Monday, November 17, 2014

An apology....

Just wanted to drop a quick post and let you know I was forced to turn my comment moderation back on today.  I apologize for that....I hate to do it, but I've got a cyber stalker who has been leaving unpleasant comments here and I just won't allow his poison to be spread on my blog.  So, for the time being....all comments will go to my email (which I check at least once a day) before they are published. 

On a happier note.....went to the dance last Saturday and had a great time.  It was a small crowd as a lot of the snowbirds have not arrived here yet, but we sure did have fun.  The menu was chili, cornbread, and for dessert....apple dumplings.  It all was scrumptious!  The band was fair....not enough rock-n-roll for me....but I still manage to dance the night away.

My new camera has arrived....unfortunately my hubby ordered the wrong memory card so I can't take any photos yet.  It was an easy mistake to make...he assumed this camera would take the same type of card as my old one....but nope!  The new card will be here Thursday.  I've been using the time to become familiar with all the new 'bells and whistles' this camera has to offer.  There are a lot of new features.....which I love....more control over the settings and easier to access during a shoot.  It came with an awesome CD that explains it all.....I hate wading through manuals....the CD makes it so much faster and easier to understand.  I'll be sharing some photos just as soon as I can!!

Yesterday, Sunday, the weather took a turn.  We had high winds all day and barely got into the 70's, but things are much calmer today and I believe the temps will begin to climb back into the high 70's for the week.

The gang here is heading to Mexico on Tuesday, but we will not be crossing.  I'm still waiting on my new passport.  We also made an appointment with Pro Shade to come out and measure our windows.  Several folks here in the rv park have used them and they do a great job at a reasonable price.  I think we are going to have a shade awning made for our kitchen window and then a shade cover for our large back window. 

That's about all my news for now.....y'all take care and party on!!!


Thursday, November 13, 2014

Yuma!

We arrived in Yuma on November the 8th.  A lot of our friends are already here so there were lots of smiling faces and hugs to greet us!  Awesome!  They even had us over for dinner later that evening...which was delicious!

I've been playing 'bumbee ball' (a game similar to tennis), bike riding, lounging by the pool, and...of course.....happy hours almost every evening.  Temps have been in the mid to high 80's and plenty of sunshine!  Another big perk....we found out we could hook up to DSL via a phone line for around 30 bucks a month.  We will suspend our Verizon wifi for the duration of our stay....a savings of about 70 bucks each month....liking that! 

Ordered my new camera....a Canon 7D with a EFS 18/135 lens....it should arrive Friday.  I also need to replace my telephoto lens, but gonna have to wait a bit on that one.  Unfortunately our Progressive Insurance policy will not be covering our loss....due to the fact that the truck and trailer were not parked on the same property at the time of the theft.  We have been with Progressive since 2004...never made a claim....and this is the thanks we get.  We thought we had good coverage....we certainly were paying enough....so we will be taking a look at what other insurance companies have to offer for full timers. 

On a happier note....I was able to deliver the finished pet portrait of 'Buster' to its owner.  She loved it and has been 'showing it off' to everyone.  As a result, I already have another commission.  I"m hoping to get a few more while we are here so I can afford to replace my telephoto camera lens.

While we were in Tucson...at the Lazy Days....we also took a look at several motor homes.  We both came to the realization on just how difficult it was going to be to please us both.  Bill has a certain engine in mind and that is proving difficult to find.  But..we have not given up and will keep looking.  One thing we did learn was not to sell the house until we buy the motor home.  We will need financing and apparently the banks are much more willing to lend on an RV if you also own a 'stick and brick' house of some kind.  So, we plan to keep looking until we are ready to put the house on the market (in about 2 yrs) at that point we will have to re evaluate our needs and make a final decision.

Now...back to the FUN!  The park is having its first dinner/dance this weekend and I'm so gonna dance the night away!!!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Las Cruces....we are here!

Made it to Las Cruces around 2pm yesterday.  We will be staying at the Hacienda RV Resort for the next four nights.  RV parks tend to over use that 'resort' word, but this one is fairly nice.....although a bit pricey. Biggest problem I have with the place is the tiny gravel they used on all the sites.  Poor Cosmo has a heck of a time staying upright on the stuff and the doggie area is a long walk (for him).

After setting up and feeding the furballs we headed down to Old Mesilla to a great little restaurant called La Posta.  We both had Prickly Pear Margaritas and a meal of Chile Rellenos topped off with Mexican ice cream for dessert.  Mmmmm good!

I've have been looking at replacement cameras and lenses....expensive.  I filed the report with our insurance....getting back to them on Monday with a complete list of the stolen items.  Hopefully we are covered, but y'all know nothing is for certain in this world.  Either way, the camera will be replaced.  Bill is adamant about that....he knows how much I loved that camera and I used it a lot!  It still bothers me that some idiot probably has his grubby little hands all over it as we speak!  Joining Lifelock has definitely given me 'peace of mind' on my identity, but I'm still keeping a close eye on the financials and such.  Even though it was the truck that was broken into, I can't help wondering about what would have happened if it had been the fifth wheel...what about the furbabies.  I have wanted to install some type of monitoring system for a while now....once we are settled in Yuma for the winter I'm going to do just that!  I think that is the biggest thing those thieves took from us...our sense of security. 

Thanks for all your caring words and concern.  We are moving pass this...not going to let it stop us from enjoying our life!  I've just got one last thing to say....to those thieves...."may the bird of paradise not only fly up your nose, but shit all over your heads!"...nuff said!


Saturday, November 1, 2014

Albuquerque BUST

We were enjoying our stay here in Albuquerque until this happened.....I went to the zoo today and as usual I had my camera with me and my nifty backpack that holds said camera, and  extra lenses.  I also put my little credit card carrier in there for safe keeping.  Well...we went out to eat afterwards and I left my camera backpack with my credit cards in the truck inside one of the doggie carriers we keep in the back seat.  We locked the truck.  Upon leaving the restaurant we both noticed someone by our truck.  Bill thought he saw them shut our door....I saw them duck down fast and then a white car pulled away.  Once we reached the truck we didn't see anything a miss.....until we notice one of the doggie carriers was not how we left it.  Yup...they had got it....my back pack was gone.  I ran back into the restaurant and ask them to call the police.  The manager came back out with me....she pointed out that they had simply 'popped' our lock then put the lock back in place.....up until that point we couldn't figure out how they had gotten into the locked truck.
The police arrived and said we were probably targeted because of the big dually and out of state plates.  He said they usually are looking for guns.  They fingerprinted the truck and we gave them all our info.  Unfortunately there were no security cameras. 
My biggest concern are the ID's that were in that credit card case.  I've alerted the credit agencies to possible fraud attacks, signed up for Lifelock, and also had my passport flagged and rendered invalid.  Yeah....this sucks big time.......
Tomorrow we head to Las Crusces where I will be applying for a new passport.  Thank goodness I did have my driver's license with me....at least they didn't get that piece of identification.