We headed for Temecula and Macaroni Grill about 1 PM. It was not very crowded which was unusual. The ad mentioned a Lunch Trio of salad, entree and dessert. I'm up for that :) I had Caesar Salad, chicken/spinach canelloni and chocolate cake. Jim was undecided on pasta and then the waiter mentioned that he could "create his own pasta". That worked for him....angel hair, tomatoes, garlic, onions and basil. Now I could do that! Of course, one of my motives was eating a big lunch means I don't cook dinner.

I intended to meander around the mall but all we did was shop in Penney's drapery department. We really need to do something with the front drapes in the MH. I picked out a thermal backed material and got a quote....around $400 ballpark. I'm not sure I want to spend that much when I'm not sure of the material. Guess this needs more pondering.

We stopped at Trader Joe's to look for frozen crab to make Crab Louis salad. No dice on that but as usual we walked out with $40 of other items. TJ does have really good frozen fish so we got a meal's worth of Orange Roughy and lots of nuts and dried fruit for snacks. Incidentally, the parking lot at TJs was not crowded either. Is this a sign of the times?

I was anxious to see the baseball playoff with the Angels VS the Red Sox. Oh well! The Angels lost. Hope they improve and get over their jinx (they've now lost the last 10 playoff games to the Sox.)

Today was laundry day and I've learned how to make it pleasant here at Golden Village. I pack everything in the car including a book. Take it all to the laundry, get it started, set my phone alarm and then sit by the pool and read. Verrry pleasant. It was breezy and not too hot. Looks like the weather is going to cool a little and we'll get to the October averages of 85 and 55. My kind of weather:)

So I brought the jar back in to refresh the juice and make it more appealing. Internet research says that if the juice is not sweet enough they have to expend too much energy to get an adequate amount. Pretty soon they get tired of working so hard and leave. I think they tell the other birds not to waste their time at my feeder :) I'll see if the new juice makes a difference. Maybe I'll get some good pictures.

Besides the hummingbirds the shrubs behind our sitting area are filled with birds that sing and fly by all day. The towering palm tree beside us is home to our mockingbird and a woodpecker. If I put out a seed feeder I know we'd have lots of activity but that also might bring rodents for the overflow seeds. I'm not anxious to do that.

The only other wild pets we have here are rabbits. So far I've only spotted one. Last year there were so many running around I thought they might be a menace. Now I'm wondering if the park had a rabbit eradication program :) But you know rabbits! If there are two there will soon be twenty.

I think my needlepoint days are over. It is such close, tiny work and doesn't seem to be as much fun as it used to. Once I made a crewel picture of Van Gogh's Sunflowers. It took me awhile to coomplete but finally it was done, stretched, framed and hung in our house for years. Daughter Renee wound up with that when we sold the house. I think that was my favorite needlework project of all time and it turned out pretty good:)

Now I feel free to begin some crocheting projects and also to start scanning the old negatives. We sorted all those out last week and I have a shoebox full sitting beside me ready to scan....plus 4 more boxes in the outside storage. These pictures start in 1979 and go through about 2001 when I really got into digital photos. I'm anxious to start on these because there will be a lot of young grandkids pix. Who knows what might appear on the family calendar this year!

There were several booths outside covered by sunshades but the sellers were pretty anxious for the whole thing to be over. I did find a craft booth with discounted items and bought Evan a Christmas tree Advent calendar. Very cute, with little pockets to put something in and to hold the counter for the days. We also picked up several paperbacks at a dollar each and then lined up for tacos and sausage sandwiches. The taco was really quite good. We took all the food home and ate in the comfort of our AC house :)

Yesterday I treated my girls to a movie and ice cream. What did we see? Mamma Mia of course! I still have not had my fill of that movie and am ready to go again. Everyone enjoyed it but probably not as much as me :) I suggested we do a girls day out each month I"m here so I'll have to see what I can dig up to do.

We've been biking around the park every morning and then sitting outside with our tea. Yesterday we set up a little outdoor seating area by the shrubs in the back of our space. We realized that it is shady there most of the day and often has a nice breeze. So this morning we ate breakfast out there. I think I'll add some flower pots...settle in for a few months :) Then as soon as it cools off we'll get some firewood for out little firepit! Just like camping :)

Yep! Finger in the frosting. It runs in the family! I'm so glad we could be here for this special occasion. Evan was napping when we arrived so he was a little grumpy for the first few minutes. But soon his cousins came and that got him going.

Naomi and Brad had their new apartment all set up and comfy. Naomi asked that everyone bring a dish to go with cold chicken and it turned out we had a wonderful buffet. Brad's mom brought goulash (hamburger, creamettes, tomatoes and secret ingredients), son Jim made a beautiful watermelon fruit bowl, we took my spinach casserole and Renee brought dips, chips, and rolls. No one went home hungry.

We made a stab at watching the Presidential debate but soon agreed that a 3 year old's birthday was way more important. He took awhile opening gifts because he wanted to play with and try out every gift as he opened it. So that took awhile but he had fun.

I don't know where the cake came from but it was sure delicious. Chocolate filled with cream and topped with fluffy frosting. Evan was very excited and happy as we sang to him but then didn't want cake....just wanted to play with new toys. The train set from his Grandpa and Grandma was a real hit.

All in all ...we had another great family evening. That's what we enjoy about being here in Hemet...even though it is pretty darn hot!

I guess the ants look for water and often gain entrance to a coach throuh the water lines. So we checked our curly blue line and sure enough...ant armies going in loopy circles to get into the house. Jim put down the powdery ant dust around the hose because that's usually done it in the past.

Middle of the night. Is that something crawling on me ?@#$%! Yep! Ants in the bed. So today the powder goes all around the wheels and the outline of the coach. Inside I sprayed around all the edges of the walls and floors, cupboards and cabinets. I hate the smell of doing that but it seems effective. The sheets are off the bed and I sprayed around and under the bed and in the bed platform. Sure hope that does it!

We hustled down the road to be here in time to help out Naomi and Brad (grandkids) on their moving day. We got to take care of Evan. We met them at the new apartment and he didn't want to leave his Mommy. So he sat in his car seat and stared out the window with a set grimace on his face until we arrived at our house. Then he cracked a smile and was OK.

We had a fine day but he sure has a mind of his own. He totally ignores any comments or instructions that don't fit with his idea of what should be happening. As luck would have it, we had a water connection to the toilet spring a leak on Monday so the toilet was not working right. To flush it we had to use the shower spray to fill the bowl. Jim had ordered the new connector and went to pick it up after he dropped Evan and me off at home.

We took a walk on our street and came back for a snack. He walked around outside studying the wheels and then said, "it's not a house." Several times during the day he asked, "You live here?" (Keep in mind that Evan turned 3 this week.)

He has about a 30 second attention span except when watching Sponge Bob! So he was fascinated going in and out of the house. Must have done that 36 times! He brought a movie, Robots, to watch so we put that in and had some juice and chips. After about 10 minutes we were into something else. He didn't like the scary parts :)

Grandpa came home with the new toilet part and went out to get his toolbox. Evan stuck to him like glue. When Jim took the tools to the bathroom to get into fixing Evan was right behind him.

"You want to share the tools?" says Evan.
"No, I don't think so!!" Grandpa replies.

Evan quickly lost interest and came back out by me and started studying the dashboard.

"How you drive this thing?"

Well try explaining that! Guess I didn't do a very good job because he started to turn the drivers chair around and get ready to drive. That's when I had to say..."Listen mister!" That got his attention because that's what his Dad says to him when he's in trouble.

Of course, he had to check out every door and drawer. He opened the pantry and spotted the popcorn jar. Oh! Popcorn!.....and pulled it out along with an open box of spaghetti! Visualize dry spaghettic sticks all over the floor. As a Mom I would have hollered. As a great-grandma I can have fun with just about anything :) OK! Let's play Pick Up Sticks! That consumed about 15 minutes picking up one stick at a time and carefully putting it in the box. Excellent Job Evan!

He found our walkie-talkies so we played with them for awhile. His little fingers couldn't press and hold the button but I could hear him as he hid in back and said, "Can you hear me now?" I responded that I could hear him and he says, "Check, check!" Ahh...the influence of TV.

About 4 PM when it cooled off a little, we took him to the park where we spent an hour on the slides and play towers. We all had a good time :) He did lead Grandpa on a merry chase. They were playing pretend ice cream stand and Evan decided he was out of ice cream and had to get more so he took off running across the park. We thought he was teasing! Nope. So Jim had to put on his running legs to catch the kid!

Thankfully, Naomi called about 5 PM and said they had everything moved and we could bring him home anytime:) We were pooped! Now they are about 30 mintues from us. We had a light supper and then took him to his new apartment. He was so tired he refused to get in his carseat so I had to be a bit forceful. He was asleep before we got out of the park.

We arrived to find the movers, grandkids and friends, very tired but they had the living room and kitchen pretty well set up. They have a very nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath first floor apartment. The pool and playground with a common outdoor relaxing area around the corner. The complex, amenties and apartment are only two years old so still in very nice condition...very posh. We're so glad they could make this move.

Then we wanted to stop and get gas in Hurricane, UT rather than try for the crazy crowded stations in St. George. So we headed for a station that looked good, made a left into the lot and hit a big dip at the wrong angle and a little too fast. The rocky, rolly effect caused my crockery dishes to move and push open the door. Crash, clatter, bang and all my plates and bowls were on the floor, broken!! :( Now is was really pissed!

While I'm cleaning up the mess, Jim is pumping gas and the gas attendant came out and tried to convince Jim that the shocks were leaking and the front tire was worn down. What? The tires are NEW. And if the shocks leaked it was because of their damn driveway. Jim very nicely thanked him for his kind advice and we were on our way.

Of course, I worried that maybe the shocks were bad and what could happen now!? But we arrived in Mesquite, AZ just fine. Good thing we had paper plates and bowls on hand.

PS. I forgot to mention that it was very windy the whole distance, gusting to 35 or 40 mph. That makes for a stressful drive even without all the stuff above.

We got through it with no incidents. The crappy thing about the area is there are NO rest stops. So we just stop before Ogden, fill up the tummy and the tank and then forge ahead. Utah seems to be thinking about sleepy drivers because they have these Public/Private rest areas but you have to drive the 100 miles through the cities to get to one.

We arrived here in Fillmore at the KOA and found cooler weather. We like this place. It's just an average KOA but the owners are very nice and the ambiance is relaxing. Wish we could stop here for a day or two. But tomorrow it's on to Las Vegas area.

So we put up with that and then later stopped at a rest area. When we started up the speedometer was not working! Yikes! So about 5 miles down the road Jim pulled off the road to turn off the engine and see if the speedometer would start up. Yup! Guess it's like a computer. First thing to do when there's a problem...reboot :) So we don't know what that little anomaly was all about.

When we stopped for lunch we fooled around with all the connections and found a loose wire on the pump itself. Taped that up and voila...no alarm noise. That was a relief! But then a third gremlin appeared. This one we are used too. The rear view camera seems to blip out when it gets overheated. Turn it off for awhile and then it works again. One of these days we'll have to get that fixed :)

We arrived at Fort Hall in the campground behind the casino about 4 PM. It's nice and warm and the sun won't be setting for 3 hours so we still have daytime left. Jim is cleaning the windshield and I'm whomping up some One Pot. (That's where you see what you have to throw in the pot with some ground beef and make a stoup.)

A full tummy, a good nights' sleep and we'll be ready to tackle Salt Lake City tomorrow :)

Naomi and Brad are moving to a larger apartment which is CLOSER TO WHERE WE STAY! Yeah! Then next Friday they are having Evan's 3rd birthday party and a housewarming bash. We are very much looking forward to seeing all the CA family.

We went to Famous Dave's for a quick dinner tonight. I really love their BBQ. I had the Georgia pulled pork sandwich on a bun with coleslaw on top. I'm stuffed but happy :)

It took about 90 minutes and we decided it was more like a rump roast. She cooked it until it was just pink inside. I t was very flavorful and tender but mislabeled. They buy a cow from a local farm where it is butchered and frozen for them. The roasts don't seem to match what you'd get in a store but the meat is very good, natural, organic. We put carrots, onions and tarragon in with the roast, Yum!

Saturday was a day of laundry, shopping and book reading. My Mom gave me a series of books by Janet Daily that are set in Montana. I want to finish the series before we leave so I can leave them here with Laura, then she'll give them to her library. They are western romances about the Calder family but they have a lot of Montana history and culture. After I finished the laundry I put on my jammies and read for the rest of the day :)

Today was girls day out. I met Laura for lunch at Famous Dave's and then we went to see Mamma Mia. I love that movie! There were several Mom/daughter groups in the theater. We both enjoyed it. I sure hope it is still playing when we get to CA so I can take all my girls there to see it. We finished off the day with a little shopping spree at the Southgate Mall and then had coffee and dessert at Cafe Dolce. A perfect girls afternoon!

It was another good travel day although we still had a few "chirps" from the transmission pump alarm in the car. We were on the road by 9:15 and arrived here at 2:30.

So what's a typical travel day like? Up at 7 AM with no time for showers. That gets relegated to the night before and actually is a good relaxation after a day of travel. Jim prepares our herbal tea while I "put my face on." We have a light breakfast, check email and the news then shut down the computers. Mr. Moto goes down and we are into packing. The key to packing up is to put the TV on the bed first. So Jim does that then he gets his turn at "prettying up.'

I do most of the inside packing. Computer monitors join the TV. Then lamps, paper shredder, space heater and little office storage stand all move into the bedroom. Secure the front curtains, close all cupboards, turn around the front chairs, secure the lounge chairs, roll up the rugs and put in the bedroom. All this takes abou 20 minutes.

While I do that Jim is doing the outside stuff...packing in the water, sewer and electric. He starts the car to warm up the oil pump and empties the garbage. We get done about the same time and then pull in the slide and raise the jacks. If we've unhitched the car we hook it up then do our exterior light checks using walkie-talkies.

After a final walk around and check inside we are ready to go. Closet doors tight, pantry door shut, water pump off, water heater and furnace off, TV antenna down, vents closed? Check. We're ready to roll. We can do all this in 2 hours easily.

We average about 50 mph and stop every hour or so. Usually we take about half an hour for lunch and maybe even a nap. Jim does most of the driving while I use my Next Exit book and maps to navigate. I probably do 5% of the driving. This works well because I keep my hand on the wheel but we each are doing what we're best at.

At the end of the travel day we reverse the process in about 30 minutes. We always hook up electricity but only need to hook up water and sewer every four to five days. This whole thing is our process when we are going from point A to point B which has been our mode for the last few years. One of these days we'll get into "serious moseying."

We'll be here in Missoula for a week visiting Laura and Steve. Maybe I'll find time to fit in some touristy stuff, get a haircut and visit my fave clothing store :).

On this particular travel day we took time to honor the memory of those who died in the attack of September 11, 2001. We will never forget.

Then we stopped for lunch and gas. The rain by now had started and was coming down heavily. But we still made good time even though we hit 3 long sections of road construction...2 lane driving.

About 80 miles from Bozeman as we were going down a long hill the alarm light for the transmission pump in the car went off. Yikes! It is an ear splitting scream! There was no place to stop and it wouldn't hurt the car to drive a few miles with the pump malfunctioning. So Jim chose to keep on going to a rest area, 20 miles down the road.

Of course, it was still raining. So he checked everything out and could see no problems so he pulled the fuse that turned off the alarm...also turning off the pump. OK. So we turned on the car engine and towed the car in neutral with the engine running. After thinking it all through we figured that would work for 60 more miles.

We arrived at Bear Canyon Campground about 3:15 making real good time. After we were parked and got the furnace going (because it is 49 degrees and rainy) Jim started trying to determine what the alarm issue was. Troubleshooting guides said given the continuous alarm sound it was probably a wiring issue. Jim pulled the electrical cord that connects to the motorhome and the car. Then he sprayed good old Caig's DeOxit on both ends of each connector. Plugged everything in and turned on all switches....VOILA! Caig's saves the day again!! Probably the connector was a little oxidized and then got wet in the heavy rain.

If you don't have Caig's DeOxit in your toolbag....better get it! Never know when it willl save your day too!