Early Wash Loads, Early Snow Flurries, Saying Buenas Noches!

On Wednesday, Feb. 28^th, the end of this short month already, I was awake early and up at 6:30. We had made plans before going to bed last night that I was to get Bill up at 7 so we could snag a couple of washing machines, early. I didn’t have to wake him. I made my tea in my ‘takeaway’ cup and sat in my recliner with my laptop to read.

sitting in the clubhouse

I have discovered that it is warmer sitting there in the morning rather than at the table. As insulated as our Suite is, depending on the wind direction, I feel cool air on my left side sitting near the windows. This is an easy fix and it is definitely more comfortable sitting in a softer chair. It wasn’t long and Bill was up too, making the bed and starting to sort the dirty clothes. Good, just two loads will do it!

So, Bill loaded the truck and drove me up to the clubhouse. We filled the washers, his job is putting the detergent in and rinsing the cup before leaving me to it. I don’t mind at all, he is contributing and there is no point in both of us sitting here. I took my laptop into the clubhouse, right beside the laundry room and settled in to read. I texted my sister, Donna, as usual to let her know what we’re up to today. It is 2 hours later in Ontario so their day is already in full mode.

Pretty view of the mountains covered in fresh snow

Not sure if you'll be able to see the flurries

No sooner did I send her a message and I looked out to see snow flurries. Light flurries. It is actually 34F so I’m surprised how one day can differ from another. Anyway, it won’t deter us from enjoying the day. We have a couple of things planned around here. Bill joined me shortly after I put the clothes in the dryer and we spent the last 30 minutes together and folded the laundry. Glad to have that job done.

Bill took this picture

After putting things away, (it all dried well this time, yay!) I made our bacon and egg omelette breakfasts. Yesterday, I cooked a pot of steel cut oats because sometimes I miss a bowl of hot porridge. That is the best choice rather than regular oatmeal for me on this paleo ‘diet’ and I do enjoy it. We cleaned up the dishes and what sun we did see earlier, has been blanketed by the thick gray clouds and we aren't expecting to hit anything more than 46F today.

Bill walked out to the highway to take these

Donna responded stating that they are experiencing a wonderful day with 51F and sunshine at noon hour. Good for them! I know it won’t last although my son was insistent that they wouldn’t get any more ‘real’ winter weather again. Not enough to stay on the ground anyway. I hope he is right and not only because I’ll tease him if he is wrong and tell him not to give up his day job. Ha ha

I love the colours here

Now, that we are cleaned up from breakfast on a dull day, is the part I enjoy. We don’t have any obligations until 3 pm today so we can do what we want. Everything is packed up with the exception of our patio mat. When it is dry, we’ll put it away. Tanks will be dumped either tonight or in the morning and we’ll be set to pull out by 9:30 or so. 

We bought 2 pineapples at Fry's, one of our favourite fruits. Bill is using my Avon pineapple corer in these pictures. Such an easy way to peel, core and slice all in 2 or 3 steps and little mess. (you can click on these pics to enlarge)

Bill worked on filling out our 8840 forms to be sent to the IRS. These are required by the United States to prove that we have closer ties to Canada. It allows us to stay 183 days in the U.S. thus allowing us to enjoy this great winter weather for 5+ months. We will always save a few days grace in case something delays our return.

Very quickly, we had visible snow in Arizona

Clemson and I sat and pretty much did nothing other than relaxing and reading and playing on the internet. It was probably noon hour when I decided to bake something. Two recipes I looked at only proved that I was missing one key ingredient so I almost abandoned the whole idea. Then, I thought of cookies because I talked Bill ‘out’ of buying cookies at Fry’s the other day.

I see someone who might like some home baked cookies
I'm not talking about Clemson

So, I pulled the ingredients out and mixed up a batch of dough for Molasses Crinkles. It indicates that this recipe will make 3 dozen cookies but I must have made them smaller as I have at least 48. I wasn’t sure if Bill would like them but they turned out pretty perfect in my convection oven and taste yummy! Yes, they are sweet but we’ll just have to control ourselves and only have a couple a day.

They don't look perfect, but they're good!

With our tea we walked up to the front clubhouse for 3 o’clock where we’d arranged to meet George and Suzie (OurAwesome Travels) and Sandy and Randy. We’d met this couple last winter at Quartzsite but we couldn’t picture them. As soon as Sandy walked in, it clicked and yes, we remembered meeting her before. I'm not sure if I met Randy before and he said the same thing about me, so not likely.

an indoor Happy Hour at the clubhouse

 It was a nice visit as well as a nice goodbye. We all discussed our route home, rv repairs, cranes, border crossings and booze before our final hugs. From there, Bill and I walked further back to have a quick visit with Deb and Dj. We wanted to say goodbye to them as well. It has been nice visiting with them while we were here and we've all learned a bit more about each other.

and Sandy was gracious enough to take one with me in it too

Walking back home, the sky was clear and the sun was fierce in its desire to warm us up. Unfortunately, the wind was bitter and I was happy to be bundled in my 3 layers. The temperature never got above 45F today and that is not okay. Tomorrow at least, we should get our warmth back. The snow had stopped late morning leaving nothing on the ground until just before noon the sky to the west let go. I snapped these pictures within 15 seconds of it starting. Luckily, it didn’t last.

For supper tonight, we both agreed that we’d open a can of chili for Bill and I would finish up the last of my vegetable soup. I had removed the pieces of chicken that were left in it, simply because even though I trust that the veggies wouldn’t go bad, the chicken is not something I want to mess with. Bill had a bun with his and I had some buttered soda crackers hoping it would be enough to fill us.

After cleaning up dishes, Bill dumped our gray and black tanks. Two weeks here and the gray, especially, was full. Then we sat together watching an episode of The Curse of Oak Island. Interesting stuff. A true example of patience and determination in the search for a treasure. The air just kept dropping into the evening and for the last day of February, we can truly say it was the coldest day we’ve experienced since we left home on Oct. 23^rd.

I like the shape of this sprawly tree

This has been a good day, cleaning a few things up, saying goodbyes to friends here in the park and under the surface, the building excitement of a new adventure waiting for us in the morning. We are looking forward to returning to a location we visited in November of 2016 and hanging out there for a few days. We were happy to see the brilliant sun this afternoon.

I hope you have enjoyed the day and that is was warmer than ours was. What is with the"Buenas noches", in my title? Well, unashamedly, I am trying to brush up on my Spanish. I'd learned a few basic words while I worked at the school board and Laurel told me about this free app. It is a language Bill and I think will be fun to learn.

Can you differentiate the clouds from the mountains?

I want to thank you for taking the time to read my writings today. Feel free to drop a line.

Lazy Day, Snow Warning? Birthday Boy, Patrick Calls

I woke up around 6 am on Tuesday, Feb. 27^th and felt pretty rested. I lie still for another 30 minutes and then got up. There were clouds covering the eastern and most of the north sky so I wasn’t surprised to see the sun didn’t break through for a sunrise picture. Even though it was 12 degrees warmer than yesterday morning, I didn’t go for a walk. I made my first tea instead.

"Do you want to go for a ride in the truck, Clemson?"

Something I didn’t mention about yesterday’s shopping trip was the great deals we get here on our vitamins. Many times, you ‘buy 1 get 1 free’ so I have stocked up a bit on our D and hope to do the same with the B100’s. Our Omega 3 and my Calcium pills were all purchased under the same kind of deal. They seem to sell a B3, a B12 and a B Complex but no B100’s here so we need to compare the facts.

I’m not sure what we got busy at but before I knew it the clock was reading 10 so I made our bacon and eggs. We cleaned up and Bill went outside to check the tires and torque on the lug nuts on the Suite. While he did that, I separated the meat we bought into individual packs.

Now that is a deal
Our second pack had just as many chops for $18

I cut each pork chop into two because of the thickness. Bill said he wouldn’t need a whole one. Some bones were cut out and packaged for soup broth and I kept one large boneless piece for stuffing and rolling. Thanks George for the reminder! Then I divided the ground beef roll into 5 packages. 

Our freezer is looking full again and it should last us for the rest of the winter.

This was about the extent of my 'busy-ness' today

Then I gave some attention to my finger nails. Yikes, they have been neglected and showed the worse for wear. I clipped and filed and then used a ridge filling base coat. I’m not good with coloured polish, it always gets marked up within minutes, but I might try a light colour anyway. I’m a sucker for punishment, I guess.

I babied these nails after painting them this afternoon
Tadah! No marks!

We discussed the weather, after being informed by a couple of people about some nasty stuff coming. They weren’t entirely wrong, at least according to the few weather stations we’ve tuned into. Looks like temperature dropping to 47F before bedtime tonight, 43F at 1 am and rain starting. Still looks like the low is only going to hit 34F and that is by 7 am Wednesday so still not cold enough for the *s* word. We’ll have to see.

Pretty International stamps

We ‘could’ get flurries here but at this elevation, not likely or very little. Because we don’t know for sure and we are pulling out Thursday morning, we’ve planned 2 supper meals inside. We’d rather be safe than sorry. Tonight because of the winds, mainly, we don’t want to barbecue. I have fish and chips planned so Bill can put the Weber, the table and the chairs away.

I tried walking with Clemson earlier and the gusts of 40 mph made it extremely difficult to walk with him. It actually blew him over in the middle of a nature call. I tried not to laugh, instead turned back towards home. I didn’t want to hurt his little feelings, he was so determined to finish! 

When I got back I told Bill, “okay, I won’t be sitting out anymore you can put things away.” We needed a nibble so around 1 we had some cheese and crackers and then drove into Huachuca City to get some quarters for laundry and some more stamps. March is a birthday month.

One of my favourite pictures of Nathan at 2

Speaking of birthdays, there is one very special one today. Nathan, my son’s little fellow turns 8 today. I don’t know if his card made it on time but I hope so. Bill finished putting a few things away in the truck so now tomorrow we can do our last clothing laundry here and relax for the remainder of the day. As I was inside, my son called to chat. He is the darnedest one for answering emails so I was very happy to hear him on the phone instead.

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Leading a very busy life, Patrick admits to making life even more difficult for himself. A party for Nate on Saturday and after working long hours at work, Patrick took on much more than necessary. He even made a 3-layer birthday cake (Chaela doesn’t bake) along with setting up a fun playing field involving the online game Mine Sweeper for the 4 friends that stayed overnight. I’m tired just thinking of it.

These were good

Anyway, it was a great chit chat and 20 minutes later we said our ‘I love you and goodbyes’. Bill was out talking to Rick next door and when he came in, he sat with his book and the tv in the back ground. Well, I know he for sure has earned relax-time. It was 3 pm and I decided it was time for a Happy Hour drink. Beer Margarita or tea? Hmm. Let me think about it.

Clemson's position while we prepare supper

So, I decided to have a margarita since I remembered to pick up the frozen limeade yesterday. I sat on the couch where the sun was coming in the windows and watched television with Bill and Clemson. The afternoon slipped by and at 5 we began making supper. It is Tuesday night and our night for watching our favourite programs.

Bill washed and cut up the potatoes for fries and I prepared the cod filets. This didn’t leave me much to do because the only cod we could find at Fry’s yesterday was frozen with 2 in a box. So, all I had to do was open the single packets, put the filets in the baking pan, pour the seasoned sauce over them and add lemon slices on top. The oil was heating up in the fryer and soon enough we were good to go. Supper was ready at 5:30 and we were all cleaned up by 6 when NCIS started.

Distractions while trying to finish my post don’t go hand in hand but in this case, it will just slow me down. I download pictures and do my writing during commercials. At 7:15 we both had a craving for the white chocolate/raspberry swirl ice cream we bought yesterday. We love Tillamook ice cream, it is so creamy.

Finally, I am ready to close off this post. NCIS New Orleans is on and it isn’t one I’m stuck on. This has been a very lazy day and yet a good one. I hope you can say you had a good one too. 

Good night from Quail Ridge

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

Morning Walkabout, Birthday, Sierra Vista Shopping, Helping a Friend, Free Wifi, Happy Hour

It was 15 minutes before 7 when I woke up and got up on Monday, Feb. 26^th. I’d been awake a few times but seemingly dropped off again, a couple of times. I slipped out of bed leaving the lumps of my loved ones under the covers undisturbed. I got dressed to go downstairs. Upon opening the window shades, I noticed the sun about to pop in the east and frost on Rick’s windshield next door. A cold morning.

The thermometer silently reported 32F but I wasn’t deterred. Yesterday I wimped out but today I accepted my own challenge of a walk with gusto. I bundled, of course, against the cold although thankfully there was no wind yet. I had a nice brisk walk around the perimeter of the park before returning home. For some reason, I felt a bit on top of the world. 😊

So, who do you think runs this house?
I'd guess the puppies.

Bill and Clemmy got up soon after I returned so we had our tea and a grapefruit together. Clemson doesn’t go for the grapefruit so Bill and I shared one. We read blog posts written by our friends and played our Scrabble games on Facebook. We were both tickled that we were able to connect to the park’s free wifi today. Last night, even my pictures downloaded on ‘their’ penny with the exception of the final ‘Publish’. 

While we were doing dishes, we called our good friend, Pat, back home, to sing Happy Birthday to her. Our voices leave a lot to be desired but she patiently let us finish our song. Hope you had a fantastic day, Buddy!💗

Cheers Pat!

After we cleaned up dishes we drove into Sierra Vista. First, we went to Walmart where Bill picked up some Def fluid. The price there is awesome compared to back home. Next, we stopped at the CVS Pharmacy in Target to pick up Bill’s vitamins and then drove across the parking lot to Fry’s for groceries. We had quite a list but love shopping there. Shopping at Fry’s gave us a 23% savings on our bill today and points enough that we could fill up on diesel for an amazing $2.59/gal.

Peter Rabbit let me get closer this morning

After filling Black Beauty we drove home and decided on lunch. Bill made a toasted cheese and peanut butter sandwich and I had another bowl of my vegetable soup. I only have one left but that’s perfect, it just means time to start thinking about another one. We put our groceries away and I’ll deal with separating the meat into freezer packs later.

If you can see the surveillance blimp in this picture
your eyes are as good as mine!

We receive the best deals on meat down here. Buy 1 pack of huge thick pork chops (4 lb.) for $19 and get another pack free of the same or lesser size. Each chop is thick and large enough to cut in half. Bill will be able to eat chops all the rest of the way home. 

Holly Hobby and a Military Man

We sat outside with our books to relax for a bit and Scott and Eowyn stopped by. It was nice to sit outside in the warm air and even after Eowyn left with Ulrich, Scott sat with us. We discussed their plans after they leave here and their home plans as well as our plans when we pull out on Thursday and beyond. It feels like a lifelong friendship, Scott is such a nice down to earth young man. 

I had made plans with Debbie to pop around this afternoon and help her advertise her jewelery so at 2 I walked back to her trailer.

Debbie made this for me last year, after our first meeting

She showed me her creations and I must admit they are beautiful! I wish had a cash flow that I could purchase of couple of her necklaces. Hopefully another time. Between the two of us we figured out how she can join the Sierra Vista selling group on Facebook and post pictures of a few of her necklaces. Nothing would make me happier than to hear that she was selling her stuff. We chatted some more and I hooked her up to my blog site before I left before 3:30.

Indulge me while I show you Debbie's beautiful work
this one is gorgous!

shades of purple pearls

I love this one but the photo is blurred a bit
They are little skulls

Happy hour turned out to be an inside thing here at the Suite. Just the two of us. Bill had a Caesar and I had a beer margarita. It was too windy to go visiting and sitting outside so we stayed in. I wrote some on my blog post and Bill watched reruns of NCIS in between pages of his book. 

Around 5:15 he lit the barbecue and I prepared a potato, 1/8^th  of a spaghetti squash and corn for him. These were our side dishes alongside pork chops and chicken breast.

Clemson has a private rendezvous with Katie

Supper was ready at 6 just when this season of The Voice came on. Remember, we are watching programs on Ontario time so 8 pm at home is 6 pm here. It threw me for a loop at the beginning of November, getting used to it, but Bill has been on the ball all winter long. We’re not Kelly Clarkson fans, but we won’t let the fact that she is one of the coaches this season stop us from watching it.

Our supper together

We settled in for a nice evening, finishing up the last two glasses of the Barefoot wine. Finally! See, Nancy, we don’t drink a lot of wine either! We’ve had a very nice day and look forward to a couple of easy going ones before we leave this resort. I hope your day has been a good one too.

just over a week ago, I showed you pictures of The Ridge (our summer place) back home
Now, the snow has melted (for now)

And from up on the hill behind our car shelter, this one
Thanks Donna for keeping us informed
😁

Thank you for taking the time to read my post today. I’d love to hear from you.