Thursday, November 23, 2023

American Thanksgiving and So Much to be Thankful For

Park Place RV Park

On Thursday, Nov. 23rd we were all up by 6:45, some of us were earlier than others. 😊 I came down and made my tea. Bill had the furnace on for a cycle or two to warm the floors especially. Later, we turned the Blue Flame on until the outside temperature rose from 46F/7C to 52F/10C. A huge difference, believe it or not! The sky was cloudy but when I glanced outside, it was the most amazing sky and I had to run out for pictures!

When your day starts like this,
nothing will go wrong.
(and it didn't)

Gibbs and I went for our walk and when I got back, we discussed how to move the food from out fridge out to the desert. We have containers from Deb and Tom, wine, dishes, pies, olives and our evening/warmer clothes for end of day. It is all working out, two heads together come up with some good ideas. 😊 Because it will be a warm 75F/24C day, jeans and blankets will go along with us.

Spending a bit of time with my little guy
Notice the change in the sky in the
right hand pictures?

Basically, there wasn’t much else to do so we relaxed. Bill had his shower and I’d had some oatmeal. I don’t generally eat in the morning other than some yogourt but we’d be skipping lunch and having an early afternoon dinner. We’re blessed to have so many friends down here in the southwest. Not only those IN the park, but those we’ve met over the last 7 years in our travels, Canadians and Americans. What better way to celebrate their Thanksgiving Day but together?

This is one of those times when I wished
I had my large Canon camera with the zoom
This is a small red breasted wren (?) eating
from the hummer feeder.

Around 12:30, we had a visitor from down the row. Tony is from Acton, Ontario and this is his first time here in Arizona, having been a frequent Floridian (?). We had a nice little chat but it was time for us to pack things up and head out. What a lovely gathering and the day turned out quite warm with lots of periods of sun. Deb D started warming up the food from Coyote Fresh Foods around 1:45 and I think we were eating by 2:15.

Driving out to Roadrunner,
this looks promising for a get-together

Wow! Lots of delicious food. Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, roasted vegetables, stuffing/dressing, cottage cheese, olives, pickles, coleslaw and rolls. 

Lots of food, we really enjoyed everything!

I seldom do this but I went back for seconds
on the first course! Yummy!

For dessert, of which I had NO room for but ate anyway 😊, we had apple crisp with cream, butter tarts and pumpkin pie with whipped topping. Of course, there was wine as well, of which Bill and I indulged. It was a great meal and the conversation was top notch! I didn't get a group picture but if  you check out Lorne's blog, he got a selfie pix. 

Gibbs was the best little guy.
Off leash all day, he went in the
truck while we ate our meals, not a peep.
Wanted to play with Archie, who thought he was
just goofy, and got a lot of exercise playing
with Tom and Mom. He was ready for home
when we were, maybe a bit before. ♥

Tom had hoped for a fire at the end of the night but the winds were not dying down so it was put off for another time. We said goodbyes around 6:45, although it seemed much later. We’re happy to be down here, counting our blessings every step of this journey. Sharing this Thanksgiving Day with friends, both American and Canadian, is what this life is all about and we are making the very best of it that we can.

A bit of the sunset before and as it dropped behind the mountains.
This is Ivan's truck, a new acquaintance from Alberta
rv'ing in the area. 
Good night y'all!

Thank you for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

A Baking, Walking, Musical, Painting, Lazing Kind of Day

Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Nov. 22nd we slept in until 6:30 and Bill was the first one up. It felt cool in the Suite so he kicked the furnace on for a cycle or two before he and Gibbs went for their early morning walk. That meant, it was comfortable enough for me to slip out from the warm covers. I made my tea right away and after Bill left for the field, I took Gibbs for his second morning walk. With the sun coming up in a totally blue sky, the 46F/8C felt quite pleasant. 😊

A nice morning and a nice morning walk

He met Gerald just before turning the corner towards our site. I only had one thing on my mind today and that was to make two pies for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I set about the first one, involving a regular single pie crust and it was finished and cooling by the time Bill returned from his ‘errands’. A teensy part of me was hoping he’d return with a box the size of a bread maker when he came back from our mail depot. I knew better though, really.

Just thought I'd share this 
addition to our Youtube files

While he was gone, I found videos on Youtube of a ‘new to us’ artist that Sue introduced us to last night. Dan Vasc(oncelos) has an amazingly powerful voice and we very much enjoyed his talent. I was watching him sing covers for some well known songs by the time Bill got home. 😊 He has the look of one of my grandsons, although both are handsome, Dan is neater and his music is understood. I can’t even pretend to understand the heavy metal stuff Jake is in to. LOL

See the resemblance?

We had lunch together, just French bread with cheese and/or peanut butter and then I went to work on the second pie. No homemade pie crust with this one but it still needed to be baked after filling it. Of course, they both involve pumpkin. Deb and Tom popped around 2:30 with food from Coytote Fresh Foods, a grocery store in town, that they’d ordered for dinner tomorrow. Lots of food, should be a great day together with friends.

The finished puzzle

The rest of the afternoon involved some rock painting, some picture transfers from laptop to phone and a walk with my favourite little 4-legged friend. The day reached 74F/23C until around 4:30, the sun disappeared from our site and it dropped to mid-60’s. Time to come in from the gazebo. For supper, Bill barbecued brat sausages, something different for us. I fried leftover potatoes and mixed up some coleslaw.

Before the final gloss coat

Not sure what nighttime will bring, definitely some tv of some sort I’m sure. 😊 It has been a very quiet day, I didn’t venture over to the clubhouse at all but was pleased that Susan sent me a picture of the completed puzzle. I hope Adele had a hand in finishing it too! Have a great evening.

Another memory from November 2017 this time.
Set up at Rose and George's home in
Lake Havasu.
Good night!

Thank you for popping by.