January 3 to 9, 2010

January 3 to 9, 2010


Sunday ; Today was sunny and very warm. I spent most of the day working on a trailer repair project. I recently noticed that the top corners of the living room / dinette slide were developing little stress fractures from the hundreds of cycles of being extended and retracted. I wanted to deal with that before it became a problem. I worked on installing corner bracing brackets on both the front side and back side of the top corners of the slide. I didn’t quite have all the hardware required, so I didn’t complete the job. On Thursday I’ll get the rest of the hardware I need at Arizona Market Place. Joanne finished sanding and varnishing my desk.

Late in the afternoon, but while the sun was still intense, we went to the pool to try out the new pool noodle chairs we recently bought in Palm Springs. They’re great ! I discovered that if I lean back in the pool noodle chair, and put another pool noodle behind my neck and over my shoulders, I can float around the pool reclined … and … HA HA HA … fall asleep ! What a great way to nap ! After my afternoon nap in the pool we took Bo for his daily walk around the dog park perimeter and Joanne did laundry.

We went to the Sunday early evening ice cream social. Every week at the ice cream social new arrivals in the park introduce themselves. One of the new arrivals was a couple from Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we were born and raised and lived until 1988. As the ice cream social was winding down we went over to chat with them. Ironically, they used to live in Keremeos, B.C., our current summer home.

Monday ; Today was mostly sunny and warm, with a bit of light overcast late in the afternoon. We spent most of today running errands. First stop was RV Connection to buy some 12 volt fluorescent bulbs. Then over to Yuma Palms RV Resort. While in Palm Springs we saw a promotional ad for Yuma Palms RV Resort. I sent them an e-mail from Palm Springs but they didn’t respond. I considered that a bad sign, and expected that the promotion was not what it appeared to be in the ad. However, when we got there today, they honoured the promotion in the ad without question, and we made a reservation to stay there for one week at the end of February and all of March.

We drove to the Post Office. I was going to check if there was any mail there for us. There shouldn’t be, but there seemed to be some confusion with our neighbour who is collecting and forwarding our mail, and maybe she sent a batch of our mail to Yuma a month ago. The line up at the Post Office was as long as it was just before Christmas, and I didn’t want to wait in a long line up, especially considering that maybe there’s some mail there for us, or maybe not ! We went for lunch to Wienerschnitzel. After having lunch I had to listen to Joanne tell me over and over and over ( rolling eyes ) how much she loves Wienerschnitzel’s chili cheese fries. We shopped for groceries at Albertsons, then went to a nearby mall where Joanne went to Fry’s to buy some advertised grocery specials, and I went to Checker Auto Parts and bought brake pads and the rest of the materials I need to replace Lanoire’s front brakes.

Back home at Kofa Ko-op we took Bo for his daily long walk, then I went to the clubhouse to get some online work done. Once again, Kofa Ko-op’s Wi-Fi system and / or AOL Canada was working very poorly, and my very limited patience was sorely tested ! ! ! It was tested even further when I returned a phone call to HP regarding the recent warranty repair service to my netbook. I cut my call with HP short when Joanne came to the clubhouse to retrieve me to get the barbecue started and begin preparing supper. It was my first time using my new “flavour injector” big needle device that I bought myself for Christmas. I injected a whole chicken with melted margarine and lemon juice, wrapped it in foil, then slow roasted it on the barbecue. The results were excellent ! After supper I ( sigh ) continued working on my 2009 investments performance analysis. Well, taken just on its own, 2009 was a pretty good year for the stock markets. Let’s hope the financial recovery continues through 2010.

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and very warm. We spent the day in Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico.

First stop in Los Algodones was our dentist’s office to make appointments for next week. Then we went to see another dentist that I was considering switching to. Over the last few years our regular dentist in Los Algodones, Dr. Juan Camacho, has lost his ability / willingness to stay on schedule. In my opinion his wait times have become unreasonable. But after I made appointments at the alternative dentist for later today, and we left, Joanne said she didn’t like the alternative and wanted to stay with Dr. Camacho. Okay … we simply ignored our appointments for later in the day with the alternative dentist.

We went to Algodones Optical. I had an eye examination, then ordered two pairs of trifocal glasses. I haven’t had trifocals before, and wanted to try them as I have been having a lot of difficulty seeing 5 feet away, such as reading labels of items on grocery store shelves. I still have difficulty understanding how Algodones Optical can offer eye examinations and glasses as cheaply as they do. The eye examination was $20, reduced to $10 with the purchase of glasses. My first pair of glasses were trifocal SunSensors, frames included, for $119. My second pair were trifocal sunglasses, frames included, for $49. They were ready in 2½ hours. Total bill was $178 !

Next we went to a number of different pharmacies and did some price comparisons on a medication I wanted. We returned to the pharmacy with the best price, and I negotiated an even better price based on the quantity I was purchasing. Negotiating is part of the process in Mexico, even at farmacias. Next I went looking for a place to get a haircut. We went to Sylvia’s, a hair stylist shop I had been to a couple of times in previous years, but there were quite a few customers waiting and I didn’t want to wait. Besides, the price there at Sylvia’s was $4 and I had seen a couple of other places advertising haircuts for $3. We went and looked at a couple of places and I chose one where the stylists were all women and there was no waiting. Joanne is of the opinion that I get good haircuts from Mexican women, but bad haircuts from Mexican men. She’s right ! I got an excellent haircut and beard trim for $2.99. I gave the stylist $3 and walked out without my change. HA HA HA !

Finally it was time for lunch. Joanne did not want to return to El Paraiso, a restaurant we have been to many times. She wanted to try one of the smaller, more authentic Mexican taco restaurants to have fish tacos. We checked out a few, then made a selection. She had tres tacos pescado. I had uno taco pescado, uno taco camarón, y uno taco carne asada. The carne asada taco was the best I’ve ever had.

After lunch we went shopping for two RV door stained glass windows requested by friends of ours. For Tom and Ruth-Anne we purchased a stained glass window with a pair of Cardinals for the door of their Cardinal fifth wheel trailer, an identical window to the one in our trailer. For Brett and Barb at Riverside RV Park Resort we bought a stained glass window with a couple of large, pink roses. Barb wanted a stained glass window with flowers for their RV, also a Cardinal fifth wheel trailer. The prices were a lot higher than when I bought a stained glass window for us a few years ago, but, of course, some hard negotiating brought results.

We still had some time before my glasses were to be ready so we went shopping for Mexican chocolates and chocolate bars. We bought some MiniNugs, MiniCocoNugs, and Banderitas de Coco, a coconut candy confection similar to cocada de leche which we’ve had before. And … WOO-HOO … Joanne found her beloved Yomi Lala chocolate milk drink. She bought 3 litres ! HA HA HA ! You go, girl ! I couldn’t help but notice the uniformed police officer partaking of the free samples of tequila !

We walked around a section of town we had not explored before while we continued to wait for my glasses to be ready. On the way back to Algodones Optical we stopped at a panaderia and bought some pan dulce. Well … DUH ! ! ! HA HA HA ! Finally we returned to Algodones Optical and picked up my new glasses. HEY … I really like the trifocals !

The late afternoon line up to return to the United States was as long as it always has been, but thanks to a redesign and reconstruction of the Customs & Border Patrol building we were back across the border in half an hour instead of the 1½ to 2½ hour waits of previous years.

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and warm. Spent the afternoon ( big sigh ) Wal-Martin’.

Late in the afternoon we went to the clubhouse for the regular Wednesday afternoon “heavy appetizers Happy Hour”. Then a walk around the dog park with Bo, some outdoor time with Sully, and another evening of working on the computer.

Thursday ; While most of North America, even much of the South, wallows through severe winter weather, it was, once again, sunny and warm here in Yuma. This morning we went to the Arizona Market Place flea market to buy some hardware I need to complete the repair project I am doing on the upper corners of the dinette / living room slide. They didn’t have everything I needed so we had to also go to Lowe’s for some more hardware items.

In the afternoon we took Bo and Sully to the veterinarian for examinations and inoculations, in preparation for dental cleanings for both of them. It was the first time that Bo and Sully have been in the truck at the same time. Everything was fine until … WHOA … SHEEP ! ! ! MANY MANY SHEEP ! ! ! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF … ! Geez, Bo, relax ! When we arrived at the vet a few minutes later, Bo was SOOOOO cranked up it was embarrassing ! They are both in excellent health. I think the veterinarian overstated the degree of Sully’s visual impairment. She considered him to be blind ! I disagree, although I concede his vision is impaired. HEY … he’s 13 years old and has cataracts, but he’s not blind ! Bo is the only pet we’ve ever had who considers a trip to the vet, getting examined rudely, and being poked with needles to be a wonderful social experience. HA HA HA !

Back at home we took Bo for his daily long walk around the dog park. I’m having some eye strain and vision distortion from my new glasses, but less today than yesterday so hopefully it’s just a matter of a few more days until my eyes adjust satisfactorily and comfortably to the new glasses.

Friday ; WOW … sex twice in one day for $1.37 ! HA HA HA ( SNORT ) HA HA ! Sorry … Mexican medication humour. What I meant to say was … today was sunny and warm ( snicker ).

Yesterday I ordered a birthday gift online for Joanne from Amazon.com. Believing that they would ship by USPS ( United States Postal Service ) … which is what their website indicated … I provided a “USPS General Delivery” address. Today Amazon.com verified that my order has been shipped … by UPS ! ! ! You would think that Amazon.com’s shipping department would know that UPS can’t deliver to “USPS General Delivery” ! ! ! And that some moron who types things onto their website would know the difference between USPS and UPS ! ! ! I wonder how much effort it’s going to take me to get that straightened out with UPS ? Maybe if we go down to their Yuma office on Monday I can get the package rerouted to there ?

I spent the morning working on my slide corner reinforcement bracing project. I’m finished … temporarily. I bought and used ¾” long screws. What the job really required was ½” long screws. Next time we’re in the vicinity of Lowe’s I’ll buy the shorter screws, then re-do the job. I also “installed” Señor Caballero ( the fourth … HA HA HA ) which I bought at Arizona Market Place yesterday. Señor Caballero is a rubber Saguaro cactus, wearing a bandanna ( made of material with the same pattern as Bo’s bandanna… HA HA HA ),sunglasses and a cowboy hat, that fits on the truck’s antenna. But … sadly … his lifespan in the intense sunlight of Yuma, Arizona, and Keremeos, BC, is only about a year. This fourth reincarnation of him is a much better version than the three earlier ones. HA HA HA … maybe he’ll “survive” for more than a year.

Recently while we were cleaning and rearranging cupboards and closets we found a couple of DVD movies given to us as Christmas gifts by my sister … four or five years ago. Sorry, Sharon. Tonight we watched Hotel Rwanda. First time we’ve watched a movie on the new little netbook computer. Great picture quality. Had to connect the netbook into the trailer’s stereo system to hear the sound well.

Saturday ; Today was sunny and warm with a light breeze in the morning. This morning we went to Kofa Ko-op’s Saturday morning breakfast. Today was “omelette in a bag” day. We had breakfast, visited for awhile, then it was time to get to work.

I spent the entire day replacing the front disc brake pads on the truck. It was a difficult and dirty job. With a lot of learning curve. Changing the first side took about ¾ of the day, and the second side took the remaining ¼ of the day. I’m pleased and proud of myself. I learned how to do something I had never done before. And I saved about $150. And I installed ceramic brake pads, much better quality than the original equipment semi-metallic brake pads. I had to borrow a socket and adaptor from my next door neighbour. I broke his socket adaptor. On Monday I’ll get him a replacement, and buy myself the size of socket that I needed to do this job but didn’t have.

We went out for supper. We went to the Ranch House Restaurant for their advertised Saturday special, barbecued beef ribs. When we got there we found that tonight’s special was barbecued pulled pork. The beef ribs were such poor quality that the chef decided to make a change to tonight’s special. Darn … I can’t digest pork and was looking forward to barbecued beef ribs. We went to a KFC with a Saturday night buffet. Joanne has felt KFC deprived for about the last 20 years, since I developed ulcerative colitis and can’t digest KFC. Until recently ! I can eat their new grilled chicken. So off to the KFC buffet we went, where Joanne ate original KFC until she was ready to pass out. HA HA HA !

DSK