A New Year Awaits

Happy New Year.  May 2018 be a good one!  

We haven’t been up to much lately but enjoying the weather.  40s at night and the last few days in the mid 70s with sunshine.  I take my walk around the perimeter with Maggie about 9 (I’ve got a neighbor going with me) and I dress for the 55 degrees and by the time I’m back 45 minutes later I’ve discarded my sweatshirt.  It’s pretty awesome being able to enjoy this weather - especially as we see the news about the horrible cold that the midwest and east are having.  Saying our thanks that we are here that’s for sure.  Our RV shades the whole patio in the mornings and it’s a bit cool for sitting out there, but we have a couple of chairs set up at the rear of the rig that gets the morning sun.  In the afternoons we do sit out on the patio area.  We even had lunch outside the other day.  It felt so good.  

We are going to a nursery this week on the 5th to pick out the15 plants for our lot.  All cactus.  The landscaper put $400 into the budget for the plants and he wants to use 15.  If we spend more, of course, we will owe him more.  Just not sure at this point what we will get, but we have been walking around the RV park checking out people’s yards.  I definitely know the ones I don’t want!!!  So, we pick them out, the nursery sets them aside and then the landscaper picks them up the day before he comes.  Right now we are scheduled for the week of the 15th for the work to be done.   I’m having trouble picturing the whole set up, but I’ve been assured it will be nice.  He kept saying he would make the yard “cute.”   I kept saying, “I don’t want cute.  I want aesthetically pleasing with curb appeal.”  Shall see what we get. 

I found the greatest hummingbird feeders here at that old fashioned hardware store in town.  They are small.  I’ve got two - one hanging from the other.  They each only have one opening.  We aren’t allowed to feed any critters other than the hummers.  I guess the bird seed would encourage pests.  That’s ok, I’m happy with watching the hummers feed and the woodpeckers try.  I hung a small birdbath nearby and keep it filled with water for the other birds to drink.  So far I’ve only seen the woodpeckers and cactus wren, but they do come in for a sip now and then.  Haven’t seen anyone “bathing.”  

We’ve given up trying to live without the internet and only use our cell phone’s data.  Two months and we really can’t stand it any more!  We don’t want to use the park’s wifi as there is a lot of traffic which makes the wifi pretty slow, so we are opting for an individual antenna that we will mount on the shed and modem/router that we will put inside shed.  Our neighbor just did this set up and he is very pleased.  We are waiting for an install date.  Can’t wait.  Netflix, AcornTV, Amazon, and Ancestry, here we come!  We are waiting for a phone call to schedule installation.  Hopefully it won’t be too far down the road.  

We had a quiet evening at home last night - as usual.  There was a dinner dance at the activities center with a disc jockey.  We were not at all interested.  We are always in bed at our usual bedtime on New Year’s Eve.  We did hear fireworks from somewhere at midnight but not sure where they came from.  I thought here, but people I talked with today said they didn’t think so.  At least Maggie was not freaked out as our previous dog, Sara, would have been.  Maggs and Roger slept right through it.  

I’ve been suffering with some gastro issues - some major heartburn.  We are adjusting my diet to see if we can’t calm it down.  I’m missing my sweets and chocolate already and it’s only been two days.  Good start, I guess, on losing weight for the new year!  Unless, of course, I make up for it in sheer volume!  

My friend, Lona, and I are planning a trip into Casa Grande on Wednesday to the JoAnn Fabrics in search of yarn for our projects.  Should be a fun outing.   That and our trip to Mesa on the 5th to get plants will be the excitement for the week.

Beautiful super moon tonight over the desert!  

Here is my view at dinner from the dining room table.  It looks like this almost every night.  It doesn't get old!