I'm not exactly sure what prompted the exclamatory theme of this month's posts. But, with just a few days to go before we put April in the books, I'm going with it.
When it comes to staying in Santa Fe, we gotta tell ya, we're about done.
It's been windy here. Really windy. The only glimmer of light since our friends left has been the arrival of new friends. Donna and Keith arrived here yesterday after being buffeted by the wind from El Paso. It was wonderful to meet these good people we had only known virtually. We look forward to getting together this week and hiding out from the wind...together!
Today's forecast called for an extra windy day. Wind gusts of 65 mph-plus were expected this afternoon, so shortly after breakfast we decided to get out while we could and enjoy a walk. Our park is encircled by a lovely .75 mile walking trail that treats people and dogs to panoramic views of the mountains. We're cat people, of course, but we've enjoyed our daily walks on this very scenic trail. We've worked up to five laps around the place, which adds up to a good 3-mile-plus walk that we do at a pretty hefty clip. At 7,000 feet altitude, we figure these daily walks are doing something to build our lung capacity!
During today's walk the skies suddenly turned dark and precipitation began to fall...as sleet! There's nothing quite like being 40 minutes into a walk and being pelted with falling ice. It IS Spring, isn't it? We got our 3-plus miles in anyway and were none the worse for wear.
Shortly after arriving home and getting out of our wet walking clothes, we got word that the wind was on its way. Wind gusts of 65 mph were clocked in Albuquerque, and they were headed our way. We brought in our freshly repaired but still windward slide. The gusts came, as expected, by mid-afternoon. After we had dried out and rested a bit, we decided to head to the local mall and enjoy some time strolling out of the wind. The mall was pretty depressing. Many stores were closed. But, we managed to make a few purchases in hopes of boosting the local economy.
We got home in time to check in with the local news and learned that the wind gusts were expected to die down after sunset. With plans to grill a couple of chicken breasts, we relaxed in our smaller-than-normal rolling home and waited for the winds to quiet. Around 7, we determined that the winds were well past their peak. We extended our windward slide and began to prepare dinner.
As Paul prepared to light the grill, we noticed that the winds had not exactly died down. Instead, they had just shifted. The gale force winds were no longer hitting us broadside. Now they were hitting us head on from the north. When Paul stepped out to light the grill, the gale force northerly winds had other ideas. Paul returned, frustrated, with chicken in hand. The grill wouldn't light. It was time for an alternate plan.
I dug out the almost never used instructions to our convection microwave oven. I quickly deduced how to broil a couple of chicken breasts. Following the instructions, we put the chicken in a baking dish, put it in the oven and pressed the magical buttons for "Compubroil 2", whatever that means!
We watched with amazement as the circling chicken was subjected to increasing temperatures. Some 20 minutes later the oven reached 425 degrees. After nearly a half-hour with chicken in the oven, the display changed. "Put food in oven," it declared.
Say what?
The two meager breasts were nearly cooked by that time. Quickly, we extracted the chicken and managed to pull together the veggies, pasta and bread and make it a meal.
It was well after 9:00 pm when we finally sat down to this adventurous meal. Outside, the wind howled at a faster pace than it had all day. Both toppers on our big ass slides whipped in the winds as we sampled our first bites.
Everything tasted great, of course. But after subjecting ourselves and our home to gale force winds for nearly a month, we are just about cooked. It's time for us to go.
We're outta here on Sunday. But, before then we really want to make it up to Los Alamos to see the sights. We've been waiting for a wind-free day to do that. Truth is, that day may never come. Actually, tomorrow's winds are supposed to be fairly calm. Of course, by the sounds of our toppers flipping up and down right now that's pretty hard to believe. It may be calm tomorrow, but it's supposed to be cold. Like 40-degrees!
We don't care. We're going anyway. Like we said, we're cooked!
Carefree!
Today was one of those rare days that has us basking in the glow of successfully conquering one of those curve balls our rolling home occasionally tosses our way.
Woo hoo!
Before we mix up our celebratory cocktails, let me explain.
Back in Kerrville, we got whacked with a 56 mph wind gust that did a number on the topper on our not quite big ass slide. A couple of days later, Paul popped it back into place. We've been super careful with it since. Here in Santa Fe, we've pulled it in on a few super windy days, just to be safe.
Yesterday, the front end of the topper was flapping in the breeze. Something was wrong...again.
Neither of us is really mechanically inclined, especially when it comes to dealing with 16-foot long high-tension spring rods. As long-time homeowners, we've become just skilled enough at things like plumbing and electrical work to be dangerous. But, this is just our second rolling house. Slide toppers are just supposed to roll in and out when we push a button. Beyond that, we're clueless.
So, our first choice was to call a mobile RV tech. Paul found the website of Carefree of Colorado, the manufacturer of our slide toppers and awnings. Just our luck, there isn't a Carefree dealer in Santa Fe that makes service calls. And, if we can't pull a slide in, we can't exactly get it to a dealer.
Our next choice was to call Carefree for help. But, that's not possible. You see, their phone number is nowhere to be found on their website! Paul found the owner's manual and some schematics for our slide topper and started studying. Before long, he had diagnosed the problem. Today was the day to try to figure out a solution.
As frustrated as we were that we couldn't get immediate help, we realized that what we did have was time, and plenty of it. With two weeks before we're planning to move this moose, we had all kinds of time to make this a DIY project.
Shortly after breakfast, Paul was on the job. He formulated a plan of attack. The first step was to send an email to Carefree explaining the situation and asking for guidance. We both figured we wouldn't hear back, but much to our surprise Paul received a response within the hour. With that he had the information he needed to give this thing a shot.
After all, what's the worst that could happen?
Taking extra special care to avoid flying parts and protect valuable fingers, Paul went to work. Before long the slide topper cover was off, screws were flying (just kidding) and he was muscling the tension rod like a pro. When questions came up, we put our heads together. When we weren't sure of the answer, Paul shot off another email to Carefree. Each helpful response came within minutes. With each step we learned and grew increasingly confident in our ability to repair our rolling home. In the end, the slide topper was restored to its pre-56 mph wind gust state. Heck, it could be that it's better than it's ever been.
All is right with our world.
There's something extra sweet about conquering the problem ourselves. And, it's not just the big bucks we would have shelled out for a service call. We're learning that if we take our time, do some research and get help straight from the horse's mouth, maybe - just maybe - we can be good caretakers of our moose.
Cheers!
Woo hoo!
Before we mix up our celebratory cocktails, let me explain.
Back in Kerrville, we got whacked with a 56 mph wind gust that did a number on the topper on our not quite big ass slide. A couple of days later, Paul popped it back into place. We've been super careful with it since. Here in Santa Fe, we've pulled it in on a few super windy days, just to be safe.
Yesterday, the front end of the topper was flapping in the breeze. Something was wrong...again.
Neither of us is really mechanically inclined, especially when it comes to dealing with 16-foot long high-tension spring rods. As long-time homeowners, we've become just skilled enough at things like plumbing and electrical work to be dangerous. But, this is just our second rolling house. Slide toppers are just supposed to roll in and out when we push a button. Beyond that, we're clueless.
So, our first choice was to call a mobile RV tech. Paul found the website of Carefree of Colorado, the manufacturer of our slide toppers and awnings. Just our luck, there isn't a Carefree dealer in Santa Fe that makes service calls. And, if we can't pull a slide in, we can't exactly get it to a dealer.
Our next choice was to call Carefree for help. But, that's not possible. You see, their phone number is nowhere to be found on their website! Paul found the owner's manual and some schematics for our slide topper and started studying. Before long, he had diagnosed the problem. Today was the day to try to figure out a solution.
As frustrated as we were that we couldn't get immediate help, we realized that what we did have was time, and plenty of it. With two weeks before we're planning to move this moose, we had all kinds of time to make this a DIY project.
Shortly after breakfast, Paul was on the job. He formulated a plan of attack. The first step was to send an email to Carefree explaining the situation and asking for guidance. We both figured we wouldn't hear back, but much to our surprise Paul received a response within the hour. With that he had the information he needed to give this thing a shot.
After all, what's the worst that could happen?
Taking extra special care to avoid flying parts and protect valuable fingers, Paul went to work. Before long the slide topper cover was off, screws were flying (just kidding) and he was muscling the tension rod like a pro. When questions came up, we put our heads together. When we weren't sure of the answer, Paul shot off another email to Carefree. Each helpful response came within minutes. With each step we learned and grew increasingly confident in our ability to repair our rolling home. In the end, the slide topper was restored to its pre-56 mph wind gust state. Heck, it could be that it's better than it's ever been.
All is right with our world.
There's something extra sweet about conquering the problem ourselves. And, it's not just the big bucks we would have shelled out for a service call. We're learning that if we take our time, do some research and get help straight from the horse's mouth, maybe - just maybe - we can be good caretakers of our moose.
Cheers!
Projects!
We've (pretty much) recovered from our food coma. We caught up with former Oakland neighbors visiting Santa Fe yesterday, which was a treat. And, thankfully, we met up over lemonade (for me) and a couple of beers (for Paul). It was so great to be with them, and we were even happier that no food was consumed! Yeah!
The April winds continue to blow across Santa Fe. It's getting a bit old, but we are so thankful that we've not been caught in any of the severe storms that have affected so many across the midwest and eastern seaboard. All things considered, we'll take sunny skies, moderate temps and some wind. It's not all bad.
The gale force winds continue to keep us inside. But, we're not complaining, really. You see, we have lots of projects! I can't speak for Paul, but I know he has a few projects underway. I can speak for myself, and I'm here to tell you, I have a lot of projects! These windy days have given me some welcome time to tend to my "to-do" list.
A quick inventory of my projects in the works results in a list that, frankly, is too long. I have four quilts in the works. There's my cookbook project, which involves transcribing my dear mother-in-law's recipe box into a family cookbook. And, I'm supposed to be working on a book. (Sadly, my word count has remained stagnant for a long while!) And, oh yeah. There's this travel blog that is again unattended. According to Bullwinkle's Travels, we're still in Carlsbad! Then, there's my knitting. I've been working on some kind of flouncy scarf that attracted my attention. But, it's not done.
While shopping in Santa Fe the other day, I added another project to my pile in the blink of an eye. My friend Cindy and I were eyeing a snazzy knitted three-button shawl that we spotted at more than one store.
"I can make that," I snapped. It'll take forever and cost twice as much, of course. But, I was inspired. Days later I found yarn and three buttons and another project is in the works.
How does this happen?
Have I mentioned I was once a hard-working workaholic? It's amazing how those unhealthy tendencies can invade retirement.
So, with too much to do, I should sign off for now. Here's hoping we can make the most of the next couple of weeks in Santa Fe. We'll see the sights and do what we can to make some serious progress on these pesky projects.
The April winds continue to blow across Santa Fe. It's getting a bit old, but we are so thankful that we've not been caught in any of the severe storms that have affected so many across the midwest and eastern seaboard. All things considered, we'll take sunny skies, moderate temps and some wind. It's not all bad.
The gale force winds continue to keep us inside. But, we're not complaining, really. You see, we have lots of projects! I can't speak for Paul, but I know he has a few projects underway. I can speak for myself, and I'm here to tell you, I have a lot of projects! These windy days have given me some welcome time to tend to my "to-do" list.
A quick inventory of my projects in the works results in a list that, frankly, is too long. I have four quilts in the works. There's my cookbook project, which involves transcribing my dear mother-in-law's recipe box into a family cookbook. And, I'm supposed to be working on a book. (Sadly, my word count has remained stagnant for a long while!) And, oh yeah. There's this travel blog that is again unattended. According to Bullwinkle's Travels, we're still in Carlsbad! Then, there's my knitting. I've been working on some kind of flouncy scarf that attracted my attention. But, it's not done.
While shopping in Santa Fe the other day, I added another project to my pile in the blink of an eye. My friend Cindy and I were eyeing a snazzy knitted three-button shawl that we spotted at more than one store.
"I can make that," I snapped. It'll take forever and cost twice as much, of course. But, I was inspired. Days later I found yarn and three buttons and another project is in the works.
How does this happen?
Have I mentioned I was once a hard-working workaholic? It's amazing how those unhealthy tendencies can invade retirement.
So, with too much to do, I should sign off for now. Here's hoping we can make the most of the next couple of weeks in Santa Fe. We'll see the sights and do what we can to make some serious progress on these pesky projects.
Food!
We're listless. A full night of sleep just doesn't seem like enough. Though today's sky is clear, we're a bit hazy. What the heck is going on?
We're in a food coma!
Four days of fun, and great food, have caught up with us. Our dear friends Cindy and Rick flew in from the Bay Area on Monday. It was so wonderful to be with them. Together we explored Santa Fe's shops, galleries and museums. If that wasn't enough, we topped off each night with an outstanding dinner.
Monday night, we kicked off their visit with our customary Manhattan happy hour. These celebrations have been virtual of late, so it was a real treat to toast in person. Then Chez Paul fired up the grill and prepared some fine ahi steaks and all the trimmings. With great food, conversation and laughter, we set the stage for a five-star food coma.
Each of the following nights, we enjoyed dinner at one of Santa Fe's finest restaurants. The first stop on our culinary tour of this true "foodie" town was Anasazi, just off the plaza in Old Town. Wednesday night we wrapped up our visit to Santa Fe's gallery row with an exquisite dinner at The Compound on Canyon Road. Last night, we scored a fine dining trifecta just up Canyon Road with a "send off" dinner at Geronimo. Every feast was a fantastic experience. Atmosphere, service and cuisine blended perfectly with delightful conversation and joyful laughter to create a memorable celebration of friendship.
Today, Cindy and Rick return home. As much as we truly miss these dear friends, our digestive systems are happy to see this food fest come to an end. We'll get back on the healthy eating wagon and incorporate plenty of exercise into our activities. Slowly, but surely, life will return to normal.
We'll be fighting the effects of this food coma for a bit. But, the memories of four fun and food-filled days with friends will be long-lasting.
Wind!
We've been spending a bit more time at home than we like. Paul's been down with a cold, but he's feeling much better. Our big hinderance to enjoying all Santa Fe has to offer is the wind. Actually, we've been not-so-affectionately referring to it as "friggin' wind". Mother Nature has served up another day of 30-40 mph sustained winds with gusts over 50 mph. So, we've pulled in our windward slide once more. Yep. Just in case we weren't feeling cooped up enough, we've made our small house even smaller!
With all this time at home, we're catching up on our reading and such. As I was perusing a couple of my favorite RV forums, I learned that "nobody" visits New Mexico in April, especially early April. Why? Because of the friggin' wind!
Nothing like finding a helpful piece of information after you need it!
But, wait! Believe it, or not, I do consider the weather when we plot out possible destinations. One of my favorite tools is Weather Underground's Trip Planner. Just type in a place and up to two weeks of dates you want to visit and you get a nifty summary of weather history.
With all this time at home, we're catching up on our reading and such. As I was perusing a couple of my favorite RV forums, I learned that "nobody" visits New Mexico in April, especially early April. Why? Because of the friggin' wind!
Nothing like finding a helpful piece of information after you need it!
But, wait! Believe it, or not, I do consider the weather when we plot out possible destinations. One of my favorite tools is Weather Underground's Trip Planner. Just type in a place and up to two weeks of dates you want to visit and you get a nifty summary of weather history.
Let's revisit Santa Fe from April 1st through the 15th.
According to the Trip Planner, the average high is 63 degrees and the average low is 33. That's a bit cooler than we like. But, that's OK because the sun shines all the time. There's a 0% chance of a "Cloudy Day". There's a 25% chance of a "Precipitation Day", but when stuff does fall from the sky it doesn't amount to much. And, what about the wind? There's a 39% chance of having a "Windy Day" where the wind blows more than 10 mph. Now, we can all deal with 10 mph winds. Can't we? What about "Friggin' Windy Days"? According to Trip Planner, the wind blows between 3 and 22 mph this time of year. That's not too bad. Is it?
I guess the gray clouds, blowing dust and tumbling tumbleweeds I'm seeing here in Santa Fe today are above average!
It reminds me of a phrase that was part of the vocabulary of work for Paul and me.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Ain't that the truth!
Clean!
Today's calmer winds were all we needed to get moving on our monster cleaning project. The day-long affair involved cleaning every - and we mean every - interior surface in our rolling home. Though we're exhausted, we're enjoying the payoff of today's team effort: Everything sparkles! And, the place smells great. We're trying not to think about how short-lived this condition is sure to be.
We put a previously little-used tool through its paces today, and are quite pleased with the results. Our moose came with a central vacuum system, but we never really used it. It's not that we never vacuum, mind you. We have a nifty lightweight Eureka that does such a great job, so we never had any reason to open the box with all of the central vac parts. The only part of the built-in system we've used is the "crumb catcher" under the kitchen cabinet. Now, that thing is handy! We just sweep everything in that general direction, give the switch a tap with a toe and the crumbs disappear.
One 90-something degree day in Alpine a couple of weeks ago we decided to give the central vac a try. The Eureka generates a goodly amount of heat, so it was time to try a different solution. I pulled out all of the parts and put them together while Paul stepped outside. Just as I got ready to plug the contraption into its magic outlet, I heard Paul yell, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
In a microsecond, I flashed back to our walkthrough when we took delivery of our new moose almost 18 months ago. I remembered our trusty guide showing us where the central vac "box" where all the dirt goes was in the basement and telling us their was one bag in there and we'd need to get more. Of course, we never put vac bags on our shopping list. Actually, we had never even opened the "box". Apparently, Paul had the same thought moments earlier and decided to check and see if a year-and-a-half of crumb catching had filled our one and only bag.
I brought my plugging in efforts to a halt as Paul stepped in the door. In his hand was a clear plastic bag containing three central vac bags and an instruction manual. (Of all the instruction manuals that came with this moose, we never really missed that one.)
Paul started with the good news. We didn't just have one bag. We had three. The bad news? Our disappearing kitchen crumbs had piled up in the "box", which had obviously never been prepped for delivery.
We shared a laugh and Paul took a few minutes to clean up the mess and install our first bag. A mere 18 months after we moved in, our central vac was good to go.
Now we're wondering what else we've yet to discover about this not-so-new house. Meanwhile, we have its great big outside to clean.
Can't wait!
We put a previously little-used tool through its paces today, and are quite pleased with the results. Our moose came with a central vacuum system, but we never really used it. It's not that we never vacuum, mind you. We have a nifty lightweight Eureka that does such a great job, so we never had any reason to open the box with all of the central vac parts. The only part of the built-in system we've used is the "crumb catcher" under the kitchen cabinet. Now, that thing is handy! We just sweep everything in that general direction, give the switch a tap with a toe and the crumbs disappear.
One 90-something degree day in Alpine a couple of weeks ago we decided to give the central vac a try. The Eureka generates a goodly amount of heat, so it was time to try a different solution. I pulled out all of the parts and put them together while Paul stepped outside. Just as I got ready to plug the contraption into its magic outlet, I heard Paul yell, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
In a microsecond, I flashed back to our walkthrough when we took delivery of our new moose almost 18 months ago. I remembered our trusty guide showing us where the central vac "box" where all the dirt goes was in the basement and telling us their was one bag in there and we'd need to get more. Of course, we never put vac bags on our shopping list. Actually, we had never even opened the "box". Apparently, Paul had the same thought moments earlier and decided to check and see if a year-and-a-half of crumb catching had filled our one and only bag.
I brought my plugging in efforts to a halt as Paul stepped in the door. In his hand was a clear plastic bag containing three central vac bags and an instruction manual. (Of all the instruction manuals that came with this moose, we never really missed that one.)
Paul started with the good news. We didn't just have one bag. We had three. The bad news? Our disappearing kitchen crumbs had piled up in the "box", which had obviously never been prepped for delivery.
We shared a laugh and Paul took a few minutes to clean up the mess and install our first bag. A mere 18 months after we moved in, our central vac was good to go.
Now we're wondering what else we've yet to discover about this not-so-new house. Meanwhile, we have its great big outside to clean.
Can't wait!
Dust!
After four months of hanging in Texas, we've finally found our way out of our big ol' adopted home state. We spent a few days in Carlsbad, then made the climb to Santa Fe. When we pulled into our park on Friday evening, we were right behind friends Gene and Anne, whom we met back in Kerrville. What a pleasant surprise! We spent yesterday with them doing a quick tour of Old Town Santa Fe. We're so glad we get to spend a month here. This is definitely a place to "feast"!
Today's weather was warned about for days. So, we expected it to be windy. The entire state of New Mexico, along with much of the nation's midsection, was placed under a High Wind Advisory. Here in Santa Fe, sustained winds were expected to be 30 to 40 mph. Gusts were anticipated to be as high as 60 mph. And, since we're sitting in the high desert, blowing dust was included in the warning.
One of our first "to-dos" here in Santa Fe is to give the moose and squirrel a deep cleaning. Since leaving Kerrvile, we've been living in the land of dust. Try as we might to keep things clean, the dust always wins. To a naked eye, we've kept the place tidy enough. But, take a close look anywhere and you'll see dust. It's piling up in places we've never even thought to look. And, that's just the inside. We are a rolling testimony that Bullwinkle's exterior color scheme is the best dirt camouflage money can buy. Our moose is filthy, but he doesn't really look that bad! The squirrel is another story. Rocky is jet black. Or, he used to be. Now he's some shade of charcoal gray.
So, you get the idea. We really need to clean. Knowing that our second full day in Santa Fe was bringing high winds and blowing dust, we decided to hold off on that big chore until the weather literally blows through.
In our fulltiming life, we've never been in a dust storm. We had one dust in the wind day on our initial rental RV trip. It added a bit of novelty to our 10-day vacation. And, besides, it wasn't our RV. We didn't know enough to be terribly concerned.
Well, today, we get to put a big checkmark next to "Dust Storm" on our fulltiming agenda. All was extremely calm when we got up this morning. The high wind warning was scheduled to go into effect at 10AM. Before the appointed hour, Paul stored our outdoor stuff. Then, we waited.
The winds showed up right on schedule. We pulled our windward slide in about an hour later. It's the same slide that "popped" its topper in Kerrville, so we weren't taking any chances. Like kids who see lightning and count off the seconds until the thunder, we watched the dust come in from the southwest in waves and waited for them to sandblast the side of our 40-foot billboard. The cats slept through it all. And, of course, Paul was fine. Me? I kinda freaked.
Our scenic mountain view disappeared in a cloud of brown. The wind was constant. There were even a few raindrops thrown in to help the dirt stick to our vehicles. And, it went on for hours. Hours! Somewhere in there, Paul decided it might be a good idea for me to be in a big building where I couldn't hear or see the wind. Good call, Paul! We ventured out in the Jeep and did a little shopping. (And shopping is always good!) Getting out actually gave my rational mind time to convince the slightly crazy part of me that our 16-ton rolling home wasn't going anywhere. And, of course, it hasn't.
As the sun begins to set behind a cloud of dust, the winds have died down a bit. It's still pretty darn gusty out there. So, the slide will stay in for now. Things are supposed to be better tomorrow. We sure hope so.
Like I said, we have cleaning to do. And, you know what? It's amazing what happens when a motorhome spends a day surrounded by dust blowing in gale force winds. It gets even dustier. Really dusty!
By the looks of things around here, we'll be cleaning for awhile.
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