There Always Is A Time To Say Good Bye

Besides of the great weather we can enjoy here in the south of California, the other big reason for returning here year after year is that we have always met great people in the Holtville LTVA camp.

And this season is no different. While we had the entire northern area of the camp for ourselves in November, eventually other campers moved in as well. No worries, though, we are all appropriately spaced apart. And that is the third reason why we love it here. We got lots of room. We are not forced to listen to the conversations our neighbours have with eachother because they are parked just feet away from us, like what is the case in most RV-Parks. And that greater distance also seems the recipe for building great relationships with your camper neighbours. 

Dixie is making friends with Kathy

Neighbour's campsite

And because most of us have similar interests as our neighbours, we get along great with eachother. We share dinners, get-togethers, campfires, outdoor games or playing board games. We know that RV-Parks offer similar things in their Rec-Halls, but that's not for us.

Now, while we plan to stay put here until it's time to start moving home again, some campers have plans for other destinations, they also want to see. So, after spending time together, often a few months, the day comes to say Good-Bye to these folks - always a bitter-sweet experience for us. Will we see them again?  We never know. Life can throw a curveball at everyone.

So tomorrow we will have to say Good Bye to our  neighbours from Montana. We talked about meeting again next year, we are thinking of plans ahead, which is part of leading this life-style. 

Maybe other nice folks will come and take their site. We don't know.

Our neighbourhood was especially nice because the folks from Montana also have dogs. Dixie included, there are four dogs and I am sure that also Dixie will wonder where her friends went, once they are gone. Indeed she appreciates the neighbourhood dogs very much. Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting in front of the rig, she walked by and went around the front of our motorhome. Since I couldn't see her anymore, i got up looking for her, and there she was over at the neighbours. Dixie has grown social skills we never knew she possessed.

Dixie always finds pieces of wood to carry around

This morning we got ready to get the motorhome to an oil change in town. But there is a story prior to that. I had requested an estimate for oil change, grease job, and filters from a Yuma-based Truck Service (RWC) What they had to offer left me unbelieving. Their price for said service was $3.500!  Naturally my interest in letting them do this zeroed out. Instead, I found a small service place in little Holtville which offered the labor part for $140. I had to go across the street to get the oil and the filters, which totaled at around $500, and that included a very high quality and expensive oil. So for the total of $640, I got the same service which would have cost me $3.500.

So dear campers, make sure you shop around. Most of us are not millionaires and even if you are, you don't want to throw money out the window.

While I was in town anyway, I dropped by the dump station and got our tanks emptied out plus filled up with fresh water. This is just 8 miles from camp - another bonus of being here.

So as of today, we have about 3 months left until we will be home. Time will pass quickly.

Until then we are still enjoying the area and one of the routine things are our desert walks. The area here is called East Mesa and many years ago hot springs were discovered. They were used to generate steam which could produce electric power. So not far from here, we have a geothermal power station, Actually there are several stations throughout East Mesa. When we start walking eastwards through the desert we arrive at one of their pipelines. Some have been abandoned, while others still transport hot steam. We walked along these pipelines which are having big shut-off valves sticking up.

Looking down the campground, our rig out to the right

Doing Small Repairs And Projects

The Hot Spring this morning with dark clouds overhead

 With the celebrations being over and nothing of the likes on the books for the foreseeable future, I have no more excuse for doing nothing. A good look at the "Honey-Do-List", revealed 2 projects right away.

#1 is to correct the way our overhead cabinets are opening. They have very expensive, non-functioning stupidly constructed hinges which, after some years, are getting so lame that they can't keep the doors shut.

A good look at the hinges revealed that they could be reused, (though in a different way) if one could cut off the unnecessary part, and use the hinge on the downside,  then turn the doors 180 degrees around (upside-down). 

Arrows showing the difference in height

These arrows showing where the cut-off is made

The changed hinge remounted at the bottom of the door.

Left new, right old

To hold the doors shut I used common snappers, which we had bought earlier.

Besides of the doors now staying shut, it also turns out one doesn't have to bump ones head everytime when peering into the cabinet. So overall a double win at almost no cost.

#2 project was our entry door handle. You have probably seen those see-through handles mounted outside to the left of the entry door. Well, ours was broken and needed replacement. The initial research brought up prices of over 200 bucks/piece. Out of the question! Later I found one from Rec-Pro for less than a hundred bucks with seemingly correct measurements and design. It came right after Christmas, and now was the time to get it mounted. First I removed the old hardware. When mounting the replacement I had to insert the glassy handle before mounting the upper part of the holder. Unfortunately, it turned out that the thing was too long, making it impossible to use the old screwholes. So I had to gradually whittle down the handle until it fit. I guess that's what one gets when buying non-OEM parts.

And naturally life in the new year is not just working projects. We are still doing our walks around the area:

Brittle Bush with old flower stands

View across East Mesa

So We Got A New Year!

 Wishing a Happy New Year feels like telling somebody in the last stage of a terminal illness to have a Happy Birthday!

 I am not confident that 2025 will be a better year, nor am I confident that we get peace in the Ukraine, that the German AFD will lose the upcoming election or that the U.S. will return to sanity ever.

These things are all beyond reach. And we have to live with it whether we like it or not.

And while we are trying to do just that, we need to take care of ourselves. We need to focus on the positive things we see around us. We can be happy about flowers appearing out of the desert sand after a rain, we can be happy about seeing grand kids growing up or even just enjoy a great meal in the company of family or good friends. There are lots of reasons to also see positive things around us. With other words, keeping a balance of the bad and the good is essential to our own well-being.

 

 

 

Celebrating New Years in the desert has always been a lot different than being at home in town or in a village where people are sending fireworks towards the sky, getting really loud and often very drunk.

 

Out here, we have experienced the quietest End-of-Year celebrations of our life. No fireworks, no undue noise, and most campers go dark long before midnight.

Back in the fifties, when I was a boy, New Year's Eve was a huge event. And even though we kids were not allowed to stay up past midnight, we had endless fun until it was bedtime around 9pm. We never had big fireworks ourselves but sure enjoyed the big bangs from neighbouring properties. We dressed up, painted our faces, threw colorful paper rolls and confetti around and we had great family gatherings with tons of great food.

So yes, we should all maintain hope in 2025. 

And while we actually went to bed around 10pm on New Year's Eve we had a great New Year's Day dinner with our camper neighbours. The weather has been very friendly with lots of blue sky and sunshine inviting for walks in the area.

First flowers have appeared on Creosote Bushes

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's Christmas Eve! The very evening when Europeans are having their most important celebration of the year. It's the time when children are so happy. For days they have been speculating about what Santa would put under the Christmas Tree. Well, you understand that I am speaking of my looong-gone experience as a child. Are children still that eager to get to the tree?

I have my doubts, but I hope they are.

In the english speaking part of the world Christmas first starts on Dec. 25. And, sadly, here in North America, commerce has reduced it to a single day. Europeans are still celebrating the Christian feast during Dec. 26. The day is used for visiting family, parents get to see their grown-up children's family and grandparents are seeing grand children. Such was the tradition.

Now most sovereign nations have developed their own unique Christmas Tradition. I know such from Scandinavia where I spent 25 years. 

In Norway they usually have a white Christmas and the families are feasting on very traditional dishes, f.ex. there is "Svineribbe" (roasted pork ribs), there is "Pinnekjøtt" (a lengthy process of first cooking then roasting lamb ribs) or up in the north along the stormy northern atlantic coast they will eat cod, or alternatively also "Lutefisk" which I believe is largely known in Norse-heritage communities also in North America.

Most romantic, of course is a Christmas celebrated "på hytta" (in the cabin) On the 25th they would do an outing on ski, wandering through the magic white wonderland.

While many customs are the same in Sweden, some things are different. On Christmas Eve the family would gather in front of the TV and watch a traditional program from SVT1, the public Swedish State TV channel. There the nation is watching "Kalle Anka och hans vänner önsker God Jul" which translate to "Donald Duck and friends are wishing a Merry Christmas".  The phenomenon has a tradition starting in the late fifties with Donald Duck Movies being shown on SVT1. Ever since it's not gonna be Christmas in Sweden without this entertainment.

Sweden generally also is enjoying a white Christmas and the swedish landscape transforms into a magic adventure.

So time to look back at where we are. It's not gonna snow here. Last I checked the weather forecast, we are gonna enjoy 23C on Christmas Day. So we are gathering with our camper neighbours for a nice Christmas dinner outside. 

And today, on Christmas Eve, I made a dish I grew up with in Northern Germany. It's simply called "Grünkohl" (Kale)

So kale (must be frozen first) is cut and cooked together with smoked meat, f.ex. sausage or smoked pork chops. Baby potatoes are cooked then peeled after cooling, later they are rolled in melted sugar in an iron skillet until they are caramelized.

This wonderful dish is enjoyed with a "Schnaps" and a nice beer. My youth and young adulthood is full of this dish and I never had a Christmas without it.

Have a Merry Christmas and I include my wish for peace on earth and that dictators and cruel rulers may be defeated in 2025.