We’ve gone from this–
To this–
On Tuesday the Cowboy and I made tracks for Arizona. We had a ridiculously early flight and live two hours from the airport making it necessary for the alarm clock to wake us at 1AM (we did go to bed early)!! We had loaded the bags into the truck the night before, we scurried around shutting down the house, packing last minute things into the carry on and were out the door in 45 minutes. In hindsight it probably wasn’t necessary for us to get to the Bozeman airport two hours in advance but traveling two days before a major holiday one never knows. Our travel was uneventful–I wore support socks, moved my legs a lot on the plane and walked during our two hour layover in Salt Lake City.
Dan and Louanne retrieved the three of us and our mountain of luggage; we headed off to find lunch. Following lunch Dan had a doctor’s appointment leaving the Cowboy and me to find a grocery store. We left Tucson during evening rush hour but didn’t have too many delays. Home we unpacked, enjoyed seeing our Arizona home after a long absence and went to bed–I think my head was on the pillow before 8pm and I was dead to the world!!
Now, for the rest of the travel story. We had intended to drive and bring the toyhauler with my recumbent bike. Weather changed our decision. RVs have refrigerators/freezers and my intention had been to bring several items from the home freezer–a pan of homemade lasagna, a flat brisket we hadn’t cooked, etc. I decided I wasn’t leaving that good food behind so I packed it in our checked bags. The Cowboy, Dan and Louanne laughed at me but they have all benefited from my decision! Everything frozen I brought was still frozen solid when we unpacked–it was 14 degrees in Bozeman and 16 degrees in Salt Lake City. The lasagna has kept us from having to travel to the grocery store, we’ve eaten some of the cheese I brought, the Cowboy used the Costco bacon bits in his eggs, etc. Dan and Louanne order coffee from a small roaster and were sent the wrong coffee this time–it was even decaf–adding insult to injury. New coffee was on the way but in the meantime they were desperate for coffee. They were VERY grateful for my half bag of coffee beans checked in my luggage!! So–where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Then all of a sudden it’s Thanksgiving–we enjoyed another special day with great friends at Dan and Louanne’s. The food was spectacular and we enjoyed every single bite.
A friend–Susan–posted this sentence on her most recent blog–“At the same time, I’m very conscious of just how very fortunate I am, and never take these things for granted, not for one minute.” Susan had written that she was thankful for her husband, good friends, living where they wanted, doing what they wanted, etc. The Cowboy and I are very conscious of how fortunate we truly are and I want to strive to be even more conscious of that good fortune!
I am walking Emmi girl about a half mile a day and still exercising. Knee is progressing. It feels good to be outside in the sunshine. Our mornings are very chilly–it was 23 degrees Saturday morning!–and our days are sunny and warmish.
This is a blanket I knitted for our expected in January newest great grandchild.
Life is very, very good!
Restoration Cowboy Style 
I wonder if anyone else has ever traveled with lasagna and a brisket in their luggage? 😂😂 Sounds like a lovely homecoming and Thanksgiving in Arizona. And that blanket you knitted is my favorite color of all.
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People do carry the strangest things in their luggage! The yarn for that blanket was so soft and pliable and I too loved the color.
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Well i once had a whole oryx roast in my suitcase, traveling from Las Cruces to the coast . It was tasty when we cooked it, too.
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Well i once had a whole oryx roast in my suitcase, traveling from Las Cruces to the coast . It was tasty when we cooked it, too.
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Oh my! That’s a different thing to carry in your suitcase!!
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Why can’t you bring frozen foods in your luggage? Sounds like a perfectly logical thing to do, given the distance you’re traveling! Kudos. Glad you made the trip without problems, delays, etc., and that you’re back home in the desert…looking forward to meeting in the new year!
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I had made that pan of lasagna to eat during my recovery and sort of forgot about it in the downstairs refrigerator/freezer. I wasn’t leaving all my hard word behind–lasagna is labor intensive! Looking forward to meeting you guys too!
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Dan and Louanne might be interested in Old Bisbee Coffee Roasters, practically a neighbor. Small farm coffees, small batch roasting. Or maybe this is who they use?.
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People become very loyal to their coffee brand–Dan and Louanne get their coffee from Oregon where they summer.
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So true. My cousin who lived in Sunizona, AZ, still orders her coffee from Old Bisbee Coffee Roasters ten years after she joined us up here in northern CA!
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I use Kirkland Espresso beans–have for years. I’ve tried other coffees and we just don’t like them as much as the Kirkland.
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Did Miss Emmie travel under the seat in front of you? Our 17 pound dog has flown like that probably 50 or 60 times since she joined our family and it works pretty well!
Looking forward to more AZ pictures and stories of your on going knee progress.
ceci
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Yes, Emmi travels under the seat in her pink crate–she weighs only 10 pounds. I wish the airlines would let us make the pet reservations with our own reservations–United does this now and wish the rest of them would follow suit. That time wasted waiting on hold to add a pet to your Delta reservation is a pain!
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We have to have a phone call with “customer service” before every flight, and sometimes the scheduled time is the middle of the night, etc. They know they have you over a barrel.
ceci
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Customer service in quotation marks is exactly what airline customer service is these days! I must admit I only waited about 15 minutes this time to talk to a Delta rep.
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Welcome back to Arizona! Those first two photos are both so beautiful and so peaceful, yet so different. Love the color for the baby blanket. I would never have thought to pack frozen food in a suitcase…that’s really thinking outside the box!
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Thanks Gay! I wasn’t about to give up my lasagna–too much work to make!
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So glad to read you had a successful trip and didn’t leave any food behind!! Clever! Sounds like a great Thanksgiving with friends in a much warmer state. It’s probably good you had to change planes so you could exercise your knee. Congratulations on being able to work so far in such a short time with your new knee. Love the blanket color. So pretty.
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Things went like clockwork on our flights–Delta–Kevin will be glad to hear! It was good to walk in the airport, I had ordered a wheelchair for our gate change because the agent in Bozeman told me we would be changing from B concourse to A. Well, we landed in A concourse and I sat in a wheelchair for a ride of about 8 gates!!–I definitely could have walked that! Our expected great grandbaby is a girl and I thought that color of yarn for the blanket was so beautiful!
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