Budget Report Week 9 Cash Monday (OK, I'm A Little Late With This)

When Monday arrived this week, we counted up and found that I still had $45.90 in my pocket, and FabGrandpa still had $30. It was a great week, and we still were able to have some fun. We went out to breakfast twice, both times at Black Rock RV Village Cafe. They have a pretty good breakfast special. We drove over to Quartzsite, and browsed the flea markets there. We also did the drive up to Lake Havasu City and had both lunch and dinner up there.

Because we did so well last week, we only took $200 out of the bank this week. So, doing the math, FabGrandma style, (hahahaha) the bottom line is, not counting the disastrous week of Christmas, we had $75.90 in our pockets, took out $100 less than we were "allowed" to, add all that to the bottom line from week 7, and that puts us under budget THIS week by $297.21, which ALMOST makes up for the horribleness of week 8. And THAT makes me feel all better.

Lake Havasu City

We left Parker and Parker Dam, and drove on up to Lake Havasu City. Our first stop in Lake Havasu City was at Basha, a grocery store, to pick up a few supplies to take home, and get some lunch. We all got some Chinese take out and ate it right there in the cafe. On the way out, we saw this:



That's not something you see every day! They also had covered parking in the parking lot there, which is something I have never seen before. Of course, it does get really hot there in the summer, so I am sure that is why they have it.

I did not realize that Lake Havasu City is where they moved London Bridge! We drove over the bridge, then turned around and drove back over.


We were waiting for our friends, Terri and Rob, to call us and tell us where to meet them, so we went to Hastings, a book store, and hung around for a while. When they called us, the place where they wanted us to meet them was just on the other side of London Bridge. So, we drove over again.


Barley Brothers Brewery was the place. They make a coffee beer that FabGrandpa loves! He says it is just the right combination of caffeine and alcohol. See how dark that beer is? We ordered lunch and drinks, and had a wonderful time visiting with our friends.



I ordered the Grilled Salmon Cobb Salad. It was delish!



Lynda and Charlie ordered the nachos. They said it was very good, too.



We had such a good time with our friends. Here we all are, FabGrandpa, Rob, and Terri on the left; Charlie, Lynda, and me on the right. And you can see London Bridge right out the window.

Lake Havasu City

On Saturday, we drove up to Lake Havasu City. Wow! The drive up took about 2 hours, and the scenery was gorgeous. One thing I have found about Arizona, is that the scenery looks different around every bend in the road.

The first place we stopped was Parker Dam, in Parker, Arizona:




They say the Colorado River is the damed-est river in the United States!

Going to Quartzsite

Some years ago when I first met my mother and father in-law, they went "out west" every year for a few months in the winter. They were the first ones who told me about Quartzsite, and all the fun they had out there, camping in the desert with their friends, and going to the gem and mineral shows, and the flea markets. I was hooked! Yes, Poppa, it's y'alls fault!

So, on Friday, I got to go there myself for the first time. I was like a kid on sugar filled kool-aid, I was that excited.

We saw this 1963 Cushman motorcycle at the flea market there. FabGrandpa told me all about how his dad used to work on them at his second job, after he got off work at the Navy.



Wow, it still works, and had the original paint, and they only want $4,000.00 for it. What a great deal.



The flea market had lots of neat stuff. I bought some vintage skeleton keys, and here is what I did with them:

(Click on the pictures to go to my Etsy store)

But the best part was going to the bead and rock stores. Lynda and I had such a good time in there. I bought a bunch of stuff, so did she, and we have been spending all our free time in the cargo trailer, I mean Girlie Playhouse, making stuff:


This one is made with polished rocks and glass beads. I have put a lot of new things up in my Etsy store today, go take a look.


We only went for a few hours, but we have plans to go back soon. My head is spinning with ideas for new stuff.

And The Winner Is...

Back on December 18th, I announced my Etsy store opening, and offered a contest to win a "Wait Book" in the color of your choice. I put all the names of people who entered the contest in a paper bag and drew one name out. And the winner is:

Christine of Chris's Coop! Whooooo Hoooo! Yay Christine! So, Christine, you can email me at FabGrandma at gmail dot com and we can discuss which color you want from the choices I have available.

Y'all stay tuned, I have more stuff to put up for sale in the coming week. I am having so much fun making things to stock my store with!

The Girls Workshop

(Lynda at her jewelry workbench)

Lynda and Charlie have a cargo trailer that they pull behind their motor home. While they are traveling, they drive their car up into the trailer, and pack up their crafting tools. When they park somewhere, the car comes out, and they set up Lynda's workshop, where she makes jewelry out of silverware and wire wrapping. She's pretty good at it. Charlie makes fountains and other stuff.

(My sewing table)

Today, we got to work, well, they did mostly, of setting up the workshop. They let me put up my sewing machine and sewing stuff on the other wall. I am so excited about this set-up! Now, Lynda and I can sit out there, in our girlie play-house, and make our crafty stuff, and just have a good old time!


After we got it all set up, I made another Wait Book. This one has is made from a Noah's Ark print fabric with solid brown. It'll be for sale in my Etsy store .

Budget Report Week 8 Cash Monday

Don't Ask. Really. We were THAT bad. End of story. I'll resume with week 9 where we tighten our belts and be really really good. (in the hole about $350, but it WAS Christmas, and we DID have to stock up on groceries, and we DID go crazy. And we are SO not counting this week. It was the failure of the century)

Leaving Phoenix

So we said goodbye to Phoenix and all her traffic, and hit the road on our way to Salome. Yeah, bye bye, traffic. Bye bye, road construction. Bye bye, airport landing pattern. Bye bye, motorcycle repair school and all those crotch rocket riding fools. We're headed for the desert.



I have had enough of the congestion, road work, noise, and airplanes flying so low overhead I could read the letters on their landing gear.




Our little Bluebird Of Happiness rides with us everywhere we go. I don't remember how ong we've had him, but he lives up there on the visor most of the time. Although sometimes he shows up on the rearview mirror, or inside the trailer. He is most happy when we are driving down the road.

There was interesting scenery today. This mountain was on one side of the road.

Highway 60 out of Wickenburg was very straight and flat.

This is what the desert looks like across the road from the RV park. I think it is quite beautiful in its own way. I'm sure not everyone thinks so, but I like it.
And at the end of the day, the sky was absolutely gorgeous. This is looking east from our campsite. Not exotic, but nice. Quiet. And they told us not to drink the water when we checked in. Oh, well, can't have everything, I guess.

My Horoscope For Today

This morning when I signed in to My Yahoo, I looked at my horoscope, and here is what it said:

"You could be travelling or perhaps planning a journey to an exotic destination. You may even have to decide at a moments notice..."

Hahahahaha!

Yeah, well, we ARE leaving Phoenix today, going on down the road about 100 miles to Salome. For anyone who may be in the area, we'll be at 3 Dreamers RV Park until April something or other. FabGrandpa and I would love to see you.

The 5 and Diner, 27th St Phoenix, AZ

I am in love with the 5 & Diner Cafe. We happened to find this place when we went to get my ultrasound done. The atmosphere is all 50's, with the waitresses wearing bobby socks and ponytails and poodle skirts. And of course there is a neat counter there, why else would I love it? This day we didn't sit there so all I could do was stare at it lovingly across the room.



One consolation of sitting in a booth, though, was the cute old time juke boxes on all the tables. Of course the didn't work, but you COULD flip through all the old song titles and reminisce about the good old days..



The breakfast wasn't bad either. Yeah, I order my eggs over medium, then mash them up with a fork. FabGrandpa had a patty melt, which looked and smelled divine.

The prices aren't that bad--comparable to what we would pay at Cracker Barrel or Denny's, plus they had a frequent diner card that let's you get your 5th meal at half price, and your 10th one free. too bad we're leaving town tomorrow.

Project 365 Day 59

OK, so I said I would pick up with Project 365 next week, but I couldn't pass up this great cloud formation. Deer Valley Road at 19th Ave in Phoenix, December 26, 2008.

Gluten Free Baking Classics

My daughter, Becca, is also gluten intolerant. She bought a new cookbook, Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts. Click here for Becca's review of the book. Even Ken, who is not gluten intolerant, loved the cupcakes she made. So, I wanted to give the recipe a try, too.




The recipe uses a brown rice, potato starch, tapioca mix, the recipe for which is given in the book. It makes a really good layer cake, that does not crumble apart, and was moist and tasty the second day, too. It actually calls for using a lemon curd in the filling between layers, but I was too lazy to make that. The Lemon Buttercream Frosting was delish, though. This recipe is posted with permission from Annalise (thank you, Annalise!)

Lemon Layer Cake 2 Cups sugar 4 eggs 2 1/2 cups Brown rice flour mix 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 tsp xanthan gum 1 Cup Canola oil 1 Cup Milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp lemon extract 1 Tbsp grated lemon rind Preheat oven to 350 Line 2 round 9-inch cake pans with parchment or wax paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Beat sugar and eggs at medium speed for 1 minute Add the rest of the ingredients and beat at medium speed for 1 minute Pour batter into prepared pans and bake about 35 minutes (40 minutes for 8 inch pans, 18-20 minutes for cupcakes) or until center springs back when touched and cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool cake in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Use a knife to loosen cake from sides of pan. Invert cake layers on a rack, peel off paper and cool completely. Place one of the filled layers on a plate and spread with about 1/2 cup of frosting. Place the other filled layer on top and spread sides and top with remaining frosting. Lemon Buttercream Frosting 1 Cup butter 3 1/2 Cups Confectioners sugar 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp lemon extract 2 tsp grated lemon zest Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup of the sugar, lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest and beat to blend. Add remaining sugar and beat until creamy.

Today Was A Good Mail Day...Oh, and Project 365

I love getting snail mail, more than I love getting email and comments on my blog. Because I am a gyspsy, traveling around the country fulltime, I don't get mail often. Our daughter, Becky, has the key to our post office box in Georgia, and has been sending us our mail for 8 years. Thank you, Becky!

In today's mail bag there were lots of goodies! First, there were two Christmas cards from people who love me. Ahhh, I am loved, after all. Second, there was a refund check from that nasty telephone company, remember them? It wasn't much, but by dang it, that is MY money. There was also a check from the cactus guy, ooooooooo, and it was a good one too, Thank YOU Robert!

And last of all but best of all, I finally got my passport! Yippee! Now I can go to Mexico.

And I do want to apologize for falling down on the job of posting my project 365 photos. I will start up again, starting where I left off, next week. I am not really loving being in Phoenix, I feel like all the tension of being in this huge town, driving in all the traffic everywhere we go, has stiffled my creativity. Yeah, as if. But seriously, I will be doing Project 365, Day 59 next week.

A Holiday Thought For You

The weather in Phoenix today started out sunny and warm. It was such a nice day that I did not think about taking an umbrella with me when we went out to do our weekly shopping. So, as I was walking along the sidewalk from one store to another, in the rain, I brushed past a young man on the sidewalk with a scowl on my face, not making eye contact with him when he asked for 30 cents so he could “catch the bus.”

In an instant after I walked past him, I felt so guilty, because I have always believed myself to be a nice, benevolent person. Because there have been many times in my life when I needed something, and thanks to the generosity of friends, strangers or acquaintances I barely knew, I received whatever it was I needed without asking for it.

I have not thought about my friend Michelle in many years. She was one of those people who came into my life “for a season”, and who helped me out the kindness of her heart. I had known her for a couple of years, when I found out that my then husband had been unfaithful to me in a most awful way, a way that I can not talk about here. I went to an attorney to talk about a divorce, and found out that I needed $1800 to pay for it.

Later that same day, when I needed someone to talk to, I turned to Michelle for the comforting shoulder to cry on and the ear to listen. When I told her what was going on, she immediately, without hesitation, offered to pay for my divorce. I was astounded, as it had not been my intention to ask for a loan---I just needed to vent over what was happening. She told me that she had been left a trust fund several years earlier, that meted out to her $1800 every year once a year, and that she usually gave that money to her church, but that she thought I needed it more and that she thought her church would understand. And she made it perfectly clear that it would not be a loan—it was a gift from her to me. The thought of Michelle went through my head in those few steps I took away from the tatooed young man.

So, I turned around and walked back to the young man on the sidewalk. He had a surprised look on his face, but told me that he rode his bicycle to town, and did not want to ride it home in the rain. He was short just 30 cents for a bus ticket. He said he would give me a postage stamp in exchange. I gave him all the change in my purse, and shooed away his offers of an AA battery out his MP3 player, or the offer to play a song in his harmonica.

As I walked away, I still felt ashamed of myself, for not IMMEDIATELY offering to give him the 30 cents. I have always believed that we should be kind to everyone we meet, because we never know which one is going to be our guardian angel. That elderly woman, who is tottering along, blocking your path? That obnoxious child who is screaming at the top of his lungs in the grocery store checkout? That tattooed, multi-pierced young man on the sidewalk? Which one will it be? And because that 30 cents? Will it still “count” as a good deed done, because I walked on past with a hardness in my heart first?

Budget Report Week 7 Cash Monday

Time for the budget report already!? We did a very good job this week--we still have $37.90 in our pockets after a very busy week. We went to breakfast twice at the 5&Diner, lunch once at a "not so good" Mexican restaurant, another lunch at Armando's Mexican Restaurant; went through the drive through at McDonald's twice, and Taco Bell once. I bought myself a new scarf while I was out Christmas shopping (the Christmas shopping money came out of another pile of money. Remember, our weekly $300 is for our normal, everyday living expenses, like groceries, fuel for the truck, going out to eat, sightseeing and such as that. And yes, I set budgets for everything.) FabGrandpa bought himself his favorite magazine and an expresso at the book store. And he picked up some lottery ticket scratchers and some ice cream for me while he was out and about one day.

So to recap, we still have the $37.90 in our pockets, making us under budget for this week. For the entire 7 week period, we are under budget by $127.31. So far, so good.

Some Random Pic From My Camera

FabGrandpa says I take pictures all the time, and he is right. This morning when I took the card out of the camera to upload the pics onto the computer, I had quite a variety of stuff on there.

Here is the mountain across the highway from the Christmas tree lot (behind the outlet mall) at sunset the other day:




It rained most of the week in Phoenix. The day we had to break down the trailer to take it two blocks across I-17 for warranty work to be done, it was pouring down. We both got soaked.



You never know what you will see in an RV park. Here, obviously, is a chair having a picnic.



My new scarf. While I was out Christmas shopping, there was a deal too good to pass up. I love wearing scarves in winter. It also helps prevent those sore throats I am prone to get.


An experiment with light. I was playing around with the camera during one of the many dull moments at the Christmas tree lot. This turned out pretty cool.

A Palpable Mass, Part III

I went to the chiropractor again yesterday, and while I DO feel better in my neck and shoulders, and DO agree that the visits to him did me some good, I STILL have that pesky lump and pain in my left arm. Granted, it does not seem to be as big as it was or hurt as much as it did before, but that could also be because I am not using that arm as much, and because Lynda, Charlie, and FabGrandpa are not letting my drag trees around anymore.


So, today after breakfast we went over to the lab where I got the ultrasound done, and requested a copy of my ultrasound pictures. I am posting them here so that you can see what I am talking about. The problem is in my left arm, and the report from the radiologist said that "the left arm was more globular than the right arm." But to me, there does not seem to be ANY glob of any type in the right arm. What do you think?

My New Project--An Etsy Store

I have been wanting to open an Etsy store for some time now. I love to make things because for some reason I have a need to keep my hands busy. When I am not writing, I am usually making something. So, a lot of my spare time for the last couple of weeks has been spent doing the behind the scenes stuff to get my store open.

So, for your viewing and shopping pleasure, click here.


Please take a minute to go over there and look around. I have more things I want to put on there, and because I am always making something, there will be new stuff up there frequently. I would also appreciate any feedback on my store, good or bad, and any suggestions you may have to make it better.

Also, I am going to be having a contest! yes, a contest, to promote my store. If you would like to have an entry to win a "Wait Book" in your choice of colors, all you have to do is

1. Write a little bitty blog post with a link to my Etsy store. Here is the link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6518503

2. Leave me a comment here to let me know you have done it. Remember I will need your email address to be able to contact you if you win.

That is it. The contest will run until January 2. I will pick a winner randomly to win the prize.

Edited to add: I DO ship to Canada and Everywhere else, but I did not know how to add that option to my listings. I will fix that as soon as I can, but don't not enter the contest because you don't live in the US. I'll ship anywhere.

A Palpable Mass, Part III

I went to my appointment with an open mind this morning. When I arrived, they were waiting for me, there were no other patients there, so I had a lot of one on one attention from this doctor. He stood me in front of a mirror and showed me how I was standing lopsided and crooked. Then he had me stand on two scales, one foot on each one, to see how my weight was distributed. I have been to chiropractors before, but have never had THAT particular little test done. The result of stepping on those scales showed that I was standing heavier on the left side by 8 pounds. Weird. (FabGrandpa and I joked that it was because I have an 8 pound knot in that arm.)

Then, he used a couple of electronic devices to measure "muscle tightness" and "energy flow" or something like that, in my spine. The results showed that I had a lot of tightness and a lot of electrical impulses on my C1 on the left side, which is what controls the left arm muscles and nerves. He also did some X-rays of my spine and neck, which we will see tomorrow.

After he determined that my body is pretty much screwed up on the left side, he did some "gentle touch adjustments" on my body. I felt almost nothing, but I started to feel better right away. I had a lot of muscle tightness that I didn't even realize. I kept thinking about that old joke that goes "If your head hurts that much, let me stomp on your toe." You know, my arm was hurting so much I did not even feel the pain in my neck.

We made an appointment for me to go back tomorrow, at which time he will do a "laser treatment" on my arm (I do not know what that is since I have never had one.) And if I am not considerably better in a few days, he will refer me to the DO.

After he was finished with my adjustment, he asked me about my diet, and we discussed my gluten free eating habits. He asked me if I was taking any supplements, and suggested that I take Omega 3 fatty acid supplments and a digestive enzyme. He also suggested that we do a very thorough blood, hair, urine lab workup to determine what other things, if any, are going on with me. While I am very interested in this sort of thing, I am not financially prepared to do it at this time, as it is a very expensive panel of tests, and I suggested to him that I wait for that until next winter when we come back to the Phoenix area. He thought that was a good idea.

So, there you have it. My first experience with a naturopathic chiropractor. I was impressed with the attention and time he spent with me. Time will tell if he did me any good.

A Palpable Mass, Part II

A week or so ago, I wrote about my arm, my left arm. I told you about how it is swollen and how it hurts when I pick things up or try to open the door of the truck. I went to a doctor and they sent me to get an ultrasound done on that arm.

Yesterday, they called me to tell me that the ultrasound did not find anything. Well, the exact wording of the report, which I drove over and picked up today, is:

" We studied the area of soft tissue swelling in the left forearm and made comparison images of the right side.

I do not identify a superficial mass or fluid collection on the left side.

The deeper muscles on the left side have a little more globlular shape but no definite abnormality was identified there.

Impression: No discrete sonographic abnormality proved. Deeper forearm muscles have a slightly more globular shape on the left than on the right..."

They went on to say that I should be referred to a primary care physician so that primary care physician can refer me for an MRI. I asked them to refer me to a doctor because I do not know any doctors in the area, and they referred me to the General Practice group that is associated with their Urgent Care Facility.

They also told me that because I am a new patient, I will have to pay a higher fee, even though I have already been seen at their Urgent Care Facility. (what a ripoff, they have the record of my visit already). I made the appointment for Thursday. Then we went over to visit with our friends, Lynda and Charlie. Yeah, even though we were off today we went over there anyway.

I was telling Lynda about my medical stuff to bring her up to date, and I mentioned to her that the "doctor" I thought I saw at the Urgent Care Facility was actually a Nurse Practioner. Now, I have nothing against nurses, or nurse practioners, so if you are one or know a super one, don't go getting your panties all in a wad. It was just that "my impression" of this particular nurse practioner was that she was a ditz. That she was preoccupied with something other than "my" arm when I went in there to see her. And that she could have cared less about my arm. It was a Saturday, and it was close to quitting time when I went there. So, maybe she had other things to think about. That's just how "I" felt about it. That maybe she was not the best person for me to see.

We had met a Naturopathic Chiropractor who came to the Christmas tree lot to buy his family's Christmas tree, and chatted with him about a lot of stuff (we were not that busy). He seemed to have a lot of the same thoughts on medicine as I do, and he gave me his business card. So, while I was at Lynda's I called his office. His receptionist is also his wife, and she remembered me from the tree lot. After I told her what my problem was, we made an appointment for me to go see him tomorrow. If he can not figure out what is wrong with my arm, he will refer me to a Osteopathic doctor who is in practice with him. Right now, I feel like that is the best way for me to go. I feel sort of "led" to go in that direction. Why else would I meet this doctor and strike up a conversation with him, if he was not supposed to be in my life right at this moment. We'll see.

In the meantime, I want everyone to tell me all the horror stories about their best friend's cousin's mother-in-law who had a swollen arm, and what the problem with them was. I want all the scenarios I can get, so I can google them and maybe self diagnose my problem. Comment away, let me know what YOU think may be wrong with me.

I still think, my best guess, is that I have a fracture in the a bone in there. But no one in a medical suit listens to what I have to say.