Life was good on "the hill"

City of Rocks State Park, Faywood, NM 

Wed. 11/20 - Sun 11/24/13 (5 days)

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"Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion."  

Go Pet Friendly 

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RV LIFE:
Yes, life was good up on the hill in Tijeras at 7800 feet. Made 4 new friends, Tom and Sara and Tom's wonderful dogs Freckles and Zander aka Scooby aka Thug

Debbie petting Zander/Scooby

Sweet, sweet Freckles

Scott made a pot roast with red sauce and a beef stew. Tom made Green chili and lima beans. Sara made a green chili also and chicken enchiladas. Debbie made the food disappear. Sure is nice having a husband and friends who cook! Yum!
I was able to enjoy Tom's fireplace and when I headed back to the RV for the night, he'd email me about how nice his fire is and too bad I'm in the RV. Lots of teasing back and forth all week.
He nicknamed Devin aka gay dog. Devin is a male, but has a high pitched little dog type bark. Very annoying. I call him a girly dog. Same idea.
I really enjoyed my time on the hill. Tom opened up his home to us to use whatever we needed. We used his fireplace, his stove, his back yard, his front yard, his electricity, his telephone (no cell service up here), his internet, his well water, his septic tank and his washer/dryer. I went in and out of his house as if it was my own.
Tom was a great host. I'm glad we could be there during a difficult time for him. THANK YOU TOM!

Not a great photo of Tom. He usually has a huge smile on his face. Note the fireplace in the background.

We definitely had a productive 2 weeks.

Made two new friends, Tom and his ladyfriend, Sara.

Cut all the mats out of Bench ES Zander's (Scooby) coat.

Experienced NEW Mexican food...thank you Tom & Sara.

Lyla: 1. Check up 2. bloodwork 3.. script for hypothyroid.

Dina: 1. Check up 2. bloodwork 3. spay 4. ID tag  5. Giardia treatment 6. Clean up ear scab

Scott: 1. Check up 2. New scripts 3. Eye Dr. 4. Bloodwork

Deb: 1. check up 2. Gyno check up 3. New scripts 4. Bloodwork 5. Mammogram 6. Ultrasound 7. Eye Dr.

We never went to any real sightseeing in Albuquerque except for Old Town. We never went out to eat either, nor did Scott go geocaching even though there were plenty in the area. It was a 9 mile drive down a winding road just to get off the hill and onto main roads. So we just enjoyed the peace in Tom's rural neighborhood.

We've arrived at City of Rocks State Park. This is our first time truly boondocking!!! Our first night was fine. The overnight temperature wasn't bad, so the heat never came on. We started with 100% battery and by the morning it was 73%. Not bad. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day, so even though we had the solar panels facing the sun and tilted, we only reached 80% battery. So out comes the generator. We are far away from any other campers, so it shouldn't disturb anyone. Temps will be dropping over the weekend though and that will drain the battery using the RV heater. We did pick up a Mr. Heater that runs on a small propane bottle and no electricity. A review to come after some use.
Since we are trying to conserve our solar power, Scott has cut way down on his TV watching. As soon as he opens his eyes in the morning, the TV goes on. It was so nice to have it quiet all morning and afternoon! We both sat in the living room reading and every once in a while actually talked to each other! I'm glad we still have things to talk about after 19 years of marriage.

My thoughts are constantly on settling in a home. But then I freak a little at the thought of being tied down to a house. But on the other hand, we won't have to come up with $600.00 PER MONTH FOR TAXES like in NJ. Although I enjoy our travels and the luxury of being able to see many parts of the U.S., I find that both Scott & I are staying more and more around the campgrounds and being very picky as to what sightseeing we do. We are homebodies. And the coming Winter season causes us to want to nestle, hibernate, be cozy.
Our tentative plan now is to look at property in Tennessee that won't require too much maintenance. Then we can travel a month or 2 or 3 at a time if we want.  I suspect we'll stay home and only venture out to specific areas for a month or two tops. Maybe head North for the hottest of the Summer months.
I'm definitely in a cuddle under an afghan in front of a fireplace mode. I think staying here in Tom's driveway and Tom heating his house with wood has added to me wanting a house again. We've been letting Devin out in Tom's backyard. I've been enjoying sitting on the big couch with Lyla's head in my lap and enjoying the fireplace. Oh, I do miss letting the dogs out loose in the backyard, and to have a couch so the dogs can cuddle with us. We're thinking of buying a cheap futon to replace my oh so comfy recliner. The things I sacrifice to be with my doggies.

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PETS:
Reservation dog saga continued...

Poor Dina was in some pain the first night of her spay. We gave her a 1/2 of a Tramadol which seemed to help. She came home syringes full of white liquid. I thought it was for worms. But after going into town to hear my cell phone messages, it ends up she has giardia. Lyla and Devin are  also taking syringes full of the white stuff, just in case. We don't know if Lyla and Devin have Giardia, but they do drink from streams and puddles if we don't catch them in time. They can also get it from sniffing or eating infected poo. The vet told us to wash our hands thoroughly after picking up our dog's poo. It IS communicable to humans.
One week after surgery, Dina is fine and playing again. The stitches were under the skin and a tiny incision. No need for a cone around her head.
Devin will be definitely missing Scooby. They were about the same size and played really well together. Of course, every time I left Devin there without adult supervision, he'd get into trouble by flipping the garbage, flipping the water cooler, flipping the food container, etc.

Devin looking for snacks. naughty boy.

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CRAFTS:
Crocheted a second doily for our other lampshade. It's the little home made touches that make an RV a home.

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BOOK REVIEW:
People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just an ok book. The mystery became a little more exciting near the end. Too many characters and generations for me to keep track of.
I read this book because we were just in the area that this book is taken place at. We actually met the main character's (Jim Chee) wife (in real life). While in Monument Valley, we learned about the Navajo and how they now would rather be called Dine. We visited the hogan huts, etc. Very cool to be able to understand and not have to imagine the descriptions, since we were actually there.



AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

First, I must admit, I'm not really into Zombie type books. But the catch phrase, "When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there’s either something wrong with your world..."  caught my attention.
I think this may be better if read. I listened to this as an audio book. The narrator was ok, but kind of monotone. I would expect a little excitement in his voice when they see someone dead come back for the attack.


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WHERE WE ARE GOING:
Mon. 11/25/13 - Wed. 1/1/14 (5 weeks) Hidden Valley Ranch, Deming, NM
Thur. 1/2/14 White Sands, NM (Tentative)

Wood Fairies

June 14 -24, 2013 Armitage County Park, Eugene, OR

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RV LIFE:
6/17/13 - Monday: A day of cleaning up and laundry. Yes, even living this idyllic life, there are still chores to do. For such a busy town, I could not find a laundromat close by. I drove about 10 miles and found an adequate, at best laundry. I prefer going to town laundromats instead of the RV parks, because there are usually large dryers. That's the worst part of doing laundry. The small dryers take forever to dry the clothes.
Also stopped at Walmart and picked up some more twine to finish my crocheted sun hat.
While cleaning the RV, I was checking the cabinets of what we can purge and I saw Creme De Menthe.

I must have had this for 20 years! Probably used it for a party drink back in my party hosting days and never used it again. But it's one of those things I have a difficult time throwing out. IF I ever need it for a baking recipe, I don't want to have to buy it again. So how long will I continue to keep it? I think I will have to look up some recipes with this ingredient in it and start making things with it or throw it out!
I think I'll have to try Grasshopper Pie. That sounds good.

6/19/13 - Wednesday: Our neighbors Suzi & Dave have left. I have no one to snoop at through our kitchen window any more! We did not spend much time with them because they were really here to visit their son who was graduating from college. Congrats to Jessie! I think he will be continuing his education in Colorado next. I hope all this work and cost lands him a great career.
What little time we spent with Suzi, Dave and their two great dogs, Sasha & Lewis, were really enjoyable. They are super easy to talk to and not overbearing. It was nice having them as neighbors and still having our own privacy. We hope to catch up with them in their home state of NY or maybe in FL this winter.
Devin & Lyla liked them also!

Lewis & Devin

Even laid back 9yr old Lyla got some action!

Our firewood pile grew! I think the wood fairy or something like that must have passed by. Actually it was Dave. He gave us their leftover wood. We had "gifted" (or gotten rid of) our wood to them while in NM. They returned the favor.

Are these the wood fairies? Or maybe Dave & Suzi in disguise?

Comment from Suzi: "Dave's been called many things in his life, but never a fairy!!!! "Sue
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CRAFTS:
Gwen Slouchy Beret
I love this pattern. I love the results. I love this yarn. Magnolia yarn 70% merino wool 30% silk, by Classic Elite Yarns. It is so nice to be working with decent yarn again. I STILL have more of that damned red acrylic. I'm thinking dog collars for the rest of that yarn.

Didn't this beret turn out great!??  I thought one ball would be enough. It was, but barely! I made the hat a slightly smaller size since I have a small skull. (I was endearingly called "Pea Head", by my co-workers)This was to be a slouchy hat, but, I had to start decreasing early so not to run out of yarn. But I love how it turned out! Some hats I've made, I'm a little embarrassed to wear.  Slouch hats are not my style, although they are currently in style. This hat slouches very little. Just look how beautiful the design turned out. And this silky, soft, nicely sheened yarn was wonderful to work with and really gave this hat a beautiful glow.
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FOOD:
Smellovision! Oh how I wish I could you let you experience the heavenly aroma coming from our Cobb grill! Scott bought a pork shoulder at the Eugene Saturday Farmer's Market and he bought some pork rub. The shoulder has been on the grill about 45 minutes and oh----my----gosh! It smells wonderful! I hope it will taste as good as it smells.
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RV MODS:
We tried to book an appointment for whole RV solar power with AM Solar, who came highly recommended from Wheeling It. Unfortunately for us, they are booked solid until DECEMBER!!! Good for them! Family run & honest business doing well. The estimate we got from them was over $8,000.!!! I was hoping for $5000. tops. When I get a chance, I'll post the estimate.
So Scott has decided to do the installation himself. It won't be "hard wired" (is that the right term) directly into our RV, but it will be close. Scott has been researching and losing sleep over trying to think of everything that needs to be done, in what order, etc. He started drilling holes (eeeeeek!) today. He was happy with his progress.
He bought 2/150 watt solar panels from AM Solar and 2 extra batteries from another business. He's getting an inverter or something like that shipped to AM Solar. Bits and pieces from here and there. Scott seems pretty confident he can do this. AM Solar said that if Scott finishes before we leave, they will check it out for him and make sure it's working correctly. What a great business.
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WHERE WE'RE GOING:
June 25- July 8, 2013 River's End RV Park, Chinook,WA
July 9-17, 2013 Port. Hudson RV Park, Port Townsend, WA
Tentative:
Neah Bay, WA
La Push, WA
Coeur d'Alene, ID

WA, ID, MT, ND, SD, WY, then south for the Winter of 2013/214