I THINK THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE MIGHTY MOST LAZIEST DAY OF THE YEAR SO FAR

MOON SETTING IN THE SUN’S EARLY MORNING GLOW

Pheebs & I were all snugly buggly in the rig last night & everything went well for our first of 7 nights.  I slept on Kelly’s big bed in my toasty sleeping bag & Pheebs slept up front on the loveseat sofa.  Of course about 5:30 she hopped up on the bed nudging me with her cold little nose telling me it was ‘uppy-uppy’ time.  And with a bunch of slurpy smooches on my face uppy I got.

US GUYS WERE ALL BRIGHT EYED & BUSHY TAILED THIS MORNING…WELL SORTA

 

ALL SNUGGLY IN OUR TEMPORARY WINNIE WAGON DIGS

Aside from tipping a full jug of water over on the kitchen counter I did manage to make myself a good hot cup of coffee.  Been a few years since I’ve made coffee.  Seeing’s how I basically only drink one coffee a day now that 1 cup is usually made by Kelly in the morning when she makes a pot of coffee.  She likes more than one cup first thing in the morning.  Took a fair number of years to beat my coffee addiction down to just 4 cups a day & then a few more years to get that down to one coffee a day.  Occasionally a second cup when traveling but I am no longer addicted to the caffeine so do not suffer the withdrawal effects I did at one time years ago.  Now, about this darn peanut butter & honey problem of mine…..!!

 

EASY TO SEE WHY WE HAD TO GET RID OF OUR MISSION CHAIRS…JUST TOO CROWDED FOR THE PHEEBS AND THOSE WOODEN ARMS WERE JUST TOO HARD ON HER HEAD

Peter came with us on our desert walk this morning.  Been awhile since we had walked to the watering hole or better known here in the west as a ‘tank’.  Water level down quite a bit since the last time Kelly & I walked out there a couple months ago. 

KELLY WITH BROTHER PETER ON OUR MORNING DESERT WALK

 

CHECKING OUT A CATTLE WATERHOLE

SPOTTED THIS IN THE UNDERBRUSH WHICH WE AT FIRST THOUGHT WAS A COW SKULL

ON CLOSER INSPECTION IT TURNED OUT TO BE THIS PILE OF BONES BUT NO SKULL

One day last week we were serenaded by classical music on our walk.  We became aware of music in the desert air one morning & determined it came from the Congress School about half a mile away.  Played for about 10 minutes & it was definitely Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, or one of those guys.  Just seemed so strange for a school to be playing classical music over their PA system outside.  And then the music abruptly ended.  Sounds of a clicking Mic & then a ladies voice saying something about a pledge of allegiance.  Couple more clicking sounds & silence.  Our classical music concert was abruptly over.  Guess someone just accidentally left a wrong switch on somewhere.  I had visions of a schoolyard full of teenagers running frantically around in circles with their hands over their ears as Mozart’s violins rattled around in their head spaces.

 

MALE CARDINAL DANCING AROUND ON THE FEEDER PLATFORM

We all just basically out sat on the front porch this morning enjoying the warm temperatures & watching the bird activity around our Saguaro Cactus.  With a few bodies changing location now & again this afternoon was much the same.  Not exactly the kind of morning & afternoon that makes for good blog fodder at the end of the day.  Maybe we will all get mobile Sunday.

 

I always find it interesting reading RV’ers posts who are new to the lifestyle.  Brings back so many memories of when Kelly & I first ventured out.  Everything was a ‘first time’ for us.  Whether it was towing a travel trailer, 5th wheel, or a toad, it was all nerve wracking but excitedly new to us.  Dumping tanks, wider turns, maneuvering through traffic with our 53 foot set up.  Generators, converters, inverters, propane appliances, storage bins, batteries, & the list goes on & on.  Still does sometimes.  Doug & Dolly from MISS ADVENTURE TRAVELS are going through that exciting learning curve at the moment with many ‘firsts’ popping up along the way.  Doug ventured out onto some Jeep back roads in the Bouse Arizona area getting his Jeep into 4 wheel mode for the first time.  Oh how I remember the excitement & apprehension of our first time doing the same thing.  Am I in the right gear, do I have the crankcase set right, are all the wheels working, what about that sand ahead, oh oh steep gully coming up, what about that big rock sticking up out of the road, oh geezzzzz, I’ll never get up that hill, where are we??  Awwwwww, great times those early days & still great times today.  Nothing has changed.  The excitement, wonderment, & apprehension are all still there & that is what adds up to the overall greatness of this whole RVing experience & lifestyle. 

Are there rules & regulations for RV folks camping out in the boonies?  Is there a protocol to follow, maybe some etiquette?  How about a whole lot of just plain & simple common sense & respect for others all mixed in with a healthy dose of responsibility.  Well, yes & no there is.  Nina over at WHEELING IT has just written a ‘must-read’ post about all that.  Drop by & she’ll tell you about it & answer many questions existing Boondockers or future Boondockers have.  Boondocking rocks…..:))

<<< THIS IS ANOTHER CEREAL MIXTURE FROM HOLY CRAP THAT KELLY EATS

And a possible correction to Friday night’s post.  Kelly didn’t think TRADER JOES carried the HOLY CRAP cereal I thought I saw there.  She went on-line to TJ’s site this morning checking to see if they carried that cereal & could not find any indication they did.  But I’m almost certain I laid eyeballs on the cereal somewhere in the past week or two & my brain seems to think it was Trader Joes.  Would appreciate any TJ shoppers out there letting me know if they have seen it on Trader Joes shelves.  It’s a Canadian product by the way.  Check out TJ’s top 25 favorite customer products as rated by their own faithful shoppers.  25 TOP FAVS AT TJ'S.  By the way, I hope no readers went ripping into Trader Joes this morning asking a cashier, “Hey where’s that Holy Crap we hear ya have”.

PETER & LESLIE SPENT A QUIET AFTERNOON RELAXING & READING IN THE BACK YARD

Dave from GOING RV WAY is the latest RV’er to join our ‘Friends’ list.  Welcome aboard & thanks for stopping by.  That’s a tight fit in the storage facility you have there but looks like an easy out. 

‘Acheapguy’ in the Shout Box wondered if we have earthquakes here in Arizona like California.  My answer to that is no I don’t think we do.  Never seem to hear much about earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami's, snow storms, or cyclones out here in quiet old Arizony.  Just a few of the many reasons we like it here:))

HEY MOM & DAD….I THOUGHT THIS WAS MY SOFA

 

OH WELL I GUESS I CAN SHARE JUST THIS ONCE………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:((   Howard County Police officers still write their reports by hand, and the data is entered later by a computer tech into their database. One theft report stated that a farmer had lost 2,025 pigs. Thinking that to be an error, the tech called the farmer directly.
"Is it true Mr. (Smith) that you lost 2,025 pigs?" she asked.
"Yeth." lisped the farmer.
Being a Howard County girl herself, the tech entered: "Subject lost 2 sows and 25 pigs."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

BUSY DAY SCURRYING ABOUT & OUR COMPANY ARRIVES LATE AFTERNOON

So nice watching a big yellow Arizona Moon rising over Yavapai Counties distant Weaver Mountains these past couple nights.  Throw in a surrounding chorus of unseen Crickets & it makes for a mighty fine ending to yet another series of sunny & warm day’s here in America’s great South-West.

 

Had ourselves a busy morning scurrying about making things ready for Peter & Leslie’s afternoon arrival.  Got the rig all set up complete with our Sirius Satellite radio boombox.  TV’s ready to go as well with 2 channels.  One’s a weather channel & the other is CBS.  Better than nothing I guess but it’s the Satellite radio that is always top priority for me.  ‘Chill’….channel number 053:))

<<< GIVING MY GARDEN TOOLS A REST THIS WEEK

Did myself a couple loads of laundry.  Don’t know what or why it is I like hanging laundry out to dry but but it’s one of life’s little pleasures for me.  To counter-balance that little pleasure…..I hate making my bed!!  Oh, & I don’t like peeling potatoes although up until today it has been many years since I have had to do that.  But there I was this morning standing at the sink under the orders, ‘get those potatoes peeled or else’.  Yes Sir:((

 

And a few questions to answer…… Yes, Trader Joe’s carries Holly Crap.  We saw the people who came up with that Holy Crap grain cereal idea on Canada’s THE DRAGONS DEN awhile back & they said everyone who tried their mixture in the early days of development said, “Holy **** is that ever good”.  Thus the name was born.  The show is on Canada’s CBC channel.  In America the same but slightly different format show is called SHARK TANK & can be seen on ABC.  Dally does have a natural small tail about a foot long but we have no idea what kind of a breed she is.   

Our company rolled in from Rochester NY via Las Vegas Nevada about 5:30.  They spent the last couple days hiking around Red Rock Canyon, walking ‘The Strip’ took in the Blue Man Group show & today did Hoover Dam before heading for Congress.

KELLY’S BROTHER PETER STEPS OUT OF THEIR RENTAL SUV

 

PETER, LESLIE, KELLY & OF COURSE THE PHEEBS

<<< NOW THERE’S THE LOOK OF ‘HAPPY TO BE IN ARIZONA’

Kelly had whooped up scalloped potatoes & ham for supper. (remember I’m the guy who peeled the potatoes) Nice to see Leslie & Peter again.  Last time we saw them was when they brought Kelly’s Mom up to Bayfield from Spencerport NY last summer.  They will be with us for a week & are looking forward to some good old rest & relaxation while here.  They just toughed out all that bitterly cold weather & snow storms in Rochester last week & are so looking forward to sunny days & warm temperatures.  And it looks like that is just what we are in for over the next week while they are here.  Nice when the weather co-operates & things work out like that……

HOPE PETER & LESLIE DON’T GET TOO SPOOKED BY THE PAINTING ABOVE THEM

Thanks to the folks who sent in their comments about what color to paint our front door.  All great suggestions & a few of them we had thought about ourselves & a few others have us thinking outside the box.  And while I’m at it let me once again thank all our readers for their comments, shouts, & emails each & every day.  It is those welcome feedbacks which is at the very heart of me keeping my blog going.  I greatly appreciate all your support & encouragement.  And that includes all you lurkers too:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  My husband's skills with do-it-yourself home repairs are at best mediocre.
After spending several evenings trying to fix a leak in the bathroom, he finally admitted defeat and called a plumber, who finished the job in ten minutes.
Watching him put away his equipment, my son asked what had been the problem.
"Well," the plumber replied, "seems that your father got hold of some tools..."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as

THURSDAY POST

(well I see I forgot to put a title in again tonight)

I wisely by-passed a big wad of cookie butter this morning & got on with other things.  I’ll be so glad when that jar is empty in the next 20 minutes.

<<< THIS IS WHAT KELLY EATS FOR BREAKFAST

Now….before I forget again.  Nancy 1340 in a few comment questions asked…… “What kind of grains does Kelly eat for breakfast”. “Does she put milk of some kind on the”? She is so slim I'd love to know about her diet. Not "diet" as in weight loss diet but daily eating style……..Ok, Kelly eats Chia, Hulled Hemp Hearts, Buckwheat, Cranberries, Raisins, & a little bit of Cinnamon.  Two tablespoons of the grains & 4 tablespoons of Skim Milk.  It comes in a package called, ‘HOLY CRAP.  As far as eating style goes a typical day for Kelly might be a hard boiled egg mid morning, bowl of soup for lunch, & green tea or Yerba Mate in the afternoon.  Meat & veggies for supper.  After supper snacks are mostly Almonds.  And Kelly does drink a lot of water.  She did have one of those schnazzy milkshake/coffee thingamaguzzlers from Starbucks in the Safeway store this morning.  And no you do not want to know what AL eats every day to keep his rounded shape.  I wouldn’t have enough energy to type that list out!!  Nancy also asked….."Do you have a link for Doug & Dolly's blog”?  Yes I do but Doug asked me not to publicize it.  His blog is for his family.  I respect that but have asked Doug to let me know if he changes his mind at some point because I would like to include his blog on our side bar.  He writes a fine blog & has a clever sense of humor:))

THIS RED TAIL HAWK FLEXES A WING

Readers know I am not fond of white.  Every time I see something white I want to get out my brush & paint it some other color.  Our front door is white & I just don’t feel it fits with our South-West theme.  I have painted the outside screen door a Taos Blue & the frame around the door a clay pot color.  House of course is Adobe brown.  Any ideas on what color to paint that white door…………..

<<< A PHAINOPEPLA

And it seems there are some murmurs, rumors, & changes going on in Slab City with a big possible announcement coming this Sunday.  Check in with Rene’s latest post at LIVE. WORK. DREAM.  This will be of interest to all you closet Slabbers out here:))

<<< ANYBODY GOT ANY IDEAS ON WHAT COLOR TO PAINT THIS WHITE DOOR

Kelly had a fairly lengthy shopping list for groceries at Safeway in Wickenburg this morning so I decided I had better go along to help with the heavy end.  Good thing I did. We spent the most amount of money on groceries ever.  Had to borrow a fork lift from a construction site nearby just to get the whole pallet load of groceries to the Jeep.  Geeeezzzz, where was our utility trailer when we really needed it!!

TWO DOOR JEEP WRANGLERS ARE NOT KNOWN FOR THEIR CARGO CARRYING CAPACITY

I don’t know about the rest of you guys but grocery shopping is not one of my favorite things.  I can go & work outside on my gardening projects for hours without a break but plowing around in a grocery store for 20 minutes on the end of a shopping cart has me so weary I could fall on the floor.  My only saving grace is leave the support of the grocery cart & go off by myself on a great solo adventure quickly & purposefully making my way up & down the steep canyon aisles looking for an allusive bar of soap or maybe a Fig Newton bar or two.  The allure for me is the danger lurking between the mountainous towering shelves.  At any second I can be run down by a crazed herd of woman pushing loaded shopping carts ahead of them heading for a sale item in aisle 36.  I say a herd of woman because no where will you find a herd of men in a grocery store.  They’re all over at the local coffee shop spinning yarns & telling tall tales of days gone by when their wives forced them to push grocery carts up & down supermarket aisles.  Enough hot air coming out of those guys to keep their coffee perked.

  

How many times have you been laboriously pushing that overladen shopping cart around when you’ve heard the words & again been mis-lead by the line, “well, that’s it.”  How many times have I fallen for that line thinking our shopping was finally done & we would be heading for the cashier knowing I would soon to be outside in the glorious sunshine.  It’s usually about a mile from wherever we are in the store to the check-out & between me & shopping freedom stands about 2.7 million grocery items.  There is not a snow ball’s chance in hell we will make it to the gate without me being repeatedly fooled by those words over & over & over along the way.  “That’s it”.  BS that’s it!!!!!!

AT THIS POINT I DIDN’T FIGURE WE’D MAKE IT HOME BEFORE DARK

REMEMBER THE DAYS THIS WORD HELD A TOTALLY DIFFERENT MEANING FOR ALL OF US

Amazingly enough we were home before noon unpacking about 6 hours worth of groceries.  Some of those groceries went straight out to the rig.  Pheebs was getting noticeably excited thinking we were packing up for another RV trip.  Well, we were loading up for a trip alright but the only ones going anywhere will be Pheebs & I.  And the Winnie Wagon won’t even have to move.  Buggle Buns & I will be tripping in & out of the rig starting Friday afternoon for a week.  Our company arrives Friday afternoon so me & the Pheebers will be out in the rig Friday night groovin:))  Looking forward to that just as I did a couple times last winter.  I sure like my alone time for short periods.  I think every person needs that don’t you…:))

THIS KIND OF SUMS UP SOME OF OUR DAYS THIS PAST WEEK 

Four o’clock is Happy Hour over at Pat & Mike McFalls most days so we headed ourselves on over there to see how they were doing.  Mike was outside in his best colorful britches pulling up a few weeds here & there.  Always nice to talk to these 2 genuinely nice folks.  Mikes dealing with a few health issues at the moment & it was interesting to hear about the new cutting edge state of the art treatment he is currently going through. 

TOOK THE PASSENGER SIDE MIRROR OFF & INSTALLED A NIGHT LIGHT:))

Discouraging news for Sherry & David at IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR DREAMS.  Not the medical test results they were hoping for.  They have already come through so much………………

AN EARLY MORNING SAGUARO SHADOW ON OUR HOUSE

GROANER’S CORNER:((   A Sunday school teacher said to her children, 'We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?' One child blurted out, 'Aces!'

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

PHEEBS CAN NOW STRETCH OUT ON HER NEW LOVESEAT…YOU REALLY DIDN’T THINK WE GOT IT FOR US DID YA

WE HAVE FINALLY ATTRACTED SOME HUMMINGBIRDS TO OUR FEEDER

With company arriving in a few days we busied ourselves doing some cleaning this morning.  Isn’t it amazing how fast a place can be cleaned up when one knows company is coming.  Way I figure it is the more company one has the cleaner one’s house is gonna be.  Makes sense:))

THIS PYRRHULOXIA (SILVER CARDINAL) DEFINITELY IS KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON ME

 

A U-Haul rental truck rolled into our yard about 11:45. this morning.  It was the furniture from our shopping day in Surprise at DESIGN WITH CENTS.  The fellas weren’t long in unloading our loveseat, recliner, & painting & they weren’t long in loading up our 2 heavy Mission chairs.  Glad I didn’t have to help with that.  Did my share of heavy lifting with moving jobs many years ago.  Had myself a little chuckle when the fellas asked how long we had lived here, did we like it, & where would we buy groceries.  Coming from the large mega-Megapollis of Surprise & Phoenix I understood their dismay at someone living way out here in the seemingly forlorn dusty desert outback of Congress Arizona.  I was once where they were in their thinking & they may one day, like me, understand why & for what reasons we are where we are…….today:))  By the way anyone reading this in the area who is looking for a place to pick up some great pieces of quality furniture I’d suggest you drop into ‘Design With Cents’ in Surprise & have yourself a look around.  Nice folks here & easy to deal with.  They are tucked in behind the Goodwill Store that can be seen from highway 60 in Surprise’s North end.  West side of 60. 

  

SOME FURNITURE GOES IN & SOME FURNITURE COMES OUT

I think we few folks who are not into the ‘smart phone’ mode are definitely in the minority.  I’m still way back at trying to talk myself into carrying a cell phone, period.  Oh I understand very well all the logical reasons for carrying a cell phone & do agree it’s definitely a right idea.  But a ‘smart phone’ stretches my limits.  Cheryl over at DEEP CANYON loves her smart phone & for many folks I can understand why they do but I’m just not one of those many folks. You may find it interesting how & why Cheryl’s first smart phone, an IPhone ended up on the floor all smashed up.  Just click on the colored DEEP CANYON above & see why:)) 

  

But hey what’s this……….Found out this morning we do have a smart phone.  What!!  As so often happens with my memory these days I had totally forgotten that we do indeed have a Blackberry.  Guess I should back off the ‘we’ word there.  Kelly has a Blackberry smart phone her daughter gave her last summer but she just hasn’t been using it.  Said she is going to fire it up shortly.  We have a conventional cell phone she uses.  Now, I gotta back up a couple more steps here.  She texts with that conventional cell phone.  Kelly had to get with the ‘texting world’ years back because of her job at Deer Park Lodge.  Her kids are all texters as well so she communicates with them that way too.  So just to clarify……yes we (Kelly) do have a smart home.  And yes, Kelly does text with her ordinary Samsung cell phone & has been doing so for about 6 or 7 years now.  Guess it shows how much attention I pay to some things & just how much my memory has been slipping……:((

OF COURSE WE ALL KNOW THE REAL REASON FOR THE LOVESEAT

Back in August of 95 I had myself a nasty motorcycle crash & one of the things I broke that day was the big toe on my right foot.  Doctor said I would likely lose the toenail & he was right.  I did lose it……..18 years later!!  And by golly if I’m not growing myself a healthy looking fancy new one.  Amazing what our bodies can do.  Groovy:)) 

THE PAINTING WE BOUGHT REQUIRED A BIT OF TOUCHING UP FIRST

  

THIS PAINTING WILL NOT APPEAL TO EVERYONE BUT THE 3 EMBOSSED FACES CAUGHT MY FANCY RIGHT AWAY…I LIKE THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT & A BIT OFF CENTER:))

JUST WHAT I NEEDED FOR THAT BLANK WALL SPACE OVER MY BED

Someone asked what to put Cookie Butter on.  Toast, buns, celery, flat bread, whatever??  For me it’s best just scooped right out of the jar in a big wad on the end of a table knife.  Will I buy another jar?  No I will not!!  It is just too yummy for an overweight person like me to eat.  And them’s just the plain hard facts.

A HANDSOME & PROUD LITTLE FELLOW I’D SAY >>>

Always felt like maybe I was the only one who sadly always said goodbye to favorite places I have enjoyably been.  Goodbye mountains, goodbye trees, goodbye favorite hiking trails, goodbye morning sunrises & evening sunsets, goodbye campfire rocks.  Goodbye to all you who have brought me so many pleasant memories of bright sunny days & moonlit starry nights.   But coming across Speedy’s post from SOMEWHERE IN TIME this morning I see I am not the only one as Speedy says goodbye to some favorite things in Colorado.  I have always been much better at saying goodbye to places than I have been at saying goodbye to people.  Just seems to be the way it is for some of us emotionally challenged folks to deal with things………..

  

IT TOOK A SHUTTER SPEED OF 1/4000th OF A SECOND TO STOP ACTION THOSE WINGS

Great weather today as we made it into the 70’s again.  This year sure has last year beat so far.  Sun was so hot I could only sit for a short time in the back yard taking a few bird photos.  Our Hummingbird feeder has so far attracted 2 Hummers & a Gila Woodpecker.

 

IT IS THE EYES OF THE BIRDS I ALWAYS HOPE TO CAPTURE

Hans from METAMORPHOSIS ROAD just joined the Bunch on our ‘Friends’ list.  Welcome aboard Hans & we’re hoping to have the wheels rolling again for another boondocking getaway around the end of this month.  I see your hanging out in San Diego.

GROANER’S CORNER:((Heard on a public transportation vehicle in Orlando.  "When you exit the bus, please be sure to lower your head and watch your step."
"If you miss your step and hit your head, please lower your voice and watch your language. Thank you."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.