Ginger bug

Carl bought a Ginger bug starter at the Farmer's Market in Show Low.

He adds freshly shredded ginger and sugar to feed the "bug".

When he wants to make some carbonated drinks (ginger soda), he takes some of the ginger bug liquid and combines it with fruit juice and puts it into bottles to ferment for a few days on the counter -- the bacteria eats the sugar and creates carbon dioxide. He then puts the bottles into the refrigerator which stops the fermentation.

It can be quite carbonated:

I am not a fan of carbonated beverages, but he seems to like it quite well!

Physical Therapy

I had started physical therapy while in Show Low earlier in the summer, but had not been able to get many sessions completed. Carl had physical therapy prescribed with his back pain. So now, both of us are getting physical therapy, for upper back pain in about the same location. We're seeing the same physical therapist, and she has us doing most of the same exercises.

We were the first ones there after lunchtime, so there were no other people using the equipment when we first started. Carl had his phone with him, so he took pictures of me doing a few of the exercises. 

"Riding" the arm-bike to warm up

Pulling the bands to strengthen shoulder muscles

Doing torture on the wall with the Thera-Band

Stretching my neck/shoulder

Do they look like torture? Most of them aren't bad (though the red band on the wall is a bit difficult and really tires out our shoulders). My phone was stored in a cubby so no pictures of Carl, but he was doing the same exercises.

Sunset pictures

We have been enjoying evening walks around our community... there have been some magnificent sunsets...

Around the corner from our house

Looking across an RV lot that is owned by some of our friends

Zoomed in - doesn't that look like a mountain reflected in a lake?

Palm trees and the sky on fire

The sky reminds me of the Arizona state flag!

Looking up toward community center in the middle of our community

Sunset reflections in the windows of a friend's home across from our RV lot

We appreciate that it cools off after the sun goes down and having the beautiful colors is a great incentive to get out and walk!

A neighbor's pickup truck

One of the evenings that we were out walking around our community, when we came back, we noticed lights on in our nextdoor neighbor's house. I asked Carl if they had been on before and I hadn't noticed, or if maybe they came on later in the evening than we are usually out, but he pointed out that outdoor furniture was out on the porch too. The owners live in Idaho in the summer, but we'd had a bad storm just a day or two before, so we thought they might have contacted someone to check the house for them. Anyway, I called the wife's number, and she confirmed that her husband had flown down that day and was in the house (as I was on the phone with her, her husband knocked on our door to get some ice). He had come down to pick up a classic pickup truck that he had arranged to purchase, he would be getting it the next day, and flying back the day after that. He had decided to "open up" their unit for the summer while he was down.

He picked up the pickup truck and left it in their driveway... 

I couldn't get very far away from it to get good pictures... I think it has been painted to look like it has more battering than it actually has. Carl says that it is devaluing our property to have a derelict vehicle parked at the house next door!

"Your Meal is Made Possible by Farmers!"

We enjoy eating at Culver's...

Not only do we enjoy their food, but the sentiments on their cups and table signs are cute too!

Some things seen as we've been in Mesa...

We've been seeing some things that we don't necessarily see during the winter season in Mesa...

We were out in a community east of us - near the Superstition Mountains...

... we don't remember seeing these flowers before. Google Lens tells me that they are Pride of Barbados, also commonly known as the Red Bird of Paradise or Peacock Flower.

This was the view one evening as we were walking around our community -- quite a thick cloud front -- the picture doesn't show the colors as brilliantly as we saw them.

Our community is much quieter at this time of year, but it is good for us as we are trying to get in to see different doctors and professionals and they are much more available now than in the winter season when so many winter visitors are here.

Summer Resident-Led Activities

There are not as many organized events going on during the summer around Venture Out, but that doesn't mean that there is nothing to do...

This is from a board up at the Post Office where various folks have added the events they are hosting each week in the park.

We haven't had the opportunity to join any of those -- other than some pool exercises.