The Wednesday Ws: Week 4 of 52 for 2023

Who have I seen?  Doc Spo, and Sharon from Phoenix Daily Photo, and a room full of estate and probate attorneys. It was great fun to see Spo again. This was the first time I had met Sharon, if you read her blog she is just what you would expect.  Bright, creative, a little reserved.  She seldom appears on her blog, so I didn't post a photo of her here. I also had breakfast with one of our past board chairs, and dinner with a lawyer friend of mine who served on another board with me a few years ago - she is about to become President of that board.  

Where have I been? Tucson and Phoenix Arizona, the 115 miles of desert in between the two.  Spo and I went to a very southwestern restaurant, Sharon and I met at Desert Botanical Gardens for a wonderful hour plus stroll exploring the flora of the high desert and a few birds.  All of the photos from that are on the real camera and will start to appear in a few days.  This post needed to be created before I have time to download those images. 

How was the trip? Non-stop going out, delayed three hours in Chicago coming home. 

What did I do that was special? I went to the Barrett Jackson Auction on Monday for 2.5 hours. This was kind of a bucket list item.   

What have I seen? Cactus, hummingbirds, bees, desert birds, an airplane graveyard and storage facility, and my favorite mountain including the house my parents should have bought in 1965. Cars, more cars, and more cars. 

What have I been reading?  A book on dementia and criminal defense and started a book about buying a vineyard in Italy.  

What have I been eating?  Breakfast out, my favorite meal when I am traveling.  And good southwestern food. 

What have I been listening to?  Radio in the rental car. My car has a CD player, loaded with a selection of discs that play until I know every note by heart, then changed out for half a dozen new ones.  In the rental I discovered I have no music stored on my phone. My music, was on the oldies stations - must be something weird in Arizona.  It is the first time I have listened to the radio in 4 or 5 years.  

What am I thinking about? Work, I am in the middle of a couple of exciting projects and I have a couple of admin duties I need to get done soon. 

What is new in travel plans? Iceland is all mapped out and all of the hotels are booked.  I am going to New Orleans in early February for work. We are going to Cleveland for a family function in later February.  

What is next after that? Probably Hawaii for work, I swear it is work, in paradise no one seems to care how much you work.  

What has the weather been like?  When I woke up Saturday morning in Tucson Arizona it was 29 degrees with ice on the car windshield.  I traded text message with my sister in northern Indiana, it was 31 degrees there.  So cool, but warming up in the 50's-60's in the afternoon, and mostly sunny.  I can see why people like living in Arizona in the winter.  I am not sure I would survive a summer here.  

What shocked me?  I was early on way to meet Sharon on Sunday, so I stopped to take some photos, drove past an "Open House" for a house for sale, and stopped in.  Lovely adobe style two story, about twice the size of the condo, and about twice the money.  The Realtor was bragging that the owners have spent $350,000 on renovations, as I am standing in a pretty kitchen with Bosch appliances, and cheap IKEA cabinets.  Don't they think people are going to notice the plastic drawers in the cabinets in an $800,000 house.  

Who deserves a slap? Be kind, no slapping this week, they are making mistakes to the best of their ability. 

Who deserves an atta-girl?  The hotel front desk clerk who was so kind and helpful and found a room for me early on Saturday.

What's next? Another whirlwind week, then back on the road to adventure.