BLOGGING TAKES A BACK SEAT – YUMA, AZ

We landed in Yuma, Arizona on Friday, settling in with our good friends Diane and Jim on their lot in the Foothills area east of town.  Scoopy dwarfs their cozy nest, an older singlewide mobile home that Diane and Jim have renovated into a bright, airy, welcoming winter home.  It is amazing how HUGE a singlewide mobile home feels when you are used to living in an RV – even more so when you travel for months each year in a truck camper, as Jim and Diane do. 

We immediately got down to the business of socializing and partying.  Ron and Carol, friends from Sacramento, have a place half a mile from here, and our friends Mary and Elaine are staying with them on their lot – do you begin to see a trend here?  We have MANY friends in the area, and have been making the most of it. 

Mary and Elaine invited us to Ron and Carol’s place for dinner on Christmas Eve.  The main course was THE clam chowder - you know, the one we are ALWAYS looking for, yet so rarely find?  Absolutely delicious and just the right texture.  That great meal was followed the next day by Christmas potluck over here at Jim and Diane’s, sitting outside in the sunshine on the patio.  All good cooks in the group, and our meal was perfectly delicious.

Visiting with friends has taken center stage.  Photos have gone unedited, emails unread and unanswered… and the week looks like more of the same.  AND, it is time for me to get serious about planning for my trip to Panama, leaving in a week! 

On Friday, we’re leaving Yuma, moving to the beautiful Escapees RV park, Jojoba Hills, east of Temecula in Aguanga, California, where we will ring in the new year with our many friends there.  Odel will stay at Jojoba Hills for a couple weeks while I explore Panama with two of my closest friends from my days in Sacramento.  Becky has been in Panama with the Peace Corps for the past 6 months; now that her commitment has ended, our mutual friend, Pat, and I are going down for a ten day visit.  I’m so behind on my preparations!

If I’m not blogging much (or at all!) for the next few weeks, picture us eating, drinking, socializing… trying to fit in exercise here and there… searching out my passport, making lists and checking them twice…

Best wishes, happy holidays, and good health to all our readers and followers.  May we all find peace, tolerance, and prosperity in the coming year.