I fell asleep last night trying to decide the difference of semi traffic from the trains constantly rumbling down the tracks and helicopters flying overhead. I decided a lot of what I thought was helicopter noise was actually the semi-trucks barreling down the highway. The wind bouncing off their trucks, along with the various frequency in their engine noise bouncing back off the peak must sound like helicopters 🚁 unless I hear the familiar wop, wop, wop of the blades slicing through the air.

Around 3 am we were awakened by the dog’s panting noises. We both noticed we had completely kicked off the covers, as we were roasting in our bedroom! Dave was unaware he left the central heat on, instead of just the little electric heater. I figured the dogs wanted out and was already getting dressed to take them, when we noticed Whiskey slurping water for all she was worth. Poor babies were just hot! Once we adjusted the heat, we all crawled back in bed and tried to get back to sleep, me with the same exercise I did before, but now with less clothing on. (Sorry for that visual)

Last night I was finally a winner at the Bunco game for most wins. I won $19! I was excited, even though Maria teased me that I must have cheated somehow. I did not, of course, but she just teases me mercilessly. Now I can look forward to this Friday and Mexican train. Earlier in the day, I had made a quick batch of easy, (almost) sugar-free pralines to bring as my contribution to the snack table. They were a hit! They really were delicious, probably because I used a combo of monk fruit sweetener and about an eight cup of brown sugar.

Living in such a small space is a big adjustment, one that I handle a little bit better since I’m short, than my 6ft tall husband! He is constantly bouncing off the walls in the bathroom, the shower is too small for him-but he manages-and one Cook in the kitchen is all that can be had. So, he cooks most of the time and I’m the clean up crew. There’s also the constant maintenance that I tried to warn him about. Many RV blogs did I read before jumping into this life, and they all said the same thing. “Do not neglect to perform daily, monthly, and annual maintenance checks.” I tried to encourage him to read the manuals before we left, while he had down time at night.. but I digress. I won’t go into details because there are tons of blogs out there that cover all aspects of maintenance, but I will say that we’ve experienced a hiccup or two. Nothing major, thank goodness.

Just this morning, we had a backup of water in the tiny bathroom sink. He did all sorts of checking various causes before realizing the grey water tank was just full. Emptying it solved the problem. We finally solved the ice problem by deciding to purchase new ice trays and trusted the water system here to be exemplary, so now we only buy ice when we need it for the cooler. He has also finally fixed the tv antenna issue, the generator issue, and several other things I can’t remember right now, and does look at the manual when necessary. We need to find a better solution for the tiny trash can in the kitchen, but to me it’s not a big deal. It fills up, we haul it to the dumpster and get a nice walk in. No problem’ However, Dave thinks we need a big trash to put somewhere and my vote would be an outside collapsing trash can that we can fill up every few days, then fold down and store when moving. I know they make them somewhere!

Food storage is another issue, there isn’t room to make tons of food and store it, and our pantry is full. So we have quickly learned to make enough to feed us for a couple of nights before making anything new. I was assured last night that I don’t have to make enough food for twenty people like the newsletter said if we want to attend a park dinner function. So we may do something with everyone on Christmas after all. We can make a dish and take it like everyone else, and take home what we want. That way, we each get to taste something someone else had a hand in making. The meat is taken care of, so we just need a side. We bought groceries already, so maybe we will take green bean casserole. We will see!

The weather is taking a nose dive back home by weeks end, as is most of the country. We will be experiencing warmer weather here, and I told Dave I feel guilty about that. But we had a couple of weeks of cold here first, maybe not arctic cold, but too cold for me! I’m looking forward to getting in more walks, because I’m still sitting way too much. Every morning I have to stretch and work out the kinks to get going. I don’t shower every day either, but I’m not doing anything to get sweaty or dirty, so every couple of days is fine by me. I take sink showers in between. Don’t judge! 🤣

I recently discovered that Arizona is a prime location for rock hunters when I found some pretty blue rocks here and there around the areas where they are putting in streets for new park home models. My frien dJulie says they are not real turquoise, but she wants one for her flower bed. So I got this one for her.

Now, after taking a deep dive into rocks and gems of Arizona, I’m on a new quest and have a great reason to get out and walk! I’m going to look for real gems in the desert! And, I may do one more in the series of the Wild, Wild West on Rocks, Gems, and Minerals of the Arizona desert. Some that can be fount here are turquoise, peridot, Apache tears, amethyst, geodes, and petrified wood, among others. Don’t know what Apache tears are? Stay tuned!