Here I am in Phoenix AGAIN--In summer!

The cookie jar in the lobby.  I guess everyone hit it pretty hard. The chocolate chip cookies were delicious!

Here I am back in Phoenix.  Annie has had her surgery and because it was more extensive than they thought, they had to put her in a rehab center for awhile.  I am staying at her house about a 20 minute drive away.  The rehab center is really nice.  The food is well prepared and there is a nice selection. They have a pleasant dining room and they vary the seating so you get to visit with a variety of people. I eat my dinner here every day. Each day they also have an afternoon activity.  So far we have seen a movie with popcorn and soda, had sundaes at the ice cream social, and today we are headed out to play bingo. The beauty salon was open this morning and a lot of ladies got their hair done. I feel really lucky when I hear some of these people's stories. I sure am grateful for good health and staying in shape! 

This is "our table".  We park ourselves here and then they bring others to sit with us.

This brings me to my walking adventures. Marianne got me to put the Runkeeper app on my iPhone, so then I had to set some goals. They really do keep me walking. Just before I found out I was coming to Phoenix I set a goal of 30 miles by the end of August. When I got down here I couldn't see walking in 100 degree heat and wondered if I would meet my goal. Annie suggested mall walking so yesterday I tried it and it was fun. There were quite a few people walking at 7:30 in the morning.  There was music and several food places were open including Starbucks.  A security guard was driving around keeping us safe.  A group of women were doing Pilates and another group of people were having morning coffee together in the food court. I did 4 circuits of the mall and then had an iced frappuccino out on the patio of Starbucks.

This is the sitting area in the lobby with the registration desk in the back.  The chairs are really comfy.  I've tried them out!

The next day (today) I met Amy (Skyler and Colton's aunt) and we did the same walk.  We had a nice visit and then we had our Starbucks.  My Runkeeper went nuts on me and said we had walked 4.5 miles and the map it drew was really crazy!  It said we walked at a pace of 12.43 minutes per mile!  That's better than JJ and Carla did with their running.    Anyway that put me over my 30 miles so I had to set a new goal.  I am going for 40 miles by the end of September.

The dining room.  There is a private dining room for families to eat in.  They also use it for movies and bingo.

Well, they just told us they cancelled bingo!!!  How dare they!  Guess I will see if they have some cards. One thing about these places is that it gets pretty long and lonely between meals on the weekends for those who don't have family or friends who come to visit.  Not much therapy goes on during the weekend.

Another view of the lobby.  In the background is a large aquarium and the library.

That's about it for now. I'll try to come up with a recipe for my next blog.

Here are some pics of the fish in the aquarium.  They are so friendly and they love to pose.

This fish loves to get real close to the glass when he sees a camera!

Mr. Stripes

I love anemones! These pale pink ones are so delicate.

These orange, black and white fish love the anemones too!