March 22 to 28, 2020

Sunday ; Sunny and very warm.

WOW ! What a spectacle we had at breakfast ! We were sitting at our dinette table, having breakfast, when … a male roadrunner ran along the top of our side yard brick fence and stopped right beside the trailer’s dinette window. He had a large lizard in his mouth. And he began to do an elaborate dance while standing on the fence. We thought it was some sort of happy dance about catching such a large lizard. We were wrong !

After a few moments … a female roadrunner came running along the fence from the opposite direction and stopped facing the male. And she began to dance as well. They danced … and danced … and danced ! Suddenly, she turned around, facing away from him. He jumped up on her back and … < sputter > … they … 

< ahem > … mated !

We watched spellbound ! Like watching birdie porn. HA HA HA ! At the moment when he … < ahem > … finished, she turned her head around, reached over her shoulder, and … HA HA HA … yanked the lizard out of his mouth ! ! ! HA HA HA HA HA !

He jumped off her back, she ran along the fence, he turned around and left in the opposite direction, she … tilted her head back, and with half a dozen large swallows … consumed the lizard head first.

Joanne called her a slut ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Late this morning Noel came over to take Carlos for a “test drive”. We loaded Carlos into a pet carrier, loaded a litter box onto her borrowed golf cart, and she took Carlos home with her for a three hour visit.

Moments later we found out from a neighbour that the couple who originally rescued Carlos in this park about two weeks ago had just returned to the park. They had left after taking Carlos to the Humane Society, headed for Los Angeles where he had heart surgery scheduled. Well ! When they got to their doctor’s office in Los Angeles he finally saw fit to advise them … < sputter > … Allen’s heart surgery was postponed ! ! !

I walked down to their site, introduced myself to them, and explained the whole story of Carlos, from the time they took him to the Humane Society two weeks ago as a stray. They were appalled. Cathy cried ! I invited them over to visit us and Carlos. Later in the afternoon they did that.

At the same time as they came over to visit, Noel brought Carlos back from his “test drive”. I was disappointed when she said that she was not yet ready to commit to adopting him. I remain cautiously optimistic.

Meeting with Allen and Cathy was inspiring to me. Allen had quintuple bypass surgery when he was 61 years old. He’s now 84 !

Today I repaired and reinstalled the dinette window’s day / night shade. And we resumed our pool exercise sessions.

HMPH ! HMPH ! HMPH ! Our stock market losses now exceed $158,000 ! ! !

Monday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked Slow Cooker Beef Goulash in the Sun Oven today.

When we woke this morning and went out to the Arizona room to take care of Carlos he was wearing a new harness. Very nice, Carlos. Noel bought the new harness for him and brought it over and put it on him before we were up and about this morning.

Apparently she has already purchased all necessary pet supplies. And took Carlos at 3:30 PM this afternoon for a “sleepover” tonight. Yet … she has not yet committed to adopting him. < shrug > She has even renamed him already. Apparently his new name is … wait for it … HA HA HA … “Kirby” !

Joanne went shopping by herself this afternoon. She bought some canned goods and other non-perishables to take back home with us to Keremeos. We will be facing immediate quarantine upon our return to Canada, so we’ll need to have enough food to sustain us for two weeks. There’s no food in our Canadian home. AND … we can’t take perishable foods over the border. Somewhat complicated !

There are still no paper products on the Yuma grocery store shelves !

I did some preventive maintenance on the truck. I took a propane tank to be refilled. I paid our American and Canadian MasterCard bills.

Tuesday ; Sunny and very warm.

WOO-HOO ! Carlos has been adopted ! And Joanne bought toilet paper ! ! ! 

WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO !

This morning Noel came over to tell us that her “sleepover” with Carlos / Kirby was a success, and she wanted to adopt him ! That’s wonderful news ! They are a good match. Goodbye and good luck, Kirby !

With many thanks to our friend Carol Mae for finding an adopter for Carlos / Kirby. Yes, yes, Carol Mae, it does indeed “take a village” ! Thank you !

Joanne went shopping again today. Knowing that we will be quarantined for fourteen days upon our return to Canada, we formulated a food plan for that time based on taking enough non-perishable goods with us when we leave here. Yesterday and today Joanne shopped for what we think we will need. Today she got almost everything needed. PLUS … she found a store with toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues in stock. Well done, my dear. The only item she is still searching for is flour.

I did some household annual maintenance chores. I reconciled our March MasterCard statements. I paid some bills and reconciled some income tax matters.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm, windy in the evening.

When Buddy ( named by Allen and Cathy ) / Hela ( named by Humane Society ) / Carlos ( named by us ) / Kirby ( named by Noel ) the cat first showed up in our RV park as a stray he was rescued and taken to the Humane Society by Allen and Cathy. Their sixteen year old cat Dolly died of cancer today. We send our sympathy to Allen and Cathy on the loss of their beloved Dolly.

Today I revised our trip home plans, changing our departure date, arrival home date, duration of travel, and nightly stopping points. We will leave earlier, travel faster / more distance each day, and arrive home earlier than previously planned. And I continued working on annual trailer preventive maintenance tasks.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm, windy in the evening … again. Joanne cooked Chicken Chile Verde in the Sun Oven today.

This morning I made a framed photo gift for our friend Carol Mae to say “thank you” for finding a home for Carlos / Kirby. We dropped it off on her front porch as we were leaving to run errands this afternoon.

First stop was Speedway Fuel Bar to use their automatic car wash to clean the landfill yard mud stench off the car. Then Pep Boys to buy a steering wheel cover. And O-Reilly’s Auto Parts to buy a gallon of Lucas diesel additive for the truck. Last stop was Food City to pick up a few groceries and look for the final few items Joanne needs to complete her “fourteen day quarantine” food plan. Today at Food City she finally found small bags of flour. I think her list is now complete except for one item ; yeast.

Friday ; Sunny, warm, windy. Joanne cooked “Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast With Vegetables” today in the Sun Oven.

Today would have been Ozzie’s 16^th birthday. We miss him.

Put the vinyl side walls on the Arizona room today. I HATE doing that job ! Went to visit Kirby ( Carlos ) this afternoon in his new home with Noel. Well … what a great match ! Happy cat ! Happy lady ! Did a teensy bit of departure preparations. Watched Mrs. Roadrunner acting weirdly in the dog park late this afternoon. Laying eggs ? ? ?

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.

After routine household chores we finished installing the vinyl walls on the front and rear of the Arizona room. While Joanne did laundry I did some departure preparations. I transplanted some Paper Cacti from our yard to our next door neighbour Rita’s yard. After a late afternoon nap I worked on taking inventory of my medications before we leave here. Somewhat of a redundant exercise since 
I can’t just run down to Mexico to replenish any shortages.

DSK

March 15 to 21, 2020

Sunday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne cooked a corned beef brisket in the Sun Oven today.

In addition to the $42,000 we lost in the stock market two weeks ago, we lost another $79,000 last week. So … we have now lost over $121,000 ! ! ! 

HMPH ! ! ! ! !

This afternoon Joanne went out shopping by herself for groceries and supplies. HMPH ! No paper goods to be had ; toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, wet wipes, disinfecting wipes, those sorts of things. In general … people are such assholes, aren’t they ? ! ?

One of the Canadian couples in the park has been instructed by their travel medical insurer to go home to Canada, their insurance will be cancelled in ten days. HMPH ! I wonder if other Canadian insurers are soon going to do the same thing ? ! ?

On a more positive note … Carlos the “feral” cat … < rolling my eyes > … is doing very well, thank you. He tolerates the administration of his oral fungal medication daily. He tolerates the obviously very discomforting ear mite treatment regimen. He is happy and content to be safely housed in our Arizona room. He occasionally asks for more food. He occasionally asks for some attention and affection. He likes to watch the world go by through the screen walls of the Arizona room. He LOOOOOVES snoozing on any and all of our Arizona room furniture.

Tonight I began to work on our annual income tax returns.

Monday ; Sunny and warm.

Early this afternoon Joanne had a phone meeting with the Executive Director of the Humane Society of Yuma to discuss Carlos. It lasted about half an hour and … was pretty ugly ! As a result ; 

1. Carlos is now ours ! Unless we find a home for him before we leave Yuma 

( quite unlikely ) he will be coming with us on our journey back to Canada.

2. Joanne has now quit as a volunteer at HSOY.

WOW ! After about seven years as volunteers we have both quit, within a week of one another, for entirely different reasons. Late in the afternoon we drove to the HSOY shelter to pick up Carlos’s medical records including proof of neutering, rabies vaccination, and other vaccinations. While I was waiting in the car for Joanne, my friend Penny walked by, walking two dogs. I took the opportunity to chat with her and advise her that now both I and Joanne have quit as volunteers.

And Penny advised us that her most recent tests have indicated that her thyroid cancer has not been eliminated. < sigh >

Tuesday ; Mostly sunny and warm. Joanne cooked an applesauce cake in the Sun Oven today.

Today we began to ( very slowly ) prepare for departure back home to Canada in a few weeks. Many Canadians have already left in a panic. Four days ago some Canadian travel medical insurers decided to cancel their policies in ten days, giving their clients ten days to get back home. Some Canadians who weren’t even insured with those companies panicked, and left suddenly. Our travel medical insurer … Medipac … has made a point of advising their clients that their policies will remain in effect until their original expiry dates. In our case, that’s April 23. AND … their coverage will extend to Covid-19 related emergency medical expenses.

I have been angry at Medipac for a year and a half, since they delayed our coverage / departure date by three weeks in November 2018. This action redeems them. All is forgiven.

Our next door neighbour Rita came over around suppertime to visit with Carlos in our Arizona room. He is such a sweet cat ! Our friend Carol Mae dropped by to tell us that a lonely old woman ( with impaired mobility ) in our park whose dog died earlier this season, and who has acquired … and returned … six dogs from the Humane Society … all returned as unacceptable … may now be willing to consider adoption of a cat instead of a dog. HEY ! Wish us luck !

Wednesday ; Cloudy, chilly, rain, occasionally heavy. HMPH ! Again ? ! ?

Nobody came to see Carlos today, so … < sigh >. But … we found out from a neighbour that at today’s meeting of the Board of Directors, “our” cat ( Carlos ) was accused of being the cat that was loudly howling during the night. As a matter of fact, when I was awakened by the loud cat howling, I rushed outside to the Arizona room to check if Carlos was alright. He was … fast asleep ! ! !

It was so chilly today that Carlos was cold in the Arizona room. So … we put an electric heater in the Arizona room, pointed it at Carlos favourite snoozing spot, and turned it on. Carlos was very happy about that ! All day ! HA HA HA !

Joanne went out today by herself to do a bit of grocery shopping. The store shelves are still empty of supplies that we need. I’m really disgusted with this ongoing hoarding of supplies. I’m really disgusted with this “me first” attitude being exhibited by so many ! Especially in this Escapees ( motto ; Sharing & Caring ) RV park, where today the Board of Directors decided to shut the park to incoming visitors / renters ! ! ! ! !

Thursday ; Mostly sunny and mild, chilly in the evening, a few drops of rain around suppertime.

One of my first tasks this morning was to prepare a sympathy card for our next door neighbour whose 105 year old mother died a couple of days ago. Today Joanne worked on doing laundry and spring cleaning. I puttered with a variety of chores. I took a propane tank to be refilled. I did some annual trailer preventive maintenance. I did some spray paint touch up. And I got quite a bit of work done on our income tax returns.

I did Carlos maintenance. HA HA HA ! He still needs antifungal medication administered orally. And he still needs ear mite “dirt” cleaned out of his ears. He’s doing very well ! Because it was cold overnight I set up an electric heater near a sofa in the Arizona room last night creating a heated “den” built of sofa cushions. Carlos slept in the “den” very happily overnight. And tonight he and I had a heated cuddle session on the sofa.

Friday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne baked an applesauce crisp cake in the Sun Oven today.

Late this morning I took our three large tubs of recyclables to the local recycling depot. It is located on the edge of a refuse sorting and treatment plant. Their grounds are flooded by the recent rains. SOOOOO … the entire lower part of the exterior of the car, my shoes, the accelerator and brake pedals, the driver’s floor mat and carpet all became coated in a thick, foul smelling mud ! YUCK ! STENCH !

I cleaned my shoes and half the car exterior. I’ll clean the other side of the car tomorrow. Joanne cleaned the mess inside the car on the driver’s side before heading to Wal-Mart to shop in a store that is almost empty of everything ! ! !

The stubborn old lady in the park whose dog died a few months ago refuses to consider adopting a cat. < sigh > BUT … never one to give up, our friend Carol Mae found a visitor / renter in the park who might consider adopting Carlos. Carol Mae brought her over for a “meet & greet” visit around suppertime. Carlos did an excellent job of selling himself. HA HA HA ! What a sweet fellow.

Carol Mae presented Carlos with a gift of a small sack of catnip. WOW ! < blink blink > BIG success ! Late tonight, after getting himself right stoned, Carlos knocked over a floor lamp. HA HA HA ! Hey, Carlos, it’s been a very long time, but … been there, done that ! HA HA HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne cooked Slow Cooker Basque Chicken in the Sun Oven today. It was a new recipe, and very good.

Noel, the lady from Montana considering adopting Carlos came by for a visit late this morning. She and I took Carlos for a ride in the car, first confined to a pet carrier, then allowed to be loose in the car. He did fine, was curious but calm. Then she and I took him for a walk on a leash. He did okay as the leader, not so well as the follower. HA HA HA ! Somewhat like me ! HA HA HA HA HA !

In the afternoon I unbolted the dinette table from the floor, removed the dinette window valance, and removed the window shade that needs repair. I took the window shade out to the shed to examine it, expecting that it would need to be restrung. Hallelujah … it does not ! A simple repair is all that is required. I’ll do that tomorrow.

I rinsed the side of the car that I had not done yesterday. Joanne did more interior cleaning. The stench from the garbage & recycling yard mud still lingers. We’ll have to clean the car better at a car wash next week.

OH … I almost forgot ! Yesterday … I finished preparing our income tax returns ! Well done, Daniel !

DSK

March 8 to 14, 2020

Sunday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked a beef stew in the Sun Oven today.

I tidied up in the Arizona room today after completing the moulding replacement project yesterday. I posted my weekly journal to my blog. And I did a lot of work on entering and reconciling investment updates.

Monday ; Sunny and warm becoming cloudy and cool by suppertime ( when we were in the swimming pool … BRRRRR ), raining by bedtime.

While Joanne went by herself to do our weekly grocery shopping I removed two cacti from the flower bed in front of our shed. YIKES ! Almost invisible cactus quills in my fingers, my arms, my shirt … ! OUCH ! All day long I kept feeling quills hurting me and tried pulling them out with tweezers. Most of the time I just ended up breaking them off at skin level.

Joanne’s sister phoned late in the afternoon to discuss the end of life of her sweet little dog Sophie. Our heartfelt sympathy ( and empathy ) is sent to her as she wrestles with the most difficult and most important responsibility as a pet owner.

At 6 PM we went to the swimming pool for an hour of exercise. After supper we watched … HA HA HA … Love After Lockup.

Tuesday ; Cool and cloudy until mid-afternoon, then steady rain, heavy at times.

This afternoon on our way to the Humane Society for our regular weekly shift of dog walking and cat cuddling we stopped at Peanut Patch to buy some freshly ground peanut butter. Ingredients ; peanuts ! My shift at the Humane Society lasted less than half an hour. I felt insulted by the Volunteer Manager, so … 

I quit !

When the Humane Society’s current Volunteer Manager and I first met sixteen months ago our first interaction left me feeling insulted. We haven’t really interacted since then, until today, when she left me feeling insulted … again ! So … as I sometimes say under circumstances such as these ; Bonsoir la visite !

I spent most of the next hour and a half waiting in the car for Joanne to finish her cat cuddling shift. I took a few minutes to go back inside the dog kennels to say goodbye to fellow volunteer Penny. For many years she has always made me feel as if my time and effort and skills and talents are valued there as a volunteer.

Wednesday ; Cloudy, cool, intermittent very light rain.

The power went out around 4 AM and remained out until around noon. Then … it came on and went off a few more times in the early afternoon. As well, our Internet service stopped working and did not resume. Apparently some buried cables have become wet and damaged by yesterday’s rain.

This afternoon I did some spray paint touch up on my fifth wheel hitch head. 

I don’t really need it anymore and should sell it. I also did some paint preparation work on the front of the shed, using an oscillating tool with a scraper blade to scrape off old, flaking paint.

Thursday ; Cloudy, cool, very light rain until about noon. Third day in a row for rain here in Yuma. Very unusual for a city with 360 days of sunshine per year.

Today was the second day that our Internet service was not working. So … 

I phoned our Internet service provider to obtain technical support service. About thirty seconds after my phone call … a service technician showed up at our door. WOW ! HA HA HA ! That was impressive ! ! ! He had been working in our RV park when he received a dispatch call to come to our site. The problem was bigger than just service to our site, there were many problems with their Internet service within our park. Whatever the problems were … our Internet service was restored by late afternoon.

The weather prevented us from accomplishing much of anything. We both have some projects to work on, but better weather is required. Around supper time we went for a long walk for exercise. I did some “what if” scenario planning regarding our shopping needs and our trip home to Canada in a month, in consideration of the coronavirus pandemic issues.

Friday the 13^th ; Cloudy, cool, occasional light rain. HMPH … fourth day in a row with rain !

We extend our condolences to Joanne’s ex-brother-in-law Doug in Winnipeg, whose father died this morning.

This morning around 9:15 AM I stepped outside just as our next door neighbour Rita was returning home in her car. As she stepped out of her car … a small cat began weaving around her ankles, almost tripping her.

Say hello to Carlos !

I called Carlos and he came over the fence from Rita’s, and followed me into our back yard where I fed him. Rita has asthma and is unable to tolerate a cat, so she was happy when I offered to deal with Carlos. Carlos willingly followed me into our Arizona room where I examined him, finding … a very fresh ear notch … a shaved and treated leg wound … and a swollen scrotum from being castrated / neutered within the last day or so ! ! !

He was “trapped, neutered, and released” as a “feral” by the Humane Society ! ! !

What nonsense ! There is absolutely nothing “feral” about this little darling ! The Humane Society of Yuma has recently become a “no kill” shelter, and is dealing with animals in nonsensical and inhumane ways to manipulate its “numbers” to maintain its “no kill” status !

Joanne was livid ! She phoned the Humane Society and had a very angry discussion with a front desk agent for about half an hour. She accomplished nothing, got no satisfaction, and demanded that the manager of their feral cat TNR ( trap, neuter, release ) program phone ASAP. He phoned promptly, and Joanne had another lengthy and very angry discussion. The call ended when he agreed to jump in his car and drive over to continue the discussion with Joanne face to face. And to bring the medication that Carlos needed for the fungal infection that was the wound on his leg.

Yes, yes … he knew all about Carlos. Because … he was the one who had dumped Carlos back in our RV park just minutes before Carlos was next door begging for help from Rita ! ! !

Carlos had been brought to the Humane Society as a stray on Monday by someone from this park. After three days of not being being claimed by an owner, Carlos was declared “feral”, he was neutered yesterday, had his ear notched, had his leg treated, and … < sputter > … this morning was “returned to his colony / community” ! ! ! ! ! By Bill !

Joanne and I both had a lengthy discussion in our Arizona room with Bill from HSOY about the differences between feral cats and stray cats. They are not interchangeable terms. He knows that ! But … he has a job to do, and is guided by the policies of his employers. We understand that. Joanne demanded that he arrange a meeting between her and the Humane Society’s Executive Director. We’ve agreed to keep Carlos as a “foster” for the three weeks that his fungal infection must be treated. And … Bill will deliver to us tomorrow morning the medication required to treat Carlos’s ear mite problem. We demanded that after three weeks of treating Carlos’s fungal infection and ear mites that the Humane Society discard this “feral” definition bullshit, and admit Carlos to their adoption wing before we leave here to return to Canada.

Feral ! Indeed ! ! ! As we had our … < ahem > … discussion with Bill, it became increasingly impossible for him to maintain his “feral” stance while watching this little cat snooze in a sunbeam on the sofa cuddled against Joanne’s leg! HA HA HA !

Score one for the cat lady ! ! ! ! ! HA HA HA HA HA !

So … sweet little Carlos ( I named him ) is going to live in our Arizona room for the next three weeks. He seems to think that’s just fine !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm, a bit windy.

Late this morning we went out to run errands. All week we have been indecisive and debating whether we should or should not go shopping today. Our first stop was Yuma Swap Meet a.k.a. Dog Track Flea Market to buy a couple of cans of spray paint. Then Lowe’s to buy a piece of lumber. While I went into Harbor Freight to buy an advertised special Joanne went into the 99 Cent Only Store next door to buy a few items. Then Fry’s to refill the minivan with fuel and buy groceries before heading home for a very late lunch.

Before we were even out of bed this morning Bill from the Humane Society delivered ear mite medication for Carlos, so … we began ear mite treatment for him today as well as continuing his fungal infection treatment. He is very happy to be living in our Arizona room. He uses the litter box as needed. He lounges around on all the furniture, snoozing, and looking outside, watching the world go by.

HMPH ! Feral ! Indeed ! ! !

DSK

March 1 to 7, 2020

Sunday ; Sunny and warm, windy in the evening.

HMPH ! Lost about $42,000 in the stock market last week. HMPH ! ! !

This afternoon we went out shopping and running errands. While I shopped at Harbor Freight Joanne shopped next door at the 99 Cent Only store. The line ups at the checkouts in Harbor Freight were so long that Joanne was finished buying many items at the 99 Cent Only store before I was finished buying just a few items at Harbor Freight. Crabby old women at Harbor Freight were bitching loudly about the fact that Harbor Freight was already sold out of face masks. Jesus, ladies, Harbor Freight’s face masks are to stop saw dust from getting up your nose, not viruses ! ! !

We drove to Fry’s and I refilled the minivan with fuel while Joanne began grocery shopping in the store. The long, slow checkout lines at Harbor Freight, the failure of the Fry’s fuel pump’s self-stop function when the car’s tank was full, spilling fuel all over the ground, the ineptitude of Fry’s customer service staff, and the multiple malfunctions of Fry’s self-checkout station easily wore out my extremely limited patience, leaving me gnashing my teeth by the time we were finished shopping.

Late in the afternoon we went to the swimming pool and did an exercise session. By the time we were finished, at 6:30 PM, the sun had set, the wind had picked up, and the temperature had dropped. And the hot tub was closed for maintenance ! BRRRRR !

Monday ; Sunny and warm, becoming overcast, windy and chilly.

This afternoon I started work on a renovation project in the Arizona room, replacing all the mouldings that separate the knee high solid walls from the screened walls above. I got about a third of it done.

Twice today we went for a walk around the dog park for exercise. Once around noon, and again around 6 PM. Joanne went Wal-Martin’ by herself this afternoon. In the evening I worked on monthly budget allocations, and retrieving income tax information slips online. I got all of them except for our SunWise annuities.

HMPH ! Dead cat bounce ?

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne roasted a chicken in the Sun Oven today. It was very good ! The Sun Oven does a wonderful job of cooking poultry.

This morning we did a small amount of work in the Arizona room on the moulding replacement project. In the afternoon we went to the Humane Society for a slightly longer than usual shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. In the six or seven years that we have been volunteers there this was only the second time that 

I have had an opportunity to “walk” a Catahoula Leopard Dog. The first time was a disaster ! Today’s Catahoula Leopard Dog was Ice, a very shy and scared “little” version of the breed. I had to go inside Ice’s cage, sit on the floor, and have a chat with him for about ten minutes before he would come to me. I sat with him for about another ten minutes inside his cage, and by then he was willing to climb onto my lap. No, no … you’re right … Catahoula Leopard Dogs are not really lap dogs. HA HA HA ! While I was walking Ice Joanne met him and quite liked him.

Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Sunny and warm.

Read this paragraph carefully ; This afternoon in Mexico, Joanne bought a prescription medication. In Mexico, 3 ml. of the generic version of this medication cost … $4.16. Online, the lowest price in the United States for 3 ml. of the generic version is … $24.36. Online, the average price in the United States for 3 ml. of the generic version is … $77.81. Online, the retail price for 6.6 ml. of the brand name version is … $1185 ! ! ! ! !

Here is the conversation I had with the moron, ignoramus US Customs & Border Patrol agent as we crossed the border back into the United States ;

CBP ; what are you bringing back from Mexico today ?

Me ; medications

CBP ; why ?

Me ; huh ?

CBP ; why are you buying medications in Mexico ?

Me ; low prices

CBP ; you know … all money spent at pharmacies in Mexico goes straight to the drug cartels.

Me ; SNORT … HA HA HA HA HA < as I retrieve my passport from his outstretched hand >

We left home around noon, and arrived in Los Algodones about forty-five minutes later. We shopped for medications, then went for lunch to a small “taco stand” that we have not been to before. Very good food ! Joanne had a carne asada 

( seasoned, diced beef ) taco and an el pastor ( seasoned, diced pork ) taco. 

I had a carne asada taco and a borrego ( shredded, barbecued lamb ) taco. After lunch we went to a beauty shop that we have not been to before. We each had a pedicure and a haircut. This shop doesn’t do beard trims, though. I’ll do it myself on Friday, I guess. Our pedicures and haircuts were superior to what we have been getting at the previous beauty shop that we have been going to for many years. So … bonsoir la visite ! Our line up to cross the border back into the United States around 4:30 PM was about ten minutes long.

The tiny light bulbs I ordered for the instrument panel in the car arrived today. They are the wrong size, and won’t fit ! < sigh >

In the evening we watched Survivor and Transplant.

Thursday ; Sunny and very warm.

This morning I went to the Arizona MarketPlace flea market by myself to buy some hardware I needed. I arrived at Wally’s World just as the female co-owner was kicking a man out of her shop for telling her to “go **** yourself”. She was so upset she began to cry. I consoled her. HEY … it’s retail ! You can’t make all of the people happy all of the time. AND … some of your customers will be 

assholes !

This afternoon I continued working on the Arizona room moulding replacement project. Joanne worked on preparing an old painted table for repainting. I also went to the storage yard and tightened the exhaust manifold plugs on the truck’s engine, a scheduled preventive maintenance task ever since I lost an exhaust manifold plug near Williams Lake, BC while travelling a few years ago.

This evening we went downtown to the Historic Yuma Theater to attend the monthly foreign art film. Tonight’s movie was “Winter Flies” from the Czech Republic. It was a coming of age, buddy, road trip movie, from an Eastern European perspective, which is not at all like Hollywood’s ! We enjoyed it.

Friday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked an “Apple Brown Betty” in the Sun Oven today. What a great evening to attend an outdoor classic rock concert.

This afternoon I trimmed my beard. Then while I continued working on the Arizona room moulding project Joanne went to the Habitat For Humanity 

Re-Store to buy some spray paint. I ran out of moulding. Darn … I need one more length.

After an early supper we headed out to Midnight At The Oasis, the annual classic car exhibition in Yuma at Desert Sun Stadium that includes Friday night and Saturday night classic rock concerts. On the way we stopped at Lowe’s to buy the length of moulding I need to finish the Arizona room project. There was no stock of the moulding that I need in its shelf location so I went to Customer Service to find out when they would receive more stock. Their computer indicated that they had nineteen pieces in stock. Two customer service clerks and one store manager spent twenty minutes trying to figure out why the computer indicated nineteen pieces in stock, and nobody could find it ! ! ! After twenty minutes of that cluster**** I angrily left in disgust.

The Midnight At The Oasis concert tonight was two tribute bands ; a Doobie Brothers tribute band and a Cars tribute band. The Cars band was better than the Doobie Brothers band, although we are more fond of the Doobie Brothers music than we are of the Cars music. We left shortly before the end of the concert because the late evening was becoming quite cold. In between the two bands’ sets we wandered around for about forty-five minutes admiring classic cars of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. VROOOM !

Saturday ; Sunny and hot.

We went to bed very late last night, so … we slept late this morning. My first task today was to drive to Lowe’s to buy the piece of moulding that they couldn’t find last night. The store manager left me a phone message advising that the piece of moulding was waiting for me at Customer Service. I was glad to get it but … really pissed off that twenty minutes of my time was wasted last night, and I spent an hour today driving to Lowe’s and back. And more on fuel costs than the cost of the moulding !

This afternoon I measured, cut, and installed the final piece of moulding. Another big project completed ! Late in the afternoon we went to the swimming pool and did an exercise session. And chatted with neighbours.

DSK

February 23 to 29, 2020

Sunday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked a beef stew in the Sun Oven today.

This morning we had to give Emma a bit of a … < ahem > … bum bath. She pouted in her bed for most of the rest of the day.

Most of my day was taken up with routine chores ; clean the barbecue, exercise our little generator, pay some bills online, put away laundered clothing, post my weekly blog entry, etc. Late in the afternoon we went to the swimming pool and did an exercise session before having supper.

Monday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne cooked a Thai Chicken recipe in the Sun Oven today.

I did some weeding and cleanup in the dog park behind our rear yard fence this morning before watering all our plants and gardens. In the afternoon 

I disassembled the car’s center console, removed the climate control ( HVAC ) panel, disassembled the climate control panel, and removed the burned out light bulb in the panel. < sigh > An hour of work just to locate and remove a burned out little bulb. I reassembled everything … about another forty-five minutes of work, then got onto my computer searching for the little bulb’s “identity”. HMPH ! Couldn’t find it ! I’ll have to go to some automotive parts suppliers like O’Reilly’s and hope that they can help me.

In the afternoon I received the wheel center cap I ordered for the minivan. It does not have the exact part number that I ordered, and while it looks extremely similar to the other wheel center caps on the car, it doesn’t fit quite right. I sent a query to the supplier in Florida. I expect I will have to return it for a refund. No sense paying fifty bucks for a part that’s worth about half of that and is likely to fly off the car the first time I reach highway speed with it on the car.

In the evening I reconciled our January / February MasterCard billing.

Tuesday ; Sunny, warm, windy.

Routine household chores this morning. Dog walking and cat cuddling at the Humane Society in the afternoon. Nap afterwards ! Shopped online for a car cover for the minivan.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm. I made sun dried Beefsteak tomatoes in the Sun Oven today.

Emma is ill. Joanne went grocery shopping by herself this afternoon.

This morning I received a phone call from Factory Chrysler Parts in Florida. Yes, yes … they sent the wrong part. The correct part is now on its way. I took an empty propane tank to be refilled. I disassembled and removed the trailer’s laundry hamper cupboard to gain access to the “guts” of the trailer’s freshwater refill plumbing. I was looking for a possible problem. I didn’t find it.

I drafted a “return home to Canada” trip plan. Late in the afternoon we went to the swimming pool and did an exercise session. We had the pool and hot tub all to ourselves. In the evening we watched Survivor, then I watched the pilot of a new Canadian medical drama ; Transplant.

Thursday ; Sunny and very warm.

This morning Joanne encouraged us to resume walking laps around the dog park, for exercise. We are not walking enough since Ozzie died.

This afternoon I shopped for a specialty automotive bulb at local automotive supply stores. Couldn’t find what I need. < sigh > Maybe I’ll be able to find it online. I shopped for the bulb while we were on our way to see a movie at Harkins Theaters in Yuma Palms Shopping Center.

We saw Call Of The Wild. I liked it a lot. Joanne not so much.

Friday ; Sunny and warm.

Late this morning we went to Food City to shop for groceries and have lunch in their in-store cocina ( Spanish for “kitchen” or “café” ). On the way back home we stopped at Lowe’s and I bought some materials for an upcoming renovation project in the Arizona room. I shopped at O’Reilly’s and Auto Zone for some automotive instrument panel bulbs. Neither store had what I need. Back at home I napped while Joanne had a long phone chat with her sister. Late in the afternoon we went to the swimming pool and did an exercise session. In the evening I did some online shopping for a car cover and the difficult to find automotive instrument panel bulbs.

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked Picadillo, a Mexican recipe, in the Sun Oven today.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ! ! ! ! ! Today I received an incorrect part from Factory Chrysler Parts, the second time they have sent me the same incorrect part. Come on, guys, picking an automotive part, by part number, isn’t rocket science !

Twice today we went for a walk around the dog park. I did computer backup procedures today. I discovered a “recovery drive” error I made a few months ago. I will have to create a new recovery drive, and recopy all my archived documents and photos. I did some planning and preparation for an upcoming “home renovation” project in the Arizona room. I read and napped. On one of the sofas in the Arizona room. How nice !

After an absence of a couple of weeks, Cobra the feral cat showed up in our back yard tonight, looking like he needed a meal.

DSK