March 14 to 20, 2010

March 14 to 20, 2010 ; Yuma, Arizona


Sunday ; Last weekend at Midnight At The Oasis we got two free food coupons at a Sonic Drive-In Restaurant booth “spin the wheel“ promotion. This morning we headed out to Sonic for Joanne’s free breakfast burrito ( mmmmm ! ) and my free cherry limeade drink ( yuck ! ). From there we headed over to Yuma Park ‘N Swap, a.k.a. the Dog Track Flea Market. Boy, that flea market is just like Mexico ! Unlike the Arizona Market Place which is considerably more “civilized”. At the flea market I bought the most amazingly fresh and beautiful artichoke. The freshly picked artichokes down here are so good ! It hasn’t been very long, maybe only a year or two, since we learned how to prepare and eat fresh artichokes. On the way back from the flea market we stopped at Pep Boys where I bought a new steering wheel cover for Lanoire, then Lowe’s where we found what we were looking for to create new bedside shelves in Harvey.

After a late lunch, I napped with the animals while Joanne went to Wal-Mart. I refuse to go Wal-Martin’ on weekends. After napping I posted my weekly blog entry and processed some photos. We took Bo for a long walk around the RV park. Whew … huge park ! And … in the corner of the park furthest from our site, we discovered … the RV park’s dog park. WOO-HOO ! Didn’t know there was a dog park here. It’s not marked on the park map. Bo benefits from off leash time. We all miss our daily walks around the perimeter of Kofa Ko-op’s 2 acre dog park. Joanne copied recipes from a quirky mystery novel that I have just finished reading. Every fifth chapter was a recipe … HA HA HA ! I worked on some preliminary trip planning for next winter. Our plan is to go to Teacapán in between Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and Joanne’s family will join us for a week at Christmas.

After a wonderful barbecued dinner we spent the evening watching TV ; Amazing Race, Undercover Boss, and Celebrity Apprentice.

Monday ; Today was sunny and warm, but there was a bit of a wind. My plan for today was to paint the trailer’s spare tire cover, but I postponed that job because of the wind. Instead I installed some new bedside bins / shelves. After lunch I read and napped while Joanne did laundry. I temporarily repaired a broken lawn chair. I need to buy some hardware to fix it properly. Bo desperately wanted to go “drivey” so I drove around the park with him on my way to the park’s library to return a book. He’s easily satisfied. A few minutes of driving around the park, him hanging out the window, did it. Late in the afternoon, after the temperature cooled a bit, we went for a long walk with Bo around the RV park. Just as the sun set I started my spare tire cover spray painting project, but there was still a slight wind, so I stopped before I botched the job, which I regularly do on spray painting projects. I reviewed and reconciled the income tax information slips I received in the batch of mail last week. Darn … I don’t seem to have received all of our income tax information slips yet.

Tuesday ; Another sunny, hot day, again with a bit of a breeze preventing me from completing my spray painting project. Instead I removed and cleaned floor registers. This project was inspired by Sully puking in a floor register this morning. Thanks a lot, Sully ! We spent time in the swimming pool this afternoon enjoying the fine weather. We took Bo and Sully for a long walk to the dog park. Well, Bo walked, Sully rode over my shoulder in his sling carrier. This is the longest I’ve carried Sully in his sling carrier. He was calm, and enjoyed the ride. The grass in the dog park was freshly mowed, and Sully loved it. I think it’s the first time we’ve had him on grass. He wandered around, sniffing and exploring, and even lay down in the grass for a couple of brief cat naps.

Wednesday ; St. Patrick’s Day ; Another sunny, hot, windy day. No spray painting again today. I spent the morning reading the newspaper. I did some online investment research and phoned my investment broker to discuss taking advantage of the favourable U.S.$ / CDN.$ exchange rate. We need to be “poised to strike” soon. I cleaned and deodorized the bathroom grey waste holding tank by pouring RV waste tank cleaner / deodorizer down the bathroom sink drain then running water in the sink until the tank was full and began to back up through the shower drain. I’ll let that sit for 24 hours. Tomorrow I’ll do the same to the kitchen grey waste holding tank.

At noon we headed out to refill the little propane tank for the barbecue, then over to Famous Dave’s Barbecue Restaurant to meet our friends Lynn and Micha for lunch. We had a wonderful “Que Fer Two” lunch, then lingered in the restaurant chatting with our friends. On the way back home we stopped to shop at Walgreens, Albertsons, and RV Connection.

We spent the last couple of hours of the afternoon floating around the swimming pool, then took Bo and Sully to the dog ( and cat ) park. The wind had died by then, but by the time we got back from the dog park it was almost dark and too late to spray paint. Oh, well … it seemed more important to give Bo some off leash time and Sully some outdoor time than to spray paint.

Thursday ; Another hot, sunny day, temperature in the high 80’s. Summer has arrived in Yuma … and it’s soon going to be uncomfortably hot here. We’ll be leaving in two weeks.

I got up at dawn this morning to spray paint the trailer’s spare tire cover before there was any wind. The paint job turned out pretty well. After painting I went back to sleep for a few hours.

Joanne got angry at me this morning and spent most of the day in bed having a “mental health day”, I guess. Later in the morning I went to Arizona Market Place and bought some hardware I needed to repair a broken lawn chair. I went to Peanut Patch and bought two large tubs of fresh peanut butter, enough to last for the summer. It’s time for us to begin to buy the items on our “must buy before leaving U.S.” list. Peanut butter from Peanut Patch is one of the items on that list.

The afternoon was routine. After lunch I read, napped, repaired the broken lawn chair, spent the hottest part of the afternoon floating around the swimming pool, then took Bo and Sully to the dog park. My work projects are completed and I’m looking forward to lots of time reading and in the pool over the next couple of weeks.

In the evening I composed a letter to my investment broker outlining my short term investment strategies for taking advantage of the strengthening Canadian dollar. I ended my evening with a soak in the hot tub. Very nice !

Friday ; Day two of Joanne in an angry funk, refusing to interact with me.

This morning after draining the black waste tank I cleaned inside the tank with a special black waste tank cleaning wand tool, then I lubricated the tank valve. We have begun the maintenance and shopping errands to prepare for the long trip back home. I repaired a loose cupboard panel.

After lunch I read and napped with the animals. Joanne went shopping to Arizona Market Place. I went to the pool, then Joanne joined me in taking Sully and Bo to the dog park.

Tonight I decided to suspend writing my journal / blog for awhile.

Saturday ;

DSK