Puzzling, Happy Hour in the Desert, Bonfire, Birthday

Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Feb. 27th it was yet another sleep in morning for me. After Bill left for the field, I had my tea and hopped in the shower. Gibbs was ready for a walk so off we went. It was 9:30 and already starting to heat up. My hair was dry in minutes!

Good morning!
This is last night's picture
as I walked to the clubhouse at 6.

I should have moved just a titch
to get the sun perfectly situated on
the magic wand.
This was this morning.

I walked over to work on the puzzle for a couple of hours and was pleased to see that Renee had some of the middle section done. She is a night owl and I'm a morning person so between us we'll get this done. I'm thinking tomorrow the last piece will drop into place.

Top picture shows what
Renee did last night.
Bottom pictures shows my
contribution today.
We both did good!

Bill and I had lunch together, egg salad sandwiches, and it was very good. I worked on a quilling project, using one of the pieces I bought at the Salvation Army store. It's for St. Patrick's Day so I have a few days to work on it. I tested the new crimping tool and love the effects!

I love what my crimper does with
one of my paper strips. So easy!

We arrived at the Roadrunner
group by 3.

The clouds opening up for the moon.

At 2:30, we left Gibbs at home in the cool Suite and drove out for Happy Hour with the Roadrunner Gang. There's a name for ya! We had a great time, sitting in the shade of Ken and Kim's Journey and it was 5:30 when we packed up our chairs and cooler and left.

My little remote brought smiles
to everyone.
What a great picture of everyone.

Leaving the blm for home.

A burger wrapped tortilla.

Bill grilled burgers and although it wasn't easy to give up the bun, I had mine in a tortilla. They were both messy but tasty. With no dishes to do by hand, I left my boys and walked over to join the group at the bonfire. 

Walking over to the bonfire
at 6, the sun disappeared.

Fred had a great fire going. We didn't need it for the heat but it was a beautiful evening all the same. It was fun to see Gibbs and Bill walking over to us all and of course, our little ham had to greet each and every one in attendance. He knew where his Mom was though. ❤️

Another group meets at the
fire pit.

I left around 8 after chatting with William (site 22) about Los Algodones. He's full of queries since it is his first time here and I'm purposely writing his name so I'll remember him in the fall. Bill can help me provide him and his wife, Laurie, with hopefully some helpful tips.

Stephanie grilled a Bratwurst.
A couple of others made Smores.
I was full so needed nothing.

I finished my blog while Bill watched a movie and Gibbs stretched out on the floor. It has been a hot day and a great one. I want to wish my 3rd oldest biological grandson a very happy 16th birthday. Nathan, I hope this was a wonderful day for you!

No longer this wide-eyed little 1 year old
waiting for his cake.

Happy 16th Birthday!

We reached 92F/30C all under incredibly blue skies. I hope you enjoyed your day too.

Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

Another Full Day of Fun!

Yuma Lakes RV Resort, Yuma, AZ

Saturday, Dec. 15^th started out very ritualistic. Bill and I were up by 6:30, had our brew together and took a mile and a half walk. He’s spoiling me with the company! It was shaping up to be another nice day, just the kind we love.

Good Morning, Saturday!

Goodbye to the moon
No wind at all as you can see by our wind sock

Back at the ranch, so to speak, Bill and I had stripped the bed sheets and I took those and our two chair blankets over to the laundromat. While there, I met Demitra, the lady who cleans the Mats in here. Very nice lady (aren’t we all?) and we chatted about her routine and mine. It was nice to meet her. She and her hubby are from Iowa and were offered the job for the cost of their site ‘free’ for the winter. Tim looks after the pool, hot tubs and they share the washroom duty.

I can't remember his name but we got a kick out of this lively
Australian shepherd cross playing with the balls

Bill spotted this Vermillion Flycatcher in a tree
behind our sites
(I'm not THAT good, had to look it up)

I left an appropriate rock at the laundromat
(before morning, it was gone - yay!)

My sheets and blankets drying quickly
The clothes lines are a great idea and get used a lot

After I had our laundry on the line, I texted Jo-Anne to see if she wanted to go up to the main clubhouse with me. There was a craft sale from 9 to ?. I don’t usually buy anything but rather get ideas and just plain admire what talent is out there. We wandered around the tables and chatted with the vendors aka rv’ers. There were some really nice products and some very interesting ones.

A small but talented group
Jo-Anne at the left booth
Dave at the right front corner booth

We stopped at a full table of wood plaques. Beautiful work that a lady taught herself to do on her own after retirement. These were awesome so we each bought a couple of tree ornaments. 

I asked her for a 'Vanna' pose so I got it :)

It was then that I felt an arm slip around my shoulder and I hear “Now, you can do better than that, Pat”. Wha?? I turned to my left to see Dave from Our View from Here standing beside me. 😊

I think they would be neat puzzles too

My contribution to her hobby
and to our tree as well

When Jo and I left, I invited Dave and Cheryl back to our site for Happy Hour and we returned to our guys. I made us some breakfast, cinnamon rolls, and then kind of relaxed until 12:30 when Jo-Anne and I walked up to the pool. 

There were only 4 of us for a while

 Gorgeous day!! It was 77F in the heat of the afternoon and we couldn’t ask for any better. The pool water was 88F. We are both sun lovers so there was nothing more to be said as we stretched out on our towels and did the flip flop from front to back.

Guess who can't wait to decorate for Christmas!

I managed to get quite a bit of my book read throughout the day and when we returned to our sites, it was close to Happy Hour so I had my shower and then Bill had his. At 3:30, Dave and Cheryl joined us and Bob and Jo-Anne came over with their chairs. Conversation flowed, as it tends to do, covering everything from travel adventures to grandchildren and families back home. Even though we are here, our family is not far from our minds and hearts. I hope they all know that.

Happy Hour was a happy one!
sorry Cheryl, I caught you in a blink

Dave and Cheryl brought some yummy sausage treats

After H.H. we had a quick but delicious bacon cheeseburger. We cleaned up dishes and for about 10 minutes I put together a makeshift 50’s outfit. I didn’t really have anything that was typical but I try my best for any occasion to get creative.

I wore denim leggings rolled up to just below the knee, white ankle socks and my funky coloured ‘free from Tres Rios’ running shoes. My top wasn’t traditional but it worked and matched the roses on my pants. With a chiffon scarf wrapped around my neck and hair in two ponytails, I was ready. Oh yes, my Cancun sunglasses fit perfectly too!

The music was good and had us all on the floor a lot

I packed a cooler of some drinks and the four of us walked up to the clubhouse for 6:30. It wasn’t a full house but it was a nice turn out, maybe 50 guests. The thing about these dances………many people are on the floor from the minute the music starts until it ends. 

The hostess tried her darnedest to get someone doing the limbo
She's forgotten how old we all are!

The Blu Reys were pretty good, a father and son (I think) and he played true 50’s tunes that brought back memories and had us (well not me, personally) jiving, twisting and shaking our booties. The slow tunes were special too.

I love this picture of Bob and Jo-Anne without a flash
The red and green lights showed up nicely!

This is nice too but no lights here

There were a few contests – a twist contest, a limbo contest (!!) and a best costume. All of us who had dressed in the 50’s had to go up and dance through a song while randomly picked judges made their decision. 

There were 15-20 of us in 50's attire

And 6 judges conferred off to the right

No one was as surprised as me when I was chosen as runner up! Well, that 10 minutes of preparation was worth it! Too funny. The popcorn will be a treat. The dance wrapped up at 10 so before the last dance, we packed up and walked back in the dark.

Tadah!

Bowing to the applause

There are lots of festive rv’s with lovely lights and décor in the park and why not? Christmas is in less than 2 weeks! Back home, Bill and I read for a while and by 10:45 we were in bed. What a jam-packed fun-filled day that was!

A nice container of assorted popcorn - Yay!
Good night y'all!

Thank you for dropping by! Tomorrow is moving day, just 20 minutes down the road and I’m looking forward to settling down for the holidays.

Sunday with Friends and Family

I woke up on July 30^th at 7 and was once more thrilled that the sun was bursting around the blinds. I took Clemson out for his piddle and snapped a picture of the view to the east. Blinding sun, the kind I like. Bill followed soon after and I moved from my recliner and book to the table with tea and my laptop. Catching up with friends’ posts.

It looks to be a fabulous day and we’ll make the absolute best of it! At 9:15 after getting a couple of walks in and cleaned up we hopped in the truck and headed over to the Acreage. Bill is topping up the fresh water tank for me as he will be away all day on Monday. Not for overnight this time, just for the day.

Clemson sits on George for the ride over
sorry for the blur, it was a quick shot

Driving back to get water

From one side to the other

We were able to show George and Suzie where Donna and Gerry’s spend their summer weekends. Aside from attracting the attention of the large hungry ‘skitters’ they thought it was another nice piece of property. We returned home and Bill emptied the water bladder into our tank. Because of the iron in the well water, although it has been tested for consumption, the filters get corroded quicker than we wished. We’ll need to pick a new one up soon.

Clemson loves the sun too

George nipped into town, it is only 10 minutes tops so very convenient for us, for a couple of things and I asked him to grab me some bananas which I’d forgotten yesterday. I like to have them in my smoothies. I settled outside in the warm (hot) sun with my book and read many chapters. This is another good one. A story about the detective Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly.

A collection of flowers from my garden and some wild

Once the water was transferred, I took another walk down the lane to satisfy my Fitbit (ha ha). My sisters got many great laughs out of teasing that something on my wrist controls me and tells me to move. They can laugh but for me if I get up and move ¼ of the time it vibrates and says ‘let’s move’, I’m getting more exercise than I would without it. I love it!

A nice little breakfast wrap with iced tea

Around noon Bill made himself a sandwich and took the truck into Durham to fill it with diesel, give it a quick wash and pick up a couple of things at the Home Hardware. I’ve asked him to do a small project for me. Black Beauty is sitting pretty down the grassy lane in the shade ready for an early morning departure.

This is a beautiful day and maybe our last one with totally clear skies according to the forecast. The temperature is hovering around 24C and that is perfect. The wind has died from yesterday, just the perfect amount of breeze. I still love my sunshine and with a breeze like this I am able to sit in it longer. No tsk tsking please. I like what I like.

Bill hung my own creative masterpiece inside our Suite door

I came inside and made up a green salad for tonight’s supper. I had pulled sausage out of the freezer to thaw so Bill can have his on a bun and I can eat mine on the plate. There is just the right amount of leftover potato salad as well.

Everyone was involved in Suzie's story

But I snapped photos anyway

 We have all been invited into Rob and Pat’s for Happy Hour so I want to have things ready for when we returned. It will be almost like a ‘winter reunion’ with the addition of my sister and the exception of our friends, Gerry and Melinda. We are also expecting an early evening arrival of a blogger friend whom none of us have met before. That will be a treat! We just can’t seem to stop having fun!

On my walk down the lane I picked some more wild flowers and a few from my garden. They are so beautiful and plentiful that I want them inside the Suite too. I cleaned up dishes and sat outside again for more reading. When Bill came back he finished what I’d asked him to do. We’d decided that my poppy painting was a small enough size that it could be hung in our home. Now it adorns the entry to the Suite nicely.

this is a 'here, take a picture of us' photo

We sat inside for half hour and I’m sure both of us dozed off for a few minutes. Bill has an excuse, he has been go go going all day at something or other. Me, no excuse except the heat of the sun and because I can. At 2 he hopped in the shower and we loaded our drink of choice into the car with George and Suzie around 2:45.

Arriving to find Pat and Rob nice and comfy, cozy on their front deck waiting for us. The place looks great with new asphalt and lovely outdoor furniture to sit our butts on. It wasn’t too long and my sister, Donna and Gerry arrived. The sun was beating down on us so it was a decision who wanted sun and who wanted shade.

My supper tonight

We had a great visit and Pat had prepared some meat, cheese and cracker snacks to munch on. She took us on a tour of their pretty home because we hadn’t seen it yet. After a couple of hours we said our ‘goodbyes’, ‘see ya soons’ and drove home to the Ridge for supper. Clemson, of course, got his first. The man of the house.

Donna had all the men checking out the noise in her car
Turns out she had lost 3 lug nuts of her front passenger wheel!
Rob to the rescue!

Bill barbecued our sausages and I set things up inside. George and Suzie were doing their own thing in their home behind us. With supper out of the way and dishes cleaned up we relaxed as we waited for F.G. and Mrs. F.G. from The Furry Gnome. 

By 7 pm they arrived. It is always a treat meeting a new blogger and this was no exception. Maria quickly presented George and I with a bag of garlic bulbs. Yum!

What a great couple Stew and Maria are and we all fell into great conversation as if we’d known each other for years.

Suzie, George, Stew (aka Furry Gnome), Bill

I absolutely loved when the sun began to set, there were 4 of us snapping photos. Too funny. I snapped a couple of pictures of the group sitting on our patio and captured F.G. perusing my photo books. 

Stew, Bill and Marie

Soon enough the evening drew to a close and the mosquitoes began feasting around 9:15, right on cue in southwestern Ontario.

We said our goodbyes and I sent Bill off to bed. His early rising tomorrow will be around 3 am as he is meeting someone at 6. Oh my goodness, I hope he sleeps well tonight! I’ve had a wonderful day and I hope you have as well.

The beautiful sky tonight should bring us a lovely one tomorrow

Goodnight from The Ridge

I wish I could say I painted THIS masterpiece!

Thank you for taking the time to read today’s story. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.