Sunday, January 21, 2018

Close to Home Comfort, Winds Remain, So Does the Sun, New and Old Friends

I believe it was just after 7 when Bill and Clemson got up for their first piddle. We didn’t leave our Blue Flame heater on through the night, getting better at becoming ‘cool’ sleepers. It was on for about an hour while we were sitting inside after dishes, watching Live PD. At 10 we closed things up, turned things off and went to bed.


Bill turned the heater on and my two rug rats (I say that with full love, of course) crawled back into bed with cold feet and wet noses. Let’s stay in bed for a while until it warms up down there, he said. It was 41F outside and 53F inside. Suits me! So, we discussed the day plans, which basically was a ‘rest’ day and the conversation got a little more serious. Me and my ‘what ifs’. I often need reassurance on what steps to take in a worst-case scenario.
It was chilly in here this morning
Clemson needed his blanket
While talking, my phone rang. It was our friends (Buddies!) back home. Rob and Pat calling to catch up with things. It was great to hear their voices and thank you for waiting until after 7:30 MT (9:30 EST) to make the call. Ha ha. With a tea and coffee under our belts and blogs read from yesterday’s happenings, Bill had another project to take care of.

Lordy oh Lordy we need garbage pick up on Monday
I washed and layered up in light clothing and my good running shoes. I have begun another Weekend Warrior challenge with Bill and a few friends so need to ‘step’ it up!

I walked to the front gate and snapped some pictures of the Government Shut-Down signs. Now we are being informed that not only is the Office closed, but as of Monday at 11 am, there will be NO services available of any kind. We can only hope that doesn’t mean garbage pick-up. We are assuming it must be on contract from a nearby business and this IS Sunday, after all.

Bill called his Dad late morning just to catch up with any news back home. He talked to Marilynne for a while and things sounded pretty good. Their weather is warming up a bit, gradually. Then Dad came on the phone and he sounded better than last time we called. I usually listen in the background so Bill puts it on speaker phone. It is always nice to hear their voices as well.
There were 14 in line to dump on my way to the gate
Another beautiful day is upon us, even though cooler
Back at home, Bill was just finishing up and has been documenting what he is doing. So, Ken, you shouldn’t have to wait too long! We each had another hot drink since it was only 11:30 and then at noon hour, he turned the new generator on and I made us toasted tomato sandwiches with lettuce and mayo. Yummy!

Can you say congestion?
They are at least all in agreement to park so close together
With the news about the shutdown, Bill prepared his water bladder and headed up to fill it up. Just in case. We are sitting at 75 gallons in our fresh water tank, but this way we can top it up over the next few days without it sitting there too long. 

We had cleaned up dishes so the sink was clear for me to make a chicken soup of some kind. I had the 2 large chicken thighs that we grilled the other night. I need to google a recipe and ‘Git ‘er Done!’ (thanks Larry the Cable Guy) for the support!

Oh-oh, this can't be good


I found one and proceeded to take care of business. Once the soup started to boil, I turned it to simmer and could hear Bill outside talking to someone. I wish I’d gone out with my camera but no, I went out totally unprepared to take a picture. Ginger and Jim were driving by on their dirt bikes, had stopped to admire out Mobile Suite and Bill invited them over.

16 in line when I returned
They chatted for a few minutes before I finally had cleaned up enough of my mess and went out to join them. What a nice couple! They are from Oregon and currently camping at Mile marker 99, the Roadrunner BLM. Ginger was very curious about a lot of things regarding the Suite and camping in general so Bill and I answered what we could. We should have asked them to come and sit sooner but after a nice visit and a tour through our home, they drove off. We hope they take the time and come back and see us before we/they leave the area.

Super Beetle, anyone?
Inside I checked my soup and much of the liquid had been absorbed, hmm. How does one keep a broth in a soup? I’m obviously very new at this ‘soup’ thing but because I had emptied all the broth containers I had, I resorted to just adding some more water. I’ll try the soup tomorrow, it looks good.  I had to substitute again by using spagettini noodles since I don’t buy egg noodles. I’m sure it will be fine.


At 10 to 3, with the winds, Bill invited our neighbours to Happy Hour, either inside or out, whatever they chose. As it turned out, the sun was warm enough and everyone was dressed appropriately enough to sit outside. While sitting there we had more excitement. Two Police, one Sheriff, one Fire Rescue and one Ambulance went down the main road to the back towards the mountain. Now what?? Maybe we’ll find out at a later date.

a big beautiful Saguaro

with a new born

and a toddler

Pirates living behind us
This is a nice site that I found this morning
It is all set up for us!
So, it was a nice couple of hours, chatting about anything and everything from food to cameras to pets. At 5 pm our guests headed home to prepare their evening meals and we came inside to rest for 30 minutes. Tonight, we were having breakfast for supper. 

Great kite-flying weather

Great tent-snoozing weather
You see all kinds, ya know?
I have no clue what he has on his helmet
A second picture didn't help
Eggs, mini sausages and home fries. It has been a couple of days since we’ve had a good breakfast. It will be easy and something I can prepare inside without barbecuing in the wind.
Happy Hour at our place
Clemson kisses Suzie

And then he lays down
This has been a really nice, slow and easy day. We met new friends, gathered with old friends, got some walking in, had some excitement, had breakfast for supper and even made soup in the meantime! I hope you have had a great day too! PS, for those who are curious about things we've purchased and my man has been working on, Bill is writing a post tonight too. Check it out at On Our Way

sausages, home fries and eggs



Nighty-night!
Thank you for stopping by. Feel free to drop me a comment!

12 comments:

  1. Looks like you guys are enjoying yourselves. The shopping haul is impressive, and the price is right!
    I hope the crowds are less next week. We'll be coming up on Tuesday. We better arrive early in the day for sure.

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  2. I can't remember how the crowds are after the show ends. Definitely less, I'm sure.

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  3. Does all services include shutting down the water and the dump stations? I hope they dumpsters get emptied before 11 am, be glad it's cool if they aren't dumped.

    Looks like a great happy hour, glad you had a chance to meet some new friends today as well.

    Soup looks good, it's absorbing the water due to the noodles. You can cook those on the side and add them to the bowl before you add the soup. Tomorrow the spaghettini will be very large. I'm sure it will taste great!!

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    1. Yes, the water and dumps will be shut down at 11. People are scrambling to get water etc. We should be fine, if not we'll take our blue boy to town to dump.
      I wish I got their picture, such a nice couple!
      Thank you for the tip on the soup. You can tell I don't make it often at all!I will do that next time. Looking forward to tasting it other than the quick taste test I did yesterday.

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  4. Save that site for us when we arrive. Hope you guys all survive the shut down.

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  5. We wil manage here I am sure , your soup looks yummy any noodle or even barley works, when the liquid boils down, I add some water and chicken OXO that I use all the time. Keeps the flavour.

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    1. thanks George, I will add some chicken oxo, I do have some of that here! Great!

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  6. Looks like another beautiful, yet cool day. Soup looks really good! I like breakfast for dinner, Ken not so much. Bill did a great job on his post! Congrats on the new generator and light! Happy hour looks like fun once again! Clemson in his tent is so cute!

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    1. It was a nice day. As long as the sun shines, we really can't complain. Well, even then, we're so spoiled!
      thanks Bill writes well even though he doesn't give himself enough credit. :)
      love the genny and the light. Clemson's tent has paid for itself more this year already than last winter.

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  7. A really tight fitting lid keeps more liquid in the pot, or maybe a small crockpot? Your soup looks delicious!!

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    1. thank you Nancy. I appreciate all the tips. My lid is a good fit and without electric hookup I won't use a crock pot. I hope it tastes as good as it looks! :)

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