This was our last Monday of the 2013/2014 winter in Carefree Manor, Apache Junction. Early in the morning we heard from Lucie, her and Norm got an early start and are headed home.
It was a nice sunny day. In the morning I took Marg down to Bells where she was looking for shower curtain hooks, a pillow and some other stuff for our unit. In the meantime I went to the place that did my oil change and tire rotation. When I had the car in at the Chev dealer last month they told me it needed tires and I wanted to see if a rotation would make any difference. Well it did, the thumping used to be background noise and now it is front and center. I started to get very concerned about he potential for a tire failure while the car is being towed behind the m'home, both because of the thumping and the low tread on the two former front tires, so made the decision on what my main souvenir will be this winter. Four new Goodrich tires and the car drives as smooth as ever. Marg finished her shopping and walked over as the tire shop was just across the Apache Trail from where she was.
Then we went down to the unit where I took some of the skirting off the park model. There was some water collecting in the duct and my in-park expert told me it was likely due to the position of the big a/c unit on the patio. It was partially under the park model, so I had to borrow a pry bar from Dale and was able to get it leveled and up to the proper height. Hope that fixes it as it was quite a lot of work. Oh yeh, there were quite a few little black hornets [I think they were] buzzing around while I was doing this, so I got the shop vac and picked them out of the air. Teach them not to mess with me. By then it was time for lunch so we went back to the m'home for nachos. Doris had dropped off a couple of pieces from the apple pie she just baked, so it was a big lunch. Almost felt like nap time after.
After lunch we went to Safeway where they have a coin sorter and if you exchange them for a gift cert there is no charge. I was getting so much change from poker nights. Not sure how much I have, but I previously gave Marg a roll of quarters [$10] for laundry and a roll of dimes [$5] for animal races. Then I have a bunch of rolls in the bag, so I just wanted to be rid of the loose change as the bag was getting so heavy. In any event I got $35 in gift cert. for what I dumped in to it. To get dollar bills they charge a handling fee of 11%, so as we were going to Lowes, took a gift certificate for there. When we got there we got some brackets and an accordion door and were able to use the aforementioned gift cert. We wanted one for the closet in the bathroom rather than the bifold that was previously in there.
Started to install the accordion door and by then it was happy hour [4PM], so left to go to Kenny & Doris' place. They had quite a crowd tonight, it is getting close to the end for them as well. They were going to leave Tuesday, but decided to stay for Clyde's function tomorrow and then for our happy hour on Wednesday, so now are leaving on Thursday. It has become quite a joke between us.
At the end of happy hour, it was getting late, so for dinner we just went to KFC. Bad choice as they had a special on and it was anything but fast food. Chicken fried steak is a big item down here and there was a special on it, so the service was slow. Food was OK, but it left us on a dead run again. Why, well it is poker night and as I can't go on Wednesday, it will be my last game Kind of a sad one as Jerry McCullough won't be back next year and we have had a lot of laughs over the last 3 years. It was another good night at the table for yours truly. The little bag of loose coins is full to the brim again. I never won as much as some nights, in fact I had a long losing streak in the middle, but it worked out favorably, I believe. I say that because I never count it at the end of the night, I just gauge my guess on how full or empty the bag is.
Monday 31 March 2014
Sunday 30 March 2014
Sunday
The day started out overcast, at home I would have thought it a rainy day, but by mid morning here the heat was climbing and it peaked at about 82F.
I went over to the park model this AM to finish the application of sealer on the roof. To do this I had to work off the neighbours driveway. I didn't do it before as I didn't want to risk getting anything on her car. She left yesterday for home with it, so I wanted to get it done while I still had time. I took my bike down and put it in the Az room as I will be leaving it here. Marg put shelf lining in the cupboards and closet & did some tidying up. Marg got another gorgeous house warming gift from Gary & Patti, I think she is posting a picture of it. Norm D showed up with a bag of oranges. Yesterday I had commented on the shortage of oranges this year as you don't see them being sold on every other street corner. They have lots of trees in Viewpoint where he & Lucie are camped, so he picked a bag for us and brought them over.
Really funny today, the neighbours across the street have a pair of dachshunds and while we were talking one took a liking to me and pretty much laid down on my foot. He wouldn't budge, just laid there, the said that had never happened before. Good for a laugh anyway.
Stopped for lunch back at the m'home. After lunch I met with the outgoing and incoming treasurers for the tenants association and did a review of the accounts. They wanted an audit, but I advised them what they were seeking could be accomplished with a review and an audit wasn't warranted for an account this size. Everything was in order and the new treasurer took possession of the books.
Then we went out shopping, Marg was looking for a shower curtain set up and found that and a bunch of other accessories at several stores. By the time we got back I barely had time to go for a brewski at happy hour. There were only half a dozen of us, Marg barely made it as she was doing the vegetables to put on the bbq and came late. A steak on the bbq and we were done.
Tonight was the last ice cream social of the winter season. This was a free event, but you got what you had last week, so I had a banana split and Marg a sundae. Pretty good turn-out, mostly the regulars. For the new people, they just gave them sundaes. There was so much cake that they were encouraging people to take some for later, so we took a couple of pieces.
Had a bit of a complication as Marg was planning to host happy hour on Tuesday, but had forgot about another event that we had agreed to attend that night, so now it will be Wednesday. Just wanted to have people over to the new place. So far the guest list is already at 18 and we are sure some more will show up.
I went over to the park model this AM to finish the application of sealer on the roof. To do this I had to work off the neighbours driveway. I didn't do it before as I didn't want to risk getting anything on her car. She left yesterday for home with it, so I wanted to get it done while I still had time. I took my bike down and put it in the Az room as I will be leaving it here. Marg put shelf lining in the cupboards and closet & did some tidying up. Marg got another gorgeous house warming gift from Gary & Patti, I think she is posting a picture of it. Norm D showed up with a bag of oranges. Yesterday I had commented on the shortage of oranges this year as you don't see them being sold on every other street corner. They have lots of trees in Viewpoint where he & Lucie are camped, so he picked a bag for us and brought them over.
Really funny today, the neighbours across the street have a pair of dachshunds and while we were talking one took a liking to me and pretty much laid down on my foot. He wouldn't budge, just laid there, the said that had never happened before. Good for a laugh anyway.
Stopped for lunch back at the m'home. After lunch I met with the outgoing and incoming treasurers for the tenants association and did a review of the accounts. They wanted an audit, but I advised them what they were seeking could be accomplished with a review and an audit wasn't warranted for an account this size. Everything was in order and the new treasurer took possession of the books.
Then we went out shopping, Marg was looking for a shower curtain set up and found that and a bunch of other accessories at several stores. By the time we got back I barely had time to go for a brewski at happy hour. There were only half a dozen of us, Marg barely made it as she was doing the vegetables to put on the bbq and came late. A steak on the bbq and we were done.
Tonight was the last ice cream social of the winter season. This was a free event, but you got what you had last week, so I had a banana split and Marg a sundae. Pretty good turn-out, mostly the regulars. For the new people, they just gave them sundaes. There was so much cake that they were encouraging people to take some for later, so we took a couple of pieces.
Had a bit of a complication as Marg was planning to host happy hour on Tuesday, but had forgot about another event that we had agreed to attend that night, so now it will be Wednesday. Just wanted to have people over to the new place. So far the guest list is already at 18 and we are sure some more will show up.
Saturday 29 March 2014
Saturday
The days do fly by, almost the end of March. It was a nice day, hot one in fact. I think I saw 89 F on the car temp read out.
I got out early and had breakfast at the rec hall this AM. I had french toast, bacon & eggs. What a great way to start the day. The main topic of conversation seemed to be about who left today or this past week.
Then we went to taking some stuff from the m'home down to the park model. It seems the cupboards are gradually getting filled in the kitchen. I also took the opportunity to re-organize the Az room as it was getting pretty junky. At about 11 Norm & Lucie came by, we had arranged to spend the day with them.
It was off to the Olive Mill at Queen Creek for lunch and a look around.
We had some unique dishes, it's a pretty neat place, although it was a packed house today. It was a perfect day to eat on the patio. There was music and they had wine tasting going on in the garden area.
I got out early and had breakfast at the rec hall this AM. I had french toast, bacon & eggs. What a great way to start the day. The main topic of conversation seemed to be about who left today or this past week.
Then we went to taking some stuff from the m'home down to the park model. It seems the cupboards are gradually getting filled in the kitchen. I also took the opportunity to re-organize the Az room as it was getting pretty junky. At about 11 Norm & Lucie came by, we had arranged to spend the day with them.
It was off to the Olive Mill at Queen Creek for lunch and a look around.
We had some unique dishes, it's a pretty neat place, although it was a packed house today. It was a perfect day to eat on the patio. There was music and they had wine tasting going on in the garden area.
From there we drove cross country trying to see if we could guess our way to the next destination, Total Wine. I could recognize we were close with the location of Williams Field and came out right at the store. It was quite an experience for the Dufresne's with the number of options and they bought quite a few things. We also got some beer and coolers.
After we went to Trader Joes. While we were in shopping, Norm went to a barber shop next door and got a haircut. It was funny to watch Marg & Lucie arguing about who was paying for what, it took me back to the way she & Charlene go on about that kind of thing. Anyway we managed to get out of there with some stuff, I have to assume it worked out as we had 3 bags of groceries. Unfortunately they did not have sauerkraut and the plan was to have Rueben sandwiches for supper back at the rv park. Made a few miles with that round trip today.
We got back and had several wobbly pops. Kenny & Doris stopped in to have a beer with us as they had slept through happy hour and we were doing just that. After Marg prepared the ruebens and a nice coleslaw, followed by a lemon tort with ice cream. Our first meal at the park model.
Friday 28 March 2014
March 28th
Well a nice day in the Valley, in the 80's I think. The Cactus league wrapped up tonight and as usual we never even got to a game. Must do that one year.
Went out for an oil change on the Malibu. Got the oil, filter and a tire rotation for $19.95, now beat that deal, it was great. I think I only had to wait about a half hour and it was done. After I stopped at the hardware and got a few things, like brushes to apply the plastic sealer on the roof.
Got back in time to take a bunch of stuff up to the park model. Then did some odd jobs around there until lunch. The furniture co. called saying they were ahead of time asking if it would be a problem to come early. The only complication this gave us was that we rushed our lunch a bit, but were happy to hear it would be early.
Went back to the unit and the delivery arrived shortly after we got there. A couple of nice young guys and they even assembled the table and chairs, which was included in the delivery charge. It was odd that the store never had much of a clearance center, so Marg having been in the business asked about it. The guy said they have to make good on damages as they are on commission, obviously it works as we were very satisfied. Apparently they get the delivery charges in place of wages. Gave them each a bottle of cold water and a tip and then set to making the bed. She made the bed up with a bed package she bought a few weeks ago, then she had a few tours through, but not as many as usual. Probably a result of the number of people leaving, several cars went out today. The bed is a nice one, a Simmons and can hardly wait to try it out.
Marg worked on the décor and I went up on the roof to apply the plastic sealer. It was a piece of cake, the stuff went on like paint and gave enough drying time that it went on fine. Pretty neat stuff, never seen anything quite like it. Got all the edges and seams done and coated all around the vent stacks on, so fingers crossed we may not have any water leaks in the place. When I got off the roof, my knees and legs were all white from the old oxidized covering on the roof. By the time we were done, Jim & Barb stopped in and we had a beer with them. Nice folks, she is the one who runs the thrash & splash.
After supper we went to the animal races. Lots of kidding around and laughs. I am kind of the biggest supporter of the elephant, who hardly ever wins, so I get much maligned while the betting is taking place.
Frequently I claim to be the spokesman for the Apache Junction Elephant protective society.
Last one of the winter and a pretty good crowd. We made out pretty good as the winners we had paid well. Lots of hooting & hollering for a few cents, the people there gave the organizers applause and were very appreciative of their efforts to make this fun event happen.
Did something different in, someone had the elephant upside down and a cross in front of it, I assume that meant it was dead.
Went out for an oil change on the Malibu. Got the oil, filter and a tire rotation for $19.95, now beat that deal, it was great. I think I only had to wait about a half hour and it was done. After I stopped at the hardware and got a few things, like brushes to apply the plastic sealer on the roof.
Got back in time to take a bunch of stuff up to the park model. Then did some odd jobs around there until lunch. The furniture co. called saying they were ahead of time asking if it would be a problem to come early. The only complication this gave us was that we rushed our lunch a bit, but were happy to hear it would be early.
Went back to the unit and the delivery arrived shortly after we got there. A couple of nice young guys and they even assembled the table and chairs, which was included in the delivery charge. It was odd that the store never had much of a clearance center, so Marg having been in the business asked about it. The guy said they have to make good on damages as they are on commission, obviously it works as we were very satisfied. Apparently they get the delivery charges in place of wages. Gave them each a bottle of cold water and a tip and then set to making the bed. She made the bed up with a bed package she bought a few weeks ago, then she had a few tours through, but not as many as usual. Probably a result of the number of people leaving, several cars went out today. The bed is a nice one, a Simmons and can hardly wait to try it out.
Marg worked on the décor and I went up on the roof to apply the plastic sealer. It was a piece of cake, the stuff went on like paint and gave enough drying time that it went on fine. Pretty neat stuff, never seen anything quite like it. Got all the edges and seams done and coated all around the vent stacks on, so fingers crossed we may not have any water leaks in the place. When I got off the roof, my knees and legs were all white from the old oxidized covering on the roof. By the time we were done, Jim & Barb stopped in and we had a beer with them. Nice folks, she is the one who runs the thrash & splash.
After supper we went to the animal races. Lots of kidding around and laughs. I am kind of the biggest supporter of the elephant, who hardly ever wins, so I get much maligned while the betting is taking place.
Did something different in, someone had the elephant upside down and a cross in front of it, I assume that meant it was dead.
Thursday 27 March 2014
March 27th
A cooler day, but still very nice. The forecast was for it to get cold and by the standard here, I suppose it was, 75F, I believe.
We got off to an earlier start and both went to coffee & donuts this AM. Marg almost seemed like it was a regular thing for her, but the rest of us knew better. LOL Sat with friends, among them Bob who was supposed to leave today. Apparently he had a brake problem when he went in for an oil change yesterday and not having any metric tools had the service station do the rear brakes. I told him he should have come to see me as I had lots of metric tools and have done more than my share of brakes and he could have saved a bunch of money.
After we went down to the unit. Marg took a bunch of things out of the m'home down to use in the new place. In fact she found that we were short of knives and she had to bring a couple back. She also got to lay out some of the new things she has bought. Me, well I worked on a door, did some touch-up paint on the ceiling, then switched to do touch up on the walls. While the wall panel painted fine, it does peel off when scraped, hopefully it will harden up a bit.
Kenny came by to visit and then Doris having just finished thrash & splash stopped by, so they had a beer and a glass of wine. Not certain if she came to collect him or to talk with Marg about plans for dinner.
I also did the silicone around the vanity sink and the tub surround. All the while we had a bit of company. Bud came over and he had made a building inspector badge and gave us our written report. It was well done and we had a good laugh. All the while he has been joking about being the inspector and would give us a written report when the time came. One of the things on the report referred to bribery in the form of a miller beer, so I had to have one with him. By then we were pretty much done and Norm & Lucie showed up. They had a bottle of wine, so the girls had a glass while Norm & I had a beer. Introduced them to Bud and Marg told Lucie he was the one who thought she was our daughter when he saw her the first time, so this earned him a hug from her. Marg put together a snack for them, so we had another beer to wash it down. LOL We had arranged with our group that they may come to dinner with us, but it turned out she had supper in the slow cooker and had to go back to their motorhome.
Kenny stopped by to pick us up and we headed out to dinner. A few of us went out with the Bingers to say good-bye as they are supposed to leave tomorrow morning. Norm & Mavis came as well, so there were 8 of us. We went to Friends of New York and the food was good and the margaritas & beer, well it was still happy hour there, so you know what we each had. Besides neither of us were driving. You just don't drive impaired here as there is a mandatory 14 days in the crowbar hotel. Our new bed and kitchen set being delivered tomorrow and will take some pics when they get set up.
We got off to an earlier start and both went to coffee & donuts this AM. Marg almost seemed like it was a regular thing for her, but the rest of us knew better. LOL Sat with friends, among them Bob who was supposed to leave today. Apparently he had a brake problem when he went in for an oil change yesterday and not having any metric tools had the service station do the rear brakes. I told him he should have come to see me as I had lots of metric tools and have done more than my share of brakes and he could have saved a bunch of money.
After we went down to the unit. Marg took a bunch of things out of the m'home down to use in the new place. In fact she found that we were short of knives and she had to bring a couple back. She also got to lay out some of the new things she has bought. Me, well I worked on a door, did some touch-up paint on the ceiling, then switched to do touch up on the walls. While the wall panel painted fine, it does peel off when scraped, hopefully it will harden up a bit.
Kenny came by to visit and then Doris having just finished thrash & splash stopped by, so they had a beer and a glass of wine. Not certain if she came to collect him or to talk with Marg about plans for dinner.
I also did the silicone around the vanity sink and the tub surround. All the while we had a bit of company. Bud came over and he had made a building inspector badge and gave us our written report. It was well done and we had a good laugh. All the while he has been joking about being the inspector and would give us a written report when the time came. One of the things on the report referred to bribery in the form of a miller beer, so I had to have one with him. By then we were pretty much done and Norm & Lucie showed up. They had a bottle of wine, so the girls had a glass while Norm & I had a beer. Introduced them to Bud and Marg told Lucie he was the one who thought she was our daughter when he saw her the first time, so this earned him a hug from her. Marg put together a snack for them, so we had another beer to wash it down. LOL We had arranged with our group that they may come to dinner with us, but it turned out she had supper in the slow cooker and had to go back to their motorhome.
Kenny stopped by to pick us up and we headed out to dinner. A few of us went out with the Bingers to say good-bye as they are supposed to leave tomorrow morning. Norm & Mavis came as well, so there were 8 of us. We went to Friends of New York and the food was good and the margaritas & beer, well it was still happy hour there, so you know what we each had. Besides neither of us were driving. You just don't drive impaired here as there is a mandatory 14 days in the crowbar hotel. Our new bed and kitchen set being delivered tomorrow and will take some pics when they get set up.
Wednesday 26 March 2014
Wednesday
A busy day in the sun. The temp was nice, but they are calling it a cooling off period. I think we only hit the high 70's today and the wind blew pretty serious at times.
It was golf with the park day, so that meant tee the ball low into the wind. I drove today and Stan and Gary rode with me. Gary is back here for a few days as his work contract had a bit of a lull. The game was OK, but the short game left a lot to be desired. I think I left at least 4 putts short. There were fewer people today and apparently next week about half of them will be gone. Let the exodus begin. Marg worked on the veggie prep and had them and the mini potatoes all ready to go.
When I got back it was in time to put them on the bbq to roast them for the spring lunch. Marg had signed up to provide enough for the 12 people at our table. She had turnip, green beans, carrot, asparagus and mini-onions. It was a big hit. The central dish on the dinner was ham with everyone bringing the rest of the meal. The food was incredible and we over-ate for a mid-day meal. Doris had made pies and we had a healthy slice of pie for desert. We never had any wobbly pop as we planned to go out after lunch and with the amount of food it already felt like nap time.
After we went back to American Home Furnishings to get a bed for the unit. We had pretty much decided which box/mat we wanted, it is a Simmons model. At the store we saw lots of cool stuff, but Marg fell in love with a dinette that is on the small side with 4 chairs, so we signed up for it as well. They are both scheduled for a Friday delivery. Could have bought lots more there, but with 86 cent dollars, we want to wait for next year for some of it. On the way home we stopped at Costco where we got a bed frame [it was $25 less here] and some pillows, mattress pad, and a few other things. Then on the way home we also stopped at the place that sells the carport and accessories for park models and got a few things. The bed frame is so long that we had to drop the back seat so it could pass through the trunk into the car, fortunately an option the car has.
Got back just in time to put a few things away and then went to Bud & Lynette's for happy hour. There were lots of folks there, including Pat & Diane who are leaving for Saskatchewan tomorrow.
Then it was back to the m'home where Marg got the laundry ready and I helped her get it to the laundry room. Four loads as she washed bedding, including some of the new stuff for the park model. Laundry not being my thing, I went and played poker. We had a good turnout and I made a couple of bucks. Here again, some of these folks will not be back as they are leaving before the next game. Supper was a sandwich as we were still full from the huge lunch.
Will get some new pics of on the blog when the furniture arrives.
It was golf with the park day, so that meant tee the ball low into the wind. I drove today and Stan and Gary rode with me. Gary is back here for a few days as his work contract had a bit of a lull. The game was OK, but the short game left a lot to be desired. I think I left at least 4 putts short. There were fewer people today and apparently next week about half of them will be gone. Let the exodus begin. Marg worked on the veggie prep and had them and the mini potatoes all ready to go.
When I got back it was in time to put them on the bbq to roast them for the spring lunch. Marg had signed up to provide enough for the 12 people at our table. She had turnip, green beans, carrot, asparagus and mini-onions. It was a big hit. The central dish on the dinner was ham with everyone bringing the rest of the meal. The food was incredible and we over-ate for a mid-day meal. Doris had made pies and we had a healthy slice of pie for desert. We never had any wobbly pop as we planned to go out after lunch and with the amount of food it already felt like nap time.
After we went back to American Home Furnishings to get a bed for the unit. We had pretty much decided which box/mat we wanted, it is a Simmons model. At the store we saw lots of cool stuff, but Marg fell in love with a dinette that is on the small side with 4 chairs, so we signed up for it as well. They are both scheduled for a Friday delivery. Could have bought lots more there, but with 86 cent dollars, we want to wait for next year for some of it. On the way home we stopped at Costco where we got a bed frame [it was $25 less here] and some pillows, mattress pad, and a few other things. Then on the way home we also stopped at the place that sells the carport and accessories for park models and got a few things. The bed frame is so long that we had to drop the back seat so it could pass through the trunk into the car, fortunately an option the car has.
Got back just in time to put a few things away and then went to Bud & Lynette's for happy hour. There were lots of folks there, including Pat & Diane who are leaving for Saskatchewan tomorrow.
Then it was back to the m'home where Marg got the laundry ready and I helped her get it to the laundry room. Four loads as she washed bedding, including some of the new stuff for the park model. Laundry not being my thing, I went and played poker. We had a good turnout and I made a couple of bucks. Here again, some of these folks will not be back as they are leaving before the next game. Supper was a sandwich as we were still full from the huge lunch.
Will get some new pics of on the blog when the furniture arrives.
Tuesday
What a great day, the temp was hot, but there was a bit of cloud cover and a breeze all day that made it very pleasant.
We went to the unit for the morning where I finished all the trim pieces. Marg finished putting the doors on and did some touch up on the cupboards. Then she cleaned the place, so apparently it is a no shoe zone now. LOL Place is looking pretty good, she even hung the Kokopelli and put out some of her other house warming things. I got most of the garbage left from the job hauled to the dumpster, including the old upright vac. The previous owners had left this for us, but it didn't work so good. Half way to the dumpster, I found someone interested in it, so gave it to him. The ultimate in re-cycling!
We quite fairly early and she went to water aerobics. There was quite a crowd of them this morning. I was kidding around and said there were so many that they waves were coming out of the pool.
Gene had made tee times for the 4 of us as Pat is leaving this week and this would be the last day he could play. We played at Arizona golf resort on Power & Broadway and as the name suggests it is in the middle of a bunch of resort properties, i.e.: houses. This also means a links style course and narrow fairways in places. The greens were small with lots of traps, narrow approaches and few, if any, flat areas; in a word a tough course. My streak of not losing a ball came to an end. I had 3 or 4 pars, but lots of big numbers, the course ate my lunch, as they say. Every one of us managed to put a ball off the course into someone's back yard or front street and I believe everyone had a water ball. The course played at a good pace, I think we were within minutes of 4 hours for the 18 holes. I even had a big old turtle coming towards me, turn and follow me for about 100 yards. It looked like a snapping turtle to me and was probably in the range of 5 or 10 pounds. Nice course, but a bit tough for me and the turtle. LOL
Marg did some running around and got stuff to prepare for the big lunch tomorrow. She also picked up some other things, like: a slow cooker, hand mixer, coffee pot at great rates. I think the hand mixer was under $6 and it was new, so really good. This is what used to be the Easter lunch, but now is called the spring lunch and is one of the wind-up things. Marg is supplying roasted vegetables and potatoes for our table [a dozen, I believe]. The tenants assoc. cooks hams and then the participants supply the accessories. Lots of people leaving, in fact some are gone already and a handful are leaving this week, but they don't live in places as snowbound as we do.
We hurried back home as it was getting a bit late and there was dust storm alert being broadcast for the Phoenix area. You could see a huge cloud of dust on the horizon and the wind was blowing up pretty good, but fortunately it ended within somewhere between 30-60 minutes. I called Marg to get her to put up the awning for the m'home, but she already had that looked after. When I got back to the park, she already had supper on the bbq, so we were able to eat at a decent time and still get to the bingo. It was the last bingo of the winter tonight and had a good crowd. We were close all night and finally I won one game, so we were close to break-even.
We went to the unit for the morning where I finished all the trim pieces. Marg finished putting the doors on and did some touch up on the cupboards. Then she cleaned the place, so apparently it is a no shoe zone now. LOL Place is looking pretty good, she even hung the Kokopelli and put out some of her other house warming things. I got most of the garbage left from the job hauled to the dumpster, including the old upright vac. The previous owners had left this for us, but it didn't work so good. Half way to the dumpster, I found someone interested in it, so gave it to him. The ultimate in re-cycling!
We quite fairly early and she went to water aerobics. There was quite a crowd of them this morning. I was kidding around and said there were so many that they waves were coming out of the pool.
Gene had made tee times for the 4 of us as Pat is leaving this week and this would be the last day he could play. We played at Arizona golf resort on Power & Broadway and as the name suggests it is in the middle of a bunch of resort properties, i.e.: houses. This also means a links style course and narrow fairways in places. The greens were small with lots of traps, narrow approaches and few, if any, flat areas; in a word a tough course. My streak of not losing a ball came to an end. I had 3 or 4 pars, but lots of big numbers, the course ate my lunch, as they say. Every one of us managed to put a ball off the course into someone's back yard or front street and I believe everyone had a water ball. The course played at a good pace, I think we were within minutes of 4 hours for the 18 holes. I even had a big old turtle coming towards me, turn and follow me for about 100 yards. It looked like a snapping turtle to me and was probably in the range of 5 or 10 pounds. Nice course, but a bit tough for me and the turtle. LOL
Marg did some running around and got stuff to prepare for the big lunch tomorrow. She also picked up some other things, like: a slow cooker, hand mixer, coffee pot at great rates. I think the hand mixer was under $6 and it was new, so really good. This is what used to be the Easter lunch, but now is called the spring lunch and is one of the wind-up things. Marg is supplying roasted vegetables and potatoes for our table [a dozen, I believe]. The tenants assoc. cooks hams and then the participants supply the accessories. Lots of people leaving, in fact some are gone already and a handful are leaving this week, but they don't live in places as snowbound as we do.
We hurried back home as it was getting a bit late and there was dust storm alert being broadcast for the Phoenix area. You could see a huge cloud of dust on the horizon and the wind was blowing up pretty good, but fortunately it ended within somewhere between 30-60 minutes. I called Marg to get her to put up the awning for the m'home, but she already had that looked after. When I got back to the park, she already had supper on the bbq, so we were able to eat at a decent time and still get to the bingo. It was the last bingo of the winter tonight and had a good crowd. We were close all night and finally I won one game, so we were close to break-even.
Monday 24 March 2014
Monday, March 24th
It was hot today, 91F, really an issue when the car had sat in the sun for a while and we all climbed in. Definitely needed the a/c to get it useable.
Spent part of the morning returning tools to some of the people in the park. I am finished with most of them now with just a few pieces of trim left to do. Then we went to get the car washed in & out. They do a great job at the cobblestone car wash for a reasonable price and we sure needed it. Then we made our way to Costco, needed gas and wanted to look at their beds and some other stuff.
By the time we finished it was time to go pick up Norm & Lucie. We had arranged to spend the afternoon with them and that we would drive. Took them to old Scottsdale where we went through some shops and had lunch on the 2nd floor patio. It was a restaurant we had previously eaten at and where we had a good experience. Then it was on to the Arizona Mills outlet center. Norm & I found a great place to have a beer while Marg & Lucie shopped. They both came away with bags of stuff and a commitment to go back without us guys. LOL This is the big outlet mall that is about a mile if you walk around the outside of the complex, so it has lots of options on what you can look at.
Got back in time for a beer at their rv site. They are in a very nice rv park, it has something like 3,000 sites, so has a population about the size of the town of Peace River. There is a 9 hole and an 18 hole golf course, several pools, 2 rec centers and just about everything you can imagine. The rent is $1,300/month, as befits a park of this caliber and is a tad more than we pay in Carefree Manor. in fact 2 months there is our annual rent here. They have restrictions on quality of rv's they let in or park models they allow, pretty much a picture book place.
After we got back to the rv, it was quick dinner and then off to poker for me. I did well with that. Marg went up to the unit after supper and put the kitchen cupboard doors back on and did some general clean-up.
Spent part of the morning returning tools to some of the people in the park. I am finished with most of them now with just a few pieces of trim left to do. Then we went to get the car washed in & out. They do a great job at the cobblestone car wash for a reasonable price and we sure needed it. Then we made our way to Costco, needed gas and wanted to look at their beds and some other stuff.
Got back in time for a beer at their rv site. They are in a very nice rv park, it has something like 3,000 sites, so has a population about the size of the town of Peace River. There is a 9 hole and an 18 hole golf course, several pools, 2 rec centers and just about everything you can imagine. The rent is $1,300/month, as befits a park of this caliber and is a tad more than we pay in Carefree Manor. in fact 2 months there is our annual rent here. They have restrictions on quality of rv's they let in or park models they allow, pretty much a picture book place.
After we got back to the rv, it was quick dinner and then off to poker for me. I did well with that. Marg went up to the unit after supper and put the kitchen cupboard doors back on and did some general clean-up.
Sunday 23 March 2014
March 23rd
Where do the days go, we are only 2 weeks away from our scheduled departure date. We are probably leaving here on the 5th or 6th of April. That is the common theme of most conversations around here now, with some having left already and quite a few going next week.
We got off to an early start, went out looking for a bed and some furniture. Went to several places: Ashley, Room Store, American Furniture Warehouse & some others I don't recall. The American Furniture Warehouse is probably the largest furniture store I have ever been in and the selection pretty incredible. We never settled on any one item, but certainly got lots of ideas. We really need to get a bed so we have some place to sleep when we get here next year, but we are not about to be stampeded into a decision we may regret as we have the bed that was in the place sitting in our Az room.
Marg spotted a place we have never been, called Easy Over, so we went there for breakfast/lunch. The place was packed and the food was very good, we opted for breakfast type dishes. She had the eggs benedict, while I had blueberry pancakes. We will have to go back there again.
Stopped in at Lowes on the way back and on an off chance, Marg asked the salesman if they had any of our flooring in stock and they did. Lucky break for us, so we picked it and some other stuff up. Then it was back on the tools, where Marg refinished the kitchen cabinets. There was a problem with adhesion on the first paint job, so she re-did it. Lots of extra work, but if she gets a better result it will be worth it. I finished the flooring, except for a few trim pieces. The major parts of the job are winding down, but we still have lots left to do before we leave for home, so will be busy. Really busy because I have 2 golf days next week.
We stopped in time for happy hour at the Blanke's, life is not all work and no play after all. Had a couple and then rushed back to the m'home where Marg had a steak out that I put on the bbq. She also had some baked potatoes, veg and stuff like that. Good thing too as we never had very much time for supper. It was ice cream social tonight at 6:30 so we went, I had a banana split, while she had a sundae with a piece of cake. There was music [recorded] tonight, a nice change.
Was it warm today, I should say so. The high number I saw on the car temp read-out was 87F/31C, so we had to run the A/C,, especially when we first got in the car. Surprisingly it gets warm in the carport, but is quite pleasant. Our unit is also quite cool, in fact most people comment on how pleasant it is even without the A/C unit operating.
We got off to an early start, went out looking for a bed and some furniture. Went to several places: Ashley, Room Store, American Furniture Warehouse & some others I don't recall. The American Furniture Warehouse is probably the largest furniture store I have ever been in and the selection pretty incredible. We never settled on any one item, but certainly got lots of ideas. We really need to get a bed so we have some place to sleep when we get here next year, but we are not about to be stampeded into a decision we may regret as we have the bed that was in the place sitting in our Az room.
Marg spotted a place we have never been, called Easy Over, so we went there for breakfast/lunch. The place was packed and the food was very good, we opted for breakfast type dishes. She had the eggs benedict, while I had blueberry pancakes. We will have to go back there again.
Stopped in at Lowes on the way back and on an off chance, Marg asked the salesman if they had any of our flooring in stock and they did. Lucky break for us, so we picked it and some other stuff up. Then it was back on the tools, where Marg refinished the kitchen cabinets. There was a problem with adhesion on the first paint job, so she re-did it. Lots of extra work, but if she gets a better result it will be worth it. I finished the flooring, except for a few trim pieces. The major parts of the job are winding down, but we still have lots left to do before we leave for home, so will be busy. Really busy because I have 2 golf days next week.
We stopped in time for happy hour at the Blanke's, life is not all work and no play after all. Had a couple and then rushed back to the m'home where Marg had a steak out that I put on the bbq. She also had some baked potatoes, veg and stuff like that. Good thing too as we never had very much time for supper. It was ice cream social tonight at 6:30 so we went, I had a banana split, while she had a sundae with a piece of cake. There was music [recorded] tonight, a nice change.
Was it warm today, I should say so. The high number I saw on the car temp read-out was 87F/31C, so we had to run the A/C,, especially when we first got in the car. Surprisingly it gets warm in the carport, but is quite pleasant. Our unit is also quite cool, in fact most people comment on how pleasant it is even without the A/C unit operating.
Saturday 22 March 2014
March 22nd
Oops, no post yesterday. Got too busy and then as I sat at the computer last night, I fell asleep sitting with my hands on the keyboard. Busy day, I guess so!
Friday
We got up and went to the unit. Marg washed the cupboards, then all the dishes she has been gathering at various sales and put them in the clean cupboards. She is already getting quite a collection, but her prize find is the silverware set she bought. It's silver from Rogers and there are lots of pieces to it, including a chest. She thinks she hit a home run on this one, we'll see.
I worked on the trim pieces and a bit of flooring. We discovered a problem with the filter for the A/C unit, so I spent some time dealing with the water in the return air. It seems to have been there since the big rain storm. Got Gary to look at it and he thinks we need to re-position the big A/C unit at the rear of the park model, so another project on the list. Had a shower in the unit and then went back to the m'home to change.
By then it was time to start preparations for the block party. Each street has hosted one and our new street [Happy Hour lane] is the last one of the year. We had lots of participation from some of the people on our street that normally don't get out to these things, so that is great. Marg bbq'd some sausage [we finally found some good stuff here] and then put it in the slow cooker to keep it hot, then made up a tray of 2 kinds of pickles and olives. Me I went and hauled tables to Kenny's place with some other guys. We had large tables from the hall in the carport so the food would be out of the sun. It was a big success with 98 park residents coming out to have a few wobbly pops and a bite to eat. Well more than a bite really, I don't think anyone needed supper after this event.
Linda stopped by and gave us a gorgeous Kokopelli for the new unit. I think that is about #5. Earlier Doris gave Marg a lamp that heats a candle or is scented anyway. Susan gave Marg a little bobbing flower, Sue gave her place mats, Mavis a table runner. Not sure what else.
Then I went to help Pat & Diane do the prep work for the morning breakfast crew. This is mainly putting bacon on the huge trays so they can be cooked in the big convection oven, getting the big coffee urns ready, stuff like that. Marg went down to Blanke's and helped with setting up the food, it's a bring something to share kind of affair. There was so much food, in fact I was one of the last 2 or 3 people and there was still an incredible amount. This was followed by a clean-up effort.
Being Friday it was the animal races at 7, so off we went. Marg won 4 of the 6 races, so did pretty well and was doing the happy dance lots. I won 2 races, so was the recipient of lots of jabs from the winners. That darn elephant is going to be the death of me. I was betting it all night long [I usually pick 3 animals] and it disappointed me. On the last race I was so convinced it was overdue for a win that I put all 3 picks on the elephant and got others convinced that the elephant lovers of Apache Junction were in for a big payday. Gary put 2 bets on it, Kenny 3 and so on. Now they are blaming me because their grandchildren won't be able to afford college. Win or lose, it's lots of fun.
Saturday
Breakfast for 60 odd people. Yes it was our turn in the kitchen this morning. Marg doesn't mind any of it except the getting out of bed in the early hours. She did the scrambled eggs and they were great, well there was a small amount of green eggs. Not sure what causes it here, we never have eggs go green at home, but here if they sit in the crock pot very long, well you know. I did pancakes as usual. My formula for light pancakes with a bit of sugar and vanilla seems a winner. The others do stuff like bacon, sausages, biscuits & gravy. We changed the way we cook sausage, we boil them now like we do at home and they are much better.
After clean up & that takes about an hour. Why well you have to be there. Take for instance that huge restaurant size grill I have to clean. Anyway it was back to the unit after where I installed the balance of the flooring. Does that mean we are done, well no. Need to go order another box of laminate. Got the trip pieces installed around the base. Marg stripped the paint off the lower cabinets and primed them. As well she primed the cabinets beside the table. We were going to leave them in the wood, but it clashes too much with the floor color, so more painting. The lower cabinets did not take the combination primer/paint well, so she is priming them and will paint after to see if she can't get a better result. All the while she conducted tours, probably only had about 10 today.
Kenny & Doris stopped by near the end of the day, so we had a beer with them. Then another and Bingers topped by, so had one with them. Fortunately Marg had the fridge full of beer and a bottle of wine that she was able to open. That combined with the newly washed wine glasses made for a bit of a happy hour gathering.
After we went with Kenny & Doris to the Driftwater café. It was our first time there [although every time we drive by we always state our intentions to check it out] and we enjoyed it. We had the chicken fried steak. That's a big item down here, very popular and was very good at this place. We sat in the back [which is smoking] where there was an entertainer, oh yes, they had beer there too. He sang all country songs, but was very good. A very pleasant evening, with the guys riding in the back seats and women in the front seats, Marg really is a good driver. LOL
Friday
We got up and went to the unit. Marg washed the cupboards, then all the dishes she has been gathering at various sales and put them in the clean cupboards. She is already getting quite a collection, but her prize find is the silverware set she bought. It's silver from Rogers and there are lots of pieces to it, including a chest. She thinks she hit a home run on this one, we'll see.
I worked on the trim pieces and a bit of flooring. We discovered a problem with the filter for the A/C unit, so I spent some time dealing with the water in the return air. It seems to have been there since the big rain storm. Got Gary to look at it and he thinks we need to re-position the big A/C unit at the rear of the park model, so another project on the list. Had a shower in the unit and then went back to the m'home to change.
By then it was time to start preparations for the block party. Each street has hosted one and our new street [Happy Hour lane] is the last one of the year. We had lots of participation from some of the people on our street that normally don't get out to these things, so that is great. Marg bbq'd some sausage [we finally found some good stuff here] and then put it in the slow cooker to keep it hot, then made up a tray of 2 kinds of pickles and olives. Me I went and hauled tables to Kenny's place with some other guys. We had large tables from the hall in the carport so the food would be out of the sun. It was a big success with 98 park residents coming out to have a few wobbly pops and a bite to eat. Well more than a bite really, I don't think anyone needed supper after this event.
Linda stopped by and gave us a gorgeous Kokopelli for the new unit. I think that is about #5. Earlier Doris gave Marg a lamp that heats a candle or is scented anyway. Susan gave Marg a little bobbing flower, Sue gave her place mats, Mavis a table runner. Not sure what else.
Then I went to help Pat & Diane do the prep work for the morning breakfast crew. This is mainly putting bacon on the huge trays so they can be cooked in the big convection oven, getting the big coffee urns ready, stuff like that. Marg went down to Blanke's and helped with setting up the food, it's a bring something to share kind of affair. There was so much food, in fact I was one of the last 2 or 3 people and there was still an incredible amount. This was followed by a clean-up effort.
Being Friday it was the animal races at 7, so off we went. Marg won 4 of the 6 races, so did pretty well and was doing the happy dance lots. I won 2 races, so was the recipient of lots of jabs from the winners. That darn elephant is going to be the death of me. I was betting it all night long [I usually pick 3 animals] and it disappointed me. On the last race I was so convinced it was overdue for a win that I put all 3 picks on the elephant and got others convinced that the elephant lovers of Apache Junction were in for a big payday. Gary put 2 bets on it, Kenny 3 and so on. Now they are blaming me because their grandchildren won't be able to afford college. Win or lose, it's lots of fun.
Saturday
Breakfast for 60 odd people. Yes it was our turn in the kitchen this morning. Marg doesn't mind any of it except the getting out of bed in the early hours. She did the scrambled eggs and they were great, well there was a small amount of green eggs. Not sure what causes it here, we never have eggs go green at home, but here if they sit in the crock pot very long, well you know. I did pancakes as usual. My formula for light pancakes with a bit of sugar and vanilla seems a winner. The others do stuff like bacon, sausages, biscuits & gravy. We changed the way we cook sausage, we boil them now like we do at home and they are much better.
After clean up & that takes about an hour. Why well you have to be there. Take for instance that huge restaurant size grill I have to clean. Anyway it was back to the unit after where I installed the balance of the flooring. Does that mean we are done, well no. Need to go order another box of laminate. Got the trip pieces installed around the base. Marg stripped the paint off the lower cabinets and primed them. As well she primed the cabinets beside the table. We were going to leave them in the wood, but it clashes too much with the floor color, so more painting. The lower cabinets did not take the combination primer/paint well, so she is priming them and will paint after to see if she can't get a better result. All the while she conducted tours, probably only had about 10 today.
Kenny & Doris stopped by near the end of the day, so we had a beer with them. Then another and Bingers topped by, so had one with them. Fortunately Marg had the fridge full of beer and a bottle of wine that she was able to open. That combined with the newly washed wine glasses made for a bit of a happy hour gathering.
After we went with Kenny & Doris to the Driftwater café. It was our first time there [although every time we drive by we always state our intentions to check it out] and we enjoyed it. We had the chicken fried steak. That's a big item down here, very popular and was very good at this place. We sat in the back [which is smoking] where there was an entertainer, oh yes, they had beer there too. He sang all country songs, but was very good. A very pleasant evening, with the guys riding in the back seats and women in the front seats, Marg really is a good driver. LOL
Thursday 20 March 2014
First day of spring
Didn't feel like the first day of spring here, rather it felt like the first day of summer. Sitting here at 8:30 PM with the doors and windows open.
I went to coffee and donuts this morning, the gathering was quite a bit smaller. Gene told me he has Tee times for Tuesday, so that will make twice next week. Pat & Diane are leaving and that is always a reason for one last round. It's also the reason we are doing breakfast Saturday, so our crew won't be left short handed. They found a new treasurer for the tenants association, the current one and his wife sold their place and are not planning to return. They had asked me if I would consider it, being an annual renter, we are now eligible to hold office in the assoc. I got away with agreeing to review the books and accounts before they are turned over to the new treasurer.
Then I stopped over to look at a new park model being moved on site. It drew quite a crowd, the guys all over the place and the gals all set up on the driveway across the street with coffee & donuts. It is the kind of thing that passes for entertainment around here. The couple who bought it have a Murphy bed in their Az room, it's very cool and something we need to think about.
Went out to get a few trip pieces and some plumbing pieces to connect the drain line. While we were at Lowe's stopped in at the flooring dep't and sure enough our flooring had arrived yesterday, so we took it home as well. Then it was back to the park and back on the tools. Got the sink drain connected, there is a new [to me] process and the ABS pipe has to be primed before the sealant is applied. It's a nice purple liquid that stains everything it touches. I wonder what rocket scientist thought that up. Let's make something that everyone needs that will ruin anything it comes into contact with. Fortunately the only purple thing we have is one of my hands. After that I got some of the trim pieces on the bathroom floor and then moved on to the bedroom floor. Got the pieces in place on the door side, but ran in to a bit of a challenge on the closet side. Had to put a bit more floor leveler down, so that ended the job. About midway through the afternoon Bud came by for an inspection, we kind of joke around about him being the building inspector and stopped to have a beer with him.
Went over to Bud & Lynette's for happy hour as the Johnsons left at 6:30 this AM. A funny thing, many of these retired people still think they need an early start, need to make miles. Me on the other hand when I travel, I'm a little more casual. Most of the usual people were there and we got updates on Linda' surgery and Karen's heart attack. Part of the problem with the age of people in retirement areas, there frequently seems to be something medical going on with someone. Enjoy yourself while you have your health is the message I take from this.
Then it was time to go for dinner. Tonight we went out with Kenny & Doris, his daughter Heidi was here for a week and is leaving in the morning. Bingers joined us as well, so we were 7. It was Los Gringos Locos again, so we both had the tostados and a burrito, the food is pretty good there, but the quantities are huge. After we got back Marg did laundry, it seems we were almost out of the bare necessities. LOL
I went to coffee and donuts this morning, the gathering was quite a bit smaller. Gene told me he has Tee times for Tuesday, so that will make twice next week. Pat & Diane are leaving and that is always a reason for one last round. It's also the reason we are doing breakfast Saturday, so our crew won't be left short handed. They found a new treasurer for the tenants association, the current one and his wife sold their place and are not planning to return. They had asked me if I would consider it, being an annual renter, we are now eligible to hold office in the assoc. I got away with agreeing to review the books and accounts before they are turned over to the new treasurer.
Then I stopped over to look at a new park model being moved on site. It drew quite a crowd, the guys all over the place and the gals all set up on the driveway across the street with coffee & donuts. It is the kind of thing that passes for entertainment around here. The couple who bought it have a Murphy bed in their Az room, it's very cool and something we need to think about.
Went out to get a few trip pieces and some plumbing pieces to connect the drain line. While we were at Lowe's stopped in at the flooring dep't and sure enough our flooring had arrived yesterday, so we took it home as well. Then it was back to the park and back on the tools. Got the sink drain connected, there is a new [to me] process and the ABS pipe has to be primed before the sealant is applied. It's a nice purple liquid that stains everything it touches. I wonder what rocket scientist thought that up. Let's make something that everyone needs that will ruin anything it comes into contact with. Fortunately the only purple thing we have is one of my hands. After that I got some of the trim pieces on the bathroom floor and then moved on to the bedroom floor. Got the pieces in place on the door side, but ran in to a bit of a challenge on the closet side. Had to put a bit more floor leveler down, so that ended the job. About midway through the afternoon Bud came by for an inspection, we kind of joke around about him being the building inspector and stopped to have a beer with him.
Went over to Bud & Lynette's for happy hour as the Johnsons left at 6:30 this AM. A funny thing, many of these retired people still think they need an early start, need to make miles. Me on the other hand when I travel, I'm a little more casual. Most of the usual people were there and we got updates on Linda' surgery and Karen's heart attack. Part of the problem with the age of people in retirement areas, there frequently seems to be something medical going on with someone. Enjoy yourself while you have your health is the message I take from this.
Then it was time to go for dinner. Tonight we went out with Kenny & Doris, his daughter Heidi was here for a week and is leaving in the morning. Bingers joined us as well, so we were 7. It was Los Gringos Locos again, so we both had the tostados and a burrito, the food is pretty good there, but the quantities are huge. After we got back Marg did laundry, it seems we were almost out of the bare necessities. LOL
Wednesday 19 March 2014
March 19th
Happy birthday Marg, you are so special and we all love you!
I went golfing this AM and rode with Stan as Marg took the car. We had a great day for golf, the weather warmed with each hole until it was downright hot out there. Started out with 2 pars but knew that couldn't continue. On the 2nd hole a par 4, my drive rolled on to the green and fell off the right hand side. Probably the best drive I have hit, thought I heard a bird chirping, but it was not to be. The wheels fell off on the 3rd hole where I took a 7 and then settled down. Finished up with a 45, that's pretty darn good for me.
Marg went with Lynette [one of the gamblin' gals] to Ft McDowell and they had a fun day. They had a great time and Lynette really needed the break, her life is full of stress since Bud was diagnosed. Not only did they have fun, but Marg had a big win of $300 at the end, so that really polished off the trip. I joked with Nancy, that we would probably have to go out in the desert looking for the gals as the leader [her] was missing from the trip. They don't drive the freeway, rather take the back road down the Bush highway. Not sure if it is shorter, but there is less traffic, even if it is through a remote country bush area.
I spent the afternoon in the unit. I got the vanity and sink installed as well as the toilet. They call the toilet the 'stool' down here. Not sure where that comes from, but they don't use terms I am familiar with like 'shitter'! I ran pex lines to the sink and put shut-off valves on the lines. The previous sink never had these and they had jury-rigged the water lines to connect right to the taps. I put all new hardware on the sink and left the old one by the dumpster bin, that's where stuff goes to be re-cycled around here. Will see if it was snapped up tomorrow morning. I had two huge cardboard boxes after I was done, so drug them down the road to the bin. Must have looked kind of funny this old guy dragging the two big cartons down the road, something like street people do; only they do it so they can sleep in them.
By then Marg got home and we stopped in at Bud & Lynette's for a moment. Their daughter had bought pizza as a thank you and they invited everyone who helped them over for some. Larry & Nancy were there and they are leaving for home in S Dakota tomorrow AM, so we said farewell to them. There were 15 to 20 people there.
Then we had to rush off to Bob & Karen's. They are leaving at the end of the month to go back to Ohio and wanted to have a farewell event. They had sent around invitations to a week or so ago, which we had accepted, so had to keep the commitment. Marg had a salad and some cream puffs she took over there. Bob had deep fried bologna as well as some fish and with the stuff people brought it was a veritable feast. They had about 40 people invited and took the opportunity to give Marg a card signed by everyone there and then they sang happy birthday to her. Quite a few of the gals were from the thrash & splash group.
She got lots of hugs and well wishes, I think they like her best; although I'm onside with that. They had a key ring in her card, she is using for her keys to the park model.
When walking back to our m'home we passed by the rec hall where the guys were playing poker and typical Marg she insisted I go back and play after my big win last week. So I went back and donated tonight. I don't think it was a great deal, but I am pretty certain I lost. It was brought home when Jerry M insisted I cut the cards, which I never do unless I am losing - to which he said - looking at your pile of coins, you are definitely losing tonight. Got lots of laughs anyway!
Stuff is really starting to pile up with us, lots of last minute stuff, lots of commitments - well you know what they say -- nothing makes you more productive than the last minute! Still got lots of stuff to do, like: oil changes, hair cuts, pedicures, etc. Can you guess which are mine & which are Marg's?
I went golfing this AM and rode with Stan as Marg took the car. We had a great day for golf, the weather warmed with each hole until it was downright hot out there. Started out with 2 pars but knew that couldn't continue. On the 2nd hole a par 4, my drive rolled on to the green and fell off the right hand side. Probably the best drive I have hit, thought I heard a bird chirping, but it was not to be. The wheels fell off on the 3rd hole where I took a 7 and then settled down. Finished up with a 45, that's pretty darn good for me.
Marg went with Lynette [one of the gamblin' gals] to Ft McDowell and they had a fun day. They had a great time and Lynette really needed the break, her life is full of stress since Bud was diagnosed. Not only did they have fun, but Marg had a big win of $300 at the end, so that really polished off the trip. I joked with Nancy, that we would probably have to go out in the desert looking for the gals as the leader [her] was missing from the trip. They don't drive the freeway, rather take the back road down the Bush highway. Not sure if it is shorter, but there is less traffic, even if it is through a remote country bush area.
I spent the afternoon in the unit. I got the vanity and sink installed as well as the toilet. They call the toilet the 'stool' down here. Not sure where that comes from, but they don't use terms I am familiar with like 'shitter'! I ran pex lines to the sink and put shut-off valves on the lines. The previous sink never had these and they had jury-rigged the water lines to connect right to the taps. I put all new hardware on the sink and left the old one by the dumpster bin, that's where stuff goes to be re-cycled around here. Will see if it was snapped up tomorrow morning. I had two huge cardboard boxes after I was done, so drug them down the road to the bin. Must have looked kind of funny this old guy dragging the two big cartons down the road, something like street people do; only they do it so they can sleep in them.
By then Marg got home and we stopped in at Bud & Lynette's for a moment. Their daughter had bought pizza as a thank you and they invited everyone who helped them over for some. Larry & Nancy were there and they are leaving for home in S Dakota tomorrow AM, so we said farewell to them. There were 15 to 20 people there.
She got lots of hugs and well wishes, I think they like her best; although I'm onside with that. They had a key ring in her card, she is using for her keys to the park model.
When walking back to our m'home we passed by the rec hall where the guys were playing poker and typical Marg she insisted I go back and play after my big win last week. So I went back and donated tonight. I don't think it was a great deal, but I am pretty certain I lost. It was brought home when Jerry M insisted I cut the cards, which I never do unless I am losing - to which he said - looking at your pile of coins, you are definitely losing tonight. Got lots of laughs anyway!
Stuff is really starting to pile up with us, lots of last minute stuff, lots of commitments - well you know what they say -- nothing makes you more productive than the last minute! Still got lots of stuff to do, like: oil changes, hair cuts, pedicures, etc. Can you guess which are mine & which are Marg's?
Tuesday 18 March 2014
March 18th
Happy birthday Jim, hope you had a good day.
By the way, they don't change the clocks here, so now were are an hour different from home. Something to bear in mind if you are planning to call us.
It was a nice day, hot actually. I think the temp was in the low 80's today.
Started out the day in the unit. I put trim along the floor and Marg painted the bathroom. Got the front room done and can't go much further until the floor is installed in the bedroom area. Went on and put the vanity in place and then put the tiles in the bathroom. They are a very thick vinyl tile with a glue strip on all four edges. Two face up and two down so that when they are lined up you press one glue strip onto the other and they form a seamless floating floor. Went pretty well for my first experience with this stuff and everyone who saw it seemed to like it. Yes there were lots of tours again today, no one can believe all the people going through the place. A couple of them are leaving tomorrow and just stopped in to say farewell.
Stopped for lunch and by then the bathroom was painted. It was funny, one of Marg's friends got the bug and decided to paint her living room, both ceiling and half of the walls. She wants it to look like wainscot. Anyway it took her 4 days, so they could not believe Marg did the bathroom in less than 4 hours. Rumour has it that people in the park think we are the hardest working couple they have seen; feels like it some days. LOL
The floor tile covered more area than I thought it would and looks like a tile. Marg washed the floor in the living kitchen area and unfortunately discovered a fairly significant scratch. She thinks a touch up pen will take it out, fingers crossed. The floor was fairly messy while we were working in the area or it may have been something that was tracked in. Kind of upsetting after all the work getting to where we are. Most common question is how much more we are planning to do and when we expect to finish.
It was later when we finally finished, so no happy hour today and supper was the golden arches. Had to have a quick supper so we could make the bingo. No winners, well Pat got 1/5 of a prize, but that didn't even cover her admission.
We have been too busy to get out shopping and have a function we are attending tomorrow night, so had to go to Walmart for some groceries so Marg could make the dish she wants to take. Had to get as much organized today as possible as tomorrow is a day of rest, with Marg going to the casino with the only one of the gambling's gals left in AJ and me to play golf at Apache Sun.
By the way, they don't change the clocks here, so now were are an hour different from home. Something to bear in mind if you are planning to call us.
It was a nice day, hot actually. I think the temp was in the low 80's today.
Started out the day in the unit. I put trim along the floor and Marg painted the bathroom. Got the front room done and can't go much further until the floor is installed in the bedroom area. Went on and put the vanity in place and then put the tiles in the bathroom. They are a very thick vinyl tile with a glue strip on all four edges. Two face up and two down so that when they are lined up you press one glue strip onto the other and they form a seamless floating floor. Went pretty well for my first experience with this stuff and everyone who saw it seemed to like it. Yes there were lots of tours again today, no one can believe all the people going through the place. A couple of them are leaving tomorrow and just stopped in to say farewell.
Stopped for lunch and by then the bathroom was painted. It was funny, one of Marg's friends got the bug and decided to paint her living room, both ceiling and half of the walls. She wants it to look like wainscot. Anyway it took her 4 days, so they could not believe Marg did the bathroom in less than 4 hours. Rumour has it that people in the park think we are the hardest working couple they have seen; feels like it some days. LOL
The floor tile covered more area than I thought it would and looks like a tile. Marg washed the floor in the living kitchen area and unfortunately discovered a fairly significant scratch. She thinks a touch up pen will take it out, fingers crossed. The floor was fairly messy while we were working in the area or it may have been something that was tracked in. Kind of upsetting after all the work getting to where we are. Most common question is how much more we are planning to do and when we expect to finish.
It was later when we finally finished, so no happy hour today and supper was the golden arches. Had to have a quick supper so we could make the bingo. No winners, well Pat got 1/5 of a prize, but that didn't even cover her admission.
We have been too busy to get out shopping and have a function we are attending tomorrow night, so had to go to Walmart for some groceries so Marg could make the dish she wants to take. Had to get as much organized today as possible as tomorrow is a day of rest, with Marg going to the casino with the only one of the gambling's gals left in AJ and me to play golf at Apache Sun.
Monday 17 March 2014
The 17th of Ireland
Thank you everyone for the many birthday wishes. Got phone calls from all 3 of my kids. Thank you for the birthday cards, the one Roger &; Vanessa sent with Marg and the two that arrived by mail; one from Char &; Phil, the other from Bill & Patti. It is a great comfort for me to know I have not been forgotten, LOL!
We started off working up at the unit. I finished up the stuff in the bathroom and then we got the new vanity in the room. Cut the hole in the bottom for the plumbing lines, almost perfect as it turned out. One of our neighbours, Sheldon, stopped by to drop off his brad nailer. As it turns out, it is a very good one and the delivery was an unexpected bonus. I have had so many offers of tools, just another reason why we are in this park; the people are great. Marg painted the walls with a primer, as the paneling has some kind of wallpaper finish on it and I am concerned about how well it covers. While I was out, she caught her hand on a nail just as Kenny came along and by then was bleeding pretty bad. After a bit of panic, he came up with a band aid [plaster for my UK family] for it to stop from getting blood all over. When she got back the to m'home, I got her to put iodine on it and she said that hurt worse than the cut in the first place. Suck it up buttercup, it's for the best.
I picked up some quarter round that is a pretty good match to the laminate and started putting it around the living room. I have seen several examples in other units of using this and think it's going to work better than baseboard. While I was out working with the power mitre saw, a small lizard was in the back of the carport in the cool shady area and tried to escape by running up the wall and then all around the place. Researching it later, it turns out it was an Arizona desert Whiptail lizard and is a member of the Gecko family. It seemed to be all tail, as the tail was about twice the length of the body. In the end it ran along the wall of the Arizona room on out back, causing quite a fuss with the neighbours dog.
It seemed like we were just getting started when it was time to quit, so we could have showers before the dinner. Tonight half of the Phoenix area was eating corned beef and cabbage, something of a tradition in our RV park. The table we sat at filled up quickly and was fun bunch. The meal was great and there was lots of food, followed by a dish of ice cream with crème de menthe on it, for the green touch. There were probably 150 people in the rec hall for dinner.
In addition to beer, I took my shot glasses and a bottle of Crown Royal. They created quite a stir as no one had ever seen anything like them before; nor were they familiar with the origin of the term shot glass and the idea of numbers on the bottom of each glass that you could read after drinking the contents. Doris was number one and she wouldn't let anyone forget it. Most everyone at the table had a shot, some like Kenny two and then Stan, Jerry & I were in the multiples. Jerry claimed 6, but who's counting? Gave shots to 3 different Smith's, so felt like I was sharing with my son-in-laws namesakes anyway. The whole thing was a big hit.
After dinner we went to Bingers for a patio party. Pretty funny as the pastor and his wife came over and joined us for a while. I think Jerry was concerned with his whiskey breath while the pastor was there, but that ship had sailed long before. Then Marg had cheesecake for us back at the m'home for birthday cake, thanks darling. I think I am weary now, I think bed is calling me. Oh yes, it was a beautiful warm day, 86F/30C I think.
We started off working up at the unit. I finished up the stuff in the bathroom and then we got the new vanity in the room. Cut the hole in the bottom for the plumbing lines, almost perfect as it turned out. One of our neighbours, Sheldon, stopped by to drop off his brad nailer. As it turns out, it is a very good one and the delivery was an unexpected bonus. I have had so many offers of tools, just another reason why we are in this park; the people are great. Marg painted the walls with a primer, as the paneling has some kind of wallpaper finish on it and I am concerned about how well it covers. While I was out, she caught her hand on a nail just as Kenny came along and by then was bleeding pretty bad. After a bit of panic, he came up with a band aid [plaster for my UK family] for it to stop from getting blood all over. When she got back the to m'home, I got her to put iodine on it and she said that hurt worse than the cut in the first place. Suck it up buttercup, it's for the best.
I picked up some quarter round that is a pretty good match to the laminate and started putting it around the living room. I have seen several examples in other units of using this and think it's going to work better than baseboard. While I was out working with the power mitre saw, a small lizard was in the back of the carport in the cool shady area and tried to escape by running up the wall and then all around the place. Researching it later, it turns out it was an Arizona desert Whiptail lizard and is a member of the Gecko family. It seemed to be all tail, as the tail was about twice the length of the body. In the end it ran along the wall of the Arizona room on out back, causing quite a fuss with the neighbours dog.
It seemed like we were just getting started when it was time to quit, so we could have showers before the dinner. Tonight half of the Phoenix area was eating corned beef and cabbage, something of a tradition in our RV park. The table we sat at filled up quickly and was fun bunch. The meal was great and there was lots of food, followed by a dish of ice cream with crème de menthe on it, for the green touch. There were probably 150 people in the rec hall for dinner.
In addition to beer, I took my shot glasses and a bottle of Crown Royal. They created quite a stir as no one had ever seen anything like them before; nor were they familiar with the origin of the term shot glass and the idea of numbers on the bottom of each glass that you could read after drinking the contents. Doris was number one and she wouldn't let anyone forget it. Most everyone at the table had a shot, some like Kenny two and then Stan, Jerry & I were in the multiples. Jerry claimed 6, but who's counting? Gave shots to 3 different Smith's, so felt like I was sharing with my son-in-laws namesakes anyway. The whole thing was a big hit. After dinner we went to Bingers for a patio party. Pretty funny as the pastor and his wife came over and joined us for a while. I think Jerry was concerned with his whiskey breath while the pastor was there, but that ship had sailed long before. Then Marg had cheesecake for us back at the m'home for birthday cake, thanks darling. I think I am weary now, I think bed is calling me. Oh yes, it was a beautiful warm day, 86F/30C I think.Sunday 16 March 2014
Sunday
Got a good start this AM and put down the particle board floor in the bathroom, lots of measuring and cutting for a small space. Marg put a bunch of cupboard doors on in the kitchen. Ran out of some simple stuff, it's frustrating when you need to go out for things like nails or screws, so back to Home Depot. Got some paint for the bathroom, a little darker than the rest of the place, some kind of beige, I would guess. I put some trim pieces around the tub surround and replaced all the screws holding it, they were all badly rusted. A trip like that's usually a couple of hours.
Not sure where the day went, but didn't seem to be too productive today. Might have something to do with all the visiting and tours that get done on a daily basis. Well that and putting the screen door back on the track. Some days it seems it needs steady attention, should probably just take it off, starting to think it was not such a great deal after all.
Lots of people in the park have visitors, must be spring break. People are starting to leave or at least that is the main topic of conversation now. Almost everyone is within 3 weeks of leaving now.
After supper we went to ice cream social, it was pretty well attended tonight. We were pretty full so just had a sundae. Sat next to a guy who lives just off Lake Huron in Ontario, very close to Parry Sound where the McCartney's left when they came to Alberta.
Not sure where the day went, but didn't seem to be too productive today. Might have something to do with all the visiting and tours that get done on a daily basis. Well that and putting the screen door back on the track. Some days it seems it needs steady attention, should probably just take it off, starting to think it was not such a great deal after all.
Lots of people in the park have visitors, must be spring break. People are starting to leave or at least that is the main topic of conversation now. Almost everyone is within 3 weeks of leaving now.
After supper we went to ice cream social, it was pretty well attended tonight. We were pretty full so just had a sundae. Sat next to a guy who lives just off Lake Huron in Ontario, very close to Parry Sound where the McCartney's left when they came to Alberta.
Saturday 15 March 2014
Beware the Ides of March!
A great day, but the wind blew for most of it, even into the evening. When it's like that, you can understand how the dust storms happen. Really plays havoc on the old sinuses for anyone prone to sinus problems. It was still hot.
There were two road runners in the park, right in front of our m'home in fact. They are a unique bird and can be quite aggressive. In fact rattlesnake is one of their favourite foods, so you can see how bold they can be. The javelina's are still hanging around the park, two of them as well. They were just around the rec hall at 2 AM according to Val who saw them outside his unit and then were on the hill, about 5 units down from our site.
We had an interesting day, started out with a visit to Home Depot on Crismon rd. We picked out a few things, then started looking at what we needed to re-do our bathroom. Not having a truck we were debating how we could make it happen when Marg spotted Barb [she runs the water aerobics or thrash & splash]. They were talking about what each were doing there and Barb said - well Jim has the truck and I'm sure he could help. Short version is he said, nothing to it, I can strap all that stuff on the back, so we bought a vanity, toilet and piece of finished board for the bathroom floor. We had to wait to buy the floor board until we saw the height of the adjoining room floor. Also bought some vinyl floor tiles that are a floating floor, but all have two tabs where the adjoining tile is fixed to it, so the floor ends up in one piece. Oh yes, exchanged the two saw blades I bought as they were not performing well. They were expensive DeWalt blades and were smoking when cutting the laminate and for $75, I expected they would at least last the job. It was one of the easiest exchanges I have ever done, absolutely no hassle. Marg painted cupboard doors, I tore out the old bathroom. Fortunately I had some pex stoppers in the m'home from last year, so I was able to keep the water on for the kitchen sink. Well sort of fortunate as the toilet is sitting out on the driveway. They make a really cool push on fitting that makes working with this stuff really easy, not cheap, just easy. Marg got done, me well, still lots to do.
Part of our problem is the number of visitors and site tours, we are sort of an attraction in the park, LOL. Anyway Marg came along and said it was quitting time at 4, which also corresponds with the start time for happy hour. Our hosts for happy are leaving for home in S Dakota next Thursday, so we have to attend them all until then. Well that's my story anyway.
After we had bbq steak with baked potato; very nice. It was funny last night when we talked about cooking Blackie said he does it all, Dardie doesn't cook. That is pretty common down here. They were surprised to hear that Marg is a star in this dept and supper was no exception, it was great.
Went back to the unit, conducted one last tour, put everything away and made tomorrow's shopping list. The building supply places have a brass band that plays as we walk in now that we are supporting them so well. LOL
There were two road runners in the park, right in front of our m'home in fact. They are a unique bird and can be quite aggressive. In fact rattlesnake is one of their favourite foods, so you can see how bold they can be. The javelina's are still hanging around the park, two of them as well. They were just around the rec hall at 2 AM according to Val who saw them outside his unit and then were on the hill, about 5 units down from our site.
We had an interesting day, started out with a visit to Home Depot on Crismon rd. We picked out a few things, then started looking at what we needed to re-do our bathroom. Not having a truck we were debating how we could make it happen when Marg spotted Barb [she runs the water aerobics or thrash & splash]. They were talking about what each were doing there and Barb said - well Jim has the truck and I'm sure he could help. Short version is he said, nothing to it, I can strap all that stuff on the back, so we bought a vanity, toilet and piece of finished board for the bathroom floor. We had to wait to buy the floor board until we saw the height of the adjoining room floor. Also bought some vinyl floor tiles that are a floating floor, but all have two tabs where the adjoining tile is fixed to it, so the floor ends up in one piece. Oh yes, exchanged the two saw blades I bought as they were not performing well. They were expensive DeWalt blades and were smoking when cutting the laminate and for $75, I expected they would at least last the job. It was one of the easiest exchanges I have ever done, absolutely no hassle. Marg painted cupboard doors, I tore out the old bathroom. Fortunately I had some pex stoppers in the m'home from last year, so I was able to keep the water on for the kitchen sink. Well sort of fortunate as the toilet is sitting out on the driveway. They make a really cool push on fitting that makes working with this stuff really easy, not cheap, just easy. Marg got done, me well, still lots to do.
Part of our problem is the number of visitors and site tours, we are sort of an attraction in the park, LOL. Anyway Marg came along and said it was quitting time at 4, which also corresponds with the start time for happy hour. Our hosts for happy are leaving for home in S Dakota next Thursday, so we have to attend them all until then. Well that's my story anyway.
After we had bbq steak with baked potato; very nice. It was funny last night when we talked about cooking Blackie said he does it all, Dardie doesn't cook. That is pretty common down here. They were surprised to hear that Marg is a star in this dept and supper was no exception, it was great.
Went back to the unit, conducted one last tour, put everything away and made tomorrow's shopping list. The building supply places have a brass band that plays as we walk in now that we are supporting them so well. LOL
Friday 14 March 2014
Friday, the 14th
Day started off with a sprinkle of rain, then turned nice, then windy, then sprinkled & finally nice.
Marg went with the gamblin' gals to Fort McDowell, their time is drawing to a close as one is leaving next week, but alas no big winner today. They had their usual fun and came back with great big smiles.
I went to Lowes and spent an hour trying to get some more laminate ordered, it was more difficult than getting help from the federal government. Finally got it done, but there was an hour of my life I'll never get back. It should be here within a week, so will have to move on to other projects or this will not be finished by the time we leave. When I got back I spent some time fixing up from yesterday. There was some trim that had to be cut and re-fastened, floor vents to cut out and fix, a few small pieces of laminate to put in, some clean up, etc.
Finished up in time for a quick happy hour and Marg was back by the time I got back to the m'home.
Tonight was out get-together with Dardie & Blackie. They are old friends, Marg knew them long before we got together, Dardie was Marg's brother-in-law Gord's sister. They had a great old time sharing pictures and stories and we had a few drinks with them before going out to dinner. Then it was off to Los Gringos Loco for dinner. The food is always good there, but being a Friday night, it was very busy. After we went over to their place for a coffee and some more pictures and that was our day. In fact I am almost falling asleep as I type this - good night all!
Marg went with the gamblin' gals to Fort McDowell, their time is drawing to a close as one is leaving next week, but alas no big winner today. They had their usual fun and came back with great big smiles.
I went to Lowes and spent an hour trying to get some more laminate ordered, it was more difficult than getting help from the federal government. Finally got it done, but there was an hour of my life I'll never get back. It should be here within a week, so will have to move on to other projects or this will not be finished by the time we leave. When I got back I spent some time fixing up from yesterday. There was some trim that had to be cut and re-fastened, floor vents to cut out and fix, a few small pieces of laminate to put in, some clean up, etc.
Finished up in time for a quick happy hour and Marg was back by the time I got back to the m'home.
Tonight was out get-together with Dardie & Blackie. They are old friends, Marg knew them long before we got together, Dardie was Marg's brother-in-law Gord's sister. They had a great old time sharing pictures and stories and we had a few drinks with them before going out to dinner. Then it was off to Los Gringos Loco for dinner. The food is always good there, but being a Friday night, it was very busy. After we went over to their place for a coffee and some more pictures and that was our day. In fact I am almost falling asleep as I type this - good night all!
Thursday 13 March 2014
Laminate Thursday
Marg brought sandwiches and beer, both of which were well received by the crew. Somewhere in the day she also managed to do laundry and then all the clean up after.
I did hear something about the wood not blending with the old stuff on the hutch and cabinet and the possibility of more painting.
The walls were originally the color of this unit in the corner.
We were so close [but so far] from finishing the bedroom area, but the front and hallway were the priority and were completed.
Our guys got the entire length of the unit to make the hallway seamless, great job.
Fortunately tonight was a hamburger night so we had our supper looked after by Gary and his crew.
Wednesday 12 March 2014
Wednesday
A beautiful day, I drove for golf this AM & two of the guys rode with me as Diane went with Pat to play today. I had a bird, played a decent round, but best of all on #4, I won the long putt. There was a carry-over from last week, so it was $29. Now that is a great day, almost missed out because my chip shot was almost in, it just ran by the edge of the cup.
Marg went down to the unit and painted cupboard doors, the other side this time. The green is a little darker than I thought, but she likes it and that is what is important. Most of the people who see it, like it as well. She never went to water aerobics as the ladies were all organizing the spring tea this morning. She did her modeling bit and got lots of flattering comments. Pretty funny as she wore a fascinator instead of hat and Betty's mother, everyone just calls her Ma, fell in love with it. So much so that Marg gave it to her and she plans to wear it to a family wedding this summer. She also made Shannon go and I guess she had a good time as well. Although she has been in this park a lot longer than us, this was her first tea. The other thing was they had 5 guys pouring tea and waiting; they replaced Kenny & me, maybe now they know how great we were, a legend in our own mind! LOL See Marg's FB site for pics of the tea. It was well attended, the ladies had lots of fun and Marg did her part: modeling in the fashion show. She got lots of complimentary comments about her role, I guess she hammed it up a bit and got lots of them going.
I went out for lunch with Jerry B. We had burrito's at Taco Bell. I had a grilled chicken one that was pretty darn good. After lunch I went down and did some painting, cutting the edges of the cupboards along the ceiling and such. Marg got there and did some more painting as well. Then I went on to the floor leveler and put a second coat on, bringing the floor up to the level of the plywood sub floor. The couple that sold their place yesterday were selling some stuff, so I bought his circular saw, its a fairly new Ryobi and he gave me a very fair price on it.
We stopped in for happy hour and caught up on the gossip in the area. Jerry got back from his eye procedure and was fine. They filled his eye with liquid to get the retina re-attached. His prognosis is very good I guess.
Supper was a bit of a rush, so we went out to Fatman's pizza, our first time there. It's just up Delaware from the rv park and the one we chose was very good. We will likely go back we enjoyed it so much.
After supper I played poker. I couldn't do anything wrong and ended up the big winner. Probably won $15, it was getting embarrassing, the hands I was getting, it seemed like I was winning at least every second hand. It wouldn't fit in my bag anymore, I had a pocket full of nickels and dimes as well as a bag stuffed to the limit.
What a day, not a cloud in the sky and 81F in the sun.
Marg went down to the unit and painted cupboard doors, the other side this time. The green is a little darker than I thought, but she likes it and that is what is important. Most of the people who see it, like it as well. She never went to water aerobics as the ladies were all organizing the spring tea this morning. She did her modeling bit and got lots of flattering comments. Pretty funny as she wore a fascinator instead of hat and Betty's mother, everyone just calls her Ma, fell in love with it. So much so that Marg gave it to her and she plans to wear it to a family wedding this summer. She also made Shannon go and I guess she had a good time as well. Although she has been in this park a lot longer than us, this was her first tea. The other thing was they had 5 guys pouring tea and waiting; they replaced Kenny & me, maybe now they know how great we were, a legend in our own mind! LOL See Marg's FB site for pics of the tea. It was well attended, the ladies had lots of fun and Marg did her part: modeling in the fashion show. She got lots of complimentary comments about her role, I guess she hammed it up a bit and got lots of them going.
I went out for lunch with Jerry B. We had burrito's at Taco Bell. I had a grilled chicken one that was pretty darn good. After lunch I went down and did some painting, cutting the edges of the cupboards along the ceiling and such. Marg got there and did some more painting as well. Then I went on to the floor leveler and put a second coat on, bringing the floor up to the level of the plywood sub floor. The couple that sold their place yesterday were selling some stuff, so I bought his circular saw, its a fairly new Ryobi and he gave me a very fair price on it.
We stopped in for happy hour and caught up on the gossip in the area. Jerry got back from his eye procedure and was fine. They filled his eye with liquid to get the retina re-attached. His prognosis is very good I guess.
Supper was a bit of a rush, so we went out to Fatman's pizza, our first time there. It's just up Delaware from the rv park and the one we chose was very good. We will likely go back we enjoyed it so much.
After supper I played poker. I couldn't do anything wrong and ended up the big winner. Probably won $15, it was getting embarrassing, the hands I was getting, it seemed like I was winning at least every second hand. It wouldn't fit in my bag anymore, I had a pocket full of nickels and dimes as well as a bag stuffed to the limit.
What a day, not a cloud in the sky and 81F in the sun.
March 11
A great day, hot and sunny.
Went golfing with Gene, Pat & Stan today to ASU Karsten. Check out the pictures on their web site, I have never seen a better manicured course. It is the course where Az University teams play and where PGA pro Phil Mickelson plays as his home course in Phoenix. Gene's cousin is the asst pro at the course and we got an unbelievable deal to play there. Included in the deal, Stan was listed on the announcement at the door as player of the day. He's taken the sign home for his man cave, LOL. What a beautiful course and a step up for this guy. As you pull up, the attendants take your clubs and put them on your cart. The cart has a bag of practice balls on the seat, the ice bucket is full, it's pretty deluxe. At the end of the round they wipe your clubs down & take your clubs off the cart. The course was tough, narrow and lots of hazards: sand, water, what they call waste areas. I hit the ball as well as have in a long time, but still took 2 8's & 2 7's but was able to card a score 46/51. I was happy. Gene of course scored well, but higher than normal at 7 over par, the other two above my score & they usually kick my butt. Got a bit of sunburn in the process, which is unusual for me.
Marg had a lady in the park give her a hair cut, so I was concerned as this is always a traumatic event. It looks good, as always, but she was well pleased with the result, bonus. After she went to water aerobics and had a good workout with the gals. After lunch she went to the unit where she put the first coat of paint on the kitchen cabinets. It's a pale green, somewhat along Charlene's colour scheme for the kitchen because she liked it so much. According to her, she got mixed reviews of love it or not sure, have to see it. I guess she conducted more tours, anything different here is an attraction and a topic of conversation. Another couple put their trailer up for sale yesterday and it sold today. It's a smaller unit than what we bought, but had lots of extras, like laundry, although it went for quite a bit more than the one we bought.
Got back to the park in time for happy hour and Marg was already there, party animal that she is. Lots of new info, it seems Jerry will be having surgery tomorrow for his detached retina. When I saw him at poker last night he was going back to N Dakota to get it done. Bud had his doc apt and his condition is worse than they originally thought, so it is likely his last winter here, very sad.
Supper was shrimps on the bbq, very good. After supper it was bingo night, we really had a tough night, not one winner at our table, but quality time with friends.
Went golfing with Gene, Pat & Stan today to ASU Karsten. Check out the pictures on their web site, I have never seen a better manicured course. It is the course where Az University teams play and where PGA pro Phil Mickelson plays as his home course in Phoenix. Gene's cousin is the asst pro at the course and we got an unbelievable deal to play there. Included in the deal, Stan was listed on the announcement at the door as player of the day. He's taken the sign home for his man cave, LOL. What a beautiful course and a step up for this guy. As you pull up, the attendants take your clubs and put them on your cart. The cart has a bag of practice balls on the seat, the ice bucket is full, it's pretty deluxe. At the end of the round they wipe your clubs down & take your clubs off the cart. The course was tough, narrow and lots of hazards: sand, water, what they call waste areas. I hit the ball as well as have in a long time, but still took 2 8's & 2 7's but was able to card a score 46/51. I was happy. Gene of course scored well, but higher than normal at 7 over par, the other two above my score & they usually kick my butt. Got a bit of sunburn in the process, which is unusual for me.
Marg had a lady in the park give her a hair cut, so I was concerned as this is always a traumatic event. It looks good, as always, but she was well pleased with the result, bonus. After she went to water aerobics and had a good workout with the gals. After lunch she went to the unit where she put the first coat of paint on the kitchen cabinets. It's a pale green, somewhat along Charlene's colour scheme for the kitchen because she liked it so much. According to her, she got mixed reviews of love it or not sure, have to see it. I guess she conducted more tours, anything different here is an attraction and a topic of conversation. Another couple put their trailer up for sale yesterday and it sold today. It's a smaller unit than what we bought, but had lots of extras, like laundry, although it went for quite a bit more than the one we bought.
Got back to the park in time for happy hour and Marg was already there, party animal that she is. Lots of new info, it seems Jerry will be having surgery tomorrow for his detached retina. When I saw him at poker last night he was going back to N Dakota to get it done. Bud had his doc apt and his condition is worse than they originally thought, so it is likely his last winter here, very sad.
Supper was shrimps on the bbq, very good. After supper it was bingo night, we really had a tough night, not one winner at our table, but quality time with friends.
Monday 10 March 2014
Monday
Early this morning, Jerry Binger drove to the Lowes store where we picked up the floor laminate, 17 boxes, sure hope that is enough, as it took quite a while to arrive. Now just need the time to lay it, probably be Thursday before that happens.
Then it was more re-assembly, put up the new hall light fixture and put the new passage set on the bathroom door. It turned out the door fit was so close that the paint on the door and jamb made it too tight and I had to recess the hinges to make it work. Good thing I have a set of wood chisels.
Went back to the m'home for lunch and just as we were finishing up, Norm &; Lucie Dufresne showed up for a visit. Turns out they were in Yuma and are now in Mesa, not too far from here. Gave them a tour of the park and showed them our place. The park they are staying in has about 3,000 sites and the monthly rent is about 3 times what we pay here. It is very nice and they seem to be settling in fine, although they have just been there over a week. Had a nice visit with them and they are coming back on Thursday, Norm offered to help me put in the laminate and Lucie will hang out with Marg around the pool. Nice to see them, they seem to be enjoying their time in the Valley of the Sun.
After we went back to Lowes where we bought the stuff to paint the kitchen cupboards. Marg found the colour she liked and they had special rollers for doing this. I also picked up some Roundup and a bug spray. We have some mini ants on the patio at the unit and this stuff is supposed to either keep them away or kill them, so I sprayed a line along the back. Also sprayed all the weeds around the lot. That seems to be the only thing that grows on this soil and the park sprays most of them, except out back around the buildings.
Supper was bbq and then it was off to poker for me. Not sure how I made out, but Marg said I need to take some money out of my bag as I couldn't fit another nickel in it. Marg did the laundry and while it wasn't as much fun, she got a lot of satisfaction knowing it was done.
Then it was more re-assembly, put up the new hall light fixture and put the new passage set on the bathroom door. It turned out the door fit was so close that the paint on the door and jamb made it too tight and I had to recess the hinges to make it work. Good thing I have a set of wood chisels.
Went back to the m'home for lunch and just as we were finishing up, Norm &; Lucie Dufresne showed up for a visit. Turns out they were in Yuma and are now in Mesa, not too far from here. Gave them a tour of the park and showed them our place. The park they are staying in has about 3,000 sites and the monthly rent is about 3 times what we pay here. It is very nice and they seem to be settling in fine, although they have just been there over a week. Had a nice visit with them and they are coming back on Thursday, Norm offered to help me put in the laminate and Lucie will hang out with Marg around the pool. Nice to see them, they seem to be enjoying their time in the Valley of the Sun.
After we went back to Lowes where we bought the stuff to paint the kitchen cupboards. Marg found the colour she liked and they had special rollers for doing this. I also picked up some Roundup and a bug spray. We have some mini ants on the patio at the unit and this stuff is supposed to either keep them away or kill them, so I sprayed a line along the back. Also sprayed all the weeds around the lot. That seems to be the only thing that grows on this soil and the park sprays most of them, except out back around the buildings.
Supper was bbq and then it was off to poker for me. Not sure how I made out, but Marg said I need to take some money out of my bag as I couldn't fit another nickel in it. Marg did the laundry and while it wasn't as much fun, she got a lot of satisfaction knowing it was done.
Sunday 9 March 2014
Sunny Sunday
Gorgeous day in the Valley, but hardly got outside to enjoy it. I think we were around 80F in the sun.
Went to the unit and put in our day there. I put the floor leveler down and it is not quite up to the level of the plywood, as I didn't want it to be too high. Will probably have to add some tomorrow, perhaps an eighth of an inch or so in some places. Removed all the masking tape and did touch up on any problem areas. While removing masking tape I managed to break the hall light fixture.
Marg painted doors and drawers again, everything got a second coat, including the bathroom door. Then she made lunch and brought it to the unit, where we dined on the patio. Had a steady stream of visitors today, most seemed impressed with the way painting the paneling is working out, some questioning if we get a day off. Well one was Gene, he was confirming that I can golf on Tuesday, he has a foursome booked through his nephew who works at the Ping factory in Mesa and that we are still on for golf with the park on Wednesday.
After lunch I put on all the doors and drawers. I made a set up to suspend the vertical louvers so Marg could wash them. She spent the afternoon cleaning them and then it let them dry in the wind. Got them installed and they really do look much better. I think we will stay with them for this year anyway, well except the bedroom, I think we will look for replacements in there. By the time we finished it was too late for happy hour, oh well, I did have a beer with Bud on one of my trips back and forth. Speaking of which, the park manager said he was going to have to charge Marg for all the wear and tear she is putting on the road walking between the m'home and the park model, it really is quite a hike.
Supper was a broccoli salad and some tube steak on the bbq. The way Marg explained it to me was that it would leave more room for desert. Taking this as my cue, I had a banana split at the ice cream social - very nice.
Will be a short work week, probably won't get to the laminate until Thursday. Will need to pick it up tomorrow at Lowes & have an offer from a friend with a truck.
Went to the unit and put in our day there. I put the floor leveler down and it is not quite up to the level of the plywood, as I didn't want it to be too high. Will probably have to add some tomorrow, perhaps an eighth of an inch or so in some places. Removed all the masking tape and did touch up on any problem areas. While removing masking tape I managed to break the hall light fixture.
Marg painted doors and drawers again, everything got a second coat, including the bathroom door. Then she made lunch and brought it to the unit, where we dined on the patio. Had a steady stream of visitors today, most seemed impressed with the way painting the paneling is working out, some questioning if we get a day off. Well one was Gene, he was confirming that I can golf on Tuesday, he has a foursome booked through his nephew who works at the Ping factory in Mesa and that we are still on for golf with the park on Wednesday.
After lunch I put on all the doors and drawers. I made a set up to suspend the vertical louvers so Marg could wash them. She spent the afternoon cleaning them and then it let them dry in the wind. Got them installed and they really do look much better. I think we will stay with them for this year anyway, well except the bedroom, I think we will look for replacements in there. By the time we finished it was too late for happy hour, oh well, I did have a beer with Bud on one of my trips back and forth. Speaking of which, the park manager said he was going to have to charge Marg for all the wear and tear she is putting on the road walking between the m'home and the park model, it really is quite a hike.
Supper was a broccoli salad and some tube steak on the bbq. The way Marg explained it to me was that it would leave more room for desert. Taking this as my cue, I had a banana split at the ice cream social - very nice.
Will be a short work week, probably won't get to the laminate until Thursday. Will need to pick it up tomorrow at Lowes & have an offer from a friend with a truck.
Saturday 8 March 2014
Saturday March 8th
Started the day off with breakfast at the hall: bacon, eggs, pancakes. The breakfast of champions! Had to answer the question - where's Marg, only 3 times. My standard answer is that she thinks breakfast is something eaten at 10AM.
Down to the job site, where I painted finish coat on walls and Marg did the doors and drawer fronts for everything except the kitchen. We need to figure out what we are going to do with the kitchen, although Marg has the color chosen. Some kind of green, pretty pale I think. We'll see as we are looking at options for painting the fronts, doors & drawers.
Had our usual parade of building inspectors, although there were a few new ones taking the tour. Howard & Shannon stopped by and he knows lots about this type of trailer and I had a few questions about the bathroom that he was able to answer. Marg took the opportunity to tell Shannon that she was signed up to the ladies tea on Wednesday, something she has not attended in the past. I told her it was nice to see Marg pushing others into things, it gives me a break. LOL
We got done shortly after lunch, but then started putting some stuff back together. Tried to clear anything we won't be needing on the floor project out of the place. Hoping to pick up the floor laminate on Monday, but it will be heavy, so need to talk to people with trucks. Will probably have to do a bit of touch-up on the paint. Had some problems where the masking tape came off as well as a few where the paint didn't cover well enough and need a better coat.
Stopped in time for happy hour. It was well attended today. I learned some new stuff today, that's the reason I attend, to broaden my knowledge base. Anyway there was a road runner in the park yesterday, it was on top of 2 different rv's. Now I did not know they can fly, but someone said, well duh - they are a bird you know. So I said well so is an ostrich & all I have every heard is how fast they can run. The other thing was that there was a couple of javelina's in the park a few days before. They can be aggressive and are dangerous if they are. Might be the answer to Marg's FB question about why the police were in the park. Kenny was even at happy today and he has been down with a nasty chest rattle, seems to be a bit of that has gone around. Jim and Beth were there for their last time as they are heading back to New Mexico, I guess hanging out with us was a help to them in dealing with stuff. I have always thought hanging out with me was therapeutic. ;>))
By the time we wrapped it up, it was too late to cook, so supper was Filberto's tonight. As the name sounds it is Mexican, but the fast food version. The food is OK and we had coupons in our book for it, so a great deal as well.
Down to the job site, where I painted finish coat on walls and Marg did the doors and drawer fronts for everything except the kitchen. We need to figure out what we are going to do with the kitchen, although Marg has the color chosen. Some kind of green, pretty pale I think. We'll see as we are looking at options for painting the fronts, doors & drawers.
Had our usual parade of building inspectors, although there were a few new ones taking the tour. Howard & Shannon stopped by and he knows lots about this type of trailer and I had a few questions about the bathroom that he was able to answer. Marg took the opportunity to tell Shannon that she was signed up to the ladies tea on Wednesday, something she has not attended in the past. I told her it was nice to see Marg pushing others into things, it gives me a break. LOL
We got done shortly after lunch, but then started putting some stuff back together. Tried to clear anything we won't be needing on the floor project out of the place. Hoping to pick up the floor laminate on Monday, but it will be heavy, so need to talk to people with trucks. Will probably have to do a bit of touch-up on the paint. Had some problems where the masking tape came off as well as a few where the paint didn't cover well enough and need a better coat.
Stopped in time for happy hour. It was well attended today. I learned some new stuff today, that's the reason I attend, to broaden my knowledge base. Anyway there was a road runner in the park yesterday, it was on top of 2 different rv's. Now I did not know they can fly, but someone said, well duh - they are a bird you know. So I said well so is an ostrich & all I have every heard is how fast they can run. The other thing was that there was a couple of javelina's in the park a few days before. They can be aggressive and are dangerous if they are. Might be the answer to Marg's FB question about why the police were in the park. Kenny was even at happy today and he has been down with a nasty chest rattle, seems to be a bit of that has gone around. Jim and Beth were there for their last time as they are heading back to New Mexico, I guess hanging out with us was a help to them in dealing with stuff. I have always thought hanging out with me was therapeutic. ;>))
By the time we wrapped it up, it was too late to cook, so supper was Filberto's tonight. As the name sounds it is Mexican, but the fast food version. The food is OK and we had coupons in our book for it, so a great deal as well.
Friday 7 March 2014
Friday, March 7th
The first week of March has flown by, kind of alarming how time flies. Some folks here are already talking about plans to return home. Mind you they are people whose snow has gone and their temps at home are above freezing & not just during the day.
Took Marg & Nancy to Costco this AM. They needed to get some things, mostly food type stuff for the party this evening. Nancy bought a Roomba robot vac after Marg's glowing description of how she loves hers and what a help it is. It was her first time to Costco here and she was quite impressed. Apparently the nearest one to them at home is 2180 miles, so they just don't bother with it. When they got home and got the thing running, their dog [Cooper] wasn't too keen on it. He's a mild mannered dog, but sat on the back of the sofa and glared at it & tried growling at it. Pretty funny.
After lunch we went out to pick up some wheels for the screen door, the old plastic ones were ruined. A few people stopped by to ask how we knew how to make the repairs to the door. Answer, well it's no good the way it is, so you just take it apart and then see what it needs. There are so many patio doors down here that parts of all sorts are readily available.
Got it cut down, fixed and installed on the track, not 100% but it should work, at least it will keep the flies out. Managed a stop at Harbour Freight today as well and got a new cordless drill and my free gift was a set of screw drivers.
Have had some requests for before and after, so here is the sort of before, although it is now primed and the sub-floor in. As you can see the floor has a gap, this is the hinge and my plan is to fill it with a floor leveler.
Did some more work on the floor and Marg while working inside, found a bunch of cutlery left for us by the former owners.
Happy hour tonight was a birthday celebration for 5 people and a chance to lighten up. There has been lots of bad news among friends this last little while, lots of tears shed this week -- makes us count our blessings. The ladies each brought so much food that we didn't need supper after. Just as we were getting ready to eat, Dardie & Blackie drove by so and we had a nice chat with them. I guess they were just driving through the park to see where we are, Blackie said they are just down on Signal Butte, so we will see them sometime next week.
Sure got lots of birthday cards between the two of us. After all that it was time for the animal races. I won 5 of 6 and Marg won 2 tonight. Lots of whooping an hollering involved there, all the fun you can imagine.
Took Marg & Nancy to Costco this AM. They needed to get some things, mostly food type stuff for the party this evening. Nancy bought a Roomba robot vac after Marg's glowing description of how she loves hers and what a help it is. It was her first time to Costco here and she was quite impressed. Apparently the nearest one to them at home is 2180 miles, so they just don't bother with it. When they got home and got the thing running, their dog [Cooper] wasn't too keen on it. He's a mild mannered dog, but sat on the back of the sofa and glared at it & tried growling at it. Pretty funny.
After lunch we went out to pick up some wheels for the screen door, the old plastic ones were ruined. A few people stopped by to ask how we knew how to make the repairs to the door. Answer, well it's no good the way it is, so you just take it apart and then see what it needs. There are so many patio doors down here that parts of all sorts are readily available.
Have had some requests for before and after, so here is the sort of before, although it is now primed and the sub-floor in. As you can see the floor has a gap, this is the hinge and my plan is to fill it with a floor leveler.
Did some more work on the floor and Marg while working inside, found a bunch of cutlery left for us by the former owners.
Sure got lots of birthday cards between the two of us. After all that it was time for the animal races. I won 5 of 6 and Marg won 2 tonight. Lots of whooping an hollering involved there, all the fun you can imagine.
Thursday, March 6th
Got up early and went to coffee & donuts this AM. Marg went, which in itself is quite an event, LOL.
Marg went to water aerobics, I guess there were fewer people, but they still had a good workout. She was doing a bit of recruiting during the day for the aerobics group and I think got a couple of new recruits. Me I was back on the tools, painted the rest of the primer in the park model. Had a couple of building inspectors in, but as Marg was not there to conduct tours, they didn't stay long. It was kind of funny the walls are stark white and people say "Oh nice", just being polite I guess. One was going golfing and was checking to see if I was seriously working or whether an 18 hole turf inspection was in the cards.
After water aerobics Marg & Doris went to Cato's to pick out some outfits they will be modeling. Apparently the ladies tea next Wednesday will feature a fashion show component and they are both modeling clothes. Well wouldn't you know it, she found one she just loved, so rather than model it, she bought it to wear to the tea. She also brought her fascinator to wear, so is well prepared.
After lunch I did some other repair work while she took knobs off of the drawers and doors so that they too can be primed and painted, although a different color than the walls. I had to hang around for the contractor I called to deal with the roof concerns. It didn't leak bad, just a bit of dampness, but we really need to deal with it. His evaluation was that the roof is still very good and that someone has been applying coatings that should never have been put on. He suggested a plastic coat or seal or something like that he paints on and rather than caulking it will create a very long term barrier, Bud had him do it to his unit and it was very successful. Should that not do the trick he said a roof over the area is probably our next solution.
Took the screen door apart. Kenny & Jerry found one for me, but it is too large, so has to be cut down. Got about halfway through and Jim & Bethe showed up. They had gone home and were not scheduled to be back this winter. They had a family tragedy, her 11 year old grandson died and the whole park here had sent them a sympathy card. They just had to get away so came for 3 days [they only live in New Mexico]; so we stopped and went to happy hour with them and the group.
BBQ steak for supper and that was our day.
Marg went to water aerobics, I guess there were fewer people, but they still had a good workout. She was doing a bit of recruiting during the day for the aerobics group and I think got a couple of new recruits. Me I was back on the tools, painted the rest of the primer in the park model. Had a couple of building inspectors in, but as Marg was not there to conduct tours, they didn't stay long. It was kind of funny the walls are stark white and people say "Oh nice", just being polite I guess. One was going golfing and was checking to see if I was seriously working or whether an 18 hole turf inspection was in the cards.
After water aerobics Marg & Doris went to Cato's to pick out some outfits they will be modeling. Apparently the ladies tea next Wednesday will feature a fashion show component and they are both modeling clothes. Well wouldn't you know it, she found one she just loved, so rather than model it, she bought it to wear to the tea. She also brought her fascinator to wear, so is well prepared.
After lunch I did some other repair work while she took knobs off of the drawers and doors so that they too can be primed and painted, although a different color than the walls. I had to hang around for the contractor I called to deal with the roof concerns. It didn't leak bad, just a bit of dampness, but we really need to deal with it. His evaluation was that the roof is still very good and that someone has been applying coatings that should never have been put on. He suggested a plastic coat or seal or something like that he paints on and rather than caulking it will create a very long term barrier, Bud had him do it to his unit and it was very successful. Should that not do the trick he said a roof over the area is probably our next solution.
Took the screen door apart. Kenny & Jerry found one for me, but it is too large, so has to be cut down. Got about halfway through and Jim & Bethe showed up. They had gone home and were not scheduled to be back this winter. They had a family tragedy, her 11 year old grandson died and the whole park here had sent them a sympathy card. They just had to get away so came for 3 days [they only live in New Mexico]; so we stopped and went to happy hour with them and the group.
BBQ steak for supper and that was our day.
Wednesday 5 March 2014
March 5th
Happy birthday Brennan, have a great one.
Marg went with the gamblin' gals to Ft McDowell today. She said they had lots of laughs, but she never hit it big. I think Nancy won, but was the only one. Next week Wednesday is the ladies tea, but I am certain they will have an alternative day planned for girls day out. Me I went to Apache Sun and played with the group from the rv park. The course was in nice shape, but lots of grass clippings because of the big rain storm on the weekend. Played with a tough foursome today: 7 over, 6 over & one even par. But as I always I play my own game and compete against myself, I still had a good day, oh yes I was 48. If it ever comes up I just tell them that anyone who plays like me and still comes back must enjoy it. LOL
After lunch I played some pool Have not played for a long time, so it was a nice break. Played a couple of guys who usually kick my butt, however didn't do too badly for a sporadic player. I was kind of waiting around for a contractor as I wanted him to have a look at the roof on the park model. We had a bit of rain on the weekend, so wanted to find out if I have a problem. He commented on some do-it-yourself patching on the roof that should never have been done and said that our problem is not very serious. Ended up with him agreeing to put on a sealer in the area that he thinks to be of concern, the most economical approach and one he thinks has a reasonable chance of success; then see what happens. If that doesn't work we will go on to a roof over that area.
Marg got back in time and we went to happy hour. She got there just as the contractor was ready to leave. Fortunately I had some beer in the fridge at the unit, so just took that to happy hour. I got lots of advice there, but think I will stay with the contractors.
Supper in the RV, cooked it on the bbq, you guessed it.
Poker tonight, was lots of laughs and I won early, so you know what happens in the later part of the game. Well I gave most of it back, must be pretty close to even tonight. We decided the renovation was becoming all consuming and that we still needed to have some play time here. Well that was the day off, back on the tools tomorrow. Oh yes it was a nice day, high 82, not a cloud in the sky. In fact the contractor suggested we may have to us a hose to check how well the sealer works on our roof as there is no rain forecast.
Marg went with the gamblin' gals to Ft McDowell today. She said they had lots of laughs, but she never hit it big. I think Nancy won, but was the only one. Next week Wednesday is the ladies tea, but I am certain they will have an alternative day planned for girls day out. Me I went to Apache Sun and played with the group from the rv park. The course was in nice shape, but lots of grass clippings because of the big rain storm on the weekend. Played with a tough foursome today: 7 over, 6 over & one even par. But as I always I play my own game and compete against myself, I still had a good day, oh yes I was 48. If it ever comes up I just tell them that anyone who plays like me and still comes back must enjoy it. LOL
After lunch I played some pool Have not played for a long time, so it was a nice break. Played a couple of guys who usually kick my butt, however didn't do too badly for a sporadic player. I was kind of waiting around for a contractor as I wanted him to have a look at the roof on the park model. We had a bit of rain on the weekend, so wanted to find out if I have a problem. He commented on some do-it-yourself patching on the roof that should never have been done and said that our problem is not very serious. Ended up with him agreeing to put on a sealer in the area that he thinks to be of concern, the most economical approach and one he thinks has a reasonable chance of success; then see what happens. If that doesn't work we will go on to a roof over that area.
Marg got back in time and we went to happy hour. She got there just as the contractor was ready to leave. Fortunately I had some beer in the fridge at the unit, so just took that to happy hour. I got lots of advice there, but think I will stay with the contractors.
Supper in the RV, cooked it on the bbq, you guessed it.
Poker tonight, was lots of laughs and I won early, so you know what happens in the later part of the game. Well I gave most of it back, must be pretty close to even tonight. We decided the renovation was becoming all consuming and that we still needed to have some play time here. Well that was the day off, back on the tools tomorrow. Oh yes it was a nice day, high 82, not a cloud in the sky. In fact the contractor suggested we may have to us a hose to check how well the sealer works on our roof as there is no rain forecast.
Tuesday 4 March 2014
Tuesday, March 4th
Happy birthday wishes to Paige & Haylee!
It was a beautiful day. Almost too nice to spend indoors, so we went out in the morning to pick up a few more things at Home Depot. Needed a better primer for stain & I think we have found it in the Zinther 123, bought it in the spray form and it is amazing. Had another repair problem and needed some trim to make it OK. Got back to the unit in time to make the repairs before lunch. One had to do with a storage cupboard slipping down as well as the need for a few more trim pieces. Also needed more roller sleeves, better quality ones for when we do the top coat.
In the afternoon Marg went for groceries, the cupboards are getting kind of bare with all the working commitments we have had. How bare, well she gave me the last 2 pieces of bread with my soup at lunch. We need to find a better solution to drinking water, she bought another 30 pack of bottles. We go through a pack every week or two and the tap water is OK, but tends to develop a taste if it sits in a water bottle. I painted primer for the afternoon, but we decided to have an early quit as this project seems to be consuming us. We also agreed Wednesdays would not be a work day, as we both have our regular commitments for the day.
We quit at 3:00 in time for a shower so we could make happy hour. One of the surprise problems this reno created is the window covering is removed as well as the bathroom door. When taking a shower, this created some sight line issues from the bedroom window, so I had to stick some cardboard in window. I can just hear them now - saw Dave getting out of the shower, his suits sure needed ironing. LOL We got to happy hour, it starts at 4 and today it was a 2 wobbly pop day.
Supper was pancakes, ham and eggs. It is Shrove Tuesday [pancake day] and pancakes are one of my favourite foods, so there was no doubt about the menu.
Facebook is a good & bad thing at times, but like or hate it, this social media is changing our lives. Last night Marg got in touch of an old friend that we have not seen for over 17 years, Darlene Pawliuk. She used to be Dardie Atkey, Gordie's sister and her and her husband Blackie live in the Seattle area. It turns out they have a winter place in Apache Junction, so are only about 5 minutes from us and have been ever since we have been coming here. So they are making plans to get together and renew an old acquaintance.
Got our invitation to the 2014 wedding event, this one should pretty much wrap it up for their family. It's always a great party, so not much doubt about us going.
Bingo tonight in the hall and that was the day.
It was a beautiful day. Almost too nice to spend indoors, so we went out in the morning to pick up a few more things at Home Depot. Needed a better primer for stain & I think we have found it in the Zinther 123, bought it in the spray form and it is amazing. Had another repair problem and needed some trim to make it OK. Got back to the unit in time to make the repairs before lunch. One had to do with a storage cupboard slipping down as well as the need for a few more trim pieces. Also needed more roller sleeves, better quality ones for when we do the top coat.
In the afternoon Marg went for groceries, the cupboards are getting kind of bare with all the working commitments we have had. How bare, well she gave me the last 2 pieces of bread with my soup at lunch. We need to find a better solution to drinking water, she bought another 30 pack of bottles. We go through a pack every week or two and the tap water is OK, but tends to develop a taste if it sits in a water bottle. I painted primer for the afternoon, but we decided to have an early quit as this project seems to be consuming us. We also agreed Wednesdays would not be a work day, as we both have our regular commitments for the day.
We quit at 3:00 in time for a shower so we could make happy hour. One of the surprise problems this reno created is the window covering is removed as well as the bathroom door. When taking a shower, this created some sight line issues from the bedroom window, so I had to stick some cardboard in window. I can just hear them now - saw Dave getting out of the shower, his suits sure needed ironing. LOL We got to happy hour, it starts at 4 and today it was a 2 wobbly pop day.
Supper was pancakes, ham and eggs. It is Shrove Tuesday [pancake day] and pancakes are one of my favourite foods, so there was no doubt about the menu.
Facebook is a good & bad thing at times, but like or hate it, this social media is changing our lives. Last night Marg got in touch of an old friend that we have not seen for over 17 years, Darlene Pawliuk. She used to be Dardie Atkey, Gordie's sister and her and her husband Blackie live in the Seattle area. It turns out they have a winter place in Apache Junction, so are only about 5 minutes from us and have been ever since we have been coming here. So they are making plans to get together and renew an old acquaintance.
Got our invitation to the 2014 wedding event, this one should pretty much wrap it up for their family. It's always a great party, so not much doubt about us going.
Bingo tonight in the hall and that was the day.
March 3rd
Oops a little late as I fell asleep on the sofa last night.
We left early and went to the rental company, after I took the truck back on Thursday I go so busy I forgot about going in to settle up the final bill. Then it was off to ADOT where we transferred the title on the park model trailer into both names with the right of survivorship so that we would not have to go thru probate should anything bad happen. Then off to the insurance company, which is quite a ways from here. They never sent us a bill for the remainder of the insurance yet, so we wanted to get that dealt with before leaving Az. On the way back we stopped at Lowes and picked up some stuff for our job [$150], then to Home Depot for the pain [another $150].
By this time it was lunch so we thought it best to save some money, LOL. Anyway we went to a Chinese restaurant that does a lunch special for $3.25 and it's really good. The place is always packed to the doorway.
For the afternoon we painted primer on the wood paneling. We went through a lot more than I thought probably because Marg had so much on herself. LOL.
A quick supper and it was off to poker for me. Made out pretty well, but then the table I was at broke up with guys leaving early so I just came back to the m'home rather than change tables. Why you might ask, well that is where I fell asleep on the couch.
We left early and went to the rental company, after I took the truck back on Thursday I go so busy I forgot about going in to settle up the final bill. Then it was off to ADOT where we transferred the title on the park model trailer into both names with the right of survivorship so that we would not have to go thru probate should anything bad happen. Then off to the insurance company, which is quite a ways from here. They never sent us a bill for the remainder of the insurance yet, so we wanted to get that dealt with before leaving Az. On the way back we stopped at Lowes and picked up some stuff for our job [$150], then to Home Depot for the pain [another $150].
By this time it was lunch so we thought it best to save some money, LOL. Anyway we went to a Chinese restaurant that does a lunch special for $3.25 and it's really good. The place is always packed to the doorway.
For the afternoon we painted primer on the wood paneling. We went through a lot more than I thought probably because Marg had so much on herself. LOL.
A quick supper and it was off to poker for me. Made out pretty well, but then the table I was at broke up with guys leaving early so I just came back to the m'home rather than change tables. Why you might ask, well that is where I fell asleep on the couch.
Sunday 2 March 2014
March 2nd
Didn't do a blog yesterday, but I pretty much worked at putting down the sub floor in the park model. It seems there is no shortage of repair work up there. Kenny spent the day with me and we had lots of laughs while doing it.
Marg made grilled sandwiches and brought them and Doris down for lunch, so we had our first lunch in the unit. Lots of visitors on a regular basis, kind of lost count on them now. Marg did laundry then cleaned the motorhome. It seems there is always dust on stuff here, that's the main reason we are replacing the carpet with laminate flooring. Anyway she had the motorhome all spic and span by the time I got back to it.
Finished up early and I showered in the park model before leaving. It's nice to have a regular tub and shower again. By that time Marg showed up looking for me, so we walked back to the m'home together. Saw some people who just arrived, seems they were late getting away from N Carolina. Had to stop and chat with 2 or 3 people on the way back. Well it is the far end of the park and the m'home is in the middle.
Barely got back and had a shave and Kenny was here to pick us up. It was Ron & Mary's last night in the park as they were leaving to a couple of Monaco rally's in Tennessee & Florida. Quite a few manufacturers do this. Marg & Doris had planned a farewell dinner with them at Zer Kate, a nice German restaurant we have gone to in prior years. It was Hanner's first time there and they were suitably impressed. The food was great, as usual and they serve only German beer and it was great as well. Funny part was, both the other couples have German heritage and it was us non-Germans who found the restaurant and introduced them to it. We had lots of laughs, they are good company.
While we were at dinner, the long forecast rains came. For the last week, it was the highlight of the weather forecast and it had been 70 days since the last one. Rain does fall in the desert, although not the much. When it comes it usually ponds and takes a long time to sink in, so can be quite disruptive. Last night there was about 1.8 inches and at times it just poured with a small river running down our street. Something was under the slide in the middle of the night and we think it might have been a coyote or two. You really don't just go charging out in the dark in Az, especially in a downpour. It was quite a storm, even had a tornado touch down in Mesa, probably 15 miles from here.
Sunday was a nice day, although cloudy & saw me back on the tools. Marg made omelets for lunch, so had a nice break. The problem was that walking back to the park model, too many chances to chat. How bad is that? Well Marg cleaned up and did dishes and caught up with me about 4 units down the road. LOL
Kenny showed up right after church, without changing clothes, but stayed around and helped with holding and planning anyway. Got the sub floor finished anyway. The parts that took the most time were the small ones, like the walk-in closet and pulling out the fridge & range to do those areas as well as cutting the holes for the AC vents. The ladies were there in time to do all the clean up, so now it's on to the next phase.
Supper was bbq at the m'home.
Marg made grilled sandwiches and brought them and Doris down for lunch, so we had our first lunch in the unit. Lots of visitors on a regular basis, kind of lost count on them now. Marg did laundry then cleaned the motorhome. It seems there is always dust on stuff here, that's the main reason we are replacing the carpet with laminate flooring. Anyway she had the motorhome all spic and span by the time I got back to it.
Finished up early and I showered in the park model before leaving. It's nice to have a regular tub and shower again. By that time Marg showed up looking for me, so we walked back to the m'home together. Saw some people who just arrived, seems they were late getting away from N Carolina. Had to stop and chat with 2 or 3 people on the way back. Well it is the far end of the park and the m'home is in the middle.
Barely got back and had a shave and Kenny was here to pick us up. It was Ron & Mary's last night in the park as they were leaving to a couple of Monaco rally's in Tennessee & Florida. Quite a few manufacturers do this. Marg & Doris had planned a farewell dinner with them at Zer Kate, a nice German restaurant we have gone to in prior years. It was Hanner's first time there and they were suitably impressed. The food was great, as usual and they serve only German beer and it was great as well. Funny part was, both the other couples have German heritage and it was us non-Germans who found the restaurant and introduced them to it. We had lots of laughs, they are good company.
While we were at dinner, the long forecast rains came. For the last week, it was the highlight of the weather forecast and it had been 70 days since the last one. Rain does fall in the desert, although not the much. When it comes it usually ponds and takes a long time to sink in, so can be quite disruptive. Last night there was about 1.8 inches and at times it just poured with a small river running down our street. Something was under the slide in the middle of the night and we think it might have been a coyote or two. You really don't just go charging out in the dark in Az, especially in a downpour. It was quite a storm, even had a tornado touch down in Mesa, probably 15 miles from here.
Sunday was a nice day, although cloudy & saw me back on the tools. Marg made omelets for lunch, so had a nice break. The problem was that walking back to the park model, too many chances to chat. How bad is that? Well Marg cleaned up and did dishes and caught up with me about 4 units down the road. LOL
Kenny showed up right after church, without changing clothes, but stayed around and helped with holding and planning anyway. Got the sub floor finished anyway. The parts that took the most time were the small ones, like the walk-in closet and pulling out the fridge & range to do those areas as well as cutting the holes for the AC vents. The ladies were there in time to do all the clean up, so now it's on to the next phase.
Supper was bbq at the m'home.
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