January 18 to 24, 2015 ; Yuma, Arizona to Palm Springs, California

Sunday ; Mostly sunny, just enough thin cloud to prevent the use of the Sun Oven, very warm.

Bo and I started our day with a Bo-gility session. Well done, Bo, good dog ! I worked on routine maintenance chores until lunch time. After lunch I unpackaged and tested my new little generator, the one I got a couple of days ago in exchange for the fuel leaking one I bought on Black Friday. This one seems to be just fine. I hope !

Joanne and I spent the rest of the afternoon working on ... and finishing ... the trailer bed slide fascia reupholstery project. Finally ! Tough job ! Much more complicated and difficult than we had expected when we started the project. Oh, well ... < shrug > ! We're both satisfied with the finished result.

We went on the daily pack walk, then to the weekly ice cream social. Had supper, watched Shipping Wars and Downton Abbey.

Monday ; What a perfect "June 18" day ... brilliant sunshine, temperature about 77° F. / 25° C., low humidity. Joanne cooked Beef Carbonnade in the Sun Oven today.

Both of us were feeling better today. Not healthy, but better. It's about time ! This morning we worked on disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling the trailer kitchen's Fantastic Fan and the roof vent and MaxxAir cover over it. First time this winter that I've been up on the trailer's roof. HMPH ... some work is needed up there !

This afternoon Joanne went Wal-Martin' by herself. I napped then worked on assembling and testing all of the components of the air compressor starter kit I recently bought at Harbor Freight. We went on the daily pack walk. After we finished the pack walk, our friends Bill and Liz spent another half hour or so in the dog park trying to convince their little dog Riley to return to them so that they could go home. How odd ! Who can figure out "dog logic" ?

One ( of three ) of my Ocotillo ( cactus ) has just sprouted leaf buds, after lying dormant and appearing dead ever since I ( trans ) planted it two years ago ! SHEEESH ... it has taken two years for it to overcome "transplant shock". Does this mean spring is arriving here in Yuma already ?

We extend our sympathy to our friend Julie whose father has just died.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm. We're both feeling better, although not yet healthy.

This morning Joanne took her friend Eilene to a doctor's appointment. I did some annual maintenance chores on the trailer. And chatted with friends / neighbours. This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our weekly shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. We returned home just in time for the daily pack walk. As soon as that was over we went out to run some errands, shopping at Lowe's and Albertson's. We had been planning to go out for dinner, but I was feeling too weak and tired. We returned home for a simple supper and an evening of watching TV ... and coughing !

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm. First time in two weeks that I have felt healthy ! Unfortunately, Joanne is not there yet.

After a late breakfast we headed out to The Foothills to run some errands. First stop was Cactus Propane where I dropped off one of the trailer's propane tanks for recertification. Both of the trailer's tanks need recertification, but I wasn't sure if the tanks needed to be empty during recertification, so I took in only the one that is currently empty. Next I dropped Joanne off at the "99¢ Only Store" and I continued on to The Foothills residential area. Earlier I had phoned about an ad in the local "White Sheet", a bargain / classified newspaper. I was heading to see a used, portable, oil filled radiator style heater for sale, to heat the trailer's living room. I bought not only the radiator style heater, but also a ceramic element, tower style heater. Yes, yes ...
I should have bought just one of the two, but ... old people can never have too many heaters, can they ? HA HA HA ! And that cold spell a couple of weeks ago was brutal !

I returned to the "99¢ Only Store", picked up Joanne, and drove across the street to Fry's, to refill with diesel at their fuel bar. Their badly designed, and horribly overcrowded fuel bar ! I'm glad I decided to refill with diesel before putting the camper onto the truck. We returned home and ... put the camper onto the truck ! It went smoother than usual, although I did make one serious mistake. And I had made a similar mistake in the past ! I am angry with myself ! I need to revise my "procedures checklist" to ensure that I do not repeat this mistake.

We went to the clubhouse for a communal turkey soup supper. The turkey soup was made from the Christmas dinner turkey carcasses. It was awful ! The turkey soup was inedible, to both of us, although it did not seem as if anyone else thought so. As I lifted the first spoonful to my mouth I detected a rancid odour ... and did not eat any. Joanne had a few spoonfuls and thought "it tasted funny". Yeah ... that's called "rancid", my dear ! I can't explain why we found it inedible, and everybody else seemed to think it was just fine.

In the evening, Joanne did laundry, and I downloaded, printed, reconciled, and paid our monthly MasterCard billing. We watched episode three ( I think ) of the miniseries "The Book Of Negroes" on CBC.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne slept very late this morning, hoping that would accelerate her return to good health. It didn't really seem to work.

Today we worked on preparing for a three and a half day trip to Quartzsite and Palm Springs. We loaded stuff into the camper and prepared the camper for use. Joanne did some "spring cleaning" in the trailer. I did computer maintenance and backup. Shortly after 5 PM we left for "downtown" Yuma, to attend a dinner theater performance at Yuma Art Center. When we returned home after the performance ... with a stop at Rally's to buy some decent food ... I sent an e-mail to the Yuma Art Center. I hope seeing my blog address at the bottom of my e-mail ignites their curiosity and inspires them to read this blog entry ;

The play was mediocre ! The meal service began half an hour late ! The service staff were ... and I'm being generous here ... poor ! But most importantly ... that was the worst meal that I've ever had to pay for ! ! ! ! ! The management of the Yuma Art Center should truly be ashamed of themselves !

Friday ; Yuma to Quartzsite, Arizona

Sunny and warm during the day. Chilly night out in the desert near Quartzsite.

This morning we prepared for departure and left Kofa Ko-op about 11 AM heading north out of Yuma on Hwy. 95 to Quartzsite. We arrived in Quartzsite about 1 PM. This week is the annual Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, & RV Show, a.k.a. the Big Tent Show, with a large number of vendors inside a very large tent ( 69,000 square feet ), selling RV related products and services. Finding a parking spot was difficult. We had a quick lunch in the camper then headed into the big tent. By 3 PM we were finished. From
3 PM to 5 PM we shopped at the seemingly endless Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama, the nearby flea market area. We needed nothing. We bought lots of stuff ... mostly "guy stuff" ... about thirty bucks worth ... at about a buck an item !

At 5 PM most of the vendors were closing so we walked back to the truck and drove out of town, continuing north on Hwy. 95 a few miles to the Hi Jolly short term camping area on BLM land. There are thousands and thousands of RV's boondocked out in the desert around Quartzsite ! Many of them spend the entire winter out here. I don't get it. Why would one buy a million dollar Prevost motorhome ... then boondock / "dry camp" out in the desert with no services, flushing the toilet only when absolutely necessary, and showering as seldom as possible ? ? ?

We found a spot to park ... beside a nice stone fire ring ... then went for a walk with Bo around the desert as the sun set. Joanne went inside the camper to prepare a salad for supper while I prepared a campfire to cook supper. As I was preparing a campfire, Robert and Sharon, friends of ours from the Escapees Okanagan Chapter 33 in British Columbia walked by. HUH ? WOW ! Small world ! HA HA HA ! Actually ... this is not the first time we have run into Robert and Sharon while travelling. We bumped into them a few years ago while boondocking overnight in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Joanne had packaged chicken thighs, potatoes, onions, and carrots in two foil wrapped packages. I cooked them to perfection on the campfire. Well done, Daniel ! After eating supper we sat around the campfire warming ourselves until our small quantity of firewood was gone.

Saturday ; Quartzsite, Arizona to Palm Springs, California

This morning we headed back into town to continue browsing at the Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama flea market areas we did not see yesterday. HMPH ... traffic jam coming into Quartzsite this morning. How can there be a traffic jam into Quartzsite, Arizona ? ! ? Summer population ... a few thousand. Winter population ... hundreds of thousands ! Some estimates put the January population at near a million ! ! ! Finding a parking spot near the flea market was very difficult today !

We browsed for a couple of hours, buying nothing until reaching the final "store", a grocery salvage outlet selling dented boxes of dry groceries ( like Hamburger Helper and Rice-A-Roni ) and products slightly beyond their best before dates, at deeply discounted prices. We spent about thirty bucks there ... at about a buck an item ... for grocery items with regular prices up to about five bucks. I bought six packages of "beyond best before date "garden seeds at three for a dollar, each package regularly priced at about two dollars. If they don't grow in my garden next summer ... < shrug > ... I guess that's two bucks down the tubes !

Around 1 PM we returned to Elise to have lunch, and shortly before 2 PM we departed Quartzsite, heading west on Interstate 10 towards Palm Springs. We stopped in Blythe, California to refill our freshwater tank at a municipal park. We stopped at a freeway rest area to dump our grey water ( shower waste ) tank. Around 4 PM I began to feel sleepy so we stopped at another rest area so that I could nap for awhile.

Since we were only going to be in California ( PST ) for about two days we decided to stay on Arizona ( MST ) time. So ... we arrived in Palm Springs about 6 PM. We found our way to ... and found a parking spot suitable for overnight boondocking at ... Aqua Caliente Casino. Aqua Caliente is Spanish for "hot water". You know ... because of all the underground hot springs ! DUH ... why did you think it was called Palm Springs ?

While Joanne prepared supper in Elsie the camper I went into the casino to get our tickets at the box office. My Christmas gift to Joanne was ... tonight's performance of the 70's / 80's rock band STYX at Aqua Caliente Casino. After picking up the tickets at the box office I sat down to play a penny slot machine for about half an hour.
WOO-HOO ... winnings of $1.03 in half an hour ! HA HA HA !

We had supper then went back into the casino for the show. We played a nickel slot machine for a few minutes before the show. The casino's show venue was excellent ! The STYX show was excellent ! During the performance of their hit song "Come Sail Away" it was a good thing that their Canadian keyboardist and vocalist Lawrence Gowan was able to hit that high note. Because the goof sitting right behind me sure as hell couldn't ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

We played penny and nickel slot machines for another half hour or so after the show, increasing our net winnings up to a total of ... < insert drum roll here > ... $4.78 ! ! ! WOO-HOO ! HA HA HA !

DSK 

January 11 to 17, 2015

Sunday ; Cloudy, mild, intermittent rain ... first time we've seen a rainbow over Yuma.

Day four of my cold. Still miserable, but not quite as bad. This morning we went shopping to Yuma Swap Meet ( previously known as Yuma Park N Swap ) a.k.a. Dog Track Flea Market a.k.a. Swap Meet Los Perros. Joanne loves this Mexican flea market. Asked today if we could go weekly ?    NO !   I bought everything on my flea market "guy stuff" shopping list while Joanne browsed on her own. We shopped together for produce. Oh, boy ... nice little beets. And nice little jicamas ( pronounced "HEEKamas" ).

We returned home for a late lunch. I napped. We trimmed Bo's dew claws. I did a caulking repair in the trailer's shower stall. We began work on reupholstering the final section of the trailer's bed slide's fascia. This last section will be the most complicated and difficult to do. Wish us luck ! We went on the daily pack walk, then attended the weekly ice cream social. We had a late supper of barbecued steak, barbecued beets, and sweet potato fries. MMMMM ! We watched Shipping Wars and Downton Abbey.

Monday ; Sunny and warm. Day five of my cold, and now that it has passed the peak of misery, I have generously passed it on to my wife < rolling eyes > ! Poor Joanne ... she became ill with a cold today.

This morning we went out to run errands ; refill diesel at Fry's, buy some advertised grocery specials at Fry's, buy some needed "guy stuff" at Harbor Freight, more advertised grocery specials at Smart & Final, then ... < insert drum roll here > ... date shakes for lunch at Martha's Gardens. Bo was SOOOOO happy ! ! ! HA HA HA ! Poor, deprived, little dog ... hasn't had a date shake since ... a month and a half ago ! ! !
HA HA HA !

This afternoon we continued working on the final section of the reupholstery project. And it went ... terrible ! We screwed up, then screwed up more, then screwed up again, and finally ... really screwed it up ! ! ! ! ! < big sigh > We squabbled, went on the daily pack walk, then worked on it some more. And screwed up some more ! Joanne finally went inside to phone her sister and work on supper, and I tried to salvage what we had done so far. And I mostly did ... I suppose. Maybe !

After supper we both kind of ran out of steam, thanks to our colds. We spent the evening watching TV, culminating in Celebrity Apprentice.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne was very ill today with a cold, sleeping until 2 PM. Fortunately, I was feeling better, so was able to take care of chores and animals, etc.

This afternoon I started the new, little generator that I bought on Black Friday, the second time I have started it, just to "exercise" it. The first time, a month ago, it ran flawlessly for ten minutes. Today, it ran for three minutes before it began to spew fuel ! A seal or fuel line or something burst. < sigh > I am quite frustrated with this ongoing generator drama which has been going on now for about ... < thinking > ... nine months already !

We met Kate, our friend Mary-Lou's new dog, a seven year old female Standard Poodle that was recently "retired" as a breeding bitch. Poor Kate is bewildered by everything in life, having never been exposed to "reality". She is just now experiencing everything in life, as a puppy does, but she's "middle aged".

I visited Rocky the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel today, two weeks after his ruptured disc surgery. The stitches were removed today, and he can now be allowed to return to "normal" activities, having been confined since the surgery.

Because Joanne was very ill, and I was a bit ill and was wrestling with the leaking generator, and we're working an adoption event this weekend, we did not go to the Humane Society today for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift of dog walking and cat cuddling.

We did a bit of planning and measuring work on the ongoing reupholstery project, so that we can buy the rest of the materials required. I removed ... and discarded ... the old, malfunctioning stereo unit out of the trailer's "entertainment center". Great ... now there's a large hole in the wall. We went on the daily pack walk ... twice around the dog park ... then I went cycling. HMPH ... guess I'm feeling better !

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm, a great day for the second annual Ronnie Labrecque Memorial Road Cleanup ... organized and executed by me ! My cold persists, but I'm improving. Joanne was so ill today she didn't even attend my road clean up event. DARN ... I certainly could have used her help !

We slept late. I did morning chores. I took Bo for an obedience session. I got everything ready for the 3 PM road clean up event and headed to the clubhouse at 2:15 PM. At
3 PM there were twenty-five people ready to clean up East County 17th Street from Avenue 3E to Avenue 4E, and the gentleman from Yuma County who is in charge of the "adopt a road" clean up program had arrived. I got the group organized into five teams, and assigned each team a section of road to clean up. Like herding cats !
Mr. Santos from Yuma County gave a safety lecture, then ... out the door we went !
An hour later ... the roadway was clean ! Mr. Santos hauled away the filled trash bags, and we all returned home to get ready for the 5 PM potluck. Well done, folks ! ! !

I resurrected this road clean up a year ago, as a tribute to Reynald "Ronnnie" Labrecque ( born in Quebec, Canada ) who started this road clean up more than ten years ago. He and his wife ... who still lives in the park ... were two of the founders of Kofa Ko-op RV Park thirty years ago. He died about four or five years ago, and the Kofa Ko-op "adoption" of East County 17th Street died with him until I resurrected it a year ago. Today Mr. Santos offered to make new "adopt a road" signage for East County 17th Street indicating that the road is being cleaned up by "Kofa Ko-op in memory of Ronnie Labrecque". What a great idea !

As I was leaving the trailer to head to the clubhouse at 5 PM for the potluck ... without Joanne ... her friend Eilene showed up with a pot of home made chicken soup for Joanne for supper. What a sweet lady Eilene is. Sweetest ninety-three year old I know ! HA HA HA ! After the potluck dinner I sat around and chatted in the clubhouse with two other Canadian couples until late in the evening.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm.

HMPH ! I must have pushed myself a bit too hard yesterday. My cold has "relapsed".
I was quite ill overnight and all day today. So ... now Joanne and I are both quite ill at the same time. How **** ing wonderful is that ? ! ? I had planned a day of running errands, but ... too sick for that today !

We sorted all the road clean up materials, including folding and packing two dozen safety vests, then I took it all over to the landscape shed to be stored until next year.
I picked up Eilene's recycling, and we went for a "drivey" to the recycling place. HMPH ... we sort of forgot to pick up Eilene's recycling when we were taking in our own recycling a few days ago. I napped, despite sleeping late this morning.

We went on the daily pack walk, then struggled and dragged ourselves through supper and the evening before going to sleep early.

Friday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne baked a liver and potatoes casserole in the Sun Oven today. We set it out before going out to run errands, and we took it out of the Sun Oven just before the daily pack walk.

We are both still very ill ! ! ! It's a struggle to get out of bed in the morning and get the day started. Disappointing and frustrating for me, as I was feeling much better on Tuesday, then ... PHHHHHT !

We went to Harbor Freight and I returned the fuel leaking defective generator for an exchange. No problem, except ... every cashier at Harbor Freight today had a line up of nine customers waiting ! Why don't they have more cashiers ? ! ? Or have a customer service counter dedicated to "high maintenance" customers like refunds and exchanges ? < fume >

From Harbor Freight we went to Yuma Palms Shopping Mall. I went to Best Buy to look for a new stereo for the trailer and Joanne went to PetsMart to buy dog food. When we were finished there Joanne was feeling very ill and wanted to return home. Okay ... we returned home, had some soup, and napped until it was time for the daily pack walk.

After the pack walk Joanne started working on our larger than usual load of laundry.
I worked online, paying bills, etc. We had supper, then watched half of an old movie, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. I LOOOOOVE early 70's Clint Eastwood movies. HA HA HA ! But I turned it off halfway through, and we resumed our remaining chores.

Saturday ; Happy 16^th Birthday to Joanne’s niece Madeleine

Sixteen ! ! ! Sheesh !

Today was sunny and warm. We dragged ourselves out of bed very early in order to be at the Humane Society Mobile Adoption Event at Tractor Supply on the west side of Yuma, near Avenue B. I was a bit healthier today, especially later in the day. Joanne was not, and "working" for three and a half hours really dragged her down physically.

This was our third Mobile Adoption Event ... and it will be our last. It's a good idea ... poorly executed. And consequently ... a waste of our time ! We would make a much greater contribution to the welfare of the animals at the Humane Society by spending that much time dog walking and cat cuddling.

After finishing at the adoption event we went to True Value Hardware to search ( unsuccessfully ) for an item, then to Subway for a late lunch. We went Wal-Martin' at the Avenue B Wal-Mart, then returned home about 4 PM. Joanne was exhausted and ill and went for a long nap. I took Bo on the daily pack walk, then Laszlo, Gayle, and DeeOJee the Pit Bull came over for a long visit in our Arizona room.

After supper I noticed lights and activity in the dog park behind our rear fence. HUH ?
I went out to investigate. UH-OH ... Mary-Lou's skittish new dog Kate the Standard Poodle was loose and scared and lost in the dark in the seven acre dog park. I went into the dog park with Bo and a flashlight, and we went for a walk around the perimeter. I was hoping that Kate would come over to us since she has met Bo previously. No such luck, but ... Kate eventually allowed herself to be caught by Joanne. WHEW ! Well done, my dear !

DSK 

January 4 to 10, 2015

Sunday ; Sunny, cool ... finally beginning to warm up a bit after a week of very cold ( for Yuma ) weather.

Bo's sore toe / leg / knee has healed / stop hurting. So ... we did a Bo-gility session. Well done, Bo, good dog ! This afternoon we reupholstered one side of the trailer's bedroom slide's fascia. It turned out well. So ... I guess we're going to have to reupholster the other side and then the top. We went to the late afternoon / early evening ice cream social. WOW ... big crowd, over a hundred people. Must be January !   I chatted with George and Betty, our friends / neighbours with the two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They spent much of last week in Phoenix, having Rocky taken care of at a veterinary clinic that specializes in neurology. His problem was a ruptured disc in his back. Nothing that $7000 < blink blink > worth of surgery couldn't fix ! How fortunate for Rocky to be owned by people caring enough and wealthy enough to fix his problem. Well done, George and Betty !

After supper ... WOO-HOO ... we watched the season premiere of Downton Abbey.

Monday ; AHHHHH ... Yuma's weather has finally returned to where it should be ; sunny and warm !

Joanne went shopping by herself all afternoon. I searched ( unsuccessfully ) by phone and online for an RV part that I want for Elsie the truck camper. I watered all my plants and gardens. I flushed mineral scale out of Elsie's water heater, an annual task. I took Bo on our daily pack walk. I continued working on the truck bumper repair. I chatted with friends. I went bicycling at sunset. Yuma has such beautiful desert sunsets.

In the evening I worked on compiling our 2014 medical expenses for income tax purposes. And ... we watched Celebrity Apprentice. It's just occurred to us that some of the better known "celebrities" must come onto this show under contract, ensuring that they are not "fired" near the beginning of the season, no matter how obnoxious or useless they may be.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm < deep breath of contentment >. Joanne cooked Chicken Chile Verde in the Sun Oven today.

This morning we went to the Humane Society for a shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. We usually "work" Tuesday afternoons, but we rescheduled so that we could attend a performance in the Kofa Ko-op clubhouse. The performer was Herbert The Entertainer, a Canadian from Taber, Alberta who mostly plays keyboard, but is also a singer, songwriter, and ... ventriloquist. Rather eclectic combination of talents !

I continued work on the truck bumper repair. We went on the daily pack walk. The pack is getting bigger ! Must be January ! In the evening I continued working on year end financial / investment reconciliation and analysis.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning Joanne prepared a Saskatoon ( berry ) matrimonial cake and put it in the Sun Oven to bake. The Saskatoons come from home / Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, B.C. They've been in the freezer. Unfortunately, the sun disappeared behind thin clouds before the cake was baked. Joanne finished baking it in the oven inside the trailer.

I continued working on the truck bumper repair. I did a minor repair on the truck camper. While Joanne went to Albertson's to buy some advertised specials I did some maintenance chores. I began work on the reupholstering of the second ( of three ) section of the trailer's bed slide's fascia . We went on the daily pack walk. I worked on planning and organizing next week's clean up of the roadway that our RV park adopted for clean up many years ago.

We went out for dinner to Copper Miner Kitchen. We invited Joanne's friend Eilene to join us. Copper Miner Kitchen's Wednesday evening special is "all you can eat spaghetti". It was pretty darn good !

Thursday ; Cloudy and mild.

I woke up in the middle of the night and ... UH-OH ... instantly realized that ... I have a cold ! DARN !

I continued working on the truck bumper repair. I'm almost finished. < sigh > My spray painting skills have not improved with age. We had three friends / neighbours come over for lunch in our Arizona room ; Eilene, Tom and Pat. Joanne is a good hostess. She prepared salad, moussaka, and Saskatoon matrimonial cake. I stayed out of the way, and tried not to infect anybody with my cold. Lunch was my way of saying "thank you" to Tom for moving our fifth wheel trailer from Kofa Ko-op's storage yard onto our lot 52 when we arrived near the end of November.

After lunch I felt too ill to work on the reupholstering project which was our plan for the afternoon. Instead I went to nap for most of the afternoon with Sully. I woke in time to join Joanne and Bo on the daily pack walk, but I bailed out after only one lap around the dog park. I prepared a slightly modified version of Eggs Benedict for supper, substituting chicken bologna for ham. MMMMM ... Bo loves Hollandaise sauce. Who knew ? HA HA HA !

In the evening we watched Celebrity Apprentice.

Friday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning Joanne took her friend Eilene for a medical appointment. I slept late, hoping that would alleviate my cold symptoms. Maybe it did. Or maybe it was the copious amount of drugs that I took today that did. I did not feel quite as ill today as yesterday.

This morning I finished the truck bumper repair project. < raising eyebrows > Not my finest attempt at auto body work ! This afternoon Joanne and I reupholstered the second of three sections of the trailer's bed slide's fascia. It went much smoother than the first section did. HMPH ... learning curve ! After today's pack walk Marilu and Sammy the Australian Shepherd visited with us in our Arizona room. In the evening
I completed, printed, and mailed our annual IRS 8840 forms before we watched Doc Martin on PBS.

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm. Day three of feeling miserable with a cold. Oh, well ... if one is going to be ill, it might as well be in a sunny, very warm place.

Joanne went shopping by herself again today. I began working on the third and last section of the trailer's bed slide's fascia reupholstery. I removed the old upholstery by slowly and methodically removing a LOT of small staples. I napped with Sully. My stamina is very low at the moment.

After the daily pack walk we had an early supper then headed out for Yuma Community Theater’s performance of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, a musical featuring the music of Neil Sedaka. It was ... well ... you know ... < sigh > ... Yuma Community Theater. The female lead was a high school senior with excellent singing skills. We first saw her about eight years ago, at about ten years of age, in a children’s choir, and we have seen her perform a few times over the years.

DSK

December 28, 2014 to January 3, 2015

Sunday ; Sunny ... very cold for Yuma, temperature near freezing overnight.

Mostly as a result of the cold weather, we had a very lazy day. Too cold to do anything. Well ... there was something we could do ... < blush >... this afternoon. Followed by a long nap. HA HA HA !

I took Bo for the daily pack walk while Joanne did some vacuuming in the trailer. We went to the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. Tonight was the first night of our week long commitment to cover the pool ( both of us ) and clean the laundry room ( Joanne ) daily.

Monday ; BRRRRR ... another sunny but very cold day for Yuma, warming a bit late in the afternoon. This morning Joanne prepared a Thai chicken recipe to be cooked in the Sun Oven, then she went shopping with her friend Eilene.

This afternoon I set up the Sun Oven and cooked supper. I watered my plants and gardens. I took down all the Christmas decorations and lights. I worked on some magic for New Year's Eve. And ... I stepped on Bo's foot while he was lying in a sunbeam on the floor. Sorry, Bo ! Poor Bo, he was limping for the rest of the day. And didn't really want to go on today's pack walk, although as Joanne and I climbed over our rear fence into the dog park, he gamely followed along.

We visited briefly with Laszlo and DeeOJee the Pit Bull. I went bicycling. I began a refurbishment / redecorating project in the trailer bedroom. We covered the swimming pool. Joanne cleaned the laundry room.

Tuesday ; Sunny but chilly. I baked a loaf of bread in the Sun Oven today. Joanne made marmalade.

This afternoon I started work on repairing the truck bumper. I damaged and repaired the truck bumper a year ago. At that time I used the wrong type of "body putty" for the bumper, and the repair cracked. Now I'm doing the repair again, and this time, hopefully, I'm using the right type of "body putty". We went to the Humane Society for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift of dog walking and cut cuddling. I facilitated an adoption today. It feels good to help a family decide to take a dog home. WOW ... what a gorgeous nine year old Himalayan in the cat adoption wing today ! She’s so beautiful and friendly I expect she will be adopted very soon. BUT ... Joanne thinks a nine year old cat is likely to be overlooked by most adopters. I hope she’s wrong. She usually isn’t !

Tonight we made chili dogs for supper. YUCK ... what horrible canned chili ! After supper Joanne did laundry and cleaned the laundry room. We covered the pool and hot tub.

Wednesday ; New Year's Eve

BRRRRR ... still cold !

This morning I paid our December electricity and propane bills at the RV park office, dropped off two propane tanks at the park's propane refill station, then we left to run some shopping errands. Pep Boys, Lowe's, Burger King for lunch, and finally, Wal-Mart.

Bo has an injured toe, so we did not go on the daily pack walk today. I continued work on the truck bumper repair. I rehearsed some magic. After supper we headed to the clubhouse for the park's New Year's Eve party. We were pleased to see Bill and Candace, friends from Texas that we met here about a year ago. They have just returned.

Throughout the evening I intermittently performed "table magic". "New York New Year" was celebrated at 10 PM < rolling eyes >. Three quarters of the people left shortly thereafter. "Chicago New Year" was celebrated at 11 PM. Three quarters of the remaining people left shortly thereafter < rolling eyes again >. A very small group of us remained until after midnight. I celebrated "real" New Year with two apple pie flavoured Tennessee moonshine shooters. HOLY SHIT ! < involuntary shudder > Thank goodness for the apple pie flavouring !

Thursday ; Happy New Year / Bonne Heureuse Année / Feliz Año Nuevo

BRRRRR ! ! ! ! ! High temperature of 52 F / 11 C, low temperature near freezing !

Well ... Sully has survived to New Year. Can he live four more months and make it back to Keremeos ?

We slept late. This afternoon we went shopping. First stop was Home Depot, then
Jo-Ann's Fabrics where we bought the fabric and batting needed to re-upholster the trailer's bedroom slide's fascia. Then Harbor Freight to buy a staple gun for the same project, O'Reilly's Auto Parts for some spot glazing putty for the truck's bumper repair, and finally Albertson's for some advertised grocery specials.

The rest of the day was taken up with year end financial reconciliation and ... HA HA HA ... watching a Mr. Bean movie.

Friday ; Sunny, but still very cold for Yuma. Joanne cooked Brunswick Stew in the Sun Oven today. I set up the Sun Oven before we went out, and when we returned ... supper was cooked.

Right after a late brunch of waffles ( yes, yes ... again ) we headed to The Foothills. On the way we stopped at Wally's World and I bought a few items. Wally's World is actually the name of a multiple outlet flea market type store in Yuma, not a euphemism for
Wal-Mart, as it is sometimes called. At Pioneer Mall in The Foothills I went shopping to Al's RV Service & Supply ( monthly 15% off day ) and Joanne went shopping at the "99¢ Only Store". At Al's I wanted to special order a part for Elsie the truck camper, but the part I want / need is no longer available. DARN ... one of the pitfalls of having an older unit.

After returning home I did some yard maintenance chores and continued working on the truck bumper repair. We went on the daily pack walk ... mostly without Bo. He has had a sore leg ( knee ? ) for a few days and it impedes his ability to walk. After supper Joanne cleaned the laundry room and we covered the pool and hot tub. Just our luck that we would volunteer for those jobs on the coldest week in Yuma in years ! We had a "movie date" late in the evening, watching the animated movie "UP" for the second time. What an emotionally touching movie, especially for an animated one. Especially the first fifteen minutes !

Saturday ; Sunny, cool, warming in the afternoon.

This morning we headed out early ( for us ) to "work" a Humane Society mobile adoption event at Tractor Supply in The Foothills. The two Tractor Supply stores in Yuma will each host a monthly adoption event. It's a new program. We were there for three and a half hours, presenting four dogs, in an exercise pen set up at the front of the store, and also by walking around the store with the dogs, one at a time. The concept is great ! I fail to be impressed by either the organization or the execution of the concept.

Afterwards we went for a late lunch to Firehhouse Subs, a new business in Yuma that we have not been to before. Obviously a franchise, I thought the food was good, the prices a bit high. Joanne did not like her food. After lunch we went to browse at the Goodwill Store and Salvation Army outlets in The Foothills. We each bought some pants at Salvation Army. Then we drove all the way ... and I do mean ALL THE WAY ... across town to an RV parts business ... that was closed ! < sigh >

Back at home we took Bo on the daily pack walk. His sore leg / knee was a lot better today. Yesterday we massaged his knee, and applied heat to it. And the weather this afternoon was warmer than it has been for a week or so. Now we surmise that most of his leg / knee problem may be arthritis ? Today's "pack" was larger than usual ; Bo, Spanky, Sammy, DeeOJee, Tika, and Cheyenne. Tika ... a newcomer ... smaller than Bo ... is the first dog ever that has followed Bo up and over the brick fence and into our back yard. Well done, little Tika !

AHHHHH ... our final day of laundry room cleaning and pool and hot tub covering.

DSK