Sadie Hawkins day

Early start to the day, Alan rode out with me to Apache Sun where we played flog/ er/ golf. Odd that one is the reverse of the other. I think they are more like - synonymous. Anyway no money won today, but I did hole out on a par 4, giving me a birdie 3. Hit a wedge from about 90 yards out which was hidden by a pine tree that I carried. Anyway when we got there I thought the ball had rolled off, but couldn't find it. Mickey looked in the cup & announced that he found my ball. Pretty funny! Lunch and then I was off to pool while Marg went shopping. Bought a new bedding set for the motorhome & some clothes & sundry other things. We are both so excited, getting to sleep under a new comforter tonight. Will the joy never end? ;>)) Kind of worried to hear the US weather in the east today. We have friends here who have places in Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas & Missouri where they had the nasty weather. Hope they are all OK. Kenny talked to his son & apparently where they are in Kansas was fine. Supper tonight was a baked potato event in the hall. They get these huge potatoes and bake them in the big ovens then have every imaginable toppping. It's quite a popular event, especially with the vegans. LOL. I have to admit it was good and one potato is all a normal person can handle. Off to poker, it is after all DDay. Managed to donate back some of last weeks winnings. I played for the first hour without winning a hand. Oh well, I'll get them next week.

Tuesday, Feb 28th

The day started out cool & a bit breezy from the rain last night. You really don't want rain here in the desert. The car is covered in dust & after rain it is speckled with mud all over. For those of you who think the life of a snowbird is so great - well into every life a little rain must fall. The day warmed up and it was actually nice and warm around mid-day. Lynette stopped by and asked if we would help with the St Patricks day dinner. She is a nice lady & part of our ice cream crew, so couldn't say no to her. It looks like corned beef & cabbage again. It was great last year so, sort of looking forward to it. What I am not looking forward to is the clean up. Not much action around the park, except for the guy from Winnipeg who lost his sewer tank. I think it split along the seam, at least that was the rumour. I didn't really go by to check it out, although I heard Gary had to go down there with a bunch of lime to put on it. They said it was a sh...y job - hah! Played pool this afternoon & it was good. Bingo tonight & Marg had a half dozen ladies over for a margarita before going. She also had coffee & Baileys and some kind of Mexican milk cake. It was a hen party so I went for a long walk around the park. They all had a good time & I thought if I stayed around they wouldn't have anyone to talk about. Sadly Marg did not win at bingo, a recurring problem around here. By the time most of you read this it will be February 29th - locally known as Sadie Hawkins Day. All you single guys better put on your running shoes. A bit of trivia, but I believe the tradition of women asking men to marry began in Scotland & became established with a decree from Queen Margaret. Kind of a name connection there as Marg was always trying to marry off any of my single friends when we were younger. LOL!

So long Bill & Patti

A nice day in AJ, that's almost poetic. I think it was up to about 80F today. The winds started early in the day and blew harder as the day progressed, no doubt bringing a change of weather. It's supposed to rain tonight & only be in the 60's for a day or two. Got off to an early start and went with Bill & Patti to IHop for breakfast. After breakfast we took them to the airport. It would have been funny if it wasn't true, but I went around the terminal building about 3 times, then stopped for directions. Never let it be said that I am too proud to ask. Hah On the 4th round got to the second level which is the departure level. The really funny part is that I drove right to it when we first arrived, then thought I could get to the other side, alas it was not to be, thus the circling motion. I guess you could say we were in a holding pattern on approach. LOL After all of that I dropped them off right in the same spot we arrived at in the first place. As we left, I told them to wave if we went past them again. Back to the rv park where we did laundry and played pool. Really enjoyed them coming to visit with us, even if it was only for a weekend. Although we have many friends here, nice to see some family. Lots of nice comments from people they met in the park, when we saw them later today. Good news, the repair man came by and replaced the check valve on the hot water tank as well as adjusted the orifice so that it burns steady. He said it was the tightest one he had encountered & had to use a snipe. Nice guy, gave me $20 off the labour because of the people in the park who advised us to call him. Thankfully, Marg mentioned them when she was talking to him. Then he gave me a deal on the valve @ $8.75. Unfortunately he had to add on the service call charge - where is our Corgi man when we need him [Phil??]. In the end it was $130, so did not break the bank & we have reliable hot water. Supper tonight, well it was mainly the leftover finger food from yesterday's cocktail hour. I think Marg through out the last of it, can hardly wait for supper tomorrow. LOL

More than just Sunday

Sunny Sunday, Feb 26th in Apache Junction. Got off to an early start today and went to Mickey D's for breakfast with Bill & Patti. After breakfast we went out to the Santan mall where we stopped in at Total Wine & we bought some much needed supplies - LOL. I got a bottle of a scotch that I had tried over at Gerry Canuels, very reasonable for a single malt and quite good. It's no JW Blue, but it is single malt & we don't want to become whiskey snobs now do we?

A stop at Dicks sports superstore for everyone to check it out and then on to one of Marg's fav's the area around Superstition Springs mall. Patti & Marg scored big in the Ross store, another of Marg's fav's. Stopped at Costco on the way back. Remember when I said I would not go there on weekends anymore, well now I really mean it. Got a bunch of stuff for our happy hour gathering and filled up the Malibu, the tank that is. When we got back we had 3 couples come over to meet Bill & Patti and share in some finger food. That was supper - I guess.

Ice cream social after and we had a unique event. Everyone could have either: a sundae & cake, a bannana split, or a root beer float. We also had live entertainment. The place was a packed house and although it is nice to celebrate a success like this, us scoopers, bannana split makers & cake servers were pretty much bum against the wall. The entertainers were good, a couple of Canucks who did a great job between rock & roll and cowboy songs. The audience seemed to like it, but time will tell.

Oh wait, Bill has scallops on the bbq for a late snack.

Tortilla Flats today

The old stagecoach stop in the Superstition mtns.

Busy day, Feb 25th

Got up to a nice warm sunny day. A challenging morning as we are without water in the motorhome until the repairman gets here. Bill & Patti spent the night in chez Blanke just around the corner from where we are. Got on the road shortly after 9AM and went to IHop, but it was lined up, so had a breakfast sandwich at Wendy's. That was a first, but it was OK, although I wouldn't recommend it for memorable occasions. Stopped at Superstition Harley and Bill got a few things. While they were shopping I looked at bikes. The salesman was really on me like white-on-rice. I think he saw another grey haired, born to be mild in the making. They had a real nice Ultra Glide & a real nice Softail, both at attractive prices. Dodged a bullet there.

Bill was having some trouble getting a bank that would process his debit card, but finally after a phone call back to Canada, a try at Bank of America worked out for him. Marg was having some trouble with our bank account when withdrawing money, but it turned out that she was using the wrong card for the account because she was wearing sunglasses & mistook the U.S. & Canadian cards/accounts.

Took Bill & Patti to the big market in Mesa & they shopped til they dropped. The market was very crowded today and they couldn't believe all the stuff for sale there. Bill made a comment about the number of vendors selling the same thing that he didn't need. LOL They came away with a bag or two, so must have settled on something.

We then drove out to Tortilla Flats where the band was rocking on the patio. We had beer and burgers out in the sun in the shade of the Superstition mountains. It was a good day. They again checked out the souvenier stands. The highway down there was sure busy, it was a perfect day for it. I think it was about 80F when were down in the valley.

Got back in pretty good time, so went out to Glendale & made a stop in at Cabella's. I think they got a couple of things & as usual I got shirts. This time I bought a pair of the zip-off pants as well. I think they will be perfect for those cool mornings at golf that turn hot during the day. Anyway that's what Marg told me to say. Hah! Going out there we went on the 202 right through the heart of Phoenix so Bill & Patti could see it. When we got to the area that is 8 lanes each way & then the 6 lane wide tunnel under downtown he seemed impressed. Traffic was pretty light today, so good timing for it.

On the way back from Cabella's we took the 101 as it goes right through Scottsdale & we wanted to stop at Talking Stick Resort. Had the buffet for supper. It was excellent, as usual. They were impressed that the parking lot was so large that they pick you up or take you down on multi-seat golf carts. Spent some time in the casino there and Bill/Patti at one time were up $450 on a penny machine. They cashed it out and came away about even, so that was good. Marg & I chose to donate tonight. A fun time anyway. Got back to the motorhome at about 11:30PM, a busy for this guy.

What a day

Day started off OK, had a shower and got ready to head out. Shortly after tried the hot water and nothing would come out of the tap. After some investigation decided it had to be something with the hot water tank, so phoned the manufacturer. They advised it was likely the backflow preventer had become stuck and was in need of replacement. Well handy guy that I am, I thought this would be a piece of cake, so proceeded to take off the access panel and disconnect everything. After some messing around, determined that it was the outflow that was not functioning. With the water back on, nothing would come out of it. Got a bit dizzy lying on my back and looking up for so long, that I just left it as is. While all this was going on, Marg had phoned a local service co. that has a mobile rig and will come out to the rv park, good news. Well not really they can't come until Monday, but agreed that this backflow valve was the problem, a simple fix. No water until Monday then. No wait, I can hook up the supply line & turn on the water, the outlet is plugged anyway. Yeh, it worked, just as planned.

Off to the airport to pick up Bill & Patti as they land at 1:30 PM. I was still a bit dizzy, so Marg drove through the heart of Phoenix in heavy traffic and got us right to the cell phone lot in good time. This was fortunate as their flight was early. It seems they almost missed the flight, but that's another story, so the pilot was making up for lost time. After picking them up, we went to Scottsdale to the Sugar Bowl [ice cream parlor/restaraunt] and it was good. The weather was so hot, Bill was pealing off his winter clothing and getting into summer gear as soon as the car stopped. Mid-way through the day, got a call from the rv park manager saying that water was pouring out of our motorhome. It seems that thanks to may leaving the water on, the outlet had become unplugged, and started flowing freely. Arghhhh, what does an aneurism feel like? They did shut it off at the tap, but now no water until Monday.

After lunch it was off to the Arizona Mills outlet mall. This is where the really good deals are. Took them through Nieman Marcus first where they could get a nice sofa - regular price $10,200 for half price or some nice high back chairs at half price - $2,200 each. That wasn't nice, but then made up for it and went to the other name brand outlets where the good deals were. They got their share of bargains as did Marg. Never ceases to amaze me how she always finds the good deals.

By this time it was getting late, so headed back, stopping at Appleby's for supper. Had a nice supper complete with appies. This was right by Walmart, so stopped in there as Bill wanted some vodka for the trailer. They had several different kinds for $6/750 ml and then some nice wine for under $3/bottle.

Finally got them back to the park and settled in at the trailer. A coffee and by then it was getting late, so we called it a night.

Stay tuned as this adventure tale unfolds.

Thursday, Feb 23rd

Surprise, Marg got up and joined me at coffee & donuts this AM. People were amazed, this is almost becoming a regular event and if it continues will no longer be noteworthy. LOL As luck would have it our table was not last, close to it, but not last. They introduce new people in the park and there was a couple from some place way up north; I think it is called Edmonton. Hah! Word has gotten around about the big poker/golf win from yesterday. There was some talk of me buying donuts for everyone in the hall - not. You would think I won the lottery - aw what the heck - eat your hearts out. Word of the scorpion in the mens washroom from yesterday is getting around. Apparently the guy was getting in the shower & it was in there. Not something I would like to see - the guy getting in the shower, that is. That is the second one and we had never seen one before. The park maintenance guy Gary checked out my installation of the surge protector and gave it a pass. He does all the electrical here and said it was very well done. I traded a couple of pocket books with him. It was funny, as another couple came along and asked him what he read. His reply was - same as Dave. If there hasn't been a shooting, stabbing or stagecoach robbery in the first 12 pages, I get rid of it. LOL An early lunch and then I played pool in the inter-park tourney. I drew Luther as a partner & we won one of our three games. I'm not saying the competition were good, but in the first game I never got a shot. Luther made all of our balls, leaving the 8 ball over a pocket. One of the guys from Raindance made all of theirs and sunk the 8 ball before I got a turn. Way out of my league. After we were sitting around when Jerry Binger came for his mail. He stopped in and had a cocktail, then his wife Pat stopped in. Kenny & Doris next door showed up [drink in hand] to see what the noise was, then Norm & Mavis did the same. The park owner stopped in and had a beer. Seems we had some kind of an impromptu happy hour before we knew what was happening. I told the park owner that I came down here to give up alcohol and have been led astray very badly. Not sure if he believed it! Some how I seem to find people with similar attributes where ever I go, perhaps I should.... naw. After everyone left Marg dug out the steak we were going to have for supper & gave it away - geez I have start buying cheaper cuts of meat at this rate. Went to the Village Inn for supper with Kenny & Doris. Had a great rueben followed by rhubarb/strawberry pie with ice cream. They have the best pie & are a really popular place with the snowbirds. Bill & Patti get here just after noon tomorrow, can't wait. Everyone is excited to meet them and I think a bunch are coming for cocktails before ice cream social on Sunday. Stay tuned!

D Day

Wednesday, the day Marg calls - Dave's day, DDay for short. What a nice day, must have been in the high 70's.

Played golf this AM in shorts & wore my golf sandals again. Hard to believe, but they are better than my golf shoes, both for comfort & stability during the swing. Game started off with a bad drive, but the day just kept getting better. Score was Ok, but best of all I won the long putt today & pocketed $15. Almost everyone puts a dollar for each in a pot and the longest putt on hole #4 as well as the closest to the pin on #7 win one of the pots. Best of all, this was my fourth round with the same ball.

When I got back I had lunch with Marg and then played some pool. Quit early and went to help Jerry B with an electrical item on his motorhome. It involved the main plug in & the wire is such heavy guage, it is challenging to work with. Anyway we got it sorted out & it seems good now. What was really funny is some people stopped in to see what we were up to and Jerry said he had his electrical expert working on the problem. At that point I said - you do know what I did for a living when I worked, don't you? To which he just laughed.

Marg went to the swimming pool and hung out with the regulars there. One of these days I should go and see what it's all about. I was in there twice last year, but have not got around to it yet this winter. She was also over at Blanke's looking at their new furniture & I believe socializing in other parts of the park.

A funny thing happened, not sure how but she was talking to a couple of girls after bingo and now I think she has a bunch of them coming over for margarita's before bingo next Tuesday. After talking to 2 of them, she heard from some others that they were planning on coming, so at this point we are not sure how big her following is. Stay tuned for next week.

She did laundry after supper while I went and played poker. To mix things up a bit I took a couple of new games that we played. It's dealer's choice, so the dealer can pretty much deal anything except stook or 21, whatever you want to call it. I dealt some: roll your own & firey cross and the guys thought they were pretty good additions and dealt some of them as well. With only 5 players we got to play anything so I think played almost every game in our repetoire: chase the queen, jacks, chicago, spit in the ocean, change the diaper, deuces, cowboy poker, low hole, etc. We have lots of laughs, although I had more than anyone. I couldn't do anything wrong and came away the big winner.

I know, no pictures on the blog for a while, will try and fix that in the future. ;>))

Tuesday, Feb 21st

The sun shone warmly down on the snowbirds and it was good. Definitely shorts weather today, so I started off with a bike ride and got the old pulse rate up to just below the heart attack level, LOL. Perfect day for a ride. The Cdn/US dollar exchange rate, a big item down here, has been very favourable these last few weeks. When I got back from the tour-d'Apache Junction, Marg was waiting to go to Blanke's park model. They bought a night stand table, you know the some assembly required type & they had a high stress level/low production time with it. I had offered to help assemble it last night & Kenny had left a key to the unit, saying if he wasn't there to start without him. It seems he found the directions less than satisfactory. Anyway they had some running around and by the time they got there, I had it assembled. In the PM, I played some pool with the guys & Marg swam in the pool. Just a pool day - LOL. She said the pool temp was around 90F, so very pleasant. After that she checked the mail and low and behold, the mail slot was over-stuffed. We had a pile of mail about 6 inches high. Earlier last week I had registered a complaint with Canada Post as we were not getting any mail. The last mail was almost a month ago & we had paid $100 for it to be re-directed to AJ. The Americans can't believe we have to pay for that service, as it's no charge here. It's not the paying that bothers me, it's the total lack of service. Anyway a month of bills & bank stuff today, some of which was time sensitive, a concept not well understood by the postal service. Now there is an oxy-moron. Went down to Bingers to swap lies and have a few cocktails. Believe me this is the pro-level of BS'ing. Tried some of that lo-cal beer, not too bad, but a bit low taste as well. Had a nice time with them. After, we threw some shrimps on the bbq and after a nice supper, before going off to bingo. The powerball prize was over $600, so it was all hands on deck to win it. Both Jerry & I went to bingo with the wives, thinking in a Zen moment, we were one with the powerball, the cash was ours. Winners, well there were lots, but not among us. Alas it was not to be, there was 2 hours of our lives we will never get back. ;>))

Presidents Day

Well Family Day to our Canadian roots, a long weekend for both sides of the border. Err that would be a bank holiday, for those of you in the UK. Had an early morning bike ride to get the day started. It started out cooler, just perfect for riding and then really warmed up. After the ride, I spent the morning installing the surge protector on the power connection for the motorhome. We had a couple of instances where the lights in the coach got brighter, then dimmer for a period. Not a bad job, except the wires are so large making it a little challenging. Had lots of supervision & a couple of people asking me whether I contract out, LOL. Got it connected and nothing has burned up, nor did I have a shock-ing experience, rather seems to be working as it should. Mostly it was friends who came to supervise & 2 couples after learning about our trip to the Olive Mill commented on how they would like to have gone with us yesterday. Sounds like another trip there is in our future. After lunch I played some pool & Marg did some shopping. The pool room was pretty much full today and as usual there was lots of banter. Played with Elmer today, he's pretty remarkable. He has parkinsons disease very bad and his hand with the cue shakes so bad that sometimes it's like he is drumming on the table. What is remarkable is that he has come to understand his tremors & that there is a very brief interval between them. It is during this interval that he makes his shot & he is still a very good player. Anyone who sees him for the first time is amazed. After that we had a happy hour at Kenny & Doris' park model on the drive. They are all keen on getting everything done before Bill & Patti get here on Friday. Ron & Mary had brought some of the adult cool-aid for the occasion. On any given day there are usually 2 or 3 such gatherings in the park. As a matter of fact their place is on happy hour lane. After we bbq'd some sausage Marg bought at the pork place yesterday and some steaks. The sausage was very nice, it was prepared in a coil with wood skewers holding it in place & we just put it on the grill that way. It looked great when it was done. We had Kenny & Doris for supper, which turned out great, as usual for anything Marg prepares. A fun evening with friends. BTW almost everyone down here calls it grilling, not bbq'ing. We will definitely be going back to the pork place.

Sunday, Feb 19th

Wow February 19th, our winter break in Az is about 1/2 over. Tonight they were talking about the schedules and when some things wrap up to accomodate people who will be leaving. My how time flies when you are having fun, LOL.

Nice sunny day although the wind in the morning was cool. We decided to go for a drive, pretty much the first one this winter. We went out Ironwood past the golf course to see if we could locate an olive orchard we had heard about. We got lucky and happened on to the Olive Mill in Queen Creek. They grow & harvest olives for the oil, claiming to be the largest producer of extra virgin olive oil in North America. They also have a boutique type restaraunt with all kinds of unique menu items, all of which include olives, naturally. They even had wine tasting today and live music in the patio/orchard area. Marg had a field day and we had a very nice lunch. A real fun experience.

After lunch we went to the Pork Store, just down the road a bit. They had a great assortment of sausage & pork products. Sausage down here leaves a lot to be desired, after the great selection we have in Alberta. Anyway Marg managed to get a few things to fill that gap.

We didn't have time to do either justice as we had to hurry back for a block party on Tequila street, one of the lanes in our RV park. It was a special event to celebrate the arrival of a BC couple, who we didn't think we be back, due to his illness. They had a great turn out with everyone bringing snacks & beverages.

Winding up the day after supper was the ice cream social. We again served and everyone was given the option of cake & ice cream or a root beer float. It was well attended and gave a lot of people an opportunity to visit with others in the park.

Just another great day in AJ, hey that's almost poetic.

Propane problems?

A couple of pictures of the rv that had a propane problem earlier this week. The couple were lucky they weren't sleeping in it. Just a testimonial to never ignore propane problems & the reason I installed a new leak detector this past week.

Saturday, Feb 18th

Early start to the day & went to breakfast in the rec hall. This crew does french toast as their special, so I had bacon, eggs, & french toast. As usual I went to the bachelor table where Gerry & Bob were piling the BS knee deep by the time I got there. A couple of real characters from Ohio & Iowa. You know what they say Iowa stands for - idiots out wandering around. Kind of their equivalent of newfie jokes, I guess. After breakfast we went to the market at Mesa where I exchanged my books. Marg got a few other things, nothing major. The place was packed, as usual on a Saturday. Came back to the rv park for lunch and I washed the car on the driveway & cleaned the bbq. Pretty exciting stuff, eh! Had to put that in for you, that's how they know we are Canucks down here. After pool & laundry we went over to Blanke's and washed the windows on their park model. We've been doing what we can to help them get it ready as they have been so generous with making it available for Bill & Patti to stay in. Free pizza in the rv park for supper tonight. We took a few beers & a cooler with us, can't have pizza without beer. They had way too much ordered and those of us who showed up, but it was good.

Frrrriday

A nice sunny day, started off with a bike ride up to Idaho & back. Marg had a hair appointment that cancelled out because the hair dresser had the flu. It was a new hairdresser, so she just went out and found a salon with an opening and got it done. For those of you who know Marg, you know that anything that deals with hair is a major event in her life. Well you can imagine how going to an unknown hair chop sits with her; something like the first man on the moon - one small step, one giant leap! That combined with her new darker color, I was prepared for the worst, but pleasantly surprised. She seemed quite happy with it. For my part it looks great, but then what do I know? I asked her to put a pic on the blog - do you see one here - LOL. Me - well you guessed it, I played pool. Kenny & Doris took us for supper, mostly for all the work Marg did helping them get their park model all spic & span. Went to TGI Fridays, very fitting don't you think. Anyway the food was great and we got there just prior to the rush. I had a nice wheat beer with dinner & Marg had a glass of wine. Happy birthdayKennedy, hope your day was special. Just for Brennan's benefit, it is 9:00 PM at this writing and we are still up & will be for 2 or 3 hours yet. ;>))

Thursday

Chilly again last night, although the temp did warm up, reaching 70F around mid-day, so a decent day after all. We both got up and went for coffee & donuts this AM in the rec hall. Major shock to everyone, seeing Marg there again, LOL. It was a full house & our table was picked in the middle of the order, a good sign that it would be a good day. After we went out and I got a haircut. Marg thought it was too short, but there is only 10 days difference between a good or bad haircut. It is also one of the things that is not cheaper down here, as there are no senior rates. That would give almost everyone a discount. The snowbird impact creates a strange phenomenon here; all the disabled parking stalls are filled, the power shopping carts are always all taken. After that we stopped at Fry's & they did indeed have Crown Royal at 2 for 1, so picked up 4 bottles. They will come in handy next summer, LOL. Got back in time for lunch and then I went off to play in the inter-park pool tourney. Gerry Lair and I were partners today, the first time we have paired. It was road trip day to Eastgate, the toughest competitor in the league. Our team lost 10-8, but Gerry & I won all 3 of our games, the only pair to do so today. I played with my old cue and it was the right choice. The triple win was uplifting as I seem to have been on a bit of a losing streak of late. Marg made a nice chicken dinner in the slow cooker. She has a small one she keeps in the rv. After dinner the neighbours were at the door to get us to go to the concert. We had a husband & wife team from Saskatchewan who sang & played in the rec hall. He was an excellent guitarist along the lines of Chet Atkins & her voice was fabulous. Previously he had played with a number of famous entertainers including Ian Tyson, one of my favourites. At half time they took requests and unknown to me, Marg asked them to play Ian's song Summer Wages; pretty much my favourite from all of his work. They were funny as well, especially him, a good all over act & the hall was full. The crowd really responded well to them. Almost forgot, he played Wildwood Flower, a song I heard the first time I met Marg & one that still reminds me of that. A great day in Apache Junction.

Wednesday - Feb 15th

Early morning start & Gerry came to golf with the group from the rv park. He comes so often that they think he is from here. It got pretty chilly last night, as the windows were almost frosty. The weather is forecast to max out in the 60's for the next 4 or 5 days. Had to wear long pants golfing this AM & the dew on the fairways was so heavy the worm burners had a rooster tail. We were the first group out again which worked out well as Gerry had to get back to Phoenix & drive his daughter to the airport. The golf game was good, we played with a couple of guys we had previously paired up with. My score was much better today, no snowmen on the card & a max of 7. Tale about success, this was my 4th round with the same ball, life is good. Marg spent the morning helping Doris clean their park model as the remodel is pretty much done. They scrubbed & steamed anything that they could get their hands or equipment on. The place was looking pretty good. When I got back from lunch I installed the new LP gas detector and things are fine now. Had a bit of a problem with the hole size, so Howard made me a piece to modify it. With that motorhome buring up, everyone is really nervous as soon as you mention anything related to propane. Replacing the detector will let us sleep better. Barely made it to pool this afternoon, but played well when I got there. Pretty funny as I played Gerry & he is a much better shot than me, but seems to get psyched out when we play. Pretty funny, but he even started playing some hooks or snookers on me. It's one of those things that you have to be prepared to take as much as you hand out, LOL. Went to pick up Marg at Blanke's and a cocktail hour broke out. Well it started with Kenny asking if I had time for a beer - is the pope catholic? Anyway, Norm & Mavis were at Binger's next door and Marg & Doris came back to find us all in the carport with wobbly pops. Got some good info at cocktails though. Gerry said Fry's have Crown Royal on sale - 2 bottles for the price of 1. Note for tomorrow, must go to Fry's & keep eyes on flyers. Sort of gives new meaning to keep your eyes on your frys. LOL, sometimes I crack myself up. Last year when this happened, Safeway put it on for $9 per bottle to compete, stay tuned. Who wins in a sale on whiskey, same people as in a gas war. ;>)) After supper I played poker. A good night, I think I might have been the big winner tonight. Just one of those nights when you get the cards, I guess. It was mainly the regulars, plus Jack who just got in. He was a regular last year & a pretty good player. It was free pie today at the Village Inn, but we have been to busy to go on any of the 6 Wednesday's we have been here. Oh well, I really don't need it anyway.

St Valentines Day 2012

Talk about dismal days, it rained most of the day & was cool. While we realize the cactus and other things need moisture, we would just as soon it be when we are not here - LOL. Gave my valentine a cupcake, but it does say LOVE on it. She seemed to like it, that's what makes the world go 'round. Thank you Char, Phil, Katy for the lovely card. A day fraught with challenges. The propane detector in the coach was going off after we got up this AM, but it seems only the detector is faulty and in need of replacement. For $75, I'm not going to argue with the service guy. Then the carbon monoxide detector in the coach started going off; it seems it needed new batteries. We were really paranoid after yesterday when the motorhome burned to the ground . That kind of thing kind of wears on the nerves. The service guy said these things have a limited service life and can start acting up anytime after they are over 3 yrs old. That must be the warranty period on them, LOL. Took my valentine out for dinner and that way neither of us had to cook. Besides I had a coupon in the book that gave us a deal. Hey, we're on a fixed income. After supper we hurried back to the park as it was bingo night & the superball prize is at a substantial amount, having not been won since Columbus discovered America, $551, LOL. Gerry & Deb came with his daughter & her husband. The guys played pool, the girls bingo, the only winners came out of the pool hall - Hah. Well not just guys we had the baby with us as well. She was pretty good, although a little fussy as she is not feeling well. They are flying home tomorrow, hope the little one travels well. When things wrapped up, it was back to the rv for coffee & dessert. Boston cream cake or bread pudding - decisions, decisions! Good night all! Happy Valentines Day!

Monday, Feb 13th

Got some very sad news today, but life goes on. Busy day in AJ. Pretty exciting night last night. One of the couples in the park had their motorhome in the storage area and were getting it ready for a trip. They had a propane inspection, turned it on to get the fridge going and it blew up about midnight. There was no one in it, but it pretty much burned to the ground. They had just put new tires on it & that was pretty much all that was left. Oh yeh, it burned up the van parked next to it before the fire dept got to it and put it out. We were alerted to it when the fire trucks came in to the park at midnight. We had to go to Fry's to fill up, beer was on special. $19 for a box of 30 cans of MGD. Bought a valentines cupcake for Marg. No I didn't get her a card; took her to Walmart and let her read them all instead, that way her joy is not limited to just one. LOL After lunch I played a couple of games of pool. Also after lunch a couple from Airdrie had a mechanical problem with their motorhome and had to be loaded on a tow truck. While they were pulling the rv out of it's site with a cable, a motorcycle tried to run over the cable just as they were winding it up. The poor fool on the motorcycle had it flipped over on him. Kind of like a comedy of errors. More excitement than this place sees in a month of Sundays. For supper it was the Italian connection's spaghetti & meatballs in the park rec hall. We enjoyed a nice supper with friends. After supper Doris had made a coconut cream pie, Marg made coffee & we went to their rv for dessert with 3 other couples. We booked our airfares to England tonight, August 13th. Daniel get your bags packed.

Sunday, Feb 12th

A nice day but cooler than the last couple of days, but still in shorts. In the morning we went to the Mesa market & picked up a few things. Last week I went all over around here trying to find a cribbage board without success. At the market, they were everywhere, so picked one up. Marg bought me a fleece with route 66 on it, so that makes 2 jackets I have bought this year already. Starting to figure out why I have so many jackets. LOL Also managed to work in a stop at Harbour Freight, a pretty good tool store. There is an odd phenomenon in this town on Sunday. The restaraunts are filled with seniors all dressed up, most seem to be doing the fellowship thing after church. We went to a couple of places where the lines were too long & ended up at Appleby's where we had the soup & salad special. Back to the park after lunch where Marg did a couple loads of laundry, I played 2 games of pool. BBQ for supper and then off to the ice cream social. Tonight we had the usual sundaes, but tried something new - Rootbeer floats. To make the floats, 2 large scoops of ice cream were put in a large glass that we gave the buyer with and a bottle of A&W rootbeer so they could re-charge it and make it last. They went over well, in fact both Marg & I had one.

Saturday in the Park

Nice day, got really hot, 79F I think. I got up and went for bacon, eggs, pancakes in the rec centre. Sat with the bachelors again, as most of their wives were not back from Vegas yet & Marg well, you know she doesn't do big breakfasts by now. LOL

After lunch went over and negotiated a purchase of ladies roller skates from Elmer. These are in great shape and come in a custom, lined, locking box. Now the challenge is to get them over to England. Later had to run a few errands and stop at the bank as we were running low on cash. The exchange rate has been very good this year.

Went for lunch with Kenny, Doris, Ron & Mary to the chinese buffet. This is getting bad, now buffet for lunch, oh well, I can always sleep it off in my zero gravity chair. When we got back, learned the Trouts had stopped in and left a note, but no phone number. That's a shame as we have not caught up with them yet. I called the number they used last year and it was some rental shop. Either they changed it or are branching out to a new business.

In the afternoon I went and played some pool. Took out my old cue and used it, as I have been struggling with the newer fibreglass one. My old one performed well, so that will be the new game plan for next week or least until I see how well it goes. Marg went and swam in the pool to beat the heat. She said it was gorgeous in the pool and there was only one or two other people in with her. Most of the regulars down here don't venture into the pool until the daytime temp reaches the 90's. Go figure!

Spent some time on the phone & by email with Charlene on plans for this summer. It looks like we will be renting a cottage at the seaside in Wales.

As supper time approached, we still were not hungry, so just had appetizers & cocktails. The same group from lunch, plus one, joined us. Marg introduced Doris to a slush from her Walmart collection, yes came with alcohol in it. Walmart here is very different than home. It was a good social, we shared some laughs and Marg got out the bottle of wine she won yesterday. Ron brought a bottle of chocolate flavoured wine he won at the same raffle. I didn't like the sound of it either, but it was yummy. Marg puts out quite a variety of snacks & everyone protests that she goes to too much trouble, but you know her.

Busy day in the Park

The park wide yard sale was held today & the park was literally over-run with bargain hunters. It was a gorgeous day for it, I think the weather was 79F. Marg made a few purchases, like the coffee maker she bought for Kenny & Doris's park model. I guess we have everything now; so she has started buying things for the neighbours. LOL The real reason is so that Bill & Patti will have a coffee machine when they stay there. She bought: a new coffee carafe, a couple of movies, a couple of doo-dads & knick-knacks. After searching out all the bargains, she went to work in the rec hall at the bake sale. They sold every manner of baked goods, I think Marg donated some squares. Funny, the gal in charge said they were too good to sell by the pan, so split them into smaller bunches. I think she was taking cash, another thing she excels at. The lunch & pie sales at these park sales are a big part of the experience. I went for lunch to the hall & had a sloppy joe & piece of pumpkin pie. I also bought a piece of apple pie for supper. They tried to sell me a piece of shoo-fly pie, but I wasn't in to trying something radically new in pie, when my two favourites were available. There was a raffle as a fund raiser and there were a couple dozen prizes. Last year, Marg won 4 times, but only kept the first one, turning the rest of the tickets back so others would have a chance. Wouldn't you know it, she won 3 times this year & only kept the first one [a bottle of wine], again turning the other 2 winning tickets back to give others a chance. A couple of my pool friends commented on how lucky she was. I agreed that she was very lucky, just look she won me. Their reply was that if it was a lottery, they wanted to know which one so that they wouldn't buy tickets by mistake. LOL The park sold a lot of pies & sloppy joes. I heard that they went through 12 dozen buns & had to get a big order in to complete the lunch hour. I also did my part, I walked around chatting with the people in the park who were selling stuff, ate at the hall & then played pool in the afternoon. After lunch we went for a walk & go to see the owls. This pair of great horned owls have been in the park as long as we have been coming here. They were perched in the tops of the palm trees.

Another gorgeous day

The weather was great today, hot and sunny. Tomorrow is forecast at 79F. Wayne and Martha left today for Laughlin & then Las Vegas to fly home. We sure enjoyed our time with them & hope things work out for their return next winter. When Wayne & I were playing crib yesterday a roadrunner went through the park. They are like big skinny chickens. Wayne was looking around & said he was wondering where Wiley Coyote was. LOL It's been around here for a week or two now, but you don't see it everyday. Most time when you see them, they are too quick to get a good look at. I went to coffee & donuts this AM & sat with the usual group, even though the table has been last for the past couple of weeks. We had a new chant today - we're not last. I was threatening to abandon them and find a luckier group. Bluberry fritter with the coffee. Marg never made it this AM inspite of being up, rather she stayed in with her yogurt. After that, Marg did go over to the rec hall. Her & a group of ladies made up the mixture for the sloppy joes. Tomorrow is the park-wide yard sale. It includes a craft & bake sale in the hall. They also sell the sloppy joes & pie, which are both really popular. They were really worried because the 2 ladies that usually organize it were not able to do much this year, but were pleasantly surprised to learn that Marg had worked on it each of the past 2 years. The association group commented that they need more people like her. Just quietly contribute to making this such a great place to winter. Looks like I will be out of luck for lunch tomorrow unless I have sloppy joes & pie - yeh, that's what I'll do! I played pool in the inter-park tournament today. Mike & I played the 2 top players on the other team & won one of our 3 games. We should have won 2, but I messed up pretty bad on a shot for the 8 ball. Our park only won 5 of the 18 games, because the competition was tough. They only brought 7 players, so all of them played 2 or 3 times, while we had our 12 players [everyone plays here]. We have had this happen with Mountainview before, only their good players show up, makes you wonder what is going on. After supper Marg & I went for a walk around the park. She stopped in at one of the units that have their table out with everything for sale tomorrow, it's a lady & her husband who used to live in Peace River, she went to school with Richard Proulx. Marg bought a coffee maker for Kenny & Doris to put in their park model. Pretty funny because she came out to see who was prowling around & when she saw it was Marg, made the sale. Kenny has offered use of their park model to us for Bill & Patti to stay in when they get here. What we haven't told Bill & Patti is about the old guy next door who is a nudist. LOL!

Wednesday

A great day, nice and warm, 76F I think. Marg went to Payson on the bus with Martha & Deb, a.k.a. the Canuel girls. They had breakfast at the casino and the girls seemed to enjoy the bus ride up through the mountains. They said they left some money up there, so I assume there were no winners among these ladies, but they had fun.

I went to Apache Sun with Wayne & Gerry where we pounded little white balls with a vengence. Gerry scored well, but Wayne & I not quite as good. What am I talking about, I scored as well as usual. I drained a nice putt on the long putt competition hole, only to find out someone behind us got one a foot longer. That putt was the only good thing about a rather dismal hole where I took 2 extra strokes on the beach. The course was great, as usual and the company equally enjoyable. This was my 3rd game with the same ball, that might be a record.

Gerry had to go home and drive his daughter & son-in-law to the airport, so Wayne stayed over and we played crib this afternoon. We looked for a crib board in local stores for over an hour and then finally went and borrowed one. A couple of guys stopped in to have a beer with us while we played. They thought he was from Tennessee, but it was just his rental car plate. For all of you who don't think I can cook; I made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. I'm not bragging when I say they turned some heads. LOL

After the girls got back from the bus trip, we all went over to Gerry & Deb's condo for dinner. It was rush hour when we went and they are right downtown Phoenix. Nice place, it was our first time visiting the place since they bought it. I have not been in that area before & now I know why. The traffic was bumper to bumper on 5 lanes each way, not like rush hour in GP. His new granddaughter was there, she is cute as a button. Nice roast dinner and some wobbly pops. Marg drove home, they have a mandatory week or two in jail for all DUI's.

Tuesday

Happy birthday to a special 9 yr old, Daniel. We hope your day was special and filled with much love. We wish we could have been there to share it with you. Cool & windy this AM. Marg & most others in the park had shorts on, but not me until after lunch. I will wear no shorts before it's time. Stayed close to the park today as we were expecting the Canuel's. I played pool after lunch, same bunch of pirates as yesterday. Had fun and lots of laughs. We met Wayne, Martha, Gerry, Deb for dinner at the #1 Eastern Buffet. It's easily the best chinese buffet around. They had crab legs today & the crabby people had their fill - oops sorry not you Marg. LOL. This was the first time there for Wayne & Martha and they seemed to like it fine. Martha informed us they are coming for 4 - 6 weeks next year and would like a place in this rv park if possible. That would be pretty cool, so we will start looking for something. We will need to be lucky as this place is full most of Jan - Mar. The ladies played bingo, no winners tonight, but apparently they were all close. The guys played pool & pretty much the same story, we were all close - Hah! Early to bed tonight as everyone has an early morning tomorrow. The girls are going on the bus to Payson & the casino. The guys are going golfing in the AM at Apache Sun.

Monday, Feb 6th

Got off to an early bike ride this AM, went for a ride almost double my normal. It crossed my mind that perhaps we should have the paramedics with the crash cart on hand in the park for my return - LOL. Marg did a major cleaning today, can't really call it house cleaning; coach cleaning I guess. I went and helped Almyra put some new wheels on her kitchen chairs. She's one of Marg's friends and is on her own. Sometimes you need a man around, come ladies, admit it! After lunch I played pool. The guys I played with today were a good bunch, but I think their family crest might be a pirate flag. I'm not sure how many times I was on a winning or losing team, but it was fun. For supper tonight, the tenants association provided free hot dogs. Everyone brought a pot luck dish to make it a supper. We normally don't do pot luck, but took a chance tonight. Marg contributed a coleslaw & a nachos & dip thingeee. I took beer, which was the right accompany-ment with my meal. It was a pleasant surprise, really good and we sat with some of our regulars as well as some new people. A funny thing group dynamics in rv parks. On one hand you are always tempted to sit with your group of friends, but on the other hand it's nice to be open to new arrivals. We've gone to places or events where there tend to be established groups & it's hard to fit in. Most of the people in this park are pretty good about making an effort to make new people feel welcome. In fact, the friendly nature or the residents is probably the most common comment of new people After supper we went for a walk with Kenny & Doris to see how the reno's in their park model are coming along. The place is looking pretty good. They have offered us the use of it when Bill & Patti get here on the 24th, which is nice of them.

Sunny Sunday

Got in an early morning bike ride up to Idaho & back. It was windy on top of being up hill both ways today, so I was really puffing when I got back. Road trip after that. Marg & I got off early and went to the outlet stores at Arizona Mills. As usual, I missed the turn from the freeway, but we managed to get there, while the gps unit stayed in the trunk. As we were leaving she said - if Bill & Patti come, she would love this place. I must confess there were some impressive deals. The Nieman Marcus store had a last chance store and in it were some deep discounts on dining room chairs at $2,200 each. Needless to say we could hardly wait to get them wrapped up - NOT! Who shops at NM anyway? All of the other stores were great, though. She got some hot deals in other designer stores, oh yeh she did buy a shirt in NM. Patti, you can count on a trip to Az Mills when you get here. The only complaint I have is that they need more seating in the mall. I always take a pocket book along while she shops & spend most of my time outside the stores, although this time I got a couple of golf shirts. We got back to Carefree in time for the Super Bowl party in the rec hall. I had agreed to help Ron sell the squares for a raffle on the scores. As it turned out Marg won on a 3rd quarter score and some of the guys thought the fix was in. It I'm going to fix a pool, it will be for a lot more that $12.50. LOL! At half time we had ice cream & banana splits, so had a decent crowd in there tonight.

Saturday Feb 4th

Happy birthday Anna. It was nice to be able to talk with you today. We both love you!

An early start to the day. It was our morning to work on the Canadian breakfast crew. We were up and in the kitchen by 7AM. That is a serious commitment for us, who rarely set an alarm. Anyway Marg scrambled a dozen dozen eggs, none of which turned green. That may seem odd to you, but for some reason in this setting, eggs will turn green & then it's hard to get people to eat them. I think it must be the water, LOL. I was back on pancake detail & made a couple hundred of them. The starter batch of batter is an entire bag of the Costco pancake mix. The menu is: bacon, sausage [or links as they call them here], scrambled eggs, pancakes, biscuits & gravy and orange juice. We never had to medi-vac anyone, so assume the food was OK. We all dislike the clean up, but in my case, I have to clean the grill. It's a job & a half, I can get about 18 pancakes going on it at a time, so a big hot cooking surface.

After we went and checked out a couple of park sales. There was one at the next park over as well as a good one at Eastgate. Marg got a few good things, I think.

Onward to Costco, we have never seen it that busy. It was crazy in the parking lot, in the store, at the gas pumps. This will be our last Saturday to go there. We do have 7 days a week that we could do this.

Got back to the park just after lunch time & I played pool while Marg lounged in the pool Nice day for it and the pool was 94F, she said it was just like a bath. Being Saturday, it was not crowded - everyone was probably at Costco!

Just before supper, Binger's stopped in for a cocktail. Sue & Betty were passing by and stopped for one as well & Blanke's just got home in time to join us. It was impromptu, but we had quite a bunch - I think the sound of a popping cork attracts them. LOL

Friday Feb 3rd

After a bike ride, went out to pick up some stuff this AM. First to Walmart, we went to the one on Signal Butte in Mesa, the city tax structure makes things cost less in Mesa than here in AJ & it's not much further. After that we stopped in at Kohls where I got 2 pair of shorts, a jacket & shirt. For those who know how little I wear shorts at home, you probably have a difficult time believing I wear them out down here. Some great deals were had today. Back to the rv for a quick lunch and then I played pool for a couple of hours. Today they were going in. It's funny but some days nothing seems to be working. My reputation here is that I am better at a hook than making a shot however surpirsed them by making some shots today. After pool I traded westerns with Gary, he had a great selection, so we were both happy. Marg went out to the bank and then Bells, one of her favourite places. After out last visit to Wells Fargo they were kind enough to send us more paperwork. That reminds me, the good news is that the Cdn dollar is again above the US dollar. That usually gets me a lot of comments from the guys down here. After that we had to go and do prep work for tomorrows breakfast. It looks like I will be flipping flapjacks and Marg scrambling eggs tomorrow at the veritable crack of dawn. Patrick, our team leader [from Saskatchewan] is attempting to change the name of our team to: Juva & the Canadians. Juva is our honorary Canadian on the team. We will probably serve breakfast to 100 plus people from in the park. A quick bite to eat and out to bingo with the Canuels. We met up with Ron & Sue at Happy Days where a large jackpot was the main attraction. Good bunch of friends to spend an evening with. Lots of laughs, no cash. Well better get to bed early, now where is that alarm clock?

Hello Dolly

Day started off with coffee & donuts in the rec hall. We were in luck this week, second last. The last 2 weeks we have been last. I told the people at the table, I might have to jump ship. Anyway it was good as they still had a few blueberry fritters & I got one. At the end they asked if anyone had anything for the good of all & I said - happy groundhog day everyone, but the groundhog said there will be 6 more weeks of winter, so we will not be leaving for at least 8 weeks in case he was wrong. Got a good laugh anyway.

Went with the Canuels to Canyon Lake & Tortilla Flats. At the marina on Canyon lake we took the Dolly steamboat ride. It's a 1 1/2 hr boat ride up the lake with an interesting narration. The lake is about 12 or 13 miles long and the average depth is 100 ft. We saw a couple of bighorn sheep on the cliffs, a bald eagle and many wonderful sights. At Tortilla flats the girls did some souvenier hunting & sight seeing.

When we got back it was a buffet at Golden Corral. We hadn't been there before, but it was great food with lots of selection. There was a wonderful salad bar & you could even get steak or seafood cooked to order. We'll go back there.

After we came back to Carefree where we played cards for a few hours. Lots of laughs. We played golf and Martha won, then kings down and Wayne won. A great evening.

Wednesday, Feb 1st

After a late night with the Canuels, it was an early morning, I think it was an hour or two after midnight before bed. Marg had to meet up with the ladies to go to Globe at 7:20AM, so she was up and about at 6:30AM. I had to leave for the golf course at 8:00AM, so we both slept fast last night. Marg had a great day at the casino and came back about $160 better off, after her costs of going and what she spent. I played golf with Wayne & Gerry and we had a great day. We were all pretty close in scores: 49, 50, 51. It was such a nice day that I wore the golf sandals from the first tee and they were excellent. No one won money today, although I ran what easily would have been the long putt, through the cup and it stopped about a foot away. Wayne drained a putt from the fringe that would have won as well, but he did not enter the contest for long putt. After golf the boys came back to our park and we played some crib and swapped stories. After Marg got back from her road trip & sharing the good news of her big win we went to the rec hall for hamburgers. They had one of the big burger events, where you pay $3 for a great cheeseburger and chips. A short walk after and I had to play poker. Had a pretty good night, we had two tables tonight, the most players we've had since I've been playing. I about broke even, Gerry Binger & played with the newcomers, 2 of whom are from Ft McMurray. Marg said she had a great time with the 5 ladies she went with and this is going to be a regular monthly event for them, so a fun time I guess. Good to see her getting involved in things she really enjoys.