March 2nd, in the afternoon, they showed up.
I really was so excited to see those two.
We know if there is anyone that we get into mischief with, it is these two.
They drove their truck and I was so excited to see they had brought their electric bikes.
Chris said he got a rock chip in the windshield on the way here, so we will address the issue of getting it fixed tomorrow.
Our bed hasn't come for the Casita yet, so Chuck, Bronco, and I are still living in the 5th wheel.
Diana brought an air bed so they will be staying in the casita.
A good nights sleep is what these two need now, as they have really pushed it to get here!
First thing that March 3rd brings our way is to get the rock chip fixed on the Biggs truck.
There is a guy that has been set up for quite some time on a corner we pass by, so we decide to go and check him out.
Oh what an experience it was...LOL
First the guy comes out of the trailer with his wife beater, and keeps telling us he was getting ready to take a "bucket bath"....well, I can only imagine what a "bucket bath" is so we just leave that one alone.
Apparently he just got here and is helping the gentlemen that is set up here.
Oh man, the guy could talk to say the least.
Diana & I decided to walk to the CVS Drug Store that was across the street and let the guys handle this rock issue.
As soon as we came back to the truck, we notice the guy is still methodically working on the rock chip.Of course he tells us he is the best, and that this rock chip will be the best repair we have ever seen.
Diana and I get into the truck and sit as we are hoping this might speed up the process.
Not sure if it did or not, but the guys actually join us, as this seems to help slow the talking down and actually get some work done on the chip.
I took a picture of the guy because he reminded me of the guy on the show "Leverage", Timothy Hutton.
Now you have to imagine Timothy Hutton in one of his roles to see him in this guy, but I think there is defiantly a similarity..
We explore the town of Yuma on March 4th and decide we need some lunch.Diana pulls up restaurants around us and we decide to try Julianna's Patio Cafe .
We almost didn't go in, but decided to be daring and try it.
Beyond amazed at that this place.
There are all types of exotic birds in cages, and also parrots and peacocks roaming around.
One peacock even strutted his stuff for us.
We felt like we were on an island somewhere.
Chuck decided to have the unlimited "mimosa cocktails", but Diana, Chris and I stuck with the margaritas.
Let me tell you, Chuck says he had never had a mimosa before (which is hard to believe) but I think this will be his last...he wasn't impressed..LOL
The food was very good and we were totally surprised at finding such a wonderful oasis in the middle of Yuma.
The next few days were trips to Mexico once again, or maybe two or three times more...we have lost count.
Burgers at Wheezies on Wednesday, and as always they were delicious.
Our squatters moved to the garage after their first night in the casita...
they felt there was more room for them to stretch out.
I think the air mattress was a bit challenging as they always seem to leak, no matter how good they are.
Alas all good things have to come to an end and they decide they had to head back to Oklahoma to the real world.
Gosh we are going to miss these guys, but looks like they are going to try and come back next season and stay on one of the lots that is close to us and rent it for a few months.
Oh, the fun we can have!
Back to reality for us as well, so we step up our game and get some things accomplished in the casita.
Chuck hangs our TV on the wall, and gets it all set up.
Our Canadian neighbors invite us over for dinner one evening.
They have a garage full of people.
Some we had met and some we hadn't.
The food and fellowship of this group is great, and although we are the "new kids on the block", we never felt like it.
The weather was cold and wet so it was nice to be tucked in their garage with the space heaters going to keep us all nice and warm.
Our much awaited bed finally comes in.
It is going to be interesting if we like this "cabinet murphy bed" or not.
Sure hope so....time will tell.
One thing for sure is it is pretty heavy and I am so glad we had them deliver it and set it up.
While Chuck has been busy getting some stuff done around the place, I have been painting the oak cabinets in the kitchen area.I have been back and forth on what colors I thought I wanted to paint the cabinets.
The gel stain in the "java" color was one idea, but alas I decided to do a lighter faux finish on them.
I am putting handles on the kitchen cabinets to update them a bit.
It has been a fun project and the outcome is what I was looking for.
This girl is getting tired of painting, and I am thinking I will wait until next season to tackle the bathroom.
One of our neighbors Susie, has some of the Mexican Equipale furniture on her patio.
I have to say it is something I really do find interesting and think I would like to get some pieces as well.
I am a Facebook Marketplace person, and just happened to come across a person selling a small loveseat, rocker and table one morning.
I text the lady and tell her I am very interested in her items.
She lives very close to us, so Chuck and I get in the truck and drive over to check out the furniture.
It is in really good condition and the price is right, so looks like we are owners of some really cute
Equipale furniture.
The month of March keeps spinning and March 17th we are so excited to have "the family" to come and visit.They flew into San Diego and took the kids to the San Diego Zoo.
Their plans are to spend a couple of days in the San Diego area and then drive to Yuma and see us.
Since we have finally gotten the bed in the casita, we have set the Taj-Mah-Hauler up for them.
The kids will sleep in the back area of Taj and Anthony & Heather will sleep in the bedroom area.
This is kinda camping for them...LOL
I think Cooper and Cash enjoyed the roof patio quite a bit.
We ate dessert on the rooftop the first evening they were here.
The next few days were pretty much busy with showing them the sites of Yuma.
We had lunch at the "Pint House" so they could see what the small downtown area was like.
Cash wanted to ride go carts, so we took him to the local area, and we even played a round of Put-put.
The weather was warm and we all kept looking for a little shade to stand in.
Their stay is almost over, but not before we hike up one of the trails that we see so many people at.
Chuck and I lingered back as they continued to get higher and higher.
As we come back down, we talk to one of the locals and he tells us there is a much easier trail than what we were on, and gives us directions for the next time we attempt this.
The kids pack up the next morning and head back towards San Diego, CA., to make their evening flight back to Dallas.
Their day is going to be very long, as they will drive back to Norman once they land.
So very proud of Cooper for making this very emotion filled trip to see us.
I know she was very apprehensive about the whole trip, and up to the last minute she kept saying she didn't want to go.
If you think PTSD doesn't exist, you are sorely mistaken.
We thoroughly enjoyed them coming to see us in our new winter home.
Maybe next time they will have their passports and we can make a trip over to Mexico.....put that one on the bucket list!
Man, the wave of sadness really swept over me when the kids left.
We had been so busy with our friends Diana & Chris and now the kids, and I can say I am truly sad to see it all come to an end.
Pick yourself up Diane and be thankful that we are so lucky to have them all come and visit.
This too shall pass...
March 20th we are invited to go to our first "Howling at the Moon".
Our friends and neighbors Mary Ellen and Len invited us, so we pack up the truck with chairs and food and follow them just a short distance from our house to the event.
Gosh, there are a lot of people out here in the desert.
This is a pretty big production that seems to happen every month during the "winter" months in the Foothills.
Len and Mary Ellen know a group of people that are set up in an area.
We follow their lead and drop our stuff off at the designated area.
Friendly group of people and it seems they all live very close to us.
We were asked to bring a package of hot dogs and a side dish.
One lady has this small charcoaler set up and she has the dogs cooking.
She has a pan with chili in it warming as she cooks.
I am here to tell you that I think she has done this before.
It was totally amazing to watch her as well as the people around us fixing food for the groups of people.
I am taking notes of all this, as one of these times, we may have to do this set up as well.
Seems that people come out as early as 9am to mark their place in the sand where they will be setting up later in the day.This get together seems to start around 3pm, and once the moon comes up, everyone seems to leave.
They have a couple of live bands playing.
There is an area to buy t-shirts and memorabilia that says "Howling at the Moon" on them.
A few food vendors are set up as well.
Chuck and I are very impressed with this whole set up.
Oh, and those hot dogs were delicious.
Once the moon came up and we all howled, everyone started leaving.
We really enjoyed the company of Len and Mary Ellen and getting to know a bit more about them.
I think this howling thing could be something we would like to do again.
We are learning things left and right here in Yuma.
We have some palm trees on our lot, and have been told that people come by all the time wanting to trim them for you at a very reasonable rate.
Sure enough, we have a guy come by and tells us that our Palms need trimming and he needs some money.
He tells Chuck he will trim the large one for us for $30.
Heck that sounds like a good price so we tell him to do it.
A few minutes later he shows up with his truck and his saws, and starts working on our palm tree.
It was amazing how many limbs he removed.His trailer filled up rather quickly.
We have a group of three smaller palms and he tells us they need to be cleaned up as well.
For an additional $10 he would do them as well.
Just the hauling off of the limbs are worth that....so we let him trim away.
Susie is having a happy hour and I go over and sit for awhile as Chuck stays with the tree trimmer.
A little later, I go back to the house and trade places with Chuck.
I pay the guy and just like that, we have our palms trimmed up.
He really did a nice job.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we would own property with palm trees on it....have I said how much I love my life. :)
The wood beams are painted a light sand color like the main body of the structure.
I think they should be dark stained to ground the structure a little bit.
I have been itching to try the gel stain that I purchased on these beams, and today its going to happen.
I am using General Finishes Gel Stain in the java color for this project.
I have read all kinds of reviews on this product and decide I will just put a coat or two over the painted logs that hold our structure up.
I am not sure what the summer sun will do to this, but I am going to give it a try and see how it weathers.
The finished product turned out nicely.
It gives the casita a little more personality, in my opinion.
I went ahead and stained the double doors as well.
My plans are to rough them up a bit to give it a weathered look.
You know, I always like things to look a bit used....LOL
That little project is done just in time for our friends Carol and Ryaan to come and visit.
They came from Florence, AZ. to see some other friends and thought they would see us as well.
They have their new camper on their truck and they pull onto the lot and set up camp for the evening.
Carol mentions that she is planning to go to Mexico on Monday, and of course my ears perk up with the opportunity to go over to my favorite little town in Mexico.
We make our way over the border and have a really good time with them as they shop for a table.
Chuck finds us some new terra cotta light sconce (since I accidentally let the door swing back and hit one and broke it to pieces).
Having to carry three of these things back over the border was our workout for the day for sure.
They are heavy!
Enjoyed spending a couple of days with some really nice people that we call our friends.
The next few days Chuck and I work on the outside of the lot and enjoy some beautiful evening sunsets.Back at the first of the month when Diana & Chris were here, Diana and I were walking one morning and we saw this lady tending to some fruit trees.
I asked her about how to care for them as we have a lemon and an orange tree on our lot.
The lady was quite informative and told me what type of fertilizer to use on them and about her watering plans.
She was taking care of a lot across the street from her at the time we saw her.
Chuck and I noticed she and her husband over at the same lot pulling all the fruit one evening.
This morning she drives up to our lot and ask me if I would like some of her fruit.
I can never say no to fresh fruit.
She was so kind and wanted to give me more than I though we would ever eat, so I took a bag of lemons, oranges, and grapefruit.
How nice of her to share them.
We have noticed in the area that people put out signs of "free fruit" after it has been picked.
Pretty cool to have fresh lemons every day of the week.
March is coming to an end and we are feeling we have been able to get a lot of things done around the place.
It is beginning to look like "our home" now.
Of course we still have the load of rocks in front of our fence that I fondly say it looks like we have buried a dead Indian in.
I think the mound of rocks will more than likely have to stay that way until next season, as it is starting to get warmer and probably not the best time to work on relocating tons of rocks to another location....and of course we would have to have a wheel barrel to do that little chore.
Time to turn the page to April.
