11/30/2009 It Could Turn Today

If you hit the 94,000 mark, let me know its YOU!

I'm going to be having a giveaway here real soon so be sure to stop back in the next few days!

Snookie

11/29/2009 Our First Grey Cup Party

A cold front has come through the desert and things have cooled down. I don’t think we saw 70 today but the weatherman says we’ll be back in shorts in a few days time. We better be!

We stayed in today and I made Lemon Poppy Seed cupcakes and a Devils Food Cake for a party we’re attending this afternoon.

I did venture out long enough to snap pictures of our orange tree. They are turning more orange every week.

Bob pointed out these humongous grapefruits from our tree the other day.

Around one this afternoon the clouds moved in.

The skies got much darker than this and the wind picked up with sand and dust blowing everywhere. Then the skies opened up and we had a cleansing rain. It took care of the dusty smell in the air and it was so fresh and clean afterwards.

It was still raining at four so we drove over to Wilf and Marilyn’s place for the Grey Cup Party. For those of you who don’t know what the Grey Cup is,,,,it is Canada’s version of our Super Bowl. I was wondering why they were having their last game so early in the football season but the Canadians in attendance explained that their season starts in July because soon the weather will be 30 below and they can’t play in two feet of snow. Well, that made sense!

All the announcements prior to the game to include singing the national anthem had to be done twice, once in English and once in French.

So we gathered with approximately 20 others and we ate our way through the late afternoon into the early evening. Everyone brought something to share and Marilyn, Al and Carol Winters and someone else, but I don’t remember who, made pots of chili.

We quite haven’t figured this out yet but we noticed all the women were in one room and the men in the other. Granted, the ladies may not have been paying as much attention to the game as the men but we did look to the TV every time we heard cheers or groans.

Us Americans did take quite a bit of ribbing from the Canadians about our football. It seems they think our teams play “sissy football” because their field is longer than our 100 yards and they only get three downs versus our four.

I hung in at the party until seven when I left to go home to catch the next to the last episode of Amazing Race. When I left, the team we were all rooting for from Saskatchewan was winning. Bob tells me they lost in the last seconds of the game. I’m sure we can all relate to having our team have big win snatched away in the last remaining time of a game. It just hurts more when its the championship game for the whole season.

So this was our first Grey Cup party and we’re hoping it won’t be our last. Not that we really care who wins……its just the eats are so good!

11/27-28/2009 Craft Sale

Did you go out and brave the crowds on Black Friday. NOT ME! Oh sure, I saw some things in the ads that were good buys but none so good that I was willing to risk, life, limb and a truck fender for. I can wait.

Friday we didn’t do much of anything once we woke from our turkey induced comas. It was a lazy day. I ventured out for a short bit to go visit Marlene but that was about the extent of it. I don’t know if Bob went out at all.

Saturday brought the Craft Fair and Bake Sale to the park. I have to say it wasn’t as good this year as the past two years. I think it was the day it was held on. Many from the park were away for the Thanksgiving holiday, there are still some that have yet to arrive but will be coming in soon and the vendors just didn’t sign up like in years past. Again, I think a different date would have been better suited. I had scheduled this last year when I was the Activities Director but I guess the powers to be thought it best to change the date. The turnout just wasn’t here and its a shame because a lot of work goes into this.

Here are some of the tables that were here.

Our friend Carol makes jewelry and she did quite well with her clearance sale as she wanted to get rid of some inventory. I bought a bracelet and three necklaces. She’s changing the clasps for me so when I get them I’ll be sure to share a picture of them. She makes some very nice jewelry!

This lady is a winter resident here in the park and sold Novelty Nuts and gourd birdhouses.

Ahhh..the potato bag lady. I have two of these little treasures and just love them! Potatoes in the microwave come out perfect every time when cooked in one of these bags.

She added something new to her line this year. Curling iron covers/carriers. They are lined with burn proof material so there is no need to wait for it cool down.

If anybody wants one of these or a potato bag….let me know, I can get it for you.

The plastic canvas lady certainly keeps busy making her inventory!

Our friend Lorraine is quite the artist and set up a table for this year’s sale.

Jane and Phyllis keep busy with their crafts through the summer months.

Phylis’ husband, Jerry also keeps busy making these two tier shelves. Add a piece of glass and you have a nice little table for the patio or anywhere for that matter.

Our friend, Dale, is also a jewelry maker.

She also did very well at the sale and took lots of orders.

It was nice sale and I hope all the vendors did well.

By afternoon the wind had picked up and dust was flying everywhere. I ran to the pool hall to practice some more. After the four games today….I still need lots of practice!

11/26/2009 Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day. Once again we have so very much to be thankful for.

This is our fourth Thanksgiving away from “home” and I have to admit that on this day I get homesick. I wish I was home because my mom makes just the best turkey stuffing and her cole slaw is second to none. Of course it isn’t just the food, its being with family. It’s remembering past Thanksgiving’s when grandparents were with us and aunts and uncles who have passed sat at our table.

Today is about being thankful. Its being thankful for our health and the opportunities that Bob and I have been graced with. Its about being blessed with the most wonderful friends anyone could ask for.

We’re thankful we live in the United States of America. We are oh so thankful that we are getting to see this great country up close and personal like.

Today, as you count your blessings, please say “thanks” for our service men and women who are stationed all over the world. Please remember them as they are not with their families today.

Bob and I wish you all a safe, Happy Thanksgiving. May God bless everyone of you.

11/25/2009 MOVE OVER MINNESOTA FATS….

ARIZONA SNOOKIE IS MOVIN’ IN!

Our friend, Richard, is coming over this afternoon and will have dinner with us so I put a roast with all the trimmings in the crock pot this morning. We met Richard here two years ago when we were all working in Activities together.

Bob worked on another window, helped Don with a leaking problem he has and helped Bill with the lights on his golf cart. I don’t think Bob ever has nothing to do and he loves it that way!

We found out who one of our new readers is. Karen from Wisconsin, welcome new friend! She found the blog listed on our friends, Skip and Cindy's site and also saw us listed on Hitchitch.com. She read about our Alaska trip and then decided to go back to the beginning. We're always glad to find out who's reading. We hope you enjoy the trip Karen !

Trying to while away the afternoon I walked over to the pool hall and played two games by myself. You should have seen the shots I made! I just simply amazed myself! Of course I was by myself so there was no one to witness my magic with that pool stick,,,,guess you’ll just have to believe me when I tell you that I would have made pool hall legend,Minnesota Fats, proud. Oh yeah, he would have been simply awed when I called the brown striped ball to go in the far right corner pocket and the solid blue one went into the side pocket instead. I’m sure he would have understood that it was just a slip of the tongue and that I MEANT to call solid blue in the side pocket.

Ya know, us pool sharks just can’t be bothered with mundane things like calling which pocket the ball is going to go into. We are much too busy with judging distance, velocity, figuring where to hit the ball…..high or low,,,,and figuring how hard to hit the cue ball. My personal choices are easy, medium hard and slam it home. To ask a pool shark, such as myself, where the ball is going is just too much. Frankly, as far as my own ability to call the pocket is concerned I am a whiz, I call it most of the time, oh heck, I SUCK AT IT! I don’t know where the damn ball is going! At this point in time I don’t even know if I’m gonna hit the ball I’m lookin’ at and aimin’ for.

Maybe it’s a bit too soon yet to start calling myself Arizona Snookie. Ya think?

11/24/2009 How Did We Ever Have Time to Work?

You just have to love the desert in winter. Here it is the end of November and we’re still in shorts, people are still laying out at the pool, outdoor parties are the norm and on Thanksgiving our thermometers will show 80 degrees! What’s not to like?

Sunday brought a trip to town for me for my first manicure since last April. With us traveling so much this summer it just wasn’t feasible to try to keep up with my nail routine. My miracle worker, Christine, and I had a great time catching up on each other’s summer while she made my nails beautiful again

Bob has been keeping very busy working on our windows on the park model. Along the edges of the windows, sand and dirt and grit has gathered over the years and it looked terrible!

All this gunk had to scraped out and in that process the finish was a bit scratched so it had to be painted. Bob has been working several hours every day getting all this looking good again. I think he’s done a great job! LQQK!

It makes the place look so much nicer. He’s got a few more windows to go and this project will be done. He’s always busy doing something.

I hosted my first Domino Diva’s Day on Monday. There were only four of us as Bonnie flew out in the afternoon for Pennsylvania for the Thanksgiving holiday.

I made a treat for us to have halfway through our game of Mexican Train and if you ever need something sweet, this is really easy to make. I wish now I had taken a picture….next time.

Disappearing Cream Cheese Croissant

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon. You won’t need all this so put it in a small container and save for next time. After you taste this,,,,there WILL be a next time!

Lightly spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll on can of rolls, keeping sections joined. Press into bottom of pan.

Add sugar to cream cheese and microwave 45 seconds on high (or longer depending on your microwave) and then stir until smooth. Spread evenly on the crescent layer.

Layer second can of crescents over the cream cheese. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Let sit for 15 – 20 minutes so cream cheese will “set”. Cut into squares and immediately hide two in your secret stash place for later. You’ll be glad you did.

These were a clear winner at snack time! I wish I could say the same thing for my game.

Monday evening brought pool league for me.

I am so not good at this game but I’m learning. I was teamed with one of the better players tonight and actually had a good night with Donna’s tutoring. She took both games but I only left one on the table each game.

Some of the players take the game oh so seriously but most of us are there just for a night out with the girls.

Ahhhh….here’s picture of what we call the “chick stick”.

Marlene is such a good sport! I snapped this picture, just playing around because I just wouldn’t post this type of picture ordinarily but she gave me the caption for it so I’m going with it. She was wearing a pair of capri’s with Betta fish on them. When she saw this picture she said, “Oh, call that one……..”

BETTA BUTT!

Poor Deanna got her days and games mixed up and brought her mini golf putter to play pool with!

My good friend Janet taking a serious shot.

…..and then there’s always this type of shot where we all hold our breaths until it stops rolling.

I may be 0 – 4 for the season so far but I’m having a ball playing!

Tuesday morning brought line dancing again and a half hour later I was throwing horseshoes. Three ringers today!

This evening Bob will play his pool league and I’m hoping he plays better than me but he always does as he’s a good pool player.

So that’s what we’ve been up to for the past three days. Once all the winter residents arrive, the season will really begin and I’ll be posting every day again. Bear with me.

Before I close this I want to share something with you that the Xerox Corporation is doing and its something I think you’ll want to be a part of.

If you go to this web site, http://www.letssaythanks.com/ you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's.

Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

For you frequent readers, have you noticed how fast the stat counter is turning? I am just simply amazed….happy, but amazed! We have a new reader although I don’t know where he or she is from yet but in the last four days they’ve read 757 pages of the blog. We also have two new readers from Chicago and Lombard Illinois that must be starting at the beginning of the blog also. WELCOME to all of you.

11/21/2009 What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Actually, there was nothing wrong with the picture, it was the SOUND that was annoying as all get out. Thoroughly confused aren’t you? I thought so, so I’ll explain.

It started this morning. This grating, scratchy sound coming from the TV in the bedroom.

I turned the set off. I turned it back on. Grating, scratchy sound still there. Loud enough that I couldn’t hear the voices on the show I was watching. It happened all of a sudden. It was fine one minute and horrible the next. Oh great, I HAVE TO HAVE a TV in the bedroom. I have a terrible time going to sleep without the TV on. The drone of the voices lull me to sleep. I HAVE TO HAVE my TV. I shut it off for awhile and put it out of my mind.

A while later I tried it again hoping that the TV repair fairies had come in when I wasn’t looking and banished the grating, scratchy sound from the set. No such luck. I called Bob in to have him hear it. He turned the set off. He turned it back on. Grating, scratchy sound still there. This is NOT good!

Granted, its an older TV but it was working fine and I’m not ready for it to die yet.

A few minutes later I hear from the living room….”Hey Snookie, I saw on the computer that some stores are starting their Black Friday sales today, wanna go look at TV’s? My heart soared! Wow, he knows I can’t go to sleep without the TV on. He’s concerned about my well being and my happiness. What a sweetheart he is, this guy I’m married to, what a guy! Then….. I heard, “We can take the TV from the living room and put it in the bedroom and get a new flat screen for out here.” What? WHAT??? That sweetheart part you just read….scratch that. Now let me explain something here. Bob and I rarely watch TV together. Rarely. Practically never. Once in a blue moon. Maybe the third Tuesday of the month and only then if its raining. Got the picture? We just don’t like the same TV programs and that’s ok. I don’t recall our wedding vows saying anything about spending time together in front of the boob tube with me agreeing to watch pro wrestling and bad westerns, nor did he agree to endure endless reruns of MASH and decorating on a dime type shows. Hence, his and her TV’s.

So he measures the space we have for a TV by width and height and since we’re going flat screen the depth just didn’t come into play.

First stop, Best Buy. (Hey, I had the camera with me, what can I say?)

Their special was a 32 inch Dynex brand TV for $299.00. Hmmm, Dynex. Ya know, somehow when we’re putting this much money out we want to go with a brand name like…..Zenith, RCA, Sony, Toshiba, Sanyo,,,,one we know! Come to find out that is Best Buy’s in store brand but it was still one we weren’t familiar with. On to Walmart to see what they had. They had 26 inch Vizio (???) on sale for $297.00 but they were out of stock anyway. Now Best Buy also had a 26 inch screen and it was a Toshiba for $50.00 more but we KNOW Toshiba, our computers are Toshiba and we’re very happy with them. So that’s what we got for the LIVING ROOM.

The instruction booklet tome was written for Rhodes Scholars, members of Mensa and nine year old electronic whiz kids. Trust me, I heard more than once,,,,,”What happened to the days when you brought a TV home, took it out of box, plugged it in and sat back with a beer to watch a ball game all within a half hour?”

As the grumbling got louder I called our friend Lyell, he has the same TV. He came over and answered a question or two for us we were good to go. The remote isn’t programmed yet but that’s another day’s headache.

So Bob set up the OLD TV …..

in the bedroom. Got the satellite wires hooked up, plugged it in, turned it on and the picture was great! The sound however was grating and scratchy!!!!! Bob looked at me, I looked at him, we looked at the TV and back at each other. I then, ever so slowly, pushed the re-set button on the satellite dish receiver. It went through the motions and the picture came back just as good as ever and the sound,…….was clear as bell.

The End. (this is best for all concerned)

11/19/2009 This and That

First things first. Welcome to our new reader in Bedminster, New Jersey. I don't know who this person is but they are reading non-stop practically according to the stat counter statistics. In fact, by the time I get this posted in a few minutes the counter will have turned another thousand to 91,000 hits. I hope you enjoy the ride with us and get a chuckle or two along the way.

I haven’t been writing the last few days because we just haven’t been doing anything of great interest.

More of our friends have been arriving every day and it won’t be long before we can say “the gang’s all here”.

Bob has been busy the last two day’s helping Don (The Peacock) with this rig. Seems he’s sprung a leak somewhere and Bob is giving a hand figuring out where its coming from and hopefully fixing it.

Our line dancing class has grown so much! Every week the lines get a little closer together.

Our friend Kathy, you may remember her as “the lush” from last year is painting the interior of her newly purchased park model. Its really giving me the itch to paint. I told you not too long ago that everything in our place is WHITE and I hate it. Oh yeah, this hand is going to be holding a roller or paintbrush in the very near future!

I have a few websites I want to share with you.

Are you the grocery shopper in your family? Do you cut out coupons to save on your grocery budget? If so, here is an online sources for those money saving coupons.

The Coupon Mom

In addition to just using coupons you can check out who has the best prices in your area by using Grocery Guide. This site lets you put in the two stores you frequent the most so you can compare which one has the best prices on what’s on your grocery list. It will even print out your grocery list and coupons if they are available.

You’ve all heard of Black Friday and by now I’m sure you are familiar with Cyber Monday when the online sales will be listed for your holiday Christmas shopping. Did you know there is a web site called Cyber Monday? There will be hourly specials from your favorite retailers on the Monday after Thanksgiving and sales alerts will be sent by email so be sure to sign up now.

Thanks to Maryann in Atlanta, George for sharing those sites above.

PERSPECTIVE:

One day , the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip , the
father asked his son , "How was the trip?"

"It was great , Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah , " said the son.

"So , tell me , what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered:

“I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us , but they serve others. We buy our food , but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us , they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added , "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

WOW 90,000

It's gonna turn today....90,000! If its you leave us a comment letting us know.

I appreciate everyone of our readers!

11/16/2009 DOMINO DIVAS

The ranks of the Quail Run Domino Divas swelled by one more this week as Kathy has returned to the winter perch. We all met a Peg’s at one and played our favorite game, Mexican Train. I really think I could play this every day. Peg provided some tasty snacks for us and a good time was had by all.

We went to Golden Corral this afternoon for our “free” Veteran’s Day dinner but when we got there at 5 p.m. the line was so incredibly long we just said, “NO WAY!” It would have been hours waiting in line just to get in the door,

Evening brought pool league for me. I lost both games but I sure had fun playing.

This past Friday marked three years since we left home and started living on the road. The time sure did go fast, it seems like yesterday. We covered a lot of miles in these three years, met a lot of great people and saw some spectacular sights.

Have YOU ever given any thought to joining the ranks of RV full- timers and becoming genuine “Trailer Trash”?

Think about this for a minute. No more mortgage payment, utility bills, property taxes, school taxes, lousy neighbors, cutting grass and the list goes on.

Do you want to live more simply? Then pack up the dog and move into a travel-trailer! They make pretty nice ones nowadays, couldn’t you see yourself in this? Would you really mind being called “Trailer Trash” if you lived like this????

Be honest now….wouldn’t you just love to be Trailer Trash?