Tuesday

Went for a bike ride this AM.  It looked to be chilly this AM, but when I saw the weather on TV for AJ, it was 50F or something like that, so I quickly dressed and jumped on the bike.  I missed the guys as they already left thinking I was not going.  Caught up to them on the way back and ended up with about 5 1/2 miles today.
  After we stopped at Gerry's to look at his patio heater.  It hadn't been working and between the 3 of us, it still wasn't when I left.  I think he may have a solution identified and will be needing it for New Years eve.  Lots of party's planned in the park, we said we would go to one and may well go to a second one.  We'll see who has the best patio heaters - LOL.
  Marg went for a walk and ended up in the bean bag baseball game.  The team had a big win, something knew for them, so now they want her back next week.  She played some of this in prior years enjoyed it, so it may well be a part of her future.  Then she walked with Susan and they stopped to chat up Curtis & Aggie.  In all her walk through the park took 1 1/2 hrs,
  The weather really turned nice as the day wore on.  Lots of people out and about enjoying the day.  After lunch I worked on the Az room.  Got up 2/3 of the ceiling and re-routed an electrical line.  it had to be fished & Jim did that quite handily.  Had Jim & Larry hold the piece up as the liquid nails needed time to set up.  The guys had to leave, so when I had the second piece cut to fit, Jim & his friend held it for me.  After I put up the ceiling light and it looks just fine.  Sure is nice to have light, you know -- let there be light.
  Got done in time for happy and went for the usual one beer.  It was well attended today, I think because of the pleasant weather.  After that it was a quick supper as we had to be ready for bingo.  Just before it started, I got a call from the Trout's saying they were in AJ and looking for some libation, so I stayed behind.  They just got in, apparently had bad roads through Montana and Utah.  Have not seen them for a while, so had a nice visit.  Marg had left by the time they called, so she played bingo.  Close but no big win tonight for her.

Monday

Well this is getting repetitive, cool at night.  It did warm up today and people were in short pants, although I am a bit away from that, neither am I in the long johns.    Sitting in the sun on the patio, it was really nice, well it would have been if I had been able to do that.
  Earlier yesterday I noticed one of the ladies a few doors down from here had her daughter staying over and her front tire was flat.  I stopped in and offered to inflate it for her when she was ready to go to a tire shop.  Well that was this AM, so I went over and pumped up the tire.  Then Larry had been having problems with his bike, so I went over and we loaded it in the truck.  Drove him to the bike shop where he left it to get the rear wheel and seat replaced.  I guess they called him a bit later to pick it up, $113 for that.  I think I should go in to bicycle repair.  My final community service project today was to help Jim & Sarada get their fridge.  I took my trailer to pick it up as that was easier than loading it in the truck.  By the time I helped him get the door on, the morning was gone. It's a neat feature of people around here, they are very helpful and everyone is concerned about the welfare of each other.
  After lunch we had to run back to Lowes, it seems there are always bits and pieces to pick up.  Anyway, I finished with the ceiling strapping in the Az room.  Also ran a cord for the motion sensor light.  Had a bit of company and that is what really takes the time.
  Marg had scallop potatoes for dinner in the slow cooker, so was prepared to a quick turn-around.  Then we went for happy and swapped stories with everyone there.  Lots of talk in the park about park models for sale or expected to be and who is considering them.  One comes with an SUV, pretty nice unit as well.  There are seldom units for sale if they are any good and there are two or three expected to come available this winter.
  After supper Marg went to do some laundry.  Mainly it was bedding, some of it new as well as the stuff on our bed.  Always enjoy the first night with fresh sheets, so this note will likely be brief.  I went to play poker.  We had a good crowd and I really got my butt kicked tonight.  As you know, I don't keep a tally, but the bag was definitely lighter at the end of the night.  I reminded them of the exchange rate I am getting on my dollars.  Anyway didn't get a lot of sympathy, well that's not true, I did get a couple of hugs.  LOL
  The Canadian dollar exchange rate is really terrible this year.  Any of you contemplating travel to the U.S. be prepared for sticker shock.

Sunday - Dec 28th

Wow was it ever chill last night.  Nothing froze here, but it sure must have been close.  The winter storm that has swept in through south California will have us pretty cool till the end of this week.
   Never went for a bike ride like the rest of the guys this morning, guess I'm just a fair weather rider.  Same reason I sold the Goldwing.  Seems one is having a tire problem and needs to take his bike in to the shop, so I offered to put it in the truck and drive him down there.
  Got on the tools this AM and finished the poly on the ceiling.  Got all the insulation gaps filled, the poly on and then strapped the ceiling.  Took a bit more time than expected as there were some issues with getting it level, but I think it's good to go.  I have been using the star head screws, as I don't really care for the phillips head and the square Robertson head is not very common here.  The star works fine, but had to buy bits for the drill.  Also took the trim off around the door and window and will be replacing it.  Need to figure out how to fish an electrical line before I close it in.  Using the cordless drill was a bit slower as I have a cheap one from Harbour Freight and there is only one battery.
  Took a break to go dump my jerry can of gas into the truck tank.  One of the neighbours asked if he could borrow the container.  He wants to fill his motorhome with the cheap gas, but not move his unit.  When he told Larry his plan, Larry asked him what he would do if gas went lower.  Funny guy.  Anyway $1.97/gallon is the best price I have seen so far.  That would be 52 cents a litre, so pretty good even at that.
  Marg went out to Walmart for a few groceries.  She seemed pretty happy with the deals she got, there are quite a few sales on right now.  You know 2 for 1 that sort of thing.  The other thing though is how fresh all the produce is here, compared to home. She also did floors in the unit as we have had quite a bit of company lately.
  Stopped to go to happy today.  It was Darrel's birthday and Rita brought a cake.  It was pretty good, with beer that is.  Our numbers were smaller today as there was a football game on the tube and it was pretty cool, although Larry had the overhead patio heater on.  Pretty toasty over where the girls sit, but cooler in the cheap seats where the guys sit.  Lots of offers of help with the ceiling installation from tall guys offering to hold it up.  The gals must have been talking about the challenges of being too short for the job.  I told Marg she was too short to hold it up there for me while I'm fastening it.  Must have been a slow day for topics over there.  I think the gamblin' gals are going on Wednesday as they were all concerned that I go golfing in the morning of New Years eve.  Sounds like the meal plan for that day is self-serve.
  Back for a quick supper and then off to the ice cream social.  Lots of folks out for ice cream tonight, a few of them just having arrived in the park.  A few more on the road according to facebook messages.  Lots of people commented on the pictures on the tenants assoc. fb site. Should have taken the camera to ice cream.  A couple of guys gave me a hard time about not being around the pool hall for a couple of days.  You know comments like have I been getting beaten too bad to show up there.  I guess I better go and show them about beaten too bad.  LOL  Marg returned with a handful of lemons, seems someone picked a bunch today and brought a couple of bags to share with park residents.

Dec 27th

The day started out cool, but warmed quickly and ended up being very pleasant.  This cooler weather is sure making it easy on the pool, there is no one in there.
  Started the day with breakfast in the hall.  The happy hour bunch were there and pretty well along in their breakfast by the time I arrived.  Had the usual: sausage, eggs, pancakes and it was good.  Fielded the usual questions from everyone -- Where's Marg.  I just say, yes she is up, no she is not here.  After 5 years &dozens of Saturday mornings, you would think....  They were trying to find out if there was a road trip for them today, so I said we were shopping yesterday and she has to go today so she can return almost everything she bought.  She ended up driving to Kohl's and they all were impressed with how she handled the truck.  They should see her in the motorhome!
  Larry & Gary were both at breakfast and chomping at the bit, so I agreed to ride with them this AM.  We made about 7 miles, so pretty good when it's that cool.  I think it was about 42F when we left, so only about 6C.  Bike ran well with the new tire liners. and I did pick up a thorn or two but had no problems. 
  Marg got back and we went out to Lowes.  You know the place where they sell work and we are foolish enough to buy it.  Anyway we got a bunch of stuff, almost all for the ceiling in the Az room.  Well there was all the trim as well and then a new ceiling light.  I'm going to strap the ceiling [the old one was warped and a mess] and then replace all the trim.  Also found some insulation problems in the ceiling, so got them sorted out.  There were a few places where there was no insulation, then a few others where it was inadequate.
  Got back in time to finish the demolition and start putting it together.  Repaired the nail holes and problems with damage in the wall paneling.  Got lots of areas that need to be fastened again now  I had the light fixture out, so had to quit when the light stated fading.
  After supper, Marg did laundry, so went to help carry it down and then back later to help bring it home.  She has her own way of folding and doing things, so I pretty much just stay out of the way and carry the heavier stuff.
  Oh yes, got a package in the mail today from the accounting body I am with.  They had a celebration of long service this past summer, but we were not able to go.  Anyway they sent me a nice letter, a Cross pen & a CPA book mark.  It was in recognition of 40 years in the profession, I think the inscription on the pen is 40 years of service.  More like 40 years of undetected crime.  LOL
  Well got to go and throw a piece of carpet over the water line so it doesn't freeze tonight.  Larry's bird bath freezing the other night was a bit of a wake up call.  We always get a bit of colder weather when the winter storms up north of here pass through.  They are forecasting a possibility of rain around New Years and if it happens will likely produce snow at the higher elevations.  To us that usually means we can see the white stuff about half way up Superstition Mtn.

Boxing Day -- 2014

It was chilly again this AM, how chilly you may ask.  Well Larry told me his bird bath was frozen to the bottom.  There seems to be another storm moving through the area and we will be experiencing very cold nights, down to 35 or 36, so 3 or 4 degrees from freezing.  The guys went bike riding and stopped by, but I declined today.  It was only about 40 degrees and I could imagine the wind chill at the high speeds we ride chilling me to the core.  Well we do get up to something like 13 or 15 mph, so don't laugh too hard.
  Marg had clipped all those coupons yesterday & we went over to Kohl's where she got some bedding.  They had a white sale with 50/60% discounts plus she had a coupon that gave her $10 or something like that.  Then we went on to Ross where she had a coupon as well, not certain what it was, but she came out with an armful of other stuff.  The sales being advertised right now are pretty much filling the local newspaper.
  After shopping we went back to the park for lunch.  On the way we ran into Jerry & Pat who had Norm & Mavis with them to go for lunch.  They had a bunch of coupons they were excited about and sold us on the idea of going out with them.  The inducement was a two for the price of one lunch coupon.  Now I think you are laughing, but we are all seniors [fixed income & that sort of thing] and well it's kind of a way of life down here.  It would have made a great Seinfeld episode.
  After lunch I went to get mail and borrow a step ladder.  Well I did get the use of a ladder from Jim, but he was looking for a pool game.  Being as he was so obliging, I went and played a half dozen or so games.  His game has really changed since last year, said it was his new glasses.  Told him I enjoyed playing him more with his old glasses. 
  After we messed around in the Az room back at the trailer.  Most of the time was spent just cleaning it out.  There is some much stuff being kept in there.  Marg thinks were are minimalists, but I think we are accumulators.  Anyway after emptying the room, I pulled down a couple of the ceiling panels.  That really needs to be replaced and the reasons became apparent when I got them down.  It was a dodgy installation, probably done by a senior on a fixed income, using coupons -- LOL!  I have a pretty good handle on what we have to do now, so let the games begin.
  Happy hour again tonight & it was Friday, so food night.  Some pretty good snacks there.  Larry had the patio heater going, so it was pretty pleasant.  Pretty funny, there were about 6 hummingbirds flying up to the bird feeder, I think they were enjoying the heater as well.  On the way back from happy, Marg informed me her and the girls are going shopping tomorrow as she has some stuff from today to exchange.
  Elmo had been by the other day and asked if I wanted authority on the tenants association facebook page.  I said I would give it a try and it came through today, so I posted pictures of the golf cart parade and Christmas dinner.  I will have to start planning the photos a little better if I'm going to be doing that.  Take a look -- Carefree Manor Tenant's Recreational Association
  Gerry Canuel called to say they will be on the way down on Sunday.  Some of the other regulars are also posting facebook messages about departures for the sunny south here, so the place will be filling up shortly.  Sunny south maybe, but it can be sunny and cold.  Oh well it'll warm up here in the next week or so [fingers crossed].

Merry Christmas to you

In the words of my wonderful wife's ancestors -- Kristos Rodyvsya [Christ is born], the traditional Ukrainian Christmas greeting, to which the proper response is Slavite Yoho [let us glorify him]. 
 

The day started out sunny and bright.  It was Christmas morning and we got to see an amazing gift from the Smith family, little figures of each member of our family.
Our granddaughter Lyzi has made these for other occasions and was commissioned by Charlene & Phil to create this one for us.
  Had a face time again with Charlene's family.  What a great communication tool over the miles.

Our day at the kitchens of Carefree Manor RV park started at 9:45 where we put the turkey in the oven to heat it up [5 turkeys in the 20 lb range sliced into trays] with some drippings, so they stayed moist.  It was also to make the dressing and gravy for the Christmas dinner in the park.  The tenants association provides these and each table of 12 bring whatever else they want to complete their dinner.  Last night Marg made our contribution of crepes and a yam dish.  Oh brought the cranberries.  Dinner this year was at 1:00 PM, so we had lots to do before the big event.  Had lots of compliments from diners on the turkey and fixin's.

  After things were in the oven we had a bit of time, so we went back to our place to read the newspaper on the back patio.  Marg discovered the adverts and clipped the coupons for Kohl's, Macy's & one or two other places.  I think that may be what tomorrow holds for us.

   We had a great assortment of food at our table and a great meal.  An interesting development, as the place was full, we had a few people seated at the workers table.  The ones at the end were just in the park for a few nights, as they are from Switzerland.

The hall was full, with 8 tables of 12 and a 9th table of 10 diners. 

Some great friends in the next couple of tables.

  When we got back a knock on the door and our neighbour to the east brought us a bag of freshly picked oranges.  You just know they are going to be great from the fresh orange smell.  It was neat that they still have leaves still attached.  Can hardly wait to try them.  Or ange you jealous?

 It was the second night to light our luminaries, to welcome guests to our home.

We used the rhino all day when moving stuff like the dishes Marg made from our place to the hall.
  Had a face time with Bill & Patti when we were finished for the day, nice way to feel a part of their Christmas.  Later in the day we made a few phone calls to the rest of the family, allowing for their days to settle down as we know how busy the day gets.

 Went for happy hour to unwind after the day.  Although it was very warm in the sun today, it was chilly by happy.  There were a few people still in shorts, but not yours truly.  While it we would rather have been with our own family at Christmas, with our great friends here at Carefree we had a nice Christmas.  We hope your day was as enjoyable as ours.

Christmas Eve 2014

A great day.  Started off with a golf game.  It's the regular day for the park group, but there were only 3 from each park out today, so 2 groups.  It didn't seem that cold, but there was frost on the greens, so they never let us out until a half hour after our tee time.  Played reasonably well, but the wheels fell off about half way, so not as good as it could have been.  The score was better than last week, so continue to improve. 
  Marg was down at the kitchen where she and the crew put the 5 turkeys in.  They didn't put stuffing in the birds, so that helped make it manageable.  They like to cook the birds the day prior here as the cooks also have to have time to make the other dishes for the table.  Marg made her yam dish as well as the crepes.  So a busy day for her.

  Had a bit of time to sit on the patio in the sun today.  It was really nice after lunch.  While we were sitting there this cockroach came strolling along and was just behind our place.  They are really quick and it is unusual to catch them.  It must have been chilled from the early morning and was moving a bit slow, so I hit it with the spray I have.  I wanted to see how effective the spray is & it worked real well.  He was pretty big, to me anyway, although not as large as the one we saw in England with Daniel.  Anyway the moral of this story is don't mess around our place unless you want to be 6 legs up.

 Got back for lunch and a bit of visiting.  By then they had taken the birds out and had them cooling.  Marg stopped in to check on the status and sent a messenger out looking for me to bring the electric knife.  She had it set up that I was to carve the breasts on all five, while the others did the dark meat.  It went pretty quick with all the help and the meat is put in the big fridge until morning.  They seemed happy with the breasts all being carved into nice even slices instead of bits and pieces.
  The park had a luminary [I think that's what they called it] tonight.  Marg put out the 3 white bags with tea candles in them.  Apparently it's a Mexican traditional way of welcoming people to your home.  Pretty nice when you saw them all lined up along the street in the dark.  Never lit ours until we got back as we went out for dinner.
  Went out with 7 other friends in the park for dinner.  We had planned on a buffet, but it closed early tonight, so we were scrambling.  Ended up at Denny's and the food was much better than we anticipated, a pleasant surprise. 
  After we ate we came back to our place where we had a few cocktails for happy hour.  We missed happy earlier, so indulged ourselves later in the day.  Managed to get 9 people in our living room, but that is about maximum for this place.  Marg posted the pics on her FB account, so none here.

Tuesday, Dec 23rd

Or as Anna calls it Christmas eve eve. 
  It was a gorgeous day in AJ, hey that is poetic.  Went for a bike ride with Larry & Gary again this AM.  I had a flat first thing, so had to pump up the rear tire [tyre for the Brummies'], it seems to be getting worse.  We went our old route down to Idaho and then back east to Meridian.  When I got that far, I elected to turn around and head back to Carefree.  I was a little nervous about how long the tire would hold air.  Made it back fine and still got in 6 miles today.
  Marg was up early and went with the gamblin' gals to the Fort this morning.  She called to get me to take some meat out for supper, saying that she was up and going in to the bingo.  It appears she was only up marginally as the bingo put her back on her own dime.  Sounds like they had fun, as usual and that is what it's all about.  They got back right around 4, the usual time.
  I went out to pick up some more stuff.  Stopped at Harbour Freight to get a butane torch.  Marg wants one to brown the marshmallow topping on the yams.  She was pretty happy as it looks just like the one some cooker or baker on TV uses.  Move over cake boss.  Had trouble finding my coupons, but did get a free flashlight.  On the return I stopped at AJ Cycle and got some tire liners.  They are heavy vinyl that sits just under the tire and shields the tube from punctures.  Next stop was Shoppers where I got a butane canister.  Not sure why HF sells the torches but not the fuel, but it was on Apache Trail, so on my way back.  Then it was back to Best where I bought the cold water tap handle, matching the one I put on yesterday.  I was surprised at her powers of observation when Marg noticed it as soon as she went in the bathroom.  I know I should have got the tap yesterday with the hot, but I wasn't sure it would fit.  My final stop on the way home was the car wash on Ironwood & Superstition.  The truck had some road grit on it from the rain last week, so washed it off.  It's not a great wand wash, but adequate for the level of dirt we get here.  In GP it wouldn't be good enough for the level of road grit we get on vehicles.  The wash also has a pretty good rinse agent & believe me you want that here, unless you like water marks when it dries.
  Made my way back to the park where I took the tires off the bike.  The front was fine and was going to replace the tube on it.  Unfortunately I didn't notice the tire had slipped up on the far side and the tube poked out, so when I inflated it I had a pretty severe rupture.  Kind of startled me when it blew up, and I don't mean that in a good way.  The tube was a puncture proof with the green slime in it & well let's just say I know how the ghost busters felt when they got slimed.  Got the liner in and after testing the old tube & seeing it didn't leak put it back in.  Sure would have save a lot of time just putting the liner in.  Sadder but wiser, took the rear wheel off and not so lucky, this one had several punctures.  Ran my hand inside the tire and ended up pulling out a half dozen goats head thorns that caused the flat.  Put in the puncture shield liner and flat proof tube full of green slime.  Inflated very slowly and had a much better result.  Took it for a test ride and everything seems fine.
  By this time it was pretty much happy hour, so went down to join the guys.  Had my usual one beer and midway Marg got there with the gals.  Back to the trailer to read the mail.  Got a really nice card from the Moore's with the Christmas letter from the Smiths in it.  Pretty clever way to say postage there Phil.  Thank you for both.  The letter was entertaining as always and the card with pictures of Sophie was precious.  By then it was supper time and a steak on the bbq was on the menu tonight.
  Had a really good day for family contact.  In addition to the mail, Charlene called while I was wandering about in the rv parts yard, then Brennan called followed by a call from Bill when I was installing the tires, sounds like everyone is ready for the big day.  All told I think I put better than a 100 minutes on the phone today, enough that the battery was beeping at me.  It was great, thanks for that.  Char pointed out an error on Sophie's birthday in our Christmas letter.  It turns out she was born on Sept 30th, but owing to the time difference it was the 29th in GP when we received notice from them.  Pretty funny!  Also booked the hotel for Anaheim in January, so we now have a place to stay right across from the magic kingdom, in case our 11 yr old is interested!

Monday - Dec 22

Chilly again this AM, the desert really cools off at night & it takes a while for the sun to warm up the day time.  Was up and ready when Larry came by to go riding, except the back tire was flat.  Got out the compressor and pumped it up; really need to put the new tubes in the tires.  Stopped to picked up Gary on the way out of the park.  As usual by the time we were about half way through our ride, the sun had us warmed right up.  We made about 6 miles today, although Gary did quite a bit more.
  Marg was up and about when I left.  By the time I returned, she was making the little crepes for the Christmas dish; but was missing her favourite dish to put them in.  I ran down to Walmart and got a couple of baking dishes, cake pans, I guess.  The Arizona Rangers were all over the parking lot patrolling to make certain peoples vehicles and their contents were OK.  It seems to be a regular thing they do here at Christmas time.  There were about 6 or 8 of them running around on quads with shootin' iron strapped to their hip.  Marg seemed pleased with the dishes and used one of them.
  Marg called AFW about the table, it is still not back and was supposed to be within 10 days.  Apparently they are working on it and said they would try and get it to us by the 24th.  We sure hope so.
  Went back out to Ace & then Best where I got a tap handle for the shower.  The old one worked, but not well.  Spent quite a bit of time messing around with it and I believe it is just what the doctor ordered.  Took the bathroom door off and set the hinges into the jamb so it would close better.  The door has been sticking and had been high on my list of things to repair.
  After lunch Marg vacuumed and cleaned house.  I went down to the pool room and played with Jerry & Ray where I got on a hot streak and cleaned house as well.  By the time I got back she was messing with the oven and making biscuits.  They were kind a baking soda biscuit with cheese in them.  Really good.  In fact she took a plate of them to happy hour.  There were lots of people at happy today and the biscuits got good reviews.  Lots of folks at happy, some new ones and some regulars who are leaving for home for Christmas.
  After supper it was poker night.  We had a six tonight, just the right number.  I had a real lucky streak there as well and when I got home had to empty some change out of my poker bag again.  I just emptied half of it last week and it is over-full again.  Starting to feel guilty at this lucky streak, well not really.  The pendulum usually swings back and then they get it back.
 

Sunday - the Winter Solstice

Hooray this was the shortest day of the year and now every day we will get more sunshine.
  Happy birthday Patti, sorry we could not be with you to celebrate it.  Have a great one!
  Got up early and it was chilly.  Went bike riding with Larry & Gary and from the direction they took I thought it would be a short ride.  They fooled me and we rode all the way to Signal Butte, so all told about 7 miles this morning.  About half way it really started to warm up and by the end I had a good sweat worked up.
  After I got back we went out first to Fry's where Marg saw what she thought was a good deal on scotch yesterday.  Unfortunately it wasn't all that good, so we passed and went on to both Home Depot and Lowes.  Looking for solutions for the Az room, both the ceiling and walls need to be redone.  It looks like a suspended ceiling and paint on the walls is where we are headed.  Also got a new shower head and extension.  The one in our bathroom is mounted too low, so I wanted to raise it and what we got seems to be doing the trick.  We were really disappointed in the selection and think it was better at home for some of the stuff we looked at.
  On the way back we stopped at a Chinese restaurant that offers deals for lunch.  It is a place we have been before and we both had a combo plate.  Marg just had a glass of water, while I had Chinese tea and the bill came to about $8.50.  The food is pretty good and they even give you a soup as a starter, but the downside is the place is packed right at noon.  It worked out perfect for us as we never got there until about 1:30 when things had slowed down.
  After lunch we stopped at the flea market on the trail.  It's a pretty good sized one, not the mega one in Mesa.  There are all kinds of dodgy dealers there, but Marg got a patio table she is happy with and got me a big bag of golf tees for a buck.  No they aren't used or broken, they are in an unopened pack, thank you very much.
  Then we stopped at Basha's where Marg was looking for dry cottage cheese.  It seems no one down here has ever heard of it dry, so she just bought the tubs of it and drained it in cheese cloth.  She is making her crepes [Nalyshnyka -- I think that's how it's spelled] and her yams with the marshmallow topping for out Christmas dinner contribution to our table here.  I think I already told you about the cranberries, anyway we have those in hand as well.
  Got back and had a light supper.  Get this a salad with chicken in it.  Yes I had it as well.  Keep this up with all the cycling and I won't even cast a shadow by the time I get home.  Ate light because it was ice cream social tonight and I had the usual banana split, while Marg had ice cream and cake.  No cake for me, got to watch the ... aw who am I kidding.  The banana split is so large I had no room for it.
  After Aggie stopped in to tell Marg to drop by.  We did and Rhonda had her new little guy there, 3 days old.  Tiny and cute as a button.  She told her mom to invite Marg, and keep it quiet, just her.  Anyway Marg got to hold the baby for a while, me not so much, I just watched.  Marg had said earlier if they needed anyone to look after the little guy she would offer and Rhonda said she is one of the only people she would consider, so Marg was pretty happy.

Saturday - Dec 20th

  Early start to the day, I was up and in the hall kitchen by 6:15 AM to get things started for the breakfast crew.  Got all the stoves, etc lit and ready to go after a small problem with the large convection oven.  Got the coffee urns out and perking, the steam trays filled with water & plugged in.  Two more of the crew came at about 6:30 & the rest about 7.  We ended up with 2 ladies and one guy, so were back up to our normal level.  Marg brought her new electric grill and for the first time since we have been in the park, fried eggs were offered as a breakfast option.  It was a big success with about 1/3rd of the diners having them instead of scrambled.  We  had a few bumps, like when one of the new people forgot to plug in the slow cooker with the gravy & sausage for the biscuits and gravy option, but the girls got it handled.  Pretty good turn-out as well, feeding 49 breakfasts plus the crew.
  We were done clean up by about 10 AM and when we got back to the trailer, Richard was already there.  He had the water lines apart and was looking for the parts to get us operational.  With all that happened yesterday, never got there, so we went to Ace hardware and got what we needed.  He had us operational within a few minutes of getting back to the trailer.  Fingers crossed that this is our last water problem this winter.  Put the fan on for the balance of the day to circulate air in the crawl space and speed up the drying to get back to normal.  By the end of the day things were looking pretty good.
  Started to clear out the Az room & took more stuff to the dumpster bin.  Also left the old TV there for anyone who wants it.  Anything of value you don't want you just leave by the bins and it's usually gone within a day if there is any interest.  I will go by tomorrow and toss it if no one has picked it up.  It works fine, but is one of the older types; big and bulky for a 20 inch model.
  At that point we heard sirens and saw smoke rising off to the northwest, so jumped in the rhino and went over for a look.  A double wide mobile home was fully engaged and there were about 6 fire trucks responding.  Bad situation with 4 firefighters on the roof, one with a chainsaw opening the smoking roof.  Must have been a dangerous operation as a second man had hold of a safety harness on the guy, likely to yank him out of trouble.  Nice park, sure must have ruined someone's winter plans. 
  Marg went out to pick up a few things she needed at Fry's.  Apparently they had a really attractive package of scotch, so we may have to return tomorrow and see how attractive.  Then went for a walk, saw our friend who was having the problems and not able to help on the breakfast.  Looks like he has things sorted out and is on the mend.

   Went to happy hour where we had our appy's or in reality our food day.  All the ladies brought delicious stuff and lots of it.  There was so much that we never had to eat supper after.  There was even desert.

 This is the men's section, LOL.  Just like the Hutterites.

 The hummingbird feeder usually has one or two at it, unfortunately not when I snapped this pic.

    This is the women's section.






  It was a nice day, but had got a lot cooler by 4 PM when we got together for happy, so very few short pants today.
  Tomorrow is Patti's birthday, sorry we cannot be there to celebrate with you.  This is the first of the many family birthdays in Grande Prairie and England that we will miss while in Arizona.  One of the unfortunate aspects of this snowbird lifestyle.
  Pretty funny, Larry & Nancy's dog Cooper gets all excited when Nancy gets his coat, well it's more like a horse blanket.  Larry says the dog is smarter than he is.  LOL

Cooper with his coat.

Friday

Busy day in the Valley of the Sun.  The weather warmed up a bit and it was a nice day.  Bit of a cool breeze, so most of us are not in short pants today.
  Went over to the storage lot and got the rhino out to bring it to our lot.  Spent much of the morning washing it and then putting on some decorations.  I had a tub of stuff I carry around to get un-stuck and we decorated it like a bike present in the back with a big bow on it.

  After we finished with that, we went down to the other end of the park and talked to the people on our breakfast team as there was lots of uncertainty about tomorrow morning.  It ended up I went over to Wayne and got a set of keys for the kitchen including the fridge and freezer.  Managed to run in to Gary and he went over lighting the stove, grill and big convection oven.  We have a couple of people coming to help out as we will likely be short 3 tomorrow morning.  It looks fine at this time, but we will see.
  After lunch I went to play some pool.  There were 3 or 4 guys there, but I only had an hour.  Had to quit early as Marg & I went with two other team members to do the prep work for the morning breakfast crew.  As it turned out there were four of us, so it went pretty well.  I think we will be fine.  Marg is still going to offer fried eggs as an option to scrambled tomorrow if it works as planned.
  On the way back she said she thought she heard water running again, so I opened up the crawl space under the trailer and yes we had a small lake under there.  It turned out on of the lines sprung a leak and was spraying all over the underside.  Spent a bit of time crawling around under there and getting some fittings from the hardware.  In the end I went and got Richard as I was not at all confident I had the problem properly diagnosed.  After repeatedly turning the water on/off he came up with a different diagnosis & solution, so we will be getting some more parts to finish the repairs tomorrow.  This is getting a bit tiresome.

  Got done in time for the in-park parade and Marg & I went in the rhino.  There were lots of golf carts and Rita [from Grande Prairie] entered her Smart car.  I think most of the golf carts were bigger, the rhino certainly is.  Did a couple of laps around the park and then out through the new walking path.  At the end it was hot dogs and hot chocolate.  We had to stop near the end and get out a rope to tow a golf cart that lost it's charge.  One of the guys jumped in the back and rode on the present for much of the parade.  There were more people in the parade than there were watching.  LOL
  After that it was time for the animal races.  There were lots out for it and we made out OK.  I get a lot of razzing when I don't win, so fortunately tonight I won 4 of 6 races.  The main focus of this is the elephant, as I bet it every race and it seldom wins.  Marg also won 3 of the six she bet on, so a pretty good night.

Thursday - Dec 18th

One week until Christmas
  We got up in time for coffee & donuts.  We are one of very few that take their own coffee, mainly because we prefer the way Marg makes it.  It was well attended this morning and the donuts were free.  Well when I say free, that means we in a monetary sense.  We had to listen to a travel agent tell us in 10 minutes or less, about the great opportunities she has for us.  There was lots of the usual stuff, however one unique thing was Marg was among the group of ladies who received a big thank you for organizing the Christmas party.  We really went to attend a meeting of the turkey cookers of Carefree Manor.  This is one of the projects Marg volunteered us for.  We are cooking 5 turkeys along with gravy & stuffing for the Christmas dinner.  We also had to plan our dinner as we are sitting at the workers table this year.  Marg volunteered to bring her yams with the marshmallow topping and the crepe dish she makes every year.  I volunteered to bring cranberries as it appears some of our group are ambivalent on them.  To me cranberries make the turkey & are an important part of my Christmas dinner.
  Then it was out for a road trip to pick up some of the stuff we need to meet our commitments.  The first stop was Total Wine, where I got a couple of bottles of scotch.  Marg out-shopped me there again with the usual collection of stuff for chick drinks.  She has been getting lots of inquiries about her next patio party, so it looks to be in the planning stage.  Just tell me when and where I need to be.
  We also bought a electric griddle, something she uses a great deal at home.  She plans on offering fried eggs in addition to scrambled on Saturday AM.  That's right it is our turn to make breakfast.  She also got flower to make the crepes, yams, marshmallows, all that stuff so we are ready to rock & roll.  Stopped at American furniture on the way back to check on the status of our table, but are none the wiser on that score.  One of us did manage to find a duvet set that really caught her eye, so now we can take our other brand new one for the Az room [I guess], in case anyone comes to see us.  Also stopped at Costco on the way back and bought some other stuff for the happy hour feast on Saturday.  We limit food to one happy hour a week, but no limits on liquid refreshments.   No food on Friday this week because of the Christmas parade in the park [mainly golf carts] on Friday to be followed by tube steak and hot chocolate .  Oh yeh, we are decorating the Rhino and entering.  The guys also talked about another trip to the desert, so looking forward to that.  I have several people expressing interest in riding with me, but it will depend on whether Kenny is here as he has first right of refusal.
  Missed the pool tournament today with all this other activity.  Got to start planning better so that I can get into that as well. 
  Had some bad news at happy hour, it seems the key member of our breakfast team has had a medical emergency, so everyone was pretty subdued and concerned.  We will be scrambling [no pun intended] to take up the slack for him and his wife and our best wishes are with them - God Bless them.
  Supper was eat out at Filberto's tonight and that is Mexican - big time.  The closest thing they have to western food is the raw onions, but it's good.  It's a regular stop for us a couple of times during the winter - well truthfully it's one of the coupons in the Coyote coupon book.  Yes Marg bought that again, so we no doubt be will be visiting some unique places - like the road kill café, LOL.  After eating we stopped at Walmart to exchange the new griddle as it was broken, then over to the dollar store [where everything in the store really costs a dollar] to get decorations for the Rhino.
  Oh yes, it was a nice day in the valley of the sun and we seem to be in a warming trend through the next few days.  They did get snow up north around Flagstaff & over at Show Low.  It's part of that pineapple express weather and one of the reasons we have been getting pretty cool at night.  Still not as chilly as home as we have not yet been down to freezing.
 

Wednesday

Wednesday is always a busy day for us in AJ.  It rained much of the night and was still sprinkling when I got up.  It was pretty chilly as well, but when it came time to make a decision, I went over to pick up Gary to play golf at Apache Sun.  All our other players were either away or out of action today.
  Marg got up and ready as well because it was a road trip day for the gamblin' gals.  The were on the road to the Fort by 8:30. I think there were 4 of them today as Rita made the trip.  They made it in good time and got in a few pulls on the slots before bingo started.  Luck was not with them and they came back with pocket books just a little lighter than when they left.
  We got to the course a bit late as there was road construction, but with the weather the course was not busy.  We were only 2 foursomes today.  I played a bit better than last week, but it didn't show on the score card, as I did manage to get one 9.  Could not putt today, well that wasn't the only thing going wrong, just what seemed the most painful.
  Got back in time for a quick bite and then off to see what if there was a step ladder I could borrow.  Unfortunately every stop includes a visit, so it takes a lot of time to even make an inquiry.  Oh yeh, I had a step ladder lined up now.  So I went back to Harbour Freight.  Got a nice light for the bbq as my free-bee.  I didn't have a coupon for it, but the guy ahead of me did, so I asked if I could have the cashier scan it so I could get one.  When he expressed reluctance on whether it would be OK, the cashier assured him it would be fine.  They have a new system, you don't really need the coupon, just the bar code number and they give it to you.  I bought a sander & sandpaper, using my 20% off coupon, so got a pretty good deal.  I also picked up other repair stuff and put a new end on the extension cord when I got back.  When I got back there was a pile of Christmas cards on the step along with some nice things, like a banana loaf & jar of raspberry jam.
  By the time I got a few things done, it was happy hour, so I went for a quick half beer.  I say half because the gamblin' gals got back at that time.  It was hamburger in the park night, so we all went for burgers in the rec hall.  They do a really good job on burgers and fries and it is always well attended.  Some of the happy hour group took their burgers back, but we stayed in the hall to visit and eat.  Got two more commitments out of that.  LOL
  After Marg took the laundry down and put it in, while I went to poker.  Poker went pretty well, I think I was close to break even again.  I know I say that a lot, but it seems to be the case this year and I did already have to take a handful of coins out of my poker night bag.  When I got back Marg was steaming the laundry and the trailer was all humid inside.  Turns out she broke even as well.  LOL

Tuesday

Almost missed posting today, in fact the timing is Wed AM.  Pretty tired last night, probably the weather.  It is above average by a few degrees, but still cooler here with day time highs in the 60's.
  Went for a ride with the guys this AM.  It was cool, but good weather to ride.  Right off the start one was having problems with sore muscles from yesterday and about half way another was having the same with his foot or ankle.  The end result was we quit after 5 miles, which was fine with me as I consider that a good ride anyway.
  Put some meat on the bbq to brown and then Marg made a stew in the slow cooker. It naturally turned out great and there was enough that she sent some home with Lynette, who is one of her buddies [one of the gamblin' gals].
  I spent much of the morning cleaning out the shed.  I had odds and ends everywhere, from last spring and my recent work on the fence.  Some of the stuff I brought with me is jammed in there as well & its not that large, so very crowded.  Managed to get it so I can move around in there anyway and took a bunch of garbage out, some of it stuff the former owner left for me. 
  Marg had made up Christmas cards and some small jars of Saskatoon jam, so we walked around the park and delivered them.  A few new people have shown up in the last two days and anyone who was home resulted in a visit, so it took a bit of time.
  After lunch I went to play pool.  There were just 3 of us and all claimed to not have played since last spring.  Actually all three of us played pretty well and had a few laughs.  Marg went out to the bank as we were running short of cash and then made a few other stops.  On was at Safeway where the had Tullamore Dew on sale and she brought a bottle back.
  By then it was happy hour and it seems the women out number the guys about 2 to one.  Supper was stew, naturally and then off to bingo.  It was a bit smaller crow, lots of people going home for the holiday season.  The airlines here are forecasting the busiest travel season, perhaps ever.  Other people here are not travelling because they can't get flights.  No winners at our table at bingo, but someone has to donate. 

 

Monday

A little chilly this AM and did not go with the guys on the bike.  I may have a bit of a puncture in the front tire, that or a slow leak.  In spite of the deep tread, there might have been a thorn or goats head that got thru the inner tube.  On our trip out today, I bought a couple of flat proof inner tubes and need to install them now.  I checked at the bike shop and they wanted just about $40 for each tire to flat proof them.  They are  a bit heavier rubber and have the green stuff in them.  I may put a tire liner in as well as that helps keep them from being punctured.
  We went out for groceries to Winco.  They are a pretty good sized food store and Marg finds the prices better than the other places around here on most things.  I picked up a 30 can pack of beer and it was at least $2 better than any of the flyer prices I saw today.
  We got back in time for lunch and after a bowl of soup I went and played pool.  There are fewer guys playing this year, so when Bob said he would play, I jumped at the chance.  We had some good games and I believe I won more than I lost.  A third guy [John from BC] joined in with us for a while.  He used to stay in this park, but now is just down the road, but comes here to play.  I won a game against the two of them, before I had to leave.
  Got back and finished the fence in the afternoon.  Marg helped for a while, but then Linda came to borrow her steamer.  It seems she bought new curtains and wanted to take the wrinkles out, so Marg took it over and showed her how to use it. 
  By then it was supper time and we threw one of the New York steaks from Basha's on the bbq.  This one was great, nice and tender and very tasty.  One steak is plenty for the two of us and I have taken to cooking steak over low heat, so it comes out more tender.
  After supper I went to play poker.  We had 6 guys, so just the right number.  I'm not sure how I made out, but the coins wouldn't all fit in my money bag.  I had a handful in my pocket, so transferred some to my larger money back that I leave a home.  A few couples showed up in the last couple of days, one of whom [Jim] is one of our poker regulars, so nice to see them all again.
  Price of gas has been pretty darn good here.  there was one Valero station offering regular for $1.99/gallon.  That would be about 52 cents a litre for our friends in Canada.

Sunday in the park

It was pretty cool last night and I don't mean that in a 60's kind of way.  I think it got down to about 45F or about 6 or 7C.  The daytime high today was around 65 or so.  It is forecast to stay about like this for 5 or 6 days.  It felt chilly in the shade, like in the carport, but in the sunshine, it was quite pleasant.
  Went out with the bikers again this AM, with one more addition.  Gary and Linda got in on Friday and he bought a new bicycle on Saturday so was keen to join in.  It was very chilly, in fact I wore gloves to ride.  We almost always go the same basic route, but today Pat & Gary are kind of long distance guys, so we went to infinity and beyond as Buzz Light-year would say.  After a good ride, Larry asked if I felt OK, next time I will give a different answer.  Anyway we mad 9 1/2 miles, while Pat & Gary made one or two more with a bit of an extension on the trip down to Signal Butte.  Pretty tired legs by the time we got back to the park.  Rode in long pants and a hoodie today.
  Picked up the paper from Kenny's.  He & Doris have gone home for a procedure, so he asked me to pick up his paper.  We have never subscribed to the local papers, he gets two, so it was an eye opener.  Turns out that Sunday is a big coupon and sale day in the papers.  We spent quite a bit of time clipping coupons, best of all I got 2 sets for Harbour Freight.  Marg got a bunch of grocery and laundry ones, not nearly as interesting.  Lots of booze specials in the inserts as well, but not good enough to get a response from us.
  By then it was lunch time.  After lunch I started on the fence around the back patio.  We got the lattice panels and blocks from the neighbours who are moving out next month.  Got one side done, but found more stuff I needed in the process.  I had the posts, but needed a crown stapler, the one I got with the compressor only uses regular staples up to 9/16".  Went to Harbour Freight [got all those coupons you know].  Got to use one coupon for 20% off on the stapler, it was $17, so saved just over $3.  Then I got the free item, this time its a magnetic metal dish to hold nuts, bolts, screws, etc.  Great little item.  Still have 3 more discount coupons and 5 free stuff ones.  Then stopped at Ace to get some deck screws.  I was using some phillips screws, but they are frustrating, so went and got a box of the star head ones.  They go in as good as the Robertson square head ones at home.
  Stirred up some more ants on the concrete block border at the back, so gave them a good going over with the killer/barrier spray.  They really don't do well when they get hit with it.  Every time I blast a group, I hope its the last one.  What is a group of ants anyway?  A herd, a gaggle, a swarm!

 The kids singing

 The ice cream line, kids go first & they get pretty excited about it.

Got back and put up the back piece and by then it was time to clean up and have some supper.  Had a light supper today as it is ice cream social on Sunday's.  The people who put it on need our support.  Besides there was the night that the Sunshine Acres kids come to entertain with Christmas songs.  They brought a lot of kids tonight [of all ages] and they were great.  They are so positive and really enjoy being there, probably a reflection on how bad things were before.  It's a big orphanage, 7 houses that accommodate up to 10 kids each.  Its one of those things that really tugs at the heart strings.  The kids really like the ice cream and cookies and the servers are generous with them.  It's not all bad, apparently some of the kids do get back with their families, if they are still in the area and if the parents are able to get their act together.  Some of them though like living at the orphanage better than their previous home lives.  They can stay right thru high school and then are assisted with a college education if they are so inclined.
  After ice cream we went to the candle light vigil in the park.  At 7Pm on the second Sunday of the year people all over the world gather to light candles for deceased children.  They lit a large candle and then each individual went forward to light their candle from it, announcing in whose memory they were lighting it tonight.  Some very emotional moments, especially for those having recently experience a loss.  Although we have been more fortunate than most of those present, we went as a show of support for them & reflected on some of these tragedies in both of our families and with our friends in the past.
 

Saturday, Dec 13th

It rained last night, fairly hard I think and there was water all over the roads.  The weather reports on TV said around an inch.  The problem with rain here in the desert is that the ground is actually very hard and does not absorb the water very quickly.  While it does eventually soak in, there is lots of water on the roadways until that happens.  The drainage pieces I put on the downspouts yesterday worked pretty good and we had very little water on the drive pad.  The day was a bit cooler, although we were still in short pants.  We are headed into a week of cooler weather, thanks to what they are calling the pineapple express.  A moist weather system coming all the way from Hawaii.  The highs for the next week are in the mid-70's.  May have to go back to the long pants if that happens.
  It being Saturday, I got out and joined a bunch of friends at the hall for breakfast.  As luck would have it they had French toast, so you know what I had, with bacon & eggs.  I think I must have generous friends behind the counter as well, because of the size of the portions I was given.  I would like to think I am a pretty good breakfast eater, but no way I could finish the mound of scrambled eggs.  We had lots of laughs about the antics from last night.  Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
  After breakfast Marg & I went to the big market in Mesa.  If you saw the blog in past years, you have no doubt read about this massive flea market.  Marg was looking for an outdoor mat in the southwestern them for the driveway area and after quite a bit of research she came up with one that is supposed to have an above average life.  The weather, particularly the sun, is tough on everything, so that is always a consideration for anything used outside here.  She also got a couple of other things and we ran into Jim Steele & his wife Linda.  Really funny because we saw them at the same place last year and it was the only time we saw them all winter.
  We then went to Lowes for a few things.  Actually went for bug spray, there are lots of critters here that we don't normally deal with.  Mostly we had an over-abundance of ants and they can be a serious problem here, because some are termites.  The spray I used is both an ant killer and barrier, so hopefully it will discourage a visit by the next travelling ant group.  We are considering getting the service some other friends in the park here use, if they re-appear.  Also got some ideas for a back splash for the kitchen and bathroom.  We'll see how it turns out.  Also picked up a stand we are going to use for the TV and assortment of boxes plugged in to it.
  By the time we were done we realized we had missed lunch, so stopped at DQ for a quick bite.  We had heard about the $5 buck lunch, so went to check it out.  Marg had chicken wraps and I had  a bacon cheeseburger, all with drinks and a sundae.  It was a really good deal and best of all the ice cream tasted like real ice cream, not like the frozen milk they use in GP.
  Back at home there was just time to put the TV stand together, lay out the mat and dig out the lawn chairs.  Marg had dinner in the slow cooker from before lunch, so having a bit of time we went to happy hour.  It was a bit cool outside, in fact there were only 6 of us at happy today.  It was a nice change and we were able to have a nice visit, particularly with Gary & Linda who just got in late yesterday.  Definitely needed a coat by that time as the wind was picking up pretty good.  Apparently they got snow in the high country last night, most up around Flagstaff and north of there and not here.
  Back for a great dinner of roast and potatoes thanks to Marg's forward thinking.
  The TV service and internet were on and off quite a bit tonight, not certain what is going on with that.  We are seriously considering just using the antenna for TV if it keeps up.  There are something like 55 channels available over the air waves, or peasant vision as it is sometimes called.
  Almost forgot, I bought a compressor yesterday at Home Depot.  It was a package deal that included a finishing nailer, a brad nailer & stapler. For those of you who don't know, I get a new tool every time I tackle a large project and while I don't have a large one this year; I have a large number of small ones.  Anyway when we were at the checkout a young guy behind me said it would be nice to get one & Marg told him this makes three compressors for me.  This creates a bit of a dilemna for me as it is better than either of the others I have, so I will be debating taking it home and bringing one of them back here, but I've got a few months to decide.

Friday

The day started out a bit cool and warmed in to a beautiful day.
  I was up and out at 8 AM when Larry & Pat came by and rode with them again.  We made 6 miles today, although Pat went on for an extended ride.  Started out with a vest and sweatshirt on, but by the end of the ride that was too much.
  Marg had to meet up with the other ladies by 10AM as they were preparing for the party tonight.  They made up little Santa heads on oreo cookies, Grinch heads on toothpicks, fruit trays, cookies, fudge trays, punch, you name it.  They were busy ladies.
  She made it back for lunch and we went out to get a few things.  I had to get some drain pipes for the carport, some posts for the lattice work fence & some fittings.  Marg had to exchange a lamp shade, get some groceries and get some stuff for happy hour.  She made a tray of ham sausage with cheese & crackers and a tray of little pastry cups with a crab & shrimp dip in them, topped with a slice of olive and a little shrimp.
  When we got back, I fixed up the connections on the downspouts.  It's supposed to rain most of the night, so I wanted to try and keep the water of the driveway pad.  At the last rain we had quite a bit of ponding on the concrete.  Then it was off to happy hour where we swapped the usual tales, but being Friday had snacks as well.  There was quite a variety in addition to the stuff Marg had prepared, so it was like a meal.  Barely had time to get back and pick things up to go to the hall party. Marg had to be there at 6 to help the gals set up.  I got there close to 7.  Sat with some good friends and we had lots of laughs.  They had a skit that was hilarious, then sang some carols, then everyone picked a gift from the pile.  One of the carols was the 12 days of Christmas and they passed out lines for each of the 12 days to groups.  Well I got 9, you know 9 ladies dancing, so gave slips to a couple of the guys around me, both named Jerry. Anyway when it came to 9 we stood up and danced while singing out line.  All the others were done in a similar fashion many by groups like ours that couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.  Everyone sat in a big circle and when the music played passed the gifts along until it stopped and that was the gift you kept.  I got a magnetic beverage holder, Marg a big can full of popcorn.
  Stayed to help put all the tables and chairs back in order for the breakfast tomorrow morning and that was our day.

Thursday, Dec 11th

Early start to the day, as Larry & Patrick showed up to see if I was riding today.  I had told them if I was up I would and they said they would look to see if I was up.  Well I was but not out, so they passed by, but knowing their route and rate of travel, I was able to get dressed and out the back gate to intercept them.  It was a good day to ride, a bit cooler and the sun was out.  Went a little farther today, made just over 5 miles before returning to Carefree manor.  They went on and did around 8 miles, so I'm still building up to their level.  This meant missing out on coffee and donuts this am. The coffee I had already, but donuts.  Life is about choices!
  When I got back we had some breakfast and then headed out.  I got a haircut at the same place as the last 2 years.  We then went on to Goodwill, where I got a Hawaiian shirt for the luau they are having in the new year.  Marg got some Christmas decorations as she has been getting the gears from her buddies about it.  They really decorated outside and no matter what we do it will pale by comparison, unless we do a Griswald [OK cousin Eddy?]  thing.  LOL.
  Got back in time for lunch and then Marg took off with the ladies who are putting the Friday night party together.  They had a bunch of shopping to do and some more scheming as well.  Also decorated the two gifts she got.  Everyone has to provide 2 gifts that are wrapped in white paper or newspaper.  I gather it's kind of like the Chinese gift exchange idea. 
  I had to stay home this afternoon as the furniture store came to pick up our table.  It has some damage on the surface, probably from the heat.  Anyway they are picking it up to either repair or replace it.  They were really no hassle about it when Marg called them, but we had to be here.  As it turned out Marg was back by the time they came, so I could have played in the pool tournament.  When people in the park saw the furniture truck, I got some funny comments, so I just told them the furniture we bought last year was out of style, so we replaced it all.  Sometimes a good lie is more entertaining than the truth.
  Went to happy hour and the lady who originally owned this unit told Marg she loved the way it looks and would purchase it and move back here for the winter if she could.  Well at least  After it was out to Ihop for dinner with Kenny & Doris.  It was good, but the service was slow tonight.  We were starting to get impatient when I suggested to Marg & Doris that perhaps they could just put on an apron and go to the kitchen.  Luckily it did arrive, but everyone in there seemed to be suffering along with us.  Fortunately it was good when it did arrive.  Kenny & Doris are heading home for a couple of weeks, so will miss them and hope they have good roads back to Kansas. 

Wednesday

This is generally our busiest day.  We both got an early start on the day, and the weather was very nice from the start.
  Marg went with the gamblin' gals to Ft MacDowell, or the Fort as they call it.  There were four of them this AM and they have the routine down pat.  I believe it is a bit of slots, a bite to eat and bingo with lots of laughs.  They leave at 8:30 and get home around 4 PM. Marg came back up a few bucks, which is always good, but there were no major winners today.
  I picked up Pat and we went to Apache Sun for the regular golf time with the park.  Later in the year this fills right up but this morning we only had 3 foursomes, so had room for a few more players.  The course is in nice shape already, they let it dry out all summer and bring it back to life in the winter months.  My game was OK, & that is just part of getting used to the course.  Lost one ball on the long water hole, but that is pretty normal for me.
  When I got back I ran some errands.  Picked up some stuff for Marg and got some drawer fronts from the salvage place we were at yesterday.  Had to go an check out some stuff at the lumber yard so I could place a value on the fence material the neighbours are getting rid of.  They have been here for 3 years, so have put up a bit of a fence around their rv.  They offered it to Marg and she said we would be interested.  We want it for the back patio, kind of a privacy screen.  There are deck blocks to anchor it and the fence itself is the white plastic lattice work material.  Good thing as they started taking it apart later in the afternoon and brought it over to our driveway.
  Spent much of the afternoon repairing the hand rail on the front step. It was getting loose and kind of floppy, which kind of defeats the purpose of having one.  I think I have it pretty good now.  It was like that last spring, but we were too busy to get around to it then. 
  We had a quick stop at happy hour, well Marg's was quicker than mine as I was waiting there when the gals pulled up. Nancy generally drives when they go and her husband, Larry was out on the patio waiting for people to show up.  One of the ladies at happy hour is just visiting in the park.  It turned out she and her husband were the ones who were the original owners of the park model we have and they were the ones who had it moved into this park.  She was curious about it, so Marg brought her back for a tour.  I guess it was a bit nostalgic for her.
  We bbq'd some of the pork tenderloin Marg got at Basha's the other day.  It was great.  After supper Marg did laundry and I went to play poker.  Our poker group was small, only 5 of us tonight, but Gerry M was here.  He was one of our regulars in previous years, but had been ill, so it was nice to see him back and in good shape.  I think I about broke even again.  It was lots of fun.
  When I got back Marg had some stuff to do that she needed a hand with, so we got that wrapped up tonight. 
  BTW Phil, regarding you comment on the amount of use the average mountain bike gets, mine has a little over 300 miles on it.

Tuesday

A gorgeous day in the valley of the sun.  I think the temp got up to about 79 or 80F.
  Got up and was having coffee in the pj's when Larry & Pat came to the door to get me to ride, so it was throw on the clothes and dig out the bike.  Did about 5 miles and they were still going further, so I returned to the park on my own.  I discovered that I still have to ride more to get in shape for this stuff.
  Marg had a meeting with the ladies organizing the Christmas party for Friday.  They have lots to do and Thursday will be a busy one for them. On the way she ran in to Linda and apparently asked how Elmer was doing and whether he was still playing pool.  The upshot of it was Elmer came to the door a few minutes later, so I went to play pool with him.  Marg's meeting was at Karen & Bob's, so Bob came to join us playing pool.  Lots of laughs with these two characters.
  After we went out for some errands.  We stopped at a place that sells bits and pieces for park models and trailers to see what they had in the way of cupboard doors and drawer fronts.  There are two doors and 4 door fronts in the kitchen that are a bit the worse for the wear and we want to replace.  We found a few among the hundreds in the place, but need to measure again as they don't do any exchanges or refunds.  Although it is a salvage place, they do have new stuff as well.  Stopped at the hardware store for a few bolts for the step handrail.
  Then we went west into Mesa and stopped at Long John Silver's for lunch.  It's kind of a fast food seafood place, but the food is actually pretty good.  We had the Alaska Cod and it was very good.
  After we went down to the Superstition mall area for: Target, KMart, Ross's, Burlington Coat, Walmart.  I knew it was a bit of a search for a few things, so at the Ross's store I went in to the book store next door and bought a western.  Only read around 100 pages, so it was not a long shopping day and Marg was happy with the results: coffee creamer, butter dish, hassock, side table, etc.
  By then it was getting to later afternoon, so we returned to the RV Park.  Fixed the hand rail and then it was time for happy hour.  Pat & Diane got to the park yesterday, so he was there and we got to fill him in on happenings in the park.  He is one of the golfers & is going tomorrow, so I will be picking him up.
  Back to the trailer for supper and had a bit of time before it was time to go to bingo.  That started this week, so we went and donated.  It's really Marg's group, the gamblin' gals, but Kenny & Jerry go as well, so I generally tag along.  Kenny & Doris won, so our table did get something, although that was small consolation to us. 
  When we got back home, we had some desert that was left on the counter.  It was kind of like a pineapple upside down cake with a brandied sauce on it.  There is only one source of that in the park, sure enough it was Smitty who does these in a Dutch oven.  Put a little ice cream on it with coffee & it was great.  When I had brought him the diamond willow he offered to make me something, but I said the dutch oven deserts were reward enough, so I guess he took that literally and that is what showed up. All the same it sure was good.

Monday - Dec 8th

A beautiful day in the valley of the sun.  A bit of a breeze, but in the high 70's all day.
  The guy who normally washes our rv when we get here came this AM to wash the trailer.  In the past we have been really happy with his work, so Marg called him to do it this year.  There was so much dust, dirt, cobwebs, etc. all over and the water here leaves water marks, while his is treated and everything dries to a shiny finish.  We were not disappointed, the end result was great and they also did the Az room, carport and drive pad.  Marg cleaned all the windows & window channels on the inside and then vacuumed the place while the guys were doing the outside.
  I went to beg off the bike ride this AM as my tires were flat, but Larry was having none of that and got out his portable air compressor.  He has only been out a few times, so I was able to keep up with him.  We rode a little over 5 miles. Marg went to water aerobics [splash & thrash] and got a good workout as well.  They had a good turn-out for this early in the year and unlike last year she did not over-do it.  Most of the gals were regulars last year, with one new addition.  Susie was in the park, but not able to participate last year.
  Unloaded the Rhino from the trailer.  Drove it down the street to the service station and filled it, that was a first for me.  By the time I got back to the park, Marg had lunch made for me, a nice touch.  Got together with Jerry [he had his quad] and Norm [with his tracker] to go to the desert.  Kenny rode with me, he wanted to get an idea of what the side x side is like.  Norm took a new guy, from Pennsylvania, with him.  We drove out of the park, down city streets to where the Bulldog canyon trail system starts.  They had the most complicated locked gate I have ever seen & even though Norm had the combination it was a challenge to get open.  Saw some great country and ran some challenging terrain on the trails.  At one point Norm had the tracker with 2 opposite corner wheels on the ground & the other 2 in the air, so I pulled him off with the winch on the Rhino.  Made a hill climb that had the other guys impressed with the Rhino, they wouldn't even try it.  We came out just out by Goldfield and ran down highway 88 [the one that goes to Tortilla flats] a short way to get on to Lost Dutchman and then on to home.  Made about 40 km round trip.  Lots of fun.  Sorry there are no pictures, but I didn't realize Marg had packed the camera in the cooler bag she sent with me.
  Marg went out and found a few things she needed.  She also put the Saskatoon jam in some small jars to give to her buddies and did some Christmas cards up. By this time it was happy hour, so we went down for one and swapped stories for a bit.  There was a new couple in the park from Victoria at happy as well.  Interesting guy, they had spent 4 years on a 29 ft sailboat a couple of years back that they sailed to thru Fiji & Tonga down to New Zealand. 
  Back home for supper, where we bbq'ed the first of the New York cut steaks.  It has been a  while since I grilled a steak this thick and it was quite a challenge.  A great supper as always.
  After supper I went to play poker.  They are playing Monday & Wednesday now and we had 7 players.  One new guy there [Al] who had an interesting time picking up on some of the games.  The rest were guys who were playing pretty regular last year.  Lots of laughs, especially if you were winning.  I never count what I start or finish with, so I believe I about broke even. 

Sunday

The weather was great today, the sun shone and I think it got up to about 77 or so.
  Got up early and went back to the hardware where I got a pressure valve and drain pipe for the hot water tank.  I was still having some water in the cabinet around the tank and after installing the valve I think the water problems are at an end in the unit.  Marg had several visitors for various things, about some of the functions she is volunteering at and one of the gamblin' gals stopped by.

 Steaks at about 75% discount

 Huge pork tenderloin at about 50% discount

  Marg went back to Basha's with her rain check for the big meat sale.  When she got there the steaks were sold out again, but the butcher recognized her from last night.  Nice guy and he wrapped up some New York steaks and gave them to her for the price of T-Bone, so it could not have worked out better.  The steaks are huge, probably one will be all the two of us can eat.  Looking forward to trying the first one tomorrow night.  She got a bunch of other stuff in the sale as well.  It was a pretty good deal.
  I started work on the front step, but needed some other stuff and managed to get in my first trip to Harbor Freight and got a few things.  It was my plan to fix it today, but too many other things got in the way.
  Finally got through to Tracfone and it turns out we can't block the text messages from the prior user of the phone number we had.  All they could do was give us a new phone number.  Good timing as there wasn't time to commit the first one to memory.
  Then the repair guy from Mediacom showed up.  Nice young fellow and he diagnosed the problem with service right away.  Well not all of it, I did fix a part of the wifi problem.  It turns out there is a switch on the modem to enable wifi and all I had to do was turn it on.  I readily admit to being a techno-peasant, and now the world has proof.  This allowed the ipad to connect, but the laptop was still not able to connect, so he fixed that.  The TV problem was loose and improper connectors.  It turns out the installers put on 2 cables they should not have because they have poor quality connections.  But the worst problem was created by the cable ends they put on, one was not even crimped on, just slid on to the cable.  The young fellow cut all the cable ends off and put new ones on and we are golden now. 
  By then it was time to bbq for a hurried supper and then off to the ice cream social.  The crowd was small but the banana split I had was good anyway.  Marg had a half piece of cake & some ice cream and the company was good.  Busy day, how busy you ask?  Well we never even got to happy hour, not that is busy.
  Plans were to take the day off tomorrow and play some pool, but we might be going in to the desert, stay tuned.