December 16 to 22, 2012
Sunday ; Well ... Bo is a tad disappointed that we gave away "his" kitten. Sully, on the other hand, is thrilled. As are we, knowing that Kacey will have an excellent home with Hans and Peta. Thank you Hans and Peta for adopting Kacey !
This morning I did routine chores then took Bo for a drivey. We went to Arizona Market Place to buy yet another LED "fluorescent conversion" bulb, then went to Barney's to refill with diesel. As I rushed through the flea market I bumped into Lori and Ed, Escapee friends from BC Okanagan Chapter 33. I didn't really have time to stop and chat as I had left Bo in the truck parked in the sun.
After a late lunch Joanne went shopping ( YIPPEEE ... I didn’t have to go to Wal-Mart ) and I worked on home improvement and maintenance projects. I repaired a screen
I damaged recently < rolling eyes >. I repaired the "whirly bird" vent on the shed roof. It had been damaged in a severe wind storm a few months ago. I installed coaxial cable from the new satellite dish on the shed all the way to the patio roof support beam closest to the trailer, fifty feet of cable and lots of cable clamps and mounting screws.
In the evening we went to the ice cream social where Kacey's adoption by Hans and Peta was made "official". WOO-HOO ! ! ! We said goodbye to Renie and Paul, Kacey's "rescuers" ( we just provided "foster care" ) who are leaving Kofa Ko-op tomorrow. We're glad that they got to see Kacey be adopted before they leave.
Another successful stray rescue and adoption. I'm SOOOOO glad that we didn't have to surrender Kacey to the Humane Society when we leave here on the 27th. Don't you love happy endings ? !
Late in the evening we watched the three hour finale of Survivor.
Monday ; Baked an excellent loaf of bread in the Sun Oven today. Joanne went to Kofa Ko-op's annual Christmas cookie exchange. She took three dozen peanut butter cookies she baked last night and came back with three dozen assorted cookies baked by other women in the park.
She went shopping by herself all afternoon ... and part of the evening < scowl >. Before she left she helped me aim the satellite dish I mounted on the shed roof recently. I'm not very good at aiming satellite dishes. Now we have a Star Choice / Shaw Direct satellite dish mounted "permanently" on our park model in Keremeos, and another on our shed roof here in Yuma, plus a "portable" satellite dish on a tripod for travelling. SHEESH ! I'd have never thought that I would need three satellite dishes. I actually have four. I have a "spare" stored underneath our deck in Keremeos. HA HA HA !
I spent the afternoon working on two different home improvement projects, both of which I had to abandon before completion because I needed either tools or hardware which were in the truck.
Tuesday ; This morning I finished up one of the two projects I didn't finish yesterday. At noon our friends ( and Kofa Ko-op's assistant managers ) Bob and Judy came over for lunch. We wanted to treat them to lunch as a small gesture of appreciation for the furniture they recently gave us. We had a very nice lunch that started in the Arizona room but moved into the trailer when it got a bit chilly. We spent the afternoon chatting. After they left I rushed over to Lowe's to get some hardware that I needed to finish the second project left over from yesterday. I arrived back from Lowe's in time to join the pack walk which was already underway. After the pack walk I completed the second project. And that was the last project that I considered absolutely essential to be completed before we leave for Mexico in nine days.
It rained in the evening ! After the rain ended, it was windy and cold !
Wednesday ; Sunny but cold today.
We did an obedience session this morning with Bo. Geez, Bo ... did you forget everything you ever learned ? I spent the day puttering around with minor maintenance chores. We went to the daily pack walk in the dog park then went to the weekly Happy Hour Potluck. Joanne contributed two pots of her very good sausage and shrimp gumbo ( with rice cooked in the Sun Oven ).
I went over to visit Hans and Peta and check how Kacey is doing. Well ... she's doing GREAT ! She's happy ! Hans and Peta are happy ! Their other cat Siemen is happy ! Sully is happy that Kacey no longer lives with us ! HA HA HA!
As I left Hans and Peta's I got "buzzed" by a large Barn Owl. How odd !
Thursday ; I felt ill today and spent much of the day snoozing.
Carol Mae came over late this morning for a brief visit. Afterwards Joanne put a roast into the Sun Oven then went off to spend the afternoon shopping by herself. Late in the afternoon I took Bo on the daily pack walk, but I wasn't feeling healthy enough to really enjoy it. Plus ... it was pretty chilly today ! After the pack walk I went for a long, slow bicycle ride.
As always, the roast cooked in the Sun Oven turned out superb ! In the evening
I wrapped Christmas gifts. BAH ! HUMBUG ! I hate wrapping gifts !
Friday ; Today was another sunny but chilly day.
This morning Peta came over asking for some help with her computer and photos.
I downloaded her camera's photos to my computer, then copied them to a CD, then copied that to her computer. Easy ! I worked on that in our trailer for awhile, then went over to their motorhome to complete the process. While there I visited with Kacey. She's doing great ! And growing !
I spent most of the afternoon trying to accomplish about fifteen minutes of work. HA HA HA ! I kept getting distracted by chatty neighbours walking by. Late in the afternoon we went out on a "date night" planned by Joanne. First stop was Harbor Freight for some "guy stuff" shopping. That wasn't part of Joanne's plan. HA HA HA !
We headed to the intersection of 8th Street and Avenue B, then went on a "taco truck crawl". There are "taco trucks" set up for a few blocks in each direction from that intersection. Most of their clientele are Mexican farm workers. A few of the taco trucks are El Salvadoran. At the first taco truck that we stopped at, we shared a sope, a tostada, a flauta, a taco dorado, and a large glass of limonada. They were all ... okay. We went to another taco truck, this one El Salvadoran, and shared a papusa queso, papusa chicharrone, and a tamale pollo. Tamales made the El Salvadoran way are wrapped and baked in seaweed instead of corn husks. And the masa is softer and sweeter. MMMMM ! The tamale pollo and the papusa queso were outstanding ! ! ! The jalapeño coleslaw side dish was ... different !
After our Mexican and El Salvadoran street food supper we went on a two hour bus tour of three neighbourhoods in Yuma with exceptional Christmas light displays. Two bucks apiece well spent ! Thanks for the date night, my dear.
Saturday ; "Sunny and warm" has returned to Yuma. WOO-HOO !
This morning we worked on routine maintenance chores. This afternoon Joanne went shopping. Mercifully, I didn't ! At dusk Joanne participated in Christmas carolling around the park. Mercifully, I didn't ! HA HA HA !
DSK
Monday, December 24, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
December 9 to 15, 2012
Sunday ; WHEW ... tough night ! In the middle of the night Joanne was awakened by kitten cries. Kacey was in her pet carrier, wearing her Elizabethan collar. Using a cardboard box I had made a small litter box that fit inside the pet carrier. Kacey used the litter box, but because of "visual impairment" / tunnel vision caused by the Elizabethan collar, there had been a < ahem > litter box "incident". There was cat shit smeared all over the inside of the pet carrier, all over the edge of the Elizabethan collar, and all over Kacey. Poor baby !
< sigh > While Joanne cleaned up the pet carrier and Elizabethan collar, I bathed Kacey. OH MY GOODNESS ! ! ! Good thing I had trimmed her claws a few days earlier. I don't think I've ever had the misfortune of giving a kitten a bath before. And I hope I never have to again ! Especially at 4 AM ! ! !
Today Joanne baked a loaf of beer bread in the Sun Oven. We had it with supper tonight. It was quite good !
Right after lunch we headed for Gila Ridge High School's Performing Arts Center to see the Yuma Community Theater production of It's A Wonderful Life. I've always disliked the movie version and was hoping that a live theatre version would be more to my liking. Well ... it wasn't, really ! After the play we went to PetsMart to stock up on pet foods and supplies using a discount coupon I got online. Joanne and I made a very small contribution as part of a group here at Kofa Ko-op, headed up by our friend Carol Mae, that sponsored ( paid the medical and adoption fees ) for two dogs and two cats at the Humane Society of Yuma. At Joanne's suggestion, Carol Mae selected four older or special needs animals. With all fees paid, they were put into the Humane Society adoption wing at PetsMart this weekend. When we were at PetsMart around 4:30 PM this afternoon, two of the four had already been adopted. WOO-HOO ! Well done, Carol Mae ! The seven year old dog Glen and the three year old ( ugly ) cat Baxter had new homes ! We visited with the special needs dog Scrappy that was one of our group's sponsored animals. Scrappy the fuzzy little terrier had been severely injured when attacked by two larger dogs. He required extensive surgery. He is now healed, except for permanent nerve damage in one front leg. It twitches constantly ... I think with each heartbeat ... and makes him look somewhat like he's constantly waving. He's cute. I hope he's adopted soon. He deserves a second chance.
We returned home in time for the Sunday ice cream social. Afterwards we had supper while watching the season finale of Amazing Race. Congratulations to the gay goat farmers. Who'd have thunk ... ?
Monday ; HA HA HA HA HA ! Kacey has decided that Bo's ears are kitten toys. She leaps up onto his head and attacks his ears. HA HA HA HA HA ! Good dog, Bo, just relax !
The park's assistant managers are refurbishing their Class A motorhome. Yesterday they offered us some of their motorhome's old furniture for our Arizona room. YES ! Thank you. This morning we picked up their sofa bed and dinette table with booth seating.
We took Bo and Sully to the veterinarian today for their annual examinations and innoculations. Sully's blood pressure is good, indicating that we are administering the correct dosage of medication. BUT ... HA HA HA ... each of the three times they checked his blood pressure ... it rose ! HA HA HA ! He's so irritable ! Bo and Sully are both in excellent health.
This afternoon we rearranged all the furniture in the Arizona room, incorporating the new sofa bed and dinette booth. I spent quite awhile installing the dinette table and booth seating. The new furniture and the rearrangement of all the furniture makes the Arizona room even better than it was. It's great !
We continued to dehydrate pineapple slices in the Sun Oven today. I went by myself to The Foothills to send a package at the UPS Store. Very bad service, and outrageous pricing. The package returned home with me ! We'll be taking it to the Post Office tomorrow ! On the way home from The Foothills I stopped to look at an old Class C motorhome for sale for $8000. What a piece of crap ! The $5000 one we saw a few weeks ago was better. Back at home, before the sun set, I did some minor home improvement and maintenance projects. In the evening I did some online financial work.
As I type this at 10 PM all three animals are asleep on the sofa, Kacey sleeping right on Bo's butt. How cute !
Tuesday ; Two days ago I sliced a sirloin steak into thin strips and put it into the fridge in a Teriyaki marinade. This morning I put it into the Sun Oven for my first attempt at making beef jerky. I dehydrated it all day at about 200 degrees. It turned out GREAT ! Joanne agrees. And neither of us are really fans of beef jerky.
Late this morning we headed to Bard, California. Normally if we were going to Bard it would be to get date shakes. But today ... I was headed to the Bard Post Office to mail a package. I will NOT go the Yuma Post Office in mid-December ! Been there, done that ... not stupid enough to do it again !
After mailing the package, on the way back to Yuma, we stopped and picked a few
( oversized and left in field ) heads of lettuce from recently harvested fields. Always a bonus included on a trip to Bard. HA HA HA ! We returned to Yuma to meet our friends Lynn and Micha at Golden Corral for a late buffet lunch. We had a great meal and spent the afternoon eating and talking. We returned home just in time for the daily pack walk. Lynn and Micha joined us with their dog Gypsy. After the pack walk they joined us in our Arizona room and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with us.
Our first meeting of Lynn, Micha, and Gypsy was here in the Kofa Ko-op dog park five years ago when Gypsy was a pup. We used our old cat Teddy to introduce Gypsy to cats. And that was the genesis of Gypsy becoming cat friendly. She visited today not only with Bo, but with Kacey as well. So Kacey continues to learn that some dogs can be friendly towards cats. And the circle keeps going around and around. HA HA HA ! Gee, we're good with animals, n'est-ce-pas ?
After they left Joanne went shopping. Renie and Paul came over to visit Kacey ... and bring us a container of fresh, home made cookies. Well ... thank you very much. I sought their opinions on Kacey's future. I'm being encouraged to surrender Kacey to the Humane Society SOON ! As in ... before Christmas ... to increase her chances for adoption. I'm resisting that !
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
This morning I did an obedience session with Bo in the dog park ... well done, Bo, good dog ... then we left for my dentist appointment at noon in Mexico. My dentist has a "crown specialist" on staff, and I didn't even see the dentist today, just the "crown specialist". She yanked out the temporary crown, then fussed and fiddled with the new crown for about half an hour before getting the fit exactly correct. Then she decided she wanted to send it back to the lab for some final repolishing. I snoozed in the reclined dental chair for half an hour. HA HA HA ! When it came back from the lab she glued it in and ... adiós, señor. The line up at the border crossing back into the United States was about ten minutes today. WOW ! CBP is getting faster and faster !
On our way home we stopped to visit the brand new Humane Society of Yuma animal shelter, opened yesterday. I spoke to them about the likelihood that we will have to surrender Kacey to them on December 27 when we leave here < sigh > if we have failed to find her a new home by then. We arrived home in time for the daily pack walk. That was followed by tonight's communal turkey soup supper at the clubhouse. At the soup supper we discovered that some old friends from Ontario have arrived here at Kofa
Ko-op. We visited for awhile with Hans and Peta. Following the soup supper was Kofa Ko-op's annual "Christmas parade". Our intent was to walk with the parade, with Kacey in a Christmas stocking, and a "please adopt me" sign. BUT ... the parade moved much too fast for us to keep pace with, so we didn't get to exhibit her as much as we would have liked. Afterwards Carol Mae came over to discuss Kacey's future.
Thursday ; Today was mostly sunny and mild, becoming cloudy, cool, and windy late in the afternoon. It rained heavily in the evening. Ironically, it also rained heavily on this date last year.
Joanne went shopping with her friend Eileen today. I went shopping by myself, to Wally's World, Al's RV, and Arizona Market Place, mostly for hardware for home improvement projects. I spent the afternoon working on home improvement projects.
Friday ; Last night something happened in our bed that hasn't happened in 3½ years.
< whispering > Bo was thoroughly lick groomed by a cat. HA HA HA ! Kacey was grooming herself while cuddled close to him. He rolled over, shoved his head up against her face, and soon she was grooming him. And now that he's figured out how to get her to groom him ... HA HA HA ... he's getting his share every time Kacey grooms herself.
This morning we went on a tour of Datepac, the world's largest Medjool date processing and packing facility. A tour that I arranged for Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7. We had 32 people on the tour. And it was a very good tour ! Afterwards we drove to The Foothills for the annual huge Helping Hands Yard Sale at Gila Mountain United Methodist Church. We each bought a few small items.
Tonight I am deeply saddened by the tragic massacre of twenty children in Connecticut !
Saturday ; We got up early again this morning. HMPH ! Potluck breakfast ! I'd rather sleep ! Joanne prepared her contribution and off we went. When breakfast was over our friends Hans and Peta came over to visit. We spent the rest of the morning visiting with them, and as they were preparing to leave around noon, Peta leaned over to Hans and whispered ... "I want the kitten". WOW ! Didn't see that one coming ! I just about fell over ! HA HA HA ! Just then Renie arrived for a visit with her cat Loxi. So ... Kacey's original rescuer got to see Hans and Peta tentatively adopt Kacey.
Renie visited for awhile and as she left with Loxi a new neighbour was walking by with her cat. So ... we invited Dana and her cat Louis into the Arizona room to visit with us and meet Bo. By the time Dana and Louis left after a brief visit it was time for a late lunch ... and, of course, a nap with Sully. HA HA HA ! Sully is very happy that Kacey has left.
This afternoon I converted the third and last of our fluorescent light fixtures to LED. We went on the regular daily pack walk, then walked over to Hans and Peta's to see how Kacey was doing. We had told them to take Kacey for a "test drive" and to feel free to return her to us if anything didn't work out. By the time we visited Kacey had been with Hans and Peta and their cat Simon for about five hours or so. And everything had gone well so far !
It would be wonderful if Kacey found her “forever home” with Hans and Peta. Let's hope !
DSK
< sigh > While Joanne cleaned up the pet carrier and Elizabethan collar, I bathed Kacey. OH MY GOODNESS ! ! ! Good thing I had trimmed her claws a few days earlier. I don't think I've ever had the misfortune of giving a kitten a bath before. And I hope I never have to again ! Especially at 4 AM ! ! !
Today Joanne baked a loaf of beer bread in the Sun Oven. We had it with supper tonight. It was quite good !
Right after lunch we headed for Gila Ridge High School's Performing Arts Center to see the Yuma Community Theater production of It's A Wonderful Life. I've always disliked the movie version and was hoping that a live theatre version would be more to my liking. Well ... it wasn't, really ! After the play we went to PetsMart to stock up on pet foods and supplies using a discount coupon I got online. Joanne and I made a very small contribution as part of a group here at Kofa Ko-op, headed up by our friend Carol Mae, that sponsored ( paid the medical and adoption fees ) for two dogs and two cats at the Humane Society of Yuma. At Joanne's suggestion, Carol Mae selected four older or special needs animals. With all fees paid, they were put into the Humane Society adoption wing at PetsMart this weekend. When we were at PetsMart around 4:30 PM this afternoon, two of the four had already been adopted. WOO-HOO ! Well done, Carol Mae ! The seven year old dog Glen and the three year old ( ugly ) cat Baxter had new homes ! We visited with the special needs dog Scrappy that was one of our group's sponsored animals. Scrappy the fuzzy little terrier had been severely injured when attacked by two larger dogs. He required extensive surgery. He is now healed, except for permanent nerve damage in one front leg. It twitches constantly ... I think with each heartbeat ... and makes him look somewhat like he's constantly waving. He's cute. I hope he's adopted soon. He deserves a second chance.
We returned home in time for the Sunday ice cream social. Afterwards we had supper while watching the season finale of Amazing Race. Congratulations to the gay goat farmers. Who'd have thunk ... ?
Monday ; HA HA HA HA HA ! Kacey has decided that Bo's ears are kitten toys. She leaps up onto his head and attacks his ears. HA HA HA HA HA ! Good dog, Bo, just relax !
The park's assistant managers are refurbishing their Class A motorhome. Yesterday they offered us some of their motorhome's old furniture for our Arizona room. YES ! Thank you. This morning we picked up their sofa bed and dinette table with booth seating.
We took Bo and Sully to the veterinarian today for their annual examinations and innoculations. Sully's blood pressure is good, indicating that we are administering the correct dosage of medication. BUT ... HA HA HA ... each of the three times they checked his blood pressure ... it rose ! HA HA HA ! He's so irritable ! Bo and Sully are both in excellent health.
This afternoon we rearranged all the furniture in the Arizona room, incorporating the new sofa bed and dinette booth. I spent quite awhile installing the dinette table and booth seating. The new furniture and the rearrangement of all the furniture makes the Arizona room even better than it was. It's great !
We continued to dehydrate pineapple slices in the Sun Oven today. I went by myself to The Foothills to send a package at the UPS Store. Very bad service, and outrageous pricing. The package returned home with me ! We'll be taking it to the Post Office tomorrow ! On the way home from The Foothills I stopped to look at an old Class C motorhome for sale for $8000. What a piece of crap ! The $5000 one we saw a few weeks ago was better. Back at home, before the sun set, I did some minor home improvement and maintenance projects. In the evening I did some online financial work.
As I type this at 10 PM all three animals are asleep on the sofa, Kacey sleeping right on Bo's butt. How cute !
Late this morning we headed to Bard, California. Normally if we were going to Bard it would be to get date shakes. But today ... I was headed to the Bard Post Office to mail a package. I will NOT go the Yuma Post Office in mid-December ! Been there, done that ... not stupid enough to do it again !
After mailing the package, on the way back to Yuma, we stopped and picked a few
( oversized and left in field ) heads of lettuce from recently harvested fields. Always a bonus included on a trip to Bard. HA HA HA ! We returned to Yuma to meet our friends Lynn and Micha at Golden Corral for a late buffet lunch. We had a great meal and spent the afternoon eating and talking. We returned home just in time for the daily pack walk. Lynn and Micha joined us with their dog Gypsy. After the pack walk they joined us in our Arizona room and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with us.
Our first meeting of Lynn, Micha, and Gypsy was here in the Kofa Ko-op dog park five years ago when Gypsy was a pup. We used our old cat Teddy to introduce Gypsy to cats. And that was the genesis of Gypsy becoming cat friendly. She visited today not only with Bo, but with Kacey as well. So Kacey continues to learn that some dogs can be friendly towards cats. And the circle keeps going around and around. HA HA HA ! Gee, we're good with animals, n'est-ce-pas ?
After they left Joanne went shopping. Renie and Paul came over to visit Kacey ... and bring us a container of fresh, home made cookies. Well ... thank you very much. I sought their opinions on Kacey's future. I'm being encouraged to surrender Kacey to the Humane Society SOON ! As in ... before Christmas ... to increase her chances for adoption. I'm resisting that !
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
This morning I did an obedience session with Bo in the dog park ... well done, Bo, good dog ... then we left for my dentist appointment at noon in Mexico. My dentist has a "crown specialist" on staff, and I didn't even see the dentist today, just the "crown specialist". She yanked out the temporary crown, then fussed and fiddled with the new crown for about half an hour before getting the fit exactly correct. Then she decided she wanted to send it back to the lab for some final repolishing. I snoozed in the reclined dental chair for half an hour. HA HA HA ! When it came back from the lab she glued it in and ... adiós, señor. The line up at the border crossing back into the United States was about ten minutes today. WOW ! CBP is getting faster and faster !
On our way home we stopped to visit the brand new Humane Society of Yuma animal shelter, opened yesterday. I spoke to them about the likelihood that we will have to surrender Kacey to them on December 27 when we leave here < sigh > if we have failed to find her a new home by then. We arrived home in time for the daily pack walk. That was followed by tonight's communal turkey soup supper at the clubhouse. At the soup supper we discovered that some old friends from Ontario have arrived here at Kofa
Ko-op. We visited for awhile with Hans and Peta. Following the soup supper was Kofa Ko-op's annual "Christmas parade". Our intent was to walk with the parade, with Kacey in a Christmas stocking, and a "please adopt me" sign. BUT ... the parade moved much too fast for us to keep pace with, so we didn't get to exhibit her as much as we would have liked. Afterwards Carol Mae came over to discuss Kacey's future.
Thursday ; Today was mostly sunny and mild, becoming cloudy, cool, and windy late in the afternoon. It rained heavily in the evening. Ironically, it also rained heavily on this date last year.
Joanne went shopping with her friend Eileen today. I went shopping by myself, to Wally's World, Al's RV, and Arizona Market Place, mostly for hardware for home improvement projects. I spent the afternoon working on home improvement projects.
Friday ; Last night something happened in our bed that hasn't happened in 3½ years.
< whispering > Bo was thoroughly lick groomed by a cat. HA HA HA ! Kacey was grooming herself while cuddled close to him. He rolled over, shoved his head up against her face, and soon she was grooming him. And now that he's figured out how to get her to groom him ... HA HA HA ... he's getting his share every time Kacey grooms herself.
This morning we went on a tour of Datepac, the world's largest Medjool date processing and packing facility. A tour that I arranged for Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7. We had 32 people on the tour. And it was a very good tour ! Afterwards we drove to The Foothills for the annual huge Helping Hands Yard Sale at Gila Mountain United Methodist Church. We each bought a few small items.
Tonight I am deeply saddened by the tragic massacre of twenty children in Connecticut !
Saturday ; We got up early again this morning. HMPH ! Potluck breakfast ! I'd rather sleep ! Joanne prepared her contribution and off we went. When breakfast was over our friends Hans and Peta came over to visit. We spent the rest of the morning visiting with them, and as they were preparing to leave around noon, Peta leaned over to Hans and whispered ... "I want the kitten". WOW ! Didn't see that one coming ! I just about fell over ! HA HA HA ! Just then Renie arrived for a visit with her cat Loxi. So ... Kacey's original rescuer got to see Hans and Peta tentatively adopt Kacey.
Renie visited for awhile and as she left with Loxi a new neighbour was walking by with her cat. So ... we invited Dana and her cat Louis into the Arizona room to visit with us and meet Bo. By the time Dana and Louis left after a brief visit it was time for a late lunch ... and, of course, a nap with Sully. HA HA HA ! Sully is very happy that Kacey has left.
This afternoon I converted the third and last of our fluorescent light fixtures to LED. We went on the regular daily pack walk, then walked over to Hans and Peta's to see how Kacey was doing. We had told them to take Kacey for a "test drive" and to feel free to return her to us if anything didn't work out. By the time we visited Kacey had been with Hans and Peta and their cat Simon for about five hours or so. And everything had gone well so far !
It would be wonderful if Kacey found her “forever home” with Hans and Peta. Let's hope !
DSK
Monday, December 10, 2012
December 2 to 8, 2012
Sunday ; The weather continues to be sunny and very warm. Well ... what did you expect ? ! ? It's Yuma, Arizona ! ! !
We spent way too much of today shopping at Yuma Park N Swap a.k.a. Dog Track Flea Market. I bought a lot of hardware and tools and other "guy stuff" for a variety of home improvement projects I have pending, both here and at home in Canada next spring. We bought quite a bit of fresh produce, including some very fresh tomatillos which Joanne used tonight to make Chicken Chile Verde. WOW ... tomatillos that are that fresh are really tasty !
We did our regular daily two laps around the dog park pack walk. We attended the regular Sunday early evening ice cream social. The feral kitten we were hoping to capture last week has "adopted" a nearby neighbour, befriending the neighbour's cat which spends the afternoons outdoors in its "cat tent". We have arranged for the neighbour to "capture" the feral kitten, at which point we will take responsibility for having it spayed / neutered and innoculated, then adopted.
Monday ; Say hello to Casey ( KC ; Kofa Cat / Kitty Cat ).
This morning Joanne returned from her regular morning water aerobics session accompanied by nearby neighbours Reenee and Paul ... and the little feral kitten that they "captured". I named it Casey. It's a female, probably about three months old. Tiny and sweet ! Probably born feral. She's now going to live in our Arizona room until adopted.
Our pet loving and Humane Society "connected" friend Carol Mae has arranged for Casey to be spayed and innoculated on Thursday at the Humane Society of Yuma Spay & Neuter Clinic. Thank you very much, Carol Mae !
Casey is scared, but her fears are outweighed by her curiosity. So ... her "feral" state is already rapidly diminishing and she's becoming a very sweet little domestic kitten. She urinated on our Arizona room sofa this afternoon < scowl >. Initially we thought she was so feral she didn't know about litter boxes. Later I was able to deduce that she panicked, emptied her full bladder, then hid underneath the fridge in the shed when our pack walk stopped at the "oasis" behind our yard to have a drink. The sound of many dogs nearby, sounding as if they were about to come over the fence and into the Arizona room where she is being "held captive" and unable to escape must have terrified her. Sorry, Casey, we'll deal with the pack walk and the oasis a little differently while you're "captive" in the Arizona room. I didn't figure out what had happened until late in the evening when I was cuddling with her on the sofa and I realized that she reeked of urine. She had "peed herself" while we were on the dog walk, and then we couldn't find her. She was under the fridge. It took us a long time to find her there. And later ... she used the litter box. So ... when it became obvious that she understood the concept of a litter box we were mystified by the urination on the sofa. Eventually I figured it out.
I guess ... after she's gone ... we'll be shopping at Salvation Army and Goodwill for a new sofa for the Arizona room !
We spent the evening out. I picked up my resized rings from Gonzo's Jewellery ! Nicely done ! Good work ! I refilled Lanoire with diesel. Price is still holding steady at $3.739 per gallon. We went looking for ... and found ... DATEPAC, the world's largest Medjool date packing plant. Today I arranged a tour there next week for Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 / Kofa Ko-op. We went to Wal-Mart and I bought myself a new laptop computer for Christmas. They had a "one time offer" advertised special on a laptop computer for only $20 more than the Thanksgiving / Black Friday "doorbuster" special. We went to Fry's for some groceries. Then went to KFC for supper. Joanne's choice ! WOO-HOO ... ETYS KFC Buffet ! Joanne looooves KFC ! HA HA HA !
Tuesday ; Well ... there ya go ! Twenty-four hours with us and Casey is "de-feralized" ! HA HA HA ! Today Casey was calm and content. We trimmed her nails. No problem !
I took her inside the trailer to meet Sully. No problem ! I took Bo into the Arizona room to meet her. No problem ! Joanne stayed in the Arizona room with her while I went on the daily pack walk. Joanne wanted to see if Casey panicked when all the dogs stopped at the "oasis" behind our back yard fence to have a drink of water. No problem ! So now we really have no idea what scared her enough yesterday to cause her to pee herself while on the sofa then hide under the fridge. Reenee and Paul gave us some photos they took two days ago on their lot of her interacting with them and their cat Loxi ( a rescue from BiLOXI, Mississippi ... like Bo from RainBOw Plantation RV Park in Alabama ). We attached some "captions" advertising her for adoption and posted the photos on the bulletin board in the clubhouse.
Today I worked on converting two of the trailer's three fluorescent light fixtures to LED. First I worked on the eighteen inch fluorescent fixture over the sink. I was very uncertain of how to make the conversion, but ... I got it done okay. I removed the light fixture from underneath the kitchen cupboard, removed the fluorescent ballast, and rewired the fixture. Worked fine so I reinstalled it underneath the kitchen cupboard. I removed the twelve inch fluorescent fixture from the ceiling over the dinette table, and did the same things the same way. It wouldn't work ! I fussed and fiddled. Still wouldn't work ! Defective LED light strip ? I'll have to return the very expensive LED light strip and my rewired fixture to the Arizona Market Place on Thursday and seek assistance from the vendor.
After much nagging from me Joanne began to wash the trailer late this afternoon. Driving south through fall's typical wet weather leaves a lot of road grime on the trailer. And a couple of weeks of baking in the Arizona desert sun makes it extremely difficult to remove. We should have washed it before now !
Pretty sunset tonight !
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
This morning we both stepped out of the trailer for a few minutes and when we returned ... Bo was hobbling around on three legs. He seems to have re-injured the toe he broke late last winter. Poor Bo !
Late this morning we headed to Mexico for my mid-afternoon dentist appointment. We shopped for a tablecloth for awhile before having lunch. We found a tablecloth that we both liked and wanted. The "opening" price was $65. I offered $10. HA HA HA ! Welcome to Mexico. We broke off negotiations and walked away when the seller's price was down to $20 and I was offering $18. HA HA HA HA HA ! We'll return next week and buy it. Hopefully for $19 ( ROFLMAO ).
For lunch we went to a restaurant that we've never been to before. It was ... very disappointing. Oh, well ... ya win some, ya lose some ! We ended up there because we were exploring an area on the edge of town that we've never been to before, despite how many times that we've been to Los Algodones over the last eight years.
Last summer I broke a tooth. It needs a crown. Today Dr. Camacho ground down the broken tooth, took impressions to have a permanent crown made, and installed a temporary crown. My appointment to have the permanent crown installed is ... wait for it ... the 12th hour of the 12th day of the 12th month of the 12th year. HA HA HA !
For the hour that I was in the dentist's chair Joanne went shopping. And came back with packages of Nugs, mini-Nugs, and mini-Coco-Nugs. OH ... good girl, well done ! HA HA HA !
We returned home just in time to join the daily pack walk that was already underway. Bo was eager to go, but after we helped him over the back fence, his toe was too sore to allow him to join the pack. The pack's attitude was ... "he's injured, leave him in the desert to die, let's go". HA HA HA ! We went to today's late afternoon "heavy appetizers social hour" and chatted with Reenee and Paul, the rescuers of Casey. Reenee was surprised that Dr. Camacho's charge for a crown is $290, all inclusive. And he's one of the most expensive dentists in Los Algodones. She paid about $2000 for a crown recently at her American dentist.
Thursday ; WAAAAAYYYYY too early this morning ( 7 AM ) we took Kasey ( named by me but spelling determined today by Joanne ) to the Humane Society of Yuma Spay & Neuter Clinic. We returned home and I went back to sleep for a couple of hours. Joanne went to water aerobics as she does every weekday.
This afternoon we continued washing the trailer. We're not finished yet. Shortly before it was time to go pick up Kasey we headed to Arizona Market Place. I needed assistance from the LED light bulb vendor. < sigh > It didn't take long to ascertain that I had wired both fluorescent fixtures incorrectly. It was just plain dumb luck that the eighteen inch fixture actually functioned, despite being wired incorrectly. We went to the HSOY Clinic and picked up poor little baby Kasey.
Back at home we fed her ... she was very hungry and thirsty. She was still fighting off the anaesthetic, and was very anxious. She became even more anxious when we put an Elizabethan collar on her ... Kasey the cone head kitty ! It took a long time to get her settled down in the pet carrier that will be her home for awhile. First Carol Mae and then Reenee came by to visit her.
I took Bo into the dog park for the daily pack walk, but his injured toe was still too sore to allow him to walk much. We waited for the pack to get three quarters of the way around the dog park to our "oasis". The dogs all had a drink, visited with Bo, and carried on.
I rewired the twelve inch fluorescent fixture. And tested it. And rewired it again. And tested it. And rewired it again. And so on ... until I finally got it right < rolling eyes >. Tomorrow
I will remove the eighteen inch fixture, rewire it correctly, and reinstall both fixtures.
Friday ; Kacey was much better today. And the spelling of her name has changed yet again ! As I type this ( at 10:40 PM ) she is cuddled up to Bo on the sofa. Good dog, Bo, just relax and allow the kitten to lie against you. While Kacey is recovering from surgery quickly, Bo is not recovering so quickly from his toe injury. Today was his third day of hobbling around on three legs.
HEY ! That was a sonic boom ! Some young Marine pilot learning to fly the newly arrived F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at night is going to get his knuckles rapped for that !
Today I took a hydro meter reading, after using our new solar panels for a week. Our daily consumption of "paid" electricity has diminished from about two dollars a day to about fifty cents a day ! WOW ! And I think most of that fifty cents a day is going to power the large fridge in our shed.
I removed the incorrectly wired eighteen inch kitchen light fixture, rewired it correctly, and reinstalled it. Then I reinstalled the twelve inch fixture over the dinette table. I quite like the new LED conversion lights. I'm planning to convert the last fluorescent light fixture in the trailer, a twelve inch fixture over my desk.
We finished washing the trailer today. WOO-HOO ! Late in the afternoon we went to run some shopping errands. Wal-Mart on Pacific Avenue, Wal-Mart in The Foothills, Fry's, Walgreen's, and finally ... Wienerschnitzel for supper.
Saturday ; Kacey seems completely recovered, although we know that's not true. She's just been spayed / had a hysterectomy, and has a surgical incision with sutures, so healing will take a least a week. BUT ... she's trying very hard ... and mostly succeeding ... in convincing us that she no longer needs to wear her Elizabethan collar and no longer needs to be confined to a pet carrier.
Yesterday we bought a couple of pineapples on sale for a dollar apiece. This morning we put thin slices of pineapple in the Sun Oven to dehydrate. It's a two day process to slowly and completely dry them. Joanne went thrift store and grocery shopping by herself.
I worked on home improvement projects. Well ... and I napped with three animals. HA HA HA ! Before Joanne returned home I did "pet care". Cleaned everybody's ears, trimmed Bo's and Sully's claws. Pretty hard to do "pet care" without help. The process was unfamiliar to Kacey so she squirmed a lot. And Sully is in a bad mood because of Kacey, so he screamed loudly in angry protest while I trimmed his claws in the back yard.
I wonder what the neighbours thought I was doing ? "Does that guy rescue cats just so he can torture them ?"
We attended today's "barbecue your own meat" potluck dinner. It was good ! I spent much of the evening "setting up" the new computer I will be receiving as a Christmas gift. HA HA HA !
DSK
We spent way too much of today shopping at Yuma Park N Swap a.k.a. Dog Track Flea Market. I bought a lot of hardware and tools and other "guy stuff" for a variety of home improvement projects I have pending, both here and at home in Canada next spring. We bought quite a bit of fresh produce, including some very fresh tomatillos which Joanne used tonight to make Chicken Chile Verde. WOW ... tomatillos that are that fresh are really tasty !
We did our regular daily two laps around the dog park pack walk. We attended the regular Sunday early evening ice cream social. The feral kitten we were hoping to capture last week has "adopted" a nearby neighbour, befriending the neighbour's cat which spends the afternoons outdoors in its "cat tent". We have arranged for the neighbour to "capture" the feral kitten, at which point we will take responsibility for having it spayed / neutered and innoculated, then adopted.
Monday ; Say hello to Casey ( KC ; Kofa Cat / Kitty Cat ).
This morning Joanne returned from her regular morning water aerobics session accompanied by nearby neighbours Reenee and Paul ... and the little feral kitten that they "captured". I named it Casey. It's a female, probably about three months old. Tiny and sweet ! Probably born feral. She's now going to live in our Arizona room until adopted.
Our pet loving and Humane Society "connected" friend Carol Mae has arranged for Casey to be spayed and innoculated on Thursday at the Humane Society of Yuma Spay & Neuter Clinic. Thank you very much, Carol Mae !
Casey is scared, but her fears are outweighed by her curiosity. So ... her "feral" state is already rapidly diminishing and she's becoming a very sweet little domestic kitten. She urinated on our Arizona room sofa this afternoon < scowl >. Initially we thought she was so feral she didn't know about litter boxes. Later I was able to deduce that she panicked, emptied her full bladder, then hid underneath the fridge in the shed when our pack walk stopped at the "oasis" behind our yard to have a drink. The sound of many dogs nearby, sounding as if they were about to come over the fence and into the Arizona room where she is being "held captive" and unable to escape must have terrified her. Sorry, Casey, we'll deal with the pack walk and the oasis a little differently while you're "captive" in the Arizona room. I didn't figure out what had happened until late in the evening when I was cuddling with her on the sofa and I realized that she reeked of urine. She had "peed herself" while we were on the dog walk, and then we couldn't find her. She was under the fridge. It took us a long time to find her there. And later ... she used the litter box. So ... when it became obvious that she understood the concept of a litter box we were mystified by the urination on the sofa. Eventually I figured it out.
I guess ... after she's gone ... we'll be shopping at Salvation Army and Goodwill for a new sofa for the Arizona room !
We spent the evening out. I picked up my resized rings from Gonzo's Jewellery ! Nicely done ! Good work ! I refilled Lanoire with diesel. Price is still holding steady at $3.739 per gallon. We went looking for ... and found ... DATEPAC, the world's largest Medjool date packing plant. Today I arranged a tour there next week for Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 / Kofa Ko-op. We went to Wal-Mart and I bought myself a new laptop computer for Christmas. They had a "one time offer" advertised special on a laptop computer for only $20 more than the Thanksgiving / Black Friday "doorbuster" special. We went to Fry's for some groceries. Then went to KFC for supper. Joanne's choice ! WOO-HOO ... ETYS KFC Buffet ! Joanne looooves KFC ! HA HA HA !
Tuesday ; Well ... there ya go ! Twenty-four hours with us and Casey is "de-feralized" ! HA HA HA ! Today Casey was calm and content. We trimmed her nails. No problem !
I took her inside the trailer to meet Sully. No problem ! I took Bo into the Arizona room to meet her. No problem ! Joanne stayed in the Arizona room with her while I went on the daily pack walk. Joanne wanted to see if Casey panicked when all the dogs stopped at the "oasis" behind our back yard fence to have a drink of water. No problem ! So now we really have no idea what scared her enough yesterday to cause her to pee herself while on the sofa then hide under the fridge. Reenee and Paul gave us some photos they took two days ago on their lot of her interacting with them and their cat Loxi ( a rescue from BiLOXI, Mississippi ... like Bo from RainBOw Plantation RV Park in Alabama ). We attached some "captions" advertising her for adoption and posted the photos on the bulletin board in the clubhouse.
After much nagging from me Joanne began to wash the trailer late this afternoon. Driving south through fall's typical wet weather leaves a lot of road grime on the trailer. And a couple of weeks of baking in the Arizona desert sun makes it extremely difficult to remove. We should have washed it before now !
Pretty sunset tonight !
This morning we both stepped out of the trailer for a few minutes and when we returned ... Bo was hobbling around on three legs. He seems to have re-injured the toe he broke late last winter. Poor Bo !
Late this morning we headed to Mexico for my mid-afternoon dentist appointment. We shopped for a tablecloth for awhile before having lunch. We found a tablecloth that we both liked and wanted. The "opening" price was $65. I offered $10. HA HA HA ! Welcome to Mexico. We broke off negotiations and walked away when the seller's price was down to $20 and I was offering $18. HA HA HA HA HA ! We'll return next week and buy it. Hopefully for $19 ( ROFLMAO ).
For lunch we went to a restaurant that we've never been to before. It was ... very disappointing. Oh, well ... ya win some, ya lose some ! We ended up there because we were exploring an area on the edge of town that we've never been to before, despite how many times that we've been to Los Algodones over the last eight years.
Last summer I broke a tooth. It needs a crown. Today Dr. Camacho ground down the broken tooth, took impressions to have a permanent crown made, and installed a temporary crown. My appointment to have the permanent crown installed is ... wait for it ... the 12th hour of the 12th day of the 12th month of the 12th year. HA HA HA !
For the hour that I was in the dentist's chair Joanne went shopping. And came back with packages of Nugs, mini-Nugs, and mini-Coco-Nugs. OH ... good girl, well done ! HA HA HA !
We returned home just in time to join the daily pack walk that was already underway. Bo was eager to go, but after we helped him over the back fence, his toe was too sore to allow him to join the pack. The pack's attitude was ... "he's injured, leave him in the desert to die, let's go". HA HA HA ! We went to today's late afternoon "heavy appetizers social hour" and chatted with Reenee and Paul, the rescuers of Casey. Reenee was surprised that Dr. Camacho's charge for a crown is $290, all inclusive. And he's one of the most expensive dentists in Los Algodones. She paid about $2000 for a crown recently at her American dentist.
Thursday ; WAAAAAYYYYY too early this morning ( 7 AM ) we took Kasey ( named by me but spelling determined today by Joanne ) to the Humane Society of Yuma Spay & Neuter Clinic. We returned home and I went back to sleep for a couple of hours. Joanne went to water aerobics as she does every weekday.
This afternoon we continued washing the trailer. We're not finished yet. Shortly before it was time to go pick up Kasey we headed to Arizona Market Place. I needed assistance from the LED light bulb vendor. < sigh > It didn't take long to ascertain that I had wired both fluorescent fixtures incorrectly. It was just plain dumb luck that the eighteen inch fixture actually functioned, despite being wired incorrectly. We went to the HSOY Clinic and picked up poor little baby Kasey.
Back at home we fed her ... she was very hungry and thirsty. She was still fighting off the anaesthetic, and was very anxious. She became even more anxious when we put an Elizabethan collar on her ... Kasey the cone head kitty ! It took a long time to get her settled down in the pet carrier that will be her home for awhile. First Carol Mae and then Reenee came by to visit her.
I took Bo into the dog park for the daily pack walk, but his injured toe was still too sore to allow him to walk much. We waited for the pack to get three quarters of the way around the dog park to our "oasis". The dogs all had a drink, visited with Bo, and carried on.
I rewired the twelve inch fluorescent fixture. And tested it. And rewired it again. And tested it. And rewired it again. And so on ... until I finally got it right < rolling eyes >. Tomorrow
I will remove the eighteen inch fixture, rewire it correctly, and reinstall both fixtures.
Friday ; Kacey was much better today. And the spelling of her name has changed yet again ! As I type this ( at 10:40 PM ) she is cuddled up to Bo on the sofa. Good dog, Bo, just relax and allow the kitten to lie against you. While Kacey is recovering from surgery quickly, Bo is not recovering so quickly from his toe injury. Today was his third day of hobbling around on three legs.
HEY ! That was a sonic boom ! Some young Marine pilot learning to fly the newly arrived F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at night is going to get his knuckles rapped for that !
Today I took a hydro meter reading, after using our new solar panels for a week. Our daily consumption of "paid" electricity has diminished from about two dollars a day to about fifty cents a day ! WOW ! And I think most of that fifty cents a day is going to power the large fridge in our shed.
I removed the incorrectly wired eighteen inch kitchen light fixture, rewired it correctly, and reinstalled it. Then I reinstalled the twelve inch fixture over the dinette table. I quite like the new LED conversion lights. I'm planning to convert the last fluorescent light fixture in the trailer, a twelve inch fixture over my desk.
We finished washing the trailer today. WOO-HOO ! Late in the afternoon we went to run some shopping errands. Wal-Mart on Pacific Avenue, Wal-Mart in The Foothills, Fry's, Walgreen's, and finally ... Wienerschnitzel for supper.
Saturday ; Kacey seems completely recovered, although we know that's not true. She's just been spayed / had a hysterectomy, and has a surgical incision with sutures, so healing will take a least a week. BUT ... she's trying very hard ... and mostly succeeding ... in convincing us that she no longer needs to wear her Elizabethan collar and no longer needs to be confined to a pet carrier.
Yesterday we bought a couple of pineapples on sale for a dollar apiece. This morning we put thin slices of pineapple in the Sun Oven to dehydrate. It's a two day process to slowly and completely dry them. Joanne went thrift store and grocery shopping by herself.
I worked on home improvement projects. Well ... and I napped with three animals. HA HA HA ! Before Joanne returned home I did "pet care". Cleaned everybody's ears, trimmed Bo's and Sully's claws. Pretty hard to do "pet care" without help. The process was unfamiliar to Kacey so she squirmed a lot. And Sully is in a bad mood because of Kacey, so he screamed loudly in angry protest while I trimmed his claws in the back yard.
I wonder what the neighbours thought I was doing ? "Does that guy rescue cats just so he can torture them ?"
We attended today's "barbecue your own meat" potluck dinner. It was good ! I spent much of the evening "setting up" the new computer I will be receiving as a Christmas gift. HA HA HA !
DSK
Sunday, December 2, 2012
November 25 to December 1, 2012
Sunday ; Well ... still sunny and very warm !
This morning I baked a superb loaf of bread in the Sun Oven. This afternoon we cooked a beef roast for supper in the Sun Oven. We had injected it with Louisiana Gem marinade before cooking. WOW ... the roast was great !
I did a Bo-gility session. Well done, Bo ! I set up "International Long Distance" calling on our U.S. cell phone. You wouldn't think it would be necessary to do that, would you ? ! ?
I spent much of the afternoon "gardening". I removed the cacti in our gardens that did not survive the summer, including the plantings I did behind our back yard fence in the dog park. I trimmed / pruned as necessary. I cleaned a large area of the dog park behind our yard of scruffy growth of desert grasses and weeds. It must have been a "good summer" because the dog park is very overgrown with scruffy growth of grasses and weeds, including a lot of Devil's Claw / Horse Crippler plants, usually considered quite "rare".
Using expanding foam sealant I sealed inside the kitchen cupboard where the mouse entered. Geeeeez, that stuff is difficult to work with ! I've used it three or four times in my life, and I don't seem to be getting any better at it ! I posted my weekly journal to my blog. We went to the ice cream social. Afterwards I watched the final hour of the Grey Cup, Canada's championship football game. We had our wonderful roast beef dinner. We closed / covered the swimming pool and hot tub, a job I volunteered us for this week. We watched Amazing Race. I prepared a "smoked" candied marinade for our last two salmon fillets.
Monday ; I put the marinated salmon fillets in the Sun Oven this morning before we headed to The Foothills for some shopping errands. Went to three carport & awning manufacturing companies before I found the fascia moulding insert that I needed to replace what was damaged on our Arizona room roof during a recent storm. Went to the "new" Fry's store for groceries. I always buy a package of take home sushi freshly made by the in-store sushi chefs. MMMMM ! After grocery shopping we went to look at some old RV's at a couple of the "park & hope" sale lots.
Back at home we had lunch, then I went to nap briefly with Sully. Joanne and Bo went for a walk with Carol Mae and Dulce. I did some minor maintenance and home improvement project work. Joanne did some laundry. We went on our regular daily pack walk in the dog park. Six dogs today ! I shopped online for a laptop computer. Didn't buy one ! Cyber Monday specials are nowhere near as good as "shop in person" Black Friday specials.
Late in the afternoon we discovered a crying kitten under our next door neighbour's bush. Likely feral ! We put out a bowl of cat food. It ate that quickly. We put out a bowl of water. It came within about three feet of Joanne. Hopefully we'll be able to capture it eventually.
After supper we went to Wal-Mart for a few grocery items, then the Bank of America ATM to get some cash for dental work and some shopping in Mexico on Wednesday, then the other Fry's store to look for an advertised special that was out of stock in The Foothills store. This Fry's store didn't have it either.
Tuesday ; This morning I removed the truck tires' hub caps, wheel liners, and valve extenders in preparation for a tire rotation service on Thursday. I polished shoes. Walking in the desert sand in the dog park is hard on shoes. I removed the Direct ( U.S. ) satellite dish from the shed roof and mounted the Star Choice ( Canada ) dish in its place.
I removed the roof moulding insert damaged by the recent storm and installed new replacement moulding insert.
This afternoon I assembled and installed the solar panel kit I purchased recently. It's heavier and larger than I expected a "portable" solar panel assembly would be. It seems to work fine. I need to make some modifications to the trailer's "internal" battery charging system to allow the use of the solar panel system.
No sign of the feral kitten we fed and watered yesterday. Maybe it was just "passing through" ?
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Today we remember Toby the cat, who died 8 years ago, while we were WorkCamping at Trout Lodge up in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. WOW ... it doesn't seem that long ago !
This morning we headed for Los Algodones. We had appointments for dental cleanings.
I also had an appointment for a periodontal examination. It was kind of nice going down to Los Algodones this early in the season, before it's crowded and busy. After our dental visits we both got haircuts. By Fabiola, a hairstylist that we have used for a few years now. Five bucks for a haircut for Joanne, three bucks for a haircut and beard trim for me. No extra charge for trimming my eyebrows. HA HA HA ! We walked all the way to the veterinary pharmacy on the outskirts of town to buy some pet medications for a neighbour back home in Keremeos. Then we shopped for a tablecloth. Well ... Joanne shopped for a tablecloth. I shopped for some medications. And we stumbled across ... WOO-HOO ... a new panaderia ! Bought lots of pan dulce.
We went to our favourite little restaurant for a late lunch. MMMMM ! ! ! Tres tacos por Joanne ( uno pescado, uno puerco, uno carne asada ), pollo asado con arroz y frijoles por mi. Very tasty food ! Wonderful grilled green onions on my barbecued chicken.
I asked the restaurant owner how she prepares them. She graciously shared her recipe with me. It was her husband who taught me how to make pollo asado a few years ago.
A bit more unsuccessful shopping for a tablecloth ... I bought a leather belt ... and it was time to head for the border. The line up was the shortest we've ever experienced. We arrived back home at Kofa Ko-op just in time for the daily 4 PM pack walk around the dog park.
Thursday ; This morning we headed to Sears. I dropped off the truck to have the tires rotated. We walked over to thrift shop at Salvation Army and Goodwill. After thrifting we shopped at Dollar Tree nearby and by then the truck was ready. We picked up the truck and drove across the street to the Indoor Marketplace flea market where Joanne bought some Rada knives. Then we went looking for Gonzo's Jewellery ( I kid you not ) where
I dropped off my rings for resizing. Final stop was the 99 Cent Only store. We were back home just in time for the daily pack walk.
The daily pack walk is growing in numbers. Today we were joined by Bo's old friend Spanky. Judy and Terry arrived at Kofa Ko-op around noon today. Welcome back, Judy, Terry, and Spanky. After the pack walk they all came over and visited with us briefly in our Arizona room.
Friday ; Last night I mixed up bread dough for two loaves. This morning I baked two loaves of bread. I had difficulty getting the dough out of the mixing bowls onto the counter and from the counter into the loaf pans. DARN ! I forgot that American flour is different than Canadian flour. And we just ran out of Canadian flour and began using American flour.
Our friends and neighbours from back home at Riverside RV Park Resort, Dave and Joy came over for lunch today. Part of lunch was fresh, hot bread right out of the Sun Oven. Couldn't slice the bread while it was hot. Made a mess of it, although it tasted alright. Also made a mess of my first attempt to replicate the breaded, grilled, green onions we had in Mexico a couple of days ago. Oh, well ... ya win some, ya lose some ! We visited with Dave and Joy over lunch and most of the afternoon.
Saturday ; We wasted the morning squabbling, each making the other hurt and angry
< sigh >.
This afternoon we gave Bo a haircut. And discovered two things. Firstly, his skin is not in as good condition as it should be. Secondly ... and I'm pretty annoyed about this ... he's missing a small piece of one ear. Maybe he shouldn't get involved in dog park squabbles. Which has happened a few times recently. Obviously during one of these "harmless" little squabbles some other dog bit his ear.
We invited two neighbour couples over for "Happy Hour" and treated them to fresh artichokes, some of my Sun Oven dried "smoked" candied salmon, a fresh Sun Oven baked loaf of my bread, and a Sun Oven baked chocolate banana cake baked today by Joanne. MMMMM ... all very good ! Apparently we weren't the only ones squabbling today !
This evening while Joanne went to the clubhouse to see a performance by a local children's choir I worked on setting up and testing our new printer. It's also a scanner and copier. Works fine, but ... it's larger than our existing printer, so ... I think our existing printer will remain in the trailer as our "travel" printer and the new one will become our "home" printer.
Late in the evening we watched the movie "UP" by Disney / Pixar. Not exactly what we expected. And what a sad first ten minutes or so. Joanne hugged me and told me that I've taken her to her Paradise Falls. < sigh > Thank you !
DSK
This morning I baked a superb loaf of bread in the Sun Oven. This afternoon we cooked a beef roast for supper in the Sun Oven. We had injected it with Louisiana Gem marinade before cooking. WOW ... the roast was great !
I did a Bo-gility session. Well done, Bo ! I set up "International Long Distance" calling on our U.S. cell phone. You wouldn't think it would be necessary to do that, would you ? ! ?
I spent much of the afternoon "gardening". I removed the cacti in our gardens that did not survive the summer, including the plantings I did behind our back yard fence in the dog park. I trimmed / pruned as necessary. I cleaned a large area of the dog park behind our yard of scruffy growth of desert grasses and weeds. It must have been a "good summer" because the dog park is very overgrown with scruffy growth of grasses and weeds, including a lot of Devil's Claw / Horse Crippler plants, usually considered quite "rare".
Using expanding foam sealant I sealed inside the kitchen cupboard where the mouse entered. Geeeeez, that stuff is difficult to work with ! I've used it three or four times in my life, and I don't seem to be getting any better at it ! I posted my weekly journal to my blog. We went to the ice cream social. Afterwards I watched the final hour of the Grey Cup, Canada's championship football game. We had our wonderful roast beef dinner. We closed / covered the swimming pool and hot tub, a job I volunteered us for this week. We watched Amazing Race. I prepared a "smoked" candied marinade for our last two salmon fillets.
Monday ; I put the marinated salmon fillets in the Sun Oven this morning before we headed to The Foothills for some shopping errands. Went to three carport & awning manufacturing companies before I found the fascia moulding insert that I needed to replace what was damaged on our Arizona room roof during a recent storm. Went to the "new" Fry's store for groceries. I always buy a package of take home sushi freshly made by the in-store sushi chefs. MMMMM ! After grocery shopping we went to look at some old RV's at a couple of the "park & hope" sale lots.
Back at home we had lunch, then I went to nap briefly with Sully. Joanne and Bo went for a walk with Carol Mae and Dulce. I did some minor maintenance and home improvement project work. Joanne did some laundry. We went on our regular daily pack walk in the dog park. Six dogs today ! I shopped online for a laptop computer. Didn't buy one ! Cyber Monday specials are nowhere near as good as "shop in person" Black Friday specials.
Late in the afternoon we discovered a crying kitten under our next door neighbour's bush. Likely feral ! We put out a bowl of cat food. It ate that quickly. We put out a bowl of water. It came within about three feet of Joanne. Hopefully we'll be able to capture it eventually.
After supper we went to Wal-Mart for a few grocery items, then the Bank of America ATM to get some cash for dental work and some shopping in Mexico on Wednesday, then the other Fry's store to look for an advertised special that was out of stock in The Foothills store. This Fry's store didn't have it either.
Tuesday ; This morning I removed the truck tires' hub caps, wheel liners, and valve extenders in preparation for a tire rotation service on Thursday. I polished shoes. Walking in the desert sand in the dog park is hard on shoes. I removed the Direct ( U.S. ) satellite dish from the shed roof and mounted the Star Choice ( Canada ) dish in its place.
I removed the roof moulding insert damaged by the recent storm and installed new replacement moulding insert.
This afternoon I assembled and installed the solar panel kit I purchased recently. It's heavier and larger than I expected a "portable" solar panel assembly would be. It seems to work fine. I need to make some modifications to the trailer's "internal" battery charging system to allow the use of the solar panel system.
No sign of the feral kitten we fed and watered yesterday. Maybe it was just "passing through" ?
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Today we remember Toby the cat, who died 8 years ago, while we were WorkCamping at Trout Lodge up in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. WOW ... it doesn't seem that long ago !
This morning we headed for Los Algodones. We had appointments for dental cleanings.
I also had an appointment for a periodontal examination. It was kind of nice going down to Los Algodones this early in the season, before it's crowded and busy. After our dental visits we both got haircuts. By Fabiola, a hairstylist that we have used for a few years now. Five bucks for a haircut for Joanne, three bucks for a haircut and beard trim for me. No extra charge for trimming my eyebrows. HA HA HA ! We walked all the way to the veterinary pharmacy on the outskirts of town to buy some pet medications for a neighbour back home in Keremeos. Then we shopped for a tablecloth. Well ... Joanne shopped for a tablecloth. I shopped for some medications. And we stumbled across ... WOO-HOO ... a new panaderia ! Bought lots of pan dulce.
We went to our favourite little restaurant for a late lunch. MMMMM ! ! ! Tres tacos por Joanne ( uno pescado, uno puerco, uno carne asada ), pollo asado con arroz y frijoles por mi. Very tasty food ! Wonderful grilled green onions on my barbecued chicken.
I asked the restaurant owner how she prepares them. She graciously shared her recipe with me. It was her husband who taught me how to make pollo asado a few years ago.
A bit more unsuccessful shopping for a tablecloth ... I bought a leather belt ... and it was time to head for the border. The line up was the shortest we've ever experienced. We arrived back home at Kofa Ko-op just in time for the daily 4 PM pack walk around the dog park.
Thursday ; This morning we headed to Sears. I dropped off the truck to have the tires rotated. We walked over to thrift shop at Salvation Army and Goodwill. After thrifting we shopped at Dollar Tree nearby and by then the truck was ready. We picked up the truck and drove across the street to the Indoor Marketplace flea market where Joanne bought some Rada knives. Then we went looking for Gonzo's Jewellery ( I kid you not ) where
I dropped off my rings for resizing. Final stop was the 99 Cent Only store. We were back home just in time for the daily pack walk.
The daily pack walk is growing in numbers. Today we were joined by Bo's old friend Spanky. Judy and Terry arrived at Kofa Ko-op around noon today. Welcome back, Judy, Terry, and Spanky. After the pack walk they all came over and visited with us briefly in our Arizona room.
Friday ; Last night I mixed up bread dough for two loaves. This morning I baked two loaves of bread. I had difficulty getting the dough out of the mixing bowls onto the counter and from the counter into the loaf pans. DARN ! I forgot that American flour is different than Canadian flour. And we just ran out of Canadian flour and began using American flour.
Our friends and neighbours from back home at Riverside RV Park Resort, Dave and Joy came over for lunch today. Part of lunch was fresh, hot bread right out of the Sun Oven. Couldn't slice the bread while it was hot. Made a mess of it, although it tasted alright. Also made a mess of my first attempt to replicate the breaded, grilled, green onions we had in Mexico a couple of days ago. Oh, well ... ya win some, ya lose some ! We visited with Dave and Joy over lunch and most of the afternoon.
Saturday ; We wasted the morning squabbling, each making the other hurt and angry
< sigh >.
This afternoon we gave Bo a haircut. And discovered two things. Firstly, his skin is not in as good condition as it should be. Secondly ... and I'm pretty annoyed about this ... he's missing a small piece of one ear. Maybe he shouldn't get involved in dog park squabbles. Which has happened a few times recently. Obviously during one of these "harmless" little squabbles some other dog bit his ear.
We invited two neighbour couples over for "Happy Hour" and treated them to fresh artichokes, some of my Sun Oven dried "smoked" candied salmon, a fresh Sun Oven baked loaf of my bread, and a Sun Oven baked chocolate banana cake baked today by Joanne. MMMMM ... all very good ! Apparently we weren't the only ones squabbling today !
This evening while Joanne went to the clubhouse to see a performance by a local children's choir I worked on setting up and testing our new printer. It's also a scanner and copier. Works fine, but ... it's larger than our existing printer, so ... I think our existing printer will remain in the trailer as our "travel" printer and the new one will become our "home" printer.
Late in the evening we watched the movie "UP" by Disney / Pixar. Not exactly what we expected. And what a sad first ten minutes or so. Joanne hugged me and told me that I've taken her to her Paradise Falls. < sigh > Thank you !
DSK
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