Monday, December 30, 2019

New Day under a Cloudy Sky, No Outdoor Play, Shopping and Lunch Treat


Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA

Bill and I were up by 7. I opted to join him with a cup of tea this morning and then at 8 we headed out for our walk. Brrr. The wind was brisk and it was only 41F making for not a very pleasant morning. We walked out the front entrance and down the road behind us. It is a nice walk around the outside perimeter of the park. We were back home after our mile and a half, quite refreshed. How nice to walk into a warm home!
Our walk took us out and around the park
This is looking back to the Interstate and the traffic going west
There is a train going by as well but I didn't zoom in

Gila Mountains to the east

A wee bit of pink sunrise along the horizon
and that was the extent of pretty sky until it set tonight
At 9:20 we headed towards the Bocce ball court and stopped to say goodbye to our new friends, Steve and Lynne (and Jack). By the time we got to the court, Gordon was waving us on, saying the wind chill was making it nasty. No bocce ball today. That worked for us as we really wanted to get into Yuma for some running around and food shopping. Which we did, right promptly. First stop, Ross’s for me. I ran in quickly and picked up a second pair of Polo shoes. Yay!

I like walking this road

Looking from the west field back to our site
Notice the flag blowing in the wind
It kept it up all day
From there, we went to Sam’s Club for about 8 items and came out with 12. After that we drove to Southwest Exchange in the Foothills of Yuma. Bill wanted to talk to someone there about what was the best way to fix the area on our roof/slide-out that was leaking earlier in the fall. We’ve had some suggestions and some ideas but now at least have a better idea how NOT to spend our hard-earned dollars. I’m glad he asked a professional so now at least we’ll look for the right stuff. That doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate help from our friends!

This is such a pretty tree and usually this corner site is taken
 When we left there, he drove to Fast Eddie’s Hobby Store for something for his airplane battery (?) and I walked into BigLots! Just poking around. Fry’s was next or actually it was first for the last 8 items on our list. We did good, coming out with at least 15 but cashed in on some big savings from the coupons I downloaded to my card. It wasn’t Senior’s Day but we were happy all the same and now it is done.

Just when I know the way to Yuma Palms Mall
Bill changes the route
Ha ha
Before leaving the parking lot at Fry’s, Bill pulled up to their gas pumps to fill the truck. Because of a mix-up on our card, we had 2 for some reason, we missed out on the discount. Now that we’ve got it straightened out, next time we will get 20¢/gallon off. It was 1:30 or later when we left the hobby store so Bill took me to IHop for lunch. We hadn’t eaten before we left home at 10 and other than a snack bar on the drive. This was a treat! I ordered a bacon tomato and cheese omelette with hash browns on the side. Heaven!

What is Ptooties doing in the parking lot?
Did she follow us to Arizona?

In honour of Rob, we ate at IHop

Lots to choose from just on this omelette page
I had the Bacon Temptation, 2nd from the bottom
Bill had the 2 x 2 x 2 (eggs, sausage and pancakes)
 Then it was time to head home. The food and prices are great. The place was very busy so I’ll give them leeway on their slow service today. Back home, we offloaded groceries and I managed to find room for everything – again. We took a few minutes to just sit before we walked up to Tom and Deb’s Stinger ‘B’ for Happy Hour. Today was an indoor one again and Bill took a hot chocolate and I took a mug of tea. We got to see Deb’s Christmas decorations this time, we’ve all had a turn.

A great meal and I ate the whole thing!
Back home by 5:30, Bill and I sure didn’t need supper tonight but nothing says there won’t be room for a bit of Christmas pudding. I have sauce to finish up, after all! This was a cool/cold day for us with 54F/12C being our high temperature and the winds between 7 and 15 mph all day. Not a nice day at all for us snowbirds. It was a quiet night with some books read and some television watched. I wanted to get this posted so I could relax. I hope you’ve enjoyed your day!

We're seeing a little more pink sky at sunset than we did at sunrise
Hopefully sunshine tomorrow!
Good night y'all!

Thank you for your visit.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

A Quiet Day Around Home, Goodbye to Friends, Normal Happy Hour


Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA
On Sunday, Dec. 29th, we were up by 7 and after Bill’s coffee, we were out the door by 8. It was a cool walk as it was only 41F/5C but we were bundled and we enjoyed the exercise. The sun came up over the Gila Mountain just as we rounded the back, east corner of the park. We saw and chatted with Joe, the manager, before returning home. It is very nice to see that he is feeling great again and back to work.

This is how the day started out
This beautiful husky waits for us (Bill) to get an ear scratch

and a belly rub
No wonder she gets excited when she sees us!
At home, Bill once more decided to take his Timber for a flight. It was very calm again. I came inside with my tea so got no pictures of his flight this morning. Around 9:30, we walked back to say goodbye to Dave and Cheryl. Before they got too involved in packing up, we got in our safe travel wishes and hugs. It truly has been nice getting to know them so well. We’ll see them in Quartzsite nearer the end of January so that will be awesome. I forgot to get a picture of the two of them beside their unit. Darn!

the birds are enjoying their Christmas seed bell
For breakfast, I made us a pkg of Cinnamon Rolls but we only had 2 each and I saved the last 4 for tomorrow morning. Bill had a yogourt to supplement his and because that was my suggestion. 😊 After dishes, he sat with his book for a bit and I walked up to the puzzle room for an hour and a half. 

Progress is made but I can't take all the credit
It seems most of our friends are off and running today, somewhere. Bill and I need to go do some grocery shopping as well but decided to wait until Monday.

The hummers are happy too

At 2, we met Kim and Ken and walked up for the Ice Cream social at the clubhouse. No banana today for me, they were too soft and need to be ‘made’ into something very soon. Ken and Kim offered to host Happy Hour today and we got back to normal. No food and no more than a couple of hours. We sat outside their Journey facing the sun and it was very warm for the first hour. Once clouds moved in, the temperature dropped. It was just before 5 when Bill and I brought our chairs home.

My $1 scoop (2 halves for 1) and 2 cherries because
we were at the end of the line
Bill wanted to fly his plane at dusk, with the lights turned on so we decided to wait to eat. Just as the sky was painted a beautiful orange and pink, we walked out to the field on the other side of the fence. 

A smaller group for H.H.
Bill, Deb, Tom, Jo-Anne, Ken, Kim, my chair

This kind of ruffling clouds always appeals to me
I was snapping photos of the sunset as we walked because I know it changes quickly. Bill turned the ‘l e d’ lights on on his plane and up she went. 

Look at the reflection of lights from under the wings


The plane is white
And with the sunset as a backdrop
What a pretty sight! Against the backdrop of the western sky, I snapped pictures throughout the 10-minute flight. That was long, believe it or not, the batteries on a higher throttle would only last about 5 minutes.

My sweetie is in his glory
You should be able to see the little plane too

We walked back and saw Ken and Bob outside watching and a few other rv’ers saw the plane and complimented Bill on the flight as well. We chatted with Lance and Bonnie, someone we’d met before, before returning home for supper. Bill grilled bacon cheeseburgers for us and that was all we wanted for tonight. We each craved a snack of chips later, something we haven’t had for over a month, so Bill cut some cheddar to eat along with it.

Coming in for a landing

safe and sound

Sitting pretty where she started
We’ve had a great day of relaxing and doing fun things. It was supposed to be a cool day of 57F, and I guess it was, but with the sun and light winds, it was the warmest one we’ve had in a while.




there you have it
An Arizona sunset for you
Good night!

Thank you for checking in to see what we’re up to.

Laundry Day, More Flying in the Calm, Fish Fry Next Door = Longest Happy Hour Ever!


Winterhaven, CA

It was a strange night for me. LOL. I was in bed by 9:30 and woke up at one point on Saturday, Dec. 28th feeling restless. I pushed the duvet down and peered at the bright clock numbers and read 7:15. Huh! Weird that I’d slept right through and yet still felt tired. With no rush today to do anything, I rolled towards the window and dropped off again. What felt like 30 minutes later, I woke again and looked at the clock. Now it was 3:50 am! ????

Bill and I took our walk at 8 and the sun was up and brilliant
Completely puzzled, at least it explained why I was still tired. It took me a while to drop off again but we both woke around the real 7 o’clock. My goodness, that was weird. Bill had his coffee and then we scooted out for a walk. The morning was a cool 42F/5C but the sun was brilliant, the sky blue and the winds reading a big fat 0. Lovely morning. We did our mile and a half before returning to the Suite. Bill loved the calmness of the day and had charged batteries last night for his plane.

While flying his plane, Bill handed Ken the controls

Not a clear picture but these were all taken from the window of the Suite

Our Suite is parked about 200' away from where he flew
 Off he went, to the field beside us and walking past Ken, Dave and Tom, the boys saw him and soon joined him.  I made my tea and sat at my laptop. Hmm, instead of sitting here drinking it, I should load the truck with our laundry. I had sorted it into 4 loads (!) as soon as I got up. I hopped in Black Beauty and first got change from Kathy in the office. Asking about Joe, I got the best news ever as they were both back working, Joe helping serve their biscuit and gravy breakfast. Yay!

A nice landing again
I loaded 2 washers and then when it was so quiet, filled a 3rd. Sssh, only supposed to use 2 at a time. With no one around, I took my chances of getting a hand slapped. There were 2 thermoses’ in a Free box and you know me, can’t pass up a good deal. I brought them home. My mind wasn’t totally with it, I guess, as I forgot the soap pods so had to come back to get some before I could start any machine. Bill had returned from flying when I got back to finish my tea.

Looks like a minor adjustment before the next flight
 After moving things to the dryers, I went to work on the puzzle next door. Bill came on cue to help fold the clothes and we brought them back in the truck. 

There is a FREE box in the laundromat and these cups were just
waiting for us - in A-1 condition too!
It was time for lunch so I fried up the remaining tenderloin with scrambled eggs and took care of our hunger. When dishes were done, he sat to read and probably snooze so I walked back to the puzzle room. 

A different pork and eggs, yummy
I was on a roll putting pieces in. Walking up, I met Ken who was also going that way so we met there. We worked away for a couple of hours before heading back together.

Now doesn't this look like a fun puzzle?
What you can't see are all the dog breed names scattered throughout
in teeny print
This is what it was like when I arrived

This is what it was like when we were ready to leave
We did good!
The further we get, the harder it is to leave
Jo-Anne and Bob invited everyone to a Walleye fish and chip fry at their place so the rest of us are pitching in. We’ve eaten so much food lately that I didn’t need to ad another veggie. I’ll take my Christmas cake with brown sugar sauce for a dessert. We noticed the rest of the gang start to arrive next door around 3:00 – 3:30 so I thought I’d better get my act in gear and made the sauce on the stove.

Ken frying the potatoes and Bob frying the walleye
A real tailgate party going on out here!
Next door, around 4 the tailgate guys began frying the fish and homemade fries while the girls sat inside and got started on the alcohol. Well, some of us. Jo-Anne was busy with the food as they brought in plate after plate. She had the oven going to keep it all warm until everything was ready. Besides the fish and fries there was coleslaw, macaroni salad and broccoli/cauliflower cheese casserole. Yummy! We weren’t going to leave there hungry tonight.

Inside, Jo-Anne put them on a platter and kept them warm in the oven
And the rest of us ladies, supervised
Time to eat! I should have taken the picture from the other end
I wasn't a pig although I did have 2 helpings of fish, casserole and cole slaw
At an appropriate time, I came home and steamed the cake/pudding and reheated the sauce before taking it over. Jo-Anne and Cheryl had lots of dessert squares too. 
Dessert - oh my!
Higgins was a sweet host too
He took turns sitting with the ladies
I don’t recall laughing that much in a very long time so it was long overdue for all of us to just let it all out and enjoy ourselves. Sadly, Dave and Cheryl are pulling out tomorrow and I don’t know that we’re quite ready to let them go. We’ve been having too much fun getting to know them. I sure hope we can re-connect later this winter.

Dave was on cleanup, apparently 

The rest of the cleanup crew

And the good times rolled
 Bob and Dave did the dishes up and more alcohol was consumed during the process. Even by those of us just watching. It wasn’t until 8:30 that the party broke up. Longest Happy Hour in history. The unfortunate thing is that all of us have lost our AT&T connections. Also Roam Mobility is out of whack so if anyone back home is texting, they’re not getting through. We had no data so we all have many things to ‘Google’ in the morning. What a fun night.

We didn't have a connection to the social world but everyone
used our phones for pictures
When we got home, Bill sat and finished his book. I sat and finished writing my blog and downloaded pictures.  I’m very glad I had started it earlier today. I won’t be publishing it tonight without wifi anyway. I hope you have enjoyed your day.

It was a wonderful evening together
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!