Last Arizona Sunset For a While

We have some incredible sunsets at home, but not every night like here.  We will miss them.  

We are all packed up - all the outside stuff is in the shed - with room to spare.  I've deep cleaned inside and am ready to go.  

Maggie, of course, knows something is happening and has been a velcro dog all day.  We went out for dinner and when we got back she went nuts.  She apparently had a bit of separation anxiety.  She didn't even want to go for a walk after her dinner.  She wanted both of us with her.

Our friends, Lert and Lona, took us out for supper as they say in Minnesota.  We had a very nice Chinese meal and brought home leftovers for a meal on the road.   Maggie and I will miss our walks with Lona in the morning and evening.  I told her I was going to text her when Maggie and I walked so she could go walking, too!!  

Our destination tomorrow is  Blake Ranch RV Park just east of Kingman, AZ.   We are watching the weather and it looks like we may have to delay our arrival by a day due to rain and high winds  We are thinking we might try to stay at Nellis AFB while we wait for the storm to pass.  I'll have to get on the phone tomorrow and move reservations around.   Stay tuned to see what happens.  

A Productive Day All Around

At 8:30 this morning it was 
already warming up.  What was noticeable, though, was the relative humidity - 1%.  Now that's dry heat for sure!  Nasal passages are noticing it, too.  We topped out today at 87 degrees and the last I looked it was 5% humidity.  Needless to say, we ran the AC again this afternoon.  

Roger started prepping the RV.  He dumped the fresh water tank which no longer had fresh water in it.  He aired the tires, lubed the wheels, and torqued down the lug nuts.  He started organizing the basement for the items we have to take back.  This is the first time we have wintered that we don't have to haul everything home - just stuff it in the shed!  

Nothing from the landscapers.  The only negative today. 

I went to the post office again, but got a different clerk and had better luck.  The box was closed as it should have been since I started the forwarding order for last Saturday.  I was able to pay for the PO Box, as well!  Apparently it showed up in the computer today that the fee was due. Amazing. The post office trip was a success.

While Rog was doing all the outside prep work, I did the laundry.  While I was there I called the storage place in Reno where we had parked the RV last summer.  Not only did they have a place for us, they are giving us the same spot.  That worked out well.   

Tomorrow I clean inside the RV and we put away the lawn furniture on the patio and start putting stuff in the truck.  Doesn't that sound like fun?    

Our dusty, dirty dog got a bath today. I wanted to get her bath done while we were here and it was warm instead of waiting until we got home.  She wasn't happy about it but didn't fight us at all. Her look of tolerance, though, is a heartbreaker.  Her favorite part of bath time is afterwards when I brush her.  She loves it and would let me do it for hours!  It's so nice - she doesn't smell like dust and dirt from our trail walks.  Of course her beds do, but they will have to wait until we get home to be washed.

I washed my hair today and can't do a thing with it! 

Mixed Feelings With Two Days To Go

Happy Bunny Day!
(My friend, Lona, does beautiful crochet work!)

Another  week has passed since I posted last.  We have been having very warm weather and lots of wind, so we haven't been able to be outside a whole lot.  This has made us more anxious to move on and is helping us motivate our thoughts toward home.  We do like it down here, but we are ready for a change of scenery.  

We had lunch on Tuesday with our friends, the Morlans, in Casa Grande and then Roger patiently waited in the truck while I searched the Kohl's clearance racks with 30% off coupon in hand.  As I suspected they had winter stuff on clearance, which is what I as looking for.  Found a pair of jeans and two long sleeved shirts for when we get home.

Thursday we went out for pizza lunch with Lona and Lert.  This time we actually got some good pizza.  The last place we tried was awful.  

Today was groceries - got just enough to get us home - and the bill still was over $100.  I just shake my head every time we go.  How do families afford to feed their kids?  Granted we are buying fresh produce and mostly organic stuff, but still.  I was a bit upset today, though - no berries.  I'm a berry freak.  I looked at melons, but they didn't look very ripe yet.  I can never pick good ones anyway.  I settled for bananas, grapes, and canned peaches for breakfast fruit.  As always, apples and oranges for lunch fruit.   

We are seeing more and more flowers and signs of spring, but when we get home we will get to experience it all over again!  Unfortunately none of the blooms are on our plants, but they do seem to be doing OK and maybe next year they will be old enough to flower.  Still no word from the landscaper as to an install date.  Lert and Lona will be putting their rig on our site when we leave so that they can get a cement pad poured for theirs for next year.  They will be here another week after we leave, so they have agreed to water the plants for us if the landscaper dude doesn't show up.  

Maggie even helps look for 
flowers.  She just doesn't seem to understand that those things are prickly!   She is still stuffing her nose down holes everywhere.  Today she encountered a spider web and it startled her.  She must have jumped back a foot and then slowly creeped back up to the hole.  I keep telling her she is going to be in for a surprise one of these times - and maybe not a pleasant one.  I do try to keep her on the path and away from them, but I do have a tendency to be running my mouth in conversation and not pay attention to what she is doing.  

We have been getting out to walk before it gets too hot and then we wait until just before sunset for our evening walk.  Today will be two days with the AC on in the afternoon - set at 80 - to make it bearable to make dinner.  It really isn't fun in the heat, so I guess it is time to pack up. 

Of course the post office is being annoying as usual.  I put in a change of address and we haven't received confirmation yet.  We paid for our PO box in March last year, so I have been trying for the last two weeks to pay for the next year.  They won't take my money because it isn't showing up in the computer yet that it's due.  "You'll get a notice in your mailbox."  But my mail is being forwarded.  "Have you gotten a confirmation on that?"  No.   "Just wait until you get a notice."  Why can't I do it on line?  I've done that in the past with my PO box at home.  The system won't let me link this box to my account.  "I don't know - I don't use that system."   So, tomorrow, hopefully, we will show up in their computer and we can pay for the stupid box before we leave.   

There is talk by the co-op board of directors here of installing mailboxes at the front of the park but the Phoenix PO hasn't approved it and the membership still has to vote on it as it will entail a special assessment to pay for the cluster boxes.  Only about 3/4 of the membership want mail delivered here - the others don't care.  So, we shall see.  

I've made reservations for our overnights on the way home, Rog fueled up the truck this morning, so we are prepping.  We still need to put away all the outside furniture and do a good cleaning job inside.  Maggie needs a bath while it is warm, so we will be busy the next couple of days.  








In the meantime, Maggie says, "hi."
She can't wait to get home and get that harness off.   

A Woman Possessed

After five months of whining about the inconvenience of where the pots/pans and lids are stored I finally did something about it today.  They have been in a small bottom cupboard next to the stove.  Sounds convenient, but they have been hard to get in and out being down so far.  It's a big empty space and we have just tossed the pans in there - no semblance of order. My back doesn't like retrieving things from that low.  I'm not supposed to bend over to get them out, but if I squat or kneel, then I can't get back up easily.  Well, this morning I had to dig something out of there and that was the tipping point.  So, like a woman possessed, I sat down on the floor and pulled them all out.  Now, where to put them???  I started shifting stuff in drawers and cupboards.  The domino effect takes place once you remove something from one and have to find a place to put things.  Somehow I even ended up in the bottom of the bedroom closet rearranging stuff - oh, yes, there was a little shelf down there I thought would fit in the former pan space, but didn't. But that put everything in the bottom of the closet was out of kilter because I pulled out the shelf.  The rearranging kept me busy for an hour or so!  

One of our rebate checks for the phones showed up today!!  Yay!!  Fingers crossed the other isn't far behind.  It's been eight weeks since we submitted the forms - which is when they are supposed to arrive.  Our mail will be stopped here at the end of the week to begin forwarding to home, and knowing the post office, it could end up anywhere. 

Maggie's been "working" on her right rear paw this evening.  We couldn't find anything wrong, but her toenails are getting quite long.  Maybe she was just chewing them.  We do have a vet appointment soon after we get home and nail clipping is on the agenda.

I got an email today from someone in Germany who wants to connect regarding geneology.  I replied that we would be home in a few weeks and I'll be back on my websites and will get back with him.  He's mentioned a name in an ancestor line of mine that I have hit a brick wall on. I sure hope he has some info for me so I can move on.   Usually when someone contacts me I'm the one giving the info instead of getting it.  I hope this time it's reversed.

I have a couple of photos of cactus in bloom to post but can't seem to get them to come in from my phone.  I'll work on it and see if I can get them pulled in tomorrow.  The desert is really looking like spring time.   Today it was a high of 70 and we had high winds again.  Sun was in and out.  

Tomorrow we go into Casa Grande to have lunch with our friends the Morlans.  I've got a 30% off coupon for Kohls and they are having their winter clearance.  I'm going to need to stop and check if there's anything I need for when I get home and it's still chilly.

The sun is setting and we are having another gorgeous Arizona sunset.  

Sunday, Again.....

With only one more Sunday to go before we head home.

The week went by really fast.  Rog got the outside of the RV washed and a good coat of wax on the front end cap.  I haven’t done a whole lot but sit and knit and walk the dog.  I did get a haircut and we did make that trip to Costco on Wednesday, but that’s been about it.  

Although a family member contacted us and we started talking about Geneology and descendants, etc., so that got me started.  I am so addicted.  I will be turning on my websites when I get back.  I spent a couple hours updating the family tree software, downloading the latest version of the tree from Ancestry, and thinking about what my next step is.  I left an unfinished project at home so I have to work on that.  

Today I was contacted by someone in Germany who is looking for info - or has some - I’m not sure which.  The email came through one of the websites that I can’t get into at the moment, but his email was there, so I’m thinking while I sit here watching the clothes tumble in the dryer I’ll write to him and get more info.  Could be something interesting.

Rog and I signed up for the Nevada Health Initiative - a study being done by the local medical group, Renown, in association with the Desert Research Institute (part of the University of Nevada).  When we get home we will fill out some questionnaires and give a saliva sample for DNA processing.  They will be looking at all kinds of health things but the bonus is that at the end they will give you, not only your DNA data, but the ancestor information as well - such as what ethnic group and where your ancestors came from.  We are looking forward to participating.

We are watching the weather forecast carefully and preparing ourselves for the trip home.  We will take three days.  First night to Kingman, AZ, then Beatty, NV, then Hawthorne, NV and then home on the 7th.  I talked with my neighbor yesterday and she will turn the heat up for us!!!  

The Cheapest Costco Run Ever!

We've just been hanging out not doing much of anything but enjoying being warm.  Today, though, it's a bit too warm and windy and we are inside with the AC on.  Normal temps to return tomorrow, thank goodness.  The AC noise is awful.   I know - the rest of the country is having horrible weather and we are grateful we are here. 

We are both getting "going home itis" despite the fact we will be returning to cool, unsettled weather and will have to winterize the RV.  We have two weeks before we leave - maybe Spring just might show up at home in that time???    Rog has started waxing the RV (it's a multi day project), he hung the bike up in the shop, and cleaned out the shop getting it ready to pack up with lawn furniture and yard art when we leave.  I'm at the stage where I look at something in the fridge or pantry and wondering, "do we have enough to get us home?"  I'm starting to put things in cupboards that stay with the RV and things that go to the house in others.  Will wait to do a deep clean just before we leave.  Why do it twice, right?  Just keep the dog hair vacuumed up as we go :-)  

We are pestering the landscaper to get out here and put in our drip system before we leave, but according to him "everyone wants one right now."  Well, we are ok if he does it after we leave as long as he is ok with trusting us to pay him.  We just don't want to come back to dead plants.  (Hindsight is always 20/20 - should have done it when they put in the plants.  Duh!)   Actually, we were told that there were folks who stay that would water for a price and we were going to hire someone, but that doesn't seem to be the case this year.  Some of the neighbors are going to try and hire a landscape company to water and split the cost.  They don't seem to be making much headway on that deal - so, we will continue to hope we get it done in the next two weeks.  Rog and I took pictures of each plant with a tape measure next to it so we can compare growth or not over the summer.

The RV park is now completely sold out.  No lots left of the original construction.  There are a few, though, for sale by the owners - mostly park models.  It's a community of older folks here, so it's not surprising when one comes up for sale.  Mostly, though, people who have bought here are staying.  There is one disgruntled neighbor who won't abide by the rules of keeping his RV and patio extension (it's a toy hauler) within the property lines.  He won't move it up five feet to keep in the line, so he's been given some hassle by the management.  He decided he'd sell instead of having to follow the rules like everyone else.  Oh, well.  So, back to the park being sold out - we are hoping now that our investment will pay off if we decide to or have to sell.  The outside lots are premium.  Hopefully, that won't be for many more years.  

We bought a power washer last month.  I insisted that Rog get it for doing the RV.  He then read that you aren't supposed to use power washers on RVs or motor homes because it takes off the gel coats and decals.   Hmmm.... probably one of the reasons our last one looked so bad - we hired out detailers to do it and they used power washers.  Anyway, we took it back to Costco yesterday.  We had very little to buy - some salmon and some bagels.  We walked out of there with a credit of $130 instead of a debit of $130.  It was weird.  Fastest in and out and cheapest Costco visit we've ever made!  

Maggie has decided if she's not hooked up when the door is open it's time to go running out in the desert.  She takes off like a shot, runs around the berm area onto the path, sticking her nose in holes as she goes.  Then, even when we call her, when she decides it time to come home, she does. She runs full speed for about 10 minutes and then starts heading back.  She's gonna get us in trouble one of these days - speaking of following the rules. 

Hopefully we will find something to do to write about!

Photos

Watching for squirrels is tiring!

These were all in one pot when I bought them just before Christmas.  All the little buds fell off two days after I got them.  I've been babying them and voilà - Easter Cactus!








A beautiful sky for this evening's walk.  The air was crisp and clean.  After that last rain the desert is turning green and buds are starting on the different cactus.