Happy New Year

Let’s see, where were we? Oh yes, Idaho. Now back in Yuma, and moving on to Mesa next week.

We had a wonderful Christmas with Brian, Sheila, and the boys. We had some good meals and enjoyed each other’s company. Ken and I made ragg quilts for the boys for Christmas, and they were well received. Ken did all of the cutting, and I did the sewing. Then for the two days of driving to McCall, I clipped seams. That is about 1200 miles of clipping!!

We drove from McCall back to Yuma in two days. My advice with regard to the state of Utah is don’t eat or sleep there. We had terrible meals, and a terrible motel room in Provo. Tuesday, the second day on the road was long with our arriving at Colleen’s about ten.

Gary and Carolyn arrived in Phoenix on time on Wednesday, and we made our way back to Yuma. Now with each passing day, we see more and more of the sites filling. Today the wind is blowing very hard and is doing a good job of rocking the motor home. We face a big open expanse of newly-worked dirt, so it is especially adept at infiltrating every square inch.

We welcomed in the new year with Jeff and Bev, Gary and Carolyn, and their friends from Victoria, Kathy and Andy. I think this is about the 25th consecutive New Year’s Eve we have spent with Jeff and Bev. We were all still wide awake at midnight, which has sometimes been a struggle for us.

We went to Algodones on Wednesday, which we can practically see from the RV park. It is a pretty typical border town except much cleaner. I didn’t see anything that looked to be a spectacular deal – most of the silver is mediocre at best and nothing out of the ordinary. We did have a bite to eat and it was quite good.

We have been to the ‘old’ market here in Yuma and plan to visit the ‘new’ one today. We did find some nice produce at the old market this week.

Jeff and Bev will be leaving within the next day or two, and then on the tenth we will move to Mesa. Mike and Mary and Becky will be arriving in Mesa on the seventh for a week’s visit with Mike’s half sister, and we will join them there. “We are staying at the Dohlbeer Trailer Park because that is where Martha is staying, but when I called I was told they had plenty of room, to self-register if we arrived on a week end, pick any spot that was available, and no they didn’t need my name or credit card. Hmmm. But it will be fine and convenient for a few days of visiting.

Then later in the month Rod and Karen will be back from Connecticut. They leave Spokane Sunday to drive to Mesa and set up their fifth wheel before they hop on a plane to visit son John and family in Connecticut. We plan to spend a few days together the latter part of January and first part of February.

January 8, 2006

The Schulers have gone home after a great visit, the dust has settled (from the fields, not the Schulers), the weather has been warm and sunny, and on Tuesday we will pull up stakes and move to Mesa. Mike called yesterday to say they had arrived.

We have now shopped the ‘new’ market’ as well as the old, so I think we have seen as many cheap Chinese junk (not junks, but junk) imports as we can stand. I am enjoying the fresh produce that the markets offer: avocados, squash, peppers, and lots of citrus. We made a salad with nopales (paddle cactus leaves), and it was tasty.

We also now know of a good jeweler in Yuma. I broke two prongs on my diamond ring, so nothing to do but have it repaired – which requires removing it from my finger which was not an easy task. So along with repairing and sizing mine, Ken will have his sized as well, and both will be re-engraved and re-florentined. They should be ready tomorrow.

After about three weeks in the Mesa/Phoenix area, we are going to spend one week with the Ouseys, their friends, Rob and Sue, and our friends, Rod and Karen at the Butterfield RV Park in Benson which even boasts its own observatory. Then after a day or two near Picacho Peak and Casa Grande, we will set up camp at River’s Edge in Ehrenburg for one month. Come the first of March I guess we will have to think about making our way back north. I’m not ready to think about that yet.

This is the first time we have been able to connect to the internet since we arrived here, so I just might sit up all night surfing the net!!

Ciao