wildlights of the desert

Gorgeous weather, wonderful day! I spent the morning sewing and quilting, with Donald running around at Home Depot and looking for the cheapest diesel.  In the afternoon, we stopped by Ken and Karen's RV, picked them up and off to the Living Desert to see the WildNights Lights exhibit that is put on every December for a number of nights.  It is over this weekend, so we didn't want to miss it, as we did last year with myself enjoying a bought of the flu.

The one acre model train display is a hit, and you can easily spend over an hour just looking at all the details and the multiple trains running. Then you can come back again, and see all the details you missed - like this little bit of humour!

When we were there last year, the enclosure for a Jaguar exhibit was under construction, and we were very pleased to catch a look at this awesome cat, and hear him cough! LOUD! Donald and I thought he was trying to bring up a hairball - we know that sound, even it is so much quieter with our little cat.
I like the walk in aviary, where there are benches and if you sit quietly, the birds are all around you, like this beauty above.  We left the park about 5 and tootled off for some mexican food for dinner, then headed back to enjoy the light show. AWESOME~~~~~~~  What a truly wonderful place for a family to go during the holidays. About half the park was in lights, including blue floodlights illuminating the big rock mountain where the Bighorn Sheep hang out.  The way the blue lights were done, with blue/white ones on the trees nearby, it looked like snow covered rocks and hoar frosted trees. Cool!

In the amphitheatre was a "Grinch" show, with hedgehogs, baby tortoises, and of course, Max the dog. A live band played in another area, with about 10 of these firepits to warm up with cocoa, marshmallows, hotdogs, macaroni and cheese... all great things to enjoy as a family.  Ken really enjoyed the song " Blue eyed Tiger" the band played, hmm?

Light and Music tunnel

Holiday times are food times....

A belated Merry holidays to everyone.  The day before Christmas, we were delighted to join Ken and Karen and visit a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant that they had previously been to.  Let me tell you, it was the best place ever!  Very small, tucked away behind a mall with a french name.  We ordered 4 Money Bags to start with ( mmm ) then each of us ordered a dish, which we all shared. Hot and sour soup, in an authentic server... a red curry..a salad noodle dish with BBQ pork..and pad thai. Everyone was too full for dessert, but Donald thought he would order Vietnamese coffee, which he did, and then the owner showed him how to prepare it at the table. I forgot to take pictures, but we all had a sip, and we will all be forever ruined to have iced coffee/latte/whatever anywhere else. None compare to this coffee, it was awesome.

Christmas day I did laundry early in the morning ( yes, I was the only one there and yoo hoo - lots of machines to use! ) then we were invited to join friends Allen and Linda, daughter A and her friend D for an actual sit at the table meal in their 5th wheel.  I cooked the turkey breast, gravy, made a salad, mashed and sweet potatoes. Linda provided early afternoon appetizers and the rest. Fun. We ended with a good game of Trivial Pursuit.

We have to say thanks again to Allen and Lolita for the gift of tamales.  They recommended a nearby grocery store in Cathedral City that has 'pretty good' tamales.  We went there today, and it was a huge great store where I picked up some cactus leaves, tomatillo sauce, cheese and chicken tamales and jicama.  Next time I hope to remember to take my wee Latino cookbook, or at least a proper list.

And no, the tamales do not compare to Lolita's. We have been spoiled now with tamales and iced coffee. 

Ok, enough with the food talk. Quilting tomorrow, and maybe Donald will have to rescue Rick from the shopping ladies.

Rubys and Rabbits

Catching up and enjoying bright sunshine is wonderful, as we joined Rick, Paulette, John and Judy at Ruby's in downtown Palm Springs for a lovely brunch.  Their breakfast menu is better than the lunch and dinner, or is it we would rather do a breakfast menu than the other? In any case, it was loads of fun - except that every 10 minutes or so there is a little bell sound that comes out of the outdoor speakers.  Yes, we were sitting outside on the patio.  What follows is a terrible bird screeching sound at around volume 8 out of 10.  This apparently is supposed to frighten off the local pigeons and other species.  So, we stop talking when that goes on!  Paulette noticed that there were about 6 pigeons right underneath the speakers chowing down on the leftovers in a bus persons tray on a cart, so I guess the warning screeches may not work all that well.  Rick came down with the flu right afterwards ( he could feel it coming on before brunch ), and we all noticed he didn't eat the beans of his breakfast burrito combo.  Who knows = that may have been the cure for his flu! Sorry, Rick, we hope you feel better soon!

It seems everywhere we visit, especially family, there are lots of rabbits about.  South Edmonton has huge hares/jackalopes. Our boys seem to think that they were experiments from the local University of Alberta.  Victoria had a big to-do recently with the environmentalists over what to do with their overly abundant population.  No rabbits in the big white north - coyotes would take care of them.  This year at the Sands, they are everywhere.  We never saw one last year.  At night we are very careful driving into the RV Park, lest we run one over as they enjoy the green grass on the palm lined boulevard through the park.  These ones are a fifth of the size of the Edmonton creatures, so pretty darn cute.

Sitting by the satellite dish tripod

Today's plan is to join friends Ken and Karen, also from the Shuswap, for a quick run into Joanne's, then we hope to do a Thai restaurant lunch, then back to the pool/hot tubs with plastic wine glasses and refreshments.  mmm mmm.

The sun is coming up and the weather is finally warming up a bit more here .... but I can't sing 'it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas', however the Park does look festive at night with the lights, ours included!

just doing, ..doing what? I dunno....

Finally a posting, and you would think we were busy, but not really!  First of all a big THANK YOU to Allen and Lolita for dropping off some real tamales, yes, real homemade by Lolita - mmmm...... A lovely gift from fellow bloggers.

The days seem to go by here at the Sands,and we have been joined by some great friends from the great white north, Allen and Linda, who are staying for 3 months.  Yesterday, we enjoyed a day together at the COD ( College of the Desert ) Street Fair, and then lunch at Ruby's and a walk about downtown Palm Springs.

Allen and Linda bundled up - they must think it's winter here!

No matter where we seem to be, there are visits to Home Depot - hmm - how are we at a home building store when we are not at home? Donald is being very creative and building me a wooden box to hold my sewing machine - this is then put on a pull cart so I can pull it easily to quilting on Wednesdays! It is a Janome 6600, and very heavy.

Do you think the aisles are wide enough to just pull in the rig and set up?

Ah yes, the other place we went was to Shields Date Farm in Indio.  I thought perhaps there would be tours in the date fields, but alas, there was a poorly done video in a run down room, an extremely touristy tacky gift shop and dates for sale that were twice as much and staler than the farmers who sell at the COD Street Fair. We did learn from the video that it takes the trees almost 15 - 20 years to produce after being planted.  That may be longer than a vineyard - have to ask Allen and Linda, who after their tour at the Robert Mondavi vineyards in the Napa valley are now our 'go-to' for wine questions.  BTW, they said that was a great tour!

Even though we thought that it might be cold walking around downtown Palm Springs at night, we went to last Thursday's Street Fest and really enjoyed ourselves.  It was quite warm and the street looks so festive at night. So, we'll have to decide if we want to do that again this Thursday, or go to the dance at the RV Park.

Young son: DRIVE SAFE. You know I'm talking to you. Yes, that's a mother's job to tell you that.

out to the local pizza joint...

Another dull weather day, so Kim headed off early in the morning with Karen and Paulette to Joanne's, the 99 cent store and Kohl's.  She wasn't the buyer again! Do you think she has had enough of shopping?

We had a request from Allen and Lolita for the Slow Cooker recipe: Slow Cooker Lemon and Olive Chicken
2 carrots, 2 ribs celery, 1 bulb fennel, 1 onion - all chopped, thrown in the pot
16 large stuffed green olives ( I used the large feta stuffed olives I bought at the Olive Pit in Corning!)
4 -5 cloves garlic, chopped,crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tsp Oregano, some salt and pepper
12 boneless chicken thighs
3/4 c. sodium-reduced chicken broth, 3/4 c. water
Throw all this in the slow cooker, chicken on top. Cook as best directed with your slow cooker.
Just before serving, take 1 c. of the liquid out, whisk with 1/4 c. flour, add back to pot with 2 TB lemon juice, 1/2 c. chopped parsley and the grated zest of a lemon.

 You can serve it also with a mix of chopped parsley and lemon zest sprinkled on top of your guests' helping.  Serve over rice.  MMMM!

Donald said no thanks to leftovers for supper, so we went out for supper to a local Pizza joint with Ken and Karen. Fun!