End of February

Here we are at the end of February, dreading the coming heat but anxious for the snowbirds to leave. The weather has been in a yoyo pattern. Highs and low during the day fluctuating from 60 to mid 80's. Soon it will be 80's each day and 60's at night. That means less laundry too when we aren't having to change from warm to cooler clothes each day.

The painting is soon to the end. Just a few boards and the downspouts are left. Then to put lattice back up on the front of the porch and call it done. The old power lift chair went bye bye yesterday so we got things on the porch put back in order. The rug on the porch need to be vacuumed and the tiles could use a bit of washing. But all in all the porch looks nice again and the house looks wonderful. It's amazing how much richer our home looks with a fresh coat of pain and more a pronounced accent color. Pictures to follow when all is done and in place.

Mancave

There is still painting to be done on the house, but Mark wanted to paint his shed.  After the shutters on the east side were painted, to me it looked like a doll house.  And that he didn't like at all so then I said playhouse, well that didn't go over well either.  Either way it's Marks place to work, or just get away from me. 😜 And it looks so very nice.

Rainy day

It's a wet dreary morning and looking like it won't let up until later this afternoon. Drizzle and rain off and on will put the painting on standby. But I think a day of rest for Mark is a good thing. He figures he has about two days left. The front porch is what he has left and that isn't much painting just a lot of moving things around. While painting Mark has gotten many compliments on the color and how nice it looks. We are really pleased with how the house is looking too.

No plans on my agenda for today but there is always some cleaning to do, If I feel like doing working. Nah, I don't feel like doing anything today.  Just relaxing today sounds like a good idea for both of us.

For a couple days it will be cooler than the 80º we have had. For a few days it will be in the mid to lower 70's. With this rain the flowers in the desert will really pop too. The purple flowers have taken over but soon it will be white and yellow too. The desert is so pretty in the spring with all the blooms. When the high heat rolls in the flowers will die off and the only green will be the scrub brush and a some fields that still have product.

New chair

Yesterday morning, after I got up from another restless night, Mark said we are getting you a new power chair today. No more backaches! So off he walked to get the truck while I got dressed and ready to head out. Lola was happy that she was invited to come along. She loves to ride in daddy's truck and is always such a good traveler. 

I've needed a new chair for quite some time, but I didn't want to spend the money for one. My old one lost all it's support a long time ago and never really did fit my long legs. Since it's a chair that I use exclusively to sit in, it got used and used well. So when we found a furniture store that carried the same brand, Mark said we are going to see if they have one that works well for you.

It was a long drive, but we saw some lovely scenery and the spring color coming alive in the desert. There were hundreds and hundreds of large cacti that looked as though it was a farm. And mountains and foothills with a background of blue sky and whispy white clouds. We had not seen this area of Arizona so it was a pretty drive with new areas to see and enjoy.

Upon arriving at the furniture store we were told we could bring the dog inside. The guy said he was the owner so he was the boss. hehehe He showed us the only chair that he had that would fit my long frame. And he went through how to use the controls too. The chair felt like heaven as soon as I sat in the chair and it even fit my long legs. No more heels hanging off of the edge of the foot rest. 😃 With all the support there will be no more bad back aches, just a comfortable sit and maybe a nap or two. 😉

My old chair had NO support left in it and I hurt worse from sitting in it than I was when I sat down. So getting used to the good support and comfort will take a bit of getting used too. I no long feel like I am sinking into the chair to the floor, but sitting with gentle comfortable support.

When we got home a neighbor saw the chair on the truck and offered to help Mark bring it into the house when we were ready. Mark had to take the old chair apart, which was a real pain in the butt. Mark was tired and sore from the long stressful drive but worked hard at the disassembly. Once that was done, the neighbor and his friend came and helped bring the chair inside. That too was a bit of a struggle since the patio doors on park models are narrow and short. Not much fits through those doors without removing the door panels. But the chair made it inside safely.

About 8 hours from when we left home, I was sitting in the new power lift chair watching Worst Cooks in America, in comfort. And Mark was grinning from ear to ear seeing the smile on my face. He even sat on the couch and watched the show with me. I love it when he is with me.

This morning I got up and saw Mark and Lola sitting in the new chair. He was amazed at how comfortable the chair was. I hope that Mark will use the chair, when I'm not sitting in it. When you are tired and sore from a hard day, it is really extra nice to have.

Time to get dressed now and get to baking some cookies. I can't be out of cookies two days in a row!! 😦 And I know I'll have a nice chair to rest in when I am done.

Painting the trim

Mark has been working hard on getting the trim on the house painted. And wow, is it ever looking nice!! The dark, almost black gray, really pops on the white house. When it's all done it will look like a new house. As he does some inspecting, after finding a leak in one window, he has found several windows that have NO caulking on them at all. So not only does he have to paint he has to caulk multiple windows. One window had a gap that he could put his finger through! Luckily it never rained in any of the other windows, just the one in the living room.

This morning we went to Denny's for brunch. We love their food and they have some great breakfast deals right now. After leaving a very busy Denny's we went to Fry's for some petite sirloins that were on sale.  Fry's was very busy too. WE just got what I wanted and left.

After doing up a few dishes that were in the way I proceeded to grind the steaks into hamburger. I did however take two steaks out for supper tonight. They were the better looking steaks.  I got 9 one pound packages of hamburger made and two thick steaks for supper tonight, for $35. That was an $83 savings off of the regular price. CAn't beat price that for hamburger!! The steaks were not very good for steaks but made great hamburger. 😋 When the snowbirds are here the grocery sales are very poor. So I save where I can.

Marks Happenings

Big rain here in Yuma both yesterday and predicted for again today. Rained almost all afternoon yesterday at times it was a downpour. Flash flood watch was in effect as there is just no place for the water to go when it comes down fast here.

We had one window leak a bit but other than that all is high and dry.

Got our big tv out of the storage shed and set it up in the AZ room, connected it to cable and streaming thru Roku (also found in storage shed). Funny Cindy had the Roku remote in her tv drawer since we originally left Hutch and now could not find it. But it showed up just in the nick of time....

Interesting what treasures one finds when you have to stay inside because of the rain nothing but time on your hands, as I had been painting the house........ LOL

Today I am headed to sportsmans warehouse to check on some new ammo for my beretta that has been giving me some Failure to Feed issues.
And when he leaves I can finally get to his bathroom and get it cleaned.  There is no room between Marks desk and the bathroom door for me to maneuver the mop and me. 😃

It's Always an Adventure!

Roller coaster weather

We just had three days of low 60 and upper 50's during the day and almost freezing at night. Now temps on on the rise for a couple days and then down we go again. Such is spring. Mark thinks it's warm while I am dressed in  heavy sweatshirts and long pants. Something is wrong here..... I'm the one with enough fat for insulation and I'm the one that can't seem to get warm.

Nothing new happening here. Just enjoying another winter with no snow or finger freezing temps. It won't be long now and it will start to warm up more and more and then the snowbirds will leave. They can't leave soon enough for many of us who live here.  But I've said that multiple times. We are looking forward to having the pool to ourselves and me not having to wait for a washing machine, or  finding a restaurant with that isn't full to capacity and love being able to drive anywhere without bumper to bumper traffic. We are kicking around about going to Quartzite to see what it's like without the RV show. It's the worlds largest dry camp area, drawing many many campers in the winter. There are a few shops, but we have not been there other than for the RV show so we kind of want to see what it's like when it's just the regular day stuff. It's not much of a town, maybe smaller than Biscay, MN as far as population goes and just as many businesses. We will see.

Windy

Sunday it was a bit windy but by evening the wind was wicked. The winds were at 22 mph sustained, but I'm not sure what the gusts were. All I can say is I'm glad we were not in an RV last night. Today the wind is still blowing although not quite as bad, but close.

Yesterday afternoon Mark took his motorcycle out for a ride to enjoy the nice weather. It got quite warm, 79º but the breeze kept it comfortable.  The next couple days will be much cooler and windy.

I dug out a quilt top that I started some 6 years ago and never quite knew what I was going to do with it. Well I have a lot of hours in the blocks so I decided to get back to work on it. It will be a small quilt not quite big enough for any bed but I don't want the top to just lay in a tote after all the work I put into it. So I ironed everything and got to work putting on the border. My hands and arms started to hurt so I didn't get all 4 sides done. The table is too high for sewing so that aided in the discomfort. Today I plan on putting the last side of the border on. Then I will need to head out and find some fabric for the backing and the binding.  It will take me along time to do the quilting, since I can't move my arms and hands like I used to. I should add that there is a lot that I have forgotten and need to go to Google to refresh my memory on many steps.

Can phones make calls out of state?

November first 2016 we moved from our long time home town to do some traveling before we were unable to do so. Many of our friends and family just couldn’t understand why we wanted to be anywhere other than where he had been all our lives. So sad for them. The adventure was the best ever for us and so many memories to reflect on. There were some days where it was tiresome and very difficult but most days it was a fun with so much to see and do.

In the beginning some friends would call or text, but as time went on, the Minnesota contacts stopped. For some reason Minnesota was unable to send calls out of state. But no matter where we were our phones were expected to and still  worked. Friends and family fell off the planet or they lost their phones or computers, I’m not sure which.  But let me tell you, if our phones or computers failed to function we were in the dog house. Since when do roads only go one way or phones only work to receive calls? In this day and age of technology you would think one would never lose touch with anyone. But some just don’t take the time to pick up the phone or make a road trip. Not even when it’s just a few hundred miles or less. Now that we live some 2000 miles from our home state we know it’s not a short jaunt down the road. It costs quite a bit to make the trip whether by car or plane. But with cell phones, a phone call costs nothing, but it is priceless to the receiver of the call or text.

My closest friend I have now is a lady, LuAnn, that I have never met in person. She listens, texts and sends prayers daily. She lives many miles away, but we both know how it feels to be remembered by someone that cares and forgotten by others. We connect with each other multiple times a day without fail. Even when she is in the hospital we still stay in touch. We don't wait for the other to make the first move, we don’t care who is first, just that we are there for each other even if it’s to just say hi and have a good day. She has been a God given gift to me this last year. And I know she feels the same way.

The only relative I have anymore is my dear cousin, Patty, who writes or calls every day. We never forget to email or text or call. And we don’t expect the other to send or call first. We just do it and we do it because we love one another and care about each other. God also blessed me with a sister. A sister who isn’t biological but as dear to me as if she were. Marks sister Barb. She and her husband David are all the family we have outside of our son Lincoln, grandson Patrick, and daughter in law, Maria. And for all of them we are truly grateful.

I started doing another blog when we were thinking of traveling and continued up until a month or so ago. I started it to keep our family and friends informed as to our where about. The reason I no longer use that blog  is that no one really cared enough about us to contact us so why should I continue the blog to keep them up to date. Again, phones work both ways, as do emails, text, and snail mail.

As I’m writing this my hurt and anger is starting to build and it shows. But I guess I really don’t care, I needed to speak up. I’m tired of not being worth anyone's time.  How would you feel if no one cared enough to contact you?

Spring is bursting out in the Sonoran Desert

Springtime comes earlier here in the desert than in the more northern states. For the last couple weeks we have noticed the desert has been greening out nicely. A beautiful 71º so far and sunny. We could hit 77 again today and then Monday and Tuesday in the low to mid 60’s for a high. Just a little teaser for us. Then a warm up again. It will be warming up right along from now on. The desert is coming alive with color. The ground looks like a green carpet with purple flowers speckled in here and there. Then the white floors will burst open and look like snow on the ground. Even the grease bushes have greened up. Spring in the desert is really pretty. Usually we left just as it was starting get a little green. Now we get to see the real beauty from beginning to end. A few more months and the fields will be done with the winter produce. Then it will be wheat and some kind of grass that will be used for cattle elsewhere. There are even cotton fields which is grown for its seed and shipped to another country. The cotton fields are a slow grow and then longer for it to dry out.

The California quail are starting to run around and make their presence known.