All Dressed Up

It was a hands on experience at our October campout.

Fred got his hands on this sexy black bra...and Vicki was no where in sight!

Pat and Jim set a table full of goodies out on Saturday morning so we could make ourselves a Halloween costume. We selected from black trash bags, duct tape, foil, boas and other props.

Sunny sports a smile despite being "bummed" out.

Foiled again is Diane's new motto. She fashioned her foil into a female version of the tin man.

OK, Jim is, well he is, hmm, Jim is Jim acting a might swishy.

Watch him in the next Pride Parade.

Here we have the good, the bad, and the ugly. Leo's toothless grin makes him bad and ugly!

Donna and Bob teamed up to become "fork in the road" with their trash bags and duct tape costume. Just a few weeks later, they were all dolled up for our Christmas Party held in their lovely home.

Another good use of foil, Judy posed as the Statue of Liberty.

From foil to finery.

Jim and Pat, our host and hostess or should I say hostess and hostess?

Even without the tin foil, they still shine. Thanks for a fun October weekend.

Hanging Around

It began on Friday night with a fire,

pomegranate martinis,

delicious meatballs.....

"it" continued into Saturday,

with a salad, and bread bowls

made into our salad treasure chests.

Did you notice, how well "rounded" we were? Go back and look!

Since R Gang doesn't have July and August campouts, it is always nice to get together again in September. It is a time to catch up and we did. There were bicycle outings, shopping sprees, crafting, scrapbooking, eating (of course), and just generally having fun.

Friday night, whether we were warming up by the fire, sitting at the table, or just standing around, the food faire was delicious. Great appetizers that filled us up, followed by Darlene's rich and scrumptious chocolate cake.

At the meeting on Saturday each couple briefly described their summer adventures. A new two story home for the Kanes, several trips for the Paperas, vacations with grandkids, a baby shower for military wives, trip to Mammoth, becoming a grandma, it was all fun.

If it is fall, it is football, so we had a tailgate party on Sunday. All day the "soup" was on. Chili, pork sliders, veggies and chips, cheese platter and at the end, a win for the Chargers and dessert from the Tiltons.

Hum, it's a little difficult to see the green light, is the pot on or off, we need the chili piping hot.

Ahh, two blonds trying to figure it out....that might just be the problem.

Tom Irwin celebrated a milestone birthday September 1st and Darlene got him an iPad. Every so often (real often) she makes sure the iPad is working ok.

And our Halloween baby wants one too. LeAnne tried out several games, she shot Angry Birds and put out fires. You go girl....straight to the Apple Store!

Having said that, she needed a little help with her cell phone.

Peeking at Tom's hand he looks like a winner. Many of us played Spades, our new favorite game. It takes four committed people, we had twelve willing to play on Saturday night. Any one have Puppy Toes?

Relaxing (?) in Big Bear

The sign says Shepherd's Rest but it was anything but! Activities started on Friday night with a 60th birthday bash for Pat. She officially remained 59 until later that night but we celebrated anyway! A great meal was prepared by Diane, Lilly, Steve and Eileen. Thanks for the special treat.

The men all had the same Saturday morning plans as evidenced by the newspaper divided up and read. Note the styles of newspaper perusal....Steve is completely hidden!

Most of the gals piled in two cars and went on a four house home tour, (say that four times fast). The first house, built in 1914, had manicured gardens, a lake view and oodles of history. Most of us liked the "blackboard house". The next two homes were side by side occupied by "senior" and "junior" family members...none of us liked the junior house, so sterile in furnishings we couldn't have lived there for long. It was so "rest"ful we continued on to the Tea House. Naturally we donned hats that were waiting just inside the door. Looking pretty stylish, it was fun to pick from the wonderful menu, shop, and chat.

You would think NOW we could go back and "rest" under the pines. NO, there was an exciting horse shoe contest before dinner. Four teams competed with two teams going into the playoffs on Sunday.

Sunday dawned sunny and warm. Our next "rest" stop was way up there at the new chapel about a zillion feet up. Gathering our strength prior to our breakfast, we trekked up the hill v e r y slowly. Gasping for breath, we reached the top for an inspirational service by pastor Mike with a stunning view of the lake in the background.

Breakfast was a hearty faire of egg dishes, fruit, pastry and juice. It sustained us for our next "rest" stop. We again piled in cars for the short drive to the Big Bear Lake Performing Arts Center. http://www.bigbeartheater.org/shows.html Henry Higgins bet he could make a lady of Eliza Doolittle....he transformed her right before our eyes in the classic play My Fair Lady. Wonderful production.

Judy had ordered delicious food to save us from scrambling after the play to get dinner on the table. It really hit the spot. At some point, the horseshoe tournament commenced with lots of cheering on the sidelines.

It may not have been too "rest"ful but the weekend was a blast of fun activities.

Scroll down for an added post of our adventures Monday morning.

7:34am and 12:38pm Departures

After a lovely weekend at Big Bear we got up Monday morning, secured a few things and started the engine. A glance back at the clock told us we were getting the early start we wanted...it was 7:24. We moved out of our spot, moved toward the Irwin's motorhome in front of us, then crossed over to the gravel drive. That. Was. The. Plan. However the execution failed. Suddenly something happened, our coach suddenly ground to a halt, leaned over and wouldn't move.

At 7:34. 40 seconds we climbed out, walked toward "the problem"....and stared aghast. We had a back tire sunk in a sink hole! When I say sunk, I mean sunk....nearly to the frame of the coach. Thus began an audience of those who were up and barely at 'em. We could look in the hole, lots of water way, down, there...LOTS, way, down, there. And did I mention deep?

Before calling in a tow truck the guys suggested lifting the coach up with the rear jack. That worked, the coach rose to a level NEARLY even with the ground. Now the second stage of the "before we call the tow truck" plan was to fill the hole. LOGS were carried and thrown in...they disappeared in the murky water. More logs, and more logs, gradually the men attempted to fill the hole. The coach came down, smashed them below tire level by inches. Even more wood was needed, this after probably 12 logs were in the hole!

With the jacks down, the tire hovered over the log filled hole.

Leo participated too, he held up the motorhome so it wouldn't lean too far over. It worked!

Herculean efforts never did quite work to get us out. A tow truck was called, sent from Perris (not Paris) and would take three hours. So much for our early morning departure.

Pat made us tasty wraps for lunch, others departed. Finally we heard the tow truck coming to our rescue. Two men surveyed the situation and decided that they had to get the tow truck in back of us and left and push. It worked!

A few pictures for the record later.... we were off AGAIN at 12:38 in the afternoon. Thanks everyone, you were all such good sports for hauling logs and tossing rocks in the gaps.

After we moved, the entire hole was exposed. Where are all the logs that were thrown in? They are there, somewhere in the depths. Scary how deep this hole opened up. Judy's theory: when the snow plow clears the road, a LARGE pile is left over this spot. It slowly melts over time and this could have softened the ground enough that when we went over it, we sunk.

It SNOWED!

It snowed, and snowed and snowed.... two feet!

We were going to be able to make snow angels Sunday morning.

Kay and Le Ann soaking up the flakes, oh wait, maybe they are the flakes.

Eileen is an angel already and the snow hasn't had time to accumulate yet.

You need special glasses to see Dave BBQing ...BBQing, in the snow. How fun is that?

Dave is cooking over a hot fire in 30° weather, no wonder he is smiling.

Here the meat is being seasoned by mother nature. This is pure "California" cooking with the white stuff coming down...priceless.

And look, Little Red Riding Hood came out of the cold with a basket of goodies. In the basket Little Red Riding Hood carried a cake for her sick grandmother. The wolf, ate the grandmother prior to Little Red getting there. The wolf enticed her to come in and to get into bed. Having done so Little Red said,

"Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

"All the better to hug you with, my dear."

"Grandmother, what big legs you have!"

"All the better to run with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big ears you have!"

"All the better to hear with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!"

"All the better to eat you up with."

And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up.

Jim enjoyed the meal.

Speaking of enjoy, Margrit, our wonderful guest, made three delicious desserts. Carrot cake, chocolate mouse and a chocolate/almond torte...all three were delicious. Come back any time Margrit, R Gang loves good cooks and enjoyed meeting you.

Seems like our weekends are not complete without a little crafting. Here are some seasonal parts to make a card holder book...school buses, pumpkins, houses and chicks. June was especially unique, an invisible tent....really cute Diane.

A little instruction before we get too far along, and, some happy faces doing the craft.