I can see that I haven’t written a journal or blog entry since the 22nd. Well, what is going on? I can summarize our activities in 3 words:
maintenance
finances
parties
MAINTENANCE
Let’s take the first one first. We have two pretty expensive vehicles here and both need maintenance from time to time. Gary has been compiling a schedule of maintenance for the last two weeks. His problem is compounded by the fact that we’ve got a Caterpillar motor, an Allison transmission, and a Roadmaster chassis. (I remember these by the mnemonic of CAR - and, as I get older, I need more of these mnemonics.) All of these have their own separate maintenance schedules and no one at the RV manufacturer which is Monaco has taken the time to compile a schedule for us. Secondly, and you all know this from your own maintenance worries, that the schedule is always stated in time and/or distance. Change your oil every 5000 miles or 4 months, whichever comes first.
We’re thinking that Gary could spend part of every day in maintenance given that we’ve got at least 500 parts that need maintenance. Luckily, I get ‘stuck’ with the cooking and dishes - better that than maintenance.
As I mentioned on the 20th, we took the RV in for some routine maintenance and they also checked two items which needed repair and ordered the parts. We went to the library to work on our computers while they had the RV and weren’t called back to the service center until 4:30. Now, we found out as we left the park in the morning that, the lights on the front of the guard booth are on a timer set for dusk and, if they are lit when we return to the park in the RV, they will not be able to park us that night and we’ll have to wait for the morning. They don’t want to park people in the dark since the utility poles are sometimes knocked over by people parking in the dark. Sure puts a bit of pressure on for us to return early enough to get parked.
Gary spoke with the tech and I drove on ahead to the park. As I rounded the corner, I saw that the lights were on. Shucks. I drove up to the booth, put on my best smile, batted my eyelids and said in my breathy feminine voice:
‘I guess this means that we won’t be able to park our RV tonight.’ Bat, bat, smile, smile.
The guard looked around, seeing only me in the car and asked:
‘What RV?’
‘My husband is driving it and is only 4 or 5 minutes behind me.’ Bat, bat, smile smile.
‘OK, if he gets here in 4 or 5 minutes, I’ll be able to park him.’
And, then I started wishing Gary in.
Sure enough, Gary rounded the corner about 5 minutes behind me and we got parked. Actually it was a bit of a struggle. The guy was dressed in black, it was dusk and he was standing in back of the passenger side of the RV as Gary was trying to turn into the spot on the driver’s side. Now, the correct way to park a motorhome is for the person directing (me) to be behind the driver’s (Gary) side as the driver is backing up towards the driver’s side. That way both people are on the same side of the motorhome - Gary can see me in his rear view mirror and I can see him in the same mirror. We’ve got eye contact. With this guy, Gary had to look into the passénger side rear view mirror while he’s turning to his left. And, the guy used little bitty finger motions. How did he expect Gary to see them? I use my whole arm while directing. Sometimes I look like a windmill - but Gary can see me directing.
We’ve also taken the time here in Phoenix to get the Jeep in for some routine maintenance. As part of the routine maintenance in Des Moines, the tech noted some very tiny metal parts (like shavings) in the rear transmission. They replaced this transmission for us but we wanted the transmission checked here, after we’ve done some driving, to see if there are metal parts in this one: to answer the question - was it the transmission or is it the car? Guess what? Checking the transmission is not part of routine maintenance here in Phoenix. It is in Des Moines, it isn’t here. Hmm. Both are Chrysler dealerships.
PARTIES
We’ve noticed as we have walked through the resort that 4:00 seems to be the party hour - everyone is off the golf course and many have migrated to the decks and patios of all the homes here. Makes you think that all old people do is party. And, we’ve also gotten involved ourselves, us, the original party people. Our neighbors invited us over along with another couple. Then the other couple invited us all over and finally my brilliant idea was to invite them all over for a birthday party for Big Gar which we had last night.
Did we have wine glasses? Nope, but we borrowed some. Did we know what wine to buy for them? Nope but we looked at what they bought for their parties. Did we have any party decorations? Nope but we taped our Christmas cards to the mirror and bought some paper to decorate the food table. Do we have all this stuff at home in Des Moines? Yep, and next year we might bring a bit. But, we just don’t need it much.
And, of course, in the middle of this all was the Christmas party where we sat with these two couples and another at a table for 8. For once, we were able to walk into the ballroom and know the people at our table. Something new. Again, the buffet table was full with lots of good things to eat. There was a 7-layer salad which is my favorite and a cherry trifle. Well, shiver me timbers and give me two bowls, I’m all set. Dessert and a salad - what more do I need? Well, I did try some other foods but had seconds of these two.
Tonight we finally meet some other friends at the Organ Stop Pizza. But that story is for later. Suffice it to say that we have been busy visiting with others.
FINANCES
Bills have to be paid and I’ve spent some time on year-end financing. Gary and I keep track of the money spent by my brother and us on a program called Quicken. We also keep track of our investments and his. And, with Medicare starting this year for both Gary and me, I had to make lots of new entries. Sometimes my head was spinning.
And, then we found a new RV for us - well, actually, we got HIS and HERS - a matched set. But here is the male model. We’re thinking we’ll save a whole lot of money using this. Of course, we might not see as much of the country but, we’ll have strong legs.
One evening we toured the campground to check out the Christmas decorations. Lots of color here and some even have lights that twinkle in time to the music playing. But one guy really tops the display list. His whole patio is taken up with his displays. When people come near, he uses his remote control to make the snow machine blow snow on them from the roof of his house. This is one small table that he has, he has two others along with various lights and displays around the front of his house. Hundreds of moving parts and many of these decorations are Department 56. I’m not sure I’d leave these out in the weather. But, he has a great time setting up the display and talking to people when they come around to see it.
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