Monday, December 20, 2010

We had planned to take another trip to Golden Corral today for Breakfast.  You can’t hardly beat the price at $5.99 for a beautiful buffet.  I only wish I could eat like I used to years ago.  Unfortunately I’d be the size of North Dakota if I could.
After Breakfast we stopped by Wal-Mart to see if we could find a Christmas present for Sharon but didn’t have any luck.
We also stopped by the Post Office and picked up our mail that had been forwarded since we left home.  When we got home Sharon went through it all and separated out the good stuff.  We actually got Christmas cards in this batch of mail this year.  We very seldom get the cards before Christmas.  We had about 5 of them in this delivery.  Kind of nice for a change.
The rest of the day was filled with relaxation with a book (Sharon) and in front of the tube. (Bill) There’s still enough on TV during the daytime to keep a fella occupied.
Tonight for Supper, even though neither of us was particularly hungry, was Fried Chicken Strips and Fried Cheesy Potatoes.  We finished up the can of leftover Beets to round out the meal. We drank a quart of Eggnog with a couple of drinks before supper and that was quite good for a change.  It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had Eggnog, and it goes really well with Dark Rum.
We were surfing tonight to find something decent to watch on TV.  Re-runs are in full swing now and the DVR comes in very handy finding stuff on the cable channels.  It’s still a stretch, however, finding enough to watch at night.  But so far we’ve muddled through the channels and recorded enough to play later.
We were up til “old-peoples” bedtime and then we caved like a cheap circus tent.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

We didn’t have anything specific on our agenda today, and Sharon is now into a regular routine at Curves.  She gets up at 7:30, reluctantly, but up never-the-less, and then takes off in the car for her class.  She comes back after about an hour, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
We spent a regular do-nothing day today at home.  I watched TV and Sharon finished the George W. Bush book (Decision Points) this afternoon.
It threatened rain for most of the day and finally started to fall in the afternoon.  It didn’t get very wet but it did manage to keep the day gloomy all day.
We had grilled Burgers for supper tonight.  All we had was the burgers but they were very good.
We’re getting pretty stale at this campground with no activities, even if it is our own fault.  We don’t normally join in the activities here at Desert Shadows, but rather just visit with our friends.
Tuesday is generally a pretty good night for TV but with the season in full-repeat mode it takes a little surfing to get through til 10 o’clock.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sharon was off to Curves this morning for a quite exciting day.  Apparently one of the employees was feeling well and passed out while she was there.  They had to call 911 an the Fire Department went to the wrong address.  Their information covered a different building which they went to, a couple of blocks away.  But they finally made it to the right place and took the woman to the hospital.  Apparently she had some medical problems which all acted up at the same time.
When Sharon got back home she decided that she would catch up on the laundry for this week. While she was gone she met a couple from Colorado in the laundry room.  They just started traveling and Sharon told them about Catalina since they were going that way anyway.
We also got a call from Mary and Jerry Milan today wanting to know if we wanted to go to the Elks tonight for Burgers and Beer.  The answer, of course, was a resounding, yes.
Sharon was back by about 2 PM and we watched Shrek 2 on TV for the next couple of hours.  I had seen the original version, but not the sequel, so I DVR’d it a couple of weeks ago to watch later.  It was pretty good for a kid’s show and it took us right up to 5 o’clock and time to go to the Elks.
We headed out for the Elks to meet Mary and Jerry about 5:15 and the Milan’s were already there by the time we got there.  Jerry forgot the directions of where we would be, and they were parked on the wrong side of the building.  As soon as we saw them we quickly drove around to the side they were on.
After a couple of pitchers of beer and sandwiches all around we were done and headed home.  We got in about 7:30 and quickly settled in front of the idiot box.  We were up until our usual bewitching hour even through we couldn’t find a thing original to watch.  At 10 we caged up the animals and folded up the tents and headed for the padded room.

Thursday, December 23, 2010       HAPPY FESTIVUS

We actually had a plan for today when we got up.  About 9:30 we would be on the road to Apache Junction to visit friends, Dennis and Mary Ceshker who are sitting in a campground in a brand-new 5th wheel.  They just got back from Wisconsin with it and are getting settled into it.
It took us over an hour to get there going the way the GPS wanted us to.  We ended up going through a few small burgs with stop lights holding us up all the way.  It’ll be the last time we’ll listen to her about how to get there, unless we have no clue about the directions.  We knew how to get there this time, but decided to give the GPS free rein.
After we arrived (11:45) we sat and talked for awhile before getting in the car and heading out for lunch.  The new trailer was absolutely gorgeous and looking very comfortable for the two of them.  It was a Jayco, but I don’t remember the model.
We had planned on going to In-N-Out Burger for a quick sandwich, and then on to the house they just bought.  We saw pictures of the house because the owners are still living in it, and then we took a quick drive by it.  It looks like it’s in a very nice neighborhood and a very nice looking house indeed.  There’s an in ground pool in the backyard with a 6 foot fence surrounding the whole thing.  It looked very nice of what we could see by the pictures and just driving by.
We went back to Mary and Dennis’s after a short stop at Hobby Lobby for Sharon.  After a while Sharon reminded me that today was a weekday and that we should get on the road back home to avoid the traffic.  We managed to slip right through while the traffic was light and got home in about an hour or so.
After a while Sharon decided that she was going grocery shopping for the stuff for Christmas Dinner.  Dennis and Mary would be coming over for the day.  While she was gone Mary Milan called and told us their park would be open to people wanting to see the Christmas lights and drive through.  I forgot to tell Sharon until we were in bed tonight.  We probably would have gone over there if I had remembered.  Oh well.
We watched the tube again tonight until sleepy time and then headed for the soft bed and down comforter.  It was cold in there but it soon warmed up.

Friday, December 24, 2010CHRISTMAS EVE

We were off to Golden Corral again this morning for Breakfast.  It was a toss-up between there and JB’s and I finally made up my mind on the way over there It would be our final visit to Golden Corral for several weeks now.  And of course it was not as busy as it was last Friday.  It was crazy last week.
On the way home we had to stop at Albertson’s Grocery Store to pick up some items that Sharon still needed for tomorrow.  After Albertson’s we headed for home and the nap position.
We got a call from Mary and Jerry Milan that they would be stopping over this afternoon for a Christmas drink and to say good-bye.  We probably won’t see them again now until April, assuming our plan to come through here in the Spring doesn’t change between now and then.  Last year the plan changed when they had to go home early for medical tests and we went up through Lake Havasu and Flagstaff on the way home.
It was just after noon when Jerry and Mary made their appearance and we sat down to have a toddy to celebrate the Holidays.  They stayed for about an hour and then had to leave so that they could be picked up for church this afternoon.
Sharon got busy this afternoon making her dessert for tomorrow when she realized that she didn’t have any ground beef for dinner.
We had Boiled Cod, Red Potatoes and Garlic Bread for supper tonight.  We have a hard time getting good Cod out here but the stuff we had was pretty good tonight.  Sharon only cooked half of it so we have another Friday night dinner of Cod ahead of us.
After we finished up all the dishes Sharon took off for the store again to pick up ground beef and she had to stop for gas in the car on the way.  When she got back we just milled around the living room and gazed at the tube for the rest of the night.

Saturday, December 25, 2010MERRY CHRISTMAS

This was the first year that we decided we weren’t buying each other gifts.  Of course when Sharon got up she sassily asked what I bought for her.  I told her the gift was on the table all wrapped up.  It was a pair of earrings that she had bought at home and told me they were for Christmas.  She had forgotten about them and was pleasantly surprised.
Even though this was Christmas, it would be a get-ready-to-go day today.  We are leaving tomorrow for Desert Hot Springs with an overnight at Quartzsite on the way.  While Sharon was off to church this morning, I dumped the holding tanks and picked up grill, chairs and tables that we had outside.  I also had to fill our water tank since we had dumped the load we had onboard when we got here.  It tasted a little funny so we got rid of it.
Dennis and Mary Ceshker, friends from home, who have now bought a house here, are coming over for Dinner today.  Sharon’s planned a lovely Dinner of Stuffed Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Cranberries.  She also whipped up a four-layer chocolate dessert.  It was all very good.
Dennis and Mary stayed until about 4 o’clock and then headed toward home in Apache Junction.  After they left we just reflected on what a nice day it had been.  If you have to spend Christmas away from home, it’s always best to do it with friends, and we have a few here in Casa Grande.
The rest of the night was taken up with a movie that was a repeat.  It managed to take us almost up to the bewitching hour.  We went to bed anyway.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

We were off this morning and finally got on the road about 9 AM after stopping for gas and getting situated on which way we would go.  I figured as long as it was Sunday it would be easy to go through Phoenix on the way west.  As we got closer to the city it seemed like a bigger mistake to go this way because of the traffic.  But as we actually got into the city the traffic died down and was about as I expected it to be.  A good decision after all.
There was some construction between Phoenix and Quartzsite but that held us up very long.  They weren’t working on Sunday but some of the lane closures were still in effect.
We arrived at Quartzsite around 12:30 and drove out to MM 99 and settled into our usual spot.  I set up the dish while Sharon took off into town to do some shopping.  There wasn’t much open in town as it was a bit early yet for the vendors.  She found a couple of places open, however, and picked up a couple of things.
By the time she got back at three I was still waiting for the early game to end so the Packer game would start.  We lucked out by having our team on TV this afternoon and they looked fabulous.  Aaron Rodgers was hot as a pistol as the Packers absolutely rolled over the Giants and Eli Manning.  Rodgers had been out for two weeks with a concussion.  He didn’t waste any time today getting back on track.  It’s a shame they had to lose the last two games without him, even though his back-up showed pretty good last week.  We were very happy with the outcome of this week’s game.
After the game we went into town to Silly Al’s Pizza and ate Supper.  We absolutely love the pizza there and it’s usually an automatic stop when we stay overnight here.
I had to leave the inverter on to record a couple of show while we were gone tonight.  And from watching TV all afternoon and recording while we were gone, our batteries needed help to get the generator going to recharge them. I jumped across the Engine Battery and the generator started right up and we ran it for the rest of the night while watching TV.
By 10 we went to bed and the batteries held up all night running the furnace.  I jumped the Engine Battery again in the morning to get the generator fired up.


Monday, December 20, 2010

We had planned to take another trip to Golden Corral today for Breakfast.  You can’t hardly beat the price at $5.99 for a beautiful buffet.  I only wish I could eat like I used to years ago.  Unfortunately I’d be the size of North Dakota if I could.
After Breakfast we stopped by Wal-Mart to see if we could find a Christmas present for Sharon but didn’t have any luck.
We also stopped by the Post Office and picked up our mail that had been forwarded since we left home.  When we got home Sharon went through it all and separated out the good stuff.  We actually got Christmas cards in this batch of mail this year.  We very seldom get the cards before Christmas.  We had about 5 of them in this delivery.  Kind of nice for a change.
The rest of the day was filled with relaxation with a book (Sharon) and in front of the tube. (Bill) There’s still enough on TV during the daytime to keep a fella occupied.
Tonight for Supper, even though neither of us was particularly hungry, was Fried Chicken Strips and Fried Cheesy Potatoes.  We finished up the can of leftover Beets to round out the meal. We drank a quart of Eggnog with a couple of drinks before supper and that was quite good for a change.  It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had Eggnog, and it goes really well with Dark Rum.
We were surfing tonight to find something decent to watch on TV.  Re-runs are in full swing now and the DVR comes in very handy finding stuff on the cable channels.  It’s still a stretch, however, finding enough to watch at night.  But so far we’ve muddled through the channels and recorded enough to play later.
We were up til “old-peoples” bedtime and then we caved like a cheap circus tent.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

We didn’t have anything specific on our agenda today, and Sharon is now into a regular routine at Curves.  She gets up at 7:30, reluctantly, but up never-the-less, and then takes off in the car for her class.  She comes back after about an hour, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
We spent a regular do-nothing day today at home.  I watched TV and Sharon finished the George W. Bush book (Decision Points) this afternoon.
It threatened rain for most of the day and finally started to fall in the afternoon.  It didn’t get very wet but it did manage to keep the day gloomy all day.
We had grilled Burgers for supper tonight.  All we had was the burgers but they were very good.
We’re getting pretty stale at this campground with no activities, even if it is our own fault.  We don’t normally join in the activities here at Desert Shadows, but rather just visit with our friends.
Tuesday is generally a pretty good night for TV but with the season in full-repeat mode it takes a little surfing to get through til 10 o’clock.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sharon was off to Curves this morning for a quite exciting day.  Apparently one of the employees was feeling well and passed out while she was there.  They had to call 911 an the Fire Department went to the wrong address.  Their information covered a different building which they went to, a couple of blocks away.  But they finally made it to the right place and took the woman to the hospital.  Apparently she had some medical problems which all acted up at the same time.
When Sharon got back home she decided that she would catch up on the laundry for this week. While she was gone she met a couple from Colorado in the laundry room.  They just started traveling and Sharon told them about Catalina since they were going that way anyway.
We also got a call from Mary and Jerry Milan today wanting to know if we wanted to go to the Elks tonight for Burgers and Beer.  The answer, of course, was a resounding, yes.
Sharon was back by about 2 PM and we watched Shrek 2 on TV for the next couple of hours.  I had seen the original version, but not the sequel, so I DVR’d it a couple of weeks ago to watch later.  It was pretty good for a kid’s show and it took us right up to 5 o’clock and time to go to the Elks.
We headed out for the Elks to meet Mary and Jerry about 5:15 and the Milan’s were already there by the time we got there.  Jerry forgot the directions of where we would be, and they were parked on the wrong side of the building.  As soon as we saw them we quickly drove around to the side they were on.
After a couple of pitchers of beer and sandwiches all around we were done and headed home.  We got in about 7:30 and quickly settled in front of the idiot box.  We were up until our usual bewitching hour even through we couldn’t find a thing original to watch.  At 10 we caged up the animals and folded up the tents and headed for the padded room.

Thursday, December 23, 2010               HAPPY FESTIVUS

We actually had a plan for today when we got up.  About 9:30 we would be on the road to Apache Junction to visit friends, Dennis and Mary Ceshker who are sitting in a campground in a brand-new 5th wheel.  They just got back from Wisconsin with it and are getting settled into it.
It took us over an hour to get there going the way the GPS wanted us to.  We ended up going through a few small burgs with stop lights holding us up all the way.  It’ll be the last time we’ll listen to her about how to get there, unless we have no clue about the directions.  We knew how to get there this time, but decided to give the GPS free rein.
After we arrived (11:45) we sat and talked for awhile before getting in the car and heading out for lunch.  The new trailer was absolutely gorgeous and looking very comfortable for the two of them.  It was a Jayco, but I don’t remember the model.
We had planned on going to In-N-Out Burger for a quick sandwich, and then on to the house they just bought.  We saw pictures of the house because the owners are still living in it, and then we took a quick drive by it.  It looks like it’s in a very nice neighborhood and a very nice looking house indeed.  There’s an in ground pool in the backyard with a 6 foot fence surrounding the whole thing.  It looked very nice of what we could see by the pictures and just driving by.
We went back to Mary and Dennis’s after a short stop at Hobby Lobby for Sharon.  After a while Sharon reminded me that today was a weekday and that we should get on the road back home to avoid the traffic.  We managed to slip right through while the traffic was light and got home in about an hour or so.
After a while Sharon decided that she was going grocery shopping for the stuff for Christmas Dinner.  Dennis and Mary would be coming over for the day.  While she was gone Mary Milan called and told us their park would be open to people wanting to see the Christmas lights and drive through.  I forgot to tell Sharon until we were in bed tonight.  We probably would have gone over there if I had remembered.  Oh well.
We watched the tube again tonight until sleepy time and then headed for the soft bed and down comforter.  It was cold in there but it soon warmed up.

Friday, December 24, 2010CHRISTMAS EVE

We were off to Golden Corral again this morning for Breakfast.  It was a toss-up between there and JB’s and I finally made up my mind on the way over there It would be our final visit to Golden Corral for several weeks now.  And of course it was not as busy as it was last Friday.  It was crazy last week.
On the way home we had to stop at Albertson’s Grocery Store to pick up some items that Sharon still needed for tomorrow.  After Albertson’s we headed for home and the nap position.
We got a call from Mary and Jerry Milan that they would be stopping over this afternoon for a Christmas drink and to say good-bye.  We probably won’t see them again now until April, assuming our plan to come through here in the Spring doesn’t change between now and then.  Last year the plan changed when they had to go home early for medical tests and we went up through Lake Havasu and Flagstaff on the way home.
It was just after noon when Jerry and Mary made their appearance and we sat down to have a toddy to celebrate the Holidays.  They stayed for about an hour and then had to leave so that they could be picked up for church this afternoon.
Sharon got busy this afternoon making her dessert for tomorrow when she realized that she didn’t have any ground beef for dinner.
We had Boiled Cod, Red Potatoes and Garlic Bread for supper tonight.  We have a hard time getting good Cod out here but the stuff we had was pretty good tonight.  Sharon only cooked half of it so we have another Friday night dinner of Cod ahead of us.
After we finished up all the dishes Sharon took off for the store again to pick up ground beef and she had to stop for gas in the car on the way.  When she got back we just milled around the living room and gazed at the tube for the rest of the night.

Saturday, December 25, 2010MERRY CHRISTMAS

This was the first year that we decided we weren’t buying each other gifts.  Of course when Sharon got up she sassily asked what I bought for her.  I told her the gift was on the table all wrapped up.  It was a pair of earrings that she had bought at home and told me they were for Christmas.  She had forgotten about them and was pleasantly surprised.
Even though this was Christmas, it would be a get-ready-to-go day today.  We are leaving tomorrow for Desert Hot Springs with an overnight at Quartzsite on the way.  While Sharon was off to church this morning, I dumped the holding tanks and picked up grill, chairs and tables that we had outside.  I also had to fill our water tank since we had dumped the load we had onboard when we got here.  It tasted a little funny so we got rid of it.
Dennis and Mary Ceshker, friends from home, who have now bought a house here, are coming over for Dinner today.  Sharon’s planned a lovely Dinner of Stuffed Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Cranberries.  She also whipped up a four-layer chocolate dessert.  It was all very good.
Dennis and Mary stayed until about 4 o’clock and then headed toward home in Apache Junction.  After they left we just reflected on what a nice day it had been.  If you have to spend Christmas away from home, it’s always best to do it with friends, and we have a few here in Casa Grande.
The rest of the night was taken up with a movie that was a repeat.  It managed to take us almost up to the bewitching hour.  We went to bed anyway.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

We were off this morning and finally got on the road about 9 AM after stopping for gas and getting situated on which way we would go.  I figured as long as it was Sunday it would be easy to go through Phoenix on the way west.  As we got closer to the city it seemed like a bigger mistake to go this way because of the traffic.  But as we actually got into the city the traffic died down and was about as I expected it to be.  A good decision after all.
There was some construction between Phoenix and Quartzsite but that held us up very long.  They weren’t working on Sunday but some of the lane closures were still in effect.
We arrived at Quartzsite around 12:30 and drove out to MM 99 and settled into our usual spot.  I set up the dish while Sharon took off into town to do some shopping.  There wasn’t much open in town as it was a bit early yet for the vendors.  She found a couple of places open, however, and picked up a couple of things.
By the time she got back at three I was still waiting for the early game to end so the Packer game would start.  We lucked out by having our team on TV this afternoon and they looked fabulous.  Aaron Rodgers was hot as a pistol as the Packers absolutely rolled over the Giants and Eli Manning.  Rodgers had been out for two weeks with a concussion.  He didn’t waste any time today getting back on track.  It’s a shame they had to lose the last two games without him, even though his back-up showed pretty good last week.  We were very happy with the outcome of this week’s game.
After the game we went into town to Silly Al’s Pizza and ate Supper.  We absolutely love the pizza there and it’s usually an automatic stop when we stay overnight here.
I had to leave the inverter on to record a couple of show while we were gone tonight.  And from watching TV all afternoon and recording while we were gone, our batteries needed help to get the generator going to recharge them. I jumped across the Engine Battery and the generator started right up and we ran it for the rest of the night while watching TV.
By 10 we went to bed and the batteries held up all night running the furnace.  I jumped the Engine Battery again in the morning to get the generator fired up.