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Morning ladies, I agree something needs to be done about the credit card fraud. Cheri's idea is sound, report to the fraud department of your cc's and let them handle it. If enough complaints are made, maybe they'll figure out who is doing it. I do suspect the Desert Rose. I'm so sorry this has happened to you especially since I picked the place out. They had my credit card too, but I did the charges over the internet and they didn't get my card number when I was there because Arlene left hers. I haven't had any issues with my cards....and I'm checking because I did use them in Argentina. So far so good. I think the common link is the Desert Rose. Bad people!!! My cleaning lady quit again. I think she is having health issues, so guess I'm going to learn how to clean house again. It's a good thing since I don't have any money and I won't get my first check until December. I finally got someone following up on the insurance thing and it will get fixed, it just may take a while. So off to house cleaning....it hasn't been done for 6 weeks and even I am disgusted with it. She didn't come before Argentina and was supposed to come while we were gone but didn't, so now it's really building up. BBL Eva

Apples, thanks for the recipe again. This one sounds very good. I love cranberries. Sorry to you all with the credit card issues. I've been watching mine since I used them in Argentina and you just never know. More pictures. These are of the architecture in Buenos Aires. I also posted a whole bunch of pictures in Facebook, so you can go there and see most of them.

So, in my new retired life....right......I went for a walk today. Yeah me. You would think after all that walking in Argentina with a heavy back pack it would be a breeze to walk today. Nope, not, nadda. I only walked 30 minutes and can feel it. It's not like I'm done in for the day, but I thought this walk would be easy and I was surprised it wasn't that easy. Joyce, it might be a great idea to go to Guam after moving your son back to KC. You won't have to deal with the stuff that may come up from that. Congrats on the NSV....it is a very positive reinforcement when people notice. See I'm jealous of you going to Guam, another exotic place to visit. Arlene, we bought the camera used from a friend and it's a Olympus E-300. I think it is only a 5meg digital camera, but it has all the bells and whistles. It can be used on auto or you can do all the settings manually. DH is very good with a camera and he took most of these pictures, but not all. It's big and heavy and not a lot of fun to carry around, but it does take great photos. I'm thrilled with the digital media because you get instant gratification from your shots. If you want to touch them, you can always have them printed. So I submitted a resume today. I can't believe I'm doing this already. But, I got my insurance information and I have to pay a lot each month to keep my insurance and when the service center called me today, they told me I only had 9 years of service and was not entitled to retirement benefits. I came unglued and started crying. So now that I'm over that, I'm taking this up the ladder to as high as I have to. I wonder what happened to my other 25 years. This will be resolved. Okay, on to another project...mainly laundry. Later, ee

2nd installment These are in Buenos Aires (BA). The first full day were were there we went to two street fairs. The first was the antiques fair which was walking distance from our hotel, the 2nd one we had to take a taxi to and was not a touristy place. These were the everyday people of BA. At the first fair, there were tango dancers and muscians. I'm including some pictures of them. The weird thing was a couple of days after taking the picture of the old couple doing the tango, I saw a picture of them in my Lonely Planet travel guide. It was the same people. So cool. At the 2nd fair, live bands were playing traditional music and people were literally dancing in the street. 1. first fair, young couple doing tango 2. old couple doing tango 3. I think these guys were famous at one time, they had old publicity photos of themselves plastered to the wall behind them. The guy in the tux sang. 4. you can see Greg & Cindy and the back of my head in this shot of all the people crammed into this street. 5. 2nd street fair, spontaneous dancing going on. You guys need to tell when you are tired of pictures because I have many more.

Lori, congrats on the Grandma status....just think of all those frilly little girl dresses........good luck on catching a flight!! LauraK, pictures will be forth coming Laura, we stayed in Puerto Iguazu at a place on the "other" side of town. It was a time-share deal. We went to the falls 2 days but couldn't get to the Brazil side or Paraguay because we didn't have the Visa's or the time to get them. Didn't know it would take 2 days plus $$ for them. We were able to cross the boarder of Uruguay and Chile without anything extra. Next time we'll do our homework. The helicopter rides are only offered from the Brazil side or we would have done that too. Pictures: 1. Chile, DH and me 2. DH at the GPS coordinate sign...this thrilled him to no end. 3. Chile from where we had lunch 4. Bariloche from the top of the gondola ride (lake district) Cindy, Greg, me, and DH 5. A better shot of the lake....they call this the lake district for a good reason...they are every where and just beautiful.

Pictures....1st installment Bariloche, me and the back of Greg & Cindy (friends) They are taking forever to upload so only 1 picture now. More tomorrow. ee

Happy Birthday Julie. You are probably so busy right now you won't even get to enjoy your special day, but well wishes are heading your way!! Arlene, so glad to hear you are doing so well. Exercising regularly is so helpful and I don't know why we resist doing it. I know I've missed some stuff because I didn't go back and read everything, but how's the new GB and DD? Joyce, so you got a fill? How are you doing? So you want to see Lori's grandbaby's sex? I just about laughed myself off the chair....sorry, I know what you mean, but it just looked funny in writing...yes, I do have a twisted mind. Janet, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. COPD isn't pretty and I bet she is scared. I hope she and you can find some peace. You are right, food isn't going to help and you have presence of mind to know that. Phyl, what happened to Earl? I missed that part. Whatever it was, I'm glad he is doing better. Linda, is your SD still in the hospital? Do you have your GD again? Apples, I'd love to see a picture of you in your little pink hat and covered in corn dust. It's a good thing you love this time of year because you sure work your back side off. Jodi, good luck on your interview. Laura, YIPEE, you get your DH back soon. I bet you did miss him and he missed you and Nelson. Glad the job is going well. Hello to everyone I've missed. So my first day home and I've been so busy, I haven't had time to check the thread. Had a dentist appointment, had to shop for groceries (didn't have any fresh anything), a friend called to talk about a job, my sister texted and wants me and the other sister to move all her stuff out of her house now. Gee what happened to retirement? Argentina was great. I walked miles and saw so much stuff. We did the Evita tour (went to Palace Rosario, the grave site at Recoleta, and to her museum which had many photos and a lot of her clothes). We started the trip in Bariloche which is their ski area with many many many lakes. It was beautiful. We drove across the border to Chile and had lunch there. Then we spent a week in Buenos Aries. Lots of walking, taxi rides, eating wonderful beef, drinking limoncello and malbec wine. We drove out to an estancia and had a great conversation with a goucho. Visited an amazing cathedral and drank more limoncello. Oh, there was shopping involved. I bought two new leather purses. One small black bag and another large brown leather bag. I'll take pictures and post them later. Most of the other stuff was small trinkets. Oh, did I mention the tango? We saw people doing the tango in the streets. We also went to the oldest ballroom in BA and watched a bunch of old people doing the tango. It was wonderful. We also went to Uruguay to a little town called Colonia. After BA (Buenos Aries) we went to Iguazu. The pictures can't do it justice. There was an amazing amount of Water. I did a jet boat ride that took you very close in to the falls and got soaked. It took me all day to dry out, but it was worth it. Saw tucans flying around the trees and coati's begging. There were herds of coati's and they didn't run away from the cameras. I got to fly home 1st class (oh my that was very nice). I used mileage points to do that and it was worth it. I was able to catch an earlier flight to Dallas instead of Miami and then caught another early flight to Tucson. I was home by 11am. That was really nice too. I'll post a few pictures on another post. Okay, later ladies, my brain if fried again. Must have been all the limoncello and wine. Eva

Hello, I'm back. I'm trying to catch up, sort of, but I think I'm fading. Just wanted to say hello and I'll catch you up on the trip later. It was awesome. Haven't downloaded pictures yet but will try and get that done too. Later Eva

Hey Arlene, glad to see you made it home. I just walked in a few minutes ago. Good trip and no problems but was surprised by the rain around Kingman again. Lots of rain. DH said we got about an inch of rain here yesterday and you can see the high Water marks everywhere. Cool, we need the water. I'm really tired...not enough sleep, but had a great time are really enjoyed meeting everyone. Arlene was a great room mate, couldn't have asked for better. Gotta go take a nap...will check in later. Eva

Fly by....and for those of you flying...truly wave when you fly by. I'm about ready to head for Phoenix so I will see you all tomorrow. Have great flights all of you and I'll see you all tomorrow. Oh, we have a baby (tortoise) just found it this afternoon. Later, Eva

Jodi, welcome to the desert!! Limo that holds 14...that will be an experience I haven't had yet! It's going to be around 100 here for the rest of the week. Yes, middle of the night post again. It will be good when I'm not employeed and I have these back/foot issues and don't have to worry about feeling like crap at work. I'm bad, I haven't read the rest of the posts but figure I'd catch up with you soon. Just checking in. Eva

I can't believe how many pages you've guys added since yesterday. UUhhh skunk, Sandy, I don't envy you this morning. Had my house skunked once. Had to move (fortunately it was a rental). We're pretty lucky here, no skunks, just javalinas and they smell skunky but don't spray. Lori, glad the scumbag got what he deserved. 44 years is good. Sorry your DD isn't feeling well...hope she starts feeling better as the pregnancy progresses. Same for your DD Julie. Check your luggage instead of carrying it on. Then your cold/hot packs won't make a difference. Also, you won't have to lift them up and down out of the bins. I hate dragging bags through the airplanes and avoid it if I can. Apples, sorry about DS. We'll talk in person and you can vent as much as you want. I can always go to San Diego and kick his butt for you too. Pecan pie is okay, but not my favorite either. I like real cherry pie...as in pick the sour cherries off the tree pie. I think apple pie is pretty good too. We had a jag of apple pie baking last year because of a recipe from Alton Brown. I finally got the crust down really well. Need the apples to be tart enough too. I also believe there isn't anything too rich for me...love butter, creams, and that sort of thing....like chocolate. Three more early mornings. I'm leaving early tomorrow because I have a 4pm appoint for eyebrows and pedicure. It's only a few minutes away from work, so I shouldn't have any problem making that appointment. Got my hair done on Saturday. It looks fine, no icky red. I'm avoiding packing....don't know why, but I can't concentrate on it. Too tired I guess. Hope everyone has a good night. Eva

Phyl, you're driving so you do have a little bit more flexibility. I'm glad I'm not flying this time....I can bring my pillow!!! Sorry about the heat....I'm ready for it to cool down some...say low 80's would be great!! ee

Sandy congrats on the 5K...that is absolutely fabulous. Have fun with your Dad's B-day party. Yes, white is acceptable in Vegas. Yes, the air conditioning is usually extreme, bring a sweater or something especially if you are wearing sleeveless. And as Linda says, it's a dry heat. You'll be surprised how nice it will be when it's in the 80's in the morning and evenings. And I'm bringing a bathing suit too. I never do this because I look like crap in one, but I don't care, if the pool is warm, I'm there! Tucson and Vegas have very similar weather. Jodi, the offer of the limo is fabulous. I wouldn't mind going to a club....never done that before, just done the casinos. I don't line dance or karaoke either but people watching is fun. I'm up for whatever!! Joyce, I want to work for your companies. Sounds like a great place to be employed. Oh yeah, I'm giving that up for a bit. Julie, it's good to hear from you. Sorry DD is having a rough time already, hope it smooths out and she starts feeling better. It will be much nicer in Vegas than it was in Florida. It was darn cold in Florida this year. Vegas will be hot, but everything has A/C and you can walk for miles without ever going outside. Take care of yourself so you can have fun when you get here. Arlene, yes, I'm looking forward to having you as my roommate. Less than a week to go. Didn't sleep well last night and feel like dodo today. DH and I stayed up until midnight watching the DVR and I thought I'd fall right asleep. Nope, so I finally get ready to go to bed about 1 and the cat barfs.....had to clean that up (fortunately on the tile). Then I'm trying to fall asleep and the dogs starts licking and licking...usually a sign of something. She is a bit incontinent and she had made a large puddle (again on the tile) so I had to clean that up. Poor thing, it just runs out of her, it isn't like she can't wait to go, she's usually sleeps and it leaks out. So I ran out of pills for that and haven't been able to get to the vet and pick them up, so I will absolutely have to during lunch tomorrow. Then I woke up a couple of times after that. We are having company for lunch. He'll be our house sitter while we are gone and I need to show him some stuff because he'll have to do more than he ever has in the past. We will be gone longer. I'm marinating chicken in yogurt right now and we'll have couscous and cucumbers in yogurt with onions. I also made olive slaw...regular cabbage dressed with sliced green olives and olive juice plus onions. It's pretty yummy and low fat, although not low salt. I have to go finish laundry and Water my plants. Hope everyone has a really nice Sunday. Eva

Yes, it is hot....going to be in the high 90's here.

Phyl, I didn't miss my hair appt., it was cancelled twice because my hair stylist has a problem with his knee. So his wife is going to do my hair today. She's done it before, so it will be alright. I wasn't happy with the color last time and wanted to tell him, but it will wait. I'm very happy with this guy and have been going to him for almost 18 years and don't want to find someone else. It's hard to find someone you are happy with. Janet, we are on the same time zone until the end of October then you change back to normal time and we stay the same. So sorry for the family drama again. Maybe DS thinks since DGS has moved out, now you have room for him. You are a very strong person to say no to DS. He needs to pull up his big boy pants and deal with his obligations, including his family. Someone said we would never think of moving back to our parents house as adults. I came back for a few weeks when I was 19, but moved out as soon as I could. My mother would have sucked the life out of me if I had lived at home or even in the same town. She wouldn't have meant to do it, but she had expectations. Cheri, I agree about some of those trainers not knowing how to deal with people with infirmities. I've had a couple that would push and had no clue how to deal with the arthritis. You are wise to know how much you can push yourself. Melissa, there isn't a perfect job anywhere. You need to make the job work for you and if you can't change your circumstances, then you have to change your attitude. Not easy to do, but weigh the pros and cons and go from there. You can always keep looking for another job. I'm busy doing my everyday errands, laundry, cleaning stuff (my cleaning lady canceled this week too) and starting to get ready for Vegas and Argentina. Next week will be very busy with wrapping up my projects at work and getting stuff ready at home for the house sitter. Okay off to more projects.....later..... eva

Oh, my, Lori, you can't cancel. No one is going to judge you so you get your back side there. We all struggle with one thing or the other....it's part of life. Sorry, I've been tired when I get home (I've also walked a couple of nights after work and then I'm really tired) so I haven't been getting on line. Yes, I'm working a lot trying to catch up and not leave a mess for the person taking my area. She worries and is not confident she can do my area. She has been an engineer for years, like 20 years, and I've been one for 2 1/2 years. I have a lot of outside experience as a net tech (I used to install and repair phones and work on the air pressure system) so I have a different perspective than most of the other engineers. Anyway, she'll do fine, just don't want to leave a mess for her. We took a 1/2 day on Friday and looked at the jobs I had downtown then Monday we'll the other jobs so she at least has some clue about them. I walked last night and woke up at 3:15 and can't go back to sleep, so I'm catching up now. I still haven't had my hair done. My guy has a knee problem so I guess I'll be seeing his wife today at 3:30. Oh well, I need to have it done before Vegas. Sorry this post is all about me...I'll catch up with posting one of these days. I'm really looking forward to meeting with you all. I should be there around 1-2 pm. It depends on what time I leave Phoenix. I will try and get out of there as early as I can. I'm spending the night at my brother's and he has to work Friday, so I should be gone by 8am..and I think it's a 6 hour drive, so we'll see. Call me when you all get together and we can make a plan to meet maybe or at least I can tell you where I'm at. Janet and Phyl are closer than I am. I think I can sleep again. I'll try and catch up again later. Eva

I'm pages behind as usual. Evening ladies. Laura, I'm so glad your Dad's test came back good. I hope they can relax a little and feel better about life. So DH had a little male bonding going there did he? That's cute. My DH doesn't watch sports much either, but he will on occasion, when someone else turns them on. Jodi, you are always so busy. You are going to be in Vegas 3 days before the rest of us. Have a very good time. I think Julie sent the list of our names, addresses, and cell phone numbers. If you didn't get it, I'll send it to you. We will be at the Desert Rose resort. Sounds like you have a great plan for the holidays. Janet, Willcox is small, but it's our "farming" area. They grow apples, peaches, and there are U-pick-it farms that grown tons of stuff. If I had more time, I'd be down there harvesting. Of course, that's about all it has going for it except a little history. I did see Phyl today. Earl was antsy, so we only had coffee and then they were off. Zoey is very cute. Sandy, I couldn't agree with you more about the dogs. I have a big black lab mutt but she was out of a litter of 9, not from the shelter. I love the idea of the running shoe charm...great gift for yourself. Joyce, so sorry for the family drama. Hope things work out for them and you. By 42 they should have their stuff together, but some people just don't. I wish you the best. Yes, stress can make your band tighter, it does that with me. Charlene, if you've found a shoe you like but not the right size, go to Zappos.com and see if you can find them there. Funny, In/Out drama...good sense of humor Charlene. Lori, I just updated my traveler profile for all the flight stuff too. I don't sign my name with my middle name and I'm not going to start now. I agree, some of this is getting overboard. Welcome to UT Jessica, glad DS is doing better and good for you. The dumbell test is a great idea. It's great reinforcement on how well you are doing. Linda, I've never tried to use my card. Don't think I want to go that public with it. How's the DSD? You still taking care of your DGD at night? Phyl, yes, I had a good visit with you too and with Zoey. She is soooooo cute! I forgot to ask about the Starbucks, maybe tomorrow I'll remember. I think it's supposed to cool down this week, but still in the 90's here so I imagine CA isn't going to be much cooler. Cheri, so sorry for you sad day. HUGS. Keeping busy is one way of dealing with the sadness, sounds like your day was pretty busy. Apples, welcome back again. Stuffing suitcases? I take it the room at the Ramada is before your flight here? Save some of that shopping for Vegas. I was supposed to get my hair done tonight but my stylist asked if he could reschedule for Thursday. I was good with that, so new hair in two more days. Work is so ramped up right now, when I get to Vegas I'm going to be brain dead. I was late a little meeting Phyl because I was out on site with a customer. I did get to weasel out of another meeting because of Phyl, so I'm glad about that. If I don't check in, don't worry...I'm around, just busy. Hope Julie is okay, but I'm a little worried too, she's usually around if she's doing okay. I looked at new phones today...I'm going between the Envy touch and the LG Ally. Don't think I need all the data services and apps though because I'll be home a lot more and able to use the computer. We'll see, depends on DH and what he picks out. Going to read a book. Talk at you all later. EVa

Yeah, I like that Janet's Posse idea for t-shirts. Phyl, good idea about doing I-10 in the daylight. Of course, I prefer to drive during the day too. My night vision isn't what it used to be. It's very hot out again, 103. I just planted a rose bush and came in with sweat pouring off me. Only a few more days of this brutal summer heat I hope. Actually it is still offically summer, so I shouldn't complain. We had FNSC last night and didn't get home until midnight. I slept in this morning and have just been doing normal weekend chores. That's all I want to do. If it would cool off 10 degrees, I would be outside doing stuff, but the heat is sucking the energy right out of me. Okay, off to do some more nothing. Tomorrow I will be hiking early with my friend, so I'm enjoying having no commitments today. BBL Eva

Melissa, congrats on the job. You know one of my friends interned at a small family business and now 17 years later, she's still there. You just don't know until you try. Keep an open mind. Phyl, really rotten friend....or former friend should we say. So sorry she doesn't have the intelligence to see what a change you've made. So you'll be stopping in Willcox? Exciting place, but I understand about not wanting to drive more than you can handle. I'm going to have to wait and see about the cruise. I'd love to go, I've never done a cruise, but I'm might be in class in April and don't want to make any commitments I can't afford to keep. Let's talk about it in Vegas. Jessica, you are doing so well with your classes and handling everything. I'm proud of you. So many children get that diagnosis so I'm sure there is help for you and lots of information. HUGS. Just think 15 more months!!! Wow, that is too cool. Charlene, congrats on the 2 lbs. Joining a gym with your DH, that's pretty cool. I can barely get my DH to walk with me. He does swim, but during the day when I can't. There must be some nasty little mosquito in the house. I just got a few bites on one arm. Grrrr. It's FNSC tonight and I'm so tired I'll probably fall asleep during it. Work was very hectic and not slowing down. Oh well, two weeks left, then it will get really hectic. Talk at you all later, Eva

Called the Desert Rose, everyone's name has been listed so who ever shows up first can check in. Janet, because you are bringing your roommate with you, I didn't give them Phyl's name. They are going to try and put us close together, maybe even in the same building. Check-in is at 4pm and they will store our luggage until our rooms are available. They have my cell number if there is any issue with this. 10 working days left..........now comes the real count down. Got to go. Eva

Sandy, you are doing great....the band is only a tool and you are using the tool whether banded or not. Congratulations! Boy am I tired. Worked until 6pm today and will be out in the morning doing field notes for a couple more jobs. The engineer who is taking my area will be going with me. She lives in this area too, so it will be convenient for her once she gets the hang of it. I have a book from the library....I think I'm actually going to read tonight. Talk to you all later. Oh by the way, I'll call the resort tomorrow and see what we can arrange. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll probably be coming in on the 1st too then...it will be less of a rush for me. Can't wait. Eva

Just called Desert Rose Resort. The check in time is 4pm but they will store our luggage until the rooms are available. If I call them with the names of the reservations, they will try and group us together. So if those of you with reservations in your name will PM me with the name the reservation is in, I'll call and have them work on grouping us together. One of the reasons I was thinking of coming up on the 30th was so we would have a place to store luggage and stuff until the rooms became available, but if they will store our stuff, then it's not too critical. We can stash our stuff and head to a casino or something and hang out until the rooms are available. Also, you can add the other people in your room to the reservation and when they show up they can check in for you if they show up early. Later.

Laura, that is a small class. I don't think I ever attended a class that small including upper level college classes. Nelson is very lucky. I really don't want to do a show either, but if everyone else did, I would go. I think we get so involved with visiting that the other stuff gets pushed to the side. And you know how many shows/concerts I attend anyway, so it's no great loss to me. 11 working day....and I have to go. Hope everyone has a good day. Eva

Here's a web link to the shows in Vegas...just plug in the dates and it will bring up what is showing/where/and how much. Las Vegas Shows, Tickets, and Show Guide | VEGAS.com