Sunny and Cold

Good morning, my friends. The wind blew hard the night before, but it was a calm day for most of the day. The sun was shining, but it was too cold to be out without bundling up first. We had a couple of errands to run, but I had some time to spend on my slow-stitching in the morning.

My hoop was filled, and so I moved my hoop to the right and down a little. I could capture all but a little bit at the top. I'll start at the bottom this morning, and then I'll be able to capture the last of it.

Also, you might remember that I started this project with one full ball of Perle cotton, and one partially used one. 

I'm happy to say that I'll be able to finish off this fifth of 12 blocks and still have some floss leftover from the partially-used ball. And that tells me that I'll have plenty to finish off this project without needing to buy more. (I like it when I can use something that was leftover from another project.)

While I was stitching, Sadie found some sunshine. We usually hope their kitty hammocks will end up in the sun for at least part of the day. She's had to rely on the back window this trip. Be careful if you want to pet her. You could burn your hand on her warm furs.

From there, we drove into town to pick up a few things. While we were out, I noticed the dusting of snow on the range of mountains to the west. On the other side of those mountains is Death Valley National Park, routinely one of the hottest spots in the nation. I believe the tallest peak just to the right of center is Telescope Peak.

One of the things we wanted to do while we were out was to get a new wheatgrass pot for the kitties. When we returned and came through the door holding the wheatgrass, their ears perked up and they were all about getting in a nibble. These will last about two weeks before they wilt and dry up. This is the third one this trip. It seems a small thing, but they really appreciate it.

Later in the afternoon, I got out for a walk. To the east, there is snow in the mountains.

Looking farther to the north, it looks like this:

To the south, it looks like this:

I could hear them singing. You can hear the sound at this video, right here. These are white-crowned sparrows. The photo was taken from a distance away.

Continuing on, I noticed about a dozen birds sitting on some power lines. It was hard to see any color since I was shooting into the sun.

Around on the other side, I could see their colors better. These are Rock Doves.

Walking on, I got around to the front of the resort. The Charleston Peak winery hasn't always been here. Apparently, it was located elsewhere at one time. It was established in 1992, but we've been coming here for years, and this is the first time we've seen them here. Doing some internet sleuthing, I learned the story behind this change.

Walking around to the other side of the building, I found this one nearly-spent rose.

Also, I was able to get a better picture of the flower from a few days ago. My phone tells me this is an almond blossom. It's surprising because this is growing on a shrub. I guess everything starts somewhere.

The day ended with a pretty sunset that lit up the hills behind us in red.

We ended our day with these Molten Chocolate Mug Cakes for Two. My mugs are deep...

But that leaves room for a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum.

When we got up this morning, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. In the intervening hours, clouds have moved in and the wind has come up. We're expecting nasty weather today. It's okay with me. I'd decided when we arrived that today was going to be a sewing day. The RV wash and wax has been postponed until tomorrow, and so it'll be a stay-inside and do-nothing day...except for sewing, which isn't nothing. If the forecast is correct, today's rain should be the last of the bad weather while we're here.

We have one more week here in Pahrump before we move west a ways and spend a few days in Death Valley. I keep hearing that the wildflowers will be plentiful this year, and I'm looking forward to it.

Quilt Shop: A Piece of Alaska Quilt Co.; Pahrump, Nevada

Good morning, my friends. I made good on my threat to check out the new quilt shop in Pahrump yesterday. I'll tell you about that in a minute. The quilt shop didn't open until noon, and that gave me some time to take the first stitches on Block 5 of the Snowmen & Reindeer project.

By then, it was late enough to get ready and go. Arriving at the address, I thought at first I might have missed its tenure here already. The only indication there was a quilt shop here were the signs in the windows advertising quilting, classes, and fabrics. Looking more closely, I noticed the "open" sign.

Just inside the door was this magazine rack filled with free patterns. They were mostly for using with panels, but there were a few from traditional blocks. I looked at them, but didn't really see anything there I wanted to make. It was a nice gesture, however.

This is a very small shop. Often, I'm visiting quilt shops with hundreds of bolts of fabrics. This one had no more than "dozens" of bolts. Everything they had was very pretty, but it was a small shop with a small inventory. Of that, about a third were holiday fabrics for Christmas, Halloween, and the 4th of July.

I asked her about her ties to Alaska (given the name of the shop). She told me she'd purchased a house here in Pahrump in 2010, but only moved here last year, "for the guaranteed sunshine." Guaranteed as much as it is anywhere.  I took a few pictures of the fabric that was available.

Behind the shelving was a long-arm machine, and it seemed the shop was an extension of her long-arm business. Several years ago while visiting Pahrump, I asked The Google to "find a quilt shop near me." Surprisingly, something came up, and we drove to the address. It turned out to be someone's private residence. Now I'm wondering if it was this same woman.

Here's a little more fabric.

There might have been more fabric, but I didn't see it. There were a few (very few) notions. Nothing for embroidery...no thread...not much of anything. I'm hopeful this shop will grow into something more. As for my visit, I stayed just a few minutes, and didn't purchase anything. The women working there were very friendly, and it was a pleasant visit. I just didn't see anything I wanted or needed.

Back at the RV, we stayed in most of the day. We'd ordered some cat toys from Amazon, and I was awaiting notification our package had been delivered to the office. When it was, I walked over to pick it up. I was able to capture a few more blooming things...the ones that turned out blurry a few days ago. Here is some lantana.

Here's some more lantana. I was trying to get images of the ones against a fence or lying on bricks since they were relatively stable in the blowing wind.

These yellow jobs were seen on a low-growing shrub near the office.

When I got back, I pulled out one of the little pompoms for Sadie. This is her favorite toy, and the ones we had with us were all frayed and falling apart. We don't want her ingesting any of that, and so we bought some new ones. She was snuggled up in her quilt, and she couldn't think of a good reason for coming out right at that moment.

The weather continues to be cold, windy, and uncooperative here in Pahrump. More snow fell in the mountains behind us. This next image is Charleston Peak.

We like this RV park for its peace and quiet and its amenities, but the weather can go either way here. We've been here when it's warm enough to be outside in shorts, and we've also seen snow at our level. We could see some snow today or tomorrow. It makes it unsuitable for grilling outside, and I've planned some meals that require grilling. Hopefully, we'll start to see some improvement by Friday. Also, the guys were supposed to come wash and wax our RV tomorrow. It looks like that's not going to happen. Certainly, they can't do it if its raining or snowing. Mike has texted them to reschedule for next week sometime.

As for our day's activities, we have an errand to run. There is no rain in today's forecast, and so I'll probably put on my winter woolies and get outside for a walk. Maybe I can get Smitty interested in walking too. There's rain in tomorrow's forecast, for sure, and so I'll probably drag out my sewing supplies and turn it into a sewing day.

Stormy Weather

Good morning, my friends. It was a blustery and rainy day yesterday. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was determined to break my lazy streak by getting out for a walk. Mike accompanied me along my way. The sun was shining as we walked away from the RV, but there were some clouds in the sky. We walked up and down, taking in whatever there was to see. Before we walked away from our site, I turned to capture a shot of this snow-covered peak. This is Charleston Peak...the highest peak in the Spring Mountain Range.

When we awakened this morning, the snow level had dropped and the entire range behind us is capped with snow now.

We're expecting even cooler temperatures as the week goes on. By Wednesday, we could see some snow at our level. We've seen snow in Pahrump before. Here's an image from our visit back in January of 2021.

There's a rumor going around about snow back home too. Snow levels are supposed to drop to 500 feet. Our place sits at 1,300 feet, and so I expect we'll get some there. Oh well...you can run, but you can't hide.

And all of that to say that we got outside in a nick of time because the rain started up just a few minutes after we got back to the RV. We were dry on our walk, though, and of course, I took pictures of every blooming thing and every little thing. My guess is this next image is pyracantha.

I'm not sure what this next one is. The wind was blowing a gale force, and so it was hard to get anything in focus. This was growing in an empty site. I'll try again, but if someone moves in, I won't be able to.

Here's some RV art.

Here's some lantana. We saw this in several colors. This was the only one I was able to capture in focus.

This pine cone was lying on the ground outside our rig. Pine cones seem out of place in Nevada.

There's a tree growing just beside where the catio is. Looking up, this is what I saw. The little pine cones there are about the size of a thimble.

Back inside, we were warm and dry when the rain started up. I spent the afternoon finishing off Block #4 for the Snowmen & Reindeer project. This one is called Snowman Feeds Feathered Friends. I really like the faces of the snowmen.

Here are the four blocks I have for this quilt so far.

Now, I've traced out Block 5. This one is called "Winter Trees."

It's hooped up and ready for my stitching pleasure this morning.

We'll be visiting the quilt shop today. I'm kind of curious to see it and ask about the Alaska connection. I'm not in the market for any particular fabric, but if I can find a kit with an embroidery pattern, I'll probably buy it. I'm afraid these snowmen won't get me all the way home. Goodness knows, I want to avoid a stitching emergency. 

We'll make a day of it by getting lunch somewhere. Aside from that we don't have any plans. The sun is shining today, and we're expecting more rain by tomorrow. Seems like a good idea to get in another walk, and that's probably what I'll do this afternoon.

Lazy Bones

Good morning, my friends. A serious case of the lazies has befallen us here in Nevada. Sadie is channeling the energy level in the RV right now.

I spent a lazy morning taking the first stitches on the fourth block for the Snowmen & Reindeer project.

Now, I've moved my hoop up and to the left, and I'll continue on there this morning.

We've been lazy since arriving in Pahrump. I've spent some time looking at hikes in the area. Almost all of them lead to a high peak, and so there is a lot of elevation gain. My benchmark for elevation gain was a hike we did in Mt. Rainier many years ago. The elevation gain was over 700 feet, and that was tough. It was worth it to see the wildflowers, but now, it's become my measuring stick for whether we'll want to do any given hike. The ones here were mostly in the thousands of feet range, and so I pretty much ruled out any hikes we might do until we get to Death Valley in about ten days.

So...okay...no hiking, but there's no elevation gain here in the RV park. I could get out and walk here, but I have not so far. Except for a brief walk with Smitty, I've barely been out of the RV. Today I want to get outside for a little while. There's rain and freezing temperatures in the forecast for the week, and this could be the last nice day for walking.

All of that didn't stop us from making a trip to the grocery store yesterday. We wanted to get a bottle of wine for last night's dinner, and we picked up the other things we'd added to the shopping list. As we were leaving, we spied this panel truck. It was towing a trailer made from the bed of a pick-up truck and a camper shell. I barely caught it through our back window.

And, you know...I might have just found my next calling. On the other hand, the condition of this person's rig would indicate they're not getting rich doing it. Oh well. So, maybe not.

We selected a wine for last night's dinner. It was a nice pinot noir from a California winery. It was very fruity...more like a merlot than a pinot, and we enjoyed it.

There aren't many good restaurants in Pahrump. Mike selected the restaurant associated with the Nugget Casino. Entering the doors, I loved these handles made to look like miners panning for gold.

Past all the slot machines, we entered the Stockman's Steakhouse. The food and service were good, and we had a nice evening.

After opening our wine, they brought us this fluffy loaf of bread. It reminded me of a crown, and it was topped with an herb butter. Yummy.

We selected our entrees. They came with a choice of soup or salad. Mike chose the salad.

Soup of the day was a seafood chowder. It isn't much of a looker, but it was delicious. 

For my entree, I chose the Italian Penne. It had chicken, shrimp, Italian sausage, and grilled vegetables. It was very tasty. This was a huge portion, and I only ate about a third of it. I can work on the rest for lunch today.

Mike chose the rib-eye steak. It came with a side of The Baked Potato that Ate Los Angeles. Good grief. That's the biggest potato I've ever seen.

We skipped dessert in favor of the ice cream we already had at home, and that was a nice, quiet way to celebrate Valentine's Day.

There was a pretty sunrise this morning. 

It was cloudy most of the morning, but it appears to be clearing up some. I'm determined to get out for a walk today. I'll work on my slow-stitching too. With rain in the forecast, I'll probably wait to drag out my sewing supplies until the wet stuff arrives. When I do, I'll be working on this little quilt.

All the pieces were cut before we left home. It's just a matter of sewing it together. Also, I'm planning to visit a quilt shop tomorrow. If it's going to rain, it seems like a good opportunity to do indoor things.

So, that's all I have for you today. Hopefully, I'll find something interesting to photograph on my walk around today. Some things have changed since our last visit, and it'll be good to get out and explore some.