February 9 to 15, 2014

Sunday ; Happy 10th Birthday to Bo

Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked a chicken in the Sun Oven today. MMMMM ! ! !

This morning while Joanne worked on cleaning scuff marks off the side of the trailer
( I scraped against tree branches near Kingman, Arizona in November ) I went shopping to Lowe's and then the Dog Track Flea Market.

After lunch I did some minor maintenance on Elsie, sanding and painting a corner of the rear bumper that had become rusty. Mid-afternoon we headed to the Humane Society of Yuma for the third week of Bo's agility class. Well ... he's getting old ! As am I. It was too hot, and the class was too long, for both of us. And ... < whispering > ... the instructor takes herself and the agility training process way too seriously. Bo just wants to have fun. I just want to have fun. Neither of us has aspirations to agility competition. "Dog people" take themselves too seriously, don't they ?

In the evening we went to the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. Afterwards we had Sun Oven roasted chicken, Waldorf Salad, and mashed potatoes for supper while watching some Olympics, then Downton Abbey. OMIGOD ... lady Edith is pregnant with a bastard child ! And the recently widowed Lady Mary has three ... count 'em ... THREE ... suitors ! AND THE COUSIN LADY ROSE IS SUCKING FACE WITH A BLACK JAZZ SINGER ! ! !

Bo's birthday gift was roasted chicken and mashed potatoes for supper ! HA HA HA ... good dog, Bo.

Monday ; Happy 65th Birthday to my sister Sharon

Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Geeeeezzzzz ... is she that old ? ! ? < snicker >

This morning we headed out to Los Algodones for my 11 AM dental appointment. My new periodontist wanted me to have another dental cleaning, and periodontal examination after using the WaterPik Water Flosser for a month. I could tell during the dental cleaning that there was significant improvement in my gum health. And Dra. Lilia Camacho's examination confirmed it. She was pleased. I was pleased !

After I was finished at the dentist's we went shopping for medications before having lunch. Joanne wanted to have lunch somewhere we haven't been before. We found a taqueria way off the beaten path. And lunch was very good. We are rarely disappointed when eating out in Mexico. Joanne also wanted to buy a metal sculpture to mount on the exterior wall of our yard shed back home in BC. Specifically, a metal sculpture of ... quail ... < shrug >. She found what appealed to her, a metal sculpture of a family of quail, mounted on a long saw blade, exquisitely painted. We were prepared to pay $100 for it. The vendor asked for $75. We haggled a bit and agreed on $55. The merchandise was too good and too well priced to "play hardball".

Because it's February, Los Algodones was busy and crowded. The line up to cross the border back into the U.S. was long. The back of the line, when we joined it, was about where it would have been a three hour wait a few years ago. Thanks to changes made over the last couple of years, it was a forty minute wait from that point today.

We returned to Yuma and went shopping. First stop was Harbor Freight. Joanne hates shopping at Harbor Freight, so ... I thank her for her patience and assistance today. Next stop was Fry's, to refill with diesel, and buy a few grocery items. Last stop was Walgreen's.

When we got home I tried ... twice ... to phone my sister and wish her a Happy Birthday. Both calls were very brief due to technical difficulties / poor reception. < sigh > First call was using Skype on my laptop, second call was using our cell phone. Poor cell phone reception and poor Wi-Fi plagues this RV park !

After supper we watched the Olympics on TV and gave Bo a bath.

Tuesday ; Sunny and hot. And getting hotter over the next few days.

This morning I did the 246,000 km. inspection on Lanoire. Good truck !

This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. No, no ... I did not walk the Catahoula Leopard dogs again. They were still there ... I just didn't want to walk them ! After two hours of dog walking I was tired so I went to the cat wing. Joanne wanted to work another hour or so, so I went to one of the two small rooms containing / featuring only one cat, and .... "cuddled" JetPuff. On perhaps the last afternoon of his existence. JetPuff is an Albino that came in a week ago. He is extremely obese, probably over thirty pounds. And not very healthy, probably due to his obesity. Poor JetPuff. The Humane Society will probably euthanize him soon.

This evening we went out for dinner before shopping. We had supper at Copper Miner Kitchen, a restaurant that we have not been to before, in Historic Downtown Yuma. It was very good. Afterwards we went to Yuma Palms Shopping Center where we bought dog food at PetsMart, and Joanne bought two facecloths at Kohl’s. < scowl > She bought two facecloths that cost eight bucks apiece because she couldn’t find facecloths that “matched” Elsie’s interior elsewhere < scowl >.

Wednesday ; What a very sad day here at Kofa Ko-op. One resident died late last night. Another died this evening. The first one died unexpectedly of a heart attack. The second had been in declining health for awhile. Rest in peace, Michael and Mona. Mona was a neighbour, and we used to walk her dog Bear for her when her health began to decline a couple of years ago.

Today we baked a beautiful loaf of whole wheat bread in the Sun Oven. It was a collaborative effort. Joanne mixed the ingredients and put them into the bread maker to be made into dough. When the dough was ready, I removed it from the bread maker, proofed it, then put it in to bake in the Sun Oven.

We spent the day puttering with minor maintenance chores, some painting, some truck maintenance, some trailer exterior cleaning, etc. Joanne prepared a contribution to the regular Wednesday late afternoon Social Hour / Happy Hour / hors d'oeuvre potluck. We stayed quite awhile after eating, chatting with two newly arrived couples, both new to the full time RV life, one couple from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and one couple from Dallas, Texas.

Thursday ; Another sunny, hot day. People are already complaining about the heat. Not me !

This morning I changed a rear tire on the truck. < sigh > You know how much I hate changing rear tires on the truck. I tightened the screw in valve stem on the tire that has been losing air, and will use it as the spare as soon as I know that I've solved the problem.

As Joanne was leaving with the truck to spend the afternoon running errands, Carol Mae came over and asked if I would go with her to the Humane Society and help her walk the two Catahoula Leopard dogs. Really, Carol Mae ? < sigh >

After we returned from the Humane Society < sigh > I took Bo on the daily pack walk. Today's pack walk was ... me and Bo. HMPH ... small "pack" ! Afterwards I walked over to the storage area to do a teensy bit of work on the truck camper, and I chatted with our new friend from Dallas. He came over to see our Sun Oven in operation. Joanne had prepared a pot of stew before she left and I cooked it in the Sun Oven.

In the evening we went to the pool and chatted more with the couple from Dallas. Afterwards I got into a discussion with a neighbour that lasted way too long into the night, until Joanne stomped over to the clubhouse at 1 AM to find out whey I had gone to check the mailbox four hours earlier and had not returned. UHHHHH ... sorry !

Friday ; Valentine's Day

Sunny and hot.

I was up early to be at the clubhouse at 9 AM for an RV fire safety seminar. The presenter ... was in Lake Havasu, Arizona at 9 AM ! Bit of a scheduling misunderstanding, n'est-ce pas ? ! ? I went home and decided I should have an early nap. HA HA HA ! Joanne left to go shopping at the Gila Mountain United Methodist Church Helping Hands Yard Sale in The Foothills.

Yesterday and today this RV park has been in turmoil. A Canadian leaseholder / lot owner here has been a ****ing a*****e lately ... and on an ongoing basis. Many Americans are upset with his behaviour. Yesterday one of the Americans took his irritation a bit too far. And exercised his second amendment rights < rolling eyes >. The Sheriff got involved. Now all Canadians are getting tarred with the same brush as the Canadian a*****e < sigh >. The pet etiquette seminar I was requested to present next week has come under attack. Much controversy, some opposition. I don't need the grief ! The seminar was not my idea. I cancelled it today ! And the Canadian couple who were planning, executing, and hosting a Valentine's Day Slow Dancing Under The Stars event on the large "south patio" tonight ... cancelled that as well !

This evening we went to Historic Yuma Theater to attend a Romantic Classics concert by the Yuma Civic Orchestra. It was my Valentine's Day treat for Joanne. All I can say about the symphony orchestra in Yuma, Arizona is ... Yuma sure has great weather, doesn't it ? ! ?

Saturday ; Sunny and hot ! It seems as if the entire nation is suffering from horrible winter weather except Arizona and Southern California, where high temperature records have been broken the last few days. Here in Yuma the temperature has been in the mid to high 80's F. / high 20's, low 30's C.

This morning was the Kofa Ko-op yard sale. I put out a few unwanted items for sale. Sold one for five bucks and donated one to a good cause when asked to do so.

This afternoon we worked at the Humane Society of Yuma's Adoption Fair in the parking lot of Yuma Palms Shopping Center, outside the PetsMart store. It was a long, hot, tiring afternoon ! But shortly before the end of the event, Joanne and I working together "sold" Walnut. WOO-HOO ! ! ! What a success story ! What a great match !

Walnut was adopted by a widow whose husband and dog both died eleven months ago. It's been a difficult and lonely year for her. Today she was ready to let Walnut into her life. She needs Walnut ! And Walnut needs her ! Joanne and I are so thrilled !

Well done, Daniel and Joanne ! Congratulations, Ruth and Walnut !

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DSK