December 30, 2018 to January 5, 2019

Sunday ; Sunny and cold. Around lunch time we headed out for some flea market shopping at Yuma Swap Meet Los Perros aka Dog Track Flea Market. On the way we stopped to have lunch at Jack In The Box. We have not eaten at a Jack In The Box for many years. Today we remembered why. Great TV commercials … lousy food ! We bought what we needed at the flea market, including some fresh produce. 
I wasn’t feeling well, so it was hard to enjoy the flea market experience.

Back at home we did more gardening. I removed and relocated / transplanted the smaller of our two Barrel Cactus. And we cleaned up / restored the areas where we had dug out an Ocotillo and a large Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear. We transplanted some Aloe Vera plants to where the Prickly Pear had been.

Just before we had supper we gave Ozzie a bath. Joanne made a salad with heirloom cherry tomatoes bought today at the flea market produce vendor. I barbecued steak and small potatoes. WOO-HOO … baked potatoes smothered in Crema CentroAmericana, Joanne’s favourite way to have potatoes. HA HA HA !

I received a telephone call from the Security Department of our Canadian MasterCard. They wanted to know if I had made ten ( TEN ! ) attempts to transfer money via Western Union using my credit card. NO … I DID NOT ! ! ! That’s what they had expected. SO … they simply cancelled my compromised credit card number, and issued a new card. Sending it by mail to our winter U.S. address was a bit problematic, but … it got done. Apparently ! Hopefully ! Time will tell !

Monday ; New Year’s Eve

Cloudy, cool, windy, light rain starting in the afternoon. That caused a change in our evening plans. We were planning to go downtown to attend Yuma’s first dropping of the giant, lighted head of lettuce … HA HA HA … but decided it was too cold, too windy, and too wet !

So … I had a slightly lazy day, doing a lot of year end work on the computer. Late in the afternoon we went shopping. Harbor Freight … our first stop, was already closed. At Staples next door I bought two flash drives, advertised specials on sale for one quarter of the regular price. Next was Church’s Chicken where we bought dinner … using coupons, of course … to take home. Last stop was CVS Pharmacy, for more advertised specials. While we were shopping in CVS Pharmacy, Ozzie spent his time trying to figure out how to open the fridge in Obie 
( the SUV ) to get at the Church’s Chicken inside. Fortunately … he failed. HA HA HA !

We returned home to eat our chicken and spend the evening watching TV.

Tuesday ; New Year’s Day

Sunny, cold, windy.

Did some annual preventive maintenance on the camper this afternoon. BRRRRR … much too cold for Yuma, Arizona ! Could be worse, 
I guess. We could be … anywhere else in North America ! HA HA HA ! In the evening I worked on annual budgeting. There’s never enough money, is there ? HA HA HA !

Wednesday ; Sunny. COLD ! Expected to snow in Tucson and Phoenix tonight. YIKES !

This morning I sold more of my items advertised for sale in the White Sheet. WOO-HOO ! Almost all gone ! This afternoon I worked on clearing out all the dead cacti in my cactus gardens in the dog park behind our rear fence. Didn’t quite finish. Mid-afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly volunteer shift as dog walker 
( me ) and cat cuddler ( Joanne ). Our neighbour / friend Linda came along with us. She wanted to make her annual financial donation to the Humane Society, and … search for a new dog to adopt. Her Lhasa Apso Tiffany died not too long ago, and she’s ready for a new dog.

I had a bit of a “run in” with a ”newbie” volunteer who felt he was in a position to tell me how I should do my job as a dog walker. And not surprisingly, shortly thereafter I had another run in with the newbie Volunteer Manager, after the newbie volunteer … whom I told might want to … < ahem > … consider reproducing with himself … went whining to her. HEY … I was a volunteer there long before either of you ever heard of the place … and I’ll still be a volunteer there long after both of you are history ! ! ! AND … I was extremely well trained as a “dog walker” by a very competent and professional Volunteer Manager of many years ago ! ! ! So there !

Thursday ; Sunny and cool.

This morning I drove to a nearby RV parts dealer and bought a few items I needed. I have dealt with this business many times in the past, and have usually been dissatisfied with their poor customer service, preferring to deal with Al’s RV Supplies in The Foothills. BUT … last summer Al’s RV Supplies went out of business. DARN ! On the way back home I refilled Obie with fuel. Gee, that car uses a lot of fuel. Even after the recent tune-up. I think I should have the malfunctioning fuel pressure regulator replaced.

Joanne joined me for the first time in a week on my long walk with Ozzie. She has been avoiding long walks, as advised by her Mexican dermatologist after a sclerotherapy treatment a week ago. I’ve missed Joanne’s companionship on walks with Ozzie. He’s not much of a conversationalist. HA HA HA !

After lunch I went to nap while Joanne went shopping. Afterwards 
I reinstalled a refilled propane tank. I sharpened the kitchen knives. Joanne has been complaining about how dull her favourite paring knife has become. Well … dear … if you didn’t cut plastic with it … maybe it wouldn’t get so dull ! HA HA HA ! I spent the evening working on year end financial updates.

Friday ; Sunny, cool, windy.

This morning Joanne helped me finish up the disposal of dead cacti from the dog park behind our rear fence. Good riddance to my cactus gardens ! After lunch Joanne went grocery shopping. I sold the last item I had advertised for sale in the White Sheet. WOO-HOO ! BUT … 
I committed to providing a refund if it proved to be unsuitable for the buyer. < shrug > Let’s hope that won’t be necessary.

I started “body work” on the truck to repair the damage I caused on my last trailer towing job on November 1, but I didn’t get very far. I need to buy a 2×4 piece of lumber to use as bracing. In the evening I filled out our IRS 8840 forms, establishing to the US IRS that we have a “closer connection” to another country, so are thereby exempt from US income taxes. < rolling eyes >

Saturday ; Cloudy, cool, light rain starting around noon.

This morning the moron from Alberta that I sold my last item to phoned to tell me it wasn’t what he needed, and was returning it for a refund. AFTER … I had already told another caller that it was sold ! AND … that caller’s phone number was blocked on my phone’s call display, so I was unable to phone him back. Why don’t you people with blocked phone numbers get over yourselves ? ! ! !

Late this morning we headed to Lowe’s to buy a piece of 2×4 lumber 
I need for a project. Then we went to have lunch at Hamburger Stand 
( formerly known as Wienerschnitzel ). After lunch we drove to Arizona MarketPlace, the local flea market. But … I wasn’t feeling well, and after parking I decided I would rather just go home and lie down.

In the evening I did some trip planning for a trip to Las Vegas in late February.  I finished updating my investment files and started my annual investment analysis.  HMPH !  Doesn't look that good !

DSK