It's Never a Good Thing When....

Hey y'all, no need to pay the ransom, we are alive and well and have survived to tell the story!  About that heading....it's never a good thing when....when you are sitting with good friends (thanks for the cookies John & Lora!!) just having a lovely chat, when all of a sudden your phone rings.  And it's not a number you recognize, so, of course, you click Ignore.  Then your husband's phone rings, and it's some security company, which neither of you recognize nor called, so he too clicks Ignore.  (actually, he clicked screen call, which is effectively the same thing)  Either way, you just go on about your merry way, visiting and chatting, and forgetting all about your phones and their associated calls.  And then, about 2 hours pass, and your friends have left, and your phone rings again.  Hi Nina!  And it's your dear sister-in-law, asking if you had received a call about your dad being barricaded in the bathroom with steak knives and the police and EMTs taking him to the hospital.  Now, that's an Oh-sh$t moment if there ever was one, right?  And so the nightmare began.

Yup, so began a month of almost non-stop phone calls and life and death decision-making, at all hours of the days and nights.  Turns out, out-of-whack sugar levels, combined with pneumonia and a few other factors is not at all conducive to a healthy lifestyle, and, after a couple of weeks in the hospital, and a day under Hospice, and another week in the hospital, Dad succumbed and passed peacefully during his afternoon nap.  Too bad he didn't get to see that Charlie & I have reconnected and we all four actually enjoy spending time together.  Now we get to deal with the aftermath.  Let me just say, do your duties, people, and assign beneficiaries to your financial instruments.  And make out a Durable Power of Attorney, not a GENERAL one.  And SIGN IT.  and DATE IT.  In the presence of a legitimate notary, for goodness sake! And then, once it's official, SEND A COPY OF IT to your designated beneficiaries.  End of rant Public Service Announcement.

So, what else happened during the last month??

Well, we packed up the coach and took it 62 miles away, to Apache Junction, to get the rear engine hood-cover struts re-emplaced.  Yes, that was one of the repairs we had made at the factory, up in Indiana.  But, we got a Coolant Low light come on, so Driver went to check on it, as good & responsible drivers are wont to do.  When he released the hood latch, the darned thing flew up, breezed right by his noggin (thank you, Lord!), and wham!  Out popped the struts once more.  So, now we had TWO issues - the struts, AND that pesky Coolant Low light.  East Valley RV was the recommended facility, so off we went.  The day before, though, a torrential rainstorm had swept through the Valley (west side and east side!) and several area roads were flooded or had ponding.  This was what we saw on our way out of the campground.  After weeks and weeks and weeks of sunshine, we finally saw rain!  Why on the day of our travels, of all days?

Here's Agua Fria - a "river" that was nothing but dust for the previous month and a half.  Water!

Can you blow up the photo below to see the street flooding?  Sorry, it was shot out the window, at about 60 mph, from a bridge over the neighborhood, and it's not like we could stop to let me focus better.

 I believe this is the Salt River....a real and true creek after all this rain.

While we were waiting for the RV repairs, we found a little farm market, with lots of special sauces, jams and jellies ...

lots of varieties of local honey...and candy.  A whole wall of homemade candy.  We were good; we left that all there and bought only veggies.

We took a back street to get back to the RV repair facility, and look, more flooding.  Looks a little bit like Florida after a hurricane, right?

Even the clouds were low on the mountain.

It was nice to have clear skies for the ride home, but, geeze, look at the traffic!

All this excitement is tiring for puppies...

And, because, well, because Dick Luck, our shower hot water decided to crap out on us.  Sometimes during a shower, the water would go absolutely STONE COLD.  Not gradually, either.  Hot, then COLD as ICE. So, we had the RV repair facility check that out too.  Seems the "mixer" or scald regulator has failed.  At first, they looked at it and couldn't find anything wrong, so they were going to charge US for the diagnostic hours (3, if I'm not mistaken) and send us on our merry way.  BUT, an insurance adjuster just so happened to be in the office, waiting his turn to consult with the service manager, and he overheard us discussing the issue.  It was he who suggested the mixer might be defective or even failed.  And, thankfully, he was right!  Of course, they don't just keep that part on hand, or in stock, so they had to order it, with arrival due for 2 weeks out.  And what about that Coolant Low light??  Well, turns out, we had a couple of small leaks, but they weren't authorized to repair that, and they sent us on to Freightliner, down in Tolleson, AZ.  But, they couldn't take us in for another couple of weeks, and on the same day as my next back treatment was scheduled.  Well, now, THAT wasn't gonna work - getting my back fixed was absolutely imperative, and long-awaited, so we pushed the coolant resolution out another week.  Soooo, when we called to confirm the shower part had arrived, ahhh, lo and behold....there was a mixup.  It either didn't get ordered, got ordered incorrectly, got fulfilled incorrectly, or maybe didn't get sent.  I dunno, pick your choice; we got all those excuses handed to us.  Sooo, we confirmed our Freightliner appointment and headed down that way the day before our scheduled appointment.  (there was an onsite RV parking area at the facility).  Turns out, the SENSOR was bad, and there was only a very slight coolant leak, due to a loose radiator cap.  They had a new sensor for us, replaced it, addressed the slight oil leak, and cut us loose.  They even notarized some paperwork for me so we could bury dear ole dad.  How's that for service??!!  From there, we went back across town to Apache Junction, to see about getting some reliable hot water in our shower stall.  Their original plan was to remove the big mirror, cut a big hole in the wall, remove the innards and replace the bad part, test for leaks, and patch the gaping hole they would make in the wallboard.  HA.  I told Dick that mirror was glued on tight.  Only way to remove it would be to shatter it.  Turns out, I was right.  They managed to get in from the FRONT of the faucet handle, though, and remove only the very inside part, the section that had failed, and put it all back together.  Only took about 3 hours, but they calked it up, so we couldn't run water in there for another 24 hours.  So, STILL no hot (nor otherwise!) showers for us!  Oh well, what's another day, when it's been 3 weeks already?  Should I even mention the CRRRR-ACK I heard and felt as we were leaving the Freightliner facility?  Yeah, the repair facility took a peek at that, as well.  Turns out, the awning over our entry door has a motor that has seized.  And the awning no longer fully retracts.  Ugh....not a good way to travel.  The tech was able to manually push it back, almost to flush with the wall of the coach, then he got a zip tie around one side and duct taped (with matching black, no less) the other side.  This repair will have to wait until we get down to Rockport I suppose.  But, it's on record, and Newmar has already authorized repairs, once we land somewhere for more than a couple of weeks.

But, just because we live in an RV, doesn't mean we don't have seasonal spirit...

And everyone needs a bit of relief when dealing with hospitals, doctors, elder care services, bills and banks, and RV repairs too, right?  Remember those orphan blocks that came my way, courtesy of a quilter in Iowa?  Did I even ever show them to you?  Do you remember the shop hop gift certificate I won way way back in October? Well, the blocks started out as humongous red starbusts on backgrounds of stark white.  They were well pieced, but about 20 inches, more or less, and only mostly square.  Some smaller, some larger. None exactly the same though.  So, I cut them down (incorrectly, as it turns out, so I cute them AGAIN, uniformly this time), and Driver & I spent a couple hours fretting over how to combine them and how much fabric to purchase to make it all work.  That task was made more difficult by the fact that I didn't have a clear plan nor pattern at the time of fabric purchase.  This is the layout we ended up with.  Not too bad, if I say so myself, even if it looks NOTHING like what I had in my head.  It was supposed to be a Quilt of Valor, but now it meets neither the size nor color requirements of that organization.  Oh well.  It's still pretty.  And I have just the perfect quilting pattern to embroider in the white corners.

And, remember that huge box of goodies that Kelly, my friend from Ohio, sent me?  It was full of embroidery supplies, thread, some aprons she needed embroidered for her grands, for Christmas gifting, and 2 quilt tops that I had volunteered to sandwich and quilt for her.  She didn't want them back - they were to be given to charity, any charity of my choosing when completed.  Well, I had a short block of free time, not enough to really start a project, nor complete a project, but a few hours' worth.  I thought maybe I should open those 2 quilts and check out the piecing so I could start forming a quilting plan.  Folded in with one of the tops was this little pieced beauty.  It was sewn by a dear friend of Kelly's who is recently departed, and she (Kelly) was asking me to quilt it for her.  I got to use the camera scanning and auto-fill features of my new machine, so it was quite the learning experience.  Plus, in homage to Rosemary (the original sewist), I put a couple of embroidered flourishes in opposing corners.  I think she would have appreciated that.  I know Kelly did - now both of our souls are stitched into her new wallhanging.

Definitely not my style, and certainly not my colors, but, hey, it's also not my wall art!

Again, all this work can be exhausting....

So, all the paperwork for Dad is done and filed, and he's in the ground, where he's wanted to be for the last 19 years, the RV is repaired, we are once again enjoying hot (really hot!) showers, the nights are getting chilly cold, and our time in Surprise is drawing to an end.  We decided to make time to enjoy the Christmas lights of Glendale Glitters, a bedroom community of Phoenix proper.  We didn't really know what to expect, but we had heard there were 1.6 million lights in a 16 block area.  So, we packed up the pup and hit the streets.

This 3-D ornament was very similar in size to the one in On Top of the World's Town Commons.  People were walking inside and posing for pictures, but the line was long, and frankly, we didn't want to wait, just to pose for a photo.

Of course, we were overjoyed to find an open ice cream parlor...

Bailey was just certain if she stared long enough and hard enough, a clump of cream would fall off the spoon, right into her waiting mouth.

The lights were pretty, and the night was fun, but after experiencing the magnificent light displays of Cuervo, TX, Homosassa State Park, FL and Tanglewood Park, Clemmons, NC, we must admit to feeling a bit disappointed and even let down.  There were no vendors to speak of (ok, so, there was one pushcart, selling balloons on a stick), no music, and very little energy in the air.  Oh well, it was free, so we really can't complain.  But, we won't be going back any time soon.

Here are some photos from the Cuervo, TX light display.  The photos are from 2014, but the shows go on even now, we hear.  It's a drive-through experience, so you can stay warm as you tour the park.

Back in Surprise, though, it got cold.  I mean, REALLY COLD.  And again rainy!  Really?  We've seen more rain here in 3 months than we saw from 3 hurricanes in FL!  Like, being outside was just Not Fun.  What's a girl to do?  Well, personally, I cranked up the heat, put on a long sleeved shirt and my fuzzy pants, knee socks, and got out my cutting board and sewing machine.  I really don't know how anyone ELSE handles the weather, but that's MY solution.

Six identical placemats have magically appeared!  

They would languish in the closet, if it were not for the help of dear Barbara S.  I reached out, and bless her heart, she was there to throw me a lifeline.  She provided the photo/diagram below as a quilting suggestion for me.  And, wouldn't you know it?  It's all within my skill set (well, maybe not those pebbles in the dark blue arc, but I kind of want that section to puff out anyway) or I can program my fancy machine to do it repeatedly.  Whoohoo, a double win!  I have done the echo-arcs in the blue sections, and man, am I loving the results.  No, silly, I don't have a photo, that would make it too easy and logical.  The placemats are all packed up (under the bed, no less) because we had to get on the road - we have reservations to keep down in Alamo Texas!  Where it promises to be WARM.  Well, at least, warmER.

So now you know where we've been in the last month, and what we've been doing.  If you are one of the ones that reached out to check on us during that time - THANK YOU, your kindness and caring are greatly appreciated. And all the rest of you - thank you too, as we know you were thinking about us and wondering what the heck we were up to.  And, if you were too busy to even notice we were "out of service," well, that's good too, 'cuz that means you were likely having your own version of fun.  😄

Next up, our road trip to the Rio Grande Valley.  Hopefully, I'll get that out to ya sooner than later!  In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas, and for those of you that are traveling, please be safe and careful out there!

New Brakes and Labor Day Weekend Balloon Liftoff, Memorial Park, Colorado Springs

On the way home from the Cliff Dwellings, on Thursday, our brakes began to make a funny noise.  Not ha-ha funny, but ODD funny.  It sort of sounded like a tummy growling.  Neither of us had ever heard that kind of noise before, so we were a bit perplexed.  Luckily, Dick knew that there are "wear indicators" that make noises when your brakes are beginning to need replacement, and the worse they wear down, the worse the noise.  Apparently, it's annoying and scary, specifically to make you do something about it.  I mean, who needs brakes failing?  Especially up here in the mountains!  Soooo, early Friday morning, we suited up the pup and headed in to Midas Muffler and Brakes.  I didn't know they even DID brakes, so that was my first surprise.  We were extremely fortunate, as the manager was able to work us in.  At first, he asked us to leave it and he'd get to it late afternoon, but when Dick told him it was our only transportation, he managed to work some magic and said he could get it up on the rack in about 20 minutes.  Whoohoo!  That was the good news.  And after said 20 minutes, he was came back with the bad news.  Yup, we needed new brakes in front.  To the tune of 3 hours (plus another for lunch) and about $500!  Oh.My.  Well, we are in the mountains, and we plan to be here another 5 days or so, so it's certainly not like we can do without, is it?  And we'd heard several times "sorry, we don't have any more appointments till Tuesday" or "sorry, we can't get to it this weekend, you might try Jiffy Lube, but I think they're booked up too," so it's not like we could pack up and take the car somewhere else.  I wouldn't have thought Labor Day was such a great weekend to get your car worked on, but apparently, it is. 

And that was how we spent Friday!  We had originally planned to go square dancing in the evening, but after spending the whole day either walking to and from the mall and Best Buy, or sitting in the waiting room, we weren't really up to spending another 40 minutes (each way!) in traffic.  Plus, it's Parents' Weekend here on base, and they have already set up traffic cones, limiting cross-overs and turns, promising to make an adventure out of driving on, off, or around the base.

So, Colorado Springs has an event they call Labor Day Liftoff, where they invite about 80 hot air balloons to a park downtown, to lift off at the crack of o'dark-thirty.  Actually, Dick said it was to start around 7 a.m., Saturday morning, but when we arrived at 7:15 or so, this is what we saw as we approached.  It appeared as though half the balloons were already well on their way to "up in the air" status.  Yes, for this we got up EARLY!  

We decided that maybe only about half were up, so hopefully, the rest would be still on the ground, filling, and beginning their ascent.  We found a parking place (just off the sidewalk, in front of an abandoned car lot) and hiked up and over the hill, to the park.  We were rewarded by getting to watch the dragon lift off, just as we came upon the launch field.

As we watched, more and more balloons filled and began to lift in the cool morning air.

It really was a pretty sight to watch them all go up and sail away so quietly, off into the bright blue sky.  The announcer made mention that there would be an Air Force flyover, and a parachute team would be dropping in, but it was still 45 minutes away, and there really wasn't anything else for us to do while we waited, so we didn't stay.  He also invited everyone back for a "glow" starting at 7 or 8 pm at night, but the weather was predicted to be pretty poor at that time, so we didn't plan to return.  Good thing, too, because the forecasters were correct, and the "glow" was nothing more than the fires spouting off periodically.  No balloons, no glow, no liftings, just some fires from propane tanks.  We would definitely have been disappointed if we had traveled 45 minutes through horrific traffic and hiked another half mile only to see some propane tank flare ups!

Once again, we took the scenic way back home.  Seems like I-25 is the backbone of the city, but it always seems to have crashes and slowdowns, so we look for back roads and alternate routes every time we can.  So, now you have the backsides of some of the rock features from Garden of the Gods.  

Remember Balancing Rock and Steamboat Rock?

The Gateway Rocks (North and South)

And who could resist these adorable little Christmas decorations??  A vintage trailer and a vintage VW hippie bus.  Oh, yes, I did say Christmas!  Yes, last I looked, it wasn't even Sept 1st yet.  Merry Christmas to all, courtesy of your local Sam's Club!  Oh, yeah, by the way, we resisted.  Not only are they costly, at $34 bucks a pop, but space is limited, even in our 44 footer!  Sooo, no.  We didn't get either one, and nooo, I don't miss 'em a bit!

Till next time....