Saturday, December 24, 2022

Colorado~Part 2, Little Extra's, Big Joy

I'm so far behind in getting this post up but here goes!

We always find great joy in many of the little things while we're in Colorado.  Although there are many, I wanted to share a just a few. 

Mountain Spring Water ~ Not far from the RV park is a PVC pipe that releases clean spring water. 

How do I know it's clean? 

We were told it's tested regularly by "those" in the know but I felt a hankerin' to check for myself so my fingers walked on over to Google and found some city testing info that confirmed it.  YAY!

We've been carrying a six gallon jug for a few years now and we fill it with this fresh water every time we're here.  I mostly use it for coffee, cooking, hummingbird feeders during our time here.  

Hubby Geo drawing spring water.

    Vallecito Church's Tent Church ~ A few miles from the RV park is a quaint, little, country church that sets up a tent for outside services during the summer months.  When Vallecito Lake is up far enough (some years more so than others), it's another pretty feature that's viewed from the tent and adds to the beautiful  landscape.  Quite a few folks from the RV park attend church here as well.


    Community ~  The small, tree-dotted RV park where we anchor is full of friendly folks from many states, especially, our home state of Texas.  They return year after year and some have been coming for decades.  The same goes for the work campers.  

    Over time, everyone gets to know each other and the list of folks we know and look forward to seeing grows every year. This year, we've even met nice folks who live down the street from the RV park. Pretty cool!

    We also met some nice folks from New Mexico this year.  They aren't regulars but the day they left, we walked outside and found these flowers in a cup of water with a sweet note.  

    Flowers left by very kind fellow RVers.

    Last but certainly not least.

    Hummingbird Feeders ~ The hummers hang around the park and enjoy the camper's feeders well to the end of summer although it varies.  This year, they were still there the beginning of September.

    A hummer aboard!

    Sorry about the quality of these photos.
    I'll work on improving them in the future.  

    That's it for Colorado!

    Merry Christmas y'all!

    Smiles,
    Donna

    Thursday, September 15, 2022

    Colorado~Part 1, Early Morning Walks & Sweet Honeyville!

    We recently spent six delightfully rejuvenating weeks in Colorado.  It was our fifth time in six years camping in the San Juan Mountains / Vallecito Lake area.  After suffering through the unbearable Texas temps before leaving, my best description for the glorious mountain weather is ooo-la-la!

    Peaceful Morning Walks  

    For the first time, early morning walks with our furry owners became part of our daily routine.  

    The lightly traveled road just outside the RV park dead-ends into the Vallecito Campground at the San Juan National Forest which was our daily destination.    

    It's a lovely and peaceful two-mile walk (round trip) and quite invigorating, thanks to a calm chill permeating the air and the warm sun that peeked through the trees almost every day.


    Homes, new and old, big and little, most of which are cabins or cabin-like structures dot the road as do yellow and purple wildflowers.  

    Does anyone know what these 
    black and white dudes are?   
    🧐
    Yellow wildflowers (perhaps yarrow?)
     hosting butterfly-like friends.
     
    The wings are not the right shape for butterflies, and I couldn’t find anything that told me they were moths. 

    Continuing the walk, towering evergreens were plentiful and seemed to be in competition to see who could reach the sky first.  Oh, but the generous amount of gorgeous aspen trees were a joy to behold as they showed off the creativity of God.  Be still my heart!  

    A variety of wildlife was usually out and about—wild turkeys, marmots and deer scurried by.  


    The marmots (aka Whistle Pigs) sound a shrill alarm to alert others of predators (namely us) in the area.  Their somewhat startling whistle sounds akin to a smoke detector with low batteries!  Quite shrill.

    Chewy, our chihuahua, did not like walking past the whistle pigs.  In protest, he would stop, plant his feet, and pull back on the leash.  Hubby Geo carried him past that area and he’d strut along just fine the rest of the way.



    A Sweet Time in Honeyville!

    Just outside of Durango is Honeyville, a fun country store, dubbed a honey factory, where everything honey is available.  
      

    Bath and beauty products, jams, syrups, flavorful whipped honeys (many of which are fruity), dipping sauces, grilling sauces, and so much more line the shelves. 


    The Honey Factory is a distillery too.

    A shiny, hive-shaped still 
    is displayed behind glass. 
    The still sparkles and shines.

    A variety of whiskeys have been conjured up here, all of which include Rocky Mountain Wildflower Honey.  Other types of honey liquors are sold as well.
    So many choices!

    * * * * * * * 

    Chokecherries & Bumbleberries, Oh My!

    Wandering through the store was a bit of an adventure.  A product named "Chokecherry Whipped Wildflower Honey" caught my attention.


    Chokecherry?  
    Sounds alarming, right?  
    Just exactly what is chokecherry?  
    Is it a berry?  
    What does it taste like?
    What’s “choking” about it?  
    Where is it found? 

    This blogger had to know so with a bit of light finger use and some serious eye exercise, good ole Google answered these questions:
    • Chokecherries are berries and, surprise, surprise, they're in the cherry family.   
    • The berries themselves are not poisonous but the seeds, bark and leaves can be fatal as they contain amygdalin which our bodies convert to cyanide.  Yikes!  
    • The astringent, bitter taste comes from the pit and is also the reason for the name.  
    • Chokecherries are found naturally in foothills, mountain canyons and near water.  They adapt well to extremely cold temperatures too which makes sense since it is Colorado.
    A couple days after discovering the Chokecherry Whipped Wildflower Honey, we came across red berries while hiking.  One of our friends identified them as chokecherries!  It was exciting to see them on the shrub in their natural environment!
     
    Chokecherries are large suckering shrubs.

    We purchased the Chokecherry Whipped Wildflower Honey and found that it's rather sweet but quite tasty. 

    I also asked friends around the park if they’d heard of chokecherries and lots of people were familiar with them.  Apparently, moi was the only one in the entire world who had never heard of them.  Ahh, such is the clueless life!

    * * * * * * * 

    What are bumbleberries?  
    The answer to that question was easy.  


    Bumbleberries are not berries!  
    They do not exist.  

    “Bumbleberry” is merely a cute word created to describe pies (and other foods) made with more than one berry!  In fact, it’s usually three berries as seen in the description on the label above.  

    Bumbleberry!
    It’s is an amusing word that makes me smile.   

    Has anyone out there ever had Bumbleberry pie?

    As you might expect, Honeyville also sported a hive full of buzzing bees performing their usual busy work.  



    Below is the bees entry which 
    leads them to the above hive inside.
    Can you see the slot where the 
    bees enter just below the awning?

    Quite a few bees hovered about near the entry way.

    Honeyville is well worth a visit if 
    you like honey and/or bees and 
    maybe even if you don’t like any of it.

    We made two visits for double the fun.

    Well, friends, that’s it for now.  
    Be back soon.

    Smiles,
    Donna

    Sunday, August 14, 2022

    RV Time~Off to Colorado!

    Mid-summer was looming extra large in Texas, pounding us with a torturous relentless heatwave. Let's be real though--Texas summers are always agonizing to some degree (pun intended), and they seem even worse as we... um... age! To simplify--let's just say this year's heat is far worse by leaps and bounds!

    We were thrilled when it was time to load the RV and visit the San Juan mountains of Colorado. There's not much that beats that rejuvenating, clean mountain air! Oh, and daily life beneath the magnificent aspens and towering evergreens is a joyful bonus that can put a special skip in my step!

    Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, 
    Northwest Bound We Go! 

    After a full day's drive, 
    our first stop for the night was in
    about 45 minutes north of Amarillo.

    The City of Dumas offers 
    FREE 
    overnight RV parking in 
    Did somebody say FREE?  
    We're in! 

    The overnight area is basically a parking lot but it's easy to find and served it's purpose for the night.  Only 3 RVs spent the night including us.

     
    The park itself is a shady little park 
    and the RV parking sites sit next to it.


    The weather in Dumas made it clear that we were still in Texas but it can't fool us!  We knew we were mere hours away from Colorado's soothing temps.  

    The beginning of those kind weather days were evident when we rolled on up tDel Norte, Colorado, population 1,509 as of 2020.  

    We settled in for two nights in the 
    The Rio Grande headwaters drifting by our campsite.

    The campground is on the banks of the 
    The early morning view from in front of our site.
    Morning, noon and night, the Rio Grande's gently rippling water played a relaxing tune. I would have gladly sang along but I have no doubt that the noises uttered from my mouth would clearly make a very bad karaoke singer sound stellar!  

    An early morning view from beside the RV.
    On the second day, we meandered Del Norte's main drag as a welcome and refreshing, light rain sprinkled it's blessings down. Along the way, we enjoyed some tasty local fare, and picked up meat, eggs and fruit at the weekly farmer's market. (We loved being here on farmer's market day!)

    The Farmer’s Market on a bit of a rainy afternoon.

    I Spy With My Little Eye...

    My quilt shop antenna was up so it didn't take long for me to spot, Kathy's Fabric Trunk!  Yes, I brake for quilt shops (or have Geo do it).  

    The quilt shop's owner and employees were welcoming, and friendly.  The abundance of luscious, colorful fabric and other attractive wares would joyfully overstimulate this ole noggin'.  

    Side note:  Not one stitch has been sewn since moving into our new house but this overstimulated noggin' is ready to go now!  

    I made a purchase and had a hankerin’ to grab more of their fun wares but I reluctantly controlled myself.  When I told the kind lady (perhaps the owner) who handled the purchase that we were from Texas, she replied: 
    "We love Texas!  Texans come through here in the summer and that's what keeps us in business year ‘round!"  
    Those words warmed my heart!  I'm always happy to buy local in these small towns!  If we're ever headed to Del Norte again, Kathy's Fabric Trunk will be on my radar.  

    A Side Observance

    Entrepreneurial businesses seemed to be plentiful in downtown Del Norte.  We observed at least a handful of restaurants (no fast food here), a cool looking brewery, a couple of small grocery stores and more.  We saw a Family Dollar Store and a few small chain places like that but mostly all business in the immediate downtown area and beyond seemed to be locally owned.  

    I would sum up Del Norte as an enjoyable little town!  Oh, and with a very cool quilt shop!

    Smiles,
    D~~~~

    Saturday, July 16, 2022

    Landscaping, Oh Landscaping!

    We've moved into a 55+ community with an HOA.  Like all HOA's, it comes with many rules, one of which is to have your landscaping completed within 3 months after moving in.  It must include 17 shrubs in the front, 20 in the back, a tree in the front, and all I remember reading after that is blah, blah, blah! We also added some hardscaping and additional plants.  

    Truthfully, I'm not really sure what to think about all of this but let the landscaping begin. 
     
    Starting our added front sidewalk.

    It will extend around the house...

    ...to meet up with the 
    patio extension in the back.

    half wall & outdoor kitchen in progress.  

    The back of the kitchen.
    The stone matches the patio fireplace
    which you can see in the background above.

    A prepared garden, 
    sidewalk & patio extension. 
    The concrete is ready for
    the pavers that will go on top.


    A side garden ready to go too.

    Fence going up!


    Eight Days Later, The Big Finish

    Pavers rest atop the concrete
    and the plantings are in.

    One side of the house.

    I love this weeping 
    Blue Atlas Cedar 
    near the garage.
    Can you see the funky, winding trunk?

    Crepe Myrtle and shrubs out front.

    The other side of the house.

    The back just off the patio.

    Another view.

    The finished kitchen.

    Hollies to create privacy and 
    Knockout roses off to the side.  
    We're thinking about moving the Knockout roses to add more hollies in their place.  The roses will be moved in front of the hollies to give it all a more balanced look.  The backyard also needs some trees.  

    Perhaps this is a project for fall.

    A view of the backyard from 
    the green belt / common area.  

    We're thrilled with the way everything turned out!  The fence really defined the yard which made a big difference, and everything looks pretty!  

    Now to watch it all grow!

    Smiles,
    Donna

    Tuesday, April 19, 2022

    Moved In and Busy!

     Alas, we are finally moved into our new home!  We closed as scheduled on January 27th, and we've been trying to get settled ever since.  To date, most of the "normal" stuff has been completed, along with a few side jobs.  


    Our house.
    It comes with a 
    ***bonus view*** 
    of the emptied trash cans out front!
    Our new home

    We sold or gave away nearly everything when we moved out of our home, except for coveted keepsakes, favorite items, necessities and more.  The goal was to keep our belongings to what would fit into a 10' x 10' storage.  Make no mistake about it, that storage space was strategically packed and crammed to the rafters!  

    Of course, we had to start fresh with new furniture for this home, as well as all kinds of odds and ends.  From October 2021 until December, we gradually started purchasing furniture.  By the time we were finished, we had furniture lined up for delivery from 4 different stores.  We knew up front that most of it would be delayed but that's life in these days of supply shortages.

    A couple weeks ago, we had another delivery show up which inches us closer to being finished--only two deliveries remain.

    The recent delivery consisted of 
    the dining table, rug, and the
    three island chairs seen in
    the background on the left-side.
    No dining room chairs yet but
    we're grateful to have these items!

    We're told to expect the 
    remainder sometime in May.  
    Do you think they mean this year?
    : )  

    Unfortunately, the arrival of the delayed furniture doesn't end our furniture quest.  Oh no.  There are still some pieces of furniture to acquire, most of which are random.  Since there's a lot going on these days, we plan to do what we can, when we can, and enjoy each day in the meantime!  

    ~~ Contemplating The Closet ~~

    When we went through the house design process, we opted not to have any of the typical rods and shelves installed.  It was merely a carpeted room when we moved in.  

    We knew we didn't want a closet company to do the job.  Geo was considering doing it himself but we didn't know where to start.  Lots of Googling was done, and eventually Home Depot saw us weekly standing in front of the Closet Maid boxes gawking at the styles and options.  Yet every week, the product looked the same, and it didn't appear that they ever sold any of it.  We always walked away with questions. Unfortunately, they weren't the type questions that anyone else could answer.

    About the third week into this seemingly pointless routine, we knew we weren't feeling it.  Staring at the Closet Made boxes, in a glossy-eyed stupor, I eventually looked up and discovered a sign gradually coming into my blurred view as if approaching a desert mirage. The sign offered a Home Depot closet assessment & installation. We asked about it and learned that it was not affiliated with Closet Maid so we decided to check into it.

    ~~ The HD Designer Guy Arrives ~~

    About a week later, a very nice HD Designer Guy came a knockin'. After listening to our needs, measuring the closet, and performing a plethora of active finger movement on his iPad, he sat down with us to reveal and explain everything.  He started off with the cost--$12,000.  

    From there, he added,
    "BUT there's things in here we don't need."  

    "Huh?
    "How did those pesky things get in there?"
    Is there a pesticide for that?  

    Mr. HD Designer Guy progressed through mysterious item after mysterious item never telling us what the item was but only saying, 

    "You don't need that, 
    and you don't need that. 
    Oh, and then there's this,
    no, you don't need that...". 

    When he was finally finished deleting everything that he thought we didn't need, the grand total was around $5,000.

    And, we'd only have to wait 
    four months 
    to get it installed!    

    Four months.  
    No closet.  
    Yikes!

    No, thank you.  

    ~~ Hubby Geo Builds the Closet ~~
    💪

    As soon as Mr. HD Designer Guy left, handy dandy Hubby Geo trekked on over to the Home Depot website where he located a line of products called Closet Evolution

    Eureka!

    Why hadn't we thought of this before! Everything we needed was there--side and upper panels, rods, drawers and shelves.  The entire kit and caboodle.  It's nice when you can find a kit, complete with a caboodle!  Closet Evolution answered our questions too.  We heard them!  

    The build was on as soon as the supplies were delivered.

    Geo starting the closet by 
    adhering this metal bar.

    The pre-cut side pieces slide
    onto the angled metal bar.
    It's a 
    French cleat
    hanging 
    system. 
    Installation was a breeze!

    After a full day's work, 
    Geo completed the closet.
    My side of the closet.
    I've lived in a lot of houses 
    (and apartments) in my day, 
    and this is--without a doubt--
    the best closet ever!  

    Geo's side of the closet.


    I needed more space than hubby so I borrowed some of the space on his side.  The area behind the door was used for my long hanging clothes. 

    Who knew we could be so organized!  
    Not us!
    Until now.

    Our closet was never super messy in the past but as we acquired things and closets got fuller, total organization sometimes went awry!

    * * * * 
    So perhaps you're wondering 
    what this tallied up to in the end.  

    I'm pleased to tell you:
    It was approximately 
    $1,500.  

    Geo and I are both thrilled with it!
    The boys are too!  
    Chewy (left), Elmer (right)

    They enjoy winding in and out of the clothes like small children under a department store clothing rack.  

    This was the second big project we completed.  The first one was my creative space.  If you'd like to see it, click here.  The yellow shelves on the creative space wall were hung with a French cleat system too.  

    That's my post for now.  
    Take care dear blogging friends!
    See you soon.

    Smiles,
    Donna