Thongs and Cherry Tomatoes

Well, it’s time for my blog. I’m in my second home here in AZ. This is the start of my third day in, and my yard and house are still unwashed and covered in dirt, sand, weeds, and huge fallen tree branches. The dead, mangled ball of feathers that used to be a pigeon, lying in front of my patio doors, is gone, but I still need to dispose of the remains.

My fridge is making loud noises coming from the freezer motor, and this is not good. I’m pretty sure a new fridge is required to fix this… damn! A trip to Home Depot is on my agenda today. I’ve also had the air conditioner running, but that’s just first-world problems.

My trip took me almost a week. I crossed the Canadian border into the US on Thursday and arrived in Yuma late Wednesday the following week. Border crossing was uneventful. I had to surrender my oranges (no citrus allowed), but the guard was really nice. He was actually one of the best I’ve come across and not hard to look at either :  )

My trip was full of surprises and a couple of dangerous run-ins (three to be exact), but I made it. Do I want to do this again… HELL NO! My daughter was right; I’m getting too old for this shit. The sad part is that the roads were great, no snow and ice, but the crazy drivers (one was me, not paying attention, and another almost killed me, his fault), the deer was innocent, and so I let him live… whew.

I totally loved the scenery, and I do love road trips, but a three-hour flight from Saskatoon to Phoenix is the way to go. My visit with Chef Nettie and her family was priceless. I would do that trip again just for that. Her daughter turned 17 years old yesterday, and I gotta say, what an amazing girl/woman she is. So smart and savvy, I was really impressed!

Nettie’s son is also amazing, as is her hubby; she is truly blessed. This was one of my best decisions; reconnecting with people you love should always be a priority. I missed seeing her mom, but maybe on my way back, we can reconnect. Life is how we make it, and we need to make more time for these connections.

Nettie’s new business is going to be huge, and she has everything figured out and under control. I was really impressed and learned so much about something I knew nothing about. Her freeze-dried fruits and veggies are freaking amazing. The cherry tomatoes are to die for and the dragon fruit… omg! AND blueberries, which I eat pretty much every day.

Everything is edible, even the rinds on the lemons and oranges. They can all be reconstituted and… I could go on and on, but needless to say, we are truly blessed to have the products she is producing. Kudos, Nettie, and please send me more of those delicious tomatoes. (they can last over 25 years or more) I actually think it’s longer.

Okay, I’m back. I needed to get my fix on the cherry tomatoes; there is no salt or sugar or anything on them, pure deliciousness, unadulterated.  I cannot live without tomatoes in my life; these dried ones don’t contribute to gout (that was for my daughter). I could be wrong, but it’s worth it :  )

I meet up with my publisher on Monday for my book. This is an exciting time in my life; this darn book has been so long in the making. But it has been worth it, and I’m truly proud of myself for finishing it. My editor thinks I have more books in me, but if they take as long as this one, I’ll be writing them from my grave, lol.

Watch for it ‘LETTERS FROM THE CRYPT’ or Is There XXX After Death … or Did the Freeze-Dried Cherry Tomatoes Do Her In? Well, if they did, it was worth it. Btw, my book title is ‘Life and XXX After Sixty’ and the following is my intro: I promise…  You will laugh, and you will cry, but mostly you will ‘feel’, and isn’t that what life is all about?

Okay, one other note here before I finish and make the trek to scout out prices on fridges. I have also made my way into podcasting on YouTube. I’m a sucker for punishment, but WTH, ‘what the heck’, I’m a novice at this, but I’m kinda liking it as well. It’s called ask nana anything, and it started with a question, “How old is too old to wear a thong?”.

Well, this was a true story I related, and I’m going to put a pic on here of the actual thong and also of the cherry tomatoes. I wonder if Facebook will leave them up? Hmmmmm, and that’s a wrap (ask Nana 123). Be kind, I’m new at this.

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November 15th 2025