Mexico Adventure....a little different than you might think!

It was time for dental work once again and we don't have insurance to cover that here in the US.  Do we bite the bullet and pay the outrageous fees here?  We could wait until we visited Egypt again but....

Fred  had a problem that needed to be addressed now and so did I.  We consulted with friends who have lived here awhile and they encouraged us to go to Nogales,  Mexico. It is located just across the border from Yuma, Arizona, a 3 hrs. drive from Phoenix. We parked in a large parking lot and walked across the border without seeing any authorities.

Vendors were lined a long the side walk and people were carrying around their wares attempting a sale  which was pottery, ornaments for your garden etc.  We found our dentist in a very clean office. At first I was a little apprehensive as her dentist chair wasn't the most modern.  Fred went in first and after 1 1/2 hrs. came out very satisfied with her work. I had the same experience of professionalism and perfection in her work.

Whoops, missed the tooth on the sign

Why do people choose to drive there...a very boring road for 3 hrs. and then often stand in line for possibly  2 hrs. to cross the border returning to the US?  The VERY FAIR PRICES along with expertise work. Fred got a 'crown' for $200 and I had deep cleaning for $40 a quadrant equally $160 instead of $800 in the U.S.!  Regular cleaning is $35 and small fillings are $40.

Before leaving we enjoyed a lovely 'fish taco' plate with re fried beans and rice with live music accompaniment.  If you head for the border line up, and get there before 1PM, the line isn't too bad. the first time we were later and waited 2 hrs. This last time we went, it was only about 1/2 hr. as we made our appt. earlier.

Our very reasonable purchases .... The turtle just had to kiss Fred!  For only $6 he will decorate our garden.

If you head for the border line up to cross back into the US and get there before 1PM, the line isn't too bad. The first time we were later and waited 2 hrs. This last time we went, it was only about 1/2 hr. as we made our appt. earlier. 

If you look at the line positively, it is a good time to make new acquaintances.

So, we would highly recommend You take care of your dental and optical needs there if living in the area. Buses are running all the time from the retirement communities  Motels are also there in Yuma. We used $40 round trip in our 92 faithful Buick...

Well, my dear blog mentor, Rita, will be very proud of me that I finally got my pics along with my story.  I hope you enjoyed this mini tour.

Valued Friendships...

Again this week we were blessed with dear friends visiting...some of them, however, go back to my elementary school days and Fred's High School days.

 It was such a Joy to have 2 1/2 yr. old 'Jaylyn' visit with her mother 'Darcy' and grandparents, 'Dan and Diana.' These dear ones have been dear friends while our children were growing up in Cairo. 'Papa Murphy's' pizza and a tossed salad was our simple supper together but how great it was to get together  for a few hrs. When we last saw Jaylyn, she wasn't talking yet and she graced us with her lovely vocabulary, care of her baby doll and love of books.

Thank you so very much for coming to visit us 'dear valued friends.'

'Pat and Rakel', also dear friends from Cairo days and now living in Oregon,  stayed one night with us after attending a conf. here in town.  It is so nice that the airport is only about 20 min. from us so Fred shuttled them at 5AM for an early flight home. We enjoyed lunch at a fabulous Italian restaurant in Scottsdale when we picked them up.   Pat and Rakel were life savers when we first arrived in Cairo in 1986. They introduced us to the best stores in the older part of our community, which were less expensive. Their is a whole area that caters to the expat community and is much more expensive...over run with 'coffee' shops now!

 Rakel got me involved in the 'benevolence' branch of our women's ministry at our church. They support about 90 local charities...we would visit many of them and I learned quickly to love the village people of Egypt..what a privilege. I was also a part of  'The baby wash' program...strange name! There is a clinic out
near the Giza Pyramids and this service was begun many years ago by Roman Catholic nuns. Mothers, sometimes very young, bring their babies to be checked by a Dr., weighed and we would show them the hygienic way to wash and care for their little ones. Sometimes if they didn't have milk, they would give their babies 'tea.' They didn't know any better!

I enjoyed those two activities , once a wk., for about 4 yrs. until I accepted the challenge to do a Master's Degree at the Univ. where Fred taught grad stu. I was about 53 when I passed the wirtten comprehensive and oral exams. How thankful I am for that experience and all the dear stu. I shared classes with.

Thank you Pat and Rakel for making our transition to Egypt easier.

Our last visitors were' Rich and Barbara' from Michigan, our home State. I was in elementary school with Barb and Fred dated her in High School! I met Fred soon after graduating and they were no longer an item. They went to a different H.School than me in a close by town. A great surprise when I found out Fred had gone with Barb. Barb and Rich have relatives here in Az. and were here for a family wedding.  We took them to the top of our S. mountain with the lovely view of Phoenix around sunset time. I served them an Iranian meal as it is the beginning of Now Ruz, the Iranian new year and we enjoyed competing in the game of 'Sequence.'  We had so much fun with them and enjoyed getting to know Rich and reminiscing.

Thank you Barb and Rich for visiting us. What a treat! We will meet again in Michigan.

So, other happenings of the week were Fred going to Sedona on his motorcycle and hiking, me meeting a sweet gal from Libya on the ASU campus and enjoying our conversational English class.  Fred also drove a van load of Intl. stu. to Sedona to hike later in the week and hiked 'The National Trail' with a couple stu., 7 hrs., in 95 degree weather! I drove up the mountain and met them half way with pizza and cold water. My husband is so blessed with great stamina at his 'young' age. The stu. love that he takes them hiking and biking.

Thank You Lord, for all these precious friends and for how you sustain us both physically and spiritually
in our golden years.

Surprise Sunday Guests...

Surprise Sunday Guests

Good Morning on a beautiful sunny day in Phoenix.

    My goal was to sit down yesterday and share some thoughts but just before Church, some Iranian friends phoned to say they would like to come visit.  We hurried to the store, on the way home, bought ground Turkey, Kidney beans and salad fixings. By 1 PM they arrived.

    After perusing through Photo books on the coffee table, and almost full on snacks, it was 3 PM and we figured they would be ready to eat 'lunch.'  I had made 'Chili' and brown rice. I didn't realize my white rice was gone before we stopped at the store. Iranians love their rice as do Fred and I. I knew possibly they had never had brown rice previously but they seemed to like it with the Chili. 

    Our lunch time conversation centered around their favorite Iranian

food and how they both met. M is here doing a PhD. in Phoenix and A is in San Diego...difficult for a relationship to grow sometimes by separation but on the other hand, often the best to 'test' whether they truly miss one another.

    Following lunch, we all ate too much, so decided to walk around our lovely lake across from our housing development. How thrilled they were with that suggestion. Enamored by the fact that Fred and I have been married 46 years and were still very happy with each other; they asked us to share 'how' we got this far and stayed together.  A great exchange of conversation followed which carried on back at the house and they were very grateful for some of the avenues we have taken over the years to love and forgive one another. Often the difficulty is 'not' with the spouse but ourselves!

    They left after we exchanged all our contact information and they wrote in our guest book.

We felt like we had known them for a long time. How thankful we are for the various friendships with Internationals that we have  been forging since moving to Phoenix and being around the ASU campus.

Have a great day...

Daddy's First Curl...

   Recently I came across a small brown packet and inside found two slightly discolored pieces of lined paper folded up and a rusty straight pin through them.  I opened the first with anticipation and inside found the words, 'William's first curl' and what a lovely blond little curl it was.  My memory, refreshed by the sight of it, remembered I had seen this years before but forgot about it.  There was still one more very small little memento and my fingers, carefully but somewhat clumsily, took out the rusted pin. There was a 'fussy' small piece of baby hair again belonging to baby 'William.'

   Who was this 'William Frazier Morse Jr.', that I was so thrilled to find his little curl and baby hair?  He was 'my' daddy! Mattie and William Sr. thought their family was complete with three boys about 12,10, 8 and a little girl, 3 yrs. old.  Mid life, however, can bring about unexpected 'blessings' and daddy was born November 11, 1906 when his sister was 18 yrs. old! My Grandma was 52....

    Mattie Whipple Morse and William Sr. lived on a farm in E. Troy, Penn. I have a photo of my father rolling a 'hoop' out in a field. Gram pa raised sheep and daddy would never eat lamb when I was growing up as he had too much when on the farm.  He told me of raising onions to buy himself a bicycle and enjoyed his rides with his faithful dog, 'Shep.'

    Just out of his teens, he decided that he wanted to visit his youngest brother, David, who lived in Dundee, Michigan. His visit turned into deciding to 'live' there in Michigan where he worked on his brother's farm and then got various other jobs.  Viola Mae Gray  captured his heart on a 'blind' date and they married after only dating 2 mo. at the Justice of the Peace in Bowling Green, Ohio. They had eloped with mama's sister, Hazel, and her husband. Mama was 23 and daddy 28.

   Stay tuned for the rest of 'My Story'.  My friend, Rita, and my children encouraged me to make this more of a legacy blog as my life has taken so many twists and turns. I don't have my grandchildren nearby to make a weekly blog around them interesting.  So, with air forms and letters, written to our parents from overseas on onion skin paper, I now have a 'huge' JOURNAL of my life from 1965-2010. My desire is to wade through the events and dear people God brought into my life over those years and document 'my journey I took with God at my side...leading all the way.  I will be so happy to have you join me in this adventure....

Philippians 4:13