Happy New Year!

Park Place RV Park

It has been a great 2022 for Bill and I. That is what I woke up thinking on Saturday, Dec. 31^st. We don’t bother making resolutions anymore, at least none that we say out loud, and we don’t put any pressure on the year ahead. We’ve come to move forward with no expectations other than to continue being true to ourselves, each other and everyone in our circle. The circle that includes family, friends and close acquaintances.

Pretty morning skies never
disappoint

Sniff sniff

Gibbs and I went for a 15-minute walk around the short block and then I toured out on my own. Today, my podcast by Mitch Albom was related to resolutions. 😊 The weather this morning was warm although our thermometer only read 49F/9C. The sun accepted the challenge of poking through the clouds but lost the battle by the beginning of the afternoon. It was a very nice walk, with my layers not totally necessary.

I chose to walk towards Bill's flying field
and this was along the path
A dash of colour

I turned around at the sign up ahead on the left
and returned home

I met Bill on his way to the field, as often happens, and back home I had my tea and yogourt with Gibbs. I ran out of time to play all the Wordle games but managed to conclude Phrazle before noon hour. I was headed for the puzzle by 10 as we are just about finished. Susan, Adele and Robert joined in the fun until noon hour when I came home for lunch with Bill. ♥

the clouds were just hangin' around
on the mountain tops

I had my salad plate; it tastes good but it’s kind of a hohum lunch with too little fat for me. I made a coffee with good cream that will help fill me, left the boys alone and at 12:45 walked back over. Just Susan and I worked on it in between check-ins and phone calls. Things are picking up with January just on the wire. I finished the picture at 3:15 and walked home for my tea.

this one is zoomed in but
I wanted to see that Plomosa Mountain up close

Because it is New Year’s Eve, we’ve decided on a small supper of tomato soup as we’ll likely indulge in a drink or two with chips to bring 2023 in. We will be watching a couple of count downs 2 hours earlier than our family and friends back home so I may still make my 10 pm bedtime. 

the light glare takes away from the picture
but this was another fun puzzle to do

The sky was completely covered in smooth-looking gray clouds but it was still a warm 64F/18C at 4:30. I took Gibbs for a walk this afternoon and boosted my step count and helped him to expel energy as we walked and even jogged behind the park boundaries.

With no unobstructed views, this was the best I could
get of the last 2022 sunset
Is that the White Lion? 

You can see from Old Glory that it turned
quite windy later this afternoon

We paid our hydro/electric bill for the month and thank you to our solar panel usage on sunny days, it was a nice low amount. Bill wasn’t surprised as he kept an eye on the meter from when we moved in. 😊 This has been another good day for the books.

good night from both of us!

Thanks for your visit, may your realistic dreams come true in 2023.  

         HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another Week Ends and That's Not All

Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Dec. 30^th we aren’t only approaching the week’s end but also the month and unbelievably the year’s end! Not only has every day, week and month been flying by but now I wonder where did 2022 go? So, we were up before 8 this morning and although it was looking damp outside, it wasn’t from overnight rain. The air smelled differently, not like rain.

It was a warm morning
Gibbs and I noticed that the fruit trees
have been trimmed back for another
good harvest next year!

Gibbs and I went for our walk and the 53F/12C felt quite warm. He was in the mood to walk and sniff so I led him lead. 😊 Dropping him at home, I headed out for a walk in a different direction and bypassed 7200 steps by the end of the day. I need to do that more often to keep up some activity. Bill was gone to the field when I returned so I had some yogourt and my tea and played my Wordle games.

I chose Mockingbird Street for my walk
and I'm so glad I did

This is a lovely home

These metal sculptures along 
the street remind me of Borrego Springs, CA

All metal, every part

a close up

After my shower, it was around 10:30 when I went over to the clubhouse until noon hour. Susan and I worked on the puzzle, in between her duties as host, and we are making great strides. 

A tall cholla cactus

After some lunch back home, I returned around 1:30 to the puzzle. With her working on the barn and sky, I worked on the lower half of the picture. This is a really nice picture and we’ll be done tomorrow; I would imagine.

This is what we need on the Ridge for the Suite 😃

These sculptures were a treat
A small Community Bible Church

Adele, Robert and Susan’s husband came in around 3:30 to play Poker Pool, asking permission to use my cards. They invited me to play but I was leaving at 4 so declined. They sure enjoy the game and that makes me happy. 😉 

a healthy lunch today

Today's progress, with Susan's help

I poured myself a gin and tonic instead of a tea and read until it was time to start supper. We had leftover hamburger helper and a salad. We were quite stuffed when we finished.

The sky cleared after an afternoon of clouds
See the jet stream and the moon?

After cleaning up the dishes, I wrote today’s post and sat to finish my book. Bill had a movie in that I semi-watched. Oh, last night, upstairs, I watched the dvd Up in the Air with George Clooney. It was fun to watch, as always, and when it was done around 10, I was ready to crawl under the covers. This was a great day.

Supper
Good night!

Thank you for checking my blog out today.

Taking it as it Comes, Fun and Games

Park Place RV Park

On Thursday, Dec. 29^th Gibbs didn’t get Bill up until 7 am so we all got to sleep in, not just me. 😊 It was still a bit dark and with heavy clouds that meant no sun yet. Well, if at all. There was more rain overnight although we didn’t hear it. Just the evidence wet gravel and the tonneau over was damp. I didn’t go out with Gibbs until 8, and even then we didn’t go far.

This is my next puzzle
and my first picture of the day

Bill left soon after we returned. It was a lazy feeling I had so I didn’t even go for my singular walk. I sat with Gibbs and read my book, which is quite a good mystery/detective-type story. Plus, I felt chilled and bumped the furnace on for a quick warm up while I drank my tea. Tea, which now I am enjoying again with the heavy cream, coconut oil and collagen.

And a good head start

I left for the clubhouse at 9:15 and Susan was just folding up the pool table cover. Patti couldn’t play today with extra managerial duties so there were just the 4 of us. We still had a good time and played for 2 ½ hours. Susan’s husband, John, has mentioned more than once that he’d like to see something like it for the men and today suggested a co-ed game.

My walk back from the clubhouse was
under an array of beautiful cloud formations

They looked to me for the decision because it is ‘Pat’s game’, which is a respect I wasn’t expecting, and I said if we can work out how to include more than 6 players, I’m up for it. What about couples with each team alternating with the shooter and 7 cards dealt instead of 5? I’d have players draw names or cards to pick partners rather than have a husband and wife team play together. Some don’t have a significant other. So, we’ll see how it follows through.

Looking across the desert

Bill and I had bacon and eggs for lunch and then I went to start the puzzle at 1:30. I found this one at The Mission Store back home and loved the picture and cute metal box. No one showed up to help but I got the border done and quite a bit of the boy on the tractor. This one won’t take long, I don’t think. Back home, I had a cup of tea and sat with my boys before supper.

Gibbs and I went for an afternoon walk
and the clouds were even more dramatic

We had hamburger helper with mixed vegetables and it was a nice hearty meal for a cooler day. The temperature didn’t get above 63F/17C but with no sun and a bit of a breeze, it felt cooler than that. We loaded the dishwasher and settled in for the evening.

I love how this picture turned out

Gibbs is being a little imp this evening. Even before supper, he started with grabbing my shoes, our tea towel which hangs on the freezer bar and my slippers from the bedroom. He is doing it all on purpose, for attention, and then looks at us with the item in front of him waiting for our reaction. When we don’t respond, he grabs it and runs at us in a ‘zoomie’. How can you not laugh at that? ♥

Supper tonight

We watched a movie together and I turned more pages in my book. This was a good day. I hope wherever you are that the weather is good or at least better than it was and the snow is melting!

Here he is, our little 'imp'/'monster' etc. etc. 
We keep saying 'it's a good thing we love you so much'
and 'it's a good thing you're so darn cute!' 💗
good night y'all!

Thank you for popping by.

After the Rains….

Park Place RV Place

When we woke up on Wednesday, Dec. 28^th, the rains from the previous evening had stopped. Bill said he heard it through the night and morning, as early as 5 am. Before we got up, Gibbs found his plastic Doggie and crawled down under the covers (for the first time ever) and continued to chew on his nose.

I likely missed another gorgeous sunrise
but I'm still very fond of this version

I came downstairs and prepared to go for our walk. Gibbs was anxious to go but as soon as I got the leash on him, he beelined upstairs to take his Doggie with him. I unclipped him and went for my walk alone. He was happy to be with his puppy. When I returned, we noticed the nose had been bitten/chewed off. Bill and I had to take his 2^nd new toy away. It is in a cupboard and will go into the memory basket. I couldn't take a picture because Gibbs was watching me tonight. 💓

At least he hadn’t eaten it, Bill found the pieces for discard. Neither of us was surprised, nor upset. The toys didn’t cost us much at all and we know this is what he does. I enjoyed the walk, although it was shorter, around the residential area and back home. There were many puddles around the streets and the sun was popping out from behind the clouds. The thing I loved the most, was the smell of the desert after the rain. 😊

The Quartzsite Houses

Look at those puddles!
Not so strange for your home town perhaps
but in the Q, it is highly unusual
and the smell!! I can't describe the great smell after a rain.

Bill and I had planned to go to Parker’s Walmart this morning IF he didn’t go flying. He didn’t and we headed out around 9. It was a nice 25-minute drive although as we approached the town, we found ourselves under dense-like clouds. Our first stop was CVS for our vitamins, which we were running low of. If you look at this row of choices, you’ll see why we like shopping here for them.

The drive to Parker
You can see the clouds 'over there'

Next, we drove to Walmart and finally to SafeWay when Walmart didn’t have any 35%/ whipping cream. Thankfully, SafeWay did and at a decent price too. I bought 2, they’ll last me quite a while unless I bake with it. The clouds had mostly dissipated by the time we headed home. Gibbs had a new chew bone and we had a couple of extra bottles of wine on top of everything else on our list. 😂

this is why I like going to CVS for our vitamins
Every yellow tag either says "Buy one, get one" or
"Buy one, get one 50% off"

Back home, it was lunch hour and then I walked over to work on the puzzle. I was surprised, but pleasantly, when 3 of the ladies were working on it when I walked in. Together, we managed to finish it. That’s what happens when it is a popular, pretty easy one. 😊

This one was too easy although very fun
working on it with Susan, Adele and Suz

Back home, I had my tea. The weather was very nice today, reaching 68F/20C after a start of 54F/12C this morning. We will be back into some lower temperatures for a few days again with slight chances of more rain until Sunday when it increases. It is what it is and we’re enjoying not having to shovel anything.

A pretty evening

For supper, we had grilled sausages and instead of having mine in a bun, I had squash on the side. I had one piece of pie so finished it and Bill had some of our Tillamook Strawberry ice cream. This has been a really nice day. I am loving it here in the park and also enjoy the outings when we go together to the nearby towns of Parker and Blythe.

Good night!

Thank you for the visit!

A Quiet, Warm, Cloudy Day, Gibbs

Park Place RV Park

On Tuesday, Dec. 27^th I woke up finding it hard to believe that Christmas is over. All the hubbub leading up to the Lord’s birthday and then we are discussing when to take the decorations down. I’ll wait until New Year’s Day, I think. The Christmas music stations on Sirius were switched off on Boxing Day. Enough already. 😊

Good morning!

So, today, it was about 7:45 when Gibbs and I went out for our walk. That was short and sweet. Since I took Dino away from him yesterday, this morning he became interested in his other new toy, Doggie. We are so darned creative with the names, huh? Ha ha. So, when he was told that Doggie couldn’t go for the walk with us, he was in a hurry to get back home to hm. LOL

From the highway/Main St. the town
looks hidden in the mountains

I left him with Dad and off I went with Mitch Albom talking in my ear. I know many will probably critique the ear buds but for the short time I wear them, no one can take away the joy I’m getting from them. I walked south to the highway, down Main St. sidewalk to Discount Solar and back home around the big block. I felt great this morning and could have walked further had I been more familiar with other routes to home. I’ll check them out another day. 😊

Walking past these entrances, I had to pause
for a picture
simple but perfect

Back home, I made my tea and had an orange and some yogourt while sitting with Gibbs. I’d played my games inside and I noticed Gibbs was shivering as if he was c-c-cold. The dampness inside makes it feel colder than it is outside sometimes. The outside temp this morning was 52F/10C. That gave me the opportunity to put his new sweatshirt on him and he seemed to love it!

Doggie has a very soft squeak at a very
sensitive touch

So far, no holes have been poked in the hard plastic
of his coat

We went outside, where I found it quite a bit warmer, and had a coffee while reading my book. It was noon when Bill returned, having had some luck with his Piper cub this morning, and we came in for some lunch. I was curious how long before Patty wanted to clear the Christmas décor from the clubhouse. She said to go ahead and start a puzzle, if we have another potluck, just because, it won’t be until the second week of January when more rv’ers arrive. 😊

So, I did. It should be a fun one and it piqued the interest of Patty and Suz with many of the 70’s record album covers featured. Four regular ladies played Pokeno and I worked away at the border. It wasn’t as easy as I first though but at least it is done now and I can begin the fun part. I am still waiting for a package that I ordered before Christmas but it won’t likely arrive until Thursday.

Gibbs models his new sweatshirt
Isn't he handsome? 💖💗

The postal system here is strange. If you received a Christmas card from us and tried to send one back to the address on the back, it won’t find us. It is wrong. ☹ Sorry. Hopefully, you will get it back and maybe save it for next year! Email me personally for the correct address if you want to resend it. We are here until March 31^st.

A fun record album cover

What is different from large cities or towns is that the park doesn’t get delivery, no one in Quartzsite does. Any postal mail goes to the Main St. post office and then is sorted for individual service depots to pick it up from there and take it to their own sorting organization. This park’s ‘depot’ is called Ironwood. Rick goes and picks up from there, as we assume many others do as well. This all takes a few days usually, especially at this time of year.

Border is done

I returned home for a tea at 3:30 but I’m not enjoying my tea these days. I usually buy 18% cream back home and it just isn’t sold down here. ☹  That’s unfortunate, as I’ve resorted to using whipping cream/35%, which is ridiculously expensive here, or 10%/half and half, which just doesn’t taste the same.

A pretty bush along my walk

I boiled up some hummer food and it is cooling so I can fill my new feeder and see if we can coax the little one back. 🐦 I was close to reaching my steps this morning so at 4:15, I took Gibbs out for an afternoon walk and bypassed my goal. It’s a funny weather day, reaching 75F/24C at its peak but with the clouds making it feeling cooler than that. It is still quite a nice day and we are enjoying it.

I love this pretty little house setting
and look at those clouds!

We were going to have grilled sausages tonight but we were quite late getting started so instead we had toasted tomato and cheese sandwiches. Bill loaded the dishwasher and I worked on my blog while Bill watched a movie. When it was finished, we watched another one together. Not a Christmas one, yay! 😊 This was a good day.

Not tonight's sunset but one from Dec. 27th, 2018
Good night!

Thank you for coming around to see how things are going. ♥