pictures

Chinese dinner with the Speirs. I learned how to eat crawfish... sure was good

Day 17... Pictures from the beginning...

Lunch with the family before we left......

Day 16.... not good.

Sorry folks. The only thing good about today was the weather. 77 degrees. But I think I ate to much chili. Sure have been sick today anyway. I spent the day in bed and the bathroom.
So will make this short. Tomorrow will be better. We might get our new potty tomorrow.

Mel got to see Shannon and Chris again. Sorry I had to miss it.

Good night.... God Bless.

Day 15... Long and beautiful day

Hello, I never heard what the temp was today but it had to be in the high 70's. I hate to rub it in but I just had too. Then I see Minnesnowda is getting hit again. Sorry !!!

Our day started at 8:30 with breakfast with friends at the Kofa cafe. Church at the little Church in the Desert was at 10. Home, cleaned house, had a bit of lunch and on the the music jam at our park. It was so good.

Minnesota people came to our place after the jam. We had a good visit and had chili and fresh bread for a supper meal.

Then guess what we did..... Another music jam. But the speakers for the singers were so bad. They seemed to be good singers but couldn't understand the words. Was kind of mumbled. So we left early. I was tired anyway.

Our bed is really high and Molly couldn't get on it by herself. Mel made a step with a plastic carton and now she jumps up there so easy.

Mel's nephew will be in the area again tomorrow so we will be meeting them at some time.

The sunset tonight was so awesome. The deepest pinks,Reds, yellows with the blue sky showing threw in a couple spots. Just WOW!

Early bedtime for me. Stay warm everyone. Good night, God Bless.

Day 14...Chili day

Hi there, How are you tonight?

The chili cook off went ok. Mel didn't place this year. shucks. He thinks it was because he didn't make it spicy enough. I thought it was really good. But then so were the others. There was 14 entries. Not sure but I think Mel was about 4th or 5th. One was a chicken chili. That one didn't place either but it was one of my favorites. Next year I will enter too and make my mild chili while Mel can make his sweaten hot chili... :-)

Later we went for a ride to Brenda park to see if the Minnesota people was there yet. We found out there was going to be a Rock & Roll jam there so we went to that. We found our friends there. One couple is from northern MN and is going to come over tomorrow and help us eat up the rest of our chili. The other couple is from the Byron area.

The Rock and Roll jam was pretty good. Only 4 guitars gut they sure could pick. The singers were good too. It was 50's music.

Back home and I visited with our neighbor for a while. They are one of the oldest folks in the park. Bev watches over our place when we are gone. By that time it was way past supper time.

We thought about things for supper and then decided to go out. We went to Kofa restaurant and then on to the truck stop and got gas. Home again.

Tomorrow we are meeting friends for breakfest at Kofa again. Then to church at the Little Church in The Desert. After dinner we will go to the music jam in our park and the company will be over.

Beautiful weather. About 70 or 75 degrees and no wind. Tomorrow is suppose to be the same. Good night, God Bless

Day 13... No coat day !!

Yes it was a nice day finally. But we spent most of it in the kitchen making chili. Mel did the cooken, I just opened cans and sampled. :-) It is pretty good. Tomorrow is the cook off.

It just happened that our neighbor also made chili and invited us over for supper. It was good too. We got our fill of chili today.

Yesterday I got 2 beautiful orchids. One is a white moth orchid. The other is a purple. Not sure about the variety. I have never seen one like it before. They sit on the deck in front of the kitchen window.

Tonight we went to another music jam at a near by park. Not many there. The music was good but the chairs were so uncomfortable. We only stayed an hour.

Keep your fingers crossed for luck for Mel's chili tomorrow.

Good night, God Bless, and hugs

Day 12..."If That Isn't Love"

Hello there,
We went to the Gospel Jam tonight and my favorite singer of the night, Peppa, sang one of my favorite hymns. If That Isn't Love... wow... He did such a great job. Almost as good as Brad... or Elvis.

Today we went to Parker, AZ and got the fixins for chili. Mel entered in the chili cook off again. Saturday is the big day.

We also went to Big River CA and had a delicious lunch with the Osmonsons. Sharon made a great veggie soup and home made bread. We had a good visit. They are from Adams MN and winter in Big River 6 months a year.

While in Parker we also checked out possible paneling for our bedroom walls. Will look more as what we seen just wasn't quit what we want. I can't wait until we get this job done.

And guess what...... I actually went for a walk today. Molly and I just went around the block but it is a start for this non-walker.. Now to do it again tomorrow.

I am feeling much better. Still cough a bit but not so bad. We bought a small humidifier today so hopefully it will help. It is so dry here. Only about 35% humidity.

Past my bedtime so good night, Hugs and God Bless.

Day 11...Wild Rice Soup

Hello everyone... It was another cool quiet day. Made some good spaghetti for dinner. Not as good as Bob's but close. Had a nap this afternoon. Went to the community room for Wild Rice soup for supper. It was so good. I have to remember to take more than our dishes along though. Some bring breads or buns, crackers, deserts.... I didn't bring anything. But the soup was enough.

I am still coughing and blowing. But feeling some better.

>P>Tomorrow we are going to Parker. We will visit the Osmonsons from Adams and then get groceries for the Chili cook off that will be on Sat. Mel got 3ed place last year. I hope he does as good this year. Looks like lots of entries.

I got our bird feeders hung out. Already had a hummer feeding. Haven't seen any finches yet. Just some cute little sparrows...

Good night, God Bless

Day 10..... a quiet day inside

hello, It has been pretty cool out. I still have this cold so I have stayed in all day. Mel and our neighbor, Roger, got our new heater hooked up and also Mel's TV. So now he can listen to all the news he wants while I watch my cop shows. :-)

I was so hopping I felt like adding pictures tonight but guess not. Don't give up on me.
See you tomorrow. Hugs and God Bless.

Day 9.....Goooood pizza for lunch

Hi there... They call us Snowbirds here but seems like with all the snow MN is getting you should be the ones called Snowbirds....LOL

How bad was the snow this time? It has been cool here too. Still wearing jackets and staying in. No lunch or coffee on the deck yet. No live plants around. This weekend is suppose to be nice again. I hope so.

Today we went to Quartzsite to get parts for our new heater. Our neighbor is going to help Mel hook it up tomorrow. We met Nephew Shannon and Chris for a pizza lunch before heading home again.

So much news about the shootings in Tuscon. Sooo sad.

Molly got a new blue harness today. It fits her so much better than the one she had.
That's all the shopping we did. Quartzsite is so crowed . Hardly a place to park.
We will shop there soon though. If you don't know about Quartzsite ... it is a big, huge, flea market. The town is usually about 1000 people but in the winter when the flea market vendors and the shoppers come it is close to a million people there. Campers are everywhere. In town and in the desert. Interesting place.

Tonight we went to a music jam. Our first of many. Tomorrow night we go to another at a different park. Tomorrows is a Gospel jam.

Stay out of the snow banks. And those of you who don't have snow just stay safe and enjoy.
Good night & God Bless !!!!

Day 7-8....Had to sleep

Hi ... I caught another cold so I forgot to write last night. Just went to bed.
Last night we went to Black Rock cafe for Prime Rib. It was so good. This place is only about 4 miles from us. Came right home and just sat around. Early to bed.

We went to breakfast at the community room this morning. biscuits and gravy. But I was coughing pretty good so didn't go to church. I just stayed home and blew my nose....

We did some work and put more stuff away. Mel got the lights out on the deck and the green rug laid in front. (have to have something that looks like grass. ;-} ) I got my fake flowers out but haven't been shopping yet for live plants. Still gets kind of cold at night anyway.

My humming bird feeder fell and broke so have to get that replaced. We have seen several hummers so they are waiting patiently. I haven't seen any finches yet. The feeder is out so shouldn't be long before they find it.

Mels nephew, Shannon and Chris is coming over today. Can't wait to see them. They live north of Flag Staff. Not sure of our plans with them. Maybe go out to the new Mexican restaurant down the road a ways.

I might not write tonight. Will see how the day goes. Hopefully Shannon and Chris will stay a while.

I hope nobody had problems with the latest storm. Sunny and 65 here.

Take care & God Bless.

Day 6... Grocery day

Hello, It was a beautiful day out. So sorry to hear about another storm at home. I hope everyone is safe. We had lots of company this morning. After lunch we went grocery shopping. The bill was kind of scary though. Come on over. We have lots of food to feed you now. After supper and dishes I read my emails and then put some cloths away. I had to call Dish 4 times before I got the TV to work. Good to have the noise again. We had to take Mel's TV down as we get our new fireplace heater installed in the living room tomorrow where the TV usually sits. Our furnace works ok but not very efficient.
Still haven't found the cord to get my pictures to the computer. Tomorrow should be the day!!
It must be bedtime. Good night...God Bless

Day 5...Touch down!

Here we are in sunny Brenda AZ It was 70 degrees this afternoon. Cold tonight though. Good thing we had LP left in the tank. This morning we met our Oronoco friends for breakfast. They are on their first winter escape. They have a beautiful 40 foot 5th wheel and living by Casa Grande. After stopping at the local grocery store for some bread and milk we got to our place about 4 this afternoon. We planned to have a burger at the outside restaurant but found that she didn't come this year. Shoot!! Mel got everything hooked up and I vacuumed the deck so we could get our chairs out... We couldn't get threw the bedroom if we didn't get the deck furniture out first. Several neighbors came to welcome us.
One brought over some home made soup. We had a sandwich & the soup and then unpacked the trunk... But, uffda.....we sure got tired and decided to just wait with the rest. Now everything that was in the trunk is in the new bedroom. It will get done tomorrow. The house is pretty dusty so will have to clean too. Molly found her old toys and enjoyed playing with them again.
Dish TV was suppose to have turned on the TV here last Wed. but didn't. XM satellite radio has to be reactivated too so we were down to listening to my little portable radio and phone calls will be made tomorrow. QVC was having Elvis stuff for sale tonight and now can't
watch it. :-(
So good night everyone. God Bless & hugs

Day 4.... We made it

Almost...... We are in Casa Grande, still 150 miles from Brenda. We will be there tomorrow afternoon. Then the fun of hooking everything up.....water, gas, elec. etc. & unpacking the car.

We met friends for dinner tonight in Tuscon. Had a wonderful visit. Both couples are from Rochester and Hastings. They have been in Tuscon since Oct.

It has been a long day and now ready for bed. We will meet more friends tomorrow. They are from the Oronoco area. We spoke to a Minnesota couple at a rest area and found they are from my moms home town area. Yes, they knew the Potuceks... Small world, isn't it? I wish I would have got their names. I think he said he just sold a pontoon to one of them.

The weather has been great. Not as warm as I would like but not bad. It was 56 this afternoon.

Good night, God Bless and hugs to all.

Day 3....Shouldn't have ate today !!

Hello, We are in Albuquerque for the night. Kind of chilly now but was in the 50s earlier.

We did see some snow on the ground in Southern Kansas. clear again in OK. We seen some unusual clouds. Not really storm clouds but they had lots of ripples. I wish I could have put the picture on here. They were pretty. My cord for the camera is packed in unknown places so Pictures will have to be added when we get to Brenda. I seen the first of many yucca's at the Oklahoma line. Just confirmed we were in the south!! We even seen some field work going on.
But we sure didn't have any luck with our meals. We had Chinese for lunch and it was so bad. It was Greasy, tough and everything tasted the same. For supper we stopped at another Denny's. We ate at one last night and it was so good but tonight's food was hardly eatable. We complained but nothing came of it. I think tomorrow we will eat at Windy's....
Just as we approached Albuquerque we noticed the empty gas gauge... Not very observant are we? Mel pretty much coasted into a gas station. We had less than a gallon left !!! Now that was an uffda !!!
We are getting up early tomorrow so we can be in Green Valley by supper time. Meeting friends there. So good night, God Bless and hugs to all.

Day 2.... Beautiful day

Welcome. It has been a great day. We left Terri & Bobs in Des Moines this morning at about 9:30 after they had all gone to work and school. Thank you for everything.



The weather has been awesome. It was 45 degrees this afternoon. Sorry Park Rapids family about how cold it is there.



Our day ended with a beautiful sunset in Wichita, KS. We had a great supper at Denny's and now in our room at Motel 6. We like Motel 6 not only for the good price but they allow little Molly in too.



Stay warm everyone... See ya again tomorrow night.

hugs...

Day 1.... Des Moines

Can't believe that there is no snow in Des Moines. I should have brought some along. We got to Terri and Bob's about 3. Terri had lots of snacks ready for us and then we opened gifts. They took us out to a Chinese supper. I wish I had my camera cord in here so I could show you what I had to eat... I will send a picture in a few days.

Everyone is going to bed so guess I will too. Early for me but I am tired.

We will leave in the morning. School and work for the rest.

Good night to all.

Hugs

Almost time to go..

I don't think we will miss this snow. However it is so pretty!!!

The car is all packed. I have just a few things to do tonight and we will be on the road in the morning.
I sure hope the snow don't follow us. It seems pretty nice right now.

Going out with the family for supper tonight. I sure will miss them all.

We will be at Terri and Bobs tomorrow.

Bye and hugs for now

Day after Christmas....we leave in 7 days.

Welcome back dear friends... We are trying to get ready for our trip. So much to think of.. what to pack, what to have for motel stays, what will Molly need, cloths to wash, bills to pay, friends to see, plants to water, stamps to buy, empty the frig, and what ever else. Will everything fit in the car? I guess it has to fit or stay home.

We will be staying at Terri & Bobs for a day. It always snows when we get there I hope not this year. Can't wait to see them. We will have another little Christmas there as they couldn't be here on Christmas Eve.

I just hope the snow don't follow us. We have over 40 inches here so far.

It is always hard for me to leave home but once we get going and a few tears shed I am better...

I hope everyone will send me emails and facebook messages. Or phone calls too.

I miss you already.
Bye for now.

Beautiful sunshine

Just pretty mountains. I think in New Mexico. The third picture is of the bumper to bumper traffic jam. Over 10 miles long. Caused by a rock slide. Mel took a side road and got ahead of it all. Click on the picture to enlarge it........................


......................
Mels Black Powder Gun. He made the case for it.

.........................
My grandson Aidan in his new baseball uniform

We sure have had some nice weather. I haven't been out to enjoy it much but nice having the sunshine come in the windows.

I am still a bit not feeling well. If I didn't cough I think I would do just fine. Coughing is worse than a hour workout at a gym. It uses up all my energy.

Enough about my cold..... I did get some cloths put away today. and the table cleaned off. See, I am making progress.

My car still won't start but I haven't wanted to go anyplace anyway. I have the pickup if I do. I can't reach the clutch petal very well so people might think I don't know how to stick shift.

I am posting a few more pictures. Just misc. photos

Thank you for spending time with me this winter. I probably won't be writing anymore for the summer. You can email me mmtrucking@frontiernet.net or face book me or even call on the phone... Better yet, stop in for coffee.

Good night and GOD BLESS....

Wishing I could be outside.

Hoover Dam..

.

...................

The new bridge over the dam is almost finished. Just one section to go. I hope we can go over it next year.

I am watching the Phoenix race on TV. My favorite, Mark Martin, is gaining spots but not up to the top 10. shoot!!

Mel and Tom is in Red Wing setting up Toms camper. He sure has a pretty site. Right along the water. Our motor home had to get repainted as it started to peal. It better get done fast so we can go to the river too.

I am still coughing but doing better. I actually got some work done today. Not much though. So good night and God Bless.

Laguna Mission

We visited this Pueblo Indian village and Mission in Laguna TX. It was so beautiful.
A few of the men sat in front to guard the church. It is a Catholic church. We spoke to a sweet 85 year old lady who said there was so much change after the Catholics took over the mission. A lot of the Indian traditions could no longer be used.

I wish you would click on the picture of the alter to enlarge it. It is so pretty. The canes in the front represent each Chief in the village. The wall hanging on the left is buffalo skin with a painting on it. It used to be put in the creek near by and this was to give good luck for the crops. After years of being in the water the edges started to rot away so they didn't do this anymore and hung it in the Mission.
The floor is just a dirt and straw floor but is very hard and now a cream color.
They requested that I not take any more pictures inside. I wish I could have. So much beauty. I also wish I would have asked more questions of the gentlemen who told us of the buffalo skin.

The 85 year old lady lived next door. She had pottery for sale. She showed us bowls that her grandmother had made. We had a nice visit. I did buy a small bulb, of course hand painted by one of the Indians there.

The picture of the field had a sign saying Sacred Area. It appeared to be a cemetary.

Most of the stone buildings were empty but a sign of the past.

It was so windy that day. Hard to hold the camera still.

I am feeling a bit better. Thanks to all who was checking on me.
Good night and God Bless

Seen the Doctor

Hello,
I found out that I only have a bad cold and very tired. The Dr. gave me meds for my cough and wants me to get lots of rest for the next couple of days. Kind of hard to do in this house. The Dr said not to worry about unpacking. I can get my undies out of the suitcase for a while. Kind of funny. I am just so happy it wasn't a hospital stay like last year.

I can only try to get some sleep without the cough. Sorry no pictures. I will write earlier tomorrow then maybe I can get them on.

Good night and God Bless

A few pictures

I finally got a few pictures on. I will post more tomorrow.

We went threw a little town called Shamrock, TX. This is the home town of our favorite radio announcer, Bill Mack. Also known as the Satellite cowboy on Satellite radio.

I think this is a Yucca plant but it was such a perfect round shape, I had to take a picture.

A dome house. Would have been fun to see the inside. It had a unique lawn spinner too. I want Mel to make me one.

I spotted this old log house. Another I wished to see inside.

This sign explains the trough in the next picture. This was in a little area with signs telling about the water tower. One of the tallest in TX

The yellow flowers were along all sides of the highway. So pretty.

Lake Mead. The lake by the Hoover Dam. I will show more pictures of new bridge over the dam tomorrow.

the last picture is of the bed in our new bedroom. Open for anyone who wants to come over.

I also want to show pictures of the Laguna Mission. An Indian village.

We have been so busy since we got home. Unloading the car. Getting groceries. The truck has been in the cities all winter. Near where our driver lived. When he got sick and couldn't drive anymore the truck just sat all winter. We finally brought it home today. Mel hopes to go back to work on Monday. Plus I haven't felt good so nothing much has been put away. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Good night all, God Bless

Days 90 - 92...We are HOME

Hi everyone.. We got home about 2 this afternoon. Sure was good to see Dexter with no snow on the ground.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with Terri, Bob, and Amanda & Aidan. So much food. They even gave us their king bed. I bet they are sleeping well tonight having there own bed back. Easter service at St Johns was so nice. A special message and the music was awesome. Full orchestra. Plus the big pipe organ and choir.

I am still not feeling the best so again I won't be posting any pictures. If this cold don't get better soon I suppose I will have to check in with the Dr.

Our furnace isn't working so good thing it isn't that cold out. Trey checked it and is ordering a part. Should have it working tomorrow night.

Call or come over. I have to get groceries but otherwise I will be here.
I hope you keep on checking my blog. I will get pictures on hopefully tomorrow.

Good night and God Bless

Day 89...Getting close now.

Hi there, What time is it anyway? My watch says 11:30 and the computer says 9:45. I think my watch is right. But what is wrong with the computer? I don't have sound either. Does this mean another repair?

I still don't feel the best. I hope I don't have sinus infection. I feel like it.

I still have a problem with putting pictures on here so will only send this one of Mel and I at the Meteor place. I don't have any lights and Mel is sleeping so don't want to turn one on. When I get home I will put lots and lots of pictures on and tell a story for each.

We got to our motel about 6 and after checking in we went for supper. The motel gave a 10% discount at the truck stop so we had their fish special. We got their last order so I didn't even get the hush puppies. This is the second time we were the last order. Last night we ate at a fast food place in a service plaza. Not knowing they were closing as they took our order, served it and left. No refills, no condiments... the tables were in the main part of the plaza so we had lights but the restaurant was dark.

I better close and go to bed. Hope I can sleep as I cough a lot and blow my nose constantly. I won't be writing for a couple of days. We will be at Terri and Bob's enjoying Easter with family. I can't wait to see everyone.

May you all have a Blessed Easter. Be happy!! He is risen.

See you in Dexter on Monday.

Day87 & 88...Raining

Hi, sorry I didn't write last night. Just too tired. I got a cold and sure makes me want to sleep. I just wanted to let you know that we are going down the road and doing ok. We are about 50 miles north of OK City. It quit raining for now. I hope we don't catch up to it again. We plan our next motel to be in Lincoln Nebraska so I hope to fill you in. We have seen some neet stuff the last couple of days; See you soon...... God Bless