Christmas 2013

Ahh, always a special time of the year for young and old alike......And my grandchildren are no exception! Misses C and E came to my motor home Christmas morning ( I bring my MH and park it in the driveway-it's an escape house for me) and we waited for mommy to come home from feeding their friends dogs.

Cand E were so excited! C was sure she heard Santa sometime during the night-he left a thank you note for the cookies and goodies for Rudolf-he even said he took a break in the rocking chair and Belle sat on his lap the whole time! But there were questions this year like, how can Santa eat all the cookies left out for him? Well, she's 8 going on 21........They look so cute in their "Hello Kitty" jammies....

Miss E didn't care what the gift was.....she loved it all..she's sitting in her new bean bag chair..

C was thrilled- a new real guitar!

Mommy and Mama were in maching jammies, too. It's our "tradition" to open gifts in our jammies-no makeup are hair combing allowed...Mommy hands out the gifts-elf style.

Grammy (me) gave both of them a crayola air brush set. It was a hit! Merry Christmas to All, and a happy, healthy safe New Year!

Mendocino Redeux

It's been a long, long time since I "blogged"....And I'm  back in Mendocino, volunteering at the Ford House for the summer...and loving it! It feels like coming home-even though the faces have changed.

Here's some highlights of the season.......

Every year we celebrate the 4th of July with a parade....and the Ford House uses the occasion to offer coffee, scones (donated by Alegria B&B). Then shortly before the parade we offer polish dogs w/wo chili and soft drinks. It's our biggest fundraiser and helps us keep our doors open...We got a fresh coat of paint and a new roof last year so we're so sparkley!!!

The parade is like nothing you've ever seen...Lots of local talent, political views, and people just having fun.

Cecile Thompson came for a visit and sold some of her jewelry at the arts & crafts fair. Of course, we had to go to Anderson Valley and our favorite, Brouttico Winery, for Gary's birthday present...

Just after Cecile left my family came for the weekend and brought their good friends, the Cassidys. John stopped at the Noyo Harbor to get fresh oysters-yuk!

Here's the gang L to R: John Henry, Allyson, me, Sandi, Cassidy, Eryn, Kris (with the blue baseball hat) Charlie and Kennedy

The time went so fast! I loved having all the company-now everything is so quiet...

Yuma and the Desert

About Mid January I get very antsy for some fair weather and sunshine and this year is no exception. I'm not that fond of the desert per say but it's better than freezing or worse yet digging out from the snow! I don't have these pictures set up in an organized fashion-part of my letting go. So, I'll begin the journey and caption the pix as I go along... I left Coarsegold and headed for Quartsite where so many RVers gather in the desert. I missed the social hours that the SKPs Nat'l office  hosts but I stayed there for a while and contacted a few folks I knew were in the area. Del and Connie invite dme over to their campsite where their son Mike made a super chili in his cast iron pot. It was the best chili I ever tasted! It was great to see them and catch up. They were on their way to help crew for a car race in Parker...

I also got in touch with Mike and Lori Sanders. They were enjoying their new rig and desert ATV their son had rebuilt and modified for them. We caught up all afternoon and the Sanders were leaving for a Memorial for Mike's Dad who passed away in January. My condolences to you and your family.

I've been so bad this trip about getting photos!  

This is Duke and I believe I introduced him when we met in WA. where Denise and Paul were working at an RV park. We met again down here in BLM land. We played cards, games and generally hung out for a couple of weeks, then the Roberts were heading for the annual fireworks display in Lake Haveseau. Paul gave me some great lessons for my phone. I should have paid more attention or takennotes......

Shirley drove down to Lake Haveseau with Cliff and then he drove her down to Quartsite so we could go visit our friend Laurie Coyle. Laurie and her husband John were squaredancers in the same club in San Jose. They moved to Mesa about 15 years ago, and I remember Ray and I parking on the street overnight so we could visit. Sadly, John has Alzhiemer's and is placed in a very nice facility. We all went to visit and brought a cake as it was John's birthday. Again, no camera! What's wrong with me? Am I getting old?

Then back to the desert-cudos to Shirley for braving the elements (and me) for how well she did on her first (and last) desert boondocking experience.

I warned you-I'm jumping all over....Now I'm in Yuma, will stay till the end of the month. This is the Thompson barbershop-Cecile has been doing Gary's hair forever.  They're prepping for a cruise-their Christmas tree boss takes  them on a cruise every other year. It worked out vey nicely-I was able to cat sit Mittens while they were away. We're renting from a private owner who's lot can accommodate 3 rigs. And it's enclosed for privacy with brick about 5ft. 

This is what really attracts me to the area-beautiful sunsets, gentle temps (65-75) and lots of seritonan! Will have head home in March-have to get ready for my cruise!