Wednesday, January 13/2010

WHAT - NO SUN!!! Really overcast today but still quite warm - in fact - it is warmer outside than it is in the bus. I think Hogan and I will go sit outside and enjoy the peace and quiet and maybe, in a while, the Sun God will smile down on us.

The sun did eventually come out to play and Hogan and I set off on one of our infamous walks. We have slacked off lately and so it was time to get back into gear. We were sweating by the time we got back!! It did feel good to be getting a little exercise. This sitting around reading and doing crafts most of the day can't be good for a person - however relaxing.

John started to fix "Billy" and wouldn't you know it -- it is not the right part!! Back into town he goes and unfortunately, the part had to be ordered in so, won't be here until tomorrow. Guess he gets to make yet another trip into town!! Good thing we have two vehicles!!

We had a little bit of rain this evening, complete with lightning and thunder!! It was kind of cool to hear this in the middle of January.

Tuesday, January 12/2010

A bit windy today but the sun is shining and all is well.

Just received an email from friends back in Saskatoon and it came with two photos of Larry sitting on his deck in the middle of January in a lawnchair, dressed in his T-shirt and shorts, holding a beer!! Now, we know the weather has been quite nice lately in Saskatoon, but, the funny part of these pics is that Larry doesn't even wear a T-shirt and shorts in the middle of summer!! He is always COLD!!! I can't imagine how long it took him to warm up after posing for these pictures!! I guess some people really do go crazy when the retire!! Thanks for the laughs Larry.

John headed into town for whatever part he needed for "Billy" and I chose to stay home. It is time for me to do some house cleaning - YEAH!!! John got the part then stopped at the bar for a beer and got there just in time to see a mini van pile into the rear end of a semi. Four cop cars, two fire trucks and an ambulance responded and luckily, there were no serious injuries. Apparently, the van was totaled in this smash-up derby. Such excitement in this town!!

John back in time to watch the premiere of American Idol. We lead a VERY exciting life here in the Desert!!

Monday, January 11/2010

Well the sun is not tired today because it is shining like crazy. Hogan and I are both up early so things seem to be getting back to normal. Thank heavens for quiet Sundays. The hummingbird is busy this morning and it won't be too long before the wasps join it at the feeder. It is funny to hear the little noises it makes and it really takes no guff from the wasps - just pushes its way through the masses and feeds like it owns the feeder.

Our "neighbors" left yesterday so we are once again on our own and there is peace in the desert!! Well, except for the occasional automatic gun fire we hear - these people certainly like their guns down here.

John has started to work on the little truck trying to get it to sit more level so has some sort of "spacers" he is trying to put on. This will keep him busy for a while today.

Oh dear, I just heard "#!!^**#!" which I believe roughly translates into "Gee, I sure wish that didn't happen" so, now I think a trip to Napa is required!! It is never dull here in the Sonoran Desert!!

Sunday, January 10/2010

OH - - the day after the night before!!! It was a pyjama day today - a very quiet day!! A day of rest and relaxation. A read your book day and a don't think I'm cooking sort of day!! A day of football and maybe a movie. Even the dog looked a little tired!!! It was quite cloudy so even the sun was a little tired!!

Saturday, January 9/2010

We have neighbours today. They came in early this morning and hopefully will only be staying for the weekend. I kind of like my space and can't help but wonder why, with all the miles of space out here - why would anyone park so close to someone else?? Oh well - whatever!!

Headed into town for some groceries and once they were all put away, John decided we needed to go out for supper AND it was karaoke night at the Rancher bar!!! OH BOY!! Well we stayed there for a couple beers and then went down to the Bar Seven Restaurant/Lounge for supper. Supper was great, Prime Rib. The bar was quite busy until about 9:30 then all of a sudden we were the only ones in the place! Jana, the waitress and bar tender said well I think I will close up, but there's a great little bar across the street called the Mecca and it was "pyjama night" over there!! Jana said I'll meet you guys over there. How could we turn that down! We ended up spending the evening with the locals and talking about all sorts of things - guns, war, healthcare and the price of fish in China!! It was alot of fun and hopefully we will do it again before we leave.

Friday January 8/2010

Nice sunny day today again. John had hung the hummingbird feeder up yesterday and I was pleased to see the little ruby throated bird back again. It is quieter her now that we are further off the road and definitely less dusty. I assume it will get busier today with the weekend just about upon us. John was up and put the new headlight and the new mirror on the truck so now "Billy" (as we now call it) looks happier that ever. We decided on Billy because the little thing climbs like a little billy goat.

We took a short trip into the back country trails and found enough wood for a campfire tonight so hurried home with our treasure and sat around the fire till the wee hours of the morning and once again reflected on how lucky we are to be able to call ourselves "snowbirds". Who would have thought it??

Thursday, January 7/2010

Today is "dump" day so must get this rig ready for travel which means, put away anything that will fall off the table or the counter and smash into a million pieces or spill it's contents all over the floor!! (Not that this has happened - but- I have heard that it could!!) John has decided to move further off the road so has scouted a nice spot so we will move there when we get back from town. Before we leave though he hooked the trailer up to the little truck and moved it over to the new site, thereby "saving" the site from another camper who just may want to settle there. It's a dog eat dog world out here in boondocking land!! When John came back to the motorhome he said he heard a "crash" from inside the trailer but did not open the door to see what had caused it. "I'll look when I get back," was his response.

Off we went into town to dump the tanks, top up the propane and the diesel and fill with water. On the way home we stopped at the local UPS depot and picked up a couple of packages John had ordered in - time to fix that smashed headlight and mirror on the tracker. That being done, we headed back to the new campsite. The road in and out of the boondocking area is not all that smooth and that's okay but, there are times one wishes for a bit more smoothness. Like -- when the cupboard door opened and out flew the candle jar crashing to the floor, smashing into a million pieces, spewing shards of glass from the living room to the bathroom and leaving a dent in the hardwood -- Yea, it is times like this one wishes for a little smoothness!! Okay, grab the dog and don't anybody move until I get the vacuum out!! We managed to maneuver into the new site and John went to check the inside of the trailer to see what had "crashed" in there on the way over. I heard a bit of an "***!!^^**##!!" and when he emerged I understood that the ladder had somehow fallen on the motorcycle and had left a "bit of a mark". I quickly said "I think I'll go vacuum up that glass" (Hogan came with me)!!! What a gong show - one would think we were rookies!!

The new site was quite nice but did require a bit of a cleaning up. Who ever was here last certainly did not hold to the idea of "pack it in, pack it out". Five bags of garbage later - the site was deemed as quite satisfactory. Now I could look in all directions and see nothing but desert. NICE and to make things just a bit better - it was happy hour. "Now come and sit and tell me how it is that the ladder could hit the bike - did the strap break? OH -- you forgot to put the strap on it!!!" This may be a "two beer" happy hour!!!