HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope you have survived this final year of the most failed administration ever. May this year bring some much needed changes.

Now on to the book review.

"FACEBOOK BLUES"
by
Trixie Bloom

My friend, Trixie, sent me a copy of her book. This is not the genre of book I would normally, choose to, read: Chick/Lit, Rom/Com.

I have put books down because; they are boring (though I usually finish them), or perhaps I wish to prolong the outcome.

I have never ever, before, had to put down a book because it hurt my stomach or blurred my vision to read it. This book had me laughing, so hard, on almost every page that I had to keep putting it aside every few pages. 

I will not give away details (sex, drugs, clubbing, more sex) of this delightful book, read it.              

5 STARS

Trixie Bloom Website

I will leave you with some recent yearend photos
Link to my:
WEBSITE

A New Heart to Heart Maze

Been Awhile

So to pick up where we left off. 
I finally gave up on Lowe's and John Deere's ability to resolve the issue, so I took the plow back. I then went to the dreaded, Home Depot, where I ordered the plow from them. They where able to deliver it within a week. It came with the hardware, or most of it. I had to supply a couple of washers and nuts. Be aware this time has to have some adjustments, jury-rigging, to make it work. Best to order the chains if you want this to move over snow and ice. 

Unfortunately, do to the virus we were forced to close the gallery for a couple of weeks in November. Good news is that my online sales have been picking up.

Have been capturing some really nice sunrises and sunsets. You may check these and others out at my website. CLICK HERE

I have, also, complete another Heart to Heart Maze.

I have been capturing some nice shots of the birds. CLICK HERE

I will be at the Tapestry Gallery every Saturday in December.

Gypsy Plaza

5 Firehouse Ln

Madrid, New Mexico.

Hold My Beer

I ordered a snow plow blade for my John Deere Lawn Mower a couple of weeks ago. I was informed that it had arrived and was ready for pick-up. I should note that I read all the reviews and the worst problem seems to be not receiving all of the hardware needed to put all the parts together. Didn't think that would be much of a problem. HOLD MY BEER!!!

On Saturday I awoke early to make a run into town to get my plow and do a few errands, I like to combine as much as possible into one trip. When I got to the store to pickup my plow it turned out the top of the box was open, but everything should be inside, I was told. After I got home I put everything away and left the plow for Sunday.

I was walking by my window when I spotted a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, so I grabbed my camera and started to shoot some pictures.

All of a sudden all of the birds took flight and cleared the area. That usually means....

a predator has entered the area, in this case a Copper's Hawk. He decided to stick around for awhile allowing me to get a few good shots.

After spotting some prey running under the hot tub he swooped down to attempt to grab a meal. He left here still hungry. Click here for more pictures

Sunday, rolls around and it is time to put together the plow. I go out and open the box, pull out all of the parts and check them against the parts list. Everything is accounted for, except, the hardware to put it together. I am not talking about a missing nut or bolt, I mean every single nut, bolt, cotter pin, you name it it is not here. I figure I probably won't get much help on a Sunday, so I put everything aside and waited to call the store on Monday.

Early on Monday I call the store, the Head Cashier answers and asks how she can help. I explain the problem, her answer is for me to return it and they will refund my money. I explain that I want the plow and can they send the parts, NO. Return and get a refund. I ask for a manager. after being on hold for about 10 minutes I am hung up on. Call back, no one answers I am put on hold for about 10 minutes and then disconnected. Call back, someone answers, I ask for their name, they will not give it after five requests I ask to speak to a manager. I am put on hold and after 10 minutes I am disconnected, again. I call back again and request a manager, I am finally connected with a person who actually does something. I have now spent an hour on the phone. He takes all the information and says he will get back to me.
I receive a call that afternoon giving me a number to call at the manufacturer, they want to verify with the customer before sending the parts. I call the number, I am told that they can not help me until 30 days after the purchase, before that the store has to make the request. No amount of explaining on my part will change her mind.
Call the store, after four attempts and three disconnects, I am speaking with the manager again. He apologizes and says he will call them and find out what the problem is. He calls back and says their customer service department had closed and we had been connected to another department that basically knew nothing about how to handle the situation. He said he would call the next morning and again attempt to resolve the issue. 

to be continued....

First Day back at the Gallery

Woke up this morning and checked my e-mails. During the night I sold four masks, from my online site, to 3 different customers.

I prepared to go to the gallery, I brought a few more pieces to fill in the wall and new price tags for all my work.

Drove down early so I could take care of everything before opening. Another artist was there hanging some new pieces. We chatted a bit and aided each other with hanging our work.

Just after she left a couple came in and bought two of her paintings. Later I sold two copies of my book to two different customers. Unfortunately, that was all for the sales today.

I thought I brought enough piece to fill the wall, I need at least three more pieces. My mazes are on the left, my sister, Denise's, oils are in the middle and my photography is on the right.

Hopefully, with more pieces showing and having them displayed together, will help with the sales.

After arriving home I check my e-mails and found someone had purchased a tee shirt online. Later in the evening someone purchased a mask. Online sales are picking up.

Out of Quarantine YEAH

So, I have finished my 14 day quarantine, now I have nowhere to go.

Got up to take pictures of the moon setting, didn't get any that I liked. Went ahead and filled the bird feeders and checked to mouse traps. Since we had a good downpour yesterday I don't need to water.

I set aside this morning to get the lawn tractor going. Was already with my curse words, the manual and the phone numbers for customer service. I had charged up my battery jumper so it was ready to go this morning. Went out and attached the jumper, no luck the starter whirs but does not engage. I look around the engine compartment, I don't want to do too much as it is still under warranty. It looks like I can remove the cowling with out disrupting to much. Mouse pee everywhere, wash it off and spray a little WD40 on the spring of the starter. After about 15-20 minutes of taking this apart and putting it back together, it starts right up. No cursing, had to put those words away for later. 

I had allotted the whole morning to get worked up and now what am I supposed to do with this pent up energy.

Came in the house and worked on two months of gallery sales. That went smoothly, too. Then reviewed my pricing.

Well, at least, the energy has dissipated and I can carry on with what is looking to be a beautiful day.

Besides cooking, the rest of the day was relaxing. One load of laundry. 15 minutes in the massage chair. Finished one book and have started another.

Quarantine Day 12-14

French Toast with Bacon for breakfast.

Started the day with a nice breakfast.

Cooler today, just kept the windows open all day. Didn't need the A/C at all.

Worked in the garden timing back some bushes, preparing to work on the dikes I am making.

Okay suddenly it is Tuesday. How time flies.

Saturday and Sunday were just working in the yard, photos and eating.

Sunday I was gathering the things I will need at the gallery, on Monday, I will be moving and rehanging all my photography. 

Went out to the gallery and rehung my work. I have to bring some more pieces down since I have more room.

Started to put together a shopping list for Tuesday. I figure to hit all the store first thing in the morning and get home before the thunder storms.

Went to all the stores on Tuesday and loaded up the freezer, should be good for awhile.

Sunset on August 31st

Quarantine Day 10 & 11

Awoke with a bit of energy this morning. Less smoke in the air, I can actually see Santa Fe, though it is still hazy.

Did the morning chores. I am now making a loaf of bread and a tray of chocolate brownies.

Today was a cooking day, made some wings for lunch and snacking on.

So basically I cooked and stuffed my face all day.

Not much else to do while sitting in self-isolation.

Did do some more trimming in the garden. Working on figuring out why my lawn tractor won't start. Went through all the trouble shooting, will have to call support on Monday.

Smoke continues to clear. We have had some very strong gusts of wind at sunset the last two nights. It has blown over my plants and hammock.

Quarantine Day 9

Sunrise

Did the morning chores. Charging up the batteries for the garden tools so I can do some yard work later.

Added some wood to the hot tub.

My house sitter came by to drop off a few things and pick up a few items. She sure is going to miss the hot tub.

Air is a little clearer today, I can almost see Santa Fe and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Already hot and muggy, am inside with the A/C going.

Received a call from the USPS about the missing package. They told me what I already knew and said they would send it to the next level. Have a feeling that I will never see this package again.

Climbed in the hot tub at sunset and relaxed before going to bed.

 

Quarantine Day 8

Still no sign of the smoke letting up. Got up too late to get a picture this morning. Went out to water and feed the birds. I will reheat the hot tub in a bit.

Made french toast and bacon for breakfast.

Have to call and see if the local feed store has any peanuts, my scrub-jays are looking for them.

Before leaving Rhode Island, I sent 3 packages to myself, two were delivered and the 3rd is missing. Just sent a inquiry to USPS, let's see how long it takes for a reply and how long it will take to receive the package.

Went to the Feed Store and stocked up on bird feed. Grabbed another sprinkler attachment for the drip system in the vegetable garden

The smoke seems to be starting to dissipate a bit. I could actually see a few lights from Santa Fe at night.

Quarantine Day 7

This morning's sunrise.

Did the daily watering and threw some wood on the hot tub. It is such a pleasure to get up and climb in a nice hot tub. Watch the birds eating and there is no sound.

Pretty lazy day, smoke is making it hard to do much. 

Did a bit of weeding and triming the plants. Tomatoes are starting to ripen, there are a few ears of corn that are looking good. Hoping to get some good potatoes out of the remaining plants. There are only a few melons and onions, the carrots are looking good.

 

I believe squirrel has moved into the garden, but it is not touching the vegetables, yet.

Hoping these fires will get under control and the smoke will start to dissipate.

I have refilled the hummingbird feeders but not many are coming around.

Until tomorrow, have a good day.

Quarantine Day 6

Sunrise on a cloudy, smokey morning.

Sunflower

Curved Billed Thrasher

Awoke to smokey skies, again. Did my daily watering and feeding the birds. Added some wood the hot tub, climbed in for a morning soak.

Sent in my grocery order, for pickup this morning.

Drove into town to get my groceries, contactless pickup. Then I drove straight home again.

Had a chat with Lisa, Lola escaped again. Barefoot chase down a gravel driveway.

Rest of the day uneventful, lots of smoke in the air, makes it difficult to do much.

I did get to watch the Giants beat the Diamondbacks, again.

 

Quarantine Day 5

Smokey Sunrise

Smoke is very heavy this morning.

Did the usual, watered the plants, started to heat up the hot tub and had breakfast.

Jack joined me for breakfast.

Received a text from Lisa last night she made it home at 9:30 pm her time, 11:30 pm my time. Exhausted by she has arrived and it seems the dogs love their new yard.

Smoked filled the skies all day today. Went in the hot tub before lunch and again after dinner. Hoping it is warm in the morning.

Going back to watch the final innings of the Giants game. Love those cutouts. 

Quarantine Day 4

This mornings sunrise

Very lazy day, had to drag myself out of bed. Sore back, need to reheat the hot tub and climb in.

Fed the birds and did the watering.

Made some breakfast and discovered that my food delivery person forgot the eggs.

Just heard that Lisa made to Alaska at about 9:30am.

Update: Lisa made it to Alaska. She had to get up at 4am to make to the border by 9am. They only give you 24 hours to cross the Yukon. They had made a mistake on her paperwork when she entered, it showed her having to leave the same day she entered. It did not turn out to be an issue.

She went to US customs and sailed right through, the dogs even got a treat for the agents. They reviewed her paperwork and gave her a bunch of paperwork, which she threw on the seat on drove off.

I believe she said that she pulled over around 10 am to feed the dogs, which she hadn't had time to do before. Each dog wears a harness, a leash is attached. the leashes are then secured to a carabiner that is attached to the car. She went to get their food and bowls from the back. As she came around the car she saw and animal int the road, then she thought that it looks like a beagle. She thinks someone else has a beagle out here. Then she looks down and sees that "Houdini" aka "Lola" has once again slipped her harness. 

Lisa calls out to Lola and she turns and starts running back. You can not make a move towards Lola after she is headed to you or she will bolt. Lisa made a slight move when Lola was about 6 feet away. Lola turned, Lisa shouted "LOLA DROP", she did and she peed. Lisa put them in the car and they were not to come out until she got home.

Which she had intended to spend another night in a hotel, as it was a long drive to Homer. Remember those papers she threw on the seat, she read them. Basically it said that you will go straight to the place where you will quarantine , do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. No gas station stops, No bathroom stops, No food stops, DO NOT LEAVE YOU VEHICLE "PERIOD". GMAFB

Waiting to hear if she gotten home, she figured around 8:30pm.

So, now you get hear about what I ate today.....

Quarantine Day 3

Sunrise Smokey Skies

Went out to feed the birds Waiting for a bit more sun before watering, give the batteries time to charge back up.

Good time to defrost the refrigerator, as it is empty and I will be getting my food delivery today.

10:30am Sammy just delivered my groceries. Yeah, I have food in the house.

Dry rubbed some chicken wings and made some hamburger patties and put them on the grill. had the wigs with some corn on the cob for lunch. Had a hamburger patty with a baked potato for dinner.

Ate the dinner before I got a picture.(aren't you lucky)

Afternoon cloud formation.

Nothing like a soak in the tub after dinner.

Thus ends day 3 of quarantine. 

Quarantine Day 2

Sunrise through the smoke.

Cerrillos, New Mexico

Today, I got up and went out to water and check all the mouse and rat traps. The traps had not been checked in awhile, found two petrified squirrels and one snake.

I have refilled the hot tub and will fire it up later for a good soaking.

Came in and made myself some french toast for breakfast.

Contacted my friend, Sammy, sent her a grocery list, since I am in quarantine and can't go out. She will deliver to me tomorrow. 

My hand hurts like hell, so I will probably sit inside with the air conditioner on. The skies are filled with smoke from fires in Arizona, Colorado and one that started here yesterday. 

Lazy day walked around the yard. Searched through my current food situation and mad lunch from potatoes, from the garden, onion, sliced hot dog, brussel sprouts, with garlic sliced, fresh ground pepper.

Sat and watched a movie. When I needed a snack, I made some chocolate chip cookies.

The sun sets on Day 2 of my quarantine.

Lisa made it from Fort St. John to Muncho Lake.

Quarantine Day 1

 As you may know my trip was cut short at the Canadian border.

This morning I awoke and loaded the first of three loads of laundry. Because I am solar I have to wait for the sun to hit the panels before starting the machine.

Went out to my garden, checked that the holding tank, I have well water, was full and then started to turn on the drip system. Found a leak where the bunnies had chewed one of the lines, so I had to fix that.

Went to the vegetable garden and found it was overrun with goat heads. So I got my gloves on and my weeding tool and started to pull them up. The gloves didn't work so well, as I got a huge blister that took off a layer or two of skin.

The pile of weeds and my blister.

I switched the drip system and started to drain my hot tub, so I could clean it and refill it. It was full of algae so I had to scrub it and am leaving it empty to dry out overnight. Tomorrow I will refill it and leave it cool since it is so hot out.

Switched to the last drip line, turned on the well pump to refill the tank so I could do the laundry.

Went in and started the first load.

I started to go through my camera equipment and discovered I had left my camera on the floor of my friend's car. He had picked me up in a BMW, which would not make up my dirt road. We went to his house and switched over to his jeep. Being late and exhausted, I grabbed my three bags and left the camera. Sent him a text and asked for him to take it out of the car and I would drop by later to get it.

I know, I broke quarantine, but I had to go get my mail which is four mile down the hill. My house sitter had told me her key wasn't working. I used her key and it opened right up. I also picked up my camera.

By this time it was very hot, I was still doing laundry and cannot run the A/C at the same time. The limitations of my solar system.

I made a loaf of bread as I was out.

Finally, had time to sit and write yesterday's, trials and tribulations.

The sun has set and I am going to veg out in front of the TV.

FUBAR

I had a good nights sleep, Lisa not so much, the dogs wandered around and jumped on and off the bed.

We got moving, checked out and went to get some supplies at Walmart in case they would not let us stop in Canada. We were only a couple hours from the border.

We were driving down the road and came across an Antelope stopped in the road, stopped to take a few pictures. If any turn out I will post them later.

We were getting excited about crossing into Canada for the next half of our drive. 

We pulled up to the border station and gave them the paper work, we were asked to park the car and come inside. There they again went through all of the paperwork, asked a bunch of questions.

THEN THEY DENIED ME ENTRY.

I was denied entry because I was considered a tourist and they are not allowing tourists in. My sister has a home she is moving to, as well as, a business in Alaska, so she was allowed to transit Canada.

So, then we had to turn around and Lisa drove me to the Great Falls Airport, where I caught a flight to Denver and then back home to New Mexico.

Waiting, in Denver, for my connecting flight to Albuquerque.

Lisa then had to drive back to the border. They had a shift change and they went through the whole routine again.

I got hold of my friend and he came down and picked me up at the airport. As we are driving back to Cerrillos he tells me his partner had bought some cheap clay pipes for when people come over (covid). He then told me mine was in the glove box loaded if I desired. So nice to have good friends.

My trip has ended. I told Alex and Lisa that the maze I was drawing for the trip will turn black at the Canadian border and won't actually work because I never got to Alaska.

Prong Horn Antelope

Fargo North Dakota to Harve Montana

Travel Summary
Leave Fargo, ND at 7:17am
Arrive Havre, MT at 5:20pm
11 Hours travel time
689 miles
2370 total miles

Last night we had a good nights sleep. Dogs slept pretty well, too.

Went to get our breakfast in the morning, absolute crap, two bites threw it out. We ate some of our snacks.

We climbed in the car and headed out under overcast skies. The clouds cleared away about 20 miles out of Fargo. the rest of the day was clear and HOT.

We made a stop for gas and had some Bad juju, Lisa's necklace broke as she was exiting the car, fortunately, Puppum's tag was not lost. We stopped here for gas because of the Pie sign, this is for you, Denise, no, we did to get any.

We crossed the Continental Divide 8:25am. We were officially in the West.

We have seen very few birds along the way. There were hardly any bugs on the windshield. then we hit western North Dakota, bugs all over the windshield. Started seeing many Hawks, Pelicans and some water fowl. Still not as many as I recall from past trips.

We went by many fields of sunflowers.

At one quick restroom stop we came across a bunch of trucks carrying the blades for wind turbines.

At 12:20 we turned on 200S headed to western Montana and the border.

We made it all the way to Harve Montana, about an hour and a half from the border. Looking to get another good night sleep before the Canadian stretch of the trip.

Bea finally took a poo, of course she waited until she had climbed on my bed, which is now Lisa's bed. I was out getting dinner and guess who was not going to say anything.

I had a french dip sandwich from one of the only places open for food, it was good. Lisa had mystery "foul"  strips, most of which went in the trash.

Time to relax and then get some sleep.