Monday, March 21, 2011

It was raining this morning when we finally got up.  It had been raining for most of the night and continued on into today.  Checking the weather, it looks like it will continue for most of the day.  We’re actually under a “winter storm” warning which really doesn’t mean much here.  It’ll rain down here and the mountains will fill up with snow.

It rained on and off all morning.  The sun actually peeked out later on and Corky Zimmermann stopped over to let us know that they were leaving for Yuma tomorrow.  He said that Deb was still not feeling too chipper and we haven’t seen them since we got here except for one day when Corky stopped over.  We won’t get another chance to see them until we get home now.

We just had sandwiches for lunch today.  Neither of us was feeling up to cooking so we just ate what was available.

It was actually cold out today and because of that we decided not to go to the pool today.  This would be two days in a row that we missed.  The sun actually popped out a couple of times this afternoon but not long enough to tempt us to go to the pool.  Besides I still had a couple of movies on tape that would keep me company for a couple of hours at a time.

By the time the Jeopardy “hour” rolled around we had chewed up an entire afternoon with movies that were on tape.

We had leftover Lasagna for Supper tonight.  Sharon had enough left over for Dinner tonight and still another big chunk to put in the freezer for later.  It was good with the extra sauce that she put on the top before she put it in the oven.

Tonight was a good night for TV and there was no Basketball on tonight so we didn’t have to surf around that.  We didn’t surf past 10 however, and slid into oblivion when the clock came up to bewitching hour.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

We were off this morning to Bristol Farms for Breakfast with friends.  We would be meeting with Phil and Joyce and Terry and Jo-Anne with all of us coming from different directions this morning.  We had somewhat of a wait this morning since the place seemed to be crowded and the Café is just a little place with seating for about 50.  We finally dragged a couple of tables together after about 20 minutes and sat down to eat.  Our Omelettes were very good and Joyce had her usual French Toast, and after about an hour of food and conversation, Sharon checked out a couple of fruit buys and settled on a box of Strawberries.  We were shortly afterward on our way home again.

The weather today was quite nice out with the sun shining and hardly any wind.  By 2 o’clock after arranging for our windshield to be fixed, we drove up to the Manager’s meeting in the Upper Clubhouse.  I was expecting some fireworks to happen concerning the purchase of outweeks for $99 but nary a word was heard.  We had a whole row of people sitting in front of us that were affected by the reduced price, but not a peep was heard out of any of them.  I kept my mouth shut even though I wanted to jump up and challenge what the manager was saying.   I bought my outweek so I wasn’t really affected by the situation.  If people can’t stand up for themselves, they deserve to get screwed.

After the meeting we went to the pool and there were not many people there.  And today it took a while for anybody to show up.  It was actually very nice at the pool and the water was quite warm today.  It really was almost too warm for my comfort.

We came home at our usual time and settled in for Jeopardy.  The Champion lost today and I wasn’t disappointed.  He came off as arrogant as Alex Trebek and I was happy to see him lose.

We stopped up to the Upper Clubhouse for Karaoke tonight, but a situation developed that I didn’t like so we came back home.

Tonight was a good night for TV as long as you have a DVR and I had one.  Along with regular programming we watched a couple of things on the alternate channels tonight.  There’s generally enough on the tube on Tuesdays that will keep us busy all night without a problem.  Tonight was no exception as it carried us all the way to 10 and beyond.  There was a special that came on at 9 about the all-time best movies.  It was two hours long so we were still watching well after the bewitching hour rolled around.  Sometimes you just gotta make exceptions to bedtime.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

It rained for awhile last night but when we got up the sun was out and it seemed like a pretty nice. Day.  The wind was blowing slightly but not enough to make it annoying.

Right from the get-go Sharon took off with the laundry hoping to finish it before we left for the VFW for Taco Wednesday.  She manage to get back with plenty of time to spare.  While she was gone I got my stuff ready to change the oil on the motorhome over the next day or so.  I need to wait until I get a calm day without any wind so that I can get the oil in a pan without it blowing all over the place.

By noon we took off for the VFW and by the time we got there the parking lot was full.  Most of the customers were in the back Dining Room however, as we picked out and sat in a booth in the front.  We ate and had our usual 2 pitchers of beer to wash it down and discussed leaving for home early this year.  The discussion didn’t go very far because of a couple of things that need to be taken care of before our trip home. We need to stop in Casa Grande for awhile so that we can see Dennis and Mary Ceshker’s new house in Mesa, and we also have to be there long enough to get our windshield replaced.  After that, we’re footloose and fancy free to take off whenever.

After we got home from the VFW we left for the pool.  There wasn’t many people there as a lot of the Canadians are now leaving for home.  A few people showed up as we stayed for the afternoon.  There were about 2 dozen people still in the water as we left for home around four.

We got home and immediately sat down for our usual episode of Jeopardy on tape.  Since we weren’t having supper tonight because of a late lunch, we settled in front of the TV.  Me in my recliner, and Sharon with her knitting.

We both lasted until 10 tonight before we finally caved and headed for bed.  It had been a nice day today and with our going to the VFW for lunch it turned into a good day indeed.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

We got up this morning thinking about maybe going to the Cottage Too for Breakfast and we got a phone call from Terry and Jo-Anne asking if we wanted to go to Yucca Valley for lunch at the Sizzler.  We said yes and they told us they’d pick us up at 11:30 for the trip “up to the Yucca Valley.”  Strangely enough we have to climb a couple of huge hills in order to get to the valley.  I always thought that the possibility of that situation is very amusing.

Sharon sat me down this morning to discuss our recent decision to go home a week early, by Easter.  She needed to make reservations so she wanted to know if leaving was my final decision or not, and when she should make the reservations for the trip north.  We finally got a tentative schedule figured out and she was satisfied.  We have a couple of things that need to be done in Casa Grande, including a windshield replacement, which could actually mess up the schedule.

I also needed to change the oil on the motorhome over the next week but the wind was blowing just a little too hard to accomplish that today.  So I put that job off for another day.  I still have a week to get it done so I’m not worried yet.

Terry and Jo-Anne were right on time at 11:30 and we left and headed up toward Yucca Valley. It’s about 25 miles from our campground but it’s all uphill so it took about a half hour to get there.  The restaurant was moderately busy at the time we arrived, but we found a place to sit immediately.  This was our second experience at a Sizzler and it was another good one.  The food was very good even though all we had was the Salad Bar.  I’m not much into a salad bar but there’s enough on it to satisfy anyone.  There was Soup, Salad, Chicken Wings, Mexican and several other things too numerous to mention.  It cost $9.95 and included our drinks, but it was also a long way to drive to have lunch.  We weren’t complaining though, and all in all was a very nice trip.

We got back just in time for the pool this afternoon.  The wind was still gusty but it was not cold out.  The pool was almost empty but it quickly accumulated people soon after we arrived.  It doesn’t fill up any more due to the number of people who are leaving for home.

We were done “swimming” and back home again by 4:30 and in time for Jeopardy.  March Madness Basketball is going to be on all night tonight so we’ll be surfing the odd channels to find something to watch.  And surf we did, until 10 o’clock and then we ambled off to oblivion to the darkened room in back.

Friday, March 25, 2011

I had good intentions of changing the oil in the motorhome this morning before we met Phil and Joyce for lunch at the Pak Inn.  But the wind made another appearance today and it looks as though it will be here for a few more days.  I’ll have to be patient over the next few days and just hope it dies down enough to sneak a change.

At 11:30 we headed off to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping before we went to the restaurant.  We must have timed it just right because we arrived at the restaurant just as Phil and Joyce got there a bit before 1 PM.  We had our lunch knowing that this would be our last meal together for this year.  They surprised us by telling us that were going back to Catalina to swim today after lunch.

After lunch, we headed to the same place in different cars.  The wind was still blowing today when we got back to the campground.  We changed our clothes and immediately went over to the pool for the rest of the afternoon.

I had told the Bachs that there weren’t many people left for the pool at the campground and when they observed how empty the pool was, they realized the truth in that statement.  The pool did have a few dozen people in it by the time we left however.  We had invited Phil and Joyce over for a farewell drink before they headed home, and they stopped over for about an hour or so before they left the park.

We were ready to settle in for some TV by the time they left and we were disappointed to find March Madness was on the tube again tonight.  We’d have to surf to find enough to watch tonight since our shows for tonight are mostly on CBS.  But Friday nights are pretty much a lousy night for TV anyway so surfing the channels was not going to be much of a solution.  Taking a Nectar induced nap for the night, would have been a good idea, but that didn’t work either.  We did make it to 10 never-the-less.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

This morning the wind was howling to say the least.  It probably is gusting up to 30-40 miles per hour.  This will again prevent me from changing the oil in the motor-home today.

I decided that today would be the best day to finish up the Newsletter.  I won’t send it out for a couple of days yet, but I can get the mailers ready to go.  I took most of the morning to finish up the 3 stories that I still needed.

By noontime the wind still hadn’t let up and I thought Sharon might be going to wimp out on going to the pool today.  I asked her right after lunch if she was going or not and she answered, “I don’t know.”  That was a yes as far as I could tell.

I finished up the Newsletter shortly after lunch and Sharon proofread it before we went to the pool for the afternoon.

When we got to the pool we were the only ones there.  Dot and Jerry showed up almost immediately, followed by Daphne and the Parents.  A few other people showed up, and before long, we had a pool full of people.  “Pool full” might b a bit of an exaggeration, but there were at least a couple of dozen brave souls willing to fight the elements.

We left the pool this afternoon in plenty of time for Sharon to make it to church.  When she left for church I printed and got the Newsletter “hard-copy mailers” ready to go out.  I’ll send out the .pdf’s in a couple of days, but at least I got it finished before the end of the month.  Sometimes it’s difficult to get the whole thing ready before the end of the month, and still get it sent out in time.

Sharon would stop at Carl’s Jr. tonight for supper.  We’ve been having KFC almost every week over the past month and we decided we need something different tonight.  So she picked up burgers for supper tonight.  I had a taste for their Bacon Western Cheeseburger and she had a famous star.  It was nice change of menu for us.

We had basketball on again tonight which wasn’t too bad cause it was a lousy night for TV anyway.  So this was going to be another night of surfing since we really didn’t have anything left on tape for tonight.  But it seems that we always manage no matter what’s on the tube.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Another day with the wind blowing too hard to change the oil on the motorhome.  This wind is getting to be a pain in the a___.  I’ve got a couple of other things to do that will keep me busy but the oil is something that I need to do first.  I’ve still got a couple of days to get it done so I’m not worried yet.

It was actually a little nippy this morning as Sharon decided that it looked pretty nice out and took a walk down to the corner to pick up a newspaper.  By the time she got back she had changed her mind about the weather.  It will, however, warm up today into the 70's again.

The rest of the morning was devoted to TV and Sharon reading her newly purchased newspaper.  I don’t ever mind just sitting down and watching TV for awhile.

After a lunch that we fended for ourselves, we got ready and headed toward the pool to see if there were whitecaps on it.  There weren’t but there certainly could have been.  There were a few people there today.  I guess they figure with the season wearing thin, they either have to swim now or go home without.  Most of these people are from up north and there really isn’t any swimming weather where they’re going.

We got home early from the pool so that Sharon could make our Meatloaf for Supper.  We had Meatloaf, Fried Potatoes, Green Beans and Creamed Corn tonight and it was all very good.  And besides, now we have leftover meatloaf for sandwiches over the next couple of days.

Basketball was making another appearance on TV tonight so we had to surf our way to bedtime.  We also had nothing on tape in reserve to watch in the meantime.  There were repeats of some of our regular shows on tonight that we watched until we went to bed.  Sharon didn’t care cause she was knitting all night while she watched.  She rarely ever really “watches” TV anyway.  Pretty soon our concerns will be more concentrated on the price of gas and where we’ll spend the next day as we start our trip home.  I’m already checking to see the best places to buy gas from here to New Mexico to say the least.