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!

You Say We Need Rain?

The Ridge

On Thursday, June 19th I woke up from a sound sleep at 5:30, just when Bill and Gibbs were coming back in from their morning constitution. I was happy to see that I had an hour before I had to get up and rolled over and opened my little window.

Good morning!
It didn't look any different all day,

It had cooled off a bit but the fresh air was still very nice. The other bedroom windows were open all night. 😊 Bill was prepping for work when I came down for a goodbye kiss. Then I got ready for my own morning job.

There was no one there and I'm grateful for that. There were 3 new notes on machines, 2 with no writing, so I set about testing them all. I agree with one and the other two worked fine so I put the notes back in the folder. S**t disturbers! 

I picked up 14, seriously 14!, dryer sheets from the floor, out of dryers or in the carts before I did anything else. I went through the Lost & Found box and discarded the single socks from over a week ago and discovered 'new' items added. They got folded and put back in the box. 😕

When I opened 'door #1' washer to see if it had an odor (it is unplugged with the door closed), water rushed out onto my foot and the floor. I slammed it closed quickly and ran to get the mop - again. I also brought the bucket out and put it as close to the door as possible and opened it again.

I couldn't leave it like that in case a customer  or the maintenance guy did the same thing. I had to scoop it outto get it below the door line, finished mopping the floor and left an hour and a half later. Yup, he can pay me for that clean up! 😆

From the Mat, I drove to Battery Pro and got a bottle of water filled from Mark before heading for home. It has been spitting since we got up and doesn't expect to stop all day. It's a good day to be working or doing anything inside. 

I stayed in with Gibbs until 11 and then had cheese and crackers for lunch and made a coffee to-go. I left the house at 11:30 and drove back to Owen Sound, about 40 minutes away. I needed to clean the Air bnb at Williamsford but not until AFTER 1 pm.

With a few more items on my list at Michaels and Dollar Tree that I didn't remember on Tuesday, I could go there first before stopping to clean on the way home. I made a couple of other stops, at Canadian Tire for a tire tube for Lila and Walmart for the Coke we forgot for Bill. 

I was ready to leave around 4:30.

I was my regular 1.5 hours for Robin and then stopped at her house to drop off the recycle and garbage before returning to the Ridge. Her hubby, Andrew, gets home today so she was busy - and very happy, I'm sure. He's been gone 6 weeks!

Wet or not, this is always a
welcome sight to return to. 💕

Bill was home when I arrived around 5ish and after a nice chat with Duncan (& Patty) I made supper. Linguini and shrimp tonight for a change. It wasn't bad at all and a one dish meal. We had cherry pie for desserts, those single serve ones. 😋

A different choice for us but
it was quite tasty.

It has been a pretty yeuchy day, all day, non-stop rain and a cool 19C/65F. We need the rain so we don't dare complain. The summers of our youth are certainly a thing of the past, eh? Bill went upstairs to watch a movie while I worked on my blog.

I only buy these fruit pies when they are on sale.
These were .73¢ each so I bought 2.

It has been a busy day, some by choice, and I'm thrilled with the things I found at the craft store. It may open up some possibilities for making more jewellery. Maybe. Ha! 

Last year on this day...
a different story.

I hope your weather was acceptable too, for whatever reason! For those of you who, like me, tend to not go back and check on comments made on other blogs.......thank you for all the lovely comments on my amateur drawing and on my dyed dress. You are all very kind. 💓

And we were at the Durham hospital with
Bill's swollen knee.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by. Not many pictures today so I hope my babble hasn't put you to sleep. 😴

 

The Day Cools Off, Puzzle Progress, Dinner with Great Friends

Ridgeview RV Resort

On Wednesday, (hump day) Nov. 2^nd we were out of bed by 7:30. Once more, no rush to get up and do anything. Hey! We’re on vacation! Our time at home has been work, work, work for the most part with some holiday time off in between so this truly feels awesome. The only thing on our calendar, written in clear as mud invisible writing is: “Have fun doing what we love and relax!” ♥

A few pictures of our morning
Walking in the wash
towards a nice view

Bill went into Bullhead City straight away to fuel up Black Beauty. She was getting mighty thirsty and there is no better station here than Sam’s Club. $4.39/gallon for diesel! That is wonderful and now she is filled for our next travel adventure on Friday. He also got our 2 5-gal water jugs filled here in the park and tomorrow will be propane fill day, since we have one empty tank.

We had a new visitor today
'beep beep!'

The sky was clear when we got up so I took Gibbs for a walk around the park ‘block’. Kind of. 😊 I cheated by taking him down to the east and then back through the wash. It is wide, pretty clean of debris and minus a lot of smells that our little guy loves to stop and piddle at. That makes for a nicer walk, trust me. Back home, I had my tea and when Bill returned we had cereal.

Our regulars returned too
Notice the 'king of the castle'?

The clouds had moved in by then and I knew that it was going to be a cooler day but about 8 degrees so changed my mind about going to the pool today. I got the vacuum out and did a thorough job and did some dusting when that was finished. Then I had my shower. The full pressure water feels wonderful and we are getting spoiled. 😊 We chatted with Roland and Lori as we sat outside for a bit, and I got some reading done.

I wanted to share my little purchase at Oatman
yesterday
This sweet little turtle holds our incense sticks perfectly

After toasted bacon and tomato (+cheese + lettuce) sandwiches, I walked up to work on the puzzle. I was finally feeling that I was getting somewhere! So, blocking out some of the semi-annoying chatterers behind me (game players), I got a lot of pieces in and turned the board around so I could work on the sky. Then at 2:45, I walked back home.

I turned the puzzle upside down after finishing the water at the 
base of the picture
I only have tomorrow to work on it and it seems I'm the only one - again

It was early enough to make something for dessert but I couldn’t find the recipes I was looking for. That just means another guinea pig creation. 😊 I found a saved recipe for Keto Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes so thought I’d give it a try. I’ll let you know how they turned out. It won’t be tonight since we’re going out to eat.

It was quite an interesting sky when we left
for the casino

At 5:30, we met with our neighbours and drove across the state line into Laughlin, Nevada. It’s like less than 10 minutes away. We all agreed on The Golden Corral Casino for supper. Not for the gambling, but for the food. ♥ 

Stopped beside this Corvette at the light,
was Roland thinking of racing him?
Nah, there were 2 police cars just up the road

The weather had changed throughout the day, dropping from 73F/23C to 64F/18C. We wore jackets and/or sweaters. There were a few disappointments with the evening, well one for me, but only that the popular Calzones were no longer on the menu. I’ve had them once and was truly keen on a second. ☹

The pie was huge and awesome!

Oh well, another Roland recommendation was the Chicken Pot Pie so that was my order. Yum!! It was huge and I’ll never look at another grocery store pot pie the same again. Of course, with the original lime margarita on the rocks and a little side dish of fruit, half of my pie came home. Bill had a delicious meal of fish and chips and we all left very happy with the chosen entrees after all. 😊

this was a great evening together

Roland drove us home after a lovely couple of hours together and Gibbs was happy to see us. I worked on my blog and settled in for the night. This was a great day again.

Good night!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

Bill 'Takes Off', On the Cooler Side of the Week

 La Posa South, Quartzsite, Az

We had mostly clear skies this morning, Saturday, Jan. 29^th, when Gibbs and I headed out for our walk. I remembered my sunglasses so we headed in a different direction. It’s not so difficult then walking to the south after the sun comes up. Which it did, quite nicely from behind the mountain. 😊

Good morning!

On the way back, almost home, Gibbs spotted Harold, someone we meet most morning. He always speaks to us and pets the furry bundle at his feet. I found out today that they are from Montana and are here for the whole season. Nice man. Bill got up when we did so he had Gibbs’ breakfast ready and boy does that dog know where his food is! Gone are the days when he hesitates over the food dish!

♥

It is quite amazing how these old Saguaros remain
standing with their 'trunks' eating away like this

I wasn’t surprised when Bill got ready and announced that he was going to the flying field this morning. I’m glad to see him take advantage of the calm morning and he left at 8:30. I knew the day would be cooler than it has been by a few degrees but thought we’d have sun all day. After my tea was gone, I put the ingredients together to make my Baked Oatmeal recipe. I had been waiting to buy coconut so now there was nothing holding me back. 😊

Gibbs and I relaxed while I drank my tea
after Daddy left

I made my Keto baked oatmeal batter
but had to wait until mid-afternoon to bake it

When the clouds moved in, the batteries weren’t being charged enough to prevent the beeping of ‘low battery’ so I listened to that for a while before deciding that I couldn’t bake it without turning the generator. The power supply might have been enough but with the fridge coming off and on, as it does naturally, I knew it would take longer than the required 25 minutes to complete the baking process. I turned it off.

The week of the show ends tomorrow
and the Integras are pulling out daily
Cha-ching!

It was around 11:30 when Bill returned for lunch so I told him that we’d need to start the genny later long enough to cook my dish. He made a sandwich and I had the last of my broccoli soup. I won’t buy it again; it was from an envelope pack and was too watery. I had to add cream each time to make it enjoyable enough to eat. ☹ Live and learn! I’ll make my own broccoli cheese soup next time.

Gibbs doesn't mind the cool breeze
and sits under the Suite to people watch

After dishes, we both found it too cool (seriously) to sit outside and be comfy so we read our books inside. 

Oatmeal without the oats

The clouds pretty much took over the sky around 2:30 when Bill started the generator and I baked my oatmeal. Just a nibble from the corner and although it looks funny with the green powder collagen, it tastes like yummy oatmeal with any oatmeal added. ♥

Waiting for Daddy

Supper was chicken thighs, a potato for Bill, cauliflower rice for me and vegetables. A good supper tonight. I’m really enjoying my Louise Penny book, Kingdom of the Blind. Good thing I have distractions or it would be finished by now and my butt would be sore from sitting! LOL 

This looks pretty but the white clouds soon covered the
blue sky

So, as it turned out, Bill went upstairs to watch some tv and Gibbs went with him, for the most part. There went my distractions and I finished my book before supper. Excellent to the very end!

I thought this was going to be it for the sunset
and was quite happy with it

It was a great meal and after dishes, it was another quiet evening. 

I had to find a new book to start so moved to a James Patterson. Bill is finishing them at a mile a minute so I need to stay ahead of him. 😊 The sky didn’t co-operate too much today for outside sitting and we only reached 63F/17C, feeling cooler under the clouds, but it was still a very nice day.

I slipped out when I saw the surprising sky that followed
Gibbs is always here, when we slip out, hoping to get an opening. 😄

What a lovely treat after the cloudy day we had
Good night y'all!

Thank you for stopping in.

Longer Shift for Patsy, Cooler Day, Shorter Shift for Bill

The Ridge

On Monday, July 20^th, I woke around 6:30 feeling as if I’d had a wonderful sleep. I remember waking at one point with a dream but when I tried to grab it back, it was gone. No idea now what it was about. We’d both showered yesterday so Bill and I just washed to ready for work.

My morning started like this with a clear sky
on my way to Durham

I left for the Mat just before 7 and once again was pleased to find it locked. For some reason, the second round of lights never did come on and I couldn’t figure out from the timer what was wrong. There are always 3 or 4 emergency fluorescent light panels on so you can certainly see what you’re doing easily enough. Only one customer today who needed assistance a couple of times but I made light work of cleaning.

Look at the size of this moth on the floor of the laundromat!
I didn't want someone to kill it

So, I scooped it up on a newspaper and took him outside
The details on his back are pretty impressive

Back home, I had my tea and read blog posts before driving over to Mitch’s for 9:30. My plan is usually to work 2 hours but when I told him that I wouldn’t be in on Tuesday, he suggested I stay 4 hours to help get the Ford finished taping. He wanted to paint it in the morning. The day was very comfortable, around 21C/70F so very easy to work away and lose track of time. Especially with Mitch telling stories. We get along well; I just have to block out some of the words. 😊

He sent me on my way at 1:30, saying he could finish the last of the sanding and taping around the back window. Because I hadn’t eaten, I was grateful to leave. I felt hungry and weak through the last half hour. I could’ve left earlier and returned but I was good to stay and ‘get ‘er done’. I reminded Mitch that I worked at the Mat on Wednesday so it would be closer to 9:30 again before I would be there.

I impressed myself today with my first taping job

I feel that I’m learning things, even though I may never do anything like this again, except for him. It's still new stuff and I am enjoying the easy work at the same time. When I returned home, I made another tea and put a plate together for lunch. With my garden lettuce, corned beef, cheese, mayo and tomato I made a nice little sandwich with no bread. The plate was filled with olives, cottage cheese, cuke and radish slices too so I wasn’t going to starve.

He just had to do the back window and the rocker panel
and it was ready for painting

Bill texted as I sat at my laptop at 2:45 saying he was on his way home. I knew he would be leaving early but got away even earlier still. He had a belt break on the mower on Saturday so we’ll be towing/pulling it up the hill to Northline Sales & Service, four properties just east of us. Around 4, I drove Ptooties up North Line and Bill sat on the Cub Cadet as I pulled it to the repair shop. What our boys will do for fun, eh? It's like his own quad! haha Back home, we sat together in our chairs and he dozed off while I read. 

The soy beans in the farmer's field beside Graceland 2 are so high
this year!

We were having leftover meat loaf for supper so nothing to prepare tonight. Just before 6 I started reheating it in Madame IP and got some of my frozen broccoli on the stove ready to cook. We haven’t had a lot of sun today to charge our batteries, but they were up around 13.6 anyway. We plugged in after using the IP so I could give Bill’s vegetables a quick zap of about 3 minutes in the microwave.

This was lunch
No picture of supper as I didn't eat what I had on my plate

Today was another day of hardly any pictures and certainly none too interesting. That’s my life, right now! Supper was ready by 6:30 but my appetite was a little off. I think I messed it up by having a creamy tea just before I started cooking but I still enjoyed the tea. 😊 We chatted with friends from the Toronto area and caught up with them before sitting down for the night.

Boys just want to have fu-un. ♫ ♪
Good night

The air was cool outside and it is going down to 12C/54F tonight. Maybe not all windows will be open for once in a long time. It’s been a good day today and I got a few good hours of work in. I’ve taken a day off from working with Mitch tomorrow so plan to go to Owen Sound with Donna. That should be fun, we haven't done that since last year!

Thanks for your visit!