Friends from California!!

Did you know that I HATE the wind? However, everywhere I go the wind blows!!! It blows up in the Black Hills,,,,,,it blows in Mission, TX and it blows here in AZ. It was real nice here at North Ranch in Congress, Arizona yesterday, but a couple of days last week, the wind REALLY blew!!!
It shook this big 12 ton TETON every time a big gust would hit. I finally had to go outside and take my DirecTV dish down. It was such a struggle that Ms Pat had to come out and help me. It about blew us both away!!
The only place I've been for any length of time where the wind didn't blow much is Florida. The 20 years I spent in Tallahassee, which is in Northern Florida, was about the most "wind free" time of my life. Anybody know any places where the Wind doesn't blow? Probably the same place where the Sun doesn't shine, right? No thanks, I'll take the wind!!:-)
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We had weekend visitors that came all the way over from Santa Paula, CA.,75 miles North of Los Angeles, where they have been living for the past couple of years. Nick and Joanne Alexakis have been full-time RV'ers for the last 15 years. We first met them back in 1996 when we all worked together at Custer State Park in South Dakota and we have stayed in touch ever since. We caught up with them for several winters in Florida and for the last 4-5 winters here in AZ. They are staying put at the present time working full-time jobs, but plan to get back out on the road in about 2 years... Nick is a Building Inspector for the State of California and Joanne is a licensed Optician in a Lenscrafters optical shop in Ventura. They still reside in their 5TH wheel and are "itching" to Hit the Road again....

We are having a great time and it's good to see them again. They stayed in the Sierra Vista Motel in Congress, which is advertised as the "smallest" Motel in AZ. It has 4 rooms!! They will be here until Tuesday and then we have some friends from South Dakota stopping by on their way home from Yuma. They will be staying in the same motel for a couple of nights. Any of you that have been to Congress know there isn't much to it........ This is the ONLY motel in town. It isn't fancy, but it's nice and clean and has FREE wi-fi!!!


I put up a Bird Feeder for Megabyte2. So now she has something to watch out the window. We call it her 56" HDTV.......She loves watching the birds fly onto it and eat. She gets SOooo excited!!! Yesterday, there were 4 birds flying in and out and a rabbit running around on the ground...she really got excited!! Her little tail flopped back and forth so fast.........


It just TOTALLY wore her OUT!!! She's sound asleep!!!

As usual, we had some kind of a busy week. PressurePro continues to be the Tire Pressure Monitoring System of choice. We shipped out 8 systems last week. I finally got the oil and filter changed in the Honda, which I have been wanting to do since we got here....

It was a GREAT WEEK !!!!

Thank you for stopping by and we hope all is well with you...

See ya Wednesday,,,,


Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday.

SPRING has SPRUNG !!

Ah, yes I know, Spring is here as of last Friday.... But try to tell the folks below that.

This was the scene all over the Black Hills of South Dakota Monday and yesterday. This picture was taken in Sturgis. The Rapid City Journal Headlines were:
"Hurricane-force' wind gusts mark spring blizzard"
I-90 all across Western South Dakota and Eastern Wyoming was CLOSED.
90 MPH wind gusts and up to 40 inches of snow blanketed the area.

WOW!!, now I was born and raised in that country and I have seen my share of snow storms and I want to tell you, I'm very happy I was right here in Western Arizona. It was 43* yesterday when we got up at 4, and the high in the shade for the day was 70*. Now that's MY IDEA of SPRING!! It was a beautiful day, not too cool and not too hot and the humidity was non-existent.

I must say, however, that lots of folks here at North Ranch are preparing to head back home soon. A few have already gone. We received notice yesterday that it was time for the "Year End" shindig annual Block Party. So that will be today at our neighbors right across the street.

We aren't going to be leaving until the first part of May. So we will be here for over a month yet. Although we have been here for about 6 weeks, we don't want to get up to the Black Hills until these BIG storms get over. After being anywhere for 2 months, both Pat and I get "yancy" to move. So after April 15th, it is "touch and go" and we may head out any time after that. With all the Lakes and Rivers filled to the brim after a severe 6-7 year drought, we are anxious to get to our favorite fishing lake, Angostura. We can hear the WALLEYE calling!! They bite best when it's COOL, early in the spring..... I keep thinking about our first trip out last spring when I made my first cast and soon pulled in a NICE 24" Walleye. Can't wait!!!!

Meanwhile, it's still mighty active around here. Beading week, Woodcarvers week, etc. and we have some good friends that are driving over from near Los Angeles to spend the weekend. Looking forward to seeing Nick and Joanne Alexakis.


Thanks for stopping by.


It's a GREAT WEEK!!!

Mike

This Blog Published every Wednesday and Sunday.

Special GUESTS!!!

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We were so happy to have our Granddaughter Shala and son Pat and his wife Michelle stop by. Shala lives in Lincoln, Nebraska and attends the University of Nebr. She decided to take her "Spring Break" down here in AZ. Pat and Michelle live in Lake Havasu. Shala is real excited about a couple of events she has coming up soon.....both her and her Dad are training for a 1/2 Marathon run in Lincoln in May. Both have run races all over the country, including Boston and New York. But the really BIG event she has coming up is a trip to Argentina, South America. She has been accepted to attend a 4 to 6 week Spanish training session there. That will be some kind of an EXCITING trip,,,,,,,,we are so PROUD of her!!! Way to go Kiddo!!!
SPRING in this desert is something else! One of our favorite flowering cacti is this EASTER cactus. This one is in our front yard. They are one of the first to bloom every year. Here it is just starting.

You can almost see them opening as the day progresses...

Then the next morning it is wide open!!!!

We used to have lots of Cacti in our yard,,,,,,,but some of them have a way of overwhelming you. Like they say around here,,,"they JUMP OUT at you"! When we had our patio built and new gravel put down, we had the landscapers take most of them out. A couple of these are about the only ones we have left, the others found their way out into the wilderness.....

Hope you are all having a HAPPY SPRING!!

It's been a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Mike

This Blog Published every Sunday and Wednesday..

This KITTY'S not spoiled!!! HA!

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Here is Ms Megabyte/2 at one of her favorite perches. This is her BIG Screen TV..........She loves to watch the Birds, Doves, Rabbits, etc. But, Ms Pat says she needs to go outside. Now she doesn't like a leash, at all!!, plus she gets all hung up in it. So what to do....

Then right out of the CLEAR BLUE, like a gift from up above, this Pet Mate outdoor screened Play House appeared on the Escapee swap table. WOW,,,,how NEAT!!! Perfect!! She likes it! And, it folds up to the size of a small lawn chair for storage..perfect for RV'ers.

One of the things I really like about all Escapee RV Parks is they all have a "swap table". That's a table in the clubhouse where co-members put things that are excess to their needs, in hopes someone else can use them. I leave things there all the time in exchange for stuff we can use. But this one really "HIT" the spot. How timely!!! Strange things happen, don't they? Is that Scott at work again? Maybe so, I like to think so anyhow! I put a hefty contribution in the box for the upkeep of the "swap table".

The Vet and some of our experienced Cat owner friends say that Cats need a special water fountain that adds oxygen and continually filters their water. It entices them to drink more water and eliminate the chances of a urinary tract infection. Well, guess what she has now??? Yep, I just happened to find a "like new" one on eBay that a lady in Calif was selling. I was able to get it at half price and the USPS got it here in ONE day.

Let me tell you,, she loves it! Just like Donnalyn Vickers (our Friend) said she would. She drinks 2-3 times more water than she did......

But, she's NOT spoiled,,,,,,,,No way!:-)

Our great and long time RV friends from our last hometown of Tallahassee, FL. stopped by this week-end. How wonderful to see them again. They are Airstreamers, have an Airstream Motorhome and were returning from a 45+- day Caravan trip to the Baja Peninsula. Needless to say, they were sure happy to be back in the good ole USA! Glad they went, but in no hurry to go back....

We enjoyed the weekend with them with happy hours and cook outs each night and talking about old times. We met them way back in about 1989, 20 years ago when we were all still working stiffs and have kept in touch continually since. They are both retired from the State of Florida. Winston was a State Pilot and flew the State Plane for something like 26 years. During this time he escorted many, many Governors around the country. However, one of his duty's was to fly Bobby Bowden, Florida State's well known Football Coach around the country. He says that was the most enjoyable.. Very neat, interesting folks to be around. Thank you so much for stopping Winston and Carol. Have a safe trip back to Tallahassee and we sure will see you down the road soon!!

It's a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Travel safe and God Bless!!!!

Mike

This Blog published every Wednesday and Sunday.

Stucco Project COMPLETED!!!!

Our 3 DAY project of applying Stucco to the Storage Shed took over a week, but it is COMPLETED!! Here are a couple of photo's.

Above is BEFORE we started the project.

These were after it was done.... All we have to do now is get new House Numbers. Pat says those OLD ONES have to GO! All in all, we are quite happy with the way it turned out. Now, we can CROSS that off the "to do" list....

Pat took this shot from our back yard Friday afternoon. There were some beautiful colors and a rainbow that touched the ground just to the right of Round Mountain. You can see it better if you click on the picture and enlarge it. We have some beautiful sunrises and sunsets here. The weather has been superb, high 40's in the mornings and 70's in the afternoon. Ya gotta LOVE IT!!!

Yesterday was Garage Sale day here in the Park. Everyone puts things out by the street that they want to sell and folks from all over the area come and take a look. Of course, we put PressurePro Tire Monitoring Systems, PowerTanks and Dri-Wash products out. Plus, I put out a lot of other items that I had that were excess to my needs. The weather again was perfect and we did quite well. I sold an Inverter and a Catalytic Heater, plus several other odds and ends. Now I have MORE room in my basement.....

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!!!

Time for me to say it one more time, "remember to tell your kids you love them, they may not be around forever".

Mike

This Blog Published every Sunday and Wednesday.

The FINISHING TOUCHES!!!

Finishing up our PROJECT....

The second coat was applied, which was mainly the "design".

It only took a little over an hour to complete it. It looks GREAT!!

Now I have to spray it down with water and let it dry, for a total of 5 times. Then after it dries completely, it will be painted with a special elastic Stucco Paint....Maybe, we'll have that done in time for a final picture of the completed project on Sunday........Just Maybe!!

Many of you have asked if we are satisfied with our switch to an Air Card for our Internet services. When we departed from Custer last Fall, we decided to TRY a Verizon Air card and router rather than the HughesNet Satellite dish set-up we had been using for the last 4+ years. I was skeptical and when we first got the Air Card we were still on our property at Custer. The Air Card speed was lousy,,,,,,,,as slow as dial up. I wasn't about to give up my Satellite dish.

I loved the Satellite Dish, it never let us down no matter where we were......never a worry. I never had a problem setting it up and getting on a satellite,,, ever! I will admit that after a long day of travel and we were tired, it was somewhat of a hassle setting up all the equipment before we could get on the Internet and check our email and our PressurePro website. But we did it many times and it wasn't really that big of a deal. However, I conceded that if we could get Air Card service wherever we were it would be simpler to just "plug and play". But I was still skeptical and wasn't going to give up my dish until I found out for sure. Granted, it's a lot of equipment to haul around and it takes up a lot of room.

The final test was when we arrived here at our place at North Ranch Escapee Park in Arizona. It's noted for less than perfect cell phone signals. We set up our Verizon Air Card, Router, Amplifier and outside Trucker Antenna and LOW and BEHOLD,,,,it worked GREAT. So,,,although I'm still a little reluctant, we have decided to cancel our HughesNet Satellite service. I have sold 2 of the Satellite Dishes I had and from now on we won't be Internet Satellite users any longer. I can use the tripod and offset bracket with our new 5 LNB Slimline HDTV Satellite TV dish.

When we get back to Custer, if Verizon hasn't improved their signal there, we will use a high speed data line that is available and put the Air Card on "vacation mode". That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!!! Right or wrong, that's our decision!!

Thanks for stopping by.

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Mike

This Blog is published every Wednesday and Sunday.

Project not completed!!!

I mentioned last week that I hoped to show you a picture of our FINISHED stucco project. But I also mentioned that many times things do not happen as planned. We are moving along, but it's not completed yet. Yesterday they put on the 1ST coat of Stucco. Today the 2ND coat with the design will go on and Monday or Tuesday it will be painted..... It is looking different tho, here are a few pictures.

Just getting started. (click on all pictures to enlarge)

The first batch of Stucco goes up. They need to work on the shadowy side to keep it from drying so fast.

With 3 guys working on this little building, it doesn't take long.

Just about DONE!!!

There it is,,,,,,,,,1ST coat on!!! Now it needs to dry and set up good before the 2ND "design" finish coat is applied,,,, Manana. Ha ha, hopefully tomorrow!

This next picture is for our faithful readers Jerry and Suzi. After Jerry's comments on last weeks Blog.......

Jerry said:

"I'll bet you don't have any doors and windows that open onto a brick wall or staircases that end at a ceiling!"

This fellow had me worried....

Come to find out, he was just doing some measuring and cutting for the pieces above the door and he didn't cover the opening!!! Pat and I had a good laugh..........:-)

So,,,,again we HOPE to have a COMPLETED picture to show you Wednesday. But then again, you know how that goes! Manana!!

That's about it for this week. But, of course, one quick shot of Ms Mega2:

I just had to try and get a picture of her sleeping on Ms Pat's lap. She opened her eyes just as I clicked the shutter. She sleeps in some mighty peculiar positions!!!!! Just relaxin!!! You can see the scar on her stomach is healing nicely........

It was a GREAT WEEK !!!!

Thanks for stopping by. God Bless you all.

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday.

Another Project !!

Well, here we go again!! Another project that we have been planning to get done has started.

A couple years ago, when we painted our Storage shed here on our lot at North Ranch in Congress, AZ, it was decided we needed to put something over the wood "T" board on the exterior walls. It is sometimes called "boxcar" siding and I don't care much for it, especially when it gets a few years old. (click on all photo's to enlarge)

Here it is before we started.

Our good friends and neighbors, Tom and Sally Gierisch, had their shed covered with Stucco. We thought it looked real good and fits in with a lot of the Southwestern decor in the area. We said "We should do that to ours one of these days and especially when it needs painting again." That time is here, so we asked Sally for the name of the person that finished theirs. We called the number she had and no one there could speak English enough to talk to us.......Hmmmmm, so we asked Sally to call for us. Sally speaks Spanish and used to work with contractors in El Paso in her "other life"!!! Ah ha! That did it... Jose called us back and agreed to come and give us an estimate..

Yesterday, they got started.....First, all the trim was removed, new metal corners and bases were installed. Then this Styrofoam was installed.

With 3 of them working on this little 10X12 shed, it didn't take long.

Next, came the "chicken" wire that was installed over the Styrofoam. However, "quiting time" came along. They always tell you "we'll be back Manana", which is supposed to mean tomorrow. However, we have found after dealing with a lot of these contractors, it may mean sometime in the future! We only HOPE it's tomorrow! :-)

Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to show you the finished product on Sunday. But, as we've learned, no promises....

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by......God Bless

Mike

This Blog is Published each Wednesday and Sunday..