Monday, January 5, 2015

We were off this morning heading north into the “big” city for Breakfast at the Cottage 2 with Terry and JoAnne Bertamini.  We figured that they would go out anyway so why not go with them.

After Breakfast, and on the way home, we stopped in town to do some grocery shopping and to pick up some stamps for the Newsletter.  I still have to mail out 6 of them for relatives that don’t have computers or e-mail.

When we got home Sharon decided she was going for a walk which is up Corkill Road to the corner and around the stop sign and then back home again.  It’s probably about a mile and a half in all.  While she was gone I decided that we needed a dump of our holding tanks so I got about finishing that.  I also remembered the piece of trim that we damaged on the car when we ran over a board in the road.  I dodged it with the motorhome, but the car apparently hit it.  It was dislodged a bit from the fender and I shoved it as best as I could back into place.  It didn’t fit exactly tight but it may have been bent a bit.

We left for the pool early today cause we were planning to go to Henry and Arlene’s for Happy Hour this afternoon.  We had to wait for people we knew to show up today.  It didn’t take long for casual acquaintances to arrive for conversation.

We left the pool about 3:30 and immediately went over to Henry and Arlene’s.  We stayed for a couple of drinks and then headed over to All Star Burger, on the corner, to have Supper.  We’ve eaten there before, but only for a trial Breakfast.  I had a burrito and Sharon had Fajitas and they were both very good.

After Dinner we came home and camped out in front of the TV to watch the shows I recorded.  We had some new shows on tonight as compared to the re-runs we’ve been watching since before Christmas.  We still just barely made it 10 o’clock tonight before we were ready for the sleep chamber.  We fought the feeling for a while but eventually succumbed to it.  By 10:30 we were gone.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Our refrigerator quit running last night and this morning I called a repairman to come and look at it.  He couldn’t make it over until 1 PM so we patiently waited for him to arrive.  We assessed our situation this morning to see how much food we would lose if it all defrosted.  We figured that it wouldn’t be earthshaking if we lost everything through defrosting.

We were invited to Terry and JoAnne’s this afternoon for a late lunch which would turn into supper so we gave them a call and let them know that our visit was in limbo for the time being.  We told them that we’d keep them posted on our schedule and the results of the repairman’s analysis.

At 12:30 Mario the repairman and his helper showed up and they seemed to be real nice guys.  He didn’t hesitate a bit, however, in letting me know the bad news.  Our fridge was shot in that all the ammonia had leaked out and that was the reason for the “sudden” death.  It was going to be about $2100.00 to replace it.  So the odyssey continues.  Man, this winter has been so expensive.

Sharon went up to the corner to buy a couple of blocks of ice to keep the “icebox” somewhat cold for the next couple of days.  We just had to make a few minor adjustments to put a block in the freezer and one in the fridge.

We called Terry and JoAnne and told them that we’d still be able to make it this afternoon even if we were going to be a little late.  There was no point in staying home and mulling over our misfortune.

We were over to Outdoor Resorts about 3 o’clock and we stayed until about 7 o’clock before we came home.  We had a very good time with Terry and JoAnne and Dale and Barbara.  The food was great and a fun time was had by all.

After getting home we sat down to watch the TV programs that I had recorded for the night.  Because the programming starts at 5 you either record it or you miss it for the night.  I don’t mind cause at least I can buzz through the commercials while we’re catching our shows.  We stayed up until 11 tonight before we watched everything I recorded.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Today is Taco Wednesday at the VFW and we’ll head over there today when Henry and Arlene pick us up around noon.  By the time we got there and got inside I think we managed to find the last 4 places to sit inside.  The place was crowded and noisy.  Phil and Joyce and Terry and JoAnne were already there and saving 4 seats for us.  They called the 50/50 drawing almost immediately after we got there, but nobody left after the drawing.  The place usually empties out after the drawing. I was drinking beer today for the first time in three years.  I have an occasional drink of liquor but I haven’t had any beer.  It tasted pretty good.  The food was the same old, same old, but good for pretend Mexican.

By the time we got home we had water pouring out the side of the motorhome.  It was coming from the icemaker connection and filling up the motorhome.  Apparently when the repairman came he inadvertently moved the hose up against a hotspot and it melted.  We quickly syphoned the water out of the compartment but it filled up again before we could find the leak.  I had all the water shut off but it was still coming out.  We finally got it under control.

We took off for the pool hoping when we came back we wouldn’t have any MORE water on the floor inside.  We didn’t and that was a good sign.

Sharon gathered up all the wet towels and took off for the laundromat with our dirty clothes and the wet towels.  By the time she got back I was already settled in front of the TV for the night.

Mario, the repairman, stopped by tonight to tell us that the new fridge had arrived and he dropped it off for tomorrow morning.

We had several shows that were original programming for a change.  We hung in there until 11 tonight until we got everything caught up on the DVR and watched.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

We were up early this morning because Mario and Randall were coming this morning to replace the refrigerator.  They were here about 10 to 8 and got to work immediately.  We were up emptying the fridge so they could work on it right away.  They worked on it as soon as they got here and a hour and a half later they were finished and out the door.  We had been without the fridge for literally 24 hours.

By early afternoon we threw out the ice and refilled the fridge after it got cold.

We were off to the pool right on time today and there were several people there already.  Most of the people in the pool were strangers, but our friends showed up after a while.  We stayed for about 2 hours and then came back home.

Sharon whipped up a Chicken and Noodle Alfredo dish for Supper tonight.  It turned out very good.  We also had some Brussel Sprouts that got defrosted in our fridge disaster.  They too were a nice touch to our Dinner.

Were in front of the TV for the rest of the night.  It seems that we will be recording our shows for the rest of the winter.  Primetime TV comes on at 5 PM and ends at 8.  5 o’clock is way too early to start watching TV for the night.  So by taping it we can watch the shows whenever we want to, which is a little later.

We stayed up until 11 tonight before  our bodies went into a tailspin and spiraled back to the bedroom.

Friday, January 9, 2015

We were headed into town and north today to go to the Cottage II Restaurant for Breakfast.  We picked up Henry and Arlene and we would meet Terry and JoAnne there.

After we ordered and just before we got served, Roy and Marianne Parent walked in and joined us.  We had heard about this restaurant several years ago from the Parents.  I think we both frequent this place quite a bit while we’re here in the winter.

When we got home, Sharon announced that she wanted to do some grocery shopping today, so just after lunch we left for Wal-Mart on Ramon and Gene Autry.

Sharon came out of the store in a snit, and explaining how she got that way.  Apparently the valley has a new policy of not providing paper or plastic bags for your merchandise.  So if you don’t have your own bags they just pile it into your cart and send you out.  If it’s a weird idea, you can bet it will start in California, and I’m sure the environmentalists have a hand in this.

I decided to take Sharon to get a Date Shake which would put her in a better mood.  We had heard in the pool the other day that the Windmill Market, on Indian Canyon Road, make the best shakes in the valley.  We’ll be the judge of that.

Actually the shake was quite good but nothing special except that they put malt powder in it so it tasted like a Date malt.

We got home and headed for the pool for about an hour and a half or so.  We were invited over to Henry and Arlene’s for a happy hour today so when we got out of the pool we headed over there.  We stayed til well after dark and it was about 6:30 when we got home.

Sharon whipped up a Patty Melt for me and she reheated the leftover Chicken and Noodle Alfredo for herself.  Patty Melts are one of my favorites so I wasn’t complaining.

Needless to say we were watching taped shows again tonight.  It’s become a regular thing to tape almost everything we intend to watch at night.  We were up until 11 before we decided to end it all.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

We were on our regular schedule this morning as we headed out to Two Springs RV Park for the Buffet Breakfast.  It’s an all-you-can-eat extravaganza for $6.50.  We got there an hour before it was over and the cooks were having a hard time keeping up with the crowd.  I think they got surprised this morning by the sheer numbers of folks wanting to eat.  We were there with 8 people who were from other parks.  We also saw at least three others who were from Catalina, our park.  But they seem real happy to have the transients here, so we’ll just keep coming til they throw us out.

After we came home we sat around for a little while and then Googled where the closest Best Buy was located.  I needed to take my computer to the Geek Squad to have it looked at.  I am unable to get on the Internet from either e-mail or a Browser.  This happened just a couple of days ago and I need that capability to publish my Journal to my website.  We found one in Cathedral City and drove over there to have it looked at.  It took the technician about 2 minutes to fix it and that time included booting it up.  I also had another issue but I opted not to leave the computer to have it fixed.  My immediate needs were taken care of and I was happy.

Me and the Mrs. Looked at TV brackets while we were here.  She has talked about a new TV since we left this year and it was time to do some preliminary measuring.  We managed to find a bracket which I think will work so now we have to measure what size TV will fit in our spot.

We went to the pool after we got home but it was relatively empty when we got there and it never did fill up.  We stayed for a couple of hours anyway.

Sharon whipped up some “Pigs in a Blanket”  for supper tonight.  It’s one of my favorite meals.  She also added a batch of Macaroni and Cheese to have with it.  I can eat that stuff leftover and cold.

As usual we camped out in front of the boob tube tonight and had plenty of stuff to watch including some episodes of Impractical Jokers on TruTV.  We finally gave up the ghost at 10:30.  We didn’t have a reason to stay up any later so we just surrendered.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

The weather this morning looked quite gruesome indeed.  It was overcast and dark and it did not look like a nice day at all.  The temperature was warm for such a crappy looking day.

Sharon was off to church this morning as soon as her feet hit the floor.  She got up a little late and she was intending to go to an early mass this morning.

While she was gone I got about dumping our holding tanks and getting ready for our move tomorrow.  We didn’t have much outside except our chairs and a couple of tables, but I also put those away before I came back inside.  The campground is not far from here “as the crow flies” but using the roads it’s quite a bit further.  It’ll be about 10 miles by the time we get there.  Our final destination will be Cathedral Palms RV Resort in Cathedral City.

After Sharon got home she announced that she had purchased Tamales at the church again this morning.  We checked them out and they were quite a bit bigger than the ones she bought last week.  This week we had Pork Tamales that were very good for lunch.

She got home just as the Packer Playoff game was starting.  We sat and watched it, and moaned and groaned and complained about the Refs all the way through the game.  It was a nail biter but they finally came through in the end.  They get to avenge their loss to the Seahawks in the first game of the year, next week.

After lunch, Sharon took off on a shopping trip to K-Mart in Desert Hot Springs.  She was gone for a couple of hours and didn’t really come back with anything except grocery items.

We had Chicken and Rice for Supper tonight.  Sharon cooks up a dish with Chicken sitting in a bed of Rice that’s been cooked with Cream of Celery soup.  The rice turns out with the consistency of mashed potatoes.  It’s a very good dish and I love it.

We settled for our usual entertainment tonight in front of the magic picture box.  We finished up the night with a couple of episodes of Lockup on MSNBC.  We watched that to take us to 10:30 and the bewitching hour.  Nite, nite sweet prince.