Elephant Butte, NM
On
Monday, Nov. 25th, I didn’t get up until 6:30 and was out the door
immediately. Bill rolled over for another few minutes. It was a chilly walk today. Same temperature, 35/36F but there was a brisker feel because of the
slight wind.
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| When I opened our back blind , this was my reward |
My hoody was up most of the way until I was in a sheltered area. I
walked down to Lion’s Beach which is the one we see from our site. Then I
followed it around to Rattlesnake Beach and turned up one of the roads to
the main Ridge Rd.
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| From the level below us, our wind sock flies proud |
That had
me huffing and puffing even though I took baby steps and took it slow as it was
quite a steep hill. At the top, I took a couple of pictures of the sunrise over
the water and met up with Poncha.
The dog, I don’t know the man’s name. Poncha
came over, after given approval to approach, and rubbed her furry self against
my leg while I petted her. What a lovely friendly sweet pal she is. The man,
who was quite friendly and not overbearing, said she was a rescue.
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this was a steep climb
and I'm only half way up |
Back at
the Suite, I had warmed up considerably, as you do after a nice walk in the
chill air. I made my tea and read blogs. Bill and I talked about the day and I’d
decided a couple of things. First, I wanted/needed a shower and took care of
that. Second, I wanted to go into town to get more stamps, to Walmart to browse
and pick up a couple of things on my list. Thirdly, I want to paint rocks this
afternoon since I’d found a few nice ones.
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| Poncha and her owner |
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Part shepherd and part husky
she is quite a ham |
Not
feeling like eating or making bacon and eggs (unless Bill truly desires them),
I suggested oatmeal and toast. Not a ‘wise’ choice as far as keto/paleo but it
was good and we are the masters of our own bodies, after all. We cleaned up
dishes, and headed into Truth or Consequences by 11. First stop was the post
office where I bought more International stamps and mailed a birthday card.
From there we drove to Walmart and spent a bundle.
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Beautiful sunrise but the clouds were prominent
most of the day today |
We needed a few
groceries but then we split off from each other and just perused. It isn’t
often we do that and it was actually good. Bill could look at what he wanted
and I could do the same. I put the food items in the cart first and
then found the non-food items on the list. At one point we met up and wandered
the Christmas aisles. Oh-oh, a few things ended up in the cart and I bought a
seed bell for the birds in Pilot Knob.
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| Some bread crumbs for the birds were a hit |
One thing
that I picked up was a new kitchen mat. The one I have had for a few years is
one I got from Marilynne when they had their garage sale in 2015. It is a
braided rug and I’ve loved it for 4 ½ years. It washes up easily and although a
few times Bill has suggested getting rid of it because it ‘doesn’t fit’, I’ve
held firm and kept it. Today, I looked for another one, it had to be machine
washable, and found one that I think we will both be happy with.
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| The quails played with it |
One last
stop at a fuel station around the corner where diesel isn’t cheap but it was
the best price in town. While Bill fueled up, I walked up to the Dollar General.
I wanted to pick up some mini gloves since I’ve either left mine back in the
Bunky or they are tucked away somewhere. I found 4 pair for $3 and although
they said Kid’s gloves, they were the same size and fit as the 2 pair of ladies’
gloves for $4. Go figure. I buy them at dollar stores so it isn’t a fret
if/when I lose them or poke a hole through a finger.
We drove
home and I unloaded the food into the fridge and freezer and we both emptied bags
and stored the Christmas items under the bed. I made myself a coffee and sat
writing this which got me into looking at old pictures and my rock painting got
delayed. It isn’t a sunny day at all but it is mild so I took everything out to
the picnic table to start painting while Bill dozed. It was 2 o’clock.
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I got my paint station set up
When my rocks are finished, I'll post pictures
I worked for 2 hours outside on this mild day |
After
Jo-Anne and Bob took Higgins for a walk, Jo-Anne stopped by to see what
progress I was making. I never know what picture to paint so I asked Bill for
suggestions. After giving me a few, ones that any artist would find a breeze, I
went out to look for some talent. Ha ha. I usually just start painting and see
what comes from it and today was no different. With 3 base coats on 3 rocks, I was off! When
Jo-Anne and Higgins came, we chatted and I managed to create a very poor
replica of The Ridge – aerial view.
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| The braided rug has served its purpose |
After she
left, around 4, the winds picked up so I packed things up soon after and moved
inside. As we were discussing supper, I looked out our back window and Wile E.
Coyote was walking across behind our Suite on the level below. He kept stopping
when he heard the flag pole blowing but even still my picture was blurred. He
seems very brazen as he walks around the park keeping everyone on their toes.
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This is the replacement
I like the brightness |
We
decided on Pizza Hut and relaxed for the next hour and a half. Jo-Anne popped
over to borrow our movie binder since they are still receiving no satellite
signals. We left the Suite at 6 and drove into Truth or Consequences. There
were a few people waiting at the counter but most people order on line now and
just go to pick up their orders. We were the elite. Well, we were the
traditional guests, the only ones, so grabbed a menu and found a seat. We figured
we would make our choice and go up and order. Before long, ‘Mike’ came over and
took our order.
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| He is out of place here in the park in the daytime |
We
ordered too much food. We really did but we haven’t been to a P.H. in a very
long time and thoroughly enjoyed the pizza and garlic breads. Of course, half of
my half came home with me, ¼ of Bill’s half and some of the garlic breads with
dipping sauce. I never complain about leftovers. We had a cute waiter and when
he asked us how things were, he said he made the pizza himself. 😊
It was
just after 7 when we drove home, in the dark. No streetlights out here at all
so you really do need headlights and a reasonable speed on these curvy roads.
Back home, I sat to write more on my post and Bill put The Voice on. The rest
of the evening was watching some of our Monday night programs, the ones we
could get. Others were recorded on our pvr to watch another night. This was a
fun day.
We got
some shopping done, filled Black Beauty up, I got some painting started, not a
finished one yet and we had a nice supper out. The temperature didn’t get to
the forecasted high of 64F but mainly because the sun never made an appearance
for any length of time. Oh well, it was a mild day all the same. I slacked
today as far as walking though, neglecting to get out for a second one in the
afternoon. I will make up for that tomorrow.
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| We were the only patrons eating in the restaurant |
Thanks
for stopping by! Your comments are very welcome. I even appreciate those who I
hear from that can’t make comments for some reason. Thank you to you as well.
