This morning I finished installing a new bicycle tire tube, reinstalled the tire and wheel on the bicycle, and finished servicing the bicycle to prepare it for a season of use. We spent the rest of the day working on Obie, our "new" car. I did maintenance work ... it has been neglected and needs a lot of TLC ... and Joanne did cleaning work. Her job was much more difficult than mine. This was a really filthy car, owned by an a*****e who obviously had no pride of ownership, and put no effort into maintaining the car. We are both tired and sore from a long, hard day of physical work.
For supper I made omelettes, prepared with Crema Casera, a Mexican cream
I purchased a few days ago, and had never cooked with before. WOW ! What stupendous omelettes ! My long ago deceased Aunt Lena would be proud of my "cooking with cream" prowess. HA HA HA !
Monday ; Cloudy and mild.
I spent the day working on fifth wheel maintenance and ... satellite dish drama ! With a teensy bit of vehicle maintenance and gardening thrown in for good measure.
Tuesday ; Sunny, cool, very windy.
This afternoon we went to the Humane Society of Yuma for our first volunteer dog walking ( me ) and cat cuddling ( Joanne ) shift of this winter season. I walked dogs for a couple of hours, then went to the cat wing and cuddled cats for another ten minutes or so until Joanne was ready to leave.
This morning I had been whining and moaning at Laszlo and Gail about my satellite dish drama, including a very unsuccessful "live chat" session with Shaw Direct Technical Support. When we returned home from the Humane Society at 5 PM there was a page of today's newspaper stuck on our door showing a classified ad selling what I need to make our satellite dish work again. We don't yet know for sure ( at 9:30 PM ) that Laszlo and / or Gail put the newspaper page on our door, but ... it must have been them. We'll find out tomorrow. I immediately phoned the ad and made arrangements with the seller of the satellite dish equipment. We rushed out to The Foothills, and met a very nice couple from Smithers, BC, who sold me the part that I needed, at a fair and reasonable price. THANK YOU SID ! Gee, it's nice to do business with a fair and reasonable and honest Canadian !
We chatted with them for half an hour or so, and by the time we returned home it was 6:30 PM. I cooked a large, thick Halibut fillet for supper, the second of three packages of Halibut we bought in Prince Rupert, BC on our way home from Haida Gwaii last August. We have been experiencing anxiety over these remaining two packages of Halibut after discovering a couple of weeks ago that the first package was rancid ! BUT ... tonight's ( too ) large serving of Halibut was superb !
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Sunny and cool.
This morning we headed out at 10:15 AM for our dentist appointments in Mexico at
11 AM. We drove north on Ave. 3E to Interstate 8, west on I-8 across the Colorado River into California, then a short distance south on Hwy. 186 to the border crossing at Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico. We parked and walked across the border into Mexico, arriving at our dentist's office right on time. I was seen by Dra. Lilia Camacho, my periodontist. Joanne was seen by Dr. Armando, a relatively new dentist in the office. Since it was not a very busy day today my periodontist not only conducted a periodontal examination, she also did my cleaning, with the hygienist that should have done the cleaning acting as her assistant. My bill was $45. Joanne had a dental cleaning by a hygienist, then when Dr. Armando conducted an examination, she pointed out to him that she had a problem with an old filling that was breaking off and falling out. Well ... that was because there was a cavity underneath the old filling.
Dr. Armando had time to fix it today. Her bill was $45 for the cleaning and examination, and $60 for the cavity / filling repair.
When Joanne's filling repair was completed we headed to Tere's, our regular hairstylist ( and pedicure ) shop in Los Algodones. We both got haircuts ; $5 for Joanne, $3 for my haircut, $2 for my beard trim. Very good haircuts for both of us. My beard trim is a bit short. I guess she ( the hairstylist ) was going for the Mexican telenovela star look. More like stubble than a beard. On an old, fat gringo with grey whiskers, I just look like some kind of skid row bum. HA HA HA ! Joanne's mouth was frozen and she didn't want to remain in Mexico for lunch. We bought some pan dulce at the panaderia to take home, then crossed the border about 1 PM ... NO LINE UP ! ... and drove back to Yuma.
Back in Yuma we washed Obie, our new “winter beater” SUV, at a car wash on 8th St. then drove down Avenue B to a ( Mexican ) used tire shop to buy a used tire. Obie came with an exploded tire ( on the car’s “fancy” alloy wheel ) in the rear cargo area, and the spare tire ( on a regular steel wheel ) in use on the car. It took me three
( Mexican ) used tire shops until I found one that had the right size tire. Bought a fairly decent Goodyear Tracker tire, $25 mounted on the rim and installed on the car, with an additional $5 for balancing. By the time we arrived back at home around 2:30 PM Joanne was ready for a late, small lunch. After lunch I installed the Shaw Direct triple satellite LNB that I bought last night onto our satellite dish and ... WOO-HOO ... we have television service again !
At 6 PM we headed out with Laszlo and Gail, in Obie, for all you can eat salad, spaghetti and meatballs at a local restaurant. We went out for dinner that early so that we could be home in time to watch Survivor, but ... I screwed up time zone adjustments again. Yuma is on Mountain Standard Time, and our satellite TV service is on Keremeos, BC / Pacific Standard Time. I thought Survivor was going to be on at 7 PM local time ( 8 PM BC time ). DUH ! It was on at 9 PM local time ( 8 PM BC time ).
It's good to have our TV service restored !
Thursday ; Sunny and cool. Joanne cooked our first Sun Oven meal of the season, a beef roast marinated in a "Southern Barbecue" slow cooker marinade.
Today I did maintenance work on Elsie ( the truck camper ) and Obie ( the SUV ). Joanne cleaned Harvey ( the fifth wheel trailer ) and did laundry. We walked two laps around the seven acre dog park with Bo. I went bicycling at dusk. BRRRRR ! Chilly once the sun sets.
Friday ; Mostly sunny, windy, chilly.
Today was a long day of running shopping errands in The Foothills. This morning we headed to the far east end of The Foothills, to the semi-annual Helping Hands Yard Sale at Gila Mountain United Methodist Church. I was looking for some stuff for Obie, and I found what I wanted. I bought floor mats, front and rear, for Obie the SUV, as well as some needed tools and office supplies. Joanne bought a new set of cutlery for Harvey the fifth wheel trailer. And Harvey's old cutlery will get moved to Elsie the truck camper. I have no idea what the plans are for the cutlery that is currently in Elsie. HEY ... not my department. HA HA HA !
Next stop was Al's RV Parts for a few items ... and free donuts ... on their monthly 15% off everything sale day. We refilled Obie with fuel across the street at Fry's Fuel Bar, then began heading back west towards home. We stopped at Southwest Exchange where I had a spare key cut for Obie. We drove to The Foothills Wal-Mart mall where we had lunch at Del Taco before going Wal-Martin'. Last stop before heading home was Wally's World for an assortment of automotive parts and household supplies and hardware. It was after 4 PM by the time we arrived back at home.
We walked with Bo for two laps around the dog park before it got dark. BRRRRR ... chilly ! While Joanne prepared supper I reorganized my "to do" priorities. We watched a couple of episodes of My Cat From Hell on TV while having supper, then after supper we watched Doc Martin. Late in the evening I did month end bank statement balancing and investment file updating and analyzing.
Saturday ; Sunny, windy, chilly. Joanne cooked a chicken stew in the Sun Oven today.
Today was filled with routine chores and maintenance. I took a propane tank to be refilled. I remounted the spare tire underneath Obie. I went to the office and paid our November electricity bill. I took photos of Obie. I downloaded the photos to my laptop and "processed" them. I sorted and put away laundered clothing, some in the trailer, some in the camper. I auger cleaned the shower drain in the trailer. I took Bo for a two lap walk around the dog park. I went bicycling. Joanne gave Bo a bath. I helped Joanne repair the camper's sleeping bags.
DSK
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