This and that Wednesday

Thought I'd give you some information from our winter trip. We were gone 114 days counting the day we left and the day we got home. Put 2,529 miles on the RV and 1,889 miles on the Jeep. That number is down quite a bit from previous years. Spent $2076 on campgrounds. Las Jaibas was $16 a day compared to DeAnza in Amado, AZ which was $55 a day! Eating out is usually our highest expense this year only $1200. In fact this year we spent more on groceries than eating out! Tolls were cheaper this year too. When we went down only a few booths were collecting tolls,. When we came home about 2/3 of them were collecting - $193. Gasoline for the Jeep $468, for the RV $1193. Quite a bit more expensive in the states coming home than going down. It averaged out to about $74 a day, which was less expensive then usual.

Our poor yard looks so bare. The gardener has trimmed all the flowers and bushes, but they are beginning to get some leaves. It looks like everything made it through the winter. Even the bougainvillea. This is the side of the house that has the front door, but it is actually on the side of the house.

The front door which we never use, you can see the street at the "front" of the house.

My poor ocotillo doesn't look very good. But saw that some of them at Ethel M's garden weren't getting leaves yet either. So always hope.  We are going to put greenery int the window boxes when it warms up some. 

Our big back yard. Stones and more stones and plants along the edge. Behind the block wall is The Wetlands where the fire was. 

Those palms are coming up right in the middle of some lantana plants. If they don't die we will have a whole lot of palm trees. They just reseed themselves. 

My cactus that traveled back and forth to Mexico with us every year until this winter. He is getting too big to hide from the border people. I see he is getting a baby down by the bottom. I like him because he is weird. 

Yesterday I spent about an hour texting back and forth with a Cox Internet technician. Couldn't get to talk on phone to any one....grrr. Finally figured our modem was old and out of date and that is why our Internet is so slow. I know that the Internet here went out all over our area during the winter while we were gone so maybe that was part of the problem too. So getting a new modem in the mail - hope I can set it up. Got a notice it is on its way. Hope I can connect it with no problems. 

Last nights sunset, kind of nice. Today the wind is blowing and the sky is dark, might get rain and snow in mountains. Right now just nasty out. No walking today. Been getting in around 5000 steps a day. Walking 1/2 hour either inside or outside. 

I now have brownies in the oven and country music on the radio. Why? Well because a little while ago I discovered another mess the mice made. More vacuuming and disinfecting and a couple more loads of laundry deserves a treat. And I'm going to enjoy both.