This morning we went over to last week's "Welcome Committee" couple to pick up the Welcome Committee's golf cart and "Welcome" materials. After lunch our neighbours / friends Carol Mae and Larry came over to discuss their plans to visit Vancouver Island on their way to Alaska by ferry next summer. Mid-afternoon Joanne went to the office to get the list of today's "arrivals", so that we could visit them as the Welcome Committee.
Oh my goodness ! Eight arrivals today. Usually there are only one or two per day. We spent from 3:30 PM until 5:45 "welcoming", then rushed to be ready for the ice cream social at 6 PM where Joanne and I "hosted" the "new visitors' table".
We found out, from one of today's arrivals, that an old friend of ours, a resident of SKP Park of the Sierras near Coarsegold, California, has died. The last time we visited her, about a year ago, she was recuperating from a stroke. We knew she probably would not live much longer. And ... she didn't want to live much longer. Nevertheless, it saddens me that she's gone. Rest in peace, Diane !
After the ice cream social we returned home to the over baked lasagna waiting in the oven ... < sigh >. But ... on the upside ... WOO-HOO ... Downton Abbey !
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning Joanne went out shopping by herself again. I spent the day working on maintenance chores.
Somewhat surprisingly, there were no arrivals today. So ... no "Welcome Committee" work for us today.
At 6 PM we headed for PetsMart. With Bo ! He LOOOOOVES Christmas shopping. HA HA HA ! We bought a bag of dog food and Bo's Christmas gifts. On the way back home we stopped at Albertsons to buy some fried chicken and side dishes for supper.
Astoundingly ... I have another cold ! ! ! ! ! Third in three months ! ! ! < sigh >
Tuesday ; Cloudy and mild.
We spent the morning doing routine chores. This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our weekly shift of cat cuddling and dog walking. Afterwards we did our Welcome Committee duties. One arrival today.
Joanne prepared fresh guacamole as an "amuse-bouche" for dinner. Then I cooked eggs in Crema CentroAmericana, and served them on toast. MMMMM ! I could not resist buying Crema CentroAmericana when I saw it in the grocery store recently.
I wondered how similar it would be to Crema Salvadoreña and/or Crema Mexicana.
Joanne had long phone chats today with our 94 year old Escapee friend Eilene who is back home in Oregon for the first winter in about three decades, and our neighbor / friend Jeanine back home at Riverside RV Resort near Keremeos, BC.
I am feeling really ill tonight ... with cold #3 !
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
Joanne went out shopping by herself again today. I did chores. AFTER the very slow, late start that I get to each day when I'm suffering from a cold. I did obedience training with Bo. Very well done, Bo, good dog ! After lunch I spent much of the afternoon slowly wrapping Christmas gifts. Have I mentioned ... ? I HATE wrapping gifts !
Late in the afternoon we did our "Welcome Committee" duties, followed by the regular Wednesday potluck. After the potluck we had one more late arrival to visit, and spent quite awhile with them.
Christmas Eve ; Sunny and mild.
We visited with friends and neighbours today. We did our Welcome Committee duties.
I spent much of the afternoon working on my cactus gardens. OUCH ! Joanne made tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) for supper, as she always does for Christmas Eve dinner. In the evening we watched two movies ; Happy Feet and one of my all time favourites, Uncle Buck. HA HA HA !
Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad
Again this morning we broke with life long family tradition, and deferred our Christmas morning waffle breakfast until tomorrow morning. After a light breakfast we went into the Arizona room to open gifts. WOO-HOO ... Bo's twelfth Christmas of opening all the gifts ; his and ours. Bo LOOOOOVES opening gifts. HA HA HA ! By the end of opening gifts he seemed to be close to adrenaline overload !
Now ... for those of you who are prone to notice such things ... HA HA HA ... I cut and pasted that paragraph from last year's Christmas Day journal, and changed but one word. And it fit today as well as it did last year ! HA HA HA !
Joanne went to the clubhouse at 1 PM to make gravy for 120 people. You go, girl ! She did a great job. Especially since her gravy making partner bailed at the last minute due to illness and she had to do it by herself. I went to the clubhouse at 2:30 PM to prepare for my volunteer job as a server. And discovered that ... I was the "senior" server. I was serving Christmas dinner with four other people who had never done it before. So ...
I became the "supervisor".
And what a great job we all did ! ! ! Everybody involved, from early this morning, right up until the serving process, did an excellent job ! When we were finished serving 120 people, there were about a dozen servings remaining of turkey dark meat, turkey white meat, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, and ( Joanne's ) gravy. Just about the right amount for the invalid and ill who were unable to come to the clubhouse for Christmas dinner.
There were many, many side dishes and deserts contributed potluck style. Joanne and I hosted a "new arrivals" table because of our Welcome Committee responsibilities this week. Christmas dinner was excellent !
Afterwards Joanne and I took Bo for a long, slow walk all around the RV park, up and down each road, wishing friends and neighbours a Merry Christmas. We spent a quiet evening watching Christmas specials on TV. While drinking eggnog and eating fruit cake, of course. HA HA HA !
Boxing Day ( in Canada ) ; Chilly, very windy, sky obscured by blowing dust ... a desert storm !
This morning we prepared my family's traditional Christmas morning brunch ... delayed one day ... of Belgian waffles, served with a thick coating of strawberry jam and vanilla ice cream. MMMMM ! Admittedly, an acquired taste. After 41 years of marriage, Joanne has not acquired the taste. HA HA HA ! She still eats her waffles with maple syrup. Bo prefers the jam and ice cream version. HA HA HA !
This afternoon we went shopping at the Goodwill Thrift Store. Everything was 50% off today. I bought a bunch of shorts and t-shirts, the clothing items I wear the most, and wear out the most. Joanne bought ( ANOTHER ) curling iron and ( ANOTHER ) blow dryer. < shrug > Apparently one can never have enough curling irons and blow dryers. HA HA HA ! I suppose she could say the same thing about my shorts and t-shirts.
Late this afternoon Joanne did laundry and we did our daily Welcome Committee visits. Three arrivals today, including one from Nova Scotia. They’re an awful long way from home ! BUT ... they are repeat visitors, coming here every year for many years.
A few minutes ago I took Bo out for a bathroom break in the dog park. As he climbed over our back yard fence, he confronted a Roadrunner standing at the bottom of our dog park steps. Bo gave chase. The Roadrunner quickly ran around behind my cactus gardens and jumped back over the fence into our next door neighbour's yard to escape Bo, who had barely begun to move by the time the Roadrunner cleared the fence. BEEP BEEP ! HA HA HA ! They’re so fast ! Bo came limping back around the gardens with a segment of Cholla Cactus embedded in his rear leg. OUCH ! Poor Bo !
I picked him up, carried him over the fence and into our shed where I pulled the Cholla segment off his leg using a pair of pliers. Fortunately he had not stepped on the Cholla segment. It just "jumped" onto his leg as he ran by it. No, no ... Cholla segments don't really "jump". It just seems that way because they detach and stick against anything that brushes against them, no matter how lightly.
Lanoire reached 300,000 km. today. What a great truck !
DSK
No comments:
Post a Comment