Saturday, December 10, 2011

Happy Birthday, Gavin! ...Eclipse of the moon

WELCOME to our new Follower caterina serra!  There is no information shown, so I can't plug your blog, but if you have a blog, Caterina, please let me know so I can check it out.  Thank you for following along with me and Katie on our full-time adventures!

It looks like we have other new followers because the number is higher, but the follower grid isn't showing me the new people, it seems kind of out of order, too. If you're a new follower and I've missed you, please leave me a comment and let me know.  Thanks!

Yesterday was my grandson, Gavin's, 7th birthday.  The family went to dinner at Fish House Vera Cruz last night, my favorite restaurant, and today he is having a big party at their house.

 Gavin - playing Catcher in baseball game

I called him yesterday afternoon to wish him a Happy Birthday, and he said there will be 13 kids at his party, games, cake and ice cream, and of course, lots of presents.

Gavin at the Padres' baseball game

Have a wonderful time at your party, Gavin!  Seven is a big milestone - the age of reason.  You're definitely a big boy now and Grammy is very proud of you!

It's been quiet around here the last few days.  Hazel and I have gone into town, and into Parker to the Wal-Mart, Carol took me with her to the library and I checked out a couple of mysteries, and I've meet up with the Dingbats (that's what this group has been called for many years) for the social hour, and that's about it.

We had a total lunar eclipse last night, or I guess it was this morning.  I tried to get some photos of it, but it's so hard to hold the camera completely still, and I don't have a tripod.  I got a couple of pretty good photos, though.  I seem to be able to get very clear photos of the moon early in the evening, but not later as it rises.


Full moon last night as it was rising - I've never noticed the bright spots before.
I wonder if they are solar flares. Click on the photo and you'll see the bright spots.


Beginning of the lunar eclipse

I took 57 photos of the moon, and these two are the clearest I could get. I just couldn't get the camera completely still so almost all the pictures were blurry.  It was pretty cold outside (it was 43 degrees in The Palms, so outside it must have been in the 30s), so I went back in and turned on all my heaters and made a hot cup of coffee.  When I went back out, the moon was gone, it must have disappeared behind the mountains.  It was pretty cool to see the moon slowly changing from the beginning to the full eclipse.

Lunar eclipse almost complete.

The photo below is Carol and her Basset Hound, Dumbledore, who wants to get into Delores' rig.  Katie wanted to go in the other day, too.  I think Delores must have good stuff simmering on the stove, because the dogs sure smell something good.
 
Don't you love the look on Dumbledore's face?  You HAVE to click on the picture to really see it.  He's clearly begging his mom - Please, can't I go in??? Carol is explaining that, No, he can't go in.  We've got some great dogs here.

Dumbledore and Carol

Here's another tree the birds love -
I counted 24 birds, but there might be more.

These two are sunrises yesterday - the colors were beautiful:

Sunrise Friday

We have the most beautiful sunsets here!

The weather the last couple of days has been beautiful, very warm and calm.  No wind!  Still really cold at night, but the days have been great.  More and more rigs are coming in. Most of the spaces along the wash where I'm parked are taken, and more rigs are coming in every day. Still lots of room, though.

And that's about it.  Nice and quiet and relaxing - just like retirement should be!


From Me and My Dog, have a great weekend, everyone!  :)

20 comments:

  1. Great photos. Making new friends and socializing in the desert... who knew? It must be exciting to be around so many folks with so much in common.

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  2. Dumbledore is very handsome. Of course, Katie is a beauty! I can't believe I missed the moon show. Crap!

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  3. I wanted to take pictures of the Moon, but it was cloudy here. I kept going outside hoping the clouds would blow away, but they didn't. I like the shot with the orange red color.

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  4. just wondering if you pull a small car behind your moterhome?

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  5. Basset hounds are such mournful looking things to start with, and Dumbledore is no exception.
    No moon show for us on this side of the world, unless I wanted to try and catch a glimpse of it just at "moon set", some time before five a.m.
    Not likely.

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  6. Dumbledore is adorable, love the name & his expression. Missed the eclipse...I think you guys got a better view than us on the east coast.

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  7. Great pics of moon. I was up most of the night trying to get a good pic, but only got the beginning of the eclipse. I went out every now and again, but dosed off when it was full and then it was gone when I went out, oh well, I guess I will have to wait until 2014.

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  8. Too cold for me to be out trying to see the eclipse. Dumbledore is definitely a cutie but that pose of Katie's is priceless.

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  9. Your pictures are always so fantastic and, of course, Katie is ultra photogenic. The expression you caught on Dumbledore's face is absolutely hilarious. Talk about expressing personality.

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  10. I didn't even know we had an eclipse last night! Oh well, that's what I get for playing dog & taking care of sick people...Love Dumbledore, what a name! And Katie is enjoying retirement for sure!

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  11. Happy Birthday, Gavin!

    Love your pictures of the moon. I think they're great. Really love the picture of Katie looking out the window!

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  12. Katie, sure knows how to live the good life.
    Sitting around the campfire with new friends sounds really good too.

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  13. Gavin is a DOLL and that pic of Katie on the couch is adorable !!

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  14. Thanks for the great picture of the basset hound. It shows that they CAN climb the RV stairs and of course their noses are good anywhere :)

    Moon, and sunset pictures were great!!

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  15. Cannot believe the great moon shots you are getting. It was cloudy here so no moon show for us. Love that picture of Dumbledore - and the name LOL! And of course, always love seeing a picture of little Katie.

    Happy Birthday to Gavin...what a fine young man he is.

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  16. excellent moon shots...love the pic of Dumbledore and love his name what a face....have a good week...and happy birthday to Gavin...

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  17. More great pics! What camera are you using? I know you mentioned it earlier but I forgot :(

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