Nice of You to Share, Dear, Cloudy Start, Groceries are a Necessity, A New Year Arrives

On Sunday, Dec. 31^st (Holy cow, the last day of this year!) we were up and down a couple of times in the early morning. I know I just didn’t feel like getting up today. My head was like a bullet, about to explode and Bill still didn’t sound much better. It is nice of him to share his cold with me but some things we should do on our own, right?

The drive to and from Yuma was smooth
with little traffic this morning

and the sky was cloudy

We each had our coffee and tea around 8 when we dragged ourselves out of bed and then we each popped 2 of the Tylenol Cold Max/Day Time. In unison. Together, because now we are both feeling this cold. They seemed to help Bill yesterday and really, as long as some parts of the day are cough and ache free, I’ll be happy.

They are making a lot of improvements around the park
these oleander trees get dressed up

Our first thing on the agenda was groceries so by 9 we were in the truck and on our way to Fry’s in Yuma. We both like that store and they will have everything on our list today. Plus, we get points towards diesel fill-ups. Yay! Half way through our grocery adventure, we both were feeling like crap. Excuse the language, but that is the best way to describe it. We were anxious to get through the checkout and it cheered us that we saved $29.

Straight home and I put stuff away before making us some scrambled eggs. Stuff a cold, you know! I’m not feeling too badly right now with food in my tummy. The Tylenol tablets I took earlier seem to have kicked in. Bill still sounds quite stuffy and will probably lay down for a bit. At least now, neither of us feels like going too far. We are looking forward to visitors this afternoon from a park in Yuma. We will keep our distance but we really want to see Tom and Deb!

Deb, Clemson, Suzie and Bill

I finished a second tea, had a shower and then decided to take a walk. If we were back home and this was summer, I would say ‘it looks like rain’. It is highly unlikely that it will rain here and if it did it would surprise all of us. The sky to the west looks somewhat threatening. The day is still hot and the temperature is sitting at 72F even in the clouds and slight wind. I’m so glad we are where we are and temps are supposed to rise to 80F by Friday.

And with my new CamRah wrapped around our handle bar
I was able to be in the picture too

The puzzle wasn’t getting done without me so that is where I headed. I had a book to take up to the book exchange as well. I worked away for over an hour and made more progress. Now I think I should be able to finish it before Wednesday. My cold wasn’t bothering me and since I was alone again, I didn’t feel bad about being in the room. I didn’t want to spread germs and probably would have left if someone had come in.

Back at the Suite, Bill was laying down but seemed to be feeling a little better again. 

The puzzle is coming along nicely
Now the US Presidents to finish

We sat outside for a while with our books and it was quite warm without being uncomfortable. At 2:30 or so, Deb and Tom arrived. We met them last year for the first time in Borrego Springs and have kept in contact with them over the year through our blogs. Deb’s is Celebrating the Dance and she writes about their adventures in Escanaba, Mi and south to Arizona.

And Dee and Bill joined our happy group too

It was so nice to see them again, seems like we’ve known each other far longer. George and Suzie joined us and soon after Bill and Dee brought their chairs over. We are all happy and what better reason to get together. I had a glass of wine with Deb and Bill stuck to the straight Coke today. Tonight, it will be something a little stronger.

and we met Doug the Pug

What a wonderful time we had for over 3 hours, it just flew by. Before 6 everyone said goodbye until we meet again on down the road. Once more, we didn’t feel up to a big deal for supper so I prepared a can of Chili with beans that we’d picked up at Fry’s. I toasted some of the butter bread we found as well and it was actually a very easy, tasty dinner.

And even cuter, Clemson met Doug the Pug

We cleaned up dishes and decided we weren’t going anywhere this evening, this New Year’s Eve. If we still lived in that sticks and bricks home that I’ve mentioned recently, we wouldn’t be going out either so this is normal for us. Spending it together, just the two of us. Last year, we remember fondly that we shared the evening with our friends, Rob and Pat here in the Suite. We will miss that this year so Bill called them to wish them a Happy New Year. It was great to hear your voices, buddies!

I hope you had a fun, relaxing, enjoyable evening!

I finished my book after supper, Jack and Jill by James Patterson and since Bill has read it, I’ll walk it up to the exchange tomorrow. Bill has also started a new one and I’m going to start another one of Alex Cross’s thrillers, Cross Justice. I’ve no doubt it will be a good one. This has been a good day. It seems like a lot has taken place, all within 15 hours. I hope your day was equally enjoyable.

And with a hot toddy for each of us
2017 ends and 2018 arrives
Cheers!

From our house to yours
Happy New Year!

Thank you for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment for me.

To Market to Market, Slow, Perfect Day, More New Friends!

It was 4 am Saturday, Dec. 30^th when I was first woken and that was from Bill telling me that I was having a bad dream. I snapped out of it quickly and tried to grab hold of what the dream was about before losing it. Strange, not sure where it came from but at least I remember it. Weird. After mumbling a thank you, I was a long time dropping off again.

Our site from a different angle

I heard Bill get up a bit later for a nature call and then I finally stretched and crawled out at 7:30. Clemson needed out too.

The rv's off in the distance are on blm land

I offered the little bum a walk but he had fallen into a hole on the couch in his bed and wasn’t budging. Hmpf! Well, fine then, I went by myself just around the perimeter today. I’d promised Bill last night to wake Bill at 8.

The mountains to the north are pink in the sunrise

Today, we had plans to drive into the Arizona Marketplace in Yuma with George and Suzie. We love  the Arizona market. 

So, after Bill showering and me doing a wash and grabbing a bite to eat, we left the park around 9:30. It was our turn to drive so Black Beauty got a leg stretch as well today. Traffic was light this morning and we were entering the grounds by 9:55.

Need bolts or screws?

You name it, they pretty much got it

this is Wally's World, I think

Because we always have so much to see and so many different directions we like to go in, we agreed to split up and meet at the entrance at 11:30. Even Bill and I have different ideas of what we want to look at so we parted too. 

Need hoodies? tee shirts? they got it here

I found things as I perused in and out of different vendors under the tent cover. For the Suite Bill and I chose 4 step covers. Ours needed replacing badly.

Our new step covers and I've already got them dusty!

I picked up an Arizona decorated bag for holding and dispensing plastic grocery bags. I’ll secure a Command hook under the sink where it can hang.

Grocery bag dispenser with a twist

So much neater than my usual ‘cram and jam’ just to have some bags on hand. I found some bath poufs, fingerless mini gloves for my morning walks and a shoulder purse. 

An actual shoulder bag will be so much more comfortable

Oh, and then as I was about to leave I got my hands on another nice sun hat. Happy camper, this gal is!

My new sun cover

And modelled for you
Not as wide a brim as my pool hat

We were home by 12 noon with the expectation of meeting a couple of blog followers (Blurkers – and I mean that in a totally GOOD way) after lunch. Bill was feeling not too bad this morning and the outing was probably doing him good. I opened a can of mushroom soup and we shared that for lunch after which Bill and Clemson went up for a snooze.

We saw this cool little tow vehicle in the parking lot as we left
Love the writing
"I Go where I'm towed to"
just a good child, right?

At 1:30 I took Clemson for a short walk, the one he bummed out of this morning, and after returning him, I went to the puzzle room. Bill was still snoozing. It was when I was up there chatting with my sister, Donna, back home when I got an email from my other sister, Gayle. Gayle and John left Chatsworth, Ontario yesterday early afternoon to head south. This was their year to host Christmas so they remained home until after the big meal with their family.

I hadn’t heard from them and was a bit concerned. The email informed us that they have been dealing with some snow and had to stop at Lansing, Mi for the night in a motel. Please keep them in your prayers as they too make the late trek to a warmer winter destination. Thank you! I think tonight will be a St. Louis motel and then hopefully an open window for them to make a move.

Frank and Peggy

I returned at 3 when Suzie said our company had arrived at their site. Bill and I grabbed our drinks and chairs and joined them. Peggy and Frank Edgar have been following all of our blogs for quite a while. She feels she knows us quite well and guess what? She does! It is such a perk for us to hear from people who read our posts and even more thrilled if they make contact and wish to meet. What a treat!

As seems to happen often, conversation just flowed amongst the 6 of us and then Clemson joined us for a bit and grabbed some of the attention. They certainly didn’t have to, but Peggy and Frank brought us ball caps and some goodies from the Dateland Date Farm. You two are spoiling us! Thank you so much! 

Shortly after 4, Bill, who had grown quiet, needed to go back to the Suite to lay down and Clemson went with him.

Yum - we got spoiled today!

My poor sweetie, from the sound of his voice, I could tell his head must have felt like it was about to burst. I said my goodbyes around 4:30 as did our company. Bill was still sound asleep so I’m hoping when he wakes up that he will feel better again. We were planning on fish and chips for supper but nothing is written in stone.

Turns out this was my supper
Doesn't look like fish and chips

The sun is dropping in the west sky and there is no wind to rustle the leaves on the ficus. My hummers have indicated that I need to fill their feeder so must do that before they desert me forever. Tomorrow.

You know why I had to cover my wine glass

I heard Bill moving upstairs so went up to check on him at 5:30. He was thirsty and almost drank a full bottle of water and indicated that he wasn’t hungry for anything substantial. Unfortunately, he finished the buns off last night so I can’t even make him toast.

to the west

I, on the other hand, was hungry so made up a bowl of chicken salad with lettuce, onions, broccoli, tomatoes and olives. It was very good and it was something I knew Bill wouldn’t like anyway. I sat with a glass of White Zinfandel and added to my blog post for the day. Bill came down at 6:30 looking and still feeling pretty rough. 

As I cleaned up the dishes, I noticed that I was feeling a tickle in my throat and was occasionally coughing. Oh no!

to the west

I finished my post and made myself a mullien tea. My sister swears by this so I’m going to give it a shot. I've never had much success making it strong enough but I’m going to try and head this cold off at the pass. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know if it worked! Bill made himself comfy in his chair in front of the tv and I’ve noticed that his coughing has subsided.

This has been another good day in the park. With some shopping at the market, new step covers and a few other things, we are very glad we went. I’m sure we’ll go back another time this year and spend more ‘poking’ around time. It makes for a fun outing. I hope you enjoyed your day as well.

Wow! Good night 

Thank you for reading and Peggy, thank you for reaching out to meet us! Feel free to comment, I enjoy reading what you have to say.

Time to Undress, Walkabouts on a Lazy Day, Puzzle, Pool and Bill Improves

Today, Friday, Dec. 29th, I heard Bill up to the bathroom at 6 ish and soon after he crawled back in, Clemson jumped off the bed. I had been awake since 5:45 so I got up and let him out for his piddle. Instead of getting dressed, I, too, crawled back under the covers for half hour. I could see light around the blind edges so soon got up and got dressed.

Looking back to the Suite, it was accented by this beautiful morning
sky
this is the WEST sky at 7:20 am

Don in Okla who comments on my blog suggested I check out a site regarding the length of the daylight hours. It is actually pretty cool. If interested, you can check it out too.

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/amarillo?month=9

 Thanks, Don! 

I knew from that that the sun was going to pop this morning at 7:55 am. I left the Suite at 7:15 and did a few jaunts at the back end of the park before being stopped by some neighbours I hadn’t yet met.

"Pop!"

Bonnie and Vance have not had a home since 1985. Their home base was in Maryland and they have been full-timing in a motor home in the southern states for 17 years to avoid the winters. They don’t stay in one particular place but do stay a fair bit of time at every place they visit. They love it and I’m sure it is keeping them young. We were both checking out the overnight mishap that happened just down the lane next to us.

Sometimes we make the right choices
Even if at the time, we don't know why

Thank goodness, this couple from New Hampshire had decided to move their pickup truck from under the tree last night. Their reasoning was because of the bird and tree droppings but soon became apparent that fate had other plans! This happened through the night and no one was the wiser until she took the dog out this morning. All things happen for a reason.

I thought I'd post a few pictures of the large sites here

These are along the back fence and were mostly full last year when we were here
Lots of room for a toy hauler, Bill Snider

Even this one up in the middle is plenty long for a large unit
and room for a tow vehicle to park

I finished my walk around the park and caught the 7:55 pop of the sun at the corner of the mountain. I’m sure the time was off a bit because the Gila range does block the first rising at the horizon. I’m not about to complain about mountains blocking my view though, I love to see them all around us.

I'm getting there!!

When I got back, Bill was still sleeping soundly and Clem was tucked in there under the covers with him, looking after him. He went to bed last night at 9 pm, highly unusual for Bill. He was definitely feeling poorly. There wasn’t much I could do to relieve what he was feeling, although I offered, and eventually after 15 minutes or so, he dropped off for the night.

At least he slept well and I’m happy about that. Sleep seems to be the best cure for most things. It is strange how it came on so suddenly, but then again that is how it happens. We don’t get a warning ‘tomorrow you will not feel well’. He will be avoiding close proximity with friends today so as not to share it.

Our ficus tree was getting a gentle watering for most of the day today

No wonder the tree is so healthy!
See the pool of water around the trunk?

I tiptoed around and began 'undressing' the Suite. It was Bill’s wish to take the Christmas decorations down today. I would have waited until New Years’ Day if we were still in a sticks and bricks home but here it is nice to get back to our normal limited space. This was the perfect way to set up our tree though as it left room in the centre of our living room for a few days.

I got as far as I could, taking things down from everything except the tree until Bill got up. The storage box is under the bed. I might wake him if I lifted it up. Ha ha. That dilemma passed as Bill was up around 9:30 and seemed to be better. At least no fever this morning and he was moving around more like his ole self again. I was able to lift the bed and get the box I needed as well as the Christmas tree box.

After my pool dip, this is the only place I could hang my towel and swim suit
It was dry within an hour

Bill finished his coffee and put the stripped tree away and tucked it back under the bed until next year. No sign now of Christmas in our home, except for a few goodies up in the cupboard. I made Bill a couple of pieces of toast with jam and then decided that we’d have turkey soup for lunch so just had half a piece for myself. I covered mine with the strawberry jam that Rob and Pat made for us. Yum! Thanks buddies!

I got washed and changed into shorts and then walked up to the puzzle room. I had an hour and a half before noon hour and Bill was going to read for a bit. He is still nursing a headache. I put in a good hour at least placing pieces and made good progress, alone. I do believe I’m the only one working on it.

I heated our turkey soup and Bill and I both had a nice big bowl full. It was very good. Thanks again, George for making us a pot. I changed into my bathing suit and took my stuff up to the pool at 12:45. Only one other participant but at least more came and went today. The cook from the park, Tracy, was there so we chatted for a bit in and out of the pool. She mentioned to another couple about this being burger night so I came back and asked Bill if he was up for it.

We’d already kinda planned to clean up some leftovers so when George and Suzie had planned on something else as well, it made the decision easy. We could have gone by ourselves but with Bill not completely well, this was a good decision. 

He did feel up to having Happy Hour so they came over for an hour or so. That sun is hot, so soon after 4, they went back to their site where they could sit behind their sun screen. The tree here could only provide so much shade and at this time of day, it was no help at all.

Happy Hour went on as planned

I gave Bill a couple of Tylenol Cold Max tablets since the packet said it helps ease head and body aches too. Maybe he’ll feel like supper tonight in an hour or so. I took my book and went back outside. I was able to sit with my back to the sun and be quite comfortable. Temperature has dropped to 80F/26.6C at 4:30 and again, this is why we are here.

On our walk, we noticed this coach and its 'Toad'
Beautiful matching units

At 5:15 I came in to see how Bill was doing and he was busily typing away on his laptop. Said he wasn’t hungry yet, and that if I waited until he finished typing he would go for a walk with me. He needed to get out and stretch his legs. I was happy to hear that he was typing another blog post. You can check it out here.

Look at this picture
Besides the fly on my leg, what do you notice?
Yup, I'm actually sitting in the shade!!
Highly unusual for this gal.

We managed to do the perimeter of the park but that was enough for Bill to get his mile in today. The night is cooling down and we moved inside at 6 to warm up our leftovers. Bill had a sloppy joe from leftover brown beans and soup and I had a hot turkey sandwich with gravy. The fridge is almost empty again, at least all of the leftovers are gone with the exception of apple crisp. I’ll work on that for dessert.

Nothing too exciting but it was filling and hit the spot

This has been a good day. We’ve relaxed a lot and I’ve done some puzzle work and some swimming, sunbathing and lots of reading. It has been perfect! Bill is feeling better, thank you to all who were asking and wishing him well. I hope your day has been a good one too.

Good night from Pilot Knob RV Resort

Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment if you wish.