Sun Returns, Drive into Town, Digging Our Toes In, Quiet Times x 2

When I woke up on Tuesday, Jan. 9^th, it was 6:30 am. Still dark and Clemson made his adjustment from beside me to under Bill’s covers. It is so cute how he snuggles so close to us. He is a lovable little warm bundle whether we need warmth or not. At 7:30 I got up as there was no point in waiting for a sunrise to lighten things up. Or so I thought.

This is the way the morning started

It was registering 59F on the thermometer so with just a single hoody and my runners, I retrieved the garbage bag from our ‘garage’ and took the ¾ mile walk to the dumpsters. I remembered this time to bring along my CamRah toy in case I found a spot to set it up. It was a beautiful walk under what turned into a stunning sky, yet again. One thing for sure, I will not be disappointed here in our ‘above horizon’ views, nor will you be if I can help it. So, enjoy this morning's performance.

"POP"!!

After depositing my bag, I walked a bit further down towards the entrance before turning around for home. It was part way back that I decided to try my camera phone on the tripod with the remote. It connects to Bluetooth so I don’t have to set it up and run to get into position.

This was one of the perks that I liked about it. So, I set it on the ground, spread the little legs and paced towards the sunrise. I like the result.

I'm still impressed with some camping setups

Back home Bill and Clemson were still in bed but I could hear movement up there in the bedroom. Clemson went out for his piddle and then we joined Bill inside. The panels were already working and we turned the Keurig on for our coffee and tea. I started to prepare my soup, after the beans soaking overnight. I added 8 cups of fresh water, ground beef and onion and let it simmer for 1.5 hours. Immediately, the aroma filled the Suite.

Long tall Patsy again
I wanted to show you the hard packed rocky roads

Bill hopped in the shower and when he was almost finished, I began making eggs for breakfast. Neither of us felt like having bacon today which meant less mess inside too. It was just enough to fill us and tide us over until lunchtime. The 15 Bean Soup calls for smoked sausage or ham hocks but I work with what I’ve got and I like hamburger soup too.

Our Suite with a nice backdrop

When it was ready, we were ready to go into town to mail the birthday cards, and I stopped at Roadrunner Market for a few groceries. Lo and behold, they had a 3-pack of pork hocks on sale so I picked them up for next time. I know that some things were pricier than what I should pay but for the small amount of salad fixins’ I wanted, I wasn’t about to do the grocery-store-hop.

The morning was a great time for a kite

From there we drove to the post office or the other way around and then to Quiet Times. I wasn’t expecting to be able to pick my parcel up yet but wanted to check on one for Gayle and what was required to get it for her. After finding that information out, we drove home. The winds have picked up tremendously and the dust blowing in Quartzsite is explanation enough why the town isn’t too busy.

I wasn't kidding about the dust blowing around today

Back at the ranch, yes, it was so plenty warm but toooo windy to be comfortable sitting out. It was almost noon hour so I was looking forward to a bowl of my soup. We were listening to our Sirius radio and California is certainly getting dumped on. Overnight they got a lot of rain and today it is continuing. As the announcer said, why not when they were getting the fires? Some things just make you shake your head, no rhyme or reason.

My bowl of bean soup is almost gone
I took too much, it is so filling!

The rain is supposedly coming east but we’ve heard about forecasted rain in a few spots and it so far hasn’t amounted to anything. Maybe this time and perhaps it will settle some of the dust at the same time. So, I scooped up some soup for each of us and it tasted pretty good. Even Bill liked it. He likes beans and chili so maybe that is why. Then, I sat down with my book to get a few chapters in.

The wash behind us actually was being useful

So, sure enough at 12:40, after listening to the powerful 50 mph winds gusting for a couple of hours, the rain started. Believe it or not, a day inside was a blessing. Egads! Not because it was productive, no, it was anything but. But we actually had a nice Quite Time to ourselves with Clemson and our books. 

Clemson agrees and is just waiting for Mom to sit back down again

We do get a lot of reading done but this day, was designed for people to stay indoors, with a blanket and a book and maybe even a tea.

It sure was a different type of day here in the desert

Quite a lot of rain fell today

The blanket wasn’t necessary because it was so warm inside with windows closed but you get what I mean. With a window open, the dust was taking that as an invitation so we kept one on the east side open for air only. We got some steady rain for 3 hours and then off and on through the rest of the early evening.

Bill walked out in between the rain showers and chatted with George about the puddles laying around and in the wash behind us. Then as the rain started again, he started the generator and came in. I took that opportunity to snap a few photos. Yay! No dust! The temperature has plunged to a cool 55F at 5 o’clock.  It was as we were preparing supper Bill noticed a beautiful rainbow behind the Suite so I had to grab a camera to capture what I could. It was huge and hard to get it all in especially after we realized it was a double one from left, up over the arch and down to the right.

During the late afternoon, there was something else going on at a different section of La Posa South. We noticed numerous Sheriff vehicles, some with lights flashing and some without travelling quite quickly down the road. It is puzzling when you don’t know what is going on and of course, has us very curious. I just hope nothing terrible has happened.

Can you see that it is double?

What did we decide on for supper? Well, since the genny was running, we made up bacon cheese buns to cook in the convection oven. This meal requires both of us to participate too even though it is simple. I butter the buns, cut and precook the bacon and Bill slices the cheddar. They are filling and I always add sliced green olives to my portion.

We cleaned up the dishes and watched the new episode of NCIS and then Bull. This is Tuesday night after all, our favourite night for television. I sat at the laptop and worked away during commercials to finish posting my blog for today. It was a good day but I still didn’t get my freezer ‘inventoried’. Tomorrow for sure.

Good night from Quartzsite

I hope you’ve had a good day as well. Thank you for reading today and I love to hear from you.