Fun, frustrations, and finally official

Another (mostly) busy week in the books is nearing an end. This week brought more folks to the park I met last winter (Jan/Feb) so it was a time of reconnecting and making new memories.

As you likely know, the Jays did not win the World Series. :( We still had a good turnout for the must go meal and game, though the majority of us left disappointed at the loss. There were nine of us; D had joined the group having purchased a unit last spring. He had about two weeks then to clear it out and is back to make it his own this winter. Like many others here he is from British Columbia.

The weekend also brought P, her daughter J and J's husband D.  Sorry, without their permission, I prefer to use initials for privacy reasons. P will be 97 this month and is the matriarch of the park. She started coming here in 1979! She also moved this year with her daughter to a new-to-them unit, and are almost directly across from me. J's husband D has been building steps and a bench, and J told me at Happy Hour on Monday, there is a list of things to be repaired or replaced. Meanwhile P was initially staying Yuma with another daughter until the space is safe for her. She's since moved into another unit here owned by the daughter of another resident. It's kitty corner from her own unit and I know J is happy to have mom closer.

Sunday was especially busy, as I needed a few groceries, had planned to assist with the clean-up at the clubhouse later in the morning, and it was laundry day. When I told S (of L&S), she insisted I use the machine at their previous unit rather than going to a laundromat. 

I was happy to take her up on the offer, and will tuck a few dollars in her hand/mailbox/front door each month to pay for the electricity. The local Food City opens at 6 a.m., not that I was ready to shop then, but I was in and out and back at the park by 7:50 a.m. Three of us cleaned up the clubhouse, wiping down tables and counters, putting away clean dishes, folding tables and stacking chairs so the floor could be swept and mopped.

L&S headed to Palm Springs to pick up another couple and their daughter (E&L, and A) mid-afternoon. They kindly let me use their a/c in the unit while I waited for the laundry to be complete.  It reached 91F/33C that afternoon so it did not take long for my clothing to dry!

I puttered around for the rest of the afternoon before H showed up at my door to remind me of Happy Hour. All that work of putting away chairs and tables was upended when ten of us arrived (N added to the list) for our visit. I left early as I was getting hungry and finally made a meal in my own place. Nothing special but delicious, especially when H dropped by with a loaf of banana bread for my dessert. Now that was special!

Unlike Sunday, Monday was a quiet day. I puttered around in the unit, spent time out in the gazebo reading or knitting in the morning, and the rest of the day was indoors as the heat is a bit much for me. The forecast says we'll see cooling by the middle of November. Indoors, I did more knitting, watched some Y-tube videos and started a jigsaw puzzle. I don't anticipate finishing it for a week or two. 

Tuesday, I was expecting the propane truck to fill the large tank. The stove/oven, hot water tank, and furnace run off propane. Everything else is on electricity. Since I was outdoors for most of the morning, I decided to wash the tile floor. After sweeping, I did the first wash and was about to empty the bucket to get fresh water for the second wash when I managed to tip the bucket and all that dirty water flowed all over the tile. ARRRGGGHHH! Back to square one. A job that ought to have taken about 20 minutes or so, stretched into a good 45 minutes. I'm not entirely sure why I bothered, as the dust will cover it again by morning. We haven't had a lot of wind, but things are just dusty.

The propane truck was scheduled to arrive by noon but I wasn't surprised that he didn't show up until 2:30 p.m. Close enough, right? I got a lesson in all things propane including: when the tank is overfilled the gas comes up as liquid rather than vapour. The owner told me that in Canada we measure propane by the pound or liters. In the States, most places just fill it up until it is entirely full. It is important not to do so, as heat will cause the liquid to expand and can result in an explosion (particularly when near a heat source like a BBq). I assume the high temperatures here in Arizona might have an impact too. In any event, I also now know where the o-rings and gaskets are in the connections, though ask me in six months and I probably won't remember.

Wednesday I went shopping, not for groceries but for a few items I need in the unit. An extra garbage can, some removable hooks, a calendar, screwdrivers, dish soap, etc. I stopped at our local Dollar Tree and got several items and then it was off to Best Buy to get a new charging cable for my cellphone. I had two but managed to break one since I've arrived. That's the first time I've done this and I'm not certain how it happened. One cable is kept inside while the other is in the SUV. While I was in the Yuma Palms mall at BB, I discovered they had a Hobby Lobby. You may not be, but I'm proud to say I walked out of there having spent less than $15. Doesn't mean I wasn't tempted by several other items though. :)

J dropped by in the afternoon with a few items that she thought I could use. One is a small electric heater that she used to warm the unit in cooler weather. As I learned last January, it can get very cool overnight, with temperatures dropping to around 5C/41F. The rental unit I was in last year did not have a working furnace, so the landlady had provided two electric space heaters. I would use one to warm up the bedroom (while I stayed under the covers), and the second to warm the living area. I expect I'll be doing something similar here as it will save on using the furnace.

That night there was a Beaver moon, a supermoon so called as it is close to the earth. I got a photo, not a great one as you'll see but it was pretty neat to see

We had our weekly coffee hour on Thursday morning. For $2 we get a cup of coffee (and refills), donuts/pastries, self served toast. The Board takes the opportunity to fill us in on the happenings in the park and there is lots of chatter too. That was the best part of the day, after that things got a wee bit frustrating.

I met with the board, the previous owner, and the wife of one of the board members (a former paralegal) to complete the paperwork. I won't go into the details but a process that ought to have taken 15 minutes or so stretched out for nearly 90 minutes. With the ADOT title in hand I headed to the insurance broker to arrange coverage. I left briefly to run over to Lowes to look for solar light motion detectors and came back to find that the ADOT had registered the previous owner's property in my name...not my unit! (I did tell her she might have to move, just kidding). So that put a kibosh on the insurance policy and we had to go back to the the licenser on Friday morning to straighten things out. I had successfully, in the morning, arranged to transfer the cable to my own account. Part of that meant I needed to return the current equipment and pick up a new box. Now, the cable is part of a bulk purchase of the park (we don't pay directly for it, it's part of our lease payment). When I arrived home, I went to turn on the television and discovered I'd been cut off...no cable for me until I pick up the equipment and install myself. :p

So Friday I was up at my now regular 5:30 a.m. First things first, I tried to uninstall the cable receiver. NOT happening, the cable was so tightly screwed in it was not budging. Faced with another round of AI screening to get through to a live agent on the telephone, I decided to try the chat with us feature on their app. Now the AI tried mightily but I insisted on speaking to a live agent, and within moments I was on the line with Raul in California. (I know this because the chat thingy told me so.) Second message in, he informed me he'd be sending out a technician. The first appointment he offered was when I was planning to be at ADOT so I asked for a later appointment, 4-5 p.m. was the answer. It will cut into Happy Hour but I'll be happy to get the cable reconnected, so I'll deal. Later, I got a text that the appointment was moved up to between 3-4 p.m. We'll see...

At 8 a.m. I met J and we headed over to the ADOT office. Once through the short line-up I explained that the wrong unit was now registered to me, and should be in J's name. And that I needed to register the other unit currently in her name in mine. Initially the clerk insisted it was our error but by the end of the 15-20 minutes or so she worked on the files, she agreed it was a clerical error on their part. However, she still charged us the $7 USD to revert the name to J's. I wasn't about to argue about it though if I hadn't stepped in and said I'd pay it, J might have. I was able to register my RV for 5 years so won't need to go back there at least that long.

The insurance broker who caught the mistake was our next stop. Another half hour and we were heading pack to the park. All told, with driving time, we were gone less than two hours. I dropped J off and headed to Home Depot where I picked up the extension rod for hanging my clothes in the bedroom area, a solar motion light, and two cans of spray paint. 

I'm not sure if I've mentioned that I "stole" three chairs from next door. The original owner passed away a couple of years ago and his until is uninhabitable. Outside there are a number of pieces of furniture including a stack of plastic chairs. I asked J (who is the Board President) if I could take a few. She told me CB's daughter had said they could do what they wanted with it. So I grabbed three, cleaned them up, and now I plan to spray paint them as there are stains that would not come out. I just need to find someone with cardboard...with the orders that come in from Amazon around here, I'm sure that won't be a problem. Here's the outdoor area set-up - I spend a few hours out there every mornings, and sometimes eat my dinner out there too.

Well, this turned into a lengthy post, so I'll end it on Friday, and post in the morning. I'm off early tomorrow anyway, as a group of us are heading to a garage sale at the Country Roads RV Village. Imagine if you will nearly 1300 RV/Park model spaces with garage sales dotted throughout. They hold this event the first Saturday of the each month. I'm not looking for anything in particular, but it will be a fun outing with friends.

Have a great week ahead everyone! 

P.S. Apparently this is my 1000th post. Never thought I'd see that number.