Some Reprieve, Touring and Under the Gazebo

Park Place RV Park

On Tuesday, Nov. 7^th I slept in until 6:30 and slowly made the move to get up. I had nothing on my agenda, nor did Bill- really. We had our first morning drinks outside together on the patio. 😊 It was around 67F/19C. Of course, Bill had to tease Rick and Patti, behind us, when we saw them sitting out on theirs. They were in hoodies and long pants. We were in shorts and tees. It is totally understandable, they endured 120F/49C this past summer so 70 would feel cold!

As I watched for the sun to rise over the mountain,
Gibbs sat with Daddy and watched me.

Pop!

Gibbs and I went for our walk and Bill puttered. He doesn’t have a plane to fly so was actually content (enough) staying home. He is the president of the Quartzsite Desert Flyers and with a meeting tomorrow, he had some preparation to work on. When we returned from the walk, I grabbed my purse and went up to the Family Dollar by myself. I wasn’t sure what I’d find but other than mouthwash, I just wanted to peruse.

Our walk
check out the price of diesel
$3.99/gal.
It has been dropping ever since we arrived.

Of course, I found ‘things’. On the 50% off rack, there were 3 summer tops that found their way into my cart. From $7 to $5, I thought the deal was good at $3.50 and $2.50. Both the sales clerk and I were surprised when they were 50% off THOSE prices. That’s almost as good as our clothing exchange! 😊 I was warm by the time I got back, but I was happy to be back in the swing of walking.

I found a painted rock on the bench
along the way
Palo verde trees, my favourite
and the Family Dollar

We decided not to turn the a/c on and as the day wore on, it was the right one. We have been running on solar power every day since we arrived, with the exception of yesterday, so that will save on the hydro bill at the end of the month. I set things up in the gazebo for an afternoon of painting and went to work. I don’t have many rocks but the few I have, were finished and shellacked.

My walkway along S. Plymouth Ave.
Bottom picture is a residence, nice
with the saguaros.

For lunch, we had some of the cheese bread and Bill cleaned up the mac and cheese. I painted some more and was so enthralled, I forgot to get a picture of the set up. Tomorrow, I guess. Around 1:30, Bill and Gibbs were dozing so I walked over to see about starting a new puzzle. There was a group of about 10 ready to play Pokeno and Adele had a puzzle started, border done. Yay! 😊

The puzzle we're working on
today

While they played, I worked away at it. I was home before 4 and poured myself a beer margarita. We all sat outside together until closer to 5:15 when we came in and had a ‘chair’ snooze. For supper, I made us a toasted Western and then I worked on this post. Bill put an old movie on called Strategic Air Command or something like that! 😊 Jimmy Stewart is always worth a watch so I finished and watched it with him.

Gibbs did his best to find a cool spot.
He even has a bed of gravel cleared under the truck

This was a great day. We reached 83F/28C and it will cool down tomorrow for a few days. 

A toasted Western for supper
Yum!
Good night!

Thank you for the visit!

Windy Start, Bill Takes on a Job, Suite Clean & Faux Packing

Up On the Ridge

It was around 7 on Tuesday, Sept. 10^th when we got up. We could hear the wind whipping around outside and could see only clouds overhead. No sun, yet. It wasn’t to be a cold day but definitely there were chances of rain periodically, about 50% possibility. We weren’t plugged in to power and the batteries were resting comfortably around 12.2 when we got up.

A pretty sunrise even though the sun didn't stick around

Bill had his coffee while I had a cup of tea and then he had a bowl of cereal. Today he was meeting Jamie at the Laundromat to start washing walls as a paint prep. I put a couple of cold drinks and snack bar in a cooler and he took that along with a thermal mug of coffee when he left just before 8. I read blogs and Facebook posts and then played my Scrabble games with 3 of my sisters. When Bill left, I plugged in as the sun disappeared soon after it rose.

And then it disappeared in the clouds

Now, I’m ready to start dusting the Suite and I see that there is more blue sky than clouds so I may reverse that plug-in action. I took the alone time and got the furniture polish out to dust the woodwork, and cabinets etc. upstairs and down. The sky is driving me crazy! I unplugged again when the sky cleared and within 15 minutes, it clouded over. I’m keeping an eye on the batteries and since I’m not using anything other than the Keurig and my Magic Bullet, I’ll stay unplugged for now. 

Our Roots back packs

 The dusting was done so I’d made a b.p. coffee and went upstairs with my new backpack. For our October trip, Bill says that we ‘shouldn’t’ need to take much more than our packs plus his small handheld suitcase that he takes back and forth to CanAm. That would be our checked bag. Hmmm, that would mean that we don’t have to purchase a rolling bag at all. I did see one at a very reasonable price in Walmart that would be perfect but we’d then have to store it for the in-between few times we’d ever use it. 

And my clothes will fit

I pulled the clothes that I’m 100% sure of for Cancun out of my over the bed cupboard. It doesn’t look like a lot to me but I’m sure to Bill – different story. I’m telling myself that I’m not being unrealistic in my choices especially after listening to his daughters on Sunday. They are all taking a normal size suitcase to check at the airport. Well folks, I surprised myself and have to admit that Bill is right. If he lets me use ¾ of the small bag (he says “I can get pretty much ALL of my clothes in the backpack”) I’m good with that!

I had a visitor this morning

I am taking my laptop and it will fit nicely in the backpack plus I’ll be taking a large bag as a purse on the plane too. We should be good! I would like to take a book, of course, so will take one in my ‘purse’ and also take my Kobo along which has a lot of books on there that I haven’t yet read. Doing this ‘packing exercise’ has helped me a lot and not only is it going to save us $50 but it has also managed to get me more excited.

Hello pretty fellow

Downstairs at 11, I sat and wrote in my post. At 11:45 the rain started. Darn! I’m not plugged into power! We are sitting at 12.4 battery power which is fine except that I wanted to make some Honey Nut Apple Muffins. I guess, I’ll do what I can and then in between the rain showers run out and plug in. Bill hasn’t returned yet and it is 12 noon so I expect to hear something from him soon. He may be home for lunch or they may eat in town and continue working.

I began the mix and then the topping and went out and plugged back in to power. I feel a bit like a yo-yo. I followed the directions exactly and yet instead of 12 muffins, I made 14. The large muffin tins hold 12 and I don’t buy paper cups so used my silicone cups, greased. Two of the cups had to sit on top of the baking tray so who knows how it will all turn out. Into the convection oven they go and boy do they look good!

The batter and topping ready to fill the cups

25 minutes after baking (the required ‘normal’ oven time) the 2 on top have spilled over (of course) and yet the batter is still very ‘uncooked’. Oh dear, I sure hope these turn out. See Nancy K? You aren’t the only one with bad luck cooking fables. I popped them back in for another 20 minutes and will just monitor them closely. The turntable has to be turned off since the muffin tin is too big to turn but that’s okay. That’s why that option is on the oven. They smell good, by the way!

Looking out across the pond

1:30 and still no Bill. I sure hope those boys are getting along! Ha ha. Maybe they decided to start painting. After all, it is a perfect day for indoor stuff. I know it wouldn’t take this long to just wash things down. Jamie is great for coming up with new ideas, even he admits that he sometimes drives Cheryl (his wife) crazy with all the stuff in his head. 😊 So, who knows what they’ve got up to. I’m just very anxious to see it all finished.

At one point, I took a chance on the sky and began to
walk down the lane

 When the convection oven beeped for the second time, I removed the muffins and my oh my do they look good! I removed them from the tin and let them cool for a few minutes before putting them in a cake storage container. It was the only thing I had big enough. These muffins are huge. Bill returned home around 2:45. He and Jamie worked until 2:30 and parted ways for the day. I wondered if Bill had eaten so he told me that Jamie treated him to lunch on Main Street.

But I had to dodge for cover under Bill's Hangar porch
when it started raining

Apparently, the wall washing got taken care of and they moved on to painting one wall. Plans had changed, (told you!) and now I was even more excited in the paint job. It’s going to look awesome! They agreed to meet in the morning again so Bill will go in with me at 7 and I’ll go back and get him when he finishes up for the day.

My chicken supper

Bill's pork chop dinner

I chatted with my girlfriend Brenda and her partner, Randy in London for a bit. Sadly, she can’t make it for the clothing exchange so it is going to be a very small crowd on the 28^th. We like to see these two each summer, at least once but it doesn’t look like it will happen this year. We all get too busy. I did lay out plans with Brenda to do my hair the week prior to us leaving for Cancun. Not sure what yet, but something.  It won’t be pink though; I can guarantee that.

I took a peek in the Hangar while I waited for the rain to stop
Hmm, Bill keeps a clean house!

Bill had his shower and then we shared an apple muffin. They are so good! I might have to make a batch to take for Thanksgiving dinner. At 5:30, I began preparing supper. A very thick pork chop for Bill and a nice sized chicken breast for me. I sautéed them each in Madame IP and then added corn on the cob to the inner pot with our last 5 baby potatoes. We were eating within 30 minutes. Supper turned out great and we decided to finish off the Apple Crumble for dessert.

Clemsons rock has found a place in the little garden he visited late at night
for his last piddle before bedtime (sorry but it's true)

 The bad news is that our microwave stopped working. I cooked earlier with the convection oven and when we went to warm our dessert, the countdown worked but not the oven. Hmm, we got out the manual and began checking online. We also need to dig into the warranty manuals. We ate the crumble cold and I added some cream to mine. It was still yummy!

And the muffins are a hit!

As has been usual during much of the last week, the sun came out late in the afternoon.  Nothing to get excited about as we know that tomorrow is supposed to be another unusual day with some rain and clouds again. Laundry will wait until Thursday when I can hang clothes on the line. There is forecast to be some sunshine. Today, it got to a lovely 73F and even though I was busy inside most of the day, I enjoyed having the outer door open.

Someone else was as confused as I as about today's weather

After we cleaned up dishes, we sat for the evening. I downloaded pictures from the day and focused on finishing my post. This has been a successful day for me and for Bill. Tomorrow, aside from cleaning the Mat, I just need to vacuum in here and the Suite will be sparkling again. How was your day?

The clouds moved away by the time we finished supper
Good night to all of you!

Thank you for dropping in for a visit!

Sunshine Covers the Land, Winds Vamp Up, Work and Play

Home on the Ridge

On Wednesday, May 8^th I woke up feeling quite chilly. Well, not under the covers but when I stuck my hand out it was very cool air. We are comfortable with an overnight sleeping temperature of 62F, as a rule, not being cold sleepers like some of you. When I went to bed last night, I turned the Ultraviolet heater to ‘2’ and thought that would keep the temperature moderated for that 60 – 64F area.

Because there won't be a sunset tonight,
I'll share this one from last night after I'd posted

We both slept through, although mine again restless with Clemson shifting under the covers a few times (is he getting up? Nope), and I woke around 6:30 and got up to turn some heat up. It was only 58F/14C inside and 37F/2.7C outside. The winds were up though which would make it feel cooler still. We can’t seem to have one without the other some days. It sure is great to see a clear blue sky and the sun will warm things up by this afternoon.

A get up and go tea with coconut oil and cream

I made my tea and read blogs. Clemson slept until 8:30 and by then, I was too far into my book to go for a walk. Later, perhaps. I’ve been doing well at 4 miles/day so don’t want to slide now. When Bill is working, he easily does 6 miles without any effort at all. That is all to his benefit and with the keto lifestyle, it is showing in his weight loss. I’m so proud of him. My back feels much better today so I’m hopeful for some outdoor stuff later.

Yay! I got the point of the corral done finally
so many leaves and twigs in such a small area

I finished my book and the temperature in here has increased to 69F so I unplugged from power and turned the inverter on. We received our hydro bill the other day from Donna and we were both very pleased with our new electric heater. It is definitely cheaper than propane. I made a coffee at 10 and then got washed up. I chatted with Pat (and Rob got his 2¢in, haha) about Mom, Aunt Mary and then about keto and meal ideas.

I crept very quietly and these guys didn't see me
I count 6 on the nearest log and 1 anti-social on the distant one

I’m not feeling hungry yet so sat and made up a chart for Bill. He wants to keep track of water and propane fills. It is a pretty basic chart and one he can keep beside him at the table. I went outside with Clemson at 11:55, realizing that I had a letter to mail for one of Mom’s insurance policies and the mail gets picked up shortly after 12 noon. Clemson decided to wait for me on the patio mat, lazy bum, so I went down myself. By the time I returned, he gave me a look as if “why didn’t you wait for me?”

This little guy was further up and didn't mind me at all

Good thing I moved when I did as no sooner did we get inside the Suite again but the mail lady had just stopped to retrieve the letter. It was 12:05. Phew! Inside, I got a notice that Mom’s pharmacy bill was also due so I took care of that. How wonderful it is to have online banking! How did we ever manage paying bills before? I appreciate it even more being Mom’s power of attorney since she banks at a different bank than we do and some dealings would mean driving to Hanover or Owen Sound.

I made a phone call to Mom’s financial advisor to book an appointment so we can discuss investments and how best to handle a sizeable inheritance she received. I had to leave a message so will wait to hear back from Shannon for that. With the business taken care of AND the realization that the strong 10 – 18 mph winds were c-c-c-cold, I was in no hurry to go out and do some work.

This rock goes on our King chairs

First, I needed to eat anyway. I warmed up a nice piece of quiche and had some olives for additional fat consumption. Since I wasn’t hungry in the first place, that’ll fill me for the day. Bill reminded me this morning that we forgot to include a second sandwich for his lunch today so I felt bad about that. They have a food truck come in to Can-Am so at least he can buy something there. I’m going to blame the bread situation here since we only had 2 slices left, enough for one sandwich!

And the 'Ma Belle' rock has a place too

So, by 2ish I was ready to go out. When I’m going to work in the yard, I don’t want to be bogged down with too many clothes so I just layered a couple of hoodies, put on runners and work gloves. I managed to finish raking the corral and pick up the twigs and then the lane under the same tree. So many little branches fell this winter and made a mess! I took care of those two areas in about an hour and then decided to do something more enjoyable. Although, I don’t mind yard work generally.

I don't know if anyone remembers my wind vane from last year
when I spray painted it black after Rob spot welded it for me

I got out my paints, tablecloth and two big rocks that I wanted to paint. There are a few things and rocks around the property that I want to add a personal touch to. The wind was still strong but it wasn’t getting the better of me. I used wood and my paint kits to hold the tablecloth in place and just set to work. The sun was so warm that soon I wasn’t noticing the cool wind. When I finished those two, I gave them a clear coat finish. I like them!

Now they, too have a bit of colour

Now they truly look blind!

It was only about 4 pm and I really didn’t want to go inside yet.  I didn’t have my book outside so just sat and relaxed against the Suite where the wind wasn’t as bad but still there. It was coming from the northeast today. After a while, I decided to start burning some of the old wood pile so we could make room to bring the newer stuff up. We’d cut it up last summer and stacked it down by the Hangar. Before the Hangar was erected.

The old wood is on the right
and Bill started piling the new wood on the left last week
You can see the rest through the fence posts

I didn’t know how the fire would work out but because it is screened in, with one of my fire starters, it began instantly. Yay! I kept it going without any difficulty at all and moved the King chairs around to the east side of the pit out of the direction of the smoke. It was quite toasty and I just kept loading wood in on top of the bigger log to keep it ‘cooking’. I texted back and forth with Pat and talked with Bill at one point.

He was going to have a very late day after all. ☹ 

I saw this ugly little prince on the lane way
Not kissing him!

We were both hoping that he’d finish both trailer orientations at a decent time, like 5 ish, but that isn’t the case. Not much he can do but stick around until he finishes with the clients and see what time it is. He won’t have eaten either so will need to take care of that on his way home. I’ve asked him to use his judgement about coming home at all tonight. If it is late and he’s tired, I’d rather he stay one more night and take off early in the morning. We’ll see.

The pond water looked cold today

And our beautiful flag was doing a steady dance too

I had a beaut of a fire going for a couple of hours

Inside at 5, Clemson got fed and then when the air cooled even more at 5:30, I let the fire begin its die-down and closed up the bunky. It was time to start my own supper. Tonight, is Hamburger Stew in Madame IP. She’s excited, having been tucked away in the cupboard for a week. 😊

Ready

I added the rice pot lid
Set!

Cook

I heated the pot, sautéed onions and ground beef. Next, I added the list of tasty ingredients before placing the trivet on top and ignoring the carb/keto deal tonight, I put Instant Rice in the pot on top of the stew. Set it for 25 minutes because of the potatoes and walked away.

Done to perfection

 I caught up on my post while it cooked and Madame IP indicated completion at 10 to 7. I let it Natural Release for about 10 minutes before digging in.  Just before 7:30 I got the call that Bill was on his way home. I’m relieved and can figure out his arrival time. That’s all I need; he’ll be here before bedtime. I dished up my bowl of stew and added some rice to it. I’ve avoided carbs like the plague for the last couple of weeks, at least for the most part, so wasn’t too concerned about a tablespoon of rice.

And eaten with relish! (not real relish, you know what I mean)

It was delicious! I’d added sweet potatoes/yams instead of regular potatoes simply because I had some to use up. That added to the flavor and we have enough leftover for a couple of these rainy nights that are on the horizon. Yup, the clouds have moved in so we’ll get some rain, finally! I’m being sarcastic. More rain, just what we all need. Rumour has it in the Farmer’s Almanac (?) that May is going to just like this. Up and down, rain and more rain.

And here are the rocks placed
Obviously part of the king chairs need staining again

I cleaned up dishes and finished my post. The highest we reached today was 12C/55/F so not a bad day at all. This was a fun day for me. I did exactly what I wanted, when I wanted and some of it was work and some was play. Just the way I like a day to be. The turtles were out and I was able to sneak up on a bunch, even if the picture isn’t my best. The drakes were loud most of the day for some reason, in the pond and the frogs took longer to start singing. I hope you’ve enjoyed your day.

and the sun says goodbye before its normal time
And I say good night too

Thank you for your visit.

The Fun Continues, Garage Repair, Rock Painting, 4 Wheelin’, Hot Tubbin’, Birthdays

It was 6:30 when I crawled out of bed on Sunday, Dec. 9^th. Still dark but I got everything ready for our morning brew and then Clemson came down, just as I was ready to go for my walk. It resulted in another bum bath so Bill heard me and came down to lend a hand. It is easier with 2 of us. Then, I went for a walk. The mornings are lovely, usually 53 – 55F. With last night’s supper being a little weird, I was hungry so I took an apple along.

Good morning

I walked the other way today and captured a few pictures of Christmas decorations in the area. I’m still wowed by the beautiful homes but I tried to contain myself this morning, at least. When I returned 45 minutes later, I made my tea and sat at the laptop with Bill to read blogs. George had slipped out to the flea market and then to Walmart to pick up shells for his gun. He had promised the boys some target shooting today.

some pics from my morning walk

Clever!

Santa Bear was here last year

Waiting for him to return, I cooked breakfast for Bill so he would be ready whenever. After he ate, he went out to work on the garage door opener again with Rob. By the time George returned, it was done and working perfectly. In the meantime, I ate my breakfast sandwich (I wasn’t hungry earlier) and texted Pat to see what she was up to today. It would appear to be a girl’s day at home since the guys would be busy.

El Camino or Ranchero?
Sorry guys, I can't tell a Ford from a Chev sometimes

Odd thing to see in a residential neighbourhood

Between us, we decided to get rock painting. I cleaned up the dishes and myself then I took the paints, brushes, water, containers and my rocks out to Rose’s patio. Pat met me out there and we began. It was neat to see the shapes and textures of the rocks we’ve picked up on our journey so far. We certainly had enough choice for colours. Rose joined us later and instead of painting, she brought her knitting out and sat with us.

Oh-oh, they're back!

I love this!

Who'da thought I'd see a sunflower in the desert?

these Beavertail are popping
but it was too early in the morning for the full bloom

Jet footprints

Thank goodness, the Deflating monster didn't reach this area......yet

We had to move the table 2, 3, maybe 4 times to follow the sun as it felt a tad cool in the shade. While we painted away, Bill got his drone out and ‘took it for a spin’. 

George had returned and instead of going target shooting, Rob and Bill convinced him to pick a spot for his portable garage. He accepted their offer to help him put it up today and they immediately started working on it. At 2:30 MT, I called Brenda, back home to wish her the very best of birthdays. It was nice to talk to her and Randy briefly and I was happy to hear she received her card.

The tough part, deciding what to paint but soon enough
I was on a roll

My buddy getting into it

Rose chose to knit a pretty scarf rather than paint

by noon, we were out in the back yard for the sun

And the 'construction' begins
whether George was ready for it or not :)

With a coffee break around 1, with all of us sitting around the ‘paint’ table, things were moving along very well. By the time the garage frame was erected and both ends in place, I had painted 7 rocks and Pat had painted 5, I think. 

The clever way to put the top on is with rope
Rose, Pat and I helped guide it up and over while the guys pulled and straightened

Once I got started, the ideas kept coming and I hated to stop. I don’t know what time it was that we were asked for assistance to put the cover on the garage but it didn’t take up much of our time and the guys finished.

Rose cleaning up garbage while the guys worked inside

I gave the rocks a coat of clear sealer and they were dry in no time. Now it was time for some more fun and Bill and I went out on the streets on the 4-wheeler. We had so much fun doing this last winter that when no one else was game to go, I was happy to hop in beside my sweetie. Just a few house pictures today from that ride.

We found streets that we hadn’t been on yet and were blown away by even bigger homes. We must have found the millionaire street because we were certainly agog.

Last minute instructions for Bill

This is the only proof I have that I rode with Bill
We had a fun ride

When we returned, I invited Pat along. I knew she’d enjoy the ride and the homes. Happy hour was in play when we returned and Pat and I moved the ladders out of the garage so Bill could drive right in with the ATV. We joined the gang and when it cooled down around 5:30, we went our separate ways and prepared supper.

My 7 on the left, Pat's on the right
I love her little trailer

I cut up a couple of potatoes in tin foil with butter and added them to George’s bbq. Inside I was ready to warm up the meatloaf leftovers by the time the spuds were done. At 6, we were eating and at 6:30 done dishes when Pat texted to invite us to the hot tub. Bill was already almost asleep in the chair so declined but I quickly changed into my swim suit and joined them. Soon after, Rose made it a foursome. George said "Lucky Rob!"

This steep driveway was no match for the owner
Notice the covered motor home up on the left?

Back view of one of the most amazing homes we've seen
I couldn't get a decent picture of the front when we went up there
It was tooooo big!

We had a nice little chit chat and the 102.5F felt great. I didn’t work hard at anything today but it still felt wonderful. After the girls left, Rob and I stayed another few minutes before closing up the tub and saying goodnight. 

Happy hour ensues

Leftover meatloaf and bbq'd potatoes

I came inside to write my post. With no pictures downloaded yet, I decided to wait until morning to finish. I want to sit and watch a movie with Bill and Clemson. This has been a great day with only good times to report.

Today's biggest project

Here are two pictures taken yesterday at London Bridge
George, me, Rob, Pat

Me, Rob, Pat and Rose
Bill was walking the strip

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog today. I’d love to hear from you!