Great Beer in Los Algodonas, Mexico!@!@!Wednesday January 23, 2011
Paul came over to see if Larry was going to carve with the group today but Larry told him no. We got dressed and went to the Superstition Mall for Larry to get a haircut. While he spent time at the book store and getting his haircut I shopped some. We left the mall and grabbed lunch and headed home. Nothing much exciting today.
Thursday January 24, 2011
Went to my painting class today and only two of us painting today. Dorothy Collins and myself, so we had a very relaxing day. We painted Geese and I think this is the first painting that has actually ended up looking good since I've been here. I have about 3 or 4 paintings that I need to finish as I did not get them finished in class. It seems such a hassle to drag out all the items I need to paint here in the RV. Pat told me I could come on Tuesdays to work on finishing them, but it seems every Tuesday, we have something going on. I really enjoy my group I paint with as they are all so easy to talk with and it just a very relaxing day. Pat normally puts on music, which really is relaxing! We normally have some type of snack that someone brings each week and our coffee. Lora, my next door neighbor, is so cute and she waits for me to come home every Thursday and knocks on her window for me to show her my painting for the day.
I talked to Taylor this morning and she and Kyle are flying to Utah skiing early tomorrow morning. Justin, Kyle's first assistant at the club and Will who was a Caddy Master but now works in the pro shop for Kyle, also flew out for 3 or 4 days to ski. They are staying with Kyle and Taylor. Taylor is flying home next Thursday and Kyle is flying on down to Colorado to ski with one of his club members. The little girls stayed home with Grandma Bauer. Poor Cindy, she has been a trooper for her babysitting while I have been gone. Taylor told me I would get my turn in May. I don't know what all she has planned but I will be staying with the girls.
After my class today, I went to get a hair cut. When I got home we ended up going BACK to Native New Yorker but even though it is wing night again tonight, we had a pizza and lots of beer!!! They have Karaoke on Thursday night and we had a fun time. There were several very good singers, one of them being Diane, who was our waitress. She is such a sweet girl and has been our waitress several times. It seems we are considered 'regulars' now since we end up over there at least once a week. Shawn is one of the other waiters that hassle us when he gets a chance. He has been our waiter several times as well. I was hassling him about finding him a nice girlfriend, like one of Larry's niece's. Anyway we always have a good time when we go over and they have wonderful food as well.
Friday January 25, 2011
Larry keeps talking about getting a new cell phone so this morning we went over to Signal Butte Walmart as he had talked to a lady there a while back and thought they had the phone he wanted. He couldn't actually look at any of the phones because they did not have many display models. The lady that works over there told him people keep steeling the displays. I cannot believe that but it is evidently true. She told him to go to Version and pick out a phone and come back as she probably would have the phone boxed to sell to him. There is a Version store in the shopping center just across the parking lot so we went over there. We got a great guy as a salesman and he not only helped Larry choose a phone but he showed us a new item that Version just brought out on the market two days ago that is just what we need when traveling. It is a router or whatever they call it. We would be able to keep our own phone number that we have for our land line at home and drop AT&T as our carrier and switch to Version. The router allows us to take it with us anywhere in the US and all calls to our normal home number will ring into the RV as if we were home. We were able to get the router free and our monthly charge will be $19.99, with unlimited minutes and free long distance to any number within the US. If for any reason we are not available to answer the phone or if we are traveling, it has a voice mail just like our cell phones. When we get where we are going we plug it in and it rings into the RV again. We can retrieve our voice mail from this phone at anytime via our cell phones. Basically it has to have a power source as it does not run on 12 Volt but it does have a battery back up. At home all we have to do is plug the unit in and it works at home while we are there. Pretty great for us when we travel so much. It will save our cell phone usage, since we can make unlimited calls. We went over our cell phone minutes this past month and I had to call and beg Version to reduce our bill. They dropped our overage by $25 so it helped. Currently we are paying something like $55.00 a month for our AT&T land line so will be a huge savings to get rid of that. We checked it all out but did not have out account number for AT&T so we told the salesman, Dan, that we would come back tomorrow afternoon with all the information and finish the purchase.
We went over to the Mesa Flea market and looked around for a couple of hours, went to the grocery store and came home and cooked dinner on the grill. Steak for Larry, talopia for me. Was very good and we enjoyed a meal at home which we only seem to do a couple times a week. I did cook Wednesday night as well. We had Shrimp Alfredo and it was pretty tasty.
Saturday February 26, 2011
Went to the craft show up at the club house this morning. I ran into so many people that I know, I didn't have a lot of time to look for talking to everyone. They have very nice items at these shows and there are a lot of outside vendors with handmade jewelry and many interesting items. I met a lady who was a vendor that I talked to for a long time. Larry came up when I was talking to her and I introduced him to her. Her name is Pat McFee and she and her husband Terry live in a park model in a resort a few blocks west of Silveridge. I was telling her how bored Larry gets when we are here and she told us about her and her husband being full time RV-er's for 11 years. When they traveled, they worked at many government supported parks. She said they didn't get paid much but their rv site was free. On their off days, they toured all of the sites around the area and saw so many wonderful places. She suggested we think about trying it. Larry and I checked into working at Yellowstone two years ago. There are so many places supported by the government that are open for part time workers and are seasonal starting in May and ending in September. Would probably be an interesting thing to do at least once.
We left the craft show and went to Applebee's for lunch. It was so busy, we sat at the bar. The bartender was Lisa, a gal we met last year. She remembered us because when Taylor, Kyle and the girls were here, she was our waitress two nights in a row. At that time she worked part time at Red Lobster and part time at Applebee's. Kyle went to Tuscon on Monday morning so Larry, Taylor, Morgan, Addy and I ate at Red Lobster on Monday night. Lisa was such a great waitress and talked and entertained the girls a lot. Kyle came home Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night we went to Applebee's to eat and Lisa was our waitress there that night. We all loved her. When we walked in, I told her who we were and she actually remembered where we sat and that we had the granddaughters there. We visited with her for awhile but she was very busy. She told us she has a REAL day job now and only works at Applebee's when they need her to fill in. She has worked at Applebee's for a number of years.
We went back over to Version and finished the transaction from yesterday. Larry got a new cell phone and we got the router(whatever) for our land line and our bill was $54.00 with a $50.00 rebate. Pretty great deal for what we got.
Went to Walmart to buy new cordless phones to use for our new router. We have been needing new phones for home but just haven't bought them. We bought our phones and headed home. It will take five business days for Version to get our home number changed over where it will ring out here. In the mean time, we can make outgoing calls which will be great.
Sunday February 27, 2011
It rained all night and was still raining a little this morning when we got up. Larry had to call several people this morning on our 'freeby' phone. We talked to Taylor for a long time. They are having a great time skiing. They had 24 inches of snow on Saturday. We also talked to Leslie, who seems to be feeling somewhat better. She said she still has a very sore throat. I called and talked to Debbie for a while, since I have not actually talked with her since we left home. We send emails and comments on facebook but it is nice to talk once in awhile!! She has been feeling bad and found out last week she had a UTI. Been taking medicine for that and feeling better today. She said Braiden and Brody both have had the flu. Everyone is feeling better today, which is good.
It rained off and on all morning. We had ticket for opening day for the Cubs today. When we left it was still sprinkling rain and was pretty cool. We packed up our cool weather gear and headed to Hohokam Park. When we got there the rain stopped and our seats were in the sun. Wow did it feel good setting there in the sun and I actually started getting warm. That lasted about 30 minutes then the sun went west enough that we were in the shade. It got really cool before the game was over. Typical of the Cubs---they lost to the Oakland A's. We left at the end of the 8th inning and the score was 15-5. I'm sure by the end of the 9th, they were down even more. Cub fans are very special people as they keep cheering for the team game after game while they loose!!! We have tickets for tomorrow's game as well. The Cubs play the Milwaukee Brewers.
We came home and caught the last 30 minutes of the Nascar Race which was run here in Phoenix today. The attendance at the game was down today probably because of the Nascar Races. Anyway Gordon pulled off a win at the Nascar. After the race was over, we cooked dinner and enjoyed yet another meal at home tonight.
Monday February 28, 2011
Went to the Cub game again today. They played the Milwaukee Brewers and of course they start out like wildfire and end up loosing so bad it's embarrassing to confess to being a Cub Fan! We left at the end of the 8th inning because it was just so boring. I told Larry I don't care if we go back to any more of the spring training games because they only play the minor league players the majority of the time. They put in the regular players for an inning or two and then bring in the 'invitees'. It's like watching a Peoria Chief's game for twice the ticket price! It was very cool today at the game because we again sat in the shade. We sat next to a middle aged couple that was from Palentine Illinois. We told them Taylor lives in Arlington Heights. They asked what street and we told them N. Douglas Ave and the lady said before they bought their home in Palentine they looked at a house on N. Douglas. Palentine is just a couple of miles away from Arlington Hts so again, it's a small world!
We left the ball park and drove over to Trader Joe's and picked up a case of '2 buck chuck'! We are really cheap drunks as we both love the White Zen. When we cook at home we drink a bottle of White Zen with our meal--I guess because it makes my bad cooking go down smoother?!@? Anyway, we were almost out of wine and we are invited to Pat and Terry McFee's house on Wednesday and Pat told me she loves the White Zen from Trader Joe's. I wanted to have enough to take a couple of bottles over there on Wednesday--don't want to run the risk of running out!!!!! Ha!
We came home and cooked pork chops on the grill and AGAIN had dinner at home. I don't know if I like the direction this is taking suddenly where I'm cooking at home every day! I've been so spoiled since we left Peoria because we had been eating out more than eating in!
Tuesday March 1, 2011
Drug our bodies out of bed early this morning to get ready in time to leave by 7:00am for Los Algodones, Mexico. This is too much like work getting up at 5:00. I went back to have a couple of teeth taken care of. One is just for the dentist to close up a gap on a posterior tooth that I keep getting food packed in between and the other is to have a sealer put on the root of a tooth where the gum has receded. Might not really be worth going back for but I know if I wait till I get home, it will cost me $300. Today's bill was $50, so I guess when you figure the price of gas down there, it is still worth it.
After my appointment, we hit the cantina--of course! We both ordered something to eat but most importantly was the margarita's!!! They make the BEST! They had the Mexican Band playing again today and they are quite entertaining. What is more entertaining is after some of the snowbirds have a few drinks, they get up to dance. Half of them can hardly walk, let alone dance. After we finished our margarita's and had our lunch, we ordered the HUGE bottle of beer to split. I have no idea how many ounces are in one bottle but I would guess a quart or maybe a little less. We, of course, split the bottle because SOMEONE had to drive home. Mexican Beer is quite strong compared to American Beer but oh soooo-- good. It come in a small bucket with ice all around it and is very cold, which is the only way I can drink beer! When I was in Brazil, they served their beer in the VERY large bottles as well, but since we had our own driver, I could drink as many bottles as I wanted! Ha!Had to make a stop at the ladies room and if you want to wash your hands when you come out, you tip a little guy and he gives you a squirt of hand soap and a paper towel. The one that works at the cantina is so cute and young. He remembered me from last week and asked if I spoke much Spanish, which I replied NO! He informed me he does not speech much English, but we were able to talk some and make each other understand. He was trying to say something in English and he tried several times but I could not figure it out. Finally, I asked him if he was trying to say 'important', which he replied yes. I pronounced it several times for him and each time he would try to say it correctly. Finally he caught on to how to say it so he was very proud of himself and thanked me!
When we left the cantina, I had bought a sweatshirt last week that I found was a 4X, when I got it home. My gosh, I could have built a tent with it!! I took it back today to see if they would exchange it and the gals kept acting like they did not understand what I wanted. This is the way they can avoid any type of customer service!!! You buy it -- it's yours! Anyway one of the Mexican Guys started talking to me so he was kind enough to talk to the gals for me. I told him I wanted either a 1X or 2X so they had to go to another vendor to find one. When they brought it back, it was a 1X and I knew as cheap as the material, it would fit a Barbie Doll after it was laundered. I told him it was too small so when he walked away, I thought he was going to look for another sweatshirt so I waited around. He never came back so I told the gal I would come back later. When I returned, I told the guy I'd like to exchange it for another jacket they had hanging and he talked the lady who run the place into making the exchange.
We then went to Jesus, the picture frame guy. Pat, my painting teacher always appreciates us bringing her frames when we go down so I bought 6 for her and 3 for myself. Jesus always gives me a good price on them when I buy several. From there we bargained for a stained glass and I got the guy to come down $70 from the original price. I am a tough negotiator! If they don't come down to my price I walk away. Last week I tried to buy the same stained glass and they were so far away from my price, I walked away and the lady ran after me quoting me lower and lower prices but I didn't stop long enough to get the price I wanted.
After we bought the stained glass and frames, Larry said he was going to get in the line to cross the border while I picked up some amoxicillan for my friend and cigerattes for me. So I told him I would met him at the line. The line to cross over was at least six blocks long today and it was hardly moving. After I got my items I walked over and walked up and down the line looking for him three times, dragging six frames, cigerattes, med's for my friend and more I bought for us--so I had quite a load to haul around. I could not believe that I could not find him. He said he was going to try to find a bathroom before he got in line but I could not believe he was still looking for the bathroom. So I was so hot from walking and carrying the crap up and down the line, that I sat down on a bench that they have along the sidewalk by the line. I sat there and watched people pass by and I could not find Larry. I was just getting ready to go to the back of the line and take my place to wait it out and I happened to look across the street and there he was!!!@! He was standing in the line waiting for the bike taxi. He was going to pay to ride across the border and I can only assume he thought I was going to stand in line for 2 hours. I was FURIOUS--to put it mildly--when I finally found him! I walked over there with sweat running down my face and let him have it. He kept telling me to be quiet--which only made me madder!!! He said he was watching for me but never did see me--HOW COULD HE MISS ME????? I walked right in front of him across the street -- up and down the long line THREE times. REGARDLESS-- we both waited our turn for the taxi. So for $5 each we rode across the border in less than probably 20 minutes. The taxi guy is not always there but most times we see him. This is really the first time we have encountered a line as long as today. I think because we normally spend a little more time 'wining and dining' than we did today so we are later going over to get in line. I think most days if you wait until 3:30 or later the masses have already left. So, the lesson learned today was drink a few more Marguerite's rather than spending that time standing in a line that is going NOWHERE!
Wednesday March 2, 2011
Well, the first item on my agenda today was to go back to the Urgent Care! The last three or four days, I have started feeling bad again! Last night I did not sleep, nor I'm sure did Larry, because I coughed all night. My voice is so raspy again that I start to talk and I have no voice. I bought ZPac today but think I would rather return to the doctor to find out WHAT my problem is!
Saw the doctor and he had a chest xray done one me to make sure I do not have pneumonia. He came in afterwards and told me I have acute bronchitis. I just go from acute this to acute that. Last time I went to doctor, he told me it was sinus, so who knows what I have. Again he prescribed steroids, and an antibiotic which is Lavaquin. He said this is what he would prescribe for pneumonia and he wants to make sure it does not go into pneumonia. He also gave me pills for daytime cough and more codeine cough syrup for night time cough. So hopefully something will work!
Stopped at post office to mail our tax information off and then dropped my prescriptions off at Walgreens before I headed home.
Larry stayed home waiting for the propane guy to come to refill our propane tank once again! We have gone through three or four tanks of propane since leaving home. At $60 a refill, not sure if we are saving anything on our heating bill from what it would be at home.
Went up to office to post my blog and the wiFi is down. So who know when this cracker jack joint will get it running again. It really burns me that we cannot get WiFi at our RV Site!! So will check again tomorrow to see if anyone got it going again.
We went to Pat and Terry McFee, who are friends we met here recently. They live in Val Vista RV Park, a few miles away. We sat and visited and had our wine and then went for dinner. Had a really great time with them. They have a beautiful park model with an Arizona room. Terry is a retired policeman and they are from Ohio. They live here for 6 or 8 months and then have a motor home they travel in during the summer. Terry is going to work in Des Moines, IA for most of the summer so maybe we will be able to see them this summer. Came home and I feel horrible tonight so am going to bed.
Thursday March 3, 2011
Pat, my painting teacher, has some of her family here this week from Minnesota, so she cancelled our class for today.
Larry wanted to go to breakfast so I cleaned up and we went to Village Inn. By the time we finished eating, I was feeling so bad I didn't think I could wait to get home to lay down. When we got home, I went to bed. My head feels like it is going to blow apart, I have so much pressure around my eyes and ears.
I laid around most of the day. I think I actually went to sleep for about an hour. When I woke up, I felt better and was going to take my blog up to post again but Larry had been up to the lobby trying to get on WiFi and the stupid thing is STILL down. They told me yesterday that they had been trying to 'beef' it up --which I doubt but anyway someone didn't know what they were doing, I'm afraid. Had tickets for the Silveridge Pops Concert tonight here in the park so we went around 4:30 over to Native New Yorker and had wings and a couple of beer. On the way home I began thinking the beer was not a good choice for me as I was so drosy, I could hardly stay awake. We got home a little early for concert so I laid down for 45 minutes and felt a little better. I have been looking forward to the concert as Paul Thompson, our next door neighbor, plays in the Pops. He practices every days we hear him. He is 86 and he plays in four different musical groups around the valley. He is also the wood carver that Larry carves with---occassionally. We walked up to the club house and got our seats and then Lora, Paul's wife came in and sat with us. She is such a sweet and funny lady! Anyway, the concert was wonderful. It is so amazing that these people are so devoted to the group. There are 67 members and the average age is 74 years old. Many of them were music teachers in their careers. Most all of them were professional people in their lives, one was a pilot, one an architec and just a really varied group. We waited too long last year to get tickets but we stood outside and listened to them at that time. Just a very enjoyable evening!
So now I am exhausted again and heading to bed. IF --- the WiFi is working tomorrow, will post this as it is getting rather long.
Friday March 4, 2011
We still have no WiFi at the club house!@! These people drive me crazy. Myself and SEVERAL people have told the office for the past three days that the WIFI is not working. Who knows when they will get off their lazy duff and get it going!
We went went to run some errands today. Took some items back to the mall then went to Appleby's for lunch. The weather has been so beautiful this week and again I am on the steriods so they tell me to stay out of the sun. It has been extremely hot in the motor home because the President of the bank says we don't need to run the air. We leave each day when it starts getting hot and let the poor cats set in the heat. Actually, I think all three of them love it when it gets warm inside. It has not been unbearable but doesn't take a lot to warm up inside when the sun is out. We went to get an additional memory foam matress to place over the hide-a-bed mattress as even though we bought a pretty good matress last year for the hide-a-bed, it can use some additional padding. Taylor and Addy are flying out next Friday so will need to use it while they are here.
Since we had a large lunch, no cooking tonight!!! I offered but neither of us were that hungry so we had a small snack for dinner. I went to bed and read for awhile and was asleep by 10:30. I just get tired from the medication I guess.
Saturday March 5, 2011
Leslie called early and talked to Larry for awhile. Taylor called later to say she made it home from her ski trip. She said when Addy saw her she was so excited then on the drive home from the airport, Addy just keep looking at her and each time she would look at Addy, she would smile real big. Taylor said Addy acted like she was seeing a ghost or something as she was very quiet when looking at Taylor.
Taylor said Morgan got lost at the mall when Cindi, Addy and Morgan were there last week. I guess Cindi was frantic as she and Addison ran all over the mall trying to find her. When they finally found Morgan she was with a lady and crying her eyes out. Time will tell if Morgan learned a lesson about staying with whomever she's with rather than wondering off. Addy kept yelling in the background to tell mama that she got lost at the mall too. Taylor kept saying no Addy, you didn't get lost and Addy would say 'Oh yes I did mom, remember, you lost ME at the mall'. I laughed until I cried because she was so insistant that SHE got lost. Whatever her sister does, Addison MUST also do! What a character!
Today was my dad's birthday. He died in February 1986 so I think he would have been 100 today. He was 74 when he died. Today is also Brenton Pawlak's birthday, Shelly's youngest son and Thursday was Alex's birthday, her oldest. She was so upset that Alex was born before Dad's birthday as she wanted to have him on the 5th. Finally when she had Brenton, he waited until the 5th, which thrilled Shelly so much.
We went down to a little art shop that Pat, my painting teacher had told me about last year. I have been looking for something called a 'wipe out tool' which like a pointed eraser pencil. It is used to remove paint when doing oils. I have looked at all the art shops here for a long time but had not found it. Dorothy told me last week that she thinks she got hers at this little art shop. I walked in and the lady immediately showed me where they were so I was really excited to finally find them.
We left there and drove down to Apache Junction to find where Georgia lived. She lives in Lost Duchman's RV Park. Some of the park looks pretty old but the area she lives in is nice an everything neat around her area. We didn't stop as we didn't think they were home from Illinois where they went for her grandson's furneal. When we drove on into Apache Junction, they were having a little craft show in the parking lot of Brashar's Grocery Store. They also were cooking outside on three big smokers. We bought a sandwich called 'triple tip'. We split the sandwich as we were not sure if we would like it. It was fantastic so I asked the guy smoking the meat what the cut of the meat was. He said it was a very tender cut of beef. I was asking him if the store sold it already prepared and he said no. He said it is very easy to cook by rubbing with seasoning and placing in a crockpot. I'm pretty sure the crockpot that was in the motor home got left at home but I'm tempted to buy another and give this a try. It was so tender it just fell apart. It was not like roast as the meat was not that course. It reminded me of pork tenderloin it was such a smooth texture. They have some unusual food in this area but that was terrific!
We decided to drive over to Cabela's, which is on the other side of Phoenix near Peoria off of the 101. We drove forever and ended up in a construction area where the traffic slowed to a snales pace. We finally made it over there, which was probably 35 or 40 miles. We have been there before as it is just across the road from Margueritaville. We spent some time at Margueritaville last year and Larry asked if I wanted to go over but I didn't really care to go--it's a great place but we've been there two or three times in the past. We got to Cabalea's and they had a bunch of very old campers on display for everyone to walk into to look at. All of the campers were small and 30-50 years old. They were owned by the members of the 'Two Sisters Camping Club'. Of course this is a women's only camping club and they pretty much all looked like 'rounders'. I think they were enjoying a few alcholic beverages as they were really having a great time, acting a little weird, and every so often someone would go to one of the campers and bring back liquid refreshments in a pitcher. Each little camper was decorated inside with a specific decor. Mostly cowboy and horse themes but cute as could be! Sounded like a very unusual group ---HMMM????
After Larry finished his shopping we left to drive back and on the way we both said almost the same thing at once. Wish we could find the little Italian Restraraunt in Chandler, that we had pizza at when our motor home was being worked on at Freightliner last year. Neither of us could remember the name of the place or even what street it was on. I got my phone and logged onto the internet looking for pizza in Chandler. I found two or three names that sounded familiar but only went by one of them. We decided to go over by Freightliner and try to retrace our route from there to try to find it. We messed around for quite a long time and never did find it. It was such wonderful pizza and we were both a little disappointed not to find it. Maybe another day we'll give it a try again.
We got home and I had hamburger to cook on the grill so we fixed them and had dinner around 6:00. Larry is starting to feel really bad now as well. He has been complaining about a sore throat and junk running down the back of his throat. Sounds kinda like the way my started. He is also coughing a lot.
Sunday March 6, 2011
Well both Larry and I coughed all night. Beginning to wonder WHAT is in this tin can on wheels that is causing us to be sick. Probably nothing more than three cats dropping fur everywhere. We vacuum almost every day trying to keep down the car hair. Anyway when we got up this morning, Larry said he was going to the pharmacy to try to get something for his throat and cough. I told him I thought he should just go down to the Urgent Care where I have been going. He got dressed and headed down to the clinic.
While he was gone I started cleaning inside the camper. The wood is so dirty with dust, not only from being here with the windows open all the time, but also from all the work they did inside last fall. I got some wood cleaner yesterday so I got busy. The wood trim, doors and cabinets were covered with dust. I worked for a long time in the front and then started mopping the floors in the kitchen, bathroom and hallway.
Larry came home and they told him he had basically the same thing I have been fighting. The doctor said it was a sinus infection so he gave him pretty much the same medications that they gave me 3 weeks ago. I hope he gets a hand-up on this so it does not turn into broncitis as well. My painting teacher, Pat, said we could both have 'Valley Fever' as a lot of people end up with it this time of year. I looked it up on the internet to find out what it really is but I'm sure we don't have it as it has symptoms of fever and nausa, which neither of us have had. It's caused from a bacteria or fungus from a type of desert vegation.
Anyway, I finished the mopping and then fixed us a pinani sandwich for lunch. After we finished eating, I took all the rugs up and spent most of the afternoon washing and drying them. There are many things I do not like about the motor home but the washer and dryer are 'keepers'. It is so great to be able to do the laundry while working on other things here and not have to set at the laundrymat for two hours. While I was washing the rugs, I started cleaning the wood in the hall, bathroom and the cabinets, etc in the bedroom. It sure looks better but probably won't be a week till the dust is loaded back onto the wood again. We run the ceiling fans with the windows open all the time and the dust in the air is horrible at times. Oh well, I only spent 5 hours cleaning, guess I can repeat it again in another week -- I DON'T THINK SO!! It was hard work on a hot day so I'm not planning on doing it again soon!! After my rugs were finished, I caught up on what laundry I had, which was not a lot as I just did laundry on Wednesday.
Larry had pork cutlets and I had talopia for dinner. I love being able to cook on the grill. It makes preparing a meal much easier than trying to cook in my TINY little kitchen.
Monday March 7, 2011
I didn't sleep well again last night. I go to bed at 10:30 or 11:00 and sleep sound until about 3:00am. I wake up and cannot go back to sleep. I don't think it's the medication as I've been taking the steroids early in the morning. They should be out of my system by bedtime.
I had some over-ripe bananas so decided to bake bananna bread this morning before the weather gets too hot. I wanted to try my convection oven again to find out if it was lousy on everything or just a few. The bread baked ok, but took about 15 mins longer than my normal oven at home. I'm sure their is some type of secret to using this oven that I have not figured out yet. I have read the book from cover to cover so it's not that I haven't read the instructions--I AM NOT A MAN!
Larry is still not feeling well today. He said his throat is really dry and he wants to cough a lot. I gave him the daytime cough medication that the doctor gave me and it seems to help him. The only cough medication that the doctor gave him is the syrup with codine that the doctor told me to only take at night. We are really a pair with him coughing and myself blowing my brains out. I hope we are not just passing this back and forth. I also hope we feel better by the time Taylor and Addy gets here on Friday as I don't want them sick as well.
Another day at the wonderful Silveridge Resort and no WIFI!! I asked them if they expected to get it working yet this month. The gal at the desk just blows it off. She told me the park manager has been working on it for several days!! Duh, how much could go wrong with the stupid thing. Probably nothing more than hitting a reset on the router. This place is technical impaired, I believe!!
We went to Walmart to pick up a few things and had lunch at CoCo's Restraruant. We have not been there before and it was very good. We both opted for the Shrimp Alfredo. It was better than Olive Garden as the sauce was wonderful. Larry decided he didn't like the capers that were in the sauce. I love capers but then there are many things that we do not agree on in food. I saw they had quiche pies on their list of bakery items. I asked the waitress if they sold it by the piece and she said no. Matter of fact if you want a quiche, you have to place an order the day before. It looked good so thought that might be something different to eat when Taylor comes as she also likes quiche. Again, Larry doesn't like it -- I asked him how long it has been since he tried and he couldn't remember the last time he had it.
We stopped at Kmart but as usual, they have nothing. They should close theirs store for all I end up finding there. They can't decide if they want to be a discount store or a cheaply presented Sears. I just can't believe they can be profitable.
We came back and dropped off our 'left overs' from CoCo's -- this will be our dinner---yea!!! Larry decided to stay home and rest since he is not feeling the best. I went to Fry's to pick up a few grocery items and stopped at the post office. When I walked inside the post office half of the city of Mesa was lined up waiting for their turn at the window. I only had a bottle of med's to mail to Cathy so I thought I'd box it and just use the automated mailer. I found the priority box I needed but there was no mailing tape anywhere for use. I decided to bring it home and box it and run it back down tomorrow.
By the time I got home, I was feeling pretty tired so I went in to bedroom to lay down. I read for awhile and fell asleep so I suspose since I took a short nap this afternoon, I will not sleep again tonight. This is the first time in a couple of weeks that I have taken a nap during the day so my sleepless nights are not from napping. Tomorrow, Pat and Terry McFee are coming for dinner so hopefully the weather will cooperate. Would be nice to eat outside since we do not have an abundance of room inside. Today was a nice day temperture-wise but the wind was horrible. It was gusting to 35 mph so our patio rug and chairs were blown everywhere when we came home this afternoon. The wind is very strange here. It came be calm one minute and like a wind tunnel the next. I guess it's the fact that we are in the valley and the gusts come off the mountains.
By the time I get my blog published, I'll have a full book--probably not a 'best seller' but for those interested, something to keep them reading awhile.
Tuesday March 8, 2011
We ran some errands this morning and then Pat and Terry came over around 4:00. We had wine and sacks and sat around and talked for awhile. Larry grilled hamburgers, Pat brought pasta salad and I made ---WHATELSE---Aspargus with Parmasen. We had a really good meal and visited for a long time. I had baked bananna bread earlier this week so we had bananna bread with cool whip for desert. Terry loves bananna bread, I remember Pat telling me. He has a healthy appetite even more so I think than Larry. Anyway, we had a wonderful relaxing evening. When they left, I told Pat that when Taylor leaves, we would try to get together again before we leave. She said that Terry said they might stop by the house in Illinois on their way to DesMoines, IA, so that would be nice to see them.
Paul came over to see if Larry was going to carve with the group today but Larry told him no. We got dressed and went to the Superstition Mall for Larry to get a haircut. While he spent time at the book store and getting his haircut I shopped some. We left the mall and grabbed lunch and headed home. Nothing much exciting today.
Thursday January 24, 2011
Went to my painting class today and only two of us painting today. Dorothy Collins and myself, so we had a very relaxing day. We painted Geese and I think this is the first painting that has actually ended up looking good since I've been here. I have about 3 or 4 paintings that I need to finish as I did not get them finished in class. It seems such a hassle to drag out all the items I need to paint here in the RV. Pat told me I could come on Tuesdays to work on finishing them, but it seems every Tuesday, we have something going on. I really enjoy my group I paint with as they are all so easy to talk with and it just a very relaxing day. Pat normally puts on music, which really is relaxing! We normally have some type of snack that someone brings each week and our coffee. Lora, my next door neighbor, is so cute and she waits for me to come home every Thursday and knocks on her window for me to show her my painting for the day.
I talked to Taylor this morning and she and Kyle are flying to Utah skiing early tomorrow morning. Justin, Kyle's first assistant at the club and Will who was a Caddy Master but now works in the pro shop for Kyle, also flew out for 3 or 4 days to ski. They are staying with Kyle and Taylor. Taylor is flying home next Thursday and Kyle is flying on down to Colorado to ski with one of his club members. The little girls stayed home with Grandma Bauer. Poor Cindy, she has been a trooper for her babysitting while I have been gone. Taylor told me I would get my turn in May. I don't know what all she has planned but I will be staying with the girls.
After my class today, I went to get a hair cut. When I got home we ended up going BACK to Native New Yorker but even though it is wing night again tonight, we had a pizza and lots of beer!!! They have Karaoke on Thursday night and we had a fun time. There were several very good singers, one of them being Diane, who was our waitress. She is such a sweet girl and has been our waitress several times. It seems we are considered 'regulars' now since we end up over there at least once a week. Shawn is one of the other waiters that hassle us when he gets a chance. He has been our waiter several times as well. I was hassling him about finding him a nice girlfriend, like one of Larry's niece's. Anyway we always have a good time when we go over and they have wonderful food as well.
Friday January 25, 2011
Larry keeps talking about getting a new cell phone so this morning we went over to Signal Butte Walmart as he had talked to a lady there a while back and thought they had the phone he wanted. He couldn't actually look at any of the phones because they did not have many display models. The lady that works over there told him people keep steeling the displays. I cannot believe that but it is evidently true. She told him to go to Version and pick out a phone and come back as she probably would have the phone boxed to sell to him. There is a Version store in the shopping center just across the parking lot so we went over there. We got a great guy as a salesman and he not only helped Larry choose a phone but he showed us a new item that Version just brought out on the market two days ago that is just what we need when traveling. It is a router or whatever they call it. We would be able to keep our own phone number that we have for our land line at home and drop AT&T as our carrier and switch to Version. The router allows us to take it with us anywhere in the US and all calls to our normal home number will ring into the RV as if we were home. We were able to get the router free and our monthly charge will be $19.99, with unlimited minutes and free long distance to any number within the US. If for any reason we are not available to answer the phone or if we are traveling, it has a voice mail just like our cell phones. When we get where we are going we plug it in and it rings into the RV again. We can retrieve our voice mail from this phone at anytime via our cell phones. Basically it has to have a power source as it does not run on 12 Volt but it does have a battery back up. At home all we have to do is plug the unit in and it works at home while we are there. Pretty great for us when we travel so much. It will save our cell phone usage, since we can make unlimited calls. We went over our cell phone minutes this past month and I had to call and beg Version to reduce our bill. They dropped our overage by $25 so it helped. Currently we are paying something like $55.00 a month for our AT&T land line so will be a huge savings to get rid of that. We checked it all out but did not have out account number for AT&T so we told the salesman, Dan, that we would come back tomorrow afternoon with all the information and finish the purchase.
We went over to the Mesa Flea market and looked around for a couple of hours, went to the grocery store and came home and cooked dinner on the grill. Steak for Larry, talopia for me. Was very good and we enjoyed a meal at home which we only seem to do a couple times a week. I did cook Wednesday night as well. We had Shrimp Alfredo and it was pretty tasty.
Saturday February 26, 2011
Went to the craft show up at the club house this morning. I ran into so many people that I know, I didn't have a lot of time to look for talking to everyone. They have very nice items at these shows and there are a lot of outside vendors with handmade jewelry and many interesting items. I met a lady who was a vendor that I talked to for a long time. Larry came up when I was talking to her and I introduced him to her. Her name is Pat McFee and she and her husband Terry live in a park model in a resort a few blocks west of Silveridge. I was telling her how bored Larry gets when we are here and she told us about her and her husband being full time RV-er's for 11 years. When they traveled, they worked at many government supported parks. She said they didn't get paid much but their rv site was free. On their off days, they toured all of the sites around the area and saw so many wonderful places. She suggested we think about trying it. Larry and I checked into working at Yellowstone two years ago. There are so many places supported by the government that are open for part time workers and are seasonal starting in May and ending in September. Would probably be an interesting thing to do at least once.
We left the craft show and went to Applebee's for lunch. It was so busy, we sat at the bar. The bartender was Lisa, a gal we met last year. She remembered us because when Taylor, Kyle and the girls were here, she was our waitress two nights in a row. At that time she worked part time at Red Lobster and part time at Applebee's. Kyle went to Tuscon on Monday morning so Larry, Taylor, Morgan, Addy and I ate at Red Lobster on Monday night. Lisa was such a great waitress and talked and entertained the girls a lot. Kyle came home Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night we went to Applebee's to eat and Lisa was our waitress there that night. We all loved her. When we walked in, I told her who we were and she actually remembered where we sat and that we had the granddaughters there. We visited with her for awhile but she was very busy. She told us she has a REAL day job now and only works at Applebee's when they need her to fill in. She has worked at Applebee's for a number of years.
We went back over to Version and finished the transaction from yesterday. Larry got a new cell phone and we got the router(whatever) for our land line and our bill was $54.00 with a $50.00 rebate. Pretty great deal for what we got.
Went to Walmart to buy new cordless phones to use for our new router. We have been needing new phones for home but just haven't bought them. We bought our phones and headed home. It will take five business days for Version to get our home number changed over where it will ring out here. In the mean time, we can make outgoing calls which will be great.
Sunday February 27, 2011
It rained all night and was still raining a little this morning when we got up. Larry had to call several people this morning on our 'freeby' phone. We talked to Taylor for a long time. They are having a great time skiing. They had 24 inches of snow on Saturday. We also talked to Leslie, who seems to be feeling somewhat better. She said she still has a very sore throat. I called and talked to Debbie for a while, since I have not actually talked with her since we left home. We send emails and comments on facebook but it is nice to talk once in awhile!! She has been feeling bad and found out last week she had a UTI. Been taking medicine for that and feeling better today. She said Braiden and Brody both have had the flu. Everyone is feeling better today, which is good.
It rained off and on all morning. We had ticket for opening day for the Cubs today. When we left it was still sprinkling rain and was pretty cool. We packed up our cool weather gear and headed to Hohokam Park. When we got there the rain stopped and our seats were in the sun. Wow did it feel good setting there in the sun and I actually started getting warm. That lasted about 30 minutes then the sun went west enough that we were in the shade. It got really cool before the game was over. Typical of the Cubs---they lost to the Oakland A's. We left at the end of the 8th inning and the score was 15-5. I'm sure by the end of the 9th, they were down even more. Cub fans are very special people as they keep cheering for the team game after game while they loose!!! We have tickets for tomorrow's game as well. The Cubs play the Milwaukee Brewers.
We came home and caught the last 30 minutes of the Nascar Race which was run here in Phoenix today. The attendance at the game was down today probably because of the Nascar Races. Anyway Gordon pulled off a win at the Nascar. After the race was over, we cooked dinner and enjoyed yet another meal at home tonight.
Monday February 28, 2011
Went to the Cub game again today. They played the Milwaukee Brewers and of course they start out like wildfire and end up loosing so bad it's embarrassing to confess to being a Cub Fan! We left at the end of the 8th inning because it was just so boring. I told Larry I don't care if we go back to any more of the spring training games because they only play the minor league players the majority of the time. They put in the regular players for an inning or two and then bring in the 'invitees'. It's like watching a Peoria Chief's game for twice the ticket price! It was very cool today at the game because we again sat in the shade. We sat next to a middle aged couple that was from Palentine Illinois. We told them Taylor lives in Arlington Heights. They asked what street and we told them N. Douglas Ave and the lady said before they bought their home in Palentine they looked at a house on N. Douglas. Palentine is just a couple of miles away from Arlington Hts so again, it's a small world!
We left the ball park and drove over to Trader Joe's and picked up a case of '2 buck chuck'! We are really cheap drunks as we both love the White Zen. When we cook at home we drink a bottle of White Zen with our meal--I guess because it makes my bad cooking go down smoother?!@? Anyway, we were almost out of wine and we are invited to Pat and Terry McFee's house on Wednesday and Pat told me she loves the White Zen from Trader Joe's. I wanted to have enough to take a couple of bottles over there on Wednesday--don't want to run the risk of running out!!!!! Ha!
We came home and cooked pork chops on the grill and AGAIN had dinner at home. I don't know if I like the direction this is taking suddenly where I'm cooking at home every day! I've been so spoiled since we left Peoria because we had been eating out more than eating in!
Tuesday March 1, 2011
Drug our bodies out of bed early this morning to get ready in time to leave by 7:00am for Los Algodones, Mexico. This is too much like work getting up at 5:00. I went back to have a couple of teeth taken care of. One is just for the dentist to close up a gap on a posterior tooth that I keep getting food packed in between and the other is to have a sealer put on the root of a tooth where the gum has receded. Might not really be worth going back for but I know if I wait till I get home, it will cost me $300. Today's bill was $50, so I guess when you figure the price of gas down there, it is still worth it.
After my appointment, we hit the cantina--of course! We both ordered something to eat but most importantly was the margarita's!!! They make the BEST! They had the Mexican Band playing again today and they are quite entertaining. What is more entertaining is after some of the snowbirds have a few drinks, they get up to dance. Half of them can hardly walk, let alone dance. After we finished our margarita's and had our lunch, we ordered the HUGE bottle of beer to split. I have no idea how many ounces are in one bottle but I would guess a quart or maybe a little less. We, of course, split the bottle because SOMEONE had to drive home. Mexican Beer is quite strong compared to American Beer but oh soooo-- good. It come in a small bucket with ice all around it and is very cold, which is the only way I can drink beer! When I was in Brazil, they served their beer in the VERY large bottles as well, but since we had our own driver, I could drink as many bottles as I wanted! Ha!Had to make a stop at the ladies room and if you want to wash your hands when you come out, you tip a little guy and he gives you a squirt of hand soap and a paper towel. The one that works at the cantina is so cute and young. He remembered me from last week and asked if I spoke much Spanish, which I replied NO! He informed me he does not speech much English, but we were able to talk some and make each other understand. He was trying to say something in English and he tried several times but I could not figure it out. Finally, I asked him if he was trying to say 'important', which he replied yes. I pronounced it several times for him and each time he would try to say it correctly. Finally he caught on to how to say it so he was very proud of himself and thanked me!
When we left the cantina, I had bought a sweatshirt last week that I found was a 4X, when I got it home. My gosh, I could have built a tent with it!! I took it back today to see if they would exchange it and the gals kept acting like they did not understand what I wanted. This is the way they can avoid any type of customer service!!! You buy it -- it's yours! Anyway one of the Mexican Guys started talking to me so he was kind enough to talk to the gals for me. I told him I wanted either a 1X or 2X so they had to go to another vendor to find one. When they brought it back, it was a 1X and I knew as cheap as the material, it would fit a Barbie Doll after it was laundered. I told him it was too small so when he walked away, I thought he was going to look for another sweatshirt so I waited around. He never came back so I told the gal I would come back later. When I returned, I told the guy I'd like to exchange it for another jacket they had hanging and he talked the lady who run the place into making the exchange.
We then went to Jesus, the picture frame guy. Pat, my painting teacher always appreciates us bringing her frames when we go down so I bought 6 for her and 3 for myself. Jesus always gives me a good price on them when I buy several. From there we bargained for a stained glass and I got the guy to come down $70 from the original price. I am a tough negotiator! If they don't come down to my price I walk away. Last week I tried to buy the same stained glass and they were so far away from my price, I walked away and the lady ran after me quoting me lower and lower prices but I didn't stop long enough to get the price I wanted.
After we bought the stained glass and frames, Larry said he was going to get in the line to cross the border while I picked up some amoxicillan for my friend and cigerattes for me. So I told him I would met him at the line. The line to cross over was at least six blocks long today and it was hardly moving. After I got my items I walked over and walked up and down the line looking for him three times, dragging six frames, cigerattes, med's for my friend and more I bought for us--so I had quite a load to haul around. I could not believe that I could not find him. He said he was going to try to find a bathroom before he got in line but I could not believe he was still looking for the bathroom. So I was so hot from walking and carrying the crap up and down the line, that I sat down on a bench that they have along the sidewalk by the line. I sat there and watched people pass by and I could not find Larry. I was just getting ready to go to the back of the line and take my place to wait it out and I happened to look across the street and there he was!!!@! He was standing in the line waiting for the bike taxi. He was going to pay to ride across the border and I can only assume he thought I was going to stand in line for 2 hours. I was FURIOUS--to put it mildly--when I finally found him! I walked over there with sweat running down my face and let him have it. He kept telling me to be quiet--which only made me madder!!! He said he was watching for me but never did see me--HOW COULD HE MISS ME????? I walked right in front of him across the street -- up and down the long line THREE times. REGARDLESS-- we both waited our turn for the taxi. So for $5 each we rode across the border in less than probably 20 minutes. The taxi guy is not always there but most times we see him. This is really the first time we have encountered a line as long as today. I think because we normally spend a little more time 'wining and dining' than we did today so we are later going over to get in line. I think most days if you wait until 3:30 or later the masses have already left. So, the lesson learned today was drink a few more Marguerite's rather than spending that time standing in a line that is going NOWHERE!
Wednesday March 2, 2011
Well, the first item on my agenda today was to go back to the Urgent Care! The last three or four days, I have started feeling bad again! Last night I did not sleep, nor I'm sure did Larry, because I coughed all night. My voice is so raspy again that I start to talk and I have no voice. I bought ZPac today but think I would rather return to the doctor to find out WHAT my problem is!
Saw the doctor and he had a chest xray done one me to make sure I do not have pneumonia. He came in afterwards and told me I have acute bronchitis. I just go from acute this to acute that. Last time I went to doctor, he told me it was sinus, so who knows what I have. Again he prescribed steroids, and an antibiotic which is Lavaquin. He said this is what he would prescribe for pneumonia and he wants to make sure it does not go into pneumonia. He also gave me pills for daytime cough and more codeine cough syrup for night time cough. So hopefully something will work!
Stopped at post office to mail our tax information off and then dropped my prescriptions off at Walgreens before I headed home.
Larry stayed home waiting for the propane guy to come to refill our propane tank once again! We have gone through three or four tanks of propane since leaving home. At $60 a refill, not sure if we are saving anything on our heating bill from what it would be at home.
Went up to office to post my blog and the wiFi is down. So who know when this cracker jack joint will get it running again. It really burns me that we cannot get WiFi at our RV Site!! So will check again tomorrow to see if anyone got it going again.
We went to Pat and Terry McFee, who are friends we met here recently. They live in Val Vista RV Park, a few miles away. We sat and visited and had our wine and then went for dinner. Had a really great time with them. They have a beautiful park model with an Arizona room. Terry is a retired policeman and they are from Ohio. They live here for 6 or 8 months and then have a motor home they travel in during the summer. Terry is going to work in Des Moines, IA for most of the summer so maybe we will be able to see them this summer. Came home and I feel horrible tonight so am going to bed.
Thursday March 3, 2011
Pat, my painting teacher, has some of her family here this week from Minnesota, so she cancelled our class for today.
Larry wanted to go to breakfast so I cleaned up and we went to Village Inn. By the time we finished eating, I was feeling so bad I didn't think I could wait to get home to lay down. When we got home, I went to bed. My head feels like it is going to blow apart, I have so much pressure around my eyes and ears.
I laid around most of the day. I think I actually went to sleep for about an hour. When I woke up, I felt better and was going to take my blog up to post again but Larry had been up to the lobby trying to get on WiFi and the stupid thing is STILL down. They told me yesterday that they had been trying to 'beef' it up --which I doubt but anyway someone didn't know what they were doing, I'm afraid. Had tickets for the Silveridge Pops Concert tonight here in the park so we went around 4:30 over to Native New Yorker and had wings and a couple of beer. On the way home I began thinking the beer was not a good choice for me as I was so drosy, I could hardly stay awake. We got home a little early for concert so I laid down for 45 minutes and felt a little better. I have been looking forward to the concert as Paul Thompson, our next door neighbor, plays in the Pops. He practices every days we hear him. He is 86 and he plays in four different musical groups around the valley. He is also the wood carver that Larry carves with---occassionally. We walked up to the club house and got our seats and then Lora, Paul's wife came in and sat with us. She is such a sweet and funny lady! Anyway, the concert was wonderful. It is so amazing that these people are so devoted to the group. There are 67 members and the average age is 74 years old. Many of them were music teachers in their careers. Most all of them were professional people in their lives, one was a pilot, one an architec and just a really varied group. We waited too long last year to get tickets but we stood outside and listened to them at that time. Just a very enjoyable evening!
So now I am exhausted again and heading to bed. IF --- the WiFi is working tomorrow, will post this as it is getting rather long.
Friday March 4, 2011
We still have no WiFi at the club house!@! These people drive me crazy. Myself and SEVERAL people have told the office for the past three days that the WIFI is not working. Who knows when they will get off their lazy duff and get it going!
We went went to run some errands today. Took some items back to the mall then went to Appleby's for lunch. The weather has been so beautiful this week and again I am on the steriods so they tell me to stay out of the sun. It has been extremely hot in the motor home because the President of the bank says we don't need to run the air. We leave each day when it starts getting hot and let the poor cats set in the heat. Actually, I think all three of them love it when it gets warm inside. It has not been unbearable but doesn't take a lot to warm up inside when the sun is out. We went to get an additional memory foam matress to place over the hide-a-bed mattress as even though we bought a pretty good matress last year for the hide-a-bed, it can use some additional padding. Taylor and Addy are flying out next Friday so will need to use it while they are here.
Since we had a large lunch, no cooking tonight!!! I offered but neither of us were that hungry so we had a small snack for dinner. I went to bed and read for awhile and was asleep by 10:30. I just get tired from the medication I guess.
Saturday March 5, 2011
Leslie called early and talked to Larry for awhile. Taylor called later to say she made it home from her ski trip. She said when Addy saw her she was so excited then on the drive home from the airport, Addy just keep looking at her and each time she would look at Addy, she would smile real big. Taylor said Addy acted like she was seeing a ghost or something as she was very quiet when looking at Taylor.
Taylor said Morgan got lost at the mall when Cindi, Addy and Morgan were there last week. I guess Cindi was frantic as she and Addison ran all over the mall trying to find her. When they finally found Morgan she was with a lady and crying her eyes out. Time will tell if Morgan learned a lesson about staying with whomever she's with rather than wondering off. Addy kept yelling in the background to tell mama that she got lost at the mall too. Taylor kept saying no Addy, you didn't get lost and Addy would say 'Oh yes I did mom, remember, you lost ME at the mall'. I laughed until I cried because she was so insistant that SHE got lost. Whatever her sister does, Addison MUST also do! What a character!
Today was my dad's birthday. He died in February 1986 so I think he would have been 100 today. He was 74 when he died. Today is also Brenton Pawlak's birthday, Shelly's youngest son and Thursday was Alex's birthday, her oldest. She was so upset that Alex was born before Dad's birthday as she wanted to have him on the 5th. Finally when she had Brenton, he waited until the 5th, which thrilled Shelly so much.
We went down to a little art shop that Pat, my painting teacher had told me about last year. I have been looking for something called a 'wipe out tool' which like a pointed eraser pencil. It is used to remove paint when doing oils. I have looked at all the art shops here for a long time but had not found it. Dorothy told me last week that she thinks she got hers at this little art shop. I walked in and the lady immediately showed me where they were so I was really excited to finally find them.
We left there and drove down to Apache Junction to find where Georgia lived. She lives in Lost Duchman's RV Park. Some of the park looks pretty old but the area she lives in is nice an everything neat around her area. We didn't stop as we didn't think they were home from Illinois where they went for her grandson's furneal. When we drove on into Apache Junction, they were having a little craft show in the parking lot of Brashar's Grocery Store. They also were cooking outside on three big smokers. We bought a sandwich called 'triple tip'. We split the sandwich as we were not sure if we would like it. It was fantastic so I asked the guy smoking the meat what the cut of the meat was. He said it was a very tender cut of beef. I was asking him if the store sold it already prepared and he said no. He said it is very easy to cook by rubbing with seasoning and placing in a crockpot. I'm pretty sure the crockpot that was in the motor home got left at home but I'm tempted to buy another and give this a try. It was so tender it just fell apart. It was not like roast as the meat was not that course. It reminded me of pork tenderloin it was such a smooth texture. They have some unusual food in this area but that was terrific!
We decided to drive over to Cabela's, which is on the other side of Phoenix near Peoria off of the 101. We drove forever and ended up in a construction area where the traffic slowed to a snales pace. We finally made it over there, which was probably 35 or 40 miles. We have been there before as it is just across the road from Margueritaville. We spent some time at Margueritaville last year and Larry asked if I wanted to go over but I didn't really care to go--it's a great place but we've been there two or three times in the past. We got to Cabalea's and they had a bunch of very old campers on display for everyone to walk into to look at. All of the campers were small and 30-50 years old. They were owned by the members of the 'Two Sisters Camping Club'. Of course this is a women's only camping club and they pretty much all looked like 'rounders'. I think they were enjoying a few alcholic beverages as they were really having a great time, acting a little weird, and every so often someone would go to one of the campers and bring back liquid refreshments in a pitcher. Each little camper was decorated inside with a specific decor. Mostly cowboy and horse themes but cute as could be! Sounded like a very unusual group ---HMMM????
After Larry finished his shopping we left to drive back and on the way we both said almost the same thing at once. Wish we could find the little Italian Restraraunt in Chandler, that we had pizza at when our motor home was being worked on at Freightliner last year. Neither of us could remember the name of the place or even what street it was on. I got my phone and logged onto the internet looking for pizza in Chandler. I found two or three names that sounded familiar but only went by one of them. We decided to go over by Freightliner and try to retrace our route from there to try to find it. We messed around for quite a long time and never did find it. It was such wonderful pizza and we were both a little disappointed not to find it. Maybe another day we'll give it a try again.
We got home and I had hamburger to cook on the grill so we fixed them and had dinner around 6:00. Larry is starting to feel really bad now as well. He has been complaining about a sore throat and junk running down the back of his throat. Sounds kinda like the way my started. He is also coughing a lot.
Sunday March 6, 2011
Well both Larry and I coughed all night. Beginning to wonder WHAT is in this tin can on wheels that is causing us to be sick. Probably nothing more than three cats dropping fur everywhere. We vacuum almost every day trying to keep down the car hair. Anyway when we got up this morning, Larry said he was going to the pharmacy to try to get something for his throat and cough. I told him I thought he should just go down to the Urgent Care where I have been going. He got dressed and headed down to the clinic.
While he was gone I started cleaning inside the camper. The wood is so dirty with dust, not only from being here with the windows open all the time, but also from all the work they did inside last fall. I got some wood cleaner yesterday so I got busy. The wood trim, doors and cabinets were covered with dust. I worked for a long time in the front and then started mopping the floors in the kitchen, bathroom and hallway.
Larry came home and they told him he had basically the same thing I have been fighting. The doctor said it was a sinus infection so he gave him pretty much the same medications that they gave me 3 weeks ago. I hope he gets a hand-up on this so it does not turn into broncitis as well. My painting teacher, Pat, said we could both have 'Valley Fever' as a lot of people end up with it this time of year. I looked it up on the internet to find out what it really is but I'm sure we don't have it as it has symptoms of fever and nausa, which neither of us have had. It's caused from a bacteria or fungus from a type of desert vegation.
Anyway, I finished the mopping and then fixed us a pinani sandwich for lunch. After we finished eating, I took all the rugs up and spent most of the afternoon washing and drying them. There are many things I do not like about the motor home but the washer and dryer are 'keepers'. It is so great to be able to do the laundry while working on other things here and not have to set at the laundrymat for two hours. While I was washing the rugs, I started cleaning the wood in the hall, bathroom and the cabinets, etc in the bedroom. It sure looks better but probably won't be a week till the dust is loaded back onto the wood again. We run the ceiling fans with the windows open all the time and the dust in the air is horrible at times. Oh well, I only spent 5 hours cleaning, guess I can repeat it again in another week -- I DON'T THINK SO!! It was hard work on a hot day so I'm not planning on doing it again soon!! After my rugs were finished, I caught up on what laundry I had, which was not a lot as I just did laundry on Wednesday.
Larry had pork cutlets and I had talopia for dinner. I love being able to cook on the grill. It makes preparing a meal much easier than trying to cook in my TINY little kitchen.
Monday March 7, 2011
I didn't sleep well again last night. I go to bed at 10:30 or 11:00 and sleep sound until about 3:00am. I wake up and cannot go back to sleep. I don't think it's the medication as I've been taking the steroids early in the morning. They should be out of my system by bedtime.
I had some over-ripe bananas so decided to bake bananna bread this morning before the weather gets too hot. I wanted to try my convection oven again to find out if it was lousy on everything or just a few. The bread baked ok, but took about 15 mins longer than my normal oven at home. I'm sure their is some type of secret to using this oven that I have not figured out yet. I have read the book from cover to cover so it's not that I haven't read the instructions--I AM NOT A MAN!
Larry is still not feeling well today. He said his throat is really dry and he wants to cough a lot. I gave him the daytime cough medication that the doctor gave me and it seems to help him. The only cough medication that the doctor gave him is the syrup with codine that the doctor told me to only take at night. We are really a pair with him coughing and myself blowing my brains out. I hope we are not just passing this back and forth. I also hope we feel better by the time Taylor and Addy gets here on Friday as I don't want them sick as well.
Another day at the wonderful Silveridge Resort and no WIFI!! I asked them if they expected to get it working yet this month. The gal at the desk just blows it off. She told me the park manager has been working on it for several days!! Duh, how much could go wrong with the stupid thing. Probably nothing more than hitting a reset on the router. This place is technical impaired, I believe!!
We went to Walmart to pick up a few things and had lunch at CoCo's Restraruant. We have not been there before and it was very good. We both opted for the Shrimp Alfredo. It was better than Olive Garden as the sauce was wonderful. Larry decided he didn't like the capers that were in the sauce. I love capers but then there are many things that we do not agree on in food. I saw they had quiche pies on their list of bakery items. I asked the waitress if they sold it by the piece and she said no. Matter of fact if you want a quiche, you have to place an order the day before. It looked good so thought that might be something different to eat when Taylor comes as she also likes quiche. Again, Larry doesn't like it -- I asked him how long it has been since he tried and he couldn't remember the last time he had it.
We stopped at Kmart but as usual, they have nothing. They should close theirs store for all I end up finding there. They can't decide if they want to be a discount store or a cheaply presented Sears. I just can't believe they can be profitable.
We came back and dropped off our 'left overs' from CoCo's -- this will be our dinner---yea!!! Larry decided to stay home and rest since he is not feeling the best. I went to Fry's to pick up a few grocery items and stopped at the post office. When I walked inside the post office half of the city of Mesa was lined up waiting for their turn at the window. I only had a bottle of med's to mail to Cathy so I thought I'd box it and just use the automated mailer. I found the priority box I needed but there was no mailing tape anywhere for use. I decided to bring it home and box it and run it back down tomorrow.
By the time I got home, I was feeling pretty tired so I went in to bedroom to lay down. I read for awhile and fell asleep so I suspose since I took a short nap this afternoon, I will not sleep again tonight. This is the first time in a couple of weeks that I have taken a nap during the day so my sleepless nights are not from napping. Tomorrow, Pat and Terry McFee are coming for dinner so hopefully the weather will cooperate. Would be nice to eat outside since we do not have an abundance of room inside. Today was a nice day temperture-wise but the wind was horrible. It was gusting to 35 mph so our patio rug and chairs were blown everywhere when we came home this afternoon. The wind is very strange here. It came be calm one minute and like a wind tunnel the next. I guess it's the fact that we are in the valley and the gusts come off the mountains.
By the time I get my blog published, I'll have a full book--probably not a 'best seller' but for those interested, something to keep them reading awhile.
Tuesday March 8, 2011
We ran some errands this morning and then Pat and Terry came over around 4:00. We had wine and sacks and sat around and talked for awhile. Larry grilled hamburgers, Pat brought pasta salad and I made ---WHATELSE---Aspargus with Parmasen. We had a really good meal and visited for a long time. I had baked bananna bread earlier this week so we had bananna bread with cool whip for desert. Terry loves bananna bread, I remember Pat telling me. He has a healthy appetite even more so I think than Larry. Anyway, we had a wonderful relaxing evening. When they left, I told Pat that when Taylor leaves, we would try to get together again before we leave. She said that Terry said they might stop by the house in Illinois on their way to DesMoines, IA, so that would be nice to see them.
Pei pa koa is pretty decent cough medicine (from herbal as I remembered), great non alcoholic medicine, some western cough medicine are more effective, but this is non drowsy.
ReplyDeleteYou can access info online @
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nin_Jiom_Pei_Pa_Koa
ninjiom.50webs.com
I’ve tried all sorts of coughing syrups, believe me, but none of them helps. Even though Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa www.geocities.jp/ninjiom_hong_kong/index_e.htm does not eliminates the cough I like to stick to this chinese syrup I’ve been taking since I was a kid: Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa. My grandfather is chinese, so I guess my mom got the advice from him. I was really surprised when I found that chinese market selling it here in Belgium. It does have a refreshing, soothing, sweetening effect…as long as it lasts…then back to coughing mode.
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