My Projects

I like to stay busy. At least with things that I like to do. Staying busy with cleaning and dusting and scrubbing isn't the kind of busy that I like to be, but it has to get done - thus the laundry story from yesterday.

The kind of busy that I like to be is where I can accomplish something and not have to do the same thing over again tomorrow or next week - like cleaning up dog hair - that's an every day thing. And believe me, I've had plenty of that kind of busy on this trip with the two grand dogs. German Shepherds are the biggest hair factories in the world. Ole brushes them every night and collects the hair in a paper grocery bag. I think by the time we get home the bag will be completely full.

But I digress. When we travel for the winter I always bring along my sewing machine and a few projects that I've intended to work on but never seem to have much time when I'm at home.

I don't have the room here to spread out like I do at home in my sewing room, but somehow I manage. This year I brought along all the makings for a king-sized duvet cover for my bedroom at home. The carpet is steel gray with teal and cranberry flecks in it, so the duvet cover coordinates. I started it when we arrived at Big Brother's place the beginning of January, and yesterday I put the last of the top stitching on it. The top stitching is done in a silver metallic thread - just a bit of sparkle to it in the right light. Today I'll add the backing and the zipper and - Taa Daa - it will be ready to slip on the comforter when I get back home.

I also have enough fabric left to make a coordinating bedskirt, pillow shams and curtains. So I still have a bit of sewing left to complete the entire project, but the rest is all easy stuff.

Then there are my crochet projects. When I'm not sewing it seems I'm crocheting. My mother taught me when I was a little girl, and I taught my daughter a numer of years ago. We've both managed to win purple ribbons (grand prize) at the county fair. Here's the latest crochet project I've been working on. It's just about done. I like big, heavy, long afghans that cover you up completely to snuggle down in on a chilly evening.

Obviously, so does Lucy because every time I start to work on it she thinks it's a license to sit in my lap on top of my work. This prohibits accomplishing much, but then it's nice to have "kitty love" now and then.

Love Lena

They must not do laundry in Las Vegas!

Ole was down to his last clean pair of undies so the day finally came when I had to do laundry. I usually carry enough clothing in the rig so that I don't have to go to the laundromat more than once every two weeks. You know what an ugly, boring and expensive proposition that can be. And the things you find in laundromats can be so disgusting - that is if you can even FIND a laundromat these days.

Big Brother was in the same shape - no clean socks left. So after sorting two weeks worth of dirty clothes we perused the phone book and located what we thought was a close-by laundromat. Now mind you, EVERYTHING in Vegas is 10 miles away - I don't care where you are at the present moment - whatever you want is 10 miles away and always in heavy traffic.

So we drove our 10 miles, reached the location and guess what? No laundromat - poof - it had disappeared. Closed up and converted into a book store with slot machines. Now we knew there were other laundromats listed in the yellow pages that we had looked at, but had neglected to write the addresses down (of course). And, have you ever tried to find a phone book theses days? They're non-existent too what with everyone carrying cell phones. Big Brother is pretty familiar with the layout of the city, so we thought we'd go by what he remembered from the phone book. The second laundry that we found was not a self-service laundry, but one of those drop-off places. Believe me, I would have dropped the laundry off, but I had so much (including rugs and some blankets) but it would have bankrupted me. So on to the next place he thought he remembered. And then several more.

We left the house at 11 o'clock, and we had now wasted 2 and a half hours and hadn't even gotten our clothes into a washing machine yet. Frustration is setting in big time. By this time we're all the way on the other side of the city and cl0se to where we started out. That's when, in pure frustration I decided to go back home and sit down in front of the computer to locate a laundromat. I googled Las Vegas self-service laundries, then plugged their address into Streets and Trips to determine their actual location. When I found one that was only 10 miles away I phoned them to make sure they were still there, to determine that they were actually self-service and what their hours of operation were.

Success!! The Rainbow Laundromat was only 10.2 miles from here and was open until 8:30 p.m. By this time it was getting to be 3 o'clock and the normally heavy traffic was getting even heavier. But I forged ahead, working my way through dodging overly assertive drivers from here to there and finally got my clothes into actual washing machines by 3:30 in the afternoon. Folded the last item at 5:30 and drove in the driveway at 6:30 p.m.

The lady that ran the laundromat told me that laundromats are closing in the city because all the big apartment complexes are putting in their own big laundry facilities instead of just a machine or two, so the apartment people don't need to go to laundromats anymore. And of course all the "rich folks" in LV wouldn't think of doing their own laundry - they farm it out - drop off and pick up or even have the laundry service come get it and deliver it. Of course you've got to have a bit of money to afford going to the laundromat these days too. By the time I was done I had gone through $25 worth of quarters. A quarter gives you 6 minutes worth of drying time. The washing machine was $2.25, with a very small drum and water that only filled to the 3/4 level so you couldn't load very many clothes in.

BIG rip off!!

I HATE this city and I can't wait to leave.

Love Lena

Fremont Street! Finally!!

My most dear Nephew decided we were all going to go have some fun last night and he and his wife went with us down to Fremont Street. I haven't been to Fremont Street since it was enclosed so it pretty much blew me away.

The first show that we saw was Bye, Bye Miss American Pie - terrific but scary because Ole and I "lived" all the stuff they depicted during the song. We were "children of the 60s" and lived through all the hippies, flower children, death of Buddy Holly, etc. I'm sure you knew that the song Bye, Bye Miss American Pie was written about the death of Buddy Holly. If you didn't realize it, go back and listen to it closely. It's there. One of the phrases in the song is "the night the music died" - and a lot of other things died with it that night.

The next show was We Will Rock You by Queen - once again - terrific. The graphics were unbelievable. An hour later Kiss was scheduled. We thought about staying, but none of us were big Kiss fans. Besides Nephew had to get up early the next morning to be at some breakfast meeting.

Below are some of the graphics set to music that were projected on this big screen that covers the street. Can't you just imagine having some psychedelic "trip" with some of these graphics?

Interspersed between the shows (because they only take place at the top of the hour) Nephew took us to a place called Hogs and Heifers - a biker bar. It wasn't very crowded last night being a Tuesday night, but I can see where that place would really get rockin' and rollin'. When we walked in the bartenders were dancing on the bar and getting what few people were in there going.

They were good at getting the crowd involved, especially the women, several of whom got up on the bar and danced also. Judging from the appearance of the back of the bar - on some of the "drunker" nights when things really get going some of the women get pretty wild - note all the bras hanging up behind the bar! I think there was even an 88 ZZZ hanging back there somewhere. Now those would really be some bazoombas, right?

I SO wanted a shirt from this place, but the shirt booth was closed - so my tough luck. I'll either have to run back there during the day, or see what I can order online.

We also stopped in the Golden Nugget before we went home. Sat in the bar and listened to their entertainment - a comedian/vocalist/sax player that could really honk out some tunes.

All in all, it was a fun night and I'm really ready for more low key entertainment tonight. Nephew said that New York New York has something called Dueling Pianos that are well worth seeing - so I guess we'll give that a go tonight.

Reporting in from Vegas

Love Lena

Viva Las Vegas???

Viva Las Vegas? I think NOT!!! I've been here many times before and each time I come here I dislike it more. Sure - it's an exciting city if you're coming here to gamble and party. But if that's not what you're here for it's awful.

The traffic is undescribable - and the drivers are absolutely crazy. Nephew lives on the southwest edge of the city, and we had to go to the Flamingo Hotel for a 4 o'clock wedding yesterday. We planned for an hour's drive time, which should have more than covered it because the Strip isn't that far from his house. We got there with 5 minutes to spare. I thought I was going to have a heart attack several times on the way down because of the insane antics of the other drivers. One car was in the far left lane on the I-15, a 6-lane freeway when he decided he needed to get into the far right lane immediately or he would miss his exit. He actually took a 90-degree turn and drove straight across 5 lanes of traffic dodging between all the oncoming cars. And if you've ever driven in Vegas you know that NO ONE leaves much space between the car in front of them. Everyone rides bumper to bumper and goes like a bat out of you-know-where.

THEN - after we got off the freeway and were waiting in line to make a left-turn on Las Vegas Blvd. there came a car from somewhere behind the line of cars, drove in the wrong lane going against the traffic, all oncoming cars dodging him, drove up to the head of the line and tried to budge in just behind the first car in line to make the left turn!! Nephew says this kind of stuff is common and goes on all the time. I guess he should know as he's out in the traffic all over the city on a daily basis.

Several years ago when we were here we had the Harley along with us. Ole wouldn't even take it out of the trailer - he said it was far too dangerous a place to ride. We've both driven in big cities all over the world but this one is by far the worst as far as traffic is concerned. The only other city we've had trouble in was Boston, but at least the drivers were courteous there and not out of their minds in the antics they pulled. Driving in Boston is like driving on streets that remind me of boiled spaghetti dumped on a plate. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason in how they're laid out. We've even driven in Athens, Greece where the drivers drive with one hand on the wheel and the other fist out the window shaking it at you, and dealt with the Greek alphabet and didn't get lost. Not that Las Vegas is difficult to find your way around in, because it's not - it's just those fricken-fracken drivers - they are absolutely nuts.

Well, anyway, we made it to the Flamingo Hotel

and managed to find the correct wedding gazebo. There were only three weddings going on simultaneously in this particular court yard.

By 4 o'clock in the afternoon the air temperature was cooling off quite a bit and it was pretty chilly. I felt sorry for the bride and bridesmaids who were shivering and turning blue in their strapless gowns. But the ceremony took only 10 minutes so in that short time at least they didn't suffer from frostbite.

The hotel had sectioned off a large seating area in the buffet dining room, but the dinner reservation wasn't until 7 o'clock. So there was a long time to fill from 4:15 to 7:00. We all gathered in one of the little bars just to the side of the casino, but we didnt' last long there because the noise level was so high that nobody could hear anyone else. It was impossible to have a conversation. Big Brother and Ole and I are long-time friends of the groom's parents and hadn't seen them for a number of years, so we definitely wanted to have a good visit while we had the opportunity. The parents were staying at the Flamingo so we finally adjourned to their room for a couple of hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was really good to see them.

So today has been a quiet day, even though we were home by 9 o'clock last night. You can't afford to have more than one cocktail to the tune of $10 a pop! It's on the chilly, cloudy side here today so it's nice to hole up in the rig where it's warm and catch up on things. Big Brother and Ole are working on Big Brother's rig, installing a tracking satellite dish and upgrading his propane feed. So they're definitely staying out of mischief.

I've got a big roast in the crockpot for everyone tonight. I'll be making mashed potatoes and gravy and a salad. Nephew's wife is making dessert - so we certainly won't be lacking for food. Nephew has two boys - the oldest is 13 so he's in the beginning stages of being a bottomless pit when it comes to food. Hopefully a 5 lb. roast will be sufficient (snicker). Isn't that about the age when boys develop hollow legs? Having had only a girl I didn't experience those things.

That's all from Las Vegas for today.

Love Lena

The End of the Rainbow

It's been raining for the last couple of days - don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining because it's much better than snow. But then I understand it's been raining at home too (Minnesota). Rain in February in Minnesota. Makes for lots of ice. But we don't have to deal with that in the middle of the desert, do we?

I caught this as the rain clouds were moving out of the area last night. I thought the colors and the cloud formations were gorgeous.


And then I caught this!! Couldn't find the pot of gold though - darn. I thought the difference in the color of the sky was quite interesting inside and outside the rainbow.

We took our RV into town to get the generator fixed yesterday. Remember, I told you that the generator had quit genning (making electricity). Ole and Big Brother had spent several hours working on it on Friday but couldn't figure out what was wrong. That's unusual for the two of them not to get things figured out. After all, Big Brother used to be a "rocket scientist" and Ole spent 30 years in electronics. But they finally gave in and we took it to a generator guy in town who had things figured out and fixed within 15 minutes!! And not for a lot of $$$$ either. Just a simple thing that the guys had missed. So that was a big "whew"!

While we were at the generator place we met a guy who worked at the place during the winters. He was from a town about 30 miles from where Ole and I live. He and his wife have comedown here every winter to work for years, he on RVs and she as a waitress. They have a 5th wheel parked right in town.

We had the doggers in the RV of course, Beau sitting in the driver's seat and Daisy in the passenger seat, as usual. (Driving Miss Daisy, you know.) He commented on the dogs and asked if we had run into any coyotes being we were camping out in the desert. I told him that we had but to this point they hadn't caused any problems. He told me the story of his next door neighbor's little dog that had to go out during the night a few nights ago. A coyote came right into town, snatched the little dog and had lunch. Coyotes are very smart - there's a reason Wiley Coyote was named such. You remember him on the Road Runner cartoon series, don't you? I understand the coyotes biggest trick around here is to hide under your rig if they know you have a dog, wait for you to put your dogger out whether tied up or not, and jump out from under the rig and snatch the dog.

I told him I didn't think the coyote would have much of chance with two German Shepherds and a Plott Hound bred to hunt bear and wild pigs. But he said in that case they lure the dogs away from the rig out into the desert where a pack of coyotes attack and do their thing. Good thing these dogs don't get outside at night unless Ole is with them.

Ole and Big Brother are going to finish installing the generator in his new rig today and then tomorrow I think we'll pull out and head for Vegas.

All for now,

Love Lena

Flash Flood!!

It rained all day yesterday. Hard. And the wind blew too. So it didn't take long and all the little gullies in the desert were running full of water. Some of them weren't so little either.

Bruno, Big Brother's dog gets chilly very easily because he doesn't have much fur. So Big Brother took pity on him, let him jump up on the davenport and covered him up where he slept the afternoon away. Man, can that dog snore - loud.

Here's a shot of our "camp" taken from my front door. That's Big Brother's old rig on the left and his new one on the right. It wasn't very pleasant trying to move from one rig to another in all that rain and wind. I think we'll be able to finish up by today.

I had to play gopher yesterday and run to town for parts during the heaviest of the rain storm. It's five miles to town and when I went into town the highway was fine. By the time I was headed home again, about a half hour later, there was water over the road in places, some of them deep enough to reach the bumper of my car. I'm sure there's water in the gulches this morning.

The sun is trying to shine this morning and it looks clear to the west. I hope it stays that way.

Lucy (my kitty) disappeared last night. When she didn't show up when I went to bed last night I really didn't think anything of it assuming that she had crawled into a corner somewhere to curl up and sleep. But when I woke up this morning and realized that she hadn't come up on the bed at all last night I began to worry that she had gotten outside somehow. She generally doesn't show too much interest in getting out, but loves to at least look out the door. After walking the doggers this morning I came back inside and called for her. After a bit I heard a very weak, pitiful meow and realized that she was inside somewhere, probably in a cupboard or closest. When I traced down the meow and opened the closest door there she was curled up on the jeans that I had stacked on the shelf. She was, of course, none the worse for wear but happy to get out where she went immediately to get a drink of water, then to her litter box and next to her food dish.

Now those darn doggers have learned a new trick too. And I'm blaming Ole for it - and I'm not happy about it. About 7:30 every morning they come to my side of the bed poking and whining because they've learned that Ole doesn't hear them and is good at ignoring them. The agreement was when I agreed to let the doggers come along on this trip that HE would be the one that would be getting up with them in the mornings and taking them out for their last walk at night. Well, the last walk at night is still his, but somehow that first one in the morning has kind of slipped from his supervision. Most mornings they will wake me and when I get up to put on sweats and a jacket they immediately hop in bed and take up MY space!! What a trick - wake me - make me get up and then jump up on the bed so there's no room for me to get back in. Well, this morning I fooled them all right. They were going out whether they truly wanted to or not. If I have to get up and go out and get cold - so do they, darn it. We'll have no more of this monkey business on my watch!

Well, Happy Snowstorm to those of you back home!!

Love Lena

I Think We're in the Flight Path

I had to turn on the air conditioner in the car today. Imagine that. It's February. Just sayin' is all.

When I talked to Lovely Daughter today she said it reached 38 back home today (Minnesota) and was melting. It's about time - the January thaw is just a bit late.

I think we're in the flight path of these little critters. I hung a humming bird feeder on the tree outside the windshield of our RV and I get heavy traffic most of the day. Mornings are really busy as are late afternoons. The antics of these little guys are amazing. They're just like helicopters when they stop in mid air and stay there, then buzz on to somewhere else. The first morning we were here I got buzzed by one so close I thought he was going to get caught in my hair. The next morning I got within 3 inches of touching one that was hovering at the feeder.

Today has been a frustrating day. Our generator seems to have died. Ole and Big Brother have worked on it most of the day, sending me to town for parts, etc. But all to no avail. We're dead and the only guy who works on these generators won't be back until Monday. $$$$$. Fortunately we have solar power but we're supposed to have rain and cloudy weather through the weekend. Imagine that - in the desert - rain.

Oh well, at least there's no possibility of us freezing to death down here (snicker).

Love Lena

It's a Hard Job, but Somebody's Got to Do It

I wore sandals today. And shorts. And a tank top. And I got a wee bit pink from the sun today. And yes, I wore sunscreen. Just thought I would let you know, that's all.

I just knew I had to write something tonight if for no other reason than to get Mr. Reader's Oasis in all his glory off my front page. His wife makes him little "socks" and ties them on with little ribbons so the socks don't fall off. Just wanted to share that bit of information with you. That's all.

Anyway - we're still here in Quartzsite and enjoying the wonderful blue sky, sunshine and warm weather.

Here's where Quartzsite is - see it under that green star down there just west of Phoenix?

Last year there were over a million people that came through here during the winter season to attend what is supposed to be the world's largest rock, gem and mineral show. There's lots of other things going on here than rocks, but you get the idea. As I mentioned in a previous post, there's only one hotel/motel in the little town, so you have to bring your own digs - namely some kind of an RV. There are so many RVs in the area that they're parked all over all the BLM land that surrounds Quartzsite. You just pull up out in the desert, pick the bush you like the best and park. It's called dry camping or boondocking. You have to be able to exist without any of the comforts of home - like electricity and sewer and water. See how the rigs are camped wherever in the desert?

We're very self-sufficient and can go for a little over a week before we have to find a dump and a water source. We've got solar panels on the roof that charge lots of batteries that generate our electricity. So we can watch TV at night, turn on lights, run the microwave - you know - really roughing it.

Here's one of the vending areas that deal in rocks, gems and chunks of minerals. I didn't know anything about rocks before I came to here. Not that I know a lot now, but more than before. And I've found some of the most beautiful Australian opals here in the last years. I love the blue/green sparkle that they have. I had some made into a watchband and I get a lot of compliments on it.
A few nights ago we went out to dinner at the Quartzsite Yacht Club. Yes, I said yachts in the middle of the desert. It's a certified yacht club and you can buy a membership here that will allow you into many different yacht clubs in the United States. We haven't gotten that exclusive yet - we just go to eat their great fish dinners.

Then, in the center of town there's a grave and memorial to Hadji Ali - a camel herder in the area around the mid 1800s. The Government in all its wisdom decided in 1856 that they would use camels to transport people and goods across the deserts of the Southwest. Of course if you have camels you have to have a camel herder and Hadji Ali was brought to America. The Americans couldn't pronounce his name so he was eventually called Hi Jolly. The Civil War came along and the government turned its interests to other things and dropped the project. The camels were turned loose to fend for themselves outside of Quartzsite, and supposedly you can still see, on occasion, some of their descendants roaming the deserts.

We're truly enjoying the warm weather here. Winter average highs are in their 60s and low 70s, nights in the high 40s and low 50s. But just think of the contrast - in July the days commonly reach 110+. One year we stayed here until April and it was getting pretty warm by then for us Northerners. I'll take a little more moderation even if I have to move around the country to find it.

Otherwise, the days are busy sitting in a lawnchair in the morning drinking coffee. Doing a bit of shopping in the afternoon. Coming back to the campsite about 4 o'clock, starting a bonfire, having a toddy or two and then grilling something for supper.

It's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it, you know.