December 31, 2009

Santa Claus moved into the desert on Tuesday evening and today we went over to visit with him. We even got our picture taken sitting on his knee. Just proves that Santa is a Snowbird also, at least for a little bit before he has to get back to the North Pole and resume his duties in preparation for next Christmas. This first picture is of the rear of his RV. The last picture is of the rear passenger side of the RV.

It is cool 61F and windy today. Not really nice to sit out. Gordon got a hair cut this afternoon and he cut up firewood for the weiner roast tomorrow. We got another load of pallets on Tuesday (40 pallets on our truck and Jim's truck) so Gordon has a lot of work to do to cut them all up for firewood. We are going dancing tonight at Holiday Palms RV Park.

Wishing you all a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

What a change from yesterday. It is windy and very cool today. We went to Blythe, California to get some groceries for New Year's Day dinner - it is going to be a great deal of work . . . a weiner roast. The American weiners are not like the Canadian ones but they will do. Got fresh corn on the cob right of the truck so hope it is good.

Gordon went to Holiday Palms RV Park for a jam and Jeanne stayed home and watched a movie.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

What a gorgeous day. No wind +67F and we were able to sit out and enjoy the desert. The afternoon was spent at Bonnie & Kathy's playing UPWORDS. The evening was spent around the fire. Gloria & Glen; Mary & Don; Bonnie & Kathy; Gordon & Jeanne. It was a very nice evening with a nearly full moon.

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Overcast all day today. We went for a ride but it was cold, especially when we hit some back roads and could do 55 kph. Gordon went to a jam tonight and left Jeanne resting at home. The riding is not too good on her thumb, and consequently, her shoulder as well.

High today was around 58F. Would have been a very pleasant day if the sun had peeked thru.

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Today was a bit windy. Jeanne went to church until 1:15 pm. We then visited with Hans & Maria for about 3/4 hour. After supper we went over to Glen & April's for a visit. We don't see much of them because they are about 3 miles away, not 200 yards like they were last year. Stayed there until 9:00 pm

Had to have an early night as we are going for a ride tomorrow.

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

The countdown to the end of the year is rolling forward quickly. Today we got up around 8:00 am then went for a walk. Came home and baked the present we received from Glen & April. They gave us some homemade cherry jam, some refrigerator biscuits and hot chocolate. We made the biscuits and had some jam but saved the hot chocolate for another time. Then we went and walked the vendors for three hours, got 5 gallons of drinking water, stopped by Glen & April's but they were not home, so came home. Jeanne was very tired, but Gordon could have gone on longer. Supper was simple - leftovers! The two of us played a couple of games of Upwords then went to bed.

Merry Christmas 2009

What a cold morning 28F when Jeanne got up at 5:10 am. It did warm up mid morning and turned into a most beautiful Christmas Day.

Dinner was hosted by Hans & Maria. They provided turkey, dressing and gravy. Added to that was cranberry chicken, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn bread dressing, peas & carrots, rice (of sorts. Jeanne forgot to begin cooking the rice in time, so she tried to speed it along a bit - it was really more like wall paper paste), tossed salad and fruit salad. For dessert - carrot pudding with sauce, pumpkin, apple and peach pies. Oh Boy! What a feast! Everything was cleaned up by 5:00 pm, then Gord decided he needed to fill the water tank.

As you can see, it was warm enough to eat outside and to sit and visit after dinner. It is 6:00 pm now and the temperature has dropped to 48F. Looks like we are in for another cold night. Well, we hope you all have enjoyed your Christmas Day. We wish a MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

December 24th, 2009

What a beautiful day for Christmas Eve day. We got up around 8:00 am and went for our walk. Came home and opened the door of the 5th Wheel so the sun could warm up the inside of our home. After breakfast of cereal and bread with peanut butter, we went to the Market to purchase a double boiler for the pudding, and picked up a small gift for H & M, then we got busy with our preparations for tomorrow's dinner. Gord grated the carrots and potatoes for carrot pudding. The sweet potato was cooked and mashed and pan ready for heating tomorrow. Sauce was made for the pudding, and was just cleaning up the final dishes when Bonnie and Clyde came over and we played a couple of games of Upwords. They were just getting up to go home (they are parked about 50' from us) when Glen and April came for "a little something to drink". Hans and Maria were invited to join the crowd for gingerbread cake and other goodies.

Everyone was gone by 4:30 pm. Thank goodness we had leftover soup from Monday for supper, as by 5:30 Gordon had been around inviting the neighbors to join us in a fire. While he was doing that, Jeanne was making a pineapple dump cake. There were 12 people at the fire and we had a good visit. Gloria & Glen brought a big pot of hot chocolate, Clyde brought cookies and Mary brought some corn bread made from Indian corn her son had grown in Arkansas. Maria and Hans came for a little while as well.

Returning to the RV we sat and watched a DVD of Terry Fador, the ventriloquist who won America's Got Talent some time ago.

Merry Christmas to all!

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Today on the desert brought sunshine and wind. It rained here on the desert yesterday while we were in Blythe and it is a good thing because there was dust flying today, and it would have been a brownout without yesterday's rain.

We had a very lazy morning, not getting out of bed until after 9:00 am. Our walk took us to about 10:00 so we were just finishing breakfast at 10:45 am

Gordon dumped sewer today, Jeanne made bread, did dishes from two days ago, and cleaned house. Lunch was hamburger soup Jeanne had made on Monday. We were just going to sit down to eat when Chuck came, so warmed up a bowl for him. Glad we had some extra.

Hans and Maria invited us, along with Bonnie & Clyde over at 3:00 pm today for tea. She served fresh baked buns with jam and cheese and a cake. Clyde also brought a gingerbread cake she had made. We came home at 5:35 pm just in time for Gordon to get ready to go to the jam.

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Today was pot luck at quilting, but decided that seeing the Chiropractor was much more important. Have to go to Blythe, California (20 miles away) to do the shopping and see the doctor. Did some shopping for groceries after doctor appointment, and it was 3:00 pm when got back to Quartzsite. At 5:00 pm we went to Tom & Lucille's for a turkey supper. Very good. We played Crib until 9:45 pm. They love to play Crib and can't fine anyone to play with them. It was a real fun evening. They, also, are a super nice couple. Tom jams so Lucille will often save a seat for us. The last week or so Gordon has been doing the Wednesday night jam by himself so he sits by Lucille. She introduces him as her cousin, because her cousin's daughter, Nona was married to Gordon's cousin, Keith. Jeanne is not getting much quilting done. The days go by so quickly, there is just no time for work.

Monday, January 21st, 2009

The group, Glen, April, Bonnie, Clyde, Chuck, Gordon and a new member, Clint all went to Crystal Hill today. Jeanne stayed home and tried to get a Chiropractor appointment, except he doesn't work Mondays.

Some scenery from the ride. Clyde took a terrible fall, landing on her side, putting her elbow and wrist out of joint and her opposite shoulder is so sore she can't lift her arm.

Both Jeanne & Kathy (Clyde) went to Blythe on Tuesday morning to the Chiropractor. Things are improving with them both.

December 19th, 2009

I am having trouble inserting more than one picture in a post, so will just do more posts. After breakfast Jerilyn was presented with her presents. One was a little ditty that went something like:

For all the wear and tear Ron has

put on you over the years

here is something to wear and a spare

and two pair of panties. It was fun, but Jerilyn wouldn't model them for us. A real fun time was had by all!

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

A beautiful morning for a Birthday Breakfast for Jerilyn. They had planned a steak dinner for Sunday, as Jerilyn and Ron were leaving Monday for Utah. However, the weather report said Sunday would be better than Monday, and they wanted to get home before the storm, so we had a breakfast. We hosted it, as the two tents had blown down in the storm on the 7th. One couple purchased a new one but didn't want to put it up until they returned in the New Year, and our place had the best windbreak. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and warm if out of the wind. Gordon is at the BBQ Jim & Jan (Wisconsin) Walter (behind Jan) Gloria & Glen (Washington) Gloria's brother Lee and their cousin Opal. We had a wonderful egg, ham and biscuit dish made by Jan, a ham from Gloria, bacon, garlic sausage and orange sticky buns from Jerilyn and Gordon made pancakes and fried potatoes. Jeanne made sweet potato pancakes and a pan of brownies for a birthday cake. This is a great group, and we had a feast.

Here is a Christmas display in the desert. Remember, there are no electrical hookups here, it is all lit with generator power. Not a very good picture, but a fantastic display.

Here is a couple of pictures of Gordon clipping the skirting to the underside of the trailer, because he didn't want to drill holes to put the clips. Too bad because four days later we had the terrible storms which pulled it off the trailer, leaving it staked to the ground. It was quicker and easier the second time around.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

What a beautiful day in the desert. We left at 6:45 am for our walk. The sun was just showing a few rays in the eastern sky. We left so early because today was our first together quad ride of the season. Glen, April, Chuck, Clint, a neighbor from Washington, and of course Gordon & Jeanne loaded machines and headed to the Bouse area. We left at 10:00 am and returned at 4:00 pm. Put on 26 km which wasn't much, but it was enough for Jeanne. With quilting and not sleeping her wrist was a wee bit sore.

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Quilting day for Jeanne. Learned a new technique to do a fast quilt. What fun! Gordon rode quad over to visit with Glen & April. Evening found us at a Concert by Skyhawk. It was a fund raiser for the Rock & Gem club. Proceeds go to scholarships for the local school kids. Skyhawk is a threesome, Sonia is from Princeton BC great singer and trumpet player as well as keyboard. Norm is from Colorado and sings and plays guitar. Joe is base guitar player.

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Laundry day at the Foster's home. By the time the clothes were hanging on the line it was 11:00 am. Took all day to dry. Monday evening is our Arizona Sun RV Park jam, but the musicians had the volume turned so loud we could hardly hear the singers. At intermission Gord spoke with David, the organizer, so the last half was better but not as it should have been. We found out that a lot of the musicians are not coming there because of this very thing. We shall be rethinking Arizona Sun jams.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Boy has time whipped by us so fast we just don't seem to get anything done. On Wednesday the 2nd we went to Parker, AZ for groceries. They have a new Walmart there, but if you want any produce or meat arrival is necessary before noon. One good thing about Walmart is that Safeway, which is directly across the street, has lowered their prices. We spent the whole day there, visiting thrift stores and checking prices at three grocery outlets, and going for lunch at the Casino which we didn't think was all that good.

On Friday, the 4th of December we went dancing. That is a first in at least 15 years because of Gord's bad knees. Oh dear! toes were stepped on several times, but we should be much better by the time we leave here in the spring.

Glen & April arrived in Quartzsite on the 6th and have settled in LaPoza North. On Monday, the 7th we had a terrible storm, tornado tore out a lot of the vendors tents and both our neighbors, the Thuets and Hagens both lost their tents, and in so doing Thuet's car was damaged and Hagen's motorhome was damaged. Hagen's tent flew, braces intact, across the highway and landed over a mile away. We were attending a jam when the storm hit. When we got home our skirting was flapping and the tarp Gord had put up for a wind break was down, as the posts had twisted. The Saguaro cactus made from pop cans last year and stored in Quartzsite over the winter was in many pieces all over the country. We didn't find all of it.

Gordon spent Tuesday helping the neighbors get rid of their torn tent and making the repairs around here. Jeanne goes to the Seniors Center Tuesday from 9-2 to quilt.

Wednesday the 9th we accompanied Hans & Maria to Parker to shop. Evening found Gordon at a jam and Jeanne stayed home and did a bit of crocheting, quilting, reading. Don't seem to have much time during the day for those types of activities, and because it gets dark at 5:45 pm by 8:00 it seems late enough to go to bed.

Saturday, December 12 found Gordon, Chuck, Ken ( Dutch Creek Camp Host) and Clint went for Gordon's first quad ride of the season. It was a cool, windy day and Jeanne wanted to do some quilting. However, Maria came over in the afternoon to play cards, so didn't get much quilting done.

Hope all is well with all who read this!