Today was a lovely day weather wise here in the Coachella Valley. There were a few small clouds in the sky, but then they burst apart, turning the lower part of each cloud into wisps, it was fascinating to watch. I hit the pool around 4:00 PM, the sun had moved off the pool, but of course the pool was still lovely and warm. Just brisk when I came out and walked home wet. Water temp was 90ish, and the air was around 72. Lary was about 1/2 hour ahead of me, lovely to be in the pool and hot tub.
We were just taking it easy and preparing to go over for our first practice for the Renaissance play this morning when we were called up on the phone, we'd been given the wrong rehearsal time, and had to dash off to meet our fellow actors, and start run throughs. It was fun meeting new folks over at Healing Waters Park, about 5 to 10 minutes from us here, we stayed about 2 hours, then got the rest of the practice times and dates given to us. Lary is to be a Scottish minstrel with only 1 line of speaking, I am an English jester with quite a lot of speaking lines, and I kind of direct the flow of the play, players and guests, so a bit more demanding. Lary and I will have a flute duel, for the honour of our respective countries, Scotland and England. There will be a luncheon, the affair starts at 1 PM on both Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 and 8th.
Tonight I sewed Lary a tartan sash, he really gets into the role and his brogue flies about, and I also let out the jester costume for me, it's kind of a sleazy nylon material, I am adding a piece to the back as its size was nowhere near mine!!!! My sewing machine is getting a workout.
Our park is busy getting ready for tomorrow's meal, the park cooks turkeys for all participants in their communal dinner, and each table of folks organizes and brings all the side dishes they want to go with the turkey, stuffing and gravy provided by the park. What a great idea for folks to get together, but not have the personal worry of the turkey cooking chores. An interesting aside is that we are not allowed to have electric stoves in our units, there isn't enough electricity strength in the park, so we all have propane stoves.
I finished typing the minutes from the entertainment committee, distributed them, and enjoyed a day not totally jammed with the usual activity. It's kind of peaceful, I imagine that a lot of folks have left here to head out to relatives, as we will do also.
Tomorrow we head out to my Aunt Penny's in Dana Point for Thanksgiving with her very big family, children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren. We are staying the night in San Juan Capistrano, a nearby community which we may visit the following day if it's not too busy with other tourists. The journey is about 2 hours, but it's a very busy day traffic and travel wise on the American roads.
That's it for now, bye and thanks for visiting.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Nice warmer weather today, in the 70s
Today was a lovely weather day, sunny and bright, temps in the 70s, with the scenery continuing clear from the rains that washed away the dust out of the air. We went over to meet our flute teacher and dear friend Annie, and we three went out for lunch. We ate outside on the patio of the Fish Market in Palm Desert, it was delicious food, and we really enjoyed our catch up with Annie. We arranged to have weekly flute lessons once again, as we both really enjoy that. The bougainvillea at Annie's and indeed all over the valley is absolutely gorgeous this season, Annie has a 12 foot thick mountainous wall of the most lovely fuschia colored burst of flowers. So impressive.
Yesterday heading out of our park and on into Desert Hot Springs we witnessed a dreadful car accident, somebody traveling straight along Dillon Road was hit very, very hard by a car attempting to turn left into Desert Crest park, and the car going straight along Dillon was shoved very forcefully into a solid brick wall. They were Hispanics in that car, and there were 2 children plus mum and dad. Both children were pulled out by the father, but very seriously shaken or even perhaps hurt very badly, it was awful, it happened so very quickly, in an instant, and the wreckage was incredible.
We were pretty well right behind the car belonging to the Hispanic people, but a way back, thank heavens. The speed limit is 55 mph, which is pretty considerable, when you factor in all the parks and roads that feed onto Dillon, itself quite a heavily traveled main road.
Amazingly an emergency vehicle was coming along just behind us, so they stopped to give assistance. We parked for a while, then gathered ourselves together and continued on into DHS. But we were both really shaken, and realized that you can never let your guard down, even a couple of blocks away from your own home. Always be proactive in your driving. And always wear your seat belt. Folks stopped to offer assistance, and others directed traffic around the two disabled cars. It shook me all afternoon, really made an impression on me and Lary, too.
Today I bought some clothes on sale at JC Penney's, as did Lary, great sales there, and then I went into to say hi to my hairdresser Simon. The lady at the reception desk told me he had died recently, he was perhaps in his forties, and had cancer of the jaw when I was here last season. Such a shame for him, he was a Brit, and tons of fun, really crazy and wacky. Very outspoken, with a madcap sense of humor. I will miss him a lot, so very sad.
We went to Time Warner again and got the cable modem for the internet at the rental, then did a bit of other business, and came home. We have 4 months of rental this year, thankfully, when we can't seem to sell it.
Got some fun emails from friends to read. The house looks so much better inside now, we banished the white plastic set of drawers into the bedroom cupboard, and will move the computer desk also, then decide what else we need in the way of seating here in the living room, either a barrel type swiveling chair, or a small loveseat, whichever fits and will look best without looking overcrowded. It would be grand to have seating for 4, but we don't want to look overcrowded once again. We can turn the dining room chairs around and use them, but it's not quite the same as a comfy place to sit.
That's all my news for today, thanks for dropping by.
Yesterday heading out of our park and on into Desert Hot Springs we witnessed a dreadful car accident, somebody traveling straight along Dillon Road was hit very, very hard by a car attempting to turn left into Desert Crest park, and the car going straight along Dillon was shoved very forcefully into a solid brick wall. They were Hispanics in that car, and there were 2 children plus mum and dad. Both children were pulled out by the father, but very seriously shaken or even perhaps hurt very badly, it was awful, it happened so very quickly, in an instant, and the wreckage was incredible.
We were pretty well right behind the car belonging to the Hispanic people, but a way back, thank heavens. The speed limit is 55 mph, which is pretty considerable, when you factor in all the parks and roads that feed onto Dillon, itself quite a heavily traveled main road.
Amazingly an emergency vehicle was coming along just behind us, so they stopped to give assistance. We parked for a while, then gathered ourselves together and continued on into DHS. But we were both really shaken, and realized that you can never let your guard down, even a couple of blocks away from your own home. Always be proactive in your driving. And always wear your seat belt. Folks stopped to offer assistance, and others directed traffic around the two disabled cars. It shook me all afternoon, really made an impression on me and Lary, too.
Today I bought some clothes on sale at JC Penney's, as did Lary, great sales there, and then I went into to say hi to my hairdresser Simon. The lady at the reception desk told me he had died recently, he was perhaps in his forties, and had cancer of the jaw when I was here last season. Such a shame for him, he was a Brit, and tons of fun, really crazy and wacky. Very outspoken, with a madcap sense of humor. I will miss him a lot, so very sad.
We went to Time Warner again and got the cable modem for the internet at the rental, then did a bit of other business, and came home. We have 4 months of rental this year, thankfully, when we can't seem to sell it.
Got some fun emails from friends to read. The house looks so much better inside now, we banished the white plastic set of drawers into the bedroom cupboard, and will move the computer desk also, then decide what else we need in the way of seating here in the living room, either a barrel type swiveling chair, or a small loveseat, whichever fits and will look best without looking overcrowded. It would be grand to have seating for 4, but we don't want to look overcrowded once again. We can turn the dining room chairs around and use them, but it's not quite the same as a comfy place to sit.
That's all my news for today, thanks for dropping by.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Nearly Thanksgiving
This week has started out being a little crazy, as we plunge right back into park activities, together with buying new living room furniture for our park model, and getting ready to go out to my aunt Penny's house in Dana Point for Thanksgiving on Thursday. We had rain here but it wasn't bad, and the locals were really happy for the change from constant sunshine!!!!!! More is unfortunately forecast for the Thanksgiving day and the Friday following that, so will be a nuisance.
This year we tried a new route coming down, I-5 from Olympia, Washington right down to outside LA, and then east from there, we only needed 2 sleeps, and we were here by 1 PM or so on our 3rd driving day. Didn't cross the Mojave Desert, it's about 2 hours longer that way.
Oh yes, we opened up this house, got rid of lots of gritty sand from around doors and windows, and nearly shoveled out the patio area from the accumulation of 6 months of heavy sand deposits. Sand, sand, sand everywhere outside, it must have swirled into our outside area and been trapped there, it was bad. All around the sink area it was maybe a quarter inch deep, and gritty, so gritty. Forgot to say one of our pictures had fallen off the wall during the summer and crashed onto the floor, shattering its glass. Bummer, apparently there was a bit of a shaker of an earthquake, maybe that did it.
We had a real challenge this year hooking up the TV, Time Warner gave us a new box that would likely give us more channels, but it was impossible for us to hook it all up and make the TV work.
The internet worked fine, but wouldn't stream over to my I Pad, and our cable phone wouldn't work on cable either, so we had to get a service rep out to help us get it all in order. Rep couldn't fit under our unit, so had to run a new exterior cable for the TV.
Now we have given away our oversize leather furniture, sofa and recliner, and bought 2 small recliner chairs for us. It is a much better fit, the leather furniture was almost painful for me to sit in, forcing my head forward, my legs up, and dropping my butt way back in the chair. Not to mention forcing my arms up higher, more than is natural. Maybe you get the picture, but what we just bought is way better for us, and the shape of the small area we have. They are kind of a chenille, corduroy fabric, cocoa colored, they fit in nicely.
So now to think about what other pieces we want to add, if any, maybe reposition the computer table somewhere else than beside the dining room table, and even give us more space for our dining room table. Maybe put the white plastic set of drawers somewhere else, too, it isn't nice looking in the living room/ dining room area. Lots to think about and rearrange here.
We had the kitchen and hall cupboards all painted white, along with the hall and bathroom ceiling now painted white, it makes a big difference to the visual appearance of the unit.
Today we went over to our other unit, which we actually love more than this one in the interior, and opened it all up. Both units have all furniture covered with plastic, all windows covered totally against the harsh desert sunshine over the summer time, and they of course need their utilities turned back on, electricity, gas and water. The rental leaks sand more than the one we are living in, especially around the windows and doors, so a bit of cleanup needed there; and we cover all the drains in sinks and toilets with some form of plastic wrap, to retain the moisture during the hot summer, and keep the sewer smells out of our unit while we are away. So they need to be cleared out, too.
The bathtubs have 45 gallon garbage cans full of water in them to add some moisture over the summer also, preventing furniture and wood items from cracking in the 120 - 130 degree temps over the desert summertime. When we return they are mostly empty of water, but not totally, so we need to drain them and put them outside.
And did we mention that we got talked into being actors in a Renaissance era play/ feast going on at a neighboring park over the December 7/8 weekend? Well Lary's costume is perfect, he's a Scottish minstrel, but I am an English jester with quite a lot of speaking parts, and my costume didn't even come near fitting, needing a lot of letting out. Erg, that is today's task, adding in a piece of fabric across the back. The fabric is quite a sleazy nylon, and when stretched, develops runs through the fabric. Part of our act will be a kind of dueling flutes contest, should be lots of fun.
We might also be in the Desert Hot Springs Christmas parade, Dec 14th, down main street in DHS in our Renaissance costumes, that should be a hoot.
During the painting of the kitchen we rearranged the height of some cupboards in order to add an under the counter microwave, but now the kitchen ceiling is stained and discolored from years of cooking, and needs some touchups there with white ceiling paint, and the vent pipe of steel is showing, and also needs painting. Hmmm. As they say with renovation projects, one thing leads to another one needing doing.
Sunday Lary watched the Grey Cup on satellite TV at a neighbor's house, and was devastated when his beloved Hamilton Tiger Cats got trounced. He and his Mom were commiserating with each other today by phone.
It's fun coming back here and meeting the other park residents once again, some have become too old and frail or ill to return, some folks have decided to sell up and move on, it's a work constantly in change in our park.
One couple is moving to Albuquerque, N Mexico and another couple is relocating to Tucson, so their lives will doubtless change for them. We've been in the pool just twice since we got back, need to remedy that for sure. When it's cloudy, windy or raining we don't feel like our usual pool time.
We're currently watching the Voice, which we rarely watch, so that's fun, 8 semi finalists and some will be eliminated tonight. Great energy.
Well that's it for now, thanks for reading, I plan to send Christmas cards if I can sit down for a moment or two and do them.
This year we tried a new route coming down, I-5 from Olympia, Washington right down to outside LA, and then east from there, we only needed 2 sleeps, and we were here by 1 PM or so on our 3rd driving day. Didn't cross the Mojave Desert, it's about 2 hours longer that way.
Oh yes, we opened up this house, got rid of lots of gritty sand from around doors and windows, and nearly shoveled out the patio area from the accumulation of 6 months of heavy sand deposits. Sand, sand, sand everywhere outside, it must have swirled into our outside area and been trapped there, it was bad. All around the sink area it was maybe a quarter inch deep, and gritty, so gritty. Forgot to say one of our pictures had fallen off the wall during the summer and crashed onto the floor, shattering its glass. Bummer, apparently there was a bit of a shaker of an earthquake, maybe that did it.
We had a real challenge this year hooking up the TV, Time Warner gave us a new box that would likely give us more channels, but it was impossible for us to hook it all up and make the TV work.
The internet worked fine, but wouldn't stream over to my I Pad, and our cable phone wouldn't work on cable either, so we had to get a service rep out to help us get it all in order. Rep couldn't fit under our unit, so had to run a new exterior cable for the TV.
Now we have given away our oversize leather furniture, sofa and recliner, and bought 2 small recliner chairs for us. It is a much better fit, the leather furniture was almost painful for me to sit in, forcing my head forward, my legs up, and dropping my butt way back in the chair. Not to mention forcing my arms up higher, more than is natural. Maybe you get the picture, but what we just bought is way better for us, and the shape of the small area we have. They are kind of a chenille, corduroy fabric, cocoa colored, they fit in nicely.
So now to think about what other pieces we want to add, if any, maybe reposition the computer table somewhere else than beside the dining room table, and even give us more space for our dining room table. Maybe put the white plastic set of drawers somewhere else, too, it isn't nice looking in the living room/ dining room area. Lots to think about and rearrange here.
We had the kitchen and hall cupboards all painted white, along with the hall and bathroom ceiling now painted white, it makes a big difference to the visual appearance of the unit.
Today we went over to our other unit, which we actually love more than this one in the interior, and opened it all up. Both units have all furniture covered with plastic, all windows covered totally against the harsh desert sunshine over the summer time, and they of course need their utilities turned back on, electricity, gas and water. The rental leaks sand more than the one we are living in, especially around the windows and doors, so a bit of cleanup needed there; and we cover all the drains in sinks and toilets with some form of plastic wrap, to retain the moisture during the hot summer, and keep the sewer smells out of our unit while we are away. So they need to be cleared out, too.
The bathtubs have 45 gallon garbage cans full of water in them to add some moisture over the summer also, preventing furniture and wood items from cracking in the 120 - 130 degree temps over the desert summertime. When we return they are mostly empty of water, but not totally, so we need to drain them and put them outside.
And did we mention that we got talked into being actors in a Renaissance era play/ feast going on at a neighboring park over the December 7/8 weekend? Well Lary's costume is perfect, he's a Scottish minstrel, but I am an English jester with quite a lot of speaking parts, and my costume didn't even come near fitting, needing a lot of letting out. Erg, that is today's task, adding in a piece of fabric across the back. The fabric is quite a sleazy nylon, and when stretched, develops runs through the fabric. Part of our act will be a kind of dueling flutes contest, should be lots of fun.
We might also be in the Desert Hot Springs Christmas parade, Dec 14th, down main street in DHS in our Renaissance costumes, that should be a hoot.
During the painting of the kitchen we rearranged the height of some cupboards in order to add an under the counter microwave, but now the kitchen ceiling is stained and discolored from years of cooking, and needs some touchups there with white ceiling paint, and the vent pipe of steel is showing, and also needs painting. Hmmm. As they say with renovation projects, one thing leads to another one needing doing.
Sunday Lary watched the Grey Cup on satellite TV at a neighbor's house, and was devastated when his beloved Hamilton Tiger Cats got trounced. He and his Mom were commiserating with each other today by phone.
It's fun coming back here and meeting the other park residents once again, some have become too old and frail or ill to return, some folks have decided to sell up and move on, it's a work constantly in change in our park.
One couple is moving to Albuquerque, N Mexico and another couple is relocating to Tucson, so their lives will doubtless change for them. We've been in the pool just twice since we got back, need to remedy that for sure. When it's cloudy, windy or raining we don't feel like our usual pool time.
We're currently watching the Voice, which we rarely watch, so that's fun, 8 semi finalists and some will be eliminated tonight. Great energy.
Well that's it for now, thanks for reading, I plan to send Christmas cards if I can sit down for a moment or two and do them.
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