Quiet and Cool, Winter in Quartzsite, 2026

Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Dec. 31st I was able to sleep in until 7:20. At least, that is when I threw the covers back to do my stretches. I did hear Bill and Gibbs go out at 6 but dropped off again easily.

Good morning!
The clouds move in as Bette, Annie,
Della and I had our walk.

It's a quiet, cloudy day here in Quartzsite for me. I slipped out and walked at 8 with Bette and her pooches before coming home to get cleaned up for the day. It was a mild enough 51F/10C when we walked and seemed to get cooler as the day went on! 

Sue's sponge cake with cherries
was still warm and delicious.

At a few minutes before 9, I walked over for Coffee and Snacks. Only the hosts showed up this morning, plus one guest but we enjoyed the cherry loaf Sue made from a sponge cake recipe. It was delicious! I had my tea with me so didn't need their coffee.

The puzzle is coming
along nicely.

I worked on the puzzle after that until noon and made good progress. It was chilly inside the Suite and we'd had a few spatters of rain through the morning, so tomato bisque soup was on the menu for lunch. 

Tomato Bisque and a roll

I had 2 dinner rolls left that needed to be eaten so we took care of those too. It was good and sufficiently warmed me. Bill and Gibbs dozed and I started my post. It must be the day because I also felt sleepy. 

You can believe your eyes here.
This is 6 days after Christmas,
Gibbs has played with Poppy the Penguin
every day and he's still in one piece!
A tiny nibble on his butt, I'm so proud.

There is nothing planned for this evening at the clubhouse so Bill and I will do our usual, treating it like any other day until 10 o'clock (MST) when we'll toast in 2026. 

If you think Bill is reading his book on
Piper Cubs to Gibbs, you would be right.
💕

Supper will be air-fried shrimp and fries and no doubt we will enjoy that.

He is such a goof. When I laid Rocky
the Racoon up over his head, he just sat
there until I got the camera.
He was posing, no doubt about it.

I'm closing this post early so I can work away at some quilling this afternoon with a movie on in the background. 😉 Btw, we only reached 60F/13C today. 

Supper was good.
A lot of shrimp, just a few fries.

Have a great day, evening and Happy New Year from Bill, Gibbs and I!

This is us - minus the kitty.
Good night!

Thank you for spending the last 365 days with us!

Starting with 'What a Sky'! Sliding out of 2025

Park Place RV Park

Tuesday, Dec. 30th it felt good to not have any reason to get up too early, Well, I still was awake and up by 7:30 but that was by choice. 😂 It was cloudy to the east and clear to the west but wait........look at that sky!

Good morning!

I was in my slippers and ran out to get those beautiful clouds in the eastern sky. I did the run twice, it changed and then faded fast. Bill was readying for the field and I was readying for...nothing! 

As I was getting dressed, Gibbs
assumed his best, coy, begging for rubs, position.
You can't see his tail wagging but
hopefully the video will help.

While I had my tea and a grapefuit, I skimmed through pictures on my laptop and once more was grateful for the log (blog) keeping I do. It's important for many reasons. I found what I was looking for and had fun at the same time reliving memories. 

Our walk behind the park
and the 'trees of plenty'.

I took Gibbs for his walk, or the other way around, and met up with Bette and Annie at the dog park. It seemed both dogs wanted to play so we took them inside where they promptly ignored each other, abandoning all thoughts of play for new pee-mail. We tried.

A good example of ignoring 
each other.

I went to the clubhouse to finish the border on the puzzle, it bothered me all night! ha ha, not really, I slept just fine. I was able to get the edging finished and got a good start on the body of the picture. 

This will be fun, right?

Bill and I had poached eggs on toast after an egg debacle in the microwave. I DID poke the yolk and it still blew up!

Pop! poached egg makes a mess!

That was a nice treat for a change and while they dozed, I went over with my pennies to play Pokeno, There were 5 of us today and I came home with what I went with but thanks only to my winning the last Blackout with Linda. Otherwise, I would have been down a fair bit. 😉

Always making us laugh.
I'd love to know what he's thinking.

Back home, I made a tea and did some touch ups on my birdhouses before taking Gibbs around the park for his afternoon walk. Bill has been charging batteries all afternoon and picked up a 'new to him' plane from his friend, Joe. 

Just working on some birdhouses
One is finished, I think.

We'd ordered a few things from Amazon so I transferred $$ over from my Cdn savings a/c to cover my share. Hobby stuff. The exchange rate right now is the best it has been for a while. $1.4002, if you're interested. Not good but better is all we can say.

This is such a surprise!
I didn't see the sun dog or the ring
around the sun when I took the picture.

Supper was flat steak, one from Nancy, and Bill  barbecued it along with baked potatoes for each of us. I cooked some broccoli for me and mixed veggies for Bill, so, dare I say it, a Sunday meal on a Tuesday. 🤭🤭

Such a good meal tonight.

And, oh my, it was delicious!! Nancy, you have me hooked on flat steak and I sure hope I can find it somewhere! Teehee. We cleaned our plates, cleaned the pots and had a Lindor dark chocolate for dessert. I turned Gilmore Girls on and carried on with Season 3 and episode 18. Such fun!

                                 Told you!

                                Good night!

                        Enjoy your 2nd last night of the year.

A great day ends and we are one step closer to welcoming a brand new year into our lives. I hope you've enjoyed your day too.

Thank you for popping in. 

Monday is Pool Day! Reuniting with Friends

Park Place RV Park

On Monday, Dec. 29th we were up bright and early. We had the clothes sorted and in three machines (we washed the last of our old sets of towels) by 7:15. As I met Bette and Diane for our park walk at 8, Bill was just leaving for the field.

Good morning!

It was a chilly morning, only 45F/6C when I came downstairs. When I walked back to fold and retrieve the clothes at 8:45, it felt colder and it actually had dropped 3 degrees! Strange how that happens. There was a lot of sun today but the clouds and wind shared much of the day too.

I showed you my new slippers.
In defense of my old ones........they
were from our spring clothing exchange.
Worn every day since and although they
still look great on top.....
they are slightly air-conditioned on the bottom.
So comfy, I hate to toss them. 😞
They served me well at 0$.

Gibbs didn't get his second morning walk, I ran out of time with the laundry, walking and getting washed. Poker pool was at 9:30 and I went over around 9:20 to get things ready. There were 5 of us today and I did my normal 'oh crap' shots. Good thing I have fun!

My next puzzle
1000 pieces

In 45 minutes, I barely had time to
turn pieces and sort edging before
it was time to leave for happy hour.
There's always tomorrow!

Linda was the winner and we played right up until 12 noon. For lunch I made a meat, cheese, celery and onion quesadilla. It was so-so. I wish I could come up with different options for these mid-day meals. I'm not big on salads so that isn't an option and eggs every day is not appealing. I'll figure it out.

The Big Tent is UP!!
This is exciting for us snowbirds,
one of the reasons we stay in Quartzsite.

I took Gibbs for a walk at 12:30 and he was very good today. There just wasn't as much pee-mail, I guess. We walked outside the park and I scooped 2 more of the huge grapefruit off the tree behind our park. What a waste; I tried but couldn't reach the oranges.

Happy Hour with the Wilsons.

Bill and Gibbs had their snooze while I went to  start a new puzzle. I guess Bill prefers flying, he didn't seem interested in joining. 😂 A comment on yesterday's post was for info on the keto noodles. I bought it at Marshall's/Home Sense on their sales shelf along with 2 packages of 'rice'.

You know I can't help myself
when the sky performs.

Man! Does this guy ever wake up??

Although it doesn't taste 'like' spaghetti noodles, it works fine with sauce, butter or in a stir fry. I still prefer spaghetti squash as a substitute. I had to try when it was so cheap and would buy it again IF the price was right.

Saguaros, desert, sun and clouds.
Beautiful.

We drove out to Roadrunner BLM to have a Happy Hour with Ken and Kim. We dressed warm but it was pretty decent out of the wind at the back of their Journey. As usual, time passed quickly and we all had stories to share and laughter ensued. 

Not just a truck camper.
A home-built truck camper.

It was 5 when Bill packed up the chairs and we returned home. We had the last of the turkey and gravy with hot sandwiches. 

It was filling and hit the spot.

Curious minds need to know.

I finished the last of the above mentioned noodles and had a clementine for dessert. It was filling.........however, someone has to eat the Lindor chocolates under the tree..............

Those are some big grapefruit!

We only reached 65F/17C but unless you were out of the wind, it felt cooler than that. This was a very nice day here in our park. We are so grateful to be here and not home in the throes of their winter! Be wise and stay safe to those friends and family.

Now that is the brightest........um,
pink, red, orange?
Good night.

Thank you for stopping by.

Music to my Ears

Park Place RV Park

On Sunday, Dec. 28th i woke again from dreams but although they were clear then, they aren't now at the end of my day. Funny how some nights are just busy busy busy with activities in our brains and other nights, dead silence.

Good morning!
A good start to the day, right?
(a tummy rub)

We debated doing laundry this morning but decided to wait until Monday. We go so early that we are in and out quickly. It was a wise decision because all 3 washers were being used. The day was mostly cloudy but we did have some sunny breaks. It was 43F/6C when we got up.

Lunch was bacon and eggs.
Very nice.

I started out in a t-shirt and capris but at noon, I changed into longer sleeves. The office and clubhouse were cool, 58F/13C, so I bumped the the thermometer up to a more comfortable temperature. The day eventually warmed up to 64F/16C, still jacket weather.

Bill helped me finish the puzzle.
Is he hooked? 
😀😂😀😂😅😅

Before lunch, Bill came over and helped me work on the puzzle. He surprised himself by finding a number of pieces and then after lunch, we finished it off. There was a music jam at 2 and I wanted it out of the way, if possible. 😀 

This is the kind of sky we had this morning.

Ukeleles are not my favourite but when Chris joined with his guitar, it was improved. This jam will be a regular Sunday thing so maybe they will improve weekly and I won't have to present for all of them. 

On another note, we know our friends, the Wilsons', have returned to Roadrunner blm. This is good news as we will be able to get together again for a few Happy Hours. Bill and I are not 'every day HH rvers', I think our first few years boondocking cured us of that. Ha ha, maybe we just got too sedentary!

I took Gibbs for a walk after 4 but all he wanted to do was drag his 4 feet and sniff, sniff, sniff. I took him back home and went for my own walk around the park. After sitting all day, I needed to stretch my legs. I have been working on paper quilling bird houses.

And the evening sky was like this

For supper, I air fried the sausage and Bill had his in a bun while I had mine with keto noodles. It was all very good. We had a butter square for dessert and cleaned Rosy. I was watching more Gilmore Girls and Bill found a movie upstairs. 

Supper
These sausages are very good
and the keto noodles with butter,
salt and pepper were a surprise too.
Good night!

This was a good day and a good way to end the week. Yes, I count Sunday as the end of a week.

Thank you for your visit.

 

A Little Bit Busy, That's Not Surprising Because January is Near

Park Place RV Park

Saturday, Dec. 27th we find ourselves just a hop away from the end of the month and the beginning of whole new year! Seems I just had to learn to write 2025 and now - just wow. I guess we're having fun for it to zip by so quickly.

Good morning!

I was up by 7 after another fun-filled night of dreams. Thursday and Friday nights (or early mornings) I dreamt about my children. We did speak on Christmas, which is not a regular thing, so maybe that is the explanation. Anyway, all good dreams even though unusual as my dreams often are. 💖

Steve and Danielle's dirty rides
from their fun in the desert.
Black Beauty is cleaner!

Bill had his cereal and I had half of a grapefruit picked from the tree behind the park. Yum, it was tasty, I'll need to grab a couple more. Today, we took our new towels from Santa over to be washed so we could start using them. 

It was entertaining to watch the 
75' length pull out.

We have 2 full sets, including the bath mat so can donate the old since they are all still in good condition. Just 10 + years old and it was time for a change. I opened up the office and then set about working on the puzzle. Such a tough one, but fun!

Where's Nancy when I need her? The quilt one she gave me will be a breeze with her help. 🤭 She knows it is waiting for her arrival. 

I opened my Rum Chata box.
You can bet I'll be trying these!

Sue and Fred's second family grouping (her son and family) left this morning with their big rig. Donna, my sister, would not be anywhere near if this was us! She'll understand my comment. Bill was back and forth to the clubhouse throughout the day and scooting around the park. Only the office seemed busy today.

Wow! This one is a challenge!

January in the park is pretty much full but still people who called today for availability and rates, aren't commiting. I bet the last 3 sites around show dates will be gone by Monday. If they snooze, they lose to someone else. 

The sun before it drops behind
the mountains.

Bill took Gibbs for his walk this afternoon and we were both home just after 4. Today, we are experiencing a cooler day. It started out cloudy but that changed by mid afternoon and blue sky warmed it up to 70F/19C.

I was too lazy to go out for a picture.
This is the last peek at the sun
out our west facing window.

For supper, we had leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and mixed vegetables. All on behalf of the Christmas potluck. A bonus for helping clean up. 😉 Everything was delicious. We each had one of my dinner rolls and you know what we think of those. Yum.

Santa brought me slippers !
My others had holes in the soles.

Bill had a new movie starting at 6 so went upstairs. Gibbs, of course, followed him. Seems whoever is on the bed, is his favourite. 😃 Fickle little bum, isn't he? It was a good day. I hope you can say the same.

A great little supper
was as easy as pushing a button or two.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by. If you haven't already, check out Bill's latest blog post here.

 

An Overcast Boxing Day

 Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Dec. 26th I woke when Bill got up with Gibbs at a few minutes past 6. However, it was too early for me, so I went back to sleep until a few minutes past 7. My perogative. 😀

Good morning!

I opened the blinds at 7:15 and
this was my reward.

The top picture was taken in
Panorama
The bottom one was at 8 on my
walk with Bette and Diane.
Then the sun mostly disappeared.

I wanted to try walking with the ladies again so did my exercises and managed to get around the park 1 1/2 times before my foot went to sleep. I'm sure waiting for all these stretches and vitamins to start working! Hah! No worries, I've not given up and there are many worse scenarios.

Sue and Fred's family
before half of them left for Colorado.

Bill and I offered to step in for Sue and Fred today so they could go off on a ride to Skull Canyon (3 side-by-sides) with their family. It was a no-brainer for us and it is quite quiet in the office these days anyway. Bill and Gibbs toured the park and I opened up.

The mountains to the west

Since the ladies finished the puzzle last night, (of which I was glad since I wasn't doing it again), I put it away and started a new one. This one will be fun and a good one for Boxing Day. It is all classic toys, antiques even.

The rising of the sun

For lunch, Bill had a fruit salad to use up some of the fresh fruit in the fridge and I had a roll with meat, cheese and cottage cheese. The afternoon was still quiet so I watched some tv while puzzling again. As long as I am there to answer phones etc. it doesn't matter what else I do.

No Mom isn't going with you.

The day was overcast from the early morning sky, which was gorgeous, until end of day. Not sure if there will be a sunset at all. We have a couple of weeks of cooler temperatures now, mid 60's/mid teens in Celcius, but that's okay. No complaints.

Another very 'busy' puzzle

For supper, we had leftover mashed potatoes, ham and gravy. I cooked veggies on the side. Come January, I'm forcing myself into a new food regime........haha! We'll see about that. Supper was good, enjoyed very much for our Boxing Day meal.

A walk with Gibbs

Gibbs enjoyed his too, with bits of ham in with his dry food. We watched tv and called it a night. No sunset to speak of, at least not that I had a view of. It was a good day, only reaching 65F/17C, but still good.

Supper was good.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!