04/09/2020

More sprinkles and mostly gray skies here today. That didn’t stop us from getting out and going for a drive. Bentley was happy to tag along and got a bit of play time along the Whitewater River. We didn’t hike, it was too drippy but we did do some rock hunting and found a few pretties for the landscaping beds. Next time we will take gloves and get some bigger ones.

We drove back though Palm Springs and Cathedral City. Palm Springs proper was a ghost town while parts of Cathedral City looked like business as usual. Not sure why the difference but PS is really enforcing the masks on while out in public and Cat City…not so much.

So here is how day twenty one of our sheltering in place went:

• The breakfast chef was feeling his oats AGAIN this morning and whipped up a delicious Chorizo, Brussel Sprout and Potato Skillet Breakfast. It really was more like brunch because someone, ok me…didn’t get up until almost 10:30. Sucia Kitty technically wasn’t up either, so there!!! The amazing aroma woke me up and certainly did lure me out of bed.

• One of our neighbors, Carolyn, stopped by and brought us these sweet masks she made. She was worried our face gaiters weren’t enough protection.

• Wally, Bentley and I headed out for a drive to Whitewater Preserve. It’s about a 17 mile drive that takes you up Whitewater Canyon. We love this area, exploring the canyon and its history is fascinating. The area has a long history, dating to just before the pass became a road to the Arizona gold mines. The temptation to strike it rich must have coursed through so many a man …guess it still does. Gold mining however was a hard life as was staking a claim and farming. History makes me appreciate how easy our lives are now. Whitewater Preserve is closed because of this damn virus so we spent our time poking around the river and exploring a few rustic roads.

• We used the House Party app to have cocktail hour with 4 other couples and play some games. Normally, this foursome would all be together hooting and hollering, chatting and having fun together. We are all here in the resort and this is our only way to get together for awhile yet. This crazy crisis is forcing us all to find ways to connect and stay sane.

• Fixed Ginger and Green Onion Crab Ramen for dinner. Every summer we have a crab harvesting weekend when we crab ourselves silly, cook, clean and vacuum seal crab which goes in the freezer for the winter months when crabbing is just a distant memory. We LOVE fresh crab and honestly my favorite part of crabbing is jumping in our 13 ft boston whaler which we tow behind our bigger boat, zipping out to where our crab pots are sitting on the bottom of some bay, pulling the pots and waiting, breath held as the pot hits the surface of the water. It’s like playing the lottery, sometime you hit the jackpot and the crab pots are heavy and loaded with vicious crustaceans and sometimes its a bust.

• The fridge has possibilities but I am fantasizing about sitting in a restaurant, poring over the menu while sipping a cocktail. If nothing else comes out of these troubled times, lets not forget to appreciate the small pleasures in life that perhaps we had been taking for granted.

• Worked on this blog post and edited pictures from our drive to Whitewater.

Day twenty one felt almost normal. We actually went somewhere…granted we didn’t see a soul and only had one human interaction at a distance.

04/08/2020

The temperature here today was a balmy 65 degrees. A few sprinkles, a lot of big fluffy clouds with beautiful blue skies peeking through at times. Apparently we are in for another couple days of rain which is really unusual here in the Coachella Valley. Having spent the majority of my life in the Pacific Northwest, a few days of rain are nothing.

We are looking for a short drive to do tomorrow if the big rains don’t materialize. I have not left the resort in weeks and am itching to go for a drive.

So here is how day twenty of our sheltering in place went:

• The breakfast chef was feeling his oats this morning and whipped up a delicious Southwest Frittata finished with Red Chile Sauce. It’s was so delicious….

• Spent the morning doing mundane things like reviewing a boat insurance policy and adding a few things to my Instacart Costco order for a friend. Friends don’t let friends run out of vodka or basil pesto!

• Wally and I headed out for a 3 mile walk around the resort. Interesting how much better my allergies are when wearing a mask. That is the upside, I really don’t like wearing it but and have to take a breather (LOL) occasionally.

• Lunch was a simple fruit smoothie. I accidentally got a chocolate protein powder recently but it actually turned out to be delicious with the fresh fruit juice and frozen berries. This new protein powder, OrGain is plant based, has no added sugar and is organic.

• Bentley took a much needed trip to the desert for his walk with Wally. No old man crow today which is a disappointment for Bentley and no snakes which was not a disappointment for Wally.

• We both had a mini spa treatment with my fancy electronic foot tool and a soak in eucalyptus epsom salt. Maybe we are being held captive but our feet should still be treated with love!!

• With soft tootsies, I donned my fancy face gaiter, helmet and took a bicycle ride with my friend Kristen. We rode about 5 miles before it started to spit rain.

• We used Zoom again to have cocktail hour with friends. Sadly, we are just four miles apart and under normal circumstances we would be sitting together drinking wine, cooking dinner and solving all the world problems. This is just soooo weird…

• Tonight was support your favorite sushi restaurant by getting take-out. We love Otori Sushi Restaurant and really hope they make it through this craziness. The only weird thing about getting take out sushi is that all of the sauces come in separate little containers and we don’t know what goes on what – oh well, its sushi adventure!

• The fridge is full of possibilities, still thinking about making Crab Ramen Noodles for dinner tomorrow… we’ll see!

• Worked on this blog post.

Day twenty – what?? Well, day twenty was kinda like day nineteen which was kinda like day eighteen….we just stayed home.

04/7/2020

Our beautiful mountain view was obscured again today by those dark, brooding clouds. The San Joaquin Mountains are definitely getting some snow out of todays rain dump.

The world news today while a bit dark and brooding too did bring a few glimmers of light. After more than 10 weeks, China on Wednesday ended its lockdown of Wuhan. The city where the coronavirus first emerged, the city that has shaken the global economy and thrown daily life into upheaval across the planet is starting to come back to life. If you haven’t already seen the article in the link, its well worth the read.

So here is how day nineteen of our sheltering in place went:

• The only new picture I took today was the dinner shot. Hey priorities right!!! Does it count that I am researching a new DSLR camera? My top favorite so far is the Nikon D5600 . What I really want is more zoom capability than we currently have on the Panasonic Lumix point and shoot which actually has a great lens so the image quality is pretty darn good. I use my iphone camera the majority of the time so I am hoping all you photographers out there will chime in here with your suggestions or thoughts.

• Donned my fancy face gaiter, helmet and took a bicycle ride with my friend Kristen. We rode about 8 miles again today and I wanted to go longer but my hiney and “girl bones” declined to continue….whiny hiney! Good news, I may have actually burned the calories I consumed during happy hour tonight – YAY!!!

• Ralphs Grocery via Instacart delivered a few bags of goods we needed. What’s cool is that I can shop for friends and save us all the exposure of going into a grocery store. Upon delivery to our door, we bleach wiped the plastic bags, brought the bags inside the coach and bleach wiped everything in the bags that we could. I divided the goods and Wally took 2 bags of groceries over to our friends Kristen and John.

• We used Zoom to have cocktail hour today with friends Dave and Tanya who live in Portland Oregon. There have been many an evening spend sitting around their kitchen island, sipping wine and chatting while Dave cooks. While it doesn’t replace being there with them, it was great to see their smiling faces.

• Tonights dinner was Pork Mole Tamales with a Red Chile Sauce, Cumin Spiced Black Beans and a Cabbage Salad with Fresh Oranges. I did not make the tamales because why would I when I can get the best ones ever from the Tamale Store in Phoenix AZ. They do ship, but so far I have been able to get personal deliveries when we have friends from AZ come visit …Thanks Laurie and Tom!!! The red chile sauce is easy to make using good quality red chile powder. If you have some from Hatch NM…you are a serious red chili fan! I was all out of my hatch blend but Penzeys Spices red chili powder is a fine substitute.

• The fridge is full of possibilities, thinking about making Crab Ramen Noodles for dinner tomorrow… we’ll see!

• Worked on this blog post.

Day nineteen was mellow and uneventful, the rain pattering outside felt cleansing while we just stayed at home.