WHAT A BUSY DAY!

What a day we had yesterday. It started EARLY, when Odel got up early to deal with a car problem (!) in below-freezing tempertures (our low here in Naco was 19 degrees). When we tried to drive to a family birthday party on Friday night, Jules II would NOT start. Odel got a poor night's sleep and wasn't surprised to find that Jules still didn't start in the morning.

Frank came over in the freezing weather, jump started the car and, before I even was dressed, Odel was back with a new battery and renewed faith in Jules II.

Since we were making a trip to Tucson later in the day, I was working on our Costco list and our Trader Joe's list and we were watching a poor guy try, and try, and try, and try to park his 5th wheel when a helicopter started buzzing overhead. It was SO CLOSE, circling the RV park and the golf clubhouse/restaurant... we thought it was a border patrol incident. When we saw a knot of people standing near the clubhouse, we were afraid someone had had a heart attack on the golf course.

Surprise! None of the above - it was Santa! The helicopter landed, Santa climbed out and ambled in the direction of the clubhouse, surrounded by kids. Wow.

Next, we were off to pick up my Mom and Dad and away we went to the Tucson airport. No traffic problems, so we got them to their flight on time. Next stop, Costco.

WHAT WERE WE THINKING??? Well, since we were in Tucson, Costco was on the list regardless of the fact that it was SATURDAY, TWO WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS! If you could get your cart through the people and tasting tables jamming the aisles, the checkout lines weren't bad. We weren't in a rush, so we mostly went with the flow (I only got irritable once; I can't imagine why Costco would set up a tasting table that blocked half the aisle).

Since Costco was too crowded to get all the tastes we had counted on for our lunch, we needed food before our next stop, Trader Joe's. Quizno's isn't a fun, local spot, but it was right there on the side of the road going in the right direction for TJ's, so we pulled it - and had a DELICIOUS lunch. I tried their new "Sammies", little folded flatbread sandwiches the size (and price) of a taco. Two of these were just right for me - and FAST, a good thing. Soon we were headed for TJ's.

TJ's was fast and efficient. With Jules now completely laden with food and wine, we headed for our last stop, one I had looked forward to all day.

Here is a picture of me with two previously "virtual" friends, Jo and Judie. I met Judie, in the middle, a year or so ago. Judie and her husband Gary are Escapee Boomers, and we first "met" on the Boomers electronic bulletin board. Judie and Gary live in Sierra Vista (usually), but Gary is undergoing cancer treatment (successfully, it appears) in a hospital in Tucson now, so Judie is in Tucson, too.

On the left is Jo, who I met through her "Wandering Wishnies" blog this summer. She and Fred, her husband, did the Epicurian Walking Tour in Portland that Odel and I had done 2 or 3 weeks earlier... Judie pointed me to Jo's blog to read the posting. So Judie knew Jo "virtually", and they planned to meet at Jo's favorite coffee shop at 4 pm. I mentioned to Judie in email that I was going to Tucson yesterday and, in a flurry of emails completed in under an hour, I had the details of the meet.

It was so fun to meet these women whose lives I follow through blogs and emails. The conversation (and drinks and sweets) gave Odel and me the energy to make the drive home to Naco where we hauled our purchases in, put 'em on the table, gave thanks that it appeared the new battery had solved the car problem, changed into sweats and slippers, and took a deep breath. That's a busy day for us!