ALWAYS ENJOY HELPFUL FEEDBACK NOT ONLY ON MY BLOG BUT OTHER BLOGS AS WELL

IT IS GREAT CLOUD PATTERNS LIKE THIS WHICH LATER IN THE DAY MAKE FOR GREAT ARIZONA SUNSETS

Had us a fiery splash of pastel colors stretching across our evening sky as another Arizona sunset settled in over our distant western horizon.  Colors playfully bounded overhead streaming from cloud to cloud touching each with an artists palette of golds & yellows, rose colors, & blushing pinks.  It was a site to behold.

CAN YOU SEE EYES IN THE BIG CLOUD WATCHING YOU

It is well known I do not like hot weather but I do like to be on the warm side.  Through winter months desert nights can be uncomfortably cold.  It’s just the way it is here in the southwest & staying cozily warm while out in the boonies can be a challenge.  In their latest post Cherie & Chris from Technomadia address’s those cold nights with tips & advice on how to stay warm & conserve energy & heat.  Kelly & I differ in our heat level comforts.  When we had our Class A Damon with our Legacy Blue Flame heater hooked up I was cozy as toast in the front half of the rig each night with temps hovering well over 70 while Kelly in the back half of the coach would often sleep with her window open while temperatures hovered somewhere down around icicle level.  A few posts ago I included a link to Peter & Bea's post about their struggles against a fierce Alberta winter while living in their travel travel.  A Michigan couple also toughing out the winter in their 5th wheel are having a bit of a time with it as well…… The Mysterious RV Refrigerator.

Happy times over at Miss Adventure Travels as Doug Laning brings Yuma Arizona Laning home today.  It was a long process since Doug first laid eyes on Yuma back on December 27th.  I think it’s the start of a great friendship & these 2 guys are going to end up being best of Pals.  Doug even thinks he & Yuma look alike.  Slip on over & you be the judge who’s the best looker at their house now:))

Heavy clouds & lite rains returned during our overnight dark hours.  Upside of our recent rains make digging in hard desert dirt easier for me.  Yep, still working away at my various little cactus garden projects. 

Hey I just made it through a paragraph without having to use a word I use way too often & one which bugs me just about every time I use it.  I am determined to minimize it wherever I can re-write my sentences around it.  What is that word??  ‘The’……Geeeezzzz, now I gotta work on another overused word which I just used 6 times in 3 sentences.  It’s that word ‘I’ which too many times dominates my writings………………

A commenter over in our Shout Box has obviously not read my blog for any length of time or if the commenter has he/she would not have had a reasonably intelligent reason for leaving that comment.  I do again suspect a he.  It is true we have made an extra effort to see a few more folks recently but it is still not the norm for us.  And why would it bother someone anyway unless of course it is my usual antagonist still throwing stones.  I will just file that comment under ‘Sour Grapes’.

It wasn’t a long run in the Jeep we had but at least Pheebs & I made it to Congress’s Dollar Store for a quart of milk this afternoon.  Of course when I walked back out towards our Jeep she was all wonkers thinking I had one of our usual Tuna Sub’s for us to split.  Sorry Pheebs, gotta wait till we get back to our country road runs in Bayfield.  Heading back home we stopped at Congress’s B&B garage to inquire about one of our new burnt-out headlights.  Just had it installed October 20th but no warranty on it.  No choice but to pick up a another new one at O’Reilly’s in Wickenburg & see if I can hook it up myself.  Think I got a screw driver around here somewhere & if not I have my trusty fix-all hammer.  No idea why a less than 3 month old head light would burn out:((

Had one little section of cactus garden to dig up this morning & figured after last night’s & this morning’s rain I would be able to dig easier in our hardened driveway gravel.  Nope, almost bent the shovel blade in half.  Remembered my big 22-10 ton steel shanked & steel toed work boots from years ago when I was helping with some tree cutting in our 5 Seasons Park.  And yes with all that steel in them it feels like they weigh 10 tons too.  With heavier boots I was able to bring more power to bear on my shovels steel blade & eventually managed to turn over some very hard gravelly dirt.  Not often I work up a sweat anymore but by golly I sure did just that this morning finishing up my last little cactus bed project.  Well, I always say it’s my last project but then……………….scuffle, dig, scrape, grunt a bit, swear a lot, dig some more, grunt some more, & darned if I’m not at it again!!  I have a couple small painting projects in our house so I had better get myself turned around a bit & some priorities straightened out.  Scuffle, scrape, grunt, & swear.  Better get at it & better take care:))

HAVEN’T HAD THESE WORK BOOTS ON SINCE BACK ABOUT 2005

 

MANAGED TO DIG ME IN 2 OF SOME 40 ALOE VERA TYPE PLANTS THIS AFTERNOON

Skies cleared about mid morning once again lifting our Spirits.  Amazing healing powers old Sol has.  Kelly a few days ago noticed one of our neighbors had thrown a whole bunch of dug out Aloe Vera type plants into a ditch by his place.  Seeing him today Kelly asked if he was throwing them out & if so could we have them to which he replied ‘sure’.  Well we weren’t long in getting over there with our wheelbarrow & scooping about 40 plants.  May go back for more tomorrow.  We already have some of these plants & they do very well spreading out creating a great ground cover.  I’ll have my work cut out for me Wednesday morning getting them all planted.  It was a bonus find:))

MOURNING DOVES BATHED IN TWILIGHT’S GLOW

SILHOUETTED DOVES ON A WIRE

A GREAT ORANGE GUERILLA WITH ARMS UP LEANS FORWARD OUT OF A HEAVY GRAY CLOUD

AND HERE I SEE A BLACK SHEEP LEAPING OVER A GREAT GORGE OF FIRE

Some mighty fine helpful feed back on not only my Tuesday night post but Steve's post as well in regards to the ‘what if’ factor regarding his or anyone else’s pet care should anything happen to them while away from their RV.  Good positive suggestions & I thank reader’s & fellow RV’ers for that.  Might want to go back & check some additional comments on both mine & Steve’s posts.

And I was encouraged to also see feedback from fellow RV’ers on Janna's blog this morning as well as my post several days ago regarding socializing.  It seems a lot of folks came out to say how they felt about it & I must say I was surprised to see so many people feeling very similar to how Kelly & I feel about the whole RV social scene.  Maybe we are not quite as different in our thoughts as I thought we were.  It’s just that some of us express our thoughts & opinions about it more often & more openly than others.  I always like it when ‘iffy’ topics are brought out into the open & ‘take off’ with folks helping each other & talking responsibly about things.  Nice:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A woman had gained a few pounds. It was most noticeable to her when she squeezed into a pair of her old blue jeans. Wondering if the added weight was noticeable to everyone else, she asked her husband, "Honey, do these jeans make me look like the side of the house?"  "No, dear, not at all," he replied, "Our house isn't blue."  He is almost over the cold he caught sleeping in the garage for 3 nights.

---

A wife had suffered for a week from a really nasty virus and it left her feeling completely wiped out. On the first day that she could crawl out of bed, she discovered a "silver lining."  Pulling on a pair of jeans, she called out to her husband, "These jeans fit! They finally fit!"
"That's great," the husband replied, "but they're mine."

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- 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.

I SAT HERE TOO LONG TONIGHT TRYING TO THINK OF A POST TITLE…………….

Light rains in the night left us with a heavy morning cloud cover dropping drizzles of rain on us for the first half of the day.  50F at 6 a.m. was comparable to Borrego Springs at 52F & Yuma’s 56F but not so comparable with Bayfield’s 29F.  I’m so glad we are where we are:))

THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BACK HOME THIS MORNING IN GRAND BEND…RIVER’S FROZEN & LAKE HURON’S FROZE JUST ABOUT OUT AS FAR AS ONE CAN SEE…JUST A WEEK AGO THAT WAS ALL CLEAR WATER
My Son Sean’s group ‘The Weak Need’ just released their first music video entitled, ‘Holding Nothing Back’ & in the video that’s Sean on keyboards doing the vocals.  To optimize sound quality I suggest plugging your headphones into your computer.


HEY, I’M KEEPING AN EYE ON YOU TWO OVER THERE
Afraid I have been a bit re-miss again in keeping up with our Blog Followers/Friend Connect list on my side bar so I have re-located it to a position where I can more readily keep an eye on it.  A big belated Bayfield Bunch welcome to, Jerry Criswell, Becky Tucker, Bill Richards from On Our Way, Patsy Irene, Ron Clanton, plus Jim & Diana Belisle from exploRVistas.  Thanks for dropping by folks & appreciate your interest:)).

WATCHING THE BIRD FEEDER BELOW LIKE A HAWK
Came across a website/blog this morning that caught my attention simply because of it’s age oriented focus.  Time Goes By is hosted by Ronni Bennett with about half a dozen like minded contributors.  A lot of info on this site.  I like Peter Tibbles article entitled: ELDER MUSIC: Nudie Suits.  So that’s where all those bizarre clothes came from worn by musicians over the years.  From Hank Williams to Elvis, Roy Rogers to Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.  Rhinestones, glitter, & glam.

 


A SEED FROM THE OVERHEAD BIRD FEEDER CAN BE SEEN DROPPING PAST THIS GAMBLES QUAIL
Our crappy weather pretty much kept us inside for the first half of the day but I was able to vacuum the Motorhome & begin setting it up for my 6 day stay in it beginning next Sunday.  Kelly’s brother Peter & wife Leslie from Webster New York are due in a week from yesterday after first spending a couple days exploring around Las Vegas Nevada.  They will have my bedroom while Pheebs & I camp out in the rig.  Me & Rascal Pants like staying in the coach because it’s like having our own peaceful little world going on in there.  Do what we want & for us guys that works mighty swell every time.  Happy Campers:))

  
Steve over at Hounds RVs and Retirement Living is looking for some opinions & feedback on a tough question I’m sure many RV’ers including ourselves have faced while traveling with pets.  This question came up front & center for Kelly & I years ago when we had a little incident in a Mexican border town south of Lukeville Arizona.  We had left Max, Checkers, & Cora in our locked Motorhome one morning before driving about 15 miles into Mexico for a look around at some shops.  Had us a scary little happening there that on the way home later had us asking the question, ‘what if that situation had gone the other way & we had been detained in Mexico for any length of time!!    What would have happened to our 3 dogs. Not being in the habit of traveling with others or telling anyone where we were the situation could have had a bad ending all way around.  That Mexican border incident can be seen in my 2008 post entitled: Our Mexican Border Town Incident.  Steve, possibly a future solo traveler is basically asking the same question we did & it’s a very real & legitimate common sense question to ask.  And much better to have forward thinking questions like that rather than racing into something with little thought or preparation.  I’m sure most of us have done that ‘little thought or preparation’ thing in our lives (especially in our younger years) in more ways than one. We have sometimes luckily reaped the benefits of that thought process but quite often we may have suffered the consequences as well from that kind of thinking.   I know the saying, ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ but it’s only a saying & there are way too many illogical sayings out there belonging in old dusty books & not practical thinking people’s minds.  Again, common sense is the key here.  Anyway, I’m sure Steve would appreciate your thoughts, ideas, advice, & opinions……………………………..

Mike from the dynamic duo of Janna & Mike popped over this afternoon to see about tightening up a loose screw on one of our Jeeps fog lights.  Unfortunately out of the 3 containers of tools Mike had with him Chrysler’s Jeep division obviously decided to use a screw that must have been manufactured on another Planet.  Think we’ll just take both fog light assemblies right off & bolt on a new set & be done with it.  Bolts are pretty rusty anyway.  Mike no sooner left when handyman Les showed up & completed a repair to our kitchen ceiling.  He’ll be back again to install our new kitchen faucets shortly as well. 

THREE FLYING BIRDS IN THIS PHOTO
Despite a cloudy, wet, & damp start to the day our heavy overcast began breaking up about early afternoon. How nice to feel those warming rays of Arizona sunshine streaming through ever widening holes in our overhead cloud cover.  Sunny days ahead:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Jacob age 85, and Rebecca age 79 are all excited about their decision to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding and on the way home pass a drugstore. Jacob suggests that they go in.  He addresses the man behind the counter: "Are you the owner?"  The pharmacist answers: "Yes."
Jacob: "Do you sell heart medication?"
Pharmacist: "Of course we do."
Jacob: "How about medicine for circulation?"
Pharmacist: "All kinds."
Jacob: "Medicine for rheumatism?"
Pharmacist: "Definitely."
Jacob: "Medicine for memory?"
Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety."
Jacob: "What about vitamins and sleeping pills?"
Pharmacist: "Absolutely."
Jacob: "What about sugar diabetes. We both got bad cases."
Pharmacist: "Oh, but of course. You name it with that condition and we have the works."
Jacob:"You have loose bladder and gas pills?"
Pharmacist: "Yes, there are lots of those with plenty of generics."
Jacob: "Perfect! We'd like to register here for our wedding gifts."
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- 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.

SOME THOUGHTS ON SOCIALIZING & COFFEE HABITS:))

I AM GUESSING THIS LITTLE LADY I PHOTOGRAPHED THIS AFTERNOON TO BE A CACTUS WREN

A comment from a reader had me thinking today about the social side of RVing.  Commenter said in part, “Dad always said that they had a better social life in the south than they did at home”! (Canada)  Well I’m sure not the one to be talking nor am I any kind of authority on socializing but I do have a few thoughts about it.

SOME DAYS IT’S JUST A LITTLE HARDER TO MAKE MY BED THAN OTHER DAYS

First, we do very little socializing anywhere whether it be back home in Ontario or here in Arizona.  Just not our thing but what the commenter said is true for us & others as well.  Back home in Bayfield we do not really socialize with anyone.  We did years ago but that was a different era.  Nothing at all wrong with the majority of people there, it’s just that we prefer to keep to ourselves & do our own thing.   We do the same in the southwest all winter but there is a difference.  RV’ers have a common interest which happens for the most part to be the love of traveling in a somewhat Nomadic fashion whether they be Snow Birds, Full Timers, Week-Enders or whatever.  There is an unspoken bond between people on the road regardless of how they are doing it or where they are staying.  It seems RV folks & especially RV Blogger folks always have so many things in common to talk about, share, learn, & pass on to others.  Friendships may be made quickly & last a lifetime or simply turn out to be a bump in the night as traveling trails briefly cross.  With RV’ers being fluidly mobile nobody seems to end up in someone else’s face long enough to be annoying.  And you know how quickly we older folks can become annoyed with things & each other at times.  The key I think is not being around each other long enough to get on each other’s nerves & that ‘in my opinion’ seems to be an unspoken thought throughout the RV world.  I have talked to fellow RV’ers who on the surface appear to be quite sociable yet have told me in private how they much prefer their quiet alone times.  Also I believe another bonding factor is the fact when you say good-bye or so-long to a fellow RV’er chances you may never see them again are greater than a neighbor living just down the street or around the corner.  In the Autumn & early Winter months RV folks head for warmer weather flocking together across the southern United States & Mexico with very common interests.  Old friendships re-newed & new friendships begun.  For 5 & 6 months of the year RV’ers criss-cross each others paths pausing briefly for a quick hello, a sharing campfire, a happy hour or two.  Then come Spring everyone scatters northward across the country heading back to homes or favorite locations away from the heat of hot southern summer days.  The often short durations of meetings kinda has everyone putting their best foot forward & I like how that works.  There is an old saying which says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ & I figure if folks don’t get to know each other’s business just too darn well, stay out of each other’s faces, & show respect for other’s opinions we should all be just one big bunch of happy smiling campers.  Well sounds good in theory anyway eh:))

‘Almost’ without exception we have met so many fine fellow RV’ers over the years.  As a rule RV folks just seem to be a different type of caring & adventurous people.  However if it were not for blogging we probably would have met very few of them, if any.  We’re just not the type of people to walk up to someone’s campsite & strike up a conversation.  Well I’m not anyway.  Kelly has been known to do that on occasion.  It’s a stretch for me to even say Hello to anyone but it has been my blog & the blogs of others plus readers that have occasionally drawn me out of my self imposed shell.  I’m not at all comfortable being out of my shell but with the shorter infrequent & occasional encounters with passing Nomadic fellow RV’ers I am on occasion able to step out for a little socializing now & again.  But just now & again:))

And I might as well throw this in while I’m on the topic.  By nature I am not a rude, arrogant, or aloof person & if you say Hello or speak to me I will not ignore or be unfriendly to you despite my self professed grouchy & hermit like ways.  Quite the contrary in many cases & depending on the subject of conversation I could well become your very much most next best friend.  I may not wave to you going by in my Jeep, Motorhome, or on my Motorcycle but if you happen to wave to me first you can be guaranteed a big Howdy-Doody wave back. 

 

GAMBLE’S QUAIL IN ONE OF OUR MESQUITE TREES

Okay I’m getting myself a little too far extended & kinda over the top here so I had better change the subject right quick before I get myself any deeper into the soup……………:))

Can you imagine living in your RV during these recent horribly cold freezing record breaking temperatures that have been happening in places like Alberta Canada.  No, I can’t either but Peter & Bea are doing it at the moment & you might be interested in seeing how they are coping & what has been happening to them & their rig.  Check out how Peter & Bea are doing at When The Mattress Is Freezing To The Wall.   

 

I have over 100 fellow Bloggers on my sidebar & the list stretched quite away down my page so this morning I shortened that list up to show only the most recent 25 posts.  Everybody that was on my list is still there & can be found by clicking the words ‘Show All’ at bottom right:))

And for all you Quilting folks out here & there are many of you I would suggest having a look at Monica’s blog at,  Color My World With Warmth. 

 

Is only half a cup of coffee a day worth even drinking coffee at all?  Sure why not & this coming from a former coffee addict.  When I gave up my alcohol addiction many years ago I turned right around & replaced that addiction with a coffee addiction.  Back in the bad old drinking days it was very rare for me to ever drink a coffee in the first place but after those days ended my many cups a day coffee dilemma literally began overnight & reached it’s peak sometime in the late 90’s I think.  Can’t remember what it was that caused me to finally wrestle that addiction into a controllable situation but somewhere along the line I managed to cut my coffee consumption to 4 coffees a day.  No exceptions.  That 4 coffee’s a day lasted right up to the summer of 2012.  First coffee of each day was 7 a.m. with the second cup at 10 a.m.  Next coffee was always 2 p.m. with my final coffee at 7 p.m. & I never deviated from that.   This system worked well with one of the biggest benefits being my 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. coffee breaks.  Those 2 time slots always forced me to take a break from whatever it was I was doing at the time & I always so much looked forward to those 2 relaxing breaks each day.  

AND HERE’S PHEEBS HELPING ME WITH ANOTHER NIGHTLY BAYFIELD BUNCH POST

Talking to my Nurse Practitioner one day in the summer of 2012 about my sleeping disorder she suggested ‘no coffee’ after 6 p.m.  Went home & thought about that for a few hours & started out the very next day by eliminating my 10, 2, & 7 o’clock coffees.  And that brings me to today.  Found myself not drinking a full cup of coffee each morning quite awhile ago so Kelly only pours me half a cup now.  Half a cup of coffee a day for a former coffee addict is working well.  Only exception I make to that half cup is when traveling I will often have a coffee while on the road or on rare occasions when I have an early evening coffee with a couple close friends.  Oh yes & when Pheebs & I head out some mornings on our country Jeep drives back home in Ontario.  So why not just give up coffee altogether?  Good question I suppose & maybe some day I will but for the moment I’m Okay with my usual half cup a day.  It’s just kind of a nice gentle way of getting those early morning fuzzies out of my mouth:))

ALRIGHT MR. PHOTOMAN I’M DONE POSING & I’M OUGHTA HERE!!

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Jack has died. His lawyer is standing before the family and reads Jack's last will and testament:  "To my dear wife Esther, I leave the house, 50 acres of land, and one million dollars. To my son Barry, I leave my big Lexus and the Jaguar. To my daughter Suzy, I leave my yacht and $250,000. And to my brother-in-law Jeff, who always insisted that health is better than wealth, I leave my sun lamp."