Out and About Flagstaff

Out and About in Flagstaff

I’m back in my mountain retreat, sixteen miles south of Flagstaff. I had to visit my favorite Flagstaff haunts.

My first stop was for a fish taco at Oscar’s Fiesta Burrito, then next door to Bookman’s to trade in some books and get Anna Karenina, which our Munds park book club is reading. It’s over 800 pages long!

I went to Monday Night Blues with two friends. It’s no longer at Charlie’s Bar in The Weatherford Hotel. The same band plays at 7 p.m. Mondays at The Monte Vista Hotel’s cocktail lounge. Satchmo’s catered a barbeque plate for $5.00. That started at 6:30 and sold out by 7:20. We chose to sit in the room with the pool tables so we could enjoy the music and talk. We laughed over dating war stories. The crowd was a bit younger than last year but just as enthusiastic.

I know Warner’s nursery is more expensive than Walmart or Home Depot but the plants are gorgeous. I went a few times and got carried away. Of course I stopped by Yogurt U (in the Plaza Way Safeway shopping center) after each trip to the nursery. I have a frequent shopper card there.

I know the library’s bookmobile stops in Munds Park twice a month and will bring you whatever you request.The next time it stops is June12, 10:45-1130 in the country club parking lot. I prefer to go to the main library and browse, especially through the audio books.

The train man took me to breakfast at Alpha Omega, a Greek restaurant on Route 66, just west of the place where you get off the I-40 at Butler. The daily special, seven days a week, is two eggs, two pieces of bacon, yummy home fries, and toast for $2.99. What a deal! The owners, Charylle and Christos Tsakiris live in Munds Park, just a few blocks from me.

The train man and I also went to Stockman’s a bar on U.S.89. I played pool for the first time in forty years. Naturally I lost. Mary’s Café  is attached to the bar and the food is great. They also have an active Karaoke night and live (country western) music on Friday nights.

I don’t mean to diss the places in Munds Park. I’ve already been to the Pinewood Restaurant for pizza, the country club for lunch and dinner, and will hit Woody’s this weekend. And whenever I stop in at Treasures I always find something I can’t live without. And Aspen Annie’s planted my friend’s peonies in the fall and all seven plants came up. None of the three I planted in my garden did. Guess I know who will do the planting in this fall.

Who’s that Old lady in the Mirror?

Who’s that Old lady in the Mirror?

 I rarely look at my face and my body in the mirror. I’m adept at fixing my hair and clothes without noticing the body they’re on. The exception is when I put on cream after showering. Of course my face is hydrated by the recent shower and looks good.

I caught a glimpse of my face and neck last week as I was at a stoplight, putting on lipstick. I gawked at the wrinkled woman in the mirror. Her neck was wrinkled too! When did this happen to me? The next morning I added my neck to the face cream regimen.

I know the mirror in the car is especially vindictive. I carry a tweezers in the glove compartment for those occasions when I espy a long hair protruding from my chin or cheek. That was how I knew my mom was old. I’m not letting those suckers give me away.

My neighbor Donna went to the doctor to ask about her increase in freckles. She’s a red head and has had them all her life, but they seemed to be spreading. The doctor declared her freckles weren’t spreading. Those were old age spots. She was suitably shocked.

My daughter-in-law Shelley gave me the best complement when I was there for Mother’s Day. She asked me if I had any gray hair. She’s never seen a hint of it. I silently thanked my hair colorist of twenty years. Friends tell me I should dye my own hair, but Angie has kept it the same color all these years with no fading. The question is when will I stop coloring it? I’m sure it’s more than fifty percent white now. My maternal grandmother had snow white hair. My paternal grandmother had silver hair.I never saw either of them with any other color. After my mother quit dying hers at the age of eighty, she had white hair. I’m thinking about going natural at seventy, but I’ll see how I feel when that approaches.

Friends have told me they walk around with a vision of themselves in their late teens. I’m more realistic than that. My mental image is stuck in my mid-forties. What picture of yourself is in your head?

You can check out my blog The Single Senior at www.thesinglesenior.wordpress.com  My new novel, Reinvented Lives is available on Amazon in trade paperback or the Kindle edition.