March 24 to 30, 2019

Sunday ; Sunny and warm.

Late this morning the couple from Idaho that arrived yesterday, and were planning to leave this morning, phoned asking for help. Their towed car’s battery was dead, and they needed a battery boost. I drove over to the lot they were on and with the help of the booster cables in Obie ( our Yuma SUV ) got their car started. We chatted briefly, then they left for Anza Borrego State Park, their next destination, for viewing the spring wildflowers in the desert. We plan to do exactly the same thing when we leave here in about three weeks.

After lunch I napped then began to work on taking inventory of all our ( mostly 

my ) medications in the trailer to determine if I need to buy any more medications on our final trip to Mexico in a few days. And what prescriptions I will need to refill as soon as we are back home in BC in about a month. Late in the afternoon we walked Ozzie, then I went for a long bicycle ride, something I should have been doing daily all winter season, but haven’t been. HMPH … bad Daniel !

Monday ; Sunny and hot. AHHHHH !

Late this morning we headed out for a day of errands. First we drove west to the Foothills to get a propane tank re-certified … and refilled. Then back all the way across town to Yuma Palms Shopping Center. We had lunch at Del Taco. Food was okay. Service … so to speak … was unacceptable ! The cashier / manager added an unauthorized “up-sell” to our bill, and when I called him on it, he played dumb ! I wonder how often he gets away with that … because most people don’t look closely at their bills ? I thought that kind of “extra buck a gringo” scam was confined to … well, you know … south of here.

Next stop was Harbor Freight. Bought a few items but the primary item I wanted was out of stock. We refilled Obie with fuel at Fry’s Fuel Bar, then our final stop was at Walgreens, for an advertised special … that was out of stock. < sigh >

Back at home, I took inventory of all my medications in the camper. I played musical propane tanks, attaching the newly re-certified small propane tank to the camper’s step bumper as the camper’s barbecue tank, and moving the camper’s small tank … which requires re-certification soon … to the trailer as the trailer’s barbecue tank.

In the evening I reconciled our Bank of America US$ MasterCard monthly billing statement. And watched multiple episodes of … Love After Lockup. HA HA HA ! Almost as much fun as Ninety Day Fiance a few years ago. HA HA HA !

Tuesday ; Sunny and hot.

This morning we worked on routine household chores. Mid-afternoon we headed “downtown” to Yuma Historic Theater to attend the first of six movies we are planning to see this week at the Hispanic film festival / Festival Cultural de Cine. This afternoon’s movie was No Manches Frida, translated into English as WTF Frida. HA HA HA ! It was a romantic comedy, and we enjoyed it.

Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

HAPPY 15^th BIRTHDAY TO OZZIE

We left home this morning about 11:30 AM headed for Mexico. We were across the border and into Los Algodones around 12:15 PM. This was our fifth and final trip into Mexico this winter season. First stop was Tere’s Beauty Shop where we both had haircuts and pedicures. Well, and a beard trim for me. Joanne’s pedicure took longer than mine, so while she was having her toenails painted 

I went shopping at farmacias for medications. And shopping for belts at street vendors. I bought two belts and the ear drops and antibiotic ointment I needed. 

I picked Joanne up at the beauty shop and we went to Taqueria Molcas, our favourite Los Algodones restaurant for lunch.

After a leisurely lunch of tacos for Joanne and plato pollo asado con arroz y frijoles for me we went shopping at a variety of mercados ( grocery stores ) and dulcerias ( candy stores ) for Zuko drink mixes, vanilla, con leche, a couple of tiny bottles of Mexican wine, and … of course … our favourite Mexican chocolate bars, Nugs, Coconugs and Creminos.

We were back at the line up to cross the border at 3:40 PM. We crossed the border at 5:10 PM. All winter season long the Customs & Border Patrol staff have “manipulated” the wait times to about an hour and a half. And everybody … Americans and Canadians alike … are sick and tired of the government employee games playing ! We spent our time in line chatting with an old man from Oregon.

We were home around 6 PM. We walked Ozzie, had our supper while watching Survivor, then gave Ozzie his birthday present ; a bowl of home made applesauce, made by Joanne last fall with apples from the trees in our RV park’s orchard. Happy Birthday, Ozzie. He thought the applesauce was the best birthday gift he’s ever had ! HA HA HA !

Thursday ; Sunny and very warm.

This morning I sorted and put away the few items I purchased at Harbor Freight a few days ago, and the many items we purchased in Mexico yesterday. After a quick and early lunch we left, in the truck and camper, with Ozzie, to go downtown to attend two movies at the Hispanic Film Festival.

First movie was Ladron Que Roba A Ladron, translated as It Takes A Thief To Rob A Thief. It was somewhat like a Mexican version of Oceans Eleven. We liked it. Second movie was La Bamba, one of the few English language movies of this festival. It was the “bio-pic” of Ricardo Valenzuela, a.k.a. Ritchie Valens.

For supper we had planned to have salmon fillets in Bearnaise sauce. Joanne was going to cook the salmon fillets, and I was to make the Bearnaise sauce. Joanne had purchased two very cheap, frozen, pink salmon portions recently at a grocery store. When she opened the two packages, the portions looked different from one another, and she called me over to take a look. I flipped the portions over, took a look at the skin side, and immediately recognized why the two fillets were different. One was a pink salmon fillet, as identified on the package, and the other was … wait for it … a chum salmon fillet ! I threw it out ! I’m a salmon snob ! I’m not going to eat “dogfish”, especially one that has been frozen, and is “mushy”. YUCK !

Note to self … and little wifey ; don’t buy frozen, cheap salmon, especially down here in Arizona, where they apparently don’t know the difference between pink salmon and chum salmon !

Friday ; Sunny and very warm.

Today is the eighteen month “anniversary” of my coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The “healing” should be complete. It’s not ! I suppose this is as good as it is going to get, from a “healing” perspective. Oh, well … I’m lucky and grateful to be alive !

Again, after an early lunch we headed downtown to Historic Yuma Theater to attend two more movies in the Hispanic film festival. Again, we took the truck and camper, and Ozzie. The first of the two movies we attended today was the one 

I was most anticipating ; Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos / A Rooster With A Lot Of … < ahem > … Eggs … < nudge, nudge, wink, wink >. HA HA HA ! It was great, a hilarious “adult” animation about a “chicken” rooster who becomes brave. Second movie was A Better Life, a powerful story about a middle aged Mexican illegal in Los Angeles, a single parent raising his teenaged son, and working very hard to give him “a better life”. Every American who voted for Trump should be forced to watch this movie ! ! !

After the second movie ended around 6 PM we drove to a new “taco stand” food area on Pacific Avenue to try out some new foods at some new food stands. One of the “taco” stands was Mexican, Vietnamese and Filipino foods. MMMMM ! We had two “entrees” from there, and a third entree from a different food stand … with questionable food handling practices, we realized a bit too late.

For the second day in a row, Ozzie really enjoyed his seven hour “camping trip”. HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne baked a Saskatoon berry cake in the Sun Oven today.

Late this morning I headed out to the Foothills to run some errands. First stop was Cactus Storage & Propane to have another small propane tank re-certified and refilled. Then to Foxworth & Galbraith ( hardware store ) to buy an advertised fire extinguisher for Obie ( the SUV ). Last stop was Wally’s World ( guy stuff flea market ). They didn’t have what I needed.

Late this afternoon we headed downtown to attend the Hispanic film Festival. The movie we saw today, the last of the six film festival movies we attended this week was “Cesar Chavez : History Is Made One Step At A Time”, a documentary 

bio-pic about the Yuma born man, born on this date, who organized / unionized the California agricultural workers, almost all of them Mexican, into the UFW, United Farm Workers, during the 1960’s and into the 1970’s. My goodness ! We knew some of the Cesar Chavez story, but … we thought this unionization of farm workers took place in the 1940’s and 1950’s, not during our lifetime !

This was another powerful story, and one that reinforced for us how racist previous Republican governments ( Reagan as California Governor and Nixon as President ) have been, and apparently still are ! ! ! And how violent American culture always has been … and still is ! ! !

After the movie we went to Olive Garden for supper, but it was too crowded / the wait was too long, so we went to Golden Corral for an overpriced buffet dinner.

DSK

March 17 to 23, 2019

Sunday ; St. Patrick’s Day

Sunny and hot. Finally ! Joanne roasted a corned beef brisket in the Sun Oven today.

This afternoon we worked on, and completed, the Arizona room exterior moulding replacement project. WOO-HOO ! Last big project of this winter season … finished !

After corned beef dinner we had a movie date, watching American Graffiti. First saw that movie at a drive-in … forty-six years ago ! WHEW … we’re old !

Monday ; Sunny and hot, temperature in the high 80’s. Joanne cooked “barbecued” pulled chicken in the Sun Oven today.

AHHHHH … < inhaling deeply > … the nearby lemon groves are in bloom. What a wonderful smell !

This morning we loaded up our large load of recycling and drove it to the local recycling center. As we returned I retrieved two plastic sawhorses from our space in the storage yard and brought them back to our lot. I removed some hardware from them, and will discard them tomorrow. I no longer need them, and after a few years of sitting in the sun, they’re … toast !

I watered our plants / gardens. I assisted Joanne with some exterior painting on the Arizona room. In the evening I filled out, printed, scanned, and sent some forms to our new investment advisor. We did some trip planning. As always, Joanne has some “new ideas” for our return trip home. Me, I just drive the truck ! HA HA HA !

Tuesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked Lazy Holubtsi in the Sun Oven today.

Around noon we headed out to run some errands. When we had the oil changed in the truck a few weeks ago we received a car wash voucher. First stop today was the car wash. When we arrived at Lowe’s, the next stop, one of the car’s tires was going flat. By the time I drove to Pep Boy’s next door to put air in it … it was flat ! < sigh > With much assistance from Joanne, we got the tire changed in the Pep Boy’s parking lot. It seems as if the worst of the car’s poor tires was destroyed by the car wash’s motorized track. HMPH … free car wash, indeed !

We went to Rally’s for lunch, then Goodwill to look for a hooded sweater for me. Bought three of them ! I use up hooded sweaters at a rapid pace ! HA HA HA ! That was the end of our planned errands, but Joanne suggested we go looking for a tire at the used tire shops in the area. We found a good condition, correct size used tire at Yuma Tire, a shop I have been to before, both to buy used tires, and to have tires repaired. We didn’t have enough cash to pay for the used tire, so … Joanne suggested we go to the nearby Wal-Mart, make a small purchase, and get “cash back” on our bank card. Great thinking, my dear !

Over to Wal-Mart, got cash, back to Yuma Tire, got a tire, home in time to let the neighbour’s dog Lucy the Dachshund out for a pee, then a brief nap for me before supper. HA HA HA !

Wednesday ; Mix of sun and clouds, warm, windy.

This morning I used a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts on the tire we changed yesterday. Then remounted the spare tire back underneath the car. After lunch we went to the Humane Society for our weekly volunteer shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. After returning home from the Humane Society I put away the car jack and all of its associated equipment in the storage compartment in the rear of the car. Then … in a flash of absolute brilliance … < rolling my eyes in sarcasm > … I checked the owner’s manual of the car to find out what is the correct torque for the lug nuts. And discovered … < sputter > … that I have over-tightened them … a lot ! < sigh > Will be loosening and re-torqueing them tomorrow, I guess !

Last night and today I have been doing research on a seniors’ housing condominium development that is under construction in the small town of Lorette, just east of Winnipeg. My sister lives near that village. The development is of interest to us.

Thursday ; Sunny, mild, windy and chilly in the evening.

This morning I re-torqued the lug nuts on the car … < sigh >. After lunch Joanne went grocery shopping. I did some research and made some phone calls regarding the seniors’ condominium development in Lorette. HMMMMM … 

< thinking > … !

Late in the afternoon we headed out to Yuma Palms Shopping Center, to attend the free Thursday evening jazz concert in the courtyard. Tonight’s performers were Yuma Big Band. About halfway through their second set we felt so cold we went inside a nearby restaurant to have supper. Joanne wanted to eat at a restaurant called Hawaiian BBQ. Supper was … different … and good.

Friday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne roasted a chicken in the Sun Oven today. Before putting it into the Sun Oven I injected Cajun Butter marinade into it. 

< shrug > It didn’t turn out quite as well as we had hoped.

EUUUWWW … Hawaiian BBQ upset stomachs overnight. HA HA HA !

We spent much of today doing research … online and by telephone call … on more seniors’ housing condominiums near Winnipeg. We found one in Dugald that we are extremely interested in, and I will likely be submitting a waiting list deposit to them tomorrow.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm.

When I went to the office to buy some stamps this morning I began to chat with a couple from Idaho who had just arrived and were checking in. After they were set up in their assigned site I went over and continued the chat that we had started. Welcome to Kofa Ko-op, Kenny and Gail.

Joanne went out by herself running errands this afternoon. I did some preventive maintenance on the truck, then spent much of the rest of the afternoon preparing and submitting waiting list applications and deposits to a couple of seniors’ housing co-op condos in Manitoba, very near to Winnipeg. And so begins the next phase of our housing evolution.

I spent much of the evening paying bills, mostly MasterCard statements for March. The process was complicated by my careless use of our Canadian $ MasterCards ( instead of our US $ MasterCard ) shortly after I bought a new wallet in Mexico and … my credit cards were not arranged as they had been in my previous wallet. DUH … what an idiot !

DSK

March 10 to 16,2019

Sunday ; Cloudy and mild.

Today was March 10. Otherwise known as 3/10. SO … we went to see the movie 3:10 To Yuma. Twice ! HA HA HA !

This morning I took care of routine household chores. This afternoon I worked for a short time on my Arizona room exterior moulding replacement project. At 3 PM we retrieved the truck and camper from the storage yard, loaded supper into the camper fridge, and bringing Ozzie with us, left for Historic Downtown Yuma. In recognition of today being 3/10 Historic Yuma Theater was presenting the 1957 version of “3:10 To Yuma” at 4 PM, and the 2007 version of “3:10 To Yuma” at 7 PM. I wanted to see both versions, but we didn’t want to leave Ozzie alone at home from 3 PM until 10 PM, so … we took him on a “camping trip”. Or so Ozzie thought. HA HA HA !

We parked in the City Of Yuma parking lot near the theater, attended the 1957 version at 4 PM, then returned to the camper to walk and feed Ozzie, and make supper for ourselves. After supper we returned to the theater to attend the 2007 version at 7 PM. Joanne thought the 1957 version was stupid. She thought the 2007 version was spectacularly stupid. HA HA HA ! No wonder we attend foreign art films ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Why is it that a movie made in 1957 has clear, understandable dialogue, and a movie made in 2007 has so much mumbling and whispering and musical track overlay that we can’t understand what is being said much of the time ? ! ? Could it be because Glenn Ford ( 1957 ) enunciates clearly and Russell Crowe ( 2007 ) mumbles ? ? ? HA HA HA !

When we arrived back home around 10 PM Ozzie seemed to think that our camping trip seemed awfully short. HA HA HA !

Monday ; Cloudy and cool in the morning, cold and raining in the afternoon.

This morning I got a small amount of work done on the Arizona room exterior moulding replacement project. In the afternoon Joanne went off to run some errands by herself. Since it was cold and raining … I just napped with the animals. < shrug >

Tuesday ; Intermittent light rain, cold, until mid-afternoon, then clearing and warming.

Late this morning Joanne went to run some errands by herself. She was upset because yesterday she lost her notepad while shopping, and the last place she remembered having it was at Fry’s. So she was eager to return to Fry’s to see if it had perhaps been turned in to their “lost and found”. It had ! I stayed home to meet with a couple from Colorado who were coming over to see the fifth wheel hitch I have advertised for sale. They didn’t buy it, but … we had a pleasant visit. HA HA HA !

Late in the afternoon after it had stopped raining I resumed working on the Arizona room moulding replacement project. I got quite a bit of work done, removing most of the old moulding and caulking.

Wednesday ; Sunny, mild, a bit windy.

This morning I worked briefly on the Arizona room moulding replacement project. I did not accomplish much. This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. After walking a few large unruly dogs I went to the cat wing to rest by doing some cat cuddling. HMPH ! Got bit ! ! ! ****ing cats ! I should have stayed with the pit bulls ! HA HA HA ! What an amateur, eh ?

So now … I suppose I’ll have to watch closely to ensure no signs of cat scratch fever ! HA HA HA ! First bout of cat scratch fever more than twenty-five years ago ( thanks a lot, Toby ) put me in the hospital for a couple of days.

After we returned home, and walked Ozzie, we gave him a bath. What a stinky little dog ! How does a pampered little pooch who’s bathed every three weeks get that stinky ?

Thursday ; Sunny, mild, windy. Joanne baked a chicken recipe in the Sun Oven today.

This morning I made some phone calls, and took care of routine household chores. In the afternoon I worked on the Arizona room exterior moulding replacement project, getting quite a bit accomplished. I think the project is about three quarters done.

Joanne had a lengthy phone chat with our life-long Winnipeg friend Shirley. She and her husband Darcy are going to Palm Springs for a brief vacation, and Joanne was giving Shirley some Palm Springs travel tips and advice.

In the evening I worked on providing information to our new financial investment advisor in Penticton.

Friday ; Sunny, mild, windy.

This morning I used my machete to open a coconut we bought a few days ago. DARN ! It was soggy inside, well beyond its prime.

This afternoon Joanne went grocery shopping by herself. I continued working on the Arizona room exterior moulding replacement project. Late in the afternoon and into the evening I worked on preparing some financial documents to send to our new investment advisor.

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm, temperatures in the low 80’s.

Late this morning we headed out to Yuma Civic Center to attend the Scandinavian Festival. Well … there’s ten bucks I’ll never get back ! HA HA HA ! The Scandinavian Festival was … well … okay, I guess. Before having lunch we sat and listened to Yuma’s youth string choir, the String Ambassadors. At lunch we sat next to a couple who had driven all the way from Long Beach, California, to attend. We enjoyed chatting with them while lingering over our Swedish Meatballs lunch. After lunch we wandered around the vendors, browsing their offerings, then sat and listened to the Yuma Accordion Band.

We were back home around 3 PM. We trimmed Emma’s and Ozzie’s nails, then I worked on the Arizona room exterior moulding replacement project. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

DSK

Fountains of Bellagio from a Drone - Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk

Now THIS is what I was trying to convey a couple of  weeks ago ! ! !

March 3 to 9, 2019

Sunday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning we finished cleaning and replenishing in the camper, then put it away / parked it in our space in the storage yard. I removed one of the camper’s propane tanks and took it for refilling. I went to the office and paid our February electricity and propane refill billings.

In the afternoon Joanne went grocery shopping by herself, while I worked on the computer, retrieving and reconciling monthly and annual banking and investment statements. I also worked on uploading two videos I took in Las Vegas of the Bellagio’s dancing fountains. I uploaded them to YouTube and from there I sent them as e-mails to our sisters and attached them to my blog. Well done, Daniel, that was quite a challenging achievement for an old man.

Too bad I screwed up accessing one of our online investment accounts, and managed to get myself “locked out”, necessitating a phone call tomorrow to their security department to resolve that. HMPH !

Monday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning we ( yes, yes … both of us ) phoned Sun Life and resolved my online account access screw up of yesterday. Of course, it was actually Joanne’s account that I screwed up … < looking sheepish > ! After getting that fixed, and retrieving the statement that I was trying to get, we took another propane tank to the propane refill station beside the storage yard. I cleaned some shoes, and pulled some weeds in my remaining cactus gardens in the dog park behind our rear yard fence. I watered all our plants and gardens before lunch.

After lunch Joanne went thrift store shopping. I declined the opportunity to join her … < rolling my eyes >. I took a nap instead, a much better use of my valuable time. HA HA HA ! I used the afternoon to analyze and reconcile the annual annuity statement that I had retrieved. Then I trimmed my beard.

A few minutes after Joanne returned home we had a visitor, the man who adopted the little dog we rescued in this RV park about seven years ago. He was paying us a visit just to update us on how well the adoption has worked out for him and his wife and Molly the little Shih Tzu, now middle aged and getting a bit pudgy. What a wonderful rescue / adoption success story. Thank you, Jim, for updating us about Molly. And thank you for giving her a wonderful lifetime home.

In the evening I updated some computer files, then did monthly computer backup.

Tuesday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked a huge pot of chili in the Sun Oven today, some for supper tonight, and some to be left over for making chili cheese dogs and chili cheese fries.

We slept late … again !

Every Tuesday morning I examine, clean, and treat Ozzie’s ears, to ensure that they remain infection free. And I brush his few remaining teeth. We picked up our two refilled propane tanks, and reinstalled them ; one in the camper and one in the trailer. I began a new “home improvement” project. The Arizona room trim moulding needs to be replaced. Today I removed a small section of it to take with me when I go shopping at Lowe’s. Too bad I caused so much damage to the paint on the wall when I removed the section of trim moulding … < sigh >. In the evening I finished my monthly updating of investment files.

MMMMM … good chili.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.

Took care of routine household chores this morning. After lunch we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. I walked four very large, very unruly dogs over a period of an hour and a half, then went to the cat wing and finished fixing cage doors, a project I started last week.

From the Humane Society we drove to Wal-Mart. I dropped Joanne off to do some shopping, and I drove to Lowe’s to buy some materials for my Arizona room trim moulding replacement project. I picked Joanne up at Wal-Mart and we returned home where Joanne made home made chili cheese dogs and chili cheese fries for supper. MMMMM ! Take that, you coronary artery bypasses. HA HA HA !

Thursday; Sunny and warm, until late evening when it became chilly and windy.

Today I worked on two projects. First was repairing and reinstalling the passenger side rear view mirror of the car. It fell off yesterday as I was driving to Lowe’s ! I think this SUV is a piece of junk, but … Joanne likes it, so … we keep it. My second project today was to start the removal and replacement of the Arizona room’s exterior trim moulding. It went … okay … I suppose. I damaged a section of screen on the Arizona room, making a small tear near the bottom, where I was removing caulking. < sigh > OOOPS !

In the evening we went to the monthly foreign art film at Historic Yuma Theater. On the way we stopped to have supper at Panda Express at Yuma Palms, the large shopping mall. First … and last … time we eat at Panda Express. The movie … a Cuban and Canadian production … was … very sad. And not “Hollywood” sad. It was an excellent movie, but … certainly could not be described as uplifting. It was entitled “Un Traductor” / A Translator, and was about a Russian and Spanish speaking university professor in Cuba, sent to be a translator on the children’s ward of a Havana Hospital where many children from Chernobyl were sent by Russia for treatment following radiation poisoning in the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Friday ; Sunny, mild, windy.

Late this morning I headed out to Arizona MarketPlace, the local flea market, to buy an item. They did not have what I needed. The vendor that used to sell that product is no longer at the flea market. He died ! From the flea market I headed to Lowe’s to return an item, and buy six more lengths of trim moulding for the Arizona room. I returned home in time for a late lunch.

After lunch and a nap I made campfire starters out of a cardboard egg crate, dryer lint, and melted paraffin wax, an old boy scout technique I learned as a child. Joanne baked cupcakes to contribute to our street’s block party tomorrow. We will make a contribution to the potluck lunch, but will not be attending the block party. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on finances / budgeting.

Saturday ; Thin overcast, mild.

This morning I finished repairing the passenger side rear view mirror on Obie the SUV. Let’s hope my “silicone caulking as adhesive” repair works. At noon I delivered our potluck contribution of cupcakes to the next door neighbour who was hosting the “block party”, and we left for an afternoon of running errands in the Foothills.

First stop was Goodwill, for another 50% off everything sale. I shopped for half an hour and bought six items, then went to wait in the car with Ozzie. Joanne shopped for another hour, for a total of an hour and a half, and bought three items. < sigh > How that girl loves recreational shopping ! After Goodwill we went to KFC for a late lunch. It wasn’t great, and we think we are going to switch our “fast food chicken” allegiance from KFC to Church’s. Next stop was the 99¢ Only Store, then finally Green Tree Grocery, the local “scratch & dent” grocery store. At the last two stores we bought a lot of grocery items without spending a lot of money. We were back home at 5 PM just as our street’s “block party” was winding down. With a small amount of the afternoon left, I repaired the damage I did to a section of screening in the Arizona room, and mounted “house numbers” on the rear of our shed, facing the dog park.

Joanne and I researched all of the movies being exhibited at the Hispanic Cultural Film Festival being held in Yuma in a couple of weeks, and made our decisions about which films to attend. We are planning to see six movies over four days during the week long event.

DSK

Bellagio's Dancing Fountains ; My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion

Bellagio Dancing Fountains ; Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars

February 24 to March 2,2019 ; Las Vegas, Nevada to Yuma, Arizona

Sunday ; Sunny and mild.

We left the camper, at Main Street Station Casino’s RV Park, about noon and headed for the bus stop a couple of blocks away near Fremont Street. We caught the SDX ( Strip to Downtown Express ) articulated bus and rode it all the way to the Bellagio on the Strip, for an afternoon of “doing Vegas” !

We got off the bus a couple of minutes before 1 PM, just in time to watch the hourly performance of Bellagio’s dancing fountains, one of my favourite things to do in Las Vegas. This performance of the dancing fountains was choreographed to a Celine Dion song. Oh, well ! After the dancing fountains performance we walked into the Bellagio to visit their Conservatory, and see the current floral extravaganza on display. Right now the display theme is celebrating the Chinese New Year / Year Of the Pig. Joanne thought it was spectacular. I thought … 

< shrug > … we’ve seen better !

From the Conservatory we wandered through the Bellagio, and the upscale shopping areas between the Bellagio and Caesars Palace next door, then through Caesars Palace to their upscale shopping area, the Forum Shops Of Caesars. By then it was 2:30 PM, we were tired and hungry, and ready for a late lunch. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, a restaurant we have been to three or four times in the past. Today, the food was good, as always, but the service was terrible. Having a simple, light lunch, NOT at peak lunch time, took almost two hours ! And … despite me ordering a bowl of soup “extra hot”, it was brought to me barely lukewarm. I sent it back !

After lunch we walked through more shopping area, I went into an expensive shoe store to look at shoes for me and … HMPH … we walked out of there much later with … HMPH … Birkenstock sandals for Joanne ! HMPH ! We exited Caesars Palace a few minutes before 6 PM, just in time for another performance of Bellagio’s dancing fountains.

WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO … the 6 PM performance of the dancing fountains was choreographed to Bruno Mars’s Uptown Funk, my favourite dancing fountains routine ! AND … I recorded it on my camera ! Afterwards we crossed Las Vegas Boulevard and caught the Deuce ( double decker bus ), sitting in the front row of the upper level, sightseeing all the way back to our exit stop at the Mob Museum on Stewart Street a few blocks from Main Street Station.

Monday ; Las Vegas to Laughlin, Nevada

Sunny and mild.

We left the Main Street Station Casino RV Park around 11 AM and headed south on Interstate 515 out of Las Vegas, then Hwy. 95 south and Hwy. 163 east to Laughlin. We stopped to have lunch and a nap at a rest area near the intersection of Hwy. 95 and Hwy. 163. We arrived in Laughlin around 4 PM, parked at the Colorado Belle Casino, then went for a long walk with Ozzie on the Colorado River waterfront walkway. WHEW … long walk ! Nice beaches on the Colorado River. We returned to the camper, fed Ozzie, then left him in the camper with Emma while we walked a couple of blocks over to a new marijuana dispensary to browse. The sale of marijuana in small quantities for medical and recreational use is now legal in Nevada. We did not buy anything. The choices are somewhat overwhelming and certainly confusing for those not “in the know”. The clientele inside this dispensary seemed to be of two demographics. Old people buying edible product for pain relief, and scruffy dude “stoners” buying “smoke” product.

We returned to the camper and rested briefly before going inside the Colorado Belle for a bit of exploring, then across the street to the Tropicana for supper. MMMMM … our annual visit to the Tropicana’s Passaggio Italian Restaurant for their bottomless pasta bowl special. Like yesterday in Las Vegas … good food, poor service ! I suspect that the Nevada casino towns have a chronic shortage of labour, resulting in a lot of employer tolerance for a lot of poorly performing employees.

Yes, yes … it is hard to find good help !

Tuesday ; Laughlin, Nevada to Quartzsite, Arizona

Mix of sun and light overcast, warm ! What a difference a few days make !

We left the parking lot of Colorado Belle around noon, and drove across Laughlin, north to south, to Avi Casino where we refilled our freshwater tank. We crossed the Colorado River from Nevada to Bullhead City, Arizona, and stopped at Smith’s Supermarket. We bought some groceries, had lunch in the camper, and refilled Lanoire ( the truck ) with diesel.

We drove south out of Bullhead City on Hwy. 95, then dipsy-doodled around on Historic Route 66 back to Interstate 40. East on I-40 then south on Hwy. 95 again, all the way to Quartzsite. We arrived in Quartzsite around 5 PM. We found a place to park in the desert at Hi Jolly BLM Campground, took Ozzie for a walk, then rested briefly before I lit a campfire.

AHHHHH ! ! ! We sat around the campfire relaxing and talking, planning our future for the next five years or so ; finances, housing, that sort of thing. We need to do that periodically. Having a good five year plan has always been an integral part of our lives. As it got dark around 7 PM Joanne went inside the camper and prepared supper. We ate our salads sitting around the campfire, then went inside to eat the rest of supper before going back outside to sit around the campfire again.

Life is good today !

Wednesday ; Quartzsite to Yuma, Arizona

AHHHHH … sunny and very warm, 79ºF / 26ºC. It’s about time !

We slept late, and left the Hi Jolly BLM camping area around noon. We drove into Quartzsite and went again to the “scratch & dent” grocery vendor in the Tyson Wells flea market area to look for more of the scar gel Joanne bought for me last week. HMPH ! There wasn’t any more. So … I bought potato chips ! HA HA HA ! Well ! Where else can one buy large bags of gluten free, kosher certified, Sweet Maui Onion flavoured potato chips ? For a buck ! I wonder if they will be as good as the Lime & Cilantro flavoured potato chips I bought there last week ? HA HA HA !

We drove a few miles south of town on Hwy. 95 and stopped at the Mile Marker 99 BLM camping area to have lunch. And a nap for me. HEY … I’m retired ! I can sleep until 10 AM and still have a nap after lunch. HA HA HA ! We continued south on Hwy. 95 back to Yuma, arriving home around 5 PM.

In the evening I was able to confirm that Joanne’s first Old Age Security pension benefit payment was deposited to our bank account yesterday. 

WOO-HOO ! I knew marrying an older woman was the right thing to do ! HA HA HA !

Thursday ; Sunny and hot … finally ! Temperature in the low 80’s. Joanne baked a Saskatoon Matrimonial Cake in the Sun Oven today.

We worked on “return home” chores this morning, unloading stuff from the camper, cleaning inside, disinfecting and refilling the freshwater tank, that sort of thing. After lunch we headed to the Humane Society for our regular weekly shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. I brought tools so that I could fix doors on kennels in the cat wing, at Joanne’s request. She didn’t get much cat cuddling done today. The cat wing was empty, under quarantine. Back at home I downloaded and processed photos from my camera to my laptop. I downloaded and printed month end bank statements and investment updates. I reconciled our U.S.$ MasterCard billing.

Friday ; Sunny and hot.

This morning we rotated and flipped our mattress, a task that is a lot more complicated than it sounds, since it’s actually two pieces of foam mattress within one zippered cover.

Late this afternoon we left for Ray Kroc Stadium, to attend Midnight At The Oasis, Yuma’s annual classic car show, with music concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings. We arrived about 6:30 PM, as the first of three bands was halfway through its set. The first band was a local blues band. We found a spot to set up our chairs, and listened to the second half of their set. The second band was an Allman Brothers tribute band. While they played for an hour and a half we walked over to the food vendor area, had supper, then wandered around the displays of hundreds of classic cars. We returned to the music stage area for the beginning of the third band, a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tribute band.

We had an enjoyable evening. We missed our friends Laszlo and Gayle who traditionally attend Midnight At The Oasis with us.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm, windy in the evening.

This morning I discovered a problem with the fridge in the trailer, necessitating an immediate “MacGuyver” repair.

This afternoon we left in the truck and camper to run errands. First stop was the Giant Fuels station on 4^th Ave., just past the “big curve”, to dump the camper’s waste holding tanks. Then to the car wash on 8^th St. to wash the truck and camper. Lots of bad weather road grime from driving in rain and snow on the way to Las Vegas. We were close to Food City so Joanne wanted to buy some advertised produce specials. Okay ! HEY ! Food City ! Might as well buy some pan dulce ! HA HA 

HA ! Second last stop was Harbor Freight for “guy stuff”, then another Giant Fuels to refill the truck with diesel.

In the evening while Joanne did laundry I did some planning for the return trip home in late April, planning at which casino to have Easter dinner. HA HA HA ! Cactus Pete’s it is !

DSK