Making Things Right, Feeling Better

Yuma Lakes RV Resort

On Monday, Oct. 27th we woke up feeling better about 'things'. Thank you to all commenters, callers and FB friends showing concern. As for being positive, believe it or not, we are. It throws us for a loop when things happen (over and over) and we feel defeated. 

Good morning!

In the moment, we don't take time to process before reacting and we come together, talk about and come to terms with it all. We know things could be worse, and we are fortunate in many ways. We also believe we'll get through it. Thank you for your support.

Another clear sky day

So, today, I slept in until after the boys had been up and out. When I woke after a great sleep and dreams, I remained where I was until 7. Bill and I had a plan after research yesterday and he put that to fruition after breakfast. 

Bill and Gibbs order tires

After finding the tires we want to order, he visited the tire shop in Yuma that would be installing them for us. When he came home, our hope restored, he ordered the tires on the website. Yes, it was an unexpected expense, a big one, but we'll use the newest tire to go on the rim for a spare tire.

Vegetables in various stages
all around the outskirts of Yuma

Because they would not be delivered to the shop for 6 days, it meant touching base with our park in Quartzsite and extending our stay here. With that settled, we took my grocery list of things we 'needed' to get by and drove back into town. 

For one of the Durham Golden Girls,
saw these at Sam's Club today.
No, I didn't buy them.

We renewed our membership at Sam's Club, got Gibbs' dog food and a few grocery items there. We drove to the Allpoint atm at Target in Yuma Palms to get some cash out, then to Home Depot for a small bit of tubing for the water line to the fridge that got damaged and finally to Fry's for groceries.

The choppers were loud as they
flew over us

It really only took a couple of hours and we were home again to Gibbs, restocked. My mood is not up enough yet to think 'pool' but I'm sure before we leave, we'll get there. It is also extremely hot to be sitting outside anyway. 

The sun was setting when Gibbs and 
I went for our walk before supper.

We had lunch and relaxed. Bill and Gibbs had their snooze and I browsed through my Google photos, cleaning up folders on my laptop. Last night, my phone started popping up with virus protection ads saying my phone was infected. I have turned it off and that's hard!

Our spot near the Bocce Ball
court
Games don't start until Nov. 1st

It hasn't cleared up so I am unable to do much on it before it gets interrupted. Anyway, on our way home from town, 2 marine choppers went overhead and were coming directly at us. Bill stopped Black Beauty so I could get a picture or two. They are impressive.

There are a lot of empty sites
but it is early still.

I watched a movie upstairs before supper and then we had meat pies. They hit the spot with a piece of French bread from Fry's. The bread is not like RoadRunner grocery makes in Quartzsite but it was still good. Bill cleared the dishes and we settled for the evening.

Just a meat pie but it
was good and easy.

It was another hot day here in Yuma, 90F/30C, so we stayed indoors again for the afternoon. 

It's not the best picture, but
this is the first time I've seen quail
here in this park.

At least it cools down late afternoon so Gibbs is getting out for his walks, which means we are too. 😉 We closed the night out watching The Road together. You can catch Bill's blog here.

Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

A Much Better Day, Camel Rides

Park Place RV Park

On Tuesday, Feb. 21^st, I was almost afraid to move. You know how after you’ve been unwell, you’re hesitant to do anything to trigger it again? Last night, we watched our PVR shows, Ghosts, Magnum PI and American Idol. NCIS was a rerun but one from Oct. 24^th the day after we left home, so we were on the road and didn’t see it. Bill recorded it for us to watch on a ‘no good tv’ night. 😊

Beauty of a morning
Before the winds

I was done for by 9 pm and although my tummy sure gurgled a lot after my soup and water, it stayed put and I slept well. When I got up at 7:30 am, I felt great!  I know enough to take it slow but still wanted to get out into the fresh air with Gibbs for our walk. It felt great to be active. Bill left for the field after we returned and I had a cup of tea and a bit of orange juice.

With that done, Gibbs and I went outside to sit in the sun. There was a slight breeze which was totally welcome under those hot sunny rays. ♥ I started a Stuart Woods book last night and it is moving along quite quickly so took it out with me. When Bill got home at 10:30, he decided to check out a shop on Main St. for a haircut. He came home not long after with quite a short ‘do’ but that’s exactly what he wanted and all for $14, tip included. 😊

Bill got a great little video emailed to him from
a spectator so we watched it together

I need to think about what to do with my hair but although I want a bit more length (I think), I’ve not settled on anything at this point. I made bacon and eggs for lunch, something substantial, although not a lot of them. Solid food tasted great and after cleaning up the frypans, Bill stretched out in his recliner. I started this blog and joined him in mine, with Gibbs hopping from one to the other.

There's my handsome guy all spiffed up
He has a hard time getting anyone to cut the back short
enough so this time he is very pleased

At 1, we drove to town for a new adventure. 

At the corner of Main St. and Moon Mountain Ave
is this old structure, very cool that it has been saved
as much as possible
Turned here to the camel rides

I rode a camel! I’ve been talking about doing this from our first year when I saw the signs. It was probably cheaper then but that didn’t matter, today was the day. I was feeling pretty good after lunch and found it to be worth it. 

They had 4 camels on site but only 2 were old
enough to ride
These two were still in training, not 8 years old yet
Did you know that a camels knees can bend either way?
I didn't!

This was a hoot and quite comfortable behind Shocktop's hump

Before heading home with my framed photo, we stopped at the Hardware/Liqour store for some tonic water. I only found flavoured but that’s okay, I like it.

A little history of the camel

Patsy and ShockTop

Back home, I read my book and Bill did some online stuff. I started to feel kind of loopy again just before it was time for supper but made air fried chicken thighs with asparagus for supper. It didn’t go down quite as well as I’d hoped, but it got something solid in my stomach.  We are both still on the weak side, with not our normal energy level, but we're going to relax tonight and tomorrow morning so we’ll be ready for Silly Al’s tomorrow afternoon. 😊

I didn't go out but took this from our kitchen window
I'm sure the sunset in the west was pretty too
good night!

This has been a fun day, doing something I never thought I’d do. Thank you for stopping in!

What a Great Tuesday, Feeling Fine and A Wonderful Cousins’ Visit

The Ridge

When I woke up on Tuesday, June 11^th, the muscle in my back was still whining but I rose above it and continued to rise at 6 am. I had a job to do. I have to admit that it felt much better than in the past few days so it was easier to shove it to the back of my mind. Bill got up with me and suggested ‘Dress warm’, as it was only 48F/9C compared to the warmer temps we’ve had over the last few days.

On my way out, this family was just going for a swim

By 6:15 we both had the dirty clothes sorted into 2 loads and I was on my way to Durham. Bill had loaded the basket and brought Ptooties over, warming her up and clearing the dew-covered windows for me. I know better than to overdress as it is always very warm in the Laundromat. Today was no exception. I unlocked the back door, got 2 washers started and got to work. I was hoping to be out of there in an hour today, firming up 7 hours even for Jamie.

In case you were wondering - when I mention removing the lint from
the dryers, through the blur, this is the screen I pull out
After 2 days, you can tell this dryer gets used a lot
and it is also why I bought dust masks

That was done but it was done only because I didn’t damp mop the floors. I would have, had it been necessary, but after sweeping with the dust mop, there were only a couple of spots that needed wiping. I felt pretty good after having only rubbed heat cream on my back before leaving home. 

The patch of geraniums at the end of our lane, after being weeded

I wanted to avoid taking any of the muscle relaxers today and see how I made out. By the time I got home, I was still feeling pretty good.

I back her up to the hill and Bill carries the basket up for me

Bill's first job, while I was in town was to replace the tube in
my bike tire
Apparently, there were 3 or 4 goatheads (prickly Arizona bane) and one was creating the leak

Instead of making a tea, I went up and hung the clothes right away. With that sunshine and slight breeze, they wouldn’t take long to dry today. THEN, I made my tea. Unbelievable how much better it tastes when you have to wait for it. So, caught up on a few friends’ blogs before going outside to see what Bill was up to. My next job was to add the black earth to the shovel and then three of the plants in the pot I’d bought.

After a watering, they will perk right up (I hope!)

The hill, I speak of is in the south corner of our property
and this bucket will get full sun

There was a nice healthy pink geranium in there too so I transplanted it into a pot of its own. I wanted it down in our sitting area, where it was more visible. I managed to snag a hanging pot from the shed that would hold it nicely and further found a branch and a tree to hang it from. I made us French toast for breakfast around 9:30.

Bill had two pieces of honey wheat and I had the last piece of my 90-second bread. 

French toast with jam

Now, this was where it tastes good. However……….we were out of maple syrup so we needed to improvise a bit. Lots of butter and some raspberry jam from the fridge. Hey! That was pretty good! We cleaned up dishes and went our own way. Bill went to the storage shed, emptying things and basically following through on our plans to purge and clean it. There are a few things in there that are classified as ‘mine’ so my opinion was needed to make some decisions.

We found a few things that were garbage and a few others that we might be able to sell. I started compiling those things at the back of the shed and got the camera to take pictures. Once we decided on pricing, I’d advertise them on Kiiji for starters. Anyone want a generator? A truck storage box? A kayak? Yes, we’ve decided we won’t use the kayaks and probably that was an impulse buy, thinking that this pond would be a good place for them. The money would be put to good use and less space.

Bill has wanted to do this for quite some time

When that was done, Bill worked on his garden flag pole up on the berm. He wanted it to hold a flag on a lead that could be raised and lowered at will, not as determined by weather. I think that was it for me. 

You can't tell from here, but the shed was much tidier

I’d been active since 6:30. He wasn’t ready to stop though and hopped on the mower. Not for grass cutting. He took the wagon down for the two last loads of wood and stacked them up at ‘my’ fire pit. After I had my shower, I walked down the lane and then sat with my book, watching the view – Bill loading and unloading.

Bill stacking wood

My cousin, Bonnie, and her husband, Gary, messaged me before noon hour and wanted to stop in for a visit. I love it when they do that! Of course, we’re home and look forward to seeing them again. 

I didn't get a picture of them together but borrowed this from Bonnie's FB page

It was 2:45 when they drove up the lane and other than kicking myself for not getting a picture (!!!) we had a lovely time. Bill showed off his Hangar and Bonnie was happy to see it in person. She’s actually one of the first blog readers to do that!

I walked down to get the mail

No people sitting here anymore, but this table came in handy today

It was windy but warm enough to sit outside around my ‘free’ Sundance patio table with drinks and stories. Around 4:30 they said goodbye as they had a long drive back home to the Ilderton area. Some of you will know where that is, others won’t but it is about 2 ½ hours from here. I brought the glasses in and then followed Bill inside to get started on my post. That’s what happens when I’m outside enjoying myself!

Bonnie and Gary heading home

For supper, Bill grilled burgers and I made us a salad. The temperature today rose to 67F/20C so right around where it was forecasted. The winds have dropped off to a great low of 2 mph and that will keep the evening a nice one. 

Supper is served and it was delicious

The earlier spotty white fluffy clouds have disappeared and we are once again under clear blue skies. What a wonderful day. I hope you enjoyed yours just as much.

And Bill's flag flies strong
Good night everyone!

Thank you for your visit to our Ridge today. Your comments are always appreciated.

Turning the Corner, Moving Down the Road, Joining Our Friends

On Wednesday, Jan. 3^rd I knew immediately that I had a much better sleep. A few times through the early morning hours I woke from dreams and realized that I had been sleeping soundly with hardly any coughing. Yes! Hand pumps in the air! Last night before crawling into bed, I slathered Vicks on the bottoms of my feet and slipped little lightweight socks on.

This was Clemson looking after me before going to bed on Tuesday night

I believe I had a couple of small bouts of coughing but nothing compared to the previous night and day. I knew I’d turned a corner with this cold. I was up out of bed at 7:30 and directly into the shower. That felt great and being it would be our last one with hook ups for a while, I made it last long and hot. As I got out and dried off, I heard Bill and Clem getting up too.

The sun is making an appearance

And there was a possibility for some clearing

Bill took my lead and had his shower right away too. With them out of the way and our bodies fresh as a daisy (!) we had breakfast. Bill opted for his cereal and I had a couple of pieces of toast and finished off the last of Rob and Pat’s homemade strawberry jam. Yum, maybe when I return their jar, I’ll get a refill! I really shouldn’t be so lazy and just make my own. Anyway, we enjoyed it.

It was time to pack up. Today was moving day. Not far, just 43 miles further west into California PT. Pilot Knob campground is in Winterhaven, Ca but they stay on MT since most of their guests travel back and forth to Yuma, Az. While Bill was in the shower, I did take a walk around the park one last time and it felt great to feel well enough to do that.

I hope someone else picks up where I left off instead of abandoning like I had to

If you remember from Bill’s post at clembillpat.blogspot.ca, he had ordered 2 fuses for our inverter from BlueSea. We knew they would be shipped by Dec. 27^th but had no idea of when we’d receive them. The holidays mixed in there added to our concern that maybe they wouldn’t arrive until after we’d left Pilot Knob. I popped in this morning and thank goodness, the box arrived yesterday.

Yay, the parcel arrived just on time!

After saying our goodbyes to Roger and Sue, we were all hooked up and ready to pull out by 10 am. 

Roger and Sue were also getting ready to pull out

We were ready to pull out too

It was weird to leave our site at that time and arrive at our new destination in Holtville LTVA Hot Springs at 9:40 am. It was a nice easy drive, following Suzie in their car who was following George in their coach. 

And we got ourselves a mini convoy

Traffic was quite light this morning so a nice drive

We stopped at the gate and paid our $40 entrance fee for 2 weeks. This would get us into any LTVA up to 14 days so covers us for a time at Quatrzsite as well.

We had a bit of a challenge finding the best spot to park, it seemed quite congested in here, close to the Dryden group. We don’t want to be too close anyway as Bill is always concerned about our generator bothering nearby campers. I have long past stopped worrying about everybody else. There is the likelihood for boon dockers to use their Gennys in the evenings especially. It should be expected that some of us don’t have the quiet Yamaha or Honda brand.

Bill, Suzie and George sign up for 2 week passes

With that in mind and taking into consideration the pots of loose deep sand around some spots, we finally settled at the first spot I’d chosen. We are respectful of others and if we have to run the generator at night, it will always be shut down by 10 pm. I’m curious to see how many others are running Gennys tonight and maybe that will put Bill’s mind at ease. One day we’ll have a quiet generator too.

When the house moves, so does Clemson
He is getting better, not quite so fidgety when we pack up

We got everything set up by 11:30, even our solar panels tilted and the satellite dish set up. By this time, both Bill and I were feeling a bit drained. It has been a hectic morning. 

Bill tilts our panels

All set up

So, we sat and read for a bit and Bill dropped off into a doze. At noon, I was feeling peckish so heated up some chicken with rice soup for lunch.

I like mine with Saltines and then a few crackers on the side with butter and peanut butter. A clementine and some cheese filled the cracks. They just go together for me. Bill had his with a peanut butter and cheese sandwich on the side. Once we got dishes cleaned up I was able to get my post started. I felt that it was time to take a walk.

the road to more campsites goes way back
If we weren't with a group, this is where we'd go

So, Clemson and I set off. I can never call what we do when we take Clemmy out, a walk. It is everything but. As you know, they need to sniff, stop and lift a leg, pop a squat and then repeat, repeat, repeat. It isn’t enjoyable and maybe that is our fault from the very beginning. Not teaching him how to walk properly. Needless to say, we don’t walk for very long and I’m anxious to get back with him.

And the sky never improved BUT it was enough to charge our inverter

When I came back, we settled in our recliners with our books. The afternoon went by smoothly and it was about 4:15 or so when we heard Roland and Lori returning from their bike ride. That meant it must be Happy Hour. Neither of us was up to spending a lot of time sitting around with a group of people, but we didn’t want to be rude either. We took Clemson for a walk over to the gathering and chatted for half hour if that before coming back to start supper.

We've reached the age where we now share a large steak

Bill lit the barbecue and I had the steak and potatoes ready to grill. It feels like a nice evening, the wind has died down and the temperature is still resting around 67F at 5 pm PT. Lori has generously offered her unlimited wifi to me to download pictures and post to my blog so it will depend on how dark it gets when I’m ready to publish, whether I walk over to their rv to take advantage. I might wait until morning. But it is a very nice offer to help us save on our data usage for the month.

Just the right amount of food

This has been a good day. We’ve packed up, picked up and moved locations. When you consider we can stay in LTVA’s (long term visitor area) for 2 weeks for $40, that is less than $3/night. 

Now some pictures of our short drive today
The 4 engine train is for you Dad

I’m hoping that I can get into the Hot springs across the highway before we leave this time. We’ll see how it goes. 

The dunes are so interesting

Egypt? Me thinks not!

Tomorrow we have plans to go to El Centro in the morning so hoping we get another good night’s sleep!

And the All American Canal runs along Hwy 8

Supper turned out delicious. I steamed my asparagus inside and Bill grilled the steak, potatoes and his corn on the Weber. We had eaten by 5:45 and dishes were cleaned up by 6:15. We don’t dilly dally after a meal, I guess anxious to get on with the evening and our books.

I was amazed at the number of construction vehicles working on this
secondary E. Ewen Highway (I think it was called)
What a dirty job this driver had!

I prepared my pictures for this blog tonight and now it is morning and I bundled up and walked over to Lori’s rv. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find their router let alone connect so walked back and posted the blog at home. No worries, don’t fret Lori. I’m getting pretty good at posting it quickly now.

Crossing the canal means we are just a hop away from our LTVA

I hope you’ve had a good day and done things that you’ve wanted to do. Thank you for reading today. Feel free to leave a comment, I love reading them!