A-Quilling we will Go!

Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Jan. 22^nd our normal startup took place. I got up after my stretches (surprisingly, my back is improving each day), and joined Bill downstairs. It was dark still at 7 and only 32F/0C so I washed, dressed and layered up against a cold walk. Nancy and I headed out at 7:15, both of us marveling at the pretty sunrise that was about to happen. Well, the pre-sunrise was prettier than the actual rising.

Good morning!

There wasn’t a breeze to speak of but it was darn chilly regardless! We walked exactly the same number of steps and distance as we did yesterday morning – and she’d already been out with Cooper. I guess we are predictable if nothing else! Bonus, my phone app and her Fitbit were on par. 😊 I’m glad to get that straightened out.

At class, we made vortex earrings.
This is the participants creations.
Mine on the right.

Bill didn’t have to work the tent today; Tommy was looking after the booth. They will switch places tomorrow. I know they are enjoying it but I’m sure that they will be happy to have their regular days back too. Nancy and I met Jess, Mike, Mae, Sue and Bette for coffee and peach coffee cake. Yum, this one was extra sweet but it sure hit the spot! I still like sweet. ♥

At Happy Hour, the sky was picture worthy.
A sun dog, means weather changes, right?

Back home, I grabbed my water and purse and Nancy and I headed out in Black Beauty for our quilling class. Jess had 6 participants today and we made vortex earrings. Seemed I was more fumbly today and couldn’t get my fingers to work properly but we all finished and, although I wasn’t 100% pleased with my result, I enjoyed the class and will surely wear the earrings. 😊

L to R
Ken, Tom, Deb, Kim, Patsy, Nancy

Bill and I had lunch when we got back to the Suite and when he got a call from Tommy at the show, he ran an errand soon after. By 2:30, he was home and Nancy and I hopped in Black Beauty with our chairs and drinks and we drove to Roadrunner. What fun to see Tom and Deb have arrived in Quartzsite after a very busy winter so far. Glad they are safe.

Black Beauty sits in the desert
She's dirty but still pretty

It was a fun couple of hours, sitting on the west side of their rig. We were sheltered from the wind and even though the sky was semi-cloudy, it was warm. Next time, we hope Patty and Duncan can join us, they had other pressing things happening today. Back home shortly after 5, we invited Nancy to join us for one of Bill’s bacon cheeseburgers. Of course, she accepted!

When Gibbs went out to help
Daddy bbq, he got distracted watching
Nancy's rig in case she or Cooper came out.

I think Nancy enjoyed the burger. 💓

We watched some news, mostly regarding the California fires, and settled in for the evening. We reached a warmer 69F/21F today which was a nice change. I hope your cold weather is improving too.

After supper, Gibbs thinks it is play time.
Who can refuse that face?
Good night!

Thank you for the visit.

Friday Coming Down, Mansion Tour, Johnny on the Spot, Burger Night

Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA

I woke up on Friday Feb. 21^st and Bill was already up again. I guess I’m sleeping really well as I didn’t hear him get out of bed. Mind you, he doesn’t have to maneuver around the bed like I do so doesn’t spend quite as much time in the room as I do either. Bless his heart for not waking me though. It was just after 6:30 when I joined him downstairs and he informed me that he’d been up for over half hour.

We went for our walk after reading blog posts and it was another beautiful 64F morning with less wind than yesterday. When we returned home, I had my tea and then we drove back to the blm area to get a tour of the Mansion and say goodbye to our good friends. The Kays are leaving the area this morning, heading further east slowly before really hitting the highways towards Tennessee.

A different kind of sky was offered this morning
Still very pretty

They are loving their new Sundance rv a lot and Bill was able to shed a little light on a couple of things that Ken was not aware of. We hugged goodbye, snapped a picture of each other and drove home. I had a date with the ladies at the clubhouse for Poker pool. Just two more games before we leave so I really didn’t want to miss it. Barb, who usually leads it, was absent. She and Gordon left early for his appointment in Phoenix (we think) for a pacemaker. We all pray that goes well.

Lord and Lady Kay, Mansion owners
And what a beautiful mansion it is!
Thank you for the tour!

I had even more successes today at pool, actually aiming AND hitting more balls in the pockets. I still was no where near winning but I’m getting better each week! 😊 Just in time to leave the game for a number of months. LOL. When I walked in to the clubhouse, I saw a FedEx truck pulling away and there was our new toilet! I texted Bill and he was up right away to pick it up. That is great service, we ordered it on the 17^th. Yay!

The new toilet was installed by the time I returned

Before I started playing though, a bit of unfortunate news about Mom set me off. It isn’t serious at this stage but the centre where she is living has to inform us (Donna) of any changes. She is deteriorating, without going into details. If you are looking for someone to pray for, we’re hoping she holds on until her children can all get home. I keep saying she is 94 but she won’t be until April. I hope she can celebrate one more birthday, at least. Mom has surprised us before with her strength. 

So, we drove into Yuma for supper

Back home, after the games, I checked out the new shiny white loo and then made us omelette sandwiches. Mine was in a tortilla flat and Bill’s on a toasted bun. I could only eat half. The other half is for tomorrow. With my appetite, sometimes I think I should be dropping weight. Hahahaha.  We took care of dishes and Bill stretched out in his chair. I changed into my bathing suit. Do I feel like the pool today? Not sure. Maybe I’ll just stretch out in my lounge chair here at home. That is exactly what I did.

I sat outside and finished my book before coming in for a few minutes with Bill. Once again, I’m sure I dozed out there and the clouds had pretty much covered the sky by the time I moved indoors. At 2:30 we put our cooler of drinks together (sounds like an ordeal but we really only take 1 alcoholic drink at most and then a pop or water) and carried the chairs to the Wilson’s. Keith and Doug joined us. No puppies today for Happy Hour.

Sorry for the blur
Look at those happy kids

At 5, we went our respective ways and since Bill and Doug each have an item that won’t be used, they swapped out. We got a surge protector for 30 amp out of the deal and Doug got a 50 to 30-amp power cord. We’re all happy! I got washed up first while Bill walked over to the White Lion and when he returned, he did the same. Trying to get a little spiffed up even though we’re just going to a burger joint for supper. We don’t eat out a lot so when we do, it is nice to spruce it up a bit.

After supper, walking to the truck
Lucky for you, no food picture (I forgot)
Another pretty sky

At 5:45 we drove to pick Kim, Ken and Keith up. Usually we partake in burgers at the clubhouse on Friday night but since they aren’t serving food here for the remainder of the season, we’ll find them elsewhere. Five Guys is a popular fast food place here so we’ll check it out. It will be far from a $5 meal but a treat all the same. 

We placed our orders, surprised to see no combo deals offered and Bill and I ordered way too many fries. Next time we’ll order a medium to split. It was all very good though.

Bill took the scenic route home, which you usually say when you get lost, but in this case, we hit the closed road and had to take a detour to get back on the hwy. Meanwhile, the western sky was keeping me entertained. We were home by 7:30 after dropping everyone off and picking up our deceased ‘john’. Bill put it onto the back of the truck and we drove it up to the dumpster. Luckily, there was room inside one of the bins as most were full to the brim.

Back home, we relaxed for the evening. I finished my post and then sat with Bill. He was working hard at finishing Cross Country, the J.P. book he’s been reading. I finished The Blind Assassin today so can now move on to another one from the cupboard. J.A. Jance’s Trial by Fire is one written about this area so it should be a good read. Tomorrow morning, Kim and I are popping over to see and get a tour of the White Lion. We heard at Happy Hour that Doug and Yuma are moving on in the morning.

Disposing of the john
Good night y'all!

This was a good day. Some busy-ness, some relaxing and some good food with friends. I hope you enjoyed yours too.

Thanks for stopping in!

Brisk Walk, Poker Pool, Happy Hour, Burger Night so No Cooking

Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA

On Friday, Jan. 10^th I was up around 6:30. First, I emptied the dishwasher and when Bill came down, he had his coffee. Before 8 we scooted out for our walk. I’ve missed walking the last two days for one reason or another and want to keep up with the routine that I’ve started. The weather station was reading 51F but the winds hovered between 5 – 8 mph so it felt cooler. After walking half way around the park, my hood came down.

The sun comes over the mountain

Back home, my tea tasted good. It feels like I earn it when I walk before drinking it plus I don’t have to hurry back for what would be obvious reasons. Bill had his second coffee as well. I sat at my laptop just to get the first couple of paragraphs started on my post and then relaxed with my book. Soon enough, Bill got cleaned up, ready to walk up to the office to advise them formally of our return on Jan. 29. They often don’t get record of that until AOR notifies them a few days before.

One of the ladies found this picture from 1973
so it hangs in the pool room
Cool, huh?

I then got ready to join the ladies at Poker Pool at 10. There are usually at least 8 ladies to play so there may not be room. We’ll see if they can fit me in. Nothing is regular so if I’m one of the first 8, I’ll be guaranteed a spot. It doesn’t cost to play, which is good or I would not participate. I’m not into that. I arrived 15 minutes early and returned a book to the basket and dropped the book cd’s in the puzzle room.

This is the 2020 version
l to R
Mary, Deb, Barb, Allie shooting, Annie and Diane

Barb, our poker pool host, was doing the exercise class (which I forgot about) so Allie and I bided our time until they were finished. There were 7 of us today so we were all able to play on one table. Some of these ladies are such frequent players (or have been in their lives) and they have their own cues. That should make me, the only non-player, very nervous but these ladies make the whole game fun. They encourage me and tease me at the same time so I just run with it.

This morning, Bill and I saw Loyal trimming the trees
He and Mary are hard at it every day

Actually today, I had ONE magnificent shot! Banked, hit the 6 ball (which I wanted) and sunk the 13 (King) ball! I had both cards in my hand. Yay me! That brought a lot of whoot whoots! I still lost, er, won with the high score. Ooops, low score wins. No matter, at least I had 2 ladies just one point under me so I wasn’t skunked. Ha ha. At 11:30 we called it game and Allie and I walked back together.

Shadow people

The winds have picked up again as can be seen by the flags blowing straight from the north. Bill had finished applying the wide tape to the roof over our bedroom/closet slide-out. Still not sure where the leak is but at least the process of fixing it has begun. He borrowed a caulking gun from Keith rather than purchasing one yesterday and has done some of those areas too. I called him into breakfast around noon and we had poached eggs and sausages today.

Bill attached my new bell to the little bike

After dishes, I made a coffee and sat to relax. If I did much more relaxing, I’d have to take vacation! I texted Jo-Anne and invited them for a Happy Hour around 3 and then sent a message to Keith as well. We haven’t gathered for a few days so thought today would be a good time to get together. Jo-Anne and Higgins went out for a short walk and stopped by briefly. Higgins decided he’d just lay down on our mat first which gave us a chuckle.

Higgins relaxes at Happy Hour

Around 2:45, Keith biked over with his chair and drinks and our neighbours soon joined us. The afternoon turned out beautiful when the wind died. Not completely but between 1 – 5 mph so that was really a nice break for sitting outside. The sun was incredibly warm too and we reached 66F/19C on our patio. Conversation flowed and I remembered to take a couple of HH pictures. Bill and I had signed up for burgers tonight so we said goodbye to our friends and walked up to the clubhouse.

From one end, we see to be having a good time

And then from the opposite side
Keith isn't praying, he's trying to remember the name of something haha

Bill, one of the chefs & pastor here, cooked the chicken, dogs and burgers. We sat at a table with some new people, a couple of ladies whom I’ve met at classes and their husbands. We could have sat by ourselves but why? We had a nice meal with the burgers and all the fixin’s, potato salad, a piece of spice cake and a bag of Cheetos or chips. The company and conversation at our table was friendly and we walked away with good wishes for our travel on Wednesday. Nice people. We fell off the keto wagon tonight but at least saved the chips for another time.

Bill goes inside and Higgins waits
He's a smart cookie waiting for a treat or two

Before supper, we checked the mail slots and found a UPS package there for us. It was pretty amazing that within 2 days from our call, our new Visa cards arrived. We just needed to activate them and create a new PIN. Oh great, another # to remember. Back home, I sat and caught up on my blog. Oh! Kim, you’ll be interested to know that Barb (Gordon actually) remembered to bring us each a copy of her corn recipe. 😊

Lots of food for $5

Bill tried calling for our Visa cards and naturally something is wrong with the phone #. Of course, nothing could be that easy! We’ll call for assistance tomorrow. It was a good day and a nice meal that we didn’t have to cook. The evening was quiet, with some tv and a few chapters read in my book. I hope you had a good one as well.

The sun begins to leave us

It doesn't take long for the sun to set
These were taken on Bill's phone so the
time doesn't show

Gone
Good night!

Thank you for your visit today!

What a Difference a Day Makes, Christmastime, Mexico, Happy Hour, Burger Night

I was awake before 6:30 on Friday, Dec. 22^nd so bided my time in bed until 7 before pulling myself, gingerly out from under the covers. Gingerly, because the day following one like yesterday, I’m almost afraid to move too quickly in case that dizzy feeling returns. Nope! So far so good. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and heard that Clemson had hopped off the bed as well.

Good morning

The clubhouse/office

 After telling Bill to go back to bed, I let Clem out for his piddle and then I went for my morning walk around the perimeters. It was a cool 4C/39F so it meant an extra layer and a faster walk. Near the main office, past the pool, I stuck my head into the laundromat to refresh my memory on the cost of doing laundry here. $1.25 for both washers and dryers, that is the best deal yet.

What a cute setup
I had to tiptoe around because they were probably still inside the myPod

As I walked out, I saw George heading the same way so we walked and chatted together down a roadway before parting. I needed to put some power and speed into my steps to keep warm and to get myself around the rest of the way. My legs are longer than George’s, (so he says) so he bid me on my way. Back at the Suite Bill was just opening blinds.

And the sun rises

The inside of our home looks so pretty. Last night at 8:30 Bill got our 4’ tree out and set it up for me. Since I was not feeling poorly anymore, I set to work decorating it and the rest of the Suite. Everything in the two boxes found a home throughout our main and bedroom levels. Beautiful, if I do say so myself! And the stockings are hung waiting for Santa too. Now, Christmas can come.

Santas adorn our bedroom dresser

Our living room area

Looking at this picture, I see a tinsel adjustment is in order

Bill's suggestion this year was to put the tree on our coffee table

And I love it!

After our tea, coffee and computing, we had breakfast and got cleaned up. I managed to complete the shower I started yesterday with success. Leaving Suzie the key to our place, in case Clemson needed a run, we drove to the parking lot past the Quechon Casino. For the low low price of $6 a day, you can park and walk across the border to Los Algodones, Mexico.

The dentist's reception area

Seating area
I loved this painting

We cannot believe the number of vehicles parked at least ½ mile away along the side of the road in order (we assume) to avoid this fee. Crazy! There are so many things I just can’t understand. To see an elderly man, probably in his 70’s making the trek, with a hobble and a hoy just causes us to shake our head. It’s 6 bucks!

the things you see on the strip in Los Algodones
This is such a pretty courtyard

 Anyway, we carried on and walked across the border to the chants of “need a dentist? Eye checkup today? We have exactly what you need! Purse lady?” We found Dr. Eva Urena’s office but unfortunately, she wasn’t in. Her hygienist was able to give us each our cleaning and suggested we come back in an hour to see Eva.

Before we left, we learned that this office no longer took Debit or Credit, cash only. Hmm, not a problem today, paying only $70 total but for future work that Bill would need, it could be an issue. It is difficult not knowing what the procedures will cost so we will have to chit chat with them if he plans to continue going back to her.

As I waited for Bill at the Optometrist's, vendors were just outside the door
trying to sell their wares

We left there and went to Vision Optical a few blocks away. Bill was finally going to get his glasses looked after. As in, getting a new pair. He has been so frustrated with the ones he has now. So, within 30 minutes, he had his eyes tested, picked out frames and ordered lenses for $175. This is the way to shop for glasses. We can pick them up tomorrow. We’ll let you know how they turn out.

Not too bad of a lineup today to cross back into the U.S.

Bill needed to check out places in Yuma to find the fuse he needed for our inverter so while he went into Al’s RV Store, I went into the .99 Store for a few grocery items. I have a bigger list for food than just those few items but since it was home on the fridge, we decided to skip Fry’s today and come back another day. It still doesn’t seem like Christmas so hard to see the parking lots so jammed pack.

On the way home, disappointed after not finding the fuse we need, we got caught in traffic on Hwy 8 W. Twenty-five minutes of wasted time but good thing we didn’t have a deadline. We arrived back at the park around 2:30, just in time for Happy Hour at George and Suzie’s. We put our things away, poured a drink and took Clemson with our chairs over to their place.

This old car was at one of the stops Bill made

We had previously decided to go up to the clubhouse for Burger night for supper. Most parks do this ‘thing’ in the same manner and although it wasn’t a very big crowd, maybe 35 attendees, we all received a cheeseburger/chicken burger or hot dog with beans, chips and a cookie for $5. Sure beats starting up the grill and preparing it ourselves. Plus, it is a nice social time.

This is the jam up on Hwy 8

On the way home, Bill grabbed my Amazon parcel from the office. Yay! The night air sure cools off fast, as soon as the sun goes down. George and I played tag at snapping pictures of the beautiful sky to the west. 

And George and Suzie were enjoying their books this afternoon

We didn’t see it disappear but the sun was leaving an admirable portrait for us all to enjoy. It was shortly after 6 when we returned and the temperature had dropped to 54F.

At Happy Hour today, Bill and I met Jean and Skip briefly
We'll see them again at the park Christmas dinner

Cheers!

the sun going down before dinner

George reminded me to snap a picture after I'd got one bit into it
It was a very good  burger!

When I got inside, I wanted very badly to open my box but since I hadn’t started writing my post, I had a previous commitment. So, as Bill settled in his recliner with a Christmas movie playing, I settled in front of my laptop. I think we’ve wrapped up another great day and I have a feeling tomorrow will be a bit calmer.

I hope you’ve had a fun day, just 3 days before the BIG day. If you are still employed, I bid you a happy Friday because I know it means the weekend for you and hopefully a few days off.

And to all a goodnight from Pilot Knob!
3 more sleeps!

Time to open my parcel

Merry Christmas and thank you for stopping in today!