Friday, March 18/2011

Checking out the cactus

John and Lorne

Sun going down

Time to head home

There's a deer in there!

Getting Monique ready to go

Hauling stuff

One last beer

Bye Bye

Coors is ready

Bye Coors

I am up early this morning - even before the dogs!!  They both looked at me as if I had two heads!!
The sun is shining and once again I am going have to put up with the sunshine!!  Kim will be sad to have to leave it but am afraid that little girl is not totally sun friendly.  She had hives on her yesterday from the sun but actually has a pretty good start on her tan.  She will have something to brag about when she gets back to Saskatoon.
Tomorrow is supposed to be "the super moon" so that will be interesting.  For the last week or so, the moon has been extremely bright.  So much so, that a flashlight is not really even needed.  I guess the reason for this is the fact that this year (and more specifically tomorrow) the moon orbit brings it the closest to the earth that it has been since 1993.  It will appear 14% larger and 30% brighter.  Can anyone say "photo shoot"!!!
As I am sitting here this morning enjoying the early morning, I hear this horrific howling/whining/dog is hurt sound outside.  I just knew that something terrible happened to one of the dogs.  I run out of the bus dressed in my finest (pink pj bottoms, purple nightie, green bunny hug and hair that looks like it came from Hell) and go running towards the sound.  Oh Sweet Jesus, I just know one of them has met with a terrible accident and all I could think about was that damn snake we saw yesterday.  I call "Hogan" as I am running towards the commotion and quickly see that it is not him that this horrific sound is coming from.  As I run past Charlotte and Keith's campsite, they come out and Charlotte says "Oh, he is hurt", and they join me in my race towards Coors who I see is at the base of a small tree.  I can hear a sound (along with the ones emanating from Coors) I don't quite recognize.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph!!  I don't see any snake and I quickly grab Coors by the collar and it is a struggle for me to haul his big arse away from the sound.  Jace appears from behind me - he heard the horrible sounds also and bound out of the trailer in his boxers!!  Jesus, we all looked a sight!!  Jace was able to control Coors and we realized that the sounds we had heard were not the death and dying ones I had imagined them to be but excitement at cornering whatever little creature at the base of this tree.  That "effin" dog is so grounded!!  What kind of Granddog scares the shit out of his Grandmother like that.  Goooo Homeee!!  Oh, my shattered nerves!!
We spent the morning lazing around and eventually, headed into town.  Jace needed to fill the tuck and give it a quick wash. I stopped by and picked up some birdseed.  With the return to camp, the kids got their stuff ready and soon headed for home.  Hogan wandered around for a while wondering where everyone was.
Lorne and Marilyn soon showed up and we took them down to the old house by Trueman's mine.  We had brought lawnchairs so enjoyed a few beverages there.  On the way back, we stopped at the mine as Trueman was still there, had a beer with him and since he was on his way back into town, I told him to stop and I would give him some potato salad and a couple of burgers for his supper.
I headed to bed early - this cold has returned with a vengeance and since we have a day planned with Lorne and Marilyn tomorrow, I don't really want to be feeling too lousy.  Trueman and John talked a while then I heard his tuck start and away he went.  John came into the bus and I never head another thing after that.

Thursday, March 17/2011

4.5 Ft Snake

Snake Charmer!

Fire, Cactus, Moon

Getting that thorn out of her foot!

The sun is up and it looks like another nice day is in store for us.  I have to head into town this morning to pick up that part for Jace (Keith is going to drive me in) and I will pick up a muffler clamp as well.
We got an email from Lorne and Marilyn and they arrived in town last night. Yeah!!  Just in time to pick up their mail at the UPS store.  Talk about timing!!
Ben arrived this morning for a quick visit.  He looks fantastic.  Suzette was with him so I finally got to meet her.  They had just arrived back from taking their daughter Kayla to the airport in Phoenix.  Suzette has decided to stay with Ben for another week.  That will give him some extra recovey time and that is a good thing.
When Keith and I retuned from town, Jace had the old part off the truck and was waiting for the new one.  It didn't take him long to get it on but soon realized that something was still not quite right about Monique.  John and him tinkered with it for quite a while and eventually managed to get it out of four wheel dive and back into two wheel drive.  This is were it needs to be for the ride home.  Jace can have it looked into once he gets home.
Of course the Box Canyon run is out but there is always next year.  Maybe the Jeep will be running by then!!
Trueman arrived for a short visit.  He had killed yet another rattlesnake and stopped by to show us.  It was a good four feet long and was a beauty.  Coors was more than willing to take it on but Hogan was totally scared of it.  I held it, shaking the rattles at him trying to scare him with it, all the time yelling "no" and Trueman yelling "snake, snake" at him.  I think between the two of us, we scared the crap out of him because he wouldn't go near the thing after that.  Nothing like an impromptu Snake School!!  It is a good thing Coors is headed home tomorrow as I am afraid he would go after a snake if he saw one - it could be the pit bull in him.
Happy hour started early for Kim and I - someone had to do a temperature on the beer!!  Lorne and Marilyn arrived and wondered why none of us were wearing green since it was St. Patrick's Day!!  I had completely forgotten!!  OMG!!!  It was great to see them again and Jace reminded Marilyn of one of her sons.  We had a nice chat then they returned to town for a quiet evening.  Keith had wandered over before they left so met them as well.  Charlotte is still feeling a bit under the weather.
John started a fire and we sat around that enjoying it and eating supper.  Keith and Charlotte headed back to their camp and we spent the rest of the evening playing cards ( before we could start playing cards John had to take a thorn out of kims foot ) and enjoying the kids on their final night with us.  They leave for home tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 16/2011

Mr Clean pose

Reflection

Kim and Jace taking pics

Awake at 7am and feeling much better.  Still coughing but I can handle that.  The dogs weren't too anxious to go outside this morning - what is with that and, are now curled up in their usual spots - Hogan on the dash and Coors in Hogan's chair.  Sometimes, they trade spots!!
Looks like it is going to be another awesome day.  The sun is shining and I just know Kim will be out working on her tan.  I, of course, will be right there beside her with the sunscreen!!
Jace is having a bit of trouble with his truck.  For some reason, it does not want to come out of four wheel drive and he really has no desire to drive all the way back to Saskatchewan with the four wheel drive engaged.  He apparently has tried all the little tricks to get it to disengage but to no avail so we head into town to see what needs to be fixed.  While in town, I took them to a few of the touristy spots and Kim bought some gifts for the folks back home.  Once that was done, we headed to the garage and found out it was the transfer case motor.   A new one will be here tomorrow and Jace can replace it tomorrow at the campsite.
We had planned on going to Box Canyon tomorrow so hopefully it is an easy fix.
Once back at camp, Keith came over and mentioned that Charlotte was sick - thinks I gave her my cold!!  Now that sucks for her.
Keith was in town today and pick up new rotors for his front wheels so Jace helped him replace those.  My goodness, aren't we running the best little "fix it" shop out here in the desert!!
Once Jace was finished with that, he replaced some muffler pipe on the Jeep so now the fuel injection thing-a ma-jing can go into it.
Then it was time to kick the kid's asses in kaiser.  As it turned out it was John's and my ass that got kicked and the carrying on we heard from the kids ..... well - I was embarrassed for them!!!!  Even when we went to bed, John said "Marie, we got to get some signals going"!!!!  I believe he has been traumatized!!
We were blessed with an incredible sunset once again so the game had to interrupted for a photo shoot.
Another great day has come and gone.

Tuesday, March 15/2011

The dogs are back into their 6am routine again!!  I managed to ignore them till 6:40 then admitted defeat and got up.  I had to be up early anyway because when I was chatting to Trueman last night he said Randy from Los Caballeros would be here early this morning to check on the injured cow.  Sure enough, he arrived at 7:20 and yes, I was dressed!!  I did not think that my pink fuzzy pyjama bottoms would be appropriate!!  He promised to take a look at the cow and get it some help.  The herd had not wandered too far during the night as I can still hear them bawling this morning.
I had a quick chat with Keith this morning.  Both him and Charlotte were feeling a bit ragged around the edges yesterday and both are feeling better today.  Charlotte had heard from Ben this morning and apparently he sounds good.  I sent him a quick email yesterday so I think I will phone him this morning.
I am not sure what is on the agenda for today and will have to wait until the lovies are out of bed.  The kids want stir fry for supper, so that is an easy fix!!
As the day progressed, I started feeling sicker and sicker and after a quick trip into town for supplies, I returned home felling worse than ever.  John, Kim and Jace had remained at home and were well into the beer and cribbage by the time I arrived back at camp.  We played a couple of games of kaiser then I went and laid down for a bit.
Trueman had stopped by earlier, before I went into town with some beer to "restock" what he had drank.  I think he has had maybe 6 beer in two years!!  What a goof!!  When I was napping, he stopped again with a 45 gallon plastic water drum we can use for hauling water.
I told the kids I wasn't up to preparing the stir fry thing so they had a gourmet meal of macaroni and canned tomatoes (Kim's choice) and bbq pork chops with mushroom sauce (Jace's choice).  These kids are sooo hard to please!!!
With supper over, we sat around the campfire for a while, Charlotte and Keith joined us and with all of us yawning, we were soon headed in that direction.  I took more drugs and went to sleep hoping to feel much better in the morning.  Jace said something about taking the cribbage board to bed with them and I immediately asked if they slept with the board, would it make them better cribbage players and suggested they take the kaiser cards also!!

Monday, March 14/2011

Kimmy and Jace playing crib

Coors after some varmit

I know your in there!

Ending the evening with another great sunset

It just does not seem to matter to these darn dogs that I was partying last night and could actually use an extra hour of sleep!!  So, here I sit - 7am watching the birds at the feeder and watching the dogs do a perimeter check just to make sure that all is well in their neighborhood!!  Oh well, might just as well make a pot of coffee and check out the email and facebook pages!!
I just received a friend request from my niece in Ontario.  I am so excited to hear from Lindsy as we have had very little contact with her and her Mom and sister since they were little.  It was awesome to see her pictures and she looks so much like myself when I was her age.  She has just started nursing school. I look forward to keeping contact with her.
Don't really know what is on the agenda for today as everyone is still in bed!!  The dogs now are sleeping and I am the only one awake in the campsite!!  Ahhh, the beauty of Peace and Quiet.
The weather was incredible again today.  Kim's tan is coming along nicely although I do have to keep tabs on her and am forever telling her to get out of the sun - You are welcome Gloria!!   By the time Jace and her played the third game of Cribbage, she was getting red!!
We spent a quiet day around camp today.  We played a ton of Kaiser and although the kids started off well, they pooped out in the long run!!  John and I set them up for the "big fall"!!
We sat around the campfire while supper was on the bbq.  John and Jace walked to the cattle guard wondering what all the commotion was about (lots of bawling) and came back and told us that one of the   free range cattle looked like it had either broken its leg or had hurt it enough that it was no longer bearing any weight through it.  I phoned Good old Trueman and asked if he knew who the owner was and he made some calls then phoned me back to say that someone would be out early tomorrow morning.  We didn't have to worry about the cow too much as the rest of the herd had surrounded it - putting a protective shield around her to ward off any opportunistic predators.
Once supper was over and the dishes done (yes we did dishes tonight!!) John and I challenged the kids to a few games of cribbage and once again - they were handily dispatched to the losers corner of disbelief!!
We were treated to an incredible sunset tonight and after a bit of TV, headed to bed.

Sunday, March 13/2011

Guarding the practise cow

Kimmy, Look at all those cowbays!

He is eating the practise cow

Monique

Monique Flexing

Still more cowboys!

John and Kimmy ( sun screen and beer )

Tibbs

Char found a new friend 

Brenda (left) and Jana

Erika

Marie ( can't have my legs hairier than the horses)

Brad

Going for it!

Well, the dogs let me sleep in till 7am this morning!!  Wow!!  I love waking up to see two very eager faces looking at me from the end of the bed!!  There is something to be said about waking up knowing that another creature in this world is so happy you are paying them some attention!!  I really have to watch out for Coor's tail as he wags it so hard, it feels like a broom stick hitting your leg!!
The sun is up and it is hot already this morning.  Another great day has arrived.
I make coffee,  then check out the emails and update the blog while I am waiting for the water to heat so that I can do last night's supper dishes.  The dish fairy did not come during the night for some reason so, I guess that leaves me!!
We are supposed to be going to watch the Roping Competition today at the Simpson Ranch so I hope Jace is feeling better so that he can enjoy it.  Kim seems pumped to go. I better bring the sun screen for her!!
Jace indeed was feeling better and after breakfast and showers, we headed to the roping competition.  We loaded up a cooler of beer, stopped and got Charlotte and Keith and headed out.
The day turned out to be absolutely great.  Nothing but horses, cows and cowboys!!  Some cowgirls too but they were all skinny so I refused to watch them!!
We met Erika, Jana and Brenda there and we all had a great time.  The beer was cold and fun was had by all. Because it competition is held on private property, we were allowed to drink  - in fact - Larry, the owner, says it is mandatory!!
The whole experience was awesome but it was soon time to head back to camp and start a fire.  Supper needed to be cooked and more beer (or should I say Paralyzers) needed to be drank.
The day was awesome - one for the memory books.

Saturday, March 12/2011

Another great sunset!

Chitty Chattin

Gotta end the night with a fire!

Kimmy pouring paralyzers  

I was up early (as usual) so decided to hop into the truck and get the laundry done and do some grocery shopping.  Jace had forgot his flip flops so I was on a mission to find something for him to put on his feet other than his runners.
When I got back from town, Jace was sitting in the sun, in the lawn chair, with a long sleeved shirt and his sweats on!!  OMG - heat stroke!!  He is still sick - cold, flu, aching all over, etc.  Of course, it is all Kim's fault!!  I drugged him up and he went back to bed.
Kim had gone for a bit of a hike by herself while I was in town and was rather disappointed that the dogs had not gone with her.  She said they both looked at her as if she had two heads - "what, you want us to walk in THIS heat"!!!  She did however see a lizard and a chipmunk on her travels.
Because she had been out in the sun for too long, she was getting a sunburn.  I found the sunscreen and told her to use it!!  God, these kids!!  She is so fair that she will be a lobster by the end of the day!!
To get Kim out of the sun for a while, John and I taught her how to play yahtzee.  I am sure that John thought he now had two women he could crush!!  As it turned out, Kim was a much more formidable opponent and I am very proud to say ..... I came in last  ..... again!!  God, I hate this game!!
Jace got up feeling a bit better and challenged Kim and I to a game  and he kicked our arses!!  Like father, like son!!  Jace, Kim and I played outside and Kim was getting too much sun again so we headed back into the motorhome for Kaiser.  Now Jace and Kim thought they could actually give us a game and although I must admit they beat us rather soundly the first game, John and I ended up showing these two young pups how to play the game!!  We won the set and they were sad!!  I think there were tears!!
Kim decided that she was due for a Paralyzer so poured those and now John has decided he has found a "new drink".  Thanks Kim,  what was wrong with vodka, a splash of coke and water?
Charlotte and Keith wandered over for some fireside conversation.  Keith showed Kim and Jace his "google sky" application on his phone so they spent some time checking out all the stars in the sky.  It really is quite a fascinating thing.
The kids were getting hungry so without further ado, John got their supper of steak and baked potatoes on the bbq and in no time at all, they were fed and ready for bed.  Jace took more drugs and left the evening with the hopes of feeling better tomorrow.
John cooked our supper while the fire burnt down and we ate inside watching the horror of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan on TV.  It is hard to imagine this kind of destruction when all is well in our little corner of the Sonoran Desert.  I think I would rather face off with a rattlesnake than face the horrors of what is happening over there.
All in all, it was an awesome day here in the desert and hopefully Jace is feeling better tomorrow.