Monday, December 25, 2006MERRY CHRISTMAS

I was up early again this morning, but it was nothing unusual for me.  I'm usually up by 5:30-6 every day.  We had nothing planned with anybody, anywhere. except for our glorious Christmas Dinner with all the fixin's.  It was going to be Turkey Breast glazed with Cranberry Sauce, Dressing, Mashed and Sweet Potatoes and Cranberries.  All to be finished off with a Pumpkin Pie that Sharon made last night.

First off when she got up we opened our presents from each other.  We both got exactly what we wanted cause we asked for it before hand.  It works out so much better that way.  After the gift opening I usually accompany Sharon to mass.  The one time a year that I go to church.  So by 9:30 we were off for the mass at 10.  I was surprised to see at least a dozen and a half Mexicans come into the church late from anywhere around 5 minutes to 32 minutes.  I had always assumed that these people are very religious.  I've been wrong before.  I would be too embarrassed to show up for mass 30 minutes late but apparently some people have a very thick skin.

Arriving back home, we flung all the food in the oven.  We would be eating by 1 PM.  The aromas of everything cooking was just fabulous, but nothing when compared to the actual ritual of eating it.  The whole meal was just wonderful.  We were both too full to start in on the Pumpkin Pie, but when we did later on it was the best pie we had ever eaten.  The rest of the afternoon was spent in my recliner "resting" all the food I had just eaten.  When I woke up I noticed Sharon was also resting her food.

We had the TV channel on Discovery all afternoon cause they were having a marathon of "Mythbusters" on today.

By Dinnertime we were ready for our fist piece of Pumpkin Pie.  But we both felt like we should have a "meal" before dessert.  That feeling went by the wayside and we dove into the pie.  We would have a sandwich to serve as our meal later on.

We camped in front of the TV as Sharon tried her new Sodoku Puzzle.  She was working on it until we went to bed at 10.  It had been a long day and we just slithered into bed.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Today would be spent catching up on various things and getting ready for our move to Indio tomorrow.  We got a call from Bob and Bonnie Barr telling us they were in Temecula and it would probably take them a couple of hours to get into Palm Springs.  So I guess our date for Breakfast this morning was off.  They think they will be staying for a day or so and we'll try to have Breakfast then. 

Sharon spent her morning catching up on the laundry and I started putting away all our outside stuff.  We only had our chairs, grill and mat out and the rest of the outside stuff will have to be done tomorrow.

We finally got the rest of our mail this morning and quickly went through it including a Christmas letter from Walt and Kathy Werden, friends from home, who are wintering in Texas.

We got another call from Bob and Bonnie saying they were planning to roll right on through instead of stopping today.  We'll see them next month in Yuma, Arizona when we change parks for our outweeks.

The weather was kind of nippy today so we didn't go to the pool this afternoon.  I started on the January Newsletter instead.  I'll probably get this one done early too since I have all the stories already, I just have to write them.  If that makes any sense.

We had grilled burgers for supper tonight, along with sweet potato french fries.  They were both very good.  We've only had the sweet potato fries a couple of times before but they are uniquely different.

TV was on the agenda tonight.  We would watch House tonight even though I can't stand the arrogance of that man.  The man should have somebody's fist in his face on every episode.  We also watched the Kennedy Center Honors tonight as Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson and Steven Spielberg were honored.  It was a pretty good show even though I don't watch those things usually.  We both managed to hang in there until 11 before the curtain came down on the final act.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

We were on the road this morning by 9 and took a right when we hit Dillon Road.  Our normal route out to the highway would have been a left but in this case they're doing construction on Varner, the frontage road.  So we took a right and traveled down to 1000 Palms Canyon where we turned to go to the highway.  It seemed out of the way but at least we avoided the construction zone.  In distance it was shorter.

We arrived at Indian Waters RV in Indio about a half hour later.  We registered and drove to our site that someone was already pulling into.  It seems there was a mix-up in site assignments.  Sharon took the car back to the office and we were assigned to the site right next door.  No problem.  The problems started when I tried to hook up the water.  It seems the arrangement that they have prevents hooking up water hoses that have lugs on them.  I had to make a little adjustment while the guy next door made some suggestions to be helpful.  Running to Home Depot was not a viable suggestion however.  I managed to manipulate a few fittings and presto, t was fixed.

Phil and Joyce Bach called after lunch and told us they were in and settled at Thousand Trails.  We told them we would stop by, but first we had some shopping to do at Wal-Mart.  We needed some groceries and Wal-Mart would be as cheap as anybody.  It took us about an hour and a half, or so, by the time we got back home and put away the groceries.

We left for Thousand Trails to visit Phil and Joyce.  We were over there for a couple of hours and I picked up my last Christmas present.  It was a Wilson antenna for our cell phone.  It was something I had wanted since our first cell phone, but was hesitant to spend the $60 on it.

At about 6 we headed home.  On the way we had a discussion about Sharon having to cook tonight and we stopped at In-N-Out Burger instead, and picked up a couple Double-Doubles and fries.  They were still fabulous.

We settled in for TV for the rest of the night and Sharon picked up her cross-stitch and continued on with her new project.  By 10 we were both counting sheep jumping over the fence.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

We got up this morning and Sharon decided to take her walk.  After she got back we both made our own Breakfasts.  She had cereal and I cooked myself a Bagel, egg, sausage and cheese sandwich.

After Breakfast we decided to do some shopping today instead of going to the Manager's meeting at Catalina Spa.  I figured if I went to the meeting I'd only get more aggravated with that place anyway.

We were in the market for auxiliary batteries for the motorhome since we had so much trouble on the way out here.  Our batteries are at least 6-7 years old and they're due for a change since that is about their life expectancy.  I also wanted to check out a new wireless mouse for the computer.  We had all day and nothing else to do for today.

We left and just headed down Hwy 111 to see what we could find.  We didn't have much luck for the batteries and had to call a few places to compare prices.  It seems like Napa has the best price if we choose to buy them in the valley.  We may wait until we get to Quartzsite.  The downside is that we'll need them when we get there.  We also took in a couple of other stores including Kohl's and Target looking for a new picture album.  We can't find them at home anymore and thought we might have better luck out here.  NOT!!!

We stopped at Neil's Lounge on the way home.  They have Karaoke on every night except Mondays, so we checked it out for some nighttime activity.  We had a couple of beers at the bar and it seemed like a pretty tame place and thought that we might really come back some night.

Sharon made Chicken Kiev for supper tonight.  We also some leftover squash, sweet potatoes and Sharon had a salad.  It was very good and we had a couple of nectars with dinner.

We decide today that we would go over to Saint Margaret's church tomorrow to see President Ford before he leaves for Washington, D.C.  It will probably be the only time we'll get to see a President lying in State.

We settled in for TV after the considerable amount of dishes we had to do.  Because we have no sewer here we need to conserve water this week so we don't have to pull out and dump our grey water.  So we try to do dishes only once a day.

TV was all repeats again tonight but we did watch the movie "Sweet Home Alabama" with Reese Witherspoon.  Sharon caved early and I followed her after the movie ended at 10.  We had had a busy day even though it didn't feel like it.

Friday, December 29, 2006

Today is the day that President Gerald Ford will lie in repose at St Margaret's Episcopal Church  in Palm Desert.  We have decided that we will go at night since we can't take any cameras with us to the church.  Beside we're thinking that the crowds will be smaller at that time.

After Breakfast and washing the car we took off for Thousand Trails to see Phil and Joyce and pick up their gate pass for the campground.  On the way we stopped at NAPA and checked out the 6 volt coach batteries we will probably purchase tomorrow.  Our batteries are now 7 years old and past their prime.  I think we knew that when we had trouble with them on the way out this year.  In any event I wanted to check the size and configuration of them.

When we arrived at Thousand Trails Phil had picked up an additional pass from the front gate.  It's so much easier to get in the gate with a pass.  You don't have to put up with the hassle they give you.  We stayed and talked for about an hour before we came back home.  They were planning to go to the pool and so were we.  They probably did and we didn't.  We just came home and sat around watching TV.

We had boiled Cod and French Fries for Supper tonight.  Sharon had also heated up some mixed leftover vegetables.

We watched TV tonight until it was time to leave for the Church.  At about 10:20 we left and made the drive to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.  We had to board busses to get to the church because all the streets were closed to traffic including foot traffic.  It only took about an hour to get through Security, board the bus, get to the church and then board the bus for the ride back.  It was a short experience but one that we probably will never have the chance to do again.  Sharon and I had both wanted to do this.  We got home about midnight and were well pleased with our evening.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

We started out today with a plan to go to Napa and pick up new coach batteries.  However the plan fell by the roadside almost immediately.  It wasn't a major failure because we don't need the batteries until the end of next month anyway.  So now it looks as though we'll have to wait until next Tuesday before we pick them up.  Or at least somewhere around then.

Sharon wanted take in the craft sales today but when she got there all but about 2 people were either gone or never showed up.  When she inquired of the people still there they said it wasn't that good this morning.  That's unusual for Western Horizon Parks, but it seems that's what happens around Christmas and the Holidays.

The main cook informed me that she was stumped about trying to find things to eat.  I wrote out a list of about 10 meals to eat, and as always, she'll pick out about 3 and then she'll be back on track again.  We're both so predictable.

By afternoon we were ready to head to the pool.  There were only a few people there when we arrived, but the temperature of the pool was fabulous.  It must have been about 92 and a little warmer than Catalina.  We stayed at the pool and hot tub for a couple of hours before we finally came back home.

We had decided earlier that we would go to the Mexican Market tonight at the Riverside Fairgrounds which are only about 5 blocks from our campground.  And after that we would go to a place called "Burgers and Beer" and eat supper.  The market seemed to be the same old stuff from previous years, but we're amazed the amount of "stuff" that is brought in every Wednesday and Saturday and set up and then taken down again.  I had my usual churro 5 minutes into the market and I rationed myself for the rest of the night for Burgers and Beer.  My legs couldn't hold out through the whole market and we left with one row to do.

We were back home after eating at around 7 o'clock.  We settled in front of the TV and Sharon did her Soduku until the bewitching hour.  It just happened to come at 9 for her and 10 for me.  And we both bewitched into a coma until morning.

Sunday, December 31, 2006NEW YEAR'S EVE

Sharon was off to church early this morning since she was trying to make the English Mass instead of the bilingual one.  Having gone early she was also back early with her paper and some Pirouettes.  Pirouettes are a confection that looks like a tortilla rolled up with a sweet filling on the inside.  The ones she got were French Vanilla and Chocolate Almond.  I had to taste each one after Breakfast.  They were quite good.

Sharon went for her usual walk this morning after Breakfast and I just sat and worked on the new Newsletter along with updating the Journal.  We had some grocery shopping to do today and we'll probably take care of that after lunch.

There is a new Grocery store called Elmer's Farmer's Market that we wanted to visit because we heard it has good prices.  However, after stopping we found out that the prices were good alright, good and high.  It seemed to be a specialty store and we couldn't fine our regular items at any price.  After leaving it was off to Wal-Mart grocery to pick up the remainder of the things we needed.  We managed to find a parking place about 5 spaces from the front, and at this store that's a miracle.  I also wanted to check out a wireless mouse for the computer.  I still haven't purchased one with my daughter Jessica's gift certificate.

We picked up the groceries and I found a mouse but when I got home I didn't like its configuration so I will be returning it and trying to find another one.  A nice thing about having 3 Super Wal-Marts within 20 miles.

We went to Thousand Trails Resort tonight to celebrate New Years with Phil and Joyce.  I was tee-totaling again not wanting to get caught by the Highway Patrol tonight.  We got home about 12:30 and there was barely traffic on the road at that time, so we made it home safe and sound.