Sunday ; Today was very windy. This morning I did an agility session with Bo.
I improvised some new agility components for him today. Well done, Bo, good dog. He has so much "game".
This afternoon we went to a matinee performance of Yuma Community Theater at the Gila Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. The play was a British farce entitled "Noises Off". It was hilarious ! And performed superbly ! We have seen three plays this winter season, all amateur "community theater" productions. And they've all been excellent. I have been reluctant to attend "community theater" performances ever since we saw a horrible amateur theater production five years ago in Port Aransas, Texas. But this winter has proven me wrong.
As we were returning to our truck after the performance we noticed that the car parked in front of us, with four old women getting into it, had a personalized license plate ; HOPE4QR. HUH ? Why would a car driven by an old woman have a license plate wishing for "hope for queers" ? ! ? OH ! Joanne pointed out to me that it was "hope for a cure". DUH !
Back at Kofa Ko-op we attended the regular Sunday late afternoon ice cream social. Afterwards I visited the park's assistant managers to teach Bob ( at his request ) how to use a multi-meter. In the evening we watched Celebrity Apprentice.
Monday ; Poor Bo ! He has a swollen and very sore front leg and foot today. We think he hurt his leg jumping over our back yard fence yesterday. Today we had to carry him in and out of the trailer, and over the back yard fence into the dog park. He is unable to put any weight on his left front leg and is obviously in a lot of discomfort. Hopefully it's just a strain or sprain of toes and / or lower leg and will be better in a few days.
Late this morning I went out to run some errands. I returned a defective product to Wally's World. I went to Pep Boys and bought a vehicle wash mop. I went to CJ's RV Repair looking for 12 volt coiled wiring. They didn't have any. I think I'll have to buy a 12 volt coiled "extension cord" at a truck stop and cut the ends off to get the coiled wiring I need.
This afternoon we washed the truck. And began slowly preparing for departure on Sunday. It's time to begin cleaning and storing items. Some items go back into storage in the trailer. Some items go back into storage in the Arizona room or shed. Much purging has been done recently so the Sun Oven and satellite dish both fit nicely into their designated spots in the trailer's storage compartments. I installed the new custom made swamp cooler cover. It fits well and will obviously do its job of keeping desert sand out of the swamp cooler. And I did my final landscaping project of this winter season, removing two posts embedded side by side in the front yard, one bearing a large number "5" and one bearing a large number "2". Didn't like 'em !
Tuesday ; Poor Bo ! We were able to ascertain today, after some painful poking and prodding, that his problem is a swollen and severely sore toe. Probably a broken toe ! Today was the second day that he was not able to put any weight on that leg, and he's having difficulty figuring out how to function as a three legged dog.
Joanne's water aerobics friend Eilene invited us over for lunch this afternoon. After lunch and a visit we continued working on cleaning and storing things in preparation for departure on Sunday. The truck storage chest is much more loaded than it was coming south last fall. I seem to have acquired quite a bit of "guy stuff" this winter. Owning a storage shed / workshop will do that ! Our new neighbours John and Jeannie were moving into the very old "park model" trailer next door this afternoon. They were already residents in this park, and are moving from a "bare" RV lot to the "park model" next door.
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
We got up early this morning and headed for Mexico. I had a 10 AM appointment with my periodontist. She was not entirely pleased with me and my gums a few months ago and wanted to see me and examine my gums one more time just before we head north. Today she had some recommendations for me. Doesn't she always ? ! Don't misunderstand. I think very highly of her. While I have reasonably good teeth, I have been battling some gum problems for at least the last five years.
After the periodontist we went for haircuts. Woman's haircut, five bucks. Man's haircut, three bucks, and ... something new ... an additional one dollar for the beard. Rip-off !
HA HA HA ! We went medication shopping, stocking up on ( inexpensive ) Mexican medications. Then we went shopping for chocolate bars and candies. You know ...
HA HA HA ... Nugs, Coconugs, Creminos ... the essentials. And some new ones.
I especially like the little packets of cajeta ... goat's milk caramel ... with a tiny plastic spoon for each little packet. I found Yomi Lala chocolate milk in the large UHT Tetra Paks. They don't need refrigeration. Yomi Lala has become difficult to find in the large Tetra Pak size, so when I found some today I stocked up. We went for lunch to our favourite little restaurant in Los Algodones. We each had tres tacos. Mine were camarón, carne asada, and borrego. Joanne had two carne asada and one pescado. MMMMM ... good ! Joanne bought quite a few packages of different herbal teas and some Zuko fruit drink mixes. By the time we headed back to the border we were each carrying a heavy shopping bag full of stuff. The line up to cross back into the United States today was 65 minutes long < sigh >. The people in front of us and behind us were all Canadians. We had a good chuckle over how much Saskatchewan Roughrider stuff there was for sale in Los Algodones.
We drove back to Yuma and went shopping at Food City, the "Mexican" supermarket, stocking up on Mexican grocery staples. Then ... AHHHHH ... Elvira's Panaderia for lots of pan dulce. Joanne was joking that after a day in Mexico we crossed back into the United States to go shopping for Mexican groceries and baking in Yuma's "Little Mexico".
Back home at Kofa Ko-op Joanne put away all our purchases while I took Bo for a walk. His broken toe is still very painful, and he still needs to be carried in and out of the trailer and over the back yard fence. He still cannot put any weight on his left front foot. Then while it was still hot we headed to the swimming pool to float around, socialize, and cool down. It was pretty hot today, and because I had to see my periodontist I was wearing socks, shoes, and long pants, not my normal attire ! Joanne stayed in the pool a lot longer than I did. After about half an hour in the pool I went bicycling. When I came home I lubricated the slide outs' rubber weatherstripping with silicone spray. Easier said than done. Should've done that a few days ago before I folded the ladder and put it away in the pass through storage compartment with a bunch of other stuff on top of it ! DUH !
In the evening I worked on some financial stuff before we went to cover the pool and hot tub. I volunteered to do that again this week..
Thursday ; Well ... Bo's broken toe is improving daily ... a teensy bit. This morning while he was sleeping on his side, I "blindsided" him by slowly and silently slipping a clipper over the nail of the broken toe and ... SNIP ! YELP ! ! ! Well, sorry Bo, but cutting that nail should reduce your discomfort. Now when he walks that nail doesn't contact the ground. Today he began to very gingerly place a bit of weight on that foot.
Late this morning we went out to run some errands. First stop was Liquidation World, a flea market kind of place where we bought a glass salt and pepper shaker set a few days ago. One of the shakers was cracked so I returned the set today for an exchange. I did get a new set, but not without having a slightly ugly exchange with the woman working there. Some retailers are so incredibly short sighted ! AND ... oblivious to laws governing retailers ! Next stop was a recycling place that we've never been to before. They're the closest recycler to Kofa Ko-op, and they take everything ; paper. glass, plastic, cardboard. We headed east to The Foothills where I bought some SAS Unscuffit ( shoe polish / dye for SAS brand shoes ) at Foothills Shoes. We drove over to our friends Lynn and Mischa to drop off a book we thought Lynn would enjoy reading. She was home so we visited for awhile.
We returned home to Kofa Ko-op where we had a very late lunch ( maybe it was a very early supper ) then set out to the west for more errands. I made my final visit of the season to Harbor Freight. And I think I may have blown my credibility with Joanne. She waited in the truck while I shopped. When I returned to the truck she asked me what I had bought. When I told her my purchases included a magnesium fire starter like they use on Survivor she was ... dumbfounded and not impressed ! Especially when I wasn't really able to answer her question "why ?". Next stop was PetsMart for dog food and treats, cat medicinal supplement treats, and dog toothpaste.
When our shopping was complete we headed across the mall ( we were at Yuma Palms ) to the Village Courtyard area to attend our fifth and final Thursday evening free jazz concert. The Yuma Big Band music was very entertaining. When they played Errol Garner's Misty I was going to invite Joanne to stand up and dance with me, but ... we were both too busy scarfing down ice cream from Stone Cold Creamery. HA HA HA ! The warm weather made for a lovely evening. WOW ... what a huge line up to get into Harkins Theaters to see Hunger Games.
Friday ; Although limping very heavily Bo has resumed putting weight on his front leg with the broken toe. He has also resumed his "I'll do it myself" attitude, resisting being helped up and down stairs and on and off the bed. We're relieved to see the improvement.
Very hot today ! Temperature in the 90's ! Preparations for departure continue. Joanne went shopping this afternoon. I worked on installing the solid vinyl snap on walls on the Arizona room. This was the first time I installed them. It didn't go particularly well. Some snaps need to be replaced. And ... vinyl does shrink if exposed to desert sun and low humidity for a lot of years ! I used my Harbor Freight reciprocating tool to cut a piece of plywood to serve as a shed window cover. Wasn't really the right tool for the job but ... ! Joanne convinced me to join her in the pool late this afternoon. AHHHHH ... refreshing !
Supper was huge beef ribs, marinated in Liquid Smoke, slow roasted all day in the Sun Oven. MMMMM !
Saturday ; WHEW ! Too hot ! Temperature way up in the 90's ! Time to leave ! Mind you ... we're not heading north when we leave tomorrow, we're heading west ... to a desert state park ! From the frying pan into the fire ?
This morning we went to the clubhouse for the monthly Saturday morning potluck brunch. It was poorly attended because the park is emptying fast. After breakfast we sat and chatted for awhile with a newly arrived couple from northern BC.
This afternoon Joanne worked on doing laundry. I worked on preparing for departure tomorrow, mostly "closing up" the workshop / shed and Arizona room. By mid-afternoon it was too hot to do anything so we went to the swimming pool and floated around and socialized with everybody else in the pool for the rest of the hot afternoon. WHEW ... even the pool is too hot ! Tonight when we cover the pool and hot tub it will be the last time they’re covered until next fall, we think.
Bo's broken toe continues to improve. He is limping less, and putting more weight on that foot. We still carry him out of the trailer and over the back yard fence into the dog park, but he climbs the steps back into the trailer by himself. I guess there's less weight on his sore toe going up the stairs than going down.
Supper was a roast chicken that was in the Sun Oven all day. I love how moist and tender chicken is when done in the Sun Oven.
In the evening I downloaded month end bank statements and investment updates.
I reconciled the bank statements. I'm looking forward to leaving the atrociously bad Wi-Fi service here at Kofa Ko-op. Much of my evening was spent "spinning my wheels" trying to get some online work done.
In anticipation of retracting the slides for travel tomorrow morning Joanne has just moved the pet water dish two feet. Sully is sitting two feet away, where the water dish is "supposed" to be, pouting and complaining loudly. HA HA HA !
DSK
No comments:
Post a Comment