You Can't Judge A Rock

When we're looking for rock treasures in the desert, often we see only a few millimeters of something interesting sticking out of the dirt.  Sometimes you saw it open and find only uninteresting rock.

If you're lucky you get some beautiful stuff like crystals, quartz, or wonderfull colors.

I asked Duane to saw some of my maybe treasures today and here is what we found.

This rock, which looks like petrified cow poop

revealed some beautiful white color.  These rocks are all chalcedony, which forms ripples and bumps as it grows.  These get covered by a rock layer that hides the beauty inside.

Sometimes I want the halved rocks cut into jewelry sized pieces which are then sanded to remove the outside layer.  Other pieces will be tumbled as they are to remove the outer layer.

That's a job for another day.

Louise and Duane

Nothing But Fun

A beautiful sunny day greeted us here in the Sonoran desert around Tonopah, AZ  this morning on the pickleball court, but a chilly breeze soon turned into a cold wind and cut our play short.  Back home we spent the day keeping warm and goofing off.  We went to town for a couple of hours of errands in the late afternoon, then spent the evening playing cards with the neighbors next door, our long-time Ohio friends Gene and Barbara.  Not much left of the evening after that.

We hope you enjoyed your day too.

Louise and Duane

A Story

One day four friends--Gene, Barbara, Duane, and Louise went to a huge flea market.  This is one tiny part of the stuff for sale.

As they walked around they found many interesting things such as this giant patio chair,

candles that remove ear wax, 

yes, really! 

Of course there were ATM machines so that you could spend lots of cash.

After shopping and finding some items to buy, the friends enjoyed steaks at their favorite restaurant.

The four friends each bought one item:  a nice windbreaker jacket, a microfiber cloth, an automatic card shuffler, and an extendable glow in the dark back scratcher.  Can you guess which person bought which item?

The friends had fun but were glad to be home after their long day.

Back to our usual shenanigans tomorrow.

Louise and Duane

PS  Barbara bought the jacket to keep warm on cold days riding the buggie,  Duane bought the card shuffler because it's hard for Barbara to shuffle cards with her arthritis, Gene bought the cloth to make a dust-proof cover for his IPad when he needs the GPS for buggie rides, and I bought the back scratcher just for fun!

What To Do?

A chilly rainy day offered no outside entertainment today.  How did we while away the hours here in beautiful downtown Tonopah, AZ?  Duane and Gene went to the Club House and entertained themselves with several games of pool.  Barbara and I visited for an hour or so, and I took a nap, but most of the day Duane and I busied ourselves with whatever we found interesting on tv.  Duane also played around on computer while I worked my way through several different types of Sudoku puzzles.  We capped the evening with a nice cup of hot cocoa with whipped cream.

As retired people we were up to the job.

Louise and Duane

Duane's Turn

Duane went with Gene today to see what there was to see in the desert.  14 side by sides (which we call buggies) met in the Saddle Mountain RV Park parking lot.  From there they split into two groups and explored on their own.  They met for lunch, then split again for the rest of the ride.

Duane and Gene's group found 

several interesting mountain crests

and lots of evidence of the recent unseasonable rains:

two windmills with their attendant tanks full of water

(side of one tank

the tank to this one is on the left,

green everywhere including

large areas of long grass, 

and healthy cactus.

The rain also made the desert bloom

(There were more flowers than this, but Duane was unable to capture them with the buggies in motion.)  Although the sky was overcast and the air chilly, Gene and Duane enjoyed their ride, but were glad to return home to wash off the dust in a nice warm shower.

Two more weeks before moving day.

Louise and Duane

Two years ago, the first time we stayed at Saddle Mountain RV Park, we met Cliff and Judy, fellow motorcycle riders, when they came to play pickleball.  They were brand new players but we had many fun games with them before we left two months later.  This year we played with them again, butthings have changed.  They spend winters in their house now and drive to the rv park to play.  They have much improved their pickleball games enough to play in tournaments.  Today we were invited to their home to play pickleball on their patio court, and enjoy dinner.  We played several games before continuing the fun with Judy's delicious spaghetti dinner and a couple hours of pleasant chat.  

Thank's to our friend for inviting us!

Only a couple of weeks left here in AZ.

Louise and Duane

All Around Winner

Nothing much different today in the way of weather—still sunny with a cold wind.

I played pickleball in a sweatshirt.  The only other constructive thing I did was turn my refrigerator upside down.  The milk and meat in the drawers in the bottom weren’t quite cold enough and the jam and condiments on top were almost frozen.  It took a while.  I had to empty the thing and take out and reposition all of the shelves and all of the stuff on them.  I am now short a shelf but the milk and meat are on top where it’s cooler.  No more moldy cheese, I hope.  The rest of the day I goofed off until evening.  We went next door for a (card) game of Phase 10.  I actually finished all of the phases and won with the least points!  Amazing!

Life is good here in sunny (cold) Arizona.

Louise and Duane

On To The Next

I finished my basket today.  Not bad!  

Time to get busy on a new project.

Louise and Duane

Another Step Closer

For the next step in my basket making, I enlisted Duane's help.  He used his super sharp carving knife to taper the handle ends and put a notch in each end.

  

The tapered ends fit between the woven layers.  The notches will hold the edge finishers in place.

Here the top edge is evened out and the basket handles in place.  

Almost done.

Louise and Duane

'Most Done

This sunny but chilly afternoon I worked on my basket some more.

Last month I started the kit.

A couple of weeks later I made the foundation woven rows.

Today I finished adding rows in less time than it took to finish step 2.  

Next step--finish the rim.

Three weeks left here at Saddle Mountain.

Louise and Duane

Never Too Cold?!!

A beautiful sunny day here in Tonopah, AZ. found us on the pickleball court this morning.  Duane went to play with the “big boys and girls” in Buckeye while I walked up the street to the Saddle Mountain RV Park courts.  The air was brisk, but the court is protected against wind and usually several degrees warmer than the rest of the park.  I practiced my serves for about 20 minutes, but no one joined me.  Hmmm.  I did laundry instead, then spent the rest of the day goofing off.  The temp at 11:30 was 35 d.  At 5pm it was 55, the high for the day.  As I said yesterday (see Sunny Again blog)  55d here in the desert may or may not be warm.  The air temperature makes a big difference.  Yesterday the arctic wind made 55 seem cold.  Today the sun warmed everything nicely, but the cold breeze kept outside activities at a minimum.  Most people opted to stay comfortably warm inside.

Just a few more days of chill.

Louise and Duane

Sunny Again!

A bright sunny day did nothing to allay the effects of the Arctic blast that dropped the daytime temp from the mid 60's to a high of 55 here in Tonopah.  We bundled up for lunch and an afternoon visit with long time AZ friends Jan and Doug in Congress.  I know.  People up north are laughing.  55 d. is jacket weather.  Here however, the wind was strong and biting cold--hence the coats.  Our drive took us from Tonopah--46d at 11am--up 15oo ft to Congress--43d at noon.  

We met our friends at a local restaurant for lunch, then went back to their house for a nice long chat.  

I took no more pix, but found one I took in October.  I assure you they weren't wearing shorts and tees today.  Everyone was wearing long sleeves and jeans.  While we were visiting Jan and I used lap throws.  

The welcome was warm and the coffee hot.  Good times!

Louise and Duane

Rainy Day

The weather has been unseasonably wet here in the Saddle Mountain RV Park in Tonopah, AZ.  We have been here since October and have had rain every month--most unusual for the desert.  This morning we managed to play pickleball without getting wet, but after lunch the rain set in for the rest of the day and evening.  

What to do?  (Friend) Gene and Duane played pool.  (His wife) Barbara did some shopping and read her book.   The guy next door washed his trailer and truck.  

I enjoyed a brief view of this rainbow,

then worked on my basket that I had started last month.

 After two hours, I managed to put in two base rows--loosely--before I quit for the day.  Basket weaving is simple, but not easy!

Back to sunshine tomorrow, but colder.

Louise and Duane

We Cried

from laughing so much!

Louise and Duane

UnAmerican

Superbowl Sunday and neither Duane nor I had the game or anything game related on our tvs!  Duane is a college football fan, and I am a fan of no sports.

We played pickleball, took a walk with our friends, cleaned our files, changed grit in the rock tumbler, sawed a few rocks into smaller pieces, went next door for happy hour with a group of neighbors, and watched whodunits on tv. 

Didn't miss the game a bit.

Louise and Duane

Good Day

No pictures today, but a nice day anyway.  The temperatures here in the sunny/partly cloudy Tonopah, AZ desert are in the low to mid 60's daytime,  low to mid 50's night.  We enjoyed the day by playing pickleball for 2 1/2 this morning, eating excellent pizza at a little hole-in-the-wall place in old town Buckeye called Argento's  with longtime Ohio friends and current next-door neighbors, Barbara and Gene, and topping off the day with an evening of blueberry/cream cheese pie and cards with the same friends.  After spending several hours together today, we're still friends!

Good weather, good fun, good friends.  Can't beat that!.

Louise and Duane

Chore Day

Enjoy the sunset!

Louise and Duane