Hold on to Your Hats and Puppy Dogs! Birthday Girl

Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Jan. 8^th I woke up from another night of dreams. Strange but all good. I can’t remember any of them but I was awake at 5:45 and realized that I had about 14” of bed that I was stretched out on, facing my window. Hmm. I rolled onto my stomach and soon understood the situation. There was a puppy dog stretched from the middle of the bed to my back. As long as I was asleep, it didn’t matter but once awake, I needed room. 😊

Good morning.
The winds played havoc with the day here.
Look at those distant mountains to the east,
covered in dust.

Bill was comfortably asleep on his back taking up his full side of the bed and there was the sound of deep sleep so I didn’t want to disturb Gibbs and wake him up too early. I waited until 6:10 and moved. That woke them both up and I was able to stretch freely. Gibbs likes to be close to us, either one of us, so I wasn’t surprised that he was up between us with his head on the pillows. ♥

Of course, the little bum went right back to sleep after his morning outing and so did I, until 7. Bill said it was a mild 50F/10C so I decided to walk, despite the winds. I knew they would only increase throughout the day but when I took Gibbs out for a piddle first, it felt cold and the 4.5 mph winds were more than I’ve had all month. I wimped out and came inside for my tea instead. 😊

It is advised not to be out in the desert winds for too long and to be mindful of our pets as well, so I didn’t beat myself up about missing a day of walking. I stripped the bed and while Bill got ready for his day, took the sheets over to the laundry room. He had a day planned at an Tourism Expo in Parker at the casino. Their Quartzsite Desert Flyers were setting up a table with information and a couple of planes for the day.

This is where Bill and a few of the members were today.

I hung the sheets on the line to dry, the winds were from the north and the clothesline, which is on the southside of the clubhouse, would get sunshine but not the full brunt of any winds. There isn’t a lot of dust back there either so I would get the benefit of a fresh air dry this morning. I took Gibbs for his walk, and the sun was beginning to come out, making for a warm enough walk.

The lady took a blurry picture, too bad.
Tommy, Bill, Dennis, Jim and Kobus in front
It was a worthwhile day as they managed to secure
a booth at the big tent rv show! Free!

At 9, I took my mug over to join the Coffee Hour and there were 6 of us today. Because Jess and Jesse were still ‘contagious’ (her words), she wasn’t in attendance today. I know how much she loves Sue’s cupcakes so I brought 2 back with me and dropped them on their doorstep. 😊 They enjoyed them as I thought they might. At 10:30, my sheets were dry so I brought them back as well.

The chili was good and the
dessert was a lot of work for a bit of a letdown.

For lunch, I just had toast with peanut butter and jam. Separately, I’m not a mix-it-up kind of gal. No pbj for me. Then since I was baking this morning, and we left the power on, I switched to solar after everything was done cooking. I’d found a recipe for Cheesecake Bars that I wanted to try. I had lots of cream cheese to use up so this was perfect. Bill will be my guinea pig – again. Bless his heart. ♥

The winds have hovered between 8 mph to 19 mph with gusts as high as 23 mph. Really, they’ve been worse and were forecasted for worse but the week isn’t over yet. The sun and clear blue sky is making a world of difference in the temperature. It is 1 pm and 66F/17C, no beef there! 😊 I played my Wordle games and because I had no shelter from the wind beside the Suite, I went out with my book and sat behind the Weber for about 45 minutes.

Here's our birthday girl and her mom.
Happy Birthday, Hadley Rose!

The sun was nice and it wasn’t cold but sitting beside the flopping gazebo was too much. Gibbs and I went for his walk around 2:30, I had my neck wrap which I pulled over my mouth and nose when the wind blew strong. It was a short walk, Gibbs didn’t much care for walking into the wind either. I came in and made my tea, deciding that I didn’t want to read the book I had started. Not my kind of story.

She enjoyed showing us all her
play makeup. Lots of lip gloss!

Bill was home from Parker, after a full day, around 4 pm and caught me up on his news. For supper, we had leftover chili with toast and tried the squares I made for dessert. Hmm, so-so. Not keen on the crust so we may eat the top layer only. 😊 The sky is still clear and we reached a high of 65F/18C, so quite nice.

And because she takes gymnastics,
she wanted to show us some moves.

After clean up, I downloaded some pictures Bill took of our little birthday girl during a Facetime chat. Hadley Rose is 4 today and just the cutest! She had to show us some of her gymnastics moves as well and she is quite flexible. ♥ This has been a quiet day but a good one. One more day of wind and a few cool days and cooler nights.

Sorry for the blur, she was on the
move and Bill did his best while
chatting with her. 💘
You can see the excitement in her face.
Good night!

Thank you for popping by!

Before the Winds, Batting Down the Hatches, Pokeno!

Park Place RV Park

On Tuesday, Jan. 7^th we were up at our usual times. I felt that I could have slept longer but only because my night’s sleep was filled with dreams. Really filled. I bet I had 6 different scenarios, all interesting, playing through my mind. 😊 But, I didn’t sleep in, I got up, got dressed, prepared for a cold morning and headed out for my walk. I was surprised that it was 44F/6C and calm when I was expecting less.

Good morning!
I had 4 groups of pictures to start with
and settled on this one.

Top one is looking to the west
Bottom one is looking to the east.
All on the same early morning walk.

Remember this little tree?
Her metamorphosis is fun to watch.
Now, she is removing her red dress, slowly.

The talk around ‘town’ is the winds that we are expecting this afternoon and for the next 3 days. There are advisories out to be mindful of how long you are out in it, as well as your pets. A certain virus circulates the desert with the dust that blows around. 

This was as I returned from my walk.

Bill and Duncan left for Jim’s Hangar for their monthly club meeting at 9 so I followed through with my routine. Tea, cereal, a walk with Gibbs and then at 10:30, I went to the puzzle.

It was a fun little puzzle to do
and the picture is beautiful.

I finished it by 11:45 and returned home just as Bill was returning. He had gone back to Jim’s, after dropping Duncan at home, to work on a plane. Yes, Patti, another ‘woops in the sky’. 😊 The plane lived to fly another day at least. All is well if he is able to fix them. The winds were picking up so Bill and I went out to pop the gazebo top down. I closed up my paints and he moved his plane down to the ground.

I bought thhis storage container from the garage sale
with the quilts.
Today, I gave Bill most of the screws etc. to make
room for my craft stones etc.

Making use of my little storage gadget.

At 1 o’clock, I took my penny jar over to the clubhouse. We were going to see how many we could get for Pokeno today. By 1:15, there were 4 of us and we had fun! The little containers that Sue and I put together worked very well. Angie was new to the game and yet she walked away the big winner at the end. I’m not complaining since I came home with quite a few extra pennies myself. It was around 3:30 when we reached Blackout. 😊

We haven't had to pop the top down yet but
today was the day.

I took Gibbs for a walk, while the sun was shining down between the clouds. Off in the distance, things are looking pretty gray so I don’t know how much I’ll be walking tomorrow. That is a ‘play it by ear/sight’ scenario. I made a cup of tea for both Bill and I when we returned and began supper around 5:30. Tonight is chili night using the last 8 large meatballs rather than ground beef.

Taking a break at Pokeno

Slowly, our meat supply is dwindling but we want to use up what we have before stocking up. Bill and I watched a bit of Global news upstairs together and honestly, I don’t know why we subject ourselves to all that. It is depressing, so many predictions of the political (& more) future of our country that I’m left more confused than I was before I watched. Staying in the know? Yah, I guess that what’s we’re trying to do.

Our afternoon walk was quite pleasant
before the winds got too terrible.

Supper was good, I just added a variety of beans to a pot, with spices, cooked celery and onions, tomato sauce and then the air fried chopped meatballs. When Bill said ‘it’s good, Sweetie’, I knew that it must be good. 😊 We cleaned up the dishes and after my blog was done, we watched a new series to see if we like it. It’s called Doc about a doctor who lost her memory. I’ll keep you informed.

Watching a bit of the news together.
Gibbs settled in for the night and
we hadn't even eaten supper yet!

This has been a good day, not so much for the outdoors stuff but once I warmed up, (vacuuming the Suite early on helped) things improved. Winds reached a peak of 22 mph when it gusted but averaging out at 17 mph. That’s plenty windy, especially when you look out at the desert and the mountains are not clear. We are fortunate to be in a semi-protected area and hope our boondocking friends are staying indoors. 

The chili was good and leftovers for
another night is a bonus!

Checking the forecast, we are in for a possible chance of .25in around 9:15. LOL Over the coming week, we are in for some cool temperatures, mid to low 60's/mid to high teens in Celcius.

Thank you for your visit.

Ladies Poker Pool, Lovely Day

Park Place RV Park

On Monday, Jan. 6^th, I was up and at ‘em by 7. It was still dark, with clouds over the mountains to the east, so I sat with Bill and Gibbs until almost 7:30. The clouds turned into another beautiful Arizona morning sunrise. ♥ I can’t get enough. I had a great walk, starting out at a slower pace. That seemed to make a difference for my return trip. My legs didn’t feel so tired. So, I made a note to myself. 😊

Good Morning!

And it got better as I walked.

I met Dolly and her master again and he obliged me by letting me take their picture. I can’t remember what mixture of dogs she is, but she’s beautiful and lets me rub her face. She’s so calm and I’m not usually a lover of big dogs. Back home, Bill and Duncan were readying for their morning flights and it was a calm morning for them. I hopped in the shower after saying goodbye to my sweetie, then had my cereal.

I don't know her Daddy's name,
but meet Dolly.
She is the sweetest thing!

I took Gibbs for a somewhat quicker walk, in a different direction, when I noticed time was running out AND when I noticed a man from Arizona Sun RV Resort was walking with his dog, off leash. Nope, not going that way or Gibbs would be pulling the whole way trying to catch up. His dog was obviously well-trained but that still doesn’t sit well with me and he was in no hurry to get moving. ☹

My messy pizza/quesadilla for lunch.
Yummy!

I turned Gibbs around to the road and we walked back that way. At 9, I made my tea and headed over to our game. We started at 9:15 because of another event planned in there at 11. This time it was the Mesa lunch/sales pitch so we got 4 games in before vacating the clubhouse. Bette was the clear winner again and I was the clear loser this time. Woops! Bottom line was that we all had fun.

Another day (or two) and it should be done.
(maybe)

Bill nipped into town to check out some flag poles for the club and when he returned, we had lunch together. I made one of my messy, whatever I have, kinds of pizzas on a tortilla. They always seem to turn out very tasty so I enjoy them to the fullest. Bill had his sandwich, not into my pizza creations. 😊 It turned into more of a quesadilla anyway.

We needed milk and creamer so took a run into town and then one other little side trip to 88 Shades. One of the flyers from his club live there and Bill wanted to see him for something he was selling. We stopped at DG Market to pick up some milk, creamer and hot dog buns. Duncan and Patty gave us a pack of Nathan’s all beef wieners at Christmas and we wanted to try them.

Here, I was playing with the sun and the palms.

It’s turned into a lovely day, starting at a cool 41F/5C but already 68F/20C at 1 pm. Perfect with clear sunny skies. I went to the clubhouse to work on the puzzle again and it is going swimmingly well. 😊 Back home at 4, I took Gibbs for his walk and we had a nice long walk, bringing me over my goal steps. It’s nice when that happens without me even trying!

These 'buns' were not made for wieners at all
but they were the best!

For supper, Bill grilled the wieners and because there were only 5 in the pack, we ate them all! We picked up some Nature’s Own Brioche Butter rolls since that was all DG Market had but we are ever so happy with that! We had to cut them and I heated them lightly for 30 seconds. The best ever and they didn’t fall apart. It was a great little supper! No dessert required.

The hot dogs were excellent!
Good night!

We’ve had a great day! Thank you for your visit.

Busy Morning, Getting Back to our Happy Hours

Park Place RV Park

On Sunday, Jan. 5^th Bill was up at 5. He said that we had no power as our alarm clock light was not displaying on the ceiling and the Suite was dark. Our batteries were charged to a decent 13.5 last night so we didn’t connect to power and left the inverter on. Hmm, not sure what used the power but he rectified it by switching us on, checked batteries and then returned to bed. Well, to his recliner. 😊

Good morning!

Gibbs was up at 6 to go out and I followed at 7 to start with the laundry process. We loaded 2 machines and returned to the Suite. While he readied to go flying, I played my morning Wordle games and then dressed for my walk. At the 25-minute mark, I walked over to switch clothes from washers to dryers and then carried on from there for my walk. It usually takes me 30 minutes, tops, and true enough, I was back to wait the last 15 minutes it took for the dryers.

I started the Garden Birds puzzle from Nancy.
It is 500 pieces and should be a fun one to work on.

Back home, I made my tea and had a bowl of cereal. I was quite hungry! Then it was Gibbs’ turn, so we went for his walk. It was longer than normal and we were still parading along N. Riggles Ave. when Bill and Duncan returned to the field. A hello and goodbye, as it was my turn to relax. I felt like I’d been go-go-going since I woke up. Hmm, I guess I was! 😊

We went to Tyson Wells after lunch.
Things are picking up in 'vendor/tent city'
Check out the next photo to see what Duncan and Patty
are looking at.

I moved the desert puzzle to the side and began a Garden Birds puzzle that Nancy gave me to work on. I’m saving the train one for when she returns so we can work on it together. I made good progress; this is only 500-pieces so shouldn’t take too too long. I may have to eat my words on that! I returned home at noon to have lunch with Bill and we discussed the afternoon. He wants to go to Tyson Wells and I think I’ll tag along.

It is a homemade Rock Tumbler.
If you've got $1000 burning a hole
in your pocket, it's yours!

After my boys had their snoozes, we invited Duncan and Patty along. As it turned out, they were thinking the same thing so they drove instead. Our friends, Jess and Jessie have found themselves with colds so asked if I could pick up some meds for them while in town. Aaah, hope they feel better soon. We walked T.W. and picked up a few things, here and there. It is starting to get busy, of course it is a Sunday, but more vendors appear each week.

Bill and Gibbs waiting for Happy Hour
to begin.

Back home, Gibbs and I walked and dropped the meds off at J & J’s home. Then it was time for Happy Hour in the gazebo. Bill and I enjoyed a Seagram’s cooler and D & P joined us. The air got cool around 4:30 so I had to break up the ‘party’. We turned our power back on and I started the package of pork shoulder pieces in Madame IP. On the side we had fried potatoes, sprouts and corn and boy was it good! That’s the best that pork has turned out! 20 minutes cook, 6 minutes release and I made a gravy from the drippings.

This pork was soooo tender.
These little pieces cooked up perfectly.

We each had an ice cream cone for dessert and settled in for the evening. I found it to be a coolish day today, thanks to the wind, but no, we’re not complaining. I think we reached around 69F/20C at its peak. This has been a good day, things got done and maybe tomorrow I’ll try and bake something. Hmmm.

A couple of memory pictures
from our first year.

Clemson loved Pat and visa versa.💕
Some pictures just make you smile.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping around.

Saturday Serenity

Park Place RV Park

On Saturday, Jan. 4^th when I woke at a few minutes before 7, Bill was in the shower. Once I turned over and spoke to Gibbs, I got my morning face wash. Thanks for the kisses, little bum! ♥ I bury my face in his soft fur to dry it. 😊 I noticed that it was warmer this morning than it was yesterday, 48F/9C, but there was a bit of a wind that made it feel cooler.

Good morning!
I was readying for my walk.
Gibbs was concerned that it was still dark outside. 

I dressed appropriately and was pleasantly warm. My legs felt tired today on my return trip, not sure why, but I decided to skip a bike ride today. I doubt Lila will mind the rest. I met Bill on his way out for the morning. He wasn’t flying today but instead driving over to Tommy’s (another pilot friend) for a trip to Lake Havasu City. They were picking up wood etc. to make storage boxes for the flying club.

Bottom left is what Gibbs was thinking.
The sky sure turned pretty though.

After my tea, Gibbs and I got out for his walk. The wind had picked up even more and felt cool still. Around 10, I made my bp coffee and wandered over to work on the puzzle. I like this one, very appropriate for where we are. 😊 It was noon when Bill texted that he just got home, as expected, just in time for lunch. We were back to our ham, cheese and lettuce sandwiches and they went down well. I was full!

After I returned home,
there it is. 💗

We also finished off the apple cider that I bought a while ago. This morning, I started a new book, another loaner from Bette, called The End of Her by Shari Lapena. Without getting too far into it, I’m thinking it is along the lines of the movie I watched last night. ‘A Rose for Her Grave, the Randy Roth Story’ is primarily based on a true story. It was well done.

The before lunch on the left
The after lunch on the right.
Pretty picture, fun puzzle.

I sat with my sweeties for an hour or so, watching and listening to Youtube videos on the tv. Willie Nelson and Friends (at his 70^th birthday) had me hooked even though I’ve seen it before. At 2:30, I walked over to work on the puzzle for a while, which turned into an hour and a half. The puzzle was finished when I left. Sue likes the picture very much too and would like to try and frame it for the wall in the clubhouse. 😊

Nope, Gibbs isn't spoiled at all.
More tummy rubs, please.

Our afternoon walk was a pretty one

I took Gibbs for his walk when I returned, a half decent jaunt, and then made myself a cup of tea. For supper, it was Bill’s cheeseburgers on the grill. No fault of the chef, but these patties are just not as good as some we’ve had before. I’ll have to scope them out better before I buy them next time. We still had Youtube up on the big screen and it turned into a Tribute to Merle Haggard. Fun to watch.

Still good bacon cheeseburgers.

It was a great day today, reaching a pleasant 70F/20C by late afternoon. The winds never let up much all day and the clouds lingered, moving off to the horizon by sunset. You know what that did. It created a beautiful western sky for us. ♥

This Saturday ends even prettier than it started.
Heard from family back home and they got dumped on again.
10 to 12 inches of snow.
I believe we are in the right place - again.
Good night!

Thank you for your visit.

Lila and I Attend Another Fun Class

Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Jan. 3^rd I woke up at 6:45 after a strange night’s sleep. Last night, I was so tired that I didn’t even watch tv. Instead, after finishing my blog post, I decided I’d finish my book. It was 7:30 or so, so I had lots of time, I figured. Wrong! I am really enjoy the story and characters so I was surprised when at 9, I had to close it (with just 4 chapters left!) for the night. Bill and I exchanged places and I went to bed.

Good morning!

I love the bottom picture.
It looks magical.

Good idea, as I dropped off right away, but was awake again before 11 and couldn’t drop off completely for a couple of hours. Grrr! Willing myself to go back to sleep didn’t work, ha ha, does it for you? 😊 Anyway, I could have stayed in bed longer this morning but that would mess up my whole day. I don’t like sleeping in past 7, 7:30 at the latest. My walk was good, a bit chilly but mostly because I didn’t wear my windbreaker OR my down jacket. Duh.

By the time I was heading out for class,
the sky looked like this.
I layered up since it was still only 49F/9C

Back home, Bill went to the field with Duncan, who is feeling quite a bit better. I had my tea with Gibbs and then we went for his walk around 9. My plan today was to take Lila to class. According to my gps map, it is 11 minutes by bicycle and after doing a practice run yesterday, I knew exactly which way to go. It was straight forward to Plymouth Rd, across onto Sunrise, a straight flat ride from there to I-95N and the Desert Camel is right across the highway.

This is my creation..
Not perfect but I am happy with it.
If I were going for perfection, I wouldn't be taking a class! 

I arrived a few minutes before 10 and when Linda and Deb arrived, we went in together. Jess was already inside setting up. I could’ve easily rode with her but I wanted to push myself to do things out of my norm. Riding Lila was just that for me. There were 6 attendees, 3 newbies, and we had a great time. Poor Jess, I hope we didn’t upset the class too much, there was a lot of goofing around. 😊

The nose in the air, sniffing something.

We made dreamcatchers today; everyone’s was different in colours chosen but they all turned out great. Looking forward to Wednesday’s class already! A couple of regulars were missed so hopefully we’ll see them return at another class. The bike ride home was in warmer temps so I felt more winded and was happy to make it back. I’m not sure if there is an incline on the return stretch but I was working it!

An indication of a pretty evening sky coming up.

Bill and I had the last of our casserole and then while he sat downstairs with Gibbs, I went up to the bedroom with my book. Determined. Nope! One more chapter down and I had to close the book again! I caught up with a snooze and finally by 3:30, turned the last page. I can return the book to Bette, she will enjoy it. It is quite mysterious. 😊

I wasn't wrong but I didn't see what the 
west sky was like.

Gibbs and I went for our walk and some days, I’m sure that little guy is possessed! He took me in a variety of directions, with his little snout more in the air sniffing than on the ground. We had a good walk and he made me laugh more than once. ♥ Finally, he decided we could return home to Daddy. I made a tea and Bill poured himself a Coke Zero. He was working on his Christmas Spitfire model. 😊

I'm not sure I like the oven-ready noodles
as much as the one I boil myself but it was still good.

For supper, we cleaned up the lasagna and the apple pie. Counting the casserole at lunch, that’s 3 dishes of leftovers removed from the fridge. We’ll have to start over tomorrow! This morning it was a chilly but respectable 43F/6C and this afternoon, under mostly cloudy skies, we reached a comfortable 70F/20C. This is winter and we’re loving it – a lot.

Our class creations.
The two marked with a blue line are
Jess's. She always makes what we make. 💓

This has been a great day! Not to create a mystery myself, but receiving some good news from home was a bonus. Just trust me, it was great! 😍

This was last year's picture
January 3, 2024.
Good night!

 (PS - just Sue, the manager, and I showed up for game night. We had a nice 'get to know each other' chit chat for 30 minutes and returned home.) 

Thank you for the pop-in.Your comments are always welcome.