Haircut and Groceries 1-31-09

Today the low was 55 and the high was 77. It was a beautiful day with a gentle breeze that visited a few times over the course of the day but never lingered very long.

Larry did yoga this morning...I basically ignored all that healthfulness and puttered on the computer, washed my hair and worked on getting presentable for the day. We later took a lap and found a notice in our mailbox about the price increases in the park next season.

When we first came here in December '04 it was $350 a month, this year it is $490 a month and next year it will be $520. You would think that people would quit raising their prices with the economy the way it is, but these owners seem to be of the mind to charge as much as they can get away with. It would be different if they provided a lot of services and beautified the sites, but they don't really go out of their way to make it about their customers. Their attitude is more...we should be happy that we "get" to stay here. It is convenient to stay here to be closer to our friends, but we want to find somewhere else to stay if we make it here again next winter.

The wind was almost non-existent today so we were finally able to cut Larry's hair, it has been a month and he starts getting annoyed with it after about two weeks, but we can never seem to get on a two week schedule...mostly we get busy doing other things or the weather doesn't co-operate. We cut his hair outside...I would have cut it in the wind, but he didn't like that idea....hey, it would have been different I'm sure. He hates hearing me say "oops" when I have the clippers in his hair...tee hee.

After dinner we took a little stroll and found some of our friends lurking about so we sat and visited for awhile. Just before dark we decided to go get groceries and get our water bottles filled up. It was a good time to go, the store wasn't very busy.

I unpacked the crystals I bought in Quartzsite and I need to try to get a good picture of them, they are really pretty.

Gone to the Bahamas 1-30-09

Today's high was 75 and the low was 54. It was windy again though which kept it feeling cooler.

I think my "muse" is gone to the beach in the Bahamas soaking up the sun, not finding the words tonight.

We had a visit from friends Don & Linda and then later we went out to the Corral cousin's place.

Ineptness and surprises 1-29-09

Today the low was 47 and the high was 72. It was windy too. Larry did his laps and I did my Shred 3 again.

Larry got to spend time on the phone clearing up a mess with the water company at the house in Fallon. He talked to someone before we left about putting the account in vacation mode; no problem he was told, he paid the current bill and the minimum that was required during vacation mode for the period of time we would be gone. Taken care of he thought. So what do we get but a past due bill.

I'm telling all of you out there, that no matter what someone tells you, you need to follow up and not assume something has been done properly. Customer service doesn't seem to exist, Larry was told, our fault we didn't pay our bill so basically too bad. They took absolutely no responsibility for their failure to do what they told us had been done. We have seen this lack of follow through and lack of service in so many different service offices, it is very sad and annoying. Used to be you just knew it was taken care of, but NO longer. It has been 5 years and the DMV still has our address wrong...we just gave up.

We've decided the next place we own is going to be on a well and septic system so we can eliminate a couple of utilities!

We did our laundry today and got a surprise. We were getting ready to move on Monday because we were told that this site had been rented out for Feb & March, but one of the ladies from the office saw us walking and asked if we were still interested in staying another month, the site was available so we said yes. We wanted to stay here in Yuma at least another month so that was great.

That was pretty much our day and it is supposed to start really warming up again tomorrow, hope so and hope the wind stays light.

Sunny, but cool 1-28-09

Today's high was 67 and the low was a chilly 43. It was sunny, but breezy, though not as windy as yesterday.

Larry did his laps after doing his yoga. We went over for the morning coffee meeting, it was a full porch today. There was a craft show in the park today so I went and scoped that out.

We didn't do too much today. Dave stopped by to see if Larry could help him with a computer problem, so we went over to his place...two blocks over and Larry got it all figured out. Then we got to see the pictures Nancy had taken on their trip to Belize which they had just returned from. What a beautiful country.

We will be leaving this park on Monday...so we are looking for another place to stay for February...it is much busier down here right now, but if we don't find something I guess we'll hit the road...no we don't know where yet.

Cold and Fried Chicken 1-27-09

Today the low was 46 and the high was 62...we had to resort to the heater in the morning after we got up, it was 48 inside. We have flannel sheets and a down comforter on our bed and we were toasty warm all night, especially after we prewarm the bed with our electric blanket. Larry took his walk and it was cold and windy. I did my shred, the highest level again, but I am still doing the easier modifications...I may never be able to do a mans push-up, but at least I can do the sissy ones now and I may be at the three pound level on my weights for awhile. For some reason they jump from three to five pounds...I may duct tape a one pound weight to my three pounders.....laugh!

We spent the afternoon over at my cousin's Pat and Mike's place. Larry was helping Mike install the digital TV converter box on their TV. It seemed like it was a pretty convoluted process which I felt I didn't need to follow. It was too cold to sit outside today so Pat and I just visited while the guys worked.

They took us to dinner as their guests at the Yuma Elk's club, it was all you can eat fried chicken night. They had been raving about this being the BEST fried chicken ever...like home cooked of olden days...AND it was great! Juicy, tender and crunchy and with corn, mashed potatoes, two gravies, baked potatoes, rice, coleslaw and salad to choose from and it was all you could eat which is extremely dangerous all for eight dollars a person. Their friends Joe and Becky met us there and the six of us had a good time and enjoyed our meals.

We stopped at Barnes & Noble bookstore on the way home so I could pick up a book Pat had been showing me and then it was back home.

These photos are from yesterday's trip; it is supposed to be warmer tomorrow...hope the weather guessers are right.

Trip to Quartzsite 1-26-09

Today was cooler, the low was 48 and the high was 65. It was a cool feeling 65 too with the breeze.

This morning we got up and got ourselves ready for the day, had our whole wheat toast with peanut butter and then hit the road for Quartzsite. It is about 75 miles from here in the Foothills to Quartzsite on a two lane highway, so a lot of passing goes on.

The desert is getting green with the rain it has gotten this season. I guess they had a couple of gully washers here in November and little spots of rain here and there since. The ocotillos are so leafy you can’t see their brutal thorns. The mountains around here and between here and Quartzsite are very pretty with interesting formations.


Part way up we all had to go through a Border Patrol check point. Not many agents were there today…we’ve seen it packed with agents, vehicles of all kinds and dogs and they all looked like they were standing around wasting our tax dollars. This lovely german shepherd appeared to be the supervisor while two of the agents were fueling up a generator. We got through with only the agent giving a hard look in all the windows and the bed of the truck. The car behind us was checked out by the dog.

This is when people pour from the desert around Quartzsite and points farther afield into Yuma. It was just one huge string of traffic with over 100 RV’s, probably more, we didn’t think to actually count.

Quartzsite’s flea market was in a transition today and a lot of the vendors were closed or were packing up to move to a different area of the market. It was actually cold and the wind was blowing pretty good. We didn’t go through the RV shows big tent; we weren’t impressed the last time we were through there a few years ago. I was most interested in the crystal and rock shops and I found a few treasures. I haven’t unwrapped them yet so no photos.

Larry’s nose kept twitching at the smell of hamburgers so we each had a $1 burger at one of the booths. They were actually pretty good and had grilled onions on them; they were small but perfect for our lunch. We were heading back home around 1:30.

The picture of the RV’s are some that are parked dry camping out in the desert. It has just never appealed to us, at least not for any length of time…you envision being out in the wilds by yourself, when the realty is you aren’t far from your neighbors or the highway and get to listen to the hum and or roar of everyone’s generators. Now I’m sure there are people who get themselves away from most and never use their generator but going down the highway it just looks like a chaotic RV park.

We were seeing splotches of pink out in the flora so we stopped to go check it out. We were adjacent to the Yuma Proving Grounds so we couldn’t walk away from the highway too far, it is all posted DANGEROUS and we didn’t want to finish our day’s fieldtrip being chased down by a tank or hummer or get a bomb dropped on us. It is a huge military training ground.

Anyway the pink flowers were unusual and pretty and I got some pictures of the ocotillos up close and these two young saguaro cacti, they are probably 25-30 years old. I have read that they are about 50 years old before they start growing an arm.

As we got back into our park the “sorry, park is full” sign was out on the wall for the second day. Oh, we heard from a few vendors in Quartzsite that the last 10 days have been really great there, lots of shoppers and sales, but we got that it has been kind of quiet until then.

After we got home we decided to go to Walmart, something that Larry had been waiting to come in had arrived and he needed to make his exchange. It was crazy busy in there. Larry did his thing at the customer service while I gathered up the few items I needed and then I found a line that was moving pretty well so we got home before dark…smile…it had looked like we might have been in there a good long time with the crowds and lines.

A nice day and ended with Larry making a peach cobbler, he is still experimenting…too bad for my waistline! AND as I just finished sampling this latest creation, I can say “By Jove I think he’s got it”! Yum.

Cooler, quiet day 1-25-09

Today was cooler, the low was 52 and the high was 72. There was a slight breeze but not too unpleasant. Larry walked his four laps and I just did a measly one lap later and Larry did that with me so he got in five.

Was busy most of the day doing a lot of nothing. I spent some time on the phone and time on the computer doing research. We took a drive out to the RV park we may move to from here next month and walked around getting a feel for it and its noise factor...it'll do.

Today was the first day I had seen diesel below $2 in about 4 years, it was $1.97. The last time we paid under two was in March of 05. I doubted it would get this low again, though it is still higher than gas.

We had dinner at Applebees and it was really good. From the steak to the vegetables...very tasty. Then we went to Fry's to get some groceries, it wasn't too bad to navigate in today and we had no wait in the checkout. Went home and put away the groceries and then caught a few of the last rays of the sun for the day.

Not much... 1-24-09

Today was a little cooler, high of 75 and low of 56, sunny and little teeny breezes. It is supposed to get cooler the first of the week...down into the 60's...sad.

I've got nothing for you today. We wandered a couple blocks over into Canada and visited for an hour with who ever had shown up for coffee and then Larry spent some time with Mavis updating some stuff on her computer.

That was pretty much our day. I spent an hour on the phone talking to my friend Mary and talked to Michelle a bit, took a walk up to the office to pick up the mail and just knit, read and puttered the day away. It is all just so much more enjoyable when it is warm!

We watched our neighbor move his trailer back a few feet so he could open his awning...the palm tree was in the way. It is quite a bit of work...everything gets disconnected and then reconnected.

There you have it...only about two sips of coffee worth to read today!!!

Rain and fluffy clouds 1-23-09

Today's temps were pretty much the same as yesterdays. Last night and this morning we had a few showers...it was cloudy for most of the day and humid.

Larry did his laps and I did my shred. Larry was busy on the phone for most of the morning. When he finished with all that we did the laundry...it is always nice to get that done for another week. I actually cooked dinner today...haven't done too much of that since we've been here. Then I sat outside enjoying the breeze and watching the big white fluffy clouds floating by. Hard to believe another week has slid by but it has been pretty eventful which helped it speed along.

Sunshine & Projects 1-22-09

I love being able to keep saying this in January...today's high was 79 and the low was 59...tee hee! No wind again, though it clouded up a bit during the late afternoon...the clouds just kept it from getting too warm...perfect.

We took our walk this morning then Larry ran a couple of errands. Then we spent the day outside...Larry working on antennas and me working on scarves. We had a nice visit with our newest neighbors from British Columbia, Don and Diane and we found many things in common which is fun.

Still alive and eating 1-21-09

Today was another lovely day...79 for the high and 63 for the low...right now the sun has gone down, there is no breeze and it is still 76 outside, gorgeous.

I'm under the weather still, last night I was convinced I was gonna die...was afraid to go to sleep, not that there was much chance of sleeping with the spasms, burning and pressure and going to pee five hundred million times. My cousin saved the day...with just what I needed to kick this infection, but I am still feeling punky.

We had plans to go to my cousin's place today...Larry was helping Mike figure out some TV thingy and Pat was feeding us. After two days of being in the trailer I thought a change of scenery would be nice...I just hauled my gallon of water with me and my current knitting project and I was good to go. We had a nice visit and we got to see Joe and Becky again...they are nice people who...Mike worked with Joe forever ago and they have been full-time RVing for a really long time (which means I can't remember how long but I'm thinking about 21 years). We have fun comparing notes with them.

We had barbecued hamburgers, beans and salads for dinner, wine cake and peach cobbler for dessert...yum! Now it is shower time and after not too long, hitting the feathers...tonight I am looking forward to sleeping.

A new chapter 1-20-09

Today's high was 78 again, the low was 59 and it was partly cloudy and breezy.

Larry took his walk and did radio stuff. I sat glued to the T.V. watching the historical inauguration. I like all the little bits of history that you learn while the reporters are filling time. I've never taken the time to watch the whole days events and it was interesting.

After our new President and First Lady made it finally to the White House, we went out and ran errands and got something to eat. That was our day.

Lots of water 1-19-09

Today's low was 61! Very nice...those clouds must have held in the heat. Our high was 78, but it was pretty breezy here. Our little corner of the park seems windier than other parts.

I woke this morning with an infection that requires drinking lots of water and cranberry juice (don't want to gross out our Uncle's with too much info..LOL). It hit fast and changed our plans for the day...we had been planning on going up to Quartzite, but I had to stay at home.

Larry took his walk and I decided to go ahead and do my workout in spite of my "problem". I chose to do the hardest level figuring it would keep me focused more on my workout and not the other battle going on....it worked. We both learned a long time ago that the body heals itself through movement...I was taught that and we have experienced it ourselves over the years.

Larry was busy working on the radios for the comm-trailer and rearranging things and I was busy drinking lots of fluids and wandering around...I couldn't focus on any one thing until later in the day when I started feeling a little better.

Last night Mavis had come by to invite us over to supper with them tonight. Larry went over a couple of times to cancel because I was feeling poorly and they were gone for the day, but as it got later and I was feeling a bit improved we went on over there as planned. We had a wonderful dinner. Mavis showed me her pictures that she had taken of Chihuly's glass show at the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Really unusual and stunning to see those massive art glass pieces in and amongst the cactus and desert landscapes. The night time show was really something to see too.

I finished a second scarf of Alpaca blend and wool yarns in brown tones. Alpaca yarn has some really long fibers so the finished product is a little furry looking. Baby Alpaca yarn is softer and doesn't have those coarse fibers.

Funky in the wind 1-18-09

Today's temperatures were the same as yesterday's except today it was windier. I skipped walking with Larry today because of the wind...I dislike the wind.

I was in a funk this morning and I skipped my Shred workout too...then spent the rest of the morning knowing I would have felt better if I had done it...the female brain is a scary, scary place.

We spent time today driving around checking out the areas RV lot prices compared to three years ago. We also went through several other RV parks to compare to this one. When we leave here on the second we may go to a different park if we decide to spend more time here in Yuma. We are also looking for where we might want to stay when we come back next winter.

We stopped at Mike and Pat's place for an hour or so. I made a scarf for my girly young cousin Tana, Mike and Pat's grand-daughter and dropped it off with Pat. It is the pink one...of course.

We had dinner at a roadside taco stand and the food and people were nice. We braved the Fry's market for milk and bread...but it was cocktail hour so there was no waiting in line.

Sadly our blue sky became overrun with clouds and it may be that way for a few days...but still warm.

Pics of more scarves that I've finished.

DittoDay 1-17-09

Today was a ditto day...77 high and 56 low...gorgeous again.

We didn't do much of anything today. Larry gave the trailer a little wash and I cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed. We visited with friends for an hour in the morning and friends stopped by for a couple hours around seven for a computer lesson. Another restful, warm day. I finished another scarf last night and started a new one this afternoon, I'll probably post the pictures tomorrow.

Buffet and Carrots 1-16-09

Today’s low was 56 and the high was 77…another gorgeous day.

We started our day at….get this….SEVEN A.M.! Yes, us, …up before the sun. No, hell has not frozen over….not that I would ever know anything about that place! Our Crazy Canadian friends invited us to have breakfast with all of them and chose 8:15 as the time to meet and leave. Lately we’ve been lucky to have our eyes open by that time of the morning! So, afraid that we would miss our ride we set our alarm so we wouldn’t oversleep. For food that I don’t have to cook…setting the alarm works for me!

We had breakfast at the Co Co Pah Casino in Somerton at the $6 buffet. It was pretty good, they have the build your own and wait and watch it be cooked omelet station and every other kind of breakfast food. It was a fun morning.

Neil and Mavis drove us out there and on the way back we stopped and watched these workers harvest carrots. It took us a minute to figure out what the crop was and what they were doing.

First two guys on either side of a modified lawn mower go up and down the row mowing the tops off of the carrots and another guy goes along with a weed eater topping the sides of the rows that the mower missed. Then a bunch of people get the carrots out of the ground but they were too far away for us to really see how they were doing that…were they pulling them out or scooping somehow? This field was part of the University of Arizona’s Ag program. I forgot my camera so these pictures were taken by Neil and I edited them before posting here…thank you for sharing Neil.

Along the front of the property was this hedge of pruned orange trees…Larry really thought that was cool. On down the road we stopped and watched the harvest of lemons, but the pictures didn’t turn out. There were many very large wooden boxes filled with thousands of lemons all picked that morning by about 25 people by hand. The pickers all wore heavy jackets to protect themselves from the lemon trees brutal thorns. It sure smelled good sitting there!

After we got back home it was off to do the laundry, we walked back to the trailer the long way so we got in a little exercise today. After I finished that it was do something or take a nap so we decided to drive into Yuma to Walmart and pick up the stuff on our list. There was a lot more traffic today, but the “old” remodeled Walmart wasn’t crazy crowded which was nice.

The rest of the afternoon and evening we just kicked back and relaxed, Larry outside reading and me inside because I kept creating a pile of yarn that I couldn’t take outside very easily. I was working on a new scarf and kept ripping out and starting over until I got what I was going for.

Sleep and Blue Sky 1-15-09

Today's low was 51 and the high was 77...ah, winter in Yuma...I may just have to start saying Ditto...so very nice compared to most of the continent!

We are totally into relaxation mode or something...it was 9 a.m. before we got out of bed today. We were invited to breakfast tomorrow...leaving at 8:15...we are setting our alarm clock because we are afraid we'll oversleep...but that's our most pressing worry this week...we're okay with that....smile!

Larry did some more radio work today...not quite the workshop he used to have! He had to carve some space out of the outside storage cabinet...though now that I study these pictures I am seeing lots of gaps that I could be stuffing yarn into...LOL.

Later we sat out and enjoyed the sunshine...Larry reading his book and me knitting on my current scarf project...I became distracted by the unending expanse of blue sky above us and the bright green palm fronds blowing in the breeze so I ran inside for my camera.

Happy Birthday Mom 1-15-09

Today is Carol's birthday...Larry's Mom! Happy Birthday Mom.

That is little Larry in her lap and big Larry with her in the last picture...to big for her lap!

Sun, color and cake 1-14-09

Today's low was 50 and the high was 77 and it was breezy without being windy....at least where we spent most of the day. We were up in the higher Foothill "lots" visiting our cousins Pat & Mike all afternoon and evening. I colored Pat's hair for her...basically just painted the stuff on her roots for her...she did all the rest and for that we got a great tri-tip dinner with Kahlua cake for dessert...YUM. We basked in the sun and visited all day. Lovely, simply lovely!

Off to the Mall 1-13-09

Today's low was 59 and the high was 76 again and windy.

Larry did his laps and I did my shred. Our excursion for the day was to the Yuma Mall for a new bed pillow, I found some new slacks and ah-ha...Jo-Anne's where I picked up a bit more yarn. We also stopped at Starbuck's for a latte. On the way back we cruised through a couple of RV Parks, no place is full up this year.

Larry has been programming radios, and researching radio stuff on the computer.

These are pictures of more scarves...I finished the large red toned scarf today and the last is a scarf I made for my friend Mary and I made a matching scarf for her Chihuahua which turned out really cute!

Our friend Mavis stopped by on her walk and invited us to the Dairy Queen with the group at 8...well we couldn't be rude and NOT go....! AND we couldn't be rude and not have an ice cream...tee hee! I had a moo-latte and Larry had a root beer float, yum.

Sunshine 1-12-09

Today's low was 57 and the high was 76, a little too breezy today. Our door faces north and as the wind most often comes from the north it makes it hard to leave our door open. Everything gets gritty with sand.

Larry took his walk, while I just did my morning abulations while listening to my favorite instrumental music. It was a nice morning. After Larry returned we went over to "Canada" to see what was going on over there. I don't know how Canada manages to make it through the winter when all of their best are down here in Arizona! The conversations are always lively.

Speaking of nutty Canadians...Don and Linda bought a convertible to knock about in down here. Got it dirt cheap and look what happens when Don drives around the park with the top down, he collects crazy, Canadian women...none of whom are his wife I might add, hmmmmm.

A couple more of my creations...the blue one is Alpaca and wool and the gray one is made with a roving yarn (one that shades to different colors) and is a wool/acrylic blend.

A paradisical day! 1-11-09

Today's low was 51 and the high was 74...the wind came up for a bit in the afternoon but settled down to a gentle breeze.

Not much happening today. Larry just took it easy. We took a couple laps around the park first thing and that was as energetic as it got for us.

I discovered Michael's was having a 70% off sale on some of their more exotic yarns...I tried to resist...but COME ON...70% off!!! So off I went and I came out of there with two large bags of yarn and THEN thought...crap, I've forgotten where I am currently living...where am I going to put all this yarn...hmmm, if we get rid of the food and Larry's clothes....tee hee!

It was a nice drive down and back...there aren't nearly the people down here this year. No bumper to bumper and crazy people trying to zig and zag...I cruised down at the speed limit, had no problems in the parking lots, I even ran into the Albertson's right next door and that place was practically a tomb. We are actually staying out here in the Foothills east of Yuma and it is about 10 miles give or take to the stuff in Yuma proper.

We had our dinner around three and then took a little stroll in the warm sunshine and stopped and visited with some friends for a bit and then back home. We sat on the patio out in the sun, Larry reading and me knitting on my current scarf. It is the first time for me to really sit out there without the wind sandblasting us.

So all in all, another lovely day in paradise.

Warmer 1-10-09

The sun doesn't rise here until almost 8 a.m. and we have found that our rising in the morning is affected by the sunshine, so we feel lazy, but it isn't like we have early morning appointments or anything to get to right away. Larry did his laps around the park and I did my Shred...after over six months of doing the Shred I am starting to feel like my outer self is starting to adhere to my inner self...firming up in another words...I was more graphic to Larry, but I don't want to gross you all out.

It has been in the low 50's in the morning and the highs are real close to 70, today was breezy but not as bad as yesterday. The owners of this park rake in the big bucks but they don't do as much as they could to make this as comfortable as possible for the lots that aren't leased. They rely on the leaseowners to make all the improvements and the lots that aren't leased are just sand which blows all over the place when windy. It wouldn't be that hard or costly for them to gravel the sites.

The witchy lady in the office told Larry yesterday that he had until the end of the day to decide if we were going to be staying another month or not. We decided not; the parks aren't full up like they were the last time we were here, so if we decide to stay in Yuma another month, we will go somewhere else.

I realized that though we have been here before, I didn't start blogging until after the last time we were here in '06 and you all didn't see any pictures, so these pictures are different views of our space here. The third picture is a view from the door of our trailer towards the mountains...the ones we couldn't see yesterday due to the sand blowing. The last picture is of another scarf I've finished.