January 7, 2015
Complete change of plans, change of mind. We responded to our current park’s request for office and maintenance volunteers today, after long discussions about what “working” would mean to our lifestyle. We are still in Desert Hot Springs, next door to our beloved Cat Spa, at their sort of sister park, Desert Pools. We’ve stayed here a few times a few years ago, and were moderately impressed. We popped over here because it’s another of our club parks at $10 and change a night.
Desert Pools was just bought and is undergoing many upgrades…long needed. No real money has been put into this park for about 20 years, just barely maintained. So with a new owner and new management, they need help. It’s very common to have volunteers at RV parks, who then get a free site for the winter season. So we signed up for a thirty day trial to see if they like us and we like them.
We’ll work 30 hours combined in a three day week for the free site, one free wifi connection, tolerance of our two black cats and free laundry. Tony has already put in about five hours just today, as well as a staff meeting (barf!). I also attended the office staff meeting with the four working women and the manager and his wife. I’ll meet up with Linda the office manager for a few hours this week to see what they need. I swear if I can talk her out of putting me on the phone I will be hap-hap-happy. They have 900 names and info of park members to enter, and I would love that kind of scut work. I also have some showers I want to scrub until the grout is white again. My biggest dream, however, is to update their library. It looks as though no customers have exchanged books in a long time.
Tomorrow is film day, The Breach, about Alaskan’s fishing industry. More popcorn!
January 20, 2015
Alex arrives at 11:00 PM for three days of fun in the sun! We are very excited to share our Big Blue life with her, get her some respite from jobs and weather.
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| El Gallito Lunch with Alex B. |
The Breach, the movie I referenced above, is fantastic! It’s a documentary about wild salmon – remember that kind of fish?! The filmmaker follows the salmon from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, then to Alaska, describing how they are born and the beauty of their death while spawning. If you’ve never had the opportunity to see wild salmon surge upstream, red bodies, hooked mouth – please, please make an effort to do so in the near future.
The film’s ending highlights the now infamous Pebble Mine, a Canadian operation that is seeking to strip and core mine copper and gold…..in the middle of the wilderness that drains into Bristol Bay. This Bay supplies one half of the wild salmon…FOR THE WORLD! They are “pretty sure” there won’t be an ecological problem, despite the fact that there has never been a successfully clean copper mine…IN THE WORLD!
Their estimated profit: $500 Billion. The EPA did rule that a mine and a clean fishery are not compatible, but the fear is the lobbyists and politics involved with greed will push this disaster forward.
Our last movie is The Humbling based on Philip Roth’s last novel. The main character is played by Al Pacino, who proudly shows his aging self (please get a new haircut Al!) as he falls for a very young lesbian. Bizarre movie but funny and lovely to watch. You can’t miss with Pacino!
While we were waiting in our theater seats at the Palm Springs High School, the drama department kids were cruising the aisles selling candy and water and…peanuts. Anyone who knows me has heard me mispronounce penis for peanuts. I crack myself up! So I said to Ton-Ton, “Did he say penis?” The woman ahead of me whips around and says, “No! Peanuts!” I laughed and said, “I know, I was joking.” She recovered herself and said, “Going for the young stuff now,huh?” Sometimes I just LOVE life. Tony and I then could hardly look at each other without laughing.
I started my first day of office work last Wednesday, a whirlwind of reservation system information and protocol, but it was fine. I work with the office manager, Linda, a rabid Seahawks fan, very knowledgeable and happy greeting our customers. It’s getting really busy here now and will be until spring, with rv’s and trailers coming and going. More people in the pools, activities are ramping up (water volleyball, line dancing, pool, crafts). Wednesday and Friday is BBQ burgers on the pool deck for $4, Saturday morning is cinnamon rolls (Tony's fav), Saturday night is dinner (as staff we get half off!).
When I left the office that day I told Tony my stomach was hurting, thinking it might have been the burger they served at lunch. We made dinner and I went to bed feeling a bit nauseous, but not a big deal. Until I woke up at midnight sitting on the toilet AND vomiting. I haven’t thrown up in 25 years, hated it. Was so sick with…whatever for four days. Didn’t fulfill my work duties and felt guilty about that. Finally got back on my feet in time to go to our old Beer Hunter restaurant for the Seahawks game.
That game just twisted me up! Around the last two minutes I couldn’t take watching it anymore and went to the car to listen instead. I know, I know, I’m not a real twelve (never said I was), and I missed history in the making. It is what it is and I heard it happening instead of watching it. I was raised with zero sports in my house, no siblings in any sport, couldn’t care less about football. Basketball, yes. I don’t even know what’s going on half the time as far as the technical aspects of the game, but it’s been fun to watch. Tony has been a Seahawks lifer fan and he’s fun to watch too.
I did fulfill my Desert Pools reading room chore yesterday by working for four long hours cleaning out old books, reorganizing the new and remaining books in alpha order. I bought poster board and marked them A to Z. I must have recycled over 100 Harlequin Romances! I try not to judge! I saved one called “The Hog Tied Groom” and gave it to new friends of ours. Here are the before and after and in between shots.
Unfortunately for the park, a few days after my four hour refurb, several women who had been monitoring it for several years couldn't handle the new look. They threw out all my alpha cards, and arranged the books not in alpha order - but by genre. Waste of time and boy was I hot that my work had been redone! Unfortunately my boss had to listen to the two complain FOR AN HOUR about the work I had done. Well, fuck you.
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| A Fraction of Old Books Tossed - Mostly Harlequin Romances! |
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| A New Order, Alphabetized! |
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February 5, 2015
One day before my brother Bernie's birthday! January hosted my oldest sister Maureen's bday, and oldest brother Ken's bday. Busy month for celebrating after the holidays. February and March we have Great Nieces turning two, three and four.
We have been crammin' busy with work and fun. I decided we are too lazy on our four days off and have a list of activities and visits to fun places to keep up on. We drove to the Whitewater Preserve up the road a bit and spent a few hours savoring the beautiful ponds, trails and mountains. We plan on going back when Bernie and Ronna get here so that the three of us can hike a bit (Tony's feet won't cooperate with that).
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| TC at Whitewater Preserve Trout Pond |
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| Whitewater Trout |
We also finally went to the Palm Springs Air Museum, i.e., old soldier docents walking around old planes, helicopters, artifacts and stories by the dozens. We, of course, followed not the docent's suggested route but our own. Of course. In the out door of a cool old plane, caught up in the tour, chastised for not beginning at the beginning. Big whoop.
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February 22, 2015
Playing catch-up on the blog is a terrible disservice to my 21 followers. I forget too much on a day to day basis; sunny blue skies, sand storms closing roads, car shows, pool time, work intrigues, cat antics, Tony's shenanigans ..... all roll around in my noggin for half a second then - poof - gone to some archive I'll not be accessing anytime soon.
Pictures jog my memory but may not be in the order they occurred.
We spend every Sunday now at our favorite coffee shop in North Palm, Koffie. Walking into the order line, gluten free muffin (singular) and double shot with a splash of half and half. Flow out the back door to ..... a beautiful oasis of chairs and tables, people grouping up, birds doing kamikazis past your head after eating your dropped crumbs, filtered sunlight through trees, surrounded by little shops full of expensive, unneeded items. Grass, flowers, trees, sun, and us. It's our garden of eden for a few hours.
Last person met there: Shelley Fisher, the Hebrew Hillbilly, a name so offensive, I hesitate to place it here. But it is her choice, after all. In she wanders looking exactly like this:
We chat and she promotes herself. I ask for a pic of her for my blog, she lamely declines. Kind of looks like D. Parton without the excess breasteses.
Near the last night of our friend's long stay here we all went to El Paseo for dinner and the car cruise. They are truly dear people, Joy and Frank, and we look forward to seeing them on our return to Poulsbo, as they live in W. Seattle. We spent many days in the sun at the pool with them, sharing lives. Tony and Frank, in particular, took to each other like long lost friends.
We recently went to an antique car show that was fun to see, but too hot to stay to the end. A few shots of the beauties present:
My sister Dawn arrives March 9th through the 13th. More sun and fun, pool time de rigeur. Bernie and Ronna should be here by the end of the month, maybe a few more days? Delayed arrival due to a rental sale, finishing their new home in Sunland, moving his massive shop, etc.
Oh! Here are our traveling cards that Tony had made up, one side for him, and one for me. Very cool.
Another adventure Is Pioneertown, an old West faux-fronted "town", the heart of which is Pappy and Harriet's Palace. In digging around for more things to see around here I happened upon this gem of a musical mecca. Old, funky building with many old, funky add-ons. Good enough menu, crammed with people on a Friday night, free angst-ridden music by youth who spend an inordinate amount of time getting their sound board just right. We're then unable to hear any words to their songs due to the high decibal of their instruments. We ate and wandered around, soaking up the vitality of this place. We will be back!
My efforts to garner tickets to the ultra billionaire publishers the Annenberg's Sunnylands estate has proven impossible. They release tickets for the house tour - at $35 a person - twice a month. If you're not ON IT the minute the phones open, you're lost for at least another half month. We went anyway to tour the free grounds and "museum", which is lovely and iconic, all of it. This was the same week Obama was here, and AT Sunnylands, as many past presidents have been. It's called the "Camp David of the West" due to the many detente meetings held amidst the lakes and golf course and mid-century modern home. We wandered the labyrinth and greens and symmetrical desert cacti, stopping for an espresso at their lovely cafe. Sat in the cool shade on a hot day, surrounded by beauty and peace. And we loved the little white iron chairs with their little teeny elbow arms. Tee hee!
Work, yes work. We continue our plumbing and welcoming three days a week. It's all much easier for me now although the reservation system is rife with possible errors. We laugh alot, Linda and I, managers Roger and Joannie, office staffers Shiri and Mary. Our learning curve is slowly lessening to more manageable. I'm still challenged by the many RV clubs that receive discounts; here are many different rules and restrictions for each. Some allow a week in the park at a discounted rate, some two weeks. All require a week out of the park - or paying the public park fee of $45.00 a night for a week. The phone is an open sore for me, but we've just put in place another volunteer to answer them and take reservations. I hate answering phones, did it my whole career,never want to answer another one - even my own I monitor, text whenever feasible!
I've also included a pic of our neighbors Airstream, Bud and Claudia. It has seen better days, as have they, but they're all still plugging along. A fellow volunteer got inside the rig and said it's too far gone for refurb. Bud is a character, lots of stories. Takes kind care of his wife who is a little tottery on her pins. They;'ll be back again in March with their Long Beach Airstream Club. I made that group reservation, our first one!
And last, but certainly not least, a box arrived from my dear Jr High/High School friend Cathy Hutchison Bellah! She gets subscriptions to a bunch of beauty/health boxes each month and asked if she could share with me. YES! This picture is of me surrounded by the MANY wonderful items she sent - shampoo, face cleanser/moisturizer, tea, nail polish, perfume, cologne...on and on! Each item was grouped in a little bag tied with a pretty ribbon. It felt like Christmas in the desert! I have been having a ball using these products and THANK, THANK, THANK her for her generosity.
And a picture of the swimming suit Alex picked out for me, in case you missed it on FB!
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February 22, 2015
Playing catch-up on the blog is a terrible disservice to my 21 followers. I forget too much on a day to day basis; sunny blue skies, sand storms closing roads, car shows, pool time, work intrigues, cat antics, Tony's shenanigans ..... all roll around in my noggin for half a second then - poof - gone to some archive I'll not be accessing anytime soon.
Pictures jog my memory but may not be in the order they occurred.
We spend every Sunday now at our favorite coffee shop in North Palm, Koffie. Walking into the order line, gluten free muffin (singular) and double shot with a splash of half and half. Flow out the back door to ..... a beautiful oasis of chairs and tables, people grouping up, birds doing kamikazis past your head after eating your dropped crumbs, filtered sunlight through trees, surrounded by little shops full of expensive, unneeded items. Grass, flowers, trees, sun, and us. It's our garden of eden for a few hours.
Last person met there: Shelley Fisher, the Hebrew Hillbilly, a name so offensive, I hesitate to place it here. But it is her choice, after all. In she wanders looking exactly like this:
We chat and she promotes herself. I ask for a pic of her for my blog, she lamely declines. Kind of looks like D. Parton without the excess breasteses.
Near the last night of our friend's long stay here we all went to El Paseo for dinner and the car cruise. They are truly dear people, Joy and Frank, and we look forward to seeing them on our return to Poulsbo, as they live in W. Seattle. We spent many days in the sun at the pool with them, sharing lives. Tony and Frank, in particular, took to each other like long lost friends.
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| Frank and Joy in the El Paseo Golf Cart! |
We recently went to an antique car show that was fun to see, but too hot to stay to the end. A few shots of the beauties present:
My sister Dawn arrives March 9th through the 13th. More sun and fun, pool time de rigeur. Bernie and Ronna should be here by the end of the month, maybe a few more days? Delayed arrival due to a rental sale, finishing their new home in Sunland, moving his massive shop, etc.
Oh! Here are our traveling cards that Tony had made up, one side for him, and one for me. Very cool.
 |
| Front and Back of our Traveling Cards |
Another adventure Is Pioneertown, an old West faux-fronted "town", the heart of which is Pappy and Harriet's Palace. In digging around for more things to see around here I happened upon this gem of a musical mecca. Old, funky building with many old, funky add-ons. Good enough menu, crammed with people on a Friday night, free angst-ridden music by youth who spend an inordinate amount of time getting their sound board just right. We're then unable to hear any words to their songs due to the high decibal of their instruments. We ate and wandered around, soaking up the vitality of this place. We will be back!
 |
| Outside Pappy and Harriet's Palace |
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| Sky in Pioneertown |
My efforts to garner tickets to the ultra billionaire publishers the Annenberg's Sunnylands estate has proven impossible. They release tickets for the house tour - at $35 a person - twice a month. If you're not ON IT the minute the phones open, you're lost for at least another half month. We went anyway to tour the free grounds and "museum", which is lovely and iconic, all of it. This was the same week Obama was here, and AT Sunnylands, as many past presidents have been. It's called the "Camp David of the West" due to the many detente meetings held amidst the lakes and golf course and mid-century modern home. We wandered the labyrinth and greens and symmetrical desert cacti, stopping for an espresso at their lovely cafe. Sat in the cool shade on a hot day, surrounded by beauty and peace. And we loved the little white iron chairs with their little teeny elbow arms. Tee hee!
 |
Elbow Arms at Sunnylands |
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| TC at Sunnylands |
Work, yes work. We continue our plumbing and welcoming three days a week. It's all much easier for me now although the reservation system is rife with possible errors. We laugh alot, Linda and I, managers Roger and Joannie, office staffers Shiri and Mary. Our learning curve is slowly lessening to more manageable. I'm still challenged by the many RV clubs that receive discounts; here are many different rules and restrictions for each. Some allow a week in the park at a discounted rate, some two weeks. All require a week out of the park - or paying the public park fee of $45.00 a night for a week. The phone is an open sore for me, but we've just put in place another volunteer to answer them and take reservations. I hate answering phones, did it my whole career,never want to answer another one - even my own I monitor, text whenever feasible!
 |
| Staff Potluck |
I've also included a pic of our neighbors Airstream, Bud and Claudia. It has seen better days, as have they, but they're all still plugging along. A fellow volunteer got inside the rig and said it's too far gone for refurb. Bud is a character, lots of stories. Takes kind care of his wife who is a little tottery on her pins. They;'ll be back again in March with their Long Beach Airstream Club. I made that group reservation, our first one!
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| Nothing like an Airstream |
And last, but certainly not least, a box arrived from my dear Jr High/High School friend Cathy Hutchison Bellah! She gets subscriptions to a bunch of beauty/health boxes each month and asked if she could share with me. YES! This picture is of me surrounded by the MANY wonderful items she sent - shampoo, face cleanser/moisturizer, tea, nail polish, perfume, cologne...on and on! Each item was grouped in a little bag tied with a pretty ribbon. It felt like Christmas in the desert! I have been having a ball using these products and THANK, THANK, THANK her for her generosity.
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| Excited me with my gift box o'goodies! |
And a picture of the swimming suit Alex picked out for me, in case you missed it on FB!
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| Jackie and her new swim suit! |
