Where's My Blue Flame?

 I'm sitting in my chair with my computer plugged in to the wall, trying to type in my lap.  For some weird reason, nothing charged up last night.  I admit I forgot to plug in the computer, but neither my phone nor my watch sucked up any juice.  Weird ... but then this is the desert.

As for my Blue Flame ... it is still as elusive as the coyotes around here and I'm not the only one on the hunt.  Tom came back yesterday to say there was a guy in RV Lifestyles who wasn't the least bit happy he had not received his either.  

They seem to be on a truck somewhere, but no one knows where.  It's not looking good for Jonathan.  What I may do is ask very sweetly for Patsy and Bill to snag one for me since they will be here for the next month.  At least I would have one to hang out through the window and maybe get installed later.

As usual, I'm up early taking Cooper for a walk.  There has been an almost full moon for the last few days,  providing ghostly skies as it wanders through the clouds.  

There wasn't much of a sunrise as the clouds obscured the sun.  My plan was to get the sunrise and the moonset at the same time, but that didn't happen.  I can't complain about the clouds since they make it warmer!!

On we walked until I felt that first drop.  It said 30% chance of rain, but I didn't believe them.  Time to head back little Cooper buddy.

As you can imagine, there are piles of rocks everywhere, mostly for fire pits.  It's weird that I haven't actually seen or smelled any fires.  This one was different.  It must have had some bad juju attached because Cooper went ballistic.  He barked and barked, refusing to go any closer.  He's never done that before, so I believed him and we gave it a wide berth.  

See?  I was telling the truth.  Rain drops ... and no, that is NOT Cooper drops.  It rained for maybe 15 minutes?  That was different!

We spent most of the morning inside reading while Cooper crashed.  It's a hard job guarding the property.  

That was it, other than listening to four hours of generator running.  Today I'll actually go into town and once again ask about the heater.  I finally got my phone charged up this morning to find a message from friends Lynn and Dave Cross who are here in Quartzsite.  I'll see if I can locate them this afternoon.

Another weird coincidence ... I just found out one of my college friends bought a house here.  In Quartzsite??  Yup and he's in the process of moving his family.  I'm interested to hear that story!

So just for fun, as I was cruising the internet yesterday, I found this unique idea.  Probably not unique, but a good idea nonetheless.  I could use this ... or maybe I should just get rid of all my junk!!  

Fingers and toes crossed for a Blue Flame.  Gee, this is just like looking for toilet paper!!!

Whirligigs and Joe

 It was just a lovely day in Quartzsite.  The weather finally warmed up a bit and the wind was minimal.  It's time to go SHOPPING!!!

But not until Cooper got to play the ball game.  Of course you know who sits on the floor.  He rolls the ball off the edge of the chair, whereupon I catch it and toss it back up.  That went on for ten minutes.  You can tell he's a happy guy now that he feels better!!

The day before, Bill had spotted a whirligig he was really interested in for the Ridge back home.  I had my eye on one too, but didn't say much at the time.  We passed by the No Money, No Honey sign to find the small booth with two ladies already out and about.

Here it is ... Sunflower.   Well what do you know, they like the exact same one I do.  I have one in Vail, an expensive model from Oregon.  This one was almost $45 dollars cheaper.  I saw Bill dive into his pocket.  Sold!!  Gosh, it looks more like Indian feathers with a little turquoise in the middle to me!  SOLD!!  We brought home both of them.

I REALLY wanted this owl that flies with the wind.  Bill and Patsy wanted the eagle that does the same.

At $350 I balked ... maybe next year.  No kidding, when the wind comes up, it flies.  too darn cute!!

That's when I spotted a familiar face.  Meet Joe Rangel, turquoise jewelry maker.  He used to be over off of Main Street, but here he is at Tyson Wells.  I was so happy to see he was still in business.  I've purchased many pieces from him ... spectacular workmanship!  

There are just some people you meet that you can't get out of your head.  I purchased another bracelet, but this time with oyster shell instead of turquoise.  It was my small contribution to his artistry.

Root Farms was here from Modesto California, so we walked through and snagged a few things.  Their products are always top notch.  By the way, did you know if you eat a few pistachios before bedtime, it will help you sleep?  I had no clue, but that's what they said.  I got chocolate peanuts instead.

Once back home, I found out just how sneaky that Patsy is!  She had painted another rock for Miss Jessie that I found at the bottom of the solar panels Bill is letting me borrow while here.  

How sweet is that?  They will have a special place on my mantle when I get home!!

Here's the sneaky duo in person!!

With my wallet a little lighter and my credit card getting good use, I took Mr. Cooper out for a walk.  He loves to smell the smells and goes much further than I would expect.  That was to make up for our three hour happy hour!

Sadly, no blue flame heaters showed their faces yesterday.  Maybe today.  They are really going to get tired of me calling them!!!  Hopefully that means I'll be first in line to get one installed so I'll shut up!!

And it's raining!!!!

Boondocking Takes Innovation

 Cooper and I were up early, looking for sunshine and a little warm.  It was still breezy, but a bit of warmth came through and thawed out Jonathan.  Boondocking takes some innovation when it comes to keeping a parrot warm.  

The same holds true for breakfast when you can't use your microwave.  Frying pan toast and English muffins is a no brainer.  Even tater tots are better fried than in a microwave.

Jonathan's cage is sitting on a heating pad that works when the generator is running.  Once warmed up, he goes up to the bedroom where two quilts try to hold the heat in.  Being upstairs, the heater keeps him semi warm most of the night.  

By 8:00 he's back on the heating pad with the genny running while the morning sun helps warms him up.  Really, I'm surprised he's still alive!!  They don't take temperature or location change well and I had no intention of being here this long.

Feeding him has caused some problems too.  Again, no microwave to heat up his favorite frozen muffin.  In a moment of innovation, a rarity for me, I threw it in the sieve over a pot of boiling water for my coffee.  It worked perfectly!!

Once everyone was fed, I wandered off to the trash bins, then on to get more generator fuel. I knew the football games would be on and the genny would require additional food.  What should I find when I returned but this cute painted rock with Cooper's name.

It's even the exact color of Cooper.  The back tells the story.  Thank you Patsy, I love it!!

At last Cooper and I headed out for a nice walk with him leading the way.  You wouldn't think it would be a big deal, but here are so many roads around here and dozens of rigs, it's easy to lose your way back home.  I try to keep an eye on the tallest cactus.

Lunch time found me digging through the bag of lettuce trying to find the edible pieces.  You do the same thing, right?  This was the last of the bag and I didn't want to be wasteful.  After all, you really can't get much food in these small fridges.  Next time I'll get more boxed ... just add water ... stuff.

Too bad, so sad ... this was the last of the peppermint cookies.  A trip to the store may be in order.

I played with Mr. Personality for a bit.  This kids sweet face makes up for anything impish he might do.  

At long last, it was time for the football game.  I went out to start the generator and look what I found!  Johnathan got his own rock!!  That Patsy, she's sneaky!!

The Forty Niners and the Cowboys.  What a crazy weird game THAT was!!  The Cowboys had a chance for a Hail Mary, but with 4 seconds left, they forgot to let the Ref place the ball on the field, or at least touch the ball.  By the time he did, time ran out.  The Forty Niners won!!

Today is hopefully the magic Blue Flame day.  I don't have much confidence that they will arrive, but I'll head down to the store and try to get an appointment anyway.  It's not just the buying .... it's the installation that I really really need this week and the sooner the better.  Quartzsite just can't seem to get past 45 degrees at night.  Worst case I guess I can buy a 5 gallon jug of fuel and run the hose out the window.  

There was another nice sunset, but I haven't downloaded those pictures.  I'll post them tomorrow.  In the meantime, I'm getting rather used to doing nothing all day long!!!!

Never Again!!!

Thank you all for the good wishes regarding my kid Cooper.  He's such a sweetie ... but if he gets sick, you can be assured he thinks he's going to die.  After yesterday morning, he probably hoped he would.  After racking my brain to figure out what happened, the light bulb went on.  

I had opened a can of Costco cooked chicken to make a sandwich for me.  It's chicken, right?  He eats that every day.  I gave him maybe 1-1/2 teaspoons along with his regular dinner.  NEVER AGAIN!!  I'm sure that's what made him so sick.  I ate the same thing with no ill effects, but something in there didn't work for him.

This morning he's back to normal, playing hide the ball in the blanket and barking when he can't find it.  YAY!!

This was the very last of the sunrise pictures from yesterday.  It was probably the longest lasting one I've ever seen.  With not much else going on here at the moment, it's nice to have pictures for the blog.

In relating the story of trying to back up into the Yuma parking spot to Patsy and Bill, I mentioned the emergency brake cord getting pulled out.  Oh my ... Bill came over with a big box of stuff and a handy dandy drill.  In no time my cable was attached along the side of the hitch to keep that from happening again.  Rv friends are so amazing and helpful ... they pass on all their tips and tricks.

It was overcast, cold and windy all day, so basically we stayed inside.  In the afternoon, we walked over to two rigs, just down the road a ways to say hello.  I'll let you read that story on Patsy's blog.  It's a small world!!

On the way back, I picked up these two rocks laying by my rig.  They fascinate me for some reason, which is probably why I had an entire drawer full of rocks in the other rig.  Apparently I'm starting a new drawer.

In the interest of not being wasteful, I decided to finally cook up that hamburger and make spaghetti.  How hard could that be?  I cooked the meat and onions first, tossed in a healthy amount of garlic and the entire jar of sauce.  Although my pot is rather small, I got the spaghetti in it with no problem.

Let me just say .... NEVER AGAIN.  I will not make spaghetti again in this rig.  As I was trying to pour the sauce over the cooked noodles, oh so carefully, a big chunk of something hit my foot.  I froze!!  It was suddenly all over the stove and down the front of the cabinets.  

RATS!!  And on my new rug!!  I put everything down and began the cleanup.  But wait ... where did that big hunk of something go???  I couldn't find it on the floor or the rug.  Too bad I took three steps back because it was stuck on the bottom of my shoe, making lovely greasy red spots all over the rug AND the floor.  What a mess!!!  I peeled it off my shoe and proceeded to clean up.

By then, dinner was a little cold around the edges, but actually quite tasty.  Now I have lunch and dinner for about four days.  Those greasy spots even blend in to the brown in the carpet pretty well.  

And so another day ended with my generator humming as I watched not one, but TWO football games.  I might add that I've started the genny with one pull almost every time!  I'm getting the hang of it!  

Apparently it's the year of the underdogs ... the Bengals winning their first playoff game ... or at least I think that's what they said!!  

Today you'll find me watching the 49'ers and the Cowboys.  It should be an exciting game!

The Shades Of A Sunrise

 I love it when I get lucky exploring the desert.  Yesterday morning was one of those days.  I took Cooper for a walk early on to discover amazing clouds and color.  It started out small and sweeping.

As we walked along, the sun began to peak over the mountains.  I'm ready for it because it's rather chilly.

As I walked around the cactus, this beautiful scene appeared.  I wish my little phone camera could do it justice.

In no time, there were splashes of pink all around me.  Mother Nature painted a gorgeous one on this morning.

As I returned to the rig, Patsy and Gibbs were coming out, so we made another trip around the area, being sure to sidestep the Magic Circle.  Why you ask?  Because there's a big sign that says CLOTHING OPTIONAL.  I doubt they would be out on a chilly cold morning, but we weren't taking any chances.

On the way back, Patsy showed me the artwork she had found the day before.  Someone spent some time doing this rock piece.

The REAL day began when Bill, Patsy and I headed back to Tyson Wells to purchase a nice 14' ladder for me so I can check my roof.  Turns out my luck was with me on this day.  I got the very last one.  While carrying it back, I could have sold it five times.  People kept stopping me and asking where I got it because they had been looking to buy one.  

The big item on Bill's list was a tall piece of purple amethyst crystal a friend had asked them to purchase for her.  When I told a nice gentleman I didn't know anything about rocks, he said "yeah, I can tell that".  He might have gotten a big sale had he answered some questions, but he wasn't very forthcoming.  He did say he mined crystals in Kentucky?  To make them black, they bombard them with gamma rays (or something like that), raising the price to the multiple thousands.  

One little lady said you buy the crystal that sends out vibes when you hold it.  Okay then ... Patsy and I immediately grabbed a couple to check it out.  Nothing!  We got nothing!!

I think we wandered through four big buildings, checking out all their rocks.  Some were $500, some $5,000.  We did finally figure out the darker the purple, the more expensive.  After some searching, we returned to one Patsy had spotted earlier and SUCCESS, the purchase was made.  

Not long after we returned, Patsy and Bill invited me over for a sweet treat.  Pillsbury cinnamon rolls!!  Oh my goodness they were good.  It's been quite awhile since I had one.  Obviously I didn't turn down THAT invitation!!

When dinnertime rolled around, we all moseyed on down to Gringo's to listen to the music and have a bite to eat.

For some reason, the music never appeared, but the food did, on huge plates.  Yup ... I forgot to take a picture of my fish and chips.  The chips ran out, so we got tater tots.  I was so excited because I didn't have to cook!!! 

Sadly, my little pup Cooper isn't doing well this morning.  We were up all night long going and going and going.  I've no idea what the problem is, so I'll be staying close to home to keep an eye on him today.

The Desert Can Be Weird

Thank you everyone for responding to the lithium battery question.  Even though I think I'm learning a lot, I'm pretty sure I'm as confused as I could be.  I get it ... it's just hard to decide when they tell you how fabulous those lithiums are.  I do agree I would rather have more solar panels for the money.   More discussions will follow.

In the meantime, the desert folks can be different.  There are an amazing number of tents here, along with other crazy looking things they live in.  To make it even more fun, every morning at 5:00 someone plays some weird thing that roughly sounds like coyotes.  The thing is, coyotes don't sound like that unless they are using a microphone.  It's just otherworldly!!  On the other hand, I really did hear one calling his mates this morning. 

It's not all fun and games you know.  There's important stuff to buy in Quartzsite.  Not that I found much, but there was a place with carpet squares.  That would be the perfect solution for those slippery steps to the bedroom that Cooper is afraid to climb up.  Not the best job in the world, but it works for now.  

I have six different ... non-matching ... rugs so Cooper can't slip and slide on the floor.  Yup that's a kitchen mat in the hallway.  No one ever said I was good at decorating.

Patsy found a few items too.  It was fun walking through seeing things people were selling.  It seems there's a shortage on doggie bags, so if you have a truckload, you can sell them here!!

What we DID find was the kettle corn store.  Who could miss that smell?  We each got a handful of sugar free caramel corn.  Sugar because it's full of it and we got it free, or so he said.  He filled it to the very top so we could eat a bunch before putting the twist tie on it ... AND ... gave us a free bottle of water.  

A big surprise to me, as we were driving all over Quartzsite's back streets, we stopped in at this place.  I had no idea where we were, but Bill and Patsy knew.  This is the hangar where Bill meets with his model airplane friends.  They fly these beauties on a nearby airport made just for them.

Here's why he brought me here.  The husband had the plane side, the wife the quilting side.  Sadly, she passed away recently and they had a big fabric sale to raise money for cancer research.   

I missed the sale, but came away with about 12 quilt magazines and books, along with fabric for appliqué art.  A big thank you to Patsy and Bill for introducing me to them.

Our next stop was to get propane for one of my tanks.  Now I know one 7 gallon tank will last me about 7 days.  It's always nice to know where you stand when it comes to heating fuel.  While Patsy and I did a quick walk through Roadrunner Market, Bill got gas for his generator.  It was one of those days when you luck out and get everything done.

Back home, I fixed a quick grilled cheese sandwich.  It's a good thing I like them, because that may be my go to for the next week.  A loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese ... cheap eats!

By now Cooper had his legs crossed, so we headed out for a quick walk.  That always ends up with pictures like this while trying to hang on to Cooper and my phone at the same time.

We spent the last few hours of the day at the Duchaine residence, wondering how we miraculously survived childhood.  

Finally, it's dinner time.  The spaghetti didn't quite appear like the magic I wanted.  I discovered Cooper was out of food, so his dinner superseded mine.  I cooked up enough hamburger and eggs to last him a couple days ... or maybe three.  Instead of spaghetti, I ate the last of the pizza, and boy am I glad that's the last of it.  Ugh ... I'm sick of pizza!!  Never EVER thought I would say that!

The sunset was lovely as usual.  Time to turn the generator on!!  

It's a balmy 51 degrees this morning, heading up to 70 for the day.  That's much more my speed!  Say a few prayers for Jonathan that the load of Blue Flames comes in Monday.  

Camping out with a parrot that has to stay warm ... now THAT'S WEIRD!!