The Snow is History, Winds Return on Black Friday

Elephant Butte S.P., New Mexico

It didn’t feel like a full sleep last night for either of us. I managed to get my blog posted and was soon upstairs to join my sweetie. Not sure why, but when I went up to bed, I couldn’t drop off like I normally do. Bill had a movie on but with my earplugs in, I'm usually able to drop off. I guess I wasn’t as tired as I first thought.  Three or four times, I know I was awake and tossing and turning. Dreaming, I’m sure.

Not sure what kind of a day to expect with this sky

Therefore, it was after a fitful sleep that we woke up around 5, rolled over and dropped off until 7. Now is when our bodies want to sleep! It was light outside and a peek out the window upstairs showed me brown instead of white sand. Yes! Fist pump. We got up and Bill could tell by my actions that I was going for a walk. I checked the temperature, 39F, the winds, 3 mph, and I dressed accordingly. There were 2 empty wine bottles and 2 pop cans to dispose of so with my stick, I went with hands full again.

It was a nice walk and I did the full loop, just shy of 2 miles, and back home down Dirt Road. As I was walking across Ridge Rd. a little road runner was up ahead of me. He was watching me so I snapped a picture figuring he’d be off down into the desert any time. He did disappear but he must have been curious too and came back up onto the pavement, running ahead of me. 😊 So cute! Then he hopped up on a fence post and sat for more pictures before running off through the sand.

There are a lot of these evergreen trees in the park
They are very pretty, yet different than our pretty ones at home

Back home I had my tea and checked in with our friends on blogs. Seems a Happy Thanksgiving was had by all our American friends and their family and we, as Canadians, certainly enjoyed celebrating a second one. It seems ages ago that we were home enjoying the day with our own families. When I think that it was a month plus 2 days ago that we were returning from Cancun, it seems like another world, somebody else.

The road runner story
First he is there on the road and then he disappeared

He came back up as if to show me the way

He hopped up on the post and checked to see if I was still there

And then said goodbye before running across the desert

Around 10, I made breakfast but I experienced that ‘I’m not really hungry’ feeling so had to force it down. I guess it means going back to cooking it for Bill and I’ll eat at noon when I’m ready. Tea fills me, all that good fat coconut oil and cream does what a breakfast does for others. After dishes, I made a coffee. There on the counter, I saw the wishbone that Bill saved from the bird last night. Hmm, it will soon be dry enough to grab a leg and ‘snap!’. How many of you remember doing that?

And this was how the day turned out
A little sun, blue sky and a little cloud
but it made it to 54F!

The sun is making occasional appearances in today’s movie; not a star performance, more like a supporting actor, but we’ll take what we can get. The winds were increasing with gusts of 17 – 24 mph and then within the next hour, jumped to maximum gusts of 45 mph. Boy, were we rockin’! Bill went out in between gusts to bring the flagpole with our wind sock down. It has stood up great but no point in taking the risk of losing it. For about an hour, it was quite wild before they calmed again. I took the opportunity while indoors to make a batch of creamy Jell-o and put it in the fridge to set.

And a close up of the staghorn cactus
With flowers on their last leg

Bill and I sat together with our phones, downloading sounds for ringtones and notifications. Just for fun. After playing with that for a while, we read and then Bill went up to watch a movie. While sitting in my chair, I decided to get my fingers into crocheting again. Not sure what to make but even if I play with the wool scraps, I’m staying on top of the knowledge. 😊 I don’t want to forget the things I’ve learned.

Just a little Thanksgiving display with
some Elephant Butte coyote gourds

I made a bookmark for Bill, a very poor example of one but he has been using a little green tag from something that he keeps losing. If he doesn’t want the new one, I’ll use it instead of making one for myself. A bit of practice needs to take place so I can make one that I’m proud of. After finishing it, I went for my second walk. The winds were now around 4 mph up to maybe 12 so a whole lot different than earlier and the sun when it was out was warm and wonderful.

Unfortunately, the wishbone got snapped without either of
our hands touching it
Mice? Weird.

Indoor temp - lower left
outside temp - lower right
wind speed - upper right

The walk to the beach allowed me to place my Eat More Cake rock that I’d found in Texas last spring. It isn’t in an obvious place so maybe it will still be there when we next return. Ha ha. I followed along the beach and walked up the gravel/sandy road that took me up to Ridge Rd. Everything seems to lead to the Ridge! It was incredibly quiet out there. If I hadn’t met one lady walking down to the beach, I would wonder if I was in a Sci-Fi film!

Some pictures on my walk

Back home, I was quite warm so instead of a cup of tea, I mixed up a Caesar before sitting at my laptop to work on my post. I received an email survey from Walmart regarding our pickup at the store on Wednesday. I don’t mind that at all but what I do mind is after you complete it, they offer to enter your name in a draw for gift cards etc. but then won’t allow any Canadian to enter our information. So, I had to fake an address, with a state and zip code. I finished it with at least a legit email and phone #. Frustrating though.

Shortly after 5, I placed leftover potatoes, turnip, corn and turkey in my new cake pan. The right amount of food fit in for one meal and it only took 8 minutes to heat everything perfectly in the Instant Pot. I reheated the gravy on the stove at the same time. Bill has indicated to anyone who will listen about how much he loves this appliance. For sure, Madame IP has been a valuable addition to our family. The turkey last night and again tonight is some of the moistest turkey we’ve ever had.

This was so easy - a one pot meal

After dishes, we watched a new Christmas movie together while I worked on posting my blog. Not an overly exciting day but that’s okay. Our neighbours pulled out this morning and by mid afternoon another motor home with family moved in. This is a popular place and a popular row.

Delicious and enough turkey and gravy for one more night
Good night everyone!

I hope you’ve had a good day and if you did some shopping today, in a store or online on this busy Black Friday, I hope you found lots of great deals!

Thank you for stopping by.

Thanksgiving Monday, Quiet Day at Home, Still More Puttering, Still More Wind and Rain but Beautiful Finish

It was another windy morning and when I got up on Monday, Oct. 8^th I decided to skip my walk. That wind was too much. It was 49f/9C so not too cold if it were calm. Bill and I were still up at 7 and had our morning brew together. We haven’t been run off our feet, by any means, but I had a feeling of peace this morning knowing that we didn’t ‘have’ to do anything today. I was grateful for the family time yesterday and especially for my Mom visit and today was ours, alone.

These jewellery boxes are perfect for my needs
and costume bling for any occasion

Bill was finishing up with his mud flaps outside in the shed so I decided to organize my jewellery boxes. These are 2 compartmentalized cardboard boxes that I bought from Avon a long time ago and they were the perfect thing for me, in this small space. I didn’t even buy them for the Suite but have found the perfect location for them in our closet.

These cubbies are slanted because it is the nose of the Suite
so these boxes fit perfectly
I cover them with hair nets when we travel and nothing moves

Being an Avon rep for 21 years, I bought a lot of bling costume jewellery whenever it was on sale. I would pick up nice earrings and necklaces etc. for $2.99 to $4.99, and I wore it a lot when I worked. Now, it is hard to part with some of it. I’ve purged it a few times and each year a few more pieces get added to our exchanges. Today, I wanted to organize it again after a summer of poking, pulling and dropping things in the compartments.

Not a clear picture, taken from the Suite window
but my contemplative hubby eating his breakfast

 The tabletop was full so at 10:30 after I made Bill an omelette sandwich, I took it out to him with his orange juice. A breakfast delivery on Thanksgiving morning. He was happy not to have to stop what he was doing and come inside to eat. Then I reheated my leftover quesadilla from the other night and ate my breakfast in the Suite with Clemson looking on. There was nothing for puppies, I told him, so he ate his own hard food.

My jewellery pouch
something that was a hand-me-down
from my sister-in-law

I cleaned up dishes and continued working to clean up my mess. I packed a little ‘go’ pouch that carries some pieces for travelling. I will need a few choices for next weekend when we pack a bag for the rv show. It is always weird doing that, after not having many opportunities to ‘sleep elsewhere’. That’s not a complaint, I rather enjoy sleeping in my own bed. after all, it will seem like a holiday, staying in a luxury motel.

And it rolls up and ties nicely to fit in a suitcase

My painted rocks needed a clear coat to protect them so instead of buying a can at the hardware store, way more than I’ll ever need, I used clear nail polish. It is pretty durable and dries quickly. Well, it dries quickly on anything but my fingernails. LOL I thought I’d try it and if we still need to buy something, we would. I noticed Bill was outside on the riding mower and wondered if he was cutting grass earlier than we’d planned, which was next week.

I got my jewellery cleaner out and cleaned my wedding rings

Hard to tell in a picture, but much brighter now

As it turns out, he just wanted to trim the grass around the area where he cut bushes, down by the Hangar. The sky opened up a couple of times in between brief bouts of sun. What a crazy weather day! Soon enough he was chased back inside when he heard thunder and the threat of more rain. Inside, he poured himself a drink and that sounded like a good idea. I made myself a cup of tea and sat with my book and my dog.

And these stupid prehistoric bugs are back
Good thing he is on the outside of the window
Are these stink bugs? It is about 1 1/2" long

When Bill joined me, I was happy that he found nothing on the boob tube as getting into a new book is sometimes difficult with a distraction. After 4 chapters, I was hooked but still enjoyed the peacefulness. The sun began making appearances after 4:30 yet we both remained where we were, reading. I took Clemson for a walk down the lane, or rather I followed him down again, before his supper and it was a gorgeous 70F. Where has the sun been all day?

Supper turned out good

When the sun began its descent below the horizon, after not seeing it set for so long, it seemed to have done a hop skip and a jump much further to the south. I guess, in its own way, it is saying, “Come on! Follow me!” And we will very soon. Supper was a couple of fried loin chops, hash browns and leftover dressing and carrots. Such a simple and quick meal and it tasted wonderful! Well the chops….you know what I think about those.

The geese keep visiting our pond before they head south
Maybe they are waiting for us too! I counted 35 at one point
before the thunder crashed and they flew off

After dishes, it was still very warm out so Bill and I walked over to the neighbours to the west of us. We wanted to have a brief visit with Don and Cheryl before leaving the country. They are good people and always keep an eye on our place when we’re gone. Unfortunately, Cheryl was not home and is currently spending the week in Tavistock with their daughter. 

Our first sunset in a long time

 When family needs you, you do what you can. We chatted with Don for a bit and I snapped a couple of pictures of their view of our Ridge.

Hey! That is the Ridge down there

During the summer, the sunset happens over the church steeple,
to the right of this picture

Back home, I finished my post and Bill finished his book ‘Void Moon’. I’m glad I moved on to a hard copy book this time so he can start reading some of Lee Child’s stories on my Kobo. We’re looking at a few warm nights so it will be a nice break on the propane, not needing our heater on until Thursday night. This has been a nice quiet day together at a nice slow pace. I hope yours has also been a good one!

The sun dipped right at the end of North Line

Thank you for popping in. Your comments are greatly appreciated.