Signing Off for a Few

Okay, well I almost signed off yesterday, but you know how yappy I am, and I just knew something exciting would happen and I'd have to tell y'all about it. And then I'd say something like, "really, now I'm really signing off." And then something else happens, and I have to use more "reallys" in my sentences, and it really just gets to be too much to keep track of. (Speaking to myself: Did I use one "really" in that last post, or two? Or was it three?) And you know I'm too old for math, which includes counting.

So, all of that to say that I didn't take a single picture yesterday until dinner time, when we made something that was so super simple and delicious that it finally gave me something to show for the day. I'll say more about that in a minute. For now, let's just talk about this road trip we're taking. Smitty is all for it. He saw Mike bring the RV up closer to the house yesterday, and he got all excited.

Here, he burst into song, singing his rendition of "Hit the Road, Jack."

Sadie took this in stride. She was practicing her morning yoga.

But then when Smitty started singing, it broke her meditative trance, and she had to cover her face.

Okay, so yeah. Not much picture worthy is happening here at the Three Cats Ranch as we fold up our tray tables and put our seats in the fully upright position. I spent the day kitting up a few things to take along for sewing. I've traced out several projects for hand embroidery, and I've pulled some fabrics and a couple of patterns for making minis. I'll get that all packed up in the RV today. It's probably time to clean out the refrigerator too. I'll hold off on packing clothes and food for the next two days. Mike has quite a bit to do, and he also has to help me haul things, and so I'm needing to coordinate with his schedule. And Mike has been a prince through all of this...patient and accommodating, and I really appreciate him taking on extra work while I'm recovering. 

So, finally, the only picture I took yesterday...Honey, Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs. We had that along with some of the corn I blanched and froze from last summer's harvest. I froze the corn both on and off the cob. We've eaten what I stripped off the cob, and now we're down to eating the many ears I froze...I think maybe a dozen in all. I didn't do anything fancy when I froze the corn beyond blanching and then bagging it in zip-lock bags. We wondered how it would taste, and how freezing would affect the texture. We thought it was good. We just dropped the frozen ears into boiling water for about 6 minutes, and it tasted like summer had returned.

As for the chicken, I always like to share when I find something so simple and delicious. I don't think this recipe could be any easier unless the chicken hopped into the slow cooker by itself and whisked up its own sauce. You can find the recipe right here. You mix up four ingredients, pour it over, put on the lid, and turn it on. Six hours later...dinner is served. The only comment Mike had about this is that our rather large oval-shaped slow cooker meant the depth of the sauce didn't cover all the chicken. A smaller round shape would have worked better. So, if your slow cooker doesn't allow the sauce to cover the chicken, we suggest turning it over after three hours. It'll come out tender and flavorful.

Okay, so a little about our road trip: the goal of this trip is to get out of the rain, and so we're just heading to places we've stayed before when we're looking for warmth and sunshine. And since I don't have any pictures from yesterday, I'm going to recycle a few from our last trip south. This next one was taken in Picacho Peak State Park last year, although that isn't on our itinerary this time.

Originally, we planned to leave on January 2nd, but then a broken shoulder kind of got in the way. So, we canceled the first two weeks of our trip and voted on a later start date. We'd planned to spend some time in Death Valley, but COVID is so bad in California right now that the park is closed to overnight camping. 

We really wanted to avoid going into California altogether, but it seems as if we're forced to go that way. At some point, we have to get over the mountain passes. All the northern roads that would take us east require crossing summits high enough to require traction devices, and that just isn't safe when you're towing a big RV. The safest way to go takes us due south on Interstate 5, which means we really have no choice but to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains south of Bakersfield. 

It means being in the state for two days, but we believe we can avoid any contact with others, except when refueling. For that, we have plenty of hand sanitizer, gloves, and medical grade masks. We've given this journey lots of thought, and we are confident we can do it safely. Living in an RV is not so different from staying in a second home. Ours just happens to be on wheels. We have reservations at all the parks where we'll be staying. Everything is prepaid, and instructions with site locations will be on a board at the entrance, so we won't have to go inside to meet with any employees (nor they with us).

As usual, I'll be blogging whenever I'm able to get internet access, and that should be most places we go to stay. It's the places along the dusty trail I'm not so sure about. So I'll just end by saying I'll be in touch when I can, which should be more days than not. Sorry. If you were hoping for a break from the blather, you won't get much.

As I say to the kitties, I'll see you on the other side...which means in a day or two. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy.