Sunday, November 26/2017 - Saturday, December 2/2017

This week ushers in the month of December.  Good Grief, it will be Christmas soon and there is no way that I am anywhere near being ready for that day!!   I will be lucky to get a couple of poinsettias sitting on either side of the fireplace this year!!
Sunday started off with our Grey Cup Game and the Toronto Argonauts were the champs this year. Once again, the Calgary Stampeders could not bring home a victory so they were very sad boys!!   It was a good game and was played in the snow and cold as John says it should be.
I was able to finally get an hour to water the oleander bushes that grow along the roadway as they were looking very thirsty.  I am sure they will be loving it.  The huge pine trees that also grow along the roadway also got a drink so they too will be happy.
Kay was busy today refinishing the cupboard doors in the main bathroom.  The previous owners for some reason decided to paint the beautiful wood finish and now Kay is bound and determined to get that ugly paint off the wood and restore it back to its original splendor.  It truly is nice wood and is really looking nice.   All the wood and shiplap in the house has been painted so Kay certainly has her work cut out for her!!
On Monday, Kay and I headed into Surprise for a Home Depot shopping spree.  We got some wood and many other needed articles.  Man, it sure doesn't take too long to rack up the cost but all the stuff we bought we needed so I guess that is just a fact of life.
We managed to scoop a custom made sink and vanity off the Wickenburg Swap page and that was delivered this week too.  Some woman in Sedona had ordered it and decided when it arrived that the color was too dark so refused it.  Well, we scooped it for $75.00 and it is beautiful and will fit into the bathroom in the lower apartment quite nicely so hopefully Mark will get the bathroom done soon although he has not been heard from for over a week so we are wondering what the hell is going on with him.   Kay and I just may have to get our grouting and tile clothes out and finish off his job!!   Hmmm....now that could be quite interesting!!
John needed a few more pieces of wood for his continuing build so Kay and I headed back into the lumber yard in Wickenburg and picked that up.  Man, the truck can practically drive itself to town now that it has been there so often!!
Kay started  painting the lower apartment and the colors look awesome.  John was busy in the garage and laundry room and I got busy trying to make headway in the house.  I did manage to get the big patio windows cleaned and washed the tile floors.  Man, they were filthy with us coming and going all the time.  Mop and Glo is a miracle liquid and the floors looked awesome when I was done. Hopefully they continue to shine for a few days at least!!  With dogs and cats coming and going and us as well.......I'm not holding my breath on that one!!
Another busy week has come and gone and we have lots of irons in the fire but so far.....our heads are still above water and things are coming along as planned.   Life is Good!!

Nice wood under all that paint

Getting some paneling up

Trim

A little paint on the floor

Found a dead bat in a light socket

Laundry room wall

Laundry room floor painted

Getting another wall ready to go

Sunday, November 19/2017 - Saturday, November 25/2017

Sunday is definitely a football day and Kay won the damn football board again this week.   That is the third week in a row and I am starting to think that this damn thing is rigged!!  LOL  I have been one game behind for the last few weeks and I am getting tired of being the bridesmaid and never the bride!!  Maybe I will win the upcoming one!!
We did manage to sneak in another load from the trailer and again were faced with the dilemma of where to put the stuff!!   Good grief..... we have tons of room here at the new house but we are stacking bags on top of bags and we are stepping around all sorts of paraphernalia to get from one room to another!!   It is time for another intervention and start to clean up the chaos - again!!
Today was also the day that the Saskatchewan Roughriders played in the Eastern Conference Semifinal to see if they get a berth at the Grey Cup.  Unfortunately, they lost so their dreams are dashed as far as Grey Cup is concerned!!
John continued to work on the mancave/garage and the laundry room.  We have lots of plans for both but the renovations do take time and with everything else we have going on, well, there just isn't enough hours in the day!!  John mentioned the other day that he was sure we had said "no more construction" but, for some reason, we just can't get away from it!!
Monday found us getting another load from the trailer in Wickenburg and now it is pretty much cleaned out.  There is still some stuff in the mancave back there and the shed but the trailer is pretty much empty.  Now, I just need to clean it up and we can get it up for sale.
Tuesday was supposed to be a "quiet" day but I ended up getting a chance to show the trailer to a potential buyer.  Things sounded pretty good and I will keep my fingers crossed that the sale goes through.  No guarantees with this though but if it doesn't sell with this potential purchaser then we will have to actually advertise it.  So far, it has just been word of mouth.
On Wednesday, Kay and I headed back into Wickenburg and bought some paint for the laundry room and mancave floor.  Both renos are coming along and Mark (a friend of Kay's is slowly getting the shower tiled in the lower apartment.  His work ethic is rather dubious and it is rather frustrating to watch his slow progress although I must admit, he does some really nice work.
Thursday rolled around and it was America's Thanksgiving and we were had invited Mark to join us for the holiday.  We had bought a small turkey and ended up having all the trimmings that go with it. Mark was a no show so it was just the three of us.  Supper was delicious and we will have left overs for the rest of the week!!
Friday was more of the same and Saturday found us heading to Wittman to pick up a refrigerator that someone was wanting to sell.  It was a side by side fridge/freezer with a water/ice dispenser.  It was advertised for $250.00 bucks but we managed to get it for $200.00 so we thought that was a good deal so loaded it up and brought it home.  It matched the stainless steel color of the oven so now the kitchen is looking pretty darn awesome.  
We stopped at the trailer  on the way home and loaded some more stuff up and headed back to the house.   It was time to sit and enjoy the rest of the day.
The weather has been simply awesome this week with temperatures in the mid 80s and we are so blessed to be able to just sit and enjoy despite the fact that we have a mountain of work in front of us!!  Sometimes one just has to stop and smell the roses!!  Life is Good!!

Watching the game outside

Cat in the tree

Working on the man cave

Laundry room

Beer fridge installed

Sunday, November 12/2017 - Saturday, November 18/2017

Sunday found us out on the new trails.   Wow, it was pretty incredible and the desert vegetation is a bit different than what we are used to.  There is not nearly as many saguaro cactus in this part of the the desert as the trails in which we are used to traveling around Wickenburg.  There are many larger boulders around but then again, we are surrounded by the Weaver Mountains.

The Weaver Mountains are a much smaller mountain range to the Southeast of the Bradshaw Mountains.  The town of Yarnell is considered the summit to the range and highway 89 cuts through the range.

John and Kay rode in Kermit and Jace and I were in Henrietta and Jace was quite impressed with the climbing ability of "old" Henrietta!!  He laughed all the way to the top of many a hill today.

He kept taking pictures and "snapchatting" and kept saying "Kim is hating on me"!!  This particular fact did not deter him in rubbing it in to Kimmy who was back at home in all the snow and cold!!

This trail and all the rest of them today, lay just outside our back yard

Huge boulders

boulders and cacti

Refreshment break

A saguaro and a boulder!!

miles of trails to check out

a tipped over crane

It makes one wonder how on earth it managed to get here

Kay, in the driver's seat

We got home in plenty of time to start a fire and enjoy the warmth of the evening while John got supper on the BBQ.  Of course, being Saturday, it was steak night and we were all hungry enough after our adventures on the trails.  It was a very good day.

It is not a "good" ride unless we are getting home in the dark!!

Monday, found Jace headed out to pick up another load and head back to Canada.  He totally enjoyed his brief stay with us and loves the new house.  He is thrilled with the prospect of checking out  more trails when him and Kimmy come for a visit hopefully in February.
We also headed back into Wickenburg and hauled another load of stuff from the trailer and finished out the day sitting around the fire and chuckling that we still had our shorts and flipflops on!!
The cats are slowly getting used to the new place and are checking out all the new nooks and crannies.  Booko is busy following them around!!
Tuesday found Kay and I watching our first morning movie of the winter season!!  It was awesome and I truly hope that we can get some organization into our lives and make this a habit.
The house was in a pretty good state of chaos and we did make an attempt to clean up and reorganize!!  Things are starting to look up!!
Wednesday, John started working on getting the laundry room ready for the washer and dryer as running back and forth to our washer and dryer in Wickenburg is a bit of a pain in the neck.
Thursday found me dealing with the giant pumpkin that Kay brought from Utah.  I cleaned it out, split it in half and tossed it into the oven to cook.  With that being done, Kay and I headed back into Wickenburg and stopped at the lumber yard where we bought some wood that John needed to complete his laundry room renos.
We have been having issues with the plumbing -  the toilets are very sluggish and the tub and shower do not want to drain properly.  Today, we decided to call a plumber and have him come out and snake the line.  Something is obviously blocking the line!   Shit, Oh Dear.......and the gong show begins!! Again, we ended the evening sitting around the campfire and simply enjoying the new "digs" hoping that whatever the plumber finds is not going to cost an arm and a leg to repair.
Friday heralded in the arrival of the plumber and 3 1/2 hours later, our drains were clear and things were certainly looking up.
There was a bit of a rain storm Friday but it cleared and the day turned out actually quite nice.  It is really cold back home right now so we are very grateful to be sitting here in Arizona and enjoying the weather.  It is even better now that our toilets flush properly!!
Saturday found us back in Wickenburg moving more stuff and stopping at the grocery store to stock up on food and other necessities.  John was busy again in the laundry room and planning the "new and improved" mancave!!  I think it is going to be awesome when we get it all done.
The cats seem much more settled and have been coming when called and avoiding the many coyotes that are quite vocal in the evening.  Hopefully, they continue to do so!!  Booko is not impressed with them and stays pretty close to home.  He is equally not impressed with the two neighbour dogs.  They are barkers and he initially was scared of them but he has come around and  now him and the german shepherd run down the fence line like a couple of idiots!!  The only time they stop is when they need to get a drink of water!!
All in all though, with the animals settled in and the house slowly getting into shape, it has been a really busy week.  A good week, but a busy one and I am sure there are several more busy weeks ahead of us!!  Life is Good!!

View from the top Casita

Kay letting her hair down

Friday, November 10/2017 - Saturday, November 11/2017

Jace arrived Friday afternoon and it was awesome to see him.   He had Google maps so had no trouble finding the new house.  He wheeled around the cul de sac and backed into the yard.  There was plenty of room for him to park and he was quite happy about that.  He has already claimed his parking spot in the yard!!
Neena I'm sure was happy to be out of the truck and her and Booko ran around like a couple of idiots.  He was happy to have someone to play with as the two dogs that live beside us are rather barky and don't look very friendly.  Hopefully, I am wrong about that!!
Mitch arrived from Utah with some of Kay's stuff, her side by side and her trailer.  He had some meat that he had hauled for Kay in big coolers and we helped him unload it and before we knew it, he was gone.  He still had a few miles to drive before  he was home in Buckeye, Az.
Once Mitch was gone, we unloaded Kay's side by side and hooked the trailer up to our truck.   We then headed into Wickenburg to start moving our stuff up to the new house.
It wasn't long before the heavy stuff was on the trailer and we were headed back to Congress.
It was time to sit, rest, start a fire and enjoy the evening.  It had been a busy day and we were thirsty and hungry!!
Neena was busy all evening chasing the ball.  Gosh, I don't think she knows how to quit!!  Booko is not impressed with the neighbour's dogs and chooses to ignore them.  Neena, on the other hand is loving strutting her stuff on this side of the fence and inciting chaos!!
It was a nice evening but once supper was over, the day's activities caught up with all of us and it was time to call it a day.
Tomorrow is going to be another busy day - Kay will be home!!   Woo Hoo!!!
Saturday arrived nice and sunny.   It is going to be another awesome day temperature wise.  Jace just can't resist letting Kimmy know just how beautiful it is out and she is "hating" on all of us.   Apparently, it is quit cold back home and there is a lot of snow!!  Kimmy is sooo hating her life right now!!!   LOL
As soon as breakfast was over and we were done basking in the sunshine with our coffee cups, we got back into the truck and loaded up another load.  Tonight, there will be beds to sleep in and that is a good thing.
Saturday found us hauling most of the heavy stuff and several smaller articles.  With Jace being here, he has managed to help us with most of the "big" stuff.
Kay arrived around 4:30 and she was certainly glad to be home.   Almost as glad as I was to arrive!!
Together, we got the beds set up and then it was time for beers and steak!!
Yummmy......We all enjoyed the evening  and that included the dogs.
Jace really liked the new place and thinks that tomorrow is a quad ride day and we all agreed!!
Life is good!!

Thursday, November 9/2017

Headed out

We awoke to the sunshine and last night's temperatures were much better than the night before.   There was no issues with the water freezing and that was a good thing.
We headed out on Burma Road and accessed  Highway 89A.
We heard from Jace today and he will be spending the weekend here in Arizona so we have decided to head to the house and visit with him for the weekend.
It will be a bit of a hike but we got an early start this morning and we should be at the house before dark.   Jace is scheduled to deliver in Globe, Arizona today and will stay there for the night.  He will then join us at the new house for the weekend as it is a "long" weekend and he will be lucky to get a load before Monday.

To the Grand Canyon

Our travels today took us along 89 South until we reached the Grand Canyon turnoff.   Neither John not I had been to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon and we had always heard that it is something that you just had to see.   Sooooo......off we went......Grand Canyon.....here we come!!

The start of the canyon.    Huge, deep ravines

Unicorn in Banff

Park Entrance

And so it begins....

One of the many overlooks with views to the bottom of the canyon

The canyon is indeed a once in a lifetime site to see.  Of course me and my fear of edges was not impressed and I did have to totally convince myself that I could get out, walk to the fence and look down into the canyon.   I talked to myself all the way to the fence....."you can do this, Marie"!!   And I did!!   I took a few pictures then head back to the truck knowing that I had controlled my panic long enough to actually take the damn pictures!!
Once back inside the safety of the truck, I was able to actually enjoy the views from a distance.  I only got out at the one overlook and was happy with that!!  I think John was happy too, as he did not have to wheel the truck and trailer around all the little pathways that really were not designed for Rvs!!
The drive through Grand Canyon National Park was really quite nice.  We even saw a road sign warning of "cougar crossing"!!    Of course, I did not get a picture of it and turning around was definitely NOT an option.   John had informed me of that several times on our way down!!

The Colorado River snaking its way through the canyon

Again.....incredible colors

The winding highway that runs along the top of the canyon ridge

increible evergreens

ELK - along the highway

As we left the park, we did see a herd of elk and of course, many of the motorists had to slow down and even stop to take pictures.  Of course John was not impressed with the "looky loos" as he put it as he was itching to get to Congress and these damn people were in his way!!

more elk

$30.00  entry fee for Grand Canyon

smoke from a fire burning on the backside of this mountain
just outside of Williams, Az

As we got closer to Williams, Az, we noticed smoke in the distance and  soon realized that there was a wildfire burning on the back side of one of the mountains.    The smoke was billowing and we both hoped that it was at least under control.
We accessed Interstate 40 at Williams and after a few miles were able to access 89 South again.  This would be the last leg of our journey.  Our winter home was getting much closer!!

Prescott road construction

We got to Prescott, Az and then had to make a bit of a detour as we were over 40 feet long and vehicles over 40 feet were not allowed over the pass so we headed over to Skull Valley and took a rather circuitous way around the pass.   It was a nice highway and we got to see more wonderful scenery so the added miles were not really a hardship.

Before too long, we were pulling up to our winter home in Congress.  We were "home" for the upcoming winter and it was sooo good to finally arrive.   Now.....the work begins!!

Home for the winter

Our first fire at the new house was awesome and it was WARM!!   Woohoo!!   There is heat here is Arizona and that is a wonderful thing.   Even Booko was happy!!    Life is Good - Even better when you are warm!!

Our first fire at the new place in Congress, AZ