Day 74 March 28 Thursday

Nice & sunny weather so I went off to WVB.  Sheila stayed to do some things she was working on & to look into the Movies on at our local theatre.  She talked with Larry & found one movie, “Five Feet Apart” that looked reasonable. So we went for the 2:30 show and it was OK.  After we got home, (Larry was driving us all), Sheila said that she would like to go to the “Ono Hawaiian BBQ”, so we went and it was quite good & we got a lot of food for a reasonable price, and we brought ½ of it home.  Then it was time to go up to the Clubhouse for the Mexican Trains games tonight.  We had fun but lost our quarters.  Finally home for the evening around 9:30, watched a bit of TV & bedtime.   

Day 73 March 27 Wednesday

I got up as usual for my morning coffee & breakfast, (usually cold cereal with milk on the warm mornings), and got ready to go to WVB.  Sheila got up early as well to try her newfound permission to play WVB.  When I got up to the pool I saw that they were only playing in one pool with a couple of people sitting out on the entrance steps.  The second pool had no heat on & was cold.  So the set up is you rotate as usual then after your turn serving the other side serves & when they lose the serve, you rotate out & you sit out on the entrance steps & one person on the steps comes into the game in your place.  This happens every time you serve as soon as the other side loses the serve you sit out and someone comes into the game in your position while the new server rotates into the serving position.  So you are never sitting out long, just the length of two sets of servings. I hope that makes sense.  It was slightly overcast & a bit cooler in the morning but brightened up & was sunny & warm for the afternoon.  After the morning session ended at noon we hit the hot tub, but Sheila wanted to play in the 1 PM game so we came home, made a quick lunch & Sheila went back up to the pool.  She said she had a fun time and enjoyed it even more than the a.m. because it was sunnier and she got more play because there were fewer players.  I went out to get milk & returned to the RV for R & R & computer work, (looking up what’s on TV this evening as well as blog writing).  We had set up a dinner out with Judy & Larry and they said they were happy with “The Steer & Stein”, my favourite restaurant with the 16 ounce steaks.  We arrived got out table & ordered dinners.  The place filled up rapidly and we had a nice time eating.  I gave Sheila a slice of my steak and finished the rest with only about ½ the baked potato to take home.  I also ate all the salad that came with the meal.  At the end of the meal we had a problem getting out bill.  The waitress seemed to be extremely busy and took forever to get us the bill & then never returned to take our credit cards.  We finally got our bill paid & left.  We went over to Larry & Judy’s Park Model for some hands of Bridge before returning home where we watched a little TV then bedtime.

Day 72 March 26 Tuesday

I was up having my coffee when a call came in for Sheila. It was Medipac asking about her medical well being.  She wanted to go back to the Dr. she had seen previously with some questions & they, (Medipac) agreed.  So she phoned the health clinic & got a time to go, (early afternoon). I went off to WVB and when I got there Judy Schaffer said, “We missed you at breakfast”, we had completely forgotten about the Tuesday Breakfast Club.  When I came back to the RV after WVB, Sheila was getting ready to go to her appointment and we were talking about it when the phone rang.  It was Judy wondering if I was coming up for Tuesday afternoon Bridge, I had completely forgotten about that too! Sheila dropped me off on her route out to the clinic.  Frank & Doreen were there, they are a cpl who live in Port Coquitlam that we have played bridge with several times at the Sunday night & the Tuesday afternoon sessions.  We got their phone number for possible future bridge get togethers at home.  Back at the RV, but Sheila not home yet which is good, they may be treating her at the clinic.  She has the phone so she can’t contact me so I just assume all is well. Sheila arrived home late afternoon & talked about the clinic visit.  Nothing urgent but Dr. wants her on the antibiotic for another week but did give her permission to go into the pool for WVB.  About this point, (around 4:45), we remembered that we were supposed to be going to the Elks for Taco Tuesday & Karaoke Night so we got away as fast as we could & got there before they stopped selling Tacos at 6 PM.  Several of the Elks ladies bake cakes, ice them & sell them for $1.00 a piece for a good sized piece—a real bargain!  I ended up having 2 pieces, and they were good.  And there are usually 4 or more types of cake so you can pick your favourite type.  The singing was not good, Sheila thought some weren’t too bad, I thought most of them were quite bad.  Home afterwards to watch TV--“The Rookie” is on tonight. 

Day 71 March 25 Monday

Up to another glorious sunny day.  I’m off to WVB while Sheila sleeps in.  I had a reasonable game, didn’t miss too many passes & balls coming over the net.  After hot tubbing I came home for a nice lunch which Sheila had prepared.  She is going out this afternoon for something, not sure what.  Then we have dinner out planned for tonight at Angie’s restaurant.  Sheila wants to try the ribs there so she ordered a full rack even though she was sure she wouldn’t finish it but a full rack is only $3.00 more than a half rack.  I had a cpl ribs with my supper and we brought the rest home for tomorrow’s supper, almost a full ½ rack. I figured out how to play a disc in the DVD so we watched an old, (1942), movie called “The Spoilers” with John Wayne & Randolph Scott, two of my favourite western movie actors & also Marlene Dietrich then a cpl episodes of “Barney Miller” that we had on a DVD.

Day 70 March 24 Sunday

Nice & sunny, no overcast & no wind.  I went up for WVB and had a good game.  After the hot tub I just sat in a lounge chair in the sun, it was lovely & warm.  On route home I stopped at the weight/exercise room where they have a scale, I am 208 lbs or 94.5 kg., I think I have gained weight since getting here.  Back at the RV, we had lunch then I was feeling tired so I lay down and Sheila went out to get some groceries.  She had set up the supper menu which I was to assemble for when she got back.  Her timing was perfect; she arrived just as everything was being put out on the table.  After a nice supper we went up to the clubhouse for the Sunday evening Bridge game.  We came in 4^th out of 8 couples and Sheila got to play some very interesting hands, one of which was 5 Clubs doubled!  She was very pleased that her aggressive bid was correct and she made it despite the opposition biding up to 4 Spades.   We returned to the RV just before 10 pm for what we thought were going to be BBT episodes but discovered the schedule was listing a different channel at that number so it was playing some other show we weren’t interested in.  Sigh!  It will be nice to get home to reliable TV listings! The trouble is that GVP prints a list of channels available on the cable but the internet schedule for Hemet also includes 2 or 3 other local cities and the channel numbers on some stations do not match the channel of the same number on our TV set, if that makes sense!

Day 69 March 23 Saturday

Heavy overcast this morning but no wind so I’m off to WVB.  At the end of the game (noon), I went into the hot tub & the clouds cleared.  They had a musician playing at the seating area where a local Mex restaurant was selling tacos etc. The music was nice to listen to while playing but I didn’t stay after showering.  Back at the RV I made lunch and Sheila went off to the computers at the clubhouse because at our computer cubby there is hardly any table space if you want to write anything down and it’s on the right side—not great for a left-hander!  Sheila wanted to look up a bunch of information on the internet so needed table space.  I will just veg out in a chair in the sun. Well, there was a breeze came up & it was just a fraction cool so I returned inside.  Now, let me say this first, I am glad we are down here & are not at home.  The weather in Calif has been terrible compared to their normal, but it is still miles better that what we had at home.  But if it continues to be overcast, sprinkley, coolish, it will wear out its welcome & it might be better to be home in south western BC.   To make ourselves feel better we went out to the Sizzler for supper, (an excuse is an excuse).  I wanted to try their super salad bar as a meal.  For seniors it’s $13.49 for unlimited trips and it is huge.  They had 5 soups, (I had clam chowder, really good), plus they had deep fried chicken wings, chicken fajitas, mac & cheese, a dessert bar, & a soft serve ice cream bar with toppings.  All that plus a huge oval salad bar with all the trimmings you could want including some real blue cheese with the dressings.  And the senior’s price includes your drink, (coffee, tea, soft drink etc).  For the hot foods they had warmed plates & for the cold salads they had nice cold plates.  After that, (feeling very full), we came home to relax, maybe watch TV.  

Day 68 March 22 Friday

Up, up, & away to WVB.  It’s a nice day, a little cloud. After the game I came back to the RV for lunch.  Then out for supplies at Winco for me & some laundry work for Sheila.  Tonight is Mocktails night so its time for nachos.  With hot cheese and with all the trimmings they have I can make supper out of it, - I did.  Sheila followed in about a ½ hour or so and we spent a nice evening.  The 2 couples we were sitting with were from Calgary & Langley.  Murray from Langley is in a wheelchair from some accident about 4 years ago.  They travel in a 38 foot Class A that Murray did a lot of customising on.  They tow a car set up for him as well.  There was another man there in a motorized wheelchair and he had a service animal with him that was a giant dog.  I don’t know what breed, but it was way bigger that a lab and with smooth hair so not a Newfoundlander, & not a Great Dane, I didn’t know service dogs came in such large breeds.  After the event ended at about 8 we came back to the RV, watched “Blacklist” and had some California strawberries.  They were the same California strawberries we get at home but these ones were red all the way through and very tasty, not like the mostly white bland things we get at home. 

Day 67 March 21 Thursday

The day still looked a bit overcast but there was sun breaking through so I went up for WVB.  The sun periodically came & went & I had a good game.  Sheila stayed home again because her cyst has not yet healed and she’s not supposed to return to the pool until it does.  I walked back to the RV & got there just as it started to rain a bit.  It slowed after an hour & a ½.   I made myself lunch of last nights leftovers.  Sheila went up to do laundry. I looked up tonight’s TV options.  When Sheila came back we went out to Emilio’s for Happy Hour, (It runs 3 to 6 offering ½ price $3.50 margarita’s - although my root beer is $3.25 – and ½ price appetizers that are really good and one plate is enough for 2 of us).  We drove back home & Sheila stopped for ice cream to top off a frozen dessert tart we had.  Also we finished off the supper leftovers from yesterday.  Then it’s up to the clubhouse for Mexican Trains, followed by one of our TV shows “For the People” if we are back in time.  We had lots of fun at Mex Trains although we both lost our quarter, there were a lot of people there and we got back in time for our TV show.

Day 66 March 20 Wednesday

Well, the first day of spring dawned with overcast skies but the sun is trying to peek through.  It was 50 F outside at 8:45 and 64 F inside the RV when I got up, so we ran the furnace to bring it up to 71 F inside.  It’s a lazy day for me.  Sheila is off to have a shower then this afternoon she has an appointment to get her hair cut a bit. The sun is peeking out periodically.  By 12:30 it is 68 F and by 1:30 we are starting to get our forecast showers.  I drained our fresh water tank so when we leave I can put fresh water into it.  I got curious & did some research on daytime temperatures between Hemet and the Fountain of Youth RV Park by the Salton Sea.  They were lower than normal for F.o.Y., but while we were getting 55 to 58 degree day time highs in Hemet for one week  they were getting 62 to 66. They were always higher temps by 5 to 9 degrees.  That is something to think about if Hemet California seems to be headed for 50 Fahrenheit, (which is around 10 Celsius), days for next and future years.  And F.o.Y. is in eastern California which means they are dryer and have an even lower humidity which translates into the days feeling warmer even when they are the same exact temperature.   Hopefully that makes sense.  We made supper of Kraft dinner with added wieners & fresh mushrooms in the RV and stayed in tonight watching TV.   

Day 65 March 19 Tuesday

We went out for the Tuesday breakfast club at Little Angies & had a nice breakfast; we brought home ½ of Sheila’s.  Other than the toast, I ate all of mine.  I went to play WVB while Sheila phoned Vicki at home in Coquitlam.  Turns out Vicki did send Sheila a BD card with a letter in it Feb. 19^th but it was returned to her marked “Unable to deliver”.  She did forget to put our site # on it, but the rest of the address she read out was correct, so Sheila is going to check at the office to see why they didn’t look up our site #, but they do, so it was the USPS that screwed up.  Back to the RV to change & then over to the clubhouse for Judy’s afternoon bridge lessons/games session.  Sheila went out this afternoon for a nail appt.  It’s sunny & warm with a slight breeze. I got back from Bridge about 3:45, no Sheila in sight so I guess she’s still at the nail place.  I did a bit of rug cleaning with some spray stuff we got, seems to work well on dropped food etc spots.  I am going up for the Hand & Foot game in the clubhouse. Sheila arrived home in time for us to make a quick supper of Sheila’s leftover breakfast plus a few additions, and then we both went up to the clubhouse.  We played with a cpl we knew from WVB and started out OK but bogged down & couldn’t make progress, so lost the rest of the hands and the game.  We’re not sure we like the rules here for Hand & Foot, We like our rules at home better; we think it makes the game less frustrating and gives more chances & options to play cards.  We came home & watched “The Rookie” on TV before bedtime.

Day 64 March 18 Monday

The weather is improving very quickly, it hardly goes below 50 F at night & is much warmer in the morning, this morning it was 55  F at 9:15 & 60 F when I left for WVB about 10:15.  At GVP there have been some staff changes other than a new manager and they don’t seem to have the previous reliable people to work on the swimming pool temperatures.  Some days, (not every day just once in a while), one pool will be way cooler than it should be & the other one way hotter, almost approaching hot tub temp.  I am quite happy with the warm pool but don’t like the cooler ones.  After WVB I came back home for lunch, Sheila didn’t go to WVB today, she didn’t sleep well.   I think she is losing her tolerance for hot & cool temperature fluctuations in the RV, (hot in the day & cool to cold at night).  She wants the heat on and then she wants the A/C on.  She likes to have the bedroom A/C on to cool it down for sleeping. These morning we only run the furnace a short time as it is usually into the 60’s F inside the RV when we get up.  The RV holds the heat from the night before and doesn’t get down to outside temps.  We went out for supplies in the afternoon.  Having a small RV sized fridge means more grocery trips than at home.  We took a lazy day off & just stayed at the RV in the evening. 

Day 63 March 17 Sunday

Today we went up to the Elks Lodge for their Sunday brunch, (served 9 to noon).  We met Larry & Judy there at 9.  It was a very nice brunch, made to order omelettes with about a dozen choices for add-ins, one of which was crabmeat, although the imitation one it is still good.  Coffee/tea were included, OJ was the only extra, plus they had  nice warm buns, bacon, ham, an Italian sausage, hash browns, corned beef hash, 3 salads—potato, fruit and crab, fresh-baked cinnamon buns, as well as several salsa/guacamole toppings.  I only got halfway through before I was full and the cost was only $10!  Unfortunately, there’ll only be one more brunch next week as the couple that has been providing food for the Hemet Elks functions is quitting and no one seems to know what is happening in the future.   After that we came back to play WVB till noon.  I didn’t need any lunch, just a cool drink. After the “lunch” break Sheila was feeling tired & lay down for a nap.  I decided to check out my tire inflating equipment so I took it out & hooked it up. It worked perfectly and is just what I wanted for our tires. After we went out to the 99 cent store as I needed some AAA batteries and a cpl other things.  Back at the rig I had some more of out Spud night leftover potatoes with a chilli & corn mixture over them, mmm good.   We’ve been doing really well with the leftover food from the set meals we’ve been getting at events lately and it’s been mostly our own meals that we couldn’t finish.  Other food has been leftover at the event where they announced there was extra food & if anyone wanted it, help yourself. After supper I went up to the clubhouse to play Pegs & Jokers.  We had a table of 6 so we made up 2 teams for 3 games.  I was on the winning team for 2 of the games.  Then back to the RV about 9:30.  Sheila didn’t feel like playing the game so she stayed to watch TV and catch up on the blog that she proof reads for me and adds bits of her own. 

Day 62 March 16 Saturday

We got up to sun again; I think the summer has arrived here for sure.  We had a lazy morning because the Pool party is this afternoon and the pool area is closed 7 AM to 11:30 AM for set up of the stage etc.  I went up just after 11:30 and got a good seat in front of the stage across the pool.  The regulars are playing WVB while everyone else is watching & listening to the group.  They did some great music to start with; I knew all the songs & music they played.  Sheila was late arriving so missed the first ½ hour or so.  The Mexican restaurant El Patron was serving food & Sheila got a plate which was enough for us both.  It came with salsa & it was way too hot for Sheila and even I found it a bit much so I stopped having it.  I think I am losing my tolerance for highly spiced food.  What’s next? – Pabulum for all meals?  Anyway we had a great afternoon and came back to the RV to relax in the sun.  Sheila took a nap and I just vegged out in the comfy passenger side recliner chair.  Tonight after supper we tried to watch a DVD movie we brought down with us, but couldn’t get the movie to play.  All that came on was the cast & director talking about the movie, not the movie itself.  I was feeling tired so I went to bed early, (10:00 p.m.)  Sheila stayed up to watch some TV

Day 61 March 15 Friday

The sunny weather is here! It was up to 60 F before 10 AM.  I went off to the morning WVB and had lots of fun.  It was quite a gusty wind so that played tricks on the ball & added to the fun.  Hot tub after then home for lunch of the leftover Panda Express from yesterday, I was full with just my leftover half.  It’s time for R & R in the sun this afternoon then Mocktails night tonight.  As of 4 pm it is now 80 F in the RV with doors & windows open & the ceiling fan on low, wonderful!  It was a crowded evening at Mocktails as it is the first really nice weather Friday.  I was in shorts & short sleeve shirt till 8 PM & didn’t fell at all cold, mind you they did have the gas heaters out but even walking back to the car with our chair it was not the cold that we have felt at 8 PM on previous nights. We watched a movie on TV, the “Men in Black II” that was no where near as good as the first, same cast but not a good story line & not well done.  

Day 60 March 14 Thursday

Yahoo ! A sunny day again, it looks like we are back to normal weather here.  I heard some one in the WVB game saying that the news said that for the first time in 150 years LA did not have a 70 degree temperature day in the month of February.  Anyway warm weather is here now and fortunately we have enough tan to not burn, although Sheila still uses sun tan lotion.  I use it every so often but only on my face.  I came back to the RV after hot tubing and Sheila went up for the 1 PM game.  Today I had a good day in the game; I hit what came to me and I missed hardly any. Back to RV for lunch.  Sheila went up for the 1 PM game & had a good game. I relaxed in the RV on the nice warm afternoon. Sheila came home, and then we went out to get more milk.  The big 4 litre, (1 gallon down here), bottles do not fit in the fridge well – they go in but take up too much space and have to be fitted into a corner. The ½ gallon ones fit on the door which is very convenient as we take it out every day.  So, seeing as we were out & it was supper time we took our coupons for the Panda Express and got an order each. We both ended up bringing about half of it back home.  So for $20.00 we have 4 meals.  Back at the RV I checked the TV schedule and we watched about 2 hours of some on our favorite shows before bedtime.  It doesn’t really matter if we see them or miss them as they are all recording at home anyway.

Day 59 March 13 Wednesday

Lovely and sunny and warm.  Off to WVB but I had an off day, I couldn’t hit anything right.  Hot tub after the game then home for lunch – the leftover full meal from Mondays St Pats Dinner, (we already ate the éclairs).   Sheila went out to get some supplies at Winco & I just relaxed and did some small chores.  Then about 4:15 we headed out to spud night in the ballroom.  We had a table with some of the WVB’ers and had a nice time.  They did Karaoke after dinner starting about 6:30 or so.  Sheila went to the computer room to look up some stuff because she found the music too loud where we were sitting, I didn’t and I didn’t want to move back leaving the people at the table and go sit by ourselves.  About 7:30 or so I went to check on Sheila & she was still busy looking up stuff on the computer.  So I set up a pick up time & came back home.  I saw that a show called “Chicago Fire” was on so I thought I’d watch it.  Mistake, I changed channels ½ ways through it. Yes it was about a fire station but it seemed to be full of on-going soap opera type stories on the characters and confrontation stuff between the fire truck crew.  The fact that they periodically went out to fight fires seemed incidental to the interaction & involvement of the characters with each other.

Day 58 March 12 Tuesday

Breakfast club day so off to the J & M cafe across town, got there around 8:30. Had a nice breakfast and then back to GVP for WVB.  We played our usual game till noon then Hot Tub time and home for a light lunch before heading out to El Patron for the Tuesday Happy Hour that a few of the WVB’ers got to now.  It’s quite a ways east on Florida and as it turned out only 4 others were there.  The Margarita’s are $4.75 and pop is $2.50.  We had a good time then home for a light supper after which I went out to play Hand & Foot at the clubhouse. Sheila stayed at the RV while I had fun playing with 3 ladies and regaling them with my witty comments etc. Home after the game and early to bed.  All this fun and activity is tiring me out.

Day 57 March 11 Monday

It was very overcast this morning, there was no wind but I decided to skip WVB, so did Sheila.  (I think I’m still trying to recover from Daylight Saving Time clock roll-forward).  The mid-morning temperature is now in the upper 40’s F, (8-9 C).  We are finally getting forecast temps in the high 60’s & 70’s F, (20 +C), for later in the week.  After a trip to Winco to get a few items, we had a lunch of last night’s leftovers.  Then, we relaxed until it is time for the St Patty’s Day event tonight starting at 4:30 PM.  It is fully catered as was last night’s dinner with all beverages, beer & wine only, (no spirits), provided, I hope they have some pop. We got into out green gear and headed out. We found our table and they do have pop. so no problem. They had people telling Irish jokes & singing as entertainment. Then the M.C. called out that if you had someone at the table “over 85”, your table could go up. A couple more calls & they hit “over 79” so away our table went, (I was the only one over 79).  We had a nice meal of corned beef, potatoes, green beans, Irish soda bread (which was really good), and a salad that I didn’t take any of as it was mostly cucumbers.  For dessert, they had some chocolate éclairs that were filled with the most delicious cream.  They said there was more food if anyone wanted extra.  I was full from the main course but I could manage another éclair so I got one for me & one for Sheila, then, towards the end of the evening when they announced there were leftovers, she went up & got a half dozen pieces of the Irish soda bread & 2 éclairs which we brought home. And someone at the table couldn’t eat her éclair so I got it – nummy!  They closed with the singing of Danny Boy.  We came home about 7:30 and I worked on our expenses excel account and Blog while Sheila recorded today’s activity and calories consumed.  Then at 10 pm, we watched “Bull” on TV.

Day 56 March 10 Sunday

A lot of cloud and very little sun.  I went up for WVB, Sheila also came about an hour later. After hot tub time & changing, back at the RV we had a light lunch then went up to help decorate the hall for out Water Volley Ball Season End Dinner.  It all started about 3:30.  They had games set up, (tossing a volley ball into a basket by bouncing it off the floor, and a bean bag toss, for which you got tickets that would be drawn for prizes).  Dinner was fully catered and very good, they had lots & encouraged seconds but we were full so Sheila got a plate to bring home for tomorrow’s lunch.  There was also a very nice cake for dessert, (I was in the right place at the right time & I got a large corner piece with lots of delicious icing).  Then they drew the 25/25/25/25 draw, all the money from ticket sales was given away, I had one of the tickets & won $75.00.  They had lots of door prizes but I didn’t win any, plus they had small awards given to people. They read out Yvonne’s card to everyone & said how impressed they were by her determination to play and how she worked to do it.  In the joke category of prizes, Sheila got a small plastic trophy cup for “Most Improved”;  they also did a prize for shortest woman in the game, and ‘who spent the most time underwater’, (Joannie & Big Jim), ‘who was most helpful,’ (Jim Best won that one), and several others like that.  It was a lot of fun!  As soon as it ended about 6:00, we went across the hall to the Sunday evening Bridge game as they needed an extra couple.  For our $2.00 entry we came out with $3.00 as we had the 3^rd highest score of the 8 couples playing.  So it was a good day all round. . .  Back to the RV to relax before the next event tomorrow. 

Day 55 March 9 Saturday

Mix of cloud & sun so off to WVB followed by a short hot tub & then the pool patio where they have music playing and a portable BBQ offering hot BBQ’ed meat on a bun.  Sheila had come up for the last 15 minutes of the WVB game as her perm was OK to get wet now.  We split a bun with BBQ beef heaped on it--it was good, and listened to the musician playing music for a while.  Sheila, while sitting at the table managed to jam her right big toe against the heavy metal table leg & split her toe nail.  She went back to the RV to bandage it then came up to play in the afternoon WVB as it was a nice sunny day.  She’ll see a nail salon to see if they can fix it later but may have to go to a doctor to get it cleaned and properly bandaged up.  She seemed to be playing WVB no problem in the afternoon so maybe a simple bandage is all it needs.  It’s not hurting either.  However, the nail shop said they couldn’t fix it properly, she should see a Doctor to get the nail cut & cleaned out & bandaged properly.   She has an address for an urgent care clinic that is open Sundays.  Around 4 PM we headed out to Abby’s Café on east Florida that was recommended by Jim & Cindy of WVB.  Found it & it is quite nice, tasty food & reasonable to cheap prices, but right at the east end of Florida, so it’s a long drive. Then, it was back to the Historic Theatre for Jim Curry’s “John Denver tribute show”.  It was great!  The group was Jim Curry and his wife on guitar plus with a pianist, flute player & a mandolin/banjo player.  They did great John Denver music.  We really enjoyed it!  I bought one of his CD’s & in talking to his wife, found out that they will be in White Rock in early April, the 6^th I think.  We will still be here but, if there are any John Denver fans reading this, or your friends are, tell them it is a great show!  We also discovered a place to RV to someday.  Aspen Colorado has a John Denver Memorial garden with lyrics to his songs etc embossed on rocks.  They had a movie of it playing behind them on a screen while they performed.  We want to go there, but it will have to be summer as it is a ski resort & up in the mountains.  After the show we came back to GVP & stopped in at the Fringe Street dance going on in the ballroom to see what they were playing.  We stayed about 10-15 minutes; we weren’t impressed with their selections at the time as they had moved from 50/60’s music to disco stuff.  Then, back home to our cosy RV.

re St. Patrick's event on Monday March 11

The pictures are from Monday evening. I am behind in my posting so this is 2 days early, sorry. I have trouble getting pictures to post to the blog so when it works I need to publish. 

Sheila & I at St. Pats night

Sheila & I at St. Patrick's event

The salad, soda bread & eclairs in
the background

Day 54 March 8 Friday

A bit of sun peeking through clouds but mild so off to WVB, Sheila was still nursing her perm and fast asleep in bed.  I don’t know if the perm was an excuse to sleep in or not.  We still have enough people here to split into two pools with 12 in each pool but some of the people that come down in October or November are heading home, some to cold climates & snow.  A wind came up that was a bit gusty so I was glad Sheila was back at the RV in case the awning needed rolling up a bit.  If the wind gets too high, over 20-25 mph, it can flip your awning over the top of the RV which basically destroys the awning, an expensive fix. After the game & hot tub I came back to the RV & Sheila was up and making lunch, (I think it was breakfast for her). The sun came out in full and the wind dropped for a nice afternoon.  Tonight is Mocktails night so we are off to indulge in Taco chips with hot cheese, chili/beef sauce and any add-ins you can possibly think of, plus they have hot coffee & hot chocolate for me, Sheila has her Fireball whiskey.  They have the large heaters & fire stands & I had a large heater behind me so I could feel the heat on my head if I leaned back a little but there was a very slight breeze & I got freezing cold fingers after an hour of so.  I returned home & left Sheila to enjoy the music, it was really good, but my hands & fingers were really cold, the rest of me was OK, just fingers were freezing.  It was a clear night so the temp may have dipped quite low.  Sheila came back to the RV about an hour or so later.  She stopped to look up something in the clubhouse computers.  Back at the RV I found the special remote and finally figured out how to play a DVD on our TV so we watched a couple of episodes of “Barney Miller” as we had a DVD with the first season on it, (1974).  In talking with RV’ers that have been travelling around the south west this winter, all of southern CA as well Arizona, (Yuma), & south Nevada have been having colder weather than normal for this time of year.

Day 53 March 7 Thursday

Paul & Yvonne are pulling our about 10 this morning and Sheila went to see them off.  I am stuck at the RV waiting for the propane truck to arrive.  Sheila arrived back at the RV about 10:40 so I left her to deal with the propane truck & went up to WVB.  It was off    & on sunny but it was a fun game.  After Hot tub I came back for lunch. No propane truck yet and Sheila was going to the movie “The Favourite” with Judy Shaffer this afternoon for the 2:40 show. Larry wasn’t interested in going.  And as I didn’t want to see it anyway, plus I had to wait for the propane truck, that all worked out fine.  After some cloud this morning the sun came out about 11:30 and it is a nice warm day.  The propane truck arrived around 3 PM & I took 11.3 USG so that’s finished and I am just waiting for Sheila to return from the movie so all 4 of us can go out to supper.  Sheila was back about 4:20 and the four of us headed out to Lil’ Angies Restaurant, (just up the street on Florida) by 4:45 pm.  Even though it’s under new management, the menu, prices, 50’s décor and food seem to be the same as last year.  I had the ½ rack of pork ribs, $13.49, —yummy as usual, and Sheila tried the Chicken Pot Pie on the Senior’s menu, $9.49.  Everyone was envious of her because it looked so good, and it tasted as good as it looked, she said.  It wasn’t the usual round pie with regular pie pastry.  It was a huge, (plate-size), ‘boat’ of fluffy, croissant pastry filled with a rich, creamy sauce containing lots of chunks of chicken, peas & carrots, she had to bring some home.  After supper, we returned to Larry & Judy’s to play 3 rounds, (12 hands of Bridge), before returning to our RV for the usual hour of TV before bedtime.  Sheila stayed up even later; (2:30 am) tonight watching sit-com re-runs as she should not play WVB tomorrow in case she gets her hair wet and weakens her perm.  So, the morning will be a ‘sleep-in’ time for her.

Day 52 March 6 Wednesday

Yup, we got rain, it started at night & kept going all night steadily, and off & on through the morning into the afternoon.  Sheila went out for a hair perm appointment at 11:30 AM so isn’t expected back for least 3 hours or so, I am back at the RV puttering around etc. and planning supper.  Tonight we have the concert at GVP “Tribute to Classic Soul & Motown”. Our seats were front row center and I loved it.  The group, “Stone Soul” were 8 men, 3 on brass, (2 sax & one trumpet), one bass guitar, one treble guitar, a double keyboard player, a drummer, & a singer.  They played solidly from 7 to almost 9 and I don’t know how the singer survived, he was movin & groovin all the time and singing very enthusiastically. It was loud up front & I could feel the music, I was in heaven, Sheila wasn’t too thrilled with the volume.  Sheila has decided that, in future, even though she really likes the music that the tribute groups GVP brings in to play, she won’t pay $40 US to have her ears assaulted even when she’s wearing sponge &/or Kleenex ear plugs!   Almost 100 % of the songs I knew and really liked, best concert I have been to in a long time, I hope they have them back next year!  Paul & Yvonne went to a movie “The Favourite” which got the Oscar for best female actress. It ran later than the concert so we didn’t see them that night to see what they thought of the movie.  I had read the synopsis of it and I didn’t think I would like it.  Sheila still wants to go. 

Day 51 March 5 Tuesday

A nice day dawned for a change, sunny & warm—i.e. high 60’s.  So we are off to the pool for a nice game of WVB.  Sheila only played a half hour in the morning, but she played again in the afternoon while she waited for our two loads of wash to dry.  There were only 4 and 5 a side, but she said it was one of the “funnest” games she’s played so far because the other players were all very good—there were lots of good rallies and she got she got to “play the ball” a lot, plus there was the usual joking and teasing amongst the players who know each other very well.  Paul & Yvonne are leaving on Thursday, (day after tomorrow). They wanted to have a nice goodbye event but with the iffy weather we have been having down here an outdoor happy hour/meal at their trailer seemed chancy.  Then Larry & Judy offered their Park Model home as an alternative so Paul planned a nice supper event and did all the cooking and prep.  We had a very nice meal together.   After supper Larry & Judy taught us the game of “Fast Track” which everyone enjoyed.  It’s a bit like “Jokers and Pegs,” but easier.  It was a fun evening of eating, playing & talking together.  It did actually sprinkle a bit in the evening so outside would not have been a good option. With the cooler weather we are using our propane heater a lot and burning through our propane supply.  We seem to go through a tank in about 3 weeks more of less, fill ups have been 10.5 to 11 USG.  The tank, bone dry, will take over 14 USG, (with the safety valve system they have on tanks now you can’t fill them to capacity which on our tank is 16 USG), but we don’t want to run out even though we have alternatives for heat, cooking etc. It is also hard to tell how much is actually left in the tank, both our fill ups have been when the gauge needle is showing on empty.  It’s not a big nuisance to fill as the truck comes to us & they just run a hose to the tank.   It only takes about 5 minutes, but I have to wait at the RV for them to come whenever they get to you, so far it has been in the mid to late morning.  Back at the RV, we watched the 11 PM news.   A major rain & lightning storm is hitting LA and should pass a bit north of us but we may get some rain from it.  The weather here is such that it is a major news item & often the lead item on the 11 PM news hour

Day 50 March 4 Monday

It was 52 F at 9:00 AM, we went up for WVB. We planned to see the movie “Green Book” and the only time that worked was the 7:45 show. After supper in the RV we picked up Paul & Yvonne & went out to the theatre.  The movie was about 2 real people & at the end they did a bit about their lives after the events of the movie.  I like that when there are real people involved, they show what happens to them after the movie events and they often have photos of the real people.  We all enjoyed the movie.  Afterwards, we all came back to our RV for dessert.  (At Sheila’s request, I had made up a fruit salad before going out to the movie.)  Other than the lousy weather we are having, it’s loads of fun down here. 

Day 49 March 3 Sunday SHEILA’S BIRTHDAY

I had a card beside Sheila’s side of the bed for her to open in the morning.  We arose to a partly cloudy day & went up for WVB.  The sun was in & out of some clouds and a breeze started up which was gusty and even though it affected the ball a lot, we kept playing till 12 o’ clock.  After the game and a short hot tub it was back to the RV to get ready to go out to Sheila’s birthday meal at Red Lobster.  We left about 1:30, picked up Larry & Judy and drove down to Red Lobster in Temecula.  We got there about 2:15.  Paul & Yvonne were already there.  We got our table and had a great time talking & eating lobster and assorted sea food dishes. It was a great meal!  Sheila brought almost ½ of hers home, it was so large—a steak, two lobster tails, a dish of chopped lobster in a sauce and green beans.  Then, she was served a free chocolate sundae with six spoons and a candle in it.  After she blew it out, we all sang her “Happy Birthday.”  Then, she passed her sundae around so everyone could have a spoonful.   Sheila got cards from Paul & Yvonne and Judy & Larry.  We finally left about 4:30, got a waitress to take our picture outside the restaurant and drove home.  We were both tired so went for a short nap.  Then just R & R at home.

Sheila at Sweet Baby Janes rib dinner with Paul & Yvonne

Pictures from Sheila's Red Lobster Dinner

Day 48 March 2 Saturday - A lazy day

Well, it rained all night so we slept in, thanks rain!  After a nice bacon & eggs breakfast I went out on errands.  I need gas in the car & money in my wallet plus assorted bits & pieces we needed.  The weather started to clear & was sunny but then a few minutes of light rain would occur, a good day to be inside relaxing.  So we did.  The temperature stayed reasonable so we didn’t need the furnace at all, we just ran the propane heater a bit.  We had grilled cheese sandwiches and Sheila’s left over soup from the Elks Dinner Dance on Friday.  The soup was called Chicken Pot Pie; it was thick & perfectly named, lots of chicken & really good.  We discovered that it is a commercially canned soup, we though it was homemade.  We will keep a lookout for it and bring some home if we find it, although it may be canned for commercial operations and sold wholesale in large quantities.

Day 47 March 1 Friday

Another nice sunny day so off to WVB this morning.  After lunch in the RV and after the morning WVB, Sheila went up to play in the 1 PM game & I went to Sweet Baby Jane’s to retrieve her glasses.  Success!  Back home to get ready for tonight.  The couple that we met on the last Taco night, (Bob & Fran Parker), had invited us to their house for a get together before going to the Elks Friday dinner dance.  They had reserved a table for us and a few of their friends.  We got there about 4:30.  It was a very nice house, not a manufactured home, (i.e. mobile home), on the edge of the Seven Hill golf course.  Sheila was delighted to get a tour of one of the Spanish style homes she admires so much as we drive past large areas of them on our comings & goings about Hemet.  At the get-together we met their friends.  We were the only Canadians, but there was one couple from Seattle & another from Oregon, the others, like our hosts, lived in the Seven Hills area of Hemet permanently.  Several of them had been or were RV’ers and had/or owned boats so, lots in common to talk about.  After about an hour & a half of chatting & nibblies we headed off to the Elks for the dinner dance with “Ambrose”.  He is a singer who uses recorded music from his computer piped through speakers. He must have a very good system because it sounded just as if a group of live musicians were playing, to me at least, and he has a very good voice—terrific range.  I had my usual 16 oz steak cooked rare with baked potato and some very nice green beans, & it comes with one trip through the salad bar.  All for $16.00, you can’t beat that!  I have it whenever we go to the dinner dance.  Sheila decided to try the unlimited Soup & Salad Bar for $10.00.  After one very large bowl of thick, delicious Chicken Pot Pie soup and two medium-sized plates of salad, she was full.  We had a nice evening, talking & dancing. We left when it ended at 9:30 pm, so got home about 9:45.                                                                                                          Being that today is March 1, I looked ahead at what we have going this month.  Beside the almost daily game events going on in the evenings, first, we have Sheila’s Birthday Dinner at Red Lobster down in Temecula on March 3, then we have on March 6 at GVP the concert, Stone Soul, Classic Soul & Motown, then on the 9^th at the Historic Hemet theatre a tribute to John Denver, then the next day, the 10^th, our Water Volleyball season end dinner, (some people have been here since November and head home in late March although the WVB games keep going).  Then the very next day is GVP’s St Patty’s Day event & corn beef dinner. Plus there is another Spud Night coming up the second week of March.  All that is in addition to what we do every day here plus movies, eating out etc. 

Day 46 Feb 28 Thursday

The forecast for today was cloudy with showers. When we got up, there was a bit of overcast which cleared by mid morning into a nice sunny, warm day.  We had a good WVB game and then back for lunch in the rig.  Sheila went out for her nails redo appointment she couldn’t do yesterday.  Then she is going back to the 99 cent store to see if she can find the cartons of milk she found yesterday. They are just 1 quart (US) cartons but have been processed to last for months if unopened, (opened you must refrigerate them).  They would be ideal for the RV, we could carry several cartons & not have to jam them in the fridge, open one & then put it in the fridge.  I was tired so I napped in the afternoon for a couple hours.  Sheila arrived back with a bunch of groceries including the long lasting milk. The carton says that it’ll keep “several months without refrigeration”; they certainly sound ideal for RVing.  Tonight, for the start of Sheila’s birthday celebrations, we are off to “Sweet Baby Jane’s” a restaurant that specializes in ribs.    I & Yvonne had Ribs, Paul got a steak and they cooked it right – rare, it was just to his liking.  Sheila had BBQ Pulled Pork and Beef brisket with fresh baked cornbread & sweet cinnamon butter—Paul & Yvonne’s treat, and then the waitress brought out a birthday cake for Sheila that Paul & Yvonne had bought & smuggled into the restaurant, so it was a nice surprise for Sheila. Other than Sheila leaving her glasses there it was a very nice evening. 

Day 45 Feb 27 Wednesday

It was a bit cloudy & overcast when I first got up but cleared fast so I went up for WVB.  Sheila came later, like she usually does, but ended up in the other pool as usual!  The day developed into a nice sunny day. After lunch I stayed around the RV & puttered around, sitting in the sun and other worthwhile projects!  Sheila went out to get the CDN flag on her finger nail fixed, but they were too busy, so she made an appointment for tomorrow at a different shop, then, just picked up some 99 Cent Store stuff & came home.  We had supper, part of which was a Winco BBQ’d chicken that weighed 1 lb 13 oz & cost $4.98, what a bargain! Then we got ready to go out to Hemet West Mobile Home Park for their ‘Jump, Jive & Rock’ dance with a band called, “The E-klectics”.  A couple we met at the GVP Spud Night event, Frank & Janet, picked us up as they wanted to go but didn’t know where it was.  So rather than take 2 cars they offered to pick us up & we gave them directions.  The dance was a lot of fun. They played lots of great 50’s etc music--we danced a lot.  Frank & Janet really enjoyed it too and thanked us for telling them about it.  We returned home to the RV for a bit of TV & bedtime.  We were both really tired after our strenuous day of fun!