Watch Time and I am in the No Buy Zone

I can't believe it!  Its midnight, and I am up watching Jim Skelton and Michael Davis on the Shop NBC network sell Invicta watches and I haven't purchased anything.   But that's not what I can't believe.

Its Raining!  As I type this, the sound is off on the TV, and I can hear the pitter patter of the sprinkles of rain on the fiberglass surface of the roof.  I haven't heard that in weeks, here in the desert.  In fact, this is only the second time I think it has rained since we arrived back in early December.

This afternoon, I was out to get that customary sandwich mid afternoon, and I rode over to the Mesa Swap Meet for a while.  I walked the B aisle for a while, from one end to the other.  Some day I really need to measure the length of the shopping concourse, but it has to be at least a 1/4 mile.  Of course as you wander around inside the booths and stuff, it isn't like you were on a force hike or anything.

I didn't buy much.  Well anything, except for three little state flags on a stick.  Kansas, Arizona and a US flag.  Then I didn't think to purchase the stand that they go into, and Loyce pointed out that error when I got home.  But Hey, I got the flags.

As I was riding home, I noticed that it was becoming rather cloudy in the West.  And once I had parked it became overcast during the sunset.  I slipped back outside and put the cover on the bike.

Then about the time that the football game was getting over, we heard the awning rattle the whole side of the coach.  I opened the door to find that the wind was blowing the palm trees rather briskly, and I retracted the electric awning.

And now the rain.  We are to have it off and on for the next several days.  Or not, as the case may be.  Often rain forecast never arrives here in the desert.  A non event.  But for sure, we will have much cooler weather with daytime highs in the 60s rather than the 70s and by Wednesday we are to have a daytime high of only 56.

Last year we were deluged with rain for about a week during the week just passed, so a few sprinkles and cool weather will be quite fine.  May slow the bike riding some but beyond that, only a minor inconvenience.

While they say partly cloudy, I will bet that the old desert sun will burn right thru by mid afternoon on most of the days next week.

Other than that, we had a somewhat slow day today, and Biscuit was upset that she had to sit still for Loyce to comb her out, after daddy got her all wet yesterday.  Most of the dust was gone, so she is partially presentable anyway.

Retired Rod

Biscuit is grungy again!

Today was a blur, and I'm not sure where it went.  I read some and worked on the computer to catch up on blogs.  Just like that it was after noon!

Biscuit was begging to go outside and wanted to walk once we were out there.  Off we went.  After about an hour of her pulling me and not walking like a nice doggy, she finally settled down.  Once back home she was absolutely filthy.

She literally wipes up the street as she does her dance and wild gyrations of excitement.  There seems to be nothing that I can do to settle her down.  I stop dead in my tracks and make her stop and settle down, but the second we start moving again she is wild all over again. Going the opposite direction does nothing, she just starts her wild gyrations up going that way.

When we got home she was covered in gravel and dirt, which caused the garden hose to come out.  She has never been hosed down before, and I was careful to cover the end of the hose and not spray her with it.  Rather the water dribbled out of my hand and she thought it was another game!  Puppies see the fun of most everything new!

I rinsed and rinsed, but it was in the mid 70s so she wasn't particularly cold.  Eventually I just gave up, as I didn't have any soap.  Of course Loyce was just horrified that I was out there drowning her baby!  I don't need to explain how that came out.

Later that afternoon, I was out joy riding on the motorscooter.  I was over at a neighboring RV park nosing around.  They have 5600 sites, and two golf courses.  I was told they are the biggest park in Arizona.  It just so happened that the fellow I was talking to was a farmer from South Dakota and a board member of his local cooperative.

Since I was an auditor for many years of Coops, and then an accountant working directly for one of the regional coops, I had a new friend.  I finally had to excuse myself to head on back.

Ah, another day in the life of a retired RVer!

Retired Rod

Biscuit wants to know?

But daddy, where are we going to today?  Can I go along?  I can!!! Yea!!!!

So with that we were off to the Phoenix Quilt,Craft & Sewing Festival !

This is over in the downtown area of Phoenix.  It is held every year at the Arizona State Fair grounds.  It is in the main exhibition hall, and Loyce really likes to go to it.  But she is out of luck to have me tag along inside the building.  I just mostly sit in the car and read, and Biscuit was lucky enough to get to stay with me.

But we didn’t just sit around, we decided to go to a Sam’s Club up on Indian School Road back over toward Scottsdale.  At first I couldn’t find it, and then after using the GPS to look it up as a point of interest, I found out why we couldn’t find it!

The building was completely empty, and had a for rent sign on the wall.  This building was built specifically as a Sam’s Club, and is quite recognizable even empty, so I can’t help but wonder what will become of it.

Well then, now where are we going to find that Sam’s Club?  So I began using the GPS in earnest.  There was one up North in Glendale, so perhaps we have time to go up there.  This time I followed the green line on the screen, since I had never been off the interstate in that neighborhood.
After about 30 minutes, we were up there, and low and behold,  What Gives Here?  Another completely vacant building that used to be a viable Sam’s Club.  This time I was becoming a tad perturbed. 

By that time we needed to get back to the center of town, as Loyce was finishing up at the fairgrounds.  Best show she’s been too all winter! As she didn’t come right out when we reached the appointed time.  We didn’t have any appointments to be late for, so it didn’t matter.

It took us almost an hour to get back out here to East Mesa, and that was on the Freeway.  By then we were beginning to see the evening drive traffic, and we were glad to be back home.

Once back here, I went over to Wal Mart looking for a prescription that had been called in much earlier in the morning.  After waiting in line to go to the window, they had never heard of it.  Calling the Dr’s office, the lady said we called it in!  No you didn’t, yes we did!  See where that was going!

I rode back over on the Motorscooter after about an hour had passed, to allow them time to get it filled
again, for the first time!  Are we having fun yet?

Retired Rod

Internet gone tonight until late!

We get disconnected from the internet around this end of town somehow. I see the little dreaded yellow spot on top of the indicator for the bars on my wifi.  I always have all the bars, because the wifi is in the front window of the motorhome, about three feet behind my chair.

The internet tower is right out our front windshield to the South of us about a stones throw away, so when you go look at your wan device on the router info screen, it always has all the bars as well.  So signal strength is not an issue here.  But still no internet.

I dropped and re connected the wireless card from the verizon server.  Still no connectivity.  Then I switched to the park's internet wifi tower.  I connected right away, but NO Internet!   This is starting to sound like something in this end of town, that is beyond my control.

Well, after about an hour, it just miraculously returned.  And it returned to both the verizon card and the local wifi all at once.  So off line around here is just that!  Off line!

I am totally lost when the computer doesn't work, so I just sit here and pout!!!

Today was busy, but I am not sure what I did.  I didn't go up to the country store in the activity center, even though the entire world came in our front gate at about 8 AM.  They start at 9 and need to be set up by then.  Since I can't eat the hot dogs after my surgery, the fun has gone out of the get togethers.  And I never could find anything I wanted at the actual swap meet.

What I did do, was to read Rick's blog about the Solution, and that shamed me into going out and dry washing the West side of the coach up as far as I could reach from the ground.  He suggested that I review how it works, and it does really well even wiping off the splattered desert mud on the lower parts of the rig.  But I have problems getting it to be completely streak free when I buff it out on the dark navy blue part of the coach.  Its all but black, and almost everything leaves a wax streak.  Especially the McGuires products of dry shine, which are similar but not quite the same.  The Solution is better and easier to wipe off than the McGuires.

I don't know what is in the solution, but it seems more watery and less waxy.  But all and all the microfibre cloth is dirty and the coach is clean, and that was the goal to begin with!!!!

Later in the day I rode the scooter around when it got into the mid 70's.  I ride the neighborhoods to our South over the freeway, just looking around at all the housing developments and the stores.

It was hot enough this afternoon, that I put on my shorts for the first time since last October.  But once the sun went down, they were not at all warm outside.  Its 52 as I write this at 11:30.

Tomorrow is another day!

Retired Rod