SHABBAT SHALOM~Last night in Quartzsite-AZ

Yesterday afternoon, we pulled stakes from our Quartzsite-AZ desert spot … and drove into town to rent a spot there; to get laundry done, dump & flush the black water holding tanks, and enjoy a leisurely shower. It's a nice graveled spot with a little shading and two permanently vacant spots on either side of us: we enjoyed a quiet night, and Bleu enjoyed freedom runs :-)

Where we are until tomorrow afternoon; Quartzsite-AZ.

This morning, Bleu was missing his freedom runs.

I was drinking my morning coffee, and Holland was fixing to take the garbage out when, I said, "Wait a minute - let me get the garbage bags from the bathrooms." He said he'd go get the bathroom bag from the upstairs bathroom, near the bedroom: when he came back downstairs,  he said, "Wait 'til you see the surprise your furry son left for you in the bedroom."

Alarm bells rang in my ears.

We've been under a lot of stress since Monday morning … and just like a child in a house filled with tension, he has felt the stress that was ricocheting off the 4 walls.

The stress was defused yesterday, but as with all stressful situations: the effects linger for a while. What did he do?

I asked, "Did he poop on the floor?" Holland said, "No." I asked, "Did he pee on the floor?" Holland said, "No." 

The alarm bells stopped ringing … and I went to investigate - wondering what on earth Bleu had done.

Out of boredom, the little brat had shredded a spare bed pillow :-(

This is a new thing - hopefully this type of things will not happen again.

So, into the trash bag it went; and I got dressed and took Bleu for a loop walk around the RV Park here in town. When we got back, Holland said, "Why don't we drive up the road to Hi Jolly and let him run awhile?"

So, that's what we did ;-)

We have a Blue-Heeler … they are good watch dogs, and they are loyal dogs; they are also high energy herding dogs bred to run. He can't run in a town RV Park. But he could run in the desert, up the road a bit.

Interesting paint job on this jeep …

'Calypso Pink' Oleander Bush.

Our space; clean and comfortable.

Hi Jolly BLM Campground; Quartzsite-AZ

A 'run free' hop down the highway to Hi Jolly BLM Campground-AZ

Looped back to Holland & Betsy.

Plomosa Mountains; Quartzsite-AZ

When Bleu had run himself long enough, we left Hi Jolly, and  Holland said, "You need to get out of the house too, why don't you drive up the road a bit and see what there is to see."

So, I did.

The town, itself, is very small - a shot-gun town; but over the overpass is wide-open country with several BLM Campgrounds all the way to Yuma, which is 80 miles away (a little over an hour and a half). I didn't want to go all the way to Yuma today: we will be driving to Yuma in a couple of days … but I did want to explore a little more of the desert here.

I'd rather be driving backroads instead of highways and freeways: thankfully my husband is in agreement.

We saw some interesting sights as we drove along :-)

Some of these sights were new things, to me.

I saw a curiosity, so I drove off-road to get a closer peek. Holland said 'Looks like a mine of some sort …

'Neil Young - 'Heart Of Gold' song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNq6AVSns-M)

I had crossed from one campground to another via a connecting background; 10-mi. out of the way.

Pretty rough going …

A BIG bird's nest in a cactus; Holland said, 'Hawk nest'. He was right. Harris Hawk (internet picture).

Saguaros start life slowly, reaching an inch to an inch and a half in height in eight years. A saguaro doesn’t start flowering—providing a vital food source and reproducing—until it’s more than 35 years old. Around age 50, the cactus starts growing arms, which also flower. The saguaro’s pleated trunk won’t accommodate a woodpecker cavity until it’s about 8 feet tall, or 80 to 120 years old … and likely won’t host a raptor nest until it’s about 150 years old.

WOW

I kept driving

And rubber-necking :-)

After a while, we noticed the road was getting quite a bit rougher. And there are no road signs - just miles of desert and choking desert dust. Eventually, we decided to head back homeward; and started looking for a highway access road.

The way we took led to a little steep drop off before we hopped back onto blacktop. The little drop off concerned me because Betsy has a low-rider front end. But Holland said, "Just tip toe down that little drop off and it'll be okay." I was skeptical … but I followed Holland's instructions (slow and easy - drive forward at an slight angle): this was a new experience for me, and everything went okay until I heard the back end hit solid ground. Hard. I shot Holland an {I'm sorry!} look, and he said, "It's okay Baby; there's no damage - what you heard was the trailer hitch catching the drop-off edge as we creeped forward. It's okay."

But I didn't feel it was "okay" until we were home and I checked the situation out ;-)

We turned left, here; hoping we were turning towards the main highway.

A dying cactus … it reminded me of trees in Dr. Seuss books ;-) The base looks like a beaver was gnawing at it - but there are no beavers in Arizona. Internet pic of Weeping Giant Sequoia Trees = Dr. Seuss Trees.

Dead Saguaro Cactus 'skeletons'; Holland thinks heavy mining minerals is the culprit. All the dead & dying cactuses are in, or along, washes.

Low rider front end.

Eric Burdon (War) - 'Low Rider' song:

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ZIDoHaCg0)

No muffler damages either.

We all took a little siesta before Supper.

Napping in the middle of the day is a new thing for me: but it's life-saving here in the South where temperatures soar into 3-digets (heavy work, cooking, ect. gets done in late afternoon to evening hours where the heat is not so intense). I like it.

Starland Vocal Band : "Afternoon Delight" (1976) • Lyrics: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taSa16bSPvY)

When we got back up, I baked some brownies (Holland wanted to make fried chicken: YUM!); and I was glad he said that because I was missing fried chicken, and was thinking before we got up - that fried chicken would be the perfect meal for the close of this week's Shabbat :-)

I made brownies for evening snacking ;-)

This combo oven is a new thing in my life; and it reminds me of the kiddie cook oven from the 1970's.

Today was a great day, all the way around.

And all the praise and glory goes to Elohim, for His mercy and faithfulness never fails us :-)

SOCIAL DISTANCING FROM SOCIALISM

 

REFUSE TO REMAIN SILENT

 

IT'S ABOUT RESPECT

It's not about being under the husband's thumb and rod … or being pussy-whipped by the wife.

IT'S ABOUT RESPECT.

MOD DESERT CACTUS KITCHEN TOWEL SET~Quartzsite-AZ

MOD Desert Cactus Kitchen Towel Set - I LIKE!

I love it here, in Arizona; I love it here, where we are currently set up … and I am trying to capture the moments in any small way I can - so, this kitchen towel set was worked up yesterday.

I used several different yarn colors to create the desert scene I envisioned in my mind's eye; and I used several knitting stiches to get the textured result I was angling for; I also used a hooked {embroidery} style to fashion the cactuses, and the sun.

The Sahara Splash portion of this towel was worked to resemble the rocky desert landscape. The Beige portion of this towel was worked to resemble the breezy desert dust-ups. The Blue portion of this towel was worked to highlight the desert sky. And the tinseled Holiday White was utilized to mimic the white quartz rocks that liberally litter the landscape of Quartzsite, Arizona. Saguaro Cactus and bright sunlight is also worked into my towel design. And I topped it off with a dragonfly button because I saw a dragonfly light on one of the creosote bushes outside our front door, the other day :-)

Rocky Arizona desert landscape; a silvery webbed Quartz rock; Bleu walking by a Saguaro cactus; & an armed Saguaro - in the distance.

No matter where I end up along this road trip … every time I use this towel, I will remember this particular moment.

In this space.

At this time, in my life ;-)

***************

MOD DESERT CACTUS KITCHEN TOWEL SET

The pattern directions may look complicated, but it's not that hard to work out ;-)

Materials:

Cotton yarn in Sahara Splash (Hobby Lobby store), Beige, Blue, Holiday White (Bernat yarn w-tinsel wound thru it); 1 skein of each - scrap yarn in Yellow & Green

# 9 knitting needles

#H crochet hook

Scissors

Tapestry Needle

Medium Button

Terms used:

st. st. = stockinette stitch (1 K row = RS - 1 P row = WS)

k = knit

p = purl

EO = end off yarn

CO = cast on stitches

EA = each

RS = front facing side of work

WS = back side of work

L = left

R = right

inc = increase 1 st (make 2 sts in same st)

dec = decrease 1 st (k 2 sts together)

sc = single crochet

dc = double crochet

sl st = slip stitch

With Sahara Splash & knitting needles, CO 74 sts.

Row 1: Purl

Rows 2 thru 10: Work the double Andalusian stitch as follows - 

rows 1 & alternate rows: K

rows 2: *k 2, p 4* across row.

row 4: P 3, *k 2, p 4* across row - end with k 2, p 1.

At the end of row 10, cut Sahara Splash and attach Beige.

Rows 11 thru 16: Work these rows in st. st.; cut Beige and attach Blue.

Row 17: *K 1, p1* across row.

Rows 18 thru 61: Work these rows in st. st.

Lightly textured & st. st. towel background.

Large Cactus Pattern: With  green & crochet hook, begin cactus on L side of RS of towel body as follows - attach green 13 sts from towel edge & 6 sts upward from beginning of hem line; crochet sl st 22 sts upward, then make 3 sl st for top curve, and work 22 sts downward. Continue in sl st embroidery for a satisfactory cactus design. EO & weave in loose ends.

Beginning large cactus outline.

Beginning first cactus 'spine' ... continue in same manner until cactus spines fill in the framework pattern.

Large Saguaro Cactus finished.

Small Cactus Pattern: With  green & crochet hook, begin cactus on R side of RS of towel body as follows - attach green 22 sts from towel edge & 16 sts upward from beginning of hem line (this should be at the beige part of towel pattern); crochet sl st 10 or 11 sts upward. EO & weave in loose ends. Make "arms" in the same fashion, just shorter in length. EO & weave in loose ends.

This armed Saguaro is worked to look far off, in the distance ;-)

Sun Pattern: With crochet hook, attach Yellow somewhere in the center of towel, and work a sl st embroidered circle. EO & weave in loose ends.

Embroidered hot desert sun.

Design in place; ready for topper ...

Row 62: Dec across row as follows - *P 2, p 3 tog* across row ... slipping sts off needle as you work across dec's row (you should have 27 sts on needle). EO Blue yarn.

Towel Topper: With Holiday White & crochet hook, work in sc across row - decreasing first 2 sts EA end of every row until 7 sts remain.

Crochet towel topper.

Alternately work 1 row sc & 1 row dc, for 13 rows.

Sl st x3 sc; ch 6 and sl st in same sp; sl st to end. Turn.

Dc x12 in chain loop; EO.

Add a decorative loop edging of your choice (or leave plain).

Sew button in place and weave in loose ends.

Dragonfly button closure.

MOD DISHRAG: Cast on 2 stitches.

Row 1: Knit 1, inc 1 st in next st.

Row 2: Knit 1, inc, knit across the row.

Row 3: Knit 2, inc, knit across row.

Row 4: Repeat Row 2 until you have 50 stitches on the needle.

Row 5: Knit 1, Knit 2 together, knit to the end of the row. Repeat Row 5 until you have 3 stitches left on the needle; K 3 sts tog - EO off and weave in loose ends.

POLITICAL INSANITY BEING HALTED

Thankfully, the DC insanity is being reined in.

It's about time reality set in: males should NOT compete in Women's sporting events. Males should NOT be entering female bathrooms, dressing rooms, or locker rooms 🤬

MALES ARE NOT - AND NEVER WILL BE - FEMALES 🤔

Males are biologically DIFFERENT from females & they are physically stronger than females. Any dimwit with even a miniscule sense of scientific understanding SHOULD "GET" THAT 🙄

NATURE'S BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED ROCKS~Quartzsite-AZ

The ground around our site is liberally littered with quartz - any shape and size; all different colors of the rainbow spectrum … white is the most prevalent, but today I lined our makeshift patio with beautifully hued hunks of quartz.

I was tempted to squirrel some away, but realistically there is nowhere to store them - space is pretty limited in a 5th wheel, and we need the space for food, tools, and maintenance implements.

So, I will enjoy them for a limited time (while we are here), and the leave them behind for someone else to enjoy.

These are the treasures I found today:

(1) Slate gray rock with rusty pink threaded through it. (2) Turquoise colored rocks are almost as numerous as the white quartz … (3) This rock was a mottled red - like a raw, fatty, beef roast. LOL

The pic does not do the rock justice; the black and orange was really darker - a good contrast.

Glittery black quartz … and another turquoise colored rock.

Turquoise colored rocks were pretty prevalent in this area …

Purple rock with gray speckles.

The dry wash behind us … LOTS of bushes to hide rattlesnakes, so I'm careful with Bleu nosing around back there.

The varied types of quartz that litters the ground around our immediate space; they have been added to the larger rocks that line our patio ;-)

This pic does not do this rock justice - it sparkles like glitter & is brilliantly colored.

Elohei is a great designer, and nature highlights the beauty.

Today's pretty rocks, and the other day's towering cactuses have inspired me to start work on another "knitted canvas" for our home ;-)