Friday, November 14, 2008

November 6 to 12, 2008


November 6 to 12, 2008 ; La Feria, Texas

Thursday ; MMMMM ... Mexican pastries and miniature bananas for breakfast. Today was partially cloudy, humid, and hot. Gil's forehead and knee are slowly healing. But he's developing a lot of deep purple bruises all over, including around his nose and two black eyes. Joanne's leg rash is slowly healing. Teddy was very ill today, vomiting ten times overnight and today. ( sigh ) Old people, old pets !

We spent the morning running errands in and around Harlingen. Gil and Maria came with us. I refilled a trailer propane tank and the barbecue propane tank. We found our way to O'Reilly's Auto Parts where I had ordered new shock absorbers for the trailer. We went looking for the veterinarian that gave us the cheapest quote on an examination and innoculations for Bo. It was much further than we thought, and when we finally found it, and I went in to inquire about / verify the rates, they quoted me approximately the same as all the other veterinarians we had phoned ( grumble ). Finally, we went to Wal-Mart for groceries and supplies.

When we returned from our shopping trip, Teddy was in bad shape. We lay him down on the bed, covered him with a cold, wet towel, and administered water to him with a syringe. Poor, sick Teddy. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for him. He's 16½ years old. His condition today seemed similar to how our previous cat Toby was five days before he died. We realized later in the afternoon that he was severely constipated.

There is a man in this RV park who bicycles around the park with his large Scarlet Macaw on the handlebars. The bird seems to really enjoy his daily outings. It's a really gorgeous bird. When the man and bird cycled by today while Joanne was outside with Teddy, the bird said ... I kid you not ... "puddy tat ... meow" ! HA HA HA !

I found a strong, fast, unencrypted ( open access ) Wi-Fi signal at the Super 8 Motel across the street. I parked in their parking lot and did some computer work this afternoon. And I returned later with my Wi-Fi phone and phoned our friends Kevin and Sandy who are nearby in Brownsville. They're coming to visit tomorrow. We hope they will join us, along with Maria and Gil, in Mexico in January and February.

By late afternoon Teddy finally stopped vomiting. We rehydrated him frequently throughout the day by administering water to him with a syringe. After supper, we administered a small amount of a liquid laxative to him using the syringe. He was still constipated, although resting more comfortably than earlier in the day.

Late in the evening, Maria, Joanne, and I went for a late night dip in the hot tub. AHHHH ... that could become habit forming.

Friday ; Today was cloudy, mild, and windy. Teddy's fine !

This morning when Bo woke me up to be walked, the first thing I did was peek into the litter box. ( huge sigh of relief ) And I saw in there what I wanted to see ! Yesterday was a "close call" for Teddy. He's not a "fighter" like Toby was. Yesterday afternoon, severely constipated, dehydrated from vomiting and the hot, humid weather, feverish, so weak that he was immobile and unable to drink water, Teddy just flopped down on his side, unable to even lift his head, and began to die. Without our intervention, he would have. I'm glad that we have the pet knowledge and skills to have saved him.

This morning our friends Kevin and Sandy came to visit. We introduced them to Gil and Maria, and we all spent the morning and part of the afternoon visiting and chatting. We had hoped that Kevin and Sandy were going to join Joanne, me, Gil, and Maria in our 2 month exploration of mainland Mexico. Unfortunately, they are not going to. They do not want to go down into Mexico before February. And we want to go at the beginning of January. Too bad ... we would have really enjoyed their company.

After Kevin and Sandy left, I went to nap and Joanne went with Maria to shop at health food stores. After they returned, we met Dana, the manager of this RV park walking her dog Angus, who is ... well, a "twin" of Bo. From anything more than 25 feet away, they look identical. Angus is 13 years old. Dana rescued him 3 years ago after he had been abandoned at a boarding kennel. What kind of moron abandons a 10 year old dog ? ! ?

Saturday ; Today was a beautiful, sunny, warm day, high of 80 degrees, low of 65. A perfect "June 18" day ! A great day to be alive ! I've been suffering from mild depression lately, so it was refreshing to have higher spirits today.

I prepared huevos ( pronounced "hooWAYvoes" ) con machaca ( scrambled eggs with shredded, dried beef ), Joanne's favourite Mexican breakfast. We found packages of machaca in the grocery store recently. We went for a walk around the park with Bo, and did an obedience training session. I drove over to an independent mechanic in La Feria that I have dealt with in the past to discuss having him remove three shock absorbers from the trailer, probably cutting them off with an acetylene torch. I changed one shock absorber on the trailer this past summer in Keremeos, and it took me an entire day of brute force "persuasion" to remove the old shock absorber. I'm going to start working on removing and replacing the remaining three shock absorbers within a day or two, but if they prove to be as difficult to remove as the first one, I'll pay someone else to do it.

We gave Bo a short haircut today. It's too hot and humid here in the Rio Grande Valley for him to have long hair. I hope "winter" doesn't suddenly arrive here in South Texas. If it does, he's going to want to sleep under the duvet at night. Joanne applied Aloe Vera ointment to his flea bites, then we applied a flea spray all over him. Poor Bo has flea bite dermatitis, an allergic reaction to flea bites. Each flea bite produces an itchy, red bump. Maria assures me that she has eliminated fleas from Buppy. I certainly hope so !

After much procrastination, I began working on removing the three old shock absorbers from the trailer this afternoon. The first one came off relatively easy. The remaining two were difficult, but I got them off. WOO-HOO ! I removed all three in less time than it took me to remove the first one last summer at home. Tomorrow I'll install the three new ones. Cleaning myself up after the job was difficult and messy. I was covered in grime from my fingertips to my biceps. My reward to myself for a job well done was some time in the pool and hot tub. This park has a very nice swimming pool and hot tub facility. The pool temperature is perfect, warmer than the one back home at Riverside RV Park Resort. And the hot tub is hot ! AHHHHH !

Sunday ; Today was cloudy, warm, and humid, with a warm breeze. A few drops of rain fell around lunch time. This morning I installed the three new shock absorbers on the trailer. I repaired a broken side marker light assembly on Gil's and Maria's motorhome. We went for a long walk with Bo. Joanne did laundry. The rash on her legs has almost disappeared. Gil's forehead and knee are healing nicely, although he still has two black eyes.

This afternoon Joanne wanted to go grocery shopping to an H-E-B. We usually go east a few miles to Harlingen but today we went west a few miles to Mercedes. The H-E-B in Mercedes was a smaller, older store, without a deli, not as nice as most H-E-B stores, but ... across the street was a ... wait for it ... ( pause ) ... a great panaderia ( Mexican bakery ). Who needs sliced luncheon meats when you can have empanadas ? ! ? HA HA HA ( SNORT ) HA HA ! After returning from grocery shopping we spent some time in the swimming pool and hot tub before preparing supper and watching Amazing Race.

Monday ; Today was sunny, hot, humid, and windy. This morning we took Bo to Altas Palmas Animal Clinic between La Feria and Harlingen for a physical examination and innoculations. He's healthy, vaccinated, and ready for Mexico. This is the first time he's had an intranasal vaccine. SQUIRT ! Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you, Bo ? HA HA HA ! I made some phone calls to get quotes on some trailer service and made an appointment for next Tuesday to have the trailer serviced at Campco Wheel & Axle in Pharr. Joanne worked on cleaning windows and waxing the trailer. Gil and Maria went health food store shopping in Harlingen.

After lunch and a nap, we met with Gil and Maria to do some planning of things to see and do here in the Rio Grande Valley over the next week or two. While reading some local community newspapers over lunch I found some very interesting activities and events. I am particularly interested in joining Amigos de los Niños de Mexico ( Friends of the Children of Mexico ). Every year a large group of a few hundred "Winter Texans" organizes, sponsors, and hosts a Fiesta on Christmas morning in Nuevo Progreso for about 3000 underprivileged Mexican children from northern Mexico who are bussed into Nuevo Progreso for this annual Christmas morning Fiesta.

I have been suffering ( sometimes a lot ! ) with arthritis in both my knees and one shoulder. I have been doing knee and shoulder exercises in the swimming pool and hot tub. Today we went to the park's exercise room and I did some knee and shoulder exercises on the Nautilus equipment. I hope I don't regret it. There's a very fine line between just enough exercise to be helpful, and too much. Then we went to the pool and hot tub. Today was the first day that Gil was able to use the pool and hot tub, having healed enough since his bicycle accident a week ago. Through the large glass patio doors of the pool we watched the Scarlet Macaw outside swinging very adeptly on its swing. While Joanne prepared supper I drove over to the Super 8 Motel across the street, parked in their parking lot, and used Wi-Fi to do some Mexican vehicle insurance comparison shopping.

Tuesday ; Veteran's Day ( U.S. ) / Remembrance Day ( Canada )

"Lest We Forget"

I found a quiet, private area of the park, and on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, I observed a minute of silence ... "To Remember". When I was a child, my father, who was a veteran of World War II, taught me that this ritual was important. In his honour, I continue to practice it. Today I remembered my father, of course, and Joanne's Uncle Gerry, who was a veteran of the Korean War. And I remembered an old man who shared my minute of silence on a Remembrance Day some years ago at the airport in Winnipeg. Joanne and I had flown from Ottawa to Winnipeg on the morning of November 11 to attend a memorial service for my mother who had died a few weeks earlier. We were waiting for our luggage at the luggage carousel with Joanne's family. It was a few minutes before 11:00 A.M.. I noticed an elderly gentleman wearing a Legion blazer and beret, and Remembrance Day poppy, waiting for his luggage. I introduced myself, and invited him to join me in observing a minute of silence to remember, in a quiet corner of the airport. He accepted, and joined me. We stood in a corner of the airport, and while we observed a minute of silence, he held my hand, and quietly wept.

Today was sunny and hot. Kenwood RV Resort hosted a Veteran's Day ceremony and luncheon for local veterans and residents of the RV park. WHEW ... it was tough wearing a shirt and long pants for a couple of hours in this heat and humidity. Over lunch Joanne and Maria chatted with a couple from Ontario. Gil and I chatted with a "Snowbird" ( rolling eyes ) couple from Oklahoma, a few hundred miles north of here. They "can't stand the cold" ( rolling my eyes again ). Last winter in Oklahoma the temperature REACHED THE FREEZING LEVEL THREE TIMES ... OMIGOD ( still rolling my eyes ). I was going to tell them what it was like to stand waiting for a bus at the corner of Portage and Main in Winnipeg in 40 below weather, but I didn't think they would believe me. People from the south can't comprehend 40 degrees below zero. I guess there's Snowbirds and then there's Snowbirds ! ! !

I dismantled and Joanne cleaned the "Fantastic Fan" ( a type of RV ceiling fan vent ) in the kitchen. Joanne continued waxing the trailer. I dusted the truck ... again. It's windy and dusty here in South Texas, and the truck needs to be dusted every few days. I discovered an infestation of tiny fire ants around our kitchen sink. I don't know where they're coming from. We went shopping this afternoon for a solution. We found our solution at the first store we tried, Dollar General in La Feria. They had a huge section of products to get rid of ants, so I guess it's a common problem around here. We went to the exercise room, then the pool and hot tub, before preparing supper.

Wednesday ; Today was cloudy, hot, and humid. This morning we set off for a day of errands all over the Rio Grande Valley. Gil and Maria joined us. We headed west on Expressway 83 towards the "upper" valley. First stop was Ron Hoover RV in Donna. Ron Hoover RV is a Fleetwood dealer. Gil needed to order two side marker assemblies for their Fleetwood Southwind motorhome. But ... just before we arrived, he realized that he did not have the piece of paper that I gave him with the side marker assembly part number on it ( sigh ). Nevertheless, we shopped for some other RV parts. I bought a new light fixture for the inside of the storage "trunk" on the front of our trailer, a new window knob, and a damaged package of "dually" valve extenders. A package of four dually valve extenders is $80. This damaged package was $20. I couldn't resist, since I didn't currently have any spare valve extenders, and malfunctioning valve extenders have proven to be the most common tire problem I experience with our truck.

We drove all the way to the far west end of The Valley, to La Joya, where we bought tickets to this Sunday's afternoon performance of La Joya High School's Performing Arts concert. Mariachi "Los Coyotes", Grupo Folklorico "Tabasco", y Conjunto "Los Diamantes". Mexican musical group The Coyotes, Mexican folkloric dancing group Tabasco, and the alumni band, The Diamonds. We attended a concert at La Joya High School 2 years ago, and it was the highlight of our winter. These high school kids are great ! And their concert theatre is a professional theatre seating about 600 people.

Heading back east, we stopped for lunch at RJ Mandarin, a Chinese buffet restaurant in McAllen. Driving out to La Joya and back took longer than I had expected, so by the time we were finished lunch, it was time to head for the Amigos de los Niños de Mexico planning meeting in Weslaco. Amigos de los Niños de Mexico is comprised of about 150 Winter Texans. They have about 3 or 4 meetings in November and December to prepare for their Christmas morning Fiesta for about 3000 children in Nuevo Progreso. The activities and functions of the big Fiesta are broken down into "committees", each with a chairmen and members. Toys ( acquire, sort by age and gender ), fruits, candy ( acquire bulk, repackage), crowd control, entertainment, transportation ( drive it all down to Nuevo Progreso on Dec. 23 ), etc., etc. ... ! A total of 37 different committees ! A huge project ! After the meeting, we went to volunteer our services. I volunteered for crowd control, entertainment as a magician, and transportation, since I have a large truck that will be insured for travel within Mexico. Much to our very great surprise ( and perhaps a bit of chagrin ), Maria volunteered to be the chairman of the toy committee, the largest responsibility of the organization. I thought it a bit unwise for a "rookie / newbie" to volunteer for this huge responsibility, but I guess Maria deserves credit for enthusiasm and commitment. Good luck !


After the meeting we drove to the WesDon Flea & Farmer’s Market. Darn ... the flea market was already closed for the day. But the farmer’s market was still open, so we were able to buy fresh fruit and produce. Oh, goody ... today limes were 36 for a dollar ! ( sigh ) It was a long day. By the time we got home, it was 5:30 P.M.. We unloaded the dozen or so large bags of toys that were in the back of the truck ( the beginnings of Maria’s responsibility ! ), then headed to the pool and hot tub.

DSK

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