The Guys' Turn

Hey, guys, what, you didn't care for the sewing blog?  Ok,...here are some muscle cars for you, engines and some classics....Forty cars turned out for the seventh annual "Good Ole' Days" Palm Creek car show...beautiful weather, and beautiful cars.....tons of people. The show was from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM...50-50 raffle, food, entertainment, great way to spend part of a Saturday!

There were special cash awards--Budweiser's Choice, Mayor's Choice, People's Choice, Most Car Club Entries, and one for the "Good Ole Days Theme".  I saw one car that had an old fashioned car hop drive in tray hooked onto the window. That would be a great one for the "Good Ole Days" theme! There were great shirts for sale and a few other vendors. They have great hamburgers here....the burgers were so good they ran out before we could get any! They also served beer and wine today at the car show...I'm telling you, this is a fun place! Great turnout as you can see from the crowds.....

If I knew my cars better, I should have done a "Guess the make and model car contest" and given away a prize, but you'll just have to enjoy the photos and reminisce about what kind of car you drove in high school! I drove an Opal GT little sedan that my mom got for me so I could drive to my first paying job as a lifeguard in Lake Forest, IL back in 1968. How about this Mustang? Ni-i-c-e!

1965 Mustang GT

Or this 1965 Chevy SS?

Here's a 1939 Olds sedan.....

Eldo drove several... He says his very first car was a 1955 green Ford Fairlane, then he had an uglier than dirt Studebaker Sportsman (he doesn't remember what year it was) , a a 1958 green Chevy Impala, a 1963 maroon Chevy Impala, and a 1965 Buick Skylark Buick convertible. (Sparky wants to know, how come so many cars, dude?) Eldo says, remember, these were cars that cost a working teenager about 100-150 dollars at the time so he went through the cars like women went through pantyhose!        

What kind of car did YOU drive in high school?

For Ladies Only, Tomorrow, the Guys!

It's been HOT....How hot? It's been over 90 for the last two days...this is not the normal high for Casa Grande. Normal temps are in the seventies this time of year..Fortunately, there's a breeze that seems to come up every afternoon, but it just blows the hot air around. I know, it's a "dry" heat...granted, the humidity is about 10%, so it does feel better than 85% humidity back in the midwest, but it STILL feels like you are sticking your head in an oven. And there's lots of sandy dust blowing around in the afternoon on some days....so I've been spending time down at the air conditioned sewing room. I guess quilting is so big at Palm Creek, that the sewing group brings in guest speakers on occasion, and a lot of publicity to the park with their blanket quilts for charity and other noteworthy events. At any rate, the park is going to construct a separate sewing facility in the park to house more sewing equipment, machines, and worktables as the quilters are outgrowing their nice room they have now.

Olfa mat covered tables

In the sewing room, there are ample work tables, extra large ironing tables for larger projects set up with irons ready to go, and plenty of quilting rulers of all sizes and shapes for you to borrow while you are in there. You just have to bring your own rotary cutter. They have bulletin board walls where you can pin up quilts to see how squares match up and how your colorways are working and fellow sewers offer kind encouragement and help if you need it or want it. They have sewing machines that you can borrow as well, but most people have brought their own to use. You rent a cubby for 5.00 and then you can come down and sew all morning, all afternoon, and from 6:00-9:00 at night, if you like. They have all kinds of quilting classes and they do trips to wonderful fabric and quilting stores as well. (Uh-oh! Has Sparky signed up for any? Eldo wonders.) Nope, it's too late in the year for that...sewing classes and trips are winding down at the end of this month. But the sewing center is a great way to meet new people, so Sparky is going to spend more time down there.

One lady is making a quilt from a photograph. She is fusing pieces of material bit by bit, inch by inch onto fabric, tiny, tiny little pieces...it's going to be a nature quilt with a grist mill in it. Amazing attention to detail, this lady possesses! She told me she is not doing this from a pattern, but from a photo. I think she said she was self taught on this method of quilting. I've seen some really nice quilting classes offered there as well...a paper pieced table topper, a modern art quilted wall hanging and beginner quilter classes, too. What a nice facility!

Today was a car show from 10:00-2:00 at Palm Creek, so the next blog will be about that.....got to organize my photos and try to identify some of the cars before posting...see you later!

This Place is for the Birds!

Ostrich "fishin"

Off I-10, at the exit for Picacho Peak State Park is a fun family park called Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch. They raise ostriches here, offer monster truck rides, ostrich "fishing" tours, and feed cups to feed the animals--deer, donkeys, and the hole-in-the-wall gang (a bunch of hungry goats jammin' their heads through holes so you can feed them. Then they have the lorikeets! Beautiful birds in an area where you go in with nectar cups and thrill (?)  to having a bunch of lorikeets all over your body, flying around you and landing on you, pecking at your hair, your ears, your beard, sunglasses, whatever, depending on how hungry they are. This is a great place for families, and it's a great place for seniors to act a little silly, too!

Greg and Jan feeding the birds

THE Mr. Rooster Cogburn

I met up with our friends, Jan and Greg White, and Nick and Terry Russell "down at the farm"....Eldy wanted to see his Notre Dame basketball team play, so he stayed home to watch them win. One time is really all you need to go to see the animals and feed them, but I wanted to see the lorikeets again, so off I went. We met Rooster Cogburn, he's for real...he was great to watch as he interacted with his ostriches. He held out his fingers to show they don't bite, they just peck. He said that most people make the mistake of jerking their hand away and that's when it hurts as the birds are trying to grab the feed. They don't have teeth, but they DO peck HARD!  Then he grabs one of the ostrich's head, holds the beak closed while he gives the ostrich a "noogie" (that's when you get somebody in a headlock and rub your knuckles back and forth on their head!) and then he asked us if we wanted to KISS one! No, thank you. No, siree!  But he did!  Ew-w-w-w-w!

bathing bird beauties

There were quite a few people here so the birds were well fed and didn't land all over us like they did the last time we were here.....but we had fun feeding all the animals...5.00 to get into the ranch and you get one cup of feed and one nectar cup for the birds...I continue to be amazed at the size of an ostrich egg. One ostrich egg is equal to TWO DOZEN regular eggs. Terry said the ostrich eggs are delicious and "sweeter" than regular eggs, AND they make delicious omelets. Yummy!

Just have to leave a few lorikeet photos with some conversation it looks like they are having. They were in the water fountain having LOTS of fun today, it was so hot. It was fun to watch them bathe themselves so here goes....

"I'M having a bad hair day? Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"You forgot to wash behind your "ears", honey!"

"They didn't tell me I'd have to wear ankle jewelry 24/7. How do you get this damn thing off?"

"What do I gotta do to make you keep your big mouth shut?"  "BITE me!"  (Lorikeets are VERY noisy birds!)

And that's it for today, folks........see you at the car show tomorrow in Palm Creek......

Southwestern Yard Art

I really enjoy seeing how people decorate their personal space wherever we go.....it's definitely the southwest influence here, with lots of Kokopelli everywhere...(he's the Anasazi flute player motif that you see so often in the southwest--second photo on the right in the middle)....In Palm Creek RV resort, many people have chosen to put metal artwork on the sides of their houses (park models and modular homes) as well as yard ornaments alongside the cactus....

There are some interesting works of art all around the park....lots of howling wolves, cattle skulls, lizards, sleepy sombreros and more.....check out the ants along the wall!

Since it was St. Patrick's Day, we decided to go out to get a bite to eat. Back to the Arizona Hideaway restaurant called Frankie's Chuckwagon for a delicious 6 oz. fillet, baked potato and salad for $9.99. Great food! Great price, and look at the St. Patty's Day spirit of one of the waitresses there at the restaurant. Isn't her outfit great!? I forgot to ask if she's Irish..     This is a great restaurant and they were very busy this evening. We shared a table with some full time residents of a nearby RV park. We asked about the wildlife in the area and what we might see. They told us all about the javelinas (wild animals that look like boars or wild pigs), rattlesnakes, scorpians, tarantulas, Gila monsters, and geckos that get to be a pretty good size compared to those little ones you see running around in Florida. Interesting company and interesting information about snakes, spiders, coyotes, bats, and when the cactus bloom (May). Some things I'd like to see, and other things I wouldn't! Like rattlesnakes....ugh!  OK, and tarantulas--double ugh! And scorpians and...you get the picture!

We're really enjoying the park here and the beautiful Arizona sunsets, every night is a picture perfect sunset of deep rose and orange colored skies...weather is supposed to cool down on Monday to the 60's--geez, a cool spell! I don't know what we'll do...might have to get Eldy to go on a hike since the weather will be perfect for that, or maybe we'll head to another spring training ball game. I'm trying to adjust to the temperatures in the 90's...I don't do well in the heat so I have been going to the sewing room in the afternoons the last two days where it is air conditioned. We are running our air conditioners but just a couple of hours a day in the afternoons, since electric is extra, so I am trying to find other cooler places around the park. Sewing room works for me!  Probably find me there tomorrow as well. Eldo has March Madness fever....(that's BASKETBALL FEVER, folks!) Seems to be running rampant around here at Palm Creek with all the transplanted residents here...lots of TV's going with the games on, including ours. Notre Dame will be on in the morning, Arizona time and that's Eldy's favorite......See you later! Go Irish!

 

sunset at Palm Creek, Casa Grande, AZ

Baseball Fever

Eldy went off to a spring training baseball game today in Scottsdale, AZ. That was about an hour and fifteen minute drive from Casa Grande. The park is the brand new Arizona Diamondbacks/Colorado Rockies spring training stadium, called Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, a nod to the Pima and Maricopa Indians' cultural heritage, as it is built on Indian tribal lands. There are 12 practice fields at this location. Eldy said it was one of the finest stadiums he'd seen for a spring training facility....they even had a small fry diamond set up for younger kids to practice ball skills and playing. Unfortunately, the food and snacks are very expensive, (4.50 for a hot dog, 3.50 for a pop) as to be expected. There are also other entertainment venues in this area...the Talking Stick Resort and Casino, and the 36 hole championship Talking Stick Golf Club.

He was surprised to see this at the ball park:

free suntan dispensers!

He took a photo of the beautiful ball park with his iphone:

While Eldy was at the ballpark, I was down at the clubhouse, checking out some of the classes and facilities....I worked in the sewing room for awhile, rode my bike around the park, (for a total of six miles today) and then headed back to the rig for a siesta!

There are so many fun things to do here, I keep forgetting what days and times the classes are...Free pickleball lessons are from 4:00-6:00 on Mondays and Fridays, and photography club is Mondays from 10:00 to 1:00.  There's woodshop, stained glass, pottery, silversmithing, cards going on all times of the day and night, and many more activities....I missed the dog show today. We don't have a dog, but I thought it would be fun to see how many entries there were in the dog show...missed it! See you next time somewhere in Palm Creek!

It's Spring in the Desert

We've noticed that the cactus in the area are starting to show some signs of blooms...There's a bromeliad (?) in the park with a HUMONGOUS stalk coming out of it (photo above)...almost like a yucca that sends up a tall stalk in the spring. The stalk is taller than the house! We're taking bets on how long it will be till it blooms....it will be nice to see something flowering in the city besides the landscaped greens in the park we are staying in....

I had no idea that the blooms in the cactus were going to come out so pretty...these are little ones at people's permanent residences at Palm Creek in and around the park....the one on the bottom has a very pretty pink stalk coming out of it. It will be interesting to see what color the flowers will be....

Today, we took a drive to Mesa, AZ, to check out the Camping World store...always fun to go in there and see what we can't live without..of course, by now, we have storage worked out inside and outside the coach in the bays, have tried lots of different gadgets designed with the RVer in mind...like plate separators to keep your dishes from crashing against each other on rough roads (don't need them, use rubber shelf, cut to fit lining sold on a roll). We use that shelf liner to line all our shelves not just the ones in the kitchen. For anyone just starting out RVing full time, it's hard not to buy all these gadgety things they sell in the Camping World store. So if you have any questions about what to buy and what not to buy, email anyone who blogs and we'll be happy to tell you if it's something you don't need or something you do! I remember when we first starting RVing, we'd pour over the Camping World catalog at least a couple times a week, and make lists of things we thought we needed to buy...A couple of things off the top of my head that have been ESSENTIAL have been a surge protector for the post where you hook into the park system's electric, and a non-kinking hose. People will tell you there are more things you need of course, such as a water regulator and filter on the fresh water hose line, tire gauge pressure monitoring systems, and other great things...we're just taking it slow and gradually adding things to protect our motor home investment. 

These are very sturdy tables w/adjustable heights

Eldy's chair

Sparky's chair--

We managed to do a little damage at Camping World. We bought a rocker for Eldy. Our first set of rockers only lasted about six months. They had plastic clamps that you had to lock down by pushing down with your thumbs on each side of the chair and the plastic clamps broke just from normal usage. This new rocker seems to have a little better construction on it. Eldy LOVES to rock all night long--on the dance floor and off, lol....so he's a happy camper. We also bought a couple of little side tables that are indispensable for putting a grill on, (a very reasonable 20.00 each) or crafts, or just the extra stuff you like to surround yourself with when you sit outside. Instead of a rocker, I got a cushy tub chair I can use inside the motor home or outside, I like that wrap around feeling it gives me.  Oh, one more thing we bought...a portable fire pit. Unfortunately, as we are in the Casa Grande city limits, no outside fires are allowed. We can't use our portable fire pit with logs unless it's propane fueled. (That's not a campfire, says Sparky!) So we're just going to wait until we get into a park that allows fire pits...this one even has a screen lid to keep the sparks inside, and a grill should we decide to grill marshmallows or cook dinner.....time to go sit and relax in my tub chair for awhile.....temperatures may be hot during the day, (high 80's) but it cools down quickly starting in late afternoon, with a nice breeze that comes in late every afternoon  and so early evenings are our favorite times to sit outside....see you outside....

Casa Grande Art Fair

mosaic artwork at the Casa Grande Art Fair

There seems to be a lot of art fairs or festivals in Casa Grande...I've seen "Art in the Alley" advertised in town...I think that's the first Tuesday of every month. This past weekend was an art fair in Peart Park in Casa Grande. It was very nice and very interesting...I think they are still growing, as there was plenty of room in the park for more exhibitors. There were some very high end artists selling their creations, and some very reasonably priced artwork as well....the artwork was heavily southwestern influence, which is to be expected!

I thought this artist was very interesting with what he was doing, so I asked about his work...he goes out and finds big stones. These rocks or monoliths were huge and beautifully polished. The rocks served as the sculpture body. The artist, and I'm sorry, I don't remember his name, looks at the stone, and figures out a "theme" which he then works a head in wax for a future bronze casting.....the heads were those of native Americans in different poses and moods...his work sold for thousands of dollars there at the fair. Here is he working in wax on the hair. You can see some of the finished work in the background. The statues were on average about two feet tall and very beautiful.

Another artist that caught my eye was a gentleman who had a booth full of flutes like the kind that is played in those beautiful native American or Chilean groups of several men who play the flutes at fairs and festivals...he was selling the flutes and he was also a musician who plays and has recorded flute music. These flutes were five and six holed flutes. I was trying to be so careful about not taking photos without asking and intent on getting some information, that I neglected to get the names of these artists. The flutes were absolutely beautiful and ranged in price from 39.00 for a small one, to intricately carved and inlaid ones for about two hundred dollars. I almost bought one, as I used to play flute in elementary school and high school for many years. I love the South American music and musicians you see at fairs who play these beautiful flutes...but I ended up thinking about being practical instead of impulsive, and didn't buy one....

The last booth that caught my eye was a lady who did watercolors with candy wrappers interpersed among each painting. She does the watercolor painting first, then works other media into the painting.....You'd have to see this painting very close up to see the metallic wrappers or other paper candy wrappers, pieces of ribbon, metal, etc.....

I like going to see these art fairs...Eldy decided to work on his golf putting so I was on my own here.  Seeing the different types of artwork gets me thinking about taking some classes. I can be pretty creative, but I would love to explore some more kinds of artwork, just in case I have hidden talent I am not aware of! (Uh-oh! more craft supplies? says E.)  Maybe, honey...but not oils....maybe pottery...maybe stained glass...got lots of stained glass in storage back in Indiana...maybe I could learn how to use it! Looking forward to taking some classes down at the workshops at Palm Creek....we'll see what is available...bye for now.....