Soon We Head Back to Southern California

It is with mixed emotions that we are preparing to leave our home here to head back to our other home campgrounds in California.  We have made friends with some wonderful people here, and we will miss them very much when we are gone, but we are looking forward, eagerly, to seeing family and friends in California that we have not seen in over five months.  The weather here is getting quite hot, which we won't miss, but the sunsets here are still inspiring.

 
 These were taken last night just minutes apart, looking in different directions.  I love the pinks and purples you see in the sky here.


This was not long after the ones above.  I couldn't pick between such amazing displays of God's artwork, so I had to include all of them.  Often it cools down enough to sit outside and enjoy the changing colors in the evening........but lately it doesn't cool down until almost midnight!

My dear friends Almita and Rueben gave me a wonderful pair of abelone and silver owl earrings a couple years ago, which I absolutely love!  I was also able to find the same owl in a pendant so I got it to wear with the earrings.  Much of the time I wear my magnetic jewelry because of all the health and wellness benefits, 
so I got the idea of combining my owls with the magnetic jewelry.  Here is a picture of the results.  Almita, I do hope you approve.  Sometimes I wear two necklaces together like this.
I also made Millie a double strand necklace in these colors with a silver owl pendant on it.  I know I posted her wearing the red one too.  Since Millie has a congenital knee problem that we have been told COULD require surgery someday, we have her wearing magnetic jewelry every day, in hopes we can avoid surgery.  So far, so good.  😊

Mary was in southern California until a few days ago.  She is traveling north, and is now in Oregon.  She will be selling her Native American crafts at pow wows as she travels.  She will also be visiting her dad in Idaho, and then going into Montana and on into Canada with another friend of hers.  They will be sharing a booth to sell their crafts while they are there.  We wish her safe travels and good sales along the way.  At a recent pow wow a woman came into her booth, and after chatting a while, she told Mary about her very severe back pain and knee pain.  Mary showed her the magnetic jewelry she wears to relieve pain she has, mostly from sciatica. 

Mary gave her my phone number and, long story short, she placed an order for a two strand necklace, a four strand anklet and a two strand bracelet.  Here is what I made for her.  To be honest, I think these tiger eye beads look better in jewelry for men, as I like jewelry for ladies to have more "bling", but this is what she wanted, and the customer is always right!

We thought we had brought with us enough of Millie's Hill's Science Diet for Kidney patients, as she needs a very low protein diet.  Sadly we ran out this week.  I called the veterinary hospital in TorC that we have taken Willie to, and told them she is on this diet because she has only ONE functioning kidney.  They said of course I could buy some from them, so we drove into town to get it.  When we got there, we were told that they would only supply it to us after their doctor verified that she has only one good kidney, which would require her to be examined and have a CT scan first.  I asked if they would provide it if I called her vet in Menifee and they told her why Millie needed the special diet, and they said nope.  I was not pleased, and we left without her dog food.  We had not taken Millie with us because it is much more comfortable for the dogs to be here in the air conditioned motorhome than in the car with us, and I had not expected that she needed to be there just to pick up dog food.  When we got home I called her regular doctor and told them about this.  They couldn't believe that this doctor would not accept a phone call or fax to confirm the need for a prescription diet dog food.  Anyway, the girl in the office in Menifee looked up a recipe for a low protein dog food and emailed it to me, so we can make safe food for Millie until we get back there on June 14th.  Thank God for good people like her who are willing to go beyond their job and help us out.

We have been busy this week cleaning out cupboards and closets before we travel.  Speaking of cleaning......we
have bought another vacuum and I think we have finally found a real winner!  Two years ago we bought a pretty good one from Shark, but it was much heavier than we had expected, and we finally gave it to Donna & George.  I hope they are happy with it.  A year ago we bought a very light weight one in Quartzsite, but it turned out it was not really powerful enough to pick up all the dog hair we have in here.  Earlier this year we bought a very good shop vac, and it had attachments that we thought would make it usable here in the RV.  It is a good shop vac, but still not good for what we needed here inside.  Last week I read an article on the Mobile RVing site that suggested a stick vac with a removable top that can be used as a hand held unit for furniture and ceilings, etc.  We looked online and found one called the Shark Rocket.  We decided not to go cordless, because we thought those might have less power.  This one cleans the area rugs, vinyl flooring and curtains, furniture and the steps into the RV.  It has a very easy opener to empty out what we vacuumed up.  It seems to be a really dandy unit, and it weighs under 9 pounds!  Again, we are very happy campers!

As you might remember, today is the Arrey Outdoor Bonanza next door.  We had planned to participate one more time before leaving here.  However, when we found out it was going to be over 100 degrees today, we were somewhat less thrilled with the idea of loading our wares into the car, driving over there, setting up our EZ Up shade and our tables, and sitting out in the heat until noon and then packing up whatever didn't sell to come back here.  Besides that, we will be going to the wedding reception for Ric and Mary this afternoon, and I was afraid we would be too hot and tired to go if we set up for the AOB.  Not only that, we also needed to do laundry today...............so we stayed here until we had all the laundry done.  Then we went over to see how it was going.  There were only four vendors with sun shades and 

 Janice was there to sell her beautiful hand made pottery and the little wooden chairs that Billy makes.
I'm afraid it's just too hot for people to want to drive all this way to shop.  I sure hope the AOB will be more successful during the cooler winter months.  

We do not like to travel day after day when we are on the 
road.  Willie and Sherry drove 1036 miles in under 24 hours to get home to Colfax, LA.  Two days ago Mary wrote that she drove 427 miles in one day because she wanted to make it into Oregon that day........but we prefer even shorter driving days, with "stay days" between travel days.  Here is our travel schedule for the return to California:
June 8th----Lordsburg (we can go to Kranberry's for dinner)
June 9 &10--Benson, AZ lunch at the Cowboy Cafe maybe
June 11& 12--Tempe Elks lodge
June 13---Hidden Beaches RV Park in Blythe, CA
June 14th-----Wilderness Lakes and stay for 21 days.
We do hope to see family and friends often once we get back to our California homes, mainly Wilderness Lakes and Silent Valley.  

Tomorrow will be our last visit to the wonderful First Baptist Church in TorC.  We will miss all the wonderful people we have met there too.  Pastor Dudley was back from vacation last Sunday.  Funny story here.  Last year, when he is preaching, Pastor Dudley will say something, and then he will say "I guarantee it".  We used to find it funny to count how many times he would say "I guarantee it" in a single sermon.  Then one day he said that someone had told him about how often he would say that phrase, so he stopped it.  He and his wife took a two week vacation to go back home to Texas.  On his return last Sunday, he was preaching and we noticed several times that he said "I guarantee it!"  It was so nice to hear it again.  We missed it.

We do love the pastors at the campgrounds we stay in, and we truly love Pastor Paul and his wife Aiko, and all the people at our home church in Garden Grove, but we will also miss Pastor Dudley and all the wonderful people who make us feel like part of the church family here in TorC.  It means a lot to us.  It's one thing to just attend a church service.  It's so much more to feel like we belong here.   If you don't attend a church that makes you feel needed, I hope you will find another church.  Being a Christian is NOT just about going to church.  It's about having a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ.  It's more than just trying to be a good and kind person.  It's more than just reading the Bible.  It's more than just going to church every Sunday (or Saturday for some people).  All of those things are good, but being a Christian is still more than that.  I can't imagine waking up in the morning without KNOWING that Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior.  I start each day with a prayer of thanks for each day, and most of all for His love and guidance each day.  I know He will not give me more than I can handle WITH His help.  Without Him, the days could be very scary and difficult to manage.  It means everything to us to know we are NEVER alone.  Life is good because He is here for us.  One of my favorite hymns says "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because He lives, all fear is gone."  Do you have that assurance in your life?  If not, please send some "knee mail" to Jesus, and ask Him to show you the way.  I won't claim I never worry.  Everyone worries about something sometimes.  But most of what we worry about is really not that important.  Jesus is in charge of all the things that really matter.  Please find a path to Jesus that will help you cope with the stresses of this life.  Sometimes we need to help others, in order to help ourselves find the way.  If you are sad and lonely, please get up and look for someone who might need a friend like you.  Someone once wrote that the best way to find a friend is to be one.  Too many people are living lives of quiet desperation.  Too many people feel life is hopeless.  Too many people think there is nothing to live for.  We can all help if we just reach out to these people.  Offer a hand, take time to say hello, and if you see someone who needs help step up and help them.  You will feel better for your action, and "I guarantee it."

I need to close for now.  I probably won't write again until we get to Menifee, but then again, I might.  Take care, stay well, and stay hydrated in these hot months.  Try to greet each day with joy and gratitude.  Life is good and Jesus loves you.  How much better can it get?