Early to Rise, Shopping Spree

The Ridge

On Thursday, Sept. 13^th I was up just before 6 and Bill and I got ready for his work. In order for me to keep Ptooties for the day, I needed to drive him to Mildmay to meet the boys. We left at 6:30. On the way home, I stopped at ‘the scene of the accident’ and took a few pictures of my own. He sure did a number on that highway sign!

An early morning sky, I'm sure it won't be the last
early sky I'll see this month. 

There was a battle between Black Beauty
and this sign. Guess who won?

I came through Hanover and made a stop at Walmart and then Giant Tiger before heading home. It was a cool, drizzly, cloudy morning. I found everything on my list, including a couple pair of jeans, between the two stores, for myself. My wardrobe is 95% second hand (which I’m quite happy about) but the jeans are now mostly for work. It was a search, let me tell you, since most are either ‘skinny legs’ and/or ‘pre-washed AND pre-ripped’ fashion. I won’t buy jeans that look like they’ve been through a meat grinder.

From this angle you can see 
the incline and Bill's straight path
-self made path, that is. 

I came home with a pair of blue and black ones and for a very reasonable cost of $45 total. 😊 Gibbs watched me as I put the groceries away and I was pleased when Bill texted that Black Beauty was done at the Ford dealership. Meaning, the fuel pump has been replaced. Bill picked it up later, around 12:30 and made a couple of stops on his way. She was still looking pretty bad but he headed to Mount Forest to Car Star so they could get pictures and work on an estimate.

I opted for a different lunch today
but it is still a mishmash.
Olives, ham, lettuce, red onion, avocado, celery,
cheese and peanut butter. 

Right now, we have her home, until they get things in motion and then we’ll go from there. Neither of us want to dwell on any worst case scenarios. He was home around 3, I think. Gibbs and I had taken our walk earlier and I’ve been communicating with our Priceville Post Office over a missing parcel. My email says it was delivered yesterday but it is a no-show here.

5 1/2 hours later, we were eating again.
Sloppy joes from leftover meatloaf.

Finally, after back-and-forth chats, it was taken in by an individual down North Line with the last name of Richardson. Our mail delivery gal did not pay attention to the fire #. I hope she has been reprimanded – it has happened before in reverse and not everyone is honest. I’m glad that we’ll have it tomorrow. The rest of the day was spent crocheting and relaxing.

As, has been the case lately,
the sun came out late afternoon.

For supper, I made sloppy joes with the last bit of the meatloaf and thought about corn on the cob but forgot it in the microwave. LOL Too late now! We finished the chocolate cheesecake and that filled us. The sky is constantly changing as is the temperature. Tonight , will be a low of 6C/42F after a chilly day of 14C/57F. you know what this is giving us the itch for, don’t you? It was a good day, all in all, and we’re both back to work tomorrow.

By the time I posted my blog,
30 minutes after these were taken,
the sky was gray again, heavy with clouds. 
Prepare for a cool night!
Good night y'all!

Thank you for the visit.

Up With the Birds, Los Algodones, Karaoke Night

Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA

We both were awake before the alarm on Saturday, Feb. 15^th. Bill set it for 6 am just in case. The day you need to get up would be the day you sleep longer than you want. Murphy’s Law, right? So, we took our time, had our coffee and tea and then got washed and ready to leave. We got caught up on blog posts to see where friends are and by 7:30 were out the door.

A pretty sunrise

Driving towards the Algodones cut off

I wasn’t nervous, yet. I’m not crazy about dental work but who is? By the time we’d crossed the border and were sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Eva’s office, my breathing was a bit rapid. I was called in right on time and within 30 minutes, we were paying the bill. My wisdom/molar came out easily although I couldn’t have told you that with the freezing.

Algodones Rd.

There seemed to be a lot of things happening in my mouth which Dr. Eva later told me it was infection she was cleaning up. I was pleased that the tooth was removed with no extra work required. George, her husband and receptionist, gave me a prescription for antibiotics and pain pills which we had filled at the Purple Pharmacy. It was a quick in and out and we walked right through the gate, and past security by 9 am.

I have to admit that I was much happier after the appointment
so was putting on a brave face here before we went in

The park across from the dental office wsn't 'awake' yet

When we got back into Arizona, we turned our phone’s Flight Mode off and I texted the 3 people mostly concerned about me. The freezing would come out during the morning, I’m sure, so I took a pain pill as soon as I got home. I’m not tough and won’t pretend to be so would baby myself today. We were pleased that the dentist bill plus meds was no more than we’d planned for it to be. Back home, I started my post and then sat in my chair with my book.

The storage area across from our site is almost cleared out for the weekend

Sitting at our site, this is our view of the storage area

Bill and I dozed off a bit and I got a few chapters read too. He was charging plane batteries and before too long I started breakfast. I made him bacon and eggs and warmed up the last of my steel cut oats. Nice soft food for me and I had some large curd Cottage Cheese as well. That was very tasty. We got the dishes done and we moved outside to sit with our books. I wanted to walk but Bill was being protective of me and suggested waiting for a bit. That was sweet.

Ken is modelling my hat for me

Around 1:30, I walked, slowly, with my hat on, up to the puzzle room. Carmen was waiting for the mail to arrive so we worked on the new puzzle together. She doesn’t play by the ‘border first’ rule all the time but I do so while she worked on the sky, I finished what I could of the outside edge. The pieces are odd and they don’t all join together so in Carmen’s defense, she started the sky to find the pieces that would do that. She just got carried away. LOL Around 2:40, my tooth (or lack of) was starting to throb a bit so I walked back home.

A couple of surprise visitors for Happy Hour
Ken, Doug, Yuma, Kim

 We’d invited K & K for Happy Hour so we prepared for company. I just had water, not wanting to mix alcohol with the pain medication I took. The sun was hot and at one point Kim had to move to the shade of the truck. Our big surprise today was when Bill looked across the lot and said “Is that Doug and Yuma?” It sure was! Doug arrived before noon today and was parked in the back row along the fence. We didn’t know he was coming but were all very happy to see him.

And bill was in the other corner of the patio

There are some things about the White Lion that he doesn’t know how to deal with so Bill and Ken offered to go around tomorrow and see if they could help him out. He is finally feeling a bit better after being under the weather and once he gets things a bit organized, hopefully us gals will finagle a tour. 😊 It takes time to get things put away into any new ‘home’ and moving from one rv to another is no exception. We had a nice visit and around 5 everyone left to go home for supper.

I almost forgot to take the picture
The cherry tomatoes were added on the side

Wanting soft foods and following the dentist’s advice, I started Madame IP to make Cheeseburger and Bacon Soup. It was a recipe that came up as a suggestion the other day and I saved it. It sounds good. I had 2 Pillsbury buns to bake so pulled those out of the fridge as well. We had planned to go up to the clubhouse tonight for a while since rumour had it that there were going to be one or two good singers, for karaoke. I didn't think it would take long to prepare supper.

Bill was concerned about Keith, who had gone out with Oreo earlier and we hadn’t heard that he was home. He hopped on my bike to ease his mind and found them both home, safe and sound. We could breathe a sigh of relief now and enjoy supper. Speaking of supper, the soup tasted really good! I had to thicken it a bit and know that I’ll make it again but next time I’ll add mixed vegetables. Noodles of some kind or rice would work too but tonight’s meal was still a success.

Isn't this a pretty sky?

We rushed with dishes and then walked up to the clubhouse for Karaoke. We aren’t big fans of this type of entertainment at all. Ken was the attraction for us and together we enjoyed him singing 2 songs tonight. He had two more but Bill left before his turn came up again. Before I left, I slipped my braided wig on as Ken sang Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain by Willie Nelson. I told him I was his biggest fan. 😃 He has a very nice voice and kudos to you, Ken, for stepping up to the mic.

On the way to the clubhouse, Keith was enjoying a small fire in his
propane firepot

It was about 8:30 when I walked back part of the way with Keith and then flicked my flashlight on to guide me the rest of the way home. It was a very mild night. Back home, I finished my post and then sat with Bill until I couldn’t stay awake any longer. I debated whether to take a pain pill before bed as I wasn’t feeling any pain at all. This was a day that I wasn’t looking forward to but now it is behind me and so far, no repercussions from the extraction.

Karaoke
Ken, Gordon sings Tequila
Deb, Barb and Joe
Ken 

It is a long weekend here in the U.S. for President’s Day and it is a 'hot' time out on the dunes. We’ve watched the stored toy haulers and cargo trailers get picked up from the park since late Friday afternoon and we’ll watch them come back again between now and Monday evening. Keith reports that the sand dune areas west of us are jam-packed with avid ‘quaders’. I just hope everyone is safe.

A little more of that pretty sky
Good night from Pilot Knob!

Back home, it is a long weekend too. We call it Family Day weekend and all children are off school and many businesses are closed on Monday. I hope you’ve had a great Saturday no matter what holiday you are celebrating.

Thank you for stopping in. Your comments are always welcome.

Early Rising, Taking Care of Business, Moving On, Walmart in Benson, Collage Happy Again

I know I was dreaming through the later early morning hours on Friday, Mar. 1^st and woke up with a clear memory of the silly ‘mind matter’ that was involved. It was only 6 am so I stayed where I was for another half hour thinking about it. It was about having a family gathering with Bill’s family so I had to relate it him when I got up. He was in bed last night at 9 with Clemson and asleep by 9:30 so it wasn’t surprising that he was up at 5.

Can you believe this sky this morning?
Black Beauty was happy for the adornment too

He made our hot drinks when I came downstairs and we sat at our laptops. I’m behind on reading blogs but my first priority was to finish adding pictures to my Thursday post and get it off. Then I ran out of time. I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, fast and easy and then Bill drove into the CVS to get our monthly cash withdrawal now that our work pensions had been deposited. After he left, I hopped in the shower.

Heading off, following Rob and Pat today
This drive once you're out of Yuma on I-8E is a little scary
but the scenic views are beautiful

No movement from Clemson yet but he was breathing when I checked on the lump under the covers. We do that a lot now that he sleeps so much, our hearts pumping each time. I trimmed my toenails and removed the old polish before I gathered up the garbage and walked it over to the bins. What a gorgeous day! I was able to catch a beautiful sky to the east and northeast even though I didn’t have time for my walk.

a good breakfast to start our day

The Allpoints cash machine was down 😖 so we’ll have to stop somewhere else when we need to. The boys settled up with the office and we closed everything up. Nice to be on the road exactly at 9. 

We handed in our name tags and mail key

It was 62F when we pulled out under sunny skies with a few wispy clouds. Easy going travel as we stopped at a Rest Area in the Dateland/Gila Bend area and then moved onto I-10E. With chatter on the cb from Sparky, (Rob to us)we searched the area for fuel stations. I knew there were a bunch coming up soon after changing interstates.

A nice day for travelling

Great diesel price here

It was just before 12 noon when Rob and Pat found a PRIDE station offering diesel for $2.719/gal. All around us it was $3.259. While fueling up there was another Ontario couple doing the same, who were heading to Benson for a couple of weeks. Our destination is an overnight in Walmart while they are going into a park and then south to Brownsville, Texas. They will be in warm/hot weather for longer than us. We were all pleased that we were still getting diesel at a good price.

You're looking at the best little traveller
He's on Mom's jacket and going with us
Nothing else matters :)

Pat mentioned getting a bite to eat before moving on so Bill and I bought a ½ sub at the Subway in the station. For $10 they were very good and filling. The next 80 minutes of travel went just as smooth with only the occasional slowdowns. 

Beautiful views all along the way

I've said it often, these southern states know how to do overpasses right

Lots of saguaro (my fav) and cholla cacti on the way

Just when we thought we were home free and 5 minutes to go, there was an accident at our exit. A 25 minute slow down but oh well, we are in no hurry. We took the next exit #304 and followed Bill’s gps to the Walmart on Prickly Pear Ave hoping to stop overnight.

And to those who think the desert is always 'brown'
(said with a look of distaste in their mouth)
THIS is the desert this winter

Within seconds of seeing the lot, we knew we could stay as we saw other rv’s together in an obvious designated area. Rob also said they had called ahead just to save the headache if we couldn’t. Apparently, if the city comes around and asks us to move, we have to move because that would mean there is a city ordinance because of campgrounds in the Benson vicinity. We were parked by 2:45. And we were not alone.

We're hoping of course that no one was seriously hurt
The slow down is in the pictures on the right
I missed getting a pix of the travel trailer that jackknifed OFF the white truck
in the photo

We got in fairly easy and another motor home pulled in right behind Rob. Pat and I had both spotted a Thrift Store just around the corner, within walking distance so once we were set up inside (we don’t unhook the truck, just lower the jacks) she and I walked to it. The sign went up 'CLOSED' almost as we walked up. Darn it all! It looked like it would have been a fun one to poke around in. Oh well, their loss, we might have found the perfect thing!

We walked back and wandered into Walmart to pick up some groceries that they needed and I found a couple of things too for lunch on the road tomorrow. When I returned to the Suite, it was cooled down inside considerably after opening many of the windows. Bill was snoozing inside and since Clem had been fed on our arrival, he was content too. I caught up on my post and took Clemson for a walk around the parking lot. Oh, first a picture of our ‘site’ before I forget. Not to take away from the lovely 0C back home today, temperature reached 80F here in Benson.

There we are, side by side
And there is Pat peeking around the mirror
She was looking for me

When I returned, Rob and Pat were sitting out between the trailers and invited us over for a Happy Hour. Rather than get our lawn chairs out, it was easier to carry our dining chairs over. We sat for maybe an hour and all decided to walk over to Little Caesars for supper. It was not a dine in venue so we each ordered and carried our pizzas back to our homes. It was good and filling, they really piled the extras on.

We all walked over to Walmart just to browse and sure enough I found 3 little camisole tops, a style which I wear a lot, for $1.68 each. I couldn’t walk away, so I chose 2 new colours and a white one to replace mine that was looking worse for wear. While waiting for Rob and Pat to check out, a fellow from New Mexico offered us .50¢ to buy a soda. Did you get that? He wasn’t asking for the money, he was holding out his hand offering us his change from the machine. So, Bill said ‘Sure! Thank you very much!’ We chatted for a while and the 4 of us walked back to our trailers for the night.

Yum, good pizza

This was a great driving day with fortunately no upsets. Even the delay couldn’t take away from it. We were sad in one way to leave Yuma but now that we’re on the road again, we are looking forward to a new adventure in a different state. We read our books inside while other rv’s pulled in all around us for the night. It is nice that we can stay here considering there is an rv park literally right across the street. We are grateful for the free stay.

I hope you’ve had a good day too, my friends. Thank you for stopping in!

Earlier Start, Wood Piling, Rain Returns, Cheesecake and Casserole

I was awake on Tuesday, July 24^th at 6 am after what felt like a wonderful sleep. Turns out I only actually slept 6 hours according to the sleep activity on my Fitbit. My bedroom window was open and all of the downstairs ones but it was still 70F indoors. I crept out of bed ‘sneakily’ so as not to wake my sleeping beauties and opened the window shades. Kind of a cloudy day out there but there could be some sunny breaks again today. Bill joined me at the table 30 minutes later.

Don't for a minute think that I just sat around taking pictures
I really do work!

We had our brews and read blogger posts. Great to hear from Stew “Furry Gnome’s Adventures”. What an awesome, positive guy he is. Getting into our work duds again, we went out at 8 to start piling the wood neatly. My wrist is still bothering me so when I‘m finished this job, maybe I’ll put my wrist brace on for the day. We stacked wood for an hour and a half taking water breaks and then stopped for a yogourt. Bill trimmed with the weed eater and raked the small crappy pieces up for a fire.

So much nicer
See the patio stones? Location location

We could manage a controlled burn very easily and for a couple more hours got everything cleaned up nicely. The positioning of the new shed has changed probably 5 times since yesterday but both Bill and I are happy with where we’ve placed the corner patio stones. When Mike arrives on Saturday to start the build, his opinion will matter as well. This project has at the very least encouraged us to clean up the pile of old cedar rails and scrap lumber, sooner than later.

About 1/2 cord of mismatched wood for burning

At 11:30 the fire had burned down enough that we could leave it to smolder and we walked up to the Suite for lunch. I began the bacon and eggs and cut up 3 of my homegrown cherry tomatoes. Yum. 

Lunch

We cleaned the dishes and I thought I’d take a walk down the lane and to check on our fire. It was mostly out and the rain was hit and miss so what was left, would soon go out.

The blue barrels hold small blocks of wood for keeping fires going

I put the big awning out and sat out there with a paleo book called Trick and Treat. My eyes got heavy and the wind picked up a bit so I moved inside again, pulling the awning in. The rain got heavier and after closing some windows, we settled inside for the afternoon. We’ll have to plug into electric later but for now the batteries are holding their own around 12.5. I have some cherries to use up so will be taking advantage of the rainy afternoon and making cheesecake!

Cheesecake and homemade cherry sauce topping

After putting the cheesecake together and baking it, I prepared a yummy looking cherry sauce topping for it. That may be tucked away in the freezer for a couple of weeks and I’ll pull it out on a special day. I love cheesecake, it is my favourite and this one, other than the cherries, has no sugar added. All good ingredients for us to eat. By the time I finished everything, the sun came out and the day heated up even more. My goodness! The wind was almost non-existent and the humidity has returned with a vengeance.

I love walking up to the garden to see red :)

Clemson and I stepped out just long enough for him to do his business and me to take stock of the temperature. Let’s get the heck back indoors, Clem! Bill is very close to finishing his book and I’ve started into a Jonathan Kellerman mystery called Evidence. It sounds very good. Maybe when I stop baking (!!!) I’ll get past the 2^nd chapter. We just got word that our good buddies made it home from their vacation away so we can relax. The family is home safe and sound. 😊

Look at my pepper plants now! The rain was like a tonic
they have sprouted up by inches!

Supper tonight is chicken thighs, I’m not sure if we can barbecue. If not, I’ll be searching for an indoor recipe. The rain came once more, it has been a yo-yo day for rain but no complaints. I prepared Easy Chicken Thigh and Potato Casserole which took about 20 minutes. You'll probably notice a pattern in my recipes. The word EASY indicates it will be with ingredients I have in the kitchen. It will be a later supper as it cooks for an hour and a half so I cut a couple of pieces of cheddar at 5:30 for us to munch on. Our lunch has wore off by now.

Clemson and I go for a walk

Clemson wanted to go out so we went for a walk down the lane. On the way back, he chose to run up the grass hill while I opted for the gravel incline at a much slower pace. When we got to the patio mat, usually he comes to me to be picked up but he was in no such frame of mind this time! He ran around, playing, barking and hunching down for me to chase him. What the heck? After doing this, 6 or 7 times, finally, he slowed down enough for me to bring him inside for a drink of water.

The pails are running over
I tried hard to catch the drops hitting the surface

We have a very goofy pooch. I sat with Bill and watched an NCIS rerun, one of our favourite things to do together. Bill got the itch to move and went down to the hollow to retrieve the watering can and the rake. I wondered what he got up to because it was a good 20 minutes before he returned. He came in looking worn out and when I asked, he told me that he’d been digging up rocks. Good grief!! I gave him a talking to about working in this heat and strongly suggested that he had time for a shower before the casserole would be ready. Hint, hint. 

Easy Chicken Thigh and Potato Casserole

We were both ready for supper when the convection oven beeped at 10 to 7. Sometimes I truly surprise myself and this casserole was one of those moments. First time that I’ve made it and even with a few necessary substitutions, it was absolutely delicious! I got a ‘thumbs up’ from Bill too, figuratively speaking. Great! Since our meal was late, we decided to have a piece of cherry pie immediately after instead of waiting to eat our dessert later. Yum, it is good too.

We cleaned up the dishes and by then, the outside air had started to cool down….a bit. More interesting cloud cover, more interesting skies and more questions about whether the rain is actually done for the night. The rest of the evening went by quietly. 

A nice ending to a great day. My wrist is still paining a bit but not as badly as last night. Now, I hope I can stay awake until bedtime tonight. I'm feeling kind of tired out.

Good night from The Ridge

Thanks for stopping in and if you would like to leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.