January 13 to 19, 2019

Sunday ; Sunny and mild, a lovely day.

This afternoon I began working on a caulking project on the camper. I am removing old caulking, cleaning, and replacing with new caulking. I have done many sections of the camper previously, and continue to work on replacing old, dried, and cracked caulking, usually when a leak rears its ugly head. As it did late last summer on our trip to Bella Coola, and again on our wet trip down I-5 in November.

In the evening I did some work on our investment files, and posted my weekly blog entry.

Monday ; Cloudy, mild, intermittent light rain starting late in the afternoon.

This morning we cleaned the front patio roof fascia panels, finishing that moulding insert removal project. This afternoon we continued removing old, dried, cracked caulking from the top front of the camper. I used a scraper blade on a reciprocating tool to remove the old caulking. It worked well. I scraped off caulking, and Joanne cleaned. And … as soon as we were finished removing all the caulking … < sigh > … it began to rain. I wonder if any of the rain will find its way into the camper ? ! ? Story of my life !

In the evening I was dragged kicking and screaming to Wal-Mart. More “story of my life” ! HA HA HA !

Tuesday ; Cloudy, mild, raining lightly until early afternoon. Very thick fog late in the evening.

This morning I took an empty propane tank to be refilled and I repaired Joanne’s sunglasses. After lunch we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly volunteer shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. In the evening I reconciled December’s investment statements.

Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Sunny and mild. Today was a long and tiring but productive ( and very expensive ) day in Mexico.

At 11:15 AM we left home heading for Mexico and Joanne’s noon appointment for her second ( of three planned ) sclerotherapy treatments. We arrived at the medical clinic at 11:55 AM and the dermatologist was ready to see Joanne. < blink blink > That was a bit unusual. Usually doctors in Mexico operate on … well … Mexican time. HA HA HA ! The dermatologist was pleased with the results of the first treatment.

After leaving the medical clinic ( about 12:20 PM ) we walked across town to Meyer Optical where we each had an eye exam, then selected frames and ordered two pairs of glasses each. Two exams by an opthalmologist and four pairs of glasses … U.S.$550 ! Seems like a lot of money ( equivalent to about $750 Canadian ) but four pairs of glasses in Canada would probably cost about $2000, not including the eye exams ! We have purchased glasses in Los Algodones before, a few times at Algodones Optical, and once at Meyer Optical. Algodones Optical is cheaper, but Meyer Optical offers better products and better services. We will pick up our four pairs of glasses in four weeks when we return to Mexico for Joanne’s next sclerotherapy treatment. Both of my two pairs of glasses will be in unbreakable / flexible Titanium frames. My “regular” glasses will have tri-focal, Sun Sensor, anti-reflective coated Crizal lenses, so … the expense is understandable.

By the time we were finished at Meyer Optical it was 2 PM. Time for a late lunch. We went to El Rancherito,a restaurant we had not been to before. Lunch was good. And so was the service. We will return there. I had dos burritos de pollo, con arroz, frijoles, y guacomole. Joanne had tres tostados de rez, con arroz. I had a Coca-Cola Light ( Mexican version of Diet Coke ), Joanne ordered a Fanta Naranja, was served an Orange Crush. Close enough, I guess. HA HA HA !

After lunch Joanne went to Tere’s Beauty Shop for a pedicure while I went shopping for medications. I bought the meds I needed then went to the beauty shop and waited for Joanne’s pedicure to be finished. As we left Tere’s I realized that I had lost my sweater, so we had to backtrack looking for it. I found it at the restaurant.

We walked back to the border where the line-up was obscenely long, not surprising, I suppose, since the Customs and Border Patrol agents are working without pay ! ! ! We arrived at 3:40 PM at the line-up to cross the border, and we crossed the border at 5:20 PM ! HMPH !

On the way home we stopped at Sprouts ( a new, upscale supermarket,a bit similar to Trader Joe’s ) to buy some advertised groceries, and at “DD’s” to ( unsuccessfully ) shop for some slippers.

Thursday ; Happy 20^th Birthday to Joanne’s niece Madeleine

Mostly cloudy, mild.

This afternoon I continued working on caulking the front and top of the camper. I did not quite finish. Maybe tomorrow, although I’m probably going to run out of caulking before I finish, and will have to go buy another tube of caulking.

This evening we went to the monthly foreign art film presented at Historic Yuma Theatre by Arizona Western College. Tonight was an Israeli film about three young Palestinian women and the trials and tribulations of their love lives. Good movie, although a sad ending. On the way home we bought Big Buford burgers and chili cheese fries at Rally’s to take home for a very late supper. MMMMM !

Friday ; Sunny, mild, windy.

After lunch Joanne left to go grocery shopping. I went to the storage yard to work on the camper recaulking project. I ran out of caulking before the project was finished. I had somewhat expected that. As soon as Joanne returned home ( at 5 PM ) we left for The Foothills. I wanted to view a set of four Fast Gun truck camper tie downs. I have wanted Fast Guns for quite awhile. The seller was asking much more than I was willing to pay, but … he was reasonable and flexible, and sold them to me for the price I was willing to pay. Thank you, John !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne cooked a wonderful chicken and vegetables recipe in the Sun Oven today.

This morning I headed out to RV Connection to buy another tube of caulking for the camper project. On the way back home I refilled Obie with fuel. After lunch and a brief nap I went to the storage yard and finished the camper caulking project. AHHHHH … another big job completed !

Today I applied a “bumper sticker” to the rear window of Obie. It reads “Yuma Art Center”. I picked it up at the Historic Yuma Theater when we were there a few nights ago viewing the foreign art film. Historic Yuma Theater and Yuma Art Center share a building. I want to display it on the car as a political statement. So my neighbours can infer from it where on the political spectrum I reside ! As a counterpoint to my neighbour’s bumper sticker that reads “Friends Of Coal”. HA HA HA !

DSK

January 6 to 12, 2019

Sunday ; Sunny and mild.

This afternoon I replaced two long sections of seam moulding insert trim on the trailer. I assembled and installed the trailer’s “portable” clothesline unit. I moved Ozzie’s dog tags from his old collar to the new one Joanne put on him yesterday. She felt it was time to change his collar and harness from those suitable for a thirty-three pound dog to new ones suitable for a twenty-two pound dog. I bought postage and mailed our IRS 8840 forms.

In the evening I continued working on year end investment analyses. YIKES ! I posted my weekly journal to my blog. I have been having format problems with my blog postings ever since I started using my new laptop computer. And I applied for election employment for the upcoming Canadian federal election in October. HEY … the early bird gets the worm !

Monday ; Sunny and mild. Pretty nice day, after a week of cold. A perfect day for trimming one’s beard at the backyard patio table.

This afternoon, while Joanne was out grocery shopping, I fixed / straightened the truck’s bent bed side, using a borrowed “come along” device, and a precisely cut and shaped piece of 2×4 lumber. It went as well as could be expected, perhaps even a bit better. And the results are good enough / satisfactory.

In the evening I worked on scanning and sending a document to my investment broker regarding the commencement of Joanne’s upcoming monthly annuity payments … WOO-HOO … and another document to Progressive Insurance regarding Obie’s car insurance.

Tuesday ; Sunny and mild.

This morning I solved a problem in the car. I disabled the “door ajar” alarm which had malfunctioned, and was sounding frequently … and erroneously. I was attempting to diagnose and correct the problem when … I broke the switch that opens when the driver’s door is closed. HA HA HA … problem solved. Want to turn off a malfunctioning alarm ? Just break the switch !

This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly volunteer shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. After we returned home I paid some bills before making Oyster Mushroom omelets for supper. Yesterday Joanne found Oyster Mushrooms available at the “99¢ Only Store”, the second time she has found Oyster Mushrooms there recently. Go figure !

While we prepared supper we watched Trump’s ten minute plea to the nation for funding for “the wall”, and the Democrat leaders’ rebuttal. How could 40% of this nation ( probably 98% of this RV park community ) still be supporting Trump ? ? ? A xenophobic moron leading a nation of morons ? ! ?

Wednesday ; Sunny and mild. Joanne cooked beef short ribs in the Sun Oven today.

Well ! How nice was that ? ! ? Late this morning our neighbour across the street Bebe ( Miss Thailand 196? ) brought over a couple of freshly made, still hot Thai spring rolls and a little cup of her wonderful Thai peanut sauce. MMMMM ! Thank you very much, Bebe.

< sigh > We spent a lot of time dealing with a very unpleasant blocked sewage outlet problem on the trailer. When I went to dump the trailer’s black tank, the outlet plugged. It was a lot of difficult … and very unpleasant … work to get the problem solved. < sigh >

Joanne helped me set up Bo’s agility equipment in the back yard, in anticipation of listing it for sale in the White Sheet. BUT … after discussion we decided to give it to his agility classmate / buddy Zona, our friends’ Dave and Shauna’s Border Collie. Bo would be happy to give his Bo-gility stuff to Zona. Now it can be Zona-gility stuff. HA HA HA !

Late in the afternoon I began working on a project to remove and replace the coloured, thin aluminum moulding insert on our front patio roof’s fascia trim. But after I began to remove the old moulding insert, Joanne suggested that removal would be sufficient, replacement was unnecessary. So … I am removing, but not planning to replace it. That will certainly make the project faster and easier ! I suppose I will just leave the fifty foot roll of aluminum moulding insert trim that I bought two years ago in the shed. Perhaps this lot’s next owner will disagree with our decision not to replace it.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm. What a nice day ! I made ( liquid ) smoked Rainbow Trout in the Sun Oven today, using the last three Rainbow Trout I caught in the Similkameen River late in September.

Around noon we headed out for lunch. We checked Joanne’s inventory of restaurant coupons, and went to Subway. Lunch was … unsatisfactory. After lunch we went to Arizona MarketPlace, the local flea market. We each bought some items we needed, and Joanne bought produce. Back at home I napped, we took Ozzie for his late afternoon walk, then we finished the front patio roof fascia moulding trim insert removal project before it got dark.

In the evening I did some budget work. And … HA HA HA … we watched the season two premiere of a quirky and funny TV series, The Guest Book.

Friday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I watered our remaining cactus gardens ( a bad 

idea ? ) and installed a new light on the front of my bicycle. In the afternoon our friends Dave and Shauna came over with their Border Collie Zona, visited with us for awhile, then left with our dog agility equipment, which we gave to them. Have fun, Zona ! I replaced one of the Arizona room’s vinyl wall snaps. We took Ozzie for his noon long walk … at 5:30 PM. He has been resistant to our noon long walks ( too hot ), so we are switching our noon long walks to 5:30 PM and our 5:30 PM short walks to noon.

After supper we watched the movie “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm.

Late this morning we headed east, to the Yuma “suburb” The Foothills. First stop was Del Taco, for lunch. It seems a bit silly to go to a mediocre American “Mexican” restaurant when we are this close to Mexico, but … WOW, their discount coupons are great ! HA HA HA ! After lunch we shopped at Green Tree Grocers, a “scratch & dent” grocery store.

Next was our primary shopping destination of the day, Goodwill, for today’s “50% off everything” sale. I bought many shirts and pants, an annual replenishment. I refilled Obie with fuel at Fry’s Fuel Bar before our final shopping stops at Walgreens and CVS 

( pharmacies ).

After returning home we took Ozzie for his late afternoon long walk before I barbecued Coho Salmon ( caught by me in the Atnarko River in September ) for supper. We spent the evening binge watching VEEP on HBO. HA HA HA HA HA !

DSK

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

December 23 to 29, 2018

Sunday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I did some routine maintenance in the trailer. I removed the bathroom sink faucet aerator, and the shower head. I dismantled the shower head, then soaked the shower head components and the faucet aerator in CLR to remove the built up mineral deposits. The water here in the desert has a lot of minerals in it. This afternoon I loaded more software to the new laptop, completing that part of the “migration” process from my old laptop to my new one. All that’s left now is to complete the calendar migration.

I paid our new Bank of America MasterCard bill for the first time. When we visited the Bank of America branch in Tulare, California a month ago, on our drive down here, to resolve some problems we were persuaded to accept a new Bank of America cash back MasterCard. Works well for us ! We pay for almost everything with the credit card, pay the monthly balance in full each month, and earn “cash back” of one percent on everything, two percent on groceries, and three percent on fuel purchases. That’s significant !

I updated and analyzed our investment status. WHAT ? ! ? We lost about $37,000 this month ? ! ? What the ****, Trump ? Remember your 2012 Tweet about “any time the stock market loses 1000 points in two days … the president should immediately resign” ? ! ? Fortunately … much of our investments is “guaranteed” in the form of annuities, making me look more brilliant each day ! HA HA HA !

After supper we watched the 1984 remake of A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. We thought it was considerably better than the original ( 1951 ) version with Alistair Sim.

Monday ; Christmas Eve

Sunny and warm, temperature 73ºF / 23ºC, a really lovely Christmas Eve.

Today I sadly remember the death of my father, many years ago on Christmas Eve.

Late this morning we went out for a ride to Bard, California, to have date shakes for lunch. MMMMM ! First date shake outing in almost two years. And … < sniffle > … first date shake outing without Bo. I miss Bo’s passion / enthusiasm for date shakes. Ozzie had some date shake today, and … he enjoyed it, but … he wasn’t “nutso” like Bo was. HA HA HA ! Joanne bought a pound of Medjool dates and we had some of them as appetizers tonight, stuffed with Cheese Whiz and peanut butter. The peanut butter stuffed dates were much better than the Cheese Whiz stuffed ones.

This afternoon I went to change a burned out bulb in the truck’s taillight. When I removed the taillight assembly, I discovered that the bulb had burned out because the printed circuit board was corroded. I was able to find a replacement online at O’Reilly’s and … very shortly after ordering it to be available for pickup at a local store, I received a phone call from the store advising me that it was in stock and available immediately. HMPH … how convenient ! I will be able to pick it up on Wednesday, on our way back from Mexico.

Late this afternoon we went to the Humane Society to work a shift as volunteers. We had volunteered to help out with the late afternoon requirements for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Joanne went to the cat wing to clean litter boxes, and feed and water the cats, while I went to replenish water for all the dogs in all four kennel buildings. When I was finished doing that I joined Joanne in the cat wing and helped there. When the cats were all done we went back to the dog kennels and I took some of the dogs out for a brief walk while Joanne “cuddled” Chalupa the Chihuahua.

Chalupa is an old dog, shivering from cold and fear. I gave Joanne a blanket to tuck around Chalupa. That helped a bit, but I think what helped the most was Joanne’s “cuddling”. Chalupa was recently relinquished to the Humane Society by her elderly male owner who was unsuccessful in his efforts to find her a new home. He feels unable to care for her any longer, overwhelmed by caring for his sick old wife. Poor old man. Poor old dog. And poor old sick wife, I guess.

We returned home to have our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of tourtière, French Canadian meat pie. MMMMM ! Well done, thank you, my dear.

< fume > A Christmas gift that I ordered online arrived at our park while we weren’t home. BUT … since the shipper did not use the correct / complete address, omitting our lot number, it wasn’t able to be delivered. I am NOT pleased !

Tuesday ; Christmas

Sunny in the morning, becoming cloudy in the afternoon, windy all day.

We slept late, then got a slow start to the day. We had our traditional Christmas morning waffle brunch. Thank you for the wonderful strawberry jam, Sharon. We took Ozzie for our regular noon time long walk. Finally, we went into the Arizona room and opened our gifts. This year, we changed how we exchange gifts. We “downsized”, and had only one gift for each other. Without Bo to open gifts, there seemed to be little point in wrapping many small, “non-surprise” gifts.

After opening gifts, Joanne went inside to get started on our turkey dinner and I phoned my sister for our annual Christmas phone chat. I chatted with Sharon for an hour, then went to take a brief nap while Joanne phoned her sister. After napping I reconciled our Bank of America MasterCard billing for December, then … Joanne and I went for a walk in our RV park’s dog park.

The purpose of which was … < sniffle > … to scatter Bo’s ashes. We walked slowly around the perimeter of the dog park and … I slowly sprinkled out the contents of the bag of Bo’s ashes. The wind helped. So … now Bo’s ashes … and perhaps his spirit … certainly our memory of him … will remain forever in the dog park which he loved so much. Despite his death being almost fifteen months ago … and to our surprise … we both shed a few tears of sadness. Goodbye, Bo !

Once again we “worked” a late afternoon shift at the Humane Society, starting at 5 PM. Joanne went to the cat wing. I went to the dog kennels. After watering all of the dog kennels in four buildings I joined Joanne in the cat wing. I helped her clean the litter boxes in the kitten rooms. We were finished, and there was no more work to be done, by 6:15 PM.

We returned home to have a great Christmas turkey dinner. Thank you, my dear. We finished our Christmas Day by having a movie date, watching Despicable Me 2. HA HA HA HA HA !

Wednesday ; Boxing Day ( Canada ) ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Sunny and cool.

This morning at 11 AM we left home headed for a doctor’s appointment in Los Algodones at noon. We arrived in Mexico at 11:35 AM, about ten minutes quicker than usual. We went to Medina Medical Specialties where Joanne had an appointment to see Dra. Gutierrez, a dermatologist, for a consultation on … my Christmas gift to her 
( Joanne ). It’s my pleasure to treat her to three treatments of sclerotherapy to eliminate little purple spider veins in her legs. After a consultation with Dra. Gutierrez the doctor performed the first of three treatments of sclerotherapy. Second treatment will be in three weeks and last treatment in six weeks. She used a small needle to inject some kind of saline and glucose solution into the little purple spider veins on Joanne’s legs. As she injected each little purple spider vein … it disappeared < blink blink >. Like some kind of a magic trick ! Each injection was slightly painful. And by evening each spider vein had reappeared as a bruise … as the doctor said would happen.

After Joanne’s sclerotherapy treatment we went to see a new ( to me ) periodontist. I wanted a consultation with her on the new pinhole gum rejuvenation technique, an alternative to traditional gum surgery, and a technique this periodontist has recently been trained for. I had a consultation and periodontal examination and x-rays. BUT … I did not like the dentist, nor her approach. As is an ongoing problem with many dentists in Mexico, her approach included a lot of … < ahem > … “would you like fries with that” upselling. Joanne is of the opinion that many dentists in Canada are guilty of the same.

We went for lunch to a new restaurant. It was okay. Nothing more than that. Not worth returning to. We went to Tere’s Beauty & Barber Shop. Joanne got a haircut. I got a pedicure. From there we went shopping for medications ; one for Joanne and one for our neighbour / friend Jeanine back home in BC. We bought a teensy little bottle of Mexican wine for New Year’s Eve. We shopped for an item I want for our Arizona home, but … I was unsuccessful in negotiating the item to the price I want to pay, so … no purchase. I bought a pound of jumbo shrimp from Puerto Peñasco ( aka Rocky Point ), a fishing village a bit south of here, on the northern tip of the Sea of Cortez / Gulf of California. Fourteen shrimp to the pound … for nine bucks !

The line up to cross back into the United States was seventy-five minutes long. Once again … totally unnecessary, and caused by “games playing” by Customs & Border Patrol. We spent our time in line chatting with the woman behind us, visiting Los Algodones for the first time, and visiting Mexico for the first time in forty-five years. A “deplorable” in the line-up wanted to know what I thought of our Canadian prime minister. When I expressed my ( favourable ) opinion, he was indignant and disgusted with me. HA HA HA … well … at least he knew our prime minister’s last name. HA HA HA HA HA !

On the way back home we stopped at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and picked up the truck taillight printed circuit board that I ordered.

Thursday ; HAPPY 15^th BIRTHDAY TO EMMA

Sunny and mild.

This morning I sold one of the items I have advertised for sale in the White Sheet. Of course, it was the least expensive item I have for sale. So … now the ad is almost paid for. HA HA HA !

In the afternoon Joanne went shopping in The Foothills. She tried to convince me to accompany her, but … she failed. HA HA HA ! 
I replaced the burned out taillight bulb … and taillight circuit board … on the truck. I did backup procedures on both my new and old laptops, then … stored the old laptop. It’s now the “emergency backup” computer.

I took Ozzie for his two long walks today by myself. Joanne is not supposed to walk much following her sclerotherapy treatments.

Friday ; Sunny and cool.

Note 1 to self ; don’t plant any more cacti. Note 2 to self ; don’t water cacti previously planted ! Note 3 to self ; sell lot before cacti become overgrown again ! HA HA HA !

This afternoon we ( mostly ) removed an overgrown Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear Cactus in one of our flower beds. The base and roots are still in the ground. I will need the truck to pull the rest out ! We cut the cacti down, arm by arm, using a large bow saw, then loaded it all into the back of Obie, drove to the dumpster, and tossed everything into the dumpster. Not easy !

Seven years ago I planted one little Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear paddle. Today when I cut it down, it was more like … a tree ! AND … to show how resilient these damn things are … one of the “arms” had fallen over onto the ground and … < sputter > … the paddles touching the ground sent roots down into the sand !

They should warn Canadians when they buy property down here ! “Oh, sure … cactus gardening seems like a good idea, but … about seven years down the road … you’ll regret it !”

HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Sunny, cold, windy.

This afternoon I removed and discarded our first ( of three ) Ocotillo Cactus. < sigh > I remember how thrilled I was when we bought it and planted it seven years ago. BUT … it was a nursery plant from Texas. And never did well here in Arizona, a different desert climate than Texas. And actually … this was our second Ocotillo. The first one was dead before we even planted it, and the nursery replaced it a month or so after we bought and planted it. The one I pulled out and discarded today always seemed … on the verge of death, particularly compared to the other two Ocotillos we subsequently planted, both native Arizona cacti.

To remove the Ocotillo today, I wrapped a thick rope around its base, tied the other end of the rope to Obie’s trailer hitch … and used the car to pull the large cactus out of the ground. HEY … just like pulling a stump out of the ground, the way it’s done in Saskatchewan, like Ozzie’s original “daddy” Gord taught me. HA HA HA ! Then I used the same method to pull out the remaining “stump” and roots of the Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear that I cut down yesterday.

Joanne went shopping by herself this afternoon. I did Christmas “undecorating”. I worked on computer file migration, converting files from previous software to my new software. I also began working on year end file completion / summarization. And I purchased a new insurance policy for the trailer, to get the liability insurance coverage that was lacking.

DSK

December 16 to 22, 2018

Sunday ; Mostly sunny and mild. I made ( liquid ) smoked Rainbow Trout in the Sun Oven today.

Joanne went shopping by herself this afternoon. I finished a repair on the side wall of the trailer. And I started work on solving a series of squeaks underneath the trailer, in the suspension system, that are not only slightly irritating to us, but also inspire our next door neighbour to complain. It requires the removal of each of the trailer’s four wheels, and cleaning and lubricating behind each wheel where it comes into contact with the brake drum. Desert dust trapped between each wheel and brake drum causes “squeaking” as we move around inside the trailer. Today I removed, cleaned, lubricated, and reinstalled one wheel. I hope to do one each day until finished. It’s tough work for an old man to jack up a 12,000 pound trailer and essentially “change a tire”.

While walking Ozzie late this afternoon we were invited to visit by our friend Linda whom we haven’t seen since she and her husband David visited us at our Canadian home in September, 2017, shortly before my cardiac bypass surgery. In the evening I worked on my new laptop, paying bills, entering my weekly journal to my blog, updating investment records, etc.

Monday ; Sunny and mild.

This morning I ordered a new Internet service for our lot. I am fed up using the Kofa Ko-op communal Wi-Fi service. I am too old, too crabby, and … too affluent to have to put up with crappy Wi-Fi ! We took both vehicles and drove to Somerton, a small town a bit south of here, near the Mexican border. Somerton is as much Mexican as it is American. I left Obie the SUV at Yepez Motors for some servicing, then we drove back to Yuma, and went to about half a dozen auto body shops to get estimates on repairing the damage I did to the truck on my last trailer towing job, on November 1. I decided that the damage isn’t worth repairing, considering that most of the auto body shops seem to operate on the principle that ANY repair is worth at least four figures !

We walked Ozzie before lunch, then while I was eating lunch … I developed a fat lip ! HUH ? Something must have bit / stung me on my lower lip while we were walking Ozzie. The inside of my lower lip puffed up, and there was a little red mark in the middle of the puffiness. It puffed up so huge that it impaired my speech for awhile. The fat lip persisted until bedtime.

After a very late lunch and a brief nap, I removed, lubricated, and replaced another wheel on the trailer. Two done, two more to do. Joanne helped me with that job, then I helped her clean the trailer’s windows. Joanne did laundry and … 

I did some body work on the truck. Cost me nothing, results are satisfactory !

After a month of cell phone drama, my new cell phone arrived this afternoon. 

I received an e-mail telling me it had been delivered. I rushed to the clubhouse to get the new cell phone out of our mailbox and … AAARRRGGGHHH ! ! ! The mail box lobby was closed until tomorrow morning because the floor had just been washed and waxed ! It’s like a ****ing conspiracy to keep me from having cell phone service ! ! !

After an amazing supper of Caesar salad, barbecued steak, baked potatoes, and sauteed Oyster mushrooms in Crema CentroAmericana, I manually “migrated” January’s calendar from my old laptop to my new laptop. < sigh > Two months done, eleven more months to do !

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I retrieved our new cell phone from our mailbox, activated it and … < sigh > … finally have cell phone service … four weeks after entering the US ! Good grief ! We loaded all of our recyclables into the truck and took it to the local recycling depot. On the way back home we stopped at Peanut Patch and bought some freshly made peanut butter.

This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly session of dog walking and cat cuddling. WHEW … I’m tired after walking big dogs for two hours.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm … a really lovely day.

This morning a young Hispanic ( read that as “Mexican” ) fellow showed up to install my new Internet service provider’s equipment. He was personable and efficient. He got the cables installed, and modem / router set up quickly and efficiently. Well done, Ramon, thank you. I now have my own Wi-Fi, with my own personal, private bandwidth, and no longer have to share the communal Wi-Fi of the park.

This afternoon I continued working on removing the trailer’s wheels, lubricating the backs of the wheels and the brake drums, and reinstalling the wheels. Since 

I had to pull the trailer’s slides in for the installation of the Internet cabling, 

I figured I might as well take advantage of the retracted slides and get both of the wheels on the driver’s side of the trailer done today. With a lot of help from Joanne, I accomplished that, but … we were both very tired tonight as a result of working that hard under the brutal desert afternoon sun. It seems as if the squeaking underneath the trailer is now eliminated. Hallelujah !

I received a telephone call from Yepez Motors in Somerton to discuss repairs to Obie the SUV. Imagine how dismayed I was when they advised me that … 

< sputter > … the front driveshaft is missing / removed, rendering our all wheel drive SUV a rear wheel drive only ! I surely would like to get my hands around the throat of the low brow asshole who sold me this car two years ago !

Late in the afternoon / early in the evening I began working on the installation of the new bedroom cellular shade / blind. I removed the valance off the bedroom window, then fabricated and installed mounting brackets on the new blind. I hope to complete the installation tomorrow.

After a late supper we spent the rest of the evening watching the three hour season finale of Survivor.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm, another lovely day. Joanne cooked a chicken chili recipe in the Sun Oven today.

This morning I mounted the bedroom blind. Again and again ! My mounting bracket ideas / designs required plans B … and C. Joanne went shopping by herself. In the afternoon the roofing contractor returned to apply the second and final coat on the trailer roof. He did good work, for a reasonable price. While he worked on the trailer roof I replaced the coaxial cable from the satellite dish on top of the Arizona room to the satellite receiver box on my desk inside the trailer, a distance of about seventy-five feet.

After supper we ran some errands. I returned a couple of items to Lowe’s, and bought one item. We went to Fry’s for a turkey. HMPH ! Sold out ! We went to Smart & Final for a turkey. HMPH ! Sold out ! I returned an item to Best Buy. Back at home I posted an ad in the White Sheet, the local classified advertising paper. I responded to the Humane Society’s e-mail request for volunteers to “work” on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And I continued to work on manual “migration” of my calendar from the old laptop to the new one.

Friday ; Cloudy and cool.

This morning Joanne went grocery shopping by herself. Objective ; buy a turkey ! HA HA HA ! After much searching she bought one at Food City. Not cheap ! Not the size desired ! But … we’ll have a turkey for Christmas ! HA HA HA … thank you, my dear. This afternoon we drove to Somerton and picked up Obie the SUV at Yepez Automotive. WHEW … hefty repair bill ! That car is such a piece of 

junk ! But … Joanne likes it ! So … < sigh > … we keep it ! At supper time she decided she wanted to go out for dinner to Eat Asian Super Buffet. MMMMM … our favourite “Chinese” restaurant. Great meal ! Especially the sushi selections !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm, a bit windy.

This morning I did some patching of redundant screw holes in the ceiling of the bedroom slide out, then reinstalled the bedroom window valance over the “new” cellular blind. The blind looks good and functions well. Then I repaired the Arizona room’s rear door. After replacing some stripped screws in the hinge 

I took an electric grinder to the bottom of the door to improve the “fit” in the frame. Hey … if I’m going to live here on “Redneck Row” … I might as well solve problems the redneck way. HA HA HA !

After lunch and a nap we went to the storage yard and worked on the camper. Joanne replenished and restocked. I “exercised” our little generator. And put away laundered clothing. Back at home, after barbecuing chicken for supper, 

I updated Obie’s maintenance records, and continued “migrating” my calendar from the old laptop to the new. Only a few more months to go until I have entered a year’s worth of calendar schedule. That should cover all “one time” and recurrent events.

DSK