Marching Into March To A Different Drum 2020

March, what has happened to you?
The sun keeps rising and setting as usual but everything is changing.....very quickly.


The Covid-19 Virus is coming and at this point we all would like to think its not going to happen, but unfortunately I think we may be in for a long scary time.
The words Covid-19 are becoming a daily word that we hear over and over again and the shortage of toilet paper and now even the simple things like canned goods, meats, and even eggs and milk are getting to be scarce.
The stores are really becoming aware that they can't keep up with the demand and the National Guard has actually been deployed to Arizona to help the grocery stores stock their barren shelves.
It is just surreal to see all the schools, factories, and businesses that are closed.



All our Canadian friends have returned home as they were basically told to get back over the border and self quarantine for two weeks when they do get back home.
The  new "normal" is just not normal anymore.

Chuck had been telling me since late January to start stocking up on non perishable supplies.
He must have been a Boy Scout and his "always be prepared" motto is in full swing.
I am happy to report that we have plenty of paper goods and toilet paper.
I never in my wildest dreams would think we would have a shortage of all thing toilet paper.
It is truly amazing to go to the store and see isles that were once full of toilet paper and cleaning products totally empty.


As far as our world, other than the possible doom and gloom we are seeing on every news report March has started with celebrations of Len's birthday.
We all met at Wheezy's for a great dinner filled with a whole lot of laughter and fun.
It was nice to have a fun evening with our Yuma friends.














On March 5th Heidi and I made another trip to Mexico to buy more stuff that we feel we need.
Heidi is looking for talavera baking dishes and table cloths, and I think we can say we have exhausted all the vendors and found just what we needed....or should I say wanted!
I found a really cute talavera sun to add to the patio area.











We even tried a different restaurant and were very pleased with our meal.
The line back into the USA wasn't even bad so we write this trip in our book as a perfect 10!
The day ended with a beautiful sunset which is not uncommon here but I still enjoy seeing them.













March 7th Heidi and I went out into the desert by our house to see if we could see the "desert lilies" that our friend Brenda had told us about.
It wasn't a hard thing to find as they were everywhere once we figured out what we were looking for.
These sweet beauties are a little more rare around here as it is usually so dry.
This season has been exceptionally wet and that brings the desert to life.
What a beautiful site to see and I am so glad we got to actually check these little guys out before they go back into the earth and hibernate once again.










March 10th we once again were blessed by the rain gods.
It was quite eventful as we got something like 1.75" of rain.
The wash areas were flowing like crazy and I think I understand why they really don't recommend getting out and wandering around during these rains.
Its not like Oklahoma rains, that's for sure.












The following day I got out before the rains once again were supposed to come and I saw the heavy equipment working on cleaning the sand and debris that accumulated where the wash crosses the paved roads.

The rains come in the evening of the 11th and our rain gauge shows a total of .68 by the next morning.
We are setting records like crazy around here.
I thought we didn't get rain in Yuma, but this year is showing us that records are made to be broken!



Our neighbors, Doris and John, come down to see us and bring me a little gift they had been working on during the rains.
I had shown them a cute wooden box that would hold Solo Cups and also a Sharpie (so you can write your name on the cup) and guess what, they made me one!
I think this is going to be so handy when we have our little get togethers.
Thanks so much for the handmade solo cup holder Doris and John!









Today I had to share a picture with my mom, of a plant I have been growing while here in Yuma.


















We have been told to Social distance ourselves here in Yuma, meaning no more than 10 people at a gathering.
This works well for our little group and we get together to share our thoughts and laugh a bit at Len & Mary Ellen's.
We sat our distance from each other and made sure we didn't hug or shake anybody's hand.
Their son and daughter had come to see them so we got to spend some time with them as well.
Tony showed up with his Army issued face mask to show us he is prepared for the virus.
We got a good laugh from him but it really does make a person stop and think that this is going to be the "new normal"?










With the 'social distancing" mandating here in Arizona I was up in the air about Chuck's birthday party.
I sent out a text to see how our little group of 10 felt about celebrating this guys 65th birthday.

We got a unanimous thumbs up so I proceeded with my plans.
The party is going to be pretty basic as I have planned to get Subway subs for the group.
Chips and different dips will be on the menu as well.
Upon scanning Pinterest I found a few cute ideas for a Quarantine Party so we will make this a fun party for my main squeeze.



3-21-2020
Chuck's birthday!
He is going to play golf at Las Barrancas Golf Course with a group of friends today.















They all had a great time according to those who participated.
Cathy was kind enough to take some pictures to prove this!







Our washer bit the dust this morning and of course it decided to leave me stranded with a tub full of water and no way to drain or spin.
Thank goodness our neighbors were still home, as I begged to borrow their washer to rinse the laundry and spin them.
I had no idea how heavy wet clothes are until I started digging them out of the washer to take over to their house.
Sure glad it was a small load.


A "Quarantine Birthday Party"is going to happen today for Chuck.




Heidi had some birthday hats left from Tony's party so we used them as masks.



















We had Fireball Vaccine shots for anyone that wanted one.

















Of course I took the easy route and ordered Subway sandwiches for dinner.













With all the new Covid-19 restrictions in force, I was able to order the subs on my handy app.
The pick up of the subs was flawless and took no time to be back at the house and preparing for the birthday bash.














We have all stayed fairly to ourselves for the past few weeks and it was so nice to have the gang over to share with something fun.











We sang Happy Birthday to Chuck and our neighbors that live behind us chimed in and sang to him, from over the fence, after we finished.











I shared some of the Fireball Vaccine with them as well, so all was good in the world for a short time as we all kept our distance but laughed and had a great time.





























Thanks to all who participated in this "special" day for my special guy.







I had ordered our printed version of our blog for 2019 a few weeks ago and with all the craziness in the Covid-19 life we are living I was surprised by a delivery on March 23rd.
My book has arrived.
I have always had "Blog to Print" do the printing and Mary Ellen had told me about Pixxibook
She had told me how difficult she thought it was to maneuver around with Blog to Print.
I was having some issues this year as well, as I wasn't able to turn my front page pic to my desired position.
I got on PixxiBook.com and have to say the ordering was effortless.
It was really an easy site to work with.
The pictures in the 2019 book seem so much more vivid.
I am truly pleased with the outcome and would highly recommend this company to anyone wanting any kind of printing done.

Our neighborhood cactus are really showing off right now.
With all the rain that we have had, they are popping with blooms.

















The Argentine is one that I really have my eyes on and hopefully next season I will purchase one and have some of these giant blooms in our yard as well.














Chuck has been under McClassC putting on a new suspension system and upgraded steering stabilizers to make her ride a little more in control without loosing comfort.
He has done his research and decided to go with the RoadMaster brand and the first piece he put on was the heavy duty steering stabilizer.  Our test drive shows that this really does make a difference in the way the rig handles.
Next he installed the rear anti-sway bar.
Even more improvement.
The final piece has shown up and he installs the front anti-sway bar.
Our test drive was with a 20MPH side wind and I am happy to report that McClassC is no longer the Swagger Wagon.....she is holding her own on the road and the comfort of driving is a whole lot better.

Saturday the 28th we have a delivery from Home Depot.
So excited to see the new washer and dryer being delivered.
The installation of the gas dryer didn't go quite as planned as the guy said he wasn't able to "install" the new one with the fitting we have.
So much for "installing".....Chuck and I set out for the store to pick up the parts we will need to make this new dryer work.
But first we must get off the old parts and see what will be needed.







I will not go into the ugly details that involved this installation but I can say that we finally finished our installation around 4:30pm and I was tired!
The way our washer and dryer is set up "someone" has to be behind the dryer as you can't move the washer out to make easy access to the said dryer.
Now that video of the lady that is stuck behind her washer and dryer comes to mind and you know how viral that was.
If we had been videoing our installation, I think we could have won "Funniest Home Video" without much effort.
Thank goodness we are done with this for awhile!

I have been doing some decorating of McClassC during the quarantine time.  I have been able to get the bathroom decorated enough to take a picture and share with the world.
Its coming along and it feels more and more like our little traveling home away from home with everything we do.












This month has been a little more trying....trying to make sure we are staying our 6' away from people....not going out to do much other than necessary errands.....not having our happy hours with our friends.....learning how we can flatten the curve.....and so much more.....
Hope everyone else is doing their part to help us get through this unnerving change of living that we are experiencing.
I have to add that I am so proud of my mom and step-dad for taking this whole pandemic serious and being prepared for the shortages of foods etc. 
They have heeded Chucks warning and stocked up well and they are doing just fine. 
One thing I hate is that I am not there to do things for them, but truly I guess I am doing as much here for them.
I love Amazon and other sites that I can actually order things for them and have them shipped direct to them. 
My step-sister Rita has been great at going and getting their groceries for them every week. 
All in all we are weathering this new world we are living in well.