In Memory of "Squirrel"

We lost a very good friend this weekend. Jim Fairbairn from Preston, MN was Northbound on Florida I-95 when he collided with another truck. It took over an hour to pry him out of the cab of his truck. He died a short time later. Squirrel drove for us in the 70's and was a good friend. We will miss him. Blessings and hugs to his wife, Carol, and his children and grandchildren.

Days 47 to 49.. Whatta weekend!

Mel and I at the beach..(our shadows), Dani and Brandee, Brandee in the ocean, My gang, Fontana race track bleachers, Mark Martin in the lead, me, Mel in front of one of the smoke stack on the Queen Mary, Front of the ship with a Russian sub beside her - and our car, the hallway leading to our rooms.


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Hi everyone.... We sure had a wonderful weekend. Tom, Danielle,& Brandee arrived on Friday afternoon. So good to see them. We went out to supper at Black Rock cafe and then Mel drove them around the area. It was a little cooler than I had hoped but we still enjoyed sitting on the deck. We left for California after breakfast on Sat. morning. Stopped to drop off Molly at the doggy sitter. Molly wasn't to happy !! We got to our motel, Holiday Inn Express, near Fontana about 3. We settled in and then headed for the beach to watch the sunset over the ocean. But we were about 10 min late. It was still awesome. The girls and I waded in. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. We had supper at the Cheese Cake Cafe. What a meal. m-m-m-m-mmm. Thanks Tom for taking us there. Back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Up early and and after breakfast we headed for the track in Fontana. We walked the grounds and checked out all the vendors. Up to the grandstand at 11:30. The weather wasn't bad up to that point but cooled down fast. The race was so fun, especially when Mark Martin was in the lead. But he ended in 4th place. The rain was coming in and got so close. We thought sure we would be getting wet. The wind came up and we were freezing but the excitement of the race kept us there. Our next hotel stay was at the magnificent Queen Mary. It is a war ship that now is a hotel. Mel's uncle Arnold came back from France, ( I think it was France, anyway) after the war. We had dinner there and then a short tour before we went to bed. Tom and the girls went on the "Ghost tour" but they didn't see any. :-) The morning came to fast but we made another little tour. We had breakfast and then the girls and I went way to the top of the ship and checked out the control room. But it was time to head back to Arizona. The trip went well. We stopped to get Molly. Poor Molly was so lonesome. I guess she didn't eat all weekend. She would sit and sleep on the top of the couch in front of the window watching for our return. The lady felt so bad but she is good with dogs so I have no complaints with her. Molly is just a spoiled little girl and only wants to be with me. It is good to be home. Thank you Tom & girls for the race tickets and a great time this weekend. We are getting company from home tomorrow so I might not blog again for a day or two. Good night and God Bless.

Day 46...Anxious

Hello everyone, Oh what a great weather day. Again !! Tom, Danielle, & Brandee must have landed in LA about 11 tonight. They will be here tomorrow. I am so excited. We also got calls from 2 other families that will visit us next week. One couple will stay with us and the other will come in an RV. Family and friends...what could be better?? My friend Betty and I went to a Craft show in Desert Gold Park this morning. The guys went electrical shopping and put 2 more plugs in the bedroom. It was a stay home afternoon. I put the second coat of varnish/stain on Mel's famous box... A picture will come next week. Tonight we again went to the Gospel Jam in Brenda Park. Love that music!! Didn't need a coat this evening either. I might not be blogging again until Monday night. We will be going to Fontana, California to the NASCAR races. A Christmas gift from Tom and his girls. After the race we will stay in the Queen Mary. A huge ship now a hotel. Home again on Monday. Pick up Molly from her 'baby sitter' and wait for company to arrive. May everyone enjoy a great weekend. If you watch the race on TV I will wave at you. Good night and God Bless

Day 45...Pizza

Our neighbors, Bev & Bob
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Happy Ash Wednesday. I miss our church activities.
We went to Quartzsite again today. We tried to find a thingie that holds the screen door to the door but no luck. We also got a couple of window openers. Then on to a jewelry store to get stuff for Mel to make some Bola ties and some gifts for the grandkids. (shhhhh don't tell them) We had lunch at Sweet Darlene's. Home for a while then went out for Pizza with a bunch celebrating a birthday and our neighbors 63 wedding anniversary. Bev and Bob. (picture above) They live here year around and watch over our place when we aren't here. It was another nice warm day but I fear it will cool down a bit when Tom and the girls come. Friday looks good yet and we will be in California on Sat when rain is expected here so should be ok.
Good to see everyone here. Take care and God Bless

Day 44...Golf cart challenge

Notice the water shooting out of the jug as it got run over.

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This morning there were cinnamon rolls to eat... Huge cinnamon rolls. Then we watched the golf cart challenge. They rode in pairs threw an obstacle course and had to do little things along the way. Pick up a toy puppy, knock a pop can off a table with a noodle, turn the hula hope 3 times, putt a golf ball, then change drivers and go back, knocking another can of water off a table and putting the puppy back. There was jugs of water laying out the course and pop cans here and there. They were scored on time and had deductions for any water jugs or pop cans run over. Then they had teams but the driver had a sack over his head. the passenger had to direct. This was so funny and one of them almost run over me as I sat way on the side lines. I moved real fast. The rest of the day was spent at home just enjoying the sunshine. I even got a little tan today as I read while sitting in the sun. Have lots to do tomorrow. I hope you check in tomorrow night. Good night and God Bless

Day 43... Pretty Molly

Molly wouldn't look at me... :-)
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Welcome... I hope your enjoying your ride along with us. It sure has been nice and warm. Can you feel it? I got the first coat of stain on a wooden box Mel made. I got the stain/varnish together. Not sure I like it. I will do the second coat tomorrow and hope I like it better. Molly went to the beauty shop today. She is so pretty now. I wish I knew what they use to get her so white. When I shampoo her coat doesn't get that white. We stopped in to see our Idaho friends as he had to go to the dentist today with an abscess. Home for a while then went to Kathy's (the outdoor restaurant) for supper. Got home just in time to watch "24". Now having a glass of wine and watching the Olympics. Oops... got boring so changed to CSI:Miami. Tomorrow we are going to watch the golf cart races..... LOL should be interesting. Maybe as thrilling as the dance, eh? 4 more days before the kids get here. Good Night and God Bless

Day 42...Race day

Pictures aren't very clear. Sorry. I don't take very good night pictures. It is of the dance floor, the singer, and the hand painted picture given away.
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The race was a long but exciting one. My driver came in 12th. But a good guy was the winner. There was problems with the track forming pot holes so they had to fix them. I made chicken for supper and then we went to the Valentines dance. It was fun but funny at the same time. It seemed that all was having fun. Dancing and visiting. Then 9:00 came and it was all over. Boy, a big night for us old folk!!
hahaha.... It was a one man band and he was really good. It was another beautiful day. I think it got to about 78 or 80 degrees. I hope it continues. Good night and God Bless

Day 41...Day before the race.:-)

Come on in. Coffee is on. I hope every ones day went well. It was so nice here again. About 75 degrees. The craft show was fun. I did get a bracelet. I needed one. :-) A lot of venders. So many talented people. We went to Quartzsite this afternoon and got a gas stove for here. It is like a little space heater but hooked up to LP. Our furnace just isn't very efficient. Lots of the people here have them. Now to get it hooked up.
We stopped in and visited with our park friends, Betty and Roger. Molly and their two little wiener dogs get along so nice. Tonight we went out for supper at Black Rock cafe and had prime rib. Oh so good. We had reservations and a good thing as it was a full house with people waiting. Tomorrow is the big race. Daytona 500. Can't wait. There is going to be a Valentine supper and dance at the club house so will go if the race is over in time. Sleep well, race fans. Dream of the #5 car crossing the finish line first.
Good night and God Bless

Day 40... friends visiting

Hi there.........Been thinking of those who have been sick with the flue. I sure hope your feeling better. We had friends from Adams visit us today. Art and Sharon arrived about 11:00. They were so kind to bring us all kinds of fresh fruit. Grapefruit, oranges, lemons. Fresh off the tree. We had a nice visit and then went to Black Rock for lunch. Mel drove them around to show them our area and tried to talk them into moving down here. They winter in Big River, CA. About 50 miles from us. Back home and a little more visiting before they left. Then we went to Blythe to get groceries and a couple other things. Mel got me a beautiful Valentine and 3 flower baskets.. Wasn't that nice? I got him a pretty shirt and a Valentine. So we are both lucky. We had supper at the Sizzler in Blythe. We didn't get home until after 9 tonight. Put everything away and now I am tired.
Tomorrow is the big craft show at our Park. So I will have to get up early for a change. Our bed is so comfy that I just love sleeping in. So good night and God Bless.

Day 39....Sunshine

Hi there. What a beautiful day in Brenda. Sunshine and no wind. About 70 degrees. Aren't you jealous????? We watched most of the first of the Duel races. My driver lead a good part of it but I had to leave before it was done. He didn't win. He wanted to save his car for the big one. He is already on the pole so it didn't matter where he placed. I went to a jewelry making class this afternoon. We made or should I say I started to make a bracelet. It is made out of little tiny rings that has to be kind of knitted together. Interesting but sure takes time. I hope I can remember enough to finish it on my own. I made a meat loaf supper and then we went to the Gospel Jam at Brenda Park. Coming home we turned into our park drive way and a Coyote crossed right in front of us. He came out of the park and ran into the dessert. I heard they are around at night and to keep an eye on Molly when we let her out. I hope I never see one by our house but I do wish I could hear them howl. Tomorrow we are expecting company. Will be a good day. Good night and God Bless

Day 38...Thunder

Hello, How are ya doing with the snow shoveling? I really shouldn't complain about the rain here, should I? But I will...... Rain rain rain... off and on all night and day. Even thunder. jacket cold too. But the forecast is to be low to high 70s starting this weekend. Finally!!! I would love to sit on our covered deck in the rain if it was nice and warm. We were home most of the day. I repainted a couple of old lawn ornaments that was left here. Maybe should have thrown them away but thought a paint job would let them be useful for a while. I did a road runner and a lizard. I should have taken a picture. Tomorrow. Mel worked in his shop this afternoon.
We went to a spaghetti supper at the club house. It was almost as good as our son in laws. I watched American Idol tonight and a lot of NASCAR shows threw out the day. Tomorrow is the Duel races.. I will miss the second one as I am going to a jewelry making class.
Hopefully there will be reruns. 4 days until Daytona!! Good night and God Bless

Day 37...Hair cut

Good evening, How high are the snow banks? It was jacket cool again today. I sure wish it would get "HOT" one of these days. I was told by someone who has been here for many years that this has been the coldest winter she can remember. For here that is. I got a hair cut today. Feels so good. I hope it looks as good tomorrow. We then realized we were almost out of gas so off to the station we went. Not sure how big of gas tank we have but I think 18 gal and we put over 17 in. I say we were close to walkin !! When we got home I did go for a little walk. I got some free cactus and took them up to friend Betty. I made pork chops for supper and baked apples for bedtime snack. We decided that with the money I won we will get a nice gas heater. This is what most use around here. The regular furnace isn't very efficient. Speaking of bed time, I think it is.
Sorry no pictures. Haven't been anyplace to take any.
Less than 5 days to The Great American Race... 10 days and Tom, Danielle, and Brandee will be here and we go to Fontana. Good night and God Bless.

Day 36...I WON !!!!!!

Hello, I realize now that football isn't so bad after all. Mel entered me in a football pool and I won !! Awesome. It sure made my day. I had no idea how much until I picked it up. Thinking on the way that it was probably $20 or 30. But, I got $200.00. Great eh? We celebrated by eating out.. Prime Rib.
I had an unusual guest at my bird feeder this afternoon. A wood pecker fed out of the humming bird feeder. I couldn't get my camera fast enough and it flew off to soon. But a fun sighting. It was really chilly today. I had a sweatshirt on and a bit of heat going. I woke up feeling good this morning. I don't know what made my tummy so queasy last night. I slept for 10 hrs. Must have helped.
Mel and Roger went to Quartzsite for a while. I had the house to myself for a while.
My favorite TV show, 24, will be on shortly so will say good night. Thanks for checking in. Take care and God Bless.

Day 35...No football here!!

Hello, I hear more snow coming on the home front. Everyone, please stay safe.
It was cool here too today. I don't think it got over 60. It rained last night. The sun was out today but still needed a jacket. We had breakfast at the club house this morning then on to church. Home for lunch. Our parks music jam was at 1. Always so good. The steel guitar wasn't here today but still really nice.
Mel putzed in his shop and I made supper. This evening I am not feeling the best so going to make this short. So take care and God Bless

Day 34...The race is on

Meet our new friends, Betty and Roger, from Idaho.
These are A few of the many quilts I seen today. The brown one is named, Minnesota Hot Dish!!
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Happy Saturday. I watched various TV programs about Daytona week...NASCAR races.
There was qualifying and the ARCA race this afternoon. Danica finished 6th in the Arca race. This is her first stock car race so I am happy for her. She did great. She usually drives Indy Cars. My favorite, Mark Martin, won Poll position for the Daytona 500. Yipppppeeee.. I went to a Quilt show in Brenda Park. What beautiful quilts were on display. I wish I could do that. They also had hamburgers and root beer floats served outside but it started to rain so they set up some tables inside. Then home to the races on TV. We enjoyed supper with our new friends, Roger and Betty, at the Black Rock cafe. We had Prime Rib. Back home to watch more racing. The Shootout. It is still raining. Should be a good sleeping night. Tomorrow is another busy day....13 days and Tom and the girls will be here. I hope the snow has stopped where you are. Good night and God Bless.

Day 33...City wide sales

People from the Black Powder Rendezvous
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Hi there everyone, How is the weather treating you? It was really nice again this afternoon but by evening it was clouding up and cool. We went to a little town, Bouce, about 25 miles from here. They had lots of rummage sales and an art show.
The sales didn't amount to much. Just plain junk ! But lots of it. I did get 2 tiny cactus. The art show was interesting. The picture I liked was only $185. :-(
Nope.. I didn't get it. Then Mel found out about a shooting range and a Black Powder rendezvous. We went there and seen lots of interesting things. Some Indian things and of course gun things. We watched them on the shooting range for a while. The went to lunch having fish and chips. Actually it was fish and french fries. I don't know why they call it chips. It was good anyway. Home again and picked up the mail. We got 2 weeks of mail at the same time. (Trey sends it weekly but the mail here is slow) This took me a while to go threw. It was almost 6:30 by then so we went out for supper too. We went to our favorite outdoor restaurant, Kathy's.
Just down the road about 4 miles. I have been mostly watching NASCAR stuff on the Speed channel tonight. Tomorrow I am going to a Quilt show.
Must be bedtime. Good night and God Bless.

Day 32.... Wonderful weather.

Golf course and a few of the fabulous singers at the Jam.
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Greetings to all. We sure had a nice weather day. Never did look at the thermometer but if must have been 70 anyway and no wind. We walked .... yes, I walked!!, way out in the golf course. I hope someone will give us a little lesson this summer(hint hint) so we can understand the game. Maybe even play. We have a 32 par golf coarse at our park. No grass, just sand. a different color and finner sand at the holes. Looks like they are having so much fun. This afternoon Mel cleaned and filled the batteries on our neighbors golf cart. (I wish we had one) I read a book while sitting in the sun. I got a couple more cactus so got them planted. Shhhhhhhh..... I am not suppose to plant in the ground but I did one of them. Tonight we went to the Gospel Jam in the Brenda Park. So soo sooooo good. Hugs to all, good night and God Bless

Day 32...Not much

Good evening everyone. Our new friends stopped in. Betty and Roger. Their home is in Idaho. We spoke of our electrical problem and he looked at it an fixed it. Nice. I canciled the electriction. Good to have a light over the table again. I washed 2 loads of cloths. We had supper at the club house. Thats about all we did today. Sorry so short. good night and God Bless.

Day 31.... Happy Ground Hogs Day.

Can you see the rain falling behind the row of campers? Just beyond our park. It never rained here that day.
The other picture is of the flooded desert. Not a good picture so I hope you can make it out.
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I never heard if that little critter seen his shadow. I hope not.
We still don't have electricity in a few outlets. Four different people were here trying to figure it out with no luck. So we had to call an electrician who will come on Thursday morning. We were hoping it was just getting a new ground fault thingie and all would work but it didn't happen. So that took up most of the afternoon. Oh dear. More rain and snow coming to AZ. I hope it misses us.

Tonight we went to a Gospel Jam in a different park, Desert Gold. I could listen to this music for hours.

I am tired tonight so I guess it will be an early bed time.

*************Does anybody know if there is a difference between a fiddle and a violin? If so what?

Good night and God Bless

Day 30... free meal

Hi everyone. It was a nice day. About 70 degrees and sunny. But it really cools down at night.... There was a meeting with some medical insurance and they provided a free meal of Hambergers, chili, chips and desert. Not bad for free..... This afternoon I putzed in my little garden. I wish I could plant in the ground but they don't allow that here. Besides the ground is to hard. So I have lots of flower pots. But need something else. Just not pretty yet.....My granddaughter, Brandee, passed all her tests and is now an EMT. Proud of you Brandee.... We had a simple supper then I watched my show, 24. ....I blew a fuse earlier and we can't find what happened. Everything in the panel is working. I guess we will have to call for help tomorrow....I made some baked apples for a snack and now it feels like bed time.... Good night and God Bless