Well, we are packing up and if all goes as planned we will head out on our road trip back to Flagstaff Tuesday morning. We will take it easy driving allowing ourselves four days to reach our destination. It is a bittersweet time; saying goodbye to all our Midwestern friends while looking forward to catching up with family and friends out west and enjoying our colorful Flagstaff digs. After several weekends with family in Las Vegas and the San Diego area, we will stay close to home for both holidays and I plan to continue my reading binge. Other than making a T-shirt quilt for my niece and doing a few glass projects, I have little planned through the winter months until we vacation in Chile and Argentina in the month of March. I have notified Paul I am no longer willing to travel internationally for more than a month at a time as I have too many hobbies and interests at home to be gone so long. We will see if I can stick to that plan as he dangles interesting travel options in front of me in the years to come. He will continue multi-month travel leaving in early February to hike with several friends until I meet up with him in early March. Before he leaves I am sure he will have both the wine rack and the freezer full and I am hoping some of my girlfriends schedule a visit during that time.
After 4 years of fall pack up, it seems emptying our freezer poses the greatest threat to our marriage during our final weeks at the lake. I try to plan meals around using things from the freezer while Paul continues to buy more food. He thinks all our garden fresh frozen vegetables are bland tasting mush but I quite enjoy eating several of them at every meal. I was raised not to waste food which he has no problem chucking. I want to take a full cooler back to Flagstaff for use during the winter which he thinks is ridiculous as the grocery store is just down the road and of course, calling him. Maybe we should just plan a neighborhood smorgasbord the last week of the season and clear out the freezer, refrigerator and pantry. Another reason to host a party would make him quite happy and starting over in the spring wouldn’t be all bad. Plus, it would head off remote worries when the electricity goes out due to ice storms. Burrr…..!
I don’t know what it is about the grey landscape here, when the leaves have fallen and the fields are cold and barren, but I love it. The intricate deciduous tree branches against the cloudy skies and open landscape creates a sense of peace in me that I hope stays with me through the winter in Flagstaff where I will be tucked into a suburban neighborhood, albeit surrounded by ponderosa pine trees.
The lake too remains grey toggling between still and turbulent and scattered with all manner of squawking birds congregating before their respective flights to southern climes. This year we will miss the lake freezing over due to warmer fall temperatures but the fish houses and ice castles have started appearing in the neighbor’s driveways. At least we won’t have to barrel through a snow drift to get out of the driveway this year; which is just as well given we are driving our new Subaru Outback instead of the truck this year. A smaller vehicle will lead to all manner of pack up challenges so stay tuned for that saga and our 2019 adventures driving back to Arizona.