2025 Begins

 January 1 - 15, 2025

Tombstone, Arizona

While they are relatively close to the devastation, our family remains safe from the Los Angeles fires, and so far out of the path of the current winds. They remain vigilant. 

January 1, any year.

A number on a calendar with such weighty expectations. 

We actually wait for the number to arrive to begin lofty changes in our lives, create health goals, adjust attitudes, commit to more, less, bigger, smaller, always better versions of ourselves. Often the planning to do so lasts longer than the application of said changes.

The ideal us.

It seems the older we get, the less we set ourselves up to fail at these well-intentioned ideals. Whether experience or apathy, the changing of the year doesn't seem to have the same power it once did. 

The real us.

Living in the Now. Being grateful. Recognizing joy. Throwing pixie dust. These are more likely to be on our "lists" this year. 

Cheers for success with all of them for all of us!

January is usually our coldest month with signs of Spring often showing up sometime in February. This year started out looking like we'd just skip Winter. Enough of us whined about it that Mother Nature eventually granted our wishes and brought the freezing temps and strong winds and even some snow. I, for one, appreciate her efforts and am hopeful there's more of the same to come. The 2025 Farmers' Almanac says we're supposed to have a wet winter-season. So far Mother and Farmer are not communicating as we are dry, dry, dry here. We're only two weeks in so there's time for predictions to become reality. Fingers crossed!

24 hours later the white fluff still finds some white stuff to explore.

Rebecca's home includes a short ski run early in the day. When I drop her off a few hours later it's all gone.

Speckled Italian Cypress against slate skies.

It doesn't take much to change the feel of our arid desert, short-lived as it is.

Only five years-old, our couch needs replacing. Need might be a stretch, but I need a change in seating options for our living room. And weirdly, I love shopping for furniture! A trip to Tucson finds me what I'm looking for only to find out after the great hunt that they no longer deliver to Tombstone :-(( 

Grilled lobster and asparagus salad at Wildflower helps this seem less of a wasted trip!

I'm surprised to find Ashley's also has a location in Green Valley. A small town between Tucson and Tubac, I've never been and had incorrectly assumed it was a small community with little commercial options. A phone call confirms they will deliver to Tombstone so a few days later Rebecca joins me for more fun shopping.

Even better, they have the same pieces I wanted at their other store (not always the case) so it's a quick stop to give them my money. Less than two weeks to deliver - yay!

With no great eateries in our "town" of Sierra Vista, it's a treat to find a delicious Mediterranean option in Green Valley. We enjoy excellent food and service at Brindis Bistro's tiny indoor space, attached to a large (but too cold this day) dining patio. 

On the rare occasions I see the sun rise, they are never this amazing!! What an awesome way to start the day.

The skies put on a show in every direction.

After this auspicious beginning, the day is surprisingly "regular".

Several years of owning and living in an RV, we're familiar with how everything works. Changing RVs means we're no longer familiar with how everything works! I have a short list of items that aren't working, or just as likely that I don't know how to work, so I'm off to Camping World in Tucson with a morning appointment.

For years I bragged about the service at the Tucson Camping World, but post-COVID that service declined significantly. As a result we took the coach to a local shop with mostly good experience.

Since we bought PJ at said CW, I make the service appointment there with fingers crossed. I'm happy to say they've restore my positive opinion!

Tim fixes two of the items in the parking lot before doing a work order (and before an invoice is created). Then when the technician is delayed on another job he fixes the step that won't stay out when the switch is on. Turns out it's a fuse for the switch located in an obsure (of course) place that he quickly replaces. No charge, have a nice day, let me know if you need anything.......lovely!

While waiting I also get an estimate for installing the levelers I want, as well as one for replacing the dinnette with recliners. Khalil is also amazing, making several phone calls to find what we need (levelers), as well as pointing out where I could save some money on the parts. Lovely again!!

In addition to the good service experience, taking PJ into town, and making stops for fuel and baked treats, on my own is easy and pleasant. I continue to be very happy we did the down-size. 

PJ in her new home base. Like in our driveway, I'm able to get her completely level. We'll still add the levelers for other locations, but for now it's another positive :-))

Elliott ready for the Target catalog.

Big-girl Reese shows off her adorable freckles.

Sweet Ezra cuddles with Frog the cat.

Lucky M & M visit the Rose Parade floats with Mom and Dad (the photographer).

HOHOHOliday Fun With Family

December 15 - 31, 2024

Tombstone, Arizona

Preparation for the holidays is only matched by the anticipation of our family's arrival. It's exciting and exhausting, and takes forever and happens in a flash. Ten days seems like a long visit until it's already behind me. 

Before their arrival on the 18th, we're delighted to have a visit with RV pals Lee and Tracy who are in the area after a couple years in our old stomping grounds of SoCal. It was a quick catch-up over a stop at the house and lunch in Tombstone, and we're looking forward to more opportunities in the new year. As well as I feel I know them, we've only actually met Tracy once, and this was the first time for Lee! Social media truly makes friends out of strangers :-))

Lunch and laughs at the Longhorn.

It's fun getting PJ ( the new RV) set up for her first guests. The beds seem hard to me so I'm happy a few days later when the family says they're just fine for good sleeping. There's a lot more inside storage than I first thought, although there are only 6 outlets in the whole unit which will take some figuring out. 

In addition to the auto-step failing to stay in the out position the furnace won't light. We always had a small electric heater in the bigger rig, and especially with our warmer temps it makes for cozy sleeping in PJ. I have an appointment to have both fixed in a couple weeks.

Eventually we'll get automatic leveling jacks added, but she sits perfectly level in the driveway so for home visits there's no rush :-)

It's a long drive straight through from the mountains above Los Angeles so I'm always relieved when the family arrive safely no matter the time.

As soon as they're in the house their little tree gets fully decorated. 

We spend lots of time outside in the beautiful weather with the littles riding their trikes and the three of us going to the playground. All seven of us see Sonic 3 at the theater, and after Christmas I take the boys to see Moana 2. I'm a movies-on-the-big screen fan and it's always a treat to share them with enthusiastic grand kids :-) For the first time in awhile there are multiple previews for films I'm looking forward to seeing!

Shirt-sleeves in December.

Hamming it up in the lobby.

Getting your hair dried on a wall - great fun!

Brian (Ezra and Elliott's dad, my oldest, our number one) has to work until Christmas Eve so I'm glad we have fast WiFi and space for him to set up his computer and phone. The rest of us play and eat, and repeat.

Silly cuddles are the best.

Started during their summer visit, Elliott adds to the custom table cover decorations. 

Whenever you're in the kitchen you feel like you're being watched!

The girls get some cuddle time of their own.

Before we know it Santa's on his way. Instead of cookies, this year the boys and I make edible Christmas trees for the big guy to enjoy with his milk. Ezra writes him a long note to which Santa responds with one of his own - he's been to their house and left some surprises! Lots of fun (and reduces the load in the car with four people and a large dog).

They did such a great job!

Christmas sunrise turns the whole world pink.

We start with what Santa left in their stockings.

I'm so happy Ezra is becoming a Harry Potter fan - they both got marauders' maps with wands.

The joy of Legos.

Nawma (me) failed on the shirt size, but Elliott still loves it and wears it all day :-)

For both inside and outside fun, red is his favoritist color.

Uncle Jeff happy with his gifts.

We're so happy to have this little family with us for the holiday.

The absolute best :-)))))

Ezra points out his position in the Christmas concert video from his school. Not that we could have missed his enthusiastic participation!

Honeybaked ham with augratin potatoes, Bill's sausage dressing, candied yams, buttered peas, deviled eggs and Hawaiian rolls make a delicious Christmas dinner which I can't believe I once again fail to get a photo of. Along with several pies we eat it for days :-)

With the rental car loaded up (so full!) they head out Saturday morning. After all the joyful chaos it's a sadly quiet weekend of un-Christmasing the house. 

Ready for a new year.

Our last sunset of 2024.

It's always a delight to see Reese and Penelope enjoying their gifts. And with Daddy joining in :-)

Penelope sets up her afternoon tea.

M & M hang with Santa.

Oliver on a holiday hike. His parents are probably there too :-)

 2025 is here. Not sure we're ready, but here we go!

Brights and Lights - Holidays in the Desert

November 29 - December 14, 2024

Tombstone, Arizona

Tis the season in Tombstone.

Apparently I've been channeling my inner-athlete and thus eating like I'm in training! The best part of holiday eats is always the left-overs and we had lots to enjoy from our Thanksgiving feast. I'll need to eat bird seed until Christmas!!

Speaking of Christmas - we're fa-la-la-la-laing from floor to ceiling. Tree and mantle done right after Thanksgiving, and now the presents are under the tree and the final touches have been completed. My favorite time of year, l love making a holiday home.

Family memories - Jeff's first Christmas 35 years ago.

This vintage book, A Bird's Christmas Carol, still holds the note from my mom.

The new Christmoose came home from The Gathering shopping day this year.

A little festivity in the bathrooms too.

With mornings in the low 40's our 76-80 degree days are a surprise. While it's the reason so many love winters here, I'm anxious for colder days that feel like the season. Of course when the grandsons are here I'll want it to be warmer so they can play outside! We need a few good rains as well with everything getting very dry. And let's order up some pretty snow while we're weather-wishing!

The 49ers weren't excited at the 20 degree snowy conditions for their game in Buffalo! We had all the windows open at 8 PM here :-)

Frustration with Camping World (with whom we've historically had great service) as we waited to have the mattress delivered. With the family coming for ten days I make several calls to "encourage" the service department to get it to us quickly. When it arrives I take a deep breath and finish setting up the RV for her first visitors - and make another call to thank them :-)

Leading up to our fulltime travel launch I had numerous yard sales in the process of purging our very many belongings. Of course I then pledged to never "gather more than the basics" which I was easily able to do living in the RV. After five years with a house I've managed to repeat the gathering trend. I'm sure this surprises no one!  

Even though I regularly take things to the local church's thrift store I've now collected enough for a yard sale. Cleaning out the larger rig contributed quite a bit - we have almost zero underneath storage on the smaller one. Plus no longer being fulltime makes a big difference on what we need in the RV.

Eye-catching signs to get people to the yard.

PJ hosted and I got rid of most everything. Fun to chat with the neighbors.

Tubac, AZ, is a must-do for Rebecca and I every season. Another perfect-weather day, we did lots of shopping but unbelievably no buying this year! A holiday meal at the beautiful Elvira's is not to be missed, and it was another memorable experience. 

The variety of art pieces is so fun.

Lots of colorful yard art available, and then this little live tree steps up with these gorgeous hues.

The sun is bright enough to appreciate sun sails over a courtyard.

Outdoor blends with indoor offerings.

Having a house gives me more wall space, but not enough for all the pieces I'd love to have!

Indeed.

A feast for the eyes throughout all of Elvira's.

Bright baubles create a fairyland.

A local Christmas tradition that I can never remember the name of, I again enjoy this special stuffed poblano chili (meat, fruit, nuts) with crema and pomegranate seeds. 

I usually find a reason to avoid crowded local events, but this year friends (Rebecca and the craft group) want to attend the Tombstone Christmas Light Parade. Nine of us plan, and three actually make it - and I'm so glad I'm one of them! I join Vicki and hubby Ron for pre-parade drinks and dinner. Then we set up our chairs and blankets on the nearly empty street and wait for the crowd to come to us. Definitely the best way to do it! Tessa adopts two little girls next to us, and I have to convince all three of them that she's still my dog at the end of the evening! 

The first few entries seem to have missed the memo that they would be parading in the dark so they're difficult to see, but soon we're enjoying a surprising variety of brightly lit floats and groups and vehicles and horses. The big moon adds great atmosphere and everyone has lots of fun. Even with a very large crowd, it's an easy exit to get home. So glad I dodged all those usual reasons not to go.

We start with wedding pics. I cringe as she drags all those lovely white ruffles through the dirt!

As the sun sets and the moon rises, we people-watch as the crowd arrives.

Lots of ATVs with lots of fun riders - this one changes colors - very fun.

The photo doesn't capture how clever this trailer "sleigh" is. 

A few of the local RV parks really show up big - at the back of this one are campers around a real camp fire.

The dog leading the horses gets the biggest cheers of the night :-)

Best lights and a sweet Christmas fox on top.

The grand finale is this huge rig pulling a very long and colorful trailer. 

Corey (Bill's second, our number three) took wife Christie to see Taylor Swift in Vancouver, BC - she was soooo excited!

Penelope on a coffee date with Mom.

Ezra looking so much like his dad.

This is an older one, but this pic of Oliver and his dad cracks me up!