Amy's Rear View Mirror

Superior AZ and Thanksgiving

November 2003

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

On the way back from an Apache Celebration in Globe, Mom, Dad and I stopped tow alk around the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  In the 1920s mining magnate Colonel William Boyce Thompson founded a 320 acre collection of desert plants at the foot of Picketpost Mountain near Superior, Arizona. He wanted to create the most beautiful and useful arboretum of its kind in the world, and to instill in people an appreciation of plants. Now more than seven decades later, the Arboretum has grown to include two miles of walking paths and a place for learning.

Thanksgiving Week

Saturday I had plans with the local singles club. My brother and his family were driving down from Boulder CO to spend the week and Mom & Dad's house.

Sunday we all piled into my brother's van and went to the Scottsdale Art Fest at the Civic Plaza. We had a great time walking around looking at all the art. We're all into art collecting. I got to introduce everyone to my artist friends, Tina & Scott Luchansky. They're the ones that I had make everyone's Christmas presents this year. Tina & Scott were so thrilled to meet everyone so they know where their art pieces are going. I also got to show Mom & Dad the masks and jugs made from gourds that Tina & Scott's friends make ... they had a booth at the show too. On the way home we stopped at Champps at the Biltmore where we had a late lunch/early supper.

Anna decided she wanted to go with me to spend the night in the rig. So we packed up an overnight bag in her backpack. When we got here we took Lady for a walk and then got ready for bed. She helped me pull the couch out and put sheets on it. Then we laid on her bed and watched TV. She had never seen Bonanza before, so we watched it and I told her stories about her dad when he was little. He used to watch Bonanza and we'd make up silly games to play based on things they did on the show.

Monday morning we got up, got ready, put the couch back for Lady and drove up to mom & dad's. Scott & Lori went hiking near Black Canyon, dad had to work, and Mom & I took Anna clothes shopping and to Castles and Coasters. We played a game of miniature golf and then gave Anna $10 worth of credits in the arcade. Mom & I helped her play skee ball, I played a game of air hockey with her, and she spent the rest on other games. She came home with a teddy bear from one of those pick and grab machines.

I guess Scott had said he wanted steak for supper. Dad went to the store to pick up 3 steaks for Scott, Lori and I. He and mom had chicken. Anna ate Mac & Cheese as usual. Dad seasoned the meat, but had no idea how to cook it. Mom & Dad haven't eaten red meat since 1974. So I helped him grill the steaks, he grilled the chicken and some zucchini slices while Scott made potatoes on the stove.

Tuesday was a really long day. Mom & I took Anna to the Wildlife World Zoo and it took us 4.5 hours to go through it all. We did everything! ... walked the entire park, rode the Australian boat ride, rode the African Train, fed the Lori Parrots, fed the Turacos, went into the children's petting barn to feed the goats and deer.

We decided we needed to exchange our gifts tonight instead of on Thanksgiving. We heard that the Denver area has at least 5 inches of snow and we all chipped in to get Anna an electric scooter. If we waited until Thanksgiving night she wouldn't be able to ride it when she got home. So we did it tonight so she can spend the rest of the week riding. It was lots of fun seeing everyone's expressions when they opened their gifts. I got a Nesco 6 QT roaster, a Messaluna (an herb mincing set), a new coffee grinder, DVDs of the first 2 Matrix movies, and a Brule CD.

Wednesday mom & I took Anna to see The Cat in the Hat. What a horrible movie!! It was nothing like the book and it took all I had to sit through it. Anna liked it. We also did some Christmas shopping for friends. Anna is starting to collect the state quarters so while we were out I got her the State Quarter book. She spent the evening quizzing us on the states using the information in the quarter book. It was really entertaining. She went around the table asking each of us questions. Sometimes we answered for each other, sometimes we asked for a hint. It was really funny.

Thanksgiving ... Boy, was it a long day! I got to mom & dad's at 9 AM to find dad home alone cooking. Everyone else was on the neighborhood Turkey Trott ... a 4 mile walk for charity.  So I helped dad with the cooking. Between the 2 of us we made cornbread stuffing with italian sausage which got roasted in a turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry mousse, pear pie, pumpkin pie, green beans, portobello gravy, and re-heated the smoked turkey he made last Saturday. We finally had everything ready around 3 PM. Sometime around 7 PM we were finally ready for dessert. I got home at 9:30 tonight and was exhausted.

Friday morning I got up early and was at mom & dad's by 8:30 AM. I took Anna all the state quarters I had so she could check her new book to see if she needed them. She only needed 3 that I had. Just this week, between the quarters mom & I had she's got all the Denver mint ones that are out except for 7. She wrote a list of those 7 to leave with us so we can help her look for them. My brother and his wife spent the morning packing their van and were ready to pull out at 10:30 AM.

I stayed at mom & dad's until noon and then came home to relax. I walked to the end of the campground with Lady and spent some time talking with a few friends. Then we came home and took a nap the rest of the afternoon.

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