2022 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Viva Las Vegas!

One thing I have been forgetting to report on is the weather 😔 After the first couple of days of being overcast with 2 minutes of light rain, it has been wall to wall sunshine and mostly clear blue skies with the occasional fluffy white cloud. But It has been very windy in parts. 

Still out of order but really need to report on Tuesday’s adventures. Not such a restless night in our room in Kayenta - bed was comfortable enough & had several 2 to 2.5 hour sleeps. Up about 7:00 a.m., bags to van by 7.30, had breakfast (me half a bowl of Frosties & 2 slices of toast + coffee, DH had bacon, scrambled egg, eggy brioche (disgusting) & sautéed potatoes + coffee & orange juice). We left at 8:00 ish 😉 Heading out of Nevada into Utah & I fell in love with Utah 😊 The canyons & different coloured rock formations giving way to scrubby desert type areas then changing to tree covered areas & lush green grass & everything in between - almost like visiting several countries in one state - I am lost for words at how much I love Utah. First stop was at the side of the road (Route 163) where Forrest Gump stopped his cross country run 🙂 Then the Moki Dugway - a hard packed gravel switchback road up the side of a mountain. The one part of the trip that I was least looking forward to or to be more truthful actually dreading as DH & I both hate riding on gravel 😳 

However it went without a hitch & I didn’t even scream 😉 I even took videos on the camcorder 🙂More to the point all 16 bikes made it safely to the top & back down the other side. If the picture works that is the view of the road we climbed from the top 😳 

Stopped off at the Ranger station for a rest stop then went on to Hanksville for lunch Stan’s Burger Shak - salad & the strangest chocolate milk ‘shake’ I have ever had - basically chocolate ice cream in a large paper cup but sooooo tasty 😋 DH had a burger & Dr Pepper. Continued on to Capitol Reef then Grande Escalente Mountains - State Route 12 with winding, swooping, scenic roads. Went on to Bryce Canyon where we had rooms in Ruby’s Inn. Had no time to change as still winter opening hours, so straight to dinner. I had grilled portobello mushroom slices covered in a Gorgonzola sauce with garlic bread 😋 DH had a flat iron steak with curly fries & some asparagus. Washed down with a beer.  Then back to room & to bed as absolutely shattered after riding 340 miles. Only woke up once during the night but woke up Wednesday morning with a splitting headache & feeling my years 😉 Breakfast was a buffet but I ask you - could you face biscuits & gravy for breakfast. DH had a yoghurt & coffee. I had coffee as there was no toast ☹️ Bags loaded by 7:30 & we set off about 8ish. Started off with the temperature being 48F(9c) but clear skies. Headed off through Bryce Canyon & I fell more in love with Utah 😊 Rode for 1.5 hours to get to Zion National Park with the temperature steadily increasing to high 80’s F. Long tunnel through the mountain, spectacular scenery AGAIN 👏 Rode 10 miles to join I15 Southbound to Las Vegas with the temperature & humidity increasing to a high of 104F (40C) The group got split into two after a traffic light stop where only 10 bikes got through & the remaining 6 bikes then engaged in a spirited pursuit over about 35 miles at “slightly” over the speed limit 😉😉 We managed to catch up before the hell that is Vegas traffic. Rode to Eagle Rider bike shop where 11 of our 24 people dropped off their bikes as not doing the 2nd half of the tour. We spent enough time in the air conditioned shop for me to recover slightly from being way too hot & being unable to breathe properly due to the humidity. Our bike was left for brake repairs, so shared a taxi to The Golden Nugget with our Catalan Couple who are flying home Friday. Surprise, surprise The Golden Nugget & surrounding streets are completely changed from 30 years ago 🤣 Had a beer with all the riders & our guide whilst the van was being unloaded & keys handed out & arrangements made for farewell dinner. The heat & humidity meant I was sweating buckets before we went into the air conditioned bliss inside the Golden Nugget. Up to our room, stripped off to undies then sat around getting cool & relaxing - 260 miles on top of the previous day’s 340 miles meant we needed about 45 minutes to recover enough to shower & change 😉 Then downstairs to find a bar where we had a couple of beers each before eating in the hotel - trying something new - Chick-fil-A - chicken burger with waffle fries & 8 chicken nuggets & a Dr Pepper. Mix up with the order as the previous person had the same name as DH. Very tasty & more than enough to fill our tummies 🙂 We then headed off to meet up with everyone else who had dined in a Thai Restaurant. A complete culture shock as we walked down Fremont Street which is no longer a street. It is now a covered pedestrian area with zip wires overhead,shops & bars on both sides, a cacophony of noise & the strangest people wandering around or standing still offering ‘services’.

 We found the restaurant & managed to get a drink. The whole group was there not just those leaving. The food was still coming & everyone had a great time. It became quite raucous & the poor staff only managed to get us out just before 11:00 p.m. even though drinks service had stopped at 10:00 p.m. We braved Fremont Street again, then stopped at a bar where everyone had a drink & said their farewells. Then just the hardcore left - 3 Aussies, guide, van driver + me & DH - copious amounts of alcohol consumed, lots of laughter, chat & heartfelt good wishes. We finally got back to the hotel at 1:30 a.m. rather the worse for wear 😉 DH thinks it is absolutely shameful but we didn’t need to get up early Thursday morning & I think we needed to let our hair down 😁

Thursday woke up feeling pretty dreadful but had taken paracetamol at about 3:00 a.m. so no headache 🤕 Took us both a while to get going but got down to breakfast just before 10 - cooked breakfast, toast & several cups of coffee & we are both feeling almost human 😂 Back in our room, now just vegging out. 

This report was written in Notes & I am about to transfer to Decluttering Thread & sort emojis & try to add a couple of pics 🤞

🥳 it worked.

Hope everyone is well 🙂

See you later 

MrsSD

short_bird

That looks wonderful, it was a street when I was last there...

2350-2361: rubbish and recycling herded as well as a Halloween decoration.
2362-2364: bag of rubbish, bag of mixed recycling and box or card and paper to the respective bins.

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Love hearing about your adventures Mrs S_D  & those are fab pictures

Today i decluttered lots of OOD medication at the pharmacy and 2 crisp packets in the recycling bin at work.
I'm deleting emails but I still have over 24k!!

Love Deni 

bit_by_bit

What a lovely thing to do @Liverpool_Anne

Sounds and looks fantastic MrsSD. A really memeorable trip.

Not much done in the disposal department today. Took two bags of pebbles gifted from a friend and 4 bags of chippings to the plot today. Did some watering and wrapped grass around my onouns as a mulch.

Three bags of couch grass from the plot went into my brown bin tonight for disposal tomorrow.

Tonight cleaned the kitchen so DH can sand the surfaces. He is resealing them tomorrow. The varnish can cure while we are away.  

Cat is settling into my MiL really well.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Thursday in Vegas has been quite restful. We pootled about, writing postcards, having toast & coffee for lunch. Then DH went with the new contingent of people to pick up the serviced bike & I went to a Las Vegas wedding presided over by Elvis (not really a lookalike but at least a soundalike 😉 Gilles & Sylvie were renewing their vows after 10 years, 6 other French people & me were the guests. I practised a bit of French - OK 👌 Went to a karaoke bar called the Cats Meow for a complimentary bottle of ‘champagne’, the happy couple got up on stage & sang Voulez vous coucher avec moi - excuse the spelling 😉 I left about 6:15 p.m. got back to hotel room about 6:30 p.m. - no sign of DH. Big delay in getting the new 11 riders to the shop & in fact only nine turned up. Poor Josh was tearing his hair out as the missing couple hadn’t even checked in. DH & I had Chick-fil-A again with Dr Pepper but took it up to our room. Repacked the suitcases as bag pickup is 6:30 a.m. & we need to have breakfasted & be on our way by 7:00 a.m. to hopefully avoid the 115F temperatures in Death Valley 😱 😥 🥵 Then onto Mammoth Lake.

Hope everyone is well or at least recovering 😊

Good night everyone, MrsSD

EnergyShifter

@Liverpool_Anne - what a lovely thoughtful gift from your friend - so much meaning in one table-runner.
@MrsSaladDodger - I'm really enjoying the tales of your travels... 

Love to all 

DuranGirl

One thing. I convinced myself to declutter one thing. It's possibly the world's smallest thing (a plastic knob from who knows what, that's been sitting on my bathroom window sill for who knows how long), but I conquered the feeling of being overwhelmed and I did it. I never thought that it would take so much self-talk to get off the sofa and do that one thing but clearly mental health and parental illness have taken their toll a bit recently, so everything is a bit like wading through treacle. But I did it.

Now... if anyone asks me where that knob is... 

GrannyKate

Really enjoying 'riding along' with the SDs on their holiday.

Frog day today so determined to do some of those.  Took DS2's older children out for tea last night which was nice.  

812 Renewed railcard for one year.  Many thanks to poster (forgotten who sorry) who suggested using Tesco vouchers as I got £24 discount (off £30 price) using £8 worth of vouchers.  
813 Sorted out Tesco club card (in order  to do above) as still in joint names with late DH
814 Committee frog 1 dealt with.
815 Weeding

QueenJess

Getting busy at work and also have lots of planning to do for my days off next week, so getting tough to do anything.  Did nothing yesterday, but did do a few things the day before as well as getting a load of stuff out of the room of doom to charity.  I don't think I can call it the room of doom anymore and it is simply a room  Almost finished all the tidying in time for the kids to trash the place when off next week!

Decluttering progress:

1938 - trainers I don't wear

1939 - 1943 - packing used to post charity donations/buy nothing

1944 - 1973 - Emails permanently deleted

1974 - 1983 - photos/videos deleted

1984 - 1985 - apps deleted

1986 - 1989 - text threads deleted

1990 - bathroom supplies used up

Not sure how much time I'll get in the next week to progress more...

vulpix

Good morning folks. 

 Sounds like an amazing trip Mrs SD. 

 Ocean spirit,how have you got on?

 What a nice gift to receive Liverpool Anne. 

 DuranGirl, the first of many un needed items gone. All great journeys start with that first step. Just one thing per day makes a difference. 

 

My step son should have been coming to stay today but he has Covid. He is a paramedic so it is quite a feat to have dodged it until now. 

 We have the mammoth task of emptying and moving 2 sheds at the side of the house so the builder can put drains in and pave with stable bricks. Before the sheds many,many plants in huge pots need to be moved to make space for one shed. The other shed needs to be cut up. All this before Tuesday with going to work in the mix. The logical thing would be to plant the plants in the new raised beds in the back garden. That would need a mammoth effort to dig and carry soil from the upper garden. My hands are tied a bit as I would be under the builders feet today. I will do my best. Mr V visiting MIL who is presently in a care home. 

 Better get on with it then.

 Have a lovely holiday bit by bit

 Vx