A Dip in Temperature and Dry Becomes Wet, A Treat for my Sweet

Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA

Monday, Feb. 10^th I was awake and tossing and turning a lot before 6. Then I got discouraged and almost got up but I managed to stay put until closer to 7, listening to Bill drop in and out of sleep. I know he woke when I moved to get up so I just said “go back to sleep” and when he heard me hop in the shower, I think he did for a while longer. When I came out of the bathroom, he was getting up so I helped make the bed.

Now wasn't this a pretty performance?

Downstairs, I decided to go for a walk alone, since Bill wasn’t keen this morning. It was mild again, 57F/14C, but it was very windy. I had taken some time to partially dry my wet hair just in case it was cool outside but it would have dried in 2 minutes flat anyway!The sky to the east around the mountains was beautiful so I couldn’t wait to get over to the fence to take pictures. I knew that today the sun wasn’t going to win any battles but it was lovely to watch her try.

The wind is obvious by the proud American flags here

I went through the gate along the east fence, strolled across the desert rubble and walked the sandy lane back towards the blm (bureau of land management) land. This is where you can dry camp(no hookups) for free. I know some folks say it gets windy, but I liked the flat open areas all the same. When I was on my way back on the west side of the park and fence, an email we were waiting for came through. I was happy to see that a message I’d sent yesterday was received.

With a setting on my camera, we have a star poser

The remnants of the ocotillo blooms had me creeping
closer for a picture

More desert colours

Looking back to the east

Looking ahead to the west

Back home, Bill was having some Cheerios and getting ready to go to Yuma with Ken and Keith. They were doing some research and I was happy that they could brainstorm together and offer support and ideas. I had the morning to myself so I decided to make myself some steel cut oats in Madame IP. I’d never done that but heard they were so easy compared to the slower stove version. The rumours were correct! I was done in 25 minutes, beginning to end and that includes cleanup after eating!

I do love steel cut oats

This was easy to make 3 servings
Yummy

A few weeks ago, I’d also heard, from a blogger friend, about premade pie crusts she’d bought and recommended. I don’t mean the frozen ones in a pie pan already. These come 2 in a box, each one formed and rolled perfectly in its own paper sleeve. What could be easier? 

These have a long fridge shelf life
I will look for them again

I like making pie crusts of my own but sometimes I also enjoy less mess and a quicker product. First, I let them sit for 15 minutes out of the fridge because I’m a rule follower and don’t want to screw it up! I unrolled it and placed one in the pan. 

With a little edge fluting, that is a perfect pie crust

Voila! Well, that was a no-cleanup job, let me tell you! Bill loves cherry pie, one of his favourites. Up there with pecan pie--. I had purchased 2 cans of cherry pie filling a while ago and that was a blessing in disguise instead of only getting one. I should have taken a picture of how full (NOT!) one can made the pie shell. Are they kidding? So, I opened the second can and Bill will get a nice mouthful of those sweet forbidden cherries with each bite.

And the rain started around 11 am

I’m very frugal though so didn’t want to use the second crust as a topper or cut it up into decorative shapes. I wanted to save it for another one crust pie. On the cherry can was a recipe so I took part of that recipe and while the pie was baking in my convection oven, blended whipping cream, cream cheese and some Splenda sweetener as a topping. How can that be bad?

We have a pool in our back yard
It's a little mucky, don't wear your good swimsuit

Bill called around 11:30 from Del Sol grocery store. Hmm, only Tillamook Vanilla Bean ice cream was left on the shelf so Kim and I both (in 2 conversations) opted out. I’ve never had the Vanilla Bean flavor before and didn’t want 2 gallons of it just in case we didn’t like it. Not just to get the deal. If Kim said no, maybe she’s had it and didn’t like it so why take that chance. The boys didn’t get any at our suggestion.

Walking to Happy Hour, a few puddles along the road

A little tidbit of information about why the Ice Cream social was cancelled yesterday. Apparently, each year the park has to get a food license (license to serve food). Either they were late applying, or there was a back up this year, but they have put all food events on hold until the inspector pays them a visit. That is the necessary protocol. In a way, it is very good to know that standards are required. I just hope it all happens before Friday burger night! 😊

Some roads were worse than others

It was around 11 when the sky opened up and we received our bit of rain. The forecast is for 80% chance of precipitation and we all know clear stuff is better than white! We also had some thunder booms as well which is really funny for winter. I guess now we can say that we’ve had a couple of days of rain so far. When Bill came home, the news wasn’t great so we’re kind of back to square one. At least, he has figured out what we can do.

the corner just before we reached Keith's site
See his 'Lunar Landing'?

He made himself some lunch and I showed him the delicious news of a cherry pie for dessert. That’s a treat and it made his day. We sat down together at his laptop and he gave me a lesson on Quicken and how he does the banking. In some, maybe most, households’ roles are reversed and the wife looks after the financials. Well, I used to, in a former life, but I’m not familiar with how Bill handles it on line. I used to work with a hard copy ledger. I need to be more aware of his new process for that possible’scenario of 'what if'. For now, I am taking the first step.

Don't worry, Black Beauty knows how to swim

When the pie was done, I smoothed the creamy cheese topping over the cherries. Ooh, it looks good! Into the fridge it goes until time to eat it. I texted Kim around 2:30 to see if they were up for H.H. today and would they mind hosting if we walked that way. We made hot drinks and donned our rain coats, boots (in my case) and an umbrella. We couldn’t believe the puddles of water that began at our site and carried on all the way to their place.

Keith was busy doing his laundry so never did make it but we still had a nice visit. We discussed travels to different touristy places, cell phone apps and the weather. There was also talk about the Oscars, movies and some talk about the ‘wildwood weed’. We left around 5 and walked to Keith’s to talk about plans for tomorrow. I’m dog sitting as the guys are heading to San Diego for a day trip. I just wanted some tips for keeping an eye on Oreo.

Beef stew in a pouch

Back home, we sat for half hour before I started supper. Tonight, something different. Something new. Something out of the ordinary yet very simple. While at the food tent in Quartzsite, I found beef stew in a pack. Hmm, it looked interesting enough for me to spend the $2 to try it. The expiry date on the package said March 2021 so I knew I was safe there. In a pot on the stove, I heated it up, dished up a salad and baked 4 Pillsbury rolls.

A hearty meal

Supper was ready at 6:15 and it was very good. Oh, but wait! We had dessert! Not many items on tonight’s menu were keto but we didn’t mind slipping off the wagon. It was a success and even though the cherry pie could not be warmed up, we both enjoyed it. We watched the Finals in America’s Got Talent and after I finished my blog, I sat and watched a couple of our Monday night programs with my sweetie.

It wasn't messy to make but getting it out of the pan
was the messy part
It was delicious!
Good night y'all!

This has been a wet day, as predicted by the forecasters and there are still a lot of puddles left behind. Hopefully overnight many of them will disappear, especially from our site. It isn’t that we got tons of rain, it is just that there is no where for the rain to go. With the expected winds overnight, maybe it will be dry by morning. I hope you had a great day.

Thank you for your visit!