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