Sunday ; Sick today ! Spent the day in bed. Except when I was in the bathroom !
Monday ; Still sick today. Stayed in bed until 6 PM.
Tuesday ; Felt a teensy bit healthier today, although weak from being sick for the last couple of days. Had an early lunch then set off for San Luis, a town on the Mexican border about 20 miles south of Yuma. Mexico is both west and south of Yuma. Look at a map of Arizona. I attended a seminar at the San Luis Library, sponsored by the Yuma Sun newspaper, on using social media like Facebook and Twitter to market small business. I was somewhat surprised to find that my "knowledge" of Facebook and Twitter was higher than most of the other attendees, most of whom were a lot younger than me. Yuma is apparently not a "tech savvy" town. And while Twitter seems more popular than Facebook amongst the BC Okanagan / Similkameen small business community, down here in the Yuma area Twitter has not yet really "caught on".
On the way back home I stopped at the tiny Somerton Airport to see if there was an airplane rental business there. Apparently not. I also stopped at a recently harvested lettuce field and picked a couple of heads of "oversized" Romaine lettuce left in the field. WOO-HOO ... fresh salad tonight.
Wednesday ; Still not feeling healthy yet. Went to Tai Chi first thing this morning. Was the only male again, for the third time in four sessions. On the way out the clubhouse door afterwards I was stopped by a couple of women who wanted me to give Joanne a message regarding tonight's potluck dinner. I made the mistake of telling them that Joanne had decided that we were not going to be attending. That unleashed a reaction akin to "the sky is falling". And that drama repeated itself twice more during the day. Sorry, Joanne !
Despite feeling somewhat poorly, and the presence of strong winds today ... and against Joanne's advice ... I climbed up on the roof of the trailer repeatedly today to do some work up there. I finished cleaning the Fantastic Fan and its roof vent from above. I reinstalled the MaxxAir cover over it. I did some minor roof repairs with rubber roof patching compound.
It was sunny today so this morning I cooked some eggs in the Sun Oven just to have some cooked eggs on hand, then in the afternoon Joanne put tonight's supper in to cook. And as expected, the marinated beef short ribs and roasted potatoes were excellent.
As a result of yesterday's seminar, tonight I "mobile optimized" my Similkameen Day Tours website.
Thursday ; Well, still feeling sick for an hour or two following each meal. Isn't a "broken" intestine a wonderful thing ? ! ?
Today was sunny, so ... time to put the Sun Oven to work. Joanne invited Terry and Judy to join us for supper tonight, and a jazz concert afterwards, then we put a "pollo asado" into the Sun Oven to roast. "Pollo asado" is "roasted chicken", but in the Mexican context, it's barbecued chicken that has been marinated in a fruit juice and achiotte powder mixture which is then used to baste the chicken while it barbecues. Joanne made a fruit juice and achiotte powder marinade yesterday and left a chicken in it overnight. Today she put the chicken and marinade into a roaster and into the Sun Oven by 1 PM. At 5 PM it was ... superb ! ! !
This afternoon I began work on reconstructing the "flower garden" across the front of our "front patio". I disassembled the existing flower garden border, then walked over to the landscape shed to borrow some gardening tools. DARN ... the landscape shed was locked. BUT ... a neighbour had a set of mobile home steps and a bicycle on their driveway with "for sale" signs. I bought them both. I placed the steps in our back yard against the fence, to improve our "dog park entrance". The bicycle will need some refurbishment / repairs. More now that I've got it ! I put air in the bicycle's tires, and then, just a few minutes later ... thanks to carelessness, and / or laziness, and / or stupidity ... or a bit of all three ... I blew the rear tire ! I have difficulty forgiving myself for carelessness / laziness / stupidity.
We had our largest "pack" today on the daily pack walk. At least thirteen dogs, maybe more. It was a bit hard to keep track ! After the pack walk Terry and Judy took Spanky home, then came over for supper. We had our wonderful pollo asado supper in our Arizona room, then loaded into our truck to go to Yuma Palms Shopping Center to attend tonight's free jazz concert featuring Yuma Jazz Band. And ... a special dance exhibition by three couples from a local Latin Salsa dance company. WOW ... young Mexican women dancing "jazz salsa" in spike heels and short black halter dresses are ... WHEW ... < shaking fingertips > ... HAWT ! ! !
Friday ; Still not quite healthy, but slowly improving, I suppose. Today started out sunny, so we put supper into the Sun Oven before we left late this morning for a day of errands. It wasn't long before there was a thin layer of cloud diffusing the sunlight. However ... when we got home at 4 PM supper was cooked despite the cloudiness. Pretty impressive !
First stop was Yuma's Bargain Warehouse, a nearby discount "guy stuff" store to buy a new inner tube for my "new" bicycle. Following Terry's recommendation I bought a heavy duty bicycle inner tube that is supposed to be "thorn resistant". Apparently the little Goat's Head Cactus quills found in abundance here can puncture through a regular bicycle inner tube. Next door to the discount store was the Habitat For Humanity RE-Store. Joanne wanted to browse as we had never been to an HHH RE-Store. Very interesting and commendable concept. We actually bought a large cat litter pail containing some miscellaneous hardware ... for $1 ... because Joanne has a use for the pail. Most of the miscellaneous hardware I threw in the garbage, a bit of it went to the Kofa Ko-op bargain table, and I kept a bit. Pretty good value for a buck !
We headed east towards The Foothills, making a stop at Wally's World to buy some screening I need. In The Foothills we shopped for some advertised specials at Walgreens before going to Burger King for lunch. Then it was over to Fry's for some groceries, sushi, and diesel. AND ... shhhhh ... < whispering > ... a birthday cake. During a colitis flare up I always need to be within "spitting distance" of a restroom. While shopping I needed to make a restroom visit ... < sigh > ... so what else is new ? ... and that gave me an opportunity to secretly buy a birthday cake.
We got home just in time for the daily pack walk. While I took Bo on the pack walk ( ten dogs today ) Joanne went to visit at a neighbour's "Open House" which was ending at 4 PM.
HMPH ... can’t find any birthday cake candles in the trailer ! Will have to buy some tomorrow.
Saturday ; Happy 58th Birthday to Joanne
I put some effort into making this a special day for Joanne. I hope I succeeded. First thing this morning, after walking Bo, I set up the Sun Oven and put some cinnamon buns in to bake. By the time we were finished our morning routines ... fresh baked cinnamon buns were ready !
Late this morning we headed out to Yuma Palms Shopping Center. First stop was ... WOO-HOO ... PetsMart ! From there we went to Mr. B's Bicycles where I bought two gear cables that Terry advised me this morning were necessary to refurbish my bicycle which he is doing for me. Thank you, Terry. Then we stopped at Dollar Tree where I ran in to buy a package of birthday candles. HUH ? A musical birthday candle ? ? ? Okay ... what a neat idea !
I drove Joanne to Yuma School of Beauty. I had purchased her a gift certificate for a "makeover" as a birthday gift. It was an entire afternoon of pampering. She liked it. After dropping off Joanne I headed for Harbor Freight to buy some advertised specials.
WOO-HOO ... neat "guy stuff" ! From there it was over to Yuma Nursery Supply to buy some coloured concrete scalloped edge curbing and some coloured concrete patio stones. I returned home for awhile and soon had to leave again to pick up Joanne at Yuma School of Beauty. WOW ... nice makeover ! Wanna climb in the back seat ?
I suggested a very early dinner at Olive Garden at Yuma Palms. We arrived at Olive Garden about 4:30 PM and ... what ? ! ? A lengthy line up ? ! ? At 4:30 ? ! ? What's wrong with Yuma ? ? ? We went to Famous Dave's Barbecue instead. MMMMM ...
I looooove Famous Dave's ! Service was much quicker than I had planned and so we were out of there by 5:30. I had purchased tickets to a play tonight, and had planned to go there directly after having an early dinner.
We drove across town to Gila Ridge High School Performing Arts Center and ... were in their parking lot at 6 PM ! For a 7 PM performance ! Oh, well ... we listened to Prairie Home Companion on NPR Radio.
The play was The King and I by Rodgers & Hammerstein, performed by Yuma Community Theater. EXCELLENT production by a community theater group, especially considering the large number of young children in the cast. And ... the Gila Ridge High School Performing Arts Center ... WOW ! ! ! Our high school gymnasium didn't look like that ! The play lasted for three hours, until 10 PM.
When we arrived home I took Bo for a quick walk then rushed out to the shed where I had stashed Joanne's birthday cake in the "auxiliary" fridge. I lit the candles ... and turned on the musical one ... then tried to get into the trailer quickly before the musical candle's off key rendition of HAPPY BIRTDHAY woke the neighbours. The cake, musical candle, and card were all a success. As the whole day had been, I guess.
Happy Birthday, my love !
DSK
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
January 15 to 21, 2012
Sunday ; Today was cloudy again, second day in a row. A few drops of rain even fell. And I do mean ... quite literally ... a few !
This morning after doing an agility session with Bo I went out into the dog park with a spade to dig out a huge pile of barbed wire that I discovered sticking up out of the desert sand a few days ago. When we do our daily pack walks the dogs run and romp. I was concerned that one would eventually run blindly into this pile of barbed wire sticking up out of the sand. I was hoping that it wasn't going to be too large to dig out by hand. As it turned out, what was visible above the sand was about a third of the pile of rusted, old barbed wire, and I was able to dig the whole mess out and haul it to a dumpster. I'm guessing that it was buried in the sand since before this was an RV park's large dog park, which it has been for about 27 years. Shifting desert sand uncover all kinds of "finds" around here. Apparently there is an old car completely buried underneath this RV park's storage area.
This afternoon we went to the Yuma Home & Garden Show at Yuma Civic Center. It was ... disappointing. There was nothing "Home" that was relevant to RV'ers. And there was nothing "Garden" that was relevant to us.
This evening we went to the weekly ice cream social.
Monday ; Today was sunny and warm. AHHHHH ! First thing this morning I set up the Sun Oven and cooked some eggs. Then ... I baked some potatoes. Eggs and potatoes both are for a potato salad tomorrow or the next day. After the potatoes were done we put tonight's supper into the Sun Oven, a baked fish and zucchini dish. Lots of work for the Sun Oven today.
Carol Mae came over to take our picture for the Escapees Roadrunner Chapter 7 newsletter story about Kaydee and to discuss the agenda / schedule for the upcoming Spring Rally. Joanne and I will be conducting a solar cooking demonstration that will result in dessert, and a "participation" Cajun cooking class that will result in dinner for the group of fifty or so attendees.
This morning I dug out our dead ocotillo. This afternoon we went to Yuma Nursery Supply and exchanged it for one that is obviously alive. The staff were apologetic about the dead one. Seems ours wasn't the only dead ocotillo they sold recently. They received a batch of dead ocotillos from a supplier that is usually trustworthy. One has to examine quite carefully to tell the difference between a dormant ocotillo and a dead one. And at this time of they year, they're dormant, especially potted nursery stock. I got the new one planted. Wish me luck !
I'm having a bit of a problem with our daily pack walks. A few of the "participants" don't seem to understand the "rules" without having them spelled out to them explicitly. So today I "explained" the rules to one of them quite explicitly. We "started" the daily pack walk ritual. But we're not the resident "pack walkers". Dogs and their owners are invited to join us daily at 4 PM for a pack walk around the dog park. That doesn't mean ... bring your dog to the dog park at 4 PM and then abandon it while we walk around the perimeter of the dog park, expecting that "someone" ( read that as "me" ) is going to pick up your dog's shit ! NO, NO, NO ... come along on the walk, and pick up your own dog's shit ! Today while we walked around the dog park, one of the dog owners relaxed in a lounge chair soaking up the pleasant sunshine ... expecting "someone" to pick up his dog's shit. After completing the circuit around the perimeter, I tossed the bag of his dog's shit on the lounge chair beside him, and "encouraged" him to join us on the walk. Think my message was clear enough ? ! ?
Tuesday ; Happy 13th Birthday to Joanne’s niece Madeleine
Madeleine's a teenager ? ? ? ! ! !
Today was sunny. So ... we roasted marinated beef short ribs and potatoes in the Sun Oven today for supper. Very nice !
This afternoon while Joanne made fresh marmalade for me ( MMMMM ... thank you, my dear ) I cut and installed some oak crown moulding as a new headboard behind the bed. After completing the job, using two sections of moulding, we decided that a third section of moulding would make the job look much nicer. So ... I'm not quite finished yet.
After today's pack walk ... with eleven dogs ... we went for a drivey to buy some groceries at Albertsons and some moulding at Lowe's. Late in the evening we went for a soak in the hot tub, something I think we should do more often.
Wednesday ; Another sunny day. Another day of work for the Sun Oven. This morning I decided to try a solar cooking "recipe" I had read. I cut the top off a large tomato and scooped a bit of the insides out, making a sort of "scoop" inside the tomato. Then I baked it in the Sun Oven for about half an hour. I cracked open an egg and poured it into the "scoop" in the top of the tomato, then baked it for another half hour or so. Okay ... cooked egg inside a baked tomato. Interesting, but ... !
Before playing with the Sun Oven this morning I got up early to attend the third weekly Tai Chi Chih session here at Kofa Ko-op. And for the second time ( out of three ) I was the only male. What ? Real ( old ) men don't do Tai Chi ? ! ?
After lunch we went shopping for RV dinette furniture. Joanne is adamant that we replace our dinette table and chairs. Especially the chairs ! Looked at RV Decor and Foothills Mattress & Furniture. We also made a couple of other quick stops at Wally's World and Foothills Hardware looking for a couple of hardware items I need. Found and bought one of two. From there we headed east to Wellton, to the home of Robby and Christine, neighbours of ours back home in Keremeos. We visited with them at their home and then headed to Ligurta Station for dinner. Ligurta Station is a dingy little diner in Wellton that serves barbecued beef ribs every Wednesday. It has a bit of a "cult following" for their Wednesday barbecued beef ribs and Tuesday liver specials.
WHEW ... the fragrance of the feedlot in Wellton was certainly ... shall we say "noticeable" ... today !
On the way home we stopped at Fry's in The Foothills to buy some groceries and diesel. I can't resist stopping at Fry's in The Foothills every time we drive by to buy some freshly made sushi at their superb in-store sushi bar.
Thursday ; A sunny day of work for the Sun Oven. Last week I had made sun dried Roma tomato slices. Today I tried making sun dried Roma tomato halves. I started too late in the day. They'll have to finish tomorrow. I cut and installed the third piece of oak crown moulding to complete the new "headboard" behind the bed. And I finished weatherstripping the living room escape window.
After our daily pack walk we headed out to Home Depot to buy some hardware items I have been looking for. Finally ... got 'em ... Home Depot had them. Just after leaving Kofa Ko-op there was a flat bed produce truck with half its load of boxes of broccoli tipped over onto the road. WOO-HOO ... "Yuma road kill" ! Thousand of heads of freshly picked broccoli on the roadside. I don't like broccoli enough to even stop and pick up a free head. From Home Depot we headed over to Yuma Palms Shopping Center. Tonight was the first weekly free jazz session of the season. Every Thursday for the next twelve weeks or so there will be a different jazz group performing at the shopping center's "Village Courtyard". And their definition of jazz is pretty broad. Tonight's group was Yuma Big Band. We both like "big band" music. The free concert was very enjoyable. And we bumped into Lanny and Clare, neighbours of ours from Riverside RV Park Resort back home in Keremeos, BC. Lanny and Clare were visiting Yuma briefly. Their winter home is in Phoenix, Arizona.
After the concert we went for dinner to Chili's. Joanne's idea, not mine. It was unsatisfactory ! Food was okay, service was not. I don't think we're their target demographic ! On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart < sigh >. As much as I hate Wal-Martin' I must admit ... doing it after 9 PM is less painful.
Friday ; Yet another sunny day of work for the Sun Oven sun drying Roma tomato halves. They surely do shrivel up ! Had a long phone chat with my sister this morning. My brother-in-law's recuperation from prostatectomy is progressing well. I taught my sister the correct pronunciation of some English obscenities with a Mexican accent. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Border town bigot humour ! This morning I worked on some minor home improvement projects in the Arizona room and the trailer. Didn't accomplish much. Kept getting interrupted by neighbours and their dogs strolling by and stopping to visit and chat.
Joanne went shopping this afternoon without me. THANK YOU ! I napped for awhile with Sully and Bo. I worked on the computer. I went on our daily pack walk with Bo. I climbed up on the trailer roof and removed the MaxxAir roof vent cover off the kitchen fan roof vent as the first step in the annual chore of cleaning the kitchen ceiling's Fantastic Fan, and its associated roof vent and cover.
Late in the afternoon we headed out for a quick supper at Burger King before heading downtown to the Historic Yuma Theater for a musical concert production entitled The History Of The Blues From A To Z. WOW ... what astounding blues for a bunch of white boys. Well ... eight white boys and a white girl. Well, actually ... seven white boys, one middle east Arab type fellow and a white girl. Great performance. I was inspired to buy one of the CD's available after the concert. Unfortunately, it's a disappointment. Oh well, ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances !
Saturday ; This morning I slept very late, having forgotten that I agreed to Joanne's suggestion that we go to the Wellton Tractor Rodeo today. We made it there just in time to have a late lunch. We enjoyed about an hour and a half of wandering around exhibits and watching an antique tractor pull competition ( old men with too much time on their hands and too much money in their pockets spending it on antique tractors ! ) before the wind picked up very suddenly and very strongly, creating a "desert storm" and forcing an abrupt end to everything.
We returned home just in time for the daily pack walk. The attendance was down because of the desert storm. Afterwards we updated the residents' name & photo board in the clubhouse. In the "lot 52" spot on the board we posted a label with our names and a photo of us sitting in the dog park at SKP Park of the Sierras. It's a good photo of us with Bo sitting on my lap. And I walked over to see lot 17, the lot that would have become ours very recently had we had to wait until we reached "number 1" on this park's lot waiting list instead of getting lot 52 while we were still "number 8" on the waiting list. WOW ... talk about a "bare lot" ! I surely am glad we got lot 52 !
DSK
This morning after doing an agility session with Bo I went out into the dog park with a spade to dig out a huge pile of barbed wire that I discovered sticking up out of the desert sand a few days ago. When we do our daily pack walks the dogs run and romp. I was concerned that one would eventually run blindly into this pile of barbed wire sticking up out of the sand. I was hoping that it wasn't going to be too large to dig out by hand. As it turned out, what was visible above the sand was about a third of the pile of rusted, old barbed wire, and I was able to dig the whole mess out and haul it to a dumpster. I'm guessing that it was buried in the sand since before this was an RV park's large dog park, which it has been for about 27 years. Shifting desert sand uncover all kinds of "finds" around here. Apparently there is an old car completely buried underneath this RV park's storage area.
This afternoon we went to the Yuma Home & Garden Show at Yuma Civic Center. It was ... disappointing. There was nothing "Home" that was relevant to RV'ers. And there was nothing "Garden" that was relevant to us.
This evening we went to the weekly ice cream social.
Monday ; Today was sunny and warm. AHHHHH ! First thing this morning I set up the Sun Oven and cooked some eggs. Then ... I baked some potatoes. Eggs and potatoes both are for a potato salad tomorrow or the next day. After the potatoes were done we put tonight's supper into the Sun Oven, a baked fish and zucchini dish. Lots of work for the Sun Oven today.
Carol Mae came over to take our picture for the Escapees Roadrunner Chapter 7 newsletter story about Kaydee and to discuss the agenda / schedule for the upcoming Spring Rally. Joanne and I will be conducting a solar cooking demonstration that will result in dessert, and a "participation" Cajun cooking class that will result in dinner for the group of fifty or so attendees.
This morning I dug out our dead ocotillo. This afternoon we went to Yuma Nursery Supply and exchanged it for one that is obviously alive. The staff were apologetic about the dead one. Seems ours wasn't the only dead ocotillo they sold recently. They received a batch of dead ocotillos from a supplier that is usually trustworthy. One has to examine quite carefully to tell the difference between a dormant ocotillo and a dead one. And at this time of they year, they're dormant, especially potted nursery stock. I got the new one planted. Wish me luck !
I'm having a bit of a problem with our daily pack walks. A few of the "participants" don't seem to understand the "rules" without having them spelled out to them explicitly. So today I "explained" the rules to one of them quite explicitly. We "started" the daily pack walk ritual. But we're not the resident "pack walkers". Dogs and their owners are invited to join us daily at 4 PM for a pack walk around the dog park. That doesn't mean ... bring your dog to the dog park at 4 PM and then abandon it while we walk around the perimeter of the dog park, expecting that "someone" ( read that as "me" ) is going to pick up your dog's shit ! NO, NO, NO ... come along on the walk, and pick up your own dog's shit ! Today while we walked around the dog park, one of the dog owners relaxed in a lounge chair soaking up the pleasant sunshine ... expecting "someone" to pick up his dog's shit. After completing the circuit around the perimeter, I tossed the bag of his dog's shit on the lounge chair beside him, and "encouraged" him to join us on the walk. Think my message was clear enough ? ! ?
Tuesday ; Happy 13th Birthday to Joanne’s niece Madeleine
Madeleine's a teenager ? ? ? ! ! !
Today was sunny. So ... we roasted marinated beef short ribs and potatoes in the Sun Oven today for supper. Very nice !
This afternoon while Joanne made fresh marmalade for me ( MMMMM ... thank you, my dear ) I cut and installed some oak crown moulding as a new headboard behind the bed. After completing the job, using two sections of moulding, we decided that a third section of moulding would make the job look much nicer. So ... I'm not quite finished yet.
After today's pack walk ... with eleven dogs ... we went for a drivey to buy some groceries at Albertsons and some moulding at Lowe's. Late in the evening we went for a soak in the hot tub, something I think we should do more often.
Wednesday ; Another sunny day. Another day of work for the Sun Oven. This morning I decided to try a solar cooking "recipe" I had read. I cut the top off a large tomato and scooped a bit of the insides out, making a sort of "scoop" inside the tomato. Then I baked it in the Sun Oven for about half an hour. I cracked open an egg and poured it into the "scoop" in the top of the tomato, then baked it for another half hour or so. Okay ... cooked egg inside a baked tomato. Interesting, but ... !
Before playing with the Sun Oven this morning I got up early to attend the third weekly Tai Chi Chih session here at Kofa Ko-op. And for the second time ( out of three ) I was the only male. What ? Real ( old ) men don't do Tai Chi ? ! ?
After lunch we went shopping for RV dinette furniture. Joanne is adamant that we replace our dinette table and chairs. Especially the chairs ! Looked at RV Decor and Foothills Mattress & Furniture. We also made a couple of other quick stops at Wally's World and Foothills Hardware looking for a couple of hardware items I need. Found and bought one of two. From there we headed east to Wellton, to the home of Robby and Christine, neighbours of ours back home in Keremeos. We visited with them at their home and then headed to Ligurta Station for dinner. Ligurta Station is a dingy little diner in Wellton that serves barbecued beef ribs every Wednesday. It has a bit of a "cult following" for their Wednesday barbecued beef ribs and Tuesday liver specials.
WHEW ... the fragrance of the feedlot in Wellton was certainly ... shall we say "noticeable" ... today !
On the way home we stopped at Fry's in The Foothills to buy some groceries and diesel. I can't resist stopping at Fry's in The Foothills every time we drive by to buy some freshly made sushi at their superb in-store sushi bar.
Thursday ; A sunny day of work for the Sun Oven. Last week I had made sun dried Roma tomato slices. Today I tried making sun dried Roma tomato halves. I started too late in the day. They'll have to finish tomorrow. I cut and installed the third piece of oak crown moulding to complete the new "headboard" behind the bed. And I finished weatherstripping the living room escape window.
After our daily pack walk we headed out to Home Depot to buy some hardware items I have been looking for. Finally ... got 'em ... Home Depot had them. Just after leaving Kofa Ko-op there was a flat bed produce truck with half its load of boxes of broccoli tipped over onto the road. WOO-HOO ... "Yuma road kill" ! Thousand of heads of freshly picked broccoli on the roadside. I don't like broccoli enough to even stop and pick up a free head. From Home Depot we headed over to Yuma Palms Shopping Center. Tonight was the first weekly free jazz session of the season. Every Thursday for the next twelve weeks or so there will be a different jazz group performing at the shopping center's "Village Courtyard". And their definition of jazz is pretty broad. Tonight's group was Yuma Big Band. We both like "big band" music. The free concert was very enjoyable. And we bumped into Lanny and Clare, neighbours of ours from Riverside RV Park Resort back home in Keremeos, BC. Lanny and Clare were visiting Yuma briefly. Their winter home is in Phoenix, Arizona.
After the concert we went for dinner to Chili's. Joanne's idea, not mine. It was unsatisfactory ! Food was okay, service was not. I don't think we're their target demographic ! On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart < sigh >. As much as I hate Wal-Martin' I must admit ... doing it after 9 PM is less painful.
Friday ; Yet another sunny day of work for the Sun Oven sun drying Roma tomato halves. They surely do shrivel up ! Had a long phone chat with my sister this morning. My brother-in-law's recuperation from prostatectomy is progressing well. I taught my sister the correct pronunciation of some English obscenities with a Mexican accent. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Border town bigot humour ! This morning I worked on some minor home improvement projects in the Arizona room and the trailer. Didn't accomplish much. Kept getting interrupted by neighbours and their dogs strolling by and stopping to visit and chat.
Joanne went shopping this afternoon without me. THANK YOU ! I napped for awhile with Sully and Bo. I worked on the computer. I went on our daily pack walk with Bo. I climbed up on the trailer roof and removed the MaxxAir roof vent cover off the kitchen fan roof vent as the first step in the annual chore of cleaning the kitchen ceiling's Fantastic Fan, and its associated roof vent and cover.
Late in the afternoon we headed out for a quick supper at Burger King before heading downtown to the Historic Yuma Theater for a musical concert production entitled The History Of The Blues From A To Z. WOW ... what astounding blues for a bunch of white boys. Well ... eight white boys and a white girl. Well, actually ... seven white boys, one middle east Arab type fellow and a white girl. Great performance. I was inspired to buy one of the CD's available after the concert. Unfortunately, it's a disappointment. Oh well, ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances !
Saturday ; This morning I slept very late, having forgotten that I agreed to Joanne's suggestion that we go to the Wellton Tractor Rodeo today. We made it there just in time to have a late lunch. We enjoyed about an hour and a half of wandering around exhibits and watching an antique tractor pull competition ( old men with too much time on their hands and too much money in their pockets spending it on antique tractors ! ) before the wind picked up very suddenly and very strongly, creating a "desert storm" and forcing an abrupt end to everything.
We returned home just in time for the daily pack walk. The attendance was down because of the desert storm. Afterwards we updated the residents' name & photo board in the clubhouse. In the "lot 52" spot on the board we posted a label with our names and a photo of us sitting in the dog park at SKP Park of the Sierras. It's a good photo of us with Bo sitting on my lap. And I walked over to see lot 17, the lot that would have become ours very recently had we had to wait until we reached "number 1" on this park's lot waiting list instead of getting lot 52 while we were still "number 8" on the waiting list. WOW ... talk about a "bare lot" ! I surely am glad we got lot 52 !
DSK
Sunday, January 15, 2012
1000th blog entry ! ! !
January 8 to 14, 2012
Sunday ; Today was windy.
This morning we finished up Joanne's painting projects in the Arizona room. She has painted the door between the Arizona room and the shed, the window trim, the door trim, and the built in folding table that we have taken to calling the buffet table. Today we cleaned up, replaced hardware, repositioned furnishings, cleaned and put away the tarp we used as a drop cloth, that sort of thing. Joanne should be very proud of the excellent job she has done of cleaning, furnishing, and decorating our Arizona room. It's great !
This afternoon we gave Bo a haircut. With an audience. Judy and Terry wanted to watch us give Bo a haircut, to help them decide whether or not to tackle giving Spanky a haircut themselves. At 6 PM we attended the regular weekly ice cream social. We spent the rest of the evening sitting in the clubhouse socializing with our BC friends Jackie and Barry who are leaving tomorrow.
Monday ; This morning Jackie and Barry came over to visit briefly before departing Kofa Ko-op. They will be remaining in the Yuma area for awhile longer, although not here at Kofa Ko-op. We will probably see them again Wednesday afternoon in Wellton.
After they left we went out for ( yet another ) day of shopping and running errands. First stop was RxPositive Medical Supplies where Joanne bought a mastectomy bra. She bought a brand that is manufactured in Canada, but that sells cheaper in the United States. Go figure ! From there we went to Long John Silvers for lunch. We had some coupons. It was our first time at Long John Silvers. And ... well ... I guess it wasn't anything to write home about. Although I suppose I just did, didn't I ? HA HA HA !
We shopped for some advertised grocery specials at Food City, the "Mexican" supermarket. Then we stopped to load up on pan dulce at Elvira's panaderia. MMMMM ... Elvira makes good pan dulce. Joanne noticed today that as soon as one drives north of 16th St. in Yuma, one might as well be in Mexico. Final stop was < sigh > Wal-Mart.
We arrived back home just in time for the daily pack walk around the dog park. Which is more "co-ordinated" some days than others. Today there were six dogs, and they were all unruly and chaotic. Because of early arrivals and late arrivals, the people were scattered in three groups, and the dogs "morphed" from one pack to two to three to two to one over and over again.
Tuesday ; Well ... two more successes in the Sun Oven. This morning I wanted to experiment with making a "hard boiled" ( baked, actually ) egg in the Sun Oven. I had read somewhere recently about solar cooking "hard boiled" eggs but couldn't remember whether the egg was supposed to remain in the solar oven for thirty or sixty minutes. So ... I put a raw egg in the Sun Oven and retrieved it forty minutes later. It was a perfect "hard boiled" egg. Except ... both the white and the yolk were a lighter, "fluffier" texture than an egg cooked in boiling water. It was very good !
So ... then I sliced a Roma tomato thinly and put the slices on a dehydrating rack in the Sun Oven with the door propped slightly open to allow heat and moisture to escape. The temperature has to be kept low enough that the tomato slices dry without baking. I didn't prop the door open quite enough, and allowed the temperature to rise too high. I baked ... and even burned ... some of the tomato slices a bit. But ... for the most part, they "sun dried" quite well. And then we tasted the results. WOW ... what intense flavour ! I can tell I'm really going to like making sun dried tomatoes when Roma tomatoes are really plentiful and cheap in the fall in Keremeos.
Today we worked on washing the trailer. Which has been a chore that we have been putting off for almost two months. We needed to wash the road grime off the trailer after completing the journey from Keremeos, BC to Yuma, Arizona. It should have been a priority soon after our arrival here. But other projects always seemed to be higher priority. Anyway, today we finally began washing the trailer. And completed most of it. We'll have to retract the slides to be able to properly wash the driver's side of the trailer.
Our daily pack walk is growing in popularity within Kofa Ko-op. Today we had nine dogs walking around the perimeter of the seven acre desert dog park.
Wednesday ; Today was lightly overcast. I thought that would be ideal for sun drying tomatoes in the Sun Oven. But ... actually ... by the end of the day, the tomatoes I had put in the Sun Oven around 10 AM were not quite ready. I'll have to put them back in tomorrow morning for awhile.
This morning I attended my second Tai Chi Chih class in the clubhouse. Very relaxing ! Afterwards Joanne and I did an obedience session with Bo in the dog park. This afternoon we worked on a few minor home improvement and landscaping projects. Around 3 PM we headed out for Wellton.
Our Escapee BC Okanagan Chapter 33 friends Jackie and Barry had invited us to attend a Shiners' fund raiser at an RV park in Wellton, about 30 miles east of Yuma. Our Chapter 33 mutual friend Ben is in a band that was providing the entertainment at the event. I would rather pull out my toenails with pliers than listen to two hours of country & western music, but ... one has to be supportive, n'est-ce-pas ? We visited with Jackie and Barry, listened to Ben and his band, and ate a hamburger dinner. On the way back home we stopped at Walgreens in The Foothills to buy a few items.
Thursday ; Today was cloudy. So ... I put some sliced Roma tomatoes in the Sun Oven to dry. Then I dragged the water hose to the front yard for the weekly watering of my dead looking ocotillo. Yesterday I did some online research on transplanting ocotillos, and I learned how to trim off a piece of ocotillo stalk and what to look for inside to ascertain whether it's alive or dead. So ... I cut six inch sections off the tops of three stalks of the ocotillo and examined the insides. Sure looks dead to me !
We headed out to run some errands. First stop was Yuma Nursery Supply where I asked the nursery manager if he thought these three pieces of ocotillo stalk looked like the plant might be dead. He examined them and agreed that the plant was likely dead. Only then did I tell him that they were cuttings from a plant bought at his nursery two weeks ago. GOTCHA ! Guess I'll be digging up the ocotillo and returning it to Yuma Nursery Supply !
At Lowe's we bought some paint for the shed and some oak mouldings for the trailer bedroom. Withdrew some cash from the ATM at the Bank of America. Had lunch at Rally's. Great burgers and fries ! Went to Fry's to buy some groceries. I tried to convince Joanne she should do the grocery shopping at Fry's while I ran some "other errands". No way ! Fine ... be like that ! So ... she sat in the truck asking stupid questions that I wouldn't answer while I drove to Yuma School Of Beauty to buy her "surprise" birthday gift ! "OH !"
Back at home we had our daily pack walk. It's gratifying to see how quickly timid dogs gain self-confidence from the socialization of the daily pack walks. For supper Joanne made a vegetarian pizza with mushrooms and our freshly sun dried tomatoes. WOW ... what intense, sweet flavour in the tomatoes.
Friday ; Today was sunny. So ... this morning Joanne baked a cake in the Sun Oven and in the afternoon made potato and dill soup in the Sun Oven. We're having a lot of fun experimenting with solar cooking.
We retracted the slides and finished washing the trailer today. Sully loudly protested when we retracted the slides. Obviously he thought we were "hitting the road" and he didn't want to go ! HA HA HA ... it's okay, Sully, we're not leaving here yet.
Carol Mae came over today to discuss the upcoming Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally agenda. At the rally Joanne and I will be conducting a cooking class that will result in a meal for the group. I think we're going to incorporate the Sun Oven.
On today's pack walk we walked twice around the dog park. It was Joanne's suggestion that we extend our pack walks to twice around the perimeter of the seven acre dog park. We need the exercise. And it worked well to accommodate pack walk latecomers. We walked around the perimeter of the dog park the first time with a group of about six dogs, and the second time with a group about the same size, but different dogs, except for Bo and Riley. Bo seemed to think that twice around was too strenuous. Maybe he's older than we think ?
Saturday ; Today was cloudy and cool. A day of rest for the Sun Oven.
This morning I trimmed my beard then worked on some landscaping. When that was done I helped Joanne do some paint touch up work on the front of the shed. The "paint match" done by Lowe's was so perfect that I don't think we're going to have to apply a coat of paint on the entire front wall of the shed to "hide" the touched up areas. So ... we bought a gallon of paint, and used less than a cup !
Just before noon our Thai next door neighbour brought over a plate of freshly prepared Thai food ... again. MMMMM ... a big serving of Pad Thai, two spring rolls and fresh peanut sauce. My goodness, her food is good !
This afternoon Joanne went shopping. Mercifully, without me ! She went to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, and Goodwill Thrift Store, both of which had 50% off everything today. She was shopping for some "decorating accessories" for the Arizona room, and found what she was looking for. She's done very nice "interior decorating" of the Arizona room, and at very little cost. I stayed home and worked online. I downloaded some Canadian income tax forms I will need to do our personal income taxes. I downloaded the U.S. IRS 8840 form, filled one out for each of us, printed them, and mailed them. I went for a "twice around" pack walk. And ... at the end of the pack walk, while going out of the dog park to get a gardening tool from the landscape shed ... < sigh > ... I accidentally allowed Riley to escape from the dog park. How embarrassing ! I joined Bill and Liz chasing Riley around the RV park until he was captured.
DSK
Sunday ; Today was windy.
This morning we finished up Joanne's painting projects in the Arizona room. She has painted the door between the Arizona room and the shed, the window trim, the door trim, and the built in folding table that we have taken to calling the buffet table. Today we cleaned up, replaced hardware, repositioned furnishings, cleaned and put away the tarp we used as a drop cloth, that sort of thing. Joanne should be very proud of the excellent job she has done of cleaning, furnishing, and decorating our Arizona room. It's great !
This afternoon we gave Bo a haircut. With an audience. Judy and Terry wanted to watch us give Bo a haircut, to help them decide whether or not to tackle giving Spanky a haircut themselves. At 6 PM we attended the regular weekly ice cream social. We spent the rest of the evening sitting in the clubhouse socializing with our BC friends Jackie and Barry who are leaving tomorrow.
Monday ; This morning Jackie and Barry came over to visit briefly before departing Kofa Ko-op. They will be remaining in the Yuma area for awhile longer, although not here at Kofa Ko-op. We will probably see them again Wednesday afternoon in Wellton.
After they left we went out for ( yet another ) day of shopping and running errands. First stop was RxPositive Medical Supplies where Joanne bought a mastectomy bra. She bought a brand that is manufactured in Canada, but that sells cheaper in the United States. Go figure ! From there we went to Long John Silvers for lunch. We had some coupons. It was our first time at Long John Silvers. And ... well ... I guess it wasn't anything to write home about. Although I suppose I just did, didn't I ? HA HA HA !
We shopped for some advertised grocery specials at Food City, the "Mexican" supermarket. Then we stopped to load up on pan dulce at Elvira's panaderia. MMMMM ... Elvira makes good pan dulce. Joanne noticed today that as soon as one drives north of 16th St. in Yuma, one might as well be in Mexico. Final stop was < sigh > Wal-Mart.
We arrived back home just in time for the daily pack walk around the dog park. Which is more "co-ordinated" some days than others. Today there were six dogs, and they were all unruly and chaotic. Because of early arrivals and late arrivals, the people were scattered in three groups, and the dogs "morphed" from one pack to two to three to two to one over and over again.
Tuesday ; Well ... two more successes in the Sun Oven. This morning I wanted to experiment with making a "hard boiled" ( baked, actually ) egg in the Sun Oven. I had read somewhere recently about solar cooking "hard boiled" eggs but couldn't remember whether the egg was supposed to remain in the solar oven for thirty or sixty minutes. So ... I put a raw egg in the Sun Oven and retrieved it forty minutes later. It was a perfect "hard boiled" egg. Except ... both the white and the yolk were a lighter, "fluffier" texture than an egg cooked in boiling water. It was very good !
So ... then I sliced a Roma tomato thinly and put the slices on a dehydrating rack in the Sun Oven with the door propped slightly open to allow heat and moisture to escape. The temperature has to be kept low enough that the tomato slices dry without baking. I didn't prop the door open quite enough, and allowed the temperature to rise too high. I baked ... and even burned ... some of the tomato slices a bit. But ... for the most part, they "sun dried" quite well. And then we tasted the results. WOW ... what intense flavour ! I can tell I'm really going to like making sun dried tomatoes when Roma tomatoes are really plentiful and cheap in the fall in Keremeos.
Today we worked on washing the trailer. Which has been a chore that we have been putting off for almost two months. We needed to wash the road grime off the trailer after completing the journey from Keremeos, BC to Yuma, Arizona. It should have been a priority soon after our arrival here. But other projects always seemed to be higher priority. Anyway, today we finally began washing the trailer. And completed most of it. We'll have to retract the slides to be able to properly wash the driver's side of the trailer.
Our daily pack walk is growing in popularity within Kofa Ko-op. Today we had nine dogs walking around the perimeter of the seven acre desert dog park.
Wednesday ; Today was lightly overcast. I thought that would be ideal for sun drying tomatoes in the Sun Oven. But ... actually ... by the end of the day, the tomatoes I had put in the Sun Oven around 10 AM were not quite ready. I'll have to put them back in tomorrow morning for awhile.
This morning I attended my second Tai Chi Chih class in the clubhouse. Very relaxing ! Afterwards Joanne and I did an obedience session with Bo in the dog park. This afternoon we worked on a few minor home improvement and landscaping projects. Around 3 PM we headed out for Wellton.
Our Escapee BC Okanagan Chapter 33 friends Jackie and Barry had invited us to attend a Shiners' fund raiser at an RV park in Wellton, about 30 miles east of Yuma. Our Chapter 33 mutual friend Ben is in a band that was providing the entertainment at the event. I would rather pull out my toenails with pliers than listen to two hours of country & western music, but ... one has to be supportive, n'est-ce-pas ? We visited with Jackie and Barry, listened to Ben and his band, and ate a hamburger dinner. On the way back home we stopped at Walgreens in The Foothills to buy a few items.
Thursday ; Today was cloudy. So ... I put some sliced Roma tomatoes in the Sun Oven to dry. Then I dragged the water hose to the front yard for the weekly watering of my dead looking ocotillo. Yesterday I did some online research on transplanting ocotillos, and I learned how to trim off a piece of ocotillo stalk and what to look for inside to ascertain whether it's alive or dead. So ... I cut six inch sections off the tops of three stalks of the ocotillo and examined the insides. Sure looks dead to me !
We headed out to run some errands. First stop was Yuma Nursery Supply where I asked the nursery manager if he thought these three pieces of ocotillo stalk looked like the plant might be dead. He examined them and agreed that the plant was likely dead. Only then did I tell him that they were cuttings from a plant bought at his nursery two weeks ago. GOTCHA ! Guess I'll be digging up the ocotillo and returning it to Yuma Nursery Supply !
At Lowe's we bought some paint for the shed and some oak mouldings for the trailer bedroom. Withdrew some cash from the ATM at the Bank of America. Had lunch at Rally's. Great burgers and fries ! Went to Fry's to buy some groceries. I tried to convince Joanne she should do the grocery shopping at Fry's while I ran some "other errands". No way ! Fine ... be like that ! So ... she sat in the truck asking stupid questions that I wouldn't answer while I drove to Yuma School Of Beauty to buy her "surprise" birthday gift ! "OH !"
Back at home we had our daily pack walk. It's gratifying to see how quickly timid dogs gain self-confidence from the socialization of the daily pack walks. For supper Joanne made a vegetarian pizza with mushrooms and our freshly sun dried tomatoes. WOW ... what intense, sweet flavour in the tomatoes.
Friday ; Today was sunny. So ... this morning Joanne baked a cake in the Sun Oven and in the afternoon made potato and dill soup in the Sun Oven. We're having a lot of fun experimenting with solar cooking.
We retracted the slides and finished washing the trailer today. Sully loudly protested when we retracted the slides. Obviously he thought we were "hitting the road" and he didn't want to go ! HA HA HA ... it's okay, Sully, we're not leaving here yet.
Carol Mae came over today to discuss the upcoming Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally agenda. At the rally Joanne and I will be conducting a cooking class that will result in a meal for the group. I think we're going to incorporate the Sun Oven.
On today's pack walk we walked twice around the dog park. It was Joanne's suggestion that we extend our pack walks to twice around the perimeter of the seven acre dog park. We need the exercise. And it worked well to accommodate pack walk latecomers. We walked around the perimeter of the dog park the first time with a group of about six dogs, and the second time with a group about the same size, but different dogs, except for Bo and Riley. Bo seemed to think that twice around was too strenuous. Maybe he's older than we think ?
Saturday ; Today was cloudy and cool. A day of rest for the Sun Oven.
This morning I trimmed my beard then worked on some landscaping. When that was done I helped Joanne do some paint touch up work on the front of the shed. The "paint match" done by Lowe's was so perfect that I don't think we're going to have to apply a coat of paint on the entire front wall of the shed to "hide" the touched up areas. So ... we bought a gallon of paint, and used less than a cup !
Just before noon our Thai next door neighbour brought over a plate of freshly prepared Thai food ... again. MMMMM ... a big serving of Pad Thai, two spring rolls and fresh peanut sauce. My goodness, her food is good !
This afternoon Joanne went shopping. Mercifully, without me ! She went to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, and Goodwill Thrift Store, both of which had 50% off everything today. She was shopping for some "decorating accessories" for the Arizona room, and found what she was looking for. She's done very nice "interior decorating" of the Arizona room, and at very little cost. I stayed home and worked online. I downloaded some Canadian income tax forms I will need to do our personal income taxes. I downloaded the U.S. IRS 8840 form, filled one out for each of us, printed them, and mailed them. I went for a "twice around" pack walk. And ... at the end of the pack walk, while going out of the dog park to get a gardening tool from the landscape shed ... < sigh > ... I accidentally allowed Riley to escape from the dog park. How embarrassing ! I joined Bill and Liz chasing Riley around the RV park until he was captured.
DSK
Monday, January 9, 2012
January 1 to 7, 2012
Sunday ; New Year's Day ; We started the New Year with a pancake brunch.
WOO-HOO ... Kaydee loooooves maple syrup on her pancakes. HA HA HA !
We continued working on "home improvement" projects in the Arizona room. We were unproductive, spending a lot of time chatting with neighbours strolling by, enjoying the lovely weather. After lunch I applied a Canadian maple leaf temporary tattoo to my belly and headed over to the pool for the first annual Kofa Ko-op New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge / Pool Olympics / Belly Flop Contest. Alas, I did not win the belly flop contest, but with the maple leaf on my belly, and waving a small Canadian flag as I flopped into the pool, I did my country proud !
Afterwards there was a "hot dogs and pop" party around the pool, followed by the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. We sat around socializing for quite awhile after the ice cream social.
Didn't get much done today. But ... had a good time !
Monday ; Another day of good intentions and plans, but poor execution. Not getting much done lately !
Joanne went shopping today. I did some patching of the folding shelf in the Arizona room, on the exterior wall of the shed, to prepare it to be painted, the last piece of Joanne's Arizona room painting projects. I spent much of the evening working on year end financial analysis. 2011 was not a great year for us in the stock market.
Late this afternoon Herbert and Anka came over to see Kaydee and consider her for adoption. They arrived here at Kofa Ko-op yesterday and this afternoon saw our poster regarding Kaydee in the laundromat. They are full time RV'ers from Maine. After visiting with us for quite awhile in our Arizona room ... they took Kaydee home with them for an overnight "test drive". Nice 2011 Dodge dually they have !
Tuesday ; Well ... Kaydee's back ! Well ... Kaydee's gone ... again !
This morning Herbert and Anka brought Kaydee back. Herbert's "not ready". I'm not exactly sure what that means, but ... okay ! Bo and Kaydee were both thrilled with her return. They greeted one another, and both performed "happy dances", like long lost siblings. No more than an hour later, Jim came over wanting Kaydee. He and his wife had been over a week or so ago to consider Kaydee, and then got sidetracked by illness. So ... off Kaydee went for yet another overnight "road test".
Joanne worked on laundry and painting today. Her painting in the Arizona room has made a very nice change / improvement. I worked on landscaping. I have been acquiring cactus cuttings from neighbours and the landscape committee. Today I planted about a dozen or so cactus cuttings, some in the front yard and most in the dog park behind our back yard fence. I would have liked to have planted more in the front yard, but first I need to create some concrete scalloped curb bordered gardens.
Jim and Kaydee joined us on our regular daily 4 PM pack walk around the dog park. Kaydee’s first few hours with Jim and his wife had gone well. Despite being neutered, Spanky decided he would like to mount Kaydee today. Kaydee has developed a lot of
self-confidence in her three weeks with us. And she’s been a bit crabby for the last few days, either from being in heat, or on antibiotics, or from “road tests”, or all of the above ! She whirled around, snapping and snarling at Spanky. You go, girl !
We had another great Sun Oven dinner. We're really enjoying experimenting with solar cooking. Late in the evening we went for a drivey to get some money from the Bank of America ATM. We need lots of money for tomorrow in Mexico.
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Well ... Kaydee's gone ... forever ( hopefully ) ! WAAAAAHHHHH ! ! ! That was both me and Bo ! Bo misses her. What a great "big brother" he turned out to be. Who knew ?
This morning before leaving for our dental appointments in Mexico I attended the first ( of ten ) weekly Tai Chi Chih ( pronounced Cha ) class here at Kofa Ko-op. And somewhat to my dismay, I was the only male. I was able to stay for only half the class before we had to leave for Mexico.
As soon as we arrived at our dentist's office, my periodontist was ready to see me for a periodontal examination. I had made an appointment for a dental cleaning and examination by our dentist before seeing the periodontist, but she advised me that she had changed that because she wanted to examine me before the cleaning. HMPH ... sneaky periodontist ! She had some criticism of my "aggressive" brushing and flossing techniques and wants to examine me again in three months just before we leave Yuma.
We both had dental cleanings and examinations by Dr. Mr. Camacho ( as opposed to his wife Dra. Mrs. Camacho ). Dr. Camacho said that it has been so long since Joanne has had a cavity that he prescribes ... more candy. HA HA HA ... dentist humour !
Next on the day's agenda was a haircut for Joanne. The price for a woman's haircut has just increased to five dollars. We went to Meyer Optical and Joanne ordered two new pairs of glasses ; a pair of regular bifocal glasses and a pair of bifocal sunglasses. The sunglasses were going to be ready in three hours, and the regular glasses would be ready in a week. They needed to be sent somewhere else for anti-reflective coating. We went to our favourite restaurant in Los Algodones for lunch. Joanne had the pollo a carbon ( barbecued chicken ) platter con frijoles ( refried beans ) y arroz ( seasoned rice ), and I had tres ( three ) tacos ; uno taco borrego ( lamb ), uno taco camarón
( shrimp ) y uno taco carne asada ( seasoned grilled beef ). After lunch we did some comparison shopping for Glucosamine + Chondroitin. WOW ... a lot less expensive than in Canada or the United States. We bought some. We wandered around browsing and doing some miscellaneous shopping, killing time waiting for Joanne’s sunglasses to be ready. Finally we picked up her new sunglasses and headed for the border crossing. OH, NO ... huge, long line up. However, that length of line up, which used to take two hours to reach the border inspection station before it was renovated a couple of years ago, was only forty minutes today.
As we drove back into Kofa Ko-op we stopped at the boondock area to check how Kaydee was doing with Jim and Linda. Everybody was happy, and after a discussion ... we declared the “road test” to be completed and transformed into an “adoption”. Goodbye, Kaydee, after 25 days of being your “foster family” we will miss you. Kaydee and her new family will be leaving Kofa Ko-op tomorrow morning < sniffle >.
Thursday ; This morning we saw Kaydee's new home departing Kofa Ko-op. What a rush of sadness we felt to see her go. Goodbye, Kaydee. What a sweetie she turned out to be.
This afternoon we took Bo and Sully to the veterinarian for their annual health examinations and inoculations. Bo is the only dog that we've had that thinks going to the vet is a great adventure ! "WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... some stranger is going to shove a thermometer up my ass". Ya gotta love his enthusiasm. Both of them are in good health. And there is nothing that can be done for Sully's feline oral resorptive lesions. I'm certain that Sully is not upset that his tooth brushing days are over. We discontinued brushing his teeth about six months ago because it was obviously hurting him due to the development of feline oral resorptive lesions.
This evening we received our first update by e-mail of Kaydee's new life. She's in Bouse, Arizona, between Quartzsite and Parker. And she has happily accepted this new chapter of her life as a full time RV'er dog. She spent much of her first day of travelling snoozing in her new pet carrier on the back seat of the truck.
Friday ; WOW ... we have just finished eating dinner ; the best roast turkey we have ever had, made by us or anyone else ! This morning we put a turkey into the Sun Oven at 10 AM, I pointed the Sun Oven to where the sun would be around 1 PM, and we went shopping. We returned home at 4 PM and the turkey was cooked. I repositioned the Sun Oven aimed into the setting sun and we just left the turkey in it until the sun set at 6 PM, hoping that the company's claim that you can't really overcook or burn food in a Sun Oven was true. The turkey was incredibly moist, tender, and tasty ! And the skin had even browned well, which I thought wouldn't happen.
Our first stop this morning was the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Branch to obtain Arizona identity cards. They look like Arizona driver's licenses, but are for people who want Arizona identity cards but have a driver's license from some other jurisdiction. There were hundreds of people waiting for service at the Motor Vehicle Branch. Our wait for service was an hour. Then it took half an hour to process our applications and issue cards to us. And ... < sputter > ... it wasn't until the cards were in our hands that we noticed that they expire in six months. The online information said that the cards would be valid for five years. "Oh, yes ... unless if you're Canadian. Since you Canadians have to be out of the United States after six months, the cards expire in six months." Well ... if I had known that beforehand ... I wouldn't have wasted my twenty four bucks and an hour and a half of my life ! ! ! Just because we have to leave the U.S. after six months doesn't mean our identities expire ! ! !
We headed east to The Foothills. In the old Fry's mall we had lunch at Subway, then while Joanne went to a swimwear shop I went to the UPS Store and sent a package to Canada. Then over to Al's RV Service & Supplies, and Radio Shack next door. We drove across the street to the new Fry's mall, bought groceries, and refilled with diesel. Heading back west towards "home", we shopped at Wal-Mart, then Wally's World. We rushed to be home in time for the daily 4 PM pack walk in the dog park.
Saturday ; This morning we headed out to Yuma Palms Shopping Center. Bo came along. First stop was the Farmer's Market at Yuma Palms. Bo thinks wandering around a Farmer's Market is an excellent opportunity to meet new people. And lick their toes if they happen to be wearing sandals. Strange dog ! Next stop, also in Yuma Palms was ... WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... PetsMart. Bo loooooves shopping at PetsMart. From Yuma Palms we got onto the freeway, crossed the Colorado River into California, and headed for the date farming area around Bard. We had date shakes for lunch at Sun Gardens Date Farm. WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... Bo loooooves date shakes !
On our way back to Yuma I stopped at a lettuce field that had just been harvested and picked two heads of lettuce. One Romaine and one Iceberg. The Iceberg was left behind by the pickers because it was "oversize". And the Romaine was left behind by the pickers because it shouldn't have been there. It was a field of Iceberg. The Romaine seed must have blown in from a nearby field. After a lettuce field has been harvested, and before the "leftovers" are ploughed under, it's acceptable to go into the field and pick a "leftover".
Back in Yuma we did some shopping at Harbor Freight, then the Salvation Army and Goodwill thrift stores. We were looking at the thrift stores for an end table for our Arizona room. We didn't find one. We arrived home at Kofa Ko-op just in time for the daily pack walk. After the pack walk we went to the clubhouse for the communal turkey soup supper. That wasn't quite filling enough, so we went home and had a salad made with lettuce that had been growing in the field a few hours earlier. Salads don't get fresher than that !
Later in the evening we returned to the clubhouse again for an evening of entertainment by Herbert the Entertainer, a German born Canadian singer / songwriter / musician and ventriloquist. He sang and played music on two amazing keyboard instruments. Some kind of high tech synthesizers. He was indeed entertaining. During his performance, the outside door of the clubhouse opened and ... in walked Barry and Jackie, two friends of ours from the Escapees B.C. Okanagan Chapter 33. They had arrived at Kofa Ko-op last night.
After the musical entertainment Barry and Jackie came over to see our "new place" and to visit.
DSK
WOO-HOO ... Kaydee loooooves maple syrup on her pancakes. HA HA HA !
We continued working on "home improvement" projects in the Arizona room. We were unproductive, spending a lot of time chatting with neighbours strolling by, enjoying the lovely weather. After lunch I applied a Canadian maple leaf temporary tattoo to my belly and headed over to the pool for the first annual Kofa Ko-op New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge / Pool Olympics / Belly Flop Contest. Alas, I did not win the belly flop contest, but with the maple leaf on my belly, and waving a small Canadian flag as I flopped into the pool, I did my country proud !
Afterwards there was a "hot dogs and pop" party around the pool, followed by the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. We sat around socializing for quite awhile after the ice cream social.
Didn't get much done today. But ... had a good time !
Monday ; Another day of good intentions and plans, but poor execution. Not getting much done lately !
Joanne went shopping today. I did some patching of the folding shelf in the Arizona room, on the exterior wall of the shed, to prepare it to be painted, the last piece of Joanne's Arizona room painting projects. I spent much of the evening working on year end financial analysis. 2011 was not a great year for us in the stock market.
Late this afternoon Herbert and Anka came over to see Kaydee and consider her for adoption. They arrived here at Kofa Ko-op yesterday and this afternoon saw our poster regarding Kaydee in the laundromat. They are full time RV'ers from Maine. After visiting with us for quite awhile in our Arizona room ... they took Kaydee home with them for an overnight "test drive". Nice 2011 Dodge dually they have !
Tuesday ; Well ... Kaydee's back ! Well ... Kaydee's gone ... again !
This morning Herbert and Anka brought Kaydee back. Herbert's "not ready". I'm not exactly sure what that means, but ... okay ! Bo and Kaydee were both thrilled with her return. They greeted one another, and both performed "happy dances", like long lost siblings. No more than an hour later, Jim came over wanting Kaydee. He and his wife had been over a week or so ago to consider Kaydee, and then got sidetracked by illness. So ... off Kaydee went for yet another overnight "road test".
Joanne worked on laundry and painting today. Her painting in the Arizona room has made a very nice change / improvement. I worked on landscaping. I have been acquiring cactus cuttings from neighbours and the landscape committee. Today I planted about a dozen or so cactus cuttings, some in the front yard and most in the dog park behind our back yard fence. I would have liked to have planted more in the front yard, but first I need to create some concrete scalloped curb bordered gardens.
Jim and Kaydee joined us on our regular daily 4 PM pack walk around the dog park. Kaydee’s first few hours with Jim and his wife had gone well. Despite being neutered, Spanky decided he would like to mount Kaydee today. Kaydee has developed a lot of
self-confidence in her three weeks with us. And she’s been a bit crabby for the last few days, either from being in heat, or on antibiotics, or from “road tests”, or all of the above ! She whirled around, snapping and snarling at Spanky. You go, girl !
We had another great Sun Oven dinner. We're really enjoying experimenting with solar cooking. Late in the evening we went for a drivey to get some money from the Bank of America ATM. We need lots of money for tomorrow in Mexico.
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Well ... Kaydee's gone ... forever ( hopefully ) ! WAAAAAHHHHH ! ! ! That was both me and Bo ! Bo misses her. What a great "big brother" he turned out to be. Who knew ?
This morning before leaving for our dental appointments in Mexico I attended the first ( of ten ) weekly Tai Chi Chih ( pronounced Cha ) class here at Kofa Ko-op. And somewhat to my dismay, I was the only male. I was able to stay for only half the class before we had to leave for Mexico.
As soon as we arrived at our dentist's office, my periodontist was ready to see me for a periodontal examination. I had made an appointment for a dental cleaning and examination by our dentist before seeing the periodontist, but she advised me that she had changed that because she wanted to examine me before the cleaning. HMPH ... sneaky periodontist ! She had some criticism of my "aggressive" brushing and flossing techniques and wants to examine me again in three months just before we leave Yuma.
We both had dental cleanings and examinations by Dr. Mr. Camacho ( as opposed to his wife Dra. Mrs. Camacho ). Dr. Camacho said that it has been so long since Joanne has had a cavity that he prescribes ... more candy. HA HA HA ... dentist humour !
Next on the day's agenda was a haircut for Joanne. The price for a woman's haircut has just increased to five dollars. We went to Meyer Optical and Joanne ordered two new pairs of glasses ; a pair of regular bifocal glasses and a pair of bifocal sunglasses. The sunglasses were going to be ready in three hours, and the regular glasses would be ready in a week. They needed to be sent somewhere else for anti-reflective coating. We went to our favourite restaurant in Los Algodones for lunch. Joanne had the pollo a carbon ( barbecued chicken ) platter con frijoles ( refried beans ) y arroz ( seasoned rice ), and I had tres ( three ) tacos ; uno taco borrego ( lamb ), uno taco camarón
( shrimp ) y uno taco carne asada ( seasoned grilled beef ). After lunch we did some comparison shopping for Glucosamine + Chondroitin. WOW ... a lot less expensive than in Canada or the United States. We bought some. We wandered around browsing and doing some miscellaneous shopping, killing time waiting for Joanne’s sunglasses to be ready. Finally we picked up her new sunglasses and headed for the border crossing. OH, NO ... huge, long line up. However, that length of line up, which used to take two hours to reach the border inspection station before it was renovated a couple of years ago, was only forty minutes today.
As we drove back into Kofa Ko-op we stopped at the boondock area to check how Kaydee was doing with Jim and Linda. Everybody was happy, and after a discussion ... we declared the “road test” to be completed and transformed into an “adoption”. Goodbye, Kaydee, after 25 days of being your “foster family” we will miss you. Kaydee and her new family will be leaving Kofa Ko-op tomorrow morning < sniffle >.
Thursday ; This morning we saw Kaydee's new home departing Kofa Ko-op. What a rush of sadness we felt to see her go. Goodbye, Kaydee. What a sweetie she turned out to be.
This afternoon we took Bo and Sully to the veterinarian for their annual health examinations and inoculations. Bo is the only dog that we've had that thinks going to the vet is a great adventure ! "WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... some stranger is going to shove a thermometer up my ass". Ya gotta love his enthusiasm. Both of them are in good health. And there is nothing that can be done for Sully's feline oral resorptive lesions. I'm certain that Sully is not upset that his tooth brushing days are over. We discontinued brushing his teeth about six months ago because it was obviously hurting him due to the development of feline oral resorptive lesions.
This evening we received our first update by e-mail of Kaydee's new life. She's in Bouse, Arizona, between Quartzsite and Parker. And she has happily accepted this new chapter of her life as a full time RV'er dog. She spent much of her first day of travelling snoozing in her new pet carrier on the back seat of the truck.
Friday ; WOW ... we have just finished eating dinner ; the best roast turkey we have ever had, made by us or anyone else ! This morning we put a turkey into the Sun Oven at 10 AM, I pointed the Sun Oven to where the sun would be around 1 PM, and we went shopping. We returned home at 4 PM and the turkey was cooked. I repositioned the Sun Oven aimed into the setting sun and we just left the turkey in it until the sun set at 6 PM, hoping that the company's claim that you can't really overcook or burn food in a Sun Oven was true. The turkey was incredibly moist, tender, and tasty ! And the skin had even browned well, which I thought wouldn't happen.
Our first stop this morning was the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Branch to obtain Arizona identity cards. They look like Arizona driver's licenses, but are for people who want Arizona identity cards but have a driver's license from some other jurisdiction. There were hundreds of people waiting for service at the Motor Vehicle Branch. Our wait for service was an hour. Then it took half an hour to process our applications and issue cards to us. And ... < sputter > ... it wasn't until the cards were in our hands that we noticed that they expire in six months. The online information said that the cards would be valid for five years. "Oh, yes ... unless if you're Canadian. Since you Canadians have to be out of the United States after six months, the cards expire in six months." Well ... if I had known that beforehand ... I wouldn't have wasted my twenty four bucks and an hour and a half of my life ! ! ! Just because we have to leave the U.S. after six months doesn't mean our identities expire ! ! !
We headed east to The Foothills. In the old Fry's mall we had lunch at Subway, then while Joanne went to a swimwear shop I went to the UPS Store and sent a package to Canada. Then over to Al's RV Service & Supplies, and Radio Shack next door. We drove across the street to the new Fry's mall, bought groceries, and refilled with diesel. Heading back west towards "home", we shopped at Wal-Mart, then Wally's World. We rushed to be home in time for the daily 4 PM pack walk in the dog park.
Saturday ; This morning we headed out to Yuma Palms Shopping Center. Bo came along. First stop was the Farmer's Market at Yuma Palms. Bo thinks wandering around a Farmer's Market is an excellent opportunity to meet new people. And lick their toes if they happen to be wearing sandals. Strange dog ! Next stop, also in Yuma Palms was ... WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... PetsMart. Bo loooooves shopping at PetsMart. From Yuma Palms we got onto the freeway, crossed the Colorado River into California, and headed for the date farming area around Bard. We had date shakes for lunch at Sun Gardens Date Farm. WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... Bo loooooves date shakes !
On our way back to Yuma I stopped at a lettuce field that had just been harvested and picked two heads of lettuce. One Romaine and one Iceberg. The Iceberg was left behind by the pickers because it was "oversize". And the Romaine was left behind by the pickers because it shouldn't have been there. It was a field of Iceberg. The Romaine seed must have blown in from a nearby field. After a lettuce field has been harvested, and before the "leftovers" are ploughed under, it's acceptable to go into the field and pick a "leftover".
Back in Yuma we did some shopping at Harbor Freight, then the Salvation Army and Goodwill thrift stores. We were looking at the thrift stores for an end table for our Arizona room. We didn't find one. We arrived home at Kofa Ko-op just in time for the daily pack walk. After the pack walk we went to the clubhouse for the communal turkey soup supper. That wasn't quite filling enough, so we went home and had a salad made with lettuce that had been growing in the field a few hours earlier. Salads don't get fresher than that !
Later in the evening we returned to the clubhouse again for an evening of entertainment by Herbert the Entertainer, a German born Canadian singer / songwriter / musician and ventriloquist. He sang and played music on two amazing keyboard instruments. Some kind of high tech synthesizers. He was indeed entertaining. During his performance, the outside door of the clubhouse opened and ... in walked Barry and Jackie, two friends of ours from the Escapees B.C. Okanagan Chapter 33. They had arrived at Kofa Ko-op last night.
After the musical entertainment Barry and Jackie came over to see our "new place" and to visit.
DSK
Sunday, January 1, 2012
December 25 to 31, 2011
Sunday ; Christmas Day ;
Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad
Another sunny, warm Christmas day in Yuma ! WOO-HOO !
Last Christmas I got a waffle iron, and had waffles for breakfast the day after Christmas. This is the first Christmas in eight years that I've actually had waffles on Christmas morning, my family's tradition. WOO-HOO !
After breakfast, we opened gifts. WOO-HOO ! ( That was Bo, not me ... HA HA HA ! ) Bo loooooves opening gifts. He gets frantic during the process. It's sooooo funny ! We let him open his gifts, and Sully's, and Kaydee's, and ours. HA HA HA HA HA ! This was probably Kaydee's "first" Christmas, despite being about four years old. And while she thought the gift opening process by Bo was a bit weird, it did not take her long to appreciate ... HEY ... those are dog treats ! HA HA HA ! You go, girl !
Last week, there was a visitor in the boondock area of Kofa Ko-op using a Sun Oven. Joanne wondered why it took me an hour and a half to take a bag of garbage to the dumpster. Because, my dear, I was chatting with him for an hour and a half about his Sun Oven. And then I came home and ordered one for you for Christmas. Between Keremeos in the summer and now Yuma in the winter, I'm certain we spend well over 300 days a year in sunshine. We've talked about "harnessing the sun" with solar panels, and / or "harnessing the wind". with a small RV wind turbine ( Keremeos and Yuma are both windy as well as sunny ), and we've talked about using a solar oven. So ... one is on its way ! I set up a link in the computer to Sun Oven's website as today's "gift" to Joanne. See http://www.sunoven.com/
While Joanne prepared her contribution to tonight's Christmas dinner, I went outside and planted three Aloe Vera plants in the dog park behind our back yard fence. I have now planted four prickly pears, four Aloe Veras, and two agaves. Wish me luck ! Next I want an ocotillo, the "masterpiece" of my cactus gardening. I chatted briefly with my sister. After a bit of a setback caused by infection, my brother-in-law's recuperation from cancer surgery continues.
We went early to dinner. I had volunteered to be a turkey and ham carver. Joanne had volunteered to be a greeter, greeting people upon arrival, taking their potluck contributions and placing them in the correct locations on the large serving tables ; salads, hot side dishes, desserts, etc. Christmas dinner was excellent ! Turkeys roasted to moist perfection ! MMMMM ! ! ! A hundred and thirty people ... served and sitting in nineteen minutes ! Great organization and execution by the couple from Alberta who were in charge of Christmas dinner! Well done ! I love efficiency !
Tomorrow morning a woman in the park is coming to see Kaydee and consider her for adoption.
WOO-HOO ! I've just checked the weather forecast. New Year's Day is forecast to be 75 degrees. That's great, because I've signed up to participate in Kofa Ko-op's New Year's Day "Polar Bear Plunge" and belly flop contest. HA HA HA HA HA ... a bunch of old guys jumping into a pool heated to 90 degrees on a day when the air temperature will be 75 degrees. Polar Bear Plunge Yuma style ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA .
Monday ; Boxing Day ( in Canada ) Another beautiful, sunny, warm day. AHHHHH ! ! !
The lady who was supposed to come by to visit Kaydee at 10 AM this morning did not show up. She sent a neighbour over to tell us she had a sore throat < shrug > or something.
Today was a bit of a lazy rest day. As Boxing Day should be. We spent much of the morning laying in bed, reading yesterday's newspaper ( Joanne and me ), and snoozing in sunbeams ( Sully, Bo, Kaydee, and me ). HEY ... I can go either way ... HA HA HA !
In the afternoon I chatted with neighbours, and did some "gardening" in the dog park / desert behind our back yard fence. DAMN ... I broke a spade I had borrowed from the landscaping committee's shed. I was digging out a wild Brittlebush ( I think that's what it's called ). Didn't know that root stalk was so thick and so deep ! Joanne had a long phone call with her family and then continued painting the shed door.
At 4 PM we went for our regular daily pack walk. But today instead of three dogs, we walked with six. Bo, Kaydee, and Spanky were joined by our next door neighbour, Ardee, and two new dogs, Maisie, and Paddy. Five little dogs and one big one. And ... dominant little Spanky decided to show his dominance by "attacking" Ardee. What a bad little dog. And since Ardee is old, and large, he mostly tried to ignore Spanky's attack. So it would have fizzled out in about two seconds ... had Bo not decided to get involved. "HEY ...
I don't want members of my pack fighting ... so I'm going to charge in and attack both of you to break it up". Yeah ... great ... just what was needed, Bo ! Thanks a lot !
Tuesday ; The temperature is rising daily, returning to more seasonal norms. It's been a bit cool lately.
This morning Kaydee was taken for a walk by a couple of the ladies residing in the park. One has been contemplating adopting Kaydee, the other was providing encouragement and moral support. Kaydee was unwilling to walk with them ... unless her "mommy" came along. And by the time Joanne joined them, Kaydee had wrenched a front shoulder resisting the walk. She spent most of the rest of the day resting, nursing her sore shoulder, unwilling to put her full weight on that front leg. Poor Kaydee !
This morning we did some "annual home maintenance and cleaning" chores. This afternoon I washed the truck while Joanne continued painting the shed door and window trim. I took Bo for a pack walk with Spanky, Paddy, and Maisie. Kaydee stayed home and rested her sore shoulder. In the evening we soaked in the hot tub for awhile in conjunction with our nightly volunteer chore of covering the pool and hot tub with their solar covers.
Wednesday ; WOO-HOO ! The Christmas gifts I ordered online both arrived today. A collapsible "pop-up" magician's top hat ( very expensive ! ) for me and Joanne's Sun Oven. Items ordered just before Christmas certainly do get fast delivery. By both USPS and FedEx.
We spent much of today shopping ... again ! First stop was Yuma Nursery Supply where we bought some scalloped curbing and ... < insert drum roll here, please > ... an ocotillo ! Looks like a dead ocotillo. HA HA HA ! "Wild" ocotillos out in the desert look dead at this time of year as well. Next stop was True Value Hardware for quite a few advertised specials, and other hardware supplies. We had a late lunch at Burger King and then shopped for advertised specials and groceries at Food City, the "Mexican" supermarket. After Food City we had other shopping to do, but decided to head for home as the ice cream products we bought were melting, and pack walk time was approaching.
After a six dog pack walk Joanne continued painting the shed door and window trim while I did some landscape planning and layout. Just before dark I unpackaged and set up the Sun Oven in the back yard. We hope to use it tomorrow. After supper I unpackaged my magician's top hat. Very nice !
Thursday ; Another gorgeous day ! This morning we finished setting up and cleaning the Sun Oven. That included putting a pot of soapy water inside and leaving it for a couple of hours to "steam clean" the inside of the oven. So ... by the time we finished setting up and cleaning the oven, then preparing our inaugural solar dinner ... pot roast beef ... there wasn't enough sunlight left in the day to cook our supper. We got the pot roast started at 2:45 PM and it became obvious at 4:45 PM that the sun was getting too low and sunshine too weak to continue cooking. DARN ! I guess we're going to have be better organized and start cooking earlier. But ... after finishing the pot roast in the trailer oven, it was extremely moist and tender for such a cheap cut of meat. That's supposed to be one of the hallmarks of solar oven cooking ; moist and tender meat. Tomorrow we'll try a salmon dish.
This afternoon Joanne continued painting. I planted my ocotillo ! WOO-HOO ! But ...it appears as if I planted my dead ocotillo ! It certainly looks dead ! I know that ocotillo and many other cacti and dessert plants can look dead while "dormant" in the winter, awaiting water from spring rains, but ... this ocotillo really looks dead ! And we're probably not going to know for sure whether or not it is still alive until we return here in eleven months or so ! I'm hoping it might be obvious by the time we leave on April 1.
Late in the afternoon a couple came over to see Kaydee. They had just arrived here at Kofa Ko-op and saw our notice on the bulletin board in the clubhouse. They were only able to visit with us briefly. The man seems very interested in adopting Kaydee. The woman much less so !
After supper we went Wal-Martin'. Oh, joy !
Friday ; The warm weather has returned ! Shorts and no shirt today !
Today was another day of good intentions and plans, but poor execution. Most of today's plans were usurped by socializing. Aw, what the hell ... I'm retired !
This morning I cut the three wires wrapped around the ocotillo. I thought the stalks would spread out after the wires were cut and I would need to tie a rope or large cable tie around it to hold it together. But ... it stayed together, the brittle stalks remaining upright. Perhaps in the spring, assuming it survives, when it greens up and the stalks soften a bit, it may spread out more and need to be held together, but not now. There were four broken stalks. I bunched them together and planted them in the dog park behind our back yard fence. I think it would be akin to a miracle if any of them caught / rooted and grew. Joanne continued painting.
Our neighbours Robby and Christine from Riverside RV Park Resort back home in Keremeos, BC came by today for a brief visit. And we visited a lot with Kofa Ko-op neighbours wandering by. A by-product of such lovely weather, I suppose.
We cooked our second meal in the Sun Oven today, using the stacking pots. Rice in the lower pot, baked salmon in the upper pot. Both turned out great ! I'm really thrilled with this new way to cook and conserve energy.
On our daily pack walk, both Kaydee and Bo picked up and began to chew / splinter chicken wing bones. Right behind the lot where a party was taking place. Joanne wrestled a chicken wing bone out of Kaydee's mouth. Our friend Terry wrestled a chicken wing bone out of Bo's mouth. Thank you, Terry. After returning home, I walked
( stomped, perhaps ) down to where the party was taking place to discover a party of perhaps twenty or so people ... most with plates of chicken wing bones on their laps.
I loudly asked that whomever was tossing chicken wing bones over the back fence into the dog park please cease and desist ! From within the group some profanity was directed my way. Booze will do that to people, I suppose. I thought being called names was rather unfair, under the circumstances. I walked away ! That's not really how I want my relationships with my neighbours to go ! Afterwards, twice, people came over to see me and offer their individual apologies for some rather reprehensible behaviour within the group. I appreciated that.
And to make my day complete ... < sigh > ... Kaydee went into heat today. Just what we needed !
At bedtime, we discovered the cause of her "sore shoulder". < sigh > She had a large abscessed wound in her "arm pit". She had been reluctant to jump on or off the bed or go up or down the trailer entry steps for the last few days. As Joanne lifted her onto the bed tonight, the abscess broke ! And it became obvious that her harness had been aggravating the abscess. Poor Kaydee. The abscess ... now broken ... needed to be drained < sigh >. Poor Kaydee ! The process was obviously extremely painful for her. Joanne held her, I gently squeezed the broken abscess and drained out all the pus. Kaydee screamed in agony and her heartbeat ( under my hand ) raced ! But what must be done ... was done ! It's pretty difficult to purposely inflict that much pain on an animal ! At the centre of the abscess was a puncture wound. At first we thought it was a bite wound. Then we realized it had probably been caused by one of the sharp little rocks in the asphalt of the park's roads. She has other abrasion and friction burn wounds on her feet and "elbows" consistent with being tossed out of a slow moving vehicle ! < sigh > Poor Kaydee ! We disinfected the broken abscess ... another very painful process for her ... applied ointment and gauze bandaging.
Saturday ; New Year's Eve
Here I sit in our trailer at 7:30 PM, alone with the animals, typing on the computer, because the alternative is ... the Kofa Ko-op New Year's Eve party where currently the "entertainment" is karaoke sing along. No, no ... not for me, thank you. I'd rather have a colonoscopy. I'll return to the clubhouse in an hour.
Today was another fabulous day in Yuma, brilliant sunshine and very warm temperatures. My priority this morning was to prepare an antibiotic solution for Kaydee and administer some to her. She's a pretty strong little cur when she's resisting having a syringe of medicine put into her mouth. There was more Cipro solution on me than in her !
Joanne continued painting the door, window trim, and door trim in the Arizona room.
I puttered around with some year end online work. Joanne made her contribution to tonight's potluck dinner ; gumbo, with a huge pot of rice cooked to fluffy, moist perfection in the Sun Oven. Unfortunately, this batch of gumbo was not her finest.
We had our daily pack walk around the dog park then went to the New Year's Eve potluck dinner. It was okay, but ... now it's karaoke sing along time, so ... here I am in the trailer ! Life is too short to have to endure that kind of agony !
It's now 11:30 PM. We have returned from the clubhouse. After we left, there were four people remaining. Most of the group were there for the arrival of the New Year EST ... at 10 PM ( rolling eyes ). A much smaller group celebrated ( again ) the arrival of the New Year CST ... at 11 PM. Perhaps the remaining four will still be there half an hour from now to celebrate the arrival of the real New Year ... at midnight MST !
We returned to the trailer with party noisemakers. Bo loooooves the party noise makers that unroll when you blow them. HA HA HA ... every year we amuse him ... and ourselves ... with these. HA HA HA ... kill that thing as it unrolls from our lips, Bo. HA HA HA ! Kaydee got into the spirit of it all ... Bo's enthusiasm is infectious ... but she was puzzled and afraid when we blew noisemakers in her face. It's an acquired taste, Kaydee. HA HA HA !
FELIZ AÑO NUEVO / HAPPY NEW YEAR
DSK
Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad
Another sunny, warm Christmas day in Yuma ! WOO-HOO !
Last Christmas I got a waffle iron, and had waffles for breakfast the day after Christmas. This is the first Christmas in eight years that I've actually had waffles on Christmas morning, my family's tradition. WOO-HOO !
After breakfast, we opened gifts. WOO-HOO ! ( That was Bo, not me ... HA HA HA ! ) Bo loooooves opening gifts. He gets frantic during the process. It's sooooo funny ! We let him open his gifts, and Sully's, and Kaydee's, and ours. HA HA HA HA HA ! This was probably Kaydee's "first" Christmas, despite being about four years old. And while she thought the gift opening process by Bo was a bit weird, it did not take her long to appreciate ... HEY ... those are dog treats ! HA HA HA ! You go, girl !
Last week, there was a visitor in the boondock area of Kofa Ko-op using a Sun Oven. Joanne wondered why it took me an hour and a half to take a bag of garbage to the dumpster. Because, my dear, I was chatting with him for an hour and a half about his Sun Oven. And then I came home and ordered one for you for Christmas. Between Keremeos in the summer and now Yuma in the winter, I'm certain we spend well over 300 days a year in sunshine. We've talked about "harnessing the sun" with solar panels, and / or "harnessing the wind". with a small RV wind turbine ( Keremeos and Yuma are both windy as well as sunny ), and we've talked about using a solar oven. So ... one is on its way ! I set up a link in the computer to Sun Oven's website as today's "gift" to Joanne. See http://www.sunoven.com/
While Joanne prepared her contribution to tonight's Christmas dinner, I went outside and planted three Aloe Vera plants in the dog park behind our back yard fence. I have now planted four prickly pears, four Aloe Veras, and two agaves. Wish me luck ! Next I want an ocotillo, the "masterpiece" of my cactus gardening. I chatted briefly with my sister. After a bit of a setback caused by infection, my brother-in-law's recuperation from cancer surgery continues.
We went early to dinner. I had volunteered to be a turkey and ham carver. Joanne had volunteered to be a greeter, greeting people upon arrival, taking their potluck contributions and placing them in the correct locations on the large serving tables ; salads, hot side dishes, desserts, etc. Christmas dinner was excellent ! Turkeys roasted to moist perfection ! MMMMM ! ! ! A hundred and thirty people ... served and sitting in nineteen minutes ! Great organization and execution by the couple from Alberta who were in charge of Christmas dinner! Well done ! I love efficiency !
Tomorrow morning a woman in the park is coming to see Kaydee and consider her for adoption.
WOO-HOO ! I've just checked the weather forecast. New Year's Day is forecast to be 75 degrees. That's great, because I've signed up to participate in Kofa Ko-op's New Year's Day "Polar Bear Plunge" and belly flop contest. HA HA HA HA HA ... a bunch of old guys jumping into a pool heated to 90 degrees on a day when the air temperature will be 75 degrees. Polar Bear Plunge Yuma style ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA .
Monday ; Boxing Day ( in Canada ) Another beautiful, sunny, warm day. AHHHHH ! ! !
The lady who was supposed to come by to visit Kaydee at 10 AM this morning did not show up. She sent a neighbour over to tell us she had a sore throat < shrug > or something.
Today was a bit of a lazy rest day. As Boxing Day should be. We spent much of the morning laying in bed, reading yesterday's newspaper ( Joanne and me ), and snoozing in sunbeams ( Sully, Bo, Kaydee, and me ). HEY ... I can go either way ... HA HA HA !
In the afternoon I chatted with neighbours, and did some "gardening" in the dog park / desert behind our back yard fence. DAMN ... I broke a spade I had borrowed from the landscaping committee's shed. I was digging out a wild Brittlebush ( I think that's what it's called ). Didn't know that root stalk was so thick and so deep ! Joanne had a long phone call with her family and then continued painting the shed door.
At 4 PM we went for our regular daily pack walk. But today instead of three dogs, we walked with six. Bo, Kaydee, and Spanky were joined by our next door neighbour, Ardee, and two new dogs, Maisie, and Paddy. Five little dogs and one big one. And ... dominant little Spanky decided to show his dominance by "attacking" Ardee. What a bad little dog. And since Ardee is old, and large, he mostly tried to ignore Spanky's attack. So it would have fizzled out in about two seconds ... had Bo not decided to get involved. "HEY ...
I don't want members of my pack fighting ... so I'm going to charge in and attack both of you to break it up". Yeah ... great ... just what was needed, Bo ! Thanks a lot !
Tuesday ; The temperature is rising daily, returning to more seasonal norms. It's been a bit cool lately.
This morning Kaydee was taken for a walk by a couple of the ladies residing in the park. One has been contemplating adopting Kaydee, the other was providing encouragement and moral support. Kaydee was unwilling to walk with them ... unless her "mommy" came along. And by the time Joanne joined them, Kaydee had wrenched a front shoulder resisting the walk. She spent most of the rest of the day resting, nursing her sore shoulder, unwilling to put her full weight on that front leg. Poor Kaydee !
This morning we did some "annual home maintenance and cleaning" chores. This afternoon I washed the truck while Joanne continued painting the shed door and window trim. I took Bo for a pack walk with Spanky, Paddy, and Maisie. Kaydee stayed home and rested her sore shoulder. In the evening we soaked in the hot tub for awhile in conjunction with our nightly volunteer chore of covering the pool and hot tub with their solar covers.
Wednesday ; WOO-HOO ! The Christmas gifts I ordered online both arrived today. A collapsible "pop-up" magician's top hat ( very expensive ! ) for me and Joanne's Sun Oven. Items ordered just before Christmas certainly do get fast delivery. By both USPS and FedEx.
We spent much of today shopping ... again ! First stop was Yuma Nursery Supply where we bought some scalloped curbing and ... < insert drum roll here, please > ... an ocotillo ! Looks like a dead ocotillo. HA HA HA ! "Wild" ocotillos out in the desert look dead at this time of year as well. Next stop was True Value Hardware for quite a few advertised specials, and other hardware supplies. We had a late lunch at Burger King and then shopped for advertised specials and groceries at Food City, the "Mexican" supermarket. After Food City we had other shopping to do, but decided to head for home as the ice cream products we bought were melting, and pack walk time was approaching.
After a six dog pack walk Joanne continued painting the shed door and window trim while I did some landscape planning and layout. Just before dark I unpackaged and set up the Sun Oven in the back yard. We hope to use it tomorrow. After supper I unpackaged my magician's top hat. Very nice !
Thursday ; Another gorgeous day ! This morning we finished setting up and cleaning the Sun Oven. That included putting a pot of soapy water inside and leaving it for a couple of hours to "steam clean" the inside of the oven. So ... by the time we finished setting up and cleaning the oven, then preparing our inaugural solar dinner ... pot roast beef ... there wasn't enough sunlight left in the day to cook our supper. We got the pot roast started at 2:45 PM and it became obvious at 4:45 PM that the sun was getting too low and sunshine too weak to continue cooking. DARN ! I guess we're going to have be better organized and start cooking earlier. But ... after finishing the pot roast in the trailer oven, it was extremely moist and tender for such a cheap cut of meat. That's supposed to be one of the hallmarks of solar oven cooking ; moist and tender meat. Tomorrow we'll try a salmon dish.
This afternoon Joanne continued painting. I planted my ocotillo ! WOO-HOO ! But ...it appears as if I planted my dead ocotillo ! It certainly looks dead ! I know that ocotillo and many other cacti and dessert plants can look dead while "dormant" in the winter, awaiting water from spring rains, but ... this ocotillo really looks dead ! And we're probably not going to know for sure whether or not it is still alive until we return here in eleven months or so ! I'm hoping it might be obvious by the time we leave on April 1.
Late in the afternoon a couple came over to see Kaydee. They had just arrived here at Kofa Ko-op and saw our notice on the bulletin board in the clubhouse. They were only able to visit with us briefly. The man seems very interested in adopting Kaydee. The woman much less so !
After supper we went Wal-Martin'. Oh, joy !
Today was another day of good intentions and plans, but poor execution. Most of today's plans were usurped by socializing. Aw, what the hell ... I'm retired !
This morning I cut the three wires wrapped around the ocotillo. I thought the stalks would spread out after the wires were cut and I would need to tie a rope or large cable tie around it to hold it together. But ... it stayed together, the brittle stalks remaining upright. Perhaps in the spring, assuming it survives, when it greens up and the stalks soften a bit, it may spread out more and need to be held together, but not now. There were four broken stalks. I bunched them together and planted them in the dog park behind our back yard fence. I think it would be akin to a miracle if any of them caught / rooted and grew. Joanne continued painting.
Our neighbours Robby and Christine from Riverside RV Park Resort back home in Keremeos, BC came by today for a brief visit. And we visited a lot with Kofa Ko-op neighbours wandering by. A by-product of such lovely weather, I suppose.
We cooked our second meal in the Sun Oven today, using the stacking pots. Rice in the lower pot, baked salmon in the upper pot. Both turned out great ! I'm really thrilled with this new way to cook and conserve energy.
On our daily pack walk, both Kaydee and Bo picked up and began to chew / splinter chicken wing bones. Right behind the lot where a party was taking place. Joanne wrestled a chicken wing bone out of Kaydee's mouth. Our friend Terry wrestled a chicken wing bone out of Bo's mouth. Thank you, Terry. After returning home, I walked
( stomped, perhaps ) down to where the party was taking place to discover a party of perhaps twenty or so people ... most with plates of chicken wing bones on their laps.
I loudly asked that whomever was tossing chicken wing bones over the back fence into the dog park please cease and desist ! From within the group some profanity was directed my way. Booze will do that to people, I suppose. I thought being called names was rather unfair, under the circumstances. I walked away ! That's not really how I want my relationships with my neighbours to go ! Afterwards, twice, people came over to see me and offer their individual apologies for some rather reprehensible behaviour within the group. I appreciated that.
And to make my day complete ... < sigh > ... Kaydee went into heat today. Just what we needed !
At bedtime, we discovered the cause of her "sore shoulder". < sigh > She had a large abscessed wound in her "arm pit". She had been reluctant to jump on or off the bed or go up or down the trailer entry steps for the last few days. As Joanne lifted her onto the bed tonight, the abscess broke ! And it became obvious that her harness had been aggravating the abscess. Poor Kaydee. The abscess ... now broken ... needed to be drained < sigh >. Poor Kaydee ! The process was obviously extremely painful for her. Joanne held her, I gently squeezed the broken abscess and drained out all the pus. Kaydee screamed in agony and her heartbeat ( under my hand ) raced ! But what must be done ... was done ! It's pretty difficult to purposely inflict that much pain on an animal ! At the centre of the abscess was a puncture wound. At first we thought it was a bite wound. Then we realized it had probably been caused by one of the sharp little rocks in the asphalt of the park's roads. She has other abrasion and friction burn wounds on her feet and "elbows" consistent with being tossed out of a slow moving vehicle ! < sigh > Poor Kaydee ! We disinfected the broken abscess ... another very painful process for her ... applied ointment and gauze bandaging.
Saturday ; New Year's Eve
Here I sit in our trailer at 7:30 PM, alone with the animals, typing on the computer, because the alternative is ... the Kofa Ko-op New Year's Eve party where currently the "entertainment" is karaoke sing along. No, no ... not for me, thank you. I'd rather have a colonoscopy. I'll return to the clubhouse in an hour.
Today was another fabulous day in Yuma, brilliant sunshine and very warm temperatures. My priority this morning was to prepare an antibiotic solution for Kaydee and administer some to her. She's a pretty strong little cur when she's resisting having a syringe of medicine put into her mouth. There was more Cipro solution on me than in her !
Joanne continued painting the door, window trim, and door trim in the Arizona room.
I puttered around with some year end online work. Joanne made her contribution to tonight's potluck dinner ; gumbo, with a huge pot of rice cooked to fluffy, moist perfection in the Sun Oven. Unfortunately, this batch of gumbo was not her finest.
We had our daily pack walk around the dog park then went to the New Year's Eve potluck dinner. It was okay, but ... now it's karaoke sing along time, so ... here I am in the trailer ! Life is too short to have to endure that kind of agony !
It's now 11:30 PM. We have returned from the clubhouse. After we left, there were four people remaining. Most of the group were there for the arrival of the New Year EST ... at 10 PM ( rolling eyes ). A much smaller group celebrated ( again ) the arrival of the New Year CST ... at 11 PM. Perhaps the remaining four will still be there half an hour from now to celebrate the arrival of the real New Year ... at midnight MST !
We returned to the trailer with party noisemakers. Bo loooooves the party noise makers that unroll when you blow them. HA HA HA ... every year we amuse him ... and ourselves ... with these. HA HA HA ... kill that thing as it unrolls from our lips, Bo. HA HA HA ! Kaydee got into the spirit of it all ... Bo's enthusiasm is infectious ... but she was puzzled and afraid when we blew noisemakers in her face. It's an acquired taste, Kaydee. HA HA HA !
FELIZ AÑO NUEVO / HAPPY NEW YEAR
DSK
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