We had a great time with our friends Terry and Tracy on Thanksgiving day. Norm even watched a little football which had everyone in shock. We had a nice meal and enjoyed casual conversation. Definitely a relaxing day!
Friday I dragged my husband out of the house even after he blogged about wanting to stay away from parking lots on Black Friday. We had a great pizza lunch at Patsy Grimaldi’s in Old Town Scottsdale and then went to RadioShack to look at cell phones. We have been cell phone free for over a year, maybe even two years now. It’s a long story — but basically it was a financial cutback that determined we no longer needed a cell phone. I’ve been scouring the Internet for some of those pay-as-you-go cell phone deals and decided upon a certain one. The sales guy at RadioShack was very helpful and, after he explained the plan of the one cell phone company that we were interested in, he then pointed out another one that I had not looked into. It turned out to be a much better deal so now Norm has a cell phone once again and I can track him down when he is out carousing Scottsdale.
Saturday was another fun and lazy day for us. We had our favorite chili for lunch at Charleston’s in North Scottsdale and then we braved the crowds at Wal-Mart for a few needed items. It really wasn’t that bad and seemed more like a typical Saturday crowd to me. And then I saw what for me marked the beginning of the Christmas season — a Salvation Army bell ringer as we exited the Wal-Mart. We went past him and headed for the minivan, a.k.a. “the bus” as Norm likes to call it, but I made Norm stop and look for some cash. We found some in my wallet so I went back to the bell ringer. I couldn’t quite reach the bucket to put the money into it so I was going to hand it to the man, but instead he unhooked the bucket from its tripod and put it within my reach. Now there’s a smart man! It was a simple thing to do but it felt good and now I feel like Christmas is on its way. Giving is so much a part of Christmas and really that’s what it’s all about — God giving to us a savior so that we could be in right relationship with him.
Sunday morning was cold (59°F) so I put on a new sweater I’ve been wanting to wear for a couple months now but it’s been too hot. We headed to church and it look like snow was on the ground as we drove along the freeway through the Salt River Pima Indian Reservation. On the east side of the freeway there are acres and acres of cotton fields. The white balls of cotton covering the fields looked like snow. It’s the closest thing to snow we’ll ever get around here! Our service at Desert Vista Church was great. We had an extended time of corporate worship and communion. We heard a short message about how our relationship with God is like being in tune with a song. The example was a symphony where everyone plays a different instrument but they all need to be in tune and playing the right note at the right time. It was an interesting analogy and it got me thinking. I was going to write about what I was thinking or pondering since yesterday, but it’s mostly abstract ideas that I can’t really put into words right now. It’s a good thing to be pondering after attending church. It means that God is working on something within me and that’s important if I’m going to be in tune with the symphony of the kingdom of God.
It’s cold again today and will be colder throughout the week. I realize most of you think I’m a wimp because I’m talking about temperatures in the lower 60s, but for this desert dweller that’s downright cold! We might even get a little rain tomorrow and that calls for hot chocolate.
Oh and one more thing — the latest update on my new wheelchair is December 8.