Monday, January 12, 2009

The weather was supposed to give us an 80 degree day today so we'll just have to see what happens.  It certainly has started out looking favorable.

We were off this morning, to the casino for their fabulous Breakfast., again.  We headed out about 9 to the Spa Casino in Palm Springs.  By 10:30 we were headed back home again with stomachs full and fully sated. Life is good.  I ran into Phil and Joyce on the way in as I was on my way out.

When we got back home I took the scooter out of the trunk for some cleaning and tuning up.  I plugged it in to see if I could bring the battery back to life.  It may be a useless effort but we'll have to see if anything happens.

I also had to work on some paperwork for the pre-trial conference on January 22.  I have to file a motion that hasn't been written yet.  I worked on it for a while on Saturday but it had to be finished and filed with the court.

Sharon took off and went downtown shopping.  I don't have a clue what she needed but what does it matter.  Maybe she just wanted to get away from me for a while.  She's entitled.

I finished up the motion for the court this afternoon but the battery on the scooter does not seem to be coming to life.  I guess I'll leave it plugged in until tomorrow and see if that makes a difference.

By the time Sharon got back it was time to go to the pool, and we got ready and headed over.  Phil and Joyce came over just about the same time we did.  The water in the pool was still not up to par as far as the temperature is concerned.  But I think that criticizing the pool guy is also a waste of time at this point.  Besides Sharon has forbidden me to holler at him anymore.  She's so sensitive, and embarrasses so easy.

After the pool I had to get myself home and into my reserved seat for the second part of "24" tonight.  The plot has already thickened, and the manure has hit the fan so to speak.  I was on the edge of my seat last night and I expect I'll be the same way tonight.

We had Fried Chicken, Potato Salad and Creamed Corn for supper tonight and it was all delicious.  A perfect Dinner to prepare me for the evening ahead.

We both sat up until 10 before we finally brought the curtain down and turned off the footlights.  It had been a pretty good day, indeed.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Sharon was off this morning to go to the Post Office on a mission that she didn't have time to finish the other day.  She had to mail out some clothes to Walt and Kathy Werden's new grandson.  She's been meaning to do it for a week or so now.

I took off on my scooter to Fax some documents to the District Court in Iron Mountain this morning.  I had to get them in before the 22nd of this month.  They may not do any good but I have to keep trying.

I also took the scooter for a little ride to see how long the battery would last.  It wasn't very long, after it went dead after about a block, at one of the farthest points in the campground.  So I spent the next 20 minutes walking home and pushing the scooter.  Something I really had no intention of doing.

I had to walk over to Phil and Joyce's to pay them back for the $30 they lent us to buy the scooter in the first place.  The walk home gave us something to talk about.

I actually got back home before Sharon and I told her the story when she arrived.  We both laughed about it.  I knew from when we bought the scooter that I might have to replace the battery almost immediately.   I was informed by the Goldman's that the battery might be ready for replacement.

Sharon got back just in time for lunch but she wasn't making anything to eat.  We were going to be on our own for this meal.  She had a Crab Salad and I settled for one of my favorites..... A Meatloaf Sandwich. I put a couple of Jalapeño Peppers in that baby just to spice it up a little.  It was very good indeed.

By 1:30 we were ready for the pool and took off for the tepid water.  And actually I wasn't too far off the mark.  With the weather turning nice and warm it seems like the pool is warmer but its not.  The temperature gauge showed it was 87 degrees, but it was actually up to 89 earlier.  It didn't stay that way long but it did reach that temp earlier.  Everybody showed up today even though the Parent's and Browns came a little later.

We were back home in time for Jeopardy at 4, and then to start watching the evenings TV at 5.  There were all new shows on tonight for a change.  We even got to watch a new show called Homeland Security at 9.  By the time that was over, it was time to put the carpet back down in the den, and cancel the dance.We were in bed again at 10.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Today is Taco Wednesday but with some reservations.  Sharon and I took off early to find the battery place for the scooter.  I knew where it was, approximately, from MapQuest but I forgot to mark down the address.  That was a mistake that I soon regretted.  We drove around and past the place we were looking for at least 4 times.  Fun Seekers had a tiny little sign that was hardly readable from the highway, but we finally located it.  By the time I got a quote for the batteries, I wasn't happy. They were considerably more than I thought they would be.  They is two 12 volt batteries that are hooked together in series to make 24 volts.  We did get steered to a place that sells them cheaper when we stopped for directions to Fun Seekers.  We didn't have time to go and get them since we were now running late and we had to stop at Wal-Mart on the way home for Sharon.

We made it back just in time to pick up Phil and Joyce and head toward the VFW.  We were late in getting there but we still couldn't find a place to sit.  The people were still waiting for the 50/50 number to be called.  We may have to quit going to the VFW if this keeps up.  We go deliberately late so that we won't have to put up with that problem.  So much for trying to avoid it.

By the time we came home it was almost time for my Acupuncture appointment in Palm Desert.  Since my back surgery last summer doesn't seem to have worked so far, I need to take this leap as a last resort.  Hopefully this will help me out.  We'll see over time.

We didn't get back in time for the pool today but we'd heard it was 91 degrees.  After all the complaining I've been doing about the cold water it just wasn't fair to have missed it today.

We called Phil and Joyce to see if they wanted to get together on their last night here, but there were no takers.  So we just settled in for TV.  The new shows were running on a regular basis now, so playing dominoes wasn't my first choice anyway, but I was willing to adapt.

Sharon went to bed at 8 tonight. I don't know what the deal was there, but I still hung in there until about 10.  If I went to bed at 8 I'd be up in the morning about 4.  No thank you.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

We were off and running this morning to find the battery store that I talked to yesterday on the phone.  They're batteries, for the scooter, were considerably less than what they wanted to charge me at Fun Seekers cycle store.  We managed to drive by the street we were supposed to turn at.  It was one of those streets that had a different name on either side of the intersection.  It's a "California" thing.  As I've said in the past, California does more screwy things with the roads and highways than anywhere else we've seen.  After calling the battery store we turned around and went back and found the street sign.  The two choices were "Beacon Hill" and "Largo".  We picked up the two batteries necessary and saved over $40 in the process.

On the way home Sharon picked out In-N-Out Burger for lunch.  No matter how many times you eat those burgers they're still good.  We were there right at lunchtime so we didn't even try to find a seat inside.  We were content to just sit in the car and eat.

After lunch we came home and were just in time to go to the pool.  Yesterday it was 91 degrees and we're hoping it'll be the same today.  We've only been waiting since the 21st of December for that to happen.  It was actually back to 88 by today.  The one day it was warm we missed it with a doctor's appointment.  Damn!  We arrived at the pool just about the same time as everyone else today.  The Browns and Parents were there when we got there

TV tonight only had one repeat on.  The rest of the night was new shows including Gil Grissoms last show on CSI.  I hated to see him go, but I didn't like them killing off Warrick Dunne either.  It seems like every time I get to like a character, they kill him or her off.  I didn't meet the sleep fairy until 10 tonight and then she sprinkled her dust in my eyes.  The little tramp.

Friday, January 16, 2009

We were off this morning to the casino for Breakfast.  I am still hoping that the breakfast will come back to the Agua Caliente Casino sometime soon.  I always seemed to enjoy it more there.  I don't know why, because the food is excellent at both places and they've always got waffles at the Spa.

When we came back home I got busy with the batteries for the scooter.  I needed a soldering iron, but it apparently was one thing I hadn't put in my toolbox.  I tried to undo the old batteries with a heat gun and although I did get one removed, I burnt myself on the gun.  I decided to replace all the spade connections instead of using the heat gun on the rest of them.  I managed to get them all taken care of in the next half hour, and put into the scooter where I could start charging them.

I went into the house and took a little nap while waiting to go to the pool.  We managed to go over there about 2 PM, and while the water was nice, it still wasn't 91 degrees again.  When we talked to the Browns and Parents in the pool we found out that they went up for Card Bingo last night.  We played once last year and told them to call us when they go up again.  We enjoyed ourselves last year but never went a second time.  Go figure.

We fended for ourselves for supper tonight and it wasn't much.  I had a Meatloaf Sandwich about 7 o'clock, and I don't know what Sharon had.  We watched TV until 10 and then headed for the horizontal hotel for the night.  At least we had original programming on for the night tonight.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

We were off this morning to Rummage Sales in the area.  We took in the Craft Sale at Caliente Springs & the Patio Sales at Sky Valley.  Sharon picked up the Rada Knives that she was looking for at Caliente Springs and then we just continued on after that.  By the time we finished at Sky Valley it was hovering around lunchtime.

After much consideration we decided we would go to the Cottage Too for their "Half Sandwich and Bowl of Soup" lunch.  We also had Peaches for dessert.

We came back home and made some phone calls home to the kids.  For some reason the batteries in the scooter were not charging or at least they don't seem to be.  I'll have to figure out how to check on that and then do it.

By two o'clock it was time to go to the pool and we headed over there.  There was nobody that we knew there except for Jesse and Bobby.  They're full time at Almar Acres now and they sound like they will soon give up their Catalina membership also.  But for now the 90 degree water here at Catalina seems pretty nice, although at their park the water is always at 90 degrees.  Go figure.

The "pool group" showed up after a while and we soaked for about an hour and a half or so.  We did manage to hot tub and still get back home in time for Jeopardy.  Sharon took off for church right afterwards and when she came back home showed up with Kentucky Fried Chicken & stuff.

Wed had the KFC for Supper tonight along with Biscuits, Potato Logs and Cole Slaw.  Love that KFC Slaw.  I had watched "The Bucket List" on HBO before Sharon got home, so our TV watching was going to be on the West networks tonight.Our regular programming will end at 10 o'clock tonight.  We were both ready for bed by the time the bewitching hour rolled around.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

We had a plan this morning for a big Breakfast and we started on it as soon as we had a cup of coffee.  We would have Scrambled Eggs with onions, Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy and Hash Browns.  Sharon scrubbed the shower, and took one of her own, while I cooked the Breakfast.  By the time we were both done with what we were doing, it came together nicely in the end.  It was a lovely Breakfast if I have to say so myself.  We even had some leftovers for tomorrow morning.

I had to check out the charger on the scooter this morning since it didn't seem to be charging the new batteries.  This is quite disturbing since if the problem was with the charger I bought new batteries for nothing.  And while there didn't seem to be any charging going on, there also didn't seem to be anything wrong with the charger either.  It was putting out power but it wasn't going through the plug to the batteries.

  This is now getting to be a pretty expensive proposition since I may not have needed the $81 worth of new batteries that we put out.  The plug was wired so weird that I suspect that someone may have messed with it at one point or another.  I have decided to stop at Fun Seekers to see how this plug should be wired.  I don't think it's possible that it's supposed to be wired the way it is.  They have split one wire on a lamp cord to serve as the charging circuit, and the other wire for the ground.  I've never seen anything like it.

We cruised right through lunch after the Breakfast we had.  We got to the pool about 2 and spent the next couple of hours soaking in the pool and the hot tub.  All the regulars were there soaking right along with us.

By the time we got home the first Championship Football game was over and the second one was just about to begin.  We didn't really have much interest in either game so we were surfing the channels while we kept track of the game.  Later on we just surfed the channels all night looking for programming.  We had a free weekend on HBO this month but we didn't find anything we wanted to watch.  There was one show called Vantage Point that I wanted to see, but I never did catch it while I was surfing.

We were ready for the bed when 10 o'clock rolled around so we slid ourselves between the sheets and yanked off the lights.