Saturday- We packed a lot of items for the rig. At before 11, we went to Costco for our booster shots. They had to defrost the vaccine, so we had to wait. Then the pharmacist had us wait 10 minutes to make sure we did not have a reaction. We picked up a few items and went to Café Zupas for lunch. This was the first time we have eaten inside the restaurant since the start of the pandemic.
We packed some more, read our books and had a quiet afternoon.
Sunday- We did our usual shopping. Both of our arms were sore, but other than that, we did not have any reactions. We basically had a quiet day.
Monday- I had Carolyn’s class in the calligraphy room in the morning and tangle art in the afternoon. Bob has been running back and forth to the rig making sure everything is ready to go mechanically.
Tuesday- Bob had his doctor appointment. His blood pressure has been up, so it was a re-check after the new medication. I have been checking it at home several times a day.
I had my morning at Grand Ave from 9-12. I returned home and packed some more.
Wednesday- Bob took the Kia to be detailed. It had not been done before we purchased it, other than getting the stain off the ceiling, and it was pretty dirty inside. I worked on cards all morning. I had my embroidery class in the afternoon. There had been an embroidery die cut I had wanted from AliExpress, but they have not had it. For some reason, they had it today, so I purchased it. Linda was looking over my shoulder, so she asked me to purchase another one of it, and several others for the club. AliExpress is in China, but the prices are so much less expensive (approx. $4 vs $40) that we purchase them from China, as they are the same ones. Unfortunately, the credit union freaked out. So I had to call them to say that yes, I had done this order. I still had issues, so I ordered each one individually. They take a long time to arrive, as you can imagine.
Thursday- We took the dogs to the groomers at 8AM. At 9, I had the Calligraphy workshop. I left at 11, and went to the Chiropractor. I stayed home in the afternoon, and worked on pricking some embroidery cards to take with me while we travel.
Friday- We had Posse in the morning. We turned in our time sheets before we left. We packed in the afternoon. Here is our new prickly pear cactus out front of the condo which is blooming.
Saturday- We had our usual Zoom at 11 AM today, as tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We had a quiet day at home with our Easter dinner from Texas Roadhouse!
Sunday- We did our usual shopping. We had a quiet day at home doing tasks around the condo. Bob was having a drug reaction to a medication that the Neurologist suggested that he take. He has stopped the medication.
Monday- I had Carolyn’s box making class. That was fun. Then tangle art in the afternoon.
Tuesday- Bob had his surgery scheduled for 9:30, so I dropped him off at the surgical center at 8:15. I went to Dollar Tree for some card making items.
I then went to the Posse Operation Meeting. That was over at 10, and I returned to the surgical center. I had to wait a ½ hour for Bob. He was still in surgery when I arrived. He did fine, and the surgeon took out 5 more of the lymphomas. We have no idea why they keep growing.
At 1, I went to the Posse and help Theresa with transferring pictures into the general file. Bob slept away the afternoon.
Wednesday- Bob went to Costco this morning. I was monitoring at the Bell Craft Club, and I trained a gal. She is going to be great! I had taken my lunch with me, and ate in the class room. I stayed for the embroidery workshop, helping Linda set up. After the workshop I went straight to a Chiropractor appointment.
Bob is doing well post-op, or I would not have left him! He had some swelling and the area was warm, but no infection.
Thursday- I had the Calligraphy Workshop this morning. Then I went to a nail appointment at 1. Bob’s arm is doing really well, no pain, redness or drainage. Just a little swelling. Bob is working on the rig, getting ready for us to leave.
Friday- We had our usual Posse morning. We had 11 vacation watches and we only had to call two people about leaving security doors unlocked. We have been trying all week to get our second booster shots, but no luck. We finally found appointments at the Costco pharmacy for tomorrow morning. Nowhere else had appointments available until mid-May.
We took the rig to the tire place for new tires for the back of the rig, at 2. At 4, they called to let us know that the valves were rubbing on the tires in the back. Bob was aware of this and has a work around for it. They said okay. After that, Bob drove to the RV storage and I picked him up there and took him to the tire place. He then drove the rig back to storage, when it was ready, and drove the Kia home.
I had returned to the condo, as I had baked brownies for this evening’s “hen potluck”. I got the brownies ready to go. Bob arrived home before I left. There were 18 ladies from the condo’s there, no men. We had a really nice time. I came home at almost 8, having left just after 5. Bob ate a tamale for dinner and watches some TV.
Saturday- It was our 34th wedding anniversary! We picked up the RV and brought it over to the condo. We loaded it up, and left at about 10:30 to drive to Apache Junction AZ. We had a reservation at Golden Sun RV Park, which is in our TT plan. We arrived before 12, and checked into our site. We ate lunch and took a nap.
We had dinner reservations at Barleen’s Dinner Theater in Apache Junction. We arrived to find our seats. On the table were pieces of a delicious chocolate cake. Baleen’s motto is, eat dessert first! They are known for their chocolate cake. Baleen’s is a family run theater, with generations of the family working in the theater, singing and playing instruments. From the cast introductions, we think the family can only date and marry musically talented people!
This show was the greatest hits of their season. They only have one more week to perform in Arizona, before some of the family goes to the Yellowstone area and the rest to Colorado to their other theaters.
The show was very good, with a mix of 50’s, 60’s, and country songs. Check out this guy’s hair!
The wine and beer were good and the food was very good! The 2 hour show ended at 9:30. Dinner had been at 6, but we were served at about 6:30. In case you were still hungry, at intermission, they sold ice cream sundaes. We did not buy the ice cream, but the sundaes looked tasty.
Sunday- We left around 10:30 to go into the Superstition Mountains to the town of Tortilla Flats, driving the Apache Trail. The trail went from Apache Junction to the Roosevelt dam. The road is closed 8 miles past Tortilla Flats, due to flood damage.
Superstition mountains Sign at overlook
Tortilla Flats was a stage coach stop in Arizona. Some people bought the town and have rebuilt it into an attraction. Unfortunately, the town in located in a flood zone, and floods during the Monsoons, every few years.
On the way into town, we stopped at an overlook of the lake made from the dam. On the way down the hill, there was a 5th wheel which was stopped on the uphill side of the road. We think his truck overheated. There are several campgrounds in the area.
View from overlook
We passed another 5th wheel chugging up the hill. We arrived in Tortilla Flats, which is about 2 blocks long. They have parking on the street and on the hill above the town.
Tortilla Flats
We wandered through the town and ate lunch in the saloon. The saloon has dollar bills all over the walls and ceiling. The saloon had burnt down in the 1980’s, burning up all the dollar bills which had been on the walls at that time, but that did not seem to stop people from donating more dollar bills for the building. Lunch was good, Bob had a Rubin and I had a grilled cheese. We both brought home half for lunch tomorrow.
Saloon with money walls
On the return drive, we stopped at Gold Mine, a tourist trap. It was fun to wander around anyway. We passed the Apache Junction Elks Lodge which had an RV park.
Gold Mine tourist trap
We took a nap when we returned. The temp was in the 90’s and of course, bright and sunny! We ordered Chinese for dinner. The wind was howling, and it was not nice for sitting outside.
Monday- We had a quiet day, reading and playing on our iPads. I had taken my Calligraphy with me to practice, and completed my 300 page book of tracing paper! Good thing I have another book to start at home! I participated in the book exchange in their activity room. Taking and leaving books.
The temp was in the 80’s, with a very strong wind, making it not a good day to sit outside. We ordered Mexican for dinner, as Mexican food is very good in Arizona, this unfortunately turned out not to be!
Tuesday- We packed up and got on the road right after rush hour, as the forecast was for the winds to pick up, even more. We made it home before it became too windy for travel.
We unpacked the rig, but it was too late to do much of the laundry. We have an electric plan which increases our rate between 3 pm and 8 pm. Luckily, they are changing the hours in the near future, to 4 to 7. We relaxed and had a quiet evening.
Wednesday- I had a 10:00 hearing appointment at Costco. I had made an appointment with Mario Flores, who did Bob’s hearing aids 5 years ago. I have some hearing loss, but not enough to justify hearing aids. Bob ran a lot of errands. He also made the appointment for new tires for the RV.
I had shopped at Costco and Fry’s and returned home for a quick lunch. Then I went to my card embroidery class.
Bob had the RV at the condo, as we had found that the satellite was not working on our shake down trip. Direct TV was scheduled between 12-4. They came and fixed a wire and it is now working. I had a chiropractor appt. in the afternoon.
Bob had also managed to get our reservation in Savanah GA, where we can leave the RV plugged in while we are in Hilton Head this May. One less thing to worry about!
Thursday- I went to the Calligraphy workshop. I left early, as I had the Bell Craft Club monthly meeting at 11. The meeting ended and I went into the Craft Room and got the paperwork to sign up to be a seller. I have to do more monitoring (which I do anyway) and of course the cards have to go through quality control. They do at Calligraphy also!
I had my last PT appointment at 1:45. We had a quiet evening.
Friday- Our Posse morning. We had 9 vacation watches. I ended up calling 5 of the families, because one had a shed unlocked. 4 had screen doors or gates left unlocked. The guy with the shed says he never locks it and one of the wife’s called me back to let me know they never lock their gates. Guess they are going to take their chances, but we have had a lot of thefts in the area! We think they are crazy, but it’s their problem!
We were called to a fire to try to keep the “lookie-loo’s” away and to watch the equipment. The fire trucks from Peoria and Surprise were also there. Turned out not to be much of a fire. The firemen put it out with a fire extinguisher. We had 5 other calls, so it was a busy shift.
Saturday- We had a quiet day at home. Nothing special.
Sunday- We did our usual shopping and had the weekly Zoom at 11. Another nothing special day.
Monday- I attended Caroline’s class. We made some boxes. Not my favorite, but still fun. This was in the Calligraphy room.
At 1 I went to Tangle Art.
Tuesday- We had the Posse General Meeting, with a funeral afterwards. It was for a gentleman we did not know, whose wife had been a Commander. We were all in uniform. We hung around to march in formation over to the funeral home. The Posse office is behind the cemetery. We had an all-female color guard leading the way! We left before the funeral service.
I had PT at 1:30. Bob had the Astronomy club in the evening and he went to the meeting. This is the first time he has attended in person for a long time. I watched a movie on Netflix.
Wednesday- It was pest control day, we one of us has to stay home. I went for a blood draw. They could not do the draw, as the Doc had written the order for after 4/16. I wish they had told me that! So I returned home and ate breakfast.
In the afternoon, I had card embroidery class.
Thursday- I went to the Calligraphy workshop until 10. Then I returned home, picked up Bob and we both went to our Neurologist appointments. He saw us both at the same time. Bob returns in a year; I return as needed.
At 2 I had PT. All week we have been packing to go on a “shake down” rv trip this weekend, to check to make sure everything is working.
Friday- Our usual Posse shift. The vacation watch numbers are slowly climbing, as people leave for the summer.
At 1, I had an appointment with the Nurse Practitioner for my medication renewals. He sent them in to our mail prescription company. I left there and went to Scraps of Love, which is a paper store. I took a class in how to make the following cards. The class lasted until 4.
Scraps of Love has an outlet store attached, so I had stopped in there first. Good thing, as I found what I needed. I could easily spend a lot of money at this store! The class ended at 4, and I went home exhausted from such a busy day.
Saturday- We had lunch with MaryAnne and Ray at Wildflower Restaurant. They have really good food and we could sit outside. We said good-bye to them as we will not see them again until September.
We stopped at Total Wine for Bob to pick up some beer. While Bob was shopping for beer, I stopped at Macy’s and purchased three tops. Then we stopped at the Farmers Market they have in the parking lot at the mall. We purchased a nice blackberry muffin for Bob and a lemon scone for me. We will have them for breakfast in the morning.
We had a quiet rest of the day.
Sunday- We did our usual run to Walmart. We had our Zoom at 11, then we ate lunch. I did laundry all day and Bob cleaned up the patio, as it gets a lot of leaves when the wind blows.
At 4:15 we left for the 6 pm concert at the Sun Bowl. Free of course. The band was Back Stage Crew. They are billed at “Arizona’s Premier Classic Rock/Variety Cover Band. One of the guitar players toured with the Monkees. He said the Davy Jones was the same height as he is, very short!
The last song was Sweet Caroline. That was fun, we danced it and looking back up into onto the grass seats in the Sun Bowl, and lots of people had their phones out and were waving the phones in rhythm to the song. It was lots of fun. The band next week is supposed to be the best of the season.
We had forgotten to plan ahead for dinner, so we both had quesadilla from one of the food trucks at the Sun Bowl.
Monday- I worked on my calligraphy and when it was time to get ready to leave, I tripped on the carpet again. Bob took the carpet out and it is in the garage, to be donated somewhere. I was pretty sore, but no broken bones. I spent the rest of the day relaxing. At least I can get up from the floor by myself.
At 3:30, we picked up Mary Ann and went to Costco with her. She cannot reach items as the shopping cart is taller than she is… she wanted a big flower pot like we had purchased on Saturday. Luckily they still had a few.
Tuesday- I had the Grand Avenue office for the Posse. We had a quiet morning. I had PT at 1:30. They were gentler with the workout since I was so sore. I am pretty bruised on my left arm and left knee.
At 4 pm, we left with Carol and Mary Ann, to go to the Wild Horse Café out in the desert. It is a biker bar type place, with excellent hamburgers.
We had a nice time visiting with condo members. The Canadians are leaving next week, so this was our last time to see them until the fall. I thought I had a picture, but evidently not!
The food was really good, and everyone except Bob was happy with it. Bob had ordered the chili and he said it tasted like Hormel! I had a patty melt which was excellent and I will order that again!
Wednesday- Bob had his appointment with the surgeon for his arm. I stayed home and worked on cards. We both had our Endocrinologist appointments at 1. She sees us together. We are both good for another year.
Thursday- I went to the Calligraphy workshop and worked on a few items. At 11, I went to my nail appointment. At 1:30 I had PT and the Chiropractor right afterwards. Bob has been working on some items for the motor home.
Friday- We had our usual Posse shift. We were busy most of the shift. At 2, I had a hair appointment. It’s been a busy week for both of us.
Saturday- I start out almost every morning riding the exercise bike, eating breakfast and practicing calligraphy. The online class that I am taking has left me weeks behind. It’s a good thing I do not have to keep up, as I am still on the beginning of the alphabet, small letters, and they are already starting the capital letters. Fortunately, the program is set up to move at your own speed.
Bob has been busy designing various wood projects on the computer. He completed this one, for one of the kitchen drawers.
When we moved in, he did these type of dividers for all of the utensil drawers. The one in this drawer had issues, so he redesigned the divider on the computer and created this one. It is much stronger.
He also built me a shelf for the laundry room. That was just a board that he painted.
At 11, we met up with Linda, Mike, Donna, MaryAnne, and Ray at Chompie’s. We were able to eat outside on the patio, as MaryAnne is still trying to quarantine as much as she can. Everyone else is vaccinated and boosted, but MaryAnne cannot take vaccines.
Chompie’s is a New York deli restaurant. They have indoor and outdoor dining. The food is excellent! Bob had a grilled cheese and I had an omelet. We left a little after 12, and returned home. The rest of the day was quiet.
Sunday- We did our usual Sunday shopping, first stopping at Costco for gas for the Highlander, $4.36 gal. At 1, we had the Posse Spring Fling. That was fun. As we checked in, we were given big signs with our names on them. The object was to meet more people. We sat at a table with Mary Ann and several of the other dispatchers and front desk gals. Dick and his wife, also sat at our table. Dick was the Thursday DO, when we were still on Thursdays. Now he is the 1st Lieutenant of Operations. We had a good time. They served a lunch of the giant subs (of course divided), with all the condiments. Then they had cupcakes on the tables, with jars of frosting and various sprinkles, so you could decorate your own cupcake.
After the lunch, they had us play a bingo card, where you had to add the name of a position that people worked. Patrol was not one, but since I work Grand, lots of folks put my name down for that. Then they gave away some prizes. All attendees received a coupon for a free Posse Mug. We don’t know when they will arrive. They were supposed to be there before the fling!
The rest of our Sunday was quiet, except for the weather. It has become very windy, most days. The temperature is also creeping up. Today was in the low 70’s.
Monday- I went to Diamond Painting this morning. I am hoping to get the wall hanging done before Darlene leaves. Otherwise I will work on it at home. The ladies in this class have their cliques, and it is not fun like the embroidery or the calligraphy are…
Darlene gives us ideas on what to do with our extra beads. This week it was book marks.
From 1-3, I was at Tangle Art. That is so much fun, and very relaxing. On the way home, I picked up Bob and we went to the Dairy Queen for their free cone day. They did not have chocolate, but they did have the twist of vanilla and chocolate. That was okay, as the price was right!
At 5:00, Jim and Diane picked Mary Ann and us up and we all went to the Sundial Center for the Next Gen Murder Mystery Dinner. The cost was $15 and it was catered. The dinner was BBQ pork and chicken with rolls, macaroni salad and potato salad, with cookies for desert. No bell pepper in anything that the caterer serves!
The show was written and directed by the president of the club. We knew several of the actors. It was definitely amateur, but it was still a lot of fun! The theme was a 50th High School reunion, in a small hick town. There was no scenery, just a place you could get your picture taken. The actors did wear costumes. We were home by 8:30.
Tuesday- Bob had the wood shop monthly meeting at 8. Then he went to Costco. He purchased gas for $ 4.36 gal for the Kia. He also found a spinner for the back yard. The one we had, blew over in the heavy winds we have been having. It also broke the pot. Bob was able to glue the pot back together, but it is damaged. Fortunately, we can just turn it around and you can’t see the broken area.
Bob sent me a picture of the spinner, and I asked him to go ahead and buy it. It was made by the same company, so he could use the same extension he had made at the metal shop.
I had my shift at the Posse Grand Avenue office this morning. I embroidered a couple of cards. I worked with Mary again this morning and we did a lot of talking. Nothing special happened while I was there.
I had PT at 1 pm. My hamstring tear is improving, slowly. I still sit on a pillow most of the time.
At 2:30, I met with Theresa at the Posse office. They were looking for someone to assist with Publicity. So I had volunteered. There are a lot of projects to do. Sometimes we will be very busy and other times there will be nothing to do. Right now, we will be working on name tags, as everyone will need new tags. They are adding a bar code to the tags, so they know who is in the building at all times.
Meanwhile, Bob had a 2:30 appointment with the Cardiologist. The surgeon required it for his arm surgery.
A catch up! My Mammogram was negative and Bob’s biopsy by the Dermatologist was basil cell carcinoma. He has a follow up for that with the Dermatologist, where they will widen the biopsy area. This is not his first basal cell. This has nothing to do with the lumps in his arm. He now has one in the other arm. He is not sure what he is going to do about that!
Wednesday- I had April’s last card making class until the fall. She leaves April 9th, to head for Oregon. She leaves early because of her mother’s birthday.
I was totally in a fog today. Evidently, the last increase of the Gabapentin hit me this day. I was having all sorts of problems. I realized it and did not take the noon dose of the medication. It took me all afternoon to recover. I was a mess! I sat on the couch and read, napping frequently. I see the Neurologist is April, but my feet are not really bothering me that much, so maybe he can decrease the medication or change it!
Bob made me a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, as I just sat.
Thursday- Early this morning, I ran vinegar through the dishwasher and Bob cleaned out the dryer vent.
I went to the calligraphy room to work on cards. When I walked in, April asked me how I was doing, as she had noted that I was in a fog yesterday. It told her it was the medication. She said she was really worried about me and that she would have called Bob, if she had his phone number!
I was okay today, back to normal. I was the monitor at the Bell Craft Club this afternoon. around 2, I went to the bathroom, and the two gals who were there said they would cover while I was gone. When I returned, they were trying to get the phone to work. It is an old land line phone, and green area for answer is no longer green and the red to end a call is no longer there either. I had to figure it the first time I monitored, but it is easy to answer the phone. Neither of them could figure it out! They also have to do their 4x a year monitoring, so I am not sure they could answer the phone while monitoring. Geez, it’s not that hard!
When I left at 3, I went to the Chiropractor. My back, shoulder and neck are doing so much better!
Bob went to the wood shop to work on a project. It was a quiet evening.
Friday- We had Posse this morning. It was our first day wearing shorts at the Posse this year! The temp today was 96!!
We had 6 Vacation Watches, one had left the front screen door unlocked, so Bob called the key holder and left a message for them to go over and lock the door. Also, there was a home that had cabinets in their carport. None of the cabinets had locks. Oh well, just waiting for someone to steal something. We had 4 medical calls. Only 1 went to the hospital.
We needed to assist in division 3 (we are patrolling division 2). The other Bob, had a person who was asleep in a car. So he had to call the DO and the two of them woke the guy up. He was visiting his mother at the house he where he was parked. Evidently he made it back to the house (a scary thought that he was driving impaired), but he did not make it into the house. They escorted him into the house.
At 1, I met with Theresa, back at the Posse office. They needed a volunteer to assist with Media Relations/ Publicity and I had volunteered. There is more to it than just getting info into the news paper. Theresa showed me how to take the photos of the members, resize them, and put them into a master file to get the name tags updated. I worked on that for a little bit less than 2 hours.
When I returned home, Bob and I watched Dolly Parton and James Patterson, live on an AARP video. It was sort of like Zoom. There was a question and answer section where people could ask questions that they then answered. It was about their new book together and a movie.
Since it was the yearly donation day at Jersey Mikes, we ordered subs for dinner. Once a year, Jersey Mikes does this and all the money from the sales that day go to Special Olympics. It was nice to know that the money goes to a good cause. Of course, I am sure they take a nice tax write off on the donation, but still, it publicity for both organizations and millions for Special Olympics. The subs were very good!
Saturday- I went early to Costco for gas, leaving as Bob was leaving, around 7:15. My tank was a little bit below half a tank. The gas was $3.95 and I put in $49.90. Whew! A big jump from the low $30’s for a tank.
Bob assisted the Posse with the Antique Car Show. He chose to do this, as he thought he would get a chance to see the cars. Nope, he was very busy directing traffic, and standing on his feet for 5 hours. They did feed him doughnuts in the morning and a burrito for lunch. Unfortunately, he did not get to see the cars. The show was a big hit for the attendees. While this was going on, they had the Pickle Ball tournaments going on, so the Posse was very busy. The Pickle Ball tournaments were Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Bob was exhausted when he returned home from the car show. I had worked on cards that I am going to sell, so I had a very busy morning. I have a lot of cards made, but I needed to make the calligraphy inserts. Then I had to put them together, put them in bags, and put the price tags on them.
Sunday- We did our usual trip to Walmart for groceries. There were no bottles of distilled water. It is really interesting what you cannot find. We could not find our usual low fat butter or low fat cream cheese.
We returned home and had a quiet day.
Sunday evening was the first concert of the season. We did not attend, as it was too cold for us to sit there. We heard that most of the people, who did attend, thought the concert was great, but when the wind kicked up, they left as it just got too cold to sit outside. The temp dropped overnight into the low 40’s.
Monday- We did an extra Posse shift as they needed help on the morning shift. We were covering Division 3, which is where we live, and it was busier in all three divisions, than usual. We had 3 medical calls, two of which we beat the fire trucks too. There were a lot of falls.
At 1, I had Tangle Workshop. Bob had gone and brought the RV over to the condo, so he could take the bike rack off, as they are going to need to get to the trailer hitch on Friday when we take the rig to the Blue Ox dealer. We take the Kia in on Thursday.
Bob could not find the key to the bike rack. It turned out it was in the Highlander. So I returned home with the key.
Bob was then able to get the bike rack off the rig. When he took the rig back to the storage facility, he returned with the Kia and parked farther away from the condo. I had to set my alarm to make sure that I moved the Highlander out of the garage before 7 in the morning. The condo is having the alley’s and parking lots re-paved over the next several days. We did not want to leave the Highlander outside, with the high number of catalytic converters being stolen. So we kept it in the garage overnight.
Tuesday- I moved the Highlander out of the garage at 6:30. Good thing I did it then, as they were already putting up the barriers. I just got around them in time!
Bob is still working on his wooden projects on the computer. Gary, who is teaching and testing him, called and set up the date for tomorrow for him to complete his next project.
I am practicing calligraphy, as I am taking an online class and I am trying to keep up.
I decided not to go to Maj this afternoon. I was just too busy getting cards finished for the sale this weekend.
Wednesday- I had April’s card class. We made 3×3 cards. These are nice little cards that you can give to a waitress, your mail carrier, or newspaper carrier. Lots of folks to say thank you too… I gave the black one, with the daisy, to Jose, the employee who did the NG and Oxygen Therapy for me. We also made the envelopes for these little cards. They cannot be mailed, as they are too small.
I had my PT evaluation at 11. The PT is married to a Chiropractor who is also in the office (not my chiropractor). All the billing goes through the doctor office. She says I can bike ride and wants me to walk in the pool.
Bob had his class at the Wood Shop. He passed the test and can now use the CNC Router machine independely. I had my card embroidery card workshop at 12.
Thursday- We dropped off the Kia at an RV facility in Surprise. They are putting on the baseplate and setting up the Kia to tow. I dropped Bob back at home.
Yesterday at the Bell Craft Club I purchased a packed of donated paper for $1. So I took that to the Calligraphy room and cut up the pieces of the paper to useable size.
I had to leave early to go to the Bell Craft Club spring luncheon. I had baked some brownies last night so they were traveling along with me this morning. We had a short meeting, then we had the party. The club supplied fried or baked chicken, and you brought a dish. It was a typical pot luck with way too much food!
They separated the foods. There was a salad table, a side table, the meat table and of course the dessert tables, all seperately around the room. After we ate, there was a comical fashion show. It was fun.
I had my nail appointment at 3. I have finally given up and did dip nails, as my nails are so thin, they end up breaking and painfully splitting. The thin nails come from both sides of my family.
At 5, I had a chiropractor appointment. I returned home and collapsed for the evening. We had leftovers for dinner.
Friday- We had the Posse this morning. It was a little bit less busy. We had 3 vacation watches, finished all our drive by’s, and we attended two medical calls. At about 10:45 we had a call to go to a home where a strange person had been in and out of the home. We arrived and introduced ourselves. The person who had been in and out was a Family Nurse Practitioner. It was a wierd situation. The guy had been sent out by a Home Health Agency, but he seemed strange with going in and out of the house. He left a kit in the home, which had a prescription pad in it and some medical equipment. We called the company and he no longer worked there. We told them we were taking the items to the Posse headquarters and that if he wanted them back, he was not to return to the home, but to pick up the items at the Posse Headquarters (base). The company confirmed who we were and said they would pass the information on. We asked the residents to call back MCSO, as they had also called 911. I neglected to say above, that the couple were both blind! They were scared. We told them to not open the door to him if he came back and to send him to the Posse to pick up his items.
By this time our duty was ended and we went back to base and wrote up the information. Bob did the writing and I wrapped the container in paper, labeling it with the information. I dropped it off in dispatch and explained what it was, in case he called. I do not expect it to ever be picked up, but we solved the situation.
The other Bob on Friday Posse, had been walking around one of the shopping centers when he heard someone cuss. It was a man who had tripped on a curb, and fallen. Bob went over, checked him out, and helped him up off the ground. It was a busy day for all three divisions.
We stopped at McDonalds and picked up lunch. We returned home, changed clothes, ate lunch, and took a nap. Neither of us had slept well last night.
At 3:30, we left to go pick up the car. We stopped at the storage unit, dropped off the Highlander, and took the RV to the RV facility. Bob met up with the sales person who took us around back, in the RV, to show us how to set up the Blue Ox tow bar. The guys were very professional. The bar is a bit different than the one we had on the ALFA. But it was the same basic idea. We set up the tow bar, and took off, returning the Winne to the storage unit.
Note the 10″ drop from the RV to the Kia
Bob disconnected the Kia and he drove that home and I took the Highlander home. By this time, it was almost 6. We were exhausted, so we ordered coconut shrimp dinners from Georges’. We ate dinner, and settled in for the evening, watching recorded shows, falling asleep in the recliners.
Saturday- It was a fairly quiet day for us. I worked on cards. Bob worked on his wood projects
Sunday– We did our usual Sunday grocery shopping at Walmart. We were able to by distilled water at Walmart this week. It is very interesting to see what is missing from the shelves. Some things are there and some are not. I am guessing this is happening everywhere.
Monday- I had my Mammogram this morning. Then I went to my new Chiropractor. I no longer have any pain in my shoulder after his last week’s treatment.
I had my last NG appointment. I did not realize it was the last one. After the appt. I stopped at the front desk to ask them to check on my PT order. The gal said that the insurance said that they did not have to approve it. I did not believe that! So I asked them to double check. They had sent the request in for the Neuropathy. It is not for neuropathy, it is for the torn hamstring, so I asked them to re-submit for the approval.
In the afternoon, I picked up Maryanne and we went to the Tangle Workshop. She had a great time. At 4, I went to have a nail fixed. The left thumb nail had torn. My nails are extremely thin. I take after my mother and grandmother with thin nails, and a split on the left thumb from my father!
Tuesday– It was the 1st Tuesday of the month, so we had the Posse General Meeting. It was the usual meeting, with reports from MCSO, the Fire Dept., and RCSC. The speaker was AJ, our real estate agent! He is the President of the Sun City Museum, which is located in the first house built and sold. He told us a lot of history of Del Webb, His tale was very interesting.
After the meeting Bob and I talked to AJ awhile. Then we left and returned home.
I had a 10:30 hair appointment. Bob has been working on getting the Kia set up to tow. He has been calling various Blue Ox dealers, trying to find one who will do the set up.
In the afternoon, Maryanne and I went to Mahjongg at Dorothy’s building. Dorothy is teaching Maryanne Maj, and she is hooked on the game. It is very addicting!
Bob had the Astronomy Club meeting in the evening. He attended via Zoom. I watched the State of the Union address.
Wednesday- In the morning, Bob had his Dermatologist appointment. I had several areas on his back that I was worried about and I circled them with a pen. He came back with several spots that she sprayed and two on his face. He had one biopsy.
I had April’s card class. Here are the two cards we made.
In the afternoon, I went to my embroidery class, then to the chiropractor.
Thursday- Bob stayed home waiting for the annual air conditioner check. Because we do it as a group, we get a really good price for the check. It went well with no issues.
I went to the Calligraphy room and worked on some cards. Before I went, I had put together some cards, choosing colors and ideas.
Canasta was cancelled this week, so I had signed up to monitor at the Bell Craft Room. Bob was monitoring at the Wood Shop at the same time. My shift was 12-3 and his was 12-4, so we drove separately.
Friday- We had our usual Posse shift. It was very busy. We had 6 vacation watches. Only one had returned home. We had 6 medical calls. We would have had 9, but three occurred when we were already on calls. Other people took our calls. In addition, we had a call for a wellness check. We arrived to find the man not answering the door. The front door was unlocked, but it is illegal for us to enter the home.
Bob walked around back and did not see anyone in the home. The neighbor came over. She went in and checked the house, finding that the man was not home. While speaking with her, the man arrived home. He was driving his car. He was not wearing any shoes and had trouble walking without his walker. He had huge blisters on is feet. He had returned from his trip to the Urgent Care, as he had forgotten his hearing aids. When he realized he had forgotten them, he returned home to get them.
He wanted to put his shoes on, but we suggested that he not put the shoes on, with the blisters on his feet, and suggested that he go to the ER. The neighbor spoke with a family member and drove the man to the ER.
In the afternoon I helped John with his Calligraphy class. Trudy was out of town, but will be back for the rest of the classes. The class went really well.
Saturday- We looked at cars again on the internet. There were none with a manual transmission. We looked from New Mexico to California. We found the perfect car on Carvana. It was in Florida. We actually tried to purchase the car, up until I looked at the sticker. It said automatic transmission. We ended up calling Carvana and having them check on the car, as the pictures showed a manual transmission. Darn, this car was an upgraded model with everything we wanted, except the transmission. Sigh…
CarMax had called last week and said that the car did not come with the hill assist. Everything else was fixed. We told them it was on the sticker AND on the Kia website, it says that ALL 2019 Kia’s have the hill assist. So it is currently at the Kia dealership having the hill assist repaired. We had a weekend plan for a shakedown trip in March, but we cancelled when the Posse asked us to do an extra day. We don’t think we will be able to get the car set up to tow by then.
The rest of the day was quiet. I now have Hallmark Now on the TV for the year, so I have been watching the shows while practicing calligraphy and doing puzzles.
Sunday- We ran to Fry’s and Walmart for groceries. Some of the shelves were empty both places. We had discount coupons for some items at Fry’s.
We worked on our usual budget and travel plans. We also looked for some other manual transmission Kia Soul’s. We could only find basically what we already have lined up. There was only 1 other one and it had more miles and was not as nice as the one we are waiting for…so we are still waiting.
Monday- I had my 8:30 NG treatment. Jose apologized for not being able to do it on Friday. I stopped in at the Bell Craft room and talked to some of the gals. I signed up for more monitoring, as there were some openings in March. No one had signed up for March 17 and I could not. I have a party at Calligraphy, as we did not have one at Christmas. That is in the morning and I have Mahjongg in the afternoon.
Bob has been busy working on his next wood shop project. He has to complete 3, before he can be certified on the machine. He is working on the computer part of the project.
CarMax called and said that the dealer said the Kia did not have the hill assist. So Bob called Kia, and spoke with a mechanic. No, the answer was that only the automatic’s have hill assist.
Tuesday- I had the Grand Avenue Posse office duty today. It was pretty quiet. Mary was sick, so I was called and asked if I did not be alone and if I had a key, which I do. I did not care if I was alone! I actually prefer it, as I get more done. I always take projects with me.
The Posse patrol from the area always stops in to use the bathrooms at Grand and to keep us company. It makes a nice break. Maria, who has been out with a hip fracture from a fall Christmas morning, came in, using her walker, to clean out her office at Grand. She does the Neighborhood Watch seminars for the home owners associations. So I helped her to pack up and take the stuff to her car. Someone will assist her when she arrives at Base, to set up her new office.
At about 11:30, a guy came in with a set of car keys. I got this name, address, and phone number; also where the keys were found. I called in to Base and one of the patrol guys came in to pick them up and take them to the dispatcher. I guess I will never know it the person got their keys back!
Bob arrived to pick me up. Today was Koda’s last class in Manners 3. Bob now has to get her tested to see is she can go into training to be a therapy dog. Here is her certificate!
We returned home, ate lunch and went to CarMax to buy the car. We used their financing, knowing that we could change over the next 7 days. On the way home, we celebrated by stopping at Creamery, a nitrogen ice cream shop. We split a chocolate brownie item. OMG was it awesome! We have had nitrogen ice cream before, in Indianapolis. This was the creamiest ice cream we have ever had!
We returned home and had a quiet evening.
Wednesday-I went to April’s card class. It is so nice to have two cars again!
I drove April home and checked out her craft room. She lives in one of the duplexes, and had turned her master bedroom into her craft room. Actually, it is more like a “she den”. She has thousands of dollars worth of tools and paper. It was really something! I picked up some Nanaimo bars. Straight from her freezer to ours. We don’t want to eat them now!!
Bob checked the Kia over. When he checked the oil, he found that it had too much oil. So he called and made an appointment with them to fix that. Also, he worked on getting a different loan. We had already been approved by Bank of America, so he set up the loan with them. The guy he was talking to, put it only in Bob’s name. Bob took the info down to CarMax. They would not take it, because it was not in both of our names. I raced back home, ate a quick lunch and went to my embroidery workshop.
At 2:30 I went to my next NG session. I returned home and we had a quiet afternoon. The temperature has dropped here. The mornings are in the 30’s and today the high was 60.
Thursday- Linda was having an “intro to card making “class in the Calligraphy room, so I did not go today. I worked on organizing the craft room. I needed more boxes, so we went to some of the estate sales. I found several and returned home to continue working on organization. The room and cabinets look much better, but I am not done yet!
Bob had a 1:45 appt. with the surgeon for his arm. He is in pain again, and will need more surgery to remove the tumors. They keep growing back. Fortunately, they are not cancer. Bob thinks, having done some research, that they are from some sort of trauma to the arm. He doesn’t remember how or when. Unfortunately, the surgeon got called into an emergency surgery, and could not be there. She called later in the evening and apologized to Bob and they talked about the tumors. He has an appt. on the 15th now for her to see him.
At 3:30 I went to a new Chiropractor, who Maria had recommended. I was very impressed. He did a lot of X-rays, then did some treatment. I have an early appointment on Monday to do a good review of the X-rays and see how he can help me.
We worked on the Bank of America loan again. I had to put in a lot of information, again, and we had to wait for the underwriter to approve the loan as there were two, to close together. So now it was just waiting.
Friday- Posse morning. We were busy. We had 1 vacation watch. Posse always goes one day after the people leave, to check for unlocked doors and windows.
During the morning, I received an email that the loan was approved. So Bob made an appointment for us at 2 PM to sign the new paperwork at CarMax.
We had 5 medical calls, 4 for falls and one for a confused person. One they did not transport to the hospital. They spent a lot of time with the person, so we think they might have refused to go.
We were late returning to base, because our last call was after 11. It was a fast one, so we were able to go straight to base. We turned in our 1 vacation watch form. I took the ice pack back to the refrigerator in the kitchen area. There was a fresh chocolate cake there from the New York Bakery. There went the diets! I told Bob and we went back to have a piece. Bob said, whatever they charge for the cake, it is well worth it. It was delicious. These cakes are donated by the bakery to the Posse.
We left the kitchen and down the hall was Joe, on the floor. We raced down. He said he was okay. He has been using a walker since he had Covid, and a leg gave out. We tried to get him up but couldn’t. I went to the briefing room and called for help. All the guys came and they assisted him off the floor. They put him in a chair, to relax and regain his balance. I was not happy, as it was a chair on wheels, but that was the closest chair. We let him relax and checked on him before we left. We think he was the “officer of the day”, who hangs out and answers questions for the receptionist and dispatcher. Needless to say, he is no longer doing patrol.
We returned home, ate lunch, and walked the dogs. We were off to CarMax for our BOA signing. What a pain! Had we known, CarMax does BOA loans and we could have just done this there in the first place. Anyway, we had to return the car, and they re-sold it to us. It moved along, at a turtles pace, as there was so much paperwork. They also had to look the car over. They had also taken care of the too much oil issue.
We finally left and returned home. It was after 5 by this point. Bob fed and walked the dogs. Since the mask update by the CDC, we decided to go out to dinner for the first time in two years! We went for a romantic dinner at a local Italian Restaurant we had been wanting to try. We even had a candle on our table. We saw our neighbor, Rosie there on a date! The restaurant was very crowded.
Here is a picture of Roxie just hanging out and of Bob’s painted workbench.
Saturday- We were frustrated with CarMax, as we had not heard back from them. Bob had called both Arturo and left a message for the sales manager. No one called us back yesterday or this morning. So we decided to drive to CarMax. We stopped first at Lowes to pick up some paint and other items. They did not have quarts of paint. The shelves were bare. Bob was able to get the other items he needed. The paint employee told us she had checked the other stores for what we wanted, but none had the quarts. We do not need a gallon.
Then we stopped in at CarMax. We asked for Arturo, but he was not working, so we asked for a sales manager. Brandon, who had moved the car the other day, remembered us. He checked on the car. While we were waiting for Brandon to look the car up on the computer, Arturo texted me. So they are still working on the car.
We returned home, ate lunch, and Bob went to Ace Hardware for the paint. Then he went and bought flowers for me for Valentine’s Day. (Big smile!)
We watched another episode of Reacher.
Sunday- We went to Walmart early, then stopped at Bash’s to get distilled water. They seem to have it every other week.
Bob worked on some tasks, I did laundry, and we worked on our travels. We watched Reacher in the evening.
Monday- I had the next NG appt. this morning at 8:30. Then a mani/pedi at 9:30. I did the Tangle Art at 1. I am missing my buddy Carolyn. She texted that she and her hubby had tested positive for Covid. So she is out at least 2 weeks! Bob had been working on painting his sign for his work bench.
Tuesday- We had the Posse Operations Meeting. Wow, lots of great changes. Randy spoke again. We were really impressed with the meeting. We rushed back, Bob took the dogs out, and then he took Koda to her next class. He returned at about 12:15 and at 12:40 I picked up Diane and we went to Mahjongg at Dorothy’s. I won one time, but I had a great time playing and laughing.
Wednesday- I had April’s next card making class. That was fun.
I returned home, ate lunch, and went to my card embroidery class.
At 2:45, I had a follow up appt. with the Doctor to find out about the MRI. I have a moderately torn hamstring, with some small tears in the muscle. Just to let you know what the hamstring is, “Three muscles run down the back of your leg, from your thigh to your knee — the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus — and help you bend your knee and extend your hip. As a group, they are known as the hamstring.” Part of my tear is at the hip joint, where the muscle joins. The Doc asked me if that area hurt. Nope, just in the center of the back of my thigh. Needless to say, I carry a pillow with me at all times, as I cannot sit comfortably without it!The Doctor said absolutely no exercise until I see the PT. No more bike riding. Sigh….
Thursday- I had the Calligraphy Club meeting. Since I am publicity chair, I had to tell them what I had done over the month. Basically getting information up on the website and updating the flier for the room window.
At 1, I played Ponytail Canasta with the Next Gen ladies. We arrived to find ourselves locked out of the room. We have it booked for every Thursday from 1-4, one week we play Canasta and the other week we play Mahjong, except for the 5th Thursday in the month, when someone else uses the room. The Lawn Bowling group were given the room for a luncheon today.
The room was empty, but the long tables were set up instead of the square card tables. So one of the gals went to the lawn bowling group and asked them if they were done. They were, so we went in and played on the long tables.
Bob has been back and forth to the Wood Shop. He even put the basket on his bike and rides his bike over to the shop.
Friday- We had the Posse today. We had three medical calls, two right in a row. No Vacation Watches. We were a bit late going back to the Base, so I changed shirts at the Posse. Then Bob dropped me off for my next NG treatment.
Jose was running late, so finally, I just went up to the desk and had them delete this appointment and add it to the end of my treatments. Bob was still eating his lunch in the car. I had to run to the Calligraphy Class. We had a Master Calligrapher teaching this class. She is a certified professional. It was fun. Each class, we are trying different pens and different fonts. I liked this pen, better than last weeks. Trudy and John are going to purchase more pens for us to try. This was the last class of the series. I am still working on a free online class. I try to practice each day.
Fridays are always so busy, I come back really tired and fall asleep in the recliner, but this week, while we were on our rounds, we stopped in and picked up a library book I had ordered, that had just come in. I had finally gotten up to #1 on the 200 person list for the latest Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum book. Her books are always great for a laugh! So I started reading the book.
This evening when Bob took the dogs for their after dinner walk, he had a big issue. There is a large, untrained, unleashed dog on 102 Ave. The owner just opened the door and let the dog out. It came after our dogs and Bob. Bob Actually took the dogs out in the street to get away from this dog. The dog was barking, growling and had the hair on his back up. That is a sure sign of a dog issue. Bob was angry and scared for our dogs. This is not the first time this has happened with this dog and owner. The owner just said, “oh he’s friendly, he won’t hurt anyone!” Bob has also had a problem with the wife, who is very petite and cannnot handle the big dog. Bob told the guy it is against Maricopa County regulations to allow a dog out without a leash to control the dog. He of course just ignored Bob.
Bob was still upset when he got home, so he called the Posse to intervene. We knew the gal who showed up, it was one of the Board Members, Toni. She went over to talk to the guy. We will see what happened over the next week. Bob was still so upset, he did not sleep well this night.
bobanddenisewanderlust 