Monday, January 30, 2006
Today we decided to just hang out and that's what we did. Except for having to pick up our mail at General Delivery this morning. That's a story in itself. Sharon stood in line for two hours waiting to get our mail. They had moved General Delivery to a mobile home about two miles from the Post Office. One would assume that they moved it so it would be more efficient. Not so by the two hour wait to pick it up. I got bored waiting, and they didn't sell stamps there, so I went to the Post Office to get stamps. Another waste of time. The line there was almost as long for stamps. I decided that I could wait until tomorrow to mail out the Newsletters.
When we finally left after picking up our mail I decided we needed a treat so we stopped at the Bakery since there was no line waiting to get in. (There usually is) We picked up a few things for tomorrow's Breakfast and then left to come back home.
We had completed the "round robin" of shopping yesterday and there just didn't seem to be anything to get excited about today. The weather was absolutely fabulous so we sat out in the sun til it got too hot for me and then I moved into the shade. It never gets too hot for Len, Rose and Sharon.
We ate Breakfast and Lunch at home today and Sharon decided to do some heavy duty reading while she was at it. I started picking up our accessories outside for the big move tomorrow. We won't be in any special hurry since we're only moving about 70 miles down the road to Yuma and Yuma Lakes Resort.
In the afternoon Len and I ran into town to pick up some BBQ Ribs and Chicken from Billy Bob's Texas BBQ. We had to make two trips, however, since he didn't have the ribs ready yet. We decided to take the chicken and come back for the ribs. And that's what we did about an hour later. By this time it was about 4 o'clock and time for Jeopardy on TV. Today was getting busier and busier for a "do nothing" day. I guess Sharon meant SHE wasn't going to do anything today, but that was okay with me. She'll find SOMETHING that needs doing before the day is over.
We couldn't decide whether we would eat the chicken or the ribs tonight so we ate them both. And they were both very succulent indeed. We seem to always get a pair of Dinners from Billy Bob's every year. We like the BBQ and nobody has to cook. Two of our favorite things.
Another of our favorite things was coming on TV tonight. We had a few more logs that we had bought left over, so we burned them in just enough time to get in the house for "24". The wood only lasted about a half hour because it was extremely dry. We used it to keep the Tamarisk burning for the last week, but the last 2 nights the Tamarisk kept burning on its own so we saved our purchased wood for tonight. But because we only had one bundle left it didn't last very long.
As it was burning down and almost coals we left to go in and watch 24. It was a fitting ending for our week of campfires, and the wood held out until the end. We watched TV until 10, and Sharon logged on to read her paper and check e-mail and I just settled in on the couch to watch TV. By 10 we were both pooped and didn't complain when we ambled off to bed. She was already there doing puzzles when I arrived.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
We were ready to leave this morning by 9, and when we left, Len and Rose just followed us out. We were both going to Yuma but to different campgrounds. Us to Yuma Lakes and they to Pilot Knob. We peeled off highway 95 on Fortuna Road to pick up LP Gas and Len continued on. It turned out to be a very good move as the LP was $1.60 a gallon. And the side trip was barely out of our way with an easy-in, easy-out driveway area. I had called Clay Nye who lives here in the winter and who we went through the Good Sam Tent with last week. He steered us onto this dealer.
We arrived at our campground and got settled in about 11 and then we were off to take care of some business. We needed to take care of lunch first and went to McD's when we couldn't find Penny's Diner. We were both hungry by this time and really didn't care where we ate. It actually turned out pretty good as I had the new Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and Sharon had a Chicken Salad. We both enjoyed our lunch a lot.
After lunch we stopped at the :Post Office and Picked up our mail. It took about 20 minutes as opposed to the 2 hours we spent in Quartzsite. Man, that situation is getting horrible up there. It's gotten completely out of control.
We still needed to do some grocery shopping so we stopped at Fry's Grocery to take care of that. Sharon needed to pick up a few things for supper tonight and that side trip took another half hour.
On the way home we took 32nd street to Araby Road cause I wanted to see what was new on 32nd. There were some new buildings going up and we checked out the Flea Market at 4E and then continued on home.
By the time we got home it was too late to go to the pool so I just sat around watching TV as Sharon got supper ready. It was going to be Eggplant Parmesan with Garlic Bread and a Salad, along with a couple of crystal goblets of the nectar of the grape. It was a delicious supper indeed, and it had been a long time since we had it. It used to be a regular staple on our low-carb diet.
The shows on TV tonight were repeats but we had never seen them before so we were entertained for the night.
When we checked-in this morning we found out that the campground took out its dial-up connection. I was hoping to use it to download my virus software. Without the dial-up I decided to try one more time to download from my wireless connection on the phone. As luck would have it, it finally worked after being cut off several times last week. In fact, it downloaded at a blazing speed of 9.1 kb/sec. It was downloading at 3.8 kb/sec when I raised the antenna and it started running faster. I was happy as it only took about an hour to download the 32 MB
We both went to bed right after the computer finished downloading at about 11. It had been quite a day so far. Everything went right. We should have bought a Lottery Ticket. Oh well!
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
As soon as Sharon got up this morning she gathered up the laundry and headed out to the campground Laundromat. She's always had pretty good luck here finding empty washers and dryers, and this morning was no different. She managed to get her 4 loads in all at one time. She finished and was home before lunchtime, and announced that she would clean up the "shack" today. I glommed onto the vacuum cleaner and she handled the dusting. It was quite dusty in here from the week in Quartzsite. The whole clean-up only takes about an hour with both of us doing it.
After lunch I knew she had planned on washing the car so she shamed me into helping her by not saying a word when she went outside with her bucket. I guess she figured that if she got everything done today she could relax for the next 11-12 days. Yeah, that'll happen.
Rose called to find out if we were going to Mexico today. When I called her back I told her we were thinking about going to visit Bob and Bonnie Barr (from Skandia, Michigan) and going to Mexico tomorrow. I told her that I'd call her if they were home, but when I called back they didn't answer so I left a message.
About and hour or so later we left to visit Bob and Bonnie. They were supposed to come through Quartzsite on their way here, but the opted to go through Buckeye and took I-8 over here, and bypassed "Q" altogether. . We stayed over there until about 4:30 catching up on our winters so far.
We came home and on the way Sharon called Len and Rose to find out what happened to them. They had gone shopping and didn't check their messages. That was nice considering they knew I was going to call them back about the visit to Bob and Bonnie's. Oh well, maybe next time.
We had Fried Chicken Strips for supper tonight. Sharon also heated up some leftover Eggplant Parmesan for me and Green Beans with Bacon for her. And then we both had a Green Salad. It was all very nummy.
TV was on the agenda for tonight. There was a couple new shows and one re-run of Criminal Minds that we hadn't seen before. We were both ready for the farm and anxious to be planted at 10. Planted in bed, of course. Sharon had already checked e-mail and read the newspaper so there was nothing else left to do.
Thursday, February 2, 2006
We were up and ready this morning and headed over to pick up Len and Rose to go to Algodones, Mexico today. Unfortunately because we've only been to Pilot Knob Campground one time, we took the wrong exit and couldn't get there. We ended up on a gravel frontage road that didn't go far enough up the highway. It took us 45 minutes by the time we backtracked and got to the campground. And needless to say I was a little upset by the time we got there.
When I told Len the story, he told me how he drove past the exit yesterday when they went out looking for the church. He had to drive up the highway about 5 miles to get on the exit to turn around. And we're concerned about the price of gas?
We shopped for about an hour or so before we decided to stop for lunch at the Rincon Tempatico Restaurant. We had Chimichungas that were absolutely fabulous, and the Pacifico Beer with Lime also went down nicely. Rose managed to buy quite a few things that Leonard had to carry back across the border. I told her she needed to bring a pack horse when she comes over the border. Rose and I also wanted to have some optical work done on this trip, but in order to replace my lenses it would take two weeks and they had to send them to Phoenix. They got Rose's lenses mixed up with someone else's and she got a pair of glasses she couldn't see with last year. It was going to take until 4 o'clock to get the mix-up straightened out and I didn't really want to stay that late. It seems that the longer you stay in Mexico, the longer the wait at the border when everyone wants to come back. And about 15 minutes after we got in the line, the line gathered people in leaps and bounds and was extending "up the hill." "Up the hill" translates to about an hour wait at the border crossing. We only waited about 25 minutes and we had really beat the rush.
We stopped at Len and Rose's for a couple of beers and to break out the Tequila and Cherry Cordial Chocolates before coming home. They were just as we remembered them..........Very Good. But you have to eat them within 3 months or the liquor evaporates from them. So we were only trying to eat them while they were fresh.
When we left Mexico Rose had decided that they would go back in tomorrow to get her glasses fixed before our trip to the Arizona Marketplace in the afternoon. The Marketplace is a new Flea Market that's only been in existence a few years, but it is really nice to shop at.
For supper tonight we just fared for ourselves having still been a little full from lunch. We had leftover Fried Chicken Strips from last night that we both used to our own individual liking. After supper we settled in for TV watching and a couple of our favorites were on tonight. Neither of us lasted much past 10 however and settled into bed shortly after that.
Friday, February 3, 2006
Len and Rose took off to Mexico this morning to get Rose's glasses taken care of, and we thought if they weren't bringing back any liquor, they could bring us a couple of bottles of the Cherry Cordial that we bought yesterday. They were in there early at 9 and told that they couldn't buy the liquor until after 11 so they left it there. They called us on the phone on their way out to let us know that they were on their way here.
We had planned to go to the Arizona Marketplace Flea Market today and when Len and Rose arrived we took off to get in some more shopping. The Marketplace has grown considerably since last year. It's now about half the size of the Mesa Marketplace in the Phoenix area. They do have an interesting tent of enormous proportions called the Liquidation Tent. It's got some fabulous deals on Brand New merchandise. But by the time we got to it we were really pooped out for the day. But I will definitely go back before I leave here, after seeing the collection of tools they were selling.
I found some of the thing we bought in Quartzsite and the prices were cheaper here. Quartzsite may have outlived its value for bargain shopping. Since we come here every year anyway, we may just wait in the future until we get here.
When we got back home we cracked a few beers and they went down very nicely. We also had a couple of snacks before Len and Rose called it a day and left for home.
Sharon went immediately to the couch after they left and didn't get up until 9:30 or so. I went in and had a couple of Jalapeno loaf sandwiches and watched TV until about 9:30 when Sharon woke up and I went to bed. There was nothing left on TV for me to watch and besides I was tired. These last two days have taken the vinegar out of me, not to mention the p----.
Saturday, February 4, 2006
After finding exactly what I was looking for at the Arizona Marketplace yesterday, we were headed back today to pick up the things I left on the shelf. I thought I knew exactly where to find them. Actually I really wanted to give the Liquidation Tent a good look because there were a lot of good prices all over that place. My leg was sore by the time we got to peruse the tent, so I knew we would be coming back, but I didn't know it would be this soon.
Sharon had looked over the Crystals and Bases that we had bought for the kids and figured that we had bought a couple wrong ones. She wanted to buy them according to their astrological sign. No problem we would just return and exchange them today, also at the Liquidation Tent. We had eaten lunch just before we left so we would have to worry about that for now.
On the way back, since we were in the neighborhood. we called Clay and Jerie but didn't get an answer. When we got back it was so nice out that we decided to go to the pool today. And the pool was very nice. A little tepid but not cool. The hot tub was very warm and we could only made it in there for about 10 minutes. The whole thing was a very pleasant experience anyway. By the time we got back home it was time for cocktails and nuts. Jerie called us back and we arranged a tentative meeting for sometime on Monday.
We sat around doing that and deciding what we would have for Dinner tonight. We went from Tacos to finally deciding on having a Shepherd's Pie that we bought at Trader Joe's in LaQuinta a few weeks ago. As it turned out, the Shepherd's Pie was not as good as I thought it would be, but we never had one before to judge the difference. We also had a salad to go along with it. All in all it was okay but nothing special. This was the first thing that we've bought from Trader Joe's that didn't turn out to be excellent.
We settled in for TV and surfing the Internet for awhile tonight. I had to research the NHL teams in this area for Brady's Birthday present. Jen, our daughter, had suggested a gift for him that we thought was a very good idea. Now all we have to do is find it.
Our TV tonight is mostly re-runs and we don't expect it to improve anytime soon. I imagine that the Super Bowl tomorrow will generate a few more re-runs. We'll probably watch at least some of it since there won't be much else on, but we don't have a dog in the hunt.
We've been debating a possible "Mexico Run" tomorrow morning to pick up some more Cherry Cordial before we leave here. Sharon will go to church early and then we'll take off for Algodones for a quick stop for liquor. We'll pick it up at the Purple Pharmacy which is just across the border, and then zip back across.
Sunday, February 5, 2006SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
Sharon was up early this morning and off to church for 8. We had planned to go to Mexico today after she got back, only to pick up a couple of bottles of booze. I stayed home and worked on my Journal and a couple of other things while she was gone.
By the time she got back I was frying bacon for my Breakfast and she suggested that we go out to the Golden Corral for their buffet. The bacon flew into the fridge and we were off. The Breakfast was quite good and what a crowd. The restaurant is really pretty good size and we had to wait until they cleared a table for us, to sit down.
We came back to the campground after eating because one of us was feeling an uneasy movement coming. That was also our reason for cancelling our trip to Mexico.
We also had to find a Birthday present for Brady and so we left to find that after a while. We had absolutely no luck in finding what we were looking for and had to come home empty handed, only to search the Internet for it. We finally found what we wanted after a fashion but Sharon will have to call them tomorrow to see if it's available.
We settled in to watch the hype for the Super Bowl game at about 3 o'clock and then finished up by watching the game later on. We thought it was a very exciting game in which the Seahawks suffered a few critical bad calls that probably changed the outcome of the game. The Steelers managed to come out victorious even though they were pretty much outplayed the whole game.
Sharon whipped up some BBQued Chicken Wings for Supper tonight. She also fried up some Parmesan French Fries and toasted Garlic Bread to finish it off. The meal was quite extraordinary indeed.
After the game we watched a two-part Grey's Anatomy that we didn't know was two-part. It left us hanging on the end as two-part shows always do. It did happen to be a very good show however.
We were both ready for bed before 10 o'clock tonight. Our tents were folded and we were headed south for the night.
