Been home a week today

This mornings sunrise - got up just in time to enjoy it. 

It has been like Christmas around here. Bill has been busy with Amazon! Just one delivery's loot.

 This is what was in the large red box. It is a toaster and toaster oven for the RV. Color matches the coffee pot.

Also got a new tire cover. The old one was splitting and loosing it's color. This is why we call the Jeep Willie - the picture reminds me of Willie Nelson. 

 And new sun shades for over the windows. Lost a couple of them on the rough roads coming home. 

Just since yesterday the ocotillo has popped up with new buds. But still no sign of leaves. 

As I mentioned yesterday a NASCAR weekend. So far my favorite driver has been in two races and won them both. So far this year he has entered 14 races and won 9 of them. Pretty good record. Now I'll keep my fingers crossed that he wins tomorrow too.
I cooked last night. I made Chicken Veracruz and noodles. Actually it is a dish I order when we are in Mexico. Turned out really good.
Nice weather here now. Not as much wind today and only in the mid 70's. Perfect for me. Got the paint for the shed and have hosed the shed off, but will wait until the wind stops and the weather warms up a little. Tho it has to be done before the 9th - when they reinspect it!
We sure managed to get a lot of things taken care of in one week. 

All about Us.

If I don't write about us I don't have much to write about now. The gardener came over yesterday morning to reassure us that our plants were doing fine. The first thing he told us was that we cannot plant my Mexican cactus in the ground here in Nevada. It simply will not be able to live here. He suggested putting it in a bigger pot so it can continue growing. So guess that means every time we go traveling it will have to come with us. Out on the back patio with the rooster. 

Bill's jasmine is growing like crazy, guess it liked the winter cold and where it is it is protected from most of the winds. You can see the shed here too. Yesterday we went and bought the paint so it will match the house. Strange picture - the house is NOT yellow. Anyway need to wait until the wind stops blowing then will hose the dust off and paint the shed. Personally I think it looks better than the house now. 

All of our lantanas have been cut way back and looked dead to me. But Mr Rivera again assured us they will be fine. Some are already sprouting new leaves. And the new leaves were what the bunny was interested in the other day. Got to get the mothballs out and spread. 

There is a palm tree growing right in the middle of this lantana plant. 

And there are two palms growing in the middle of this plant. They need to come out. They're only a couple of inches high.

I was almost sure this bougainvillea was DEAD, but there are new leaves on it way down at the bottom. 

The window boxes out front. The artificial plants in them look crappy. We forgot to remove them when we left for the winter so they discolored and lost a lot of their leaves from the winds. So, of course, we are now told we cannot have more than two artificial plants in the front yard. New rules about artificial plants. So guess the planters will remain empty. Not putting anything that needs to be watered all the time in them. 

The gardener also told us the ocotillo is fine, it actually has a bloom, see arrow - but not one single leaf. I was complaining because all the ones we saw in Arizona on the way home were full of leaves and blooms. "Remember, this is Las Vegas, not Arizona. Things don't react the same here as they do in Arizona and Mexico," I was told by Mr Rivera. Okay. But if it doesn't start looking a little better than this I'm sure we'll get told it can't stay there. 

We have three bougainvilleas on the other side, south side, of the house they too looked pretty sad to us the day we got home. However, when we walked around yesterday they all had some new green sprouts and leaves. Again can't compare them to ones growing in Mexico. 

This one look really good. 

The patio with all the artificial flowers on it. 

Did a few errands yesterday. One was taking both laptops into the Geek Squad in Best Buy. I went on line and made the appointments. Got to the store and were told, nope we didn't have an appointment. Yes, we did I even had the conformation number. Turns out I assumed - yes I know - I had made the appointments for the Henderson store, but no I'd made them for a different store. I had put Henderson Best Buy in the computer and never checked to make sure that is what I got. Oh, well. Taking them in Monday - to right store.
Also went to WalMart to get some things for the RV and a few groceries. I know I'll make some mad with these comments BUT - when did it become okay to take your dogs shopping with you everywhere. I don't want to use a cart for my groceries when a dog has been sitting in it. Also, in the grocery department an employee was guarding a part of the floor waiting for special equipment to clean up the dog pee!!!!  Sorry folks, hire a dogsitter.  None of the dogs we saw were service dogs.
Today and tomorrow NASCAR. 
Afterthought - if you read Contessa's blog you saw a picture of our gardeners truck. 

Excitement

About 5:30 this morning this fire broke out in the Wetlands right behind our house. I did not know anything about it until I got up - all that was left to see then was white smoke low to the ground.

"Clark County Fire Department crews were battling a fire at the Wetlands Park in the eastern Las Vegas Valley early Wednesday.

The fire was burning north of the Sam Boyd Stadium, according to Assistant Fire Chief Larry Haydu. The Bureau of Land Management had been contacted and also was responding.

The fire had burned about 3 to 4 acres by 8 a.m., according to firefighters on scene."
After reading this I guess it was still burning when I got up. But didn't see any flames

Did see this bunny in the back yard though. 

 Also discovered another new metal sculpture on the corner of Boulder Highway and Tropicana at the gas station there. The maintenance man there makes them. It is always fun to see a new one.

Still making phone calls and catching up on bookkeeping and computer work since we got home. Today we sent off all the paper work from Bill's hospitalization to the insurance company. Hopefully everything that they need was there and that they pay a good portion of it.  Also renewing and combining vehicle insurance.  All kinds of things that take time and phone calls.
Meeting with the gardener tomorrow to see about replacing plants that dies and getting his opinion on my ocotillo that has one bloom but NO leaves. Probably need to put mothballs out around the Lantana to keep the cute bunny away from the new growth.
Then Friday we take both laptops into the Geek squad to see if Bill's speakers can be fixed and if my laptop can be straightened out. Never right since I had to restore it in Mazatlan. And while we're out we'll go to Lowe's and buy paint for the stupid shed so we can get that taken care of before April 9th.
Also have to get our prescriptions switch from  the drug store to the mail order office. New stipulation of our changed insurance. Finally got the insurance straightened out too. Our new cards were "returned to sender" when they came while we were gone. So no have printed temporary ones till we get the real ones. Phew! Also talked to the mail lady today and made sure she will start bringing our mail here tomorrow.
Don't know why this is double spacing, must be because of the quote about the fire.
Busy, busy!

Finally time to sit still for a while.

The final days journey. 218 miles. Took about four hours. Final sunrise in Quartzsite.

Lots of clouds, the sun was having a hard time coming out.

 Almost looks like a double sun

I tried to get a clear picture of these pretty purple flowers, but between thee bug on the windshield and the movement this was the best I got.

 Lots and lots of yellow ones too.

 What I love about the desert You can see forever.

 Our final check point at the California border. Nope no plants.

 The 95 heading towards Vegas. The road surface and size changes once into Nevada.

 Don't think I've ever seen the Joshua trees blooming as much as they are this year.

 Over the hill and almost home. Mount Charleston. Still lots of snow up there. 

Got home and started unloaded then went to lunch. Got back and unloaded some more. Then took a break to watch the end of the truck race. Unloaded a little more then crashed.

Our first sunrise home, not as pretty as usual.

We kept the RV in the street two nights. Then went out this morning and nothing was working.  No power anywhere. Bill soon had it fixed though - the power cord had come unplugged just enough to break the connection but not enough to tell when looking at it.

Got a letter from the community manager telling us we have to paint the shed to match the house. Before April 9th. Good luck on that.  Actually the shed looks nicer than the house. Oh well. Most of our plants made it through the winter. A couple didn't.

Our wonderful son - the one with the cleaning service- sent over a couple of his ladies to clean both the RV and the house!!!!! The RV hasn't been that clean in a long time. At least all the dust is gone and the cabinets polished. And all the dust on the furniture and floors in the house from being empty is now gone. And Bill took me out for a late lunch. Good day

He even got my car juiced back up and we took it for a drive to pick up all our mail. And that is another story for another day.

This was our whole trip 2533 miles. And we spent more on eating out then on groceries. I am spoiled.

So now back to real life.

HOME

We have arrived home safe and sound. Still lots of unloading and cleaning to do.  Went out to lunch and son is coming tomorrow to help with the end of unloading. No more writing for today!

Lazy day in Quartzsite

A lazy day in Quartzsite. All we did was go out to breakfast and to the store to buy a loaf of bread. We were trying to find someone who could fix the tiny -think screw sized-hole in our fresh water tank. The guy who we thought would come ended up getting too busy to make it. And the RV repairman whole actually does plastic welding was having some problems with his driver's license and a medical report he needed. So...
Took a short walk around the campground. Love all the desert plants. They sure look fat and happy. 

Would not want to fall into this guy. 

I wonder if my ocotillo is till alive. It would be wonderful to get home and find it covered in leaves and blooming. 

Have already called the office at home and told them we would be coming home tomorrows and the RV would be parked in the street overnight.  "No Problem" Hum? it always has been before. 
Shower in own shower and sleep in own bed tomorrow night  Yippee
Today I did do some cleaning in here - took everything out of the bathroom cabinets and wiped the thick dust out. Ick. Also putting stuff that goes into house into bags ready to go. 
May post late or not at all tomorrow, depends on how much we do or get done.

We have arrived in Quartzsite.

In Quartzsite. Left Amado at 7:30 this morning and arrived in Quartzsite at 12:30. 289 miles. A much easier trip than the last few. No tolls, no military or agriculture checks, no craters in the asphalt. In fact except for a few miles on the I-10 where Bill drove in the fast lane the roads were good. LOONNNGGG sigh of relief.  I do not like trying to use Google Maps for this. I miss my Streets and Trips. I hope that when I take my laptop in for cleaning and repair they will be able to reinstall streets and trips. 

 Last nights sunset from Amado. 

 Did not get to see the moon though as there were just too many clouds. 
Lots of pretty flowers blooming along the highways. These clumps of bright yellow flowers. We were traveling around 60mph so the pictures don't do them justice. 

 Just liked the look of this one. With the mountain and the cacti. 

A couple more of the cacti. 

 These little bluish purple flowers were hard to catch a picture of. They were so pretty.

 There were several clouds over these mountains leaving their shadows.
Stopped at the Flying J and filled the tank before heading to Shady Lane RV Park. Got settled in and headed out for some FOOD. Had lunch at 3 Families Restaurant. Bill said his Reuben Sandwich was very good. I am still getting my bacon fix so I had a BLT. 
The Dish TV is working and my Verizon MiFi is working. For some reason neither Bill nor I have ever been able to connect to this park's WiFi. We've been here several times. Don't know what the problem is, everyone else seems to be able to connect. 
As I write this the wind is picking up. Glad it wasn't blowing while we were traveling. 
Staying here tomorrow, trying to find someone who can fix the hole in the fresh water tank. 
I can't figure something out...I'm having a terrible time trying to find Smucker's Strawberry JELLY. Every store has jam and preserves, but no JELLY. Neither WalMart nor Safeway had it in Green Valley.  Ended up buying a Safeway store brand and it isn't as good. I just don't like chunks in my spread.