swimming and fellowship

After Dave and Darlene left, Snookie, Don and I went to the pool for the first time.  It's really warm in the sun, but in the pool the wind was really cool.  Nancy Reid joined us after awhile and there were others.

Tonight we went to dinner at Duffer's here in AZ with Shelley and Bud Wright and Rick and Wendy Fury for the last time.  Our sweet waitress took this picture for us.  We had a blast.  Both couples are such fun people with hearts bigger than Texas. Fun.  Thanks guys, for a wonderful winter.  Bud and Shelley took over leadership of the Activities Dept after DeAnn and Bruce went back to Kansas.Who am I going to pick on when I don't get to see Rick every day????These two couples have been a blessing to us and we are going to miss them like crazy.

Going, going, gone...

It's only 2:30 p.m. and already three rigs have pulled out around us. BEFORE the sun came up next door neighbors DeeDee & Danny were getting ready to pull out.They had everything packed and hooked up last night, so there wasn't much to do before they were ready to go and waving goodbye. Did you notice the sun isn't up yet, but I am and taking pictures. On my way to the laundry room I notice that Don Walrath is out getting his 5th wheel packed up to leave. I was in the laundry room when I heard a horn honk. It was Don and Billie driving out of the park. I was so upset that I didn't get to tell them goodbye. Look out St. George, Utah... The Peacock of the Park is headed your way!

While I was doing laundry, Don was over at Linda & Ray Poyer's getting a haircut. And then it was my turn for a trim. Linda does a great job and the price is better than right.

Next comes the departure that we've been dreading... Darlene and Dave. We've spent so much fun time with them and gotten so close to them, it's very hard to say 'goodbye.' I miss this little whisp of a woman already. Aren't they cute? Snookie and I were both blubbering. A lot of folks from this park are going to Florida next summer, but not us, so I feel like this goodbye is so final. They promised they would think about coming to Texas sometime in the future. I sure hope so. Don't ask Snookie where her hand is!"Now, if these girls will just stop taking pictures and hugging each other goodbye, we can get going." Dave is such a patient, good sport and a better friend you will not find anywhere. Snookie wanted to get in one last "I dare you to hit me" just for old times sake.And they are going, going, GONE. (sniff)First stop, Benson, Arizona for a few days.

While we were all standing outside, this dust devil made an appearance.

I'm going to check my emails now. I know I will have one from the Suttons.

Tip for Today

25. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.)

He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all!

He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh... that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there; it's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it!

He said the bestway to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday!

I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it -- the water ran right thru the screen! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. NOT ONLY COULD IT SAVE SOMEONE'S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.

Back "home"

Thank God for a wonderful night's rest.  This morning there is a breakfast in the Carnaval Room for all the workampers and volunteers.

As we walked over, we passed Don Walrath.  I tried to sneak up and scare him, but he turned around just before I got to him.  Nice stool, huh?

The breakfast was great.  Most of the workampers are still here, today.Bud Wright welcomed everyone and then Don led the blessing for the food and also thanked the Activities group for all the great work they have done all winter... "big shoes to fill."  I was wondering where my pet photo subject was, when I found him!  He sure is going to miss me. ?  Wonder who I will find to stalk with my camera at our next stop?  I'm sure they won't be as much fun as Rick has been.  Such a good sport.  QUAIL SIGHTING: We heard this fellow calling, so I grabbed the camera and eased the door open.  It's really hard to get close enough to get a good picture.  I need a mega zoom lens.

I got a little cleaning done today, getting ready to pack up.  Then Snookie came over and I read her final postings regarding her JUMP and laughed until I cried.  Snookie, you are such a good writer.

Don went into CG and bought new batteries for the RV and groceries.

This evening, we watched two Big 12 teams win their games and make it into the Elite Eight.  I've picked North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and Texas to make it to the Final Four.  So far, all 4 teams are still "alive."  Sorry, Bud.  We thought about you tonight.  Melvin is probably pretty happy, though.

Family and friends, I will be so happy when I have cell phone service again!  MONDAY!

Trip back to Q.R. 3/27/2007

Back on the road, CA 79, again headed east.  The area surrounding Temecula is really pretty.  The sight of green grass and trees sure looks good to us.Before too long we are way up in the mountains again with breath-taking vistas all around.  We are now on CA 74 toward Palm Desert and Indio and Interstate 10.  How do these flowers grow right out of the rock?  It sure was pretty. That's Palm Desert way down in the background behind Don.We sure met a lot of fancy little sports cars on this winding highway.  Reminded us of a TV commercial.Wonder why they call it Palm Desert? After enjoying the drive through beautiful Palm Desert, La Quinta, and Indio we were finally on Interstate 10 (oh yeah).  We were going to visit the Joshua Tree National Park, but found out that we were 30 miles from actually seeing a Joshua Tree, so we decided against it. I found this cool webpage instead.

Not far into Arizona, we saw a sign over the freeway that read "Bad accident ahead, be prepared to stop."  I was driving, so Don pulled out the atlas to find an alternate route to Arizona City.  Ah ha, there was one, so we traveled merrily on, since we had seen another big sign with nothing on it.  We assumed the wreck had been cleared.  You know what they say about assumptions.  Two miles from our exit, traffic came to a halt.  It took us over an hour to get to the exit we needed to go down to I-8. Good friend, Dave Sutton had called to let us know about the plans for a bunch of us from Quail Run to meet at the new cafe in town, Chris', for dinner at 6:00.  We pulled into the parking lot about 6:18.  It was great to see everyone.  After sitting on the freeway moving an inch at a time, it seemed like we had been gone for a week.  Everyone had ordered, so we sat down with them and ordered.  Low and behold, our order came out first.  That felt weird and we kept apologizing, but we thanked the Lord for the food and begin eating. We had a good time visiting with Oscar and Lucille who were sitting next to us. A perfect ending to our day and our 3 days away.  We had a great time and now it's time to start getting the Savannah ready for the road.

Happy birthday, LaNae!! (March 27, 2008)

Yes, today is my baby’s 34^th birthday! When Don & I got on the road this morning, I called her to wish her a Happy Birthday. She was outside her classroom waiting to go in… wondering if I had forgotten her birthday. Not a chance! She’s doing well in her classes; made and “A” on her last exam. That’s my girl.

Her elbow surgery is scheduled for April 10^th… day surgery. Prayers are appreciated. She will be in a cast 6 – 8 weeks and then therapy.

In honor of her birthday, I did a web search and found a few items of interest to us:

LaNae is still listed on The World’s Tallest Women web site at 6’5”. She’s actually 6’4” but this statistic was taken from the OU media guide where she was measured with her shoes on.

She’s still the tallest player in the history of the University of Oklahoma.

She finally relinquished her blocked shots record (243 career) at the University of Oklahoma to All-American Courtney Paris. LaNae is thrilled that the record now goes to someone as talented as Courtney. Congratulations Courtney!

LaNae’s record was set while OU was a member of the Big Eight Conference… that record will never be broken because the Big Eight is now the Big Twelve. :-)

Found Nae on the 1,000 Point Club page.

Temecula Tuesday 03/25-26/2008

Went to bed last night with a headache and had it all night, thus not much sleep was had. I probably slept more than I think I did, but I did wake up 3 or 4 times until I got up and took an Aleve (free advertisement) something for my headache. We were up before 5:00 to get ready to leave by 6:30. I am sure all this can be attributed to how excited I am to be going to Temecula, California to see my nephew, Tommy DeRusha and his family (he has a son I have never seen--pictures will be coming) and my niece, Tammy Circeo and her two youngest, from Washington. I haven't seen them in over 13 years, either. Tommy and Tammy are two of my only brother's five children.

We took I-8 west. This was my first time to see Yuma and the sand dunes. That was amazing. People just boondock right out in the middle of nowhere to be able to ATV all over these dunes. That little black speck top left on is an ATV. That's the Colorado River. Looks out of place out there in the dunes.

The drive over was great! Tommy had suggested that we take the California S2 at Ocotillo off I-8 so we did being the adventuresome pair that we are. Ocotillo is appropriately named and they were all in bloom! Just like the Organ Pipe cactus National Park and the Saguaro National Forest, there were thousands of Ocotillo in the thousands of acres surrounding the town of Ocotillo. I loved the S2. Here's a view from a scenic turnout on the S2 north of Ocotillo. The desert valley and desert mountain scenes were beautiful and then suddenly.....GREEN!! Lush green pastures. We are getting closer to Temecula, our destination. There are fields and hills of yellow flowers. This picture reminded me of that commercial about "contented cows are in California." Sharon Peterson, this picture is for you (and me). Temecula is a huge equestrian community. And now we are in Temecula and my sweet husband stopped so I co uld take a picture of these Clydesdales. I've lost my touch.. I couldn't get them to come to the fence where we were. We checked into the Rodeway Inn in Old Town Temecula and then we walked downtown Old Town while we waited for our relatives to get home from L.A. and Ben's baseball game. The buildings and the landscaping was very pretty. We had and ice cream cone and visited the Olive Bar. The flowers were everywhere and so pretty! You know me and flowers. And, oh yes, TREES! Finally, the family is back in town so we head over to Tommy's house to see everyone. Camera in hand, I have to snap a picture before I even hug my niece for the first time in over 13 years. Tammy is a site for my sore eyes! In the way of introduction, she's my favorite niece, my only brother's only daughter. (Don's sister has no daughters, so I'm still safe in calling her my favorite... she's my ONLY). Adorable 'blue eyes' is Tommy's son, Jacob. This is the first time I've seen him and he's just turned two. Put yourself in his little sandals and imagine what he must have been thinking about this crazy lady always in his face trying to take a picture. At the moment, he had no interest in "cheese." He was just beginning to warm up to us when we had to leave. We piled in our cars and headed for Pat & Oscar's for dinner. P & O's is by a manmade pond with lots of ducks and fountains... really pretty. And the food was good, too. We ate on the glass-enclosed patio so we could watch the ducks swim and the sun set. Tammy and I at the dinner table. After a visit for a while, we headed for our respective beds so we could get up early the next morning and head to L.A. for Ben's last game. Everyone else had already seen him play, so only Don, Tammy and I set out in the morning traffic, via Starbuck's, of course. It's early! Just a little after 7:00 AM. Ben is a very "salty" (quoting Don) baseball player. Here, he rips it to center field as proud great-aunt and mom watch on. Ben's team won and we headed for his hotel to get his "stuff." Let me insert here that Gabby Gertie Garmin did a great job getting us straight to the ball park and hotel. OK, want to see a picture of my really cute 15 year old great nephew? Well, you should. Nice, huh? Where's my Tide Stick???? Cute shot of Don and his new niece (favorite, even) and Tammy and her new uncle. From the hotel, we went next door to Fuddrucker's for a delicious hamburger. Ben called Tommy's wife, Erin. Ben: "Can you please have 3 mountain dews and a monster in my dressing room?" Erin: "Uhhh...." click! (lol - she hung up on him!) Back in the pickup and headed for Temecula, Tammy talks to hubby, Ken or maybe it was sis-in-law Erin as they made plans for us to spend the afternoon at Oceanside and the BEACH!! YESSSSS! There's the water! Here it?!! Don LOVES this! Jacob couldn't wait to get his dump truck in the sand. See the beautiful ocean, Jake? Well, we played in the ice cold water and walked on the beach and picked up pretty smooth stones. Played ball with Jacob, walked to the pier and took lots of pictures. (excuse the wrong date on the pictures; had to change batteries and didn't reset date) Now, Jake is really happy because he loves big NEX-KAH-VA-TORS! That gorgeous little lady beside Jake is his big sis, Ashleigh. She had a great time at the beach, too. Here's Ashleigh with a lantana bloom and a shell that she gave me. You're loving those eyes, aren't you? And this dreamy doll is Alyson, Tammy's beautiful and talented youngest. I won't say, "baby," because she is now a teenager. This is the great niece that I had never seen until this trip. You can imagine my emotion the first time I saw her, yesterday. I really wanted her to like me, so I respected her space and didn't bug her about pictures too much. Aly is 13 and taller than her mom with gorgeous long legs. She's a sweety. As the sunset sets behind a cloud bank, we load up to leave. More pretty flowers as we walk to the truck. Back at Tommy's we enjoyed pizza and WONDERFUL homemade guacamole by Tommy. We had purchased 30 avocados for $3.00 from a roadside vendor. (Avocados are a local fresh fare.)

Because Don and I were leaving the next morning, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the Rodeway Inn. It was a wonderful two days and went way too fast, but I am so grateful to have had this time with Tammy, Ben, Alyson, Tommy, Erin, Ashleigh and Jakey.