Happy New Year!

Friday, December 31, 2021 

We are parked out on Ogilby Road near friends and enjoyed a last Happy Hour for 2021 as the sun slowly made its way down and took its warmth with it. Just after I took the first picture below we all said see you next year and we headed for the warmth of our homes on wheels for the evening. 

As I started to write this the wind was blowing and we were doing some rock and rolling. My thought was is 2021 trying to keep 2022 from coming in or is 2022 blowing 2021 into the past. We are hoping 2022 is coming in with a roar and sending 2021 on its way.

We started 2021 with this group of friends, Cathy, Shane and Doug plus Yuma and this year Doug's grandson, Nick has joined us, and we are blessed to start 2022 with these same friends. (It would have been nice if I had thought of a picture but maybe tomorrow.)

Looking back on the year it has had its ups and downs but we are blessed to say we along with our families made it through with our health. We are looking forward to this coming year and the adventures ahead as we continue to enjoy living our retirement dream.

 

The sun going down on 2021 on Ogilby Road in California

The clouds were so pretty tonight as we sat out enjoying 
Happy Hour with friends.

The sunlight and clouds do a wonderful job

dancing the light

across the mountains.

Watching the sun slip down for the

last time this year.

One last burst of light and it is gone for today.

There was a touch of color to the East after the sun left.

So ended our light on the last

day of 2021.

We are wishing each of you a New Year 
filled with good health, peace and love!

Enjoying Life

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

As I sit here writing this I can hear the wind blowing and feel the gentle rocking it is creating inside our home. It is our second day with this wind and according to the weather predictors it will end sometime overnight or at least it will be only a slight breeze when we awake in the morning.  I am not complaining because we are safe and warm inside our home just mentioning what the weather is like this evening.

It was a quiet day out here in the desert and I just realized I did not even step outside once all day. We did have a surprise visitor this morning when Bill, On Our Way, stopped by. He was actually looking for Doug, Miss Adventure Travels, who was not home when he got here. Doug has been having some trouble with his inverter and Bill had an idea of what  might be wrong so he took a drive out to see if he could help. We have met and become friends with a lot of nice people living this lifestyle. People always ready to lend a helping hand when they can and Bill is one of them.

The two pictures I did take today of the Cargo Muchacho Mountains and the lovely shadows the clouds were creating on them were through the front windshield.

Happy Hour with Cathy, Shane, Doug, and Yuma was inside the Stinger "B" today and we enjoying a our time chatting about this and that. 

Monday, December 27, 2021

The day started as most of our days do sitting and enjoying our morning coffee. Sometimes during this time it is very quiet, sometimes I am reading blogs to see what our friends are up to and sharing with Tom, other times we talk about what is going on in our world, then there are times we discuss where we will go when we leave where we are at. I personally enjoy the days that start out very quietly and there is no real plan for the day. The type of day that we just let unfold and enjoy the moments. 

The wind picked up and dare I say it got cold out. I know, I know our family and friends back in Michigan and Wisconsin do not want to here that we thought 52 degrees was cold but it was. So because of the temperature and the wind which kicked up later in the morning we decided not to have an group Happy Hour today. Tom and I took off and took a short ride a little closer to the mountains. Just making a quick check of our surroundings. I did not take my camera and did not even take a picture with my phone. It is a road we have driven several times along the powerlines and I decided to just enjoy the views while we talked.  We were probably only gone a little over an hour and then we came home to enjoy a quiet Happy Hour. It was just an ordinary day to be lived and enjoyed.

Sunday, December 26, 2021

After our morning coffee we were off to Yuma for Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. As you can see below the church is beautifully decorated for the Christmas Season.

There are stained glass windows like these all along the roof

line that feature our Blessed Mother.

This one of Mary looking at the baby Jesus in the Manger

I thought was appropriate to include during this season.

 

After making a quick stop at Walmart for a couple of things

we are headed home past green fields of vegetables.

Lots of traffic on I-8 today. 

When we got back I took a short walk to take a picture of our neighborhood. While doing so I came across this Ocotillo that had died. I know death is part of the circle of life but it is still sad to see. One thing I am always amazed at out here and in the forest back home is that the plant life has a beauty no matter what stage it is at in that circle of life. As I wrote the above sentence I started thinking about the fact that as human beings we often forget that is true about people, also. Yes there is certainly beauty in the young but as we all age there is beauty in that, also. The wrinkles and grey hair are signs, the gift, of having been able to live a long life. As our hands age they tell a story of babies held, meals cooked, clothes washed, hard work that supported and fed a family, plus lots of hugs given.  There is an agelessness in smiles and if you close your eyes and listen there is always youth in the laughter. In the eyes there is the reflection of all the memories of a life lived and in the eyes the beauty of youth lives forever.

This and the picture below are of the same Ocotillo 

 slowly being swallowed up by the desert floor.

Our neighborhood.

Later we gathered for Happy Hour.

I took this while I was waiting for the sun to set.

Out here in the desert everything is "picky" but

in the early morning light and as twilight descends

everything takes on a look of softness.

Though be warned it is all still "picky".

Playing with my camera settings this is

called Photo Illustration.

I was walking down in a wash 

when I took these 

 pictures of

our surroundings in the last of today's light.

My Beautiful Christmas Roses.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Merry Christmas!

 Saturday, December 24, 2021

To All Our Family and Friends, we hope you enjoyed a Christmas filled with joy and peace surrounded by those you love. 

Merry Christmas Eve to Family and Friends!

Friday, December 24, 2021 

This morning we awoke to rain pitter pattering on the roof.

When I went out to take a few pictures at around 10 O'clock
this is what the sky looked like around us.

Except to the west were I could see blue skies.

By 10:30 the skies had changed to blue 
with lovely white clouds.

By 11:30 things had changed again and the mountains
were hidden behind the clouds and the rain coming down.

There are puddles in the desert.

Then about 11:40 the sky was blue again towards the west.

By noon the sky was again blue over the mountains. 

As I write this I can see white fluffy clouds filling the edges 

of the sky around us. 

We are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and we always say if you do not like the weather just wait a minute it will change. Though, we have found that in most parts of the country that saying is very true. The desert is no different as you can see in the pictures above. We are going to have a beautiful Christmas Eve Day. We will miss our family most especially our children and grandchildren today and tomorrow but we are blessed to be enjoying this time with good friends and each other.

To each of you we would like to wish a Beautiful Christmas Eve! 

As we all celebrate the holiest of nights 

when a little babe came into the world to save us all.