WEEK OF 18 OCTOBER 2020; PAHRUMP, NV

 Sunday 18 October;

We decided to do a Jeep run this morning.  We met Don and Linda right outside the entrance to Mountain Falls and then headed up the highway toward Las Vegas.  We turned off and headed into Lovell Canyon.  We wanted to do this run for two 

Reasons;  1) because neither of us (Don & Linda or Rob or I) had done it and 2). Because Rob wants to do it with Tony on the way back from the Vegas Airport.  He doesn’t get in until 3 pm and we wanted to find out how long it would take to do the trail so they wouldn’t be doing it in the dark.  And the cool part about today’s adventure......I got to drive it.

It’s way more fun to drive it than to be a passenger getting bounced around.  Plus, I was a bit smoother and slower and so Bella wasn’t getting bounced around nearly as much as she usually does.

Most of it was pretty tame.  There is an alternate route that takes you though rock gardens, but we didn’t do that.  Although, there was one section where we didn’t have a choice.  We had to go through the rock garden.  Rob spotted me and then left me to spot for Linda (it was a ladies’ day with both of us driving and our hubbies as passengers).  While he was spotting for Linda I continued picking my way through and did a pretty good job of it.  Lovell Canyon goes into Red Rock Canyon which is really pretty.

We entered the La Madera Mountains Wilderness before getting to the top parking lot of the Red Rock Canyon drive.  

It is so pretty in Red Rock Canyon 

It was a beautiful day and a lot of people were out and about.  There were tons of hikers.  There was a group of motorcycles and there was a group of about 10 Slingshots.  One of them had a big dog as a passenger.  He was sitting up, was harnessed in and was wearing doggles like Bella has.

When we talked to his owner he told us the dog has ridden all the way to DC and back.  Seems kind of tiring for a dog to ride like that that far. It sure was cute sitting up in the slingshot like that though.

We continued on through the park 

and then drove over to the little town of Blue Diamond.  Rob and I do a lot of mountain biking there.  They have great trails.  There is a little restaurant there with yummy pizza’s and sandwiches and salads.  It has a nice big deck so its a nice place to go during these trying times.

We sat out and had a flatbread pizza and a beer.  It was fun.  They we drove back to Pahrump.  

When we got back to town Rob asked me if I wanted to see where the famous Brothel was, so we went out to find it.  It is a famous place that is still active, but gives tours and is apparently a great place to have lunch.  I have been curious about it ever since we moved here.  So we found it.  It is Sunday, so I guess they don’t do a lot of business.  The parking lot was pretty empty.

There is another one to the left of this one (right next door)  It is really cute.  Both offer tours.  I’m not sure which is the one that is the great spot for lunch.

From here we drove out into the desert following a dirt road. Rob wanted to see if it was the correct one to take to get over to the Dumont Dunes without going on the highway.  It seemed to be correct.  After that we went home.

Both of my football teams are on a bye this week, so we didn’t miss anything. 

I worked on a blouse.  It is made of gauze and I had split the back of it.  I got some replacement fabric for it about a year ago and am finally getting around to fixing it.  I took the back all off so I can use it as a pattern.  It was a lot of work so I decided to make the patter, cut it out and sew it tomorrow rather than tonight.

Monday; 19 October.

The Coronavirus is blowing up again.  30 states have had record new cases and the deaths in the US is over 800,000 now.  The US is not the only country either.  France, Italy, England and many other states are blowing up as well.  It is very frightening.

I sadly, have decided not to go and visit my Mom before we venture south east.  It is a very hard decision because we are going to be gone for a year.  But, she is in an independent living facility and they are not really abiding by all the health and safety rules.  They are allowed to have visitors now, they can take Uber around town to appointments etc, and they don’t have to go into quarantine when they get back anymore.  They get together in each other’s apartments to play bridge.  I am happy she is having a good time, but I am also afraid for her and afraid for me if I go and visit.  I have no place to stay so would stay in her apartment, in her facility and that worries me.  I don’t want to be exposed to the virus and would sure hate to get it and get sick or especially to give it to Rob or anyone else.

When planning our trip to go to Florida to buy a boat we were planning on visiting a friend in Phoenix, friends in Tucson, and friends in Dallas.  Then onto Houston to have Thanksgiving with Aunt Maddie et al.  But, after the news about the virus and all the states that are blowing up we have changed our plans.  We called everyone and told them it is all to scary and we are not going to come to visit.  It is really sad.  I so much want them to hurry up and find the cure, make the vaccine and let us get together with friends and family again.  In the mean time, all we can do is wear our masks and continue to socially distance ourselves from everyone.  We feel safe around people who feel the same as us, those who are following the rules and wearing their masks and socially distancing themselves.  Like Kate and Joe for instance.  

Anyway, these are very sad times.

Wednesday; 21 October 2020

Rob, Bella and I went to Las Vegas to a new Dentist.  It is a lovely place.  Very large with a big staff.  We both needed teeth cleanings, nothing more.  But, first we went through an hour of x-rays and exams and meeting the new Dentist.  He is very nice. I needed a night guard.  I had my bottom teethe straightened a couple years ago and then had implants done over the course of a year so I had to wait until everything was done to get my night-time retainers.  Unfortunately the had to do the mold of my upper teeth twice.  It was taking forever.  Rob was all finished with exams and cleanings as they were just starting my cleaning.  He had taken Bella from me, so he then had to wait for me.  Actually, he didn’t, he could have just taken her home.  I had plans to meet Kate for lunch.  I did, but I was 15 minutes late.  I felt bad about that.

We had a lovely time at lunch tho.  It is always so nice getting together with her.  It was especially nice having a “girls” day.  Since the Coronavirus outbreak and all the “stay-at-home orders, Rob and I have pretty much been connected at the hip.  It was nice to have an outing with just a female friend.  

We didn’t do much else for the rest of the week, although I did go through my clothes again.  I went through all my shorts and pants and long and short sleeve tee shirts again.  I managed to get rid of two and a half garbage bags again.  If I keep doing this every couple weeks I might be able to get all of my clothes in just one closet.  It is nice having them all in one household, nothing in any of the RVs, only here at the house.  One of these days I will go through all my dresses and skirts.  But, that is for another time.

WEEK OF 11 OCTOBER 2020; PAHRUMP, NV

 Sunday, 11 October

We decided not to do the Garage Sale this morning.  We figured we had sold everything worthwhile to sell.  The rest we’ll take to good will.

We went for a nice walk with Bella, showered and then went to Vegas.  Actually to Henderson to visit Kate and Joe.  They have a friend visiting from Oregon and they wanted us to meet him.  Guy is a boater.  His wife passed away two years ago and he misses her terribly and couldn’t stand being in their home without her so he sold it.  Now he travels around in his Camper and pulls his boat.  He loves fishing, Lake Havasu and the Columbia River up in Portland.  Rob gleaned tons of information from him about boating, docking and locking.  He is a very nice man.  

Kate fixed a yummy shrimp, mushroom pasta, a loaded salad and delicious bread.  We took a Lemon Meringue Pie for desert.  We were able to sit outside which was lovely.  I love getting together with them.  They are a wonderful couple.  I am going to recover her front patio chairs for her.    It was a lovely afternoon.

Monday, 12 October.  

Surprise, Surprise, Randall, our friend from the Ranch came by for a visit.  He came without his girlfriend Cindi who is also a friend which was sad.  He is here visiting his best friend whose parents live here.  I fixed some Orange Cranberry Muffins which were nice.  We chatted about boating, and the Rubicon Trail and the Ranch.  It was a nice morning and nice visit.

After Randall left Rob Bella and I went off and played Golf at Mountain Falls.  On the third hole we were joined by a single, Jeff.  He was a pretty good golfer.  He also lives here in Mountain Falls.  In fact, he lives in the same development as us, Tramonto. He lives across the parkway from us and live on the golf course.  It was hot and slow, so we only played 9 holes and then we quit.  

Rob took all the left over stuff to Goodwill and then to the store. I napped.

Tuesday, 13 October

Rob and I are taking an on-line Boating Safety course.  There are 7 sections to it each ending with a quiz and then a final exam.  Rob started it a day before I did.  We both worked on it all day.  He finished the course and the final exam and received his certificate of completion.  I went through the first 5 sections.

This evening is the first night of the second week of the Great Loop Virtual Rendezvous.  So, we had to tune in.  It wasn’t as fun as the first week.  If we were actually on the Loop it would have been great, because it was all about the TemTom Waterway.  They basically went through all the Marinas and Locks along the way.  It din’t mean a whole lot to us right now, but we will be able to visit it later when we are actually doing thee loop and get to that section of it..

After the Rendezvous we watched a cute movie with Reece Weatherspoon.

Wednesday, 14 October.

We chilled with our coffee on the back patio and then took Bella a walked the 4 mile loop around Mountain Falls.

Rob went off to Las Vegas for a golf lesson.  I finished the last lesson of the boating safety course and did well on the quiz at the end.  I took a deep breath and started in on the final exam.  OMG it was a bit harder than I expected and I had to look stuff up.  I ended up passing with a 94.6%.  I was relieved.  You have to have 80% in order to pass.  So I got a certificate.  Yippee.  I printed it out.  The reason for the course was two fold. One, to learn more about boating, and two, to have something to give to the insurance company stating that I have done stuff like this.

After finishing my course work I drove into Pahrump.  I picked up our mail at Mail Messages and More and then went to Walmart.  I bought some new sheets for the Teton.  We decided we are going to rent out our lot with the RV on it.  We will do short term rentals of three night minimum.  Longer if they find someone who wants to rent it.  We are having Ida from the Ranch handle it.  We thought about selling the Teton and we thought about selling the lot.  But in the end, we decided renting it would probably be best.  At the end of this two year incentive leave that Rob is on he will have to go back to the Airlines to finish out his retirement.  He is still based in LA and we will still need a place to live.  If we are going to be gone from the Ranch for so long I would rather have people on it and watching over it rather than just have it sitting empty and vulnerable. Plus, if we can get enough to pay our HOA and our RV payment that would be awesome.

I picked up some dinner for us from Panda Express and then headed home.  I threw the sheets in the wash.  I love new sheets, but only after all the chemicals have been washed out of them.  

Rob got home shortly after me so we had a nice little Panda Express dinner.

Thursday; 15 October.

I did all the rest of the laundry today. It is my thing to do on Thursdays.  I think it is because it was a Thursday when we left on our RV trip last June so I always changed the sheets and towels and did the laundry after a week.  I think also that we got back home on a Thursday and so again it was a week later to change out the linens.

The rest of the day I didn’t do much.  Rob went off to hit some golf balls and then he went to the gym.  He’s a good boy! I’m still a slug thinking about how I should probably start a program, but thinking about it is all the further I have gotten.  I do walk 4 miles just about every day though, so I’m not a total dead beat.

Friday; 16 October; Pahrump

I’m so excited. Kate shared with me the name of the guy and company where she gets her hair cut.  It always looks great.  I called and made an appointment and it is today.  Yippee!  It is in Vegas.

We went for or walk, then I showered and left for Vegas. My glasses are also in, so I went to Costco to pick them up.  The costco where I went for my glasses is in Vegas closest to Pahrump.  My hair appointment is in Henderson.  For some reason I thought picking up my glasses would take longer than it did.  So, I was about two hours early for my hair appointment.

I went to Burger King and got a whopper.  Yum.

I went to Petco and bought a new Dish for Bella.  We have a leash with a poop-bag dispenser and a collapsible dish in every vehicle including the house.  The one that we take with us in my car always flattens out and dumps the water everywhere, so I finally got her a new one.  They also had a cute little pumpkin shirt for her.  She has a sweater with a pumpkin on it, but it is to small.  This one is t-shirt material.

Next I went to Walmart and wandered around for a bit.  I bought another set of sheets, this set for our bed here at the house.  I had added bleach to the laundry one day and instead of mixing with the water it seemed to have gone straight onto the stuff in the machine.  It bleached almost through on a set of sheets.  I’m afraid they are going to rip where they are bleached so heavily so I’m going to throw them away.  

I was still 40 minutes early for my appointment.  I found the salon and then drove around the area for a little while.  Finally, about 30 early I just parked in the parking lot.  Due to the Covid we have to call when we get there and wait outside until they are ready.  So I called and let them know that I knew I was 30 min early, but I was there.

I love the stylist.  Michael.  He’s super friendly, loves what he’s doing, listened to what I wanted and did it. He’s also an instructor pilot. And since he’s a friend of Kate’s we had lots to talk about.  I was very pleased. I made an appointment to go back in 4 weeks.

That’s not me, just how I got my hair cut.  

After my hair cut I went to Costco in Henderson to pick up our needed items and then went home.  

One of my pairs of glasses are totally different from what I normally get.  I usually try to get glasses that disappear of my face. Rimless.  These are a bit bigger and black rimmed and they are kinda cool. Rob loves them.  He says I look smarter and very cute.  I’m glad he likes them  They are very comfortable and for some reason they seem to stay cleaner.  I needed another pair of glasses because I only had one pair of prescription.  I figured if anything happened to them during the next year while we were cruising around on our boat I would be in a world of hurt.  Now I have three pairs.  I just have to remember to take all three pair and then remember where I put the spares once on the boat.

The rest of the day and evening were pretty uneventful.  As was the next day.

 

WEEK OF 4 OCTOBER 2020; PAHRUMP, NV

 Sunday, 4 October

Rob and company started on the Rubicon Trail this morning.  Here is a description I found about it:

Perhaps the best known and most popular 4x4 trail in the world. A rare combination of difficulty, beauty, length and pure rock-crawling pleasure. Great camping next to crystal-clear lakes with stunning views. Most people drive the trail in the direction described here, but it can be driven in both directions. The trail reaches elevations above 7,000 feet and is partially snow covered in the winter. However, only the Granite Bowl is officially closed to vehicular travel at that time. From a practical standpoint, however, the trail is for summer use. A mix of granite slabs, soft dirt, sharp rocks and large boulders that require precise maneuvering to avoid body damage. Several extreme sections can be bypassed but many very rough sections cannot. Cadillac Hill is very steep, tippy and potentially dangerous. During wet periods, one water crossing can be very deep and muddy. Extremely dusty with tight brush in places. With an expert spotter, you might get a stock, high clearance, short-wheel based 4WD vehicle through without body damage, but the average driver should not try it. Best done in a modified vehicle with ample body protection and lockers. Travel with a group.

He is using a Garmin GPS with emergency text messaging and tracking. I was able to track his progress (which wasn’t much) throughout the day.

Below is a picture of their tracks. Unfortunately, I do not know where they actually spent the night. I believe they were planning on going all the way to Rubicon Springs, or to Buck Island Lake camp....

But as you can see, they stopped before they got to the lake. It took them 6.5 hours to go the 4.98 miles. They were not planning on traveling in the dark. I talked to Rob at one point and he said it was hard, and nerve racking, but fun.

I in the mean time finished my pumpkin project. I don’t especially care for it. It’s a bit flat and boring I think. Perhaps I will donate it to something.

After I finished the sewing I took a shower and then settled in for football. My two teams are not playing at the same time for a change. The Raiders played first and lost...again. Stupid penalties, and fumbles and dump stuff like that while facing a very strong, good team, the Billls. They are now 2-2. Soooooo disappointing. They even played in their own, brand new, amazing stadium in Las Vegas built especially for them. Sad.

The Seahawks, on the other hand, kicked butt. They were awesome. They played the Miami Dolphins and won. They are now 4-0 having won all four of their games so far.

After football I took Bella out for her walk to the creek.

I did not hear from Rob anymore this eve. I was hoping he would send me a text telling me they were done for the day and all is well. But, nada!

Monday I didn’t here from Rob first thing again. I kept looking at the map, but they weren’t moving. I figured everything must be ok, otherwise I would have heard something.

Bella had a Vet appointment with a new Vet. I figured I better have one here in town as well as in Temecula. All she really needs is a toe trim, but I want a year supply of her heart worm prevention as well as flea and tick prevention. I had to wait forever. When I put out to the area that I was looking for a vet most recommended this place, and the only negative comments were that they always had to wait, even though they have appointments. It was very frustrating. It was 40 min after arrival and check in that I was finally seen. Bella was really anxious by the time she was seen. But, the vet was very nice and I got a year supply of Revolution which is a topical combination for fleas, ticks, heart worm, hook worms and various other gross things that biting insects can give dogs. We are happy now.

We went to the store and then home.

The Rubicon peeps are moving again. In fact, they are making pretty good progress today. I have been sending updates to Joey and Johnny, Tony’s sons. I’d send them to his wife as well, but I don’t have Holly’s contact info.

Rob called me around 6 and said they had completed the trail, they were on a real road heading to South Lake Tahoe to find a place to spend the night. Awesome. They ended up staying back at the South Shore Beach and Ski club which is where they stayed on Sat night and is where Tony left his car. They will be home tomorrow. Rob had planned an extra day on the trail because he didn’t really know how long it would take them. Im glad they are done, are safe, with no damage to themselves or their jeeps and that they had a great time.

Tuesday, 6 October.

I made pockets today, lots of pockets. I have shorts and yoga pants that do not have any pockets. When we were RVing I liked to stick my drivers license, ATM card, Military ID and credit card, as well as a face mask in ziplock baggy and stick it in my left back pocket. Then I would put my phone in my back right pocket. Then I didn’t have to carry a wallet or a purse. But, some of my shorts and my yoga pants do not have pockets so I made a pattern from a favorite pair of shorts and cut out 9 pairs of pockets. I sewed them on 6 pairs or shorts, capris, and yoga pants as well as a pair of sweats. Now I’m happy. Then I cleaned up the sewing room which has been quite a mess for a couple weeks from my various projects. All better now.

Our Virtual Great Loop Rendezvous starts today. It is being done through Zoom and some other platform. I have the computer and iPad all set up and ready for it. Rob is hoping to be back in time for it, but I’m not sure.

Part one of the Rendezvous was very informative and really nice. Rob got home when there was about 15 min remaining. For part 2 they sent us off into small groups so we could meet other people who were in the planning stage as we are, as well as a couple of people who have already completed the loop. It was fun, and again very informative.

Wednesday, 7 October;

Rob wanted to re organize and clean out the garage. That’s good, because there is a big neighborhood garage sale planned for this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. One of the goals it to try to eliminate one of the shelving units in hopes of being able to park the truck in the garage. Tony is going to come and get the Jeep and use it for the year and a half we are planning on being gone, we sold the other vehicles, so that leave my car and the new truck. We know my car fits and if his truck fit that would be awesome. Both vehicles would be safely inside while we are gone.

I helped him on and off through out the day. I also went through all my shirts and blouses and bagged up (for give away) everything that didn’t fit or that I didn’t like. Yippee, all my clothes fit in one closet now. In the garage we sorted, tossed, gathered for the garage sale and re shelved. We took Robs old photo albums out of the house and brought in crafts, cook and travel books. We found and brought in all the books of our blog from our 2 year RV adventure. It was great. There is still a lot of stuff we can go through. I finally had him come in for dinner.

After dinner we went through his pictures from the Rubicon Trail. What an amazing adventure.

And it was beautiful up there!

Thursday; 8 Oct

We continued to work on the garage until I had to leave for Vegas. I have an eye appointment. As I was leaving Rob was taking apart the shelving unit we were able to empty. We also did laundry.

I was trying to be very efficient while waiting for my eye appointment by picking out a frame or two. I only have one pair of prescription glasses. If anything were to happen to them I would be in a world of hurt. I want to have at least one back up pair for our boating adventure. As it turns out, my prescription has changed since I got these glasses last May. So, I am getting tow new pairs and my current will be another back up. My right eye has slightly changed. The good news is that both eyes as well as nerves and veins associated with them are very healthy. However, they are both very dry and I am developing cataracts. That’s typical for my age. Another ten years and the cataracts will need to be repaired. The bad part was that due to the Coronavirus it took forever to be seen to order my glasses. There were about 10 people in line all standing the required 10 feet apart. My appointment was at 1:00 at 3:00 I finally got out of there and headed home. I got home in time to catch the last 5 minutes of part one of tonight’s Rendezvous. Then there was a break and then they put us in a small group again. We all got to tell a little about ourselves and ask all the questions that we have been wanting to know about various things having to do with boats and the loop. It was very informative and helpful.

We also got the laundry done, and, all our garbage taken away. That always makes me happy

Friday; 9 October

We had lots of people come by this morning for our garage sale. We sold our big tent, sleeping bag, camping kitchen and a bunch of other stuff. Not bad since we didn’t advertise. But, it is going on throughout Mountain Falls, so there were a lot of them. It was great to get rid of a bunch of stuff we no longer needed and to make a little money as well. We quit at noon. I think it is supposed to go on all day, but it was getting hot and like I said, we were not on the advertised list.

I cleaned the house and prepped things for dinner. I also got the Rubicon Slide show ready. It really is awesome.

Don and Linda came over at 5. We bar-B-Qued chicken and asparagus and I made a nice salad as well as rolls. They brought over some delicious cookies from a local bakery. Yum Yum! We had a nice visit and dinner then we all sat and watched the Rubicon Slide Show. They loved it! It is really awesome. Tony took a lot of videos of Rob And Don crawling over the rocks and Rob took a bunch of Tony as well. It was great. Don had asked Rob for his favorite picture from the trail and then he had it put onto T-shirts. It also had the Rubicon sign on it. He had one made for each of Rob and Tony. So very sweet. They are a nice couple and we enjoyed the evening.

Saturday, 10 October

Another morning of Garage sale. We sold all the rest of anything worth while to sale. We quit at noon again and bagged up what was left to take to Good Will. We ended up making $206 which we split! Not to bad.

Rob went for a run and I stayed home and chilled. Our friends from the Ranch, Bruce and Debbie came by. They are the ones who have the 29’ Trailered Ranger Tug. We went out on their boat with them up in Gig Harbor in Aug. It was fun.

Anyway, they are here visiting with friends who also live here in Mountain Falls and came to visit us as well. Naturally we had to share the Rubicon Slide Show with them. They enjoyed it and were awed by the trail. Afterward we went to the Mountain Falls Grill to meet up with their friends Mark and Teresa. They live over in Ovation and have been here about a year. They also have a boat, but theirs is a sail boat. They keep it in a Marina in Redondo Beach, Calif. That is where Bruce and Debbie met them. After dinner we went over to their lovely home and sat outside around their fire pit with a little wine. They are on the 8th green which is fun. They have watched two different ladies get holes in one. We had a really nice evening. We really enjoyed their company and will get together with them again.                                                                                                                                                                         

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 27, 2020; PAHRUMP, NV

 Sunday, 27 September

Now that Rob has his new big tires he’s anxious to go on a Jeep run.  So, we met Don and Linda at 9 am in Pahrump and we all (in our two jeeps) set off for Titus Canyon.  Our first stop was in Beaty.  It has a hotel, gas station and giant candy and nut store.  We both topped off with fuel and then loaded up on junk.  I bought butter toffee peanuts, butter toffee cinnamon almonds and trail mix.  Rob bought some healthier items plus chocolate peanut butter malt balls.  OMG they are soooooo good.

From there we made our way to Titus canyon.  The first half was pretty, but boring.  It was just a dirt/gravel road and the scenery was wide open.

            

But then we got to Leadfield.  It was an old mining town.  It was interesting.  It looks like some one came in and took all the wood out of several of the buildings.  The was a general store, a post office, a cafe, a mining company office and a bunch of other stuff.

We ate lunch here.  We are a little more than half way through the canyon.  It is hot, but there is a really nice breeze, so it is keeping it comfortable.  Thankfully we have air conditioning in the Jeep.

The rest of the journey was really pretty and a bit amazing.  The road got very narrow and tight and would its way through the canyon.  I took pictures of some of the rock formations and sent them to Kate for identification (teasingly of course).  She is interested in learning about earthly things.

And finally we came out in Death Valley. 

W drove back to Pahrump, saying good by to Don and Linda when we hit Highway 160.  They live in the Winery RV Park.  They are full time RVers and have been for the past  three years. Unlike us, they are strictly RVers having sold there home and everything.

After we got home we watched the two footballs games we had recorded earlier.  The Raiders lost (boo!) they are now 2-1, but the Seahawks won.  Yippee!  They are now 3-0.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful.  I worked on my sewing projects and Rob played golf and went to the gym.  He often would walk down, hit some golf balls, go into the gym and work out and then walk back.  It is a mile each way to the golf course, gym and Mountain Falls Grill.  They are all located together.  It’s really nice. All we are missing is a market.  But, its only about a 10 or fifteen minute into town. 

Thursday Rob had a golf lesson in Las Vegas, so I drove him in and dropped him off.  Then I went to JoAnns for more fabric and stuff and then to Costco.  It worked out perfectly,  I finished all my shopping and got back to him about 5 minutes before he was done.  

Friday morning Bruce brought our clocks back to us.  These are the two clocks I got from Dad and Barb.  One is anAnsonia Clock.  I didn’t know if it worked or not because the key to wind it had been lost.  The company was founded in 1850 in Derby, Connecticut. From 1854 to 1878, the company made clocks in Ansonia, Connecticut.  In 1878, after reorganization, the company moved to Brooklyn, New York.  This company was among the most prolific of manufacturers and may well have had the most extensive line of clocks.  By World War I, Ansonia had sales agents and affixes around the world.  The company’s failure to keep abreast of changes after the was caused a decline in quality and production.  By 1929, the company was in bankruptcy and a creditor’s committee sold all its clocks making machinery to the Soviet Union, where it became a core of the state-run clockmaking industry.

The clock came with an alarm clock built in, but it was missing.  Bruce was able to find one to replace and reinstall it.  Most of the original parts are still in the clock, and then a couple new, but from the era were replaced.  He also gave me a key which had been missing.  It is working beautifully.  It just does one bong (more like a bing) every 15 minutes and then bongs the hours.  I have not heard the alarm.  Bruce said it is actually pretty obnoxious and I have no reason to use it.  But it is nice to have it restored to its original state and have it working.

The other is a Grandfather clock.  I was also not working and Barbara was not sure why.  It turned out the spring had been sprung.  He cleaned it and fixed it.  It has a the moon phases and as it turned out, last night was a full moon so the clock is now set to the proper moon phase.  Of the three clocks I have, the Ansonia, the Grandfather, and the Black Forest wall clock I have from Germany,

the Grandfather is the quietest. (That is good, because it is the closest to the bedroom) I also think it has the prettiest tone.  The Ansonia has the loudest tick, but its bongs are pretty quiet.  The Black Forest wall clock is the loudness as far as its tune and bongs are concerned.  Also the wall it is on seems to make its tone odd. It would sound better on a more solid wall.  Perhaps I should put something more solid behind it.

I finished both projects for Mom and Barbara and were able to get them in the mail.  The postal worker said they should arrive on Monday.  That should be a nice surprise for them.  I am pleased with how they turned out.

Later in the day Rob and I each got a 90 min. Massage.  My neck has been tight and sore and she really dug into it.  It is the first time I have ever wanted a massage to hurry up and end.  All I could think of was a getting home and putting a nice moist heating pad on my neck with some Lavender oil in it.  I survived.

Saturday

Rob left early this morning to go meet Don and Linda in Pahrump at 7 am.  They are driving the two jeeps to South Lake Tahoe.  They are meeting Tony there and are spending the night.  Tomorrow they will drive to and start the Rubicon Trail.

I worked on my sewing projects all day.  I felt bad, because Bella was totally bored.  She does not like the sewing room, so she stayed in the living room the whole time.  She would pop in occasionally to tell me she was bored or to tell me she was hungry.

I finished my acorn project. I like it.  I think it is cute and am pleased the way it turned out.

I did take Bella out for a walk down to the creek along the golf course.  I think she likes it a lot.  It’s like she knows we aren’t going real far so she runs and runs in the cool, shaded grass.  She also has to check out all the big ornamental grasses along the creek in case there might be squirrels or rabbits in there.  She loves chasing bunnies. 

I did almost finish the pumpkin project before quitting for the evening to hang out with Bella.

Rob and company Made it to South Lake Tahoe and hooked up with Tony. They all got together for dinner and are planning on an early start to the trail in the morning.  

WEEK OF 20 SEPTEMBER 2020; PAHRUMP, NV

 Sunday morning we met with a nice couple who live here in Pahrump. They are into jeeping.  Rob made arrangements for them to meet us at the Mountain Falls grill for breakfast to talk about jeeping the Rubicon trail later this month. They said the had done the trail about 12 years ago, but they both had the flu and don’t remember much about it.  They are very nice and are very interested in doing the Rubicon trail with Rob.

After breakfast we came back to the house and watched football. When we lived in Tahoe I loved watching football on Sunday, especially if it was snowing outside.  I loved sitting in and watching the snow.  I miss that.

Anyway, we recorded the Raiders and the Seahawks games.  They played at the same time, but since we recorded it we watched them back to back.  They were both good games and they both won.  Yippee!  They are both 2-0.  Great start for the Raiders.

Monday we walked  4 miles around the neighborhood and then putted around the house.

Tuesday we played golf here at the Mountain Falls course.  It was awesome, we didn’t have to wait at all.  After ward we had lunch at the Mountain Falls Grill.  

Wednesday we went to Vegas.  Rob had an appointment to have his new tires (bigger ones) put on the Jeep and I thought I had an eye exam appointment.  It turns out I didn’t.  I took Rob to a parts place so he could get some needed items for the Jeep for the Rubicon trail.  Then we went back to Costco and had a hot dog.  From there I went to JoAnns and bought fabric for a couple of fall projects I want to do.  

Rob finished up with the tires then he went to Whole Foods to get some items for lunch.  We met over at Kate and Joe’s.  We haven’t seen them since before our trip.  It is always so nice to get together with them. They are really wonderful people.  We had a really nice lunch with them and just sat and chatted for a couple hours. We will be getting together with them again next mont.

From there we went to Costco for some needed shopping and then headed home.

Thursday Tony Clark came.  He is our wonderful repair guy.  He is an electrician by trade, but does a lot of other wonderful stuff as well.  We want him to install some auto lights in two of the closets, one of our garage doors isn’t working, and he’s going to recalk our shower for us.  As it turned out, he was only here to find out what we needed rather than to do the work.  That was a little disappointing.

After he left I got busy and made a fall table cloth while Rob went and played some golf. It turned out great.

I also dug out some other fall decorations and put them out.  I love the fall.  Now if it would only cool off.  We are still in the upper 90s and 100s.  

Friday we golfed in the morning and then I sewed.  I am working on a Pumpkin centerpiece.  It is quilted, or rather appliqués.  It is going ok. I also have an acorn runner that I want to do. I like it better.   Kate gave Rob some DVDs about geology.  He was a geology major in college so he has really been enjoying them.

Saturday we walked our 4 miles, did laundry and I sewed.  I received the quilt kits that I want to do for Mom and Barbara so I am excited to work on them and send them to them.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 17, 18, 19

 Pahrump, NV

It’s sure nice being home. Our New air conditioner works so well my feet are freezing most of the time. It’s hot outside.

On Wednesday we took the rest of the stuff we wanted out of the RV. We will be storing it until we go to Florida in November.

Friday Rob took the RV over to the repair place here in town. They are going to replace all the seals around our four slides. They look terrible and some of them are just falling off.  There are a couple other small things that need to be done as well.  After they measured and looked at everything Rob took it over to storage.  

On Saturday we finally got everything we needed to hang the stained glass that I picked up from Craig and Pam on the way here.  Traci and Kevin finished it before they moved to Ohio and left it with Pam and Craig for us.

It fits perfectly and we love it.  I wish they were able to get the left one done as well before they left. They are a pair and it looks a little weird without the left one.

We really like their work. The one that goes on the left is a continuation of the one on the right.  There are even going to be a couple quails in it.  I hope they will be able to get it done this winter.  

We also walked 4 miles this morning.  Bella especially likes walking. She remembers this place and where we walk.