So, when is there time to get the truck washed?

Poor Donald. We all have lists in our heads, specifically the 'to-do' lists, and on his list is to take the truck to get a proper wash at the Airport Truck Wash.  There just seems to be no time! He arrived back from golf with Rick, Rick and Mel on Sunday, only to have me at the door of the rig asking for some cash in order to buy 2 tickets to San Diego from a couple that cancelled their trip.  When are we going to San Diego, he asked?  Tuesday! When do I get the truck washed? Don't know, no time! After his golf game on Sunday there was a Superbowl Party at Mel and Debs with Rick, Paulette and another Rick and his wife, Kathy. Then yesterday was a day at the quilt clubhouse for me, and he helped ( or supervised ) Michael and Darcy leaving the park. After that, it was off to pick up a couple of things at W*mart, and then back here for the 3 - 5 pm Quilters BBQ at Judy's, hosted by Rick  and Paulette. Rick is going to be in so much trouble for the picture and little words about Sandy and her delicious Red Velvet Cake. It was a wonderful time with great friends.  Siena's husband, Jack, made the circle of men, asking each one if they knew what a Fat Quarter was.  Yep, some did know, some did not want to admit it, and I heard one shout " And what is a Stitch in the Ditch?".

Well,  today we are off to San Diego. There is a bus group organized at a very reasonable rate per person for just a day trip to Old Town San Diego. Can he get the truck washed on Wednesday? Maybe, but I have our regular Clubhouse Day, and we also have a Park Appreciation Lunch at 12:00.  Ah! The regular Happy Hour is cancelled because of the lunch, so yes, there is time after lunch.

We love being so busy here, and of course the weather helps. 

I think I need a day-timer to keep track

There was a phone call last evening from #2 son, asking what we have been doing. I told him we hardly get about 10 minutes of down time a day, we seem to be so busy, but doing what was hard to relate back to him, other than we are having a great time.

The weather has finally turned for the better, with temperatures hitting just about 80F/28C during day.  I finally no longer have to wear a touque on my head to swimming in the morning, as by the time aerobics are done, it is nice and warm and I am not running to get a jacket and windpants on as soon as I step out of the pool.  Awesome. Today was a big grocery shop, as it was long overdue and the larder was getting fairly bare, followed by dog sitting Miss Ellie Mae and enjoying the 1 acre dog park here, drop by visits from friends, and then off to a pizza place in Desert Hot Springs for supper for 8 of us. Darcy showed up with her mini Valentines quilt in the afternoon and we managed to get some binding cut and sewn on lickety-split.  Very good pizza afterwards. Very good company.

my Valentines Day runner, mini-group taught by me at Quilt Clubhouse

This morning is the pancake breakfast at the main hall at 8 am, then we have to go to Kohl's, then a Happy Hour celebration later in the afternoon as Michael and Darcy will be leaving next Monday. I think that means I won't have to make supper again - yahoo!

Sunday is Superbowl time, and of course, all the local quilt shops have a superbowl sale on, so guess where I will be, and guess where D will be! I think he will be looking for an invite to watch the game on US cable or dish tv. Our Shaw system, which is Canadian does not show all the cool Superbowl commercials.  My favorites are the Budweiser big horses.

Red sky in morning sunrise, coming through the window - Quartzsite

Dragons and Boulders

Palms at Anza-Borrego

This was our destination for our hike with Ken,Karen,Darcy,Michael,Jim and Linda. Same crew as Sunday. The day was so much fun, with an early morning start at 8 am, a lovely drive to Borrego and a quick breakfast in town before heading off to the State Park.  The trailhead is just at the end of the campground, and there was easy access and parking.

Yes, there were a few boulder to climb over and around, but that was fun, too. The little river valley was simply beautiful and we were fortunate to have great weather, and in particular, not too hot!!

The sands were damp in area, so we could tell that water had come down the valley in greater amounts than the little creek that we had to cross a couple of times.

Of course, it is great to hike with good friends and lots of laughs.  Darcy and Michael had not been to Borrego before, and we wanted to show them a little bit of the metal sculptures that we had taken a tour of last winter.  The hike was going to take up a major portion of our day, so we only visited a couple of sculptures, namely the dragon that goes under the road.

the road is after the 2nd 'hump'

There seems to be a bit of a wind that has kicked up after swimming this morning, so not too sure what we will get up to. Some chores, some grocery shopping perhaps. Maybe a nap.

Happy Birthday, Mom. Love you.

Flash Warning-no, not hot and we're clothed

The usual whirlwind has been happening here and we love it. After doing lap swimming and water aerobics, we were invited out to Whitewater Preserve for a hike. Such fun. You can see by the picture above, the our fearless little trail leader, AKA Coco the Rescue Dig, is staring up at someone's pocket, because he always has dog treats in his pockets.

There has been a few days of rain here in the valley, and with that rain comes the danger of flash floods. Two years ago we witnessed rain one day, then with a beautiful day the next day that is when the mud, boulders and rocks came running down the streets of Desert Hot Springs and other areas close by. So, yep, we drove out to the nearest water place, Whitewater Preserve where part of the access road was already flooded and yep, we drove through it! Ken and Michael have big 4x4's, so no worries!

Karen is pointing to the sign noting:" Extreme Flash Flood Danger", and then of course, we picked the trail leading to the river. The area around the river had been wet, but still very beautiful. The preserve has a number of stocked fish ponds with 'steelhead'. Not near the size of our ocean travelling steelhead in the north, but the water is clear with bright shallow parts to see the fish easily.

This will be a place where we will return and it is so close to our park. Sunday we are dog sitting Ms. Ellie Mae again, and Monday we are off to Borrego Springs and the state park there for another hike, but that will be a long day!

Luckily it won't be as far as walking to Canada. 2445.4 miles from this beautiful rock.

Cowboy hat people are a little rowdy!

Our days at Boomerville were so enjoyable that we will go back another time to Quartzsite and join in the fun.  We left early Wednesday morning and drove into Rose RV Park, where their were 3 dump stations already lined up with rigs waiting to dump.  Even this little chore is an adventure, that is all we have to say!

Back at the RV Park in Desert Hot Springs, the 'parking supervisors' ( buddies )arrived on their bikes, so I could escape for a few minutes to the quilting group to check in on the arrangements for Thursday. The social schedule didn't take a break, as we were invited to a potluck that evening with about 30 people. Good thing I had enough in the larder to make Asian Chicken Wings and Taco Salad to add to the table.

Thursday Donald and I started off at 6:30 with laundry, and I met the bus at 7:15 am for our big annual trip to Road to California Quilt Show, about an hour and a half from here, into L.A.  This was my second year, so having been overwhelmed last year, I was able to enjoy getting around and the whole experience. Check out BQB Paulette for some of her pictures of the show, as I didn't take my camera. BQB= Best Quilting Buddy. The day ended great with an invitation to after dinner coffee at our neighbours, Mel and Debbie's.

Yesterday was Donald's birthday! I managed to get to the pool by 7:15 to swim some laps and do some water aerobics by myself.  Then, the gals were off to Joanne's at 9:30... didn't they get enough fabric goodies at Road? Nope, most were looking for backing fabrics with coupons in hand.  In the afternoon, I had the pleasure of dog sitting our next door dog, Elly Mae. A lovely goldendoodle, all white in colour. Well, she was all white till I took her to the dog park and with our all day rain, she came home a different colour. Then, off to Coachella and Spotlight 29 Casino for the Buffet dinner and a Clint Black concert. Friends Karen and Ken joined in, since it was the big guy's birthday, which was wonderful.  Michael, Darcy and ourselves took in the concert and it was our first time with country music. He was an excellent performer, great back up band and very at ease with speaking and entertaining the crowd.  However, the crowd was quite a bit wilder than the Moody Blues concert crowd! Ah, that's entertainment in itself.