Seriously! A blog post?

Seriously! It’s been how many months since I last posted?

Yeah, last July I guess. Bummer, all those good summer adventures long gone. Lets see if I can hit the high lights at least.

Clyda is doing well with her ankle replacement. She still has pain but feels it is at least stable. Pain will probably disappear over time. As he DR says when she complains, “Has it been a year yet?”

We have done a couple of trips this summer including an RV trip to Pismo Beach camping with Budd and Brenda, 4 days with Cindy and Gary in Walnut Creek as a last hurrah before summer ends, and then a flight to Bellingham, WA to celebrate our Great Nieces 4^th birthday the beginning of Oct. Nothing like a 4 year old celebrating her birthday! It was a great trip.

Tim came in the middle of Oct and spent a week here before he and I drove to Las Vegas to begin our 3 week fall trip. We visited a lot of new areas around Las Vegas some of which were on unpaved roads, the best kind really. We followed that up by going to Death Valley for our annual encampment. 

We continued our campaign of collecting Mylar balloons wherever we find them in the desert. This year we collected 47. We post the results on our Facebook page at Desert Balloon Recovery Crew and turn in the balloons themselves to the National Park Service where they plot the GPS pickup points for all balloons found within Death Valley National park.  

Clyda and I joined our friends Cindy and Gary in Walnut Creek for one night before flying to Kauai for a week at their timeshare in November. A good week but lots of wind which really didn’t hamper our activities except on the day we left when a wind and rain storm caused us to change our plans. All was well however. On arriving back at Walnut Creek we stayed and had Thanksgiving as we have had for the last 3 years at Cindy and Gary’s Son and Daughter-in-laws house. We appreciate being “part of the family.”

We leave tomorrow for a 4-day Coastal Cruise out of Los Angeles. We are joined on this trip by friends from the Elks Club. It was one of those spur of the moment decisions as in “Look at this Price, - lets do it.”

December is a busy month for us as we do another week long cruise as soon as we finish the 4-day cruise. This one is to the Mexican Riviera again with Cindy and Gary. We will remain in San Diego with them for Christmas at their daughters house.

Sorry, no photos today as I am doing this at the last minute while packing.

Who knew?

While in Houston last month I had mentioned that we did some Geo-caching in cemeteries, one of which was the Glenwood Cemetery where Howard Hughes is buried. He is in a plot along with his mother and father. The plot is well fenced but I managed to get a photo or two.

Gardening has been the continuing project for the last month. That and Clyda’s recovery from her ankle replacement. More on that later.

I am over run with vegetables from the garden. I am getting salad cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, pole beans, peas, yellow squash, zucchini, and beets. To come yet are tomatoes, and carrots. Because of the abundance, I give away as much as people will take and I give recipes with the harvest as well.

However, I have a few things I have kept for myself. For instance, I am getting pickling cucumbers so I have made open jar pickles which I then put in quart jars and keep in the refrigerator. I do the same with the beets I pickle. I will also make some pickled beans called “Dilly Beans” as soon as the bean crop increases. I have been picking peas but so has some critter as I find empty bean pods in the garden. I still get enough for us.

I also took an empty pickled beet jar and am pickling a few hard boiled eggs in the leftover beet juice. They always look so nice when you slice them.

My salad cucumbers took a hit from the dog yesterday as she was chasing a lizard among the vines. I am afraid I may need to pull up those vines. Not to fear though, my neighbor planted what was marked as 11 watermelon plants from the nursery but turned out to be cucumbers. I think he will have enough for all of us. I also get Romaine lettuce from him so I haven’t bought lettuce in some time.

I make cucumber salad with vinegar and have that with my lunch. It reminds me of my youth back on the farm when salad meant vinegar cucumbers or cucumbers in sour cream. We also had lots of cucs back on the farm. It was our main salad during the summer.

I am finding lots of new, good looking recipes on-line to use up this abundant crop.

Clyda has been doing well in her rehab but has yet to put any weight on her foot. She gets around using a knee scooter and has ventured outside to the patios. Today she even went to her knitting group for a few hours. Having had a knee replacement causes it to be painful to spend much time on that scooter however. She started out with a partial cast for 2 weeks then had a hard cast for two weeks and now just a nylon boot which she can remove for showering, etc. She finds it much better than the hard cast as it can be off for part of the day if she isn’t moving around.

Our life revolves around her rehab and the garden as you can see.

Where to begin?

After we came back from camping at Morro Bay my time was taken up by gardening and other projects around the house. I had acquired a pickup load of pallets from which motorcycles had been packaged on for shipment to the local dealer. I wanted them for campfire wood but in the process of dismantling them I found that by adding a few boards I now had sections of fencing to keep the dog out of my garden. Not very elegant but it served the purpose.

After Memorial Day we flew to Houston to attend our Grand-daughter Ivy’s high school graduation. We are very proud of this young lady as she graduated ninth in a class of 855 students. She was accepted at UC Berkeley in San Francisco as well as other schools but because of the high out of state tuition costs decided to attend the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. Her major is physics.

Grandson Matthew completed his second year of college at Texas A & M where his major is Aero Space Engineering.

We had a nice 5 day visit with Tim and family, got in some Geo-caching and visited a lavender farm, a local winery, and a sausage factory. Much of the ego-caching was at cemeteries which was interesting. We also re-visited Rose Hill Cemetery on Seidel Cemetery Road in Tomball, TX. We had visited this cemetery when Matthew was very little. Walking among the headstones is like walking through the Cemetery in Dorchester, WI as many of the family names are the same. If I was dropped in either cemetery, I couldn’t tell you which one I was in.

On Tuesday June 11^th Clyda had ankle replacement surgery of her right ankle. That is the same ankle she broke in 2008. A year later when she had some of the hardware removed, the surgeon told her that “Some day you will need a replacement” because of the arthritis. This same surgeon did the replacement last Tuesday. For the surgery she was given two nerve blocks. The anesthesiologist really liked the second block and said it may last as much as 96 hours. Basically, Clyda was pain free until late yesterday (Friday) because of the blocks.

She is using a walker to hop on one leg to and from the bathroom. That is hard on the arms as all the weight is on her arms. We do have a knee stroller for her to use but our house is so small that it is not usable in the bathroom. For longer trips we have a wheel chair. I made multiple trips to the Visiting Nurses Loan Closet to pick up all these items as the reality set in of what she would be capable of doing.

She will be non-weight bearing for 4 to 6 weeks before physical therapy can begin. It will be a long summer.

My 10 days working for Ranchero Visitadores is over.

We had a good 10 days with only a few mishaps among all the riders but none at our gate. We did get a little rain one day but it only lasted about 20 minutes. The road did get a little sloppy but only one brave soul drove out during that time so the road dried quickly after the rain quit.

Rain was predicted on Friday as we were packing up to leave so we had taken down as much as we could Thursday evening. By Friday morning we had little to do. After son Craig arrived with Clyda and a trailer, we loaded all the things I didn’t need for 5 more days of camping into the trailer and sent it home with Craig. There was a loud clap of thunder and we all said “lets get out of here” before the road got sloppy. Just as we hit the blacktop the rain came down including some small hail. It rained all the way to Santa Maria but not hard. Just a passing shower.

We drove to Morro Bay and camped at Morro Strand RV Park for the next 5 days. We had sunny days which is a rarity for Morro Bay so we did enjoy that. We camped with Jim who worked Rancheros with me and another couple we had met last year at Lake Lopez. Jerry and Terry had boarded the Celebrity Summit last fall for a 2 week trip the day we left the Summit after our 2 weeks on board. It was nice to compare notes about our experiences.

Here are a few photos from Visitadores and Morro Bay.

Cooking corn for lunch in the fire pit.

Jim and Budd.

View at Morro Bay looking up the coast.

 Elephant Seals on the beach North of San Simeon.

It is a very popular tourist attraction.

 These seals cover a beach over a mile long.

It looks like mosaic rocks from a distance instead of seals.

A "raft" of sea otters in Morro Bay.

Another long gap in my postings but so it goes.

We arrived home from Quartzsite on March 1^st after an overnight stop in Boron, CA at Arabian RV Park. This is about half way home for us. It also allowed us to have dinner at Domingo’s Mexican Restaurant in Boron which had just reopened 3 weeks earlier after being closed for several years. I know that a lot of road warriors are glad to see it open again. While there, check out all the new military photos Domingo has posted and especially ask him about his ride in an Air Force F16.

Of course, coming back from a few months on the road we hit the ground running. There is lots of small jobs to do on the new RV plus weed pulling in the yard. Boy, have we pulled weeds. Every week our green waste container as well as the neighbors is full. But, it has been worth it as the yard looks much better especially after all the rain.

I have been putting together a raised garden bed which has been on my wish list for years. However, making it out of redwood just wasn’t practical so I decided that in my old age, using fir would do just as well as it may still outlast me. The bed is 4 x 12 and 12 inches high. When I planned this I did not take into account how much dirt and mulch it would take to fill it. Therein lies my problem. Where to get good topsoil without stripping my garden of it and what is it going to cost me if I need to buy it. I need about 30 cu ft. I also need 15 cu ft of compost and 5 cu ft of potting soil. I also have several smaller beds that need the same materials.

Bed built upside down so I could add hardware cloth to keep gophers out.

Right side up with newspaper under the hardware cloth to keep soil moist.

California poppies taking over my garden.

I have the bed ready for my pole beans and peas and today I put up the trellis’s so they can climb up.

The RV has had its problems. Unknown to me was the condition of the upper slide seals. With one of our last rain storms after we returned home, water came in and soaked the rugs. It took a week using heaters and fans to dry it out after I had used a wet vacuum and got up what water I could. I also used a lot of old bath towels to soak up the excess. After it had dried, I spread a layer of Baking Soda on the carpet and brushed it in with my hand and left it for a couple of weeks. This was so there would be no oder from the rugs being wet. I have done this successfully a number of times when we have had leaks and it seems to work.

Ten days ago I took the RV to A-RV in Nipomo, CA to have the slide seals replaced and to have the front and rear cap seals checked. Yesterday I picked up the RV so now I hope I am ready for camping again with no leaks.

Now I need to get ready for Ranchero Visitadores which for me starts on Monday April 29^th when I go up and mow the grass in the area we set up our camp in. When Clyda and I took the RV to Nipomo we stopped off at our Visitadores camp site on our way back home to see how high the grass was and to make sure nothing else was amiss at the site. Well, “belly high” on a cow would describe the grass so I called the Ranch foreman and asked if he could run a mower through there before I go up on the 29^th. His smart alec answer was he would send me 2 goats to take care of the grass. There is no way my back yard mower would cut that grass. I don’t mind spending a few hours running a mower around the lot but not all day at it either. So we’ll see if he follows through.

Before the 29^th I need to go through all of the equipment I take with me, such as stoves, tilt up canopy, signs, etc, to make sure all is in readiness. I have lists of everything I should need so just need to refer to them. All of the food is already on order so that is done.

After I am through with Rancheros we always go camping somewhere. Last year we were at Lake Lopez with a large group and this year a few of us are going to Morro Bay for 4 days. As long as the RV is out of the yard I want to use it. Son Craig brings Clyda and a trailer up to the camp when I finish. That way Clyda can ride with me to Morro Bay and Craig can take all of my excess camping stuff back home.

Clyda has a quick trip to Lynden, WA planned for right after Easter to visit a niece and nephew who have new babies we have not seen. BIL Mark invited her to stay with he and Tammy which is very thoughtful of them.

At the end of May we have a trip to Houston planned for our Granddaughters high school graduation. She is trying to decide on which college to attend. She has been accepted at a few already, a couple which are very prestigious places.

Granddaughters Birthday.

Today is granddaughter Ivy’s 18^th birthday. We were in Houston 18 years ago for her birth. Happy Birthday Ivy.

We have left Yuma after a week of site seeing, shopping at Arizona Marketplace, (a mostly covered swap meet) several times, a movie when it rained one day, shopping at Wall-Mart next door to the RV Park, and seeing several local sites.

We spent one windy afternoon at The Museum of History in Granite at Felicity, California, West of Yuma. This is a really neat place developed by a Frenchman Jacques-Andre Istel who served in the U.S, Marine Corp. He liked the area so much he bought land, LOTS of land and created a place where information could be etched in large granite panels. He is also the Mayer of Felicity. We met him when we entered the visitor center. It was his 90^th birthday.

We viewed some of the panels but it was so windy we left the remainder for another time.

We had lunch at Lutes Casino in Old Town Yuma which really isn’t a casino but has an eclectic collection of old memorabilia and serves food. It is a must see if in Yuma.

We left enough unseen sites that we need to go back next year,

On Monday the 18^th we left Yuma a drove back to Quartzsite but this time camped in La Posa South with our neighbors Paul and Kathy who had arrived the day before. We had a nice visit and left the next morning to take the trailer to Blythe, California to have it registered. In California the DMV has to check the VIN number when they register a trailer. So to Blythe we went. We really can’t do this at home as there is no room for a trailer at the DMV and we would be there all day. Much easier in Blythe but it still took us 2 hours to get it done.

On the way back from Blythe we stopped at a public scales just inside the Arizona border to weigh both the truck and trailer. I know how much the truck weighs but wanted to make sure I don’t overload this trailer as it has lite weight springs and wheels. With that being done, I think we are ok in the weight department if we watch what we put in the trailer.

Right now we are over weight as we had left some stuff at Jack and Judy’s which we loaded up to take home.

Speaking of Jack and Judy, we are back at their place to pick up said stuff and head for home via Lake Havasu City where we will join our Oregon friends Dick and Barbara for a few days before heading West.

Yesterday I got the necessary fittings, etc to hookup the propane heater. It really is nice to have that working again. We had been using a small electric heater supplemented by the RV furnace when needed. And lately we did need it as the weather has been cold and rainy. 

Heater in its place of honor in the RV.

Yesterday after the rain we saw lots of snow on local mountains, not something usually seen here. Today was nice with sunshine.

Ode to a camper.

In 2005, Clyda and I purchased a 2003, 32 foot Mirage 5^th wheel built by Thor Industries. This was the perfect RV for us and our life style. When we first looked at it on the RV Lifestyles lot in Quartzsite, AZ, Clyda made the comment that “I can do these steps.” Because of her knee problems, that sold me.

The unit was clean and little used, in fact it had originally been sold by Lifestyles to a customer in Scottsdale, AZ who brought it back after a year and said “sell it.” They just didn’t use it.

We, however did use it. In all we pulled it over 70,000 miles with multiple trips to Lynden, Washington, trips to Wisconsin, and many trips to Houston. So many to Houston in fact that Clyda said “Never again across West Texas.” We also did a trip cross country to the Florida East coast and Savannah, GA in 2014 with our good friends Budd and Brenda.

A year or so after we purchased it a small crack appeared at one corner of the front bedroom slide. I was told that it was a “design fault” whatever that meant.

Later, a crack appeared at the other corner of the bedroom slide. I tried to determine if the frame was giving out but that effort proved fruitless. So we continued to use the trailer. This past month, as I was starting to get ready for our annual trip to Quartzsite, AZ, I found the carpet between the bed and front closet was wet. Not only wet, but soaked. So after soaking up as much water as I could with towels, I put in a small electric heater and a fan. It still took the better part of a week to dry the carpet completely.

Son Craig discovered another crack at the top corner of the slide this time. We caulked it as best we could and hoped for the best.

So on to Quartzsite where it rained for a night and all the next day. Again, a wet carpet. Now all I had was the small electric heater and a generator for power to do the drying.

It was obvious we needed to do something. My friend Jim and I saw a small 5^th wheel trailer at a consignment lot in Quartzsite so stopped to look at it. It did look promising so the next day Clyda and I looked at it and eventually made an offer.

Long story short, we bought a 2012, 29 foot Cougar 5^th wheel built by Keystone. Our friends Jack and Judy who own property near Bouse told us to park our old trailer there, empty it out and bring the newer trailer to transfer all of our substantial belonging’s into it. It took 4 days to remove everything which filled Judy’s sewing room and left a truck load of stuff for Goodwill.

We swapped the trailers, bought new 6 volt batteries for the new trailer which already had solar installed, thank goodness, and proceeded to move as much into it as would fit. When we were done there remained much that we need to take home so we left that at Jack and Judy’s and it will be picked up on our way home.

We are getting used to the new RV but lament not having the old one as it was set up the way we wanted it to be. Will we get to like the new RV? Maybe. It does have a lot of electrical advantages, for instance, a small remote device controls both slides, the front and rear jacks and the awning. That is pretty cool. The lights are not to my liking as the old rig had all LED lights which were easy on the battery. I need to do some work on drawer slides and also to install a propane line for our propane heater. I need a new awning cover which I hope to get when I get back to Quartzsite. All in good time.

We have left Jack and Judy’s, camped with Jim and Michelle at Usery Mountain East of Mesa AZ, traveled with them to the gourd festival in Casa Grande, and moved on to Yuma, AZ for a week.

*The header photo is the new camper.

Lake Tahoe and Christmas 2018

Thursday, 22 November, 2018

This is more of the make up blog from 2018, the final installment.

We were invited to Walnut Creek for Thanksgiving again this year. The feast was to be at Cindy and Gary’s son Doug’s house. Doug and Michelle have always been kind enough to include us in there festivities for which we are most appreciative.

We drove up Thanksgiving morning with only moderate traffic and one slow down. We had a nice visit and a great meal with contributions by all who were there.

That evening we drove to Cindy and Gary’s house and spent the next few days with them. Cindy had just had a knee replacement so physical activities were not on her list. We did see a couple of movies however.

On Monday morning after Thanksgiving, we drove to Lake Tahoe where Cindy had arranged a 3 day stay at one of their Time Share’s located just below the Heavenly ski area. It was a nice 2 bedroom unit with a shared living room and kitchen.

The next morning we drove around Lake Tahoe, something Clyda and I have never done. We have been around the Western side but not the Eastern. It was very cold and windy. We did get out of the car, once, to look at the view but quickly returned to the warmth of the heater in the car.

Once around the lake we stopped at a small casino for lunch.

Clyda trying to earn money for lunch.

We did more driving around the area, saw a few more movies, and spent one day inside the unit playing Sequence and card games because we were snowed in. We were supposed to leave on Thursday but it snowed overnight and the roads were closed. Gary managed to get us an extension to our stay so we didn’t leave until Friday.

Gourmet street tacos.

The snow was beautiful. All the trees were covered like you see on Christmas cards. Unfortunately, the only photos we have were taken from the windows of the time share but you get the idea.

We drove back to Walnut Creek and then home on Saturday.

Since then we were busy with Christmas stuff like putting up the outside lights and decorations on Sunday, decorating the tree a few days later and putting all the other decorations up in the house.

Christmas day we opened presents in the morning with Craig then drove to Newberry Park to our Niece Chelsea’s house. 

Christmas morning at our house.

Her twins are now 8 years old so of course they got Hover Boards for Christmas. They did really well on them even in the house, that is until late in the day when Braedon fell and hurt his elbow. He now has a cast on his arm. He didn’t break it. I told him he needed a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads to ride a Hover board.

Later in the day we had a ginger bread house building contest. I think Clyda’s and my house was the best. 

Chelsea’s husband Steve cooked the turkey and most of the remaining part of the meal. Steve is a good cook.

That pretty much closes out 2018, except that I had a follow up Urology appointment after the holidays and Hallelujah, no kidney stones. I guess a small glass of cranberry juice in the morning and eating mostly a Whole Foods Plant Based diet is working.

*My apologies for the text size differences. I have no control over what Blogger does.