The Sunrise and Weather Changes

Quartzsite, Az

On Friday, Nov. 13th, (eek!) I hope you aren't suspicious, it was darker than usual when I got up at 6:40. That's because the sky was covered in a heavy blanket of fluffy clouds. The good news is that it means an absolutely gorgeous sunrise!

Good morning!

I walked towards the blm entrance this morning and I didn't need sunglasses. Instead, I witnessed one of the prettiest sunrises we've seen here this winter. It just kept moving overhead and I was truly walking under a glowing umbrella until the sun popped. I missed that because I'd already turned back but then everything changed.

Walking outside under this
was amazing! My eyes were on the sky,
it's a wonder I didn't trip on the uneven 
ground. 🤭

The clouds were gray but peeks of blue sky were ahead, indicating we could sunshine today after all. How important that is when you are dependent on solar. My walk was shorter today but that's okay. Getting out at all is my goal. It was warm, 63F/17.22C so my wind breaker came off quickly.

Taken from a long way away
so I apologize for the blur.

There was a strong wind so I donned my ball cap before I went out. Bill knew there was no point in making the drive to the field with that wind so we sorted laundry and headed into the Main St. laundromat with our hot drinks in hand. 

A few lasting photos
before I got back to the Suite.

This is a large place and although we were smart to go early, it soon filled up. I counted 20 (20!!) patrons at one point. An ambulance had to be called when one lady came close to collapsing for one reason or another. Her laundry was in its final drying minutes when she doubled over and shuffled to another lady. 🤔 We hope she is alright, maybe she's diabetic? 🤷‍♀️

I don't think I would be able to
clean this Mat in an hour!
The cleaner was busy, doing a great job!

We came home, and vowed to check the other town 'Mat' for their prices. Maybe it isn't as nice or as well-kept (?) but we're hoping to find cheaper services. These were the same as ours at home and that's American dollars! $3 to $5.50 per load although the dryers were .25¢ for 5 minutes where ours only give you 4 minutes. 

This painting over the dryers
caught my eye.
It's lovely.

Back home, things were blowing pretty good out here so we secured our chairs under the canopy and then struggled to get the canopy dropped down to a safer position. It took a while to figure out, having our other gazebo in mind. Duh, we finally got it and came indoors. 

There was quite a toodoo at the
laundromat. I hope the lady is okay.

I'd finished my book at the Mat so before noon, I made IP Cauliflower soup..........minus the IP. The sun was out by now and I could've used Madame IP, I'm sure, but it was easy enough on the stove. It turned out pretty darn good too so that's what I had for lunch. 

Trying to get a clear pix
of the Q mountain is a challenge
with all the obstacles.

Bill had dozed through the process and he doesn't like homemade soups anyway so didn't pay attention. 😂 

This soup turned out great.
I'm impressed!

Because of having excess water in the bladder, Bill had a longer shower this morning and we'll run the dishwasher tonight. We'll feel spoiled!

For supper, we had pancakes in my electric frypan with the generator running.  Bill had the regular ones and I used my keto recipe. The local-home maple syrup is key, too, and yes, I use way too much which probably defeats the purpose of keto anyway! Alas, it is what it is. 

I made half a batch but still
had to save 3 for lunch tomorrow.

We took care of the pan and bowls by hand, loaded the dishwasher and settled in to watch tv. My 'new' book is a Michael Connelly with Renae Ballard this time. Already into the 4th chapter. We've had a good day with a high of 79F/24Cish. I thought our friend, Jim, would appreciate the 'ish'. 🤭😉

And the sun sets, unceremoniously.
Good night!

We've had a great day. Thank you for stopping by!

A Couple of Jobs

Quartzsite, Az

On Thursday, Nov. 12th I had an inkling in my half-asleep-lazy brain that I would skip a walk. Tsk tsk, not good. Once I start that nonsense, it's hard to get back on track so I got up, washed, dressed and was out the door at 6:45 before I changed my mind.

Good morning!

I did, however, change my route. I started out the same way, turning towards the highway and then returning the same way. It isn't quite the same distance but pretty close so I was happy. It totally threw Gibbs off as he was looking out the back window for my return. 🤭

Kind of hard to hug this tree!

Bill was almost ready to leave, just making his coffee. I made my tea and sat at my laptop to send a family/friend's email regarding our mailing address here. We paid enough for it that if it can be used, I wanted our family to know it. Some do like to send Christmas cards.

After a frustrating 30 minutes of my laptop cursor disappearing, I got it back and Gibbs and I went outside for a while. It was only 8:30 but already it was warm enough for shorts. That's crazy at only 63F/15Cish. My book, W is for Wasted, by Sue Grafton is very good and hard to put down so that's what I did outside.

I went a different route but
I bet you can't tell, can you?
Everything looks the same.

I came in to make a coffee at 10 and Gibbs decided he wanted to stay in for awhile. By 11, he was back out with me, sitting in the shade of our canopy and then scratching a bed in the gravel and underlying sand. Funny characters, they are. When Bill came home, he unloaded plane stuff and drove to La Posa South for a bladder of water.

But there is still such beauty
in the desert if you just look.

For lunch, when he returned, I made omelettes and they were very good. I need to keep stocked up on eggs, bacon and ingredients because they are so good and so good for us. Not to mention easy to make. I had another lazy afternoon in the shade of our canopy with my book. Can't say the same for Bill.

Sometimes, you just need to make
your own bed.

He had the water transferred from the bladder over lunch and when our tank was full there was still some left. We removed it from the back of the truck and will transfer it over the next day or two. He wasted no time and emptied our black tank into the blue boy via our macerator. Since it wasn't too busy at La Posa south yet, he went right over to dump.

Supper was easy and tasty.

That's two big jobs taken care of. We've done well, we've gone 14 days before filling our fresh water tank and dumping our black. Getting into the groove of real desert boondocking again. Even though we live basically 'off the grid' at home, we are a bit more conservative with our usage. 🤭😉

Bill had a wee mishap with landing gear this morning so worked on that this afternoon. These styrofoam planes can be fixed soooo many times, it simply amazes me. Plus the pilots all know how to take care of them. I read more until I needed to come in for a snooze. I guess the heat (or maybe idleness) is making me tired.

First time since we've had some
light clouds.

For supper, we had hot dogs and beans, which was just enough. Gibbs got a weiner too, something he learned to love from Bill's flying mates back home. He's not spoiled at all! We took care of dishes and watched some tv. No generator yet, we'll see how the evening goes. We've had so much sun, the panels should be smiling.

Good night!

We're expecting to drop in temps starting tomorrow until Tuesday when it drops even more. No worries, we'll still be under mostly sunny skies and in the mid-60's/teens.

Thank you for your visit on this wonderful day.