Chilly but Early Start to the Day, Couple of Birthdays

Quartzsite, AZ

Sunday, Jan. 19^th arrived earlier for us than we’d planned. Well, at least we greeted it earlier! Bill was up at 5 for some reason and I was up at 6. Slept out, I guess. Last night it was my normal 9:30 when I went up to bed. Bill had finished his coffee and blog reading by the time I came down so I sat at my laptop and got yesterday’s blog post published. The slow wifi is frustrating to say the least. 

Pre-Pop!

Pop!

Around 7:30 we went out to go for our walk and Bill asked Keith if we could take Oreo, since she was outside and he was indoors having breakfast. That worked out well and she walked pretty good at Bill’s direction. Bill and Keith planned to take a drive to the Quartzsite flying field this morning and it was my morning to have a shower. After my tea, I took care of that. The boys left around 9 and then I saw Bob and Jo-Anne hooking up Big Red. I can only assume they went to dump tanks.

Oreo had the leash here

There's the pretty girl

Bill had the lead here

Then there were three
Only temporarily though

I wasn’t too pleased last night when I determined that all the sneezes and runny nose through the day was me catching a cold. Hmmm. Not sure where I would have caught one other than maybe in the tent yesterday but those symptoms came on almost too quickly for that. I rubbed my chest and neck with Vicks Vapor Rub before bed last night and will see how today goes. A few sneezes and sniffles first thing but they seem to have calmed down.

The  Bluebird motor coach group returns each year

This saguaro seems to be flipping us the bird!

Before my shower, I took a chance and stepped on the bathroom scales. We think they weigh heavy by 2 lbs (at least according to our dr. office) and even without that difference, I am very pleased with the results after 19 days. As long as we can keep this up, we may get down to a goal weight allowing us still some leeway. I don’t believe in counting chickens before they hatch so will just remain hopeful instead.

Keith and Oreo having fun

Then I dressed in long pants, a long sleeve top and my long sweatshirt hoody to go for a walk. It was 11 when I left the Suite. I took the book I just finished and walked up to the front entrance. Once I reached the gate area, Bill and Keith drove in, returning from the field. They stopped to say hello and carried on home. Bill knew that I didn’t want a ride so that was at least nice of them to check on me. I left my book and picked up two Sue Grafton novels from the office.

Got the "G" and "H" novels

I was quite warm in the sun on the return journey but I made it. I was home by 12:30. As I approached the Suite, following Bill’s wind sock as I got closer, I noticed Bill outside talking to a couple of people. Deb and Tom? Nope, too short for Deb. Definitely Tom. Nope, shorter hair than Tom. Hmm, oh my goodness, realization hit me that it was Ken and Shirley from Nevada! What a wonderful surprise! We weren’t expecting to see them this winter with Ken’s impending appointments.

Bob and Jo-Anne took Big Red to dump
but it is still No Vacancy

They decided that by the time they arrived in February, we would all have vacated this area and they might have to track us down for a short visit. This way, they will stay here for 3 or 4 nights and head home for Thursday. 

Ken and Shirley's set up on the edge of our group

This is awesome since Bill and I have never actually camped with them before. We missed them last year when they made it to Quartzsite. How nice to see them, they both look great.

Go fly a kite!

Bill reeled the kite in after letting it
fly to the string's length
I couldn't get a picture of it wa-a-y-y up there

 So, Kim and I sat outside together for an hour or so and after Keith and Oreo went for a ride on the quad, Bill got his kite out and Keith got his drone out. There is no shortage of toys here! Everyone was having fun and around 3 we gathered in the middle, creating a wonderful Circle of Friends. 😊 Happy Hour had begun. The conversations filled the air, laughter, good times and a reunion toast of our first meeting with Kim and Ken took place as the clouds moved in and chilled the air.

Keith's drone was entertaining too

It was 5:30 when most of us packed up and went back to our units. The boys shared in the chore of moving rocks for a fire pit. The previous pit was too close to Ken and Kim’s Journey and we were all game for a fire tonight. Bob had been carrying wood with him for a while. This was the perfect crowd for it. Bill started the generator and I got Madame IP out for reheating our stew.

Circle of Friends
L to R
Higgins, Bob, Tom, Ken K, Shirley, Deb, Kim, Ken W, Keith, Bill, my chair, Jo-Anne

On the side we had salad and I also baked some refrigerated biscuits. Blowing the diet all at once! It’s funny that after eating less carbs for a couple of weeks, our body handles a meal with carbs like a yield sign. You can surely go past it but you must do it slowly to avoid discomfort. I could have treated the yield tonight like a STOP sign but went that step further and ate what I put on my plate. It was very good and filled my tummy. We cleaned up dishes and then joined the gang outside at the fire.

We all get excited when a para-glider goes by

My garden
Ken says they found it for us :)

Everyone was already there so they must have eaten really quickly! I learned later that some hadn’t eaten yet so that explained their earlier arrival. There wasn’t a lot of wood and by the time we got outside at 7, most of it was in the pit and close to burning down. The boys had no restraint! It was toasty warm and as it burned down to coals, we huddled closer to retain the heat. 

The boys pitched in and moved the fire pit
Tom, Ken K, Bobb, Ken W, Bill, Keith and Tom

It was a fun evening, many stories regaled all around the pit had us all laughing. I didn’t take any pictures though. It was close to 9:30 when we headed home. Bill and I read our books for about ½ an hour and then I remembered to run our dvd binder over to Kim and Ken. They might borrow a movie or two since they don’t have a satellite dish. This was a great day. Plans for Silly Al’s were put in play for Monday so that will be fun.

Our piggish supper
No regrets, it was delicious!

Happy Birthday to Chris! He is the special young man who has stole his way into my daughter's heart. 💓

Cutie patootie, he is

Also, Happy Birthday to Bill's Mom in heaven. I never had the opportunity to meet Jacqueline and sorely wish I had. She left this world far too young.

Love her smile
No sunset pics tonight
sorry for the late post!

Thank you for your visit!

The Morning/Days After, Letter Sent, George Cuts Grass, Water Fill, Crokinole, Keady Flea Market

First off, an apology. I was sure I posted Monday's blog this afternoon

but I found it sitting in blogger - as if incomplete

So, I've done a 2 day post and if you've already read and commented on the first day, please try again. Spooky!

It was 7:30 when I woke up enough to get up out of bed. I slept well and although I heard Clemson jump off the bed around 6 (so Bill tells me), I didn’t realize they didn’t return. I got up and we had our morning brew together and read some blog posts. Bill was outside chatting with George and Rob at the riding mower and George has offered to cut some grass for us. That helps us and it gives him something to occupy his time. Yes, earn his keep! Ha ha LOL

The boys outside chit chatting about the mower and stuff

  Between both of us, we got our letter from Healthy Computers scanned and sent off to the scammers. That is our first step, according to our bank who holds the Visa. Fingers crossed and thank you for all your well and good luck wishes. Once bitten twice shy and we’ll know better next time. Some lessons hit harder than others.

Two happy campers!

Bill got George set up on the mower and I fried up our bacon and eggs for breakfast. With that done, I offered to do the dishes while Bill went to get water. He also wanted to get a sample of the well water to take to Keady in the morning. There is a water softener booth there and they will test it for us. I changed into shorts because the day had already warmed up 10 degrees since I got up.

And away he goes down the lane

We think he did a pretty good job, so he wasn't fired

The winds are down so I went outside and did a second sanding job on the fire pit. My first coat doesn’t look so great so Bill thought a second coat after sanding it a bit might help. Rob and Pat went into town to take care of a couple of things, one being a visit to Aunt Mary before lunch. Pat is going to bring out some candles so we can make some fire starters for their Hunt Camp. We have time so why not?

Clemson went outside by himself and jumped up on his stool
This picture shows the firepit after only 1 coat
I'll get one of the 2nd coat tomorrow

With a new coat of paint on the firepit, I must admit it looks pretty good. Bill touched it up just to finish the can off and that topped it off perfectly. It’ll still burn off quickly enough, even though it is Tremclad Heat Proof Paint but that just means we are making use of the pit. After finishing that, I can’t recall what I got into other than sitting with my book. When everyone returned, Rob had set up his square folding table and George brought out their crokinole board.

First play off was George and Rob against Suzie and I. Then Pat took my place and I could hear a small motor humming so went to seek out the source. Sure enough, Bill had his little Styrofoam plane up, taking off from the back field. He was doing loop de loops in the air and the game was put on hold while everyone joined to watch him. The landing was near perfect, although Bill thought it was a bit hairy when it came close to one of the small trees.

Bill 'outstanding in his field' flying his plane

The games resumed and George and I took on Suzie and Pat. We won, so that was enough, I could quit a winner. We put up the sun shades on our awnings because the sun was very hot and there wasn’t any shade at the front of the Suite. I poured myself a drink while Bill fussed with it and we all met together for Happy Hour. It wasn’t long before Rose and George pulled in with their Class A motor home. Bill helped George get it in place and now we have a full house! Yay!

Bill does loop-de-loops

Then we took some group photos

A peek inside Bill's cargo trailer

Nice landing, dear!

We sat under the awnings, even though the clouds had long since moved over, until just after 6. Everyone went their separate ways for supper. Bill started grilling farmer’s sausages and I boiled some corn on the cob indoors. Thanks Rob and Pat for thinking of us and bringing us some. I made up a garden salad as well and we were eating soon after 6:30. Yum, a very nice summer meal. I could only eat one sausage so the other one is for another day.

summer supper

Happy Hour waiting for George and Rose

When dishes were cleaned up I sat at my laptop for a bit and caught up on this post. Clemson has been all in a dither this past weekend with all the goings on but he seems to take it in his stride. In and out all day, never sure where he wants to settle. 

However, when he is inside, with my hoody, he is quite content

Daily, he checks out the Aljoe’s place, the Yate’s place and now the Gooden’s homestead smack dab in the middle. So many campers, I’m sure he thinks he’s back in Arizona.

Their Itasca sure looks big in the laneway

To settle my supper and stretch my legs, Clemson and I went down the lane for a leisurely walk, I didn’t get down the road this morning so my Fitbit steps are  below 5 miles today. I was surprised to see that our flag was up on the mailbox, oh yes, this is Monday. The days are all jumbled together, hard to keep track. Such is the wonderful life of retirement!

Almost a full house!

When we got back, Rob was sitting outside his fiver, George and Suzie were sitting outside their coach and Bill was starting a fire. George and Rose were inside their coach watching tv and before too long, everyone joined us. We chatted about many things, properties, casinos, gambling and chipmunks. It was a fun evening and by 9:30, the last 4 of us said goodnight.

Clemson washes Pat's face today

Bill said there was a viewing of the ISS tonight at 11:20 but I doubted that this gal would see it. If the clouds didn’t clear away, no one would but it wouldn’t surprise me if Bill was up to try. This has been a great day. We’ve packed one more very large Itasca motorhome into the parking area at the Ridge. I love it! I hope you have enjoyed your day as well.

I couldn't choose just one

No space station but this beacon is just as pretty

It was just before 7 on Tuesday, July 31^st when I got up out of bed. Bill was sound asleep so didn’t hear me. I found it to be a nice warm morning around 15C so first had my shower and then slipped outside for my walk. Bill stirred just before I left to ask what time it was. I went down the lane, down North Line to Baptist Church Road as far as what we call ‘Elvis’’. On the way back on our road, I saw George just heading out for his.

Good morning!

The morning pond refletions

Hard to pick him out but that is George going for his walk

When I got back, Bill was up and there was movement from all the other ‘campers’. Our agreed time was 8:30 for leaving and we weren’t far off the mark, maybe 5 minutes or so late. George and Suzie drove their car with George and Rose while Rob and Pat rode with Bill and I in our Rav. Keady, here we come! 

And the parking lot was filling up fast when we arrived

Two hours in and the place is already booming

The flea market starts at 7 and we arrived around 9:15, split up and agreed to meet at 11:30. That is way longer than Bill and I need for walking around these places but we managed to fill the time until 10:30.

The onion rings smelled good but we didn't try them
the fries were tasty though

 With a snack of ½ fries split between us, we felt rejuvenated but still were ready to head out for home around 11. Bill wanted to check out a couple of things on the way back so tried the H.H. at Chatsworth before popping in briefly at my sister, Gayle and John’s place. Pat and Rob had never been there so we stayed for maybe 30 minutes for a short catchup. Back home, we felt whooped. I think all the rest felt the same because everyone disappeared inside, like us, to take a rest.

The little pony rides

I had picked up a basket of fresh peaches so had one of those. It was delicious. Bill found a belt, so did I, and I found a dress for summer days when shorts feel too hot. We were able to drop a sample of the water we get from Gerry’s well at the Water Store for testing. We’ll probably need to be investing in a filter so we can avoid damage to our valves etc. There is iron in the hard water, but what else?

Peaches and nuts, yum

Bill had a snooze inside while Clem moved in and outside with me. At one point I put him inside and I stretched out on the hammock with my book. That lasted only a few minutes and I lay the book down and dropped off to sleep. I woke up soon after to the sound of Rob and Bill talking, then George G. and then Pat and Rose so I got up and joined them around the firepit. No fire this afternoon, just comradery. George and Suzie soon followed suit.

Our afternoon snack today was an ice cream cone

At 5:30 talk of supper took over the conversation and we split up to get things cooking. Bill lit the Weber and I brought the leftover lasagna from the bunky fridge to warm up. Already in a foil pan covered in tin foil, we only had to heat it on low with the remaining few slices of garlic bread from Sunday. Nice easy supper tonight for us! It is very hot outside with the sun out and the wind at an almost invisible wisp.

The geese in Don and Chery's field this morning

I’m pleased that the finches have found the finch feeder today. I’ve had the feeder for a while but was unprepared to pay $20 for a bag of feed. At FS Co-op in Durham, they sell it by the pound so I picked up a couple of pounds for $4. Yay! I’m happy and the finches are happy, oh and let’s not forget Chippy who naturally sits under the feeder for sloppiness.

During our meal, I was feeling very hot today. Just kaput, so to speak. After dishes, I waited until the sun began dropping and walked down the lane in the shaded relief. 

Then I sat outside for a while and then inside. Bill was going in the morning for bloodwork so after 8 he was not allowed to eat. That works for me too, I feel that we’ve really fallen off the paleo wagon today and need to slow down. 

The geese were moving tonight

Clemson loves sniffing the mailbox stones
No mail today

Clemson ran up the hill ahead of me
And was playing tag with Rob

 This has been a busy day and we’ve opted not to start a fire tonight. We’ll let everyone just enjoy their evening in the privacy of their own campsite. It might be a welcome retreat. I hope you’ve had a wonderful day, as we have.

I think Rob tired Clemson out first

Thanks for popping by. Your comments are welcome.