December 2021

 We are officially in Christmas mode here in Oklahoma.

It will be here before you know it.  I'm so glad that a lot of my shopping can be done online and I don't have to try and find a certain item in the store.  Seems the supply issue is still just that, an issue! 

We have had some beautiful Oklahoma sunsets and I have been able to take some pictures of them.  The weather has been up and down since we got back.  I would love for it to stay warm, but I know its not going to.  

The Christmas cactus is blooming like crazy.  I think it was happy for me to be home and water it. When we leave the end of this month it will be on its own until May.  Seems to survive and be happy, so I guess it likes its accommodations

Another one of my succulent cacti has been growing very well.  I think they enjoy my neglect!  

December 13th I received a FEDEX delivery that I had been expecting.  I was so excited to get it.  I had bought Chuck a new Apple watch for Christmas.  I open the box, and to my surprise, there were several boxes in the main box.  Boxes and no watch.  It looks like someone had opened the box, retaped it, and sent it on its delivery way.  I was in shock. 

 I got on the phone immediately to notify Target of what I received.  I was told that they would look into the shipment and let me know something in 7 days.  WHAT!!! Did I hear this correctly?  I called them again and was told the same thing.  I questioned them a little further, and still the answer was that I would hear from them in 7 days.  This rocked on for another few days and I decided it was getting way too close for Christmas, so I went ahead and ordered a watch thru Amazon.  I received it the next day.  I proceeded to call Target and ask again if I would receive another watch or would I get my money back.  Still the same answer.  This was just the most strange thing I have ever been involved in when it comes to a missing item.  I get that they have to do some research on their end, but at least let me know if I would get a replacement or money refunded.  I finally just said to heck with worrying about it but I can assure you on the 7th day I will be in contact with them.  Fast forward to the 7th day, and I had decided to just wait and contact them on the 8th day.  I am happy to report that I had a notification that money would be coming back to my account on that very day.  Why couldn't someone have told me that it would be rectified this way? I feel I have learned a lesson and will be ordering from Amazon as I know how they handle problems.  I'm glad I went ahead and ordered another one when I did as if I had waited on Target I would have been empty handed for Christmas.  

Christmas Eve is here and the weather is absolutely beautiful.

We loaded up the sleigh and make our way to the kids house.  

They have been quite busy finishing up their house.  After the hail storm and their pool being built, their home has been in quite a mess.  I think it is all coming together.  Today they are actually putting water in the pool, so the end is nearing.  

They also had a circle drive put in the front of the house.  All very good improvements.  The planning for more parking space is great since they do have kids that will be driving before you know it.  

The evening was spent outside in the backyard.  The weather really was great and we all enjoyed the time outside. 

The time has come to eat so we go inside and do just that.  Wow I have missed these get togethers!  I know the kids are ready to dig into the presents that seem to have taken over the living room.  

I always make up a box for the kids that have their PJ's for the night and some candy and lots of miscellaneous things.  I always enjoy doing this.  With all the shortages due to Covid, I found some PJ bottoms earlier in the season in Yuma.  They didn't have a lot to choose from in the kids department so I went to the teens area and just picked up a couple of pair of extra small bottoms.  Well, let me tell you I won't make that mistake again.  We all got a good laugh when the kids came down stairs with theirs on.

  Guess I should have washed and dried them on a really hot setting.  Cash made the best of his very long PJ's.  Coopers weren't quite as bad.  

Oh well, it is the thought that counts, right!! 

What a wonderful evening we had.  I know mother and Louie enjoyed it as well, but I also know they were very tired.  We say our goodbyes and make our way back to our homes.  

We spent Christmas day packing up the last minute things in the RV.  It was so great to be here, but I am super excited to get back to Yuma and enjoy our home away from home.  We are bringing a vehicle back to Yuma for our friends, Marcy and Clayton.  Should be a piece of cake.  

 Chuck was able to get his new extension cord reel holder assembled and installed.  I think this will be really handy for him. 

The weather heading west doesn't look like its going to be fun at all.  The winds are supposed to be howling.  They look like we will be going almost straight into them.  Diana, Chris and their two furry kids are going to follow us to Yuma.  The wind didn't disappoint.  It was a slow and steady drive, but we made it to our first stop.  We boondocked outside of Vaughn, NM and rode out the winds that blew through the night.  

Diana is quite worried about Abby.  She isn't doing very well.  She can't seem to stand up and just all in all not doing well.  We have talked back and forth all day.  Diana has gone so far as to see if she can find a vet along the way to take her to and see what they think.  Since Abby is living on borrowed time as she is a "senior" dog, things aren't looking very good.  

When we stop for the night we went to their rig and sat and talked about Abby.  After looking at how she was acting, we discussed "old dog vestibular syndrome".   They knew about it as their son had a dog that had it.  We knew about it as our Westie, Minnie, had it.  All they could do is make Abby comfortable and help her in and out of their rig and just wait to see if it clears up.  

December 28th wasn't much change for Abby.  She was still unable to stand upright.  We continued our drive and I would love to say it was without wind, but alas it wasn't.  We had wind once again! At one point I look at our route on one of the weather apps I use, and it looks like we are parting the sea.  Seems we are riding right down the middle of an area that is buffering the wind.  I know this won't last long but it is sure nice.  

 Poor Diana is still looking for a vet to see Abby, and has not had any luck finding anyone.  We continue our drive and hope for the best with Abby.  It really is the only thing we can do!  

Wendy and Michele (our friends in Yuma) had told us about a great place to get a burger along our route.  We decided to stop in the little town of San Antonio, NM and try out the "world famous" green chili burger.  The restaurant is the  The Original Owl Bar & Cafe. 

 We actually were able park our rigs right across the street from the cafe.  

Of course we were there at 9:30am New Mexico time.  Our stomachs said it was more like 10:30 -11:00 and it was time to eat some food.  

Chris opted for breakfast, but Diana, Chuck and I had to try what they are famous for.  Our food came out right at 10;00 New Mexico time, so we felt like it was a perfect time for lunch.  Chris wasn't impressed with his breakfast.  We on the other hand enjoyed our green chili burger.  I'm so glad we took the advise of Wendy and Michele and made this little stop.  

Stomachs are full and ready to make some miles, we head toward Hatch, NM.  As we drive through the small town, we get behind another RVer that probably shouldn't even be on the road.  The very old rig is having some roof issues, and the winds are not being kind to it.  We finally get to the passing lane and pass it.  I was so glad to get around the poor rig as I wasn't sure if the roof was going to fly off and hit us.  We actually got a video of it going down the road but I am not sure if it will show on here.  So you will just have to see a still shot.  

We stop for the night just outside of Bisby, AZ.  There is no change in Abby.

We had dinner over at their rig tonight.  Diana had fixed a nice salad with chicken.  After dinner we walked over to the McDonalds that was very near by and had a hot fudge sundae. We discussed getting breakfast in the morning before we head out for our final day on the road.  

Abby tried so hard to be her bouncy self, but we attempted to just keep her quiet and still.  So glad she has made it this far and I hope she is going to be ok.  So sad to see our furry friends reach their senior years and go down so quickly.  

Breakfast went as planned and we were on the road before you know it.  We should be in Yuma by noon.  Looking forward to being there!  Abby had a restful night so we are hoping she is feeling better.

It was nice to be back in Yuma.  We made it here by noon so we get everything in order and relax.

To celebrate us being back we had a nice fire to warm the cool night air.

  

December 31st we are right in the middle of a rain storm.  Although it doesn't ever rain a lot here in Yuma, it sure seems that we can bring it with us.  The weather is pretty brisk today, but by the evening it has dried up nicely and we are enjoying another fire on the patio.  

Diana's update on Abby is that she seems to be a little better.  This is wonderful news!  That girl has used up several of her lives during this trip out here.  We sure hope she continues doing well and can make the trip back to Oklahoma.  Diana says they will take a look at her when they go back and see what to do at that point.  

Here we are on New Years Eve and we are not having the scheduled but cancelled party.  I had plans to have it at our place but the new variant of COVID has hit our little community in Yuma pretty hard.  We have several friends down with it, and it was just a no brainer to cancel the party.  We will have another party when things calm down.  

This is the last post for the year 2021.  It has been a mixed bag of highs and lows, but I am so happy we have all been able to survive this year.  We are all pretty darn healthy and we really do want to keep it that way.  

The blog seems to be getting harder and harder for me to write and keep up the way I think I should. I am really thinking of stopping.  Its been 10 years of writing about our life and adventures, and although we have many more adventures left in us, I think I am going to wind down and stop.  I truly enjoy doing it, but it just seems to be a "job" that I am kind of tired of doing.  I guess if you see that I have written another month, this is all just hearsay!  

Happy New Years to all my wonderful family and friends.  Lets hope 2022 is a great year!  

November 2021

 November 1st and we are off to Mexico to eat some pozole with our friends. 

The day was filled with a lot of laughter and fun.  This group is the best to run around with!  

Such a fun filled day and we even got to experience a beautiful sunset.  What a great way to start off the month of November! 

November 3rd we girls got out early to do some shopping.  We needed some coffee and the only thing we could find open for breakfast was a Jack in the Box.  Have to say it didn't disappoint any of us.  The food was great and the iced coffee's were really good as well.  (or maybe we are easy to please??)

November 5th I have a Norwex Party inside our garage. 

The plan is to either use Zoom or Facetime to make this happen.  My girl that is doing the party is in Oklahoma so this is a first for her so time will tell how this works.  I have to say we had a full house for the party.  The Zoom part of the meeting didn't go so well, but when we switched to Facetime it worked great.  I was able to mirror the meeting through our TV.  Sherry was a great host and she was able to answer all the questions we threw at her.  It was a fun but hot evening.  I really enjoyed sharing my experience with the products with the group of gals.  

November 7th we got another beautiful sunset.  I made sure to go upstairs and get some pictures.  Sharing on here for all to see.  

I am really enjoying the camera on my IPhone 13 Pro.  I have taken several pictures in the evening when we had a fire in the fireplace.  I am so impressed that I can actually get a great night time photo! 

 November 10th we join Moe and his group of Jeepers.  We had a nice size group to go into the desert on this trip.

  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed meeting the people that attended.  It was a full day of exploring the area around the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.  

We plan on going on some more of these rides in the future.  Thanks to Moe for showing us a great time today! 

We have been invited to go with Moe and the group the following week, so I guess we did ok!  We then invited Michele and Wendy to take their Jeep into the desert as well.  We assured them that Moe wouldn't go anywhere that would tear their Jeep up on the trails. 

Bryan has tagged along today with his buggy.  So much fun to explore areas we have not ever seen.  The drive was really nice but it seemed to be a really long day in the Jeep. 

The weather was just perfect for the ride. 

 We saw donkey's this trip.  They were very high up on the mountain but you could make them out.  

We also found some interesting caves in the mountains.  We had to explore them for a bit.   

After we all said our goodbyes, we asked Wendy and Michele and Bryan if they wanted to go downtown to The Pint House for some food.  Enjoyed sitting outside and having some good eats to finish of our wonderful day.  

November 21st we are on the road back to Oklahoma to see the family for the holidays.  The winds are being a bear today and it makes for a very tense drive.  I took a picture of my weather app showing we were riding in the middle of the winds.  It was nice for a little while. 

I had driven some in the afternoon and we were pulling into a gas station and all of a sudden we hear this alarm going off.  Nothing that sounded familiar to either of us.  Chuck was screaming for me to pull over and I was trying to find a spot to do just that.  Come to find out it was my cell phone.  Note to self:  Dont ever place your phone in the cup holder upside down so the buttons on the side can dial an Emergency SOS call.  Hit a massive bump and it calls everyone on your list.  I had set mine up when I was setting up my new phone.  We are trying to get the darn thing to quit squawking.  My phone is ringing.  Diana and Anthony are calling me to see if everything is ok. By this time I was a basket case and assured the callers that we were fine and I would call them back later.  I am out of the drivers seat and I just threw up my hands and told Chuck he needed to take over.  I will be removing this added safety feature from my phone!  I know it could very well be a nice feature, but I'm kinda over it!   

After this crazy day of driving in the wind and all the SOS excitement I call the Blazin Saddles RV Park in Tucumcari, NM to secure a spot for the night.  I had tried to get us a spot in Amarillo but I guess everyone is on the road heading for Thanksgiving gatherings.  

As we drive thru Tucumcari we make our way to the Blake's Lot O Burger and order some food.  As usual it takes awhile to cook the burgers but I have to say they were delicious and well worth the wait.  

Our day started at 7am and its now 1:45pm and we are very close to our stay for the night.  Has been a fun filled (NOT) day of excitement for sure and its time to chill for awhile.   

The Blazin Saddles RV Park was very simple and nice.  Funniest conversation with the gentlemen running the place when I call him to secure a spot.  He asked me not once, not twice but three times if we were towing a vehicle.  I assured him that we were NOT pulling anything behind our rig.  Now fast forward to pulling in to check in.  I go inside and he asked me if we were towing.  I told him no.  A gentleman comes in the door as we were having this conversation about towing.  He asked me again....I still said no....he got out of his chair and looked at our rig and asked what that truck was doing behind our rig.  Caught totally off guard, I whirl around and look.  Remember the man that had walked in....well, it was his truck!!!!  Geez, this guy just doesn't want to believe me!  The man piped up and said, "that's my truck"......can I say I need a drink!!!!!The gentleman behind the desk finally takes my money and shows us to our spot.  Time to rest and make our way to Yukon, OK tomorrow! 

 

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet.  I have taken care of the SOS issue!  Bronco was glad we had an uneventful drive the rest of the way!  

It was nice to get home.  We got the rig unloaded and enjoyed our first night back home. Time to get working on preparing the house and food for Thanksgiving. 

I really had missed seeing the grands so I ran to Norman and picked them up.  We got to spend a little time together and it was good for my heart to see them.  

Thanksgiving day is here and it was so nice spending some time with the family.  I had planned for us to play Bingo after we had our lunch.  I think everyone had a great day.

  Mother was the big winner on Bingo this time.  Cooper and Heather won one game a piece as well.  So very thankful for this family we have.  

Mother and I got a year older the last two days of November.  How blessed am I to have a mother that is turning 93 yrs. old and still so active.  Totally amazing that we have shared the 29th and 30th of November together for so many years.  

November is officially over.  Now we start Christmas!!!! 

October 2021

 It really has been a struggle for me to write my blogs.  Why you ask???  Because we are enjoying our home in Yuma.  There just seems to be so many things going on in the neighborhood.   I just don't have time to write anything down.  Thank goodness I take pictures of events because I think I would truly forget most of them...LOL....not saying my mind is slipping, but when you are enjoying every moment of your life it's just a little more difficult to settle down and write about it.  

With all that being said, I must get busy and tell you of all the fun for the month of October.  

One of the first things we did this month is make a trip to Mexico.  We girls have missed our trips over the border!  We are still on restrictions as the border is still closing at 2pm, but we are hopeful it will change soon!  Todays trip was to celebrate Heidi's moms birthday.   It was so fun to go and see our regular vendors and pick up a few trinkets that we probably didn't really need.  Coffee is always a "must" have when we arrive.  The next time I am going to try the Mexican Chocolate one that MaryEllen ordered.  It looked delicious.  

I am happy to report that we all made it back before the border closed. It was such a fun day and we really appreciated being asked to join Heidi and her mom.  I think this is a birthday she will remember for awhile.   

Our friend Bryan was over Saturday night and mentioned "Pozole".   My ears perked up for sure.  So Sunday we make another trip to Mexico.   

Today we are going with Sandy, Brian and Sandy's mom.  It was delicious as usual.  As you can see from the pictures we really enjoyed our day!

 Not sure if getting samples of the almond tequila had anything to do with it or not!!!  You ask what is almond tequila...well the guys at The Mine Jewelry Store turned us on to this little gem.  

 We even bought a few bottles home so we could share with our friends.

October 6th we made our way to Mel's Ice Cream.  So glad to see she has a new location and is also selling hot dogs along with her great ice cream.  Clayton and Marcy came as well, and Clayton tried one of Mel's Bacon Hot dogs....he said that it was very good....I would have loved to have gotten a picture of it but it was gone before I could get the camera out.  LOL

October 11th we went on a little RZR ride with The Alton's.  We had another UTV go with us as well.  Jason drove his UTV and Brian was his co-pilot.  We rode around our area for a bit so Len could get the feel of their new to them RZR.  We finished off the short ride by going to Wheezie's for lunch.  It was a fun little outing....I'm sure there will be many more in the future.  

October 14th we took the Jeep out for a little outing.  Jerry, Tanya, Clayton and Marcy invited us to go and dig for crystals.  We head out 95 towards Quartzite and turn at the Castle Dome cut off.  Not too far off the beaten path we stop and park.  Since this was the first time Chuck and I had hunted for crystals, I am equipped with a 5 gallon bucket.  I am observing that I am the only person with a bucket.  Everyone else has heavy material bags.  Well, I find out that the bucket is a total miscalculation for this event.  I am a fast learner and will make sure the next time we do this to have the correct gear!  Into the wash we go in search for crystals.  I am so amazed at how many there are.  They aren't limited to one color either.  There are pink and green ones along with the white.  Its a fairly warm day and we do our searching and decide it is time to wrap this little expedition up for this day.  It was a lot of fun and I think our friend Jerry can lead us to quite a few fun "rock" hunts.  So glad we were invited to join!  

October 15th is another RZR ride.  The decision to go to Liguarta Station for breakfast was made and we head out about 9am.  It was a fun filled day with a wonderful group of people.  

We girls enjoyed the ride and most of all the food!!!  

We even saw a little bit of wildlife this trip.  

The Altons had another fun filled day on the RZR.  

October 19th.  We have T-Mobile for our cellular carrier and they have T-Mobile Tuesday.  Today they had a really cute blanket that I thought I needed.  It was late in the day by the time I got around to going by the store.  When I walked in, the store was empty and I asked about my blanket.  The guy was very nice and gave me two of the blankets.  I started talking to him about the new Iphone and asked if he had any in stock.  He assured me he had one if I was interested.  Long story short, guess what I did!  

  I am so excited to get a new Iphone 13 Pro.  I really had no idea how wonderful the new camera was until I started taking some pictures and noticed how crisp and sharp they were.  

The night camera is absolutely wonderful.  I was able to get a picture of the full moon coming over the mountains and actually be able to see the moon.  Impressed is all I can say!  

Remember the crystals we went digging for.  I thought it would be fun to somehow display them in the yard.  Marcy and I were at Hobby Lobby and saw this cute little saguaro cactus wall hanging and the light bulb moment hit both of us.  I am going to tear it apart and glue some of the crystal on the wood.  This way I can display the crystals in an art form.  If I decide that I'm tired of the piece I can always remove the crystals and use elsewhere.  E-6000 glue is a wonderful thing!  

Chuck received a call from our friends Ken and Bev. They along with Carol and Ryaan were dry camping at the Q Casino and wanted to meet us in Mexico for lunch the next day.  Sounded like a grand idea.  

A little shopping and a bit of mexican food made the day perfect.  Was so nice to get to spend some time with these guys.  Plans are in the making to see them in January in Quartzite.  

October 29th we got the Mexican Brick installed in the front of our place.  This had been in the making for a year now.  It is so nice to see the area completed.  The workmanship was perfect.  They had the leveling of the area done very quickly and it only took about 4 hours for them to complete the transformation.  Check that one off the list!  Love it.

October 30th and we are having a Halloween party.  I had hand delivered most of the invitations a few weeks ago.

 I mentioned that no one had to dress up, but as the day approached I decided that I needed to get my game on and do something.  I am always talking about Frida Kahlo the well known Mexican painter, so I decided that I need to dress as her.  

With the help of a few great friends, I was transformed.  

I just so happened  to see our friend Brenda out jogging the morning of the party.  She is quite the girl for a mission.  The mission was to find me some clothes so I could be Frida.  

It didn't take Brenda long to get in her car and make a bee line to the local Goodwill store. She found me a skirt for my outfit.  She also found a stuffed monkey....not just any ole monkey, but this one actually takes batteries and makes monkey noises.  

When she delivered my stuff we all got a big laugh out of her finds.  She is wonderful!  Her mission was accomplished.  

Susie supplied me with some silver jewelry and a shawl to finish out the outfit.  I had a belt and also a scarf that I would use in my hair to finish the transformation.  I was pretty excited to get dressed up for this get together. You will have to look closely at the pictures to see the unibrow  that I drew on to make sure I looked like Frida...LOL

Not to be outdone, I had worked on Chuck's costume that same day.  I would have loved for him to be dressed as Diago,  Frida's husband, but time wasn't on our side at this point.  I think Chuck's costume is really perfect for him, so we will save that for the next costume party. 

Heidi, Diana, Sandy and Susie were the decorating committee today.  We knocked out the decorating in record time.  

 

The neighbors have been bringing over food since early afternoon and the garage is the designated "food court" for this evening.  You have never seen so much food in your life.

 

The guest starting showing up around 4pm.

Chuck and I greeted everyone.  By the way, you know what and who I dressed as, but you still don't know what Chuck dressed as.  He's a "leaf blower"!!!!!!

 

We have planned for about 30 people to show.  I think our patio is shrinking!  We are so blessed to have such a fine bunch of people to call our friends.  We have known some of them longer than others but I can truly say we have some great people here in the Foothills.  

What a perfect way to finish out the month of October.  I think everyone had a really good time.  We sure did enjoy hosting the party.  Thanks to all that participated and made it such a fun evening.