Desert Messenger

October 18, 2017 www.DesertMessenger.com 19 Read Desert MESSENGER E-edition online @ www.MyQuartzsite.com Nancy's Kitchen A "Slim" RV Is a Safe RV In my previous article I talked about keeping a lid on collecting personal items. This is especially important if you happen to live in an RV. RV's have weight limits, commonly referred to as the GVWR, or Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. This weight limitation is issued by the manufacturer. Essentially, it is the empty weight plus the weight of the contents, where con- tents include people, personal items, wa- ter, fuel, etc. Exceeding the GVWR of your RV can be potentially very dangerous when you take to the road. Trailers and motorhomes can become very unstable in these conditions. YouTube has many trailer and RV wipe- outs caught on camera, mostly due to overloading. You do not want to become another YouTube video! If you think you are nearing your RV's weight limits (or exceeding them), there's a couple things you can do to help alleviate the problem. First, consider draining your fresh water tank. Water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon, and therefore if your water tank holds 50 gallons, that is equal to over 300 pounds. You can fill up on wa- ter when you reach your next destination. Drain your black water and grey wa- ter tanks. These will shed considerably more weight. The propane tanks are another weight contributor. Take an in- ventory of your stuff. Tiny House For an idea of what things weigh, here's a quick table: Can of Garbanzo beans 15 ounces Pez dispenser 0.5 ounces Pound of coffee 16 ounces Boxer shorts 1 – 8 ounces (size dependent) DVD 2 ounces If you are collecting souvenirs on your road trip, you may want to consider ship- ping these back home instead of taking them with you. If you're done reading your books and magazines, donate these to a local charitable organization. And don't stop at Costco on the way home! Taking care of your RV will not only make it last longer, it may help you last longer! Don Newquist holds a BSET from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA. He has worked as a electrical engineer, a for- mer CA C-46 Solar Contractor's License. He currently lives in Quartzsite, AZ. He got into tiny home design and construc- tion in 2016, is a dealer for Nature's Head. www.cherrytinyhomes.com. PUMPKIN CORN CHOWDER PUMPKIN CORN CHOWDER ½ C butter, 1 chop onion ½ C flour, 2 C pumpkin 1 can white kernel corn 1 ½ C chicken broth 1 lb. thick, cooked and crumbled bacon, 1 quart half and half Melt butter and sauté onion. Add flour and mix til pasty. Add corn, pumpkin and broth. Mix well, and simmer. Add bacon and mix. Pour ½ of chowder into a blender. Mix til smooth. Return to pot and stir, and simmer. When ready to serve add half and half And resume heating….don't boil! The Friends of the Quartzsite Food Bank has several boxes around town for collecting food items. These busi- nesses have been generous enough to let us have boxes: Dollar General, RoadRunner Market, Family Dollar, Silly Al's Restaurant, Horizon Com- munity Bank, Quartzsite General Store and the Town Hall/Library. Some items we need are canned, boxed or packaged food including meat, vegetables, dinners, pasta, peanut butter, snack bars, water and other beverages including juice. The Food Bank is open on Tuesday and Thursday 8AM to Noon to ac- cept donations of dry goods and fresh food. Go to FQFoodBank.com to make a donation online or mail a check to Friends of the Quartzsite Food Bank PO Box 4671 Quartzsite, AZ 85359. Easy way to donate to Food Bank DINNER IN A PUMPKIN Medium size pumpkin; cut top off and set aside. Clean insides out and rinse…set aside. Brown 3 lbs. ground beef, in large skillet. Add: 2 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pep- per, 2/3 C chopped green pepper, 1½ C chopped celery, 1½ C chopped onion,½ C soy sauce, 4 TBS brown sugar, 2 cans (4 oz-drained) mush- rooms, 2 cans cream chicken soup 4 C cooked rice Fill Cleaned pumpkin shell, with mixture. Set on a cookie sheet. Put the "top" of the pumpkin flat on the cookie sheet, with the pumpkin. Bake at 350 for 2-3 hours. After taking out of the oven, decorate it like a jack o lantern; lettuce on top, with "pumpkin top" on top of let- tuce (makes hair), carrot for nose, sliced cucumber for eyes, green pepper for ears etc. use your imagi- nation. When dishing up the filling, onto a plate scrape out some of the pumpkin linning with the spoon- ful of rice mixture. Makes a perfect dinner and decoration for a Hal- loween meal or luncheon. Jams for JR'S RV PARK will be held Fridays 6:30 P.M. beginning Nov. 3rd New: Gospel Jam, Saturdays, 1:00 P.M., beginning Nov. 11th. CRAWFORD'S RV PARK will begin Wednesdays music jams on Novem- ber 1st at 1:00 p.m. SPLIT RAIL RV PARK: Starting Oc- tober 23rd, Karaoke with Leon ev- ery Monday at 6 pm. BRENDA RV RESORT, 46251 Hwy 60 in the club house. Wednesday, Nov 15: Sadie Hawkins dance; 7–9. Skyhawk band. $5/person Wednesday, Dec 6: dance to The Travelers, 7–9 p.m. $5 per person Contact Jean Marcley, 503-313- 2840 or jmarcleyhaha@gmail.com to answer your questions. DESERT GOLD RV RESORT BRENDA 928-927-7605 Sundays: Chapel Services: 10:30a, Music 10a Starting Oct 22 Mondays: Line Dancing 10a-12 noon Bingo, 6:30p, Doors Open 5:00p Starting Oct 23 Tuesdays: Breakfast, 7-9a $5.00 Starting Nov 7 Gospel Jam, 7p Starting Nov 7 Fridays:Line Dancing 10a-12 noon Oct 19: Park Wide Yard Sale 9a-1p Oct 27: Peter, Paul and Mary Trib- ute Band 7p Advance tickets $10 At the Door $12, on Sale in the Activi- ties Office Oct 16 Oct 31: Halloween Costume Party 6p Dance Following 7p $5.00 Nov 9: First Craft Sale of season 9a-1p WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING There is an ongoing weekly prayer meeting every Wednesday at 7AM, rotating to a different church every week. We pray for the Quartzsite community, our country, the world at large, and any other topic which any- one can bring up. Interested persons can call one of our town's churches to find which church would be hosting the prayer meeting that week. THE JAM AGAIN MUSIC JAMS are happening at Community Bible Church 6:30 PM. Church is located at 375 Sunrise St, Quartzsite. Phone: (928) 927-5035 BOUSE, ARIZONA hosts a First Friday Swap Meet each month from 8am - 5pm at the Bouse Rest Stop. Vendor spaces: Full $15, Half $10. Call (928) 851-2509. QUARTZSITE TOPS Quartzsite TOPS Chapter meets year-round, Tuesday mornings at the Quartzsite Alliance Church, lo- cated at 720 W. Desert Vista. Weigh-ins starting at 6:30 A.M. Meeting begins at 7 A.M. - 8 A.M. For information call Nancy 928- 927-6025.

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