End of January In the RV Park

Watching my grand daugther here in the camper is a challange, but it's easy to keep track of her!

These pictures were taken a few days ago.  She was getting the cold she has now.  That one eye was watering, but she didn't complain.  We played with "play" making things for her Mommie. 

Next are some scenes from around the RV Park and are from a couple of days.  You can see the view is surprisingly pretty.

This is just a storage shed and an extra pic-nic table, but they made me think of that TV commercial with all the photos of things that remind one of first frowning faces and then, like this, smiling faces!

And so life in the RV park goes on.  Free donuts on Wednesday, Bingo on Thursday, Free Coffee everyday except Sunday from 7 to 1, and lots of nice folks escaping the snow and cold of the east and north in our part of the world. 

I have things to do here in the camper as well.

Wishing everyone good health and a warm and fun Saturday and Sunday!

Last Weeks' Snow in Tucson's Mountains

     Snow on the mountains, a light ray beaming down thru the clouds. The mountains here are usually pretty but any western scene is enhanced by some clouds in the sky to contrast with the blue blue sky and to make interesting and beautiful shadows on the mountains! Snow like this on the mountains was really like icing on a cake! It was indeed a BEAUTIFUL morning after!  The snow has since begun to melt and it's warmed up down off the mountains as well.  The sun is shinning brilliantly and we are in shirt sleeves today!  A fantabulous time in the desert!
Update 1-27-10
     And there's supposed to be more snow up there today. They say they have 59 to 94 inces in the base! Skiers are very excited!
Update 1-28-10
     More snow and rain in Tucson deserts and mountains last night and today.

Good Mroning Sunshine

And it is another lovely day.  Or I guess it is, I haven't been outside yet.  It's nice in here!

Had my pot of coffee, a great muffin and gave myself permission to stay in my pajamas for several hours playing on Facebook and looking at photos online. 

The wind has calmed, the rain has stopped and I see the sunhine on my coffee cup.  All my "friends" on FB seem to have weathered the snow, tornado, floods and are OK too.  The cold I was fighting isn't winning.  All's well in my world, for the time being at least.

I've seen some of the Hatian news.  Seems to me those people have an amazingly good attitude; hopeful and positive even in the face of such an horrific disaster.  Very inspiring, even though the constant reminders and images are difficult to hear and watch. 

May we all learn to be more positive.  I think many times we pray, and still expect the worst or expect to still feel terrible.  Emotions aren't easily managed but we might do better if we prayed expecting good and expecting God to take our burdens from us.  He CAN handle them.  We don't have to do it all alone.

That was a sermon, mostly to myself and it's over for now!

Good Morning all!  My prayers are that the day will be wonderful & that the sun shine on you all today!

Wind Wind Blow Away! & Talking Talking Hard and Fast!

Today we are getting the winds from to big storm that's been in Southern California for the last few days.  It's a bit scary.  The camper kinda sways now and then.  We are happy the campers on either side of us are much larger than ours.  They make great wind breakers!  Some places in Arizona are getting tons of rain but for whatever reason where we are the rain has been minimal. 

*****

Today a couple friends and I met to visit but we only had about an hour because one lady had a meeting.  The (great!) lady who had us at her home and fed us, on a beautifully laid out table, and even thanked God in her prayer for us being there, said "We gotta talk, fast and hard!"

I told her I loved that she made time, went to lots of trouble and still thanked God for us causing her so much bother.  This defines her, and her goodness.

It was a fun morning.  The food was wonderful.  A ham and egg keish and some very tasty coffee cake with fresh strawberries and blue berries. 

Did I say it was laid out beautifully? 

I have known this woman for many years and she is a wonderful cook.  I think she could cook anything she wanted to cook.  She made fig bars for us once!  So I complimented the food.  She grinned at me and said, "Thank you but don't ask me for the recipe.  Because if you did I'd have to tell you to get in your car and go down to Safeway!" 

Old friends together, eating, talking, and laughing loud.  One of the times that make life worth living.

Snow Birding in the Desert Southwest

Hello whoever you might be! If you might be.

So....day began with free donuts and coffee at the park's club house.  Whoopee.  We visited with a few other oldsters, ate a donut and gulped some hot coffee.  And that was over.

The day continued, if not exciting, with a drive out toward the mountains.  He didn't want to stop anywhere.  I wanted to take some pictures, but oh well.  We ended up at "The Good Egg" for lunch.  It was great!  The best breakfast out I've had in a long time. 

Next on our exciting day - a walkabout in Lowes.  I found a book with some great patterns to sew things for the home; bought it with  my birthday money.

Then we drove back.  I promptly fell asleep in the truck, because, I was full, warm and had taken something for my infuriatingly itchy eyes and slight soar throat.

The rest of the day has been just as exciting.  I'm not sure sitting here is better than sitting in the house at home.  It's bad when babysitting our grand daughter is many times more exciting than having time off from sitting!  We have to DO something! and quick.

Desert Pictures - Around the RV Park east of Tucson, Arizona

Quail! Prickly pear cacti, mesquite trees and brush.

Lots of Prickly Pear Cacti, and that one is OLD.  Plus you can see the shadows of the clouds on the mountains.  Many people use "Mountain Shadows" as part of the name of their clubs and other organizations.  It's easy to see why that is.  They are just plain pretty!

This scruffy bush is blooming tiny white blossoms. 

No rain from the clouds this time.  Rains means the washes might be running.  You don't want to be on the other side of the wash from where you want to be!  You'll be stuck until the water stops flowing, which may or may not be a long wait.  More than that, you don't want to be IN the wash when the rains come.  If you see a storm coming or sense it, head to higher ground, quick.

Almost the same view as above, but back a bit.

Bit more distant view.  Tried to not get so many bill boards and houses!  The park is near I 10 and several housing additions.  It still has such a feeling of space and peace, don't you agree.

This is the Cacti the Quail ran into when they saw me heading toward them.  There are rabits in there too, I know because I saw them yesterday.  I will tell you there are some other critters around as well.  It's likely there are sidewinders, and maybe a diamond back, quite a few lizzards as well as roadrunners, crows, wrens doves and mice. 

A close up of the quail.  They run instead of flying most of the time and the little plums on their heads bob up and down.  They make a trill of a sound.  My three year old grand daughter is good a monking them.

Tomorrow we are planning a trip to Phoenix to visit my sister.  Hopefully the trip will result in more desert photos.  My sister and I plan to shop, eat and go to a movie, so tomorrow's post may only be a movie review!

Wishing everyone blue skies and rainbows!

Novice "Snow Birds" Find a Nest!

So, on Monday we paid for a month in an RV park east of Tucson.  It's nice enough, quiet, behind a very nice truck stop with a great restaurant and little gift and souvenir shop, which also sells books about Arizona and the desert.

On Tuesday we got out first invites to the scheduled activities at this park! As soon as the man passing them out left, my husband turned around and he had this stupid grin on his face and the paper in his hand. I had that same stupid grin on my face. We both burst out... laughing and said "we're OLD now!"

We even have other novice snow bird friends coming to visit Sunday night. I don't know what will happen next. We might become regulars at the Thursday night bingo, except we are babysitting our little grand daughter tonight and next Thursday night too.  Have my doubts anyone would be happy to see a 3 year old at their potluck and bingo night.  We did live in Arizona for many years.  We know most of the older people prefer not to be around little ones that much.  I can't imagine getting to that stage myself, but to each his own.

There are some friendly people and my husband has spoken to many more of them than I.  He is like that.  I am actually surprised he hasn't met most everyone in the park, because usually within a few days of our moving into a neighborhood he'll have met 95% of the neighbors!  If it were only me, I might never meet most of them.

My camera battery is charged and tomorrow I plan to post some desert pictures, and maybe some of the snow birds' nesting area.

Doing What We Never Thought We'd Do

This is a New Mexico scene.  It's going up the road to Cloudcroft from Roswell, New Mexico.

Here we are.  Sitting in a pull along camper in Arizona.  Monday we will go to a seasonal camp ground.  We never thought we would be "Snow Birds"!  But that's exactly what we have become.  Oh my! 

After growing up in the east we moved to and lived in the warm and sunny southwest for almost thirty years.  We raised our children out here, but they all grew up and "flew" away.  (We have to admit me did move the nest a few times.  We went to Italy twice, three years at a time.  So we started the migrations.)  But when we were empty nesters, we flew the coop too, I guess you could say.

My husband retired, and we moved back east, not as far north as we started, but farther east!  And we stayed year round for a couple years.  Then, it happened; we had to come west, one of those little chicks of ours built her nest out here, and well, she laid an egg!  We love our funny little grand-chickie!  She cheeps the funniest cheeps and gives the best hugs of any little chickie ever!

This is our second year coming in a camper, and our third coming out.  Each year we stay longer.  It's especailly nice this year because we escaped lots of bad weather.  We feel a bit quilty but...here we are anyway.  We feel better about it because that little chickie needs us to babysit while her parents are out getting those worms and sticks to build their nest.

And so, so far so good this year.  I haven't taken many pictures this trip, but I'm sure I'll catch up soon.  I do have some photos on my phone.  We'll see how they turn out.  They will likely be OK for the Internet, so I can share them later.

This should be interesting.  All those people in the camp ground we plan to go to, well they are OLD.  I'm not that old, I don't care what date in on my birth certificate!  My hair isn't even gray, of coures .... my husband's isn't either .... it's white!

********************

Stay safe and warm everyone.  And be warned, you may end up doing something you NEVER thought you'd do!  Maybe you'll be a "snow bird"!