Last day of February

Hard to believe but this was the last day of February, 2015, always an ominous day in the life of a snowbird.  It was a cloudy day, with Superstition mountain hidden in the rain clouds.  These are the start of the forecast winter storm that will bring us 3 days of rainy unsettled weather.  They are already anticipating flash flooding in some areas.  It was cooler, but not cold by any stretch and we only got a few sprinkles of rain today.
  It being Saturday, you likely know by now that I go to the rec centre for breakfast.  Bacon, eggs & pancakes with the group of friends who regularly show up for it.  They didn't even ask about Marg and her absence, that too is a given and there were a couple of us lone males in that situation.
  I borrowed a ladder and finished the spraying the sealant on the parts of the carport that usually drip when it rains.  At the end of the day it seems this was effective, with the driveway nice and dry.  It was pretty tight getting the ladder along one side between us and the neighbouring park model.  When Nancy showed up at the door, it made me curious whether that was the reason for her visit; but no she brought over most of a black cherry pie for us.  Her & Bob are not big on sweets, so several times in the past she has done this.  It was the first time I have tasted this kind of pie and it was very nice, especially with the ice cream Marg put on it.
  It got a little confusing then as the Chomiks showed up on our doorstep.  It seems they have friends from their youth [old friends eh?] who were staying in Mesa, so had driven in to see them.  When they discovered us missing from the lot we occupied for the last 5 years, they just started driving the park and found us by our name sign out front.  The confusing part was we never knew they were coming, I was just sitting down to a quick sandwich before driving the girls to Talking Stick, and time was short.  We had to tell them we needed to leave in 20 minutes, so they all came in and sat down with David saying he was timing their stay.  You know how busy visits with them can get and time slips away, but sure enough he sat with watch in hand and announced after 20 minutes that they were leaving.  Nice to see them, but sure would have preferred to have a bit more time.
  By this time the ladies had started to arrive and we loaded up the truck: 5 ladies with me driving.  I had to drive as none had been to Talking Stick resort because of the distance on travelled on 2 freeways to get there.  It is more of an upscale casino and although having heard about it, none had been there and all were excited at the prospect of going.  Marg started this saying to two of her pals that they would love it and if they didn't want to drive; she would ask me.  They word spread, then two more were apparently advised there was room for them, so last night informed her they would be coming.  Good thing the truck has a large cab and the front seat will hold 3.  While they gambled, I went to:  the PGA golf shop, Vans golf shop and a Source for Sports store, all in Scottsdale.  This occupied about 2-2 1/2 hours, so I went back and read a pocket book until they called for a ride.  At about 4 the call came and we drove back to the park, it's about 25 or 30 minutes each way.  Traffic was pretty light, but heavier than they were prepared to deal with, so got some thanks' from the ladies for doing it.  They all seemed to have had a good time and 2 winners, one broke even and 2 not so fortunate.
   When we dropped the ladies off we went out to the Village Inn for supper.  We never ordered off the free pie part of the menu, as we had that covered back in our fridge with the black cherry pie.  Although I had a sandwich at lunch, with the Chomik arrival, Marg didn't eat, so announced she was starving as soon as the truck was empty.  On returning to our unit, we broke out the pie and ice cream, great way to finish the day.

Friday

Went for a bike ride this AM, it was a nice day with a bit of breeze, so had to wear a jacket.  Only made 4 miles today as the knee is acting up.  I think I overdid it on the golf this week.  Funny with the number of times I am playing you would think there would be more improvement in the score card, but alas such is not the case.
  Marg went to water aerobics and there was a larger group as the water temp was 82F, so more like a warm bath.  They had a good workout, but she must have fell victim to the over-doing it bug and we had to go get some liniment for her upper back.  It seems we need to carry the message that we are seniors and should take care that we not get too carried away with the exercise regimen.
  While Marg was at aerobics I finished with the cupboard doors, painting and installing them.  No matter how suspect my cabinet making skills, they look better than what was there.  The old doors seemed to be something like pressed cardboard and were going all soft and were long past their service life.  The bottom line is that Marg was OK with them, so I take that as a pass rather than fail.
  In the afternoon we went to Walmart for some groceries.  In Marg's case this involved several bottles of wine and a case of coolers.  It seems when the ladies stopped for a visit the other day she felt her supply woefully inadequate and just wants to be prepared.  LOL  When we returned, I borrowed a ladder and cleaned the rain gutters and sprayed some sealant on the areas where they drip.  With the impending 3 or so days of rain, I wanted to see if I can stop the water from ponding on the driveway pad.  Yes I know a driveway is supposed to take rainwater, but with the carport, we use it almost like a covered patio.  There is a storm system moving through the whole west and we are expecting about 3 days of low temps and rain.  I believe the forecast is for the maximum daily temp to be in the 60's, but by golf day on Wednesday to be very pleasant.
  Went to happy hour where there was pretty good crowd.  Marg tried two of her coolers [she said they were small], but if she had one more I might have been cooking.  LOL  Supper was a pasta and shrimp dish that was very tasty.  Pretty funny as Linda & Gary were in the area and Marg gave them a taste.  We were just about done, so they took what was left and parted with a smile.  Desert was the last of the bread pudding with clotted cream, you know the one from Devon.  Notice there was no sharing involved with this!  HAH! 
  A bit late posting the blog as it is Saturday morning.  Should have lots to report on today as there are now 6 women going to Talking Stick.  Enjoy your weekend everyone!
   Char - here is a photo of the funky shorts.

Thursday

Today was a great day, the kind of weather we are here for.  It started out warm and sunny and got very nice, high 70's I think.
  I left to play golf with Gerry C at about 9:45.  This time of day is great to travel as the morning work traffic is over so traffic is light.  I got to his place just as they were pulling in from their morning workout at the YMCA pool, in fact I followed through the electric gate on their tail.  The complex they live in is surrounded by a brick wall and iron fence and they change the gate code every few months.  We had a tee time for 11:11 and the course being downtown Phoenix isn't far from their place.  While it's a municipal course, it is the 3rd oldest course in the city and although not overly difficult is well maintained.  We were paired with a father/son who turned out to be Canadians as well.  The father from Calgary and the son from Nelson, BC.  They were good to play with and we had a good day.  I wore some funky shorts that were new to me, in fact Gerry commented on them.  Only lost one ball, but it was in a foolish play to try and clear turtle lake, should have known better.
  Marg went to water aerobics this morning as the air temperature was over 70F, although there were only a half dozen of them because the pool temp was only 74F.  This is way to cool for most and some of them call Marg a polar bear when she goes in the cooler pool.  She prefers is like that when they have a good workout, but the majority of these seniors prefer it well into the 80's.
  After lunch she had some visitors and they even had a glass of something as the day wore on.  It was an interesting group; made up with one from each of:  Saskatchewan, Georgia & Minnesota.  From the sounds of things it was lots of laughs.  They broke up to go for happy hour, so must have chatted for quite a while.
  Golf played a little slower today, it took 4 1/2 hours, so that put me on the #51 highway at the start of evening rush hour traffic.  It went really slow until I got through there to the #202 loop, where it picked up to a decent pace.  Phoenix is the sixth largest US city, so I guess we have to expect some heavy traffic.  Got home at about 5 and supper was on the stove.
  After supper it was laundry time, so we both took the load down to the park laundry room.  Marg put it all in the machines and did all the pre-treating and stuff; me, well I carried and put the money on the laundry card.  Don't laugh those are important jobs as well.  When it was done from the dryers, I went with her to help with the folding and carrying.  Oh yeh, I cleaned the lint trap on one dryer; heavy responsibilities, right?

Wednesday, Feb 25th

Chilly this morning I think it was below 50F when we got up, however the day warmed quickly when the sun came out.  It wasn't really hot, so there was no water aerobics and it was definitely nicer in the sun than the shade.
  It was golf day for the group from the park at Apache Sun, so Gerry C came over to join in with us and we headed down south for the 8:30 start time.  There were enough players to fill all the places we have.  Gerry & I got paired with Pat & Diane, the same as last week.  We all had good rounds, but Pat really played well, he was 2 over.  I was one stroke worse than last week, but a good game anyway and never lost a ball, which is my mark of success.  There will be a few missing next week as some will be heading for home in the next couple of weeks.
  Marg got out a drop sheet and put stain on the wood bench we have out back on the patio.  It was one of the things she got from Amanda before they moved out.  It's kind of rustic and is made out of peeled and turned logs.  The stain is a lighter colour and semi-transparent, so the character of the wood really shows through.  I had made a small stand for use in the Az room and she stained it as well, so she had a busy morning.
  We got back just before noon and Gerry headed home.  Marg & I had lunch and she again used he marble rye bread that seems to go well with everything.  She made a version of bacon and eggers with it, which is always welcome.
  After lunch I attached my router to the router table and set it up on the back patio.  I had the cupboard doors that I cut out of MDF and needed to put a relief on the edges.  After I installed the hinges and handles on a set and put them on one of the lower cabinets.  They turned out Ok for a first attempt.  Been seeing a few ants around, so sprayed all around the place for them.  You really can't let them get to well established around here or you need an exterminator and that can be very expensive.
  By then Kenny & Doris had stopped by with her son and his wife who came from Colorado.  As they are only here for a few days, Doris wanted to show them around and introduce them to a few friends.  We had a brew and then we all went over for happy hour.  Marg didn't go with the gamblin' gals today and when they showed up declaring there were no winners among them, she felt good about her decision.  I'm wasn't sure what happened when all of a sudden all the women were laughing hysterically.  Larry had apparently seen it and said, you need to ask your wife what she is up to.  It turned out Marg had told a joke and it required some acting for effect and the combination of the two caused all the laughter.
  It was hamburger night, so we all went over to the rec hall for a cheeseburger.  Gary's crew do these a few times over the course of the winter and they are always well attended.  In fact you want to get there early or end up at the back end of a very long line.
  It was poker night, so went and donated to friends who seemed to need the change more than I did, LOL.  We had a few laughs there as well.

Tuesday, Feb 24th

Rained quite a bit last night and it was cool and windy in the morning.  We are pretty fortunate as the areas to the north were still getting snow this AM at elevations above 5,000 ft.  As the day wore on in the valley it became very pleasant in the sun. 
  Went bike riding, but there was just Larry and me, the cool wind no doubt being a factor.  I wore long pants and a warmer coat and still only went just over 4 1/2 miles.  Larry was a lot tougher and stayed with the short pants, but did give in to a warmer coat.  We saw 2 more snakes on the roadway this morning.  Both were the same as the previous one, gopher snakes.  One had been run over and the other smaller one attacked and killed by something, probably a bird from the looks of it.  Being cooler, they probably came out to lie on the black asphalt to warm up.
 After the ride, Marg & I went down the Santan freeway to Total Wine.  Nothing too adventurous there, I got a couple of old faithful bottles of scotch and one of Irish whisky. They had some good deals, but not on what we were looking for, so didn't get too carried away.  It was a my first day in long pants in probably a month or six weeks.  We then went up to the big Mexican grocery store, Ranch Market, I believe, as it was sort of on the way back.  Got some nice baked goods as they have a great bakery in the place.  Marg also bought tortilla chips, they make them right in the store and they are tastier than the ones you buy off the shelf at other stores.  We then stopped at Sprouts, the first time for us, again on the way back.  We get lots of flyers advertising the place and Marg had wanted to check it out for some time now.  It was pretty good, kind of boutique like, the produce was very fresh so picked up a few things there as well.
  By then it was lunch time and there was a KFC on the road back, so we pulled in there.  Marg loves the place and I usually manage to find something to eat there.  They had a lunch special that was unbelievable, so Marg had the 2 pieces of chicken [leg and thigh] and roll, I had the usual chicken breast sandwich with their version of fries.  With drinks it came to about $8 for the two of us, pretty good deal. 
  We got back to the park in the early afternoon and did a bit of maintenance stuff.  It was not a good day to start a project, so we just did small jobs.  Had a few chats with people in the park and that was the afternoon.  Supper was nun's toast, a family favourite.  The toast was a nice marble rye bread that we picked up today.  Desert was bread pudding, a fav of mine topped with clotted Devon cream.  It was the real deal, all the way from Cornwall, so really good and really decadent. 
  After it was bingo night at the rec hall.  Marg took the caller [Richard] a small bag of candy tonight, something does from time to time.  It must have helped as we won one game, so just enough to keep us in the game, but not enough to be life altering.  LOL

Feb 23rd

A gloomy day, very overcast.  The forecast was right, it will rain.  It did rain off and on throughout the day.
  I went for a bike ride with the guys this morning.  There was a chilly wind and it made riding a challenge and although we were in short pants, we needed a jacket.  It was definitely a short track morning, so we only made about 4 1/2 miles today.
  We had a bit of company this AM after I got back and Marg made a pot of coffee to have one with Lynette.  By the time it was made we had more visitors, so she poured coffee & Baileys which went over very well in the cool morning.
  After lunch I left to go golfing with the guys at Superstition Springs, check it out they have a great web site.  Changed to long pants for the game, the first time in weeks I have not been in shorts.  Gene had got some online deal that was about 60% of the regular rate.  When we got to the course, it was evident that we were in a very nice course.  Although Gene had played it previously, it was new to me.  The course had a starter and he had an assistant.  They loaded your clubs and complimentary range balls were provided on both the putting surface and driving range.  The starter invited guests to the first tee on a PA system, giving sufficient notice for anyone on the range.  At the end of the game they wipe your clubs off, you know the kind of place I mean.  It was a beautiful course, very scenic with lots of water, numerous strategically placed traps, mature trees and narrow fairways and putting greens.  In a word very challenging, one of the most difficult courses I have played in recent memory.  I had some successes, but generally the course "ate my lunch" and I carded the highest score I have seen for quite some time [partially because of the 4 balls I lost in the water].  They are great guys to golf with and we had lots of laughs.  The other guys scored better than me, but then it was hard not to, LOL.  We had a bit of rain, although it was spotty.  Just enough to make me put on the rain jacket a few times.
  Marg had a great day as well.  She went out shopping and got a couple of great deals at Kohl's.  Some shorts and some slacks, can't recall what she calls them [could it be Capri pants?], but I would refer to them as floods. I believe the amount she ended paying was about 30% of that on the tags, so great value.  There was no water aerobics as the temp did not reach 70F in the morning, in fact I don't think it got there at all today.
  When we went for a beer after the round, the clubhouse bar was closed for a private party, so we returned to the park.  The guys stopped in and Marg was our barmaid, serving a beer and a couple enjoying a taste of scotch while we re-hashed the day.  Stan drove is only 4 doors down from us and he drove today, so pretty convenient.
  Supper was an eat in affair tonight as it raining pretty hard for a while in the evening.  It is supposed to clear off tomorrow, so fingers crossed for sunshine.

Sunday, Feb 22nd

A cooler day today, probably due to the cloud cover in the morning.  As the day wore on, it warmed up and was a very pleasant day.  Apparently there is a winter storm system moving through this area and up north in the Flagstaff area they are expecting as much as 22 inches of snow tonight.  There is a possibility of light rain showers tomorrow in this area, but fingers crossed as I am supposed to play golf.  The snow is only forecast in higher elevations, so that usually means 5,000 ft.  Our tee time is 1:20 and the chances are rated at around 50% at that time.  The day time high is forecast to be in the high 60's, but not reaching 70, so may have to get out the long pants.
  I went out with the guys for a bike ride this AM.  It was a nice morning for a ride, but windy.  We had to hold up for a guy backing his trike out of his driveway, so we chatted with him a bit.  Turns out he had built it and it was powered by an improved 454 cu in GM that develops 550 hp.  It had an automatic transmission, but the massive V-8 sitting in front of the rider was hard to believe.  I asked if it was pretty quick and he said he had to give a lesson in quickness to a vette yesterday.
  Marg went out for groceries to Fry's, so was back shortly after I got back.  She said it was really unusually quiet at that time in the morning.  The quiet was likely the result of the big numbers that go to church services here.  Apparently there were lots of good deals today, so she was well pleased with the trip.
  After she got back we went out to Home Depot for some stuff.  I am going to try making a couple of cupboard doors, so bought some MDF.  Have not worked with this much in the past, so it may be interesting.  While we were there a couple from our park were looking to buy a couple of sheets of OSB, so she approached us to ask if we were going right back to the park.  We told them we had some looking around to do, but would take their 2 sheets if they could wait.  Others have done this for us in the past and knew how much we appreciated it so offered.  We looked at lower cabinets and chastised ourselves for not putting new ones in before doing the floor and then bought the pieces.  If this works out, then I will tackle the 4 drawers that need replacement.  As it turned out we were quite a while, but there they were patiently waiting and we delivered their sheets.
  After lunch we had some company and then I cut the MDF.  Can't say it is my favourite stuff to work with, very fine sawdust everywhere.  I still have to run it through the router, can hardly wait.  Anyway I went for a shower as the day was well along by this time & that seemed the only way to rid myself of the cursed dust.  We went to happy, where there was a small group, the nucleus of the regular group.  Solved most of the worlds problems and by then it was supper time.  Supper tonight was a chicken stir-fry.  Very tasty.  Just got finished in time to go for ice cream social where I was fortunate enough to have room for a banana split and Marg for ice cream and white cake.  It was pretty well attended and after we stopped in at Blank's for a short visit.

Saturday, Feb 21st

  A nice sunny warm day, enjoy as it is probably the last one this warm for a week or more.
  Got out to the park breakfast this AM.  It was the Canadian team that cooked, they do a corned beef hash option, not sure what part of Canada that comes from, but I have not seen it at home.  I had bacon, eggs & pancakes, I like corned beef, but not at breakfast.
  After Marg & I picked up the Bingers and we went to check out yard sales.  After about 2 hours of it they had a few small things, but no big success story.  It was funny as we were coming across people from the park pretty regular and the gals touched lots of stuff even if they never bought much.  Then we went to a park that had a car show combined with their sale.  Some really cool cars, so Jerry & I spent most of our time looking them over.  For me one of the highlights was a 57 Pontiac [my first car was a 58], some real nice T buckets, a great 51 Ford convert & some really nice interiors, unique gauges.  I wandered over to the sale stuff and picked up some golf cart tires.  When I asked the guy how much, he said $10, each I said, no you have to take all 5 he said.  We want this stuff out of here.  So I bought 5, but 2 of them are bald as a babies bum.  They will likely be OK as spares or for the rims.  With the two I previously bought that makes too many, so will keep the best of them.
  We got back to the park just before lunch and had a sandwich on the patio.  Did a bit of visiting around the park, that's easy to do.  Along the ways stopped to supervise a flower bed planting.  It seems Judy bought some ornaments and plants with her big win at the casino.  Every public works job needs supervision and being the only retired municipal employee, was probably the best qualified to supervise.  LOL  Marg still had some coupons for Laughlin and Sue indicated her and Ron were going there next week, so gave them the coupons.  Just glad to see them getting used.
  Supper was a bbq.  Marg got some new sauce that we tried out and it was great.  We ate a little to hearty, so went out for a walk around the park to settle it down.  On the way we saw the planet Mars in the night sky.  It was really bright tonight, very cool.
 

Friday

A great day in the valley, a bit cloudy and at home I would have expected rain, but not here in Apache Junction.  As the day wore on the sun burned off the clouds and it was warm and sunny.
  After breakfast I took the truck in for an oil change.  The place I went has done the car and motorhome in the past, but this was the first time with the truck. I wanted synthetic oil because I am pulling the trailer home, so it will be working on the way home.  For this reason I had to go purchase the oil and filter myself, which I got at O'Reilly's for $34 [5 qts].  They offer an oil and filter package deal, so that was the reason I went there.  Patriots offer an $18 oil and filter change, but I only wanted them to do the change, so they charged me $10 for bringing in my own stuff.  Works out to be a great deal for a change with synthetic oil anyway.
  When I got back I took Marg to a couple of yard sales.  Friday is really the big day for most of them here, with the exception of park-wide sales which are commonly done on Saturday.
  Went to one sale where the guy was selling the peach faced love birds.  He had a few dozen of them and they were $50 each or 2 for $80.  The picture is a wild one that was at Nancy's bird feeder, there have been quite a few around here.  When I mentioned this to the guy, he said he has lost several over the years and they do just fine in this climate.  Apparently they are really easy to train and he has one that rides around on this shoulder.  No, never bought one.
  We went to a couple of park-wide sales, the first one never had much we were interested in, but I did buy a pocket knife.  A weakness I have as I have so many of these that I cannot justify one.  At the second sale Marg found some things that I only then found out we needed.  One was a big bowl for doing big bowl things, some glasses that she tells me will be ideal for scotch, oh yes I got 3 pocket books.  You are no doubt getting the picture.
  When we got back we took Darryl to Lowes for a sheet of plywood and Marg got a quart of stain.  Darryl is from GP and wants to make some changes in his 5th wheel, but couldn't haul it in his Smart car.  He has a cool set up, pulls the Smart car onto the deck on his Kenworth, then pins on to his 5th wheel, pretty slick set up.  Marg is going to stain the wood bench she got from Miranda as it is quite weathered.
  By then it was pretty much happy hour, so we went for the obligatory one.  Marg had a bunch of coupon books that Gerry C gave her, so she offered them to the gals at happy.  They are for various things in Laughlin and I think she gave away all but two books, seems a bunch of our friends are looking to make a road trip there.
  Supper was Ihop, Marg must be trying to get on my good side, LOL.  I had something radically different as I almost always have the 2x2x2, but tonight had a Fajita omelet with rye bread toast, it was great, very filling and I couldn't finish it.  Marg had the all you can eat fish and chips.  She said the fish was great, but again very filling, so she was not able to do justice to the all you can eat part of the deal. 
  It was animal races tonight and although the crowd was a bit smaller, they were enthusiastic.  The elephant won the first race and paid well as there were few people betting on it.  Marg & I both did well on it and we had a great time giving the unbelievers a hard time, as we profess to be the elephant lovers of Apache Junction.
  A good time was had by all.  Got to sign off so I can fill out the online customer satisfaction survey with Ihop so I can get free pancakes,  LOL.

 

Thursday, Feb 19th

  The day saw us up and off to a good start, me with the guys on our morning bike ride.  Marg with the coffee klatch down at the rec centre.  As it turned out the donuts were free this morning, so
I chose poorly, LOL.  Apparently the elections for officers in the tenants association will not be taking place as there were only sufficient nominations to fill the four available positions.  This was fortunate for the election chairman [Kenny] as it makes for a much easier process.  On the bicycle front, we made 7 miles today and it was pretty well as nice a day to ride as we could have asked for.
  When I got back, Marg went for water aerobics.  It was great weather for that as well, with the day warming quickly.  They had a good turnout for a good workout today.  The only negative was the park manager had filled the pool, well over-filled actually so everyone who is vertically challenged had to be on their toes.  ;>))  That of course included Marg, who could barely get the program done at 4 ft depth. Knowing the bunch that turn up for this I can imagine the shallow end was pretty full.
  I messed around with one of the cupboards in the kitchen.  There were a pile of wires left from something one of the previous owners had done.  They seemed to be for telephone and cable, not house voltage.  Anyway I chopped them all off and took them out.  This is the pots & pans cupboard and was pretty full, so I put a shelf in the back of it.  It is about the 3rd project I have done with the shelving that used to be in the Az room, some nice straight old 1"x12" pine.
  Marg made some soup for lunch, no not from a can or package, she really made the soup.  It was full of vegetables and stuff and turned out very tasty.  To accompany it she made some biscuits that also turned out to be very tasty.
  The afternoon was pretty casual for us.  We pretty much sat around in the cool patio area in the breezeway.  It was almost too hot to sit out on the back patio in the sun.  I don't believe we have done that before, but it was a nice break in our busy routine here.  We managed to free ourselves up for happy hour today.  There were a lot of ladies there, but only about 5 guys, so we had a nice visit.  Pretty funny as Larry had bought a bottle of scotch and had been telling me it was pretty good.  I usually just have one beer, but he went and poured me about 3 ounces in a shot glass.  Drink like that made me think of my old friend Bill P, that was what you could expect from him.  Anyway I pretty much had as much as anyone needed at that time of day.
  Supper was some left overs from the slow cooker meal the other day.  They were still good, especially when the left over buns from lunch were added to the table.  Then desert was the last of the brownies from the other day with a small bowl of ice cream and I was ready for a nap.  Well I was ready but we never had one.
  Forgot to mention that I went for fuel yesterday at the Fry's store.  I used Marg's discount points, so ended up paying $1.99 per gallon.  Fuel prices have been rising pretty quickly in the last couple of weeks so we appear to have seen the bottom of the rates.  While this may be good for the people working in the oil patch back home, it is not for the travelling public.  In prior years, it seems that fuel prices peak about when I fill the motorhome at the end of the winter months.  This however seems to be the earliest that trend has started, although Arizona is still reported to be less than the national average.

Wednesday the 18th

Time passes so quickly and although we are making the best of our time here, there are people talking about leaving already.  One couple are leaving for Michigan shortly and we kidded him about getting her a new snow shovel.  The day started out chilly and I wore a jacket.
  Gerry showed up at his usual few minutes before 8 and we drove out to Apache Sun to play with the people in the park.  It was a very nice day and by the time we arrived at the course, some 20 minutes from here, the coat was no longer needed.  Yes it was a short pants day, I don't think I have had long pants on since December.  We had a full contingent this morning and our foursome was all Canucks. 
I had been saying when I had a bad round, I would take out my new clubs, well that happened yesterday, so the new clubs went out today.  It's really funny because the sand wedge is not labeled as such, rather it has an "A" on it.  I tell people because it is a Canadian set of clubs, eh?  The game went much better today, although I was off to a rocky start, taking a hockey stick on the first hole - for you non-Canadians, that is a 7.  It was a par 5, so it could have been worse, like on a par 3, LOL.  I made up for it with a par [4] on the second hole.  The 4th hole is where we compete for the longest putt & I sank one from just over 8 ft that was good enough to win the money.  Most of the players put in a dollar for this and the closest to the pin hole, so that earned me $15; as well as my second par [4].  Ended the round with a decent score, in fact as good as any 9 holes I have played this winter.
  Marg left early with the gamblin' gals for the Fort.  She has decided to go every second week, but was missing their company.  She didn't win at the bingo, but pretty much broke even on the slots, so a pretty enjoyable day.
  After lunch [had to make my own again], I worked on the back step.  It is a 3 step stair from the breezeway up to the door and had some old imitation grass on it.  I had some remnants from the Az room that I was able to cut and put on it.  It wasn't all that complicated, but it took a while to take it apart and as it was quite old, there were repairs required to get it back to where it needed to be.  I thought it turned out OK and was encouraged when Marg said it looked like a new step.  I think anything would have looked better than the grungy old material.
  I finished up in time to go for happy hour.  It was a full crowd again today, even with the gambling's gals missing, it was a full house.  We were chatting and Larry said something about it being time for the gals to be getting back and sure enough they pulled up to the driveway within a minute.  Almost like he was psychic.  I walked back to our place with Marg and she made up a vegetable salad and brownie plate to take over to Wilcox's.  It was Bob's birthday and he wanted to cook steaks for a bunch of friends.  There were 34 of us and he did a masterful job on the steaks they supplied.  Very nice people.  Everyone brought something to share, so there was a lot of food.  There was the usual collection of hilarious cards.  Marg selected one of the cards from those made by Lyzi for the occasion, telling all her friends where it came from.  This was mainly a very different group of people than the regular bunch, but we a friendly towards everyone & Bob is one of the guys I enjoy playing at the pool room.
  Helped clean up packing the tables and chairs back to the hall.  The guys were starting to play poker when we were doing it, so when we finished I sat in on the game.  I didn't think I would even be playing, so never had my poker change with me, but did have a bit so sat in while Marg went and got my little change bag from the trailer.  I think I lost a bit, but there were only 5 guys and they were pretty much the ones I enjoy playing, so it was a fun evening.

Tuesday, Feb 17th

It's amazing how chilly it can be at night followed by a warm sunny day, life in the desert still continues to amaze me at times.
  Gerry had made a tee time at Encanto for 11:00 today, so I was on the road before 10 to drive to the middle of Phoenix.  I left the rv park wearing a light coat due to the chilly morning air and by the time I reached the course, it was just excess baggage, so left it in the truck.  The traffic was light at that time, but it still took over half an hour to get to his place.  We got to the course early, but as soon as we checked in they called us to the first tee.  The cost of golf goes down after noon so most people either golf real early or wait until the rates go down.  With the players card we can now book anytime at the same rate, so we have been experimenting to see what works best.  We got paired with a couple of other guys: one retired from Minnesota, the other a car salesman in town.  Funny really because the salesman gave us a song and dance about having a couple of good shots in the game and the rest was terrible.  Turned out to be a very good golfer & carded a score of 80, he was 3 over on the front 9.  It was such a beautiful day, great day to be on the course and we finished pretty much in 4 hours.  This put me on the road home early & would have been great except for an accident on the #51 that had us stopped for a bit..
  Marg went to water aerobics and then sat in the pool for a while.  She said she was in there over 1 1/2 hrs, so probably had her toes and fingers wrinkled like prunes, LOL. She loves the pool and it is a great place on a hot day.  After that she started supper in the slow cooker and made a tray of brownies, so was busy in the kitchen.
  After the fender bender it was clear sailing home and was here in time for happy hour.  There was a full house tonight, but got caught up on the news about the park.  One of Marg's friends was getting rid of a couple of kitchen chairs that she fancied, so she went dumpster diving, LOL.  Well not exactly, but we did bring home 2 chairs that she wanted.
  Supper was a nice roast with potatoes and veg from the slow cooker.  Very tasty and timely, both important on Tuesday night.  By the time we ate and had stuff cleaned up, Gerry & Deb showed up.  They came to play bingo at the rec hall tonight.  Wheeled Deb down and got our spots with the regular group we sit with.  It was our lucky night, we had 4 winners at our table, although neither Marg nor I were winners.  After bingo Gerry & Deb stopped in for a snack and coffee.  Had a nice visit with them and they left in pretty good time as they are coming back in the morning, Gerry to golf and Deb to shop.

Presidents Day

Presidents day here in Az, so a long weekend.  Many parts of Canada it was Family day, well in Manitoba it was Louis Real day.  Funny isn't it, yesterdays traitor, a hero today; I guess that is how the old axiom works - Time is a great healer.
  It was another gorgeous day in AJ.  The sun shone and there was a gentle breeze in the valley.  The guys showed up here on schedule and I went for a bike ride with them.  There were four of us today as we headed out on the usual route.  We rode down to Idaho and swung by the place where the snake was, but it was long gone.  It's hard to say, but it either recovered and went away or some predator came along and had it for lunch.  The roadrunner would be one of the main suspects if it fell victim to a predator.  About half way we split up, with two of us returning to the park and the others taking the long track.  Us short trackers made about 4 1/2 miles, but we felt good about that as we had completed over 8 yesterday.
  When I got back Jerry & I put our trailers on the neighbours driveway.  Carol had offered the use of it as she was going back to Washington a very much appreciated offer.  This location is much better for us to keep an eye on them and it will be handy when we have to load them.  We have been talking about another trip into the desert, hopefully sometime next week, but it will depend on Norm's foot.
  Marg went to water aerobics and said they had a good workout today.  I worked on the fence a bit while she was gone.  We had some extra lattice, so put it on the other side, so it is on both sides now.  I messed with one of the drawers that I am planning on using in the kitchen.  In the end I think I have an idea of how I can modify them to get the 4 drawers I need in here.
  By this time it was happy hour, so you know by now where we went.  Attendance was good today and I had my obligatory one beer.  From there we went to the spaghetti dinner in the rec centre.  It was provided by the tenants association and for $5 we got a salad and a plate of spaghetti, sauce, meatballs, a couple slices of rye bread.  It was very good meal and a great break from cooking.  It's also great for the single people in the park as they get out for a good meal with others and deals with the dilemna of what to cook.
  On the way back one of the residents asked for some assistance.  He is caring for his wife, who is in a hospice situation.  They needed something from Walmart for his ailing wife, so Marg & I drove there to pick up what he needed.  And that was our good deed for the day.

Sunday

Saturday was not too busy, so I never made an entry to the blog.  It was a hot day, probably in the 80's, it was gorgeous.  Went for a bike ride and we made about 4 1/2 miles.  It was windy and tough riding into the wind and we didn't want to go too far west as that would mean a long ride back into the wind.
  When I got back, I finished the wagon for Larry.  He was pretty happy with it and Nancy has plans to put a potted plant in the wagon box.  We had quite a few visitors during the day, so Marg stayed around and then went out for a haircut.  Pretty funny as it is a place that several of her friends use and being desperate, she decided to try it.  The funny part is she really hit it off with the hairdresser's approach and ended up with a positive experience.  I can count the number of these on one hand.  I guess the hairdresser said she looked apprehensive about the way her hair is done and offered her the opportunity to blow dry her own hair, which she did.  The end result was she was really pumped about the experience.
  Being Valentines day we planned to go out for supper to Red Lobster.  One of Marg's friends approached her about going out to dinner with 2 other couples, so she agreed.  It seems several other people got on the bandwagon and in the end there were 15 of us went out as a group to the Golden Corral.  We were fortunate that they sat us all together and we had a great time.  People shared rides and everyone enjoyed their meal as there is so much variety.  Apparently I now have a rain check outstanding for Red Lobster though.

  Sunday was also a beautiful day and a couple of the guys picked me up to ride again.  There was no wind today, so we made about 8.2 miles.  About 1/3rd of the way into our ride we came across a snake in the road.  It had been hurt by something, likely a predator as it was not squashed and was still pretty alert when we saw it.  I did a comparison to the snakes of Arizona site 9 [there are a few dozen] and it looks to be a gopher snake and is not poisonous.
  We went out shopping a bit as I need a pair of shorts and of course Marg bought 3 pairs.  She always does that, claiming it is so hard to get me shopping that she has to take advantage.  Then she had a coupon for a deal on some kind of cream at Dillard's and we sure wouldn't want to miss out on that, it even came with a free gift.  She was pretty happy with the outcome of all that anyway.
  When we got back to the place it was pretty much happy hour, so we went over there.  Pretty good sized bunch today.  Beth had a bunch of red heart shaped balloons filled with helium.  At first I thought they were her Valentine gift, but it turned out she wanted to release them in memory of her 9 yr old grandson.  He died a year ago today in New Mexico, quite unexpectedly in what seemed like a harmless hospital procedure.  Anyway we released the balloons, an emotional moment as you can imagine, some of the ladies penned a message on theirs.  It was quite a sight to see them float away.
  Ice cream social tonight.  I had a banana split, Marg cake & ice cream.
  Oh yes the rock of petrified wood Marg bought the other day.  It's pretty cool, so thought I would share it with you.

Friday, Feb 13th

A day that always gathers mixed reactions, Friday the 13th.  That aside it was a great day in the valley of the sun.
  Went for a bike ride with the guys this morning, but the wind blew hard again, so you guessed it; we went the short route.  There were only 3 of us this AM and we made about 5 miles.  That still took about an hour as we stopped for a breather half way.  The route we take is uphill for the first couple of miles and with the wind in our face, it was tough going, all the way to Idaho rd.
  After we got back I chatted a few guys up and Marg went to water aerobics.  It was a great day for it and the pool was very pleasant, so they had a great day.  They have tapes and it takes them through the routines so they get a good workout.
  When she got back we went to a yard sale that I saw while on the bike ride.  It was an estate sale and there were lots of cars there, so figured it must be a good one.  She took to it in power shopping mode and found a few things that appealed, so picked them up.  There was a pitcher for cool aid [I guess, that was what mom used one for], some pinking shears [for someone who doesn't sew], a bowl, an old peanut jar, etc.  She thought the peanut jar was antique, but I think the plastic ring around the lid is an indication it isn't all that old.  Me I found absolutely nothing of interest, which is often the case. On the way back we saw another sale and stopped in as they had a bunch of Elvis stuff.  As it turned out that wasn't all that attractive, but she did find a piece of petrified wood that she picked up.  The guy was selling it by the pound, but after weighing it [34 lbs.] she was able to get a better deal because it was heavier than he estimated.  It was probably the first rock he has sold in a month of Sundays as well!  It's sitting in the flower bed out front, but I think it may go home with us.
  After lunch Larry stopped by with his wagon.  He has a little old wagon with a wooden box and it was falling apart.  We repaired the sides, put a new floor in it and fixed the seat.  It's pretty old, you know steel wheels and all.  He plans to fix it up so Nancy can use it to hold potted plants in their flower bed.  Will try to remember to get a picture tomorrow as it is pretty neat.  It's their place where most happy hours are and he really never asks anything of anyone, so when he asked, it was a given that I would help.
  We went out to pay the Mediacom bill and stopped on the way back so I could go to Ace hardware for some bolts for the wagon.  Marg went in to Bells where she was able to get a couple of tops, so was pretty happy.  The real reason we went is our bank is in the same square and we needed cash.  I used my debit card as I hadn't tired it since they replaced it.  They had cancelled it on me because I had never used it before, a problem Marg has never had with hers.  LOL
   We got back in time for happy hour.  The group was a bit smaller today, as there seem to be a few people with colds and such around the park, so it was a good thing they stayed away.  Supper tonight was leftovers from the chicken pot pie and then a quiet night in front of the tube for us.

Thursday

A great day, a little breezy, but warm and sunny.
  I went to coffee & donuts this AM and sat with friends.  The best news out of it was I got a good donut, LOL.  Marg didn't come with me this time [her first miss in a while] as she had to go out for some groceries and a few other things.  With her and my commitments today, it was her only opportunity to do this, so she elected to miss the coffee deal.  I think they call it a coffee klatch.
  After I came back and made up a sign for the walking track.  After Gary & I measured it with the rhino, he asked if I would do this & it's pretty hard to refuse a guy who does so much for this park.  Made a couple of versions and he selected one to laminate and post on the track.  The sign is to tell users the length of the track, so was an easy one.  Stopped in the office on the way back to tell the park manager that I would be moving my trailer from the storage lot.  The neighbour is leaving and she offered that I could park it on her driveway, nice people from Washington state.
  By then Marg was back and went to water aerobics.  This was the choice she made and the reason she missed coffee.  They had a smaller bunch of gals today and they seem to like that as it gives them more room to thrash about in the pool.  The lower attendance may be a result of the cold water in the pool, it was only 84F and many seem to want it close to the level of the hot tub.  This is hard to believe or understand for us northerners.
  I drove today and 4 of us from the park went to Apache Creek, where we played 18 holes.  In case you aren't counting, that makes 3 consecutive days of golf, 45 holes.  It is a desert course, which means the fairways and such are green, but if you stray from the designated areas, it is hard sand and brush.  Also a horde of critters, like rabbits and gophers, even a lizard all over the place.  I hit the ball pretty well [especially off the tee], but did lose 2 balls today, probably those gophers took them down a hole.  Both were Powerstroke balls, thanks to Bill, so that would be appropriate down hole advertising.  LOL  My score was OK for me [read 100 or less] but not as good as the prior 2 days.  It seemed everyone struggled from time to time, but they are a bunch of characters, so we had fun.  I ended the day on with a par [4] on #18, so that will keep me returning, even if I did have to drive through an OB area to get there.  No I didn't stop in the area, my ball was in play where it landed.
  Marg made a couple of chicken pot pies.  One we had for supper and it was great.  The other she gave to Jim & Beth [from New Mexico].  She is the lady who had hip replacement surgery this past week and is back in their 5th wheel and although healing very well, had a tough day having her staples removed today.  They posted a pic of it with appreciative comments, nice folks.
  For happy hour today, it was hosted by Kenny & Doris and there were appetizers [most people brought something] and brandy slushes.  Marg went and there were a very large number of folks in attendance today.  Well not the four of us who had to work [aka golf], however we did speculate on what a brandy slush would taste like, while settling for beer.
  When I got back to the park we stopped for a beer at Pat & Gene's places and then it was home for supper.  Did I mention the great chicken pot pie?
  There was a big powerball lottery yesterday 550 million, but it appears no one we know has won.  There were 3 winners, one from Arizona, but surely they would have thrown a party if it was anyone here.  Oh well that would have been to much money for us to deal with anyway, but will now plan on winning the much smaller jackpot next week.   Hah!

Wednesday

  Well another great day in the valley of the sun.
  Got off to a good start and went out to Apache Sun to play 9 holes with the group from the rv park.  It was sunny and the course was in great shape.  Managed to make it through the round without losing a ball.  This was a result of some luck on the second hole where a poorly hit drive ended up getting a members bounce and I ended up with a par on the hole.  Someone was smiling on me.  Ended with a good score that equaled my best nine this winter, so far.
  Marg was also up early and got the laundry loaded in the back of the rhino.  She was fortunate enough to get 3 machines and the dryers were available as well, so got through in record time.  With all this good fortune, she was able to make it to water aerobics [splash & thrash] to take part.  To do this she wore clothes over her bathing suit, so when she got to the pool, the ladies asked if she was going to change so she could participate.  She started taking her over-clothes off and with some kidding around she was performing a strip tease to a bunch of applause from the gals in the pool.  She had a good workout and drove the rhino to and from there as well.
  While Marg was getting our lunch I had a call from Elmo.  He had a bunch of pictures from the Az Opry and ran in to a glitch posting them on the tenants assoc. FB site.  Went over to sit with him and walk through the process again and he realized success getting all of his pictures on the site.  He had some good pics and I suggested he tag them, which brought up another question.  After walking through the process, he was very happy, having accomplished what he wanted.
  After lunch I took the rhino to meet up with Gary.  They built a walking track in the park and he has had lots of questions from the users about the length, so asked if my machine had an odometer.  Anyway I picked him up and we did a lap, then decided to continue on until we had a mile, then to see how far 4 laps was.  I had set the trip odometer and 4 laps was 1.8 km.  This presented a dilemna for Gary as they don't do metric here and I had to convert it for him.  Then he showed me the sign he has to put up and I ended up volunteering to make the sign on paper so he can laminate and install it.  Another task in the job jar.
  While I was away lining up the details for tomorrow's golf game, Marg had visitors.  Carol next door came over and they are leaving on the weekend.  She offered her driveway and carport for us to park under.  Jerry B is already parking his trailer with the quad in it there and he had already discussed putting mine there as well.  Will probably do it and save the parking charges I am paying in the storage lot.  It will be nice to have it handy where I can keep an eye on it.
  All this time Marg was steaming the laundry.  She managed to give herself a nasty burn on one hand with the steam, but got it done.  She always has a few people stop in to check the process out, and generally converts a few from irons to this process. 
  We made it to happy hour and there were a lot fewer people, so it we had a nice visit.  The gamblin' gals went today and she never went with them, but they showed up about half way through happy.
  Bbq'ed a steak for supper.  Marg made baked potatoes and brussel sprouts for a vegetable.  They were good, but it was unusual, as these generally only show up at thanksgiving and Christmas at home.  While this was going on Kenny & Doris stopped by, they were on their way to buy lottery tickets, so Marg gave them money to buy us a Powerball lottery ticket, the jackpot tonight was $450 million.  Now that would be a life changer!
  I went to play poker tonight.  We had 7 players, well if you count me a player.  I felt more like a donor, again.  I guess Kenny & Doris stopped by to drop the tickets off and ended up staying for a visit.
NEWS FLASH -- Marg checked the numbers and we may have a winner, although in a small way, but even if we get enough to play again, it's all good.

Tuesday, Feb 10th

 Another great day, the sun was up early and the heat of the day was building by 8 AM.  On the weather they said we are well above seasonal averages and it is supposed to stay for at least the week.  We may get some rain on the weekend.  We have already had more rain than most prior years.
  I went and got the rhino out of the trailer.  It had been in there since we went to LA & the theme parks.  We have been so busy that I haven't had an opportunity to get it out.  Anyway I squeezed in about 25 minutes before leaving this AM and left it on the driveway.  Takes quite a bit of time as I have 5 padlocks on it and the wheels are chained with one padlock on each of them.  With us being on the far end of the park, Marg can use it to go to laundry and perhaps to water aerobics that way [both are in the middle of the park].  As it turned out, I never had much time to spare by the time I got to Gerry's and then on to the golf course. 
  We were invited to sticky buns at the park managers place.  This is something that you just never miss if you are lucky enough to be invited.  Well Marg has gone in prior years, but I have never been and today was no different.  I guess there were about 20 people there and the buns were great, as always.  I think I missed the last time for the same reason as today.
  I went into Phoenix and played golf at Encanto with Gerry Canuel.  The course is in nice shape this year and while not extremely difficult, offers enough challenge for us.  We bought the season memberships, so get a pretty good deal on the fees.  Although Gerry got a better deal initially, being a Phoenix resident [I paid $50 more as a non-resident]; I get the better rate each time having the seniors card.  We got paired with a couple of young guys, one of whom was very good and the other not very good,, but they were great to play with.  Hit the ball well off the tee today, only one mis-hit and that was on #18.  Putting and chipping continue to be the bane of my existence, but my end score was my best effort for 18 so far this winter and I never lost a ball, although I bruised one pretty bad on the cart path.  It was good and warm out there and the shade felt good, I think it got to about 83 today.
  After the sticky buns, Marg went out with 5 other ladies from the park.  She missed the water aerobics because it is a bunch she enjoys hanging out with.  They went out for some shopping down by Superstition mall, which is one of Marg's favourite destinations.  They have Ross, Burlington coat, etc. and she scored a couple of tops, so very successful.  After they all went to lunch at Appleby's [another favourite] and she came back full of story's about the fun day she had.  Sounds like it was a winner.
  Our golf finished up in pretty good time, so my drive back to AJ was much better. It makes all the difference if I get on the road back a few minutes before 4 pm, especially on the #51 freeway [which is almost always bumper to bumper].  I was only stopped dead a few minutes and once I got on the 202 loop was able to travel at 60 mph plus most of the time, so made good time getting back.  Got back in time for the end of happy hour and Marg was already there, so had my usual one beer and caught up on the latest gossip.
  Shrimps on the bbq for supper tonight and a nice pasta dish Marg whipped up on the stove.  Pretty darn good for a quick supper.  We always have a bit of a rush on Tuesday so we can get to bingo in the rec hall.  Got a bit of luck, I won one game and never had to share [so we were quid's in] and were both had lots of close calls.

February 9th

Another great day in the valley.  The temps got up to about 80F again today and it was gorgeous.
  I went out with the guys for a bike ride this AM.  We made 7 1/2 miles and got a good workout.  There were only 3 of us this AM and no one felt like the long ride today.  Wendy called from home to ask if she was doing something wrong as the furnace didn't seem to be working.  I advised her to call for a repairman as this is no time for that kind of problem, especially with a baby in the house.  Good thing they were staying in the house.
  After I got back, Marg went to water aerobics.  It was her first time and she enjoyed it, so will no doubt be going more now.  There was a pretty good sized group and some ladies were complaining about the pool temp being only 82F.   Marg thought it was perfect, probably that polar bear blood in her veins.  LOL
  While she was gone, I did the truck interior and windows.  It had been a while since it was vacuumed and it was getting dusty on the interior.  After I took out the rubber floor mats and washed them on the patio.  It sure was nice to see them dry so quickly in the sun.  Then I copied a bunch of photos on to a memory stick.  They were pictures of people who we know are not connected, so could not be given electronic copies.
  When she got back she made grilled sandwiches for lunch, very nice.  Marg informed me she had company coming at 2, so we went out to Walmart right away.  I made prints of the pictures on the memory stick while we were there & got some printer paper.  Marg picked up a few groceries and some cough drops.  While she is getting better, she still has a nasty cough.  Seems like every year she picks up some bug while we are here.
  When I got back I went to play some pool.  Marg had her lady friends over & it turns out they were having problems with their ipads with facebook.  They were using the park wifi so she got them to connect using our wifi.  It made quite a difference and their machines started working right off.  Anything with pictures or large files and the park network chokes on it.  When I got back they were doing pretty well, but needed help with facebook questions.  Yes you read that correctly.  Marg & I were giving advice on facebook and computer use.  Before you start to laugh, this is just shows you how poorly informed some seniors are on these electronic things.  Most of us can hardly wait to get home so our grandchildren can fix our problems on them.  Anyway they both left with some measure of success in getting to see what they were seeking.
  Supper tonight was easy, we went to the Az Opry rock & roll show.  We had not seen this previously and it was really good.  All the music is from 1955 - 1965, so the era we grew up in and still listen to on satellite radio.  There were 48 people from the park, so we had a pretty good contingent.  I think the place seats about 500 and it was full.  The supper was really good, roast beef and chicken breast.  As usual we had a piece of chocolate cake for an appetizer.  The food service was quick, the food was hot and tasty, but having both chicken & beef was new.  The show was great as usual, always enjoy ourselves at this place.  Some old favourites like: Mustang Sally, Little Old Lady from Pasadena, wipeout, telstar, a bunch of Elvis songs, you name it.  On the way home we stopped at DQ for a couple of ice cream treats.  Well it was 10 by then, it's not like it was right on the heels of supper, as the show runs over 2 hours.  Never took the camera, pity.

February 8th

Happy birthday to Lyzi, hope your day was special.
Happy birthday to Bill, hope you had a great day.
  Sorry we were not able to be there with either of you, but you were in our hearts today.
  It was a fabulous day in the valley of the sun, the hottest day of this winter, so far.  The temp reached 83F [29C] today and there was a slight breeze, making it just very nice.  I got up early and went for a bike ride with 2 of the guys this morning.  We had planned to make a few more miles but one of the guys turned back early, so we did as well.  He was quite far ahead of us, so we weren't certain whether he had a problem, so we followed.  Who knows, might have needed someone to pick up the pieces that fell off.  Fortunately such was not the case, rather he turned back because the wind was a bit stronger and we had to ride into it all the way back.  As it turns out, it was a good thing we did turn back early.  Still we made about 5 1/2 miles, so a good ride.

   When we got back we dug out our shovels.  Hah sometimes I crack myself up!  Anyway, Marg had some planters, then donated plants and her donor keeps checking to see what is happening.  Today was the day and we had to go pick up some planting soil for the aloe plants, which we planted in one of the planters.  The second was a century plant & we planted that in the dirt.  Well what passes for dirt  It is so hard, you almost need a pick axe to loosen it first, but that is the native soil the century plant grows in.  This will be interesting, because un-checked it will take the whole place over.
  I had to post some pictures from last night on the tenants association FB site and then tag them for the people to get notice.  Since I have started posting pics, the number of hits on the site have gone through the roof.  Went for a walk around the park after lunch.  This took at least an hour or more.  It's not that far, but the stops to visit are what take all the time, most of them wanting to talk about the FB pictures.  The pool was pretty busy today and believe it or not the hot pool was full - why is that noteworthy -- remember I said it was 83 today.  I guess some people just can take the heat.
  Supper was a bbq affair, well after I cleaned the grill.  Every so often I need to do that, especially when we use bbq sauce; it stops the fire truck from coming to the park.  Did the vegetables and potatoes on there as well tonight, they are always good that way.  No desert with supper as it was ice cream social tonight and that is a great way to wind up a hot day.

February 7th

Happy 12th birthday Daniel, miss you and hope your day was special.
  I went to breakfast this morning and had bacon, eggs, pancakes.  Sat with some friends and got off the day to a good start.  Marg never goes, I think they are starting to get that message as no one asked why she wasn't there.
  After breakfast we went to the big Mesa marketplace where I was able to exchange some pocket books.  The place was absolutely crammed with shoppers, likely a result of the nice weather and time of year.  Marg got a cool pair of shorts and I got a new set of dusters or oaters to keep me for the week.  The traffic I the parking lot was very busy, but it got better on the west side where I park to trade books.  On the way back we went to Home Depot, but could not find the door knob we needed as the door is an rv door, so we went to the awning place.  You know the one I have been to at least 3 times this winter already.  Anyway they had the right one, so it was off to pick up some groceries.  We stopped at Basha's as they had a sale on and we got in on the good deals.  Also picked up some stuff for supper.  They had a salad of green peas that we bought as a side dish, that turned out to be a good choice.
  When we got back to the park we had lunch and then I installed the door knob.  After a bit of adjustment we got it operating perfectly.  Marg had company and visited.  Actually the lady came over to find out why the fire truck was on our street.  Turned out to be a call for help by one of the residents who was moving his ailing wife to a hospice bed.  Nothing too serious.  While they visited, I washed the truck.  It doesn't get as dirty as home here, but still needed a wash.  I used to go to the car wash, but you still have to wipe it dry here because of the water marks it leaves. 
  By then it was time for happy hour.  One of our friends [Beth] was able to come home today after her surgery, so the ladies had bought her flowers and a small get well gift.  Marg took the brownies she had baked and they were a big hit.  It was a double chocolate recipe, what's not to like.  Beth is getting around pretty darn well for someone who had major surgery.

  Back to the trailer for supper and then off to the rec hall for Ron E Cash.  He is an entertainer and has appeared here a couple of time in prior years.  Its always a good show and the dance floor is pretty busy.  On the way there Marg said she would not be dancing, so don't ask as she wasn't feeling up to it.  It didn't take long for the party animals she hangs out with to get her up on the floor and she was the one asking me for dances.  in the end we had a major workout tonight, likely will be pretty stiff in the morning, we'll see.

Twisting the night away! 

 Party animals

 Kenny & Doris

Gene & Sheri

Patio Sale day

  The big item today was the park wide patio sale.  Everyone was impacted, even if it was just by the large number of people in the park.  Everyone with stuff to sell, put out tables and identified their place with balloons.  In the rec hall there was the big raffle, I think they gave away about 90 prizes; a bake sale and some vendors.  In addition there was pie available all day long and at noon there was a choice of sloppy joes and pulled pork on a bun. 
  I worked with Jerry at his patio sale and managed to get rid of a few things that we didn't need.  My grand take on sales for the day was about $12.  In that was 4 lawn chairs, a closet door, a couple of alarm clocks, so my goal was just to get rid of it.  Most of the stuff he sold was for other people, as he had junk from 5 different people.  Mostly it was to help his sister out with her sale and impending move to Reno.

   Marg on the other hand worked in the kitchen serving the lunches and pies.  She had baked brownies and sold two trays of them at the bake sale.  The balance in a large pan she kept to take to happy hour.  A friend was one of the vendors, Wilma paints on rocks and does a wonderful job of it.  A couple of years ago Marg bought one of her paintings and fell in love with one today that she bought.  In addition Wilma insisted on giving her a rock painted with an elephant.  A special lady, for sure.
  The day was a huge success with both the level of activity and amount of money raised.  This is the biggest fund raiser for the tenants association.  Marg won two prizes in the raffle.  One was pretty funny, it looked like a bikini, but was actually a couple of dish towels and scouring pads.  We had lunch at the hall.  Both of us had sloppy joes and I had lemon meringue pie, both were excellent.
  We were sitting around with company and Linda stopped by to borrow the small bike for her sister.  This is the same one we got for Daniel to ride & she is quite short, so it was a great size for her.  For supper we bbq'ed Tony Roma ribs.  They were pre-seasoned & cooked, so 15 minutes on the bbg.  They were very good with baked potato.  After we went to the animal races where we made out OK.  Fortunately the elephant and the hippo won tonight and paid well.  I was getting a pretty good harassing until then as we never won anything in the first 3 races.  Good sized crowd tonight and lots of laughs.

February 5th

A little late with the post today.  Got home a bit late and pretty much fell into bed early.
  It was a gorgeous day and we went for coffee & donuts in the morning.  Not sure what happened, but it must have been close to a record turnout as the hall was full.  Unfortunately I think we were last or second last table, so the selection of donuts was not the best, but sat with friends, so it was all good.
  We headed out right after coffee on a road trip.  Went with Blanke's as well as Binger's up to Superior and then on a secondary highway up to the Coolidge Dam.  A nice drive through the desert & the mountains in the area, very scenic.  Lots of mining [copper I think] in the area, some of them are huge operations.

Stopped for a snack and an ice cold beer.

 Water behind the dam was at a low level.

 The overflow spillway and one of the eagle figures on the dam

Looking down the Gila river to the east

Looking up the Gila river.

  Stopped at the casino in Globe on the way home where I was able to donate to the upkeep and well being of the native group who run it.  Marg had about the same kind of luck as I did, but we only played for a short time until the buffet opened.  That was where we had our supper and enjoyed the company of friends.

February 4th

Wow - this is the weather we signed on for.  It started out sunny and pleasant and became very warm, I think it was 80F today and is forecast to get a bit warmer over the next few days.
  Gerry C showed up at his regular Wednesday time and we went out to Apache Sun for our golf game.  We both had our best nine holes of this winter.  I was in birdie or par position on most holes and finished with a 43, playing way over my head, but it was fun.
  Marg was finally feeling much better and went with the gamblin' gals to the Fort today.  The others fared better, but she never brought home the big win, but was able to hold her own and came about as close as possible to break-even.
  After a quick lunch, I went to work on the door I pulled apart yesterday and was able to get the fiberglass panels to adhere to the core.  Also got it all back together and hung on the hinges.  After a bit of trial and error I even got it to close.  The only fly in the ointment was the door handle and backset, it was ruined in the removal process.  A problem that is easily rectified at the local building supply outlet.  For the time being I have a string tied through the hole where it would normally go, but then I needed something to anchor it to so the door would not swing freely.  Marg had a bucket of potatoes there and potatoes are pretty heavy and the pail has a handle.  Pretty funny actually but there it sits, tied to a bucket of spuds.
  I just got in the shower and Marg was back from the road trip.  We made it down to happy hour for the obligatory one beer.  That is one beer for one of us, LOL.  We had some laughs there, actually more than usual.  It being Wednesday some of them were going to the Village Inn for free pie night.  We opted not to, rather went to the:  5 & Diner.  Bingers opted out of the free pie night and joined us, they had never been there before and had never used the coupons for it in the Coyote Coupon book.  Anyway they seemed to enjoy it, so all was good.  Well except Kenny & Doris still went to the Village Inn.
  On the way back, Jerry got a call from the guys playing poker, saying his presence was required, so we went right after we got back.  It was a good decision, well for me anyway as I came away with the coin bag a bit heavier than when I got there.

   Marg had committed to bake for the big sale here on Friday, so when we got back she baked her internationally famous chocolate brownies.  She found some neat containers to put them in, rather than slice them up.  Presentation I guess!  If you look at the pan, you will notice one piece missing.  It went to the official taste tester for a final opinion on whether they were ready for distribution.  In the case of international sale of the goods, a necessary step.  I am pleased to say it passed with flying colours.

February 3rd

Got up and about and by the time I had a coffee a couple of guys were waiting out front on their bikes.  There were four of us today and we made about 6 1/2 miles, well Larry & I did, the others went the long track, so were likely around 10.  That was enough for me, although the weather was perfect.  The weather has turned warmer and is expected to stay in this pattern for the next week or so.
  Did some repairs and then pulled the door off the Az room.  I also took the door out of the breezeway wall at the rear and put it on the Az room.  Marg liked the outer skin on the door better as the old one had some problem repairs on the surface that were pretty obvious.  The Az room door had come unglued and this was the bigger problem.  For those of you familiar with these doors, there is just a small wood frame into which is a Styrofoam sheet, then the whole thing is sandwiched between fiberglass panels. The sandwich is held together with a kind of glue.  The problem is that it only retains its structural integrity [strength] when it all holds together.  When it comes unglued like ours, it's like a wet noodle.  Pretty much ruined the door passage set getting it out of the rear door as it was weather so bad the screws would not turn out.  Got it all apart and found the bottom stile had rotted, so replaced that and then tried to glue it back together.  I say tried, because although the contact glue said it was good for foam, it pretty much started to dissolve the foam when applied.  Good thing I only started it on one side.  Went to the hardware where a rocket scientist was my in store help.  When I told him about the problem and what I needed, he proceeded to read the can labels to tell me what they said.  Arghhhh!  Got some spray adhesive and did the other side, we'll see how it turns out tomorrow.  Couldn't install it anyway because I need a door passage set for this type of door.
  The work attracted the usual number of curious visitors.  Sure hope it turns out OK.
  After we cleaned up and then off to happy hour.  The ladies outnumbered us by at least 2 to 1.  Had lots of laughs giving a couple of the guys the gears about the impending patio sale and what they had on offer.  After the hour, a couple of us stopped to help Jim put his window unit AC in.  Well we just had to lift it up for him as he had back surgery last fall and can't lift very much.  Not sure how it will work out for him, may be in the same boat as my door.  LOL
  Supper was tempura shrimp tonight.  Very good, along with spring rolls and rice.  Of necessity it was a quick one as bingo was tonight.  We had 4 winners at our table and the rest were close all night.  I got a piece of the action, first win in a very long time.
  This is a little premature, but because of the time differences and the fact we will be away tomorrow, happy birthday Anna.  We will try and call throughout the day.  Lots of love from grandma & grandpa.

Groundhog Day

Well it was a big day in North America as both Canada & the US paid heed to their respective groundhogs emerging from their den to forecast the arrival of spring.  Fortunately the best known Canadian prognosticator Wiarton Willie in Wiarton, Ontario never saw his shadow, meaning an early end to winter and early spring.  His counterparts in America varied, but generally saw there shadow, forecasting a prolonged winter.
  In keeping with this momentous occasion, Patti hosted her annual groundhog day lunch, to which she invites over a dozen ladies in the park.  Like last year, Marg attended this year where they sang some hilarious songs about the famous rodents and impending spring weather.  No males are invited, so that meant over a dozen of us left to find our own lunch.  For my part it was a tomato and cheese sandwich, a far cry from the delights that awaited the ladies attending Patti's lunch.
   My morning started out with a bike ride with the guys.  It was a nice sunny morning and warmed very quickly as the sun gained height.  We had a short tour today, only made about 4 miles, but it was a good workout.  After that Marg joined me to go to Lowes & pick out a light fixture for the walk-in closet in the trailer.  I also needed to get a circuit tester to avoid getting a jolt like our heating guy did.  That was a good lesson on safely working with electricity for me.  In retrospect it was pretty funny when he was jumping around, but it could have been serious.  With that we had to make a stop at Walmart to return the battery one we had previously purchased.  This gave me something other than sandwich making to do while Marg was at her lunch.  By the time she returned both tasks were completed.
  After lunch we went out to the IRS office to get a tax form.  It seems we need to complete a Closer Connection Exemption Statement for Aliens as we are sometimes in the US for more than 120 days in a calendar year.  Ignorance is bliss they say and that is truly the case with this.  If not for the rumour mill down here, we would never have heard of it.  It appears they look to collect income tax from people here for more than that many days unless you can establish another country as your primary tax residence.  This is also where the 183 day max. comes in where you have no choice other than pay taxes here.  This seems to be the result of information sharing on border crossings between the 2 countries electronically and they can now see how long aliens are in the country.  In the past they could only see when we came in and Canada could only see when we returned.  Turns out they never had the form, it can only be obtained on their web site or by a phone request.  So the only outcome of the visit was my getting to meet a stern young man with a pistol who checked me at the door to ensure I was unarmed.
   On the way back to the park, we stopped at a roadside stand and bought oranges.  It seems these are the last they will be able to get, likely the end of the season for them, this way anyway.  For the future we will have to go to a u-pick farm or to the ranch market, I guess. We also stopped at Costco on the way back.  We really have not been shopping there very much this year.  With their changing the credit card issuer in Canada we are no longer able to use it here.  This eliminates the rebates & with them some of the appeal.  We got back just in time for happy hour.  The women out-numbered us today, nothing unusual.  Lots of talk about the super bowl today and then about the Phoenix open.
  After supper Marg went to do laundry and I went to play poker.  They were short of players today otherwise I was only going to play once a week.  Will have to see about Wednesday now.