Monday, March 14, 2011

We started out the day almost turning the air conditioning on right from the beginning.  It was supposed to be a scorcher today and it started out very much like that was possible.

Phil and Joyce were headed out to Thousand Trails early this morning and now we would have to meet somewhere in order to see them again before we leave.  We’ll see them tomorrow morning when we got to Bristol Farms for Omelettes.

By noon time, it was pretty warm outside and I wondered how many people would be in the pool today.  I wasn’t surprised when we went to the pool at 2:15 and the place was crowded.  They must have thought that the water was cool and refreshing.  Boy were they wrong.  But if it wasn’t arm the way it is we could never stay in it for 2½ hours like we do every day.

Before we left for the day Daphne, Jerry and Dot asked us if we wanted to play cards tonight at 6:30.  We said yes but we had to squeeze in a visit to In-n-Out Burger before card playing time. We actually got back in plenty of time for me to record all the shows I wanted to record tonight, and still make it over to the clubhouse for 6:30.

There would be 6 of us playing Pegs and Jokers tonight since Annette came down also.  We decided to play partners tonight and Daphne, Jerry and me won the first game and Dot, Annette and Sharon won the second game.  We managed to finish up around 9 and we were home in time to catch a couple of shows and Jeopardy before we headed off to bed for the night.

We had to get up early tomorrow to get to Bristol Farms in time for Breakfast.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

We were on our way to Bristol Farms Market this morning to have Breakfast with Phil, Joyce, Terry and Jo-Anne.  By the time we got there it was surprisingly empty of customers.  We managed to get right in and get a table for the six of us.  We stayed long enough until Terry almost got filled up with coffee.

On the way home we needed to make a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things including a complete oil change for the motorhome.  Sharon also had a few things to pick up so we went our separate ways inside the store, and then met up at the check-out.

We got back home around noon and then just waited for pool time to roll around so that we could finish off our afternoon in the tepid water of the pool.

The propane truck showed up just before we took off for the pool and we had that filled up while we were here.  They’re not bashful about the prices either. $40 for 9 gallons of propane.  We’ll need it before we leave here so we just needed to bite the bullet on this one.

We got a phone call from Norm Jones telling us that he was back in the States again from Australia.  He wanted to know if we could go to the Casino for Breakfast in the morning,   I called Terry and Jo-Anne and left a message for them.

The pool was filled with people today but not overcrowded by any means.  And it actually never did get really crowded today.  Jerry and Dot who are now at Desert Pools didn’t show up today.

We came home about 4:30 to cook our supper tonight.  Sharon had picked up a Pork Tenderloin that we were going to cook up on the grill.  I made a deal that if she would cook the Tenderloin I would fry up our potatoes for Dinner.  I didn’t particularly want to stand out in the heat and cook.  Supper turned out quite good indeed even though a hunk of meat is not my forte.

There was Karaoke at the Upper Clubhouse tonight but we decided not to go.  I was concerned that they wouldn’t have the air conditioning running in the building and it would be miserably warm in there.

Terry called us back tonight and said they would be at the casino tomorrow.

We had several programs on tape that we needed to catch up on anyway, so I wasn’t too concerned abut missing Karaoke tonight.  By the time 10 rolled around we had caught up on almost all of the regular programs that we had recorded.  It wasn’t really necessary to stay up past the”tent folding” hour.  We were both making zzzz’s by 10:30.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

We were off early this morning to meet Norm Jones and his friends and also Terry and Jo-Anne Bertamini at the Spa Casino.  On our way out of the park we crossed paths with Corky and Deb Zimmermann who were coming into the park for a week.  They’re starting their move toward Yuma in another week and then on home.

We were there just a few minutes early arriving at the casino, and the rest of the gang showed up about 9:05.

After we were seated we explained the situation and set-up to the newbies and then we were off to the food.  I took a different tack today by starting out with French Toast and Hash Browns instead of Eggs, Bacon and Sausage.  I also picked up an Eggs Benedict serving and was well on my way to a different Breakfast.  I didn’t change my mind and I completed my alternate option very nicely.

We sat around talking for quite a while but not until the Dining Room closed for the noon Buffet.  We were out of there well before that happened.  As the couple from Liverpool spoke, Norm was there to interpret the conversation.  I had to interpret the conversation from the Mexican waiter to them.

We measured the distance to the casino from Catalina Spa this morning on the way over.  On the way back we drove a different route and confirmed what I had suspected about the distances.  13.4 miles one way, and 15 the other.  The way we prefer is shorter.  Who cares?

By the time we got home we were starting to have a little wind for the day.  It was still a very nice day but we actually had some clouds also.  This afternoon when we left for the pool it was overcast but still very warm.  We stayed at the pool til our usual time this afternoon and made it home in time for Jeopardy on tape.

We’d be opting out of Supper tonight because of our Breakfast at the casino today.  It usually always carries us over til at least 7 o’clock at night which is snack time for the night.  Then we usually grab whatever is available.

Tonight would be our best chance to catch up on all the taped shows tonight.  We still had a couple of shows that were not that good so they got put off until later.  The only other option would be to delete them completely without even watching them.  We still managed to make our exit at 10 out of the conscious world.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Our trip to the casino yesterday instead of to the VFW screwed up our schedule for the next week.  We have a regular schedule that we really must stick to in order to have order in our lives.  In actuality I don’t think that skipping the VFW for one week will have too much effect on our overall stay here.  We’ll just have to suck it up.

Sharon got up and took off on a walk this morning.  It would be the first time that she’s actually walked or exercised since she hurt her foot.  She reported that she was fine after she got back again.  She does have a tendency to overdo sometimes.

I, on the other hand, just stayed home and held down the fort.  My exercise is walking to the pool every day and then floating around in the water with my noodle.  It’s worked for me, so far.

By lunchtime we were just waiting for pool time to arrive.  The wind picked up a little bit today and it was blowing pretty good by the time we went to the pool.  It was still nice and warm out but it finally got overcast in the afternoon.  An overcast sky here in Desert Hot Springs is very unusual indeed.

Sharon spent the early afternoon making Lasagna for Supper tonight.  It smelled good in here all the while she was whipping it up.  She’d reheat it for supper since pasta dishes always taste better the second time around anyway.

The pool was almost empty when we arrived this afternoon and it never did get very full today.  I guess the wind was scaring people off today.  The water in the pool has been cooled down a couple of degrees mainly because the outside temps are getting warmer and the pool is not refreshing if it’s too warm.

By the time we got home I was not “into” my usual Peanuts and Coke while we watched Jeopardy tonight.  I didn’t want to ruin my appetite knowing we were getting Lasagna, Salad and Garlic Bread for supper tonight.  Sharon sloshed it down with a little vino but I didn’t feel like imbibing tonight, so I just settled for my usual non-alcoholic beverage again.

March Madness was on TV all night tonight and I had burned up all the shows I had on tape.  We’d have to surf the channels in order to find enough to watch until 10 o’clock.  It was a technique we’d used before however, so I wasn’t too concerned that we wouldn’t find enough to watch tonight even if we had to watch a couple of things that we normally don’t watch.

Friday, March 18, 2011

The wind was back again today and it appeared like it was going to blow for a couple of days at least.  It seems as though I’m writing about the wind about every other day.  It has certainly become relatively annoying to say the least.  The days are warm now, so the wind really doesn’t change the temperature much.

Almost as soon as I got myself together today I had a couple of jobs to take care of.  I went out and attempted to dump the black water tank on the motorhome and discovered I had a plug that I had to clear.  It took me three tries and a sore back to finally get it flowing again.  A job that usually takes no more than 10 minutes had taken me a half hour.  I just love it when a plan comes together.

I had also planned on cleaning battery terminals today before I found we had a shortage of Baking Soda.  Pouring a mixture of Baking Soda and water over the terminals makes them so much easier to clean.  I had about a Tablespoon of soda and I used that up until I could get another box.  We had planned on going into town to do some shopping today anyway.

At lunchtime I settled for some leftovers for sandwiches.  Sharon had a salad and I scared up some leftover Pork Tenderloin which made a very nice sandwich along with a little mustard.  We also had some Fried Potatoes that I made the other night so I heated them up also.  It was quite a “lovely” lunch if I must say so myself.

We went to the pool this afternoon and Dot and Jerry were back in the park again.  They had been at Desert Pools for the last week.  The pool was a little warmer than yesterday but it felt really good.  It must have been nice because the pool was quite crowded today.  We stayed until just after 4 when we left cause we didn’t have any plans for supper tonight.

We thought we might go out for supper tonight but we didn’t know where.  We both felt like a fish fry so on the way into town we stopped at the VFW to see if they were serving fish tonight.  As we drove up the sign on the door said they were serving ribs tonight and neither of us felt like ribs.  We thought at that point that we might try a “new” restaurant in Desert Hot Springs called El Matador.  It wasn’t actually a new restaurant but we had never been there before. Although the outside of the place doesn’t seem too inviting, the inside is very clean and comfortable.  Roy Parent had given the place high marks.  We found the place to be very friendly and the food was excellent.  Sharon had Chicken Enchiladas and I had a Shredded Beef Chimichanga.  There was enough to take half of our meal home when it was all said and done.  We also had a WildBerry Margarita which was very good.  A very nice experience was had by both of us.

We came back home and settled in front of the TV but March Madness was taking up our network.  Most of our shows come on CBS at night and basketball is going to monopolize those channels for the next couple of weeks.  We surfed to find enough to watch for the night and were glad when 10 o’clock rolled around.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Our wind is back again today.  The sun is out and it’s nice out but the wind is still here.  It’s not blowing hard, just enough to be annoying.

We picked up some Baking Soda last night when we went into town so I got busy finishing up cleaning the terminals on the batteries.  I also checked the levels of the acid and they were okay even though I added a little water to bring them up higher.

The park is now starting to empty out for the year.  Every day there is several more spaces around us that probably won’t be filled back up again.  Pretty soon we’ll be able to see all the way down the rows with the view not being interrupted by RV’s.

After lunch we went to the pool and it was clearly obvious that the park is emptying out.  Just a couple of weeks ago the pool was filled to overflowing with people and today there were about a dozen and a half people in there.  It may increase sporadically, but for the most part it will thin out even more from now until the end of the month.

When we got home from the pool this afternoon Sharon was off to church to pray for me, and to pickup Kentucky “Grilled” Chicken on the way home.  I was working on a story for the Newsletter while she was gone and she surprised me when she got home.  I didn’t realize that I had been working on that story for that long.

Our KFC turned out to very good again, as usual.  I have a hard time understanding while they would call it “Grilled” chicken when it tastes the same way, and they certainly make it the same way.  Maybe they’ll ditch the Original Recipe in the future.  That’s when I’ll quit eating it.

We camped out in front of the Telly tonight even though there wasn’t much to watch.  I had taped a couple of things this afternoon that we’ll catch tonight, but after that, shows are going to be mighty thin.  We’ll be lucky to make it until 10 tonight.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

We got up this morning with a plan.  The plan wasn’t for bad weather but rather to have a Breakfast with French Toast and Bacon.  The Breakfast was actually very good and me and the Mrs. made it together.  I cooked up the Bacon and she made the French Toast.  After it was over I settled in front of the TV after dishes and Sharon settled in with her knitting.

We opted out of lunch because of the late Breakfast, and because the weather was overcast and gloomy looking outside, we decided that we probably weren’t going to the pool either. Sharon had a couple of ripe bananas in the freezer that she got out and decided to make Banana Bread with them. After that, she gathered up all she could muster and headed for the bedroom and a little nap.

I had a couple of movies on tape that I had recorded earlier this winter that I sat down and watched.  I pretty much just vegged out in my recliner for the day.

We got a call from Terry and Jo-Anne asking if we were interested in Breakfast or Dinner sometime next week.  We thought Breakfast would be good and they suggested that we call Phil and Joyce.  We called the Bachs and they suggested we also go to Pak Inn on Friday as well as Breakfast on Tuesday at Bristol Farms.  We were certainly games for both of those ideas.  We’ll have to call Terry and Jo-Anne and let them know the developments.

With March Madness dominating the airwaves from now for the next few weeks surfing on the tube seems to be the salvation for watching TV.

We were hungry for Supper so we retrieved the Mexican food that we had brought home from El Matador the other night and had that for Dinner.  It was still quite good as Mexican food usually is reheated.

We surfed the TV tonight until the bewitching hour and then rolled up the carpets and put away the toys and headed for the sleep chamber.  That was all she wrote.