Pain and Gain

 Here I am once again in sunny Arizona while rain pours down on my California house.  I'm happy to report however, that Kitters ate at 5:00 a.m. and crawled into her heated house for the rest of the morning.  YAY she's still hanging out!!  

We were up early on this morning, as Mr. Cooper is driving me crazy.  He wants outside, he wants inside, he wants outside, he wants to eat ... there is just no pleasing this baby boy.  

This is his "MOM ... I NEED FOOD" look.  To say the least, it has been a workout for my arms and legs lifting him in and out so often.  I found out later he had a bad stomach ache, which didn't end well.  The good news is he ate a bit this morning.

First event of the day ... Cindy tried to kill me at a walk-fit class.  Good grief ... I'm sure it lasted two hours, even if the clock only said 40 minutes.  We went two miles they said, but at the end of the day, my watch read over 10,000 steps and 4.5 miles.  My knee is less than happy!  

I walked very slowly back while Cindy did a yoga class.  Once inside, I opened the freezer for ice, but found this.  It was kismet!!  It didn't help my knee one bit, but my stomach didn't hurt at all.  

When Cindy returned she did some laundry for me.  Luckily I have just enough hooks to hold my wet wash.  AND ... it smells really nice in here!!  

Next on the menu ... yes I did ... I looked at some places for sale.  I want to, I don't want to, I want to ... back and forth I go.  This is actually one I did NOT look at because it was too expensive.  I've checked out two so far ... one small casita with no stove and one stucco mobile home with 2 bedrooms.  No worries, I won't buy unless the price is right.  

The problem is they are either big and expensive, or too small.  That means I don't need one, but it's fun to look anyway.  We may check out a couple more today. 

I had dinner on my own, trying to clear out the fridge.  Mr. Cooper is finally asleep after several trips outside.  Hopefully he does better in the morning.

The sunset was less than impressive, but the temperatures have been amazing, so I can't complain.  

And so ends another fabulous day in paradise.  

And another one begins with a very sick puppy.  We were in and out 13 times last night with tummy troubles.  I finally got a little medicine in him last night and a little more this morning.  Hopefully it takes affect soon!!  Say a little prayer for my Cooper please!  There's nothing worse than seeing them not feel well.

WE HAVE SUN!

 Good Morning from sunny ARIZONA!!  Yay we have SUN!  It's been gorgeous here ... 65-75 ... the perfect walking weather. 

Cindy and I have been walking twice a day I think, all around the park.  Gee I think the first day I did four miles total!  The bad part is I keep finding places for sale that I would love to buy.  

Does this couch make my butt look big?  Poor baby was exhausted after a long walk down the street.  He's been doing well, but his failing eyesight has caused him a little stress.  I think that tiny Yorkie must have looked like something scary because he ran away, right into my leg.  

And Kitters ... my camera showed her eating, then going into her heated bed for the morning.  YAY ... she's still hanging out on my patio.  

On another subject, I just thought I would pass along this secret.  DO NOT BUY THESE!  Back in the day when I was working, Lean Cuisine was my lunch every single day.  They weren't good, but they weren't terrible either.  These however ... are AWFUL!

I bought four to bring along for easy meals, mostly because they were cheap.  I'm pretty sure this is FALSE advertising.  Just look at that picture.  Not bad, yes?

Here's the REAL thing.  Not even CLOSE to the picture.  I tried this last week, and it tasted even WORSE!!  So my tip of the day is to NEVER buy these, no matter how cheap they are.  It was disgusting and I threw most of it away.

I admit, I was amiss with the photos today.  It was Rest Up Sunday, so that's just what I did.  Lunch was a yummy ham soup, donated by the neighbors.  This is such a great place to stay because everyone is so very friendly.  I even spoke to a nice guy about the weight of his Jeep and towing.  

Did I mention I got my tow bar back from the Chance house?  I donated it to their son who was going to purchase a Class A, but they changed their mind.  It is now on the back of the van, so I can either tow MY Jeep Liberty, or I can find a little smaller Jeep to tow.  

Dinner was another fabulous chicken soup, homemade by Cindy.  That was followed up with my favorite Mint Chip ice cream!!  YUM YUM!!  My butt will be looking like Cooper's if I'm not careful!!

That was topped off by a beautiful sunset.  It didn't last but a few short minutes.  The colors were spectacular.  There's nothing like an Arizona sunset.  

Early this morning we are going to a Walking Class!!  I need all the exercise I can get to minimize the ice cream effect.  And this afternoon, I will look at a small place for sale.  I know, I know ... but I can look, can't I, as long as I keep my checkbook in my pocket.  

NO FABRIC ALL YEAR!!!

 I would just like to say, I have not purchased ANY fabric ALL YEAR.  Sadly, that ended today.  I made it to January 3.

But first ... here's the almost full moon, which should be even brighter tonight, if the cloud cover leaves.  

The rest of the day looked like this.  The clouds came over and hid the sun most of the day.  Not a bad thing, since the temperatures were quite nice.

Here is Mr. Cooper in his usual position.  This sweet boy just takes traveling in stride.

Of course the first to greet me at the door in Yuma was Miss Penny.  This little gal has more energy than all three of us put together.  I'm sitting in HER patio chair here, and boy did she give me what for!!  That was a growly growl like I've never heard before!!

First things first ... it was Yappy Hour at the dog park.  It's quite the walk, and I knew Cooper wasn't up for it.  Does this look like a lap full of dogs?   The neighbor was busy, so Ray and I took not one, but THREE dogs over to the park with us on the neighbor's golf cart.  Oooweee that was a fancy mobile!!

Twenty people showed up with about 18 dogs.  They chased balls and each other for about an hour.  The dogs that is, not the people!  By then they were all laying down at our feet, tuckered out.  

It's morning now and we were off to the Arizona Marketplace for ... you guessed it ... FABRIC.  BUT ... here's the problem.  The shop has sold, and the fabric is NOT cheap, nor do they have much on sale.  

Had I not found the cow fabric, I would not have purchased anything.  THIS was $15.00 a yard.  WOW!!  I can actually buy fabric cheaper back home, but I probably would not have found THIS fabric.

We walked around a bit to find this metal Elk sculpture.  Only a few bills ($2,500 to be exact) and you could take it home.  It's one of the best I've ever seen.

These cute little Dinos almost made it into my van.  It's probably a good thing I don't have any room.

The last stop ... Gramma's.  Gramma Jo's is no more.  They have filled the building with modern fabrics, all very pricey!!  I doubt there were even 20 bolts of southwest fabric.  What a shame since they were the last bastion of everything Southwesty.  I guess that will make my boxes of southwest fabric ANTIQUES!

 

I did pick up a couple yards of this one because turquoise and brown are my favorite colors.  

We will make another trip back (because I forgot to take my quilt for matching), but with the price of fabric here, I should probably just sew with what I have at home.  

It's FOOTBALL day, so I spent the rest of the day and evening watching the games.  Sadly, San Francisco has lost too many players to injuries.  They lost the game 13-3.  

Nightime brought a nice little sunset to the Palms RV Park.  

A quick trip outside before bedtime found the latest super moon crawling up in the sky.  This one is called the Wolf Moon, for the wolves that howl at night in the cold winter weather.  

It does look a little cold up there!!  And so ended a wonderful day with good friends.  There's nothing better!!

The Greenhouse Tour

 So who has read their horoscope for 2026?  Anyone?  Just for kicks, I asked my phone what my future might hold.  This is what Artificial Intelligence came back with.  What the heck is this?????  At least I got a big laugh out of it, considering it makes absolutely no sense at whatsoever!

After saying goodbye to Patty, I was off on the next portion of my journey.  This time I was headed to Yuma.  The drive was LONG.  So instead of talking about that, here is the Greenhouse Tour at the Last Chance Ranch.

Mr. Dan built this with his own two hands.  I would never in a million years be able to figure out anything like this.  What can I say ... the guy is talented.

At any one time, you will see many versions of the spider plant they have had for something like 45 years.  In fact, I drove away with a small one in my rig, hopeful that it will live long enough to get home.

Some of these plants came from the desert around the house, picked when they were babies before they got smashed by vehicles, and grown in the greenhouse.  This one ... it's a happy camper and is growing all the way to the ceiling.  

One time when they were vacationing, I got to babysit the group and watch them bloom.  What magnificent flowers they produce.  

What do you do with a greenhouse in mid summer when it's 118 outside?  You pull a screen across to block out the sun, and run a big fan.  Obviously, cactus likes living here.

This was my last view as I said goodbye and headed out for fuel and to dump my tanks one more time.  

Though no one was there the first time I dumped, one of the campground hosts drove up this time to collect $10.00.  Here's what he told me.  There will no longer be anyone at the front gate unless they have a big event.  There will no longer be on-line reservations ... they cancelled it completely.  You can only make a reservation by phone, and that's only if someone answers.  Otherwise, it's first-come, first-serve.  

So if you are heading this direction and looking for a place to stay, check their website to see if they are having a big event, in which case you will be out of luck.  Funny they haven't come up with a better solution.

And so I'm tucked in to a parking spot in Yuma for the next ten days.  Why?  Because I'm visiting with fabulous friends Cindy and Ray, who are taking me to a QUILT show!!  

This picture was taken just out of town and is for Elva and Jerry.  Just so they know, the dairy is still going strong!!!  And so is the smell!

Rose Parade and Rain - 2026

 The first day of 2026 has arrived, along with a bit of rain, but at least it's not cold like it was.  What a beautiful sky to wake up to.

There was only one thing on my mind.  The Rose Parade started at 9:00, and I didn't want to miss a minute.  You may remember years ago I worked in the flower barn with Barbara and Tom Westerfield.  What an amazing experience that was.  

Unfortunately for the parade participants, it was pouring down rain.  The floats were melting, the bands all wore plastic raincoats and the horses got soaked.  These guys ... they didn't need no stinking raincoats!!!

The elephants were amazing.  These were made with a 3-D printer out of hard cardboard-like material.  Even their trunks moved in and out, up and down.  Sadly, the flowers were sagging and the seeds falling off.

Most all of the seeds and crushed material are put on with Elmer's glue.  They had something like 30 gallon drums of it when I worked there, which they transferred into big soda cups.  We dipped in our brushes, painted the area, and pressed the seeds in place.  Needless to say, Elmer's glue is not waterproof.  

This was by FAR the most amazing float.  Three bald eagles with wings flapping like they were really flying.  What a sight to see.  

Even up close, this guy looked REAL.  Just look at those eyes!!  Whoever designed this should have won the entire show.

I apologize for the blue tint ... I was inside, taking pictures of a television.  It was the most amazing float of all.

The Elks Lodge float wasn't as spectacular this year, but then they don't have the funds for things like this.  I actually missed the description of it, but they always have a patriotic theme.

What I REALLY wanted to see was the Merced County Sheriff's Department mounted group.  They were almost the very last in the parade, and soaking wet by the time they got to the cameras.  Horses generally don't care ... they would rather stand out in the rain than in a nice barn anyway.

There are more, but they wouldn't fit in the picture.  Sadly, they have recently lost a few of their horses to old age, and they have not been replaced yet.  Still, they attend every parade in a 50 mile distance of home, this parade every year, and have been invited to the Presidential Inauguration several times.  

With that done, Patty drove me to Walmart for supplies.  Somehow I ended up with more snacks than supplies.  We timed it just right, because that's when the rain began to fall.  It got pretty ugly for a time, but is finally clearing up.  

I took a tour of the greenhouse, which I'll report on tomorrow.  I'll be packing up in the morning and heading out to Yuma.  I'm cleaning out my fridge so I have a little extra room for ..... wait for it ..... fabric!!  If it's pretty,  I'll stack it anywhere I can!!!

WELCOME 2026!!!

 It was an extravaganza!!!  A party like no other!!  We popped the champagne corks and toasted the town.  In my dreams maybe, because this is exactly what I REALLY do every New Years.  I use these tickets.  We stayed home, watched a movie and ate dinner.

There were lots of gunshots fired off, but no fireworks that I could see from our perch atop the Vail hill.  I stole this from the internet, mostly because all my fireworks pictures are on my other computer.  

Cooper celebrated by licking his lips for the treat he got as a reward for posing for this picture.  Yeah, this is photo fakeness, but isn't he cute??

The morning brought threats of rain, but it didn't happen until later. 

Breakfast was a New Years Special.  A one sided egg McMuffin because the other side got boysenberry jam and butter.  The extra egg?  That's for Mr. Cooper.  Okay, he got some ham too.  I'm a sucker for a sweet face.

Whereupon he promptly went to sleep again.  I went inside to celebrate New Year's Eve by doing laundry.

This is beautiful Miss Snoopy, Patty's shadow.  Wherever Patty is, there sits Snoopy.

As I mentioned ... laundry.  There are Levis hung from every cupboard and socks hanging from the ceiling.  

 Dinner was that broccoli chicken rice casserole.  It was even better the second day!!  We followed that with a delicious Costco ice cream bar!!  That was definitely better than champagne.

Luckily Dan spotted my Amazon delivery at the gate.  It was a new heater to try in the rig, along with a microwave rice cooker.

The whole reason for this heater was that it was touted as QUIET.  Dan plugged it in and we didn't hear a thing.  Is it on???  Yup ... heat is coming out the front.  It's in the rig here making literally no noise at all, is keeping us nice and warm and even has a remote control.  

I think it was $38.00 if you are interested.  You can set it to turn on at a specific time, or set it to temperature. Since Dan has solar, he said I could use it instead of my propane.  WOOHOO!!  WARM!!!  In fact, so warm that I turned it down a bunch after this picture.

And so I hit the sack with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head ... oh wait ... that was Christmas.  I hit the sack listening to the rain hit the roof, hoping for clear skies and warm weather to prevail in 2026.  

It's going to be a fabulous year!  Best wishes to everyone and thank you so much for hanging out with me this year.  I appreciate you all so very much!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  

By the way ... look for the Merced County Sheriffs Posse in the Rose Parade this morning, along with an Elks Float!!!