Out of My Gourd

A couple of years ago I ran across Old Friend/Former Boss Garry, who now is an artist. He burns, carves and paints Old Dead Gourds. (He also makes money at it.) He works very diligently on a daily basis, also. His enthusiasm and ability rubbed off on me almost instantly (if Garry can do this, I can!) I started a collection of Old Dead Gourds and the tools to burn and cut and chop them. I finally found a craft I really, really enjoy! I don't care if I'm never very good - and I will never match Garry's level - but it is a wonderful feeling to do something that feels good, and one where I'm pleased with my results. Actually I'm improving slowly, but that's beside the point. I'm having fun!

We bought an old beater trailer this winter and fixed it up as a workshop, which gives me my own space to go "create." I'm taking classes from the experts - Bonnie Gibson, for instance - and will immerse myself at the Wuertz Gourd Festival in Casa Grande next month, with class after class.

My latest two creations are my favorites, so far. Of course most of the time this is true on any new one. So I constantly have new favorites. I call it instant gratification.


The Cave Ladies is based upon a Dyan Mai Peterson book, The Decorated Gourd: Beautiful Projects & New Techniques, a really terrific collection of works with excellent easy-to-follow directions. Check Amazon.com for availability.

The Cave Ladies is a gift for one of my terrific daughters-in-law. The gecko is for a good friend - she likes kokopellis and geckos, so the other sides are kokopellis.

Restaurants in Yuma - Our Faves

We eat out at least a couple of times a week - we like to try new stuff, we enjoy most food. Yuma is full of FLOPs in the winter (Friggin' Little Old People) and many of them are not into spicy foods. We are. Mexican is about the only choice we have for spice. Our Indian restaurant isn't as good as it used to be. The most favorite-ist restaurant for FLOPs often turns out to be The Golden Corral - we don't eat enough to make it worthwhile. We were sad when the great Basque restaurant closed.

Julieanna's Patio Cafe: Great place with good food, a terrific patio, fantastic birds - located over by the hospital. Mostly like a California-style restaurant & cuisine. Reminds us of the Bay Area. You see more locals in reasonable clothing than ORFs (Old Retired Farts) in their cut-offs and tank tops.

Famous Dave's: What can I say? It's terrific bbq food and nice people. Located by the mall.

Lute's Casino: A Yuma tradition - it's in Old Downtown and is a classic Dive. A huge one. Prices are low, food choices aren't great, but the hamburgers are terrific. The tri-tip sandwich is recommended. The onion rings are worth the visit. See the sidebar link for a great review of it - covers it well.

Burgers & Beer: Yummy burgers of many varieties! This turns out to be a chain - 5 of them from here to Indio. Burgers are either 1/3 lb or 1/2 lb - your choice! Prices are reasonable. Yuma's remodeled/rebuilt this year - we haven't been to see the changes yet.

India House: We loved this place when it first opened - like being back in London, where the owners came directly from. No atmosphere, but great food. Now one partner has returned home and things are sliding, like service and food. We return because we really, really like Indian food, but we may have to drive to San Diego or Phoenix for our fix.

In the old days we called them Roach Coaches: Now I have to really start researching this topic. I found a fantastic blog on eating that covers some of Yuma - it is offset by my niece's group blog on non-eating, so the calories shouldn't stick? "Ed from Yuma" has "researched" all the mobile truck eateries - Chris & I are on a mission now to find and try them! Ed and Kirk say go. http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2007/06/yuma_taco_truck.html

RV Parks We've Liked - subject to constant revision

As we travel, we usually don't make reservations ahead - we call it living dangerously. And believe me, this is about as dangerous as our humdrum little lives get. We've been doing this long enough to have found some favorite parks and/or ones we would never return to - the ones that make for good stories, y'know?


The Good:
-Red Rock RV Park, Henry's Lake, Idaho
http://www.8004redrock.com/index.htm
We stayed here a couple of years ago with some Beaver friends and really loved it. Off the beaten track (5 miles to the highway) but just down the road from a great fishing lake and a weekly rodeo at the youth camp. It's close to Yellowstone and the great fly fishing of Island Park & southwestern Montana.

-Brickyard Plantation Golf Club & RV Park, Americus, Georgia
http://www.brickyardgolfclub.com/RV%20Park.htm
This campground is mostly in the middle of nowhere. Nice long, wide unadorned grassy spots. Few amenities, but that's okay. No trees to block the satellites. An egret ate in the nearby pond each day. Most campers are golfers - at $5 per day! Small bathhouse with single washer/dryer & a book-trading area. It's near Andersonville Prison and Plains - Jimmy Carter's home - we didn't see Jimmy.

The Bad:
-Rainbow Lake, Rexburg, Idaho
http://www.passport-america.com/campgrounds/united_states/idaho/rexburg/rainbow_lake_and_camground/Default.asp
The sites are side-by-side - mostly large, mostly level, mostly grassy, with no amenities unless you count trees. Those trees in the middle of pull-through sites definitely counted; most sites had water/elec hookups & were aligned N-S so our satellites worked. Had to sign ourselves in at the "office." At the P/A price this would have been almost a decent place to stay; at Good Sam rates, it was way too expensive.

New Beginnings

I've blogged for years and love it - it's a journal of where we are and what we're doing. This one is a new try in a new format.

One focus will be on my Gourds - I burn, carve, paint and create with gourds - in very amateur fashion. This is a fairly new hobby and I love doing it. It is very relaxing and makes me feel good. (Photo: beginning stage of the newest creation - stay tuned for further improvements and colors.)


A second major time-filler in my life is Genealogy - I research, compose, scan, and swear at old dead relatives. We manage to fit in visits to libraries, cemeteries and seminars across the country. (Photo: Great-uncle Will - he was in the Army during the Spanish-American and First WWs. We just found his son last year - that was cool!)




The Parks part of the title is where we live much of the time - in our 40-foot Beaver motorhome. We've been doing this off and on, full-time and part-time for 8 years. We still enjoy the lifestyle and we've traveled most of the country, plus a huge hunk of Canada - but still have many thousands of miles to go up there. (Photo: Pugs, Frog and Toad. Frog doesn't travel well and gets left in locked storage in Yuma. Toad follows us everywhere.)

Last is Partakes - we like to eat and do it often, daily, even. As we travel, we find new and great places to indulge our cravings. I'll try to share these with you. For instance, in Yuma in the winter, one of our favorite dives is what we all call The Purple Coyote - Tuesday and Thursday nights margaritas are only $1.00! And the Mexican food is not bad - there's a lower cost Senior Menu to save even more. (Photo: El Cafe de Coyote - the color isn't quite true)