Verna and Bob's Weblog

Retirement

Lemon Harvest Part III

Verna and I picked lemons and pruned the tree this afternoon. We managed to reap an estimated 150 of the good-sized citrus fruit. This is the third time this season that we have picked lemons since the little tree bore more fruit than we have ever seen and one day’s worth of effort comes nowhere near clearing the tree. There are still many lemons on the tree that will need another round of picking later.

We gave lemons to neighbors, friends, the Dermatologist, the Barber and we still have more to give. Of course, there are going to be some in reserve for Verna’s annual production of Limoncello.

More info about the Lisbon Lemon Tree From The Spruce:

The Lisbon lemon (Citrus x limon ‘Lisbon’) is one of the most widely available varieties of lemon found in shops worldwide. If you live in a hot and dry region, you can grow Lisbon lemon trees outdoors and receive an abundant harvest.

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January 17, 2023 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Vulture Peak

12/15/2022 — Verna and I took a drive out to the Humane Society yesterday to drop off a few pet supplies that we no longer needed. On the way back, Verna took this photo of Vulture Peak on the drive back to town for the rest of our errands. The unique profile of this particular ridge is a symbol of our town and a reminder of the adjacent Vulture Mine discovered by Town Founder Henry Wickenburg.

Prior to dropping off the pet stuff, we stopped at the barber shop to drop off some Lemons and a quart of homemade Limoncello. We also did our grocery shopping a day early since we have a doctor appointment at our usual shopping time.

It was a good day of retirement and we got a lot of stuff done.

December 15, 2022 by Arizona Photography Retirement

Charity Car Wash

Yesterday, the 6th and 7th graders who attend the Wickenburg Christian Academy (WCA) participated in a car wash event to raise funds for a trip to Catalina Island. I spoke with one of the teachers who said they were going to learn about ocean biology when they get there. Of course, there is much else to see and do on the island.

Verna and I were married over 20 years ago in Avalon. We’ve been there many times together, and visited the island in our earlier lives as well, so that sort of makes us SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) on Catalina. We celebrated our anniversary by going back to the island for several years, but the combination of increased expenses (transportation, lodging, souvenirs and food) and an uptick in crime in the area eased us out of our annual pilgrimage.

As for the car wash, the kids and their teachers did a very good job on the truck (clickable image above); we made a reasonable donation to their cause. We support WCH and make annual contributions to their scholarship fund, which is adequate as a federal write-off and gets us out of Arizona Income Tax altogether.

October 30, 2022 by Religion Retirement Something Shiny

Retirement Throwback

This coming Saturday, 10/01/2022, will be the thirteenth anniversary of my retirement from full-time employment. In the days following that event, Verna and I took some weekday trips to some of our local attractions. Verna took this photo of a Seagull in the Harbor of Los Angeles (San Pedro).

We visited the garden department of a Lowe’s and saw this hummingbird browsing the flowers on display there.

Finally, we visited the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. This is us relaxing on a park bench for a few minutes after walking through the acres and acres of garden displays.

All the above activity took place the first week of October, 2009. It was such a pleasure to visit these places on weekdays when they were less crowded than on the weekends. Click on any image to enlarge.

September 28, 2022 by California Leisure Nostalgia Photography Retirement

Old Tombstone Wagon in 3D

I found myself rummaging through some old photos in the archives today and found an image pair that I took in Tombstone, AZ back in 2009. This is a very old buckboard wagon from the 19th century that was sitting along one of the Tombstone side streets. I found the image pair I took back then and today merged them into the anaglyph image above (click to enlarge).

If you don’t happen to have a pair of red/cyan glasses handy, you can view the 2D version of the image here.

September 17, 2022 by Bob's 3D Stuff Classics Retirement Vacation

Our 24th Wedding Anniversary

Cutting the Wedding Cake

Today we’re celebrating the twenty-fourth anniversary of our wedding. This is a photo taken at our wedding reception which was held in Avalon, on Catalina Island, at the Blue Parrot Restaurant and Bar adjacent to the Hotel Metropole on Crescent Avenue, the main drag along the shore of Avalon Harbor. The Blue Parrot is now gone, having been converted to additional hotel spaces for the Metropole. We revisited the island for several years around the time of our anniversaries and finally, as we mentioned last year, we stopped going back.

This year was the year of Tanzanite and Verna got several small, but pretty, jewelry items made from it. Next year, we will be having our quadranscentennial anniversary, and we look ahead to celebrating the Silver Jubilee.

September 12, 2022 by Family Nostalgia Retirement

Avalon 1998

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