This was taken on May 17th just after sunset. We thought it was great because the stars here are so bright, but usually we can't get a decent picture showing them. I just love how clear the night sky is here. In California, and many other heavily populated areas there is so much artificial light that you just can't see the beauty and peacefulness of the night sky. Some nights Jim and Millie and I sit outside and just enjoy the quiet and beauty. We don't make Willie stay out with us because he gets nervous when he can't see what might be out there. He is happier inside, but Millie isn't afraid of anything!!!
I hope you don't get tired of my pictures of our furry kids, but I like taking their pictures because they are just so adorable. Case in point:
getting up the steps to the RV or onto the couch, so I made him a double strand necklace and within mere hours of wearing it, he was acting like a pup again! I couldn't believe how quickly he showed a huge improvement. I don't know if you can see it, but he IS wearing it under his collar.Another cute picture:
Anyway, our furry kids are such a blessing to us that we absolutely KNOW they are a gift from God to make us happy campers too.
Last Saturday was the Arrey Outdoor Bonanza again, known as AOB. Janice has done everything imaginable to publicize the event throughout the whole area. She has posted colorful signs around in many places, she advertised in the Cobblestone, which is a monthly publication of events and advertisements for the area, and on the radio and even on Facebook and the RV park website. She even printed up cards to hand out to anyone we meet. Still the response was less than all of us hoped for. Sadly we have competition from TorC. On May 5th it was the annual Fiesta weekend in town. This time it was a HUGE auction going on in TorC. It's hard to get people to travel 18 miles to come to a new event. We are hoping that on June 2nd we won't have any major competition and might get more people to show up. This past Saturday we had about 8 or 9 vendors, and sales were not terrific for anyone. We only sold a few loaves of our yummy home made breads, and a few pieces of costume jewelry, none of my magnetic bracelets, and none of our gourmet jellies. We donated the unsold clothes and household goods to be taken to a local homeless shelter. A camping couple who were here overnight bought one loaf of Vienna bread and a jar of grape jelly on Sunday morning before they left the RV park. We gave away a few loaves of bread, and Ric and Mary bought some today. The rest we have put into our freezer.
I really thought that being here in New Mexico, the Chili Pepper Capital of the World, our Jalapeno Cheese bread and the Jalapeno pepper jellies would be a big seller. I guess you just never know. Anyway, I like them so if they don't sell, I can eat them. We sold one or two of the wine and cheese breads, so I still haven't gotten to try that one yet, but I will. We found that a grilled cheese sandwich on cheddar cheese bread is pure heaven on earth!!!!
It's a lot of work to load up the chairs, tables and what we want to sell into the car, drive next door to the AOB area, park and set up the EZ Up shade canopy, and all the set up for selling. It gets really hot out there before noon, and then it's a lot of work to pack it all back up to come back home again. It's well worth it IF we have good sales, but it's disheartening if we don't make very many sales. We debated whether we should set up again on June 2nd, but I think we will, since it will be the last AOB before we start back to California. But we will not take as much stuff over there. We will take one case of assorted jellies and only about 6 or 8 loaves of breads. We will have our flyers telling people the kinds of bread we offer, if anyone wants to order anything before we leave here. Anyway, that's enough about the AOB and our sales.
Sunday we were really tired and decided we needed a nice, quiet stay at home day, so we didn't even go to church that day. After breakfast we got showers and got dressed. I have been meaning to have Jim go through his closets and drawers to clear out things that he doesn't wear anymore. It wasn't supposed to, but it turned into quite a big project. We threw out un-matched socks, and overly worn clothes. We bagged up things that don't fit to give to the homeless shelter, and we packed away winter clothes for next year! We even went through the things stored underneath the bed! Jim says that the next time I say we are going to have a nice, quiet stay at home day...............he's going to pass on it.
By the way, last week after he steam cleaned the kitchen sinks and cabinets in the Rec Room of the park, Jim also steam cleaned the stove and oven there to look almost like new. It was amazing how clean he got it.
Next Sunday will be our 35th anniversary. Ric and Mary want to take us out to lunch after church to celebrate it. Saturday I will have to bake our anniversary cake. I don't do it every single anniversary, but I have to do it again this year because Guy remembers it from last year, and he has been asking me to make it since we got here in February! It's the same cake (but smaller) that I made for our wedding. For the wedding I made it as three double tiers of awesome white walnut cake with a creamy custard filling and a whipped cream frosting. For here, I will make it as a Bundt cake which I will cut in half to include the custard filling and top it with the whipped cream frosting.
In closing I would like to wish everyone a wonderful week, and a life filled with blessings, great and small. Please don't overlook any of them. You woke up this morning, so be grateful for life itself. Many others didn't. If it was your choice, you had breakfast this morning. Many people are going hungry, not just today but much too often. You probably took a nice warm shower and got dressed. Too many people don't have access to clean water or a change of clothes. I think you see my point here. As I have said repeatedly, God will provide for what we NEED. Much of what we WANT is not what we really need. We should stop worrying about what we don't have because in most cases, we really don't need what we think we want.
In some cases, we may be unhappy with the life we have. It may seem empty or meaningless. We may be sad or frustrated with what we are doing, and we may even be feeling sorry for ourselves. I would like to suggest that such a situation is not God's fault, it is our own fault. If we are not satisfied with life as it is, we can change it. Pray to God for direction, and He will show you the way, but it will be up to each of us to do something. We could volunteer to help others less fortunate than ourselves, or get a job if money is what we need. We have only to get moving to start to feel more energized, and that in and of itself, will make us happier. Jesus loves you, so share the love and by helping others, you will help yourself too.
Sadly, there is violence here in America, but in many other parts of the world violence is an every day risk. Please pray for an end to the violence and suffering around the world. Pray that the Holy Spirit will enter the hearts of people around the world and bring us Peace on earth. Pray for our President and the leaders of the world to resolve their issues, and ask God to lead us to the world He wants us to have.
Memorial day is coming up next week. If your town holds a parade or other event to honor our veterans, please attend it. Remember to thank veterans for their service. I have often read there are only two people who will lay down their lives for you. American veterans gave their lives for your freedoms, and Jesus died to save your soul. Please honor both and never forget their sacrifices for us. God bless America, and may Her flag be flown with pride.
Until next time, be happy, and please be grateful for all that you have been blessed with.
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