like it. I feel pretty confident they will. In addition, I froze an uncooked extra pan for the two of us for another dinner that we’ll savor some time in our remaining 17 days until we head to California to see my sister Julie.

Amid my busy morning, I walked, hoping to get in all my daily scheduled steps and yoga exercises. Getting up and out of bed by 7:15, I had plenty of time to do everything, leaving ample time to do today’s post. Yesterday, I cooked and diced the Italian sausages and chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces to include in the dish.

Preparing the meat ahead was a time saver, making this morning’s prep considerably easier. Now, I’m waiting for the washed lettuce to drain in the strainer in the sink and will soon wrap it in a bath towel to dry further in the refrigerator before adding it to the other ingredients in the salad.

It’s funny how we all have little cooking routines, hoping to make the final dinnertime preparations at a minimum. I do not enjoy chopping, dicing, or preparing other ingredients just before dinner. Prepping all the ingredients well in advance makes the final preparation easy.

Once we decide we’re hungry and ready for dinner, the longest it ever takes is to cook a steak, burger, pork chop, or piece of fish and Tom’s white rice, which cooks for 20 minutes in a pot with a lid on the stovetop.

When we did the laundry a few days ago, we folded everything while in the laundry room rather than dumping it into the basket to become wrinkled. This way, we never have to iron, which I’ve rarely done in our travels. Besides, most of our clothes are “wash and wear,” but even those can become wrinkled if not appropriately handled after coming out of a dryer.

This morning on the Garage Logic podcast, Joe Soucheray mentioned how long we stay at new locations, saying, “Boy, when the Lymans come to visit, they sure stay a long time.”

So true. At this point, Joe and his staff have no idea what we’ve been doing in the US for so long due to my current medical issue and planning for the future. Daily, when Tom sends “This Year in Minnesota History,” Joe mentions the ‘traveling Lymans,'” our website, and where we are at any given time. It’s fun that he mentions Tom’s five-day-a-week contribution and our location daily. At some point in the next few months, we’ll explain why we are in the US for so long.

If you haven’t heard this mention of us, click this link, any day of the week, and scroll to the podcast’s last seven or eight minutes to hear Joe mention us. It’s been such fun for us when we listen each day.

That’s it for today, dear readers. Now, I’ll return to walking and soon do the yoga routine which changes daily for 28 days. It’s a good plan at BetterMe.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 13, 2014:

The winding roads through the Atlas Mountains caused me to get queasy, an uncommon occurrence for me. For more photos, please click here.

Stayed in last night…What?…WiFi outage in the US?…

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Handbags are for sale in the souk and all knock-offs. For more photos, please click here.

With the family exhausted from many consecutive late nights of card playing, everyone decided on a restful night in their respective homes. We were happy to have a light bite to eat and lounge, streaming a few series. We hadn’t watched much in the past few weeks since we’ve been playing cards since we arrived almost two weeks ago.

After dinner, we sat on the sofa and the recliner and set up a series to stream, but we were having trouble with the stream. In no time at all, we determined we didn’t have a WiFi connection. Knowing Colleen was streaming her favorite series at home, I texted her to ask if she also had connection problems.

She responded promptly to say she was experiencing the same problem. I asked her for the provider’s name (Mojo) and looked up their number on Google Fi on my phone. No one answered when I left a message about our location, the lack of a signal and my phone number.

Within 20 minutes, I got a call back from Mojo, who told me they had sent a technician to their operations site to fix the problem. Thirty minutes later, it was back on, and we could continue watching our shows until it was time to go to bed. We started a new excellent thriller series, “Pieces of Her,” on Netflix.

Tom always prefers to stop streaming by 9:30, but I can wait longer. He doesn’t go to bed that early, but he prefers to work on his laptop. Since I wasn’t ready for bed, I watched a few episodes of American Idol, which was quite entertaining. When I went to bed, I used the Hulu app on my phone to watch one more episode but fell asleep and awoke to turn it off, finally drifting off for a good night’s sleep.

Since I began my new sleeping regime, I have been sleeping through the night while getting up early each day. It made all the difference in the world; instead of sleeping late when I was awake for two or three hours at night, failing to drift off again until 5:00 am. It feels so much better to be sleeping through the night.

Today, I’m prepping a few ingredients for a dish I’m making to bring to the family for tomorrow’s night dinner. Tom’s sister Rita arrives around 6:30 pm, and we’ll eat shortly after she arrives. Yesterday, Tom and I headed to Fry’s Market to buy the ingredients for Saturday night’s dinner, and we were amazed by the size of the popular grocery store.

We’ve been ordering our groceries from Fry’s but had no idea of the enormous size of this market, which included sections for clothing and household goods. We found all the ingredients easily, although it often required a long walk through the store to locate some of the items.

Without trying, I managed to finish getting all of my daily steps accomplished while shopping. I moved about the store as quickly as possible, Tom following behind, pushing the grocery cart. When we checked out, my membership number provided us with a discount of $29. Wow! That was unexpected.

We’ll only have to shop once or twice more until we depart on May 1. As always, we’ll be striving to use up a few items in the freezer while being creative with the other grocery items we have on hand. It’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through our time in Apache Junction.

That’s it for today, dear readers. Thank you for all the supportive and warm messages we continue receiving while we wait to hear what’s in store for us shortly.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 12, 2014:

These are the walls of a double wall protected by ClubMed in Ouarzazate, Morocco. For more photos, please click here.

Fun day in Apache Junction…A surprise visitor..

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The view from the “lounge room” in our riad in Marrakesh, Morocco, to the center courtyard. All rooms surrounding a center courtyard have drapes covering the doorways.

Yesterday morning, we finished all the laundry, again using an app on our phone for $18 for washing and drying four loads. In between washing and drying, we cleaned the entire park model. Feeling accomplished, we headed to Mary and Eugene’s place to play Buck Euchre more.

When we arrived at Mary’s, we were thrilled to see Tom’s nephew and our friend Kevin, who also enjoys playing cards. He had flown in for 36 hours, and by early this morning, he had already left to return to Florida. It was great to see him again. Perhaps, sometime while we’re in Minnesota, we’ll see him and his wife Kristi when they come to Minnesota for a few weddings.

After playing cards, Colleen brought over a wonderful spread of meat, cheese, crackers, dip, and a platter of fresh fruit with blueberries, strawberries, and more, much of which I could eat. I promised myself I wouldn’t be “cheating” anymore and stuck to the meat, cheese, and berries.

We played Buck Euchre for hours. By 7:00  pm, I was ready to return to our place, allowing another player to take my spot. The game is best played with only four players. There were seven of us, and since Mary doesn’t play, we rotated in and out of the game to allow everyone to play. It was pretty enjoyable, although I don’t often win. But the money I lose is usually no more than $15 per day, which is well worth the entertainment. Tom wins often enough to remain even most days.

Back at the park model by myself, I ate some of the tuna salad I’d made in the morning and settled on the recliner to watch several episodes of American Idol. As it turned out, I haven’t missed one day of working out since we arrived here. I walk on and off until we leave to play cards, get in my planned number of steps, and do the yoga exercise on the BetterMe app on my phone.

It’s rewarding doing this each day. I am on a mission to be as healthy and strong before I face yet another open heart surgery sometime in the next three months or so, a date yet to be determined, as I patiently wait to hear from Cleveland Clinic. Much to my amazement, I am not worrying much.  I have chosen to let my mind stick to the events at hand and not project too much into the future.

Soon, Tom and I are heading to the supermarket to get the ingredients to make a dish for Saturday night when another sister, Rita, is arriving from South Dakota to stay for a few weeks. Mary and Eugene are leaving on April 18 to return to Minnesota, but Rita, Margie, Colleen, Tom, and I will remain in Apache Junction with enough of us to continue to play cards, which is best played with four. Rita doesn’t play but will sit with us as the lively conversations continue as we play.

Talking on the phone with my family members and friends has been comforting; they offer abundant love and support while we’re here. I make a serious effort to stay as upbeat as possible around others. This has become a habit, and I stay cheerful when I am alone. No situation is ever improved by being downtrodden and worried.

“They” say that going into surgery with a positive attitude impacts a positive outcome. That is my ultimate goal, regardless of how frightening it may be, especially as one is wheeled into the operating theatre. Those few minutes were the toughest for me, along with waking up while still intubated. But those times will pass, and hopefully, I will recover better than last time.

Tom is almost done with his shower, and then we’re off to the market. In a funny way, I am looking forward to getting out and browsing the aisles in the market, which I seldom do when we go. It’s nice to see what’s available in the market now and then.

We hope you have an excellent Thursday, wherever you may be.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 11, 2014:

Our last look at the Kasbah Ait Ben Hado in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco before we continued on our way. F r more photos, please click here.

Lunch with the ladies…Relief and peace of mind…

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This was the weirdest Cobb salad I’d ever ordered. I gave Colleen my rice and picked up the rest.

Yesterday, Colleen picked me up, and I rode with her, Mary, and Margie to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch. I love Mexican food, but since I don’t eat tortillas, the only options are taco salads or other types of salads that may be on the menu. When I saw a Cobb salad on their menu, I didn’t hesitate to order it.

Little did I know how skimpy and unappetizing it would be. I gave Colleen the white rice, which is never included with a Cobb salad and was left with the above-shown mess: overcooked bacon, a few tablespoons of dry chicken breast, a third of an avocado, a few tablespoons of diced tomatoes, an abundance of jalapenos, with very little lettuce, all without the usual cheese.

I ate what I could get down and was starving afterward and made a terrible mistake. I ate an entire bowl of tortilla chips left on the table, which isn’t included in my way of eating. I seldom cheat like that and was disappointed in myself for doing so. However, today, I suffered no ill effects and have returned to my usual routine, no worse for the wear.

Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable lunch with the other eight women, and the conversation was lively and animated during the two hours we spent in the restaurant. I had met some of the others four years ago when we stayed at Robert’s Resort before we left for India.

We stayed in last night and had nothing planned for dinner. Thus, I made Tom a ham, onion, and cheese omelet with bacon on the side while I had a bowl of plain Greek yogurt and a protein bar. It was fine.  Around here, it seems few people cook much of a dinner each night, and it’s been easy for us to do the same thing.

Colleen just stopped by to tell us that Kevin, Tom’s adult nephew (wife, Kristi), with whom we got together in Florida last year and again in Eden Prairie last fall, surprised everyone and flew in from Florida last night and will be playing cards with us this afternoon. It will be fun to see him again and especially fun to play cards with him as well. We plan to join them all today at noon, as soon as our laundry is done, and I am finished making a tuna salad to share later today.

We hadn’t done laundry since we arrived on April 1. Once we got the washer using another online app, we returned to our place, and Tom vacuumed and washed the floors while I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom. By the time the washers were done, the place was clean. As the clothes were drying, I continued to work on today’s post.

In about ten minutes, the clothes will be dry, and we’ll head back to the laundry room to load up the clean clothes, after which I’ll fold everything and put it away. Then, we’ll have accomplished everything that we needed to do today other than for me to wrap up this post.

So, what happened yesterday when my UPS package to Cleveland Clinic was delivered but missing? Tina, the doctor’s assistant, contacted me in the afternoon writing that she’d found the package. Now, my two-week waiting period to hear about an appointment time starts over again. This isn’t very pleasant. However, we’ll continue with our plans until we know more.

Wherever we may be in the US, it won’t take more than five days to get to Cleveland. There’s nothing more we can do. We’ve both decided to stay calm and relaxed about hearing the news and will enjoy our time in each upcoming location, as we’d planned originally.

That’s it for today, folks. Hugs to all of you!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 10, 2014:

Stopping at a popular overlook while touring the Atlas Mountains in Morocco with a driver, we spotted what appeared to be a soccer field at a local school. For more photos, please click here.

Oh, oh…an unexpected glitch impacting our lives…

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Sunset in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2014.

As soon as I awoke this morning, I checked my phone for any messages, hoping to hear from Cleveland Clinic about my appointment date. Initially, I was thrilled to see a message from the doctor’s assistant but frustrated when I read the message stating they hadn’t received my package from UPS, which I sent on April 1.

Immediately, I found the receipt for the shipment and tracked the result, which clearly stated it had been received on April 2. Tina, the doctor’s assistant, couldn’t find the package. This is very problematic. Every day lost is one more day that I am walking around with a time bomb in my chest.

I have been communicating back and forth with Tina and hope I’ll soon discover she’s located the packet. If not, I must start the process again, returning to day zero. This is beyond stressful and frustrating. Some of the documents required my signature. They don’t do online document signing.

So, I must go to another UPS store, sign the papers and ship them overnight. It would have been easier if I had emailed them, but they insisted on a shipment. I sent Tina the actual receipt that it was received on April 2 at the correct address and the name of the person receiving the package. What more can I do?

Now, I wait for Tina to notify me that she’s found the package. I am not happy about the stress of this situation, but as I wrote a few days ago, patience must prevail, and I am working to stay calm and maintain an even keel. It’s situations like this that are most stressful for one’s health.

At the moment, Tom is researching rental cars for when we depart here on May 1, and he was able to book a car to get us to Minneapolis, returning the vehicle on May 30 in Minneapolis at the airport. We are checking to see what might be available on May 30, depending on the schedule for Cleveland Clinic, since that will be the beginning of the long Memorial Day weekend.

Everything we are booking now is up in the air since we know nothing about where we’ll be any time over the next few months. But having cars and hotels booked gives us peace of mind as long as they are cancellable. No longer do we book anything that doesn’t offer a free cancellation.

Since COVID-19 has settled down, more venues offer free cancellations. This is particularly helpful for us right now.

On another note, yesterday, we went to the Apache Junction VFW for “Taco Tuesday” on Monday. Both Tom and I ordered taco salads without beans. He ordered his salad with the taco shell; mine was plain. The portions were very small, but the food was fresh and tasty.

Soon, Colleen will pick me up for the “girl’s lunch” they had previously planned with neighbors, asking me if I wanted to join them. I happily agreed. It had been a while since I attended a girl’s lunch, and it sounded like a fun idea. Tom will stay in our unit while I’m gone. Most likely, later in the day, we’ll play Buck Euchre again. We played yesterday afternoon, but I gave up my seat to Colleen at about 7:30 pm.

Tom drove me to our park model and returned to Margie’s to play cards while I spent the remainder of the evening streaming mindless drivel while playing with my phone. It was a relaxing and easy evening.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 9, 2014:

The pointy-toed shoes remind us of magic carpets and flowing gowns typical of the perception of Morocco, which is not too far from reality, minus the flying carpet, of course. For more photos, please click here.

What does the solar eclipse have to do with world travel?…

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This was a menu at a restaurant in the Medina in Marrakesh.

We’d considered writing about the solar eclipse today, but after all the news hitting the airwaves, we figured all our readers had seen enough about it, and writing here would be redundant. However, we asked ourselves, “What does the solar eclipse have to do with world travel?”

It has plenty to do with it. After all, we are “world travelers,” which consists of exploring land and water on our wonderful planet. Yes, regardless of what is transpiring in the world and fear-mongering, we still believe this is a beautiful planet and health-providing down the road; we still plan to scour it with wonder and hope in our hearts (no pun intended).

For us, the past 11½ years that we’ve traveled the world has been magical, even during those less-than-desirable stays in locations we found less pleasant than others. We learned something interesting about every country, town, and village we visited during this extended period. We’re grateful for all the experiences.

Some of our friends and family members have asked us if we plan to stay in the US for the long term. As we’ve mentioned many times, at this point, the only thing keeping us here is health and the upcoming family visits. Once I recover from the surgery, we plan to continue to travel.

Most likely, we’ll return to the US more frequently than we did in the past, mainly for health checks and to see family. It’s all up in the air right now, and I do not know what’s next until I’m notified in the next few weeks.

Are there a lot of countries we’re longing to visit? Not necessarily, but there are specific locations we’d like to see and some locations we’ve visited in the past. Tom’s favorite place is Penguin, Tasmania, and I also loved it. It’s a long distance from wherever we may be, but we can get there in stages or by cruise, which would be especially enjoyable. There again, it all depends on health.

Last night, after an early light dinner, we made our way to Margie’s home, and again, we played cards. The game we play, Buck Euchre, is best played with four players. I’d played for a few hours with Tom, Margie, and Eugene, and when Colleen arrived around 7:30 after we’d finished a round, I decided to head back over to our place to give her a chance to play and after many late nights, a restful evening was in order. Tom stayed and continued to play cards.

Back at our place, I scoured our streaming services but could not find a good movie or series. I started three movies but couldn’t get into them after watching each for 20 minutes. Finally, I ended up playing games on my phone. Around 11:00 pm, Tom returned. We chatted for a while and then headed off to bed. By then, it was midnight. Awakening at 6:00 am, I didn’t sleep enough and am dragging a bit today.

We’re currently waiting for a grocery order, which should arrive within an hour. Around noon, we’re all off to the local VFW for Taco Tuesday every Monday. Go figure. Since I don’t eat taco shells, I’ll have mine as a taco salad without taco chips or a bowl-shaped shell.

Most likely, Tom will eat enough that he won’t want to have dinner tonight. If I’m hungry, I can make something for myself. No big deal. Most likely, we’ll play cards again later in the day with the sisters and Eugene. It’s pretty fun! I love playing that game. It’s easy to learn (and remember), and the games are exciting yet challenging. Tom and I have always enjoyed playing cards.

Tom’s new laptop arrives today, so if I quit playing cards early enough, I will work on setting up his new device. Since he doesn’t have many apps and files, it will be easy, taking no more than an hour.

That’s it for today, folks. If you can see the eclipse, please do so with caution, wearing appropriate eyewear, and avoid looking into a viewfinder with a camera or other device. Also, I read that cameras, including those on smartphones, can be damaged when taking photos of an eclipse.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 8, 2014:

With smaller portions of meat typically served in Morocco at each meal, side dishes are a huge factor in rounding out a meal. Unable to have bread, potatoes, couscous, rice, or other grains, Madame Zarah made a variety of vegetables to ensure I got enough to eat. Without prompting, she discovered that egg dipping slices of aubergine (eggplant) and cauliflower sauteed in olive oil help round out an otherwise less filling meal. For more photos, please click here.

Patience, a virtue?…

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Unusual-looking pastries in Marrakesh, Morocco.

What is the meaning of patience?

“Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford LanguagesLearn more
  1. about the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
    “you can find bargains if you have the patience to sift through the dross.”
  2. BRITISH
    any of various forms of card game for one player, the object of which is to use up all one’s cards by forming particular arrangements and sequences; solitaire.”

There are countless situations in our daily lives that require patience. We’ve found that when traveling the world, a number of circumstances tap into our ability to be patient. Why exercise this aspect of life?

For us, it all boils down to avoiding negative emotions that result in stress. Yes, stress is good for us to some degree when we have a variety of tasks to accomplish. It can motivate us to get a “job done,” let alone a “job well done” or, in other cases, a task accomplished with finesse and dedication.

But patience is often the barometer of how we feel when we don’t have total control of a situation’s timing…and we must wait patiently.

Right now, we need to be incredibly patient when our lives are up in the air. If we had a permanent home, the current state of being might be easier. We could go about our daily lives and responsibilities, only waiting for an appointment, a result, or a change in situation.

For us, waiting for the upcoming appointment is an event that can greatly impact our lives, which is prevalent in our minds now as we wait to hear when our appointment at the Cleveland Clinic will be. It has entirely put our lives on hold in the following manner:

  1. We can’t book a hotel in California when we leave here in 23 days to visit my sister.
  2. We can’t confirm our visit to Utah to see friends Gary and Marylin on our way to Minnesota.
  3. We can’t confirm our arrival date to Minnesota and Wisconsin to visit family when we may end up in Cleveland during that previously planned visit.
  4. When we hear from Cleveland Clinic, we may have to leave here right away before the end of the one-month rental, in the event of an early arranged appointment (less likely).
  5. We can’t book prepaid cars now for better pricing while we’re unsure of dates.

I am more inclined to plan things, so my patience is being tested. Tom is okay, not knowing what’s next until the last minute. That’s more of a “guy thing” (not intended to stereotype all males as possessing this quality). But, I am taking lots of deep breaths and continuing to exercise to control any potential stress that this experience may precipitate.

Is patience a virtue? I found this little morsel online that sums it up quite nicely:

“Patience is a virtue in many religions and moral traditions. It is defined as the ability to wait without complaint and to respond to minor irritations with kindness and gentleness. Patience is also considered a moral virtue that can contribute to happiness and living well.”

So true! I am working on it, staying busy, cheerful, and without complaint. We’ll see how that goes.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 7, 2014:

The mosque in Medina, Marrakesh, Morocco, lit at unset. For more photos, please click here.

I made a mistake…What are the consequences?…

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Historic town in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

We planned to purchase a new laptop for Tom once we arrived in Arizona. Once unpacked and situated in Apache Junction, we researched online to find Tom a new laptop, either from Costco or Amazon, locations we’ve found to have the best selection and overall pricing.

His 14″ Chromebook, purchased in India in 2020, has lost several features and wasn’t worth repairing when laptops are reasonably priced. I suggested he return to using a Windows device, which he preferred over a Chromebook. Like me, he likes the convenience of having folders on his desktop, which isn’t possible with a Chromebook with a lot of hassle.

I ordered a new Acer laptop, almost identical to the one I have, knowing it would be delivered the next day. For some odd reason, several hours later, I checked the order I’d placed only to discover I had mistyped the address to the RV park, Robert’s Resort. The street address is 1403 W Broadway Ave, and I typed 1405 West Broadway.

Immediately upon discovering this, I called Amazon to explain my error. They explained the provider had already shipped it, and it was too late to change the address. Looking on Maps to see if there was such an address at 1405 W Broadway existed, and there was none. UPS, not Amazon, was delivering the package.

I called UPS, hoping to fix this situation, but my request was impossible. They said to wait until the package was noted as undeliverable three times, and then they’d send it back to the provider, a computer company in another state.

The first delivery was attempted on Wednesday, to which I received a notification. No other attempts were made. Oddly, the same day I ordered the laptop, I ordered a separate item, which was delivered to us even with the wrong address. The driver figured it out. Good grief, my phone number was on the UPS order. Wouldn’t you think the driver would call?

During this time, I talked to an Amazon driver who happened to be in the neighborhood, and he said, “It’s not rocket science to figure out how to call the receiver if the address is wrong.” I agreed, but the UPS driver with the laptop didn’t bother to contact me. I must have spent two hours on the phone, much of which was on hold, trying to talk to someone at UPS only to find the driver couldn’t be notified. Go figure!

Back on the phone with Amazon, when there was no second attempt to deliver the package, they agreed to give me a full refund. However, it was apparent to me, after being on the phone with Amazon for about 40 minutes, that getting a refund wasn’t a “given.” In many cases, if the purchaser frequently returned items, the money might have been lost. It was $511, an amount we’d have been shocked to “lose” due to my error.

After reviewing my long history with Amazon since 1995, I rarely returned anything when I was determined to research times before making purchases. When I purchased clothing that could conceivably not fit, I usually purchased brands I knew would fit, such as two pairs of identical jeans I bought a few weeks ago that were sized precisely as I knew they would.

Finally, Amazon approved the full credit yesterday, and shortly after that, I ordered the laptop again with the corrected address, which will be delivered today. As a result of today’s delivery arriving after 4:00 pm, we invited the sisters, Mary, Margie, and Colleen, and brother-in-law Eugene, to come here to play cards and have a bite to eat to ensure we would be here for the delivery, which requires a signature due to the cost of the item.

Of course, I am grateful to Amazon for the credit already appearing on my credit card. Whew! What a relief! I asked myself how I made the error when I had a Robert’s Resort business card beside me on the little table beside the sofa, clearly marked with the address. Who knows? I am not exempt from making errors.

Ultimately, today will be a fun day with the family, with peace of mind to resolve this issue and hopefully win at Buck euchre!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 6, 2014:

We were shocked to see this horse’s bloodied neck, obviously from wearing the usual bulky harnesses as shown in the above photo. Thank goodness the owner had put on a lighter-weight harness. But it still looked like it must continue irritating the poor horse. This was heartbreaking to see. For more photos, please click here.