Succulents in our garden
We decided that unruly roses did not fit in our desert environment. One day we cut them down and then pulled out the roots. Our neighbor, Pete, saw us working and offered us a couple of succulents he had in pots to fill in the bed. We set them in and they seem to be thriving. The drip irrigation lines you see are turned off for the time being as the rains have been plentiful, too much so for some at lower elevations. There is much we could do on the site if we choose to, but so far we are content to maintain what we have and devote our energies to other activities.
Carol is now an officer (Assistant Secretary) of Hilltoppers, our social organization. She also is co chairing a committee to provide support for 911 emergencies in the park for those who want such support. An ambulance is at least 20 minutes away so it is helpful to have someone meet them at the gate and provide escort to the site, also for someone to provide friendly support during the wait or even offer CPR or an AED if deemed necessary – this of course requires training which Carol has set up for tomorrow (the day after I am writing). This is a fairly intense project and needs to meet many regulatory requirements. She is busy. She is also baking and cooking up a storm in her spare time.
I have been active in stuff that is fun for me. Finance, Marketing and technical Future Planning are keeping me occupied when I am not playing Bridge. The other day I went down to our Boondock area with Bud, one of our lead tech gurus, to see if changing out the modem on the wifi antenna serving the area would restore service. Mostly I watched him so I could do it myself should the need arise (first I had to know where it is). While we were working a visitor staying there stopped by with questions about the service. I reassured him that we were working on getting it restored. Shortly after that the last reboot took effect and the signal and the internet connection came up. I stopped by to tell him, but he had already started it up and said how happy he was. Later at our weekly Monday Meeting in the segment where we welcome visitors (as well as new members and returning members) the visitor finished his introduction by thanking me for fixing the wifi. I was embarrassed to say the least as Bud had done the work and I had just done the talking.
The scenery here is magnificent
Sunset last night walking toward our coach from the clubhouse
and the sites are spacious, but what makes Jojoba Hills a wonderful place to be is the community. Everybody waves when we pass on the streets and often we will stop to chat, just because. A hug is a common greeting and the hugs are emotional as well as physical because we all seem to care for each other and each other’s well being. As I took a tour group through the club house people looked up from their activities and greeted us warmly regardless of what they were doing. Even our Manager, Bob, who is immersed in a major project resurfacing our pool and patio deck, stopped to talk to the visitors to explain what we are doing. I know there are some unhappy people here, but I haven’t met them yet.
