bobanddenisewanderlust

Saturday- It continues to rain hard, it is windy and basically miserable! I got into the shower this morning and the water started out hot and quickly became cold. We have the propane hot water tank, which has 8-9 gallons of hot water that we use for washing dishes etc. Then we have the Hydro-hot, for showers and where we have ongoing electric. We have only been turning the Hydro-hot on for showers. If the propane heater is not working, then the Hydro-hot does not work. So Bob turned on the diesel Hydro-hot for his shower. It took me a long time to get warm!

We made Tortilla Soup in the crock pot for lunch. I worked some more on scanning. Bob made dog food.

We ate the soup and took a nice nap. The weather forecast kept getting worse, so we ran over to the storage unit  to get our snow boots. At this point they are predicting 5-10 inches.

On the way back we stopped at the Lodge for happy hour then dinner. Tonight it was chicken fried steak with mash potatoes, gravy and corn, with a side salad for $6, We ate dinner with the RV’ers. Almost everyone was there.

We returned to the MH and Bob realized that the propane water heater was working, then it was not, again. We had just had the board replaced in it last week. Since it is supposed to be really cold, we have a problem with the Hydro-hot when it is cold. There are glass tube inside, so we have to make sure that it is running in the cold to keep the tubes from freezing with water in them. So Bob went out and drained the propane heater and used the by-pass that we had installed for Breckenridge. So when we need to use the water, we have to run the pump. He had also disconnected and put away the water hose so that it would not freeze. We did not expect it to be this cold here, especially in May!

Bob had to go out one time to clean off the satellite dish so we could watch TV, since it started to snow at about 7 pm.

We turned on the propane heater and the floor warmers which work with the Hydro-hot and we have been toasty warm. We have a sheet, a blanket, a quilt, and duvet on the bed. Plus with two dogs under the covers we were nice and warm all night. We even turned the heat down to 65  to sleep well.

Sunday- We woke up to 4-5 inches of snow. We put on our boots and the dogs jackets, since it is cold, 29 when we woke up. We are not used to this cold weather! LOL. I did not think I would be wearing my winter boots again!

We fed the dogs and went to the Mothers Day Breakfast at the Lodge. Mothers eat free, everyone else is $8. A great breakfast with some wonderful watermelon, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits with gravy. We sat with Marilyn and Jerry. Marianna was working the breakfast; Noel and Julie stopped by.

From the left, Marilyn, Noel, Marianna, Julie, and Jerry.

Marilyn, Jerry and Bob are going to the Rangers game to pass out scarfs to the mothers from the Elks. This is a volunteer Elks project. I would go, but it is too much walking and standing.

I stayed home and  did a lot of nothing! Bob returned, we ate dinner, and watched some TV.

Monday- I headed off to my Chiropractor appointment. Bob worked on some stuff around the MH. I returned and we worked on trying to print Bob’s paperwork for his MRI tomorrow. We have the printer set up to scan to my computer, but for some reason neither of us were able to get my computer to print the paperwork. We ate lunch and I went to play Mahjongg. Bob finally was able to get my computer to print out his paperwork. We went to the Lodge for happy hour as it was still cool, but at least we had sun today!

Tuesday- I did a lot more of the scanning. Bob headed off to his MRI. He returned and we went to the Lodge for lunch. They have great sandwiches!

We took a nap this afternoon, then went to happy hour in the small pavilion, as the temp was in the 70’s. Thunderstorms crept up, and we sat under cover while the storm passed through.

We ate dinner and Bob went to the Lodge meeting. I read my book.

Wednesday- We had decided to get new phones. Bob’s battery did not last until 11 AM. Mine only lasted until around 1:30. I have dropped my phone so many times it is acting wacky. The batteries cannot be replaced. We are eligible for an upgrade, but we have to be really careful so that we do not lose our unlimited data. We only received these phones a year ago while we were in South Bend. So we contacted the guys at the Verizon dealer that we deal with, and discussed the Samsung S5.

We left at 10:15 to go to Boulder to the Celestial Seasonings Factory Tour.

We arrived at about 10:50 and the place was mobbed. They had 150 school kids who went through for a field trip. We did not see too many of the kids, but it backed up the regular tour. Our tour tickets were Blueberry Tea packets that they were giving away.

The tour started with a movie about Celestial Seasonings. The company started in 1979 with some folks who started using herbs to add to tea. They built this company from the ground floor. This is the only factory that Celestial Seasoning has. Our guide was Steve, who has worked there from almost the start of the company. He started in production and then moved to the small company store. He kept getting asked about tours, so when they built the current building, they added tours and expanded the gift shop. Steve is in charge of the tours and the guides, but with all the school kids,he gave the tour today. He was very good. No pictures where allowed.

The process starts with sorting, then milling the various ingredients. They used Lemon Grass in most of the teas and as soon as you walk into the factory, the lemon smell hits you. They acquire the various ingredients from across the world, working with farmers in 50 countries.

They also make regular black, green and white teas. Our second stop was in the regular tea storage room. The third stop was in the peppermint room. They keep the peppermint tea separate from all the other teas as the peppermint is overwhelming. It will make your eyes water, the smell is so strong.

He then walked us around the pallets, the boxing of the boxes, the film they put on the individual boxes, and the boxing line. Their biggest production time is in the winter, so they are slowing production. They usually run 24 hours a day and produce 4 types of tea at the same time. Right now they were just producing Lemon Zinger.

SleepyTime is their biggest seller! The tour took about 50 minutes and we ended in, of course, the gift shop. They have a very nice gift shop. We wandered through, then returned to the tour entrance room, where we sampled teas.

We left at a little after 12, and went to downtown Boulder for lunch. Celestial Seasonings has a nice café, but we had pre-planned to go to  Foolish Craig’s for lunch. It is located on Pearl Street, about 2 blocks from the Pearl Street Mall. They opened n 1998, and have been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. We had not seen the show, but they are known for their Crepes and Omelets.

The restaurant is small, and is also known for their craft beers. They have only microbrews on tap, but Bob did not have any beer. Bob had a Duxelles Crepe, 2 kinds of mushrooms, onions and 2 kinds of cheese. I had a pick your own Crepe with pepper jack, mushrooms, onion and turkey sausage. Both were excellent. We will go there again! Bob said it would be worth a trip there just to go to the restaurant!

We stopped at the Verizon store in Boulder and looked at the Samsung S5. We liked this model. We drove back to Westminster, stopping at the Library to pick up books, on the way home. We called our Verizon provider back and asked more questions. Then we ordered the phones. They had to call us back as their Verizon connection went down.

We left and went to happy hour at the Lodge, meeting up with Jerry, Marilyn, Maryanna, and Julie. Fred arrived after work and Paul arrived late. We decided to eat dinner at the Lodge. We both had the fried chicken. It was okay, but I would not have it again. We returned to the MH and relaxed for the evening.

Thursday- I left at about 8:50 to go to the nail salon for my mani. I tried to start the CRV and it tried to turn on, but couldn’t do it. I tried again, nothing. So I returned to the MH and told Bob. We called Good Sam and they wanted to know if the radio worked. So I went out to see. The CRV started right up. So we cancelled Good Sam and left the CRV running.

Bob called Marianna to see if she knew a good mechanic. Bob assumed that it was a electrical system issue, as we have a new battery. She had to call Paul for the number, as he had their card. So Marianna and Paul both showed up. Typical of a RV park, someone has a problem and everyone shows up.

Bob tried several places and no one could take the car today. He finally found a NAPA place that told him to check back after 12.

I had called to cancel my mani, so I called a car dealer about the car we are interested in…. We had found that Costco has a used care buying service. So we thought we would give that a try. We did a lot of checking and finally found a car in Longmont. The Costco dealer did not have what we were looking for….

After lunch, Bob took the car to the NAPA guy. He checked the electrical system and there was nothing wrong with it. He checked the battery and scratched his head when he saw the 4/15 date. We had a bad battery. No charge for the visit!

Bob returned home and dug out the receipt for the battery, changed shirts, took his equipment and went to Costco. He went first to returns and returned the battery, then he took the cash that they gave him and went to the battery department and gave them the cash for the new battery. He went out in to the parking lot and put the new battery in and returned home.

We went to the Lodge for happy hour. Today was Marilyn’s follow-up appointment for her Lymphoma cancer. She had her first appointment in April, she had the cancer 2 years ago and the April appointment was for follow-up. They had found shadows on her lungs, so she had a bone biopsy and CT scan. She went today for the results. We have all been very worried, but the oncologist said that it was okay. She received a referral to an Infections Disease doctor to rule out Valley Fever. Bob looked at her and said her face is completely different today. She actually ate also. She has been stressed and depressed while she has been waiting to hear the results. We all rejoiced!

We were not planning to have dinner at the Lodge this evening, but it was Taco Thursday. They have $1 Taco’s. So we stayed for dinner. We ran back to the MH to feed and walk the dogs.

At 6 PM, there was a mandatory meeting for all of the RV park residents. There have been a lot of issues this year, primarily with two folks. Ann, who is parked next to us, was the Host last year. She was fired for many reasons. She has been causing a lot of problems for Noel and Julie. She has also been ignoring all the rules. Then there is a couple who are staying in a smaller trailer at the top of the hill. They have been also causing problems, and they are friends of Ann’s. There is also someone who has not been cleaning up their dog poop. Not us, we always pick up.

So the Board of Trustees met with us to lay down the law. This was mainly aimed at the two problem folks, but they are starting at a baseline. There was a warning that you will be asked to leave or escorted off the property by the Board or the police if the behaviors continue. Okay, we will see what will happen.

We returned to the MH by about 6:30 and settled in for the evening.

Friday-  OMG what a day!

We each had a 9:30 appointment at our PCP office in Arvada. Bob had his Vitamin B12 shot and I had my pre-op blood draw. We arrived early, because I also had a 10:30 Orthopedic appointment in Golden, as this was an appointment because my left knee is just killing me…. the surgery was scheduled for the right knee. 

They took us in right away and so we were done by 9:20. Now we had too much time. We headed towards Golden and stopped at the King Sooper in the Apple Jacks parking lot .We picked up fruits and vegetables, since we needed items that did not need to be refrigerated.

We arrived at the Orthopedic  MD office. I was seeing the PA, Jeff, as I could not get an appointment with Dr. Foran. We discussed alternatives. When I had seen Dr. Foran in April, we tossed back and forth on which knee to do first. Since the right had been bothering me all last year, we went with the right knee.

Now the left is much, much worse. I am afraid that I am not going to be able to do the physical therapy due to the left knee pain. So, after a set of X-rays, we decided to change the surgery to the left knee and do a steroid injection during the surgery, in the right knee. Then I can do the right knee in August. We are so looking forward to getting all this behind us!

We left the Orthopedic MD office at about 11:45. Bob checked for somewhere to eat lunch. He found a place in Wheat Ridge, right off of I-70 called Big Marge’s Philly Cheesesteaks. It had really good reviews on Yelp and had been voted the best cheesesteaks in Denver.

The restaurant was located in a little strip mall. They are expanding the restaurant, which is always a good sign! We both ordered small subs, about 6”. They were very good.

We returned to the MH and while Bob walked the dogs, I called Longmont Ford. We have been looking for a pre-owned Ford Edge for months. We know exactly what we are looking for, and we had found one at this dealership yesterday. So I called and the car was still there. I had checked reviews for the dealership and the salespeople, so I knew who to ask for. The reviews had been good.

So we drove north. Longmont is located about 30 miles north of us off I-25. Longmont  which is about half way between Denver and Ft. Collins. We arrived, looked at the car, did a test drive and decided to purchase it. It is a 2013 Ford Edge Limited with 22.5K miles on it (white) and was the right price. The car had been a lease vehicle and looks brand new, except for a couple of small dings on the right front fender. The dealership was pretty good. Not a lot of back and forth giving use heartburn. Nothing anything like the dealership in Peoria AZ that we had so many problems with.

Since we were paying cash we had to figure out how to manage all of this. The dealership had called our insurance company, so that was all taken care of before we we left the dealership. We also called the mail forwarding service in Sioux Falls and spoke with Karen, the car registration person, about how we do the South Dakota transfer. We do not have to pay Colorado sales taxes. We have to take the plates off the CRV and hold them. We will be using a Colorado temporary tag until we can get the registration taken care of; we will be paying the 4% ( up from 3% when we were in AZ) sales tax in South Dakota when we register the car.

We drove back to Westminster. We stopped at an Enterprise rental place, but they did not have any cars available. The one closer to the Elks Lodge did, so we stopped there to rent a vehicle. Bob called ahead and they had a car. So much for the $9.95 weekend rentals. They were all gone. So I asked for a less expensive rental than they were giving us and they had a small Nissan Frontier pickup we could use for less money. I also asked for the AARP discount. So our out the door price was $52 for overnight.

Bob took the pickup back to the MH to feed and walk the dogs. I went to the Walmart Neighborhood store to pick up my prescription. While we were with the car salesman, the phone rang and it was Walmart calling to say that our insurance said that we were not covered for prescriptions. When Bob dropped off the prescription for me he had shown the gal our insurance card. Evidently, she brought up on the computer, United Health Care, saw Express Scripts and tried to put the medication through Express Scripts. On our card, it very clearly states, Caremark/CVS. Grrr! So I arrive and the pharmacist checks the card and puts it through.

While with the sales person I had also rec’d the robo call that the medication was ready and a call from the MAC center. We had signed up on a waiting list for tickets to the Book of Mormon. The gal was calling me because they had gotten a new set of tickets for a different performance on September 3. I immediately said yes and gave her my credit card number! $59 each, including round trip transportation from the MAC center to the play. A really good deal!

The dealership would only give us 3K for the CRV and we knew, since Bob had gotten an appraisal in Phoenix for 7K, that we could get more for the vehicle. We went back to CarMax, which was almost next to the first Enterprise car rental place, for another appraisal on the CRV. We expected it to be a little bit less than the quote in Phoenix, as it was almost 5 months later, but it still came in at 7K. So we spent $52 to save 4K! Not bad…

It was almost 7 pm by this time, so we stopped next door at Panda Express for something to eat, then headed home with leftovers. We went to bed early after an exhausting day!

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