10/19/2009 Bikes and Blooms

The tire on my bike was flat this morning. I don’t know why, it was fine when I went for a ride last night. Of course it was dark and I could have ridden through glass, over a nail, a sharp stone, who knows? It was flat. Bob tried to fix it….

….but it wasn’t taking a patch or any other fix. He made another trip to Walmart for new tubes and tires because his tires were also flat on his bike. Maybe they were dry rotted because of the heat here and they weren’t taken out of the shed for the last year that we know of.

So Bob spent part of his afternoon working on our bikes.

It was nice to be out and about because we had a nice breeze going. A warm breeze, but a breeze all the same.

I went picture taking while he was doing this. The desert is somewhat in bloom.

This bush was just loaded with butterflies and bees.

The cactus are standing tall.

……but sadly, some didn’t make it through the summer.

I stopped and visited my friend Sandy who happens to be the line dance instructor here in the park. It starts next Tuesday! Yay! She makes it so fun!

Evening brought another playoff baseball game and we thought our Phillies were going to lose this until it came to the very last seconds of the game. It was bottom of the ninth, 4 to 3 favor the Dodgers, 2 on base, 2 strikes, 2 outs and Rollins hit a double and two runs came in! The Phillies won! Perfect ending to a very nice day.

10/18/2009 Bob Builds, Snookie Sunbathes

It was another hot one here in the desert. We crossed that 100 degree mark again.

We started our morning with a trip to Lowe’s to buy “feet” for a TV/Directv box shelf that Bob is making. We have looked for a ready made, store bought one but couldn’t find anything. Bob looked online but the least expensive one he found was $38.00 plus shipping. We decided it would be better to make one. When we were at Walmart’s yesterday we had bought a pecan cutting board that was just the right size and a wire shelf to set it on. We weren’t thrilled about the wire shelf but it would do the job and we figured all you would see would be the “legs” anyway. So we set it up and it was too tall for the TV to sit on and fit under the cabinet overhead. We were back to square one.

So off to Lowe’s we go. I had suggested we get some PVC pipe and cut it to the right lengths for feet for each corner. I figured we could paint them black and we would be good to go. Looking around Bob found a piece of wood for $2.28 that would work just right.

He screwed each one on and painted them black. Not in that order of course.

And now we have a very nice shelf at just the right height for our Directv box.

While Bob was doing all this I was spending the afternoon at the pool. I didn’t know how long I would last and Bob was laying bets that I’d be back in 20 minutes. Well, I lasted two hours. I spent the first hour in the pool and got out because my I figured my fingers couldn’t shrivel anymore than they had. And..,..I had to call home to a few friends and family members to let them know I was hangin’ at the pool because I had seen the weather forecast for Delaware and knew they were having a miserable cold day and I just had to rub it in! Hey, it was payback for the remarks I heard over the summer when we were in jeans and sweatshirts while in Alaska and they were all hangin’ at the pool or were at the beach. (That’s “shore” for you Jersey readers)

In the evening we watched our Phillies lose a game.

Overall, a pretty good day in paradise.

10/17/2009 Now We Know Why.....

Now we know why most people wait until November to arrive in Arizona. Today we topped out at 102 degrees! Mid October and its 102. I don't remember it being this hot at this time last year. It couldn't have been, I'd remember that.

Bob should be thankful. Yeah, he bitched and complained about how much stuff we were moving from the 5th wheel to the park model and I have to admit, it did seem excessive.....until today. I took a bike ride through the park today to see who had arrived and I also wanted to go and say hello to Bonnie and Dan who recently pulled in. When I got there, there were large Rubbermaid containers everywhere, and suitcases and hatboxes and cardboard boxes and that was just Bonnie's clothes. Her closet was already full and she had taken half of Dan's small section that she had allowed him. This was in addition to the clothes she left there last year. I lost count at 16 pairs of shoes. She tried to explain to me why they were all necessary. There were Yoga clothes, bike riding clothes, clothes to be worn when driving her motorcycle, dress clothes, cleaning clothes, just hangin' out clothes. Now I was never, ever a clothes nut so this was just beyond my comprehension. I just don't get it, I wear the same clothes to vacuum the carpet that I wear to ride my bike. But hey, that's just me. I'm going to have to investigate this further and see if all the women here have vacuuming clothes versus just hangin' out clothes. Yep, Bob should be thankful.


Here are some things for you to ponder....


Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?

Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. . but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby"when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out!"

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?

Can blind people see their dreams?

If Wyle E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?


"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well
preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out, thoroughly used up, and loudly
proclaiming, "WOW.....WHAT A RIDE!!!"

10/16/2009 I Was # 86,001

Looking at the reader statistics it looks like a reader from Springdale, Arkansas (Debbie???) was the one who turned it over to 86,000 and he or she probably didn't notice. I signed on at 86,001.

Its getting mighty warm here in Arizona. We're in the mid 90's today and zooming to 101 degrees tomorrow. I'm zooming to the pool.

We took the 5th wheel to storage this morning and we're both happy with the set up there. It looks very secure, its clean and people who live on site seem to really care about their responsibilities. It just feels good and we are happy campers and we are glad this job is over!

We're pretty much together in the park model although there are a few things that have to find a home yet. I have a bunch of stuff to mail home (Delaware) and as soon as I can get that done a lot little things will be gone.

We made a trip to the Hundred Dollar Store today and didn't get out with dropping that hundred bucks. Darn that store! And we're not done yet! We have to make a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot tomorrow and a trip to Fry's grocery store for fresh veggies. Walmart's just looked a little past their prime.

Winter residents are coming in every day so there is a lot hand shaking and hugging going on around here. Some are coming in from the northern states where winter has already dealt a snowy hand and they are glad to be here.

Anybody watch the Phillies game today? What a boring game for the most part, it didn't help that they lost either.

This Sunday is the day my sister-in-law, Michelle, is walking for the CURE. If you haven't made a donation to this cause and would like to please go to her site here. The American Cancer Society: To those of who did donate....THANK YOU! For those daily and frequent readers who haven't....there's still time and its certainly a worthwhile cause. We can beat breast cancer if we all pull together and give the funds for research.

We've cooked on the grill two nights in a row now and I'm in heaven! No, make that HEAVEN! I have so missed a grill. We cooked on the grill once this past summer. Once, isn't that like UN-American or something? I plan on making up for lost time.

Other than our trip to Walmart, watching the baseball game, cooking on the grill and doing two loads of laundry after dinner,,,,well, we just didn't do much today. We're getting some much needed rest, Yeah, that's it, we're resting.

10/12-10/15/2009 We are EXHAUSTED!

The move is done. We spent Monday bringing clothes over and since we were determined not to bring EVERYTHING it took some time to decide what to bring and what to leave. I’ve made up my mind that when i see something I like I’m buying TWO! One for the park model and one for the 5th wheel.

On Tuesday we were supposed to move to Quail Run but we got mixed up in our days as far as how long we were paid up for. We ended up paying for another night because we realized at nine that we were supposed to be out at eleven. Well, THAT wasn’t gonna happen. The lady in the office was nice enough to extend our Passport America benefit for another night too. So we didn’t even go to Quail Run at all, instead we used the day to do a thorough cleaning since it would be our last day with a water supply.

On Wednesday we moved to Quail Run and put the 5th wheel in a site that was pretty close to our park model. Then the back and forth, back and forth trips started. I had no idea we had so much stuff! And of course you want to take all of it. You never know what you might need right? At the same time you know that just isn’t an option and I just had to keep telling myself that its going to be stored right down the street so if I find that I absolutely have to have something I can get it.

Wednesday night we spent our first night ever in our park model. We were so exhausted we could have slept on metal racks with burlap blankets and been comfortable. Now that’s tired!

Thursday we finished up transferring the stuff we “forgot” and then spent the afternoon dealing with the Directv guy getting our dish service put in place. Quail Run has limited cable TV but we are now officially spoiled with our 250 channels. Of course we can only watch one at a time but its comforting to know that the other channels are there. How did we ever get by with just three channels? Remember when TV used to go “off” at night?

We are officially in our winter perch now. I even took pictures that reflect we’re “home”.

This evening friends Rick and Wendy Fury stopped over to visit. We met them here two years ago and have kept in touch ever since with emails and keeping up with each others blogs. It was great to see them again and to be able to spend another season with them.

Perfect ending to a good day? Phillies won!

10/11/2009 THIS has to go WHERE????

We started our day with a trip to Walmart. It was time to get shelves so that canned and boxed goods can go in here.

The previous owners left us one, but it isn’t enough.

So we bought new shelving, and when we got back I realized I didn’t get enough shelves, but at least enough for what I want to accomplish today.

Now into this cabinet I have to get THIS!

And I DID IT! Well, almost. I got 129 items into that cabinet!

Damn, I’m good!

10/10/2009 Ahhh, GIRLFRIEND TIME!!!

We did stuff around the house today but nothing worth writing about. My best part of the whole day was Saturday evening.

After dinner, LaVon and I went shopping. I wanted to buy a utensil canister for my kitchen and whatever else might jump out at me. We both had 20% discount coupons for World Market so that was our first stop. I bought an apron. My very first apron. I just finally got tired of dripping stuff on me that stained while cooking. Spattering oil doesn’t come out either so I thought it was time to invest in an apron. It only took me 30 years, can you say S L O W learner?

From there we went to Kohl’s and Target and a few other stores but I forget which ones now. I think I found my canister in Target. Plain white, goes with everything.

Time for ice cream! Oh. My. Gosh. Have you ever been to Cold Stone Creamery? This was my very first visit to this ice cream store and I can guarantee you it won’t be my last! I have never seen anything like this and neither LaVon or I had our camera’s with us! GASP! Oh how I wish I had. I will be going back with camera in hand. So we get in line and when it was our turn we test tasted the butter pecan ice cream. Yep, that’s the one for me and add pecans to it please.

The company uses in-store made ice cream that is combined with mix-ins…… nuts, candy or other items that are folded into the ice cream to make a new flavor. Cold Stone's name comes from the frozen granite stone, used to mix "mix-ins" on.

The young lady behind the counter asked me what I wanted, cone or dish and I opted for the waffle cone lined dish. What size??? Hmmm. what size? I had a choice of three: Like It, Love It or Gotta Have It. Well, gee whiz, the biggest one please! OH, WHAT A MISTAKE THAT WAS! I watched her scoop out a ball of ice cream bigger than a softball! A softball! Do you know how much ice cream that is? A LOT! A WHOLE LOT! Twelve ounces to be exact! She put it on the granite slab and got a scoop of pecans and started mixing it in. This ice cream is not hard nor is it soft. Its juuuust right.

I didn’t find out till later that we could have been entertained had anyone put money into the tip jar. In the spirit of having a good time while you work and to encourage customers to give tips, Cold Stone instructs employees to sing a Cold Stone song, usually to the tune of recognizable songs such as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame, "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad“, or "BINGO", when a customer places money in the tip jar. Lyrics include short, catchy phrases, such as, "This is our Cold Stone song, it is not very long". I’ll throw something in that jar next time.

I can’t wait to go back again and take Bob, he loves ice cream.

And yes, I ate it all. I don’t know how but I did. It was just so good I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t make it through the waffle cone liner though.

I really needed this “girlfriend time” and I’m so glad it was with LaVon.