One month.....

 5:53 am - Wednesday - May 28th - LPG&RVR - 47° F, humidity 34%, wind 13 mph out of the west by southwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 87° F.  On this date in 2011 TLE and I were having a late breakfast at Simple Simon's in Riverside, CA.....

....located in the 'walking mall' on the west side of the world famous Mission Inn.

Our third of four work days, Tuesday, was way busier than either of us expected.  I initially staged 10 golf carts thinking that would be more than enough based on the number of people signed up for tee times, but we had a lot of 'walk in' business Tuesday ballooning the total number of carts rented to 17.   

I made my usual first round of the golf course around 8:30 am, and was back by 9 am.  It was still too early to do any mowing so I took care of some weeding down in the ten gravel sites, and turned on the sprinklers at the grass area which surrounds the 'Night Office'.  By the time I was done with that it was after 10 am, so I grabbed the two bag Husqvarna and began to mow.  TLE wanted to take her lunch at 1 pm so I was able to get all the mowing I had scheduled for Tuesday done by then.  When I finally put away the Husqvarna at 1 pm I had mowed the grass at the small gazebo, the large grass area by site #30, all 5 of the water/electric sites, four of the ten pull through, full hookup sites, the grass at the group fire pit, the grass between the putting green and the Clubhouse deck, the grass around the #10 tee boxes, the three large grass areas in the residential area, and some tall weeds at the back of the driving range that the large, real type rough lawnmower cannot cut.

TLE needed to drive into Alturas during her lunch break to pickup her new trifocal prescription glasses at the optometrist, which is why she took a late lunch break.  She was back right at 2 pm, and I only had 90 minutes left in my work day.  By then there were a number of golf carts in the 'Cart Return' area, so I began washing them, and as I did that more began to return.  By the time I left to go home all but 3 of the carts had been returned, so I'll have them to wash first thing Wednesday....not bad.

We're heading into a warming trend where we will have temps for the first time this season in the low 90's Friday and Sunday, but then they will drop back into the 60's and 70's for the next week. As of Tuesday we've been back at LPG&RVR for one month; time is moving much to quickly, and  TLE and I are now closer to 76, than we are to 75.  Thursday we'll head down to Reno for my orthopedist appointment, and hopefully another cortisone shot.  My knee is mostly stiff, and only gets sore at the end of work days, but I would like it not to be stiff, and/or sore all the time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, Monday.....

 5:49 am - Tuesday - May 27th - LPG&RVR - 41° F, humidity 39%, wind 8 mph out of trhe east......partially cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were in Coeur d'Alene, ID at 'The Lake Resort' riding our bicycles.....

.....can't believe that was 13 years ago!

Monday was the typical Monday at the end of a long weekend....there were many departures of folks headed back to their workday lives, and about one half as much demand for golf carts.  In all we put out 16 golf carts Monday....a nice day to be sure, but way less hectic that the almost 40 per day we were putting out Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I made my usual round of the golf course (Claude is off Monday - Wednesday) clearing goose/ducking leavings from the tee boxes at the 3rd hole, and raking the four sand traps.  I also, finally, added the blue dye to the two ponds which border the tee boxes at #3.  The blue dye in the water helps retard plant growth in those two shallow ponds.  In all I was gone around 40 minutes from the Clubhouse, and when I returned there were still 6 of the original 10 golf carts I staged remaining.  

Monday is also one of the days we mow the driving range, and with the park completely full over the weekend there were a lot of golf balls out there to shag.  I began clearing the range around 10 am, and finished around 11:30 am.  While I was out there I took time to fish about 25 golf balls out of the creek that subdivides the driving range.  I was wearing my rubber boots I've had since we worked 'Smuggler's Den' in Maine back in 2018.  I was close to finishing with the creek when I stepped into a deep spot in the creek and completely filled both of my boots with water....doh!  I was wearing pants as I always do when clearing the range so my socks and pants got wet.  I didn't want to go home to change right then, so I finished clearing the final few balls out of the creek, then took off my socks, and rubber boots, then put back on my Keen boots without socks to finish clearing the driving range.

After hauling the range balls (I filled five 5 gallon buckets with range balls) up to the 'Cart Return' area I filled them with soap and water to let them soak for a few hours, then headed home to get some dry socks and change from my pants into shorts for the rest of the work day.  I was back in time to give TLE her lunch break, during which time I answered one phone call, and sold two golf shirts to a lady....that was it for my time in the office Monday.

After TLE's lunch break golf carts began to return, and I began to clean them, while also cleaning the range balls.  By 4 pm all the range balls had been cleaned, and all but 2 of the 16 golf carts had returned, so I headed home to take a shower, and returned to the office around 5 pm to retrieve TLE, and flip the sign down at the 'Night Office'.  Just another routine Monday at the end of a holiday weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Holiday weekend life in an RV park......

 5:45 am - Monday - May 26th - Memorial Day - LPG&RVR - 50° F, humidity 43%, wind 9 mph out of the north by northwest......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 73° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were working at Tahoe Valley Campground....

....the first picture shows campground first thing in the morning Memorial Day, and the second later that afternoon....from a bustling mini city to a ghost town in hours!

Going back to work in the middle of a any holiday weekend is always disorienting for me, and Memorial Day weekend is no different.  You go from the quiet solitude of your site, where we spent most of the previous 4 days, to the hectic, fast paced life of a holiday weekend at the Clubhouse.  We rented close to 40 golf carts on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday was no different.  By 2:30 pm we had rented out 38 golf carts....since we only have 31 golf carts that meant 7 went out twice.  I only left the 'Cart Return' area a few times all day, and not for long durations, because just as quickly as I would stage 10 golf carts, they would be gone, and then I would stage another 10, and so on, and so forth.

Nevertheless, after for days of loafing around I was ready to return to work.  Not having to make rounds of the golf course to rake the sand traps, or Marshal made Sunday easier than it would have been in the past, and I was able to take my time cleaning each cart instead of racing through the returned carts each time I made a pass around the golf course.  By 3:30 pm, my normal quitting time, only half of the carts had returned, so I worked another hour to make sure I didn't start Monday with s0 many golf carts left to wash.  When I left at 4:30 pm there were only 8 carts still outstanding.

Of course, being a holiday weekend, the Clubhouse office was very busy, and when I gave TLE her lunch break I never really had a chance to sit down and relax.  I even had to leave the office twice to stage more golf carts during that hour.  Since I left work so late I barely had time to take a shower before returning to the Clubhouse to give TLE a ride home.  As it turned out it was going to take her longer than normal to close out the register, so I headed down to flip the sign, and then home to await her arrival.  She didn't get home until after 6 pm.  Hopefully, Monday will be a little less hectic as people begin returning to their workaday lives, and the RV park turns into a comparative ghost town for a few days.

Thanks for stopping by!

The other 40 didn't make it.....

 6:01 am - Sunday - May 25th - LPG&RVR - 45° F, humidity 39%, wind mph out of the southwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 78° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were in Meeker, CO (on western slope of the Rockies, and largely untouched by the Wuhan Flu hysteria) staying for a few days at Meeker Town Park....50 amps, and a view of the White River.....

....one of the nicer town parks at which we've stayed over the years!

Saturday was a lazy day, and also the final day of our four day weekend.  It was lazy once I took care of two things needing my attention.....dump the black tank, and wash the VW.  It had been 10 days since I last dumped the black tank, and a few months since  I washed the VW. I never have to check the level of the black tank.  TLE and I can both tell by the sound the effluent makes as it hits the black tank after a flush when it needs attention, and we've never been wrong....even once.  The great thing about dumping the black tank here at LPG&RVR is the water pressure.  I can flush the tank three times in less than 15 minutes.

Once the black tank was empty once again I turned my attention to vacuuming and washing our 2001 VW Beetle.  You know, we've owned that car since March of 2014, which makes it our longest owned car in our married lives.  When we purchased it the mileage was 124,000.  Eleven years later is sits at 198,000, and still going strong.  Before washing her I took about 20 minutes to vacuum several months of dirt, dust and gravel from her interior, then another 20 minutes to remove the bug build up from her front, and wash the rest of her.  Her exterior is showing her age after 11 years of sitting outside exposed to the elements, but her interior, and her mechanicals are still going strong.

By the time I finished washing the VW and putting away everything it was only 10 am....perfect.  I spent the balance of the day ensconced in my anti gravity chair watching golf, and napping.  Finally 3:30 pm came around and it was time to get ready for the weekly putting contest which is held at 4 pm each Saturday.  This is the first Saturday I have not had to work, and the first week I've taken the time to practice putting more than once.....

.....we had a total of 42 putters this week, which is a record for this year, and only two less than our all time record since we've been coming to LPG&RVR each summer.  This day was my day.  For the first 3 rounds I didn't miss a second putt, and barely missed holes in one 3 times.  On the fourth round I missed one second putt, but still prevailed to make it to the final for the first time this year.  90% of my putts ended up within 12 inches of the hole.....I was on fire.  In the final I missed one second putt, but came back two holes later with an ace (hole in one) to tie the match. It was tied going into the 5th hole.  My first putt finished just 8 inches from the hole, but my opponent's ball was just 4 inches from the hole, and between my ball and the hole.  I attempted to knock his ball away from the hole (legal), and did....it went off the green.  Sadly my ball rolled about 10 feet from the hole.  All my opponent had to do was get his second shot closer to the hole than I was and he succeeded.  Nevertheless, I came in second, finishing "in the money", and guaranteed me a place in the championship match this Fall.

We didn't get home until 6 pm, and we had planned to grill steaks with Claude, so I lit the Sea-B-Que, and within 10 minutes we were grilling steaks....

.....since we (Claude, TLE and I) all work Sunday we called it an evening around 7 pm, and by 9 pm we were in bed getting our beauty rest.

Thanks for stopping by!

ACEs in my book!

 7:24 am - Saturday - May 24th - LPG&RVR - 53° F, humidity 31%, wind 5 mph out of the north......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 79° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were touring Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, CO....

....I had never heard of it prior to visiting Grand Junction, CO during the summer of Wuhan, but it is definitely worth visiting!

We made our weekly drive into Alturas around 10 am Friday to reprovision our pantry/freezer/refrigerator.  There are always a couple things we need at ACE Hardware, so that is almost always our first stop.  If you're northbound on US-395 you make a right turn just past the Niles Hotel on Modoc Street....it is about 1 block down on the right side.  They always have that for which I am looking as is most often the case with every ACE Hardware store we have visited over the last 13+ years.  Many ACE Hardware stores provide free popcorn made in a popcorn machine on premises, and I always look forward to munching on that popcorn as TLE and I walk around the store.

Next up was Dollar General where TLE bought a flower pot, and a tray, and I a couple of solar yard lights.  Then over to Grocery Outlet to buy some produce, and finally to Holiday Market where we scored two great deals on steaks. I think I've mentioned that they have a bin near the Deli where meat that is coming up to its 'USE BY DATE' is offered at half price.  We got a package of 6 beautiful New York Strip Steaks for $40.99, and 2 Dodge City Top Sirloin Steaks for $6.99.  Now that we have the Norcold freezer in our basement we can take advantage of these good deals on a greater scale than we have in the past.

On our way out of town we stopped at 'Java Doc' (a pull through coffee place) to buy a couple of Mocha Frappuccinos for the drive home, and then we were on the road back south to LPG&RVR.  We didn't pass one single car, or truck in 20 miles....I love rural America!  We were home by 12:30 pm with the rest of the day to sit on the 'lido deck' relaxing, and enjoying the delightful mid 70's weather.  Around 4:30 pm I drove our Club Car Villager #20 over to the Clubhouse to putt for about a while, and was home by 6.  For dinner TLE made me a sandwich from one of the grilled chicken thighs I BBQ'd Thursday night, along with some leftover soup from a week ago which we ate on the 'dining/gaming deck'....easy-peasy!  We were also treated to a nice sunset.....

Thanks for stopping by!

A little 'Lido Deck' time.....

 8:41 am - Friday - May 23rd - LPG&RVR - 55° F, humidity 37%, wind 7 mph out of the north by northwest.....mostly clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 72° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were in Grand Junction, CO having dinner at Rockslide Brewing.....

....we were staying the the local Elks Lodge and hadn't been able to order, and eat food at a restaurant for almost 3 months due to the Wuhan Flu.  The restaurant was packed, but they also had outdoor dining, which we prefer anyway.

I'm sure you've noticed we have not been doing our out and back walk for over a week now.  My knee was just acting up too much to do that walk, and until I can get in to see Dr. Fyda, my orthopedist in Reno, and get a cortisone shot I'll have to wait a little longer before doing that walk again.  I'm still doing my knee exercises, and without the 2 mile walk, have been able to walk pretty normally without pain, so I'll have to be content with that for now.

Thursday was the first day we've had temps over 70° F for a while, so I got out our anti gravity chairs, which have not seen much action the last 7 months, and set them up on the 'lido deck'.  Additionally, I deployed our TCL flat screen, outdoor TV so we could watch golf in the afternoon.....

....you can see the TV on the Rubber Maid chest by TLE (I put a cover on it overnight).  TLE loves watering, and tending to her flower beds each morning, especially on our non work days when she can take her time....

.....it won't be long until we have flowers adding a splash of color to our 'lido deck'!

Before sitting down to watch golf I had two more small projects to attend to in the trailer.  One was to fix the eye protector screen on my bench grinder that I broke some time ago.  I've attempted to glue it back together using super glue, but after 3 failed attempts decided to think on it, and come up with a different way to fix it, and that morning an idea came to me....

.....I decided to cut a piece of flat aluminum to place across the broken area, drill two holes, and screw it back together.  It worked!  After attaching the aluminum piece I then added super glue to the crack to kind of weld it back together.  I checked this morning and it is once again just as solid as the other one.

Finally, one of my LED lights in the rear of the trailer has been hanging askew for some time, so I decided to drill a couple more mounting holes to level it out, and succeeded....

....and with that final repair my work day was done.  Time for some 'lido deck' time!  I spent a couple of hours napping, and watching the 'Charles Schwab Challenge' in Fort Worth, TX.

Around 3:30 pm TLE and I drove our cart over to the Clubhouse to do some putting together....something we hadn't done for quite a long time.  She was a little rusty, but by the end of our session was putting much more consistently.

TLE had been defrosting, and marinating some chicken thighs all afternoon, so right after we returned from putting I lit the Sea-B-Que, and then grilled them at 300° F for about 25 minutes until they reached 165° F.  They came out wonderfully.  TLE added a side salad and BBQ'd beans. I wish I had taken a picture.

We watched the recorded finale of season 48 of 'Survivor' after dinner.  This was an unusual season with a very satisfying conclusion.  We would have been happy with any of the final three winning.  It was the only time I can remember when each of the three finalists received at least one jury vote, but in the end Kyle won.  TLE and I both thought he had a slight edge over the other two, but you can never tell what a jury will do.  A nice conclusion to a very nice day two of our four day weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Five things to do.....

 8:28 am - Thursday - May 22nd - LPG&RVR - 56° F, humidity 33%, wind 9 mph out of the northwest......mostly clear skies today with a forecast high of 70° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were spending a few days at Craters of the Moon National Monument in southern Idaho.  While there we were able to observe a partial solar eclipse.....

.....I was trying to take a picture of the eclipse, but it didn't come out, however, in that red blob below the sun you can see the eclipse....how that happened I don't know.

I always have a bunch of small projects needing my attention around the Newell/American Trailer floating around in my head, and Wednesday seemed like as good a day as any to cross a few of them off that mental list.  First up I finally installed a power strip/surge protector I bought way back in January off Amazon....

....surprisingly this took me more time than the other projects combined....lol.  When we were staying overnight at the Hotel St. Michael in Prescott, AZ this past January the hotel room had some of these deployed around the room.  In addition to the regular 120 VAC outlets there are also USB ports.

Next I used silicone caulk to reseal a seam on the right rear window awning (TLE's bedroom window awning), then used the last of the Sunbrella swatches I got from ZipDee many, many years ago to cover over a rub hole in the patio awning.....

.....caused by the plastic wheel on the top of the entry door that keeps the sharp edge of the door from contacting the awning fabric.  The problem is that after 43 years the wheel has begun to create a wear line that eventually wears through the fabric.  ZipDee sent me, free, many years ago several fabric swatches I could use for just this kind of repair.  The Sunbrella fabric is made out of silicone, so I use silicone caulk to glue the swatch to the fabric.  As you can see in the picture above I have made other repairs over the years....

.....my next repair project of the morning was to install a new snap on the sun shade.  The one to the left ripped out of the sunshade fabric, and since TLE didn't want to take the sunshade down to sew up the hole I just moved it to the right a few inches.....

You can see the old snap location on the left, and the new one on the right

.....after finishing that snap I headed into the trailer to work on tightening the quarter turn latches on the aluminum cabinet mounted on the passenger side interior wall of the trailer.....

I installed these cabinets, as well as the work bench back in 2011 when we were at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park living for a year before heading out on the road.  They are very durable.

.....the latches have been opening while in transit, especially on our trip back north to LPG&RVR, so it was time to figure out how to tighten them....

.....they're not as straightforward as they look, and it took me about 45 minutes to figure out how to properly adjust them so they stay latched while in transit.  I do run a fabric strap across all three doors when we are traveling, and it has been held them mostly closed when the latches open, but I don't want them to open in the first place.  They are all tight once again.  I love working on small projects like these, and on this particular day was able to get a lot of them done.

 By the time I finished fixing the latches it was almost 12:30 pm, and time for a snack, and nap.  The weather Wednesday was delightful, and I actually wore short pants and a t-shirt for much of the day....looking forward to many more days of being able to do that.  We're running the electric heaters for shorter durations each morning, and not at all at night now.  It seems like we've been living in winter conditions since early November of 2024.  Time for warmer weather!

Thanks for stopping by!