Monday, December 29, 2008

We got up this morning with a plan for at least some of the day.  We would be going to the Pak Inn for lunch today at 1 o'clock.  We had heard from a reliable source that the food was not up to its usual standards, but after we ate we all agreed that the reliable source ate on a bad day.  We had called Phil and Joyce Bach who were now at Thousand Trails RV Resort and as luck would have it, the "reliable source" came with them to eat today.  I don't know what his final opinion was but the rest of us were very pleased with everything.

We came back home and the pool was only 83 degrees today.  Sharon absolutely refused to get into her swimming togs, and I went over just to see if I was going in at that temp.  I managed to get to the bottom step before I turned and returned to the hot tub.  That was all I really wanted anyway.  I feel so much better physically after I get out.  I never needed the therapy before but it seems to be working this year.

When I came back home Sharon was on the computer playing.  She hadn't missed the pool one iota.  Soaking in the pool is not one of her favorites anyway, and she can only stand about 10 minutes in the hot tub.

By suppertime we were both still sated from lunch at the Pak Inn.  I guess we really did "Pak it In."  We didn't eat until later on and I finished up the leftover Eggplant Parmesan and Sharon just snacked.  I absolutely love that Eggplant Parmesan that she makes.

We sat in front of the "idiot box" for the night.  Sharon was reading some magazines that Arlene had brought over and I was on and off napping while I was "watching" TV.  We did both hang in there until 10 o'clock before we decided that the theater was closed and the curtain came down.  We silently headed toward sleepland.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The sun came out this morning and it actually felt nice and warm outside.  I was going to have another hearing today on my case against the city, but it doesn't look good for us at this point.  The best that we can hope for, at this point, is another hearing down the road further..

Sharon headed out this morning to pick up a few groceries for the next week.  I stayed home and got ready for my hearing.  By the time she got back it was time for the hearing and I was as ready as I could be.  It didn't go as I would have preferred but it did get delayed down the road again, which I was happy with.

Sharon whipped up an excellent lunch, with her recent purchases, of Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches.  They were special because of the bread she used for them.  We had a side order of Potato Chips also.

By the time we finished lunch it was almost time to go to the pool. Henry had already been over to see if we were going.  Just before we left for the pool we got a call from Jack and Rosann Derlein some friends from around home. They suggested we stop up at the Upper Pool cause Corky and Deb Zimmermann were there.  So we left to go up and see them for a short time.  They kidded us about going to the "Cadaver Pool" down below.  These days the only people in any of the pools are the ones who are willing to brave the cold water.

When we got back we headed for the pool and it was quite empty again.  The temp was only 85 degrees and this is getting quite ridiculous about now.  There's no reason for it to be this cold.  Oh well, wait and see, and moan and groan.

Happy Hour was at Henry and Arlene's when we finished up in the pool.  By the time I got back from the hot tub Sharon already had my chair at the neighbors.  She came over and checked on me to make sure I knew that she was gone, and where.

By the time we got back home it was time for supper.  Sharon made up the noodles that we got from a friend back home, with an Alfredo and Chicken Sauce along with an oil dipping liquid that we used with the bread that was leftover from lunch.  It was quite the supper and a little different than we're used to.

We squatted in front of the TV for the night and lasted until 10 when we got up and headed south.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008NEW YEAR'S EVE

I was up early, as usual today and started in typing my Journal, also as usual.  We (Henry and Arlene and Sharon) concocted a plan yesterday to have our "taco Wednesday" at the VFW today.  We'd go to Del Taco and pick up our lunch and then go to the VFW and eat our lunch and drink beer.  It was a wonderful plan that Sharon was starting to "chicken out" on today.  We did, however, talk her back into it when we left at noon and headed for town.  We gathered up our lunch and headed back to the VFW.  The bartender at the club didn't seem to mind that we were there with our own food since they weren't serving today, anyway.  We plunked ourselves down and proceeded to drink a few pitchers of suds while we ate our tacos.  It was quite comparable to actually having lunch here.

By the time we got home it was going to be nap time at least for a little while anyway.  Henry and Arlene would stop over later on and we would

By 6:30 we were rested and rarin to go.  We thought about going to the clubhouse for "games" but decided against that idea.  We opted instead to sty here and play our own games.  It's an elderly thing to do, but we're elderly.  We decided on playing Farkel for the night.

We played for a couple of hours before the Ball dropped in New York City at 9 o'clock.  We were congratulating ourselves that we actually stayed up long enough to reach midnight somewhere.  A little while later we finished up the game we were playing and Henry and Arlene took a powder and headed for home.  They had had enough for the day.

Sharon and I hung in there until 10 o'clock which was midnight in Chicago.  We only had two time zones left to make it until midnight.  At that point we really didn't care if we actually made it until midnight.  Getting our rest was more important.  At least that's what they say.

Thursday, January 1, 2009NEW YEAR'S DAY

We both felt fine this morning which is always a plus in my book.  We didn't have much planned for today since we really didn't know how we'd feel when we got up this morning.

About 9:30 Phil and Joyce Bach made they're appearance here at Catalina.  They'll be here for a couple of weeks waiting to get back into Thousand Trails RV Resort.  After they got settled, they took a walk with their coffee and wound up sitting outside with us while Sharon did our laundry.

At lunch we were fending for ourselves since we had no other option planned.  It seems funny that while we're here it seems like we need to plan every meal or we end up doing some kind of sandwich.

At 1 PM we headed off to the pool, and we heard that the water was 90 degrees today.  It would definitely be a relief since it's been up and down all the past week.  The temperature was actually 89 degrees while we were there.  But even that was an improvement.  We stayed for a couple of hours

Sharon decided that we would be having burgers for supper tonight.  It's usually my job to cook on the grill but Sharon had that baby out and the meat on it before I even knew what was happening.  I stayed in the house and kept an eye on the French Fries in the oven.  It wasn't much of a job but that's usually what she does for grilled food.  Oh well, it all came together at just the right time.

We hadn't figure to do anything tonight except sit around and recover from last night, but it wasn't necessary.  We settled in front of the tube for the first couple of hours and then I left to go and survey our friends to see if they wanted to go to the casino tomorrow for Breakfast.  Henry and Arlene decided that they would go.  I told them we'd go at 9 tomorrow.  I came back home and finished up the evening watching TV.

We both stayed up til 10 and then crashed and burned with no survivors.

Friday, January 2, 2009

We were off to the casino for Breakfast this morning as soon as we got ready to go.  Henry and Arlene took off with us.  It would be our last chance to have Breakfast with them until next year.  On Monday they'll be off to Yuma for a couple of weeks before they start heading back home to Alberta Canada. 

We got bak home about 11 a couple of hours before we headed off to the pool.  The water in the pool was a couple of degrees cooler than it was yesterday.  I don't know why they just can't get it warm and then leave it there.  We didn't stay for as long today as we did yesterday.

We came back home and started the Happy Hour.  When Henry and Arlene went by they saw us outside, and the same was true for Phil and Joyce.  We had to come inside after about an hour and when everybody went home we decided to meet later in the pool room to play dominoes.

After we had a couple of Bratwurst for supper, and about 7 o'clock, we left for the pool room for our rendezvous.  We played Chicken Foot until about 10 before we quit, and  Sharon beat me by one point in the final tally.  She went out in the last hand and I had just enough in my hand to lose the game.  I hate it when that happens.

I got back home just in time to catch Numbers on TV.  I watched that until 11 while Sharon inserted herself in the bed for the night.  She had no interest in staying up another hour.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Today was "College of the Desert" Day today.  I was supposed to go but I opted out at the last minute.  Actually I opted out last night thinking Joyce may want to go.  She did, so I stayed home today.I don't usually have a thing I need to buy there, so not going, was not too earthshaking.

There was some confusion and consternation going on in the campground today from an old couple that was parked near us.  It seems that while they were parked they tried to level their motorhome on blocks and drove over the blocks into their own car and then careened across the street and ran into another car there.  It seems like a pretty simple story but by the time the original story had been told, it changed about 4 times in the telling.  In the end, 1 motorhome, 2 cars and a lightpost had been crunched.

I had to resort to cereal for Breakfast this morning since there wasn't any bread in the house for toast.  I don't usually like to have cereal since it seems to bring on Montezuma's Revenge.

Sharon got back just after noon with her purchases from the "College."  She had also stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things, including bread.  She's nice to have around.

After lunch we went to the pool.  The temperature gauge said the water was 87 but the water seemed a little colder today.  I knew we wouldn't be in the pool for very long at this session, and I was right.  If the water was 87, it sure was a cold 87.  We didn't last long before we headed for the hot tub.  After the pool we came home thinking we might get an offer of a Happy Hour somewhere, but none came.

Sharon took off for church at 4:30 and wouldn't be back until 6.  I waited until then to eat even though she told me I didn't have to.

For supper tonight Sharon made Meatloaf and Fried Potatoes.  She also heated up a can of Shoepig corn.  Everything was very good indeed.

After Supper we settled into our comfy positions around the TV and spent the night there until the bewitching hour.  When 10 rolled around we rolled toward the bedroom.  It was over again for another day.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Today is a "move" day.  We're only moving to Desert Pools Resort which is not even a mile down the road.  We'll spend our "out" week there and then come back to Catalina for a couple of weeks before we go to Yuma.  It was a leisurely exit this morning since non-Western Horizon members are not permitted to enter the park until 11 A.M.  So we started moving this morning at 10:55 and arrived at !!:01.  It was a long drive but we managed.

After we got set up which took about 15 minutes we had lunch.  We sat down to watch the football game which put me to sleep in my recliner after about 15 minutes.  Sharon also sacked out on the couch and when she woke up she had a brilliant idea to go to the Ice Cream social at the Clubhouse.  We went over and had a couple of Banana Splits that were quite delicious.  We talked with a few people at the clubhouse who were on their first trip down here for the winter.  It was fun listening to their expectations and what they've actually experienced.

When we went for Ice Cream there wasn't anybody in the pool which was a bad sign.  We didn't check the temp of the pool but we weren't planning to swim today anyway.  We usually return to Catalina to swim but the temp of that pool was 85 this morning.  I wouldn't go anywhere for that temperature.

We fended for ourselves tonight for supper.  I had Meatloaf Sandwiches and Sharon just snacked.  We knew that after supper we were going over to visit Phil and Joyce and Henry and Arlene.  We wanted to check and see if Phil and Joyce wanted to go to the casino tomorrow for Breakfast after Sharon's doctor's appointment.  And we also wanted to say good-bye to Henry and Arlene since they were headed off to Yuma tomorrow and we won't see them until next year.

We were back home again about 8 PM and located in front of the TV for the rest of the night.  We were still watching repeats on TV but what choice do you have at this time of the year.

We both endured until 10 tonight but that was it.  Sharon didn't even have time for her puzzle tonight.  We both hit the rack at the same time, and our day faded to black.