Sunday, December 25, 2016

December 18 to 24, 2016

Sunday ;  Sunny and cold.  Joanne cooked a chicken stew in the Sun Oven today.  After we ate supper she declared it to be "underwhelming".  < shrug >

After our morning two lap walk around the dog park I headed to Arizona Market Place
( the local flea market ) to pick up the carpet dash cover that I had ordered for Obie
( the SUV ).  It's very nice looking.  All three of our vehicles have carpet dash covers. 
I like them.  It allows me to throw things like sunglasses up on the dash, and they don't slide or roll all over.

Back at home I did some routine household chores before lunch.  After lunch I removed the radio from Obie ... yes, yes ... AGAIN ... before Joanne left to do some Christmas shopping at ... WOO-HOO ... Harbor Freight.  HA HA HA !  While she was gone
I completely rewired the car radio's wiring harness.  Yes, yes, I know that is sort of OCD, but ... you know ... I really detest sloppy workmanship and Obie's radio wiring harness was VERY SLOPPY !  It didn't come that way from the factory.  It was the result of an after market radio installation.  As soon as Joanne returned home
I reinstalled the radio in Obie's dash.  Hopefully for the last time.

Late in the afternoon we did another two laps around the dog park, then I went bicycling.  BRRRRR !  We ate our underwhelming chicken stew while watching Downton Abbey.  I did some online financial work, and posted my weekly journal to my blog while Joanne sewed a patch onto the pair of my jeans that I tore while doing repairs to the kitchen sink drain plumbing.

Monday ;  Sunny and cold again.

After our two lap walk around the dog park this morning we took Obie to Perez Automotive in Somerton for diagnosis and estimates.  Joanne drove Obie.  I drove Lanoire.  Our friend Gail came along.  After dropping Obie off in Somerton we drove back to Yuma, to the Goodwill Thrift Store.  Both Gail and I had things to return ...
< sigh >.  Joanne and I bought a Christmas gift for Bo, and a Christmas gift for Joanne.  Next stop was Dave's Auto Glass & Upholstery to drop off the sun visors from Obie for reupholstering.  Kind of expensive, but we could not find any good sun visors in the junk yards that we visited.  We had lunch at Church's Chicken, then on the way home we stopped at Peanut Patch to buy some fresh peanut butter.

Back at home I napped then we removed the fifth wheel hitch from the bed of the truck.  I watered our plants and gardens.  Except for the four remaining Cholla Cacti.  I am not going to water them any more, and will probably remove them all before the end of this winter season.  I did some maintenance work inside the trailer while Joanne wrapped Christmas gifts in the Arizona room.  We did another two laps around the dog park, then I went bicycling.

For supper Joanne baked a large piece of Chinook Salmon, then smothered it in a cream sauce made with Crema Casera and Parmesan cheese.  MMMMM !

Tuesday ;  Sunny and cool.

This morning after our two lap walk around the dog park we headed in Lanoire to Somerton to pick up Obie, and estimates for repairs, at Perez Automotive.  The total amount of the estimates for repairs is not as much as I thought it might be, so I'm pleased about that.  I made an appointment to drop Obie off next week, and leave it there for a week, to have the most important repairs done, some steering and suspension work.  Joanne returned home in Lanoire, and I drove Obie to pick up clipper blades that I had taken in for sharpening, and to refill Obie with fuel before returning home.

Joanne had lunch ready by the time I arrived back home.  After lunch we returned Lanoire to her parking spot in the park's storage yard, and we headed in Obie to the Humane Society for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift of dog walking and cat cuddling.  By the time we were finished our shift I was feeling pretty tired, mostly from "wrangling" a difficult to walk German Shepherd.  When we returned home, and took Bo for our late afternoon two lap walk around the dog park, Bo and I quit after one lap.  Joanne did the second lap by herself.

Supper ; appetizer / "amuse-bouche" was tortilla chips with Joanne's great, fresh guacamole.  Main course was marinated, barbecued, thick steak and baked potatoes served with Crema Casera and fresh cilantro ( grown in the back yard by Joanne ) on top.  Dessert was a slice of "chocolate filler", a chocolate cake / bar / loaf baked by Joanne a few days ago.  Well ... at least we eat well !  HA HA HA !

Wednesday ;  Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Cloudy and cool, light rain in the evening.

This morning we headed out to Los Algodones.  Our friend Gail came along with us.  Our priority in Mexico was to get pedicures.  This was only my second pedicure.  My first was a bit more than a year ago, in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, south of Texas.  It was great.  And today's pedicure was even better !  I consider it a Christmas gift to myself.  Joanne and Gail were also very satisfied, although getting a pedicure is a fairly routine treat for themselves.

After our pedicures we went for lunch to our favourite "restaurant" in Los Algodones.  Joanne had tres tacos, as did Gail.  I had a plata de pollo asado con arroz y frijoles
( barbecued chicken platter with rice and refried beans ).  Great meal, as always at that place.  After lunch we walked through town to the southwest to Pharmacia Veterinaria Safari to buy some pet medications for Bo.  I bought a year's worth of heartworm medication, a couple of small bottles of ear drops, and a package of two dewormer tablets.  On our walk back into town we stopped at a mercado ( grocery store ) and bought some Zuko drink mix packages.  At a dulceria ( candy store ) we bought some liquor filled chocolates.  At a panaderia ( bakery ) we bought some pan dulce
( pastries ).  Gail browsed and compared prices at three different pharmacies.  She bought some liquors as Christmas gifts.  Our wait time at the border crossing was fifty minutes, not so bad considering the length of the line up.

Before driving back to Yuma we stopped at the "secret" and somewhat remote pet cemetery where Sully is buried, and placed on his grave some "special" rocks that we had collected during our summer travels in B.C.  We drove back to Yuma, arriving back home at Kofa Ko-op at 5 PM.  We took Bo out for a quick bathroom break, then headed to The Foothills to view a car cover for sale.  It did not fit Obie.  By the time we arrived in The Foothills shortly before 6 PM it was already dark.  A few minutes after we arrived back home around 6:30 PM it began to rain lightly.

While Joanne prepared supper I went out to our storage shed / workshop and wrapped Christmas gifts.

Thursday ;  Cloudy and cool.

This morning was taken up with routine chores.  This afternoon we went out to run some errands.  First stop was Miracle Ear, a hearing aid "store", for a free hearing evaluation.  I'm worried that a "free" hearing evaluation at a hearing aid business might lack objectivity, and may be akin to a time share sales pitch, but ... !  There was a power failure affecting much of Yuma today, and the hearing aid store was without power for much of the day, so when I arrived they advised me that my free hearing evaluation scheduled for today was cancelled and would have to be rescheduled.

Next stop was Harbor Freight, just to use a couple of "no purchase required" free item coupons.  Got a package of twenty-four AAA batteries and an LED flashlight.  Last stop was the 99 Cent Only Store.  Joanne needed a few items.  She shouldn't bring me along to the 99 Cent Only Store.  I enjoy impulse shopping there too much.  HA HA
HA !

After we returned home I had a brief nap before we took Bo for our regular late afternoon two lap walk around the dog park.  After that I went bicycling at dusk.  Joanne did laundry.

Friday ;  Cloudy becoming clear, cool becoming mild.

After our morning two walk lap around the dog park Joanne left with our friend Gail for a day of grocery shopping.  I did some reviewing and purging of old "paper work".  After lunch I did some review and rearrangement of my clothing in the camper.  I replaced the batteries in some battery operated lights over the bed in the camper.  I figured out what materials I need to buy to repair a broken leg on our "portable" solar panels frame.

In the evening I worked on monthly computer file maintenance and backup.  And
I reviewed a bunch of monthly meeting reports from our RV park back home in BC.  My goodness !  There's something wrong with those people !  I surely am glad that we keep ourselves isolated from that nonsense.

Saturday ;  Christmas Eve

Today is the 21st anniversary of my father's death.  Christmas Eve always has that sad memory for me.

Cloudy and raining in the morning.  Clearing, windy, and chilly in the afternoon.

By design, we had a lazy day today.  Twice we went for a two lap walk around the dog park with Bo.  I went bicycling.  BRRRRR !  We read the newspaper in bed.  Joanne made tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) for supper, as she always does for Christmas Eve dinner.  And in the afternoon she baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from scratch.  Bo and I helped by ... napping.  HA HA HA !  In the evening we watched the 1954 Bing Crosby movie White Christmas.  First time we've seen it.  Sure beats watching It's A Wonderful Life.  HA HA HA !

DSK

No comments:

Post a Comment