MERRY CHRISTMAS !

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