My biggest excitement was just before 2015 came flying in. I got up New Year’s Eve morning, watched the news and did a few things. I knew it was supposed to be cold and dreary so I took my time opening the drapes. Guess what? It was snowing! It wasn’t the kind that drops a few anemic flakes – thick, beautiful, white flakes were coming down with a purpose. Of course, the first thing I did was run for my camera.
A young bunny was hunched under a bushy snow-covered cactus. As the snow continued to come down, I saw him running around my yard and Saguaro Park, jumping this way and that, just like any little guy would do when he found out what fun it was. The snow didn’t last very long on the ground but it stuck to picnic tables and roof tops. The air cleared just enough to be able to see that the mountains were covered in the white stuff, too.
I used to love the first snow of the season back in my home state of Michigan. On this day I had planned to make a trip into Wickenburg but then I thought, exactly why should I go driving anywhere when it is not required for supplies or work, especially among drivers who aren’t used to driving in snow. I probably fit that category now as well. Soooo, I took my time enjoying the scenery while sipping a hot cup of Chamba Chai, a spiced chai latte drink mix, with a little instant coffee stirred in. Yummm.
I’m not much on New Year’s resolutions. Usually by the time a week has gone by, most resolutions have already gone by the wayside. If I were to make any, they would be to lose weight, get more exercise, and eat more vegetables and fruit. I always have good intentions but unfortunately, I watch TV. Commercials alone would keep me from following my resolutions past 7:30 p.m. on January 1.
Not only do we have way too many lengthy commercials but they always manage to be about Papa John Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or something else that makes me dash for the kitchen. I have fantastic neighbors down the street. We have been friends since the beginning of N. Ranch and the Christmases I have been here, we have exchanged goodies. I stopped doing that a while back because I no longer keep anything in the house to bake with, but they continue to bring me things that even with mentioning them I gain fourteen pounds. Nancy makes some kind of inch-high something that resembles a brownie. It has a peppermint taste but not too strong, gooey chocolate, nuts, and coconut. I have no idea what it is but as soon as they walk out the door, whatever is on that paper plate draped so beautifully in Christmas wrap, is annihilated! I hope they never return almost immediately and say they have given me the wrong plate!
Wish you all a Healthy, Happy, Prosperous 2015, and maybe just a little snow for excitement. God Bless until next week.
Winter in the Wilderness, the first e-book novel published by Minshall, is offered at most Internet book sites. A print edition may be obtained from Amazon, or you can order an autographed copy from the author at Box 1040, Congress, AZ for $7.95 plus $3.50 for postage and handling.
The fourth edition of RVing Alaska and Canada is available through Amazon.com.
At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”
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