Two Miles Along the Beach, T or C Shopping, Rock Painting, Supper Treat

Elephant Butte, NM

On Monday, Nov. 25^th, I didn’t get up until 6:30 and was out the door immediately. Bill rolled over for another few minutes. It was a chilly walk today. Same temperature, 35/36F but there was a brisker feel because of the slight wind. 

When I opened our back blind , this was my reward

My hoody was up most of the way until I was in a sheltered area. I walked down to Lion’s Beach which is the one we see from our site. Then I followed it around to Rattlesnake Beach and turned up one of the roads to the main Ridge Rd.

From the level below us, our wind sock flies proud

That had me huffing and puffing even though I took baby steps and took it slow as it was quite a steep hill. At the top, I took a couple of pictures of the sunrise over the water and met up with Poncha. 

The dog, I don’t know the man’s name. Poncha came over, after given approval to approach, and rubbed her furry self against my leg while I petted her. What a lovely friendly sweet pal she is. The man, who was quite friendly and not overbearing, said she was a rescue.

this was a steep climb
and I'm only half way up

Back at the Suite, I had warmed up considerably, as you do after a nice walk in the chill air. I made my tea and read blogs. Bill and I talked about the day and I’d decided a couple of things. First, I wanted/needed a shower and took care of that. Second, I wanted to go into town to get more stamps, to Walmart to browse and pick up a couple of things on my list. Thirdly, I want to paint rocks this afternoon since I’d found a few nice ones.

Poncha and her owner

Part shepherd and part husky
she is quite a ham

Not feeling like eating or making bacon and eggs (unless Bill truly desires them), I suggested oatmeal and toast. Not a ‘wise’ choice as far as keto/paleo but it was good and we are the masters of our own bodies, after all. We cleaned up dishes, and headed into Truth or Consequences by 11. First stop was the post office where I bought more International stamps and mailed a birthday card. From there we drove to Walmart and spent a bundle.

Beautiful sunrise but the clouds were prominent
most of the day today

We needed a few groceries but then we split off from each other and just perused. It isn’t often we do that and it was actually good. Bill could look at what he wanted and I could do the same. I put the food items in the cart first and then found the non-food items on the list. At one point we met up and wandered the Christmas aisles. Oh-oh, a few things ended up in the cart and I bought a seed bell for the birds in Pilot Knob. 

Some bread crumbs for the birds were a hit

 One thing that I picked up was a new kitchen mat. The one I have had for a few years is one I got from Marilynne when they had their garage sale in 2015. It is a braided rug and I’ve loved it for 4 ½ years. It washes up easily and although a few times Bill has suggested getting rid of it because it ‘doesn’t fit’, I’ve held firm and kept it. Today, I looked for another one, it had to be machine washable, and found one that I think we will both be happy with.

The quails played with it

One last stop at a fuel station around the corner where diesel isn’t cheap but it was the best price in town. While Bill fueled up, I walked up to the Dollar General. I wanted to pick up some mini gloves since I’ve either left mine back in the Bunky or they are tucked away somewhere. I found 4 pair for $3 and although they said Kid’s gloves, they were the same size and fit as the 2 pair of ladies’ gloves for $4. Go figure. I buy them at dollar stores so it isn’t a fret if/when I lose them or poke a hole through a finger.

We drove home and I unloaded the food into the fridge and freezer and we both emptied bags and stored the Christmas items under the bed. I made myself a coffee and sat writing this which got me into looking at old pictures and my rock painting got delayed. It isn’t a sunny day at all but it is mild so I took everything out to the picnic table to start painting while Bill dozed. It was 2 o’clock.

I got my paint station set up
When my rocks are finished, I'll post pictures
I worked for 2 hours outside on this mild day

After Jo-Anne and Bob took Higgins for a walk, Jo-Anne stopped by to see what progress I was making. I never know what picture to paint so I asked Bill for suggestions. After giving me a few, ones that any artist would find a breeze, I went out to look for some talent. Ha ha. I usually just start painting and see what comes from it and today was no different.  With 3 base coats on 3 rocks, I was off! When Jo-Anne and Higgins came, we chatted and I managed to create a very poor replica of The Ridge – aerial view.

The braided rug has served its purpose

After she left, around 4, the winds picked up so I packed things up soon after and moved inside. As we were discussing supper, I looked out our back window and Wile E. Coyote was walking across behind our Suite on the level below. He kept stopping when he heard the flag pole blowing but even still my picture was blurred. He seems very brazen as he walks around the park keeping everyone on their toes.

This is the replacement
I like the brightness

We decided on Pizza Hut and relaxed for the next hour and a half. Jo-Anne popped over to borrow our movie binder since they are still receiving no satellite signals. We left the Suite at 6 and drove into Truth or Consequences. There were a few people waiting at the counter but most people order on line now and just go to pick up their orders. We were the elite. Well, we were the traditional guests, the only ones, so grabbed a menu and found a seat. We figured we would make our choice and go up and order. Before long, ‘Mike’ came over and took our order.

He is out of place here in the park in the daytime

We ordered too much food. We really did but we haven’t been to a P.H. in a very long time and thoroughly enjoyed the pizza and garlic breads. Of course, half of my half came home with me, ¼ of Bill’s half and some of the garlic breads with dipping sauce. I never complain about leftovers. We had a cute waiter and when he asked us how things were, he said he made the pizza himself. 😊

It was just after 7 when we drove home, in the dark. No streetlights out here at all so you really do need headlights and a reasonable speed on these curvy roads. Back home, I sat to write more on my post and Bill put The Voice on. The rest of the evening was watching some of our Monday night programs, the ones we could get. Others were recorded on our pvr to watch another night. This was a fun day.

We got some shopping done, filled Black Beauty up, I got some painting started, not a finished one yet and we had a nice supper out. The temperature didn’t get to the forecasted high of 64F but mainly because the sun never made an appearance for any length of time. Oh well, it was a mild day all the same. I slacked today as far as walking though, neglecting to get out for a second one in the afternoon. I will make up for that tomorrow.

We were the only patrons eating in the restaurant

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