A Crafty Time Of Year

Happy November! Now that we are settled at home again, we are just doing the normal stuff. Getting groceries, playing Mexican train with the ladies once a week, and having fun creating things again. I have had quite a few upholstery samples in my possession for about 3 years maybe more and thought of making pillows but that didn't thrill me much. Then last year I started to put together different patterns and colors and thought they would make great grocery bags. It was too late in the year to start a project like that so I put it aside. But I got those pieces out again and got serious about putting them together so I started to create. I am a craft sewer and not a seamstress so these are made to last through all the tugging and filling of heavy items. I put together the first one to give it a trial run and it turned out pretty good. I continued on to make 7 more bags. 4 were small and 4 were large. The small was just a little smaller than the large ones but both are big enough to carry a lot of groceries. I am pretty proud of how they turned out and thought they would sell well since everyone is having to supply their own bags here when they shop just like in the States. I created a group named DJ Creations on Facebook where I will advertise what I make and how much it costs. Because I can't open it up to the world as there is no post office here to mail from, I am trying to keep it local. However, if someone from family or friends in Washington see something they want, they can tell me and I will bring it up in the summer. I did sell three of the bags so far.

Here are the front and back of 2 bags.

I had started a couple of craft projects before leaving for the summer, and never got them finished so I pulled them out and said it was time to start getting some of these unfinished items finished. I had half a breast plate from a turtle I found on the beach some time ago and when I looked at it saw a bird. Now I had to look in my bird books to see what kind it resembled and came up with a blue jay. Therefore I painted the bone to look like a Blue jay and when it was finished I put it on a beautiful piece of drift wood also found on the beach. So now the finished product is a wall hanging.

Next I worked on putting shells and beads on 4 plastic mirrors I bought at the Dollar store in Washington with that in mind. They turned out pretty good. I ended up selling 2 of them to my neighbor.

I then finished a fish that is made from shells, sea glass and big lip button for the mouth and a button for the eye.

I found the head and whisker bone on the beach a long time ago and when I looked at the bigger one I saw a cat face.  It took me a long time to actually do something with it, but figured now was the time.  I am not a cat person, but I think it turned out good.  Made from 2 bones, 2 shells, sea glass and marbles.

 Today our grandson David turns 11. All of the grandsons are growing up so fast. It is also our good friend Creela's birthday. She turns 82!! She has a house here in the neighborhood but due to Covid her and her husband are staying home in San Diego. They normally head down this time of year. Hopefully they will be here in the spring. Happy Birthday!!

Next on my creative hit list are moons. Let me explain. When we were in Washington this summer, because our trailer oven doesn't heat evenly, we were searching for a stone designed to do just that. It looks like a pizza stone, but in reality it is a clay stone made for the purpose of high temperatures. We looked in Good Will stores, but didn't find any. Looked online and figured we would just have to buy one online, until we stopped at a Good Will somewhere during our camping time and found a round that resembled a pizza stone but I thought it might work. It was the perfect size so that night I needed to cook something in the oven so I turned the oven on to preheat it and put the stone in. About 10 to 15 minutes there was a big bang and I knew what happened. The stone broke almost in half. I took it out and figured it wasn't the right one for high temperatures and was going to throw it away when I took a closer look at it. The shapes reminded me of two moons with a forehead, nose and mouth area. One was a littlIe larger than the other, but I told Dave I was going to take them home and make moons. My décor at home in Bahia has pictures and ceramic suns and moons which is always displayed down here in Mexico. I found that if you put a heavy sheet of foil on the bottom of the oven it helps distribute the heat better. My next project is to make 2 moons. I drew a face on each half moons and picked out the colors I wanted and started painting. I used a bead that broke in half for the eye on each of them and I liked the way they turned out. What I had to figure out is how to hang them. Since it is ceramic and heavy, I needed something sturdy. I usually use the flip top off an aluminum can and bend it a little and glue it on with Gorilla Glue. But I didn't feel comfortable with that. This was something I wanted to sell and someone would hang it in their house and if it fell and broke I would fell bad. So Dave suggested drilling a small hole at the top of them and using fishing line to hang them. Bingo. Great idea. Dave tried drilling a hole with a regular bit, but unfortunately it wouldn't drive all the way through. Both of us have a dremel with accessories for drilling and such, but we need a diamond bit to make it all the way through. My new neighbor told me she has a dremel and was sure she has a diamond bit so we are going to borrow it and hopefully it will do the trick. Then I can try and sell them. I will have pictures when they are finished.

Next project was a really simple one. I have a small wreath that is made from twigs intertwined. I have some round pieces of scrap wood rounds in various sizes that came from a project Dave did a long time ago. I had one that fit inside the wreath so I painted the round black and then glued it inside the wreath. I had a starfish I found dead on the beach and dried it a long time ago. I decided since it was a perfect size to put on top of the wreath, I would paint it yellow with a little black and gold and make it look like a sunflower. When it was dried and all was sprayed with the finishing gloss spray to protect, I glued the starfish onto the wreath and it is done, ready to hang.

Don't know what project I will start next but I have lots of things I need to get rid of so I will be busy!!

The next project is a small wreath.  All kinds of fun things used to make this.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful. We have had warm temperatures in the 80's a day or two in the low 90's with a nice breeze. I love sitting on my deck in the afternoon when it is like that, drinking a beer and reading a book. Then just looking out on the water and the mountains and watching the birds, dolphins and whale sharks zipping by. It seems as though summer is sticking around for a while. There was a couple nights there was no breeze so our fans ran all night. Every time I think it is going to cool off, we get another warm day.

On a Tuesday, the ladies Mexican Train day at our favorite restaurant, we sat outside and played. There wasn't much of a breeze and it was a hot day. All but a couple ladies were in full shade, and 2 were in part sun. I was in the shade but sitting at one end of the table and felt the heat. I started just dripping with sweat!!! Get this----no one else seemed to be sweating!!! I'm sitting there wiping my face and neck and was miserable. It was also a humid day and that is when my body turns on the faucet!! LOL!! I was never so happy to leave as I was that day.

Thanksgiving is approaching so I am getting everything I need to make dinner. We have invited 2 of our neighbors and a friend who lives not far from us to join us.

Wednesday was my busy prep and cooking day. I made a pumpkin pie and put it in the oven. While that was baking I peeled the apples and sliced them, added them in a bowl and seasoned them. When that pie was all put together, the pumpkin pie was done so I switched out the pies and now the apple is baking. Then I cut up vegetables and jalapenos to add to the bread stuffing in the morning, which has been drying all week. I cooked the vegetables on the stove until soft and let it cool and put them in the fridge for tomorrow. The turkey was thawed and the giblets were boiling in a pan to make broth for gravy. The giblets will go to the the neighbor dogs. Once I rinsed the turkey and dried it I seasoned it and wrapped it in foil and put it in the refrigerator. My refrigerator is really small but I manage to get everything in there. Dave is forewarned about opening the refrigerator door slowly. LOL!! By this time it was mid afternoon and I was done. Tomorrow, Thanksgiving day should be more relaxing for me.

Happy Thanksgiving!! There is so much to be thankful for. Our families, friends, good health, and 2020 ending soon and hopefully the pandemic will too!! It has been a hard year for everyone. This summer our visits with the grandsons were few and far between, but at least we got to see them and also family. I will be happy not to have to wear a mask anymore but am convinced it is a good thing to wear when you have a cold. I will be glad to get back to hugging as most of us now are kind of afraid to do that, trying to keep social distancing active. There have not been the gatherings with others like we have had in the past down here so look forward to getting back to seeing our friends all together and laughing and having a great time with food and drink.

Today was a much more relaxed day for me. All I had to do was to cook the turkey, potatoes, and green beans. When the turkey came out to rest, the stuffing was taken out of the turkey and put in the oven to brown. My guests were bringing sweet potatoes, relish tray, and cranberry cream cheese jello salad. This is the first year since cooking a turkey that it was done way earlier than expected. With it being stuffed we figured about 5 or six hours. But it was put in at 8 and done at noon. We are talking an 18 pound turkey! Amazing. Dave carved the turkey and the bones were saved for soup. I was able to clean up and wash pots and pans, put them away and was ready to entertain. My guests arrived at 3 and we sat down to a tasty meal. We always try to have a small group of friends over to share it with. My table isn't that big so have to keep it small.  Sorry for the bad photography!  Forgot to close the drape.  Dave is on the right, then on his right is our neighbors Cheryl and Lee, then next comes Peggy a new neighbor and my friend Maryann.

Remember I said that summer was not giving up it's grip? Well I do believe that fall has arrived. The days are much cooler and we have had some cold breezes. I know it is getting cooler as my feet are starting to get cold now when we are sitting watching TV at night.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, the wind started early and is blowing pretty good. It is supposed to be like this for about 3 days. It is still sunny, but temperatures are in the low 70's with a brisk wind. In other words we are having to wear more clothes. LOL! It's a day to relax, read a book, play some games or whatever. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

One of our neighbors are heading back to their home in Mammoth, on Monday, so another one of my neighbors suggested we gather on Friday night to have girls night out at her house. So that is what we did. We said and shared stories and likes and dislikes. We had some munchies and champagne, wine, and Tequila. We invited the guys to come join us after about 3 hours or so!! It was a fun time.

Today, Saturday there was a neuter and spade clinic in town. Two of my neighbors are involved with taking care of the dogs and cats after surgery in order to get them to wake up. I went into town to get a handful of grocery items, propane and fill our water jug for drinking. Pretty quick trip! It is really windy today and is supposed to start calming down for a couple days and then it looks like December will start off blustery.

I leave you with pictures of art I made a long time ago and thought I would share.  Rock art.  A whale shark which we have all summer until the end of November and a Mexican Siesta.

This is a sign made from a fan blade.

This is one of my favorites.  It is a shell and sea glass candle holder.  First picture is how it would look with a candle and the second is the top view so you get an idea of how big it is.  Hope you enjoyed my fun made stuff.

 

 

Bootiful Time Of Year

Our grandsons, Brody and Conor are such goofballs. They were playing football in the living room and having fun.

 

Brooke wasn't doing so well the first and second day we were there. She had a negative reaction to the pain meds and caused her to get really sick. She was able to talk to the doctor and get some anti-nausea medicine and now she is much much better. Ernie has been cooking and he is pretty good. He likes to make sauces along with marinating sauces, just like Dave.

Last night Ernie got the Halloween witches out for Conor. Brody is at his dads this weekend so Conor has gotten a little extra attention. At first he was kind of scared but then just excited. He loves to have it on but the cackle goes a long way so it is on for a short time. Ernie is going to have them in the garage with smoke coming out of the cauldron so it will be cool. I can't do a video here, but I did get a picture of them. Pretty cool. Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year.

Had my ear checkup and stitches taken out. Everything is good and it is healing nicely.

Now that that is behind me we are on our way to storage to load the truck with the items we bought and have been storing. Tomorrow we leave to head south. With the bathroom and living area in Ron and Noreen's basement clean, now we can pack up our belongings and load up the truck so we don't have much to do tomorrow morning.

We said goodbye to Noreen this morning, Wednesday the 8th. Ron was still in bed. Now the trek home. Tonight Dave wants to get as far south in Oregon as we can before stopping. Smoke is still lingering in the air especially in Oregon. Fires are still burning in Northern California which is moving north into each northern state.

We got as far as Roseburg, Oregon for our first stop. Tomorrow we will be in California. It is pretty smoky with a thick haze.

Pretty smoky here in California. I feel sorry for all the people who can't enjoy the outdoors because of it and it doesn't look like it is going to get better any time soon. We have seen remnants of where a fire burned, but most of the fires are now toward the coast. Wine prices are going to sky rocket next year because the smoke has ruined the grapes. Bummer. We stopped in Woodland, California for the night. Good to get out of the truck and stretch our legs. So far it has been a good trip. Seems weird not stopping to see family, but I hope and pray we can next year.

Onward we go and this time we made it to Santa Clarita which is north Los Angeles area. We should be home on Sunday. We want to be able to cross the border on Sunday as there is less traffic, so our next stop is El Centro just above the Mexicali border. It is hot and we really didn't want to do running around, but we had to go to Costco to get some food items, so we don't have to mess with trying to find the Costco in Mexicali, and also go to the money exchanger on the U.S. side. First time we have exchanged dollars for pecos in the U.S. Normally we do it in Mexico. We wanted to save some time plus a lot of the money exchangers are closed on Sunday. Unfortunately the first one Dave went to would only give him a certain amount so we ended up having to go to 2 more to get the amount we will need for the months ahead in Bahia. We don't want to mess with trying to find the Costco in Mexicali. We just want to get home. After we got money exchanged; the shopping done and filled the gas tank in the truck, we were done for the day. Finally we can rest. We stayed in the same hotel as we did last year. It is only about a mile or so from the border so we should cross the border around 8-8:30am.

We are in Mexico now and we didn't get stopped and had the green light. Awesone. We do have to find a Similars pharmacy in San felipe as I need my little red anti-inflammatory pills and need to pick some up for my friend. Once in San Felipe we stopped to get gas and asked if they had a Similars pharmacy in town and the answer was yes. So now we have to find it. We drove around but didn't find it right away so headed to the malecon and that is where it was. I got the meds I needed and we were on our way home. Yahoo!! We got home around 4:00pm. We gased up the truck when we got into Bahia, and stopped at the store to pick up some ice and something to munch for dinner. Then homeward bound.

Everything on the outside of the house looked alright but the indication was there were some hefty winds this summer. The big shells I had on the front platform step had blown around and one ended up in the planter I have my aloe vera in, under the steps. But other than that everything else seemed ok. I went upstairs to check it out and open windows to get some air flowing through. I found 2 dead cockroaches on the bedroom floor but found out it was because I left a small gap between the two raps of saran wrap on the toilet bowl. No worries. Other than that it was good. The water pump worked, we turned on the propane and lit the refrigerator and stove to start the cool down process. It is hot but we knew it would be for a while. It doesn't start to cool down until mid to latter part of October. Now comes the fun part----unpacking. We unpacked some of the things from the truck, but mostly just our clothes and necessities for the night and next day. The rest we will take our time getting done.

It feels good to be back and it is a beautiful sunny day. It is going to be a hot one, but I keep cool by having a wet cloth around my neck. I unpacked my suitcase and other things then had to take a gatorade break and sit down. Dave was pulling the rest of the totes and stuff out of the back of the truck and putting them in the garage so I can retrieve the items at my leisure.

After a full day of caring things up stairs from the garage, there still was more to get and put away. No hurries.

Finally all the items are put away and now I can concentrate on organizing my clothes. We had looked for a 5 drawer chest while in Washington, but didn't find one. I have been using a plastic 4 drawer cabinet for some of my clothes and that was going to go into the bathroom closet if we got the chest. But since that plastic one got damage when we had the wall blown in from the wind storm, we bought another one to replace it. Well I decided that the damaged one was still usable so I would have that and the new one placed on top of it so now I will have 6 drawers. Don't need a chest now. So I finally got my underwear and socks out of the bathroom closet and most of my clothes into all the drawers. I took advantage of getting rid of some of the clothes I haven't worn for a long time and probably won't. They can go to someone who can use them. I reorganized the shelves in the bathroom and it looks so much better and we can tell what is in there. So nice!!

Well it is off to town. Dave and I are getting gas in the little black truck and 2 jerry cans. I am picking up some groceries to last about 3 or 4 days. I will do the bulk of my shopping on Friday.

Dave and I are relaxing a bit and trying to stay cool. Our new neighbor went into the bay and asked me to join her and her friend. So I noodled around out there in the bay for a while. Boy did it feel good and refreshing.

It is Friday already and I am heading into town to buy the bulk of my groceries. Have to stock up again. I can't leave hardly any food items on the shelf here in the summer as it gets too hot. I took inventory before leaving Bahia this time so I knew what I had and what I had to buy. Before the pandemic I used to shop on Saturdays, but I don't want to shop when there are a lot of people in town so thought Friday would be good. However, a lot of our American friends were arriving that day so there were a lot of Americans at the stores. It was good seeing everyone but didn't want to linger too long. No virus here and the Mexican people are taking it seriously. I think some of the American people think that since they are here they don't have to wear their masks. I still do and will remain doing it when I shop until the pandemic is over. We now have food enough for meals for a week. I will go into town every Friday.

Went into the bay again by myself and it was marvelous!! So cool and refreshing. Then 2 days after that I was back in with my neighbor bobbing around.

One of my good friends came down to her house down here from Oregon and she wanted to get together to play train. I was leary so I declined. Maybe next week. Most of the Americans will have gone through their quarantine by then.

Dave and our gate guard, Tito, went fishing and caught 12 fish. 11 Yellow Tail and 1 grouper. Tito took the grouper and 4 yellows and we had the rest. We weren't able to clean them right away due to having to rinse down the boat and flush the engine and then put the boat back in the big garage. So they did dry out a little which makes it a little more difficult to filet, but Dave did an excellent job. We had two full zip lock bags of filet fish that went into the refrigerator to keep overnight and then Dave will finish cleaning them up the following day. Whew!!! That was a lot of fish but we are so happy we have some now in the freezer. I so glad they went out today because it is supposed to get windy for the next several days.

We found out that the propane truck came by just before we arrived back home. Bummer. It will be another month before he comes out again----maybe. We can take our large and small empty cylinders into town and get them filled and the price isn't that much different. It is just easier to have them filled at the house by the truck.

There were 11 ladies that showed up for Mexican Train on Tuesday. We sat outside out of the wind. It was a windy day and had been for a couple days so there was a light dusting of sand on the tables, but it is to be expected here in the desert. After train I did some grocery shopping then went home.

Today, the 27^th is my youngest son, Jonathan and his wife, Susannah's 8^th year Anniverary. Yay!

It is starting to cool down now and be chilly at night. That is always good. The blanket is on the bed and had to put the comforter on for one night only. The temperature is pleasant enough to sit outside on the deck and read my book.

We had Dave's fishing his filet glove soaking in water overnight, so yesterday I scrubbed the fingers to get the fish particles off then poured the water out and refilled the bucket and put the glove back in for another overnight soak.

Happy Halloween!! It is Dave's birthday so I made him a waffle and bacon for breakfast, baked brownies and cleaned shrimp for his dinner tonight. The Mexican people are not into Halloween but tomorrow and the next day they will be celebrating the day of the Dead.

You know that glove we've been soaking, well while I was peeling and deveining shrimp, Dave asked me what I did with the glove. I told him it was still in the bucket soaking. Nope it wasn't. A coyote got it out, bad of me not to put it up so coyotes wouldn't get in the bucket, and had taken the glove out. Dave found it in the yard with 2 finger tips missing. LOL!!! It's still usable, but he definitely needs a new one.

Enjoy Halloween and happy trick or treating!!!

 

Preparing To Head South For The Winter Months

Well now that I am 68, my body is telling me I am getting old. Phifft!! In my mind I'm not. My left shoulder has been bothering me a lot lately. Actually it started a few years ago. I had been able to do the plank exercise to strengthen my core, but then my left shoulder started popping and crunching. So I quit. The other day Dave and I were in the store and I reached over to my left shoulder for whatever reason and found a bump. It felt like bone. It hadn't been there before. So now I need to go to the doctor and have it checked out.

I called the doctor and they scheduled me for an x-ray for the 10^th. It is a few days longer than I wanted to get in but I have to take what I can get at this point.

That evening, well actually early in the morning I woke to pain in my left shoulder. It hurt and I have a high tolerance for pain. It was completely numb and took a long time to get the blood flow back. So that morning I called the doctor and asked to be seen sooner than the 10^th. They got me right in and took an x-ray. It is tendinitis and degenerative arthritis. The bump? Arthritis. Doctor gave me arm exercises to do so I do those for both arms. Some I can't do now until I get home as I have the stretch bands there, but what I can do now will help. At least I know what I am dealing with. I just don't want my shoulders freezing up. Now I have more exercises added to my routine. No worries.

I have been collecting pears that have fallen from our friends pear tree. Unfortunately it has a blight which last year resulted in the leaves having black and orange red spots on them. It wasn't treated last year so now the fruit have black spots, cracks and don't get real big. If they don't do something with it this year they will lose it. I've been picking up the good pears and throw the others in the compost bin.

Today I pealed and cored the ripe pears; cut them in slices sprayed lemon juice on them to keep them from browning and freezing them on a cookie sheet. Noreen did that last year and they freeze really well that way. Did the same for the blackberries we picked. They don't stick to each other in the ziplock bag that way. We have more pears to do but have to wait a few more days for them to ripen. They are great tasting sweet pears. We also need to pick more blackberries.

Now that we are house sitting for Ron and Noreen while they are on a boating vacation, we have the trailer in their backyard and I water their plants. It has been hot here, upper 80's to 90's so things are drying out fast. They also have a garden which is almost finished producing.

Dave and I are shopping for the items on our wish lists. We make them every year and sometimes we can get most of the items, and other times not. Depends on money. So far I have been able to get most of the things on my list this year. What doesn't get bought this time, goes on the list for next summer. We start with the most important things, the needs, then if we can we can work on the wants. We do pretty good. A lot of my needs are food items I can't get in Mexico. Like baking flour. Mexicans have flour but it is heavy and doesn't do well for making bread and cookies. So I get bread and all purpose flour, and Tahini for making hummus, and other things we like to have on hand. When those necessary things are bought then I can focus on the things I want for the house. I finally bought 2 soft kitchen mats for the Bahia kitchen. A runner for just inside the patio glass door. Then I get my art supplies and that comes out of the money I make on the mobiles. Dave has his list and tries to find what he needs at a reasonable price.

Ron and Noreen returned from their trip. The gal that invited them to cruise with her and her boyfriend, ended up not being able to leave when they wanted due to a lot of repairs she wasn't aware of that needed to be done before leaving the dock. The repairs were taken care of and they were only delayed a couple days in leaving. Now the boat is running fine so they were able to get underway. The weather was looking really warm and sunny skies so it should be a great trip. Well it didn't quite end up that way. There was a freak wind storm and they were tied up to the dock at a resort named Alderbrook Inn. Dave and I got married there. The storm came up so fast there was no preparing for it and the boat, 52 feet along with the dinghy got slammed into the dock.. The dinghy which was fiberglass not rubber, was taking on water and getting ready to sink. So the guys went into action and took care of it so it would be alright. They were able to secure it behind the big boat. The big boat got a little ruffed up but nothing major. It just scared everyone to death. Finally the wind died down and everyone could take a breath! We've had storms sneak up on us like that so we know how it feels. Then just after that fires were raging in eastern Washington and the wind was blowing it to the west. Plus with the smoke from the fires in Oregon and California it made it worse. So the smoke settled in and air quality became dangerous. So if you think about it, it wasn't pleasant. Even 52 foot boats are limited in space below and you couldn't go outside. One saving grace was they had an enclosed back deck so that helped some. It was awful anyway with the pandemic but having the smoke keep us inside wasn't fun either. So unfortunately their boating vacation wasn't the best. They made it work and they did have a good time.

Brooke and the kids are back to school. Well not in the actual building but learning from home. Brooke has set up an office where Ernie used to have his, and she does her lesson planing and teaching from there. Conor goes to preschool 3 days a week which is really good for him. There are few kids there and the environment is totally safe. Conor needs that interaction with others and schedule so it is good for everyone. Jonathan's boys, Cameron and Jonathan Jr., are learning at their day care facility. They each have their own cubicle to work on computer programs. So at least the kids are learning. Gives them some structure and discipline.

Ernie left to go fishing at Sekiu with Brooke's grandfather and another guy. Sekiu is up north towards Neah Bay and they will be fishing out in the Straits. The air quality is better up there.

I got a call from the office where I am going to have my ear surgery. They got the referral letter and have scheduled me for September 29^th. So I will finally get this done and then we can head south. I will have to go back for a checkup on October 6^th and then that is over.

It has started to rain so everyone is glad about that. It is beginning to clear the air. The fires everywhere are dying down which is a good thing. I am hoping by the time we head south all those fires in Oregon and California will be out.

We had hopes to be able to wash the trailer and treat the top but that didn't happen due to rain and bad air quality. So now we will just wait and see what the weather holds and if we have a couple sunny warm days, then we can get it done and get the cover on it. Otherwise we will just let it dry, cover it and wait until we come back to wash it.

We left Ron and Noreen's backyard and headed for Kitsap Memorial State Park for 3 days. It isn't far away but they have everything we need there. We really didn't want to move the trailer but we don't have anywhere to dump the tanks so the next best thing was to go to a State Park and do it. 

 

We arrived at our camp site around 2:00pm and it didn't take Dave long to park the trailer. He does really well. Then it was time to hook up and get the trailer level and secured. Unfortunately the weather forecast is calling for rain for the next few days. Oh well. It is pretty dry so they need it. It was cloudy when we arrived but warm.

 

We are so thankful for the clean air. We take so many things for granted and when we don't have those things it makes you stop and think just how good we have it.

When we were finished getting the trailer set up, we registered and walked to the beach. It is beautiful here on the Hood Canal and even though it is a cloudy day, the sun is trying to peek through the clouds. Very peaceful! 

 

It is September 21^st and we are staying 3 days here at the park and leaving on the 24^th. When we leave here we are taking the trailer to the dealers to have them winterize it for us. Dave did that last year and had a difficult time and it isn't expensive so why not. Saves in aggravation and frustration. Then when that gets done we head back to our friends backyard. There we will give it to them to winterize it and then the trailer will go back to the backyard. Then that is when we start packing the rest of our things to take back to Bahia.

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny warm day!!! Hardly any breeze so I took advance of the nice weather and took the rugs outside to clean and then swept and mopped the floor. I wanted to get the dirt out that had been tracked in earlier so I could walk around barefoot. Once that chore was done I sanitized the shower.

Our grey water tank has a foul smell and the tank indicator isn't reading accurately. Dave finally called the parts department at the trailer dealership and asked what we could do to get the sensor working again. He recommended pouring very hot water down the drains filling the tank. There is also a solution that can be bought to pour down the drain filling the tank full of water and letting it sit for 24 hours then drain it the next day. Before we do that we figured we might try and put a box of baking soda down the drain and pour hot water after it. I used baking soda on the boat for cleaning all the time and it worked great and is good to alleviate odors so we thought we would give it a try. We did that and then drained the tank but the sensor didn't change. It is still reading 3 dots when it should only be reading one. So now we will try the solution the maintenance guy recommended which means Dave needs to go buy it.

I was going to sit outside and read my book and when Dave left to go to the trailer dealership to get the solution, I found out he had the chairs in the back of the truck. Oh well. It isn't comfortable for me to sit on the hard picnic table bench so I went inside to read with windows and the screen door open to enjoy the fresh air. When Dave got back we poured half the solution down the drain and filled the tank almost full with water. We are going to let it sit overnight. Time will tell.

Well I am glad we had such a beautiful day yesterday because today is awful. It was raining when we got up and hasn't stopped yet. We are getting downpours and it is windy. I am glad we aren't in a tent!!

Since it is a rainy day it is perfect dusting and cleaning the bathroom; counters and stove. So now I am done with cleaning.

Dave went to our storage unit to get my hiking boots, rain jacket and 3 crates. It is supposed to rain tomorrow too so I need to stay as dry as possible and the crates are for packing food items to take back to Bahia with us. When he returned with the crates I packed up food items and other things to make less work for tomorrow when we get back to our friends backyard and start unloading the trailer.

The trailer is ready to be transported to the dealership. God was blessing us with hardly any rain. I expected us to get drenched but glad it didn't happen. The winterizing took about an hour and then we were back in our friends backyard and this time it will stay for the winter. We are so thankful they are allowing us to keep it there over the winter. We do pay some rent for electricity but it is worth it and we know they will check on it during the winter to make sure it stays dry and warm inside.

We took the filled crates and put them in the truck and will take them to storage when we get a chance. We have already packed a lot of things up that were bought and sitting in the storage unit so we don't have much more to do. We got a lot done this afternoon and not much more to go. Now we just wait until the weather clears, hopefully, so we can wash the trailer. Just last minute things to get out of the trailer and then it will be closed up for the winter. Dave ordered tire covers for the trailer so those are on and secured.

Today Dave took the truck down to the Chevy dealers and had the normal maintenance done to it. Oil change, tires rotated, wiper blades replaced, etc. We have about 5 more of those left on our maintenance plan. Dave wasn't sure how long it would take for them to get the truck in as they were booked up but told him to come first thing when they open and they would try to fit him in. He was first in line so he didn't have to wait all day thank goodness. So now we have piece of mind that the truck is taken care of for our long journey home. After he got home, I left for the laundromat. I had the bedding and bedspread to wash and a few other items. So now that is done and closer to the finish. It poured this afternoon and now the sun is out and it isn't raining anymore. Supposed to be nice after this so we are looking forward to it.

Tomorrow Jon and the boys are going to go to the driving range so the boys can hit a few golf balls. We will meet them there. The boys are excited to have us watch them. That will be the last time we see the boys until next summer.

We met Jonathan and the boys at the golf coarse driving range in Bremerton. Jonathan Jr. has one heck of a swing and posture. Cameron did pretty well but lost interest early. We were there for an hour and not long after we got there the wind picked up and it was getting chilly. We had a good time and it was great seeing them again.

We finally got the trailer and awning washed and the roof treated. We finally got sunny weather. We have gotten everything we needed too out of the trailer and now we can cover it. 

We had to get a new cover because last year the one we had was too small. So the trailer has a heater and 2 dehumidifiers inside going so it will stay warm and dry this winter. So the cover is on and we are done until June of 2021. 

Today I had my ear surgery. Great doctor and staff! They had to take 3 grafs before they could tell me they got all the cancer. So now I am stitched up and have a bandage on my ear. I get the stitches out and no more bandage on the October 6^th. The day after my ear surgery we left Ron and Noreen's and went to Ernie and Brookes. We will be there until the October 5^th. It will be fun to have some time with the grandboys before we leave.

My ear doesn't hurt which surprised me but it does get a sharp twinge of pain but goes away quickly. After 48 hours with the bandage on, I was able to remove that bandage and take a look at my ear. It has a dip along the edge but it looks pretty good. I put Vaseline on it and then Dave put a clean bandage on. When I get the stitches out on the 6^th of October I won't need it covered anymore.

 

The Last Camp Hosting Job for 2020

We left Potlatch State Park this morning and arrived at Illahee State Park around 11:30am. It is only an hour and a half trip so we didn't have to go far. We saw Cindy, the Senior Park Aid and she welcomed us and then we went to our camp site. It is a better site then Potlatch with more sunshine and light filtering through the trees. Our first attempt to get into our site was unsuccessful. Dave thought it would be better to go the wrong way up the hill a little then back into the slip. Well that didn't work. We had cars waiting to come down the hill and leave and we were blocking the way. Well now they know we are here!!! Ha! Dave tried several times but we had rocks and trees to tend with. A gentleman was walking through the park and stopped to help. He was able to talk to Dave right outside the truck window so I didn't have to holler. Made it much better. We finally got backed up to where Dave could drive around the loop and then back in the correct way. It was much easier, however, Dave said he almost didn't get around one of the corners on the loop due to the big trees next to the road. Large trailers aren't meant to come in here. But we have landed. We met Cindy down by the office and took a tour of it and the shop. She gave us a white binder filled with information we had to read. Then later on we met with the head mechanic, Alisha. Young and such a great personality. She took us through the shop and handed out ear and eye protection and gloves. She showed us how to operate the gator, which we knew but that is her job to make sure everyone knows how to run things safely. She gave us a black binder filled with stuff to read and forms to sign from her and Cindy. We didn't have to do any of that at Potlatch. My head was swimming and I was overwhelmed. We start work tomorrow and we had all this reading to do. We were told we could take our time. So I relaxed and I got everything set up. Really like the camp site. Nice and quiet too as at Potlatch it is right off the busy 101 hwy. We met one of the park aids, Rick but he didn't seem to thrilled. There was another park aid that didn't like talking so we only see him passing by at night to check bathrooms and collect garbage.

The main ranger, John was off on vacation so Cindy had Ranger and her duties to do which was a lot.

There weren't too many people camping so we didn't have a lot to do at first. But on the weekends the park was full and come Sunday we have the majority of the camp sites to clean. There are only 24 camp sites here as opposed to 93 at Potlatch. It seems like a vacation.

 I walk the park and pick up trash, but since there hasn't been a lot of people here there hasn't been a lot of it. The park only opened at the 1^st of August so not a lot of people know it is open yet. The park was shut down for 3 years due to a drainage problem and then Covid-19. When the park was open before that there were a lot of homeless people that took over the park in the winter and caused a lot of damage. So now the park is limited to how long the homeless can stay and they took a lot of those campsites in the hill away and it now is the new drain field. The rangers and aids worked hard to get the park cleaned up and ready to open. Unfortunately the state didn't give them a lot of time to do it. But the park looks great and it is clean.

Dave and I go around and clean the empty campsites. We take the leftover burned wood out of the fire pits and the ash and make it look nice. I pick up the garbage if any, and then rake the site so it looks like it wasn't used. I also have walked around blowing leaves off the driveway of the campsites and road into the them. Dave and I sell firewood here too.

There are some days there isn't much to do but then other days there is enough to keep us busy. Dave has mowed the lawn at our campsite and I have pulled weeds. Just all the things to make it look clean and presentable. There are only 2 full hook up sites out of the 25. Ours is one and the one next to us. The rest is for tenting and dry camping. The campsites are pretty large and some have room for 2 good size tents. 

We get visited by deer once in a while.

 

 There is a water front which has a dock and picnic areas so Dave and I go down there in the mornings to pick up any garbage and check out how the people were doing crabbing off the dock.

There were a couple days I didn't have any energy at all. I overworked my back, but I just think I got burned out at Potlatch, and now I just want to slow down and relax. But I am making sure I do some things I want to on our days off instead of just laundry and grocery shopping. It is relaxed here and I think I miss the Potlatch group as we interacted with them everyday and had fun. Well things are always different every where you go.

We heard from Fort Flagler State Park and we will not be hosting there this year. We don't know right now what we will be doing but I am sure something will show up.

Doctor visits are scheduled for me this month. I had my hearing tested and yep----I'm losing my hearing. It is getting worse so one of these years soon I will need hearing aids. Oh well. It will be better than not being able to hear conversations in a crowed room or low voices on the TV.

Got my eyes checked and I need to get a new prescription. I just need to get new lenses as I am using the existing frames. I don't need to wear the glasses all the time but if the light is dim and the print small, I need them. I am supposed to wear them when I drive which I don't, but I do wear them when Dave and I are on the road traveling as it helps him read signs and read the map. So it is what it is.

Went in and had my blood work done for cholesterol. It is high. I ran out of fish oil in Bahia so I thought I would see if it made a difference. Fish oil is expensive so I thought I might be able to save us some money. Test results came back high. Last year it was 246, this year it is 258. Not good and the LDL is getting higher as well. I am on a statin so it is helping. The doctor wanted to talk to me about it so I was concerned I would have my dose increased or put on a new statin. I changed doctors online last year so haven't met the new one yet, but talking to him over the phone, he seems to be up on research and all. He said to continue to do what I am doing and I should be alright. He did research on the percentage of total cholesterol I have now, which was 6.5% which is high. But if I keep taking the statin and watching what I eat it would go down to 10% in 10 years. So it will prevent me from having a stroke or heart attack. So I was thrilled. He wasn't sure about the fish oil but he said the purist fish oil has a better chance in helping lower cholesterol. So I will be going back on the fish oil.

Dave went to help a friend with her anchor on her boat. It doesn't move up or down. It is frozen. Well she is going to have to order another windless as that one is shot. Ouch!!! That's about $3,000.

We had a visit from Jonathan, my youngest and his two boys today. It was a great day to be outside. We had a nice visit. It was good to see them.

The weather has been wonderful and only one day it was it 98 degrees. That is hot for the great NW. We finally turned on our air conditioner in the trailer late afternoon to cool it down inside. One thing about the weather here is it doesn't stay hot long. It cooled down to more comfortable temperatures like lower 80's upper 70's. 

We were able to get to know the Senior Park Aid, Cindy, and the two park aids, Rich and John.  Nice people they have on staff and hard workers.  It was a pleasure working with them. 

We only have 2 more weeks here and then we have to leave. We haven't heard from any rangers needing hosts so I think we will be done for the year. I think we will be heading back to our friends backyard for September. In a way I have mixed feelings about not hosting but I think it is a good thing to not be. We have to get the trailer all cleaned up and toward the end of September get it winterized. We decided it was cheaper to get it winterized by the dealer than to do it ourselves. All we need to do is get a new cover for the trailer as the one we had was too small. We measured it and all and it said on the box it would fit, but guess what-----it didn't. We ended up giving that one to Ernie as it will fit his trailer.

We had some thunder and lightning the other night. We thought it was going to pour but it didn't. The next morning it was sunny and beautiful.

Last night we had a few sprinkles of rain it is supposed to rain tonight. It really needs it here as everything is dry but it is only lasting for about 2 days and then the weather clears up.

Had a visit with my dermatologist and she looked at my face and ears. Last year I put the cancer therapy cream on my face for 2 weeks, but at the end of that time we were heading back to Mexico. I told her that before she gave me the treatment. So now she is looking at my skin. She says it is so much better but I still have a spot she is wanting to take a sample of and have it looked at. Also on my ear she took a sample. In a couple days I got a call with the results. The forehead was non cancerous, but the ear had Basil Carcenoma which is a skin cancer that shows up a lot on people who have been in the sun a lot. It is slow growing which is good and it shouldn't spread. However, I need to see a Mohl doctor who does special surgery removing tissue. They remove tissue and test it and if they got all of the cancer then I am good to go. If not they have to take another sample and do it again until there is no more traces of the cancer. Who knows---I might end up with a funny looking ear. Ha!! As long as they get it all I really don't care. Gives me things to make up if anyone asks about it. Heheheh!

 

Potlatch State Park

Happy July, maybe? At least for us it is because we have a camp host job at Potlatch State Park for the month. We hosted here last September (2019) and remember it being very rainy and cold. At least so far the weather hasn't been too bad. We have had quite a few clear days with mild temperatures.

When we arrived, we were met by our park assistant, Christie and fill in ranger, Sandra. She is filling in on Ranger Steve's days off. We already knew what site we were going into so after checking in we proceeded to our site. It looked pretty wide and level, but that was just a facade. It took several times to get us to where we were as close to being level as possible and our living room slider made it out all the way with about 3 inches to spare before hitting a tree. We got leveled and set up and then we could relax a little as we would start our duties tomorrow. Christie was glad to have us back. So right now Dave and I are in charge of emptying the fire pits in the campsites when people have left, pick up garbage in the day use area as well as the whole park. We also sell firewood.

We were up at 7:30am and Dave was already out helping Christie put up reserve signs at the camp sites. It was a very busy day as the tide is at a minus low for about 3 days so people are coming in to park to get oysters and clams. The Day Use Area fills up first and the little parking lot at the State Park is small so someone has to be there to collect $10 for day parking if they don't have a Discovery Pass hanging from their rear view mirror or on their dash. There are two entrances to the State Park. One has a gate and the other one doesn't. So those of us who were here to work, were assigned spots to direct traffic and collect the fee if necessary. I was directing at the opening of the State park that had no gate. So as each person came in I asked if they had a discover pass and if not, I told them it was ten dollars to park for the day and gave them an envelope to fill out and put the money in. Then I told them to return the envelope with the money to me and put the loose top part on their dash for all to see. I collected a lot of money that day. Once the parking lot was full I had to turn people away until a spot opened up. I tried to just wave them on before they turned into the parking lot, but there was another entrance north of where I was that cars could come in so I was running all over the place. It was fun and I definitely got more than 10,000 steps in. I finally got help in blocking off that north entrance so things settled down a bunch. The sad thing is that if both the day use parking and us are full there isn't anywhere else to park. No parking on the street or you would get a ticket and no place near enough to park and walk to the beach. I felt bad for them but most people were pretty good about it. Some were very frustrated but took it in stride. For the most part it was fun to interact with different people. Most of the people that came in to get shellfish were Oriental. Some spoke very good English, others I had a hard time understanding but we made out alright. By the time 3:00pm came around I was done, both mentally and physically. My back was hurting pretty good but it was a fun day. More fun to come again tomorrow. Both of us need to work 26 hours a week so we have to keep tabs on our hours. Most of the time, even if the sign says Camp Host Off Duty, people still come over for campfire wood and ask questions. We are usually outside sitting enjoying nature. Usually at 5:00pm is when I put us off duty.

It took a little longer for people to start lining up to get into the Day Use Area and then come over to the park, but once it started they were flocking in. I did more directing of traffic and the ranger allowed people to park on the grass to help. So I stuffed them in as safely as I could. As people came by asking to park, and there wasn't any, I mentioned that people would be coming back from the beach soon so just keep coming back. It worked out great. Boy were Dave and I tired puppies come quitting time. That was the only time I wanted people to heed the off duty sign and leave us alone. But no—they needed firewood. We were getting really low in firewood and the ranger had ordered more but it hadn't come in yet. Once we ran out and there wasn't firewood even at the store in Hoodsport, they started (only a couple people) cutting up the wood in the park. A big no no!! Tomorrow is the 4^th so we will see how that goes. There are no fireworks allowed in the park at all. People were really good about keeping to that.

On the 4^th, the park was full of campers and the tides were still low but later in the morning, so we didn't have to get right on being traffic police. None-the-less it was busy. When I was relieved of parking, I walked to the Day Use Area and picked up trash. People were having picnics and there was music and a lot of people on the beach enjoying and getting oysters and clams. It was a festive occasion. Most everyone wore masked. My back was really pinching me now but I had a job to do so I finished it and then called it quits for the day. There were a lot of fireworks going off all around the outside of the park but no one in the park lit off any. Most campers walked to the Day Use Area and watched the fireworks that were happening across the Hood Canal. I was too tired so I didn't go. Dave only went down a little ways to see what he could see and came back and told me. I went to bed after that.

Much better today for the parking situation. The tide is not as low now, so we don't have people flocking to get to the beach. I spent the morning picking up trash and was so frustrated at the lightweight plastic bag they give you to put the trash in. It was windy and no matter which direction I turned to get the wind to open my bag just a little, it would close. So I was constantly opening the bag and even had to pick up by hand some items as the bag wouldn't co-operate. I wore gloves. Dave had the same problem. He was picking up trash from the empty campsites. We are given pinchers to pick up the trash which is easier on the back. I was glad to come back to camp and call it quits. I was really hurting.

We have Wednesday and Thursdays off. Wednesday seems to be laundry mat and grocery shopping day. Thursday is more relaxing. I try to make a coffee cake for everyone on Thursday, that way Friday when everyone is on duty they get a treat. I made a mistake though with the first one because I put nuts in the cake. I use pecans, but Christie, the Park assistant is allergic to walnuts so she didn't eat any at first until she found out they were pecans. Unfortunately the other worker guy was allergic to all nuts so my bad. I have never run into this situation before but I will always, from now on check to see if anyone has allergies to certain things.

Dave and I had one day of cleaning 53 camp site fire pits. Whew!! That was a busy day and we had 2 people off duty. Dave would scoop up the fire pit and I would pick up the garbage. Some times I scooped just to give him a break. There are 68 camp sites so that tells you what a day we had. The upper camp sights are for hiker/bikers, tenters and those who don't mind camping without hookups for their trailers. The Day Use area braziers also need to be cleaned and it takes me about 2 hours to walk the whole park picking up trash. I hate picking up cigarette butts!!! That is one of my pet peeve!! People throw them in the fire pits and wherever they are standing. Parking lot, grass area, etc.. But that is part of my job and it needs to be done. I can't understand why people don't pick up after themselves but I guess they feel it is someones job to do that. Oh well.

Christie, the Park Assistant cleans the bathrooms and she made a comment about being the bathroom queen. So when we went shopping, I got a toilet brush and some ribbons and a bow and dressed up the brush. When she stopped at the bathroom just across from our camp site, I presented her with her magic bathroom want. She was officially Queen of the bathrooms now. She loved it.

The next day she came to our camp site and gave me my own garbage collector bucket that said “Don't Be Trashy” on the outside. So now I can carry that bucket for all to see and maybe they will get the message. Ha! Ha!

The weather is getting nice now. It was 80 for a couple days and it was glorious. We are heavily shaded which is nice when it is hot.

We have had a lull lately in people coming in to camp, but it is starting to pick up again. This coming weekend, the 17-19 are low tides again so we are back on traffic duty. Friday the 17^th will start at 9:00am and then each day be a little later. We have 2 more weeks left to host and it has been fun but a lot of work. I am glad we are given 2 days off because you really need them.

Did laundry and shopping yesterday and while at the laundry mat I heard one of the workers there say that 3 cases of Covid-19 were checked in next door at the clinic. The virus is picking up again as people are going to restaurants and shopping and gathering. It is a scary time. Dave and I always wear our masks and it is mandatory no matter where you go. They will turn people away if they aren't covered. Good!!!

We have been working a lot especially on the weekends. Friday we get a lot of campers coming in that have reserved sites and others that are looking for sites. The tides are still minus so we are getting a lot of the oriental population camping and also picnicking at the Day Use park to take advantage of the clams and oysters. Friday and Saturday is a busy day and then on Sunday we get a little break. But Monday is the big clean up for the Day Use park to the camp sites. At the end of the day Dave and I are pooped. We are looking forward to going to a smaller State Park in August. Not so many camp sites. It will be interesting to see what they will have us do.

On our day off Thursday, we went up to Lake Cushman and Lake Kokanee. We have friends that are selling their piece of property near Lake Kokanee and wanted to know if we were interested. We said we would take a look and see. Well we did. It has 2 small cabins, a shed, an outhouse and an shower house. The lot is small. A lot of the trees are in question as they are spindly and need to be taken down plus there is a car on the lot that has been sitting there for years. We decided the lot wasn't big enough to build on and what is there needs lots of work. So not interested. We drove around and stopped at the Lake Cushman dam and drove around that area.

I had never been there before so it was nice. We came back to camp and I sent our friends an email saying that the property is not what we are looking for but it was nice they thought of us.

Our time here at Potlatch State Park is almost over. We have worked hard but enjoyed the people we work for and the campers (most of them) and we signed up to work next year in July here again.

Since Covid-19 has happened, health appointments are few and far between. I did get a telephone conference with my dermatologist on the 28^th. I sent pictures of my face since the treatment and also a picture of my right ear as it is sore from time to time and has white spots on it. She said it was hard to tell by the pictures so she is having me come in for a face to face visit in August. At least I get that done before going back to Mexico.

The weather here has been beautiful and warm. Only a couple days of 90 and the rest in the 80's. Loving it. I wish the Northwest was like this year round. We would come back here to live. But I need the sunshine and the warmth. We sure do enjoy our time here in the summer.

One more day here and then we move on to Illahee. I'm excited about that. We have enjoyed our stay here and looking forward to next year.

We went into Hoodsport to go through the shops today our last day off here in Potlatch. Dave and I stopped at the Distillery shop and sampled some liquor. We bought a couple bottles of our favorites. Then we bought some good cigars as the last ones were dry and not very good. We will have one tonight while sitting at the campfire.

When we came back to camp I made a blueberry loaf bread for the staff tomorrow morning. I got a chance to read and work on the afghan I am finishing up for Brody. The fill in ranger, Sandra, bought one of my mobiles today. Yay!! I have 3 left. The regular Ranger, Steve, wants to buy one too before we leave. That is so awesome!

Tomorrow we will do our regular jobs and then in the afternoon we will be packing things up to leave on Saturday morning for Illahee State Park.

Christie, the park assistant made a rhubarb apple pie for our going away this afternoon. The park aids were there as well. Brandon and Ben. Ranger Steve had a lot of work he had to do but we will see him later. He gave us our evaluation sheet and we filled out a questionnaire. Then we had to record our hours for duties accomplished. We give all that to Ranger Steve tonight. We did have fun and this bunch of people were fun to work with. Looking forward to next year.