When we lived on eight acres out in the country in Alabama, Alli had plenty of room to roam. Now we have about an acre here in Show Low, Arizona, more than half of it with a high fence. She’s still got room to run and play, but she hasn’t had a lot of socialization […]
Several readers have contacted me to tell me that I goofed with our last blog drawing. I usually start the contest on Thursday and draw the winner and announce them on Sunday evening. But with all the things going on with us going out of town for Terry’s parents’ 75th anniversary, I became calendar-challenged and […]
They call the White Mountains of east-central Arizona a sportsman’s paradise. The dense Ponderosa pine forests are home to a variety of wildlife, from bear and mountain lions, to elk, deer, antelope, and many varieties of small game. The numerous lakes and rivers are full of trout, bass, and other species of fish. Besides hunters […]
Back-to-back storm systems are coming through our area of northern Arizona, and yesterday was incredibly windy. I read reports of some wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour, and almost half of Show Low lost electric due to trees taking down the power lines. Fortunately for us, we weren’t in the affected area and […]
It looks like winter has come to the White Mountains of Arizona. A cold front sweeping through the region is bringing snow and rain with it, and we’re told that we can expect up to 4 inches of the white stuff here at our house in Show Low. Ten miles up the road in Pinetop-Lakeside, […]
I dropped Terry off at her parents’ house yesterday morning and then I went to a gun show at the Mesa Convention Center. It was one of the better shows I’ve been to in a long time, and there were all kinds of neat things on display. It’s a good thing I didn’t have a […]
We got our first snow of the season here in Show Low, Arizona yesterday. Though it wasn’t a blizzard, it was definitely a preview of things to come. We awoke to a very gray day, and after my morning routine of letting Allie out and checking email and such, about 1 o’clock I left the […]
We were up and on the road early yesterday morning, headed back home to Show Low because we had to be here in time to celebrate the gender reveal of our first great-grandchild. Granddaughter Destiny was in charge of the arrangements, and even Toby and Hailey, Dad and Mom to be, didn’t know yet what […]
One of the best things about our return to Arizona is being able to have time with family. Yesterday, we had a family dinner at Terry’s parents’ house near Apache Junction that made it well worth the trip down from the mountains, even if we do have to turn around and go back home to […]
On a visit to our daughter Tiffany and her family in Show Low last year, we met a friend of theirs named Charlie who runs a food trailer called Charlie’s Smoke Wagon. I had absolutely the best brisket sandwich I’ve ever had in my life that day. Charlie and his wife Patti are wonderful people, […]
I’m back with more questions from blog readers. While I try to answer all questions individually, I also share some here occasionally. Q. Now that you’ve been back in Show Low for a while, are you surprised by all of the changes? We summer there every year and it seems more crowded and traffic is […]
When you live in fire country like we do, insurance companies can be very cautious when writing a policy. I discovered that when I called the Allstate office in Flagstaff, since there is none in the Show Low area. Allstate insures our home in Alabama and all of our vehicles, and I have nothing but […]
We woke up in Tucumcari, New Mexico Monday morning full of optimism, knowing we only had about six hours left on our trip back to our hometown of Show Low, Arizona. We were expecting it to be easy-peasy, but we had no idea how wrong we were. Son-in-law Kenny is a top-rated automotive technician who […]
So much has happened during our move from Alabama to our old hometown of Show Low, Arizona, that I decided it was best to tell the story one day at a time. In my recent blog post The Best Laid Plans, I said that we had so much to take that we wound up having […]
We’re getting down to the wire with our move. The crew will be here early tomorrow morning (Thursday) to pack everything in boxes, and tomorrow afternoon we pick up a U-Haul truck, a cargo trailer, and a trailer to haul the Kawasaki Mule. Friday morning the crew will be back to load the trailer and […]
Thank you to everybody who left positive comments on the blog and on Facebook about the news of our upcoming move back home to Arizona. Even with the help of a professional company to do the packing and loading of the truck, it’s still going to be a big job. We have been busy sorting […]
We had a four-hour drive ahead of us when we woke up yesterday morning, and since Terry had driven the entire trip to Arizona and back, it just made sense for her to take us all the way home. Besides, that way I could nap while she drove. It sure was good to pull into […]
My pretty wife has always been a hard worker and has held many jobs in her life, from a waitress when she was in high school to working in a bank, to being a licensed glass contractor. And yesterday she proved she could do just fine as a long-haul trucker, too. We left the hotel […]
Terry’s mother’s health took a turn and she is in in-home hospice care, so we decided we needed to come to Arizona to see her and spend some time with our family here, bouncing between our old hometown of Show Low and the Mesa/Apache Junction area, where Terry’s parents live. It’s good to see everybody, […]
During my small town newspaper publishing days I covered a lot of crimes and the follow-up when the perpetrators were arrested. Sometimes it was very hard to keep a straight face with the things I heard said in courtrooms. Here are a few examples. In Show Low, Arizona a young man was brought into court […]