Desert View - Day 39 - 'The Shining'

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7:21 am - Tuesday - December 19th - Grand Canyon - 18º F, 46% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the east....sunny skies forecast for today with a high of 51º F......GOOD NEWS......still no water freezing in our plumbing system.

Other than the penetrating cold air that hangs over Desert View, Monday was a delightful day.  Since it was the beginning of a new pay period (Monday through Sunday) I began the pay period working the 'open' shift.  As I stepped outside the coach to begin my 1/2 mile walk to work I noted that two of my solar lights were still putting out light.....that's how dark it still is at 7:15 am.....three more days until the winter solstice, and then we will begin to see it become lighter earlier again.

As I wrote yesterday this week is the beginning of Christmas vacation for elementary, junior high and high schoolers, and we do expect tourist traffic to increase for the next two weeks, but Monday was not the day.  Over all our store foot traffic declined from Saturday and Sunday, however, our Deli was quite busy from about 11:30 am to the end of the day.  Our holiday work schedule as it is written has TLE and I working 14 straight days with longer hours (the 'open' shift now goes from 7:30 am to 5 pm, and the 'close' shift goes from 11 am to 5:30 pm), but I was sent home at my usual 1 pm time, but TLE worked from 11 am to 5:30 pm.  There just wasn't enough to keep both of us busy all afternoon.  It is possible that we will be granted a day, or two off during this stretch, but we shall see.

I was happy to go home, and I expect that on Tuesday the same will happen for TLE, but I also expect that at some point this week we will become busier and will be working the full shifts.  We also have the possible Government shutdown looming on December 22nd when the existing two week 'continuing resolution' expires.....we may find ourselves on a short vacation beginning this coming Saturday (December 23rd) if Congress is not able to get their act together.

As soon as I was changed out of my work clothes (still too cold to do anything outside) I sat down to watch a movie I had recorded off HBO a couple of weeks ago entitled 'The Rookie' (2002), a true story about a middle aged high school baseball coach who finally realizes his dream of pitching in the major leagues (Dennis Quaid).  It was a tear jerker, and I am glad I took the time to watch it.  IMDB gives it 7 stars (out of 10), but I would give it 8.5-9 stars.  I had been wanting to watch it since I recorded it, but I knew TLE did not have much interest in a baseball movie, so Monday afternoon was the perfect day to watch it.

Once I was done with the movie it was warm enough to go outside clean the Newell windows.....I cleaned them when we first arrived about 6 weeks ago, but they have gotten grimy looking, and it was time, at least for me, to clean the once again.  Once I got going I also spent time wiping off the riveted aluminum siding.  About 7 weeks ago you will recall I spent time detailing it with my 'Firecoat My Truck' waterless spray solution, and Monday I reaped the benefit of that hard work.  I just took a micro fiber towel and within minutes was able to restore the shine....I think it turned out pretty well......

 The back of the Newell always gets a little dirtier than the rest of the coach with road grime.....she's sparkling again!

.....once I was done with that it was time for me to spend some quality time on my stationary bike.....by the way I love my new bike trainer......it is whisper quiet!  I finished with my workout about 4:55 pm, took a quick shower, and was outside building a fire and watching the sun set.  By the time TLE arrived home from work at 5:35 pm it was nice and cozy around the fire.  We sat talking and laughing until after 6 as the fire slowly died down, and then retreated inside for the evening.

One more day without snow at 7,400' elevation.....another day with lots of sunshine, and temps in the high 40's.....another day lived on our terms!

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