New Twins In The Family

Granddaughter Stephanie and husband Shawn are the proud parents of identical twins Aubrey Raye and Penny Rose who were born recently.  The parents and twins are doing very well now and are very happy to have this event behind them.  Well, I am sure the twins would agree if they could talk, so I am talking for them.

Stephanie,AR, PR and Shawn

Proud grandpa Henry

Barbara & her arms full of love

Penny hugging herself

Aubrey holding her hands

Stephanie & Shawn had a contractor begin construction of their new home last August with a tentative move in date of Thanksgiving, then Christmas, mid January, February, March, etc.  They finally moved in to the house a short time before Stephanie gave birth to the twins.  Since they had extra time to plan and Stephanie is so organized, they had the nursery set up and ready almost instantly.

New house and twins about the same time.  Wow, do they ever have their hands full now and will see their lives change a lot.  They are tough and will do very well with the twins, house and whatever is thrown at them.  It's also a very exciting time for them and their families, who are all thrilled.

It was difficult enough that Sean & Taylor had twins and now two more to tell apart.  I don't know if I am up to it.   Being away as much as we are doesn't help much, either.

I know their birth date, but will not include it in the blog.  That is one thing I learned when I first started genealogical research on my ancestors.  Never include birth dates for living persons.

Slight Delay In Driving To VAN HORN, TX

We left Tucson last Friday and set our sights on Deming, NM.  We wanted to tour around Deming for a few days and then continue our travel to Van Horn, TX for the night.  We delayed leaving Deming due to high winds and I don't like to drive when it's gusting 40+ mph or more.  The motorhome acts like a big sail during weather like that.

We were planning on leaving Wednesday morning for Van Horn and I checked the weather there.   WOW!!!!!!   Here is the forecast for today and tomorrow isn't that much better.  Guess we will see more of Deming if the dust storm clears up a little.

 Those wind speeds shown above are real with 59mph wind and gusts of 74mph.  The forecast is for gusts up to 85mph tonight.  Thank God we have Weather Underground on the computer and can check the weather ahead.

At least we are Escapee Club members and the nightly rate here is only $20/night for a full hookup.  Plus we get good reception on the Dish network.  Life is good.

I still have some more updates for the last couple weeks and will go back to them shortly.  In the meantime here is our weather statement from Deming, NM.

Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin Severe Watches & Warnings NOAA Weather Radio

Watches & Warnings

Blowing Dust Advisory, High Wind Warning

Issued: 2:10 AM MDT Apr. 25, 2017 – National Weather Service

... Blowing dust advisory in effect from noon today to 6 PM MDT
this evening... 
... High Wind Warning remains in effect from noon today to 8 PM
MDT this evening... 

The National Weather Service in El Paso TX/Santa Teresa has
issued a blowing dust advisory, which is in effect from noon
today to 6 PM MDT this evening. 

* Timing... winds will increase late this morning with maximum 
  winds occurring between 1 PM and 7 PM. 

* Winds... west winds will have sustained speeds near 40 mph with 
  gusts between 50 and 60 mph. 

* Visibility... blowing dust will reduce the visibility to less
  than a mile across many locations with the visibility under a 
  half mile over a few areas including along Interstate 10 between
  El Paso and Las Cruces and also around Deming and Lordsburg.
 
* Impacts... blowing dust will reduce the visibility to less than a
  mile over many locations causing dangerous driving conditions.
  The winds may also cause property and even building damage and
  blow down trees and power lines over a few areas. The 
  combination of strong winds... warm temperatures and low humidity
  will cause critical fire weather conditions. 

Precautionary/preparedness actions... 

A High Wind Warning means a hazardous high wind event is expected
or occurring. Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph or gusts
of 58 mph or more can lead to property damage.

A blowing dust advisory means that blowing dust will restrict
visibilities. Travelers are urged to use caution.

Tubac Pottery

April 12, 2017  - Tubac, AZ

 We've gotten in the habit of taking the drive down to Tubac each spring while we are in the Tucson area.   We have a favorite pottery place and always come back there for our shopping.  We usually decide not to buy any more pottery but our children enjoy the various pots, animals, etc that are brightly painted.  Then we change our mind and buy a hundred pounds of the stuff each year.  It's always interesting finding spaces to accommodate the pieces for the trip back east.

We didn't buy this one.

 The pottery shop is housed in the first house in Tubac and they have a nice photo of what it looked like 100 years ago in the area.  They have added more buildings to store and display the merchandise.

 Some of the pottery down there is displayed on a wall in a building nearby.  If you like brightly painted pottery pieces, then this is the place for you.

The old building shown below is for sale in case anyone is interested in moving to Tubac.  Our son Larry Jr. wants to rebuild an old house and upgrade it and turn it over for a profit.  I think the one below fits the bill very well.

 It was late and we decided to have dinner in Tubac at Soto's Outpost Mexican Restaurant.  They have a nice patio area and since it was such a nice day, we decided to have a drink and a nice dinner there.

Gerry enjoying her Margarita

Nice cold beer for me

 I tried to take a nice selfie but it is so difficult since I take up most of the photo and my pretty wife is overshadowed.

 We sat next to a small hole in the wall with a lantern in it.  I would have liked for them to remove the Xmas lights to make it look nicer, but they would not have liked me to change them out.

 There's another nice archway, taken from the patio.  There were other archways and decorations on the patio but I don't think the other patrons would have appreciated me interrupting their dinner to take the photo.

We had a nice dinner there and would go back if we are in the area in the future.  Check it out if you are in Tubac.

We have been busy the last few weeks with meeting friends for dinner, having maintenace repairs on the motor home, doctor appointments and general day to day activities.  Not a lot to write about, but enjoying our time out here.

That was our day, how was yours?

Did We See An UFO?

We decided to attend church Saturday in Green Valley, AZ and went to the 4pm mass.  Green Valley is a large retirement town south of Tucson with many people who came to Tucson for the winter and decided to stay there.  

After church we went over to Manuel's Mexican restaurant and there were about 20-25 people waiting outside to be seated for dinner.  I don't mind waiting a few minutes, but Manuel's is a smallish restaurant and we thought it would be a long wait so we went elsewhere.

We wound up at Argenziano's in Corona de Tucson and managed to get a table very fast.  Our waitress was very efficient and we didn't have to wait long for our meals of chicken Parmesan and lasagna.  As usual the dinners were very good and quite large.  Now we have enough leftovers for a dinner later this week.

On the way back we were driving down I-19 when we noticed something peculiar in the sky.  It looked like a red box and it wasn't moving.  I thought it might be a tall sign but when an airplane flew under it I knew it wasn't a sign.  We were quite perplexed and couldn't figure out what it was.  Maybe an UFO???  Naw, it couldn't be that.

When we got back to the motor home and turned on the tv the mystery was solved.  There was a 10 acre fire on the top of Mt. Lemmon and the flames were hundreds of feet high.  WOW.   The firefighters couldn't get up there and had to wait until morning to get a handle on the fire.  We had high winds and that contributed to the blaze.  It looks like the fire is under control and I'm sure the people in Summerhaven on the top of the mountain are happy about that.

We were at least 40 miles from the fire on the interstate and it was visible.  Quite a sight to see and thankful that the fire was in an area with no houses.

Guess we will have to wait a while longer to see an UFO.  That was our day, how was yours?

Coyote Pause Restaurant

There aren't a lot of restaurants near our campground, but we did find one that serves breakfast and lunch.  It's only 4-5 miles from our campground and easy to get there with no stop lights and only 2 stop signs.

We kept thinking of going there and always arrived too late to be served.  They close at 2:30pm and we almost always eat a late lunch to avoid the crowds around noon.  

Finally, we decided to go there for breakfast and invited friends Debbie and Dale to go with us.  Nobody had any idea what kind of place it was but we all were able to find something to eat.  They serve a huge breakfast and it's impossible to leave there hungry. Gerry chose the mesquite pancakes and loved them.  They were large and she shared one with me.

Dale & Debbie

 They have a patio and a regular area for dining.  We all chose the patio to take advantage of the nice weather.  The patio was an add on and is popular except during the hot part of the year.  There were a number of decorations on the wall and it had a comfortable feeling there.

 Since it's called Coyote Pause, they had to have decorations with a coyote theme.  I can hear the three coyotes on the shelf howling at night now. 

 The baseboard (tile) was very pretty and added to the southwest motif of the restaurant.  Now Gerry wants to buy some tiles for us when we buy a home.

 The backdoor opens onto some boutique shops with eclectic goods for sale in them.  Gerry found a nice cross and got it for a nice price. 

Me talking with my hands.

astrophytu myriostigma cactus

The cactus above was a little larger than a cantaluope and was the strangest one I have ever seen.  I had to search for the name on google and finally found one there.  There are some flowers coming out of the top of the cactus and I hope to get a nice photo of it with the flowers in full bloom.

We've been back there a number of times and are almost regulars there.  They recognize us and know we like the patio and are seated promptly.  After one lunch Dale and I went up to pay the bill and I noticed some cinnamon buns along with huge sticky buns.  I asked what they did with the leftovers and she said they were for sale at $1.00 each.  We each picked up a cinnamon bun and ate it later in the evening for a snack.  It was a little dry by then but still tasted great.

If you are ever on Kinney Rd on the way to Tucson Studio or the Desert Museum check the restaurant out.  It is on the left just before you enter the park grounds.

Now I have to leave you and eat my cinnamon bun.  Yummy.