The week in review

I have a week’s worth of news, beginning with last Sunday…

Last summer, I met the daughter of an elderly couple in my church in Wisconsin. Her name is Brenda. She told me that when I came to Arizona, we should get together, so I contacted her and she and her husband, Mark, and my Mark and I met at the Casa Grande ruins.

There is a museum and gift shop where we also watched a short movie about Casa Grande.

Casa Grande was an ancient civilization of pueblo Hohokam people who lived there from the early thirteenth century until about 1450. They were farmers and they built canals from the river with crude tools. They were a successful society; so successful, in fact, that they eventually overpopulated the area and had to disperse. Their descendants are still here. In 1694, Father Eusebio Kino was the first European to see the main structure and name it Casa Grande, or Big House.

Our tour guide showing us a rib from a dead cholla cactus. This was a tool they used for digging the canals and planting seeds for food. Casa Grande is behind her.
If you look up to just left of center, you can see graffiti that was carved into the ancient walls by tourists from the 19th century.
A roof with windows that can be opened to vent heat was built in 1932 to protect the ancient structure from the weather.
Earlier this century, a pair of great horned owls took up residence under the shelter.
The three Caballeros!
Mark, Brenda, and me

On Monday evenings, I have started a crafting group at my church. I discovered they had such a thing a while back called Creative Togetherness, so I have reinstituted it. So far, there are three of us, including Mark and me, but others have visited or expressed interest in visiting.

My boss is starting to have me come in later on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that I can help the evening receptionist clean the office. This last Tuesday was the first time, and I rushed home to attend the first weekly women’s Bible study for this year. We are studying 1 Thessalonians.

Thursday of this week, I met our Block Advisors district manager, Monica. When she realized who I am, she told me that I was one of three receptionists who called to remind her to make an appointment to have her taxes done. (Yes, even the district manager was on my list!) She said she kept the recording and that my message was the best of the three. I was flattered!

Not only have I been working on making calls for our offices in Tucson and others in Oklahoma and Nevada, but I also finished doing some marketing this week. I put together and distributed twenty-two bags with coupons for tax preparation and other goodies in them to businesses within a mile of our office.

You might wonder how I was able to distribute those bags so far from the office. I am now driving the pickup truck because Mark bought a used Chevrolet Suburban for a business truck down here. He has been wanting something enclosed for his tools. We have also told my pastor that if the church will let us leave that vehicle here when we leave, the church can use it for some of the projects they have going on where they need a truck or a van. I’ll get a picture of the new business truck soon.

The pickup has been having badly grinding brakes. Fortunately, I’m married to a man who is mechanically-gifted. He’s been working on the brakes and discovered today that one of the brake shoes has worn thin. He has the parts to fix it and will be working on that tomorrow, my day off.

That’s pretty much our news for the week. I know I haven’t been writing very often here, but the first peak of the tax season is nearly over and we are beginning to gear up for the next peak. I will be starting over on calls now for those clients who wait until the bitter end to do their taxes. That’s usually Mark and me, but this year, I think we might be able to have our tax return done by the end of this month. I hope you all have either finished yours or are prepared to do so soon!

2 thoughts on “The week in review

  1. Oh my! Your Blog layout is awesome!! So proud for you! Got to view the photos that weren’t included in the email. Incredible, as always! Have a blessed day!

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