Wednesday, Jan 31st.

A gorgeous day in the valley and the forecast for the next couple of weeks will see the trend continue.  It was even quite nice after the sun went down, that's when you know it's warm.
  I went golfing with Gerry & Stan this morning to Apache Sun with the group from the park.  We ended up the last group out, so the ones to pick up the markers for the longest putt and closest to the pin.  The first hole started off a bit rocky, but it got better and I had a decent round.  It was a two turtle day at the 5th hole and Gerry's ball almost made the water, mine was on the green where the turtles can't get you.  My score was 45, one that I am well pleased with, had several birdie putts that turned into pars.
  Marg went to water aerobics, it's finally nice enough for that and it looks to be on for the foreseeable future.  She modified some of the routines to suit her ability and the result was great.  She said having the cart to get home was a big plus and she was even able to give Lynette a ride home [her cart was in for service].
  Shortly after I got back she made taco salads that were amazing.  Well she made all the ingredients and then we each piled our own taco shells full.  Marg sometimes buys these when we eat out, but the only time I have them is like this.  Not certain why as I enjoy them.
  After lunch I went to play pool. Got in with 3 other guys who play well and that are fun to play.  I again had a hot cue stick and was able to keep from embarrassing myself.  We played for a couple of hours and the last game was 2 on 1 with two very good opponents, but I managed to eke out a win.  Marg did a load of laundry and hung sheets on the line.  Then she vacuumed and washed floors before she started having a few visitors.  She's a real social butterfly here.

  It was too close to supper, so we never went to happy hour.  We went to the Potato Bar today in the park here.  They usually do this once or twice and it is very well attended.  The potato's are great, very tasty baking spuds and they offer quite an array of things you can dress it up with as well as chili.  This is mine.  One potato is pretty much all either of us can eat, so it makes a great meal.  It also helps us with our effort to reduce the amount of red meat we eat.
  At the end one of the ladies was concerned her husband was missing and he is getting a bit forgetful, so Marg jumped in the cart to see if she could find out what happened.  It all turned out fine, but just another example of how she is using her new mobility to advantage. 
  When we got home, she got out her steamer and did all the laundry.  I guess she had a few visitors who came around and gave her a hard time about working that late on laundry.  She said she likes to do it in the breezeway when it's cooler in the evening.  Anyway she got it all done.  Me, I went to play poker.  I started out like a house on fire and had a bit of a lull in the middle and finished strong.  The little crown royal bag was full again, so I emptied half into a larger bag.  All in all it was a great day for yours truly.

Tuesday, Jan 30th

Another nice day in the valley.  I was mistaken yesterday, the temp reached 83,which tied the record high for this place.  Today it was almost a repeat with a high of 81F, so very nice and quite a few degrees above the seasonal averages.
  There was a scheduled water outage this morning at 10, so after showers and breakfast we went out for some retail therapy.  Marg wanted to go back to TJ Max at Superstition and we were there for their opening at 10.  Well Marg was, I sat in the truck and read my pocket book.  The bad guys are really getting a come-uppance in the story.  Marg had some success and came out with a small bag, a top I think.  It was still early, so we went over to Ross's where we both went in to look around.  I actually went to use the bathroom, but did find a nice wallet for a very good price before returning to the truck to continue the tales of good vs evil.  When she came out she had a back with a couple of things, including my new wallet.  I didn't need one yet, but they are such a good deal here that I like to keep the next one on hand.
  By then it was close to lunch, so we went to Souper Salad.  It's buffet style and the name pretty much describes what they have on offer; soup and salad with a few sides like corn bread, fruit, etc.  It has been quite a while since we were there and it was as good as we remembered.  We got there about 20 minutes before noon and it was pretty full already.  Pretty much the grey hair crowd who are always early for everything.  It's great value at about $7.50 each and the selection great and fresh.
  When we got back the water was back on, so it appeared all went well.  The utility company was replacing the meter.
  Marg had some people she had to touch base with regarding a celebration of life for a long time friend and resident of the park.  I went down to the pool hall where I played one on one with a very good player.  We had some great games and I won my share, in fact I believe I won more than I lost.  Even though he is a better player, my strategy or game plan proved stronger.
  Shortly after I got back home, a couple of ladies stopped by looking for the happy hour location today.  When Marg asked them the same question, they said I guess it's here, so within the next 15 minutes we had a couple dozen folks here making a racket.  It only lasts about an hour and then everyone goes to get supper.  We were going to bingo tonight, so that didn't leave us much time, so it was fast good at MacDonalds tonight. 

It is a super moon tonight, that is supposed to turn in to a Blue moon then a Blood moon over the night.  With any luck I will be up early enough to get a picture.  By this time they discovered a water leak in the new meter installation, so the water was again shut off for more repair work.  It was long day for those guys.



We went to bingo and Marg got another win on the first game.  Even though she had to split with two other winners, she was in a positive mind-set:  a win is a win and any win is good.

Monday, Jan 29th

Another nice day, I think it made it into the high 70's.
  Marg went with the Gamblin' Gals to the Fort today.  Yes that was a change and several people asked about the change.  My answer was a bit vague as there seem to be a number of reasons in the group and they are no longer motivated by the lure of a free dish.  Marg won at the bingo, but apparently had to split with a couple of other winners, so her payout was only $17.  That was the only winner in the group, but hey they had a good time.
  I went to Karen & Bob's as they had sticky buns this morning.  They had 3 batches made and about 15 or 20 people for coffee.  They were very good and when people complimented her, she gave Marg credit for the recipe, she calls no-fail.  Nice way to start the day.
  After I went out to the hardware to get a part to fix the bath tap.  The knob was not seated right and looked like it was broken.  I also picked up a JB Weld superglue there to fix the cup holder on the golf cart.  Can't have that!  LOL Along the way I stopped back at Walmart as I neglected to get all the pictures printed yesterday.  When I returned to the park I gave them to the fellow who requested them.  Kind of funny, he asked me where I get my film and was surprised when I said I have not used a film camera for about 20 years.  I guess he bought a roll of film back home last fall and it was the last roll they had in the store and was looking for a new source.
  After lunch and fixing both those things, I went to play pool.  I ended up playing in a group of 4 and came away with more wins than losses.  The partnering usually changes every game, except today there was one player I never partnered with and he was the best player at our table.  When he asked about that [he shot before me until partners were decided] I said it would have been different if he ever left me a shot, which was partly true.  I think it's nice to try and balance the teams so one does not dominate, well and sometimes there are players I like to play against.
  By then it was happy hour.  I loaded up chairs and a beer and started for it when I saw Marg walking towards me.  Apparently they got back quite a bit earlier today, so she only got a half ride back.  Then she took the cart to drop her stuff off and get a drink [water I think].
  Supper tonight was dine-in. 

Sunday, Jan 28th

A nice day, but the wind blew pretty much all day.  I started out with some of the oatmeal I got at Winco that was reputed to be as good as home made.  I made it in the microwave and that may have influenced the result, but it was not great, merely OK.  Next time I will try boiled water from a kettle.
  I went to the church service this morning and there was a good attendance, but some people were notably missing.  The result, well the hymn sing was not good, I almost had to sing.  The sermon was good today and got better as it went along.  In response to a request I took some pictures after clearing it with pastor Don.
  Marg did laundry while I was away and got it all done this morning.  With her new drying rack she had more capacity and was able to get it all laid
  When I got back we had lunch and went out for a bit.  I wanted to check out pellet pistols at Big 5 sporting goods and get some pictures printed.  It's so cheap to do it at Walmart, I have quit printing them, except for one-of's.  The quality is usually very good there as well and it doesn't take very long.  They had a good selection at Big 5, but I will wait a bit as they have different specials every other week and one I like may be offered before I go.  Marg went to Basha's almost next door to it and picked up some things we need to keep eating.  She got a great deal on some New York steaks as well as quite a few other things that appealed.  I went to catch up with her and bought a couple of lottery tickets.  Hang on - as we are now millionaires in-waiting.  That was all I bought today.
  When I got home, I went out to look at Gary & Linda's screen door.  It is a sliding door much like ours and because of how tight it was I thought the wheels were in need of replacement.  It turned out they were fine, so adjusted them.  Then we pulled the door out of the frame and lubricated the wheels and their mechanism.  The result was it seems to be operating better.  Gary W said he was not telling Linda and would wait to see if she noticed.  Should be interesting.
  On my circuitous route home, I stopped in to see Gary C about the drinking fountain in the pool hall not working.  We chatted a bit about a large range of topics and then I made my way back home.  I passed the happy hour group on my way, but passed on it today.  We took a few minutes of relaxation before supper.  Supper was a chicken dish Marg made in the house today as she thought the winds would make it difficult to bbq. 
  After supper it was ice cream social.  They were short a person, so I was the cashier today.  No heavy lifting in this job, so a got my ice cream with the crew, but I made Marg pay as she wasn't working tonight.  It was pretty well attended and I got to chat with each customer a bit and met some new people in the park.  Marg sat with a couple who are our neighbours.  Sometimes people sit off by themselves and having been the new people we always try to do our part to make them feel welcome and included.

Saturday, Jan 27th

Can hardly believe it, the last Saturday in January.  The day started out a bit cooler, but by mid-morning was very nice.  It was in the 60's [cool for here, but warm for home] and once the sun got up was well into the 70's.  We slept on the new pillows last night, not sure if they are staying just yet as we both had trouble adjusting to them.  The good news is they came from Costco.
  I went for breakfast in the Rec hall and it was a good one today.  It was Lynette's crew and they always do a good breakfast.  The french toast and blueberry pancakes were both excellent, difficult to choose between the two, so I had one of each.  Marg on the other hand had her usual, a yogurt at 10 AM.  They had a good crowd this morning, nice to see their effort rewarded that way.
  We had to hang around a bit as we had a commitment to have visitors this morning.  They wanted a place to meet where they would be on neutral ground and not subject to a lot of scrutiny that would raise questions.  Does that pique your curiosity?  Well elections are coming up in a couple of weeks for the tenants association executive here in the park and they wanted to talk about their interest in allowing their names to stand for election.  Where did I fit in?  Well I sat out back on the patio in the sun reading my pocket book, oh yes, I offered them each a bottle of cold water from my beer fridge.  Marg on the other hand sat in the house through the discussions, I think they lasted about an hour.  I believe they have some people who will be allowing their name to stand for a few, but certainly not all of the positions.  There has been some controversy among some of the tenants this past while that seems to have led to this.  It's just part of the challenge of dealing with volunteers, much like working in a service club.  People are prepared to contribute in various ways and not everyone wants or sees things the same.  Some people are natural leaders and others content to follow for their own reasons. Hey that is pretty philosophical for me.  I may try poetry next.
  While they chatted, I went all around the trailer spraying for weeds.  Believe it or not, there are weeds that thrive in the desert, nothing useful, just stuff you don't want.  In fact they do very well and this year I had to get a pair of branch loppers to cut the thick stems on some of them out back.  There is also some kind of weed that looks like grass but has sharp almost spear points on it, so I try to kill them before they get established.
  Well all that and it was time for lunch.  Marg's friend Linda passing by commented about a big breakfast so why a lunch.  Obviously she just doesn't understand.  I could say that I asked for lunch so Marg could eat something, considering the not very filling effect of a yogurt, but the truth is -- It was LUNCH time.  A nice sandwich, made nicer by her making it.
  After lunch I drove to the Fiesta mall, that is quite far by the way and involves time on the freeway at about 70 mph.  We went to the Dillard's last call store.  Dillard's is a fairly expensive store with good quality clothing and send the clearance merchandise from all the area stores to this one.  The deals are excellent, with price tags about 1/3rd of the retail tag and then today there was an extra 30% off.  How good is the deal, well I had two tee shirts that were marked around $50 that cost around $8 when the math was done.  The store is huge, for comparison, I would guess the store space was at least as large as our local Costco store at home and is wall to wall racks of clothes.  I think Marg only found one top today while I read a few chapters of a western titled " A good day to kill."
  When we got back we toured around a bit on the cart.  Stopped in for mail and actually had some from home.  The $150 we paid to have our mail sent down at work.  Stopped in to visit with several folks, ended up at Kenny & Doris' place for a while.  He still plays a guitar pretty well.  I forgot to mention yesterday when I stopped by to get him for pool he played a few minute of "Under the double eagle".  A bit of a sentimental piece for me as it always makes me think of Marg.
  By then it was 4 o'clock and well all know that is Happy Hour.  Had to go home to get our camp chairs and my one beer.  It was at Dahlberg's and they had a good sized crowd today.
  Time to eat again, so it was home to bbq a nice T-bone steak and some nice baking potato's.  As I said yesterday, time to eat in.  Although the restaurant food is good, it doesn't take long before I look forward to eating something home cooked.  It's just a result of being married to such a great cook, I guess. Between us we got it done and had a nice supper.
  The weather is supposed to get warmer starting tomorrow.  The forecast high is in the 80's for a few days now.
 

Friday, jan 26th

A bit cool in the morning, but a nice day here in AJ.
  We started the day with a little retail therapy at Costco.  Got there a bit early, so filled the truck at $2.16/gallon, for my Canadian friends that would be 48 cents a litre.  By then the store opened and we picked up a few things.  Of note we got two new pillows that are memory foam and can hardly wait to try them.  We also got a bottle of Macallan scotch and one of Irish whisky to try.  The guy at Costco said if I didn't like it to bring it back, could hardly believe they would take it back once opened. 
  After we went to Winco, it's an employee owned grocery store, kind of in the warehouse format.  It's a big store and they have great prices.  We have been there previously, but one of the ladies here told me about a porridge [oatmeal] that they have and claims it is very good.  We also picked up some other great bargains, example canned vegetables [corn, peas, beans] for 50 cents a can, eggs $1.80/dozen, 2 dozen bottles of water $2, no bottle deposit here.  By then it was close to lunch, so we went back home.
  In the afternoon I went and got Kenny to play pool.  We played one game just between us until he got re-familiarized with the game and then two other guys joined us.  It was interesting because we shoot for partners and it changes from game to game with him making the winning ball.  We played about 5 games and both won and lost our share having a bit of fun in the process.  The pool room was full and I think he enjoyed being in the midst of it all.  I know he was looking forward to playing as he bought a fiberglass cue and case that he brought to Arizona.
  While I was doing this Marg used her cart to go around the park catching up with people.  When she stopped to visit the guy who had the problems at Turkey soup, she found he wasn't hydrating to her satisfaction so returned home to get him a couple of Gatorades and some of the supplements to add to a bottle of water.  Then she caught up with Sue and learned of another celebration of life to be held and offered to help any way she was needed.  I'm not certain but there were several other stops as well.  Good to see she is making good use of it.
  About the time we finished it was happy hour and there was a big group tonight.  It was Jim's birthday and happy was at their place.  The number of people and cards he received are an indication of his popularity in the park, nice to see.  We sat around and exchanged the usual amount of gossip and ate a piece of cake.  The fellow who had the problem referred to earlier was there and people were walking up to him saying it was nice to see him doing well and hydrating with Gatorade.  I overheard him say it was out of my fridge, so I said well Marg just likes to mother someone and my not being around, it was just his turn.  LOL
  After happy seven of us went out to Golden Corral for supper.  It is a pretty good buffet and Jerry brought his van so we could all go in one vehicle.  The place was fairly busy, but we got in promptly.  Nice thing about buffet, you eat right away, bad thing you have to be careful as people tend to overeat.  I had shorts on, so without my buffet pants, had to take it easy.  Food is pretty good there and the bread pudding was pretty darn good tonight.  After we got home, Marg said, that was the last time we are eating out for a while.

Robbie Burns Day, 2018

A toast to the immortal bard, Robbie Burns, I salute your memory with a dram tonight.
  It was a beautiful day in Apache Junction, the kind of weather we are here for and came to enjoy.  I think it was in the 70's and very nice in the sun.
  It was Marg's day to go to the Fort with the Gamblin' Gals, there were 6 of them today, so a regular pilgrimage.  I offered to drive in case they had a room problem, but it seems they worked it out.  As usual they were on the road at 9:30, returning shortly after 4:00.  The day went well and one of them returned a big winner from the bingo & she was smiling and doing the happy dance when she saw I had the golf cart waiting for her so she could ride back to our place.  Marg had been in the break-even category until now and won $300 today simply by yelling "Bingo", so was a happy gal today!
  I went to the coffee klatch this morning and it was well attended.  In fact it was too well attended.  Our table was drawn last to go for donuts, so I held back checking out what was left as the pickings get pretty slim at the end.  Well that is exactly what happened, so rather than get a donut I didn't care for I passed and just had coffee.  It was so well attended, I could not sit with the regular bunch, so ended up at a table with mostly Canucks for a change.  They are from BC, but I don't hold that against them.  LOL  It turned out to be fortunate as I got to discuss some FB postings with Malcolm who produces much of the hand outs and posters.
   I posted the events using the information I got at coffee earlier.  There were a couple of them plus some pictures from a past event that I added to the site.  Earlier I had some problems posting the files that Malcolm sent me, so I just scanned the posters as that seems to be the easiest.
   After a bite of lunch [hand made by yours truly], I went out to wash the truck.  For here it was dirty, but back in GP I probably would not have bothered.  I even washed the box inside so when guys go golfing with me I won't be embarrassed to put their clubs in the back.  I spent quite a bit of time spraying on the clear rinse as the water speckles so bad here and it seems to have paid off.  It was a good deal, I spent $6 and sprayed the truck & box interior with soap, washed it with the brush, rinsed it and still had 5 minutes to spray it all over a few times with the rinse agent, ending up with a good job.  When I got back I did the windows and mirrors again with vinegar and water as well as wiped down the interior.
  I washed some windows and wiped down the awnings.  We get a fair amount of wind off the mountains here and consequently dust.  Then I cleaned up the battery charger for the cart. It must have had something spilled on it from the previous owner so before it got baked on, wanted to get rid of it.  While I was fooling with that I disconnected the reverse alarm on the cart.  It gets annoying after a while and most people seem to not bother with them.
  When Marg got home with news of her big win, I suggested dining out tonight.  We went to Appleby's down on by Superstition Springs.  They have good food and we had not been for a while.  Marg had an appetizer platter with a variety of half a dozen different ones, something she does quite often.  In fact they give you so many she brought a doggy bag of almost half of it home.  Something that seems to happen to us with regularity is we get there before the dinner rush starts, so walked right up and got a table.  By the time our food got there, people were lined up to the door waiting for tables.
  We got back to the park just in time to go for animal races.  We started out OK, but success was not to be ours tonight.  Marg picks the same 3 and sticks with them for all 8 races.  I pick the elephant and two others that change from race to race.  We had some interesting results and lots of laughs tonight and ended up losing a small amount.

 

Wednesday, Jan 24th

News Flash - the weather turned warm and it was a gorgeous day in the valley, reaching well into the 70's today.  Now this is the Arizona we signed up for.
  Got up early and went with the group from the park to Apache Sun this morning.  We are starting to have a full golf group Wednesday mornings now.  I had a good round, starting out on the par 5 with a bogie, left the putt about 2 inches from the cup. I had 3 putts today like that.  Now you might think that was enough to be a downer, but the 2nd hole was a par, the result of a great putt.  I drove well and putted reasonably well and after 8 I was 40.  I hit a great drive on #9, chipped on and 4 putted, oh well still a good round for me and the weather was great.  The guys in the foursome are some of the ones I enjoy playing with. I rode with old Joe who is a real character, but still plays some good golf.
  When I got home, we had a bite to eat and then went down to a celebration of life for one of our residents who passed away in December.  Her family from Iowa were here and they were amazed at how many people attended, the hall was full.  It was nice because she had several very good friends and it gave them closure.  For my part I took a few pictures at the request of the park manager and put them on the association FB site.
  After I played pool.  It seems I was in the shark tank, as the guys I played with are 3 of the better players here and there were some very good games.  Even though I was on the losing side quite a few times, we had fun.  I think I should always beware of playing with anyone from Minnesota.  LOL  While I played, Marg went out for a few things.  They were the items she went out for yesterday and got detoured and still needed.  One of them was bread and buns, which she wanted for the supper tonight.
  After I spent some time getting the photo's posted it was time for supper, so we made our way to the hall.  The Turkey Soup supper is a long standing event here.  It started as a way to deal with leftover turkey from Christmas and is so popular they have to buy more turkey to use for it.  The hall was full tonight and seating is a bit of a challenge when that happens.  For that reason we never sat with the people we usually hang with, fortunately our circle of friends is larger than that and we sat with some we see less of, which was nice.  In fact the pastor and his wife were at our table.  Marg had brought two types of fresh buns and both were very good, so when we shared them at the table and she produced a dish of butter, it was a big hit.  The soup was good and there was lots of it.  The only bad thing was a medical emergency in the hall.  A guy collapsed and they called the ambulance.  A couple of us guys went out to direct the emergency responders to the right place, my place was near the gate.  The fellow was checked and then sent to the hospital in the ambulance.  Turned out he was mainly dehydrated and the room was fairly warm.  It turned out he was fine and returned home in the evening.
  A funny story, Marg was out for a bit and one of the residents came by asking about the status of the event.  She told  him he should go in and have the turkey soup; that there was lots.  He said I'm not eating that, the last guy who did is being looked after by all these emergency vehicles.  Marg responded that lots of us ate it an we were all fine, to which he said - You're not home yet are you?  Then after they took the guy away her and some ladies gave the firefighters a couple of ice cream pails of soup as well as some fresh bread and the rolls Marg had left.
  After supper I played poker, we had two tables again tonight.  I got the lucky seat and had a good night.  I guess I got there a few minutes early, but when I started winning the banter about getting there early started up.  Anyway when I got back I had to dump some money out of my bag so I don't look quite so successful next week.  Appearances are really important when it comes to this.
  Marg had some personal time and basically attended to her self, you know things like hair dye, legs shaved, shower, etc.

Tuesday, Jan 23rd

The weather is really starting to warm up and the day started a bit more pleasant.
  After a bite to eat and coffee we decided to go out for a bit.  We went to Home Depot looking at driveway coatings as ours has a large rust stain in one area and some vehicle dripping stain in another.  The stains are very old, so well set in the concrete and we would like to get rid of the outdoor carpet we are using.  The fellow we dealt with seemed very knowledgeable and gave us a range of options.  The best is naturally the most expensive, a kind of coating.  The middle of the road is a concrete stain and then there is paint.  We know that we don't want to paint and the coating is about 10 times the cost of the stain.  We have decided to wait until either the end of our stay or the start of it next year.  One of our biggest concerns is the prep work and ultimately the covering will require everything be taken off of the driveway, and there is lots of stuff.  Then we went to an RV place that deals in carports and privacy screens as well as trailer parts.  We are thinking of putting something across the back of the Az room to block some of the wind that comes through there.  It is quite pricey so we went to a place that deals in recovered or salvaged stuff from trailers and such, but they had nothing suitable.
  Well, so far the day hasn't cost me anything, so we went to the Superstition Ranch market.  That is where Marg gets most of her vegetables and fruit.  Without a word of a lie we came away with all we could carry for about $10.  While going in I stopped at a guy who is selling subscriptions to the local paper.  Usually we get the paper, it's a great source of coupons.  LOL  In fact the guy gave us a huge coupon book just for taking the subscription.  You can't beat the price, it was $18 for two months delivered to the door.  The TV guide was another $4.  The only catch to it is that it is intended to be an introductory offer that becomes a regular subscription, so I have to phone and cancel it before the 20th of the month, so I need to remember March 15th or so to call and cancel it.  We have done this for a few years now and it has worked well.  In the way out I joked with the young guy that he cost more than all the produce we bought, which included a 10 pound bag of spuds and a 5 pound bag of oranges in addition to all the vegetables.
  Back home for tuna sandwiches and then Marg went out for some retail therapy.  Unfortunately the road to the center she was going to had been blocked off, so she had to divert to the freeway.  She made out fine and just went west to the next exit and made her way back, even finding Hobby Lobby and a few other alternatives.
  Me I went to play pool this afternoon.  There were quite a few guys there and we had a good time.  My game was quite a bit better today and that is when they fear me.  LOL
  Supper was the left over stew and then we went to bingo.  That was not a successful, but as all the losers say - we were close, just needed one number several times.  A couple of the Gamblin Gals were winners tonight, but not the right one, LOL.  We are getting a new bingo machine; with any luck it will be better to us.  They asked me to take a few pictures of the old one before it goes, so that will be next weeks project. 

Monday, Jan 22nd

  The day started out chilly, but as the sun came out became very pleasant.  The daytime high was forecast at 63, but felt like it got a bit warmer.
  I left early with 2 other guys from the park to meet Gerry at Encanto for a round of golf. We played 18 holes and it seemed like a lot more, probably owing to the cool weather at the start, or maybe it was the number of times I had to swing the club.  LOL  The course was fairly busy, but play went at a good pace.  I think we were about 10 minutes over the 4 hours I would expect it to take a foursome.  I lost one ball, which is not too bad for me.  One of the guys had never been through the downtown so had not seen the tunnel before.  When we finished he commented that he didn't think he would ever drive in traffic like that.  I think it might have been the merge on entering the freeway, you go right in to the tunnel and then have to cross 8 lanes to get in the HOV within about 3/4 of a mile.
  Marg did laundry and some housekeeping this morning.  She took out all the margarita glasses and wine glasses and washed them so they are party ready.  There are a bunch of them in the open cabinet near the table and they hadn't been looked at since we got here.  Can never tell when a party might break out.
  After I got back we went out to Bob & Karen's for supper.  Bob was deep frying bologna and people brought a few things to go with it.  This deep fried bologna is fairly common in the part of Ohio they come from.  It was a small group [9] and it seems more people are starting to think about having smaller group gatherings.  It tends to be more personal and allows for some meaningful conversation.  It was kind of like a burger on a bun.  The bologna is season and placed in the deep fryer until it's crisp.  It's actually quite good.

Sunday

Brrr, it was cold last night and we slept with the covers pulled right up to our chins.  That cold front is supposed to last for 2 or 3 days.  On the weather reports they are getting snow in the high country and north of here in the mountains.  I think about 8 inches in one place.  How cold was it in the valley, well a few places had frost.
  I got up late and it worked out pretty good as Marg made me ham & eggs with hash browns for breakfast.  Those of you who know I enjoy breakfast will appreciate what a great start to my day that was.  After breakfast I took on a project in the cupboards.  I fixed it so the griddle can be hung up so it doesn't take so much room in the pots cupboard.  Then I made some small shelves in the spices cupboard so you can see what's in there.  I had some pieces of finished pine kicking about that were just the ticket for this project.  Anyway Marg was pretty happy with the outcome on both accounts.
  Marg did some house cleaning and after breakfast made a stew for tonight.  She put it in the slow cooker, so it pretty much percolated away all day.  She had all the veggies and some steak that she cut up for it.  She always uses very good cuts of meat for stew and it shows in the results.  No dumplings today though as she needs to make stew in the over for that to work out best.
  Took the opportunity to laze about for much of the day.  It was quite nice in the sun once it got up.  This is one of the nice things about our patio out back, even on a cooler day like today it is very warm back there in the sun.  We had a few visitors, one for gingerbread cookies another for copies of my photo's this year so far.  She wants to make a new CD to play them on the TV's in the hall during various events.
  Supper tonight was the stew and Marg made biscuits in the oven to have with it.  They were both very good, in fact the biscuits are almost as good as dumplings, but not quite.  She made a large pot, so offered a pot to Linda for their supper.  It was a big night for Minnesota in the NFL playoffs, so we were not sure if they had a house full to watch it.  It turned out to be just them, so I took a pot of stew over.  Gary was so appreciative that I had to stay for a beer with him.  Now that is gratitude! LOL
  Barely finished in time for ice cream social.  It was pretty well attended tonight as the group of "31" players is quite large now and they come for ice cream.  In fact the social has been moved up 15 minutes to accommodate them, I guess they are keen to get right at it.
 

Saturday, Jan 20th

A much cooler day in the Valley of the Sun, well it finally appeared mid-afternoon.  A weather system moved in that brought temps down into the 60's and we even had a sprinkle of rain.  It was enough to wet the ground, but when reporting on it they were in 100'ths of an inch.  I'm not certain we would even call it a rain at home.  LOL  By the time the sun went down it was quite chilly and is forecast to be that way for a couple of days.
  We went out early as there were a couple of large parks having sales today.  The one at Rancho Mirage is one we take in every year and Marg always finds something she needs.  This year it was a couple of stools that will be making the trip all the way back home.  There were a couple of other things, but that wins her find of the day.  Linda went with us and she pretty much power shops these things and came back with a lot of treasures.  Me, well I did get out of the truck at one and bought a punch and branch clipper.  We finished just before the rain started, but the girls were talking about going back as the deals would get really good then.  Yeh right!
  When we got back she made ham and eggs with hash browns.  Well did you forget it's Saturday, breakfast at the hall, well I missed that and just had a bowl of cereal so they could get an early start.  Kind of the quid pro quo!  Yes it was good, but anything she makes always is.
  I went and played some pool in the afternoon.  With the rain I thought the place would be full, but there was just one other guy and me.  We had some good games and a little fun.  Marg went out and picked up a few things.  There was some cleaner that she was out of and looking for that she finally found as well as some other great deals.  Oh yes, the ladies wear store she likes happened to be next door and she had a bit of success there as well.

Tonight was the sit down dinner in the hall at 5 that we had tickets for.  This is something they have been doing for a few years now and it's a chicken breast dinner with cake for desert.  It's very good and they give you lots to eat, so well attended.  Our next door neighbour wanted to, but was unable to go, so Marg had arranged to get her dinner to-go that we delivered it to her.  A very enjoyable evening.

Friday, Jan 19th

Why do I keep using the day of the week as my title, well how else can a retired guy keep track?  Someone said to me today that every day is Saturday for them, well that is not far from my reality.
  Started out the day working on my homework.  I had a bunch of stuff to do for the annual general meeting of the condo association.  How can that be - you ask, well for starters I am all that is left of the audit committee and had to complete the financial review of the December and year end results and then write the report to the board for inclusion in the board package for Wednesday.  Then I had to print the proxy form to vote our share in the association that we both signed and then scan it so it could be submitted and finally I had to give them written notice that I would let my name stand for another term as a director.  I had a panicky call from my maintenance partner on my notice to stand for re-election not being on file yet.
  We had a nice facetime with Charlene and Katie where we learned that Katie received her first offer from a university.  This is great news as it means she has a placement for veterinary medicine even though she still has others to hear from.  Congratulations to Miss Katie; grandma & grandpa are very proud, even though in our hearts we knew you could do it.  Marg rather than watch me work at this stuff, went out to get a few things, first to Bells and then to Walmart.  Kind of made me glad I had the other stuff to do.  Apparently she was a successful as there were several shopping bags with her.
  Lunch today was French Toast, one of my favourites.  When she asks if I would like it for any meal, my reply is always the same - you don't ever have to ask, I will always be more than happy with French Toast.
  After lunch I went to play pool.  The games were pretty even and we had a few laughs in the process.  One of the guys I played with is very good, one not so hot-so and the third one of my favourites to play, so it was challenging and enjoyable.  Marg had company much of the afternoon and when she went out for the mail visited with a couple of other people in the park and made hot wings for the group pot luck tonight.
  When I got home from pool an older couple across the street came to see me about their hot water tank.  They had a crew there most of the day replacing it and still do not have hot water.  They thought it had no power to it, but that was not the problem.  They had a leak and from the water inlet and although I detected power to the element it was not heating water.  They wanted to replace the element, but I suggested they first call the company who installed it and see if they would look after the problem as they had paid a very large sum to get the work done.  I suspect they turned the power on before filling the tank, burning it out.  Time will well.
  By then it was time to go for happy hour, which was also a celebration/pot luck.  It was well attended [about 35] and there was lots of good food and as pot lucks go a few not so good things.  It was kind of like a gathering of Hutterites, guys over here, gals over there, but it was all good.    To finish it off we had ice cream that Kenny & Doris made in their machine.   The cart sure comes in handy when packing chairs and other stuff to these kind of functions.

Thursday, Jan 18th

Another gorgeous day in Apache Junction on the edge of the Tonto forest in the shadow of Superstition Mountain and the legend of the Lost Dutchman gold mine.
  Marg got up and out early to join up with the gamblin' gals for the weekly pilgrimage to the Fort.  Another day of close, but not bingo and making out fairly well on the slots to help offset the cost of bingo.  They don't go on the free dishes or pots day anymore as it is Saturday and the place is too crowded.  I met them at the gate to the park so Marg could ride back as I was concerned her hip might be a problem after all that sitting.  She and Lynette rode so I walked back, well part way until we got to Lynette's place.
  For my part I went to the coffee klatch, which is part of the routine on Thursday.  It was a good day as our table got to pick donuts first because one couple bought them today.  They were celebrating the end of her medical treatments.  After coffee I went stopped in to visit with Kenny & Doris, sometimes its nice to just sit and go over events and talk.  Then I went out for a bit of retail therapy.  I needed fuel as well as some black metal paint and some tonic water.  Vanessa suggested tonic water for Janice as it helps avoid mouth sores from treatments, but it's hard to find here.  On my third try I was successful at Safeway.
  When I got back home I had a bite of lunch and then sanded down the railing on our front step.  It had previously been painted a flat black, but I changed it to a gloss black with Rust-Oleum paint, the local equivalent of Tremclad at home.  It was a messy process, the sanding dust from black is nasty.  When I finished it looked pretty good and Marg seemed pleased with the result.  It wasn't much after finishing that I had to take the cart to the gate to wait for her.  While I waited, I parked behind Smitty's place and he gave me one of the Tangaloes from his trees.  Could have fooled me, I thought they were oranges.
  For supper we went out to the Village Inn.  The food was pretty good, the service excellent and best of all I had the strawberry/rhubarb pie heated and al a mode.  We ate out not just because Marg wasn't home to prepare the meal, but we have animal races on Thursday and we missed last week.  It started great but then started looking pretty bleak until we won on the final race.  Go Bimbo.  Funny, but we both had doubled up our bet on the elephant for the last race, so each got $1.10 and that gave us enough dimes to come back next week.

 

Wednesday, Jan 17th

A windy day in Apache Junction and even though still a nice day, it was a cool wind.  In fact I wore long pants today.
  It was golf day for the park residents and we had half a dozen foursomes today and Gerry came to play, so I drove to the course from here.  I played much better this week and even with a penalty for an out of bounds shot, scored a 43.  The big difference was I hit the greens on the par 3's and made some nice putts.  We played with a couple of guys who were easy to play with and had a few laughs in the process.  BTW it was a zero turtle day, but one of our group did go in the water anyway.  The road [Ironwood] is under repair and the traffic coming north [against us] was very heavy.  Fortunately by the time we returned it was all gone and not a problem for us.
  When I got back I called for an appointment for an oil change and asked about my tire that has a slow leak.  I called Kal Tire at home and they said bring it in.  When I told them where I was he said, No free tire repair for you.  LOL  I called James Tire, where I have been getting oil changes for the last few years and they said they could do the tire repair at the same time and gave me a 2:30 appointment. 
  While I was gone, Marg did 2 loads of laundry plus steamed everything that needed it and had a few visitors as well.  We had some lunch and then I went and cleaned my golf clubs.  Although it was cool in the breezeway, it was so warm and sunny on the rear patio that I set up out there to do the cleaning.  After a while they get a lot of dirt and stuff sticking in the grooves on club faces, but I usually leave until a day when it is hot so they dry completely after washing them.  By then it was time to go for the oil change.  The deal they offer is incredible, $15.95 plus tax for oil and filter.  To this they added my tire repair, it had a screw in the tread so they took the tire off and patched it from the inside.  The charge for that was $15 plus tax. 
  On my return, I went for the mail and a pleasant surprise is we are finally getting mail from home now.  When I got back Marg had 4 women here for a gab-fest.  One of them was Janice next door and it was nice to see her out and about.  It was pretty funny, as one of them was her buddy Linda.  Well Linda loves Marg's gingerbread cookies, so asked everyone if they would like one.  She didn't bother Marg about it, rather just went in to the cupboard where she knows they are and brought everyone a cookie.  During this get together, Janice told the others how special Marg is and how lucky she is to have her support in this difficult journey she is taking with her cancer treatments.  I think there were some tears involved by both parties.
  We have great neighbours right across the road from us whom we chat with casually.  There are 5, sometimes 6 couples and they have happy hours together most days.  It turns out two of the couples have rented their sites by the year, and bought new trailers to be sure of their spots.  Anyway one of the guys just turned 70 today and his wife asked us to join them, they have actually asked us previously, but we generally had other plans.  We went today and had cake and ice cream with them, they are very nice folks.  Chuck, who had the birthday flies model airplanes, quite large ones.  There are several clubs here doing that.  He crashed his pride and joy owing to a failure of the control unit.  It had about a 5 ft wingspan and he brought it home in a green garbage bag, so kind of a mixed emotion day for him.  A bit of a departure from the norm for us and some of our friends were wondering about us at happy hour.
  Supper was a nice stir fry and rice that Marg made.  Then for me it was off to poker.  We had a good turnout tonight, so had two tables playing.  Really funny because I sat in the same chair as the big winner last week and I was the big winner tonight.  A couple of the guys said they are coming early in the afternoon next week to claim that seat.  LOL  It was a pretty casual atmosphere around the table tonight and we had lots of laughs.  Of course it was easier for me to laugh than it was for some of the other guys.

Tuesday, Jan 16th

It was a nice day in Apache Junction, as always it is noticeably cooler when the sun goes down in the desert and it continues into the morning until the sun starts to warm the day.  It was a nice day, in the 70's I believe.
  Marg started the day with a pan of sticky buns, I think she calls it monkey bread.  It's a pull apart of small buns with pecans and the sticky stuff, very good.  She took a plate of them over to our neighbour Janice as she is feeling poorly and Marg is kind of watching out for her.  Janice is recently retired and as well as going through some chemo therapy and radiation and being alone, appreciates this kind of thing.  The buns were a great way to start the day for me too.
  After I pumped up one of my tires as it seems to have a very slow leak.  Then we went out as I needed a hair cut as I was getting kind of shaggy.  When I got there I was surprised to find new owners and a totally renovated shop.  They are Mexicans and made the place over like a man cave.  I got a pretty good haircut [I think] and at $13 the price was right.  The young barber I had was friendly and even used the straight razor to trim the neck, something I have not seen for a while.
  Then we went over to the Superstition mall area and Marg chased around in Burlington coat, a place she loves.  That store was all made over as well and is so huge she never managed to touch everything in there.  A quick stop at Ace hardware to get some electric cleaning spay.  The remotes for the truck are a bit of a problem and at the price they want for them it's worth trying to save them.
  Back at home for lunch.  After Marg did a bit of laundry.  She likes to do it on a regular basis and not let it pile up with this machine down here.  I emptied out a bunch of stuff from the shed so I could get the plywood from the pub night back in and it gave me an opportunity to clean up a bit.  Then I took apart the remotes and cleaned the circuit boards in them as well as the cases.  The electrical cleaner seems to have done the job.  I also used wood alcohol to clean the cases and cover.
  Then I went to play some pool.  There were a couple of guys there and we had a few laughs.  I was on the losing side more than winning even though I did win a few.
  Back for supper and we had leftovers from the previous night.  There was still enough scalloped potatoes and ham left that Marg took a plate over next door for Janice and we still had lots.  There were a couple of corn bread muffins left, so that made for a great meal.  Finished up just in time for us to make bingo tonight.  There was a good crowd and lots of winners, but we were not among them.  Marg was close, I think she was down to one number 4 or 5 times, me on the other hand, did not do quite as well.
 

Monday, Jan 15th

  A nice day in the Valley of the Sun.  I went with two other couples to the Barrett Jackson car auction.  It was my first time there and it was a great experience.  It is easily the most recognized car auction for premium old cars and memorabilia.  Saw some great cars, many unique cars and then sat in on some of the auction sale.

Dash of a Tesla, electric car, check out the video screen

It was really crowded in the sales hall

A beautifully restored Cord

  Saw a Mustang that was much like the 1968 California Special she had back in the day.  I was impressed with the Tesla, an all electric car with gull wing rear doors, touch to open door pads [no handles] and electronic dash that is very unique.  A lot more European cars than I expected.  During the actual auction, when they posted the bid prices in US dollars, they also had Canadian dollar & Euro equivalent amounts.  I think the exchange rate on Canadian they used was not as good as we are getting at the bank, but close enough to keep me from thinking about anything.
  Marg got a pile of potatoes peeled and sliced in preparation for scalloped potato's tonight.  After checking and finding no water aerobics, she went out for a bit of retail therapy, I thin she mentioned Bells and Fry's.  It seems she had thrown away another potato peeler, not sure how many this makes, but it's quite a few more than one, just one of the things she managed to pick up.  Returning to the park she had several visitors and went out to visit with some other friends.
  When we left the auction I phoned so she could be ready as both couples were coming for supper as well as one of the gamblin' gals back in the park. Supper was the scalloped potatoes, ham, corn, beans, home made corn muffins and dinner rolls.  Oh yeah, a bottle of wine for the gals and beers for the guys.

 

Sunday, Jan 14th

  A long weekend here in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. day tomorrow, one of the great people of our time.  Great weather for it, yesterday was only 1 or 2 degrees shy of record high temperatures.   Today was more of the same, a great day.
  I went to church service in the park and it was well attended this morning.  It was kind of humorous as the round tables from the Pub night were still in the hall rather than the regular ones, but people adjusted well.  There were a few new people in the park and a few returning people for the first time, which was nice to see.
  After I did a blog for yesterday and then worked on getting the new printer to work.  I tried Phil's suggestion to uninstall the computer software and re-install it with the disc provided.  It seems to have worked as I was able to print several things without a hitch.  Then I went to pick up the material for the backing around the dart board using the golf cart as it was fairly bulky.  Marg came along and went over to check on a friend in the area near the hall and almost walked into a bit of a conflict.  Not that there is a lot of that kind of thing here, but the nature of people particularly being thrown together it can happen.  Anyway she made a quick exit.  It is no different than children in a playground finding a way to get along.  LOL  The result of the trip was me riding on the back of the cart with her driving while I held on to the large backboard.  No I never fell off.
  Then I posted the pictures from the Pub night on the tenants association FB site.  Marg kind of beat me to the post with her Ipad pics and she had lots of good ones.  The tenants association site has a different reach, so it's all good.  Then I got the information on the elegant dinner for next weekend and posted an event on the tenants assoc. FB site.  This kind of thing helps with awareness and participation.
  Somewhere along the day we got an invitation to watch the football game [Minnesota vs New Orleans] at the Wangen's or just to go there for supper.  It was well into the 2nd quarter when we got there and Gary put a cable out to the patio where we sat to watch the game.  We had a few beers and I took a bottle of Tullamore Dew and we had a few laughs in the process.  Linda had picked up a pack of shot cups in a leather case, having seen mine in prior years and gave it to me.  There were only 4 cups and they are smaller than the real thing, but it turns out they worked fine.  Supper was beef on a bun and was quite nice.  The game was a real barn-burner and to the joy of our hosts the Vikings won in the final seconds in a very close game.
  Supper and the game were barely over when it was time for Ice Cream Social. It was very well attended and we just made it in time.  Marg had the ordering done by the time I got there and so had my banana split while she had cake & a dish of ice cream.  Well the ordering was almost done, I still had to settle up with the cashier as that part was to be completed.  LOL

Saturday, Jan 13th

  Had an early start to the day, so decided we would go out for a bit.  First stop was the post office where Marg got some stamps and mailed a few things.  She was feeling pretty good, so we carried on to the big Mesa marketplace, or flea market I call it.  We walked two rows in there, which was probably over-doing it a bit.  As it turns out we never bought anything and it seems lots of folks did the same thing as most never had packages, in fact the parking lot mid-morning had lots of good places available.  In prior years parking on the east or north sides has not been an option unless you arrive very early.  There were quite a few merchant stalls not open at that time and even some empty ones, but this may well have been owing to it being a long weekend here, MLK Jr. day.
  On the way back we stopped in at Ross's where Marg came out with a bag and then the big Walmart on Signal Butte.  As it turned out we picked up quite a bit including: solar lights, heating pad and enough maintenance stuff to make up a couple of bags.
  Back at the trailer we had lunch:  crab/corn chowder soup, baked in the oven biscuits and a dish of fruit salad.  I put out the solar lights and fixed my truck remote control.  Marg went for a ride and got our tickets for both the pub night and sit down dinner next weekend.  I suspect that involved some visiting just knowing where she went to get them.  Me, well the pool room was empty, so I went and got Dale to play 8 ball.  After 5 games we were pretty even.  I say that because I managed to get 3 wins.
  By then it was close enough that we made supper.  Had a couple of T-bones we did on the bbq along with a foil of potato, yam, carrots, onions.  You know.  We wanted a bit earlier supper, so never went looking for a happy hour.  Apparently several people did and there didn't seem to be any with the pending Pub night.
  At 6:30 we had to go down to the hall to get ready for the party. They had about 70 people signed up for the Pub night. 

  I was looking after activity #4, done of the dart games, the one with real darts.  The 2nd dart game was with plastic tipped darts.  There were 7 activities and people were given a group number.  Each group member had a number on the reverse side of their personal score card identifying the activity where they started.  Susan with her best English accent welcomed everyone to the pub to kick it off.  The evening went really well with everyone busy and noisy, we even had a few drunks.  There were prizes awarded for the top score on each activity.  I won the bean bag baseball toss and the prize was a very large can of Coors light beer.  The only one with tie top scores was putt on the artificial grass and they judges selected based on practice results.  I the darts game I had a clear winner.  There was some dancing at the end, but we did not partake as we were running out of energy.  We went fairly late and by the time I got home I was barely awake, so no blog last night.  I tried to put one together, but kept falling asleep.  From the comments I am certain this event will be repeated new winter.

 
 

Friday, Jan 12th

A nice day in the Valley of the Sun.  We feel really fortunate to be here, especially with the nasty weather back home and hope everyone is safe.
  This morning we made a road trip and drove up to Fountain Hills.  I went there using the freeway then up the #87.  I wanted to go to the Tractor Supply store to pick up the other tail light for the cart.  This is right up just a mile from the famous Fort McDowell casino. It was a nice drive so we chatted and Marg was certain this was not the way they go now.  Well there are only two ways there, so I came home on the Bush highway [the other way].  Well Marg was pretty sure it was the way until we got to the Bush highway and Saguaro lake, then said it was not that way, but it is the old way that Nancy used to take.  We had a few laughs, but I'm still not clear on the route they are now using, but we had a nice drive through the mountains.  We did get the tail light and a couple of other parts that will help me with the installation.
  When we got back we had lunch and then I went to the hall to help set up for the Pub night on Saturday.  Marg went to pick up the mail.  The project I worked on with 2 other guys was dart boards.  We will be looking after the scoring for this pub event.  There will be a half a dozen games and over 70 people have indicated they will be there, so it should be busy.  I took a half sheet of plywood from home that we fastened Styrofoam to for use as a backdrop for the dart board.  Kind of put me in mind of Chevy Chase in Las Vegas Vacation - pick a number - 7 - nope you lose. 
  After that I installed the new tail lights on the cart.  They are LED, so low energy consumption and very bright.  Well I think they look good as well.  While I was doing this Marg had a friend come around who is having problems with not getting internet on her new phone.  I think they got it worked out.  Here we are again, the techy guru's from the north, where we are considered techno-peasants.  The rest of my afternoon was straightening the shed that I turned inside out to get the plywood out.
  By then it was almost happy hour, so we loaded up chairs on the cart and headed over to Bingers where a large group was assembled.  It was noisy, but I got to chat with some different folks, which is always nice.  At the end Kenny got up to announce that a few of us were going to the Chinese buffet and he had extra coupons if anyone was interested.  We ended up with 24 people at the buffet, so it took a while before we got tables.  I was actually surprised we got in as quickly as we did.  The food was very good, so it was nice to see that has not changed from last year.  At the end when they passed out fortune cookies, we did the same old - add "between the sheets" after your fortune.  It was apparent a couple of people had not done this, but it can be really funny and was tonight.  Marg's - "Don't be afraid to take a chance when the opportunity of a lifetime appears" between the sheets.  Mine - "Curiosity kills boredom, Nothing can kill curiosity" between the sheets.
   Kenny drove, he has a new truck [new to him since last year] and drove and it's a pretty nice unit.

Thursday, Jan 11th

A much nicer day today, but wait it will get better by the weekend.
  We got up fairly early as the Gamblin' Gals were scheduled to go to the Fort and it was coffee in the hall this morning.  Marg and her group were off at 9:30 so I had the earlier start at 9:00 for coffee.  The event was well attended this morning and best of all the donuts were provided by the association.  I took a few pictures to post on the tenants assoc. FB page.  It seems whenever there are pictures it drives traffic up on FB.
  Marg and the gals played a bit of slots and lots of bingo.  They are still making the pilgrimage even though one of the key gals is not here this year.  It seems the luck was better on the slots today, but she was very close for the first 7 or 8 games.  You know, when your number is on the monitor and some yahoo yells bingo, well that close.  Seems the Carefree bingo luck is not transferable to Fort McDowell.  Makes for a tough day sitting in those hard chairs for a very long time.  The bottom line was pretty much a break even, well she got a lunch out of it and some entertainment with her buddies.
They got back to the park just a little after 4.
 For me I went to Harbour Freight with Jim to get a drum puller.  We spent a long time getting the one off yesterday so was looking for a better solution.  Got one and was able to use both a 20% off and a free gift coupon, so a good deal.  The gift I selected was a package of micro-fiber cloths.  I also got a circuit tester for 12 volt and had Jim buy it so he could get a free gift.  How good was that deal, well the testers were $14 -$18 elsewhere and it was $2.79 at HF.
  Then back to the park where I had to make my own lunch, kind of the downside of the gamblin' gals adventures.  After getting Wink to open the shop, we loaded the cart on the lift and now knowing the routine got right at it.  Using the puller we put some stress on the hub and a good rap with the mallet got the drum right off.  Something that took over an hour yesterday done in minutes today, amazing how the right tool changes the task.  The brakes were the very same as yesterday, so I just roughed up the shoe lining to take the glaze off and put it back together.  While we were at it, Jim backed off the brake cable.  Fortunately he had the foresight to spray it with penetrating oil yesterday and it operated just fine.  After the adjustment not only did the brakes work fine, but the park brake now works well.  Test drove and I think we are done with this project now.
  Went and returned the manual to Wink  Shop manuals for the Melex golf carts are fairly uncommon, so it was great to have it for this process.  Wink has slowed down a lot, but has done many golf cart repairs and rebuilds, so still has everything to do the work, so is a great resource.  Phil you would love his shop, there is everything from:  a small welder, to spray paint equipment, lots of tools pretty much everything to build them.
  Back at our place I put everything away and then worked on the computer: emails, posting pictures  on the tenants assoc. FB page, reading the local paper from home.  I had to sit around waiting for Mediacom as they were to come with the television receiver.  They just give a time of 1:00 to 5:00 and if you miss them, it means a week or more for another call.  He got here right around 4, just before Marg got back and connected us so we are good to go on everything with them. 
  We went out for supper, but on the way stopped at a couple of places looking for new tail lights for the cart.  I needed surface mount ones and after several stops, got one at a the Tractor Supply store [remember that place Katie].  Unfortunately they only had one, but there are more at the Fountain Hills store, where we may go tomorrow. 
  Then it was on to Ihop for supper.  Marg had a nice salad and I departed from the 2x2x2 and had a slam with spicy salsa on the eggs.  It was pretty good too.  Back home where we took a brief cart ride around the park and called it a day.  No animal races for us tonight, I just needed to put my feet up.

Wednesday, Jan 10th

A different kind of day here in the valley, it rained so hard and the wind blew long and hard changing the landscape.  There was water laying all over as well as branches and general debris this morning, including under our carport.  I had caulked around the bottom of the Arizona room walls yesterday and we never had any water seep in, so a big improvement.
  Gerry C came over early as it was golf day.  There was a lot of road construction on Ironwood, so it was a good thing we left early.  There was a full slate of players at Apache Sun this morning and it was a bit chilly.  I think the temps were in the 50's, so it was long pants and jackets.  Gerry and I were paired with the Knake's and Al is a very good golfer.  The course was in great shape except for the branches everywhere and a tree [about 40 ft] that was toppled.  I had a better round than on Monday, but nothing to brag about.  Gerry played well and Al well, he shot par, he plays at an entirely different level.  Oh yeh and Terri, she's a hoot to play with.  I had my name on the longest putt, but someone in the last group got a longer one and took the prize money.  Note to self, leave a putt longer than a foot if you want the moolah. 
  Marg did laundry this morning and cleaned up the breezeway & furniture.  It was a real mess with mud and crud all over the place.  She went to the Superstition Ranch market and picked up more vegetables and fruit than she could carry.  Then we had a nice crab/corn chowder soup for lunch, followed by a bowl of fresh fruit.  She cut up a bunch in a fruit salad, something we both love.  She also got a bag of oranges and they are great.  They are so fresh here that they taste very different than anything we get in GP, and it's like $2 for a bag of them.
  After lunch I drained back the hotwater tank and replaced the pressure valve.  I'm not certain but the water I drained was kind of milky coloured so need to figure out what that is all about.  Likely some kind of sediment in the tank.  We don't get it when we run the hot water, so it must be a layer at the bottom of the tank or something like that.  Anyway the replacement has stopped the discharge from the pressure relief valve, so it must have been a problem with the rubber in the valve or seat releasing hot water.

  My next project was the brakes on the golf cart.  I spoke with Wink and he offered the use of his golf cart hoist.  It's pretty cool as it gets the cart up off the ground and at a height where it's easier to work on.  It really helped in seeing what's going on with the mechanism around the brake system and I think we have a handle on problem with the park brake.  It was a handful, but we managed to remove a brake drum on the driver's side wheel to get a look at he brakes.  The drum is in like new condition and the shoes themselves are like new, but with some glazing on the surface so we buffed them off.  It was very time consuming as we made several trips to get tools from home and they were on very tight.  It's a mechanical rather than hydraulic brake system, so we have a bit of a challenge getting it figured out.  It was a big help as it turned out that Wink had a factory manual on the Melex carts. 
  By that time we to take a break as it was time for hamburgers for supper, so we put it together and plan on doing the other wheel tomorrow.
  Poker tonight was a full table and a couple of uncanny lucky players.  I was not one, but I think I was around the break even level.

Tuesday, Jan 9th

  The day started out a bit cloudy, well it was supposed to rain, but cleared off and was a pretty nice day until late afternoon when the clouds returned with strong winds.  It is raining in the high country but in the valley, still nothing.  Fingers crossed for golf tomorrow morning.  Oops, spoke too soon, the storm just moved in and it is blowing, thundering and raining pretty hard.  This will be big news as they are still in a drought here and there has been no rain for over 3 months.
  We went to Costco right after breakfast and the place was packed.  We picked up an energy booster that is added to a bottle of water.  It is reputed to be 5 times as beneficial as Gatorade in giving energy, building electrolytes and  boosting immune system.  We usually use Emergen-C but this is getting such good reviews that we are trying it. 

Our real surprise was a nice bottle of single malt that comes from the Tullabardine distillery and Marg found a nice size of Tequila [1.7 litres].  I think she intends the girls to out party us again.  

  We got back in time for lunch and had a nice caesar salad we picked up at the deli counter.  Marg went tooling around in the golf cart with Linda.  Even though we need to do the brakes, it still runs fine and in an emergency they can drag their feet.  LOL  I went and played a couple games of pool, but barely got there in time to play at all.  This busy life of ours is taking some adjustment on my part.  When I got back I ran out to get a tank of propane for the bbq as I always like to have a spare tank.  This really paid off last night when I ran out in the midst of 2 nice T-bone steaks.  It also gives me enough to use our fire pit if the weather turns cold at night.

  Marg had just started chicken breast in the slow cooker when the happy crowd started to arrive.  We had happy hour at our place, partly because it must be our turn and we have a sheltered breeze-way.  With this wind it would be a little uncomfortable out in the open.  It was a smaller group than it has been getting to be, I think there were just over a dozen of us.  We were so rushed we never even put out snacks it was strictly a byob affair.

  After supper we went to bingo and Marg was the big winner tonight cashing in a win for $32.  Just another fun day in the Valley of the Sun.

 

 

 



Monday, Jan 8th

The day started out a bit cloudy, but became very nice by mid-day.
  I had made arrangements to golf at Encanto with Gerry Canuel.  From the park here, Gary & Stan had agreed to join us, so we had a 4some.  Left Carefree shortly after 9 and traffic on the 202 was fairly light.  Gerry was meeting us there so we stayed on the freeway until the tunnels in downtown Phoenix where we took the 7th Ave exit at the west end.  When I got to the course, I had a pleasant surprise as my Golf Phoenix card was still valid so I got a good deal on green fees.  The course was in nice shape and the pace of play was very good, hardly waited at all on the tee's.  I need to get accustomed to the fast greens here again as there is nothing like them at home.
  Marg started out re-arranging stuff in the breezeway and the trailer.  It was a combination of finding out what she had and putting it in a more practical order.  As part of that process she also did some housekeeping.  She took a ride around the park in the golf cart and one of the guys who took the baking classes last year stopped her to ask about her recipe for sticky buns.  She came home and made him a batch to give him an opportunity kind of like - try it before you buy it.  Well she gave him the batch to bake, so he would get some experience with that part.  The drive also gave her an opportunity to get more familiar with the cart, especially the brakes.  I think it will be a lot better to drive once we get them fixed properly.  She also had a few visitors, there is no shortage of them with the friendly people here.
  Returning to the park was pretty good as we had an earlier golf game, I was on the road around 3, so before the rush hour traffic got heavy.  Having extra riders, I was able to travel the HOV lane and the trip home was very quick, a big plus.
  Once home we had a bit of quiet time and Lynette joined us for a 3 person happy hour.  The happy hour gathering is getting very large at times and although Kenny stopped by to make certain we knew where it was, we like to take a break once in a while.  It turns out Lynette had the same idea as we did.  It is definitely more personal than the large group settings.
  Supper was bbq'd steak and baked potatoes.  The potato's were very good, well the steak was as well and we had a quiet dinner. 

Sunday, Jan 7th

Another sunny day in the Valley of the Sun, I think it got to about 75F.
  I started my day with a sticky bun from the ones Marg put together last night.  They were really good, then I took a plate with some to Janice next door.  Her response, well it's about time you guys got here.  This happened quite a bit last year and she is convalescing, so it was nice to bring her a little cheer.  This was on the way to the church service in the park here.  A nice service, with pretty good attendance.  I sat next to Marg's pal Lynette as her usual partner was not here this year.  There was communion this morning and I really don't like what passes for wine here, so I whispered to Lynette that she should be on the selection committee.
  After I got back I worked on the bike to pump up the tires and lubricate it, so it is ready to go.  Then I worked on the golf cart, the lights needed to be cleaned and they are halogen, but so dim I fixed the ground to brighten them up.  There were also some nuts and bolts that needed tightening.  Marg did her usual preparations for the day and headed out to a birthday party for Aggie.  It is one of her obligations as a social butterfly to attend many things here.  LOL
  For me this meant - make own lunch, so I did.  By the time I finished lunch she returned so we went out to the flea market on Apache Trail.  On the way we stopped at Kenny's and dropped off his calendars.  He gets an unbelievable number of them, so Marg took a couple and gave him about 100 back.  I was surprised when we got to the market, it's a lot smaller market this year.  I was looking for a few things and managed to find a good quality combination wrench in 3/4" at a good price.  Then we went to a few auto parts stores looking for new tail lights for the golf cart.  Kind of made me reflect on something my father said - you can't make a new car out of an old one.  Must keep this in mind here, saw some interesting options, but had no success.  The only thing I really need to do is fix the brakes and get the park brake working so that we don't have to pack around the block of wood to put behind the tire.
  When we returned to the park, a grease gun was sitting on the patio, so I greased the cart.  It was probably the cleanest grease gun I have ever used.  I don't think Jerry could have used it more than once.  While I was laying there doing it a couple stopped to see if I was OK, they thought I had fallen and couldn't get up.  LOL, only in an RV park full of snowbirds.  Then I took the grease gun over to Kenny's so he can do the same.
  Supper tonight was taco salad, which was very nice.  Marg even found the taco shells at Safeway to make them more authentic.  We probably eat in our unit more than most people here and although it is nice to dine out, for me I would rather not do that all the time.  Especially when I am married to such a great cook.  It was pretty spicy even though she bought all mild ingredients.  It turned out the guacamole was very tangy, in fact my mouth was on fire.
 

At 6:30 it was ice cream social.  Marg had a piece of cake with a scoop of ice cream.  I had a banana split, some things rarely change.  Someone there said they didn't like banana with ice cream, a concept I have difficulty understanding.

Saturday, Jan 6th

Happy Birthday Kassidy, our newest teenager.  Hope your day was special.
  Wow, it's hard to believe we have been here a week already.  It was a nice day, not hot but very pleasant.  We have not had to revert to long pants yet and you know when I wear short pants, it's a nice day.
  I got up and went to breakfast in the hall this morning.  I took my own pancake syrup.  It's a 15% maple syrup from Superstore at home.  Several people tried it and all seemed to think it was good.  The oddest one was Mickey, who put it on his salsa.  He makes it with green peppers and lots of garlic to put on his eggs, apparently very common in New Mexico.  Anyway he put the syrup on it and said it was good, to which I said I think all his taste buds are dead.
  After breakfast we went out to KMart, but it was closed and gone.  We then went to Superstition mall where I looked for a telephone book to find another one.  There were none, nor were there any pay phones.  Marg went in to TJ Max while I was wandering aimlessly through the mall.  At the end of it I did a quick tour or Sears and the shelves were not well stocked.  Made me wonder if it is going the same way as the Canadian ones.  When I went back to meet up with Marg she had picked up a few bargains, enough to make a pretty good bag that we left with.  On the way back we stopped at Best Hardware to get a key made as I have a padlock with only one key.  Then back home for lunch, some nice sandwiches on some very poor white bread.  We almost never buy white bread, so now are not sure why we did this time.
  After lunch Marg put some pork tenderloin in the slow cooker and went to Safeway for a few more things.  I spent most of the time dealing with our new printer.  I really need to get my head read. I bought a new wireless printer, the first one we have had, about a week before leaving for here.  I have it working well enough that it sends scans to the laptop, but will not print.  Hey wait, it has a connection point for a cable and it's starting to look like I am in the market for one.  I managed to get the seasonal events calendar posted to the tenants association FB site.   Not really sure what I am doing wrong, other than buying the d.... thing.  When she got back we went to happy hour and discovered Kenny & Doris had just got in.  Marg had earlier invited them to have supper with us.  Supper was very good and we had a nice visit with some very good friends that we have not was a nice night for a stroll.  Oh yeh earlier I had called Gerry Canuel and we have tee times for Monday.  I will be taking Stan & Gary with me, so will be able to take the HOV lane.  Just before calling it a night, Marg made a pan of sticky buns, so I know what breakfast is tomorrow morning before church.