This afternoon we did a backyard obedience and toadstool agility session with Bo. Joanne baked a cake for this evening's ice cream social. And she worked on cleaning / refurbishing our "new" vacuum cleaner, a bigger job than it first seemed. I reinstalled seven snaps that broke when I removed the snap-on vinyl walls. And we began to install the new front patio screen section that we had custom made, but we didn't get very far when one of the grommets came apart and fell out. We'll have to return it to Specialty Sewing Senter to have that fixed < sigh >.
I installed a couple of long extension cords in the Arizona room and the shed / workshop, securing them along walls and over doors with clips. Half of the electrical plugs in the Arizona room and half in the shed / workshop don't work. And there is a spot in our main electrical panel where a breaker has been removed. I think the Arizona room and shed were initially wired by an electrician from < ahem > "south of here". And I don't think the wiring was done to building code. When I installed a new motion detector light fixture recently I found that the wiring was ungrounded, typical of wiring in Mexico. I surmise that the missing breaker and non-functional outlets mean that at some point some authority required that one of two breakers feeding power to the Arizona room and shed / workshop had to be removed.
Late in the afternoon we attended the weekly ice cream social. One of the park's residents announced that they had dug out some Aloe Vera plants and they were available for the taking. After the ice cream social I went over there ( in the dark, with a flashlight ) and picked one out, which I immediately transplanted ( in the dark, with a flashlight ! ) where I had dug out the bougainvillea. Wish me luck. When it comes to desert landscaping, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing !
Monday ; Another day mostly dedicated to shopping and running errands ! First was PetsMart. WOO-HOO ... Bo loooooves shopping ! Then Smart & Final for advertised specials on groceries, and Harbor Freight for advertised specials on "guy stuff". Lunch at Burger King, a brief stop at the Post Office ... nah, forget it, line up waaaaay too long ... Lowe's to return an item for a refund, last minute cancellation of our plan to attend a dog show, and Specialty Sewing Senter to have a defective grommet replaced on the new front patio screen. Final stop was Direct Connection, a local satellite TV provider. Yeah ... I don't think so ! Next year we'll just bring along our Canadian satellite TV service.
Back at home we began ( for the second time ) installing the new front patio screen. Again, we didn't get very far before discovering a problem < sigh >. First it was a broken grommet, now it was a missing grommet < sigh >. It's still hard to find good Manuel labour. HA HA HA ... sorry ... border town bigot humour ! I guess it's back to Specialty Sewing Senter tomorrow.
While we were working on the front patio screen section, our friends Terry & Judy came by to ask if Bo could go on a pack walk with Spanky, now a daily activity. We were too busy at that moment, so we didn't go but sent Bo off with them. Bo has no problem going for a long walk around the dog park with them.
When I turned on my computer late in the afternoon there was a phone message from my sister. My brother-in-law is home and recuperating. I'm hoping and expecting that he will follow in his father's footsteps and be a long term cancer survivor.
Kofa Ko-op did some major changes to their Wi-Fi system today, hoping to improve the very poor performance. My early assessment is that there is no improvement. I don't subscribe to the common theory that the problem exists here at the park level. I think that's the "spin" from the service provider who has grossly "oversold" their service in the area. This park's Wi-Fi problems are similar to the problems that existed last year down the road at Rancho Bonitos RV Park.
Tuesday ; The weather has been a bit cooler than it should be for early December.
This morning we headed over to Yuma County Fairgrounds for the "Welcome Back Winter Visitor Bash". Many local vendors had booths set up outside on the fairgrounds.
I bought a "Wednesday & Sunday" subscription to the Yuma Sun newspaper. On the way there we stopped at Specialty Sewing Senter and had the missing grommet installed on our new front patio screen section. Afterwards we went to Albertsons to buy a few grocery items, then over to the Post Office ... again. The line ups at the Yuma Main Post Office are ridiculously long ... always ... but I've learned how to use the self-serve machine in the outer lobby.
After we had a very late lunch at home Joanne began to clean the storage shed / workshop above eye level. Up to eye level was already done. From high shelves she pulled down three very large, very good condition ( like new ! ), probably very expensive screen sections that attached to the "roofed RV port" before it got turned into a screened Arizona room. We surmise that attaching these large and heavy screen sections to the "RV port" roof must have been too difficult, and so the "RV port" was converted to a screened Arizona room. What a lot of money somebody invested in those screen sections, and they've been sitting up on high shelves in the shed for ... a lot of years, apparently. What a waste of money ! And we were perplexed about what to do with them. We contemplated trying to sell them through the White Sheet, a local bargain newspaper, but decided to just put them in the clubhouse beside the bargain table and hope that they can be used by someone else in the park.
While Joanne went with Bo for a pack walk with Judy and Spanky, I refurbished the swamp cooler. A few minutes of time, and less than $5 worth of parts, and it's as good as new again.
After talking to a neighbour who is receiving "over air" TV signals using his trailer's roof top antenna, I tried again using Harvey's antenna. When I tried a few days ago, all I could receive were two Spanish stations. Same thing today ... until ... I decided to disconnect the VCR player and run the antenna cable direct to the TV. BINGO ! Eleven digital channels, four analog channels. Excellent reception on eight of the eleven digital channels, excellent but somewhat intermittent reception on three of them. And, of course, one of the three is CBS, the network with the two shows we want to watch on a weekly basis, Survivor and Amazing Race !
This afternoon I took some photos of those dangerous Devil's Claw / Horse Crippler plant things that we occasionally find in the desert dog run.
This morning we climbed over our back fence and did a great obedience session with Bo in the dog park. Good dog, Bo, well done. We rewarded him with a large beef rib bone from last night's dinner. I did a minor eavestrough repair job then began to work on installing a new switch on the furnace. That job ended when I broke the switch ! And so it went with my work projects for the rest of the day.
We went to the late afternoon happy hour / appetizers potluck. Afterwards there was a ... performance ... by some of the park’s resident musicians. Joanne stayed. I went home.
I needed a “success”. I replaced all the stove top igniter assembly components. I have been acquiring all the necessary little parts for a month and a half from RV dealers from Penticton BC, to Yuma, Arizona.
We spent some time in the hot tub, my first time in the hot tub since we arrived 2½ weeks ago. I was trying to ease the extreme pain I’m experiencing in my left hip the last couple of days. This evening we watched Survivor on our own TV for the first time since we left home on November 1. Afterwards I went over to a nearby neighbour, one of Joanne’s morning pool aerobics buddies, to help her with a computer / Wi-Fi problem.
Thursday ; Well ... today was our second "bad day" in a row ! Our priority this morning was to install the new section of screen on the front patio, our third attempt at this installation. The previous two attempts were thwarted by grommet problems. We got the lace on screen section half installed when ... AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ... another grommet popped off ! As we were removing the screen section to take it back in for a third time to have a grommet replaced ... another grommet popped off !
After lunch we took the screen back to Specialty Sewing Senter. I was pretty steamed up ! While I was having a heated discussion with the manager his wife came over ... listened to our discussion for a few seconds ... stuck her long fingernail underneath one of the grommets and ... POP ! Off it came ! To shorten this story ... we left with our money back in my pocket ! ! !
We went to RV Connection to pick up the last of the special order items we were waiting for. This is the third time that I have been delayed a looooong time ( like 20 to 30 minutes ! ) at RV Connection by ineptitude at the computerized cash register or credit card terminal. And it's always when a man from the sales floor steps behind the front counter and one of the front counter women steps aside. The sales floor men are idiots at the front counter. Why don't they just stay out from behind the front counter and let the competent women behind there do their jobs ? ! ? I will no longer shop there as my first choice for RV supplies. I'd rather drive out to The Foothills and deal with Al's RV Service & Supplies.
This afternoon I worked on refurbishing the furnace. While we have installed two Wave catalytic infrared radiant heaters as our primary heating source, we have decided to refurbish the furnace and keep it installed as a "back up" and "quick heat" system. The furnace heats the interior of the trailer faster than the Wave heaters, so we want to use it to heat the trailer quickly when necessary, then switch to the Wave heaters. I didn't finish the furnace "refurbishment" today because yesterday I broke the new switch I was installing to bypass the thermostat and allow us to turn the furnace on and off manually.
After Bo's and Spanky's daily pack walk in the dog park, Judy and Terry came over and visited with us in our Arizona room for awhile. Bo and Spanky have become very good "pack members" and "pack walkers". Today I gave Bo a beef rib bone in the Arizona room while Spanky was visiting to test whether Spanky would try to take it away from Bo and whether Bo would "resource guard". Spanky did not try to take it away, and Bo did not "resource guard". Eventually Bo left the bone, and Spanky quickly grabbed it, but only after Bo had abandoned it. Bo was unhappy about that, and looked to me to "solve the problem", which I did not do, but Bo did not try to take it away from Spanky. Everybody passed their tests with flying colours. Good dogs !
Friday ; This morning we headed to The Foothills to go to the Helping Hands Yard Sale on the large grounds of the Gila Mountain United Methodist Church. It's a huge, annual fund raiser and ... WOW ... what a lot of stuff ! I wonder where they get it all ? We bought some tools, an end table for the Arizona room, and two step stools to help us get into the dog park over our back fence. Next stop was Foothills Hardware, then the brand new Fry's to buy diesel and groceries. WOW ... what a great new grocery store ! Bought some interesting items for supper tonight. A seasoned Mahi-Mahi fillet and some Portobello mushroom caps stuffed with spinach and Mozzarella cheese. Barbecued it all for supper tonight. It was all ... horrible !
After Fry's we went to Al's RV Service & Supplies to order a part, then Wally's World for some hardware items, then home for a very late lunch. Should have gotten an earlier start this morning ! After lunch I worked on ( finally ! ) finishing up the furnace refurbishment project, including installing an "on / off" switch to bypass the thermostat, and resealing the exterior wall fresh air intake and exhaust vent assembly. Joanne worked on cleaning the old fridge in the shed / workshop. I noticed as the sun was setting that it was a pretty sunset. I suggested we take Bo for a walk and go outside the park to view the sunset. As we came back into the park we came across a perplexed couple trying to figure out what to do about a little stray dog running around. With their help we captured it. PEEEEEUUUUUWWWWW ... what a stinky little dog ! ! !
Say hello to KD ( for Kofa Dog ). She's a sweet little Lhasa Apso. Who cleaned up rather well ! BUT ... it's been a long, difficult evening getting her cleaned up. After getting her cornered and capturing her on the park's shuffleboard court, I picked her up in my arms and ... what a stench ! We carried her home, took her into the workshop, and spent an hour and a half cutting filthy mats off her, especially around her anus where the mats were filled with feces and dried diarrhea. YUCK ! But ... we got the worst of it all cut off her then took her inside for a bath. During this ordeal she was scared but docile. Except when we tried to clean around her eyes. Her eyes bug out, and seem sore / sensitive to touch. I think she has glaucoma or some other eye disorder.
After a bath we wrapped her in a towel and she settled down on the sofa. After we had our horrible supper we put a harness on her and took her and Bo for a walk. She walks well on a leash and "pack walks" well with Bo. By the time our walk was over and we returned home she had dried out and looked ( and smelled ! ) a whole lot better than a few hours earlier. She spent much of the evening wrapped in a blanket snuggled beside Joanne on the sofa while Joanne continued to cut mats off her.
We're undecided whether to take the easy route, and simply take her to the local SPCA / Humane Society as a stray, or invest some time and money in cleaning her ( more ), grooming her ( more ), maybe taking her to the veterinarian to have her health and eyes checked, then attempting to find an adoptive home for her here within the park. Now that she's clean, doesn't stink, and is cuddled beside Joanne on the sofa ... she's sort of sweet ! I think we'll keep her until at least Monday.
While we are in the United States, we're within a few miles of Mexico, and there are many Mexicans living on this side of the border. Near Kofa Ko-op are residential developments with lots of Mexicans. There are many nearby homes where multiple dogs live outdoors, with little to no attention. Mexican "culture" and "attitudes" towards pet dogs are extremely different than that of middle class white America ( and Canada ). I think she's a "Mexican" dog. And I would like to see her become an "American" dog !
We slept late this morning, a well deserved rest. Joanne spent the rest of the morning cuddling with KD on the sofa ... while she slowly isolated and cut off more mats of hair. KD has now had a lot of hair cut off her, yet there's still plenty left ! She has quite lovely, long hair. This afternoon Joanne finished cleaning the fridge in the shed / workshop, then we plucked and cleaned KD's ears. I doubt that she has ever had that done to her. The insides of her ears were very dirty and matted with ear "fluff" hair.
Late this afternoon we went to Yuma's historic "downtown" to attend a performance of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" by Desert Pointe Productions at Historic Yuma Theatre. It was great ! When we came out of Historic Yuma Theatre, the sidewalks were packed with people waiting for Yuma's annual Christmas Electric Light Parade to come by. So ... we sat down on the concrete border of a large flower garden ... and watched the parade ! The apparently endless parade ! We watched for about an hour and a half, then left to go have supper. The parade wasn't finished yet. HA HA HA ... from now on, when we go to parades, I want to have a five year old with us. HA HA HA ... watching the parade beside us was five year old Alaina ... she proudly spelled it for me. What enthusiasm ! She was SOOOO impressed when I told her we live up north "in the land of ice and snow" near where Santa Claus lives. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
I told her that as someone who lives "in the land of ice and snow" where there is lots of snow on the rooftops for Santa to land his sleigh, I always wondered where Santa landed his sleigh down here in the desert. Alaina explained that Santa just lands his sleigh on the ground, and since the houses have no chimneys, he just comes in the front door. "He has keys for every house !" HA HA HA HA HA !
We shopped for a few advertised specials at Walgreens then went for supper to Eat Asian Super Buffet. First time there for us. T'was a very nice Chinese buffet restaurant. What a great "date night" the entire outing was. When we got home, Bo and KD were very glad to see us. Sully was just pissed off at being left alone for six hours with two dogs !
DSK
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